I was thinking about it this morning. I think you should put a lot of weight in what your coach recommends. 

That being said, I do not think that the HM will be a lifetime PR for you, even if you run out of your mind.  It's a learning experience towards your continued improvement. You will learn from it, no matter what the big clock reads at the end.  I understand that a bad race may bum you, but maybe it shouldn't.  I did not run the HM I wanted to run on Sunday. Not even close.  But I didn't call it a "fail." It rubs me the wrong way when people say that about their races, simply because they were way off their goal time.  

Oh nothing specific...I just can't run fast right now so maybe i'm not entirely recovered from the marathon. Not sure if i'll be able to race well by then. The 10k on Saturday, and then some really crappy mile repeats today. Those may have been due to the 30mph headwind though....i'm gonna go with that  

Failing a workout is no big deal.  Failing two is frustrating.

Failing three is a trend.

So where are you along that continuem?  You trained very hard this spring and you gutted out a hot marathon that likely put a load of stress on your body.  You may mostly "feel" ok but don't get sucked up into going after it again too soon and kicking yourself over into over-training.

I think runners have limits they must respect as to how long they can really go after it without a break....this is why I'm not big on pursuing streaks or annual mileage goals....both encourage bad behavior when it comes to taking the rest that may be required.

I really pushed myself in 2003 taking a long shot at a Trials qualifier....burned out <2 months before my target race.  In retrospect, I don't think I ever let myself fully come back and struggled constantly with what turned out to most likely be anemia through 2004-2005.  Late summer 2005 I finally hit rock bottom and gave up...took a few months almost completely off while I restocked my iron stores.  Came back hard in December 2005, averaging nearly 100 mpw with some as high as 120 through mid-April 2006....so about 5 months really pushing the envelope.  That led to a good 10K, but looking back through my log the warning signs that I was about to crash were all there.  While my tempo runs were going well my last 3 interval workouts before my 10K PR were failures.  So I should not be surprised that I then injured myself and rapidly wend downhill between late April and May when I ran my pathetic marathon PR.

Moral of the story is make sure you give your body enough rest from extreme training....you won't lose a ton with a few weeks of easy running but you may gain a lot in the long run.  If you see the failure trend emerge (wo)man up and listen to it....

I was thinking about it this morning. I think you should put a lot of weight in what your coach recommends. 

 

That being said, I do not think that the HM will be a lifetime PR for you, even if you run out of your mind.  It's a learning experience towards your continued improvement. You will learn from it, no matter what the big clock reads at the end.  I understand that a bad race may bum you, but maybe it shouldn't.  I did not run the HM I wanted to run on Sunday. Not even close.  But I didn't call it a "fail." It rubs me the wrong way when people say that about their races, simply because they were way off their goal time.  

Well his point is more that I really have no business racing any distance so soon after a marathon.

Elites just don't do that, so that's not what he does or suggests. That's probably why they're elite and the rest of us have disapointing race after disappointing race until we occasionally get on a streak of fast for a bit.

I understand what you mean about a "fail" but I disagree. I for one hold myself to high standards, sometimes maybe higher than I should. If you missed a bunch of math problems on a test even if you studied your ass off and tried really hard...you'd still get an "F" wouldn't you? Yea. You would.

Candice, I'm hardly an expert and I don't know what the "Boom Loop" is, but ... did you have essentially the same wind for all four repeats (like you would've on a track) or did it vary (like it might if you did them on a loop road course)?  That might account for your hitting the times for the first couple but not the last pair.

But given your previous success with what looked like a tougher workout, I have to think your legs just aren't back all the way yet.  Taking a mile to lose a wobbly-leg feeling after nothing harder (for you, anyway!) than 4x1mi@6:35 doesn't sound like your normal fitness level.

I'm nowhere near the level of some (most) of you folks.  One of the very cool things about RA is that I can read what really good runners have to say about training (theirs and others'), "see" them doing big volume, big workouts, and putting up big performances.  It's clear you love to run and especially to compete, and your mind obviously has recovered and is ready to GO.  But it sounds like your body hasn't finished filling the tank yet and won't perform up to its high potential for you right now.  I guess it's your call whether you want what you can wring out of it for this HM or what you'll get if you wait until you're more fully recovered.

Well his point is more that I really have no business racing any distance so soon after a marathon.

 

Elites just don't do that, so that's not what he does or suggests.

If you can't make it and need someone to fill in and race badly, I'm your huckleberry.

I'm getting the same advice along with "if you do this and end up injured....." 

I parrotted Nobby TWICE today?  Ha.  One more for the hat trick...