Feeling down- Need Help Getting my head back in the game...

[tigger2esq]

SO, after getting my mickey in January, I resigned myself to shorter (but faster) runs this year. my goal is to get my 5k time back under 30 minutes where it belongs. I have been working hard. On April 12 I ran my first 5k. it was informal for a locak school so there was no official time clock. I had a decent pace going throughout but there were two big hills at the end so my final time was somewhere around 30:00. I felt good. I knew I had run my best and I had a second more formal timed race coming up this past weekend. well. on that one i crashed and burned. I was so upset with myself. my final time was 30:04.

It wasnt that I missed my goal by 4 seconds that has me so upset, but the knowledge that I didnt run my best. I literally gave up about a half mile from the finsh. why? I have no clue but it was most definitely more mental than physical. there was a hill and I stopped dead to catch my breath about half way up. not stopped running and continued to walk for a bit but stopped dead --completely. not moving. something I have NEVER done in all my years of running.

so I am in serious need of some motivation and a proverbial "kick in the pants"...

 

[princessrunner]

Renee, my SIL truly abides by if you stop running, you will not start again. She has been right as far as I am concerned. She did something that I had never contemplated during our half though. She said her legs were tired of doing the same thing and so did some high knee stepping and ran backward for a short distance just to shake it up. She is also the reason that I semi-maintained pace up and down the hills, she NEVER breaks pace.

I had a hard half, over hydrated and got a gut wrenching cramp that would not go away and had to walk by mile 12. I was very discouraged as I came in 5 minutes behind my SIL and we had been together the whole time. In retrospect, I shaved 13 minutes off my January pace.

You are right there at 30 minutes. All this takes is the "top 10 inches" as my DDs softball pitching coach call it. Try training on hills and doing some speed intervals if you have not done this already. I train on hills and I do not find them overwhelming anymore...I don't find them pleasant but at least I ain't skeert!!

You can do this. Think of all the hurdles (running pun) that you have overcome so far. Believe in your inner strength!!!

 

[tigger2esq]

I have the same philospohy re: not stopping to walk at all on shorter races (on my 2 full marathons I trained with a walk/run ratio but in halves or shorter races I generally focus on running the entire time at a steady pace) with this race I was starting to slow on the hill and I was fighting this whole thing in my head--keep moving vs. it wont kill you to walk for a bit. and then it was just too easy to stop. it is so frustrating that I just gave in. its so NOT me... LOL its almost like I didnt want to meet my goal because the next one would be that much more difficult. ugh. again--so NOT me. I am definitely going to be all the more ready for my next race (which right now looks like memorial day...) I plan to get a lot more outside runs in (with the weather etc. I have been living on my treadmill). and definitely lots of HILLS!

 

[Cruella de mom]

Renee -

I think once you have run a marathon there is a tendency to overlook the mental preparation for a shorter distance. I won't say that we don't respect the distance, just that we don't think we need to plan our mental game. In preparing for the marathon you knew you might meet "the wall" and you planned for it. I could easily see me bonking on a 5k simply because I didn't prepare.

A marathon and a 5k are really two totally different races. You should approach them differently. A marathon requires a sustainable pace for hours where as a 5k requires all out effort for hopefully 30 minutes. All out effort is extremely difficult. It feels almost the same as the last three miles of a marathon.

I would consider alternating speed work and hills. Trust me, don't do both at the same time. Come up with some training goals that are easily obtainable to encourage yourself.

Hang in there, we all have bad days, yours just happened on race day. Next time will be different.

 

[tiberius]

I'm going through that down feeling myself the last couple weeks. I am making myself get on the road, even if not as much as before, just to keep up with my current fitness level. The main thing I have going for me is to remind myself that the last time I really gave up running for a "while", it was a 3 year period where I gained around 70 pounds! That gives me some motivation to keep on moving.

 

[tigger2esq]

thanks everyone for the encouragement. i hit the treadmill 3 times this week and felt great. I plan to hit the outside tomorrow morning for a jaunt around the neighborhood. its funny--while I lace up my sneaks I kind of dread my run but I alway say--I'll just do the first mile and then see how I feel (and of course by then I am in the groove). I just ahve to remember to stay focused and not lose the mental game in my next race. stay tuned.

ps--I was also feeling down becuase I have been eating a lot of cr@p and not being good about drinking water and to my horror discovered I was up almost 6 lbs. as of today I am down 2.6 of those so I am definitely heading back in the right direction. heres to summer and beautiful running weather!

 

[princessrunner]

Renee, stick with it. The first mile is a tough one for me too. I always say that if someone offered me a ride in the first mile, chances are I'd take it. But, like you, by the time I hit the first mile, I am back in the zone and I would not even stop to talk if someone wanted to. On those days that you need inspiration, try and find the happy place and remember that you enjoy your health and in the end, it makes you happy.

I am back starting over again too. After my "procedure" and my week hiatus along with the 2 weeks of low blood counts, I am finding 3 miles is it for me right now. I made up my mind that I am going to use this opportunity to push my 3 mile time and get it down to a 9:30-9:45 and then increase my miles from there. Right now, I am pretty consistently a 10:52 mpm. Any more and I get a little lightheaded but it gets better every day. I go slow the first mile, a little faster the second and my last mile I try to maintain the desired 5K pace. A time for all and all in time right. Eye on the prize works for me too.

Never give up, turn to your friends for support (us of course ) and just try to keep working toward your goal. Remember, the road we run is the same, the time it takes us is different. For me, it is different every day!!