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May 19, 2008
Pain in the Butt (literally)
So last week went from bad to worse pretty quickly. I dragged on our Tuesday run after getting a deep tissue massage on Monday, and then I barely crawled through my 11 mile run on Wednesday. I survived the workout on Thursday, but I started to feel an ache in my right glute - the same ache that forced me to drop out of the Milwaukee Marathon at Mile 19 in 2005 :( I stretched and iced. I felt better on Friday, but then I felt like running death on Saturday.
The prescribed workout for Saturday was 8 x 1.25 miles @ 6:15 pace with 30 seconds rest. Theoretically, this should be a comfortably hard workout for me, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. I ran the first interval in 7:38 (6:06 pace). I felt confident and great . . . ran the second one in 7:38. Then I started the third one and a fatigue slammed my quads like whiplash. I slowed to 7:55. The 4th rolled painfully in 7:55. And then I did something I haven't done for the past 18 months of my running rebirth: I quit. I looked at H. and finally admitted that I was tired - and not just "tired," but BONE TIRED and dead. I wanted to fall asleep.
H. let me run the next one with my friend Mark and I jogged the loop in 8:17 (6:37 pace). Funny how 6:37 pace felt slow . . . . I would have rallied for joy 2 years ago for 6:37s to feel easy . . . but I'm a different runner now and my running "norms" have undergone a drastic makeover. Maybe I'm getting too greedy, but every time I toe the line, I expect my body to perform. This week has been a stab in the heart because my body said - loudly, clearly, and defiantly - "NO."
H. ran with me on the 6th interval and we ran 7:48 - two seconds faster than the goal pace of 7:50 (yeah - I made the rookie mistake of running the first two waaaay too fast - hence, digging my ditch and falling in face-forward). I would like to report that I walked away happy and proud of myself, but the opposite is true. I worked too hard to run 6:14 pace on that last rep - a clear sign that my legs were begging for a break. I bagged the final 2 intervals and did an easy cool-down.
I cut Sunday's run from 20 to 16 and for the first time all week, I felt remotely human. However, my right glute is an absolute mess and I would be lying if I said that I was not worried. As my legs grew more weary and tired over the last week, my stride and my form got sloppy, and I think that lethal combination (fatigue + sloppy stride) brought back some bad habits, which ultimately triggered the sore glutes.
I am 5 weeks out from my goal race; I have 2 more 20 milers to run, and 3 more weeks of 70+ mileage. I am confident that this is just a speed bump in the training - a speed bump that most runners must endure and cautiously drive over as they race toward the summit. I am acting conservatively and cautiously right now - I want my breakthrough 1:20 half to be the dress rehearsal for the big dance; I don't want to come through this marathon training cycle with just a half PR.
Here's to hoping for good things to come!
Posted by bridget at May 19, 2008 6:44 PM
Comments
Hey Didge!! Good things will come - they always do to good people like yourself!! Hang in there.....after winning all these races you have to become human again!! Love ya!!
Posted by: Patrick at May 20, 2008 1:56 PM