1. In an attempt to keep things upbeat, I haven’t posted a race report about last Sunday’s Mercè 10k. Last year, I got my 10-k PR at La Mercè. Last year, this event was my perfect race. Last year, I worked fewer hours and had a job that allowed me to do things like come home and make a play-list for a race. This year, I got home from work at 3 am Sunday morning, ate a cookie, tried to sleep a few hours and then rushed off to the race. First time out the door, I forgot the chip. Ran back up my stairs and got chip. Coming down the stairs the second time, I thought, "should I really bring the chip--will I want my time on the public record?"
As was to be expected, my performance sucked. 59 freaking minutes. That’s slower than I ran a 10k before my first half marathon!
During the first half of the rest my energy level was pretty normal, but at the 6-K mark something happened, as if I were a balloon and a little demon with a pushpin appeared and popped all the air out of me. Certainly, we can find excuses for this disaster—exhaustion, PMS, humidity. We can say, as my dear Charles did, “just going to the race was a victory.” But I don’t want to make excuses, I want to tell you all that I’m concerned, frightened, worried. What is happening with my body? Why, after a solid year and a half of training, am I so much slower?
2. I’ve never read Kafka. Yes, I studied literature at a prestigious liberal arts college; yes I did a masters in Comparative Literature in Barcelona. Yes, I’m a vivacious and rigorous reader, but for some strange reason I’ve never read Kafka. This weekend I was planning on starting a Clarice Lispector novel, but I think I should probably check out Kafka instead
3. Despite the first part of this three-part post, I would still rather be skinny than fast. However, I’ve got some work to do in both departments and since numbers on the scale have never motivated me enough to actually follow a strict diet for more than a few days, I'm hoping running will inpsire me to eat, well, more rationally. I’m 5 foot 4 and weigh around 118 pounds, and I’m thinking that if I could lose 5 pounds, I might just become a faster runner. Putting the numbers out there in order to keep me honest.
Not sure whether Kafka and marathon is a good combination...Think about all the suffering and people walking in the last miles and mix it with Kafka...oh my god!
ReplyDeleteDo not worry about your 10K performance, if you have not rested you cannot perform.
I don't think that the 10K is a real indicator of your abilities. When the tank is empty, the engine is not going to perform, and that's not an excuse so much as a reality.
ReplyDeleteGonzalo's comment cracked me up. I read The Metamorphosis in a high school English class, but it's been a while.
Also I think you are skinny. You looked very lithe in that last race photo that you posted a couple of weeks ago.
Better to forget the race sooner, and keep training, better days will come. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about the timing. As for the fatigue, you might be on the border of over-training. Take a good look at your training plan and make adjustments as necessary. I have been doing a lot of weight training to tone my body on top of the cardio.
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