Tom King Rewind

I can't express how happy I am that Tom King is over. I will be even more happy when Powerman is over this weekend. It is time like this that I truly wonder where my desire comes from to continue participating in this sport trying to achieve a higher level. But in the end, I know these decisions are just tough. And when you make tough decisions, then the outcome isn't always fun. You look for the lining--and sometimes it is character building.

It took me about a week to shake off my Tom King performance. I was at peace with it...for the most part. Sure I was unhappy but I have never once regretted backing off and shutting it down. I KNOW that was the right decision. However, there were a number of key mistakes I made in training all along the way. I think in the days leading up to the event, I began to realize them. Or maybe I just accepted what I knew all along.

1. Over-reaching. This race was simply me over reaching for a goal. I want to be a sub 1:30 half marathoner. But I am not. I am not. I am not. I am close, but I am not there yet. All the race day calculators told me I would run a 1:34. I wouldn't listen. And I began lying to myself. I convinced myself that the flat terrain would give me an advantage. I convinced myself that my 5k time would be faster. I simple over reached.

2. Failure of long runs. Well I knew this was going to be a problem. I knew I could run 13.1 miles...and I did. But the lack of longer tempo runs. Or strong negative splits prevented me from staying strong for 90+ minutes.

3. Over reliance of mile repeats. Nearly each Tuesday I did mile repeats in the park. I usually did 3-5 at HM pace. Easy peasy. No problem at all. I cut the recovery times in half and could pound them out. But I nearly always had an excuse as to why the workouts wasn't 6-8 repeats.

4. Over estimation of volume impact. Jury is still out on my volume experiment. I am still not convinced that more volume for the sake of volume is good for me. When I did the 50 runs in 50 days I started down a path and transferred over to race specific training. I became really efficient at running 3-5 miles. I have no doubt that my 5k likely improved. But all that volume didn't do much for my longer endurance needs. Consistency is great but it needs to be aligned with your goals.

5. Obsession with a time. This is a lesson that I continually learn the hard way. Three years ago, I took a DNF at NOLA 70.3 because I was chasing the wrong carrot. At Tom King that carrot returned. I wouldn't simply let things just be. I wanted the wrong carrot and it messes with me mentally.

The race is over. My legs are still a bit fatigued. I didn't plan on running much between the race and Powerman. Once the next race is over, I feel like I can back off the throttle a bit and let go of the early season longer races.