What a struggle is??
Week 1 day 3 - 3 x hill
This wasn't a very energetic morning. For a moment thought of going back to bed. That is the truth. But, as I know is better, I just kept preparing and ignore the somehow lack of energy and went for it. My partner wasn't training today, so I turned on my music and went on. As I am not able to reach the closest hill, I change it for a speed session. Started jogging for about two miles. Set Garmin and started 3 x 400. Time laps were 2:12, 2:12, 2:06. I was over 1:58 last time I practiced this. That was on the beach, today on the road...
Between each lap I felt I recovered better walking for 2 minutes instead of jogging, (how I hate this word). The session ended with 1.5 miles running and walking. There was no problem with my legs but with breathing while recovering on the last miles. For the next week I will try a shorter distance as Ewen recommended me before to check if I recover better.
Thinking of this morning session, I wonder what a struggle is. Am I struggling enough? During the hard part do I do my best? I see myself finding it easy to run harder but not while recovering and starting over. Recovering seems to be too much and the fact to avoid the session. I will have to program my mind to understand that this doesn't last that much. I feel sometimes like I'd go faster because I feel I can, but something stops me.
I know I have to be on certain HR zones and it is where I get when training.
Maybe I need the courage to jump to the next step. Defeat my fears thinking that this is normal and the "hard part" of the training as it is, I am not in a birthday party! To see results I should work harder on speed sessions. Struggle should be the part that is missing in my training.
How hard is the hardest part for you guys? Could you share it with me?
This wasn't a very energetic morning. For a moment thought of going back to bed. That is the truth. But, as I know is better, I just kept preparing and ignore the somehow lack of energy and went for it. My partner wasn't training today, so I turned on my music and went on. As I am not able to reach the closest hill, I change it for a speed session. Started jogging for about two miles. Set Garmin and started 3 x 400. Time laps were 2:12, 2:12, 2:06. I was over 1:58 last time I practiced this. That was on the beach, today on the road...
Between each lap I felt I recovered better walking for 2 minutes instead of jogging, (how I hate this word). The session ended with 1.5 miles running and walking. There was no problem with my legs but with breathing while recovering on the last miles. For the next week I will try a shorter distance as Ewen recommended me before to check if I recover better.
Thinking of this morning session, I wonder what a struggle is. Am I struggling enough? During the hard part do I do my best? I see myself finding it easy to run harder but not while recovering and starting over. Recovering seems to be too much and the fact to avoid the session. I will have to program my mind to understand that this doesn't last that much. I feel sometimes like I'd go faster because I feel I can, but something stops me.
I know I have to be on certain HR zones and it is where I get when training.
Maybe I need the courage to jump to the next step. Defeat my fears thinking that this is normal and the "hard part" of the training as it is, I am not in a birthday party! To see results I should work harder on speed sessions. Struggle should be the part that is missing in my training.
How hard is the hardest part for you guys? Could you share it with me?
posted by Hilda at 1:29 PM
12 Comments:
Hard is continuing to run even when you think you have no more running left in your legs...
Don't be so hard on yourself, Hilda - you recently ran a marathon. What are you training for next?
Hello again Hilda! Great to see you hate the term "jogging" too! I'm a similar non-fan hilda.
As for hard parts with running, I too find the speedwork hard (a struggle). To make them worthwhile, you really need to push yourself. I don't feel like I've really struggled unless I'm bent over & gasping for air after a hard effort (400m or 500m, or perhaps 1km). When you're dreading the garmin counting down the last few seconds of the recovery before starting the next one, you're probably putting the right amount of effort in.
and I 100% agree with D above. You've just completed something that less than 1% of the human population will ever get close to completing. Feel proud to have finished a marathon, and don't be too worried about setting yourself another BIG goal too soon :)
Nice to have you back Hilda. Speedwork is the hardest thing for me, but you should be running hard enough so that it is uncomfortable, but resting in between enough so that you do not physically hurt yourself. It should definitely be painful though, but very rewarding once you are finished. This is my opinion.
What miners said Hilda ;-)
"Struggle" isn't a good word to use Hilda it doesn't make the "work" part of your training any easier for your mind to accept!
I find speed work more enjoyable than easy runs most of the time because i am lucky to have company.Try it with your training partner for a change and experiment 'til you find something fun.
R2B
Ps Soy Muchos Amable
I'll echo that speedwork is the hardest for me, mostly a mental thing. Another "struggle" is to hold back during recovery after a big race, I tend to want to get back to training before my body is ready.
Hi Hilda
excellent post and it seems others really get what you are saying.
I'm really glad that it's not only me. I always do speed sessions by myself and hate it when I feel spent after say the 3rd of 8x500s and know I have to finish or be in a bad mood all day.
But what I've recently discovered is the truth of a quote I read a year or so ago. Sorry can't remember exactly who to attribute it to but it was from a female runner who said something like "It only hurts so much and then it doesn't hurt anymore."
We all have to be brave but pushing ourselves and not knowing the truth of that quote is it too difficult. So we must believe it.
Hilda,
Hard is very relative...
It depends on what u want to do with it. I will take my trainnig for example. Right now i am building a big aerobic base for Ironman...so my hard ain't to the point where i am going to die. My hard intensity is like 8/10 or 9/10. The goal is to get those fast twitch muscle moving.
I use hill runs last season and i will do them in 5 sets. First 2 sets are relatively not as hard (7/10). Then I gradually build up the intensity. In the last set, I will be pushing it (9/10). The idea is to finish strong.
The goal is to find where it is hard for you. But not to the point where you will get injure and slowly push that intensity.
Since it is more easier to get injure when training hard sessions, I always take the conservative route. When in doubt, tune down the intensity. (Since I am going for long distnace anyways, the speed sessions do little to imporve my performance).
Lastly..sorry for the long post. Perhaps u are still recovering from the marathon??
Hi Hilda :)
Commencing any sort of speedwork is not easy. I started again on Tuesday after months of not doing it and found it incredibly difficult - even though I only ran 5 x 200 metres. I dreaded each 200 even though I've done hundreds of speed sessions over the years.
If you persist for a month or two it will become easier but I won't promise it will never hurt. You will have good days and bad days, as in any running training - you'll just notice bad days of speedwork more.
If you want to run faster, keep at it, but take things gradually - building up the speed over many weeks.
Only the wisest runners are able to change program if they cannot follow the scheduled workout. And you did it!
Sometimes I find the hard part is simply getting out the door.
Though after I get back home from a run the struggle is well worth it.
You hit a nerve here Hilda. What is hard anyway? Hard is often just getting to the line itself. I still like the old saying 'train but don't strain'. The road to improvement is long and winding, good luck!
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