July 16-18: Struggling

Friday was an easy 7 in the AM. I decided against the double and just took it easy after work since I was feeling tired. Saturday AM I rested up before the race and loosened up. I was actually feeling alright and was pumped up to race.

(Skip this next paragraph if you don’t want to read any negative thoughts, but I need to vent for a second). The race itself on Saturday night was a disaster. I felt really warm in the face getting up to the start line but other than that I felt ready to go. I went out in 4:55, well off the pace of the leaders, and I thought I was being conservative. It actually turned out that would be by far the fastest mile of my night. I convinced myself I was still capable of a good day through 2 miles but soon after I knew I was cooked. I just felt bad out there. There was no relief for the heat and humidity and I couldn’t push myself back into the competitive spirit late in the race. I really feel like I’ve lost a mental or physical edge lately. I am running over 2.5 minutes off my best 8K, which was set in just as hot and much hillier conditions than during this race. I hope I’m healthy but I certainly feel off. My only response is to step up my training and hope things fall into place. It’s time for more mileage, harder running, and more attention to the small things. My confidence to make the trials again has been shaken and I need to get it back.

Sunday was a good start, logging 18 miles with Joe in the evening, despite both of us feeling pretty tired. It was nice to get in over 2 hours on the trails of Cabin John. Bad week: 75.5 miles.