The run was the first thing to come back. No doubt because of all three disciplines this was the one I actually continued, if even just a little, over my 'time off'. And when I say a little, I really do mean a little. Gotta love Training Peaks and its gift of historical views. In the press of a few buttons, I can tell you that between Vegas (last September) and my official Restart (I'm calling it 4.29.13) I ran an average of 6.4 miles per week. LOL. And the 6.4 is greatly skewed (higher) by my initial attempt to restart in January before I got super sick. Lots of weeks with no running.
At any rate, I am now running an average of 13 miles per week. I know! Still relatively low. When I look back at 2011, I was running 25 miles per week, peaking out at 45 per week in the later blocks. And even last year I was running more miles per week, even with all my injuries. So I still have a ways to go.
Surprisingly, despite my still low weekly miles, I set a 5k PR this year. Not that I've run many 5k races in my life, maybe about 4 to be precise, but I did do one in May as a run test, and it was a sad 25:50. July 4, I ran another at 23:26 -- 7:28 pace. It was a small race, but I did win the master's division. And shocked the hell outta myself with that pace. I was hoping for a 7:45 at best, but was gonna be happy with 8... 7:28 blew my socks off!
Of course along with a new PR comes higher pace expectations for weekly runs. Long run pace increases seemed fine, and I was actually already there. But the weekly treadmill speed workouts - that's where it really hurt. When I first started back, I had a hard time with 8:45's for the 3 minute intervals. As the weeks went by, I managed to push up to 8:00's, and was pretty pleased with myself. HAHA. Starting the week after that PR, I was looking at 7:20 or better for 3 minutes at a time. Amazing what happens when you push yourself, and believe you can do it. Sometimes we need a race situation to help prove to ourselves that we can do it. I am now running 7:13's for 4 minutes at a time (3 of them). I'm sure by the time race day comes, I will be running 4 sets of 4 minute 7's or better.
Yesterday I hit double digits on my long run for the first time since last September. Halfway through the run I was wondering whose bright idea it was to do 10 (yes, it was mine), but I knew I needed to hit 10 this week to feel good about where I need to be. It was tough, and didn't help that I didn't run till the afternoon, but I got it done without falling apart. Fell asleep on the couch after, and was sore today, but I did it. If I didn't have the race coming up, I'd probably drop back a bit to ramp up even slower, but that's not the current plan. After September, I will do just that, but for now, need to keep ramping up to 13.
So keep at it. No matter how far down the fitness ladder you have fallen, trust me, it does comes back. And it doesn't take that long. The key is to take it slow, and allow yourself to be slow for a while. Recovery is key! Trust that it will come back if you don't push yourself too hard. I'm sure by next year, likely January, I will be back up to my 25+ miles per week getting ready for IM, and I'll be able to handle it because I haven't pushed it too hard or too fast right now.
Happy Training
Kat
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