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.