I know that I have not blogged in a while… Really, I’ve been feeling down in the dumps about running and figured I was having the training cycle from Hell. I had tons of aches and pains, confidence issues, and just generally didn’t feel up to running. It all culminated in me straining my hamstring while teaching a workout class. I took 4 days off of running and figured I had ruined any chance of a PR at the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon and of course, any chance of a 3:45 at Chicago. Up to this point, I had only ever run a 1:51 half marathon, which does not indicate that a 3:45 marathon is possible.
So, I decided to run at Rocky Mountain anyways. I figured that Colorado had always been good to me. I tend to kick butt at altitude (weird, I know), and the scenery is great, so if I bombed the half, I could just enjoy looking up at Longs Peak. There was a 5K the night before the half, so I was going to just use it as a shake out run and hope for the best the next day.
I am going to write up two separate reports, but I’ll give away the ending now. I placed 2nd in the 5K, winning myself a National Parks Pass, and I had a 4-minute PR in the half, bringing my time to 1:47:29. I don’t know who I was this weekend, but I hope that runner shows up in Chicago. I now have a half marathon time that is comparable to a 3:43 in the marathon. I feel a lot more confident and comfortable heading into the rest of my training. Honestly, it was an amazing weekend and I think the confidence gained from this will help propel me to Chicago in October.
So, what now? I guess I just keep going. Despite the time off, I am going to jump right back into my marathon training with the same 3:45 goal. I have not decided if the Hanson’s plan is totally for me and may deviate from it a bit as the weeks go on. The structured-ness of the plan does not really play to my strong suits and can, at times, leave me with a lot of confidence problems if a run does not go as well as it should.
I’m working on my race recaps, but for now, I’ll leave you with a picture of my medals as proof of my best running weekend ever.
She Runs the Wasatch 
Sometimes it seems as if great races came out of nowhere, but you had put in the work. Even bad training runs mean something.
LikeLike
Yeah, it’s hard when it’s a string of bad training runs. It had actually become bad training weeks and I was getting worried and frustrated. I’m glad that things are starting to look a little better.
LikeLike
Congrats Kerry!! Awesome job this weekend – all your hard work is really paying off! I have been following you on Strava and I just knew you would PR this weekend. Even if your running has been in a slump lately, you’re still putting in the work, and don’t forget that the base you built up from Colfax is still there – it didn’t just go away once you finished the race!
Sometimes that confidence boosting race is all we need. Summer has been rough on all of us so I totally get where you’re coming from. Running has been difficult for me lately too. Hang in there, you will crush Chicago!
LikeLike
I was getting ready to just run Chicago as a fun run. My tempo runs were terrible, and pretty much everything was not going to plan. I think a lot of it was the heat (that hasn’t gone away yet), but I think if I just don’t let less than ideal training runs get me down, I should be good heading in to Chicago…
LikeLike
CONGRATS!!! What a confidence booster–and exactly what you/we need to get us back in the game. My recent 1/2 PR (1:48:04) is what got me to believe that I could do a 3:45-50 at NYC. I struggle with my confidence still, but then I remember that half marathon and it helps. Go back to that race in your training!! It’ll help!!
LikeLike
Yeah, a 8:35/mi pace still sounds fast to me for a marathon. But this half kind of said something different. I’m definitely feeling a lot better, but I am still a little concerned that this goal may be a little too aggressive.
LikeLike
I always have time goals, but I’m realistic too. So as long as they don’t run out of water and I don’t get injured, I call it a good race!
That weekend didn’t come out of nowhere — it just takes time for training to catch up with us,sometimes. Congrats!
LikeLike
It really felt out of nowhere, especially with how things were going heading into the race. I really felt like it was going to be a real crappy race. I gotta say though, it is easy to get inspired out there and run harder. Haha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes those best races DO come out of what feels like crappy training!
LikeLike
Holy sheet Kerry! I knew things turned out well but still fun to read about and see all those medals! I am so glad things seem to be back on track for you. Reading this motivated me to really sort out my own problems. I am VERY MUCH suffering from lack of confidence with Hansons. I hit the paces but none of the runs ever seem to get any easier…
LikeLike
Oh, I could write like a book about this. I have really bad impostor syndrome, so when training is going bad, I start to feel like all of my good runs were just flukes and that I don’t really deserve those times and that they are not a representation of my overall fitness. I really feel like the Hanson’s plan has allowed that to take off on me and has caused an overall lack of motivation. I’m still not 100% sure that I’m over it yet.
I hope you start to feel more confident. I think a 3:25 marathon is very doable for you, but maybe the Hanson’s plan is not the way for you to achieve that. I hope things work out however you want them to. 🙂
LikeLike
Congratulations on a great weekend of running! Summer running is hard work, but hopefully these races will give you enough of a confidence boost to make it through to the cooler weather this fall (which makes every run feel so much easier).
LikeLike