Not a Mid-Winter Classic race report

Photo on 2013-02-03 at 12.56 #2

Today was the Mid-Winter Classic.

I was supposed to run that race. I paid money and everything. But after a 5-week hiatus from running after the leg injury, I knew it was not the best idea to pin on a bib this morning.

Not racing today was a hard decision. There is always this fear in the back of my mind about taking rest and time off for the right reasons. No matter how long I run, I’m sure that fear will always be there that I’ll go back to the way I was before I ran.

Back then.

Back then.

I had good reasons for skipping the race today. Nothing great to gain and too much to risk. I’m pretty sure it was the right decision.

I went to the Midcoast Tri Club swim this morning and there were only a few of us there, since many club members were at the race. I had a strong swim — a great swim. It was the first workout that I did back in November. Back then it was a struggle to complete two sets of 400s in 45 minutes. Today I completed three sets with about a quarter of the rest time.

The thing that holds be back with swimming is that there isn’t a consistent program I feel where I can chart my progress. With running, I can wear a GPS and see that I got 10 seconds faster on average in a month. Or my heart rate is lower at the same speed. But swimming doesn’t really use/require those kinds of technology. My sets are split in 100- and 200-yard increments, and improvement is measure in fractions of seconds over time.

My searches for swimming improvement plans, like the Couch to 5K for swimming, have been fruitless. So Internet, if you know of one, do share … !

In the mean time, being cleared to run again, I plugged in my dates for Race the Runways in April and got my training calendar for the half marathon. I’m a few weeks behind.

My first day of training for Race the Runways - at the end of what should be the third week.

My first day of training for Race the Runways – at the end of what should be the third week.

The schedule doesn’t look too tough after going through marathon training four times. It’s six days a week of running, but most days are less than an hour.

Speaking of running, it’s looking gorgeous outside.

2013-02-03 13.06.38

 

See you out there.

 

 

Pattie Reaves

About Pattie Reaves

I'm a new mom and renegade fitness blogger at After the Couch. I live in Brewer with my husband, Tony, our daughter Felicity, and our two pugs, Georgia and Scoop.