Since getting back from vacation earlier this week, I have been getting in some really strong workouts.
After a couple of rain-induced rest days at the beach, I really felt the need on Tuesday to go moderately long, some I grabbed a solid 15 miler that night. I followed that up on Wednesday with a 6 mile recovery run.
The big change for me since focusing my training on ultra distance, is the fact that I have seemed to lose some speed. Since my workouts now do not really emphasize speedwork, my old marathon tempo sessions seem like a distant memory. For 50 or 100 mile events, speed just isn't in the equation.
Having this thought bouncing around in my head, I decided to go out late last night for a 10 mile tempo run. I didnt have a large amount of confidence that I would been able to dig that deep, but I felt pretty fired up about trying.
As I forced myself to a faster cadence and concentrated on quick turnover and good form, the pace began to get easier. By mile 8, I was having to work a bit but I realized that I was well within my ability.
I finished the run in just under 90 minutes and felt very grateful for the result.
Remember, you are stronger than you think you are. You can do far more than you think you can.
Go get after it.
Great job! I find the same thing starts to happen when I switch to triathlon training I lose a little speed in my running but I usually gain speed in the bike...
ReplyDeleteAwesome job on pushing through a great tempo workout. You're right - you can do it, you just have to try.
ReplyDeleteEndurance certainly has to be your main focus for the ultra though so I wouldn't worry about that speed too much :)!