A Thought on Race Goals and Chattajack!

Thanks for the supportive comments on my last post. It's hard enough to completely miss your goals when no one knows them. It's way harder when you have to break the news to people you respect and who were cheering for you!

Hanna's comment in particular got me thinking. She brought up that maybe the pressure of this race impacted how it went. My last two 5k PRs were both unexpected and I hadn't advertised much confidence in myself beforehand. In fact, I kept my pie-in-the-sky goal private for Sup & Run and I didn't have major goals for Howl.

But I built up Sanibel.

Hanna's comment made me reflect on A1A this year. I ran that full without telling anyone but a few select people. I wanted to remove the pressure of race day by just treating the race like a solid long run and it really worked - I redeemed myself and nabbed my hard-earned PR!

Still the best feeling ever!

(Last night I was rereading my BDR and A1A recaps to help me remember how BDR fueled me for A1A. Disaster races can be really good in the long run. You know, there are times I'm really glad I have a blog.)

Of course, a marathon is different. There's a little less pressure in the sense that finishing at all is a huge accomplishment, and I wasn't ever planning to gut out super-fast miles, either. But I should probably apply what I learned about that race - which is that if I just let myself have some quiet determination and don't make race day a big deal on the blog (the lead-up, the goals, etc.) then I'm able to have a more successful race - to all my races. I'm able to just race it without any outside noise creeping in.

That's not to say that support isn't appreciated! But I wonder if my mind buckles under the pressure.

I also think that I have such a history with Sanibel now, having run it five times, that I need to pick a different 10k when I'm ready to try for a PR again. Even though I love the course and the atmosphere, there's just too much baggage to run it with confidence and freedom.

I hope I can remember all this as my next few races come up this winter. (More on those later.)

I feel way better after taking Sunday and Monday off and enjoying a nice run Tuesday. I gave Elizabeth my full attention as I listened to her race experience. It's clear she enjoyed it and she's excited to run a half; her competitive nature came out and she had fun picking people off as she ran. But she still doesn't "get" why people spend money on races (totally understandable) and she didn't feel totally "life changed!" by finishing because, in her words, it was "only 6 miles". She's become a jaded racer and she's only run one race!

I love this pre-race picture of us! We always take post-run photos so this is the first time you get to see us looking cute and excited beforehand!

In other news, Chattajack is this weekend! Remember last year when Matt paddled ~32 miles in Chattanooga? Well, it's time for him to repeat his performance!

He's switched up his board class this year and has trained using a totally different method and plan than last time; he's really gunning to make it to the podium.

That's Matt leading the pack, obviously.

So, needless to say really, I won't be around the blog much this week because we'll be traveling. But when I get back I'll make sure to post a recap of his race, like last year! (Hopefully this year's recap doesn't include a busted board or any other obstacles on our way up to Tennessee!) In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram to see how things are going and follow Matt on race day.

Do you think vocalizing your goals helps, hinders, or doesn't impact your performance?
Do you have any baggage surrounding certain races?
Wish Matt good luck this weekend!

ABK

Disaster Run

Yesterday, I experienced a bad run. Funnily enough, I didn't internalize any guilt over it, as I usually do, perhaps because I knew my fitness and ability weren't to blame. On the contrary, I even feel a little proud of this disaster.

I got new running shoes the other night...not really on a whim, but without having my strides re-evaluated like I'd planned. But really, I don't need new shoes yet; I just really want a pair. I ran these around the indoor track at the store and they felt wonderful. So, I bought them. Itching to try them out, I took them for a test Monday.

But here's where I went wrong. My run was a 3.5 miler (or so I thought), and the shoes gave me shin splints within the first 1/8 of a mile. But did I turn around and put my Nikes back on? Nope. I went for the full run, thinking, "Oh hey, maybe they'll get better."

Right. Here's the thing. My "3.5" miles was really 4.3. I didn't map it out beforehand, figuring I'd turn around and just run the same course back when Nike+ told me I'd hit my halfway point. But when that time came, I was on a loop, and I thought (wrongly, again), "Oh hey, this is a circle, so I'm halfway through and completing it would be the same as turning around." Except that the end of the "loop" was actually an extra .80 miles. Duh. I knew "half" the loop was .87, but somehow forgot that I'd have to complete the circle, thereby doubling it. (I know this makes little sense, but this particular path is shaped like an archer's bow, and I ran the curved part first, forgetting to add in the straight shot back.)

Basically, I had to walk some of this run because 1) LEG PAIN and 2) 4.3 miles was not on the menu. I nearly called M to pick me up. Well, I paused some of the Nike+ during walks, so it wouldn't affect my overall pace, but I did end up not pausing it for some, and then I ran the last 400 meters. Then I turned the thing off. Then I walked home. In socks. That's right: I took off the damn shoes and shuffled home in socks.

What a disaster.

But, here's the thing. I learned something from this. I've learned that if shoes don't feel right, I shouldn't be wearing them, even if I loved them in the store and even if the brand is one I'm loyal to. (These weren't Nikes, but another beloved brand.)

And why am I kind of proud of this embarrassingly bad run? For one thing, I pushed myself harder than I have in a really long time. Last fall  I ran a few 4-milers and felt really strong and proud, but since then I've been capping myself around two or three. I've been doing this simply because my resolution to run "consistently", to me, meant not pushing the distance. But lately I've been feeling antsy and full of energy. I went out Monday craving a long, hard run that left me panting and sore. Well, I definitely got it. I stretched, iced, and took ibuprofen. Oh, and also:

Yes folks, I rolling-pinned my legs. (This was an experiment based on "The Stick", which I'll get to in just a second.)

So anyway, I have no lingering pain today, although my ankles, feet, and calves were all stiff and sore yesterday. Although I feel up to a run today, and would actually really love to go, I'm going to take one more day to recover totally, mostly because my left ankle gave me some trouble toward the end of work. (Sometimes I wish I had a job that I could just sit at.)

I know I did a stupid thing. I'm sorry, body. But I'm glad I did it, and now I know what a gorgeous loop that archer's bow path really is (did I mention I'd never run this particular path before? Stupid) and I'll plan accordingly for the distance. But I do plan to run it again. It was just beautiful.

As for the rolling pin: "The Stick" is a plastic massager made for runners. You roll it over your muscles and apparently it's magical. Well, having done some asking-about regarding my usual knee pain, someone suggested it may be that my quads or Iliotibial band needs stretching/work. So I looked up how to handle that, and The Stick was recommended. Being cheap, I used my rolling pin instead. Boy did it work! It's not space-age plastic, but it made my legs feel amazing, and even through my hellish run, my knees gave me hardly any grief. (I used the rolling pin before the run, to prevent any muscle stiffness, and it seemed to work.)

I also looked up exercises that will strengthen hips and knees in order to prevent pain and injury. Here's the video:

When all is said and done, I learned something about myself, and about the art of buying new running shoes. Now...to return them (don't be skeptical; they look fine, I cleaned them, there's no wear or tear, and the store said they'd take them back) and have my stride evaluated. That's on the menu for tomorrow. Hopefully I have better luck this time around.

ABK