*sigh*. Bless Julie for her patience and for being so cool. That's all I have to say about my running this morning. What was to be a 10 miler turned into an 8 miler, and yours truly needed to start walking after only 3 miles. Here are the splits, you can be the judge of how much this morning sucked for me:
mile 1: 8:24 (fastest pace 7:07! ack! too fast Heather, you started too fast!)
mile 2: 8:27
mile 3: 9:26
mile 4: 10:29 (here comes the walking!!)
mile 5: 11:23 (even more walking!)
mile 6: 12:12 (seriously probably walked most of this one)
mile 7: 10:43 (suck suck suck)
mile 8: 12:46 (we did walk the last half mile as a cool down)
I felt like a bit of an ass for throwing myself out there for a ten (even eight) miler. Yes, I did a 7 miler last week, but at a pace about 3 minutes slower per mile than what I normally run. And I did a 6 miler a few weeks ago, but that was a few weeks ago. What the heck was I thinking? Oh, and fyi, regarding my last post, I didn't take a darn thing for energy. No gu, nothing but some gatorade. Stupid move.
On the car ride home, after getting over feeling like an ass for slowing down Julie's run, and then feeling like an ass for ASKING for an injury by jumping out there for ten miles with zero base, I had a cathartic moment.
I realized: I am entirely too impatient.
I want to be fast. Now.
I want to run a lot of miles. Now.
I want to run Boston. Now.
I want to be as good as this person, as fast as that person, I want to do triathlons and an Ironman and run the 50 states, now, now , NOW!
Deep breath. Step back. Now is not the time for YOU, Heather. Maybe for some other people, but right this very second: not you. Some of these people have been running for years and years. And in case you forgot, Heather, you spent almost 20 of the last 36 months pregnant, birthed and nursed two babies, and still don't sleep through the night. Oh and there is work and school (details, details).
I realized, It's OK to be me, on my own schedule. It's OK to start from zero, even though I've been *trying* to get back into running for what feels like months now. Life happens. Plans don't always go as you, well, plan them too.
Damn it, it's OK to be slow with low weekly mileage, because I'm working on it. And that's all that matters right? In the big picture, I'm a rookie in this world of running. And I'm a classic case of trying to do too much too soon.
And suddenly, I felt overwhelmingly at peace with my upcoming marathon. The one I had been dreading the start of training for.
I realized today that yes, I am setting myself up for failure with the F.I.R.S.T Boston plan at the moment, as it is written. They have been running the Boston Marathon for 113 years, I doubt they are going to stop at 114. I hope this doesn't make me sound like a quitter, or a Debbie downer, and who knows, I'm not writing off a BQ, but my new more important goal is to run the entire flipping Baltimore Marathon in October without walking. OK, I might walk a few water stops, because honestly I'm not *quite* talented enough to drink water and down a gu all while running without injuring myrself or someone at the aid station, but besides that, no walking. I don't care if it takes me 5 hours, I just don't' want to walk. Sorry Mr. Galloway, but I hate to walk when I'm supposed to be running.
So, the way to achieve this goal: SOLID base mileage. There are 16 full weeks left to train. So, while I think the speed work and tempo runs of this program are totally doable for me at the moment, the long runs need some tweaking down to my level: (I used a combo of a couple different beginner-ish marathon training plans to come up with that mileage. )
week 16 : was 13 miles @ 8:53/mile now: 5 miles @ whatever pace I feel like
week 15: was 15 miles @ 9:08/mile now: 7 miles
week 14: was 17 miles @ 9:08/mile now: 9 miles
week 13: was 20 miles @ 9:23/mile now: 11 miles
week 12: was 18 miles @ 9:08/mile now: 13 miles
week 11: was 20 miles @ 9:08/mile now: 15 miles
week 10: was 13 miles @ 8:38/mile now: 17 miles
week 9: was 18 miles @ 8:53/mile now: 20 miles
week 8: was 20 miles @ 8:53/mile now: 15 miles
week 7: was 15 miles @8:43/ mile now: 13.1 miles (VA Beach R+R 1/2!)
week 6: was 20 miles @ 8:53/mile now: 22 miles
week 5: was 15 miles @ 8:33/mile now: 16 miles
week 4: was 20 miles @ 8:23/ mile now: 24-26 miles
week 3: 13 miles @ 8:23/ mile -sounds good
week 2: 10 miles @ 8:23/mile - sounds good
week 1: MARATHON DAY - NO WALKING!!
And that's what I have to say about that. This is what I need to prevent a disastrous relationship between running and I. I feel so much better, and am now looking FORWARD to next weeks training, and 5 miler. *phew*
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10 comments:
It's great that you found someone to run with; it makes those long runs so much more bearable, but don't beat yourself up about one disappointing training run -- chances are, if you keep running together -- she'll have one of those somewhere down the road and you'll be there to support her in the same patient way she did you.
Looks like you have an excellent plan for Boston!
I can understand your frustrations......sometimes running with someone can really make you doubt yourself can't it? Damn that competitive spirit! LOL! But luckily you have a good head on your shoulders and you know this is just a stumbling block. You will get back at it....and you know you rock! You've got this
Your run this morning sounds very much like mine. It was supposed to be 12 miles and ended up being 9 with two of them spent walking. I never walk! I try to remind myself some of the same things you tell yourself, including the fact that I had a baby nine months ago. Your new plan sounds perfect! If you ever need a cheerleader or someone who can provide some empathy, you know where to find me.
It's very hard to train with someone who has more miles under their belt and not feel compelled to stay with them. I feel your pain Heather. I am one of the slower runners in my group and sometimes just have to go it alone eventhough I so badly want to run with the bigger group sometimes.
I think you have learned a lesson and will go above and beyond your marathon expectations with the new and improved plan.
Heather, just stick with it. I am a total beginner runner! However, I learned my patience with running from my mom. She started from sedentary with walking, then went to running and in a few years, she's running multiple marathons a year. I run my fastest miles in 10:30 minutes/mile. I plan to run my first half without walking in no matter how long it takes me! Keep it up. If you finish, you are a million times ahead of most of the people in this country. You did it. That's really all that matters. Good luck!
oh wow, i'm so glad you posted all of that, i needed to read that for myself, because i need to remind myself of all those things (well except that amazing feat of having two babies part). all in due time. seriously, i needed to read that, i've been pretty down about my times lately, and have had more than my fair share of those kinds of runs you had yesterday morning. so thanks, i might just come back to this post every now and then!
It sounds like you've found what we all really have to struggle with - wanting it all now now now! The new plan looks very good, and it's going to be hard not to push for that BQ, but it really sounds like the best thing for this time in your life. You want to be able to enjoy the whole trip instead of burning out, and being injured and unhappy. Can't wait to see how well this plan treats you!
Hey! I just read all this! You did AWESOME and you shouldn't beat yourself up over our run-I had a blast and like I told you, I wouldn't have even gone 1 mile in the morning if I didn't have the motivation from you. I am just glad to have someone to run with. You're my hero for having two little ones, a full time job and training for a marathon. I hope we can keep running together, with modest goals in the future. Let me know if you're interested in the 5K on Saturday morning.
We have too much in common my dear...although my youngest is now 17 months. I am only on Marathon 1 and I think I NEED to qualify for Boston NOW.. Ultra competitive. But I have enjoyed my training and I will be happy regardless of my time. It is all a balance and in the end if you enjoyed the journey that is all that matters..
Heather,
I am way behind on my reading.
Great perspective. Boston will be there waiting for you. They aren't going to fold up shop anytime soon.
I think that is really wise to evaluate where you are at in your life and make adjustments.
Marathon training and running in general requires constant adjustments.
Be patient and you will get to where you want to go.
I think it is much more important to keep running than how fast you go. The joy is in the journey.
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