This was not really how I pictured myself after a half, but I know I didn't really leave much on the table on race day. I knew that my runs this past week needed to be easy so that I wouldn't injure myself with sloppy form on stiff legs. I ran on the treadmill a lot because A) it forces me to slow down since I apparently have no willpower on my own and B) it unfortunately is the safer option much of the time.
Because I worked all weekend, I ended up moving my long run to today and switching my easy Tuesday run to Saturday. Here's what happened:
Tuesday: Plan was 3 easy @9:16, Actual was 3.5 easy @8:34
Wednesday: Plan was 7 tempo with 5 @7:55, Actual was 1 mile warm up, 3 @7:53, 1 @7:47, 1 @7:41, and 1 mile cool down
Friday: Plan was 2 easy @9:16, Actual was 2 easy @9:14
Saturday: Plan was 5 easy @9:14, Actual was 5 easy @8:47
Today (Monday): Plan was 20 easy @9:16, Actual was 20.6 @8:12
The easy runs were all uneventful. The tempo was hard to start on sore legs, but I actually felt really good once I got into it. And while I could have pushed a little harder (and likely would have outside), I knew that it was okay to not completely annihilate every single run. Which is likely why running hard seemed to catch up with me today.
Miles 1-5 were decent. Highlights: I spilled half my Gatorade over my shorts because I didn't tighten the screw cap, I went pee at mile 3.5, I cursed myself for sleeping in because it was getting warmer, I was happy I wasn't having issues with my music, planned on getting to 20.5 miles because of my pit stop, and I kept having to reel back my speed as it dropped below 8:00. Splits: 8:23, 8:18, 8:02, 8:02, 8:06
Miles 5-9.85 were not great. I was starting to experience the long run blues already and I wasn't even halfway done. My legs felt the initial stages of cramping and I immediately started to worry if I was going to be able to complete this run. Lots and lots of self doubt. Couldn't decide if I was annoyed or okay with not getting a rest break at the single traffic light along the route. Garmin totally crapped out at 9.85 miles. I downloaded MapMyRun (guess I never added it to this phone) and felt slightly better after my forced 90 second stop. Splits: 8:13, 8:17, 8:11, 8:16, 6:48 for .85 miles (8:01 pace)
Miles 9.85-14.85 were awful. I tried the salted caramel Gu for the first time and while it wasn't bad, it definitely was not the delicious flavor I was anticipating. I had contemplated leaving my fuel belt behind for the second half, but thankfully I took it as I finished all the liquid by mile 13. Without my Garmin, I had no idea what pace I was running until I had completed a mile. Because I was feeling a lot of leg fatigue, I was trying to shorten my stride to lessen the impact, but I had no idea what this was doing to my pace. Splits: 8:06, 7:50, 8:22, 8:22, 7:50
Miles 14.85-20.6 were Jekyll and Hyde. I'd feel great for a bit and then awful. I'd feel BA for running 20 miles and then like a complete fool for doing the zombie march on sore legs. I started to count off the half miles and using all the tricks in my bag to make sure I completed the run. I got lucky that there was a lot of cloud cover in the final quarter so it wasn't so hot. Still, I was cursing myself for sleeping in (could have been running in the upper 50s and not the 70s). When I got the final mile, all I could think about was how good the ice bath was going to feel. But I toughed it out all the way to my 'official' ending point. Splits: 8:16, 8:05, 7:55, 8:20, 7:57, last .8 in 6:46 (8:03 pace)
The thing is, in looking back at these splits, I know I should have been running slower today. As race day begins to creep up, I am really going to have to get serious about not racing all my long runs. And while I want to prove to myself that I'm capable of running a BQ pace week after week, it is just not smart. Plus, it has been a long time since my legs cramped up like they did after today's run. I feel like I'm making some rookie mistakes and I know better. Easier said than done though...at least if I bloop about it, there is some sort of accountability.
Anyway, enough self-smack-talk....
Let's see what's been going on in my kitchen.
We went to the apple orchard last Sunday:
And Adam and I came home with a 1/2 bushel (4 dry gallons) of apples:
I bought some apple cider donuts out of hunger love for their baked goods:
But I wanted to make some of my own baked goods as well. I thought about apple butter, but I've made it before and always end up going back to peanut butter as my preferred morning spread. So, I opted to go the pie route.
First, I peeled and cored the apples:
BTW, if you don't have an apple peeler/corer and either bake with apples or like to eat your apples sans peels, I highly recommend putting this on your Christmas list.
Then I made enough pie crust for 3 pies:
Always from scratch for obvious reasons. Always by hand to keep the dough flaky and light. Always with butter because it tastes the best.
Then I spiced the apples with Saigon cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a little bit of cloves:
1 full pie and 18 hand pies later, I was enjoying a kitchen that smelled amazing:
Nothing better than snuggling on the sofa with homemade apple pie. The furkids agree:
No comments:
Post a Comment