Unrealized Potential

So guess what I did yesterday? Think you can guess? Maybe…maybe not.  The answer is…

I registered for my second half-marathon!

In all fairness, I had actually committed to my friends Renee and Jessica that I would run this with them back in January or February. But committing to it verbally and actually signing up for it are kind of different. 😉  I was committed, but after I injured my knee in March, I was unsure if I could actually do it.  Doing the Dexter to Ann Arbor Half was my determining factor…if I could finish that, I felt confident I could do another one in 3 months.  When I not only finished it, but finished it faster than I ever expected, I knew I was ready.  So yesterdau, I signed up!  I probably would have done it the day after my half, but I had to wait until I had the *choke* eighty bucks for the entry fee. (Dude.)

I was perusing the site last week and I was excited to see that there would be pacers, since I’d had such good success with them during my half and also during my son’s 10k. Since I finished my first half in 2:16:17, I thought I could set my second goal finish for 2:15 (the original pacer I had tried to stick with).  Well, of course…they only have a 2:10 or a 2:20 pacer.  Ha!  So much for sticking with a pacer, right?

I started training on Monday, but I can’t deny I wasn’t feeling very enthusiastic. I hadn’t found a plan that fit what I needed.  I had successfully followed the Hal Higdon Novice Marathon program, and I really liked it.  It had a great mix of runs, cross-training and strength training.  I would have followed the novice program again happily, but I wanted to try to get faster. The Novice 2 program was kind of blah…run, run, run, 4 days a week.  😛  But the Intermediate, while offering the speed work I was looking for, also required running 5 days a week.  Oh my gosh!!

I was feeling really frustrated, and then on Monday, I remembered that my friend Katie had recently become a certified running coach.  When I’d taken her photos last month, she mentioned that if I ever wanted help designing a training program, she’d be happy to help.  So in desperation I emailed her, and she was really great! She sent me a questionnaire that delved into various aspects of my likes, dislikes, and goals (about running, ha ha!).  The survey asked what my goal finish was for the half marathon, and I explained my dilemma with the 2:10 versus 2:20 pacer.  I wanted to be faster than 2:20, but I wasn’t sure if I could actually do 2:10! Katie sent me a note back almost immediately, telling me she thought I could totally do a 2:10.  That excited me…if an experienced runner and running coach thought I could do it, well then…it must be possible! 😉

Katie then crafted an awesome plan for me with that goal in mind.  I was really excited to get it, because it was all the things I wanted—some strength training, some speed work, and only 3 runs a week with an optional fourth. Truly perfect for me!

I was enthusiastic about getting started…well, until I saw that speed work was the next thing up for me, since I’d already done Monday’s run.  The speed work was kind of daunting:

“3 x 800s – Run 1 mile warm-up at easy pace. Then run 1/2 mile at 8:32-8:58/mi pace. Walk or jog lightly for 1/4 mile. Repeat for number of times listed.”

Oh my. Half a mile in the 8:32-8:58 range? *gulp*  For those who’ve been following me for a while (God bless you!), you might remember that I attempted intervals back in the fall before the Free Press Marathon Relay.  I was able to do them successfully, but they were hard.  I remember being absolutely exhausted when I was done. (You can read all my whining in my posts from October. 😉 )  When I went back to look at my stats from back then, I was a bit nervous: my average split was right around an 8:00 minute mile, but that was over only a quarter mile!  And that was working absolutely the hardest I have ever worked in my life.  I hated intervals back then, just because they were so, so difficult on me.  I laughed at Katie when she emailed me Wednesday nights, “Don’t start out too fast!”  Yeah, like that would happen. 😛

Yesterday morning I woke up and greeted my husband (who was just going to bed, ha!).  I was really anxious about the intervals, but I knew I had to get them done, so I headed out before sunrise.  I ran the first mile at a very comfortable pace (10:39) because I was intent on reserving all my energy for the dreaded interval splits.  I figured that, based on my splits from last year that were only a quarter mile at a time, I would need every ounce of energy I could muster to get into the eight range for a whole half a mile.  At least the weather was on my side.

 

 

Now that’s great running weather!

When I finished my warm-up mile, I hit my lap key and then took off as fast as I possibly could.  It was as hard as I remembered!  But I kept going—I knew exactly how far a half mile would be, so I just sucked it up, Buttercup. 😉  It was pretty dark when I started, so dark, in fact, that I couldn’t see my Garmin without aid of the backlight.  The backlight is kind of a pain to bring up if you’re in motion, and especially if you’re in fast motion, so I did almost the entire half-mile without any guidance at all.  Right about the time I got to the end, I was finally able see my pace, and I almost fell over…it was about a 7:50!  I was so amazed! And then I was like, “Why am I working so hard!?”

Right about then, it was time for me to stop, so I gratefully stopped and walked for a quarter mile.  When my next interval started, I worked just a bit less hard than the first time, but once again, when I checked again, I was still in the sub-8 range, and I remembered Katie’s warning not to go too fast, so I slowed down again.  I felt okay, and when I had my second rest, I only walked for a few moments before I decided to just jog instead.  I knew I needed to be tired when I was done, and I honestly was still feeling not so bad even after two intervals.  I started the third interval at a much slower pace than the first two, which turned out to be a bit too slow, so I sped up toward the end. For the last rest break, I jogged nearly the whole way, and then, for the half-mile cool-down jog, I went at a moderate pace, slower than my best pace, but faster than my earlier warm-up mile.  I was feeling surprisingly good on the cool-down, and was able to really enjoy the beautiful, quiet morning.

 

 

When it was all said and done, and I had a chance to look at my splits, I was truly amazed:

 

 

I could not have been more surprised—after having worked so hard last year for those ¼ mile intervals, where I felt like I was dying, I was amazed that I could keep such a good pace going for a ½ mile.  It was the first time I had concrete evidence that I really am getting better—and faster!! It made me feel so good! It also gives me some real hope that I can accomplish this 2:10 half-marathon goal in September.

I’m so glad I decided to ask Katie for help with my training plan.  Yesterday’s run was a great boost to my self-confidence, and now I’m (almost) excited to try intervals again on Monday (my normal interval day from here on out).  I say “almost,” because, well…I was told by my “running coach” that I need to set my interval goal pace a little faster than originally thought.  I haggled a bit with her before we settled on the 8:12-8:32 range. 😉

I’ll report back on Monday and let you know how it goes.  Meanwhile, I will be relaxing in the pool this weekend as much as possible. 🙂  Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of fun and relaxation, too!