View Workout (Liam Albrittain)

Return to Log

DCXCIV

October 11, 2014 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: Cold, rainy, 54 degrees throughout the morning, warming up a little bit in afternoon

Comments:
Glory days:

This was quite a long, cold, wet day of waiting for a hugely disappointing race, although we got fifth. I mostly kept my promise to Anthony that if I didn't run well I wouldn't be frustrated, but I do hate for the numbers to show me almost back where I was at Oatlands. Regardless, I have a whole set of ready-made excuses not to make my performance seem so bad.
1) Sickness all week, which I still was not over.
2) Poor racing conditions. A thick, wet mud from the week's rain covered most of the course and slowed everyone down.
3) Hardly anyone else ran well, so it wasn't just me.

I was not mentally ready for this race, and frankly not that emotionally invested in it. The waiting was initially fine, but when it came down to warming up and doing drills, I just knew in the back of my mind today wasn't it. I raced in half-inch spikes and don't have any splits, except that I went through two miles in 11:20. The race did not get out that quickly, and the first mile went alright, I established a rhythm and went around people. It was when I saw Jackson next to me that things went downhill. I tried to stay alert and pass people, but evidently not hard enough; the second mile, however, felt faster than the first and I never totally mentally checked out. I also noticed the inclines more than I should have. My lungs seemed to have decided to abandon me and let me work no harder than a tempo effort. I cannot describe the frustration of crossing the line and feeling hardly fatigued. Once again, I know on an intellectual level how short-sighted and naive it is to place all this weight on a race, or expect to feel good every time I get on the course, but I can't help feeling this way. Like Anthony said, I just have to get over it and be ready for next week. I am in too good of shape, work too hard for my head to get in the way like this.