90% Goal: 50:00
50% Goal: 47:45
10% Goal: 47:00
Result: 48:11
Weather: 72 degrees, partly sunny, 93% humidity
Training:
Nick Wills' Miler Method Basecamp
Not the most intense training, but a good mix of stimuli: hills, tempo, track, etc.
Had a lot of longer runs that were faster than expected, but only a single 20min tempo run that I can remember really pushing myself on.
Pre-Race:
My head hasn't been in this race for the past two weeks, thanks to a lot of personal stress. Last night, I had a bit of a tight spot in my calf that feeling a bit anxious. I was glad to have my family coming along too (husband and kiddo ran the 5K with a stroller). We arrived at the 5K start, and then I took the train up to the 10K start (it's a one-way race with the 5K race being the second half of the 10K course and starting 30min earlier).
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| pretty sweet bib number, eh? |
It's been awhile since I've been at a running event solo, and I was happy to find a few familiar, friendly faces before the race. Did a short warm-up, and then headed to the start, lining up about midway between the 7:00 and 8:00 flags. I was happy to run into a few other ATC runners and chat with them before the gun went off.
Race: I had it in my head that this course was downhill and flat, with a couple small hills. As soon as we turned onto Peachtree (~1/4mi in), I was met with a giant hill. WTF.
"Alright, just get to the top, and then it's downhill from there."
Nooooope. Mile after mile, I found myself climbing hill after hill. The course was definitely "Atlanta flat", but inclines that are NBD on an easy run seem like mountains when you're racing.
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| Those 50' climbs were so discouraging. |
I had a hard time gauging what a good pace would be. Were there more hills? Should I be saving some energy? What pace could I reasonably keep for the last five miles? I had no idea.
Mile 1: 7:27 This felt fast, but manageable. If only the sun would go away...
Mile 2: 7:38 I found myself pretty alone in the field except another woman, and we kind of held onto each other for a mile and a half, using each other as pacers, almost. Just keep going. Just keep going.
Mile 3: 7:26 I remember thinking how great it would be to see my teammate (who was waiting at the 5K mark), and that I was actually doing pretty well. If I held this pace, I would hit mid 46-- a HUGE improvement.
5K: 23:12 (PR = 22:48) I remember feeling awesome about this split. I still felt like I could have been carrying on a conversation the whole time up to this point, and it made me happy to think that, had this been a 5K, I could've been done much sooner without having to save so much for the next 5K.
Mile 4: 7:30 This is where it got hard. I kept thinking "alright, the flat/downhill part has to be around here SOMEWHERE, right?", but it never came. There was just one hill after another. I was singing in my head at this point, reminding myself of my teammate's words "make it count" and "give it your all", and just trying to start counting down the miles. That was harder now, because my watch GPS was off (and ahead) from the course. I was clicking up a solid tenth of a mile too early, and that was demoralizing.
Mile 5: 8:02.Here's where the breakdown happened. I hated running in the sunlight. My entire body was feeling warm, and I found myself desperately wishing I wasn't wearing a shirt. Was I overheating? Was this heat stroke? Did I need to slow down? ...or was this just what running this fast for this long was supposed to feel like? I had another teammate waiting for me "around mile 5" that kept me going, but i was already wanting to slow down by time I saw her. As soon as I turned the corner, there was another hill. Out of her sightline, i let myself walk. "Just 100 paces", I told myself, "and then you're running again". I probably only needed 50, but the temptation to use the full allotment was too great. By the time I started running, I'd put myself out of contention for a PR. There was no way I could make up that much time.
Mile 6: 7:23/mi avg This stretch just didn't end. I kept frantically looking for the 5K's 3mi marker, and then, after that, the joint finish line. Telling myself "it's just one lap on the track" didn't help. The heat, humidity, hills, and, maybe more than anything, sunlight, got to me.
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| Last 0.22mi grey= pace, green= elevation see how much that little bit of incline broke my heart and slowed my pace? |
I struggled in across the line, so very thankful to be done.
Reflections:
I'm disappointed that I took that walk break. Without it, I'm sure I would have PRed. Especially now, looking back at my mile splits, I can't help but say, "seriously, did you actually NEED to walk? You were doing GREAT."
I knew it during my tempo training run, and I definitely thought a lot about it on today's run: I need more tempo runs in my life. I can perform really well in track workouts, but my level of execution for tempo mileage is lagging really far behind. While I might be able to eek out something good for a 5K, the middle and longer distance runs are still tough for me. I'd much rather "make it hurt" for a short duration than "make it uncomfortable" for a longer one.
There have been very few times in this training cycle where I've really pushed myself very far out of my comfort zone. That's exactly why today shook out the way it did. Just following a training plan isn't enough, I need to find the right one for me that will train my weaknesses and preserve my strengths, and then I need to execute it. That's still something I'm learning.
While I still believe a lack of tempo runs is what did me in today, I can't forget that I've had some serious life stress outside of my running reality. As much as I'd like to believe it doesn't affect my runs, I'm sure it did.
Another thing I probably need to consider is doing some running after sunrise. 4:30 and 5am runs are great... until you're racing in full sunlight. I struggled a little at Peachtree, and definitely today, due to weather conditions being so different than what I train in. Perhaps a single afternoon run is something I should add in for my next cycle?
It's been a long time since I've actually raced- just about a year, in fact, since the West End Mile. I've realized just how few people actually try to "race" races in my extended running friends group. A lot of us run races, and train for "PRs", but it's rare to find someone who seeks to push themselves outside of their comfort zone. I'm still learning how to do this myself, but I'm always intrigued by how many different things different people get out of running. Whatever you want running for in your life, there's a way to make that happen.
What's Next:
Taking a week off from anything real, and then looking for a fast fall 5K while training up for an actual half marathon attempt on Thanksgiving (not mentally ready to say I'm racing it, but maybe I can make it more of tempo run than I've ever been able to do at that distance). Definitely need to find a way to incorporate more hill repeats and tempo runs into my "easy mileage" as I look for my next training plan too.
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