Celebrate Life Half Marathon 2011

I was well and ready for this race. The past few weeks my training had been amazing. I was turning over mile and half mile repeats. Hill sprints. Tempos. They were all feeling amazing.

Today not so much...

I warmed up nicely but felt very tight in some places, and felt as though I didn't exist in others. Part of my hamstrings were not responding. They felt as though they were numb from feeling. I couldn't keep proper form, I couldn't produce consistent power. It was just one of those days. A few days ago I could go out and run a 2400 in 9 min with graceful form and a feeling to keep going for miles. Today I couldn't even run the first 400 in good fashion. I felt tight. I felt weak. Just one of those days.

1st Mile - 5:55 - Perfect Split for what I can do but just didn't feel right. I felt as though I was off.
2nd Mile - 6:12 - I began to feel frustrated that I couldn't produce any power. My muscles tightened further and began to constrict my movement.
3rd Mile - 6:00 - I pushed harder hoping that I would break free from this feeling. It just became worse and by this time I already wanted to stop. I felt so uncomfortable.
4th Mile - 6:34 - There was a large hill which changed the position of producing force from the Muscles. During the hill I creeped to a mush slower. It was a great idea even though Andy pulled away. My muscles started relaxing but I still felt terrible.
5th Mile - 5:51 - Obviously I felt better, but a lot this make up time was due to the downhill net in this mile. I could work more of my muscles to their potential but they were still only working at 60%.
6th Mile - 6:05 - I was losing air. My windpipe was still tight from the tightening attack in the beginning of the race.
7th Mile - 6:19 - My chest slowely tightened and had an event like an asthma attack. I tried really hard to relax my breathing to allow for more air but nothing. I just worked with what I had.
8th Mile - 6:10 - I had put myself on auto-pilot. Just drown out what was going on and go.
9th Mile - 6:45 - I hit that hill again and was truly fatigued by the fight I was going through. I needed a slight breather on this hill. I wanted to stop. I was burning and just muscling my way through this race. It should be graceful, It should be relaxed.
10th Mile - 5:59 - Again a good downhill portion but the hill relaxed me once again to make another attack.
11th Mile - 6:21 - Just on Auto-Pilot again. Pushing through. Fighting the wind.
12th Mile - 6:25 - Struggling to make ends meet. I'm so close to the end.
13th Mile - 6:04 - Relaxed a bit more. It has been a difficult race.

Finish : 1:21:18 - A Personal Best

The time is hopeful. Even though my race was close to a disaster today, I felt strong. Even though I struggled and had to muscle my way through the race, I still broke last years graceful time by a full minute. It definitely gives me hope for the upcoming season.

Forum from Runner's World.com

Reply to:

I am trying to improve my HM time. In the past, everytime I do any kind of tempo training or speed training, I almost immediately get shin splints. Then running at all becomes a challenge. Maybe I am not doing them correctly.?? I have tried on the treadmill AND outside. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to improve time a different way? maybe with cross training? or is there another way to do speed training that is not going to give me shin splints? please help! Thanks:)
Posted by cdailey

Gawors:
I am a Triathlete so I am a big believer of cross training. There are a few things you need to focus on: Muscular production of power, running form, and aerobic power.

As with the other posts above do strides at the end of your easy runs to work on your running form. You want to keep good running form in order to run fast. Pretty self-explaintory. Keeping the time of hard running down will keep the shin splints down (I suffer from shin splints often so I know how you feel).

As for speed training, I suggest getting on the elliptical and in the pool. The pool is a great way to work on your running form and turnover without the pounding. Just put on an aqua belt and GO! Do some intervals like 10xmin with a minute jog. (You may cramp up the first time). Aqua jogging will be a great way to work on your turnover speed. The elliptical is the same way. You will be able to work on your turnover while working on your aerobic power. It doesn't work your form that well but you can get your heart rate up to a good aerobic %.

As for muscular production of power, a good tempo workout on the bike will work the muscles the best. My favorite is 4x10 min with 10 min rest (90 min workout) @ 185 BPM. It really engages all my muscle fibers and I fly when I get back on the road to run.

These things will allow you to train hard without getting shin splints. I will say though that your shins will still become weak after a run workout or race because it won't be used to the pounding. You will need to allow time for your body to adapt to the pounding of the road. I hope this helps! :-)

www.MatthewFrancisGawors.com