Buenos dias!
I'm back from a wonderful trip to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity. It was a terrific experience and building a home definitely got me caught up on some strength training!
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to dive right back into running, I have had to delay running even further because I came back to the US with an ear infection and have not been feeling well enough to run. Needless to say, I am not happy. I have about two and a half weeks until a 9.3 mile race and less than two months until a half marathon and I am starting to get really stressed about whether I can be ready in time. Before I left for El Salvador, I was actually ahead in my training, with long runs up to 10 miles. I'm hoping that these miles will still be "in the bank" once I start running again this week, even if I am behind. Big races loom on the horizon, and I have no time or miles to waste!
Anyway, this break came at a perfect time, because I have been doing a lot of thinking about my training. I recently read an article about Mikaela Shiffrin, the 18-year-old skiing phenom who won gold at the Sochi Olympics. The article was about Mikeala's training and how her central strategy is to "compete less, train more". Her coaches actually have her opt out of most of the skiing competitions throughout the year so that they can spend that time working on the basics and getting her better at the sport. Apparently many athletes, including Tiger Woods, have similar training philosophies. Competition-focused athletes are doing what it takes to beat their competitors, while training-focused athletes are actually trying to get better at their sports.
I wonder how much better I could be at running if I applied this methodology to my training. Instead of putting so much effort into getting good times in all of my small races, what if I focused that energy on training and becoming better at running? Instead of simply getting the miles in so I can have a good showing at the next race, what if I decide to really get serious about speed work and strength training and long run technique? Do I really want to get through my first half or full marathon, only to wonder how much better I could have performed if only I had spent more time solidifying the basics and less time just trying to beat my race PRs?
Obviously, there has to be a balance. I don't regret any of the races I've done. Even in Mikaela's philosophy, some competition is necessary. All of my 5Ks and 10Ks are great practice for what the race day environment is like. The small successes I've had along the way have given me great boosts of motivation, and having races throughout the long winter months provides incentive to stick with my training. But I think of how much energy and effort I pour into each one, and I've wondered more than once whether it is only distracting me from my bigger, more important goals.
So, as I start this new chapter in my training, I'd like to try out Mikaela's method. I don't want to just log miles for the sake of it, I want to vary my training and do each exercise with purpose and take it seriously. I want any successes I have in competition to be because I made myself into a good runner, not because I mustered up enough energy to eke out a good performance on race day. My successes thus far show me that I do have some innate ability as a runner. Imagine how much better I could be if I harnessed that ability and fine-tuned it with some good old fashioned training!
I'm going to incorporate more speed work and tempo runs into my training. I'm also going to start strength training again. Not only that, but I'm going to be a LOT better about warming up before runs and doing deep stretches. Ideally, when the weather is nicer I'll be able to incorporate some hills into my training, too. I've never really done hill-focused running before, but I suppose I ought to give it a whirl!
Wish me luck as I dive back into things. It's not going to be easy with all the time I've had off and recovering from illness, but, here's hoping it's not as bad as I fear ;-)
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