Thanks peeps. Races are always kind of a let down afterward--you do well, and then you kind of look around and go, "now what?" You don't do as well as you wanted to, and you are bummed out. This one has run the gamut, but overall, I'm happy with the progress and starting to trust the entire concept of "training plans." Of course, I've been dutifully following a plan for races, but for some reason the physiology is finally starting to make sense to me and not seem like total witchcraft. I really appreciate all your kind words, I race alone and ask my family to not come (too much extra stress), so having a group to come lay out the minutia is amazing. Thank you all so much!!!!
I lost my rama
Races are always kind of a let down afterward--you do well, and then you kind of look around and go, "now what?" You don't do as well as you wanted to, and you are bummed out.
Yeah, after big races I always get the post-race blues. The only cure that I have found is to sign up for the next one.
3/17 - NYC Half
4/28 - Big Sur Marathon DNS
6/29 - Forbidden Forest 30 Hour
8/29 - A Race for the Ages - will be given 47 hours
+1 to Yoda Berto. Never being quite satisfied with yourself and always looking forward to the next goal race is the mark of a competitive runner. That's what we do and who we are. At least it's not as bad as crack.
At least it's not as bad as crack.
Thanks Master OFR! And yet I find myself staring at LM's avatar dreaming of cutting open those bricks and doing a nose dive into that white powdery goodness.... um, I digress.... Great job on that 10k this weekend you one fast bastard!!!
Did you call me Fat Bastard, pray tell?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgfbafx137A
Races are always kind of a let down afterward--you do well, and then you kind of look around and go, "now what?"
I experience the same thing LM. We put so much training, stress, mental focus, into one day and then poof its over and our brains don't know what to do next. It happens even when you do reach your goal....It just happens a few days after the race because your hopped up on the new time you just ran. Just roll with it; its what keeps us reaching for higher goals and trying to get faster and faster.
PRs:----- 5k: 17:48 (2019) 5M: 29:36 (2020) HM: 1:24:37 (2017) Scheduled: ???
You write well. 66 degrees is really warm for a race of that duration. Kudos to you for sticking so close to your main goal and not letting things fall completely all to hell.
Good observation with the hill sprints and strides. Knowing the things you should not be doing can sometimes be all the difference in the world.
Pre-race and in-race nutrition (and even post-race) is an individual thing and given the number of years you've been running, you're not likely to learn anything new at this point. You are either refining what you already do, or trying something different, most often just for the sake of trying something new. I did exactly that once before a half eating half a GU in the starting corral, then I ran 13.1 miles holding the other half of it in my hand.
Anyway, different strokes for different folks. I usually do well with a pre-race meal and water during the event, and have never felt that nutrition or a lack thereof was a limiting factor for me during a half. YMMV
Thanks so much LRB, I appreciate it!
And to everyone who checked out the percentages (Coast, Bert-O, LazyDog, OFR), thanks for the feedback. To be fair, the fact that running this kind of pace gets me this placement probably says a lot about the direction the racing field has gone in the past 10 or so years: there are a lot of "completers" as opposed to "competers," and as a woman I have a distinct advantage inasmuch as there are fewer truly competitive female racers out there. Take my age into account, and I've got the odds stacked pretty heavily in my favor. That said, racing is all about who shows up that day, so I'll take what I'm given and be happy
I am pretty stoked about the no sprinting = decrease in injuries epiphany. If I can keep healthy, I can maybe do some stuff (said every runner ever, lol). Also, like you Bert, I've had some (a lot of) help from OFR-Yoda on my AT situation. I used his prototype heel insert plans to make my own, and currently have them in one pair of shoes that I rotate every other run. So I alternate between 8mm and 10mm drop, or thereabouts. It seems to be keeping things happy. I do long runs and speedwork without, and the easy recovery runs with the lifts. So far, so good.
I have a 5K on tap, and agree with all of you, it's key to have another goal ready to work toward. It keeps things moving forward, and helps circumvent the post-race-blues. I should figure out what I want to do after the 5K pretty soon, so there's another thing on the horizon. I'm going to Hawaii the week between Xmas and New Years, so I'll see if there are any local short races that would be fun to do while I'm there. I've always wanted to be one of those "destination racer" people, this could be my shot!