5K Summer - Weeks 9 and 10 - The End

Hey, did ya miss my weekly training logs?! In case you were wondering, I was not injured this time. I was attending to this thing called my day job, which occasionally causes me to give up writing blog posts about running. Instead, I had to write briefs about law. And since my lifetime earnings from running amounts to a free magazine subscription to Trail Runner and a gift certificate for a massage, I gotta keep the day job for the time being . . . 

My apologies for keeping our reader(s) in suspense for the outcome of my 10 week 5K training plan!!! Wait no more! 

Weeks 9 and 10 of my training plan were pretty decent. Got some speed work, hills, and long runs in. I was feeling strong. But in the end, it was too little too late and too hot for me to break 19:00 this summer in a 5K. For a bunch of reasons, it didn't happen. What did I learn (i.e., what are my excuses)? 

• My training plan was flawed. I didn't give myself enough recovery time from my spring half marathon training. I dove right into hard speed work, plyo, and hill sprints, and ended up with a series of pre-injuries that I had to nurse. 
• Then I switched shoe sizes, and this wreaked havoc on my body as well. It took me weeks to figure this out. 
• I had sleep and nutrition fails. Due to said briefs, I got very little sleep for several days prior to the race. I also ate out for lunch and dinner during the entire month of August. I was 5 pounds over my ideal racing weight. 
• I was not in the running state of mind. No zone, no flow this race.
• It was hot on race day. Already 73 degrees at the start.
• Overall, I just didn't run enough. I was in better shape in week 1 than week 10. 

For the forging reasons, when I dug deep to find my fifth gear, it wasn't there. Instead, I found this monster:

Worse, in the three 5Ks I ran this summer, I got slower in each race. 

My first was my fastest:  19:53 (6:24 average pace) on June 16, 2012. 

Creepy Angelina Jolie leg . . . and yes, this man definitely passed me.

On July 21, I finished the second in 20:36 (6:36 average pace), 33 seconds slower. (Excuse: there was a big hill.)

Trying to look as pretty as the cheerleaders, not happening!

The third race, on August 19, I added another 9 seconds for 20:45 (6:41 average pace). (Excuses: see supra at bullets)

Looking strong, but actually feeling pretty shitty!

I missed my goal, but I increased strength through lots of plyo, leg strength training, and quite a few hill and speed workouts. I also increased my confidence, if not my physical stamina, at sub-7 paces. And I took some excellent race photos!

LR#2

Kristen