Spring Race Recap, Part 1.
We are now 3 weeks out from the Boston Marathon and I’m really still riding that high, and getting back to workouts this week – so I felt like now would be a great time to share a recap of my spring racing season.
Big picture: I actively/consciously took a step away from the structure of my typical training for this cycle leading up to Boston as I worked (still work) through my anxiety & depression that has really built up in the past year-ish. Between that, medication & therapy, I am finally feeling like I’m getting back to normal again … for that, I am very thankful.
Number recap: Thanks to my very fancy training log (with help from my Garmin app), I easily came up with some cool numbers.
697.56 miles run.
43 yoga sessions.
23 strength + plyo sessions.
8 hours 33 minutes average sleep.
2 days spent mostly in bed with a stomach bug (I’ll spare you the details on that one!)
2 days spent in a boot (more on that later…)
3 races, totaling 44.3 miles (more if you go by my watch, but we’ll count the official distance)
The starting line assignments, the race bibs, the t-shirts, race expo, swag-bag – all that is fun and enjoyable, but anyone who signs up for the race gets that. The sweat/water-soaked bib, the blood-stained socks and/or shoes, the good-bad-and-ugly race photos – always good for a story, and pretty much anyone who starts the race will get that stuff. The mixed emotions of seeing the clock & banner from down the road, the heat sheets blowing in the wind, the deliciousness of cold chocolate milk, seeing your name in the results – that is what the finishers get.
I had the great fortune to finish three races this spring. They were all a part of my training program that I laid out early on: Electric City 5 Miler, Syracuse Half, Boston Marathon. Read on for more about each of these races – what the experience was like, things I learned, and how it helped me.
March 12: Electric City 5 Miler
I intended to use this race as a rust-buster. My workouts had been solid to this point, and I was getting into the peak work-block for Boston, so while I certainly wasn’t feeling fresh, I was confident in my fitness. I wanted to use this race as an opportunity to re-familiarize myself with the fatigue and need to dig deep mentally to run a strong race – and get ready for a big PR at Syracuse Half a week later.
Enter: snowstorm. (March is so fun, right?) There was wind, and snow, and sleet. By the afternoon, we had about 6 inches of snow on the ground. Some of the turns on the course required a serious slow-down to avoid completely wiping out.
Just after the halfway point, I felt a really sharp cracking pain in my left foot. It was intense. I’m used to things not feeling great during a race, but this was different. I panicked, naturally, figuring my foot was broken. But the shortest way back to my car was to just keep going on the course, so I continued. Literally 30 seconds later, my foot was fine; it did not bother me for the rest of the race, during cool down, or later in the day. But, having had a stress fracture before, I was still freaking out a bit inside.
It certainly was not a fast day – but it was FUN. I felt strong, despite the poor footing. My breathing was under control, my shoulders stayed relaxed, and I was mentally engaged through the entire race. So while I couldn’t quite accomplish the original goal due to the conditions, it was still a good training run. For me, staying focused and engaged can be a struggle, and I felt like I nailed it this time, so that was a huge win.
“Dr. Coach Megan” with Mia Paolino, who chooses to wear a mask to keep her face warm but refuses to wear anything longer than shorts when she runs. (Mia is one of the young women I have the privilege of coaching at Burnt Hills, and I promise she loves running and did this race voluntarily & with coach approval!!)
RESULTS: 33:45 (AVERAGE 6:45/MILE, SPLITTING 16:49 THEN 16:53 FOR EACH 2.5 MILE SEGMENT). 37TH PLACE OVERALL, 7TH OUT OF 153 FOR WOMEN, 4TH IN F30-34 AGE GROUP.
Stay tuned for Part 2: Syracuse Half!