So I had a great training cycle for my first HM, and a decent debut race. But, looking back, I think I ran the last few miles of my half with a knee injury that was bad enough that I wasn't able to run much after the race. So now that I have some distance from the training plan and the race, and have run a couple of pain-free miles finally this week, I'm ready to look back a bit.
Some people might think that it is simple a matter of "too much too soon" and that I picked a plan that was too aggressive for a beginner. But I don't think that's quite it.
I actually think that the plan I chose was perfect for me. I goofed in the execution. Four weeks before the race, my plan called for a 8K-10K tune up race. Instead, I ran a 10 mile race, my first at that distance. It was great. Probably my best day running ever. I came out of that race with a lot of confidence about my half. I also had a lot of confidence that I was able to keep training and pushing myself because clearly it had been effective in getting me ready for the 10 miler.
I think where I went wrong was not taking the week after the 10 miler as a recovery week. Instead, I followed my plan as written. Even though I had only substituted a race for a race, I didn't factor in that the race I ran was close to double the distance of the race in the plan. The fact that it was a new distance for me only compounded the matter. Worse, the week after my race, I kept going with my plan as written, figuring that my taper would take care of anything that came up.
You see, I was feeling great the week after the 10 miler. I didn't feel like I needed a cutback at all. But I think that was the week that I needed it. It just didn't catch up with me for a couple more weeks.
So the trick with recovery is that it's always better to take it a week too soon than a week too late. And as a beginner, I also need to recognize that seemingly small changes that I make to my training plan might have a big impact on the recovery that I need. I don't have years and years of a base to fall back on when I push too hard.
Hoping that I can remember this as I build my miles back and move into my next training cycle!
That seems like sound logic, but I'm no expert. It makes sense that since your tune-up race was so much longer than the plan called for, you should have taken extra rest afterwards. Hindsight is 20/20.
That being said, you ran a good time for a debut half (better than mine), so obviously that little tweak may not have cost you too much.
I also agree that if you had years of base behind you, something like that may not have much of an impact in the grand scheme of things.
Excellent post. This is a learning experience for us all and one of the hardest things for competitive folks to learn is to take adequate time for recovery after a really hard effort. I've gotten it wrong on more than one occasion.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
That seems like sound logic, but I'm no expert. It makes sense that since your tune-up race was so much longer than the plan called for, you should have taken extra rest afterwards. Hindsight is 20/20. That being said, you ran a good time for a debut half (better than mine), so obviously that little tweak may not have cost you too much. I also agree that if you had years of base behind you, something like that may not have much of an impact in the grand scheme of things.
Yep. Luke's right. (LTH as well).
With time, you will learn to listen to your body, and after each race, you'll be able to evaluate exactly what it is that you need and can do, rest or or a return to training.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
hop, hop, hop...
Good thoughts. I'm a repeat offender when it comes to ignoring proper recovery. Something I shall have to remedy if I want to do my best.
MM #8764 / HF #6535 / Double Agent #668
PRs: 5K - 27:43, 10K - 57:14, HM - 2:06:18, FM - 5:22:42
~How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were supposed to be?~
Zelanie, good to see you looking back to analyze what might have happened and use that knowledge
to try something different in the future. I have followed a lot of your training and progress over the last
year or so and you should be so so proud of yourself.
FWIW, I do have many years of racing and base to fall back on and I still follow a recovery plan after
every race. Even if that plan is to deviate from my marathon training and skip a run. I tend to run a lot
of races during summer marathon training and squeeze a lot into a few months because our racing
season here is so short. So I find it even more important to do a post race recovery.
That plan may vary from race to race and depend on what else I am training for but I still allow myself
some type of recovery even if my body doesn't "Tell" me it needs a rest my heads knows it probably does.
I actually posted about this in someone else's thread yesterday. I take at least 2 days off after a hard
raced half. Even if that half is during a marathon cycle and I'm regularly running 13 mile+ every week anyway.
I take 6 days off running after a full. I do active recovery in the form of walking, swimming and cycling on
those days. Of course the recovery everyone needs will differ from person to person. I am over 50 and I
don't run high miles so I tend to err on the side of being conservative but I have never regretted doing so.
This has kept virtually injury free through 14 years of running and now into my 11th year of racing and 51
years old. I have only had 1 injury that entire time that kept me from running distance for more than a few
weeks and that was in the early years, when like you, I was still learning what my body could tolerate and
probably pushing myself to do too much, thinking that a few days of recovery would hurt my fitness. And
of course we all know that is not true. And I guess I learned that it's better to take a few days off after a
race or when something hurts than to continue, get injured and miss way more running days than I would
have if I had just rested a bit.
Last year I ran 15 races, the year before 17, including each year 2 marathons and 4 half marathons and
many times racing consecutive weeks. I stayed injury free by following the recovery method I know works
for me. Obviously you have learned a good lesson that you can carry forward to hopefully many more
years of racing and staying injury free.
Good stuff Zel, I would add that what I think about a race a week after it may change two weeks or even month lifter.
So for me, the reflection period may be extended because we are always learning as runners, so we may learn something a month or two down the road that changes what we thought about a particular issue or circumstance.
I agree. I also think that running the full 10 miler at race pace hurt you. As you mentioned, the plan had 10 miles WITH 10K race and you raced way more than that. The lack of recovery after that did you in. Which is in a sense, TMTS after all.
We all make these mistakes no matter how long we have been running. Great job figuring it out and going from there.
Damaris
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