I'd run two races recently that I haven't been pleased with. My pacing has been all over the place and I'd have some sub 8:45 laps followed by walking due to being totally exhausted. I was being over zealous and not really being strategic about the way that I was approaching my races.
I began working with my coach just two weeks ago and, although we didn't think there was much we could do about my upcoming half marathon, we knew that my work with her could make a difference for my 10K race in mid-November. Nevertheless, helping me with my final 3 weeks of half marathon training couldn't hurt, that's for sure.
Coach started out by telling me that she would give me my training plans in two-week intervals. She said that she'd have a bigger picture/plan in the works but that she only wanted me to focus on two weeks of workouts at a time. After reviewing my past race performances, she formulated a training plan and sent my first 6 training runs which included two 10 milers to help me prepare for the half marathon.
Coach sees the entire picture and knows what it should look like when it's done. I can only see a few pieces at a time. It's critical that I place the pieces where she says I should and wait patiently to see where the next few pieces should go. HMP for me is 9:25-9:35 and I ran about 5 miles of my last long run somewhere between a 8:58 and 9:20 pace. Now I could potentially be in trouble for my half by starting out too fast and burning out too soon because my HMP isn't well grooved into my legs. EEK! I hope it isn't too late to turn it around. I'll have to really concentrate to be sure that I hit my pacing marks early on and turn it up at the end if I still feel like I have something left.
You'd think I would be used to this concept, being a teacher and all. I often teach my students new skills promising them that they will see how it all ties together and allows them to understand a tougher concept later in the curriculum. I can only hope that we caught my mistake before it's too late.
Thanks for teaching me such valuable lessons, coach! Here's to running a smarter race...