Finally, after months of praying to the running gods, I went out on Tuesday evening and everything clicked. After completely psyching myself out at St. A’s and walking a very large portion of the 10K run, I decided it was time to return to basics and do some slow intervals around Hains Point. 2 minutes running at a 10 minute mile pace, 1 minute walking – just to get back in the swing of things and give myself a workout I could actually do.
I felt great. My form was as good as its ever been. No heel striking. No hunching my shoulders. Nothing was out of place. Part way through my second interval, I checked my Garmin and realized I was averaging close to an 8 minute mile – far faster than I’ve ever run – without any real difficulty. Clearly, this was finally going to be the running workout I’ve been waiting for.
Of course, 10 minutes later, as I reached the far end of Hains Point, everything fell apart. My shins very clearly reminded me who is boss and I spent the next half hour hobbling back to the car, doing my best to pretend I wasn’t in agonizing pain. Even worse, the damage I did required quite a bit of grastoning this morning.
Lesson Learned: Don’t knock 2 minutes off your pace all at once, no matter how good it feels. My underdeveloped sense of self-preservation probably would have come in handy here.
Tags: DC Triathlon, Running, Ups and Downs
