Back to the Drawing Board
The first quarter of 2009 has come and gone - badly. All my hard training for the Napa Valley Marathon, and nothing to show for it. Three miles into the race, I was way off my sub-3:00 hour pace, and all I could do was grind it out for a 3:08 finish in the pouring rain.
Then yesterday, I went out for the Way Too Cool 50K, completely misjudged my pace and ended up dragging myself to the finish in pathetic fashion. I was so slow that one woman pushed me up a hill. Literally. She came up behind me, put her hand in the small of my back and actually pushed me for a couple of steps! I still don't know if this was supposed to be humorous or if I really looked that bad.
Napa, I have no idea what happened. I trained as I did when I pulled off a 2:58 at CIM in 2007. Tempo runs, long runs, intervals. No races four weeks before the marathon. Tapered.
Way Too Cool... well, I did go skiing the day before. OK, that wasn't going to be beneficial to running an ultramarathon. I didn't feel sore the next day, but I think the day in the snow and sun carbo-"un"loaded me, and I ended up going into the race low on glycogen.
Then the course was tricky because the first half was very flat. I went out at marathon-intensity, which was much too fast for what was going to be a ~5 hour effort. Usually, trail races will have lots of uphills which force you to walk and give you some rest. Way Too Cool just went on and on and on, I didn't know what to do. By the time we were approaching the half-way aid station, I was on pace for 4:30 - and way too tired. In retrospect, I should have gone much slower, but I have trouble varying my pace when I am fresh.
The return featured two monstrous climbs: the one where I was "pushed" up, and another aptly named Goat Hill. I was a sorry sight for all of this second half of the race, and probably set a world-record for getting passed by large numbers of people. I can't count how often I was asked whether I was cramping, if I needed anything, if I was OK. I had to walk a lot, even flat parts.
I don't care too much about my time, but I do wish I'd run a smarter race. Had I crossed in 5:31 after an even effort, that would have been fine. Finishing as I did, by the skin of my teeth after completely misjudging the first half, was pretty lame, and not much fun.
I haven't been really happy with a race in over a year now. Part of it is sort of a been there, done that mentality. I've run too many marathons, too many 50Ks to feel challenged by the distances any more. And following basically the same training program over this time, I shouldn't be surprised that my performances aren't getting better. In fact, they seem to be getting worse. It may be age, burn-out, or just cumulative wear and tear. I may need to adjust my expectations, but right now, it's taking some of the enjoyment out of my racing.
I've got a chance to switch things up now. My next "target" race is the Pikes Peak Marathon in August. A trail marathon up a large mountain. Last year, I ran (kind of) the Ascent portion, so I have some experience going for me.
I'll try to vary my training. I really need to get out on trails more, not just for races anymore. I want to change up my tempo runs, too: go a little slower, but longer. Maybe train on heart rate, and not feel. Go swimming on recovery days. Whatever I do, I know I want to stay away from more mileage: Running sucks up too much of my day as it is.
Even if I don't get faster, just some kind of change would be nice.