First, thank you for all of the kind sentiments regarding yesterday’s 10k. You guys are knowledgeable and so very kind. Based on your thoughtful comments and the passage of time, I have a better grip on my emotions and can pinpoint the cause of the disappointment I feel. Here goes:
In life in general and sport in particular, client meetings, games, races, matches, tests, etc. are a reflection of the preparation for such an event. The more you put in (assuming good execution and everything else being equal, like health, weather, etc.) the more you get out of it. Yesterday’s result was not terrible, however, the preparation for it was very sub par. That is why I am so pissed off. I kind of half-assed it, believing that with 2 team workouts per week, plus some moderate efforts on my own would carry the day. WRONG. I’m not talented at this, so I need to grind harder than your average bear. Meaning I’ve got to put in work. In short, I NEED TO SUFFER to force adaption to drive good performances. Bottom line is that I have not suffered in the last 6 weeks. I came out of a 6-month building cycle (September 2009 – March 2010) of 170+ miles/mo. and dropped to 130 in April 2010 and probably even on pace for fewer miles in May 2010. The rationale for doing so is legitimate. Knowing what’s coming in mid-July thru November, it makes sense to back up for a while. The rub is that my race expectations did not back up to reflect this “rest” period. The result is yesterday … disappointment.
The upside to this is that I’ve seen this movie before. This blog and my newfound seriousness in running is the direct result of racing disappointment experienced in August 2009 at the NYC Half. Piss poor preparation (really, just ignorant of what it took) yielded a like result: 2:13. Post race, I was equally pissed off after coming to the same realization as I have in the last 24 hours. I didn’t prepare and I NEED TO SUFFER to improve. Yes, I’ve made strides since August, but the only way I will see measurable gains going forward is ramping up the intensity again to another level. I’m mindful of what my body can take in terms of mileage, but the time is now to start adapting to a more intense regimen. Today it started:
If you are a long-time reader of this blog, you can probably guess what the last 24 hours have been like for me: grumpy, antsy and chomping at the bit to hit the roads again to vent. I didn’t have ice cream like Ian recommended, but I did have a tasty burger and Brooklyn Lager. I purposely stayed up “late” (11:30pm) to force my body to sleep thru the night. It kind of worked as I awoke at 4:17am and tossed for another hour or so until I jumped up at 5:30am. With java and a Cheerios down the gullet, it was time to hit it. Smartly, I ran from the apartment knowing that I could not hammer it off the jump or I’d get pancaked by a truck, so the first mile was a rationale warm up at 8:53. It was during mile 2 where I started reliving the race and the anger that it generated. I knew it was coming and knowing I was putting in ok mileage today, I HAD to keep it in check. Mile 2 = 7:58. I’m angry, but not stupid so I got it together on a long uphill coming from the southern portion of the Bridle Path back to the Reservoir for mile 3 (8:10) and hovered in that area for most of the run.
To train my brain to stop sending signals that I need water or supplements, I didn’t stop for either until mile 8 and only because I had additional miles to pick off. I wasn’t thirsty, but I thought 8 miles was acceptable to take a quick break for fuel, provided that I do what I intended to do for the balance. I regained the same pacing for the next 3 miles and then decided it was time to train the brain that it is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY unacceptable to not push the body at the end of a run/race. I dropped it to expected 10k pace. Mile 12 = 6:50. Overall, 12 miles at 8:10 pace. Going forward, all runs will end with some variation of today’s theme: hard progression of at least 10k pace.
It hurt and it was supposed to … the suffering has begun.