Friday, August 29, 2008

Slow Recovery and Rethinking Goals

So after my full marathon this past Sunday, I decided to take a few days off to recover, and I tried to ice my left glute shin and calf to help repair some of the damage that a marathon brings.

Thursday Hubs and I participated in another bike/run time trial with the Nacho team up in Parry Sound. The bike was 16.2K this time, and I had a tough time with it being still depleted and sore from the marathon, so I decided not to run the 3K that went along with it. It is always fun to workout with this group.

Today I went for a nice 10K (6.2 miles) run along the Georgian Bay waterfront trail. It felt pretty good, although my soleus starting acting up during the last 3K. I was running a decent tempo and finished in 56:05, so I don't know if it was a good idea considering my injuries of late, but I felt like I needed to get some frustrations about recent racing results out.

I knew Quebec wasn't going to be PR for me, and I'm fine with how I ran, but I guess I feel a little down because I really hope to get a PR marathon soon. I know that nothing is guaranteed in marathon land, so I guess I just have to keep plugging away. I have trained hard, and will continue to do so. Sooner or later(hopefully sooner) it will happen. Does anyone else get this anxious? Maybe I should enter a shorter race to boost some confidence that I can do this!

I am registered for a full in Scotia, but I've decided if its not a cool temperature, I will just run the half. Is this a cop-out? Here is my reasoning: I already ran four hot races in a row (Ottawa, Jay, Creemore, and Quebec), with meh results, now I want to see what I can do in the ideal racing zone, 14-18C. Sometimes Scotia can be hot, but it is a flat course. I am also eying a few other races (Detroit, Niagra and Picton). I might make a move according to weather. This will also give my muscles more time to heal. There is of course also still Philadelphia. I feel like I'm all over the map!! I know we are told to pick one race and stick to it, but I like trying different events, and hey you get more than one shot. I think I went overboard this past spring, but I won't run a race without 4 weeks rest. There will be 5 between Quebec and Scotia, and 7 between Philly and Scotia.

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend, and has some good workouts. It may be also a time to relax and recover before the Fall running season starts. Thanks for reading!

4 comments:

Aron said...

i would be tempted to follow the cool weather too - especially after FOUR hot ones in a row - eek! good luck deciding!!

my best friend from college lives in nova scotia (thats where "scotia" is right?)... i went there once for her wedding and it was sooo beautiful!

Marci said...

Aron- Sorry for using slang. Scotia is short for the Scotiabank
Waterfront Marathon in Toronto, Ontario.

Jess said...

I think your desire to only run a "cool" race is totally legit. If I could control the weather, every time I ran, it would 50 degrees out. That's why I loved running in CO last last May: cool and dry. Perfect.

Meg said...

Sounds like you've got plenty of options for a fall race that are likely to be cooler so if you feel like running the half, take it easy and enjoy the half!

I'll probably be cheering a friend on at Detroit so if you do that one I'll be able to cheer you on!