Ramble 10K
Sometimes I hate posting but I force myself to do so for a few reasons.
This year's Ramble was designated as the New England 10k Championship. It's an awesome, very unique race that is extremely well run. They also happen to have the best after party around.
What really hurts is that had I run like I did in 2007 I would have cracked the top 10 (age group) easily in an extremely competitive field (top 100 runners were under 6mp). Instead I didn't even crack the top 20 in my age group. I have decided to delve into some fun facts to try to understand or see where I am at.
For starters here are my last 5 years worth of results from this very same race:
April 2007 42:15 My focus was on 3 marathons for that year. No tri training yet.
April 2008 43:25 Just started tri-ing. Training to do first Olympic in June
April 2009 43:17 Training to do 2 half irons that year.
April 2010 42.57 Training to do 2 half irons that year.
April 2011 45:13 Training to 1 half iron this June.
I'm convinced that I had a crappy run simply because I am and have been focused on triathlon. This drop in my time makes me cringe. I do not even like to think about that race result which, as you can see, is almost 3 minutes slower than 2007. Three minutes is a shit load.
You might say that age could play a part in this demise and you are probably right. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure we slow down each year even as we try to maintain. The issue I have with this fact is that the slowdown rate is only about 1%. That would equal 4 seconds. I think. So this really does not explain anything to me. The other age related issue could be hormones. Yes, hormones. Mine happen to be out of whack but fear not. They will be back in working function by the end of May. That's a whole other post in itself. Still, I just don't believe it's all due to hormones and age. There are women my age and older who just keep getting faster.
Do I sound like I regret getting into triathlon? If I do I don't mean to sound that way. I just miss my faster running times and how I felt. In the end I'm just totally sick of bad running performances. I do not want to see my running suffer any further. And I refuse to let it. After my next half iron I'm focusing exclusively on running and that is that. Please let me know your thoughts.
- So I can look back to see how I have progressed.
- To keep from being labeled a fair-weather-blogger.
- To keep myself thinking about why things happen and what I can do to fix and improve.
This year's Ramble was designated as the New England 10k Championship. It's an awesome, very unique race that is extremely well run. They also happen to have the best after party around.
What really hurts is that had I run like I did in 2007 I would have cracked the top 10 (age group) easily in an extremely competitive field (top 100 runners were under 6mp). Instead I didn't even crack the top 20 in my age group. I have decided to delve into some fun facts to try to understand or see where I am at.
For starters here are my last 5 years worth of results from this very same race:
April 2007 42:15 My focus was on 3 marathons for that year. No tri training yet.
April 2008 43:25 Just started tri-ing. Training to do first Olympic in June
April 2009 43:17 Training to do 2 half irons that year.
April 2010 42.57 Training to do 2 half irons that year.
April 2011 45:13 Training to 1 half iron this June.
I'm convinced that I had a crappy run simply because I am and have been focused on triathlon. This drop in my time makes me cringe. I do not even like to think about that race result which, as you can see, is almost 3 minutes slower than 2007. Three minutes is a shit load.
You might say that age could play a part in this demise and you are probably right. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure we slow down each year even as we try to maintain. The issue I have with this fact is that the slowdown rate is only about 1%. That would equal 4 seconds. I think. So this really does not explain anything to me. The other age related issue could be hormones. Yes, hormones. Mine happen to be out of whack but fear not. They will be back in working function by the end of May. That's a whole other post in itself. Still, I just don't believe it's all due to hormones and age. There are women my age and older who just keep getting faster.
Do I sound like I regret getting into triathlon? If I do I don't mean to sound that way. I just miss my faster running times and how I felt. In the end I'm just totally sick of bad running performances. I do not want to see my running suffer any further. And I refuse to let it. After my next half iron I'm focusing exclusively on running and that is that. Please let me know your thoughts.
Comments
I think we have also had a CRAPPPPPPPYYYYYY spring, i mean who wants to train in rain and sleet?
You will get your mojo back. I know it!
My run has improved since then, though, so there's hope. :)
So - it makes sense for you to focus on run after Patriot. But I think you'll miss tri's. :) And I hope you don't get discouraged if your tri times get worse.
I guess (unfortunately) we just can't have it both ways.