Well, it's been almost a month since I last wrote. The last post mentioned the problems I was having (with my hamstring pain and lost motivation) and those problems continued up until a week or so ago.
I didn't run as much as I was supposed to and I didn't enjoy the running I was doing. I was in a rut.
There was a lot going on, too. I finished up my summer job, had tons of interviews for next summer, was in my cousin's wedding, moved from Minneapolis to Duluth and then back to my condo in Maryland, and even squeezed in a short camping trip. It was all good stuff. 100% great, really. I just hated running. Well, that's not entirely true. I still loved running in theory - I just didn't, and couldn't get myself to, enjoy doing it. It hurt and I was tired of hurting all the time. I was tired of hurting while sitting in interviews in heels and a suit. I was tired of hurting while ON the runs. I just reached a point where I'd had enough.
And I told Wendy that was the case. She pushed me to keep going, suggesting that my (sub-4) goal might not be possible if I didn't suck it up, but I didn't care. I didn't. And I finally told her: "No." Not doing it.
Anyway, I won't recount all of the awful runs I had that were responsible for this negative attitude - but I am writing today because I finally feel like I am back on track and enjoying it again. My hamstrings are still giving me some problems, but they are cooperating a bit more (and I am putting up with them a bit more).
So here is what we've done:
19-Week Training Plan, mileage completed to date:
1-35
2-28
3-45
4-39
5-28
6-45
7-7 (tipping point!)
8-27
9-41
10-46
I ran 46 miles this week and felt better than I have in weeks. I ran a great pace run yesterday, Saturday (10 miles total, 6 below theoretical race pace) and followed that up with a slow 18 today. It felt good to be working hard again, even if it was really hard work. I liked it. Whew.
Next weekend is the Parks Half Marathon. I love this race and have run it twice before. It will be a good test of my fitness and will help me and Wendy plan more realistically about what I should shoot for in New York. I've thought about my goal a lot, but every time I try to make a decision (I just want a PR! 4:15 would be great! etc.) I realize I honestly just don't know what I am capable of and right now we should leave it at that.
I have also thought a lot about the nature, title, and purpose of this blog and this adventure. I can't help but believe more and more that, as running goes, this body of mine is truly meant for sprinting. I am starting to believe the thesis I had before I started this thing and think that perhaps my long-held belief is right - I am a sprinter. That doesn't mean I can't run long; clearly I do. But I have (unfortunately?) regressed back to a place where I do think there are some real limits on what I can accomplish in races like the marathon. Have I pushed to that limit? No. Am I doing so now? No, not really. But perhaps the injury problems, and the pain, and the seeming inability to keep the mileage high for very long is, in many ways, the result of my anatomy. We'll see.
Fast-Twitch Follies? Perhaps.
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