the last 20-miler
one of the top reasons for running a 20-miler in my mind is quite simply, to gain confidence in one's potential ability to run just another 6.21875 miles.
other motivating factors to complete a 20-miler during training include:
-a deeply rooted fear that NOT completing at least one 20 will doom your whole training schedule to failure
-its all about TOF! (Time On Feet; can i copyright that?). i guess the experts say spending all that time exerting energy helps prepare you for the race, psychologically and physiologically
-practice-- practice eating just the right carb meals in the days leading up, practice eating pre-run foods, practice fluid-intake (amounts) during the run, practice when and how much gu/bloks to ingest, practice wearing your race-day shirt and shorts, practice wearing socks that will not give you a gigantic blister on race day (i forgot this one last year, dangit), and practice your post-race victory speech (ha ha)
-i think the 20 usually duplicates, to some degree, the feeling of hitting the wall; good to have this feeling in your back pocket to draw on later
my 20 on sunday did not give me much confidence. i posted average splits of about 10:15 - 10:25 (versus my goal pace of 9:10 - 9:40) and i felt fatigued for almost the entire run. never felt good, not once. much if it was due to my lack of running during the week, i believe.
hmmm. i will hang my hat on a few things: my strong 15.5 mi race one week prior, and my HR during this 20, which was hanging out down in the low 130's despite my slow, clunky legs. i suppose a third positive is that i felt as though i was running against 'the wall' for 3 hours! finally, the 20 i ran several weeks ago seemed to go ok (is that a positive?)
i could go on about all the negatives but i suppose i won't.
taper. TAPER!!!!!!!!! oh sweet taper.
i won't lie i do feel just a slight cold coming on, but i'm hoping it will pass. as soon i said something to a co-worker this morning he said, 'do you have a cold'? oh crap.
i have to travel wednesday through friday. sucks. can't do anything about it. fluids and rest, fluids and rest.
i can't remember whose blog had this art of war quote, but it goes like this:
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." -Sun Tzu
other motivating factors to complete a 20-miler during training include:
-a deeply rooted fear that NOT completing at least one 20 will doom your whole training schedule to failure
-its all about TOF! (Time On Feet; can i copyright that?). i guess the experts say spending all that time exerting energy helps prepare you for the race, psychologically and physiologically
-practice-- practice eating just the right carb meals in the days leading up, practice eating pre-run foods, practice fluid-intake (amounts) during the run, practice when and how much gu/bloks to ingest, practice wearing your race-day shirt and shorts, practice wearing socks that will not give you a gigantic blister on race day (i forgot this one last year, dangit), and practice your post-race victory speech (ha ha)
-i think the 20 usually duplicates, to some degree, the feeling of hitting the wall; good to have this feeling in your back pocket to draw on later
my 20 on sunday did not give me much confidence. i posted average splits of about 10:15 - 10:25 (versus my goal pace of 9:10 - 9:40) and i felt fatigued for almost the entire run. never felt good, not once. much if it was due to my lack of running during the week, i believe.
hmmm. i will hang my hat on a few things: my strong 15.5 mi race one week prior, and my HR during this 20, which was hanging out down in the low 130's despite my slow, clunky legs. i suppose a third positive is that i felt as though i was running against 'the wall' for 3 hours! finally, the 20 i ran several weeks ago seemed to go ok (is that a positive?)
i could go on about all the negatives but i suppose i won't.
taper. TAPER!!!!!!!!! oh sweet taper.
i won't lie i do feel just a slight cold coming on, but i'm hoping it will pass. as soon i said something to a co-worker this morning he said, 'do you have a cold'? oh crap.
i have to travel wednesday through friday. sucks. can't do anything about it. fluids and rest, fluids and rest.
i can't remember whose blog had this art of war quote, but it goes like this:
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." -Sun Tzu
posted by brent at
8:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home