Yesterdays half marathon in Marysville was one of the hardest long runs I've ever done. For the first time I am really sore today. I had multiple muscles cramping during the run and after. Also because the run was partly on gravel roads I have a a toe that's almost more blister than toe.
I ran the 21kms in 2 hours and 15mins which is 7mins slower than my PB (2:08). I was asked if I was disappointed with my time. Hell no, I'm wrapped. The elevation profile for this course is nuts. In the last 8k there is 4k uphill then 4k down to the finish.
I ran with a woman who had a goal of running the whole way of a half marathon. I felt bad for her picking this one to do it. But she stuck to her goal and when I was running and walking my way up that nightmare hill she kept plodding along. Good for her. My goal for the day was to go for a long run in the countryside and enjoy the day.
I had originally entered the full marathon but it was going to be to hard on the family as it was a 7am start and we needed at least 2 hours to get up get ready and get there, so I dropped to the half. My wife voiced concern that I might feel like I failed after setting my sights on a marathon and dropping back to a half. But I didn't really see it that way so it was all good.
Setting goals when training for a specific race is tricky and there are a lot of things to consider. When preparing for the Melbourne marathon I decided my goal needed to be very clear so as not end up regretful or disappointed. My goal was to finish the whole race. To run when I could and walk when I needed to and I achieved exactly that.
Since then it appears that I'm not taking my goals seriously on a sub conscience level. Yesterdays goal was as I said to have a nice run in the countryside. However i couldn't shake the thoughts of "imagine if I could do this in under 2hours." I kept dispelling them but time and time again they came to the surface.
All my split time calculations and pace budgeting during the race were around a sub 2 hour race. For the first 5ks it was all about keeping pace around 5min30sec per k and reserving enough for a strong finish. Then the hills started and I threw the idea well and truly out the window...back to having a good time.
So even though I had a goal I didn't set out to achieve I still had a great run and am happy with my performance.
I had a colleague make a comment to me regarding my fastest 5k time 23:47. He said "I'm not far behind you" I asked him to qualify and he told me he had been doing 5 k runs on the treadmill at the gym and was doing them in 32mins. 9 minutes off a 5k is a lot of work, my very first 5k was 34 mins. That was a year ago or thereabouts. More importantly he missed the point that running on a treadmill is bio-mechanically different from running outside. When you run on a motorized treadmill you lift your foot, move it forward and put it down. It's the dragged back using the motor of the treadmill. Running outside you have to use muscle to push forward.
I don't think I could do treadmill running for 2 reasons. Firstly Im not fit in the right muscles for a treadmill and secondly I would rather have the mental distraction of rain, sun swooping magpies and route selection. I would go (more) insane after 30mins in the same place.
But the treadmill does have it's values in training. It's just not for me at this time.
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