The dreaded threshold run...


I held off all day to do my scheduled threshold run, which is a 5 km race pace, and I had mixed feelings. 

On the one hand, I wanted to see how fast I could go if I didn't have to worry about my heart rate, and on the other hand, I was not looking forward to the pain and suffering it could bring.

For the second day straight this morning, my legs felt strong and not sore. The switch was turned on, and my legs stopped being sore on Monday, the beginning of my 10 weeks of training. 

I was hoping to get away around 3 p.m. to do my run, but work got the best of me, and the earliest I could do it was after dinner. I didn't mind that as it was cooler, 21 C, but it still required me to push myself out the door with a bit of a full belly as I had finished dinner 30 minutes prior. 

Here's the bottom line of how the run went. Based on the first 10 weeks of training and this run, I'm not sure I'll be in good enough shape to race in December. I may be in good enough shape to finish, but it would be an ugly finish. 

I ran as hard as I could, and after about 2 km, my left inside Achilles hurt. I was worried I would get injured and even questioned why I hadn't just done a usual run, as I had just returned to running a few weeks ago. Again, it is a form of self-sabotage. It became a run, walk, run for the rest of the run. 

It became very apparent that my left leg is weaker than my right leg, and I'm not equally balanced when I run. It's like I have two different legs. I've realized that if I really want to get back into shape, I need to start a very extensive stretching regimen and weight training. 

As I was running, I was thinking, "What am I doing? I'm going to be 60 years old next year. Why am I training like an athlete? Why not just resign myself to the fact that time passed by when I stopped training ten years ago?" 

I heard or read something online that said, "You may be slow, but the majority of the people your age don't exercise." Then I thought positively that I had dropped 12.6 lbs, including gaining muscle. My leg muscles are no longer getting sore, and it's just going to take time to get back in shape. 

I realized that when I was younger and weighed less, my body could bounce back into shape quickly. Now that I'm older and haven't been training consistently for the past 10 years, it's just going to take more time. It's like the old saying, "Slow and steady wins the race." 

Today, some more stuff for my bike arrived: water bottles, a bike computer adapter, and a front light. Then, I booked a bike fitting for next Tuesday. The good news is that the guy who does the fitting is a chiropractor, and it's covered by my health insurance. 

It will be interesting to see if my left Achilles becomes an issue. I'm also thinking I might want to start walking to increase my strength. I prefer to avoid recording walks as they seem like non-exercise. I need to not care and focus on getting back into shape. I never thought it would be this hard. I didn't know it would be easy, but I didn't think it would be this hard. 

Run - 40:03 / 6.02 km / 6:39 per km. pace

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