It seems like fear and marathon training run hand in hand. There's the pressure of hitting race pace an tempo miles; the unknown when hitting personal distance records; and the pure magnitude of the work. I've felt some apprehension when training for shorter distances but there was always the intrinsic belief that I could do it. I haven't run enough marathons to know that.
A little bit of fear is good. It keeps you humble. It keeps you working. It gives you a push, in my case, to overachieve and break through.
Some fear, though, can be paralyzing. It can make you doubt yourself and tempt you to give up before trying. It's that kind that I'm working on. I'm really working on getting my head in the game, focusing on the days I feel good and channeling that sense of accomplishment when I tackle the next workout.
And there are good days.
My 18-miler in week 10 helped, during which I was able to keep the pace controlled and run my fastest split during the last mile.
My run with both race pace and tempo miles during week 11 showed me that race pace is feeling easier and a controlled, patient tempo effort can leave me feeling accomplished.
My midweek long runs where, barring ridiculous weather, are feeling the way 5-milers do during half marathon training.
And I'm telling myself that I don't have to be the best. I just have to do my best on that day and that best might look different than the week before.
highlight: Running in the Pacific Northwest – obviously. Otherwise, feeling great during my tempo run and surviving the swamp fest that was week 11.
lowlight: Falling during my interval run. I thought I'd be OK in the early morning without lights but I was wrong. During the recovery interval, my foot got caught in a pothole or divet or crack and I was on my hands and knees before I could even think about it. Thankfully, I was fine but I did adjust my effort for the remainder of the run.
week 10
monday, september 5
distance | 3 miles
time | 29:34
pace | 9:51
wednesday, september 7
distance | 6 miles
time | 55:11
pace | 9:09
notes | time intervals; fell during run
thursday, september 8
distance | 8 miles
time | 1:22:22
pace | 10:14
notes | hot as balls, early as fuck
saturday, september 10
distance | 18 miles
time | 3:02:24
pace | 10:07
notes | strong finish
sunday, september 12
distance | 3.3 miles
time | 32:06
pace | 9:40
week 11
monday, september 12
distance | 5.2 miles
time | 48:23
pace | 9:17
notes | early; tight legs
tuesday, september 13
distance | 7 miles
time | 1:02:32
pace | 8:56
notes | tempo on treadmill
thursday, september 15
distance | 2.8 miles
time | 28:57
pace | 10:17
notes | shakeout in Seattle; trails
friday, september 16
distance | 6.6 miles
time | 1:23:17
pace | 12:37
notes | ragnar trail
friday, september 16
distance | 2.6 miles
time | 30:15
pace | 11:25
notes | ragnar trail; night leg
saturday, september 17
distance | 6.7 miles
time | 1:30:39
pace | 13:29
notes | ragnar trail; early morning
No comments:
Post a Comment