2013 training has been interesting. Ironman training kinda ruins you for future training, shorter trainings never seem long enough and that can turn into frustration. While it might not be perfect, I think I'm finally on the right track.
Two weeks before the St. Luke's Half Marathon I ran my longest run since last summer at 14 miles, and for once in a long time felt pretty strong. Had a couple good training runs mid-week as well. Race day came up fast. While long run-wise I was on track, my actual training was not up to par. Lack of speed work, barely getting in 2 runs per week, slow times...recipe for disaster. But I tried to adopt the attitude to just have fun and not put so much pressure on myself on race day. It went fairly well, not a PR, but not my worst time by a longshot. I smiled and cheered for friends and thanked volunteers. The posse all had great races, and I couldn't have been happier to share in all of that. And I got to run with a TNT friend for a lot of the race, Jackie, who totally kept my spirits up and me focused.
I was reminded to always respect the race distance. A lot of people have asked if 13.1 miles was not enough. In theory, yes of course in comparison it seems a lot shorter. But, I have always been of the school of thought that you should always respect the race distance because each distance is challenging in it's own way. It's true. My lack of speed prep was apparent on race day, and the last 3 miles my legs were shot. But I dug deep and of course forced myself to continue on. To everyone, some race will be very challenging. And I totally respect that. St. Luke's was a good reminder to me to respect every race I do. While I could muscle one out most of the time, to actually race well always requires training and a plan. We all need to be grounded sometimes.
A week later I did a 38 mile ride, my longest to date which again seems like not enough. But the hills were a challenge and I really enjoyed it, with good company of course (Doreen).
While I might not have done great with a plan consistently this year, I'm reminded of how challenging training for any distance can be when life gets in the way. But the best thing is that I'm enjoying it, and know I'm finally getting out of that funk and moving on to better things.
Time to get back on the horse. Not sure what snapped me back into action, even though it has been gradual. Maybe the warmer temps and sunshine. Maybe I just really needed some down time, and my body was trying to tell me. Who knows. All I know is Andrea is finally getting her groove back, and it's about dang time.
No comments:
Post a Comment