RAWR

(yes, I know, I owe you all a somewhat big race report...it's coming, I promise....)

Rude Awakening Run....or RAWR

Let me start by setting the stage.  I, LittleRachet, haven't done a true run since Sept 11 until today.  Following Rev3 Cedar Point, I was toast. Done. Kaput.  My freakishly long race season started with a race in Miami in March and ended in September.  3 olympics, 1 half and 2 fulls = time for a break.  I did do a cyclocross race the weekend after CP, but some repeated ravine jumping on my post 140.6 legs left me with knee pain that I didn't like.  Rather than push it, I parked it.  Until now.

This morning was an unseasonably nice October morning and if felt like it was time to get back out there.  So, I decided I would do one of my benchmark runs - one that I know exactly how to pace and how I should feel and how fast I should be able to run it if I'm in good running shape.

I call it a Rude Awakening Run, especially when done at the beginning of the season after an extended rest period.  Mentally it is rough.  Physically it is rougher.  Pacing sucks because you compare to what you SHOULD be able to do.  You know that you should hit the turnaround by 25 min on a slow day and 22 min on a good day.  This morning I hit it at 23:13 - not bad, right? WRONG.  The way back home SUCKED.  I had to slow to a walk a few times to let my HR come down.  My legs felt great but my cardio fitness left me feeling like a smoker on a flight of stairs.  I went out way too hard and paid for it coming back.  A rude awakening indeed.

With the running of the RAWR, so begins my official return to training.  I had planned it for Oct 1, but work and life had a bit of a different plan for me.  Things have finally settled into a routine and now is the time to bring the workout schedule back in.  I've got some big things coming up in the next few months, and I can't wait to tell you about them.  Happy training!