When I looked at my plan at the beginning of the week, I noted another double session for the weekend. I do not recall scheduling this, but I did. This time, my Friday night was free, so I decided to give it a try. This was my plan to simulate the Bourbon Chase:
Friday AM -- 7 miles at a brisk to fast pace
Friday PM -- 7 miles at a brisk to fast pace
Saturday - 9 miles
I'm not a coach, and doubt my coach would have recommended this. I am lucky that I am not injured and seem to be having a good rest day. I sometimes tell others that I think it's better to under train than to over train, but I did not heed my own advice.
Here's how it went:
Friday AM
On the ATT I gave myself a mile to warm up. At mile 2, I ran into some friends and chatted with them for a mile until they finished. At mile 3 I tried to hit this brisk to fast pace. What that was supposed to be, I don't know. I reasoned that it wouldn't be my planned race pace of 8:30 per mile. So, I thought maybe 8:45 per mile would be good. I was close to that for a mile or two, but closer to 9 or over 9 on other miles. I told myself I was conserving energy for the evening run.
Friday PM
Dinner time rolled around, and I realized I wasn't going back to the flat trail. I would have to complete 7 miles around my neighborhood loop of approximately a mile. This loop is about a half mile uphill with a flat spot at the top, and then about a half mile descent.
I set out at 8PM in the dark. I felt like I was running a brisk pace, but when I run uphill, no matter how briskly I think I'm running, I am not when I see my time creep toward a 10 minute or slower pace. For the first loops I choked on smoke in spots; some neighbors were either grilling with charcoal or enjoying their fire pits or both.
At mile 5, I began apologizing to my teammates for my inability to meet my anticipated pace on those KY hills, on those legs ranked as difficult. These thoughts have crept up sometimes in training, but I did not push them away this time. I shouldn't have submitted that pace. Last year before my first leg, I stated that I wanted to run this for fun, yet I didn't allow myself this simple pleasure this time.
By the end of mile seven, my legs were shot. I slowed and wanted to stop. I felt discomfort in three different places and thought this must be what cramping feels like. If running up and down hills for seven miles wasn't enough, I knew that I hadn't hydrated enough during the day.
I set out at 8PM in the dark. I felt like I was running a brisk pace, but when I run uphill, no matter how briskly I think I'm running, I am not when I see my time creep toward a 10 minute or slower pace. For the first loops I choked on smoke in spots; some neighbors were either grilling with charcoal or enjoying their fire pits or both.
At mile 5, I began apologizing to my teammates for my inability to meet my anticipated pace on those KY hills, on those legs ranked as difficult. These thoughts have crept up sometimes in training, but I did not push them away this time. I shouldn't have submitted that pace. Last year before my first leg, I stated that I wanted to run this for fun, yet I didn't allow myself this simple pleasure this time.
By the end of mile seven, my legs were shot. I slowed and wanted to stop. I felt discomfort in three different places and thought this must be what cramping feels like. If running up and down hills for seven miles wasn't enough, I knew that I hadn't hydrated enough during the day.
Saturday AM
While the Friday night run was one of my worst training runs -- ever, the morning run reminded me of the sense of accomplishment and joy I get from running. I was barely able to crawl into bed on Friday night, but I felt fine on Saturday morning.
I met a friend training for her first 5K. We were both excited about her tackling four miles on the ATT in preparation, and we ran just slightly over a 10 minute pace, which felt great to me. When we parted, I ran the next five alone and quickened my pace even hitting one or two miles around that brisk 8:45 pace. The darkness had passed, and on that run I was at peace with being slower in Kentucky.
I met a friend training for her first 5K. We were both excited about her tackling four miles on the ATT in preparation, and we ran just slightly over a 10 minute pace, which felt great to me. When we parted, I ran the next five alone and quickened my pace even hitting one or two miles around that brisk 8:45 pace. The darkness had passed, and on that run I was at peace with being slower in Kentucky.
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