I’m going to consider this week as my last week of post-marathon (as it were) recovery. Which means basebuilding begins anew tomorrow.
I know I’m recovered because I have been determined to run a race. Not because I expect to PR in anything (especially in the summer heat and humidity of NY), but mostly because I’ve missed running fast in a crowd. I tried to race in a brand new 10K up in Rockefeller State Park yesterday, but had to skip it after getting horribly lost. So I tried again today, with greater success, and ran the Achilles Track Club 5 miler in Central Park.
I’m not even going to bother putting together a race report, because this wasn’t really a “race” race. I just wanted an atmosphere in which I could run fast for more than a mile or two. I went in with no expectations and a liberating “I don’t give a shit about this race” attitude.
As a result, nothing bothered me. The lady at registration gets annoyed because I only have $25 (that’s what the NYRR web site said it cost) and they suddenly wanted $35? I don’t give a shit. I get stuck behind a bunch of 8:00 pace people for the first half mile? I don’t give a shit. Four women pass me in the last two miles? I don’t give a shit.
Yes, it was fun to race and not really care much about it. Although I did find one thing to motivate me: a woman with 12% body fat passed me in the first mile and said, “Nice job” and instead of appreciating her innocently offered good tidings, my inward competitive bitch muttered, “Lady, you’re dead meat.”
We spent the next 3.5 miles passing each other. She’d pass me on the uphills, I’d pass her on the downhills. At mile 4.5, a downhill, I passed her for the last time and kept up the effort all the way through the uphill finish. I did not hear “Nice job” again.
Final time was 37:17, good for 45th Female overall and 4th in my AG. I realized somewhere after mile 3 that I could have run harder. I guess it’s been over half a year since my last short race (a 10K), so I’ve forgotten how to run them. I knew I hadn’t raced all out because I still had plenty of energy afterward. So I came home and then went out and ran another 8 miles. Now I’m tired.
All in all, this was a good transitional week between the relative slothdom of the weeks immediately after the Newport race and next week, in which I hope to keep running some faster miles and get the mileage up around 70. I may even try to race again next week. I covered 58 miles this week, which is close to the 60 I wanted to hit.
I’ve not yet built the new spreadsheet for this season, so here’s the low-tech, unflashy breakdown:
- Monday: 5 miles, recovery
- Tuesday: 9.6 miles general aerobic with last 15 mins at harder effort (~91-93% MHR)
- Wednesday: 7.1 miles, recovery
- Thursday: 8.2 miles, recovery
- Friday: 4.9 miles, recovery
- Saturday: 10.1 miles, recovery
- Sunday: 5 mile race, 7.8 miles general aerobic
Tomorrow I’m scheduled to get the results from last week’s bloodwork. I’ve held off on posting a post-Newport post-mortem until those come in. I have lots of theories about what could have been done better in the training (opinions that are shared by Coach Kevin), but if the bloodwork comes back with neon numbers pointing to an obvious problem at the cellular level then I’m apt to revise some (but not all) of those opinions. I still think there’s room for improvement in the next cycle, but the extent to which (and how) I think the training should be tweaked will rest in no small part on what the lab numbers say tomorrow.
Filed under: central park, racing, recovery | Tagged: achilles track club, blood work, nyrr, rockefeller state park |
Races Like a Girl 
Great job not giving a shit today!! I had a similar experience this morning and yes, it is liberating. Love the dead meat thought and how wonderful to make sure she stayed dead. Good luck with the tests tomorrow, racewise I almost want it to show something off for you, but healthwise, I hope it doesn’t.
I laughed quite a bit over the “nice job!” and knew what your reaction would be even before I read on. Not quite as condescending as the “good for you!” that a friend of mine once got on the track (she’s a bit heavy, but puhleeze), but almost.
Nice job kickin’ butt.
Glad there are training-based theories. Can’t wait to hear ’em.
Cool blog 🙂
I heard a “nice job” today. It was the guy behind me getting passed. Confusing.
Hope all is well with the bloodwork.
The “nice job” is funny — I never know what to say to people as I’m passing them so I usually keep quiet. I got passed this past weekend going down a hill (because my knee was fucking up and I was walking) and this guy who passed me says, “These downhills are almost as tough as the uphills.” I wanted to kill him, or at least shout obscenities, but I just gave him the thumbs up and kept limping along.
And, congrats on being able to go out and just have fun today without worrying about the race too much. That’s a great attitude to have (and tougher to achieve than it would seem.)
WOW Julie!, you run a fun race!, whats that ;-).
I think this is your first fun race? and a good job to do.
The next time a fun marathon to run, you will see that you learn a lot about it and fun is importend!!.
Take on time your rest and 1 day in the week no running is not a bad idea!.
Greet Rinus.
Now, what would have been perfect, would have been a return “nice job” as you went past for the final time!
Yes, “nice job” is funny – very American – you never hear it down here. We just get a “gid on ya mate”.
I’m thinking more short races wouldn’t do you any harm (by the way, 10k isn’t short). The intensity of 3ks and 5ks might give you something you don’t quite get in training. Anyway, have fun next weekend and good luck with the blood.
Oh, Ewen, I was so tempted to do that. But I was afraid that doing so would rouse *her* inner competitive bitch and she’d beat me to the line, which, to her advantage, was on an uphill.
“Nice Job” or “Great Job” is great to hear in some contexts but not when you’re being passed. Maybe an honest “Whoohoo!” would be better.
Rinus is right about racing for fun. We should all try and do a few of those.
Dunno what to wish for on the blood results. Maybe training problems are easier to fix than physiological ones, unless it’s just a simple nutritional deficiency. Good Luck, anyway.