More recently I have been questioning if I have the ability
to be as quick as I once was.
Looking at my power of 10 results for the last 9 years of
running, there is a clear purple patch for my running between 2013 and 2014;
the majority of my PBs were achieved; it was at this time I started to
introduce interval sessions and the long tempo runs and the results can clearly
be seen.
Although I have continued to keep up with the interval
sessions and the occasional long tempo run, you can clearly see the decline
in my results for the last 5 years… my heart wasn’t really in it. I often
refer to this period as straining my CBA muscle which, I have to say, is worse
than any bone or ligament issue. You know you should do it, but the
burning lungs sensation and aching legs all feels little too uncomfortable so
you back off or decide on another easy shorter run.
I have been quite honest about the lack of running mojo for
the last couple of years and this year we turned a bit of a corner when it
comes to running mojo, it’s definitely back…although I’m still not wanting to
push myself into the uncomfortable place of training; the burning lungs and
aching legs.
To be honest I’m often torn between wanting to be
quicker(getting back to my PB ways) and worrying that this is where it all went
wrong last time and why I felt out of love with running. Perhaps I just
need to go with the flow, continue to enjoy the running and trust the process.
And to be fair my average pace per mile is coming down, slowly, and in
the last couple of months my parkrun times are coming down to the 25-26 minute
range and I even ran my fastest parkrun in 3 years in June.
Over the next few months, I’ve a couple of half marathons (GNR, Bilbao) and
sprint triathlon (North West) coming up and the aim for the half marathons is a sub 2:00 for
the GNR, possibly a seasons best for the Bilbao and for the triathlon it
would be nice to get an overarching PB for this and possibly try for a quick 5k
at the end.
So perhaps the question is not do I have the ability to get
quicker, as we know there are many veteran lady runners who are much
quicker than me, but is more about do I have the desire to get
quicker and what is the cost I’m willing to pay.
