Disappointing 10 Mile Race
Today was a gray, overcast day, about 70F, 21C and I had a 10 mile race in Montpelier. What I feared about my slacking during the month since my marathon, came to fruition, my legs felt dead, I had nothing. I averaged 9:33 miles for the race, I ran the first 20 miles of my marathon last month at a faster pace. Although, I’ve been playing basketball, playing tennis, and bicycling, my legs weren’t ready to race. As the race progressed it soon became apparent that I wouldn’t come close to the time I had hoped for, instead I needed to concentrate on not finishing DFL. Today my fastest mile was only 8:44, while 2 of my miles were slower than 10:00. It’s almost as if I’m starting at square 1. One positive thing came from my poor effort, when some age group winners failed to show, they gave away barbeque sauce to people in reverse order of finish. My passing 2 people during the last mile almost kept me from the prize, but I was able to snag the last bottle of sauce.
During the summer I’m only planning to run 3X a week. One run will be hill repeats, a second will be a tempo run of ~7.5 miles, with the middle 5.5 miles being fast, and my last run will be a long run between 12-18 miles. I have another race, a 5K on July 4th. With my abysmal showing today it looks as if my 5K PR is out of my reach.
June 28, 2008 at 11:43 am
It is CRAZY just how fast we can loose the level of training we need to compete in certain events! Although…dieting down to compete in bodybuilding leave you with VERY little strength…so i’m actually gaining some of that back now! BUT…if I take too long off of cardio training I go back to square 10 really fast!! (I would say square 1…but at a certain level of fitness….it takes awhile to go back that far…phew!)
Are you still doing the July 5th race dispite that you feel you wont finish as well as you would like??
June 29, 2008 at 3:36 am
No, no, no, do not think that way…For over a year I have been chasing my 5K PR time…its there, I can feel it, some race days are just like what you’ve described….Think of it as a training run. A lesson learned…each time I hit the road/treadmill I try to take something away…I still (mentally) try to give up when I know I will not get my 5K PR, but I am learning to push those negative thoughts out of my head. Sometimes its not the legs its the mind we have to train. Did you watch any of the Olympic Trials? That 10,000M was an exciting race!
June 29, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Oh, Michael, please don’t be disappointed in your time - fitness is transient and remember, you’re coming off a marathon!! It’s normal to go up and down, but focus on the overall picture and realize that you are way fitter and faster now then you were a few years ago!! Your fitness will undoubtedly return, but for now just enjoy the summer and the fun runs ahead!!