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SHW's avatar

A whirlwind week indeed! Go you for riding out the storm---and capping the week with a fifteen-miler, to boot!

Re: Body. I'm sorry to hear about the tough outings Thursday and Saturday.

From my vantage point, your solid runs the day after both of these short-term disappointments indicate ready resilience from your body and prudent risk management from the C-suite (that's you). Encouraging reads on both brain and brawn.

Re: Comparison. You seem to have a healthy awareness and outlook on this. Three thoughts came to mind as I read this section, which I cordially invite you to dismiss if they do not serve you:

1. A passage from Ryan Hall's book, "Run the mile you're in": "I remember when I was a senior in high school with the goal of running a 3:55 mile and watching Alan Webb..., who was also a senior in high school, run a 3:53 mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Watching him run that fast should have inspired me to think, _Hey, his breakthrough can be my breakthrough!_ Instead, it had the opposite effect."

2. For me, during marathon training---especially the middle two phases---my body tends to feel worn-down and flat (lacking pop). When I join my usual crew for the weekly speed workout, runners I had been leading only a month ago now seem to be lapping me while doing star-jumps. My immediate reaction is, "Has my fitness fallen off a cliff?!" I have to remind myself (or hope a Bill-type reminds me) that different runners bring different fatigue levels into a workout; that my goal is a marathon many, many weeks in the future; that I am committing to a process that will prepare me, over time, for that goal. Trust the process.

3. If I were an aspiring runfluencer on MyFaceTaTok (or whatever Social Media is called these days), which approach would sell better: (1) Soft-pedaling my athletic history, low-balling my race target, then (seemingly) knocking each week and the goal race out of the park; or (2) setting an ambitious race target, sharing honestly about the ups and downs of real-life (not MyFaceTaTok) training, and lining up on race day knowing that my A goal---while in reach---will be a real challenge? Putting MyFaceTaTok aside for a moment (brb phone), which approach would be more gutsy and fulfilling?

(For the record, I don't mean to imply that runners on MyFaceTaTok necessarily take approach (1), or that everyone would find approach (2) fulfilling. We each make our own choices.)

Your posts are a weekly dose of candid insight, positive vibes, and whole-grain humor. Thank you.

Wait---athletes on TV can't hear me? (Santa Claus moment)

Thrifted clothes rock. Fingers crossed for your hip. Carry on!

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Claire Shorall's avatar

These responses always make my week.

I appreciate the invitation to take or leave what serves, but all three nuggets hit. I will be sitting with them.

And thanks for sending well wishes to the hip. It unfortunately still needs them. More on that soon...

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brook's avatar

i remember you swapping out shoes last week. my non-running self is wondering if that can throw the system out of alignment?

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Claire Shorall's avatar

It is definitely one of the variables I've put on my list of culprits.

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Fredrica Challandes-Angelini's avatar

42.4 miles seems enormous when you are hurting? You made a comment as if the elliptical helped?

Can you give a bit more detail on the comments you put under various days’ runs? For example, what does “ recovery” mean on Monday? What does “ easy plus strides” mean on Wednesday?

I like your polkadots.❤️

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Claire Shorall's avatar

To be clear, those 42.4 miles were run [mostly] without pain. On the two days I was hurting at the start, I called it early. And the elliptical is SO boring, but is low impact so I don't feel anything at all when I am on it.

Great question about the type of runs! The words align to efforts. Recovery is the easiest pace — almost regenerative with each step. Easy is also generally slow, but I tend to go off my heart rate for that. Anything that doesn't feel like too much work for my body is what I am aiming for. Steady is a run that takes effort, but doesn't have me feeling gassed. Tempos are generally at a pace and draining. Racing is all out. As for stride, those are 10 second fast pickups to get my legs spinning — running fast is often the best way to wake up my legs.

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