My workout this morning was a fail. It was supposed to be 6 x 1.5 mi @ ~7:50/mi, something I was definitely capable of in my last training cycle. I wasn’t terribly excited about it going in. It was a tepid 76F with ~80% humidity (still zero runs below 70F this season). I’m on call this week, and the stress burden is real. I was also awake at 2 AM dealing with a patient issue. Still, I felt reasonably normal as I headed out to run.
The first interval went . . . okay. I got paged, and I felt like my cardiovascular system was really working, but it was reasonable. 7:44/mi ave.
The second one was harder, but I still held on to my pace. I took a gel before this one started thinking maybe it would help. 7:43/mi ave.
The third one I felt alarm bells going off in my body; I just felt DONE. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I just felt . . . kind of panicky. I didn’t just feel like I was working hard, I felt bad. And I looked down and saw that I wasn’t even running close to target pace at that point (~8:09) so uh . . . I gave up.
Did I go out too fast? Probably. Maybe I should have just done this workout at ~8:00/mi target for the intervals and really tried to stick to that.
Were my shoes too old? I mean, sure. I wore Asics MetaSpeeds but they have 331 miles on them and really, that is about 3x the mileage they are supposed to last for. Still, can’t just blame shoes. They’re still decently fast shoes!
Am I tired and in need of a break? Yeah, kind of. No matter how this race goes I am looking forward to a rest block! But now would not be the right time to take one, 4.5 weeks out from the race.
Am I also just not in the world’s best and fastest shape ever right now? Yep. I can own that.
I am not sure what I did “wrong” per se these past few months but I have not seen my fitness respond to the training like it did in the spring. I think my mileage was high enough but I’ve seen my average speed slump recently. I still think the whole “training through the summer” thing did me no favors.
Is nutrition a factor? EHHH, maybe. I could probably do better here in terms of cleaning up my day to day eating (more nutrients less Starbucks). But not sure what I can really do about that now.
I was a little down immediately after the failed workout but I’m already over it. I’ll try to take it as a learning opportunity and figure out what I can work on in the future. The journey matters more than the outcome anyway, not like I’m gunning for a medal!!
10 Comments
Sometimes bad workouts happen for no reason at all. You’re still doing great. This past week has been a lot and you are on call. Cut yourself some slack. You’re still a really good runner!
As a blog reader and runner I think stress overall is likely (definitely?) a factor. There is only so much available energy and for real adaptation to occur you need to have enough of it! Like you said, it’s ok 🙂 I bet if you get a good post marathon recovery block and life stuff settles down with the next training block you will see bigger gains. And- you’re def still kicking butt.
I’ve been there! I just came off a good marathon training cycle, but the one before that was so tough — I just always felt like I had some ache or pain, felt so tired throughout, and would have a swing of good and bad workouts. Then, I wasn’t thrilled with my race time, so tried to double down and race again a couple months later and ended up injured. Looking back, I was dealing with more life stress and running was the only way I was “taking care of myself” while nutrition, strength, and rest were less than ideal. I’m slowly learning to accept what my body and life gives me for each training block. Also, I’ve run 4 marathons and my 2 fastest both had one big cutback week in the midst of peak training. This last time it was 4 days off while at Disney. Not ideal on paper or coach recommended, but I think it helped me avoid burnout and remember that I’m doing this for fun, not for it to take over my life or as yet another “to do.” I hope the weather gets better for you and the happier side of running returns!
Stress! For sure the stress!!
Ditto to the stress. Also I wonder if you needed a longer period of reset/recovery after the last marathon. From the outside it didn’t seem like much of a break!
Also, in my experience, weeks 4 – 5 before the race are the hardest. You (I) feel simultaneously unprepared and totally over it. As long as Jacksonville has a reasonable temperature, I think you’re still going to have a great race. I few friends from my running group will also be there, so I’ll be cheering for you all 🙂
Haha I am def totally over it!! That is for sure.
So frustrating when you’re putting in the hard work and not getting the results you want! This made me think of all the research about deliberate practice and how energy intensive it is. Not just for athletes, but for creatives and knowledge workers and anyone challenging themselves to improve or produce something. You’re building a business and writing a BOOK and the energy output is huge, in addition to the physical training you’re doing.
Sounds like you need a break (or- at least a break from the heat! Sigh.) Remember it’s always better to go into a race a little undercooked than overcooked. You have SO MUCH going on right now, and this is a call week! Don’t stop running (obviously) but see if there’s any way you can get some extra rest. And, we’ll pray for cool weather on race day.
Maybe you are just a little burned out? I think a break will be wonderful, but I understand you’re going to push through now and not ‘waste’ all that work you put in.