Since I'm not particularly happy with this race, the report is going to be pretty short. But in all honesty, it was a good thing. The "race" was much more a party, done as a fundraiser for cancers below the belt for North York General Hospital. Personally, I almost doubled my goal, which is a testament to the high-quality people who are my friends and family.
It was a very warm evening (28 C), with lots of humidity right at Lake Ontario, and a stiff breeze out of the SW, unfortunately the direction we were heading during the first half of the run. I'm not a warm weather runner, but still hoped I'd pull out a good result. Everyone was dressed in their skivvies, except me. I'll raise the money, but running 10k hard in cotton boxers is an invitation to chafing the likes of which I never want to experience. I felt sorry for all these people who would soon learn this lesson.
The gun went off, I got clear of the crowds, and fell into about 10th place. I tried to keep an eye on pace, and was moving steadily up to 3rd. Through 3k I was bang on pace, felt pretty good, although fighting the wind was taking a bit of a toll. And then right around 4k, the plug got pulled. I just didn't seem to have it, and my mood went south. I was slowing, and I just wanted it to be over. I kept looking for the turnaround, since I'd get a tailwind and could pick things up again, but after the Garmin chirped 5k complete and I still couldn't see anything, I knew I was in for a long haul. Finally around 5.5k I got to turn, and tried to open my stride up, and while my pace increased, I wasn't getting back the time I had lost. Frustrated that I wasn't running as well as I wanted, and that no matter what this wouldn't be an official 10k time, about 8k (by the Garmin), I eased off the throttle to just jog it in. I had promised my wife we wouldn't bother hanging around for the awards ceremony, so fighting for the last podium spot wasn't a priority. I got to 10k around 40:35, 75 seconds off of what I would have considered a decent run, and still had 4 minutes to the finish line. I was finally passed by another runner so I no longer had to worry about winning a prize I didn't want. I finally hit the line, was a bit grumpier to my wife than I should have been (sorry Sunshine!), but was quickly cheered up by my smiling baby (and smiling wife, despite my grumpiness). Not the day I wanted, but I got to run hard, and I'll use this for motivation for my next few races. I've already signed up for another 10k in October to exact my revenge on the distance.
Official Results:
44:23, 4th Overall
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Confidence Man
I read a lot of running books. More than would probably be considered healthy. The latest was the newest from Matt Fitzgerald, entitled Run: A Mind-Body Approach to Running by Feel. I won't get into a full review, but I wanted to touch on one of the topics discussed in the book, that of confidence-building workouts.
It's an idea similar to Hudson's race rehearsal workouts, which are the last race-specific workouts done before a race of any given distance, designed to provide the runner with the idea that they'll be able to successfully tackle the race. "If I can do this workout at this speed, then I can hit my numbers on the day." Fitzgerald uses these, but also expands on the concept by including other challenging workouts that "push the envelope", or provide a new window into the capabilities of a runner. And that's what I got last night.
For most, this might not look like much a session. There's only twelves minutes of work, with a fair bit of rest, but I've had an up-and-down summer training-wise. The heat has been killing me, I don't always feel well-rested, there have been some minor tweaks along the way. Two weeks ago, I attempted this session and blew up substantially in the last rep, then hobbled home. (Then spent 4 days overcoming a hip/ITB issue; related?) The heat wasn't as bad last night, but there were some serious winds, 35 km/h, gusting to 55. That might help the reps that were with the wind, but would do a lot more to make things difficult when I was head-on. I was anticipating/dreading this workout for a few days, but the time came to go out and hit it. This time, I was going to finish every rep.
After a twenty minute warm-up, it began. The structure is simple: twice up the ladder, 1-2-3 minutes @ 3k speed (3:36-3:42/km), with two minutes recovery jog between. The first minute was a breeze, stride was nice and open, breathing felt good. After the jog, two minutes wasn't horrible either. And the three minute took some digging, but I survived. Now it was time to gather my mental energies. Made it through 1 minute, which was nothing compared to the 3. Stride was shortening so turnover increased to get through two minutes. Then I just had that last 180 seconds. Last time I blew up at minute, so had to beat that. Thirty seconds in I turned right into the wind. I glanced at the Garmin every few strides, seeing 3:38, 3:42, and trying to kick that little bit more. My breathing was no longer laboured, it was an indentured servant. Another turn, and with a head-sidewind and up a 1% grade. Now I saw 3:50, which was unacceptable, so I poured on everything I had, and after rounding another corner saw 3:01, and for the last 30 seconds kept it pinned below 3:23. I don't remember the last time I sold out that hard during a training run.
My last few kilometres would be described as a "wog" (walk/jog), but I allowed it after that set. Now getting back to the original point: confidence. I finished a workout that destroyed me not too long ago. Not only was I on pace, but checking afterwards, most of the reps were in the 3:31-3:35 range, so I was even a little quick. I put myself in the hurt locker in a big way, so if I need to do that in a race, I know I can go there.
I'm still 5.5 weeks out from my 'A' race this year, so there's lots of work to do, but for the first time in a while, I feel like I'm getting where I need to be. And for the future, I think I'll be going back to this workout every so often (with recalibrated paces, of course). It's just hard enough. If it's going to be a regular, it need a name, so I'm christening this one Complete Double Rainbow.
w/u - 20 min @ 4:40-4:50/km
Work - 2x(1'-2'-3' (2' recovery) @ 3k pace (3:36-3:42/km))
c/d - 20 min @ 5:10-5:25/km
Total: ~13 km
It's an idea similar to Hudson's race rehearsal workouts, which are the last race-specific workouts done before a race of any given distance, designed to provide the runner with the idea that they'll be able to successfully tackle the race. "If I can do this workout at this speed, then I can hit my numbers on the day." Fitzgerald uses these, but also expands on the concept by including other challenging workouts that "push the envelope", or provide a new window into the capabilities of a runner. And that's what I got last night.
For most, this might not look like much a session. There's only twelves minutes of work, with a fair bit of rest, but I've had an up-and-down summer training-wise. The heat has been killing me, I don't always feel well-rested, there have been some minor tweaks along the way. Two weeks ago, I attempted this session and blew up substantially in the last rep, then hobbled home. (Then spent 4 days overcoming a hip/ITB issue; related?) The heat wasn't as bad last night, but there were some serious winds, 35 km/h, gusting to 55. That might help the reps that were with the wind, but would do a lot more to make things difficult when I was head-on. I was anticipating/dreading this workout for a few days, but the time came to go out and hit it. This time, I was going to finish every rep.
After a twenty minute warm-up, it began. The structure is simple: twice up the ladder, 1-2-3 minutes @ 3k speed (3:36-3:42/km), with two minutes recovery jog between. The first minute was a breeze, stride was nice and open, breathing felt good. After the jog, two minutes wasn't horrible either. And the three minute took some digging, but I survived. Now it was time to gather my mental energies. Made it through 1 minute, which was nothing compared to the 3. Stride was shortening so turnover increased to get through two minutes. Then I just had that last 180 seconds. Last time I blew up at minute, so had to beat that. Thirty seconds in I turned right into the wind. I glanced at the Garmin every few strides, seeing 3:38, 3:42, and trying to kick that little bit more. My breathing was no longer laboured, it was an indentured servant. Another turn, and with a head-sidewind and up a 1% grade. Now I saw 3:50, which was unacceptable, so I poured on everything I had, and after rounding another corner saw 3:01, and for the last 30 seconds kept it pinned below 3:23. I don't remember the last time I sold out that hard during a training run.
My last few kilometres would be described as a "wog" (walk/jog), but I allowed it after that set. Now getting back to the original point: confidence. I finished a workout that destroyed me not too long ago. Not only was I on pace, but checking afterwards, most of the reps were in the 3:31-3:35 range, so I was even a little quick. I put myself in the hurt locker in a big way, so if I need to do that in a race, I know I can go there.
I'm still 5.5 weeks out from my 'A' race this year, so there's lots of work to do, but for the first time in a while, I feel like I'm getting where I need to be. And for the future, I think I'll be going back to this workout every so often (with recalibrated paces, of course). It's just hard enough. If it's going to be a regular, it need a name, so I'm christening this one Complete Double Rainbow.
w/u - 20 min @ 4:40-4:50/km
Work - 2x(1'-2'-3' (2' recovery) @ 3k pace (3:36-3:42/km))
c/d - 20 min @ 5:10-5:25/km
Total: ~13 km
Monday, August 9, 2010
But Will I Re-name the Blog?
Life Happens. I know, hard to believe, eh? But it's true, and when it happens, you need to be able to make adjustments. This isn't to say it's a bad thing. Sometimes it's good news, but changes still need to be made. And that's where I find myself.
I've truly enjoyed my first two years of triathlon training and racing. What a fantastic sport! The training, the people, the races. All of it has been an amazing experience. This year has been a little tougher; knowing that my racing was lessened, I've lacked motivation at some points. Other times, I've tried to do more than my body was able to handle and just ended up hurting myself. I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know enough to pay attention to these signals.
I've had the very good fortune of having a modicum of success in my first couple of years. I've qualified and raced at Worlds, I've collected a handful of AG podiums, and finished 2nd in a season-long series. But I'm kind of competitive, and want to stay at this level, if not get a little better. But here's the thing about triathlon: If you want to be good, you have to train like 80% of a runner, 80% of a cyclist, and 80% of a swimmer. Before, I could do that, but with new commitments, it just can't happen. For the foreseeable future, I would have two choices:
I've truly enjoyed my first two years of triathlon training and racing. What a fantastic sport! The training, the people, the races. All of it has been an amazing experience. This year has been a little tougher; knowing that my racing was lessened, I've lacked motivation at some points. Other times, I've tried to do more than my body was able to handle and just ended up hurting myself. I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know enough to pay attention to these signals.
I've had the very good fortune of having a modicum of success in my first couple of years. I've qualified and raced at Worlds, I've collected a handful of AG podiums, and finished 2nd in a season-long series. But I'm kind of competitive, and want to stay at this level, if not get a little better. But here's the thing about triathlon: If you want to be good, you have to train like 80% of a runner, 80% of a cyclist, and 80% of a swimmer. Before, I could do that, but with new commitments, it just can't happen. For the foreseeable future, I would have two choices:
- Train where I can, keep my family commitments, race in the MOP, love my family life but be constantly frustrated by my racing.
- Train at the level needed to perform well, ignore my family commitments, race fast but miss out on my daughter's early years.
What crappy choices. So I'm choosing (c).
Long ago, I started as a runner. It was the first sport I loved as a competitor, if only because it was the first sport I wasn't completely horrible at. It's also, of the three, the one that requires the least time commitment to still be reasonably competitive. And with that, I can announce my hiatus from triathlon for a few years, with a new focus on running.
I'm not sure yet what kinds of goals I'll end up setting for myself. The first priority will be getting a ton of base miles in to bullet-proof my legs. The irregular running of the last couple of years is one of the primary reasons I've been getting hurt. I just don't have the days on my feet necessary to put up with high-intensity running. After that, I'll see what kind of racing I might want to do. I'll probably stick to 15k or less for at least a year or two, but I know I'll have plenty of options:
- A streak of one race per month, never the same distance twice in a row.
- Join a track club and try my hand at 800-5000m.
- Try the local trail running series.
- Get 2011 miles in 2011, or 2011 kilometres by my birthday.
I'll be back to triathlon. I'll have to start swimming from scratch again, but that's OK. It might be in 3 years, it might be in five, it might be in eight. Who knows? But for now, it will be just me, a pair of shorts, and some lightweight shoes.
I'll keep writing on here, at the very least as a repository of race reports, and some other irrelevant ramblings. It might not be very triathlon-y. Maybe a name change is in order. Super Karate Monkey Death Shoes? Super Karate Monkey Death Track (and Road)?
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