Oh, hey...it was terrible! Lol 50% my fault, 50%....I don't know. Things beyond my control? It was just really miserable.
When we were parking at 6:00AM, it was already 74*. It was so humid that we were already covered in sweat by the time we walked to the start area. No breeze, no rain, just still humid air. It felt like the middle of August. I was actually wishing for rain to cool it off a bit. When it actually DID come around mile 11, it rained so hard, that by the time I got to the track at the finish two miles later to run the last 1/10th, I had to run through a puddle that was already ankle deep. It was pouring. I could barely see. At that point, I was laughing.
The part that was my fault was that I completely gave up at mile 7 & decided to run the rest around marathon pace, resulting in 2 min off of a PR. I just hope that was the right decision. I've never done that before, just given up , so I think that 's what I'm struggling with the most.
I was feeling semi-OK & holding a decent pace until mile 6. I don't think I went out too fast, everything just started to get to me. My legs felt heavy, and I couldn't get enough water. Once I realized it would be an absolute battle to even meet my Savannah time (1:42), I lost any desire to fight. I guess I could have benefited from working on my mental game, but I was having a hard time in seeing the benefit of killing myself for a time that wouldn't give me any confidence for my full, and risking the chance that my workouts next week would suffer. Next week is my final push. I have a long speed workout & a 22 miler that I want to go well.
I'm just tired , at least I hope that's what it is. I tapered a bit this week, but ran myself ragged with the holidays, and I did some intervals on Thursday. Last week was 55 miles w/two 12s (one of which was tempo ), and a 20 miler on Sunday. I'm trying to believe that I'm just worn out, and the weather got to me. I know it got to a lot of people. I came in before a guy that usually runs in the mid 1:30s, and another girl who was training to break 3:00 for the full , bailed at the half. Of course, there are also people who PR'd & had OK races.
This is the first time I haven't PRd since 2010. I'm very OK with having a bad race, it just sucks a month out from a big race. Logically, I know it's not likely that I've gotten slower since Chicago. I don't THINK I'm over trained. I know that I'm probably stronger, and all of this training with Pfitz has to be benefiting me somehow, but I have no proof. It's a little unsettling. I've been pretty spoiled/fortunate with my racing, but this time, I'm just going to have to go into this race hoping that better weather & some tapering will make things align. If it doesn't, it won't be the end of the world, but after Jan 26th, BQ or not, I'm ready for a break. I'm not upset, just....uneasy, I guess.
Post by Stingyshark on Dec 29, 2013 16:58:00 GMT -5
We had some people from the group run Jax and i know at least one person had a similar experience. She said it was awful; she pretty much walked the last half.
I highly doubt you've gotten slower since Chicago- the weather is shit this weekend. It's hot/cold/muggy/rainy. It's just bad. Those aren't great race conditions. I have heard Jax is a hard course, not much to see, kind of boring.
Thanks, Stingyshark. It's definitely a boring course. It's flat, so people like it for that, but it's one of my least favorites. I passed a few people walking who you would never see walking at races.
I'm not as bummed as I thought I'd be. I'm excited that next week is my last big week, and I 'll focus on making that strong. It was also probably a blessing in disguise to remind myself that I need to take better care of myself to really recover during the taper. I'm not the best at that. I'll be fine.
I was thinking of all our marathoners on the board as I reached my 50 miles for the month (just started an 18 week marathon plan) and thought, some of these chicks run 50 miles in a week! That is bad ass!!
Aw man. I'm sorry. That sounds really miserable. But it really doesn't sound like you did terribly - I mean, backing off to marathon pace from half pace and still coming that close to a PR doesn't seem too bad to me at all. And FWIW, I think you did the right thing to keep your eye on the prize, so to speak, and focus on the marathon. There's no fucking way you have gotten SLOWER since Chicago. A really bad race would have been one thing, but this was a not-awesome race in really bad conditions. I think you just have to trust the training at this point.
And I am so with you on being ready for a break. I woke up to the onset of a miserable cold this morning, and they always knock me on my ass for the first day, so 22 has been postponed until tomorrow. I feel like having to put it off a day has broken my motivation.
runaways, we're so close! Just think, in a few more weeks, we can post about sleeping in on a Saturday, and not having set schedules in the training Tuesday thread. I'm sorry you're sick. Hope you feel well enough to kill your 22 miler tomorrow!
Post by runblondie26 on Dec 29, 2013 21:12:20 GMT -5
Blech, those conditions are awful for running. Sorry you didn't get a PR, but sounds like your training is still going strong. You've been pushing hard most of this year, fingers crossed it all comes together and you have the race you deserve!
Post by coconutbug on Dec 29, 2013 23:00:00 GMT -5
Ugh, that's a bummer that things didn't come together today, but it sounds like it was a good call to pull back a bit. And the fact that you still came close to a PR despite awful conditions is amazing. Seriously, you've got this.
Ew that weather sounds horrible!!! I can't blv you were 2 mins off a PR in that. I think that's a pretty clear testament to how strong you are right now. Well done!
A picture from the track where we finished.(See the runners on the other side.) The title for one article was "Started as a marathon, ended as a steeplechase." LOL! At least this was better than the humid start, but those poor marathoners that were still out there for twice as long.
A picture from the track where we finished.(See the runners on the other side.) The title for one article was "Started as a marathon, ended as a steeplechase." LOL! At least this was better than the humid start, but those poor marathoners that were still out there for twice as long.
A picture from the track where we finished.(See the runners on the other side.) The title for one article was "Started as a marathon, ended as a steeplechase." LOL! At least this was better than the humid start, but those poor marathoners that were still out there for twice as long.
If I were marathoning in this, a DNF would've been extremely tempting. That looks awful.
A picture from the track where we finished.(See the runners on the other side.) The title for one article was "Started as a marathon, ended as a steeplechase." LOL! At least this was better than the humid start, but those poor marathoners that were still out there for twice as long.