This week was notable for two events: First, on Friday evening I officially went batshit during my fourteenth consecutive training run on the treadmill. Then, on Sunday I ran a surprisingly good race.
The rest of the week was meh. I doubt I would have gone so nuts had I not had so many doubles. But having a run every morning and evening inside began to feel like a form of punishment. What a relief after Thursday to only have singles to look forward to.
I’d thought that would offer a sufficient mental break from the monotony, but Friday’s failed speed session pushed me over the edge. After that I was so eager to run outside that I did the race on a lark, since it was really good racing weather. That turned out to be what my dearly departed grandmother would have called “a happy accident.”
That race was a confidence booster. Not only because I did better than expected, but also because it was five miles at 7:05 avg pace, with hills and wind, on tired legs. I need to run five miles under 7:00 avg pace in Central Park in three weeks. Yesterday showed me that with a proper taper this is no longer a long shot. I just need to get into my second corral early so I can start as far ahead of the sub-8:00 dawdlers as possible.
There’s not a whole lot else to say. I was scheduled to hit 75 miles, but fell short again slightly. It doesn’t matter. I appear to be thriving on what I’m doing, so I’m not going to sweat a few missing miles here and there. This week’s a down week, with just 65 miles and only one day of doubles. Good thing, as we’ve got shit weather predicted again, so I’m likely to be running a lot of those miles inside again. Send meds.
Filed under: central park, racing, training |
Races Like a Girl 
Great week, Julie. And I agree, it SO doesn’t matter missing a few miles. You’re doing wonderfully and I’m sure you’ll get those sub 7s with room to spare at the big race. Have a good running week!
Who cares about a “meh” week if the race is good? Sub-7s for sure next race. Start at the front of the corral and when the gun goes, don’t run with the other rabbits at 6:30s 😉
You just may get into the first corral at the 8K…it really varies by race, blue is not just sub-7, could be very low 7s too depending on the field. I have a 7:19 best pace and am usually red, with the exception of the Mini 10K (blue-but thats only because thats women-only) and Club Champs or other points races where the field is stacked (yellow). But yeah, definitely get to your corral early…I always do, I never take any chances 🙂 Good luck! I ran the 8K last year and was a good race for me.
Well, that’s a revelation — I didn’t know the classifications were relative to field size/gender. In any case, I’d still like to get under 7:00 next race so my status as a blue bib wearer is solid.