road2boston: i'm back

The elliptical machine and the bike trainer at the gym can be an infuriating and mind-numbing experience. I simply can't move fast enough on the former to get my heart rate above 125 BPM, and I can't force myself to sit on the trainer long enough to get a decent workout. Over the past week I resorted to various combinations of the two to get to eighty minutes per session, which actually ended up being a nice test of mental fortitude and a nice little dose of strictly easy aerobic training. Trying to look on the bright side, perhaps this calf strain was exactly what I needed at the time.

I feel fresh, rejuvenated, and 100% focused on the task at hand in the coming weeks. And, after an easy treadmill run yesterday and a quality "tester" treadmill workout today where I smashed out 19k with 6 x 4 min hard in the middle without a hint of pain or strain, I'm officially back. Tomorrow brings a road test. I'll continue to do my hip (possible cause) and calf stretches right up until race day. With luck and due diligence, I'm hoping to come out the other side of this injury with minimal time missed and a greater appreciation for simply being  able to run.

Six weeks to go.

road2boston: injured

Less than 1km to go

I actually had a pretty decent race last Sunday (Feb. 22). It was an 8-miler (my first) and I finished in 50:08 - seventh overall and first in my age group. After an abysmal race a few weeks ago, I was just after a solid performance as it was likely my last race until Boston. With this in mind, I targeted roughly a 3:55 per km pace, which falls closer to my half-marathon pace than my 10k pace, but still pushing it. 

In terms of temperature we lucked out. It was only -12C with a light wind, which felt like spring conditions compared to the rest of February (coldest in Ontario in 115 years). However, the snow started coming down pretty heavy about thirty minutes before the race, which, combined with some of the residential side roads the course travelled through, meant for some slick conditions at times, and a possible cause of my injury.

I went our hard(ish), but in control. I completed the first kilometer in 3:46, and then focused on finding a rhythm. I begin steadily passing all the dudes who went out too hard, and not in control. I hit the proverbial rough patch both mentally and physically after we had looped around and gone up a steep incline for a second time around the 8k mark (I did notice I went through 8k faster than my 8K race a few weeks ago). I was really in a pain cave, but I hadn't quite reached the valley of despair. I didn't want to quit, but I did want/need to back off the pace a bit and gather myself if I was to finish this race on a positive note. 

By this point I had already passed all the overzealous folks who go out too hard and fade from the front. However, there was one dude who was over-so-slightly coming back to me around the 6k mark. I had already targeted him, but I really zeroed in on him now to help pull me out of the pain cave. Kilometers 8-10 were brutally slow (4:03, 4:02, 4:06), but I still managed to catch the guy just after 9k. I could tell when I passed him he was determined to stick with me, and he did because I broke one of the cardinal racing rules and wasn't prepared to drop him when I went by.

Everything changed for me at the 10k mark. My legs and my breathing came back to me, and I was full of confidence in my ability to push it until the finish line. I instinctively picked up the pace and I felt the dude fading.  

At this point we were passing loads of the slower 8K racers so I couldn't tell if, or how close, dude was behind me. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a full head turn to check his position, and to be honest I didn't much care. I was more concerned with finishing strong and closing out each kilometer faster than the last, which is what I did (3:58, 3:55, 3:45). 

But, at the end of the day it is a race. As we approached the final turn, I heard various people cheering for "Nick." I didn't make much of it because we were so close to the end (less than 200m). Then, everyone around the finish area started yelling and cheering, and I thought to myself, "Shit. This dude is trying to clip me at the line." I started running faster with about 50m to go, but by this point he was on my shoulder and in full-on sprint mode. I countered with a sprint mode of my own, but it was too late and he beat me by a half step at the line. Well done...bastard.

Winter racing in Ontario

After the race it was time for a quick sock and shoe change, and another 8-mile cool down run with my buddy, Phil, because we're training for a marathon and that's what we do. 

On Monday, I noticed my calves were feeling extra tight and sore, but I didn't make much of it. My calves are always tight and sore after big runs. It was negative South Pole outside so I hit the treadmill for my usual recovery run of 10km, plus 10 x 15sec hill sprints at 10% because I was next to Reid Coolsaet (Canadian olympic marathoner) at the Y. I wasn't trying to "impress" him, but perhaps I was inspired. Plus, I often do strides or surges the day after a long run, and I've done plenty of hill sprints during this training block, so it's really just part of the routine. In hindsight, this probably didn't help. On Tuesday, I did 16k on the treadmill with a moderate progression and felt pretty good. By this point I was barely even thinking about my calves anymore. After teaching on Wednesday, I headed outside for an easy 12k looking forward to a quality workout of 6 x 1km the next day. Within minutes I could tell something was definitely off with my left calf (never had a single issue on my left side). I was really hoping and trying to convince myself it just needed time to loosen up, so I pushed on, slowly. The pain wasn't getting any worse, but it wasn't dissipating either. I my heart of hearts I knew what I was dealing with. I had had this pain before in my right calf two weeks before the 2013 Ottawa Marathon. Calf strain. 

The physical therapist confirmed my suspicion. Minor calf strain of my left soleus muscle. This is not a good time for an injury of this nature, but it's not the worst either. If I let it heal and it holds I can still get four weeks of solid training in before going into a two week taper mode before Boston. 

Today was the fourth day in a row of no running. My P.T. recommended at least five days. Before Ottawa I took ten days off to be extra safe and went on long bike rides because it was nice outside. The race went fine and I haven't felt a twinge since. This time I'm aiming for seven days, but I'm already so sick of the stationary bike and elliptical machine I don't know if I'll make. I could swim, but I'm not a huge fan. I no longer feel a twinge going up or down the stairs, which means it's healing, but I know it needs more time. I hope I have the intelligence, willpower, and patience to give it that extra couple days it needs to heal up properly.  

road2boston: rounding into form

Training for a marathon is insane. When done properly, this battle of attrition wrecks, repairs, and then improves every system of a runner's body from VO2 max, to lactate and aerobic threshold, to metabolic efficiency. It breaks down muscle tissue, tendons, and ligaments and then builds them back up stronger. Even your toes get tougher. It tests your mettle and willingness to suffer week-after-week, and then comes back the following week with even more. It's relentless - a constant pounding of the mind, body, and soul. This is especially true if you're looking to lay a smackdown. In my case, this means training to improve my personal best by roughly ten minutes. No small task. This is why we love it.

Last week marked the halfway point of my twenty week road2boston training block. Things have been going fairly well - even with the snow and extreme cold temperatures. My training has been varied and building progressively. I've missed only a couple workouts, and the chillens have ruined just a handful of nights of sleep. I've stayed healthy and injury free all while increasing my weekly volume of running higher than ever before. 

These are all good things. However, because the marathon is such a beast and performing your best means teetering on the brink of complete breakdown (I won't say failure because I believe just making it to the finish line is success), we look for moments during our training to fill us with confidence of meeting our goals on race day. I had two such moments last week within a four day stretch.

My biggest issue in 3 of the 4 road marathons (one trail marathon on my resume) I've run has been cramps which started in my calves and crept their way up to my quads and hamstrings. As a result, I lost precious time stopping to stretch things out on multiple occasions. Surprisingly, the only marathon cramps weren't an issue was my first, but then it was also my slowest at 3:15. At Boston last year they hit me by 25k, earlier than ever before, yet I still gutted out a one minute PB. 

There are many theories as to why people cramp during a marathon, or during extended bouts of running, but nothing has been definitively proven. It's all hearsay and educated guesswork. However, of them all, the one I tend to believe is the most obvious. Cramps are a result of muscle fatigue. They are simply a by-product of muscles being asked to work harder and longer than they are capable of. This is why people very rarely cramp during training. They may do three or four hour long runs with no problems, but for obvious reasons, they don't push themselves to the max like they do during a race, which brings me to my point.

This time around I've committed to doing several long hard training runs of various styles in order to train my muscles to run harder and longer, and hopefully stave off cramps during Boston 2015. Last Wednesday I had my best effort to date - a 26k run with 20k at or below marathon pace (~4:10km). The best part about this run wasn't the fact I completed it, but more the fact I was struggling bad between 8-12k, and then I just flipped a switch mentally, dialed-in and accepted the task at hand, and became a metronome of running efficiency. From 12k on, not only did I know I was going to complete the run, but I felt strong and the last 3k were three of my fastest splits of the entire workout. Then, on Sunday, I followed that up with a 20k run in which I threw down 6 x 1 mile at threshold (~3:50-3:53km) with one minute recoveries + 4 x 200/200 jog + 4 x 400/400 jog in the middle. 

Nailing a marathon is more than proper training. It involves luck as well. The weather is out of our control. Things like GI distress and injury and even cramps are often out of our control too. However, it's up to us to help luck happen by "controlling the control-ables" as Donald Rumsfeld once said. In running, that consists of our mental approach and physical conditioning. Several more training runs like these and I'll have the confidence, strength, and physical stamina I need to deliver on race day in Boston.

Robbie Burns 8K: A Lesson in Humility

By all accounts 2014 was my best year of running ever. I ran more miles than I've ever run, stayed healthy and injury free, and seemed to set PBs on top of PBs throughout the year in every type of race from a road mile, to a cross-country 5K, to the Boston Marathon. I ended my racing year with perhaps my best race ever, in which I lowered my half-marathon PB by nearly three minutes while running in complete control and with full confidence in my abilities (perhaps more to come on this "flow state" in a future post).

That half-marathon was way back on November 2nd, and after some much needed downtime I came into the Robbie Burns 8K this past Sunday with eight weeks of relatively solid Boston Marathon training under my belt. Although, I didn't have a "goal" time, nor was I even particularly excited for this race (8k is an odd distance and it's the middle of winter in Ontario), I did expect to have a decent showing based on my fitness and previous year of PB madness. 

It was cold. There was a nasty headwind for a fair portion of the race, and I wanted it all to go away. I was race rusty and mentally checked out from the beginning. Some of it might've had something to do with getting less than four hours sleep the night before thanks to #2 refusing to go so sleep herself, but still, I've trained in nastier conditions and raced marathons on just as little sleep and performed well. 

However, the one glaring difference between those marathons and the Robbie Burns 8K was the fact I had no goal whatsoever. No goal for a specific time, or place, or even an effort level, and that is where I went wrong. For me, A and B, and sometimes even C goals are what drive me to stay focused, motivated, and willing to suffer during a race. This isn't profound insight. The same is true for most people, but for some reason I forgot about this universally key component of racing.

In hindsight, based on where I am in my training, I should've been aiming for 1k splits that were a second or two slower than my 10K PB splits from last October. However, having no time goal in mind, or any goal for that matter, I found myself thinking during my warmup that I could just turn the race into a hard tempo run if I wanted. Once I let this thought creep in and marinate in mind for a while my fate was sealed. I had given myself an out if I wanted, and I took it.

I am just a dude. I have no special talent and no abnormally freakish physiology that enables me to race up front. Usually goals present themselves during a race. Like, I'm going to beat that guy, or finish strong. This race was no different, however I chose to ignore all those opportunities. I think I got overtaken by more people than I ever have in any race, including the third overall female, a 62 year old man, and a pear-shaped dude that I couldn't even muster up the will to try and hang with. By that point I had already walked once and given up on really pushing myself. I just wanted to be done so I could start my 15k cool down. 

In the end, the day wasn't a total wash. There was a 26k long run that included a hard 8k tempo effort with a couple walk breaks, and I re-learned an important lesson: racing is far different than training, and in order to race effectively I gotta have goals.

And, the race shirt is so hideous I kind of like it and think I'll wear it.

road2boston 2015

After two weeks of no running and another two weeks of the occasional "chill" run, I officially ended downtime and commenced my training block for the 2015 Boston Marathon this morning at 6AM with a fifty-minute easy run, plus some strides at the end. The temperature hovered around zero (32F) and there was only a slight wind with an occasional hefty gust thrown in just to remind me it is in fact winter. All things considered it was quite a beautiful morning to kick things off, however moving forward this winter I expect these types of mornings will be a in the minority. Although I haven't done it much, nor have I tried when the weather is really cold and nasty, I really like getting out early in the morning when it's dark and quiet and most people are still sleeping. In a way It feels like you're getting free training time, and if you so desire you can go again in the evening to add volume (not quite there yet myself).      

To be honest, my road2boston training block actually started off on a slightly more ominous note. I had planned on kicking things off with a decent long run on Sunday, but after dealing with cold sweats, general achiness, and being on the brink of puking the night before I decided it might be sensible to skip the run on Sunday. Besides, I didn't get out of bed until 10AM (that never happens), so I missed the 8AM group long run anyway.

My plan for the next twenty weeks is to have no "official" plan. I know where I need to go and how to get there, so I'm basically aiming to really tune into my body and how I'm feeling from week-to-week with the ultimate goal of being fit, healthy, and confident enough to drop a sub-3 hour time at Boston. I spent the entire summer focusing on getting faster, which culminated with a 1:23 half-marathon in November. According to the Daniels' Running Calculator (linked to this blog) that time roughly projects to a 2:54 marathon, so I know I've established the speed necessary to break three hours. To maintain that speed and perhaps even improve it, I'll mix in hill sprints (10-20sec), hill repetitions (1+ minutes), strides, and intervals of various lengths (1-5min) at roughly 3k-5k pace. This should be the "easy" part.

My biggest and most important goal over the next twenty weeks is to first maximize my general endurance (haven't had a single run over 24km since Boston 2014), and then hone my specific endurance and increase my fatigue resistance. Establishing specific endurance and increasing fatigue resistance are basically the same thing, but when training for a marathon I think of specific endurance as runs or long intervals at or very near race pace, and I think of threshold (10k to half-marathon pace) runs and intervals as workouts aimed at improving fatigue resistance. In this case, I also think of specific endurance runs as tempo runs. It basically boils down to semantics, but one thing is for certain, threshold and specific endurance runs are the key to marathon success because along with improving race specific fitness, almost more importantly, they test your mettle and willingness to suffer on a weekly basis. Apart from avoiding injury and/or cramps (my marathon nemesis), mettle and willingness to suffer are vital on race day.

I don't periodize my training in the traditional sense. Meaning, I don't spend weeks at a time solely focusing on improving one aspect of training and fitness. Admittedly, I've never tried this approach. Although I know it has its merits, it just doesn't seem like a fun way to train, and the reason I run in the first place is because I like it. For me, I'd rather focus on everything at once while slightly changing the emphasis I place on the various components of marathon fitness. 

For instance, during the first five weeks of training my emphasis will be to establish a nice aerobic endurance base through mostly traditional long runs, but I'll also be mixing in some hill sprints and short bursts of speed to increase my stride power and improve my overall neuromuscular fitness. I'll also mix in the occasional threshold run or cruise interval run just to keep things interesting. During the next 8-10 weeks I'll limit the shorter speed/power sessions and emphasize threshold workouts and longer tempo runs. However, to keep my speed up and for the sake of variety I'll mix in strides, longer hill reps (with Heartbreak Hill(s) in mind), and some longer intervals in the 3k-5k pace range. During the last 5-7 weeks of this particular training block I will focus heavily on marathon pace runs and threshold runs at, or just below, half-marathon pace. Again, I'll mix in some strides and the occasional 5k pace interval run to keep my leg turnover sharp, smooth, and efficient.

Lastly, I plan to do all this while adhering as much as possible to the 80/20 running philosophy, which is a commonly used and successful approach to training employed by a majority of elite athletes in various endurance sports. In short, this training principle stresses that in order to maintain physical health and peak fitness 80% of your training should be of the easy, recovery, or aerobic variety, and 20% should/can be "hard." It doesn't have to be right on, and it might get a little out of whack at various stages of a training block, but at the end of said training block you're mostly likely to be healthy and in peak fitness if roughly 80% of your mileage was easy, and 20% was anything harder than easy. I'll be keeping track of this as I progress through my training.

Last Lastly, my personal training philosophy and the majority of the individual workouts I'll do for my road2boston training block come from an amalgamation of three wiser than me: Brad Hudson, Run Faster From The 5K To The Marathon, Matt Fitzgerald, 80/20 Running (and many others), and Jack Daniels, Daniels' Running Formula.

Let's get it on! Actually, that took me way longer than I expected and I'm mostly ready for bed.

-E    

The Case for Blood Tests

Thanks to multiple past PED offenders in baseball, football, cycling, track and field, and most recently the marathon world (Rita Jeptoo), the phrase blood test often conjures up negative thoughts and emotions in sports enthusiasts and everyday athletes alike. I suspect basketball would be on that list too if the NBA's drug testing policy wasn't a complete joke. We've been burned by so many cheating sports "heroes," struggling elite athletes trying to reach the apex of their spot (or perhaps just trying to keep up), and has-beens hoping to hang on for one last hurrah that it's nearly impossible not to have a visceral reaction and expect the worst when we hear or read the words blood test. 

For good reason, our faith in professional and, unfortunately, even amateur sports, and the athletes who participate in them has been tested and compromised. We've been lied to and even made to feel guilty about suspecting athletes of using PEDs even in the face of mounting evidence against them (thanks Lance, Roger, Barry, A-Rod, etc). Our hope in fair play has repeatedly been shattered, while those choosing to cheat the system have crushed the potential livelihood as well as the goals and dreams of countless clean athletes.

These lying liars and cheating cheats have ruined the sanctity and ethical code of our most cherished sports. They are the lowest of the low. The scum of the...

Wait, wait. This isn't a post about the ethics of PEDs, or the need for biological passports, or shaming those athletes and coaches who've cheated the system. This post is about the importance of getting a simple blood test, especially for aging and/or endurance athletes. Blood tests are our friends. Let's embrace them rather than shun their results. And, to highlight their simplicity and usefulness I'll share a personal experience.

I'm 38 years old now, so I must've been somewhere between 30 and 32 years old the first time I had a blood test done. I was in good physical health. I ate a varied and healthy diet fueled mostly by produce from the Portland Farmer's Market. I ran 2-3 times per week, rode my bike to work often, and stayed active on the weekends by hiking and/or walking with our dog (Carter - pictured above). Life was not stressful and I was living the classic urban Portland yuppy dream. However, for reasons I can't remember I went in to see my nurse practitioner to have a physical examination.

All things checked out tip-top as I suspected they would, but she was concerned about a low(ish) red blood cell count. Or was it low hemoglobin? Or was it low iron levels? I'm not quite sure, and I was so naive at the time I barely even asked for clarification. I do know for sure I didn't ask to look at the results, and all I left her office with were the words "borderline anemic" and dietary recommendations on how to get my "numbers" up before coming back for another test in 4-6 months. Okay, eat beef and leafy green vegetables. Remember that.

I came to find out my dad was also "slightly" anemic and took iron supplements. So, maybe this was a genetic inheritance like my receding hairline. Makes sense, but in this particular incident my numbers were "within range" (varies from lab to lab) six months later after a slight change in diet, and that was that. This was my first foray into the realm of blood tests, and I didn't give it much thought again until recently.

Over the last few years I've morphed into a bona-fide endurance athlete. I usually run six times per week and typically cover 50-60 miles (80-100km). As an endurance athlete I rely heavily on the production and transport of oxygen from my lungs to my muscle tissues. I'm not a doctor, but simply put, oxygen is transported through hemoglobin in red blood cells, and iron plays an essential role in hemoglobin function/production. Furthermore, iron plays an essential role in myoglobin function/production in the actual muscle tissue where the cells transport and release said oxygen to create the energy our muscles desire during exercise. Lastly, on a cellular level, our cell's engine is the mitochondria, which become more efficient through long bouts of aerobic training, and a key ingredient to proper mitochondria energy production (think ATP) involves a chemical reaction which hinges on...wait for it...yes, oxygen. In short, as endurance athletes our happiness, motivation, and success relies heavily on proper iron stores in the body to produce and transport oxygen to carry out these vital processes. 

In an ironic twist of fate endurance athletes are more susceptible to low iron stores (iron deficiency) due to several factors: 1) loss of iron through sweat 2) increased blood in our urine 3) gastrointestinal bleeding 4) and possibly through "foot strike hemolysis," or destruction of red blood cells in our feet due to repeated impact (this theory has been questioned). Females are even more susceptible due to blood loss during menstrual cycles. 

The primary way the body stores and transports iron is as ferritin, so when getting a blood test it's important to ask that your ferritin levels are measured as well as hemoglobin. There are multiple reasons for our hemoglobin to be low, but the most common cause is low iron levels, which is indicated by your ferritin level. Ferritin is the key, but there isn't necessarily an agreed upon definition for what a "low" ferritin level is in endurance athletes. However, generally anything below about 30 ng/mL (or 30ug/L) is concerning enough to discuss with your doctor about taking iron supplements (ferrous sulfate or ferrous fumarate) and improving ways to get iron naturally through your diet (easy to find on a basic Google search). 

Chronically low iron stores can lead to a feeling of general fatigue, decreased interest in training or racing, longer recovery times, and subpar performances, which brings me back to my story and my second foray into the world of blood tests. 

Back in July I had a 5K race in which I was definitely fit enough to set a PB and possibly dip under 18 minutes. I went out hard and detonated and had to walk for a bit around the 3K mark. In hindsight, I probably just went out a little too hard and went anaerobic too early in what was only my second 5K race ever (rookie mistake). But, it got me thinking about other possible causes. Then, in August I ran a 10K race in which I detonated around the 7K mark and had to walk yet again. This time I'm sure I was running a pace I should've been able to maintain based on my training. I still set a PB, but my time of 39:00 was about forty seconds slower than what I felt I was capable of. 

I suppose looking back on it I may have been feeling a bit fatigued as well, but I wouldn't have guessed it at the time. Regardless, based on two disappointing performances in a row I decided to change my training approach and to get my blood checked just to be safe. After all, I knew I had been "borderline anemic" in the past, and I wasn't training nearly as much at that time. 

When I got my results back I was not surprised at all to see that my ferritin levels were extremely low (16ug/L), as well as my hemoglobin and red blood cell count. By the this time I had already researched which form of iron as a supplement and which brands carried at our local health food store were the most effective, so when I met with my doctor to go over the results she could simply recommend dosage (admittedly, I had already started). I also started being more conscientious about eating an iron supportive diet as well, which includes drinking coffee more strategically. Apparently, the tannins in coffee and tea bond with iron making it harder for the small intestine to absorb. As a result, I try to take my pills and eat iron heavy food at least an hour before or after drinking the coffee I so desperately need because I have two small children. On the flip side, Vitamin C is supposed to help with iron absorption, so if possible I'll take my iron pills with C heavy fruit, or a bit of orange juice. 

By the time I became aware of my iron deficiency it was mid-September and there were still races left on my calendar. I had read that it can take as little as three weeks to start feeling more energized once iron stores start to increase in the body. My "A" goal 10K and half marathon races happened to be four and seven weeks away respectively. There was hope.

I would never have guessed I was feeling fatigued when I decided to get my blood tested and started taking iron supplements. I just wanted to stop detonating and start racing better again. Maybe it was partially a placebo effect, but I swear my energy level and overall attitude improved after just a few weeks. I went out and crushed both races and set PBs by over a minute in the 10K, and nearly three minutes in the half. 

Were increased iron stores in my body solely responsible for these results? Probably not, since I also changed my training approach by incorporating more frequent and longer tempo runs, which toughened me up and left me with more confidence in my abilities. But, I do believe increased iron stores helped provide me the energy I needed to perform well in those workouts and deliver on race day.

However, I could be totally wrong. My ferritin levels may not have changed one bit, but I'd be surprised if that were the case. I'll know for sure in mid-December when I go back for a re-test to see just how effective these changes have been. I've got a pretty important marathon coming up in Boston in April, so you better believe I'm going to stay on top of this.

Given the increased risk of becoming iron deficient as an endurance athlete, and the negative effect iron deficiency has on motivation and performance, I'm amazed by how few runners I know have even thought about having a blood test, let alone getting one done regularly. At the very least it makes sense to have one during the off season or scheduled down time to establish some baseline numbers. However, based on personal experience and from what I've read, if you're logging some heavy mileage I'd recommend a blood test at least twice a year. A simple blood test may just help you suffer better and improve your performance. Or, it could just save your life.  



   

Lessons Learned: Part One

I am not winning.

Eighteen minutes and thirteen seconds on September 6th, 2014. That is the fastest I could get myself to cover a five kilometer distance after a summer of fairly focused "speed" training. A mere seven seconds faster than my debut 5K road race back in early June coming off a winter and spring of marathon training, and a personal best effort at the Boston Marathon. Not a shameful PB for the 5K distance, but not the sub-18 minute performance I was after, or even a marked improvement over the distance after nearly three months of training.  

However, getting faster over five kilometers was only part of the goal of my Summer of Speed training. I also wanted to improve my 10K time, which I've done by fifty seconds (pictured above with two races still to come), and crush my half-marathon personal best (coming in November) set last February in the midst of training for Boston. In addition, I wanted to shorten and speed things up this summer simply to add some spice, fun, and variety to my training. 

So...since my 5K racing season has come to a close, but there's still racing left to come, it's a good time to ponder, look back, and reflect on...

Lessons Learned So Far...

1. Racing a 5K at or near redline really hurts. Like a whole body pain that makes you want to whimper and cry like a wounded puppy. 

2. That pain is either one I just haven't grown accustomed to, or one I just don't agree with because I hate it after about twelve minutes (on the roads). At this point, I'm programmed to suffer better over long distances.

3. With the aforementioned in mind, the mental component to racing a 5K is paramount to achieving your best result. If you lose your focus for even a portion of the race, which is easy to do when in oxygen debt, you're not achieving your best result.

4. There's no room for self-doubt. The race is too short.

5. Pacing is key. A couple seconds per kilometer too fast and you're in the pain cave too soon. A couple seconds per kilometer too slow during the middle of the race, and you're not making it up at the end. 

6. I think the best approach is a hard-even-hard tactic. Just under goal pace for the first km, at goal pace from 2-4km, and as hard as you can for the last kilometer.

7. Probably best to have a mantra, or a way to get yourself to think positively and/or distract from the pain because it's coming. I didn't have one, or at least one I remembered to access.

8. Racing people is way more fun than racing the clock (as is the case in most races). Motivation is key and when my whole body hurts I'm more motivated by place than I am by time.

9. My shorter distance speed (400m, 800m, and 1000m) didn't translate proportionately to my 5K time.

10. I need to continue to work on top end endurance, however marathon training when done properly has a pretty significant effect (physically) on one's 5K ability.

11. I like training for a 5K race more than I like racing them, but the opposite is true for marathons.

12. I like a course that undulates. My best race of the 5K season from a physical and mental standpoint came last weekend at Falling Leaves on the University of Guelph cross-country course, in which I ran in complete control the entire time while moving up throughout the race, and I set an 18 second PB. I actually enjoyed it, which leads me to my next two points.

13. I think what's holding me back from performing my best at this point is mental and not physical, however ultimately, I'm not that fast.

14. That said, I have enjoyed switching things up this summer and it has been glorious not to have to worry about fitting three hour long runs into the schedule, but I'd still rather run an ultramarathon through the mountains than chase a 5K PB any day of the week.