One of the great things about the MarkAllenOnline training program from what many athletes tell me is that they do not have to worry about weather they are doing the right thing or not. They just do it and trust it is right. Many of the athletes follow the program 100%. In theory this is good but in reality it may not be good. Our bodies are not machines and they have ups and downs so it may be wise to take unscheduled days off if you are too tired or were up all night with a sick child etc. A common email I receive is about trying to make up training or doubling up on a bike ride to make up for a missed one. Yes sometimes we can do workouts on a different day to make up for a missed key workout but many times the missed workout should just be missed and forgotten.
Very few people have a perfect period of training. Work, family and the dreaded injury can get in the way. So why am I choosing this as my topic. Because you guessed it; I have an injury. I strained my hamstring in the darned treadmill again. If you recall back in December I picked up the pace on the treadmill and my hamstring went. This time I was really trying to go hard and although I did not feel an injury right away, I felt it later at night as it was sore to the touch. Darn!
My plan was to race the Boulder Bolder 10K running race. I have done this race many times as a lead up to my triathlon season. In fact my 10K PR was on this course back in 93. It is a great race. It is very well organized and the start is in waves based on ability. The professional runners run for money after the last amateur citizen crosses the line. However the first 20 waves or so of amateurs are done by ability. If you can run a 38 minute 10K or faster you will be placed on the first wave. The next wave is for those that can go 41 minutes or faster. The next wave is 43 and so on. In order to get on a fast wave you have to show a prior finishing time from a certified race in the last year. The problem for me is that I have not raced a certified running race. So the other option is to run on a treadmill that is set up right at the race office. They set you up and you run as fast as possible for 2 miles. Then they have a chart and based on your 2 mile time that assigned a wave for you. The first wave was totally out of reach for me. I would have to run 11:40 for two miles. The second wave I thought I may have a shot at. That would have been 12:30 for two miles. However during warm up on the treadmill I tried to run at that speed and felt that 12:30 pace was a bit too hard. I started the 2 mile run at that pace but had to slow down after a couple of minutes. In the end I ran a 12:50 and ended up in the third wave. I should not have pulled my credit card and paid the entry fee. Just about an hour later my right hamstring tighten up. Oh no!
In the end I decided not to do the 10K. The day before the race I ran for 40 minutes and although I ran it and did fine. The hamstring was definitely sore and I felt it the whole way. I felt that it would have been too risky to try to go all out for 10 kilometers. It was not worth it. But let me tell you. It was not an easy decision. I had to sort of put my coaching hat on and ignore the emotional side. I really wanted to do the 10K. It is so much fun and all my friends were running. It was not an easy thing to do. I was really crabby the day of the race.
I plan to do a sprint triathlon next weekend so I am hoping that it will be better by then. I am running again soon and will be able to tell more. When I swim and ride I hardly feel it. That is good. Today I rode three hours to Lake Granby. That is were I took the picture above. Do you see those birds? Those are White Pelicans. I was very surprised the first time I saw a Pelican in Colorado. But they come here every year. They even come to Boulder. Anyways, wish me luck with the hamstring. If I miss the race next Sunday I will be going almost cold turkey into my half Ironman in late June. That would really be tough.