I concede, my form needs to change in order to successfully race downhill road races. I was in 3rd for the first 7 miles and 34 minutes through 10k and then things just fell apart. My quads were totally blasted and generally I just couldn't keep it going. Ended up running 6-7 min pace with some stops to re-tie my shoe and use the bathroom. I picked it back up the last mile to help train my body to run fast when tired. Idk, I think downhill half marathons are just not my thing. Slower today than when I had runners gut and when I was sick, my quads just couldn't handle it. Which sucks, but I think if I do some cadence work and start jump roping daily I might be able to fix it. I also think racing 3 half marathon, 2 10ks, downhill mile, 5k, and bonking while pacing a marathon was just way too many races in the last 3 months. But it's good, the importance of fixing my over striding is now very clear to me. It's not something I can ignore anymore and I'm going to start working on it, that will help me protect my joints and tendons as I age too. Besides the race going poorly I had a really fun morning, met some cool people and got to see a lot of other cool people I've met at other races. Kolten and I carpooled up to the start which was a lot of fun. My sister in law Justine ran and my brother and his fam came to watch her finish. And I had lots of chocolate. On some level I'm just happy I can have a day where I run 19 miles and consider it fun, that's a pretty special place to be in terms of fitness and health. |