The Pavement Beckons

Ah finally, exams over, and now 1.5 weeks off before a 6-week placement at a Sports Medicine in Ancaster, finally getting to do what I came to McMaster to do. Did well on exams, and now my focus shifts 100% to training for the next little bit. As you know, last Friday I raced a 3000m at UofT. Going into the race, and during, I was not feeling close to 100%. I would say besides Around the Bay last year, I've never felt less motivated to start a race with my back feeling like there was a knife at the left sacroiliac joint, plus fighting through a cold. And as everyone probably knows when you have a cold, with congestion, a headache, and just overall feeling like garbage, your sleep is affected. So I really didn't sleep very much that week, and really did not want to race. Not to mention in the morning I had my OSCE, the practical exam, at 8am which for everyone is extremely stressful. And with the race starting at 9pm in Toronto, let's just say it was a long day. However, I felt compelled to race. For me, I can't stand the thought of committing to something, and then not following through with it. If I didn't race that night or at least give it a try, I would never forgive myself. It's the same reason I raced Around the Bay last year on a stress fracture. So I raced. Let me tell you, people can question my speed, if I have the talent to make it big in athletics, or my training practices, but no one on this green (white) earth can question my ability to push through, grind, and my overall mental toughness. As soon as I walked into that building at UofT, I could feel the dryness in the air hit the back of my throat. For someone with a cold, I knew this would be tough, and it was. In the past two races, I've started feeling the burning sensation reach the back of my throat after the first 6 laps or so, but this time off the gun I felt the discomfort, not to mention feeling the pain in back as the vibration from the every initial contact to the ground traveled up my leg to my pelvis, and to my back. Despite still not making the 8:45 time I set out to achieve (finished 8:54 - 2:58/km), on this night in the condition I was in, I was happy to finish the race. I do actually believe that it was one of my better tactical races that I've had. Through the first 200 or so I was dead last (not surprising given the good competition at this meet). I worked hard to pass one guy in front of me, then the next lap the next guy, then another, to eventually leading the pack. If not for one unfortunate sequence on the bell (final) lap would've actually finished in third. You could see in the video, as the bell rang I got completely boxed in by three other runners, and there was literally no where for me to go. I couldn't pass them not because they were running too quickly for me but instead because I had no space to stretch my legs out and let loose. Between 3rd and 10th place there was only a 2 second difference so it was an incredibly tight race. Usually I would have said an incredibly enjoyable race, but trust me, if you were there anywhere near the track you could see that I was in a world of pain. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and was panting start to finish. It was rough during, and even more so afterwards. It felt like I swallowed a ball of fire. I couldn't stop coughing, and it hurt just to breathe. This actually continued for a good 3 days afterwards - it wasn't until Monday that I couldn't feel the burning sensation in my throat anymore. Still I'm glad I raced because I learned another thing about myself. That's the purpose of racing, and of running in general - to experience something that you can't experience in any other realm of life, and to learn about your true self down to the core. In other words it allows you to learn what your made of. And well, I learned that I do have what it takes to be a great runner because simply stated no one can possibly push themselves harder than I do and grind like I can. Think about who do you know that after an experience like that on Friday night, would be looking forward to their 5k race only 9 days later. And that's where my focus lies now.

My SIJ is still hurting, talked to a couple other runners today and they said they've both got that when they've jumped into indoor track workouts too quickly. Apparently it's something about how sharp the turns are on the corners of our track, and just puts an incredible amount of stress on your joints. But obviously, I'm still ticking, and will obviously still race on Sunday. Workouts this week have gone pretty well. Monday was 3X6min tempo-ish pace, Tuesday was an easier run day just a 60 minuter was 5Xa big long hill (about 400m long) then an hour of weights, then today (wednesday) was I'd say one of the best workouts I've had in a while despite feeling my back throughout, just kept grinding through. Workout was a 5k warmup, then 10 minute tempo run on the road at 3:12/km then headed up to the track for 3 sets of a broken 1500. This is an Alberto Salazar workout that I love and have done twice before, once in Park City, and then once before my Pb 10k later in the summer. It's 3 sets of 600m, 400m, 300m, 200m - 1:15s rest between the 6 and 4, 1 min between the 4 and the 3, and 45 s between the 3 and 2 then 1:30s between sets. 600s were done in 1:47, 1:45, 1:44, 400s were 1:10, 1:10, 1:08, 3s were 52, 52, 51, and 200s were 35, 35, 32. The last set was done in spikes hence the 2-3 seconds faster. Overall everything averages out to 2:53-2:55/km so I was very happy. Even threw in a good swim afterwards. So Sunday is a 5k in Burlington. Don't know what the conditions are going to be like, I guess you never know for a winter race, so it's kind of tough to set a goal time. But overall my goals for 2015 besides competing for the Canadian Cross Country Championship later in November, are to run a sub 15 5k, a sub 31 10k (something like 30:58), and a sub 1:10 half hopefully 1:09:30ish. But I'm not aiming for the sub 15 this weekend. This weekend I'm aiming for a good hard effort running 15:25ish or 3:05/km pace. This may sound kind of conservative, but first or all let me say 15:25 a'int no breeze, and would technically be a PB, even though last year I ran 15:16 it was on a short course. Second, everything right now is building toward the Around the Bay 5k at the end of March, which is in fact where I'm going to be aiming for the sub 15 given the faster competition, hopefully better conditions, hopefully a healed back, and a much faster stronger Frank. This year I'm tentatively setting my training plan right now and what I'm planning on doing is incorporating a much more periodized schedule into my program. I want to work in 4-week microcyclyes, where I run big mileage with lots of speed work for 3 weeks, then reduce mileage by about 50% for the 4th week, then repeat the cycle again but with higher mileage over the 3-weeks. In terms of racing, I'll try to work my schedule out so that at the end of each of the easy weeks at the end of the 4-week cycle I race. So for instance, 3-week block after Sunday, then easy week with Around the Bay on the weekend, then 3 weeks hard, then 1 week easy with a 10k on that weekend - maybe Toronto Yonge St. to try to get sub 31 given the downhill or the course. So that's what happening for now, until next time as the Kenyans say Train Hard, Win Easy. (The UofT video is below)

Stuck in a Rut, Why not poor on the Bad Luck

Thought I would try to squeeze in a quick update post just before class. As you know last weekend I was racing in the Windsor Team Challenge for the 3000m. I was shooting for 8:45, and up to 1500m everything was going precise to plan. My 1500m split - 4:22 (8:44 pace). Not only was the pace perfect I felt comfortable (well not comfortable but felt sustainable for another 1500). At 2k my pace has slowed just barely but was still on pace. Then I got taught a good lesson when it comes to track and field. You always have to be cognizant of the pace. You cannot shut off and cruise through your splits. In the 15 lap race, all it took was shutting off for 3 laps. Now I don't physically mean I stopped running but I took the lead in my pack of 10 guys or so, and just got into my own rhythm. No one passed men so I just keep cruising. In track, it seems as though there is no getting into a rhythm. You have to press from the start to finish, and when you start to feel some fatigue in your legs you need to press harder. I had 3 laps: 11,12, 13 when I went into what I would call my marathon mode. Where I locked in to my pace, and stopped listening to the laps. Why? I don't know, maybe natural habit, maybe because I find it difficult to be a slave to clock for just under 9 minutes, and stay mentally engaged for each and every lap. All it took were those three laps and I was behind my pace by a substantial margin, and even though my final 400 was 68sec, with the last 200 being in 32, I could not make up for that lost time. Finished the race in 8:55 which is a PB for me (technically by 8 seconds since york was on a banked track so my time of 8:57 on Jan 31 got converted to 9:03 and here at Windsor it was a flat track), but obviously not the time I was looking for. Obviously the injury I sustained has affected me much more than I thought. In the mornings especially my hip still hurts, and on uphills and quick changes of pace I still feel it. Despite my legs just not feeling like they used too which has had an impact on my confidence level and stream of thoughts at the start of the race where now I'm usually thinking about will my hip be able to hold up, will my hip give out on my once I accelerate out of that first turn, I have performed so well in workouts which makes me even more frustrated. The Saturday before Windsor we had our toughest workout session scheduled of the year. For me it was 5X800m @3k pace, and even though 8:45 would mean the 800s should be in 2:20, I was finishing in 2:18 consistently, which is 8:37 pace. In my head I just keep running through how could I string that workout together, and not get at least 8:45. Really though the bigger frustration is the fact that I know I can run faster, I know that I should be able to challenge for the win in these races. I know what I capable of running, and even though I get glimpses of my old self from 2013 or from last year post-Park City, and just haven't been able to sustain it for 8 minutes and change. Maybe it's unrealistic to think that after 3.5 months lost due to injury, and having to start literally from square one again (if you remember I started with a walk to run program in nov/dec after the injury), I could be the same guy I was training 200k a week in the mountains, or 200k weeks with roughly 3 track workouts a week in Aug/Sept of 2013 before Scotiabank. But still, I still have that a memory engrained in my head, and its hard not to think about it. Also it's the fact that after that season in 2013, I thought in was just a stepping stone to bigger and better things in my career, and I wouldn't be sitting here in 2015 thinking of what I need to do to get back to the shape I was in back in 2013. In other words it was supposed to be a building block to a successful career, not a career highlight. So I have one more race on the track this year on Friday night, one more chance to try and get that time of 8:45, and prove myself. However, I guess sometimes when you're in a rut, the more you try to dig yourself out the deeper you sink in. Earlier this week on Monday, I felt some tightness in my lower back, and than during our workout on Tuesday night I had to shuffle back home because I could extend my left leg because of the amount of pain in my back. Wednesday morning got up, and it was worse and the only way I was able to practice my practical stuff for my exam on Friday morning was to take a bunch of advil to relieve some of that pain. I feel like I am walking around like Frankenstein, stiff like a board and upright not able to turn or bend over. Thought okay no problem maybe I'll just take a few advil prior to my race and I could push through it. However also Wednesday morning the little tickle in my throat which I though was just lingering "track hack" was now a full on cold. Thursday morning here as I writing it I got a box of tissues being demolished, and now even though I can't take my temperature I can feel my forehead radiating heat. So the guy who gets sick once every decade or so, gets sick the week before a race. And if my race was a 10k or half marathon, or something like that I would say whatever I can still race and just push through. But in an event that starts fast and ends faster, I don't know if  I can fake it and soldier through, especially on a track where the air is already bone dry and makes someone even without a cold start coughing. Basically, I think on the track, you can't hide your weaknesses like you may be able to in a longer road race. There is no hiding, because if you have a problem or a weakness the track will bring it out. Well off to class now but first to Shoppers Drug Mart, actually spent a little time this morning on the Canadian Centre for Sport and Ethics looking up which cold and decongestant I would be allowed to take. Good news Robitussin ins't banned, thank God cause that's worked in the past for my lifetime's previous two or three colds. The Windsor race is below - you can change it to 1080p.

Building blocks

So this weekend was the long awaited beginning to my track season and competitive racing season period post a long 6 month hiatus. How'd it go, "Meh." Not great, not bad. I'm usually very good at judging my fitness level and predicting a time going into races. Heck in 2013, I said very early in the year I would run 2:34 in the Scotiabank Marathon, only in October to cross the line in 2:34:03. Three seconds difference between my goal time and actually time in a 42.195 km long race. I found for this race since the 3000m was unfamiliar territory for me, I was unable to accurately judge and predict my time based on my workouts. For example, in workouts the last 3 weeks I had been running times that would equate to a sub 8:30 3000m only to run a 8:57 (2:59/km) on Saturday. So initially, I was very disappointed in myself since I expected a lot faster. Really my difficulty in the race was that I stupidly decided to not wear a watch for the race. I thought going into the race that the start may be a little congested and hecktick so I didn't want to worry about having to push start on my watch. I wanted to just focus on getting to the inside lane as fast as I could. I also thought that I could get splits on each lap from coaches but it was real loud during the race and I couldn't really hear anything specific from the sidelines. Because of these different factors I was virtually unable to judge my pace effectively. Sure on the first couple laps I could see the clock hit 32-33 seconds for the first lap, and 68 for the 400 m split (8:30 pace) then see 2:18-2:19 for 800m (still on pace) but when it starts to get into the 4:20s and 5 minutes on the clock, I'm great at math but its really tough to try and determine if a 5 minutes and however many seconds if that last lap split was too slow or not. I had to run purely by feel, and although normal I could gauge how fast I'm running on the road based on numerous factors like how hard I'm breathing or my stride's feel and length, the track is a new domain for me. My heart rate was already pretty high because I was very nervous and the atmosphere was just different. I'm not used to people standing a few feet from where I'm running on the sidelines yelling, cheering. You just don't get that in road races often, apart from the final few hundred meters of Scotiabank, but even then people on the sidelines are far enough back that they are not really in your field of vision.

 I would love to give more details on the play of the race in terms of my performance by kilometre or lap but: A I don't have garmin information for it, and B quite frankly I don't remember that much - it seemed to go by way to quickly. What I do remember is starting pretty well, then making a good move around a few guys. Unfortunately I let my teammate who I was planning on running with go somewhere around mid-way, and by the time I realized that I should start working my way back up to him the race was almost over. Not to mention the fact that for the group of 3-4 guys I was in, I was doing 100% of the work. At one point a western guy passed me, and I retook him on the turn. I thought he would try to pass again and we could work off one another to work our ways back to the leader, but after that one move he didn't do anything. Finished the race 6th of 16. I learned a lot from that race, and in Windsor I will be looking to run at the very least sub 8:50 and hopefully 8:45. Overall I learned it's better to suffer momentarily in the beginning to stay with the leaders then losing contact and then trying to work your way back up to them. I also hope in windsor I can judge my splits better, and I need to find that next gear. The hip was fine no issues there, but I just didn't have that pop in my legs like I had felt racing last summer. I feel strong, and fast, and like I could hypothetically do some real damage in a half-marathon because honestly tempo runs as of late at 3:15 or so feel like jogging. Seriously last wednesday during a tempo run prior to our indoor track workout, I was almost carrying on a conversation despite rolling the first kilometre at 3:14 and staying right around there.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have really been so down and disappointed after the race. After all, I suffered a major injury not too long ago, and the fact that I raced period without any real pain in my hip should've been enough. I know Windsor will be better because of what I learned at this race, and because of the experience I had. I'm a firm believer that in order to race well you need to get used to the pain and the discomfort you feel during a race. Workouts are one thing, and ya I've felt like keeling over after a couple of them, but nothing can really replicate the feeling in your legs that you get during a race. Before Saturday I hadn't felt that feeling since the 10k race early in July. Not to mention the fact that that was post an 800k month in mountains of hard sustained training so my legs were even more accustomed to feeling that pain.

I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my running, so I'm not going to solely rely on my previous experience at York to guide me to success, but I'm going to train harder then ever these next two weeks. I don't care how much pain or discomfort I am in during workouts I am going to power through, and succeed.

Change to 1080 to see.

I'll finish off with another poem:

After you do up your last lace,
You begin to uncontrollably pace.
Your heart starts to thump against your chest,
Your legs start to feel the unrest.

They feel like they could give out any time
As they protestingly march up to the line.
Your mind thinks "Is this supposed to be fun,"
No it's all about the challenge now just wait for the gun.

That's the purpose of racing,
All those nights spent pacing,
Wondering I'm I strong enough,
Do I have the raw stuff,
Am I capable of achieving my goal,
You'll never know unless you commit your heart and soul.

Sure the feeling before the gun
Feels like on your chest is an anvil weighing a metric tonne.
There is nothing else that could produce such stress,
And at the same time make you feel such success.

That's what life is about,
Pushing ourselves to break out.
Break out of monotony and routine,
To learn we are not just this simple machine,
No, we are a species that has no limit,
And in life time flies by faster than a New York minute,
So push yourself to do something that you thought you couldn't do,
Who knows maybe your lying on the edge of a break through.