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April 16, 2005
Low Key 15k
Reminder to self: pacing requires practice, PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE. I seriously need to work on the latter two. My plan for this morning's "race" was to start slow and pick up the pace in the last miles in order to practice good pacing, but as the case has been in all my recent races, I went out too fast and could not sustain the momentum. I warmed up for 2 miles beforehand and was loose and ready to go. I hit the one-mile mark in 7:14, which felt good even if I was breathing a bit hard...it was windy and a hilly course after all. There were no other mile markers, so it was difficult to gauge what my pace was after that. (I wish I had a better sense of what my paces feel like. I simply know fast, medium-fast, and slow.) Anyhow, I didn't think too much about being able to keep it up for 8.3 more miles because I felt strong. I did briefly think about running with our track coach when I passed him early on, but he seemed to be going real slow. He later kicked my butt. I started slowing down with about 15 minutes to go, due to my (lack of) speed endurance rather than tired legs. As hard as I pushed myself, I felt like I was slogging. I had hoped to pick up time on the return trip since it was downhill/flat with the exception of two hills, but it wasn't to be. My mantra became, "I can do anything for x minutes." Meaning, I could tough it out for however long - that bought me a couple of quicker spurts toward the end but the not negative splits or smart workout that I wanted to run. I finished in 71 minutes, the first woman, but that's because all our fast gals are at Boston right now.
Now that I've bellyached sufficiently, I realize that I need to know my weaknesses in order to become a better runner. Pacing and negative mental attitude have been the biggest ones in recent times. However, my mental attitude has improved significantly since I accepted that every run will not be perfect, but that that does not mean that I'm getting worse. The good news is that I get to practice my pacing again next weekend at a local 10k. I'll probably still do my long run the day before, since reestablishing my base for a fall marathon is higher priority. Consistent pacing will be my aim for the 10k. I'll have to repeat that to myself often.
Time to redirect my focus back to my research paper...oh joy!
Posted by Leilani at April 16, 2005 06:52 PM
Comments
Hey Leilani-I think YOU are one of the fast girls. (And not in an unflattering way!!) Nice win!
Posted by: Audrey at April 17, 2005 08:09 PM
Now I'm the one looking foward to your 10K this weekend! Let me know where it is (I think there might be a couple of different ones) and if I can make it I'll go and cheer!!! (you'll have to tell me what you look like though! ;)
Posted by: Nanda at April 18, 2005 01:55 PM