Some Days We Just Don't Have It. Mississippi College Open Track MeetRace Report

March 1, 2014
Clinton, Mississippi

Fatigue is a reality I've yet to completely comprehend as an endurance athlete. As a scientist, I know the physiological causes and stages of fatigue, both short and long term. As a coach, I understand the cyclical nature of training for performance- challenge, recover, repeat. As an athlete, I experience discomfort, both general and localized. Sometimes the discomfort is painful. I try to listen to my body so I can identify this as a normality of training versus a warning sign of an oncoming injury. Then, I adjust.

The problem is here: distinguishing the difference between discomfort & a real problem, and pinpointing exactly when I need to back off and let my body heal.

The greatest challenge in training is doing so injury free. The athletes who can stay healthy through intense training phases are the ones who will have the best performances on race day.  This is why I value the phrase "Train Hard, Recover Harder". Make the most out of your non-workout time so that you can have quality training sessions each time you hit the water or pavement.

This means actively practicing the following:

• eat when you're supposed to
• sleep when you need to
• give the legs a break and sit during downtime (I prefer to stand- it keeps me focused at work. SHAME!)
• stay hydrated
• wear your compression gear (Always Swiftwick socks! serious recoverysocks) http://blog.swiftwick.com/the-secret-to-recovery-swiftwick-compression)
• practice self-massage, & schedule massages when necessary.
• DON'T just do these things when you're not feeling 100% (Guilty. But then again, when's the last time I've felt 100%?!).

Let me describe the past week of training.

Sunday we started our first week back of speedwork. Kyle says this was by far our best speed session. It was pretty aggressive (but manageable) for our first week back.
4x400 hitting 1:25-1:30 goal with SHORT rest intervals
400 recovery
repeat 400 + recovery
4x200 hitting 40-45 goal.

Monday was the usual- masters swim + run. BUT since we do bike intervals & long run on Tuesdays, we decided to move the 90 min. run to Monday to allow recovery time & get the most on the bike. The run was rough from the beginning, but I kept waiting for things to loosen up. After 50 min. I finally came to terms that my body was not going to cooperate so I stopped. MY LOWER LEGS KILLED! Shins, achilles, calves... both landing and pushing off were painful. At the end of the run I was having difficulty balancing on one leg. Spent the evening massaging muscles that have never before bothered me & hoping I hadn't overdone it.

Tuesday- Bike intervals- SPEED! Then short recovery run with our New-B training program. Not good. They were definitely pulling me along!

Wednesday- masters swim. Took the afternoon/evening off & massaged.

Thursday- Swim + short brick (1.5hr + 15min + striders). Legs felt ok (except on striders)- still a bit stiff in the lower muscles but MUCH better than Tuesday... I might be ok on Saturday! Keep massaging.

Friday- masters swim + shorter brick (45min + 15min). Legs better, striders less painful. More massage.

Saturday- RACE DAY! Spent the morning at the Superhero 5K for Terrod Jackson (serving NUUN to thirsty runners), BUSY day at the shop, then left early afternoon for the track meet.

Arrived to Jackson, checked in, then got to work. The warm-up felt more exerting than I thought it should have, but my body was giving me a red flag during our dynamic stretches. Impact was extremely irritating, I was having difficulty toeing off and felt like I was just dragging my legs along. With about 15 minutes to the race start I just sat in the grass massaging my achy legs and hoping they would stop throbbing long enough to get through the race. Kyle gave me a pat on the back and told me to get it together, we're here to race. Conditions were perfect and there were 19 girls running the 5K- COMPETITION. Wimping out was not an option, I was chasing the 20 minute 5K.

20 minutes came and went, but I could have told you it would before the gun went off. The goal pace was 1:34 per 400m, which was realistic, just not today. I hit my times on the first mile, made my passing moves strategically, and felt ok. After that first mile I could feel my body want to stop. I tried to ignore it, but my physical limitations beat out my mental strength. I went into survival mode- just finish and do the best I can today.

21:23- Nowhere near my sub-20 goal. It was a painful finish, both physically and mentally. Emotionally I was disappointed because I feel like my goals and expectations for this race were within reach, and conditions were PERFECT. But physically this was all I had today. Before I could get too discouraged, Kyle reminded me that we don't have GREAT races every time we gear up for competition. The goal is to always work towards getting faster; some days we just don't have it and that's ok, because the big picture is that we are better today than we were last year, month, or even week.

And guess what?!? 21:23- a "BAD" race by my standard- is STILL A 3RD BEST TIME! So I can still blow up terribly and have a pretty solid race. I might not have the number just yet, but the level of improvement over the past year is significant, and that is what we really value. At least until the next open track meet...

Elmwood Classic 10K Race Report

Last week I posted about the importance of training through the colder months in my "W is for Winter... & WORK" post. I believe 100% that you HAVE to take advantage of the winter months if you want to see real, sustainable improvements in your overall athletic performance.

Sure, you can take a break when it's cold and gear up for those summer races when the weather is more cheery, but if you cycle through race seasons in this continual pattern, you will constantly be playing catch up. You will loose fitness from the end of one season to the beginning of another, so not only are you trying to improve from last season, but you're trying to get back to where you were AND improve. Any performance gains you see from year to year will be very modest compared to what you COULD have if you were to train consistently.

Training is one source for improvement, but there's another, equally important source that needs to be tapped into: RACING.

I've been training consistently for the past year and a half, and last summer I graduated from being a "knowledgeable" age grouper to a "seasoned"  triathlete. It was towards the end of the 12-race season that I realized the transformation was taking place. With every race, I was gaining more EXPERIENCE as a racer. Experience that carried me from race-to-race and would lead me through the off season and into 2014.

Unfortunately my experience as a triathlete is lacking in each individual discipline, and my readers will know that this goes against my "Swim like a swimmer, bike like a biker, & run like a runner" philosophy. I have no problem being inwardly mean and pushing myself through all three sports. The run, though more painful, seems to bother me less than a stand-alone road race. I can put a mediocre swim, bike, and run (by the standards of each individual sport) together to be a pretty decent triathlete. BUT, when the 16-year-old cross country runner beats you by :06 at the local 5K, the aging ex-collegiate swimmer slights you by :02 in the 400m free, and that same swimmer comes back and hits the wall first in the 200y free at the following swim meet, there's a glaring weakness, and it's not lack of grit, determination, or athletic ability.

The problem - lack of EXPERIENCE.

The solution- take advantage if opportunities to race.

This Saturday Kyle and I were working at the shop when a visting customer told us he was thinking about going to New Orleans (Metairie) to run the Elmwood Classic 10K. I part of me jumped for joy. I have known for a few weeks now that I need to race a 10K, but despite the 100+ 5K's in Hattiesburg, 10Ks are few and far between. Not to mention, I need to RACE a 10K- someone other than my training buddies. There are a few quick girls (triathletes) that I know of in the New Orleans/ Gulf Coast region, so this was an opportunity to travel a short distance and hopefully have some girls to run against. We hit the road Saturday evening and arrived in Metairie with enough time to wind down with some Sherlock Holmes and Suzy-B.

I awoke feeling fresh and ready. We arrived at the race site with plenty of time to register and warm-up, especially since they started the 10K about 15 minutes late (seriously, late races are no good! Some of us time our warm-ups perfectly, and late races make us cold, especially when the temperature is in the 50s!).

 I was hovering around the starting area trying to walk briskly to stay warm when I noticed a crowd of people appearing to line up. I hadn't heard an announcement, but I started heading towards the crowd to wait for some instruction. I realized they were about to start the race, so I stripped off my pants and jacket and ran to the starting line. I jumped into the second row just in time before the gun went off.

Fast. Too fast. The pace felt comfortably hard, but how long would it feel comfortable? I hit the first mile marker at 6:44... oops! Strategy was to not look at my watch; I was only wearing it so that I could go back and analyze later. Don't think about the pain. Focus on what I'm doing - form, forward lean, pump the arms and USE them for muscle elasticity. Focus on the race- run hard and actually race!

Finish- 43:29, 2nd Female overall 

Definitely not first class, but a PR by several minutes (last 10k- May 2010 48+, pr 10k at Dallas tri 46:17). Avg pace 7:00. I feel my time could have been A LOT better had I not  gone out so fast in the first mile, but we learn by experience and I won't be making that mistake again. The course was FLAT. I would recommend this one to anyone shooting for a PR, and I would come back to track progress. Definitely happy about the results and feeling optimistic about continual improvement.

Results HERE

This was one of the funner races I've been to in a while. New Orleans knows how to party. Made some new friends, chowed down on delicious jambalaya, enjoyed the live band, and made $100. It was a great day!