let me explain.
Sarah knows that the mind will tell us to quit before the body hits it's failure. Do we listen to our mind as our body's are screaming and our mind is saying "Stop, rest, Quit!" OR do we keep going, pushing past that mental block until our body's (or my legs and lungs in last nights experience), literally can't go any further and give out.
I heard these words in my head last night. I had practiced in spin many times how to get to the point where everything in my body is yelling at me to QUIT and yet somehow find the emotion and the motivation to push PAST that physical pain!
In her spin class, we sometimes go until our legs literally give out from underneath us and then we sit and flush (meaning, drop the gear to zero and just let our legs float, spinning quickly but with no resistance). Funny enough, the NAME of this workout is called "FAILURE", b/c sarah makes us go til our legs FAIL. Not our minds, but our LEGS. WE PUSH PAST QUIT. It's the one workout we all dread b/c we know it's gonna hurt. We hop up and push as hard as we can on as HIGH of agear as we can until our legs give out, then drop, count to 5 and hop up again...we do this for 4 minutes getting in as many "failures" as we can. IT SUCKS.
For me my motivation to keep going when I hit this point in my races is the race itself. When I set a goal for myself I want to KNOW I did EVERYTHING to achieve it. I want to see the numbers on that clock that I've set a goal to see. I want to make MYSELF proud.
I am So glad I have learned these skills and was able to use them last night.
My goal for this 5K, only 10 days after my first one on July 4 was to break 21min (6:45pace). My pace for the 5K I did on July 4 was 6:48....it would have put me at a 21:07 if the course had been accurate.
The race started at 7:00pm and it was 80 degrees and muggy. ugh.
I told myself that the sub 21 might not happen on this course and in this heat but I would try my best and have FUN!
I planned to run this race with consistent splits of 6:45, 6:45 and then whatever I had left for the last mile..but the first part of the course is a gradual downward and then into a gradual incline so I went with the downward incline hoping to bank time for the incline.. People say this course is flat but it's not. Its a bit of everything..some flat...some incline and some decline. def much harder than my pancake flat course from 10 days ago.
First mile was 6:29.
My first reaction was honestly "Oh Crap.that was WAY too fast. The next 2 miles are going to SUCK!". I knew I couldn't keep up that pace. I tried as hard as I could to run the tangents and get done as quickly as I could. when I hit that first incline I was already in pain.
By mile 2, I was hurting. Becky was behind me but moved infront and was trying to say encouraging things but I was so focused I couldn't respond....oh and my lungs were burning and i felt like I couldn't breath. that might have been part of it too. I remember saying a few times "I can't keep this pace, I can't breath" and Becky just kept saying "yes you can Nicole! use those sprinters legs!" she is so sweet.
Mile 2 6:48 (dying!)
I think it was about Mile 2.5-2.75 that I hit MY QUIT! EVERYTHING in my body and mind said "STOP. WALK. You CAN"T DO THIS NICOLE! YOU ARE NOT IN SHAPE FOR THIS!"
but I responded with "Push past Quit. Go until you hit failure Nicole!". My legs were still moving and I knew if I could just hold on a little longer. For just 4 more minutes out of my life, i would break 21minutes. I felt like I was running a 5min mile effort wise. It hurt. It hurt so bad. My legs were numb. My lungs could NOT get in enough oxygen. I said to myself "Just keep moving. If you JUST don't stop, you will do this. It's YOUR Choice. What do you want? are you a quitter? or do you fight through pain? do you push past Quit?!
Mile 3: 6:46
the last 200meters felt like I was dying lol. I'm not kidding. this was the hardest 5K I've ever run.
Last bit: 6:16
Official chip time: 20:30
6:36 pace!
Certified course.
This is NOT my fastest 5K, but I honestly think I am more proud of this one than any other! I ran this time off of 12miles a week the last 2 weeks and only 12-18 miles the 3 before that which was preceded by 2mos off. SOOOOOOOOOOOO.....I AM HAPPY! I feel amazing and I am excited to see what these legs can do with some training and more mileage.
what I have learned:
My body likes lower mileage. obviously.
My legs like rest.
5K training is going to fit into my life alot better than marathon training.
B/c I can only run 40-50 miles a week I have decided to give short distance a shot and plan to spend the next year or two focusing on the 5K and maybe even shorter. i hope to get into some open track meets next spring.
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sarah and I before the race
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Becky and I before the race
Meters before the finish
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gun time was 20:36 b/c it took us 6seconds to cross the start line
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I dont' know if you can see how glazed my eyes are, but I had to sit for 5minutes b/c I was so dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. My entire body was covered in sweat. it was DISGUSTING.