Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Less than 7 weeks to the US Champs

I took a little break from blogging after my disappointing performance at Payton Jordan. I will keep this recap brief as I don't want to rehash what I already have in mind in great detail. I went into the Payton Jordan 10km looking for a PR (27:44). I had an off day, which I have nothing concrete to attribute it to. The pace was slow through 5km, so the only way to hit my goal was to have a huge negative split, which should have been doable given my fitness, but my body was not ready to go with the pace change. Training had gone very well, my mind was in the right place, and I put myself in a good position tactically, but I just didn't have it on the day. It's very normal as an elite runner to have off days, but I have been unusually consistent throughout my career, so this one stung more than it should. I am, however, mature enough to realize that the fitness is there, and I don't need to change anything. I need to shake it off and get ready for the next one. This was my first trip to Stanford in which I haven't PR'd, since 2005. I knew it couldn't last forever, but based on my fitness, I didn't think it would end this year. The good news is that because the pacing was so poor at Payton Jordan, very few Americans have the necessary standard to qualify for the World Champs. This means that given good weather, the US Champs in Eugene should go at IAAF World Champs standard pace, so it's very possible that I will have another chance.

I'm looking forward to hitting a 1500 meter race at the Portland Track Festival in June as a tune-up for the US Champs. I think I have one more PR in me in the mile range! With my fitness, great base, and experience at US Champs, I'm confident that I'll be able to redeem myself in Eugene at the end of June. I'm also in the process of finalizing my summer and fall plans leading up to the Olympic Trials in the marathon, and I will share those shortly.

The last few years Dave has forced me to take 10 days easy following Payton Jordan as we have had disastrous workouts if we try the week after. The timing was perfect, as I didn't really feel 100% until this last Monday. The last week entailed just easy running and strides. The volume was high, but the pace was slow. Workouts are now back in full swing, and I look forward to sharing them next week. Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below. Follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 23 AM PM Strength/Drills Mileage
Monday 9 off 9
Tuesday 11 5 16
Wednesday 14 off 40 minutes 14
Thursday 11 5 + drills and strides 16
Friday 11.5 5.5 17
Saturday 11.5 5.5 40 minutes 17
Sunday 18 off 18
TOTAL 108

No comments:

Post a Comment