I've been able to get back outside some, which was great. I had a 13 mile, all at goal pace, workout and it was pushing 65 degrees out! I actually had to ditch my shirt around mile 3 because I thought I was going to overheat. I ran really well for 6 miles, but then things go tough. Towards the end I was struggling and I was still trying to chip away at the defecit I had created during the first 4 miles. Then I lost track of how much time I needed to shave off in my last mile. Luckily I finished EXACTLY on time, not one second to spare.
This lead me into my last BIG week of training before I start my taper. I was determined to kick ass all week and go into my taper a beast. I decided I needed to re-introduce the Jus' Running track workout for my Tuesday speedwork. This is a group of runners that meet weekly, and have for years, at the "other" running store in town, they run to the UNCA track and the owner gives us the workout, you do it, and we job back. Usually about 8-9 miles total. Although it makes for a long night, I knew I'd be energized being around all the elite runners again. I was very pleased how well I ran the workout. I am usually in teh 2nd or 3rd pack of people, tonight I was in front of the second pack, which was progress in my book.
The rest of the week I stuck to my schedule, no deviation, and was ready for my last long run. The morning was chilly but the sun was out. For some reason I had major anxiety about this run. "What if I couldn't do it?" I kept worrying. There's no redemption runs after this to make up for any slip today, this is IT before the race. It felt like I ran FOREVER. Because I've run this route for most of my long runs, I just kept going a little further each time, it added a weird sense of discovery each time. Something about running into a new county and along some railroad tracks all the way to what seemed like a little unknown town was kind of surreal....and sketchy. As I approach my turn around, I only had 1.5miles until I had run 13 "easy" miles and it was then time to kick ass for 10 final miles. After 10 miles I was basically done with training. That thought alone made my stomach turn. I downed another random GU I had (vanilla bean, which is F-ing gross, but it's all I had), reset my watch and picked up the pace. I fired up some Girl Talk on the iPod and just hoped it would last. I've been really trying to run my first 2 miles slower on purpose to allow my legs to set into the proper gear and from there let them guide me into the right pace, trying not to over think it too much. My first two miles were around 7 min. A little slower than I'd typically like, but I wasn't worried. After 3 miles I was 50+ seconds behind and I kept hitting patches of a nasty headwind, which sucked. It's funny how the weather impacts my attitude, and thus my running. As soon as I'd hit a spot of direct sun and still wind, my back straightened and my pace quickens. It wasn't until mile 5 when I finally started gaining ground. However, I had a 54 second gap to make up. What's nice about an "out and back" run like this was as you get closer to home you start seeing the things you know are close and you hadn't seen them in a while and it reminds you you're getting close. As I ran I'd periodically see some bikers go by and give me a thumbs up. Silly, but that always pumps me up. There's something about those moments that kind of gives me a sense of "WE" while I'm out there. Like they're saying "I know what you're going through, nice work, I get it". I was comfortably bouncing between 6:20 and 6:35, but staying under 6:40 and making up ground. I try to take every down slope as a place to speed up a little and took every uphill as a chance to show some power. This is where I feel like I'm in the video game Excitebike.
My speed is the B button. Use it when you need to, but overuse it and you'll blow up and be on the side of the road recovering. It's a balance you develop over the training plan, mastering it takes time, but I think I'm getting close. If I'm gonna overheat, do it right at the end, not before. Time it just right. I started to get tired, but my legs were locked in, I just had to keep pushing. No matter what; this was where it matters. My ankles felt like there was no cartiledge, and I was literally grinding it out. Not so much pain, just the feeling of 143 pounds pounding on each ankle 16,000 times over 20 miles. Once I got to two miles left, I had 17 seconds to make up, no sweat, I hoped. I pushed and pushed, passing places that I saw almost 3 hoiurs ago, I knew I was close, no pain. In just over 12 minutes I'd be in Taper Town and I wanted to enjoy it, not be upset over missing today's goal. Last mile, just needed ~4seconds!! I held down my B button and let loose. Last mile, 6:20! I did it. I was done, I made it to Taper Town. Excitement was briefly put on pause as I coughed and coughed and dry heaved, hic-up'd and coughed some more. The sudden change in breathing pattern and oxygen intake sends a small shock through my body. Small prices to pay for a victory like today. Today, I ran with purpose and passion, and that's all I can ever ask for.
Now on to my next challenge.....structured recovery and tapered mileage. THIS is often more of a challenge than the high mileage weeks.....but I'll get into that later.
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