AggieEP said:
Average Joe said:
Ugh, I failed the first long run of my training block. Only 5.6/6 miles. I probably walked a half mile of it with some short jogs.
I don't want to make excuses, but I definitely felt worn down since my Friday evening run. I finished that run and then was up until 4 am with a sick child. Woke up at 7 am and went to the game. Then spent all day celebrating wife's birthday. I relaxed today, but never had any energy. Feel like I was destined to fail today.
I actually felt good until about 4.5 miles in and then hit a wall hard. Started feeling a little light headed around mile 5. I was going to change my route to throw in some extra downhill but decided to turn back since that would have put me over a mile away from home.
Pretty discouraged, if I'm being honest. Failing a 6 mile doesn't make me optimistic in completing 26.2.
Just flush it, sometimes a run doesn't go as planned but it's nothing to worry about long term. You didn't mention pace, but as you lengthen out some of these training runs be ready to throttle back the pace.
Also, 26.2 is daunting no matter who you are outside of some truly elite runners. But at this point don't worry about the big goal, just get ready for the next small goal in your training.
I tried to stay conscious of pace, but I know I was a little faster than I wanted to be. My comfortable pace is right about a 11:15 mile, but that's based on my heart rate settling in at 160-165. Which is where I'm very comfortable breathing and my body gets in a good, synced rhythm.
I wanted to start right around a 12 minute mile for the first 2 miles and then gradually get to my comfort pace once I was warmed up. However, I couldn't get in a good rhythm and kept finding myself at around 11:45 or slightly faster.
Even then, I was well into the third mile and my heart rate was in the low 150's at that point. I felt strong. Until I hit 4.5 miles and felt the life drain from me.
