I'm back!

May was a big month for me.  The first few days went wonderfully and then I was sucked down the allergy/sinus hole that I have been in and out of for close to a year now. It is frustrating that something as small as a cold (the one I got on our Lost Coast backpacking trip in mid-April) could have such an impact.  Aside from my sinuses and ears, I was feeling surprisingly good for running two road marathons in a fourteen day period. 

My doctors recently switched up my medications and I am once again hopeful.  When I'm suffering with my allergies, it isn't so much that I physically can't do things as much as how broken I feel inside.  Everything requires more effort, whether it is talking on the phone (at my worst in May, my family even noticed how hard it was to talk to me) or cooking.  The worst of it was making decisions.  I felt like that part of my brain was shut off...and interestingly enough, that's the part I use most while running hard.  Keep going or not?  Can't decide, let's go slow til we figure it out.

Instead of mile repeats, Matt and I decided it would be best to try a different distance.  I've always had a weak top-end speed so I tried 220yd repeats.  I punched my current 5K and goal 5K times into the McMillan calculator to find the appropriate paces.  I didn't know what they meant or how it would feel but I gave it a shot.  After I ran my first repeat within the range, I was surprised.  Dumbfounded actually.  I thought it might be a fluke.  I'm not fast at short distances.  I finished the lap with a recovery and began again.  Here's what happened:

Goal: 8x220yd in 41-45 sec.

Without calculating it beforehand, I was surprised to see that Matt and I were running the same pace.  Of course he was doing mile repeats.  Every few laps, mine would line up just behind his and I almost caught up to him.  I began to feel the confidence return.  It might just be recovery from the sinus issues and races, but I'm beginning to feel like my old self when I run fast again.  I can't tell you how comforting that is.  And I enjoyed that the consistency in my repeats indicates that I wasn't going all out.

While I was running my cooldown, I chatted with Matt while he drank some water.  His paces were slipping and told me he wanted to run the last one just under 6:00.  Since his first one was in 5:42 (a bit too fast), I said he should at least try to better his fastest one.  "Give the last one all you've got, empty the tank," I coached.  He nodded, half believing he could do it.

I counted off his laps and made a plan as I continued my slow jog.  When he came off the final turn of his last lap, I began running ahead of him.  "Catch me!"  He moved up slowly from behind.  "Oh crap! You're about to get me," I continued.  Now at my full sprint pace, we were nearly the same pace, I was just one step ahead of him.  As we approached the line, I knew it would be close, "You're not really going to let me beat you, are you?!" I called out.  I could sense his effort from beside me.  And with his extra long giraffe legs, he outkicked me in the final stride, a huge smile spread across his face.  "What was your time?" I asked.  "5:43."  HECK YEAH.  "Didn't think you had that in you huh?  I told you that you could do it," I replied, giving him a high five.  "I had no idea you could run that fast," he said. 

It felt like an important mental workout for both of us that day.  Just in time for the first summer club race on Saturday at Dow's Prairie.  I'm just hoping to run smart on the hilly course and achieve a 6.1 mile PR.

What workout do you do to help restore your confidence?