London
is hurtling towards us all like a runaway train, and the miles just keep on coming.
Another Sunday run, another 22-miler in the bag. This one was a Progression
run, split into 10K Chunks. I was going great guns until about 18/19 miles and
I started to suffer. At this point the session called for 2K Fast and I blew up
big like a big balloon. Thing is, I know it was mental, I was screaming at
myself to not be so bloody stupid, but my reserves of will were almost empty. I
did the session and limped home with my head a bit lower than when I set out.
A bath and a bit of reflection made me feel a bit better,
and viewing the Garmin stats from the run gave me many more positives than
negatives to take from it.
The one of the root causes can be summed up as follows
After agreeing with my coach, my target for VLM was set at
3:15. This would be a 45 minute PB on my 2010 effort of 3:59 – something I’m
still very proud of. However, with the banter of those around me...
“Oh, you’ll smash that”
“Don’t be silly,you’re faster than that”
“Sub 3 for you”
Now, the encouragement and support of everyone is
grately appreciated . However, it sometimes feels (especially when I’m
tired and grouchy) that people are implying my original target isn’t good enough,
and over the last couple of months I started to believe them.
With the GFA standard of 3:10 tantalisingly close, 3:15 was starting
to feel like a cop-out. A good Half
Marathon the other week only served to bolster the wave of compliments and
boundary pushing from club-mates.
I’ve really had to mentally fight against this. Feeling
knackered at the end of Sunday was in part due to pushing the pace/my luck just
a little too much. The Easy pace wasn’t easy enough, the MP+15 was more like
MP+3 and the MP was more like MP-10.
There haven’t been many who’ve said “That’s an excellent
target, Good Luck”, but when they have it’s meant a lot, and I’m now determined
to nail that 3:15.
It’s good enough for me and it should be (and in my heart-of-hearts I know is) good enough for
everyone else.
I’m not saying I’ll not get quicker, just in my own time.
*This post isn’t meant to sound like a rant, but it’s been
playing on my mind a lot lately.
At the end of the day mate - the only person who needs to feel achievement at the end of a race is you. It's your journey - other people just watch your boat sail. You will be great for VLM and you will hit your target. Focus on you and you will achieve.
ReplyDelete3:15:00 IS a great time. Maybe you may be able to run faster - but that's not either the point, or what your training is geared towards. So stay strong on YOUR goals. I'll be buying you a G&T when you make 03:15:00.
I agree, focus on your training and you will do great! Good luck and Godspeed!
ReplyDeleteI'd say 3:15 is a bloody brilliant time. Achieve that, and you've knocked 44 minutes off your PB. That's immense.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. It's inspirational!
Hi Mitch,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's comments above, only you can set your goal, don't worry about what others say. They are trying to be encouraging, so thank them for their confidence in you but stick to your guns!
You'll do great, I have no doubt about that.
Steve
ps - shame I didn't see you at Bath, I was there too. Sounds like you had a great race :)