Sunday, June 24, 2012

2012 Training Day 129: 21K in 1:46 - Silly Me!

Good is not good where better is expected.
The Sunday run was a disaster for me. Giant disaster.
I really wanted to hammer it and I had trained for a Sub-1:40 and had confirmed I was ready for it.
I didn't have legs. My legs weren't fresh and I simply could not friggin move! When your legs are not fresh (if you don't know about acidosis then you are lucky) you cannot control them or rush them: they develop a life of their own and that life is sluggish. The Americans say your legs give you a "f**k you."
It is different from overtraining: it is just inadequate recovery. Your heart is almost idle because the legs are asleep and not generating enough work or oxygen debt. It is hell ah tell ya. At that point you can stare at them and scream at them or fling furniture around or you can hold your head in your hands and scream. I did neither of those. I tried my best with what I had.
I had not recovered from the fast 16K that I did on Tuesday. WTF was I thinking doing a fast 16K a few days before a race? Or it was the 9K with 11X100m that I did on Thursday?
I ignored my own counsel by doing those fast training runs a few days to race day. But I frankly thought I could pull it off. Anyways, I have learnt my lesson. Amateurs do get cocky and arrogant and overreach themselves.
We started of well. It was still kinda dark (6:10 am-ish) and like the 16K last week, what I promised myself is to ensure that the first Kilometer does not end up being the fastest in the race. So we started with a moderate 4:50. Then some tall guy tried to keep with us from Doonholm roundabout but we shook him off by the time we reached Buru junction. second Km was in 4:43 and the third was in 4:48. Not bad, I noted. But I need to start picking up and so I tried to inject a little speed. 4th Km in 4:49. What? Oookay, calm the ef down, just push a little bit now. Maybe the legs aren't warmed up properly. 5th Km in 4:58. Whaaaaat? 4:58? Jesus Christ! I can do a 3:50 for heavens sake! What am I doing with a 4:58 at the 5th Km?
Now I knew something was totally wrong, plus, we hadn't reached the expected 5Km mark. Was the garmin wrong? Then I realized we had started at the wrong point. Oh God. But that can be addressed later. Move man, move! I was losing GK somewhere behind me.
I tried to push. Nothing. I pushed harder. Nothing. I simply could not move. I checked my heart rate and it was at 165. This is nothing because my heart rate peaks at 178 so my heart was idle. I told myself learning to run with tired legs is part of training. Nothing. I fantasized that maybe after 7Kms I will pick up 'rythm' as Sikuku calls it. Nothing. 7Km reached and I was posting 5mins per Km. I knew I was in a big mess. Giant mess. A mess that you can plant a tree on.
So I decided to be one with the mess and accept the mess and me as partners and we kept posting 5mins plus times per Km. GK caught up with me at 18Kms and we added an extra Km to make it 21Km.
It was so disappointing but I have learnt my lesson and will taper differently next time. I feel fine and will probably attempt a sub 1:40 in a week or two so that I can put it behind me because I am sure I am capable of doing it it.
In the end, I finished in 1:46. Bloody hell. I have kicked myself so hard my right ankle is sore.




4 comments:

Carolyne Gathuru said...

Ai? Dude? Cut yourself some slack? Like you say, every experience is a learning experience and so great are the lessons coming out of this experience yes? Can count up to 4 lessons in there:)
On a slightly different note from the earlier post, clarify the breathing shallowly, breathing through your mouth and using the abdominal muscles bits?

Running Writer said...

Breathing shallowly is breathing like a model. Like you don't want people to hear you heewing and hawing. It is stifling breathing so that when you are running behind someone you dont sound like a train about to run them over or like a straining guy about to collapse. It is not good because it starves your system and stresses the diaphragm. So the best thing is to suck in a lungful of air and expel air. Without prejudice, fear, favour or fashion sense or any holding back of any sort. suck in a lungful of air and expel air. suck in a lungful of air and expel air. Until your body adjusts to the routine. Now sucking in air properly will naturally recruit your abdominal muscles in that work and so will expelling them - and you may have to use the abdominal muscles in order to establish and maintain a rhythm. This reduces the stress on the diaphragm and at the same time supplies your body with the required oxygen. Remember running is one of the fastest ways of creating oxygen debt in your system. When you truly breathe in and out, your mouth will seamlessly get involved in the breathing, without even thinking about it. It doesn't have to fall open like the mouth of some villager watching roasted meat, but air will rush through it. Does that clarify it?

Carolyne Gathuru said...

Got it thanks! Loud and Clear....and of course colourfully so :)

Will share with my lot.
Thanks
Carolyne

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