Four weeks of training are officially dunzo! I may have a lot of nerves surrounding this race, but so far, training is going pretty darn well. This week was one of my better ones.
Stats:
- Number of workouts this week: 7! An interval run, a tempo run, a long run, two cross training session (walking and cycling), ab ripper x twice! Stellar!
- Total number of miles run so far during training: 80.6 (24.6 this week)
- Geronimo’s total number of miles this week: 2 (womp womp)
- Temperature on the coldest run: a pleasant 45 degrees
- Days until the marathon: 77
My only regret is that Geronimo didn’t get much running in. Part of that is due to the fact that he had an epic bath and brushing session. I wasn’t much in the mood for getting him dirty again right away. I’m sure that’ll change next week.
As for yesterday’s practice half…
Yesterday’s long run was supposed to be 12 miles run at marathon pace plus 45 seconds. Instead, I ran 13.1 miles as fast as I could in an attempt to simulate race conditions and see where I’m at in my training. My goal was to run it in 2:05, which would be a 9:33 average pace. That’s what I aimed for from the start.
Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 9:22
Mile 3: 9:28
Mile 4: 9:24
The first 4.5 miles, I felt amazing. It was such a beautiful day out (we are thankfully having more and more days like this!) that I just took in my surroundings and ran. I ended up running the total 13.1 miles in 3 different directions, making a y shaped course. In two of those directions, I ran further than I had before. I felt like this had a race-like aspect to it since I was running in places I never had before. It kept me distracted, but it also made for a tough, hilly course.
Mile 5: 10:07
Mile 6: 10:30 (<– death by hills)
Mile 7: 9:59
Oh, the hills. I love the rolling hills we have here in Bavaria, but I don’t think they love me back. After my taking a quick walking break to take some gu at 4.5, the hills started to roll, roll, roll. My legs started to cry, cry, cry. But I still had a great many miles before me. All I could do was run on.
From the halfway point onward, it was a battle of mental versus physical. My heart was still in it. I still wanted that 2:05. But my legs weren’t really interested in running much more, and my head kept saying things like, “I’m dying,” “This is killing me,” “I can’t keep going,” “Aaaargh!” (That last one was also definitely said out loud multiple times.)
Mile 8: 10:14
Mile 9: 10:05
Mile 10: 10:00
The final few miles were made easier because I had run by my house and dropped off the empty gu and water bottle I had been carrying. I knew that I just had to go a few more miles out and back and then I’d be done. My legs were getting tired tired tired by this point. I think it was muscle fatigue. They didn’t hurt, but they didn’t feel good. My right leg in particular was not happy with me. Perhaps I step too heavily with my right side.
- Mile 11: 9:21 (<–downhill!)
- Mile 12: 9:59
- Mile 13: 9:19
- Last .1 8:50 pace
I called Stephen when I only had one mile left. I asked him to stand out in front of the house and watch me run in to the finish. For some reason, I felt like if he was standing there, it would help me to run faster. Well, it made me want to run faster, but my body wasn’t feeling cooperative. At last, my Garmin hit 13.1 and the misery was over.
My run stats:
- 13.1 mile finish time: 2:08
- Average pace: 9:47 per mile
I am not totally sure what happened. Was 2:05 too ambitious? Did I go out too fast? Was it just the hills that did me in? My finish time wasn’t too far off of my goal, but I felt totally and completely spent afterwards. And there’s no way I could have run any more than that.
2:08 is by no means slow. And again, it’s not that far off of my goal time. But I kind of hate it. The last time I ran a 2:08 half was almost exactly a year ago. It was a PR at the time. And I finished that race feeling great. I am finding that the best thing I can do is not compare where I am now to where I have been previously. Easier said than done. It still stings. I have been training hard and consistently. Shouldn’t I be reaping the rewards of my speed work? Or am I reaping the rewards and this is the best I am capable of? It certainly was yesterday.
I’m trying to remind myself that marathon pace is 10:00. Had I run 13.1 miles at that pace, I’d like to think I wouldn’t be feeling so tore up and that I would have had the energy to go a few more rounds. Plus, the marathon is still months away with a tons of training ahead. Other positives: I’m healthy, my body lets me put it through this bologna week after week, and I live in a gorgeous location that makes the yuck of running a little less.
I’m glad I practiced. It didn’t quite give the confidence boost I was aiming for, but it did give me the experience I needed. And from here I can try to make improvements so that when March rolls around, I’m ready.
I’m going to learn from this week and move on to the next. Sally forth!*
I know it wasn’t quite your goal pace, but great job! I’m super impressed at your dedication. I would never have been able to simulate race conditions.
Thanks. It really wasn’t that bad, but for what ever reason (my high expectations, my perfectionist nature) I feel so crummy about this run. Blargh. But I shall now high five myself for running in race conditions per your congratulations.*
You deserve a high five! I would never have had the discipline. Also, you will have more adrenaline and crowd support on race day, which would probably decrease your time a little.
Don’t beat yourself up!! Running in Germany is a lot different than running in Texas… keep that in mind
You know, that was the one thing I had not considered. Just keep reminding me how hard it is to run here; it makes me feel a lot better!*
A great week of workouts! Hey, 3 minutes off your goal isn’t bad, especially with hills! And all that hill training will do ya good
Thank you! I’m anti-hill running but I know that it’s good for me in the long run. Blah!*
You know, sometimes we just have a crummy run. Some days we set out with high hopes and feel like death; other times we set out feeling like death and end up having a great run. It doesnt make much sense, huh? I know it’s easy for me to say, ‘don’t feel bad’ (because you really shouldn’t feel bad) however, I’ve felt similarly after a run, and it sucks. It’s hard to not reach your goals. However, with every bad run, there are MANY good ones. Hopefully the next run will be confidence boosting for you. It’s so easy to over think things and get worked up over numbers….that’s exactly why I ditched my Garmin. I’m not suggesting you do the same, but I am saying that I can totally relate to your feelings. Oh and also, the hills definitely suck, but they will make you stronger. Come marathon day, you’ll be able to tackle the scariest of hills with ease.
Hang in there!
Thank you thank you thank you! I think this run falls in the category of crummy, fo’ sho’. Not just because it was a little slow, but I just felt so haggard for the entire second half of the run! But it is a good reminder to remember those runs that started out crappy and ended up being great. (As I’ve had quite a few!)*
Great job Amy. One thing to remember – as good a job as you did you can never really recreate race conditions. The competitors, the crowd and the adrenalin will give you something extra. You are doing great. Keep it going!!
That’s an excellent point! I’m pretty competitive, so sometimes just the presence of other runners or the crowd can help me push it a little more than I did running by myself. Thanks for the encouragement!*
I agree with pwhent. I do practice 5Ks or 5-milers all the time, and I still do better at actual races than I do in practice, no matter what. I always run faster at races than I think I could ever run, period. I think there’s something about the atmosphere of an actual race, crossing the start line, and being surrounded by other runners that really gets the adrenaline going. So I bet when you do an actual half-marathon race, that you’d be able to hit your time goals much more easily. Is the KF Marathon course going to be hilly, by the way? Because those hills you ran in practice can really make a huge difference, too!
I don’t know if the marathon will be hilly. The website doesn’t have tons of information, and it’s in German. I’ve used the magic of Google to translate it, but it’s not a perfect translation. From what I’ve read, I don’t think the course is hilly, but one man’s flat is another man’s hilly, ya know. I agree that the hills training will only help me, though. And since I’m surrounded by ‘em, I shall continue to run on ‘em!*