... and I don't plan to stop running in the near future. Running is an important plart of my lifestyle and I will always do it. Yet, the last 5 months have not been very productive in the running front. I have been battling several injuries. As many of you know I didn't have a good race in Berlin. I ran a 3:33:00 marathon, the worst time in my last five marathons. I am a veteran runner that made several beginner's mistakes before, during, and after Berlin. A few of hem are:
Mistake #1: Over-training! I didn't adjust my training plan to the brutal conditions in New Orleans. I was pounding my body day in and day out, thinking that training in a 100F, 100% humidity weather was going to give me an advantage in the cool, flat city of Berlin. But the reality is that in those conditions the body needs more time to recover. I had more than 3 terrible workouts in the summer and never adjusted...shame on me!
Mistake #2: I didn't listen to my body. I had a few problems with my hamstring/hip, took 3 days off, and got back to training. As a result, my injuries didn't heal properly and my running was not optimal. When one runs through injuries, the running form is modified and that has very bad effects in joints and muscles.
Mistake #3: The jet-lag. I thought that traveling to Europe one week in advance was optimal. In reality, however, I never adapted to the time change and I felt really, really tired on race day.
Mistake #4: I didn't have a race plan... I am a very consistent runner. I usually hit consistent splits efortless, but the story in Berlin was different. I never felt comfortable with the pace I was running, so I did a very decent half but the second half was a total disaster. I wanted to run fast and never thought that my legs (and my body in general) were not going to respond. They had always responded on race day, I kept saying. Well, they didn't and I didn't have a plan to avoid the collapse. I ended up running the worst last 5 k of my life.
Mistake #5: I came back to running too soon! This is perhaps the worst mistake of all. I was so dissapointed with my race that I wanted to prove to myself that Berlin had only been a fluke. After 2 weeks I was running 35 miles and my injuries came back... and they haven't left for good completely. I am still struggling with muscle umbalances and tight tendons, so I have not been able to train properly for my next race in Boston.
The good news is that I am coming back, I can feel it. My shape is not ideal to run a PR in Boston, but my main focus is to re-gain my stamina and be as healthy as possible for my debut in the major leagues of marathon running (Boston marathon). I have had 4-5 weeks of decent training. I still run in a little bit of pain, but it is not as bad as 2-3 months ago. I am taking things slow. I know that the key to running fast and strong is to be healthy.
I hope to have updates on my training as it becomes more consistent.
Cheers!
Mistake #1: Over-training! I didn't adjust my training plan to the brutal conditions in New Orleans. I was pounding my body day in and day out, thinking that training in a 100F, 100% humidity weather was going to give me an advantage in the cool, flat city of Berlin. But the reality is that in those conditions the body needs more time to recover. I had more than 3 terrible workouts in the summer and never adjusted...shame on me!
Mistake #2: I didn't listen to my body. I had a few problems with my hamstring/hip, took 3 days off, and got back to training. As a result, my injuries didn't heal properly and my running was not optimal. When one runs through injuries, the running form is modified and that has very bad effects in joints and muscles.
Mistake #3: The jet-lag. I thought that traveling to Europe one week in advance was optimal. In reality, however, I never adapted to the time change and I felt really, really tired on race day.
Mistake #4: I didn't have a race plan... I am a very consistent runner. I usually hit consistent splits efortless, but the story in Berlin was different. I never felt comfortable with the pace I was running, so I did a very decent half but the second half was a total disaster. I wanted to run fast and never thought that my legs (and my body in general) were not going to respond. They had always responded on race day, I kept saying. Well, they didn't and I didn't have a plan to avoid the collapse. I ended up running the worst last 5 k of my life.
Mistake #5: I came back to running too soon! This is perhaps the worst mistake of all. I was so dissapointed with my race that I wanted to prove to myself that Berlin had only been a fluke. After 2 weeks I was running 35 miles and my injuries came back... and they haven't left for good completely. I am still struggling with muscle umbalances and tight tendons, so I have not been able to train properly for my next race in Boston.
The good news is that I am coming back, I can feel it. My shape is not ideal to run a PR in Boston, but my main focus is to re-gain my stamina and be as healthy as possible for my debut in the major leagues of marathon running (Boston marathon). I have had 4-5 weeks of decent training. I still run in a little bit of pain, but it is not as bad as 2-3 months ago. I am taking things slow. I know that the key to running fast and strong is to be healthy.
I hope to have updates on my training as it becomes more consistent.
Cheers!
