10/13/11
6 miles
*3 x 1200 @ 10K pace…a mini speed session.
I was winded during Tuesday’s tempo run (3 miles at 8:00 pace). Breathing labored, wishing the run was over, and hating life. That kind of run. I kept thinking how the hell am I going to run faster than this next month (at the Philly Half)? And…how out of shape did I manage to get in 4 short weeks post-marathon?
My 4 weeks after the Lehigh Valley Marathon looked like this:
Week 1 – race a half marathon (bad idea)
Weeks 2 and 3 – take it easy because of bad idea (and by “take it easy” I did run…just 2-3 times a week and nothing over 6 miles)
Week 4 – 34 miles of easy runs
I’m not out of shape. Seeing it written out in black and white makes it more clear. You’re supposed to rest after a marathon, lay off the speed work, and just enjoy not training for a bit.
BUT…
It took me sooo long to get my speed to this point, I’m terrified of losing it. I worked so hard and I want to further build on the foundation that I have now.
So I made it back to the track today to prepare for the Philly Half. I’m staying away from the crazy speed work I once did (running until my lungs screamed). For now, 10K pace is adequate and will allow me to improve and maintain, which is all I can really ask for.
AND I’m chalking that tempo run up to a bad run day. Yep, just like a bad hair day.
Have you ever been afraid of losing fitness, endurance, speed, etc. after a race that you trained months for? I must admit, I’m a little nutso about it right now.
I always feel so slow after a long distance event (like a 50K) that I get terrified that I’ve lost all my speed. I’m sure I’ll feel that same way after the 50 miler!
I’m also afraid I’ll lose my running mojo after baby #2, but that’s a whole separate topic 🙂
That’s a very real fear!
I had an injury last fall/winter that left me running 2 miles and feeling pain. Now I am back up to 8 miles and training for a half. At times it can be scary worrying about having another injury or losing my endurance.
But it’s really out of my control – so I try my best to not instill too much paranoia!
Yes, I do worry about losing what I’ve gained, but I try to see each part of the process as “part of the deal.” Peaking for a race means I’ll be really fit and doing impressive workouts. If I attempted the same workout a few weeks after my goal race, odds are I probably couldn’t even do it and, if I did, my times would be much slower. Same things goes for when I start to train for a goal race. In mid-July, I did 3 x 1 mile, my first workout back from NJM. I think it was 7:45, 7:55, 8:02 and it was hard as hell and I took about 5 minutes in between each it was so rough. This past Tuesday I did 6 x 1 mile and 7:45 felt easy. So, I just see it as all part of the deal. Whatever speed you built for LVM is still in you. Its not lost. It’ll just take some training again to uncover it and you’ll probably even be faster than before once you start peaking again.
Lauren (Fleshman) gave a good answer about taking time off on her website – here’s the link – hope it resonates with you! http://asklaurenfleshman.com/questions/2010/05/31/how-much-time-should-i-take-off/
Thanks Meggie! I listened to Lauren’s video comment and that is pretty much what I did – took 2 weeks “off” and slowly started back. I guess I’m just easily discouraged 🙂 But it’s nice to hear Lauren say it since she’s pretty much a rockstar!
oh yeah – when I get freaked out about thinking I’m regressing/plateauing/losing everything I’ve gained, I listen to that video! Right now its easy for me to say as I’m getting to my peak, but in july when certain paces felt so hard, I was like “omg! what has happened to me!” I always need a voice of reason to calm me down.
Hey, I actually did! But the good news is that it took me WAY longer than a few weeks, I was not in the shape you are now (EVEN CLOSE) and I’m slowly getting back what I did lose. I am still somewhat kicking myself for allowing it to occur, but maybe it was for the best. I appreciate every small victory now – even more than I did when I achieved them the first time.
Today my pace was not amazing either but you know what not every day are we going to break records or be at the same and we can’t expect to me. just because you were “slower” than you wanted to be this week does nto mean you lost your speed. resting now is soo important, i think that you will actually be more likely to lose speed by not resting when you should. don’t worry lady you are an amazing speedster listen to that body of yours and it will be fine. can’t wait to see you at philly 🙂 i would run some of it with you but i could never keep up lol
The worst was when I was injured for months last year. It was really hard to come back. EVERYTHING felt difficult. However, I have run some of my best shorter races after a peak race so i guess I don’t worry that much about losing fitness after a specific race but I am usually able to start up running pretty quickly and feel great. Steamtown really killed my legs so coming back has been slower than ever..and i do admit that freaks me out…a bit..
totally have been there! Like all the time. I think we tend to read in to bad workouts, or just workouts that were a lot harder than we should think. But you’ve put in the work, so be confident in your speed and abilities! Chalking things up to a bad day and moving on is the best way to go. 🙂