The Big One

This morning was our biggest workout of the season. I consider it a big personal success in the bag. Here is the dirty -

• Warm up to the Anderson HS track
• One mile HARD on the track (start at 10k pace and build to finish with full speed effort) - 6:53
• Easy miles to mile 4
• 5 miles of MGP (my goal is 7:38 pace)- I don't wear a Garmin, but my total time for this stretch was 37:51 (7:34 average pace - woot! but better stay conservative on the next set)
• rest 3-5 minutes and get water
• 4 miles MGP (the tougher, little hilly section that I decided to run more conservatively) - total time 31:20 (7:50 average)
• Average for all 9 miles MGP was 7:41 (yay!)
• 5 miles of difficult hills as easy as we wanted for pace (Redbud in both directions, a few less strenuous miles in Westlake, and Stratford, ugh!)
• closing miles - 6 miles on the track - 2 miles MGP (7:38), 2 miles HMGP (7:20 for me), 2 miles 10k pace (7:00 for me)

I struggled a bit during the track part, but most people did. I nailed the first two miles at MGP. I ran one and a half laps of the HMGP miles perfectly, then started to crash. At that point, I asked Steve to help me get through the mental barrier. He said to take one easy lap, then get back into MGP pace and hold on as long as I could. At any point I felt like cratering again, I had permission to run an easy lap, then get right back into MGP.

Did I finish it out? Yup, and I think I did pretty well. I took the remaining three and a half miles lap-by-lap just trying to hit the right pace and found that I was able to recover for a lap and then latch right back onto MGP. I also recruited Chad to run some of the laps with me to help keep me going forward. (sigh...he is the best)

Of the 14 laps remaining, I hit 6 of the laps right at MGP or pretty darn close (1:54-1:56 per lap). Four of the other 14 laps were between 1:57 and 1:58. I ran one lap at 2:00 (3:30 marathon pace). So that leaves three laps of slower running - the first recovery lap, the third or fourth lap at the end of mile four (where my watch malfunctioned due to user error), and the last lap of mile 5 (which was only at 2:10 because of a side stitch that brought me to a walk for about 30 meters). The last mile was at 7:50 and my last lap was at goal MGP pace. My favorite part of the track miles was when I yelled out with one lap to go - "I know I can finish this one!!"

Total distance - pretty darn close to 26.2 miles.

Total time - estimated 3:43:42 because of the missed time during mile four on the track.

That is pretty good in my book. If I was 35 years old, that would be a BQ on a hot day, through some tough hills. Had we run a flat course for those 5 hilly miles, I think I would have been at least 7-10 minutes faster, even with a conservative pace...PR baby! Had we run in 50 degree weather and on a flatter course, there is no telling how much faster I would have been. :)

Things I learned about myself today that I don't usually experience with the team - I was able to focus on my pace beyond what my friends' paces were and how fast they were running. I learned how to hit a mental barrier without letting it upset me and making me cry. I learned how to push beyond the mental barrier in a Soul Buster workout to achieve some sort of success. I ran with Chad and did not get emotional when I felt like crap (damsel in distress syndrome). I learned to find my 'happy place', even when I wasn't feeling all that happy. I learned how to relax my face when tired...at the prompting of Coach Sisson.

Good times...but I really am considering less painful hobbies.