Well, tomorrow morning is the Women's 5km - my second race. I've been telling myself that I am only going in it for fun because I've been doing well with my shins lately and I don't want to get injured again and jeopardize my triathlon. Not only that but for the past 3-4 months, I have focussed on building up my endurance and staying injury-free - I haven't been working on speed at all.
Last year, I had been running 29 min 5ks on average before the race, then I did the race and went really hard and had a time of 26:17. My average heart rate was 174 and for 18 minutes of the race, it was at LT or higher. I was totally spent when I finished and my legs cramped up after. I ended up with shin splints the next week and couldn't run for awhile. Now - to be honest, I did not stretch properly after that race and I generally wasn't doing much stretching at all back then, and I did a long run too soon after the race which was also dumb.
So fast forward to tomorrow. My fastest run this year was a 30 min 5k. I am feeling good, my shins haven't been hurting and although I haven't gone all out, I think I COULD go faster, especially if I take my ipod and put in a 180 bpm podrunner song. Dare I try to truly race tomorrow and see if I can get a PR? Will I hurt myself? And if I do hurt myself, can I heal quickly enough that I don't put a big dent in my training for the triathlon?
I wish I wasn't so competitive... :)
I took yesterday off and I swam 1600m today by the way.
2 comments:
I use podrunner most runs to pace myself too. Funny thing I discovered (for myself at any rate) is that a higher BPM doesn't always equate with going faster. I found that when I dialled in a 160 bpm or a 170 I had a better quality of movement (that's how I perceive it anyway) and also I didn't get hurt. You're way ahead of me in this running business but I was wondering if this is one of the reasons why you have been getting shin splints? Looking forward to seeing how you get on in the 5k.
I only just started using the podrunner music so it's not equated with the shin splints. I usually run to about 176 bpm which is very comfy. Once or twice, when I've been feeling good, I bump it up to 185 or 190, shorten (and lighten) my stride, and go faster. But it raises my HR and makes me tired faster. (I read somewhere that I should try to do 190bpm because that is a closer match to my cadence on the bike.) I dunno - I'm a n00b too... :)
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