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September 23, 2004

Bad feedback

Tonight I was trying to actually accomplish something during my 12-miler. The plan was to do three 4-mile loops: go out really easy and relaxed on the first one, run the second run at the pace I eventually worked into on the first one, and then on the last one I was going to find my "high-end aerobic pace," an idea I found on the letsrun site. It's an idea found in an article by John Kellog, which reads in relevant part:
"The general idea on a high-end aerobic run is to find the fastest pace at which you can run without feeling as though you're having to fight to sustain the pace."

My first mile was a long one; I don't know exactly how long, but it was in the 11-minute range! I started out really tiptoeing, and felt like my groin needed to pop (this happens to me pretty frequently, actually.) Overall the first loop was just under 40 minutes which included a bathroom stop - stopping my watch isn't something I normally worry about when I stop so I completely forgot!

The comfortable middle loop was an 8:10 pace, and then we moved into what was supposed to be that "'high-end aerobic" pace. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy. It turned out to be 7:47 pace. I couln't believe it. That is so completely lame. It was on the trail and it was dark, but man that's slow for a girl who's targeting 6:50 pace for 26.2 miles.

So now I'm in a mini funk. And *that,* my friends, is why I don't time many of my runs. So many of the people on the trail are so slow you can run around there and feel like you're flying. But the watch doesn't lie. And right now in my head I have the line from Jack Johnson's The Horizon Has Been Defeated, "Things can go bad ... and make you wanna run away."

But really it's just a mini-funk. It doesn't mean that I can't run fast, it's just that I'm amazed at what *doesn't* feel easy. I'll get over it quick. Maybe just in time for our marathon training group's two-mile time trial next week. I can't *wait.* I plugged my 2.4-mile race pace from the relay into a race prediction calculator which said I could run a 3:14 marathon. Well yes I can, actually. Thaaaaanks.

This afternoon I went to 7-11 to get a pre-run Slim Fast and all they had were the Atkin's-friendly version. Also ... this week three bathrooms on three different runs had no TP. It's not my week! Reminds me of Eugene Levy's character in Splash. "What a WEEK I'm having!"

Posted by jenandmats at September 23, 2004 10:21 PM

Comments

Wow, I have that groin popping thing too! I've never encountered anyone else who has this... It's good to know I'm not alone. Also, I've most definitely had the same thing happen - feeling like I'm going at a decent pace, only to find out it's not so fast. It happened quite a bit, actually, when I was in Austin. Maybe the miles are just longer there :-) Not that I've run a sub-3:00 marathon, but I've found that even when I'm in good shape, 7:47ish pace can feel pretty hard/fast on a training run at times. It's so different when you actually get in a race, and suddenly 7:15 pace feels like walking. So what I'm trying to say is that even though it's a tad discouraging, I'm sure you're doing just fine!

Posted by: Alison at September 24, 2004 11:06 AM

Me too!! Although often I can't figure out how to pop it... I wonder what the root cause is. Don't worry about your mini-slump. By definition, it'll be over soon!

Posted by: Becky at September 24, 2004 2:00 PM

You guys should have seen me trying to get it to pop about two minutes into the run. I pulled over onto the side of the trail and just kept wiggling my hips around, trying to get it to pop. I looked kind of like that dancing baby on Ally McBeal. I couldn't make it happen. It finally went on its own a few minutes later.

Thanks for the *positive* feedback.

Posted by: jenandmats at September 24, 2004 9:02 PM