February 19, 2012

What in the world is going on here?

My times since Houston have smelled like rotten eggs. Coupled with that, I haven't had much energy. I've mentioned before that I don't pay attention to pace on easy runs, but I go by feel. Over the past 2 weeks, being that I've felt less than par, I decided to pay attention to my Garmin data a bit more. My easy paces were within range, nothing too slow or fast, all on the money. So what gives in my past few races? Here are a few of my thoughts, but before I get into this I want to state that in no way am I looking for excuses for my sub-par performances, merely digging deeper into my current situation.
A) I did "bounce back" pretty fast into high mileage. This didn't feel like too much, though. It felt right, but maybe it's biting me back now? Not sure.
B) I had a bad cold for 2 weeks, but am finally over it. Following that, however, I have a "girl time" from Haites that has me feeling like complete crap.

Another thing that's odd is that I had a VERY good track workout Wednesday night. My paces for 600s were faster than ever, even after a long day of working and coaching.

Anyhow, I'm not too sure of what's going on at the races these days. I ran 19:37 this morning. I just didn't have anything in the tank.

All I can do is stay the course at this point. I will do my last LR tomorrow, and then taper for the Woodlands Marathon. I'm seeded as #3 for the race. I've never been one to be affected by pressure, attention, etc, but I will admit that this one is kind of getting to my head. It just feels so daunting to run that fast again. And I'm just.so.tired. In general, I just feel tired. Some days, sleeping is all I can think about. I don't really think anything is medically wrong with me, but I do think that many nights of only 5 hours of sleep mixed with 90 mpw is starting to affect my performance.

My plan for the next few weeks is to stick to the taper mileage plan (no extra miles), get in bed EARLY, and eat plenty of nutritious foods. You know, treat my body like it *should* be treated.

I'm looking forward to visiting the Woodlands, and especially Adrienne. It's such a fabulous town, with great people. I'm excited about everything that surrounds the race, but the thought of trying to run 6:52s for 26.2 is kind of scary and sickening.

9 comments:

  1. I'm SO excited for you to come back to "Disneyword"!

    You've been putting up some monster training and you have 2 weeks to now put in some monster rest. And this should set you up for a great experience. If nothing else, we'll just kick back and have some 'specials at the Goose!:)

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  2. Another marathon so soon! Wow! Yeah, I would just focus on resting up as much as possible and don't even worry if you get less than what you plan for in the taper. Better to be undertrained than overtrained! You know from your track workout that you are in excellent shape, just give your body the rest it needs to perform!

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  3. I read that once you start getting in sleep debt, it accumulates, so one good night doesn't put you at square one, it's like you have to have a few to get back there. Then again, you've done so well on so little for so long, maybe it's just the Lady Time and getting over the long cold.

    At least the track workout was great, that tells you this is just a blip. And I KNOW you'll rock Woodlands, try to keep your head as positive as possible (coming from someone who has all too much negative garbage when it comes to race head). Go Rebecca, Go! :)

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  4. Adrienne is right! Monster rest time- for you -that will equal normal mileage for the rest of us :)

    Also- not sure if you have ever had your iron checked, but it might be something to look into, especially with the recent AF.

    Anyhow, I know you aren't impressed with your times, but I can't wait for the day when 19:36 seems average! And seeded 3rd? That's something to be proud of!
    I think you are going to do GREAT with some rest. :)

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  5. +1000 to Adrienne...lots of rest now!

    Honestly, you just gave a number of legitimate reasons why your times are slower. Like Flo said, sleep debt accumulates. Plus, you've been running very high mileage for quite some time. That takes its toll on you as well. But rest can cure both of those problems.

    Try not to get psyched out by the rankings and remember to RUN YOUR RACE. You've got this girl!!

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  6. Say hi to my hometown when you're there! My sister will be running it. I was planning on running it but decided to save my airfare for my summer trip. (And good luck!)

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  8. Anonymous2/25/2012

    Hey Adrienne, it definitely sounds like sleep depr. Get as much rest as you can. You're going to do awesome! :)

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  9. Hope you are feeling better. It always takes me a week after being sick to feel completely normal, though that's just me. You'll probably start to feel better during the taper.

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