Still feeling dissapointed in my performance at last Sundays half marathon and deep down i know there was more going on than the heat....I can usually shake it off dissapointment pretty easily if it happens but I keep going over in my head what i could have done differently. A 10minute difference from last year really needs some thought....
I really need to re-evaluate my goals to avoid this kind of thing again..my focus for the last six months has really been on establishing trail running, developing my posture, learning to stretch better and getting rid of long-standing niggles; I know i took the half for granted and wasnt properly prepared, at least compared to last year when i was very zealous..
Basically I feel i need to either prepare properly for races i enter or leave them out and just enjoy local runs.. I have 8 weeks until Marysville Half...combined trail and road. For this i need to put a 15-21km run weekly at a proper pace until then..
The main lessons I have been reflecting on is how to establish mental strength or at least developing it alot more.....the way i see it I have been relying on 3 crutches which i need to try and get rid of..
1. Always needing music to pick up the pace...this means I am less in touch with my body than i need to be and less focussed on relaxing into the stress of running a little harder...it seems to me that repressing it through music might not be as good as facing the pain you sometimes feel and learning to accomodate it..I need to learn to relax when Im running 'comfortably hard' and not seek to avoid it...
2. Always needing to run with someone else to keep the pace...I LOVE running with other people and have made fantastic friends thru running but when Im in a race I am not used to it being just me and the road.
3. Only running at a faster pace when i 'feel like it'...
So my focus over the next 8 weeks is to develop some mental toughness, to exercise my mind and make my long run count more....5.40 pace....no music...solo alot of the time ....(oh god..and a few in the heat as Marysville will be hot)..lets see how i go......
I especially like the idea that you need to learn to recognize certain thoughts that need challenging during a race: "its time to slow down', 'why not take it easy and enjoy it', etc and be confident that you can push on.....this doesn't mean easy runs are not important...just not during a race!
Anyway..this was a Dear Diary sort of post, me trying to work my own head out outloud..thanks for listening..
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