Scheduled: 3-5 easy
Did: 3 easy @ 10:06/mi
Was planning on a rest day after yesterday's PR, but opted into a recovery run with B. With a forecast of 35 degrees (feels like 26), I opted to sleep in my running clothes to make it a little easier to get out of bed in the morning. Excellent call.
Tuesday
Scheduled: 8ONB
Did: 6.25 @ 9:52/mi
My legs are still feeling Sunday's PR, so I scrapped my 8ONB for the day and ventured to a new part of the city to join a different ATC crew on their "Turkey Tune-Up" run, in preparation for the Thanksgiving Half. Most of the group was only doing ~3mi, so I was grateful for my friend Ino who volunteered to come early and get a second loop of the course done with me at 5:30am (I would not have run solo in that area otherwise).
It was great to run with a friend I don't see much anymore, especially since he knew the area. We ended up all over the place pace-wise: 10:21 warm-up mile (mostly due to treacherous hex tile sidewalk), 9:14 second mile, and then 9:46 third mile (return of the hex tiles and street crossings). On the second loop, we were joined by another friend (from W5K), who made the next 5K go by sooooo quickly.
The morning finished off with coffee and blueberry muffins, and, while I missed my normal crew and route, it was nice to change things up... and get a new pin on the #10KTuesday map.
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| not pictured, but still pinned: Dubai and Börtlingen |
Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Thursday
Scheduled: 1000m repeats of some variety during the Thanksgiving Half
Did: 13.1 @ 9:04/mi... a new PR
I arrived at Turner Field intending on fun running the half. I planned to start with the "sub-2 crew" (a group of ATC-ers who were hoping to pace one of our own to a sub-2/PR) for company, but expected them to leave me to my own devices within a mile, and for me to run the bulk of the race alone.
Instead, I had one of them walk up to me and say, "So, you're going to PR today, eh?"
"Um, no."
"Yeah, you are! I'm going to pace you to a PR!"
"Um... ok? I was kind of feeling a fun run. I did just PR at a 5K on Sunday.... I don't think trying to PR every race like Judy does is for me."
"You're totally gonna do it!"
"..."
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| ATC Fall Distance Crew |
Within a mile, the main trio of our "sub-2 crew" had gone ahead, and I had zero inclination to keep up with them. This was NOT my goal race. I stuck in with Courtney, a bit behind the main group, and Brad, the PR-instigator, running what felt comfortable- a little less than a 9:00 (!!!). Confident, I suppose, that Court and I would continue on, Brad dropped back to help some of our other friends who had slowed even more than us.
When we hit the first bit of hills leading into mile 4, the sub-2 crew got well ahead of me. I didn't care. I didn't want to run up those hills any faster than I wanted to run up those hills. ;) It was really nice to just run for me. While Courtney and I stayed "together", it was more like playing leapfrog. She'd get ahead on the uphills, and I'd catch her on the downs. We both knew this wasn't a goal for the other, and had no need to stick with each other.
Going into the park (about miles 6-7), I saw the sub-2 crew ahead of me. I didn't know it at the time, but I ended up passing them somewhere in the park. As we hit the worst part of the course (m8-11, 10th-->Juniper/Courtland-->Irwin), I found myself constantly hating running.
This sucks. Why am I doing this again? I thought this was supposed to be a fun run... It's not easy to run for fun when you know that everyone's going to ask about your time... and be able to look it up on the internet FOREVER. You're on target for a PR if you keep going. You're supposed to be a sub-2 runner. If you keep running, you should hit sub-2. Ugh. I don't want to keep running. I want to walk. Is it YOT5K yet? I can't wait until I only have to push for 25min...
I kept going, really only out of peer pressure/stubbornness, though. I really, really wanted to walk up the beast of a hill before m11, but I made myself keep going. What if you miss 2:00 by 10s? Won't you be sad? Yeah... yeah, I would.
I started counting down the miles at 8, and was beyond grateful when I hit the "less than a 5K" mark. I heard our Head Coach cheering for everyone as she rode the ATC ElliptiGo along the sidewalk, and that gave me a little boost as I rounded the corner of m11.
... and then I walked.
...and it felt so good. I've had so much pressure this season (all self-inflicted) to hit paces, to perform, to nail splits, to not walk, and it was a huge weight off my shoulders to let myself take a break on Oakland. It wasn't long, just a hundred paces, but it was enough to regroup and then continue on, knowing that, if I kept a 10:00, I would break 2:00.
It got really hot at mile 12. Really, the whole race was hot. The past few times I've run this one, it's been 18 and 26 degrees, respectively; this year was 56... at the start. Knowing I was probably going to hit a PR, I let myself take my tank top off for the last mile (I think I may have gone against my own creation of the "Aggregate Hotness Scale"; finish line pics will tell... >_<), and channeled my focus into my arms.
Arms are something I never engage for distance, even though I know I should. One of our fellow Run Leads always reminds me of this when I run near him, and, man, it makes a huge difference. I clocked sub-8/mi for the last 0.1 going into the finish.
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| m11 had the walking in it strong finish, thanks to my arms |
Chip time: 1:58:41... a 19s PR. :)
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| post-race celebrating with the #10KTuesday MarathonMusings crew <3 my training team |
Friday
Scheduled: strength
Did: 1.5mi walk with family
Saturday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 4 easy @ 9:17/mi
First run with Jerry in FOREVER! :) I felt really good clocking along at whatever my body would do (which was a sub-9 pace, btw), until about m2, when I had a little bit of tightness/soreness creeping up in the bottom of my left hamstring. It felt eerily similar to my calf strain from a few years ago (just in a different part of my body), so I iced the heck out of it when we got home... and didn't notice it the rest of the day.
Sunday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 3.71 @ 10:12/mi
Yep. I'm definitely injured. I felt okay enough this morning to go for a run, but, about a mile and a half into my run with Jody, the hamstring tightness/ball/soreness came back, and we turned around early. I iced and wrapped it for the rest of the day. I can walk without noticing it, but am pretty certain I've got a grade 1 strain and plan on taking about a week off from running to let it heal up. So much for starting strength training workouts next week...
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