Races Like a Girl

Although the workouts went well this week, this was the first week since I started up training again where recovering properly felt like a struggle. Although I was able to rally for the harder days, I felt the previous days’ effort accumulating on the easy days, as if I had a slow leak in recovery during the week. Yesterday I was exhausted and forced myself to go out and run, nevertheless cutting the planned nine mile recovery run short at 7.1, as the slog got harder and harder rather than easier. Then I fell asleep for two hours.

But my hard days went well. I was only trapped on the treadmill for three evening runs, all of them mercifully short. Everything else was done outside, mostly along my new route in Scarsdale. It’s also finally starting to warm up, and the snow is melting. The running path is still snowy, but I think it should be clear by end of day tomorrow or early Tuesday at the latest. As should be the track in Bronxville. It’s not quite warm enough for shorts, but I think it will be next week.

I’ve covered the tempo and speed sessions in a previous post. The other highlight was my tour of the Scarsdale 15K course this morning. I had a 15 mile run scheduled, the first 9 of which followed the race course. I haven’t run that particular race since 2006, when I ran a time of 1:25:30. I expect to do much better this year.

But, boy, is that a hilly course! I’d forgotten how cruel its design is, as well as how much it varies between two extremes: several miles of it consist of sneakily slight, but very long uphill grades, punctuated with the occasional short, very steep climb up. There are lots of downhills as well, of course, but they didn’t seem to offer much relief. The worst of it is mostly over by the 6.5 mile mark, but there is a very steep uphill just before the finish. I will have to remember to pace myself so I don’t die in the last mile.

Since after the nine mile mark I was winging it in terms of the course for today’s run, I guessed at distances. I got back to my car a bit short of 15 miles, but I was done for the day, ready for some water, a sandwich and the foam roller. Along with my more casual attitude toward paces, I’m also dropping the obsession with hitting nice, round numbers every week.

Next weekend the calvacade of races continues, with the NYRR 8000 in Central Park on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, if my legs aren’t fried I’ll do a 2 mile road race in Yorktown Heights, as Jonathan’s doing a 10K up there that day. Or I’ll just go be his cheering section if my legs aren’t willing. See Races for all the dirt.

One kudos to a fellow runner: Andrea broke 3:22 today at Napa. It was good for fifth in her AG. I don’t know what her goals were, but I’m hoping she was happy with that time, because she sure was nervous yesterday!

Filed under: racing, training, westchester |