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November 16, 2004
Room for improvement
Thanks to everyone who wished me luck in my workout today! It's a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but we runners know how important these "first time since..." runs can be. All of your support really made me less apprehensive today! (and I got to hear it from Audrey in person this morning, too!)
So I almost didn't make it into the track on time because I went for my warm up jog at 6:35 and got a little lost in the dark. Luckily, a woman was walking her dog and she pointed me in the right direction and I had enough time to grab my bag from my car and head up to the track. (We are using Tufts' track, which is no Armory or anything, but it's very nice!) I was surprised that there weren't all that many people there--especially women--since this was the first indoor workout of the season. The coach, Steve, told us that we should divide ourselves into two groups for the time trial, depending on if we ran less than 20 minutes or more than 20 minutes for the 5K. Now, 5Ks are definitely not my favorite race distance, but I could probably run 20 minutes or so when in good shape. So, I wasn't sure which group to put myself in, and Steve suggested the faster one, even if I was hanging off the back.
I was skeptical because I haven't done speedwork since June and am running significantly fewer miles per week than I was before I got injured. But when I saw one other woman lining up to run with the faster group, I decided to go for it. And right before we started, I realized I knew the other woman from about 4 years ago when she lived in DC and ran in our club! It was weird.
I have a bad habit of just pacing myself with someone else for fear of going out too fast, but in this case I thought it was a good idea, just to give myself someone to stick with. So I ran next to her even though it felt like we were jogging, at first. We went through the mile at 6:45 or so and it definitely didn't feel too bad, kind of tempo-ish. My knee, however, was giving me some trouble due to the tight turns around the track, but I tried to relax and not tighten up. I continued to stay with her until the last lap, when I picked it up for the last 150 or so. I ended up with 12:28 or so, which is SO SLOW COMPARED TO THE OTHER BLOGGERS, I know, but it's a starting point. I was relieved because without any speedwork at all, I honestly did not know if I'd run under 14 minutes.
In retrospect, it was probably good to do a time trial when I'm not in my best shape. Whether it was more of a tempo effort or what I'm not sure (that is something I've always had trouble with--pacing in workouts) but that's okay. I really should be able to improve on the times that the coach calculates for me based on the time trial, so I hope that happens.
My knee/IT band was still pretty tight even after cooling down, so I'm learning that it is sensitive to things like tight turns and icy roads. I foam rolled it as soon as I walked in the door and that may help. Tomorrow's (early morning) run is going to be a challenge--from getting out of bed to getting through the run. Speaking of that, I better finish my dinner and get to bed!
Posted by becky at November 16, 2004 8:51 PM
Comments
Yeah Becky...awesome first workout! Half the battle is fighting the nerves and just getting yourself to the track. I'm glad it went well for you and you felt good and now you have an excellent starting point! Happy rolling!
Posted by: Beth at November 16, 2004 9:29 PM
that's so funny. i did an experiment run tonight to see how fast i can run 4 miles in case i wanted to do that "race" thurs night we talked about...and i don't even want to post the time :) but i am TOTALLY swallowing my pride here (dragging it kicking into an abyss) and going anyway. i guess for now its about running and not necessarily covering ground fast...ugh :) i think your time sounds fine. i'm sure you'll pick it up soon to something you like. congrats on getting the first run out of your system!
Posted by: Audrey at November 16, 2004 10:02 PM
That's not slow at all! Good job! I hope that your leg holds up.
Someday, you just need to do a workout or race and hit the wall, so there's no question as to whether or not you were holding back. It builds character :-)
Posted by: Alison at November 16, 2004 10:11 PM
Nice job Becky! You should be very happy! Don't underestimate yourself! You were a very dedicated cross-trainer during your injury, and I bet you didn't lose as much as you think.
Posted by: Liz at November 16, 2004 10:26 PM
THAT IS NOT SLOW. It's a great start! It only gets faster from here ...
1st mile felt like tempo? Hmmmmmm. Mine sure didn't!
Posted by: jenandmats at November 16, 2004 10:32 PM
Great job, Becky! I'm confident that your speed come back as you start going to track again regularly. And hopefully more gals show up.
Posted by: Leilani at November 17, 2004 9:21 AM
Becky that is great! It is always scary to get back into it but I think you did an awesome job, and I am sure it was smart to be conservative for the first workout.
Way to go!!
Posted by: barb at November 17, 2004 12:29 PM
Becky, you did great! We all have to start from somewhere and now you have your starting point. Once you get used to doing speedwork again it will feel much more natural. Coming off an injury that you've continued to struggle with, you ran a very impressive 3K.
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at November 17, 2004 7:35 PM