This past week was INSANE.  It was the last week of school for my kids and their last year in Elementary School.  This meant year-end parties, cook outs (in 40F degree temps), parties, Award ceremonies, you name it, we were there.  My feet hurt so bad on Friday that I was shaking my head at how I was going to get my workout done appropriately.

I have been feeling REALLY good.  Apart from my allergies (that are kicking my ASS), I feel really good.  And, it is a good feeling to have going into one of my “A” races of the season.  I am racing Eagleman 70.3 in less than 2 weeks.

Friday was insane.  I did a early AM swim, then got the kids ready for school, did some work, Jerome and I went to the kid’s Year-End awards ceremony and got home at 10:30am.  I had to be back at the school at 2:30 sharp for the “Bell ringing” that concludes the last day of school for the year.  I did not want to miss any of it.  But, I also had a 3 hour ride to do.  Temps were cool at 60F, but it was lovely outside.  However, I can ride and kick butt at 60F, so I decided to do my 3 hours on my Computrainer and suffer.  NO TV, NO FAN, sweating and working hard on my salt and nutrition for Eagleman.  I have done this race 1000 times and ONLY 1x has it been below 90F degrees.  In 3 hours, I went through over 5 bottles of fluids.  I needed to train in that heat to prep appropriately.  Specificity.

Here I am with SOME SUN above me and heat (ha):

I got off my bike with 20 minutes to eat, shower, put make up on and get to the school and then off to Dairy Queen with all the kids for the last day of school tradition.

I laid in bed on Friday night and my legs ached.  I almost had to take NASIDs because they were so, so painful.   Instead, I foam rolled, used the STICK and tried hard to get them rested before I was going to “participate” in the Fox Trot 10 miler this next morning.  And, I ate A TON of Carbs.

Woke up on Saturday AM and despite really (REALLY) wanting heat and things to get hot here in Chicago (to no avail), I was secretly SO happy because it was 46F degrees outside and overcast.  BAM!  PERFECT running temperatures.  I have never done this race in nice weather, so this would be a treat.  AND, frankly, I have never done this race on absolutely trashed legs.

I have always wanted to have the balls to race tired.  It is just not something I like to do.  I think there is a time and a place for racing in a training program.  But, we decided I would do the 10 miler but warm up for 3 miles, steady for 4 miles and then race the last 3 miles.  And, I can follow directions well.  So, first 3 miles I went out and was keeping it under control at my target pace of 7:10-5.  But, I also needed to warm up better coming off the training and trashed legs.  But, to my surprise, those miles felt good.  I was chomping at the bit.  There were a ton of girls ahead of me and I thought….GRRRRRRRR, I do NOT like to “participate.”  Patience, Jenny.  My goal was to not leave Eagleman on the Fox Trot 10 mile course.

After I get past mile 3 and still in some hills, I decide to get down to what I think is comfortably hard – but not out of control.  I drop down to 6:50s and feel that that is comfortable without shredding myself.  I start to pick off the girls ahead of me and now I am having some fun.  I head out on this out and back part of the course that is flat (near my house too!) and I see Stacie,  Heidi, Scott, Rich, Jen….seeing everyone and actually LOOKING at them and waving at them was the NEW JENNY participating not racing.  I was trying!

I got to mile 7 FINALLY and said, OK now I can go.  Mile 8 has a big hill, but otherwise, I ran the last 3 miles sub 6:30 and, for once, I was not trying to hammer to hold pace or not get slower.  What a concept!  It is so hard to negative split a hilly run race.  It requires such discipline.  But, the reward is massive.  I finished the 10 mile race in 3rd OA (caught everyone but 2 gals) and my last mile was 6:28 — and I felt good.  In fact, so good, I could have kept running at that effort/pace for the 1/2 Marathon.  Just exactly what I needed before Eagleman.   And, a course PR for me.

I just could not believe how good I felt at the race after destroying myself the day before?!!!  Shows that when you are in good shape, things are just well, easier.

And, the MIND will always win.  I willed myself to run that well on trashed legs.  (I paid for this Friday/Saturday combo on Sunday!).

It also made me think about something I have been chewing on all weekend –>  One thing that is so hard for me to teach athletes is that BRIDGE from training to racing and HOW to race versus train.  Many athletes nail training workout after training workout.  But, then on race day things do not work.  They don’t race up to their potential.  They do not go any faster than they do in training.  They just can’t bridge that GAP.  It is almost like the blog I wrote earlier this year about the “SWITCH” —>  Same thing…they just cannot switch from training to racing.  It is something, as a Coach, I work tirelessly on with athletes.  Some really can do this and do it flawlessly; others cannot grasp it.

But, this Fox Trot 10 miler was my training.  It was my chance to be mentally tough.  To practice SOLO (I ran solo) without music, without groups, without “winning” in my basement by myself…or obsessing about my paces.  I was practicing how it feels to race, grab fluids while running fast, taking in gels when going hard and how to be strategic out there, just like I will have to be at the 1/2 Ironman coming up.  The reason I can race on tired legs is because my body is used to it — and now I was training my HEAD.  The head is always way more stubborn than the body.  Doing it in training makes it “easier” to do on Race Day.

A successful weekend for sure!  Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!