Inside Scoop aka My Mentalness

My last race prep run was prescribed as a 45 minute run in Zone 3, and to mentally and physically ready myself to give it everything, I took Sunday's recovery run and Wednesday's long run really easy. My goal for this workout was to maintain a pace in upper Zone 3 (7:10-7:30/mile) for the entire 45 minutes, which will benefit me not just physically but also mentally for Nationals on Saturday since that is the pace I want to race the 10K during the Olympic distance triathlon.

The last time I did a Zone 3 workout, it was only in segments of 20 minutes, and I was hurting pretty badly. After the second set of 20 minutes was finally over, I had to hang onto the treadmill handles to stay upright and to try not to throw up. This was encouraging and discouraging since I've only been running in Zone 1 the past 5 months except for a handful of times, so my body wasn't used to such efforts, but at the same time, I was able to push through and complete the training session.

Knowing what to expect this time around in Zone 3, I was ready to be in the pain box and really suffer. Or so I thought.

10 minutes into Z3 after a good warmup, I was already starting to feel the fatigue.
You got this. Just 35 more minutes. Focus.

18 minutes.
I'm feeling good but also hurting. Can I turn down the speed on the treadmill just a little? 
NO! Hang in there, there's only 27 minutes left.

20 minutes.
THIS SUCKS. I miss Zone 1 running already. 
Do you want to do well at Nationals? Keep pushing! Don't watch the time. 

Striving for the squiggly red logo aka perfection

It took a lot of concentration, but I made myself stare just straight ahead. All I could see was a pulley system machine at the gym and what looked like 'Perfection' written under the logo. (When I'm really tired, I cannot read off a paper sitting in front of me unless I really focus.. it really said Premotion but for the purpose of my own pep talk, I convinced myself it was perfection.)
Keep striving for perfection.
I'm trying! It's not getting any closer.
Keep pushing! You'll never reach perfection, but the best thing you can do is to keep striving for it. Don't give up. Be better.
Damn you and your pep talks. That'll be a good blog post.

27 minutes.
Ahhhhhhhh! Body hurts. Please slow down?
Strive. Push. Nationals. Worlds. Kona.

33 minutes.
Can we just end the workout early? Save some in the tank for Nationals? I mean, what's 12 minutes in a workout..
Are you going to just give up at Nationals when you start hurting?
No but everyone else around me is done with their workout or walking. Can't I join them?
Everyone else isn't trying to become a professional athlete. Plus, the body feels fine. You're strong enough to handle this pace and even more.  It's all in the mind.

Soaked in sweat from head to toe. Dripping everywhere. My clothes are drenched and sticking to me, making running even harder, but I just kept pushing. Head and face started tingling, but mind over matter. I had something to prove.

I seriously sweated more during this indoor run than some of my outdoor runs..

42 minutes.
Just 3 minutes left! We can quit now. 3 minutes less won't lose you any fitness.
Are you going to quit at Nationals with just 3 minutes left?
No..
That's right. No quitting. And because you asked, I'm going to up the pace till the finish.

End result? My fastest 10K ever! Even from my glory running days 15 years and 25 pounds ago. So spent but so worth it. Entering Nationals week with a lot more confidence! :)

#KeepStriving