May 9, 2018
"Someone once told me not to bite off more than I can chew, I told them I'd rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocrity!!!" - Author Unknown
Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast. Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.
This past weekend I ran the Grandad Half Marathon. This was my first big race five years ago. The timing of the race fell into the 70.3 Triathlon training I have been working on and now I am 12 weeks out from Chisago 70.3, my goal race for the year.
I believe strongly in having an A, B, and C goal for each race. My C goal is always to finish. My B goal for this race was to run the entire thing, no walking this time around. My A goal was to finish in under 3 hours. I know 3 hours is a long half marathon, but I am not fast, my goal is to get out there, be active and challenge myself.
At the half way point of the race, I was at 1 hour 35 minutes, so was not looking promising for meeting my A goal. I decided to challenge myself and see if I could push my boundaries. Miles 7-10 went well and I had cut some time off the 5 minutes plus (because of the .1 mile), but not enough to be confident in breaking that 3 hour mark. I pushed even harder. About mile 11 ½ I almost gave up. I just didn’t see how I could have a negative split – a split is how long it takes for a portion of a race, usually divided into miles or, in this case the first half of the race and the second half of the race.
I spent a half mile arguing with myself in my head trying to kick the negative thoughts to the curb – not just about speed but to keep running - remember B goal was no walking. Once I saw mile twelve, I decided I was going to push through and really work on that last mile to make my time. I was worried because the mile markers hadn’t matched up with my running watch, but I was pretty certain the time had to be right, but the bluff had probably blocked some of the mileage from the beginning of the race.
For the last quarter mile, as I passed people I tried to encourage them to in case they didn’t realize where they were in timing and let them know they were very close to a sub 3. I almost cried when I was just over a tenth of a mile out as I was beginning to think I wouldn’t break the 3 hour mark after trying so hard. As I came into the last 50 yards, I realized it was going to happen and I crossed the line at 2:57:38. My average speed the first half was 14:22 per mile and my second half was 12:41 per mile.
I had originally planned to do a tri training plan I had found twice back to back, but after finishing the first 16 weeks didn’t feel the plan was really right for me. I found some other plans and in reading them, none felt quite right. I choose the one I felt was the most right and aligned best with my schedule. I am now two days into this new plan and I am loving it!
So, Saturday I did 13.1 miles, Sunday was a rest day, Monday I swam 800 meters in the morning and ran 4 miles in the afternoon, and today I biked for 40 minutes with some speed work. Even with sore muscles from the half marathon, my training the last two days has felt great and gives me lots of positive energy moving into the next 12 weeks.
Thanks for joining me this week. Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and … don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
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