Getting Back on Track (Read 1075 times)

x, you're fine.  At least you know what a race feels like now. 

In a few days this feeling will pass and you will feel stronger than ever.  Relax.

I'm not dead yet!

This is a lot to digest. What's done is done. Yeah, I realized I "screwed up" with too maximum of an effort on Tuesday when the recovery was delayed and did listen to my body and stop when I could have kept going. Perhaps I should have stopped at 5, not 8 yesterday.

Claiming no expertise on the matter, and surely not being the first to do this, I was looking for some tips to manage getting back on track. I'm going to stay away from having any regrets. Rather, it's going to be a learning experience--and I am learning from both my successes and otherwise. I'll just try to get on track as best as I can so I can run a decent race in 18 days.

Racing the half marathon 3 weeks out wasn't on any plan other than my own. The goal was 1:28 - 30 which wouldn't have left me spent and would have only "reinforced" my plan. As you know, things can change in a race. About two miles in I realized I was having a good day and went with it. So, now I've redefined my personal "max effort" from what I understood it to be. How do you explain what "max effort" is? What I thought was "max" was probably only 85% and wouldn't have wrung me out like this.

Right now my goal is to BQ, not necessarily run my best marathon time. We'll save the "told you so" if I fall flat on my BQ goal. My hope is to save the "max" effort for a spring marathon when I undoubtably won't plan a half marathon at "max effort" 3 weeks prior.

Considering my fitness base and relative speed, Nobby, what do you suggest I do at this point to give me the best possibility to get across the line within 3:15?

  

I'm not dead yet!

 

 

This is a lot to digest. What's done is done. Yeah, I realized I "screwed up" with too maximum of an effort on Tuesday when the recovery was delayed and did listen to my body and stop when I could have kept going. Perhaps I should have stopped at 5, not 8 yesterday.

 

Claiming no expertise on the matter, and surely not being the first to do this, I was looking for some tips to manage getting back on track. I'm going to stay away from having any regrets. Rather, it's going to be a learning experience--and I am learning from both my successes and otherwise. I'll just try to get on track as best as I can so I can run a decent race in 18 days.

 

Racing the half marathon 3 weeks out wasn't on any plan other than my own. The goal was 1:28 - 30 which wouldn't have left me spent and would have only "reinforced" my plan. As you know, things can change in a race. About two miles in I realized I was having a good day and went with it. So, now I've redefined my personal "max effort" from what I understood it to be. How do you explain what "max effort" is? What I thought was "max" was probably only 85% and wouldn't have wrung me out like this.

 

Right now my goal is to BQ, not necessarily run my best marathon time. We'll save the "told you so" if I fall flat on my BQ goal. My hope is to save the "max" effort for a spring marathon when I undoubtably won't plan a half marathon at "max effort" 3 weeks prior.

 

Considering my fitness base and relative speed, Nobby, what do you suggest I do at this point to give me the best possibility to get across the line within 3:15?

Of course you're not dead yet. 

If it's just staleness, what Jeff had suggested might be just fine.  It is the way to go often; just pumping up the mileage and go slow.  However, you have a marathon to deal with in a few weeks time.  If you are asking my suggestion, I would take this whole week just easy jog of, say, 30~40 minutes.  Maybe even 9~10-minute pace.  Go for a semi-longish run of, say, 1:20 or so, over the weekend; still at very easy pace.  Jog, jog and, say, on Wedsday, do 3 miles temp + 3 miles build-up (explain later); jog, jog, easy strides or fartlek (this should be Saturday); another longish easy jog of 1:00~1:15.  When I say, jog, JOG.  Jog, jog, jog, and on Thursday (assuming Marathon is on Sunday), 2km or 8-minutes tempo (think of it as a 10k race pace) without kicking at the end; jog (or rest), jog with a few strides.

For tempo + build-up, do it this way:

Go warm-up like you would for a race or some fast workout like tempo run or intervals; for 5k tempo, it wouldn't have to be on track, you can do it on the road or trail, wherever.  Get a flat area where you can either go around and around (say, 1 mile loop 3 times or around the lake or go out over a flattish trail out for 3 miles...  Now it doesn't have to be exactly 3 miles.  Let's say, in your case, you should be able to do 19~20-minutes 5k comfortably.  That's what you want.  Let's say, if you do it time-base, be on a conservativel side and say 18-minutes hard; not all-out, but, let's say, 90% effort, or your 10k effort.  No picking up pace or sprinting at the end.  I want strong but even pace all the way throughout.  Once this is done, walk for one minute and turn around and go straight into 3-mile build-up.  You start with a jog.  Naturally, you just finished a hard effort tempo run so you can't run hard or fast; so jog...  After a few minutes however, you should notice your tempo pikcing up.  You'll start to feel good so just go ahead and pick up thte pace gradually; always talk to your own body to determine the effort.  Toward the end of this run, you should be nearly flat-out running hard.  I want you to get to this point just when you're finishing the run--in other words, if you really start to feel good, say, 10-minutes into this build-up, don't continue; stop.  But, unless you're really super shape, it'll take some time to get your feeling up.  If you have to jog 2-miles, so be it; but you should feel the tempo GRADUALLY coming up.  Let it come up and gradually pick up the pace.  Once again, the idea is to be flying at the very end of the build-up.  Stop right there.  Again, NO SPRINTING AT THE END.  You're now feeling good and flying; control your urge and jog home.  You do need to jog nice and easily as cool-down.  If you think you'll have a hard time controling yourself, do like elite would do; wear jacket and pants for warm-up; discard when you do this workout; once it's done, put them back on (sure, hide them somewhere under the tree or something)--that'll slow you down cooling down.  Once again, the idea is NOT to show how fast you can run.  Time is not important; your feeling is.  I'm assuming you've done all your homework--all the long runs, tempo runs, MP runs, intervals, etc....  This is one of the best ways to get your condition come up and be ready for a race.  I was temped to say 2-miles, or 3k; 4k might be best but you don't want it too fast either.  5k + 5kk sounds right but, if you think it might be too much, cut it back down to 4k + 4k.  Once again, it really doesn't matter what distance or how fast you'll run them.  WHAT THIS WORKOUT WOULD DO TO YOU is what's important.

In the final few weeks, there's not much you can do to add on to what you've already got.  What you need to do is to get the best out of you.  You most probably kncok yourself down with a hard effort half marathon.  All you need is to get it back up again.  And jogging is the best way to recover.  Continue doing that.  Again, these jogging should only be a maintainance workout.  Don't think like "Oh, I feel good today so if I run this one hard, maybe I'll be better off for the marathon..."  More often than not, it'll workout the opposite.  Have you heard the term; "You left your best run on the workout"?  Don't do that.  Jealously guard what you've built-up till now; don't waste it on a morning jog.

Good luck.

Oh, and, like I guess Kristen might have told you, don't worry too much about "Wrath of Nobby". ;o)  That's not what I meant.

Of course you're not dead yet. 

 

If it's just staleness, what Jeff had suggested might be just fine.  It is the way to go often; just pumping up the mileage and go slow.  However, you have a marathon to deal with in a few weeks time.  If you are asking my suggestion, I would take this whole week just easy jog of, say, 30~40 minutes.  Maybe even 9~10-minute pace.  Go for a semi-longish run of, say, 1:20 or so, over the weekend; still at very easy pace.  Jog, jog and, say, on Wedsday, do 3 miles temp + 3 miles build-up (explain later); jog, jog, easy strides or fartlek (this should be Saturday); another longish easy jog of 1:00~1:15.  When I say, jog, JOG.  Jog, jog, jog, and on Thursday (assuming Marathon is on Sunday), 2km or 8-minutes tempo (think of it as a 10k race pace) without kicking at the end; jog (or rest), jog with a few strides.

Good Stuff. I don't feel I need to add anything at this point, just not squander any of what I've already got.  I'm sure what you have outlined above will not let me squander anything. Therefore, I'll give it a go. The race is on the 17th so given a day per mile I should be recovered.

Nobby, I'm curious what you suggest for pacing. I need a 3:15 and, based on my half, calculators "predict" 20 minutes faster. Considering my lower volume I don't dare attempt this. Ideally I'd like to split the difference between my potential (that I don't know) and what I need for BQ. I'm thinking going out the first 16 miles around 7:15-20 and see how I feel. The problem is that I know at this pace I should feel really good at 16. Perhaps I should just try to hold it and be satisfied with the result? Perhaps I should try 7:10-15 and see if can manage the last 6 miles knowing I can afford some degree of fade just not a crash and burn.

Thanks! Oh, I'm honored to have incurred the "wrath of Nobby." No worries.

Ok, I've been jogging, jogging, jogging, and, as suggested by Nobby, did 3 miles tempo + 3 miles build-up. Things are looking up and I think this workout snapped me both physically and mentally out of a state of feeling slow and heavy. I'm glad I've got another 10-11 days to go. Energy stores are up but, strangely some soreness remains.

I ran the tempo as if I were running a soft/non agressive 10K and was a little suprised at the result and how easy it came. I was not at all gasping for air and could kept going very easily. The build-up went well too. It was good to see that right after a hard tempo I could coltrol the pace as I did (graph below).

I ran it highly controlled and hopefully ran it in the spirit in which it was suggested. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens on the 17th. Now, back to jogging.

Congrats on some nice times and the big progress in 2010.  Looking forward to log-stalking you in 2011!