I had another 5K race today. Not to bash my race last weekend, but walking into this race today I could see the competition was a little more serious....finishing the race I know the competition was more serious. Last week 24:28 got me 2nd place in my age group. This week, 24:07 did nothing. The 3rd place in my age group came in @ 21:39!! I'll take my 21 second improvement tho.
That 21 second improvement leads me to my newest thought....how hard can you push?
As I'm racing lots of things go through my head...who can I have pace me? Did I go out too hard? Not hard enough? How much energy to have left? What am I going to eat after I run? (not a lie...I'm always thinking about food) Should I be going harder? Am I going too hard? Should I change the song on my ipod to something with a tempo to make me work harder?
The idea of how hard can I push it is one aspect of my running I need to concentrate on. I need to learn my limits and push myself to them. Throughout the race I felt comfortable...A decent amount of energy was exerted, but probably not enough. (In fairness to myself I will say today I ran for the 1st time since like 2010 without any type of brace on my knee so I was trying to be careful..ish) I did find a pretty good runner to pace me. I was within five feet from her at all times (she didn't realize I was there...very stalkerish of me ha ha). I thanked her after the race for doing all the work pushing me. She invited me to join her running group.
After it was all said and done, I felt fine very quickly after the race. I wasn't panting or puking ha ha Then it hit me....I could have gone harder. I know I'm better at going up hill so I do try to really push it on hills (Famous last words as I think about my 7 mile race in San Fran in 3 weeks ha ha) All in all though I wasn't exerting my best effort. (After the race I did the only logical thing in my head-I went tot he gym and ran another 4 miles ha ha) I think one thing I will start doing for races is looking at course maps prior to the race so I have an idea of what I'm up against. While "hindsight is 20/20" "Knowing is also half the battle" so perhaps that will help me. I've also decided I'm going to do more sprint work in my training to give me a better idea of what my body is able to handle and for how long. Hopefully the combo of new things I'm trying will give me better baseline data on what I can handle.
I do know what thing...this running thing is a lot of work beyond the actual act of running. I will say that I'm taking this as seriously as possible and really learning a lot about myself as a runner both physically and mentally. This blog writing is really forcing me to pay attention and listen to my body more!
"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."
-PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian
Happy Running!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
2nd Place Is Really Just The 1st Loser
It's been a while since my last post so I thought I needed to do a catch up post...
I'll start off with the tragedy at the Boston Marathon...what occurred in Boston was awful. My heart goes out to everyone in the city of Boston and those affected by this horrific event. Shortly after the news broke that there was an explosion at the marathon text messages starting coming in asking me if this devastation changed my mind about running the Chicago Marathon....the obvious answer-NO! The hateful acts of a few will not dictate my life. I refuse to give into the fear that will, for the time being, surround marathons. What occurred at the marathon, sadly, could happen anywhere. I believe law enforcement and race officials will work hard to take every precaution they can, as they did in Boston and do for every race, to keep the event as safe as they possibly can. Now, as I safely step down off my soapbox let's get back to my running...
For those who liked my facebook page about my blog you saw I mentioned going to a discussion at a local running store where foam rolling was discussed. While I have foam rolled I haven't done it religiously, but it will be done much more throughout my training. To get me started, I bought myself a new foam roller and it's safe to say I'm amazed my neighbors haven't called 911 from yelps they hear coming from my home when I foam roll. Check out this you tube video on foam rolling to get you started on the fun! ha ha
I've recently started seeing a chiropractor and physical therapist 3 times a week to help me out with my knee....and it turns out my hip and my lower back too. I have some adhesions to work out and while they essentially do all the work I'm the one sweating and swearing as they help me strengthen my muscles.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I signed up for some 5Ks. I ran in the River Edge 5K on Saturday and I felt pretty good. My running strength is in distance, but I did fairly well. I believe this was my best 5K coming in at 24:28 (I think). My problem with short races is seeing everyone passing me in the beginning, not knowing how many are still behind me. and basically pacing myself so I'm pushing it enough, but not too much. I know tons of runners who go out too hard and burn themselves out quickly. I wonder if I'm the opposite and I start slower, but don't know how to pick it up to the right speed. My running is a work in progress. Regardless of starting too hard or not hard enough, I must have done okay as I placed 2nd in the 30-34yr old women category...I got a trophy! ha ha I joked this weekend that my trophy for 2nd place was really just the 1st loser! ha ha
Through the work I'm doing with the chiropractor and physical therapist I'm learning to really listen to my body more and pay attention to exactly what I'm feeling and hopefully learn why I do or feel certain things when I run. These few 5Ks I've signed up for are little "tests" for me to see what works and what doesn't work. During the RE 5K I focused on my arm swings (I'll talk more about this in a future post) and my "potato chip hands" (the idea out there that you should imagine a potato chip in your hand as you run)
Without getting into it too much here's a quick basis of this idea of holding a chip in your hand. When running, it's important to keep your hands relaxed. Think about holding a potato chip in each hand. No matter how hard you run, no matter how tired you get, you cannot clench your hands or that the potato chip breaks. This is a good way of thinking about how loose your hands should be at all times when running. When you start to clench your fists tightly, that tightness spreads through your forearms, biceps, shoulders, neck and face. Once you tighten up and lose range of motion in your arms, it reduces stride length, which is difficult to get back without burning a lot of energy.
My next race is this coming Saturday.....maybe I'll place again
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
I promise I'll get better at posting more often. :)
I'll start off with the tragedy at the Boston Marathon...what occurred in Boston was awful. My heart goes out to everyone in the city of Boston and those affected by this horrific event. Shortly after the news broke that there was an explosion at the marathon text messages starting coming in asking me if this devastation changed my mind about running the Chicago Marathon....the obvious answer-NO! The hateful acts of a few will not dictate my life. I refuse to give into the fear that will, for the time being, surround marathons. What occurred at the marathon, sadly, could happen anywhere. I believe law enforcement and race officials will work hard to take every precaution they can, as they did in Boston and do for every race, to keep the event as safe as they possibly can. Now, as I safely step down off my soapbox let's get back to my running...
For those who liked my facebook page about my blog you saw I mentioned going to a discussion at a local running store where foam rolling was discussed. While I have foam rolled I haven't done it religiously, but it will be done much more throughout my training. To get me started, I bought myself a new foam roller and it's safe to say I'm amazed my neighbors haven't called 911 from yelps they hear coming from my home when I foam roll. Check out this you tube video on foam rolling to get you started on the fun! ha ha
I've recently started seeing a chiropractor and physical therapist 3 times a week to help me out with my knee....and it turns out my hip and my lower back too. I have some adhesions to work out and while they essentially do all the work I'm the one sweating and swearing as they help me strengthen my muscles.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I signed up for some 5Ks. I ran in the River Edge 5K on Saturday and I felt pretty good. My running strength is in distance, but I did fairly well. I believe this was my best 5K coming in at 24:28 (I think). My problem with short races is seeing everyone passing me in the beginning, not knowing how many are still behind me. and basically pacing myself so I'm pushing it enough, but not too much. I know tons of runners who go out too hard and burn themselves out quickly. I wonder if I'm the opposite and I start slower, but don't know how to pick it up to the right speed. My running is a work in progress. Regardless of starting too hard or not hard enough, I must have done okay as I placed 2nd in the 30-34yr old women category...I got a trophy! ha ha I joked this weekend that my trophy for 2nd place was really just the 1st loser! ha ha
Through the work I'm doing with the chiropractor and physical therapist I'm learning to really listen to my body more and pay attention to exactly what I'm feeling and hopefully learn why I do or feel certain things when I run. These few 5Ks I've signed up for are little "tests" for me to see what works and what doesn't work. During the RE 5K I focused on my arm swings (I'll talk more about this in a future post) and my "potato chip hands" (the idea out there that you should imagine a potato chip in your hand as you run)
Without getting into it too much here's a quick basis of this idea of holding a chip in your hand. When running, it's important to keep your hands relaxed. Think about holding a potato chip in each hand. No matter how hard you run, no matter how tired you get, you cannot clench your hands or that the potato chip breaks. This is a good way of thinking about how loose your hands should be at all times when running. When you start to clench your fists tightly, that tightness spreads through your forearms, biceps, shoulders, neck and face. Once you tighten up and lose range of motion in your arms, it reduces stride length, which is difficult to get back without burning a lot of energy.
My next race is this coming Saturday.....maybe I'll place again
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
I promise I'll get better at posting more often. :)
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