December 22nd, 2010
If you had asked me a week ago how my training was going, I’d have said, “Great! I’m getting faster and feeling confident about the future.” Then I did the 5K on Saturday which did a big number on my head and heart.
The worse thing about that race was that 5k effort ended up pretty much what I’d assume my 10k pace to be. That’s a HUGE difference in perception and doesn’t make any sense considering my latest workouts. Even if the cold weather gave me a hit, it would only have been about 5 sec/mi. Needless to say, I’ve been feeling confounded and confused.
Fast forward to today, one of the hardest workout this cycle, approx. 10k at 10k pace. To be specific: 4 strides, then 4x ¾mi with 2 min. rec, 3x1000m with 90 sec rec, 2 x ½mi with 1 min rec. Plus warmup cooldown, it came out to 11 miles total, 7:40 avg. for the entire she-bang.
I did not want to do this workout. Beyond the fact that it’s a lot of fast running, what the hell is my 10k pace now, anyway? Is it what I called 15k pace in the last tempo run? Do I need to dumb down everything now? I’m not a control freak but I do like some logic and sense to what I’m doing and it seems there is none.
My heart was just not into it and I was thinking of blowing off all my workouts this week under the excuse of holiday crap, which would be a total lie because I don’t give a crap about holiday crap.
So I got dressed and messed around the apartment, wasting time to put off the inevitable suckfest. I went outside on the stoop ready to go, decided I didn’t need gloves or fleece headband and came back in, messed around some more, till finally biting the bullet. I even mentally prepared for not finishing the workout – that’s how negative I was. I figured I’d get about halfway through and call it a day.
As things go in my topsy-turvy running experience, the session ended up being fine from beginning to end, with no reason to cut it short and paces that were very consistent. I took a long warmup to get out of the windiest area, so 2.75 mi before hitting it.
Average interval pace was 6:47 which included a few splits into gusting headwind. Saturday’s 5k averaged 6:45/mi. Wish I knew what the hell that means but all I can come up with is WTF? Just one more race to put behind me. So many of those this year. Boo.
I suppose I can go back to feeling good about my progress. I guess. Eh, who knows?
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Yes. (you should go back to feeling good about your progress.) LOL at the procrastination before heading out. I know the feeling.
Sounds like one difference might be the warmup. Really helps me – though I’m definitely older and slower!
Slightly crap race. You might have been tired going in, or having some weird hormonal bump, or who knows. Don’t read too much into it. It looks like things are going swimmingly from here.
The one thing I’ve learned from different sports is that, in evaluating whether a training plan works, you have to look not at single performances, but at trends over a set period. Training is a long term endeavor, and the results take time to show.
If you have 2-3 month period of races all like this, then I’d do a “root cause analysis” (geek speak) of your training. But one race? You really can’t read anything from it.
Haven’t you counseled me along the way not to put too much stock in a disappointing race result. That’s especially true for a 5K, which you can run whenever the mood strikes. You had a bad race (with a cold), which is not reason to question an otherwise very solid training cycle. Relax, take a deep breath and stick with the program. Running does a lot for us, and one key thing is that it tests our faith: in training plans, in the sport, but – mostly, of course – in ourselves. I’ve had my share of such crises; there’s no good reason you need to follow suit.
Happy Holidays (or at least Happy Holiday Crap).
Best, ESG/Ron
Until I hear otherwise, I am choosing to believe that the 5K you ran was on a non-certified course and off by 150 meters or so. That explains it all in MY mind, anyway
Nice workout. Trying to run 10K pace today was killing me, I had to cut my own session down!
Any outsider can look at your training and know immediately that the 5K performance doesn’t fit how well your training has been going. Mystifying, honestly. We say this to each other all the time as runners, but it’s always worth repeating that you can’t let one “meh” race define you. Easy for me to say, huh? You’re the one still reeling in doubts and “WTF!!”‘s… oh boy, I’ve been there and it sucks!
Glad the 10K workout went well. A few more redemptive workouts like that and hopefully your confidence will be back where it deserves to be.
Yes, you can feel good again — that was an excellent session. The next 5k might be the one where you break 20. It’s hard to predict a big PR. They tend to just happen, often when least expected.
I know saying “it’s the weather!” sounds like a lousy excuse, but I think it cannot be discredited. The wind takes a LOT out of us. I wouldn’t think too much about the workout (I say as I sit at home, sulking about my workout last night, ha). Some are just spot on, some are…a little outside the lines. And since you say you didn’t want to do it in the first place, well, heck! You need a lot of luck on your side to make that work out in the end.
Merry Christmas, if that’s your thing!
Merry Christmas Flo!
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