Races Like a Girl

This week’s training theme:

Trust your training.

I’ve seen the three words that make up this week’s training theme before. In books, in interviews and on message boards. Trust your training. It’s often used in the context of tapering, as advice to take tapering seriously, not go out and do a bunch of aggressive training runs two or three weeks before your marathon to get that 1-2% edge. You’re more apt to tire yourself and leave your marathon out on the training runs. Trust your training.

Like last week, I had certain priority runs around which I organized all other miles. They were, in descending order of importance: a 15K race, a 20 miler and a speed interval session.

On Monday I was still pretty worn out from last Sunday’s 25K race/training run. I also had a nagging soreness in my lower right leg’s achilles tendon — must have been the hills in Connecticut. That soreness persisted into Tuesday morning, just in time for my speed session. Since I had the fourth of my five rabies shots scheduled later on Tuesday morning — after which I knew I’d feel like, well, like I had rabies — I got up at an ungodly hour to run the 10 miles with the speed session sandwiched in the middle.

It was — of course! — incredibly windy. And I was — still! — very tired. So I did just three intervals on the Bronxville track. In a respectable time, all things considered. I learned that you need to get to the track and done with your work before 8:30, because that’s the moment the school doors fly open and 200 children come pouring onto the track. Kids today!

Wednesday was a nothing day — one little four miler so I could get ready for…

Thursday’s scheduled torture session: a 20 mile long run, which I again got up very early to do. My leg was still hurting and the first seven or so miles were a real run down memory lane from last year, during which I suffered with pretty much constant shin splints during marathon training. It went away and I was thankful for my new status as someone who runs without pain most of the time.

Friday and Saturday were easy days so I could save my energy for today’s race.

And Bob’s your uncle.

So why is this week’s training theme “trust your training”? Because this is the mantra I will soon need to spend weeks repeating to myself during my pre-race taper, when I will be tempted to go do some harder running. It’s also a reminder that I can trust my training; my recent races bear that out.

A look back at the week:

• Monday: 5 miles recovery pace (AM), 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
• Tuesday: 9.9 with 3 x 1200 at 5K race pace; felt like I’d been hit by a truck post-rabies shot in the afternoon
• Wednesday: 4 miles recovery pace
• Thursday: 20 mile long run (steady) pace
• Friday: 4.6 miles recovery pace (AM), 5.4 miles recovery pace (PM)
• Saturday: 7 miles recovery pace
• Sunday: 9.5 mile race (15K)

Total mileage: 70.4 miles

Paces this week:

• Recovery: 10:05 – 10:25
• Speed: Intervals at 6:45 pace
• Long: 8:25
• Race: 7:07

This week’s quote:

“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.“

— Steve Prefontaine

Coming up in training week fifteen: Another peak week of 91 miles, including more speedwork and 22 miles in Central Park. And it’s the storm before the calm: my taper starts after this week.

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