the inevitable bad workout

i read on dailymile the other day that my friend stan chose (wisely) to bail out of a planned 32k training run at 24.3k.  he attributes it to soreness having raced/paced a 30k on the weekend, plus anticipating a half-marathon this coming sunday.  i read that post with admiration and respect, because i'm not sure that i'd have the wits or courage to call off a planned training run. 

and as it turns out, i didn't.

this morning my coach had on the schedule a 10k tempo run at 4:15/km or faster.  i'd managed to produce a 4:16/km effort for the same run last week, and that was on the heels of an exhausting 9 days working at the Rogers Cup - so i felt like after a comparatively easy week that this should be more than manageable.

however, a couple of factors managed to complicate things.

first, i ran my longest training run of this cycle this past sunday - 39k.

second, it was humid like crazy today, and factoring that in the temperature at 6:30am this morning felt like 26° celsius.  

i went to bed last night thinking "if it's raining in the morning, i'll take an extra day's rest and run on friday instead."  the weather gurus have forecasted friday to be a cooler, much less humid day.

but it wasn't raining when i got up.

so, being the stubborn, 'if i'm supposed to run i'm gonna run' kind of guy that i am, i hit the road with a 4:15/km 10k tempo run in view.

what i got was 10k in 44:38 (4:28/km pace), and sweat-soaked everything.

i'd call that a bad workout.  and with under four weeks until my next race, it's a little deflating.

still, everything that i've read is that just about everyone experiences at least one or two bad workouts in a training cycle, elites included.  the difference between 'joe casual runner' and 'addis ababa joe' is how you well you can put the lacklustre performance behind you and get back on track (without injuring yourself).

i don't plan on doing anything crazy like trying to jam in an extra tempo run this weekend. i'm not dripping that much machismo that i have to prove myself before this week's out.  i will trust my coach, stick with the plan, and believe that this one workout will not define me or my performance on race day.  i know that i've put in many strong workouts during this cycle - pushing myself to go at faster paces than i'd ever trained at before - and that my (short) racing history tells me that i tend to be able to capitalize on a proper taper to produce actual race paces that top my training paces.

bad is bad - but it doesn't mean that i'm in a bad place.  

the inevitable bad workout

my mowph ith stuk wiff goop!

if you've been disappointed that i haven't been posting as regularly as i once was, i'm sorry about that ... the summer has been jam packed with work as i'm helping to get our volunteer team ready for the Rogers Cup tournament starting on august 3rd.  what started out as a fun volunteer gig for me with Tennis Canada has become a passion and a seasonal job working as part of the volunteer office coordinating the logistics and resources for our over 1000 volunteers each summer.  good times - just busy times!

but fear not, good townspeople ... this fanatical runner continues to log the kilometres.  even in this wicked heatwave.

on my coach's recommendation, i've begun to use a 4-bottle hydration belt (generously given to me by my friend trevor) on my long runs.  for probably 98% of all of my training over the past three years i've had no fluids, solids or gels with me - regardless of distance.  perhaps not the smartest move, but i've been reluctant to strap on anything that (a) restricts or constricts my body and (b) few things motivate me to move faster than the lure of refreshment/replenishment at the end of a good run.

now that the fuel belt (and yes, it is a FuelBelt) has been incorporated to my sunday morning routine, i've also decided to try bringing along gels to help get me through the 30+ km distances.  for those of you unfamiliar with gels, they are small packets (larger than fast food ketchup packs) of energy, often providing much needed

• carbohydrates
• sodium/potassium (which helps stave off muscle cramps) 
• and sometimes caffeine

... for the endurance athlete.  they come in various flavours to suit just about any palate, and are usually quite affordable at a couple of dollars per single use gel.  they're usually sold at running specialty stores - but as i discovered with glee (and relief) they can also be found at well-stocked bicycle stores such as T.I. Cycle in gananoque.

i've tried most of the major brands of gels - powerbar, gu, hammer, clif.  to-date i've found that gu gels provide me with the most bang for my buck, although hammer nutrition's gels (promoted as all natural) are the easiest consistency for me to swallow.

in the gu brand, the flavs that i stock up on the most are:

• strawberry banana
• mint chocolate
• jet blackberry
• chocolate raspberry roctane (uber-caffeinated to wake me from my stupor during the late stages of the run)

while not everyone subscribes to using them, i've found that they work for me ... in the right proportion.  i'll usually take one every 35-40 min. during a long run/race, because it takes about 30 min. for them to really kick in as an energy boost.  other people can take them less frequently, and apparently lance armstrong can take them once every 12 minutes - but then i'm told he takes other stuff too ... 

are you a gel-eater?  what brands or flavours do you prefer?  and how often do you consume?

if you don't take them, what do you know that we don't?

my mowph ith stuk wiff goop!