Of Mice and Marathons

AM: Northeast Roader Runners Winter 10k. Not a great time for me, but I raced a bit today which was the point. I thought I could run between 35:30-36:00 but not today.

The course is an out and back along the Schuykill River Trail on Boat House Row.

Warmed up 4 miles, changed into flats and did some strides. Felt really good. First mile we took off and I was in 4th or 5th, but moved into second. Effort felt fine, form felt smooth. Hit mile 1 in 5:35, which was too fast but I honestly felt fine. Kept 1st place within striking distance and listened for folks behind me. Tried to keep relaxed and focus on my breathing. Felt like a hard tempo (comfortable but definitely not easy). I maintained my distance on first, but this was probably a mistake because he was slowing and I was slowing and not realizing it because I didn't have my pace on.

Around mile 3 I heard footsteps and the guy behind me started to move up. I figured the leader wasn't going to last so I waited to see what the guy behind me would do. We went into the turn around (~18:00, WTF!?!) and he went by me and took the lead. I then passed the second place guy and traded places with the leader. I could see his shoe was untied, which he stopped to tie around mile 4 or so. I went into the lead but felt dirty about it so I slowed up a bit. We had a decent amount of headwind on the way back, and after catching back up to me he sat right on my shoulder for a while. I threw in some surges mostly to see where my own legs were. He took the lead back at some point.

With a mile to go I took the lead back and tried to break him at 3/4 and 1/2 to go (I even ran through some runners coming the other way to use them as human shields. Not sure if this is kosher, but I think it's funny and they were in the way of my tangents). I could see the final straightway and tried to pour it on. Well, he waited and kicked and I lost confidence and lost the race by a handful of seconds.

I did okay racing today, but I still race like an amateur. Part of the problem is a lack of mental toughness and part of the problem is a lack of opportunity. I get a real racing opporunity maybe once or twice a year.

Much work to be done in the next 6 weeks, but I'll get there.

I didn't take splits because I decided to race and get an update or two from the scant number of clocks they had on the course (I had quarter mile markers though, which was nice). But these are from Strava. A really "good" regression race: 5:35, 5:46, 5:52, 5:53, 6:01, 6:00. With a more sensible start I probably could have hung out in the mid to upper 5:40s.

1 mile cool down before awards, which were a waste of time and I should have finished a proper cool down. It was snowing and I wanted to make sure Megan and I got home.

PM: Treadmill - 4 miles. Core work after.

AM/Lunch: 7.5 miles easy. Icy in places, lots of water in others. Jumped four deer near the Poseidon Statue.

PM: 5.4 miles easy. Stretching and weights. Icy in spots and wet in others. Almost fell 4-5 times today and avoided skating into two intersections.

A little sore from yesterday in the quads and IT area, the fact and placement of which is atypical (but symmetrical).

AM/Lunch: 7.25 miles easy.

Still sore. I've never been sore after a 10k. Probably means I need more doubles and mileage.

PM: Treadmill - 6.5 miles easy. Did some strides. They felt good. Stretching after.

Another round of snow/sleet/crap. 40+ degrees in the 10-day forcast. Can't wait.

AM: Treadmill - 7 miles very easy. Light core session after.

PM: Treadmill - 6.5 miles very easy + strides

After feeling very sluggish this morning I wore my HR monitor this evening. It told me what I needed to know. Have to slow down a bit. If I need to run 8:30 pace that's what Im going to do. Doesn't usually take this long to recover though.

Late: rolled out my legs. A few spots hurt, my hamstring tickled. I got after it a bit. Feel great. We shall we see what morning brings.

Lunch: Treadmill - 7.5 miles w/ 4-mile LT tempo @ 6:05

6 inches of snow this morning and still falling. Kind of a crappy workout but I pushed through it. Waiting to feel good again. Not sure if I will run later today or just rest. Running is not going super well but I'm plugging along.

PM: Treadill - 5 miles

Lunch: 7 miles. Pretty much every variety of snow/slush/water/ice you can think of. My least favorite is kitty litter (the stage when snow is just before slush but it is loose and not hard packed). 40-55 degrees throughout the 10-day forecast after that!

PM: Off. Mileage is fine this week though. Assuming I am out of bed before 11:30 tomorrow, I'l get in two runs. Hoping the sun works it's magic on the roads for Sunday, which will be my first of a couple 5k-paced workouts to try to see if I can break the 17 minute mark. Probably not enough time and I will need at least two 5ks to do it, but I'll see what I can do after the peak of spring racing season if I can't get where I need to be before then.

PM: 6.75 miles. The first 3.75 with Megan. Did a few strides after.

Decent week for mileage but no runs over 7.5 miles is not great. Roads will be clearing up this week for some workouts and time on my feet.