Stay on Target

Yesterday I went on the easiest run of my life. I jogged 10 miles at such an easy pace I barely broke a sweat. I am having such a hard time recovering from my track workout at the beginning of the week that I am going to take a full 2 days off after my run tonight. I have developed a rib and back injury (it bugs me, but doesnt stop me from training) from riding my bike. This happens every year, I know better. I forget that being in great running shape does not translate over to the bike. I am sort of hobbling and hanging in there right now. With my final race of the summer just 2 weeks away I need to take 2 days off, rest up for my final week of hard training, knock it out of the park, taper a little bit, race and be done with it. This mountain bike obsession is tough to handle. Next week Wednesday I do my last difficult workout of 3x2miles@race pace with 5 minutes in between. This will predict if I will be ready to roll on race day or not. We will see. I need to lose this rib thing first. 9 more miles for the week, 2 days off and then the beast returns. Here is to holding things together with spit and duct tape. Egad.

Duality

I love my mountain bike. I feel that biking is the closest thing an adult can do to feel like a kid again. Maybe dancing falls into that same category too who knows. When the mountain bike comes out of garage each year a nagging battle begins inside my head between the runner and the biker. The biker likes it hard, fast and without limits. The runner gradually builds endurance, speed, and slowly arrives at his/her peak. I am in the middle of moving towards my peak, but I need to remind myself to be careful here. I get such an emotional charge out of being on my bike that I wind up damaging myself making it more difficult to run. With an entire year dedicated to training for different racing distances it leaves little time for the aggressive biker to come out and play. My mantra this week is 'stay on target, stay on target.' I think next year I might try to mix up my training and racing to include a 50 -100 mile mountain bike race or xterra type off road tri into the mix. I feel it calling me. I can still build my base all winter race in the early spring, ride hard all summer and train for a fall race without burning out or breaking a limb... right?

Officially Summer

I am having the best week. Yeah, I bonked out on a run on Wednesday, but I learned a good lesson. I ran a great track workout on Monday night, had a nice easy trail laced run, a nice 10 mile run, and I have been doing some easy biking everyday with my kiddos. I need to make sure the next 3 weeks are filled with nutrients, rest and easy days. I am excited to hit those big key runs coming up with all my might. I am in the groove and loving it right now.

Me Bonk You Long Time

Last night I experienced the most intense Bonk of my life. Definition of Bonk: The feeling of weakness caused in a drop in blood sugar during extended physical activity. Also know as 'the sags', 'the knock' and 'hit the wall, hitting the wall'. I have been having issues with managing my nutrition and 9 miles into my 13 mile run I ran head first into a wall. This normally does not happen on a run of this length but I was not prepared to go on a medium distance run on a reduced calorie diet. I made the mistake of thinking that my 10k training cycle required far less carbohydrates than my previous 25k training cycle did. I guess I was wrong. Normally I would be feeling crushed by a failed run and having to walk the last 3 miles, but in reality I feel pretty good about what happened. The writing is on the wall so to speak, and every opportunity I have to learn a major lesson I need to listen carefully. In 6 weeks when marathon training begins and the medium distance runs become a little longer and the 3 hour long distance runs begin I am going to address this issue like a scientist. If I am going to successfully run 26 miles, I am going to have to learn how to train my body to efficiently use energy and also how to properly eat on the run. Now for the good part.. I ran the first 10k a little bit slower than MP, and felt so strong in the hills that I ran a negative split for the last 3 miles of that section. The track sessions and the higher threshold training have been working. All this track work is going to make me a better long distance runner. Here is to learning how to eat. Here is the first part of the run followed by the bonk.. This is what a bonk looks like This is what the other 6.2 looked like

I'm Back

Last night I ran my first workout in weeks where I felt like I was back to 100%. 2 miles @ 6:07 pace followed by 3x1 mile @ 5:55 - 6:06 pace. My workout called for 4x1mile but I got a late start and was running out of daylight by the forth repeat. After last week, I am happy to be able to finish a workout without feeling exhausted and defeated. I am inching closer to getting my stride back. I can feel my stride becoming comfortable, more natural and effortless. I have been feeling clunky for the last year or so. I think the weekly track workout really helps sort out issues with my body mechanics. I am also getting closer to running the prediction times that point towards my goal pace. I have almost 4 weeks left of the 10k training cycle and hope to hit a post 35 pr at the Reeds Lake Run at the end of the month. If this happens I will be thrilled, If not, I have to realize that I can only improve so much in a season and to take it all in stride.

Feeling Flat

I don't know what it is but I have been feeling flat all week. I am finding it really difficult to recover from Monday's 5k and have missed quite a bit of training this week. We did have a virus go through our family, one that I thought I avoided. My legs are mushy, and I need to get back to work soon. I have decided to make the Reeds Lake 10k at the end of the month my final 10k for the season. My reason being that I am going to get into the pool, and onto my mountain bike for two weeks before I start marathon training in the middle of July. I need a real rest before I start running all those miles again. My body has been cooperating with me for the last 16 months and now I think I need to give it back a little love. One month to go. I did go and do a modified track workout on Saturday a 2400 1000 800 400 CD ladder just to get in some turn over. I felt pretty good but it was hot and I really did not want to push myself. Back to business as usual starting on Monday. For sure.

Time To Get SERIOUS

Racing in the heat does not do much for me. I did not expect to run a PR in the 90 degree Chicago heat, so before I even started to race I chalked this run up as a training workout. One thing that I gained from this weekend was that I am in better shape than I thought I was. As I watched Hs cross country boys pass out and vomit 1 and a half miles into the race (we were only running 6:20 pace) I realized that I have built a pretty strong and stable running base in the last 4 months. PRs come on perfect days following perfect weeks of training. I have to remember that you sometimes need to look deeper into your runs and see other goals that are being met. The heat, and running in the heat has always been a problem for me. I know this, so I am starting to run one of my runs per week at the heat of the day. One of my goals for the summer is to learn to embrace the heat, and try to understand how my body runs in the heat and not always be trying to master it. Its like learning to run at a faster pace, if you don't train at sub 6 minute miles you are never going to run sub 6 minute miles. I am trying to condition myself to stop thinking about the PR as much as thinking about having the best run for the given conditions. Today also marks the beginning of Time to get serious mode. I have cut my mileage for the past 2 weeks since River Bank and now its time to start slowly building it back up so that in July I can start my high mileage marathon training with a good base. Next up, the Reeds Lake 10k June 30th.