Sunday Redemption: It's Not Just For Church

Saturday, 10/5
AM: 3 mile w/u
Target: 10k @MP (37:30, 6 min/mile); 5 mins. jog; 5k @HMP (18:15, 5:50/mile)
Actual: 5k @~6 min. pace
2 mile c/d
Total: 8 miles
PM: 5 miles
Daily total: 13 miles

Sunday, 10/6
2.5 mile w/u
Target: Above + 1k @faster
Actual: 10k @37:25; 5k @18:15; 1k @3:23
1.5 mile c/d
Total: ~14 miles

Saturday morning, I laced 'em up and headed out to do this workout by myself.

And failed miserably.

I'm not really sure what it was; a confluence of factors, probably. One, I was absent my stalwart queenmaker, who was busy at a work event. Secondly, I don't wear a Garmin. Logistically this wasn't really an issue as I know all the distance markers on the 5k loop that we typically use for this type of effort, but mentally it proved quite challenging. I found myself constantly unsure of how fast (or slow) I was running and thus constantly feeling like I needed to push harder, which simultaneously led to this feeling way too hard to be marathon pace, which turned into a vicious cycle of discouragement and self-doubt. When I passed through 5k feeling less than stellar, I simply stopped.

But, the important part is that I wanted to try again. (So long as it was with someone who could drag me along and do all the hard work while I tucked in and tried to relax.) The next afternoon, I did just that. Initially, I was angry with myself for delaying the effort--the weather had deteriorated significantly since the previous day, and by Sunday afternoon it was cold and drizzly and windy and just generally inclement--but Jordan remained confident we could get it done. So confident, in fact, that he promised a "bonus" fast kilometer at the end designed to really kick things up a notch when I was feeling tired.

I would be lying if I said it magically felt easy with Jordan at the helm. It didn't, and the 10k segment still wasn't quite at an effort level I'm currently capable of maintaining for another 20 miles. When I was just about 100% convinced that I couldn't run any faster after the 5k effort, Jordan urged me to give it one final push for a fast 1k. Somehow I managed to finish the workout feeling strong, and exceedingly pleased that I hadn't managed to completely screw everything up the day before. I still have a long way to go, but workouts like this are critical stepping stones in the right direction.