We get wiser as we get older right? At least in theory. After finishing 20+ marathons I'd like to think I've gotten smarter about training over the years. Case in point: After finishing the Bloop Marathon in April I registered for the Last Chance to BQ Marathon coming up on September 9th in hopes of lowering my Boston qualifying time. (Right now I'm sitting on a BQ -2 minutes and 48 seconds so even a minute would give me a better chance of getting into the race in 2018.) I had grand plans of coming back from my European vacation feeling super refreshed and ready to melt 5+ more minutes off of my marathon time.
Well, a funny thing happened: I came back from vacation and dove headfirst back into training.... and promptly fell flat on my face. Or rather things in general just fell flat? I expected to feel sluggish after three weeks off but I'm not exactly sure why I thought I could get back in to peak shape again by early September. Not only had I never taken such a large break but did I forget that oh, I had completed a 100K in June? I tend to recover fast but I'm not magic.
I knew the first week back would be rough. Even the second week. But as the third week started and I still the heavy legs/fast heart rate combo I was starting to lose my patience. I knew the fitness would come back eventually but it was just a matter of when? Looking at how many weeks I had until September 9th I knew it would be ill advised to try to push another BQ attempt so soon when I was literally just starting to get my feet under me again. (Pardon the pun.)
So I canceled my hotel in Illinois for Last Chance and set my sights on a race farther down the road- a little race called the Milwaukee Marathon on October 15th. This gives me 5 more weeks to train and what amounts to a full marathon training cycle instead of trying to force something to happen. And what do you know, after a couple more weeks of plugging along I've FINALLY started to feel like myself again! Sure, some of it has to do with the humidity finally dissipating but also taking the pressure off of myself and allowing my body to come back at it's own pace has definitely played a part in things. Yesterday, for the first time in a loooong time I nailed a tough speed workout and I finally was able to visualize myself reaching the goals I've set out for this fall.
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| Post run success at the lighthouse! |
Unfortunately the Milwaukee Marathon is a qualifier for Boston 2019 so I have no choice but to cross my fingers and hope I get into 2018 with the time I've already got. BUT, if I DO get in and I run a faster time on October 15th I can use that time to move up in the corrals in Boston on race day.
Plus I'm still convinced this nearly 40-year old has a couple of marathon PRs in her.
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