You can have my speed, but not my confidence

30Aug/1012

You can have my speed, but not my confidence

This “summer” has been miserably hot. I say “summer” because it’s been scorching since April.

I’ve made no secret about how it’s affected my running. I've failed at long runs, ran crappy races and got burnt out.

The worst part was the self-doubt. How could I ever run a marathon- never less qualify for Boston- when I couldn’t hit my goal race pace on a short run and did all of my speedwork on the treadmill?

A week and a half ago, my confidence returned. I ran a great 14 miles with Becky and Lauren. Then I ran 18 miles by myself and felt like a superstar.

Did I just finally get acclimatized to the heat of summer? (acclimatization or getting used to new weather conditions takes about 7 to 10 days- source).

Ha no. I just ran in much cooler conditions. At the start of both of these long runs the temperature was in the 50’s. Pure bliss.

But that small taste of Fall was such a tease...

I’m now home in the HOT south. I fully expected that I’d need to get re-acclimatized to the heat again.

Thankfully, Caitlin and Emily welcomed me to join them for the last few miles of their 15 miler the day after I returned home.

(Picture from Caitlin)

I knew this run was going to be tough as soon as I talked to Emily. She said it was “only” 75 degrees when they started. It’s amazing how much your perception changes. A few weeks ago, I’d do anything to run in cool 75 degree weather, but now I was dreading the heat of 75 degrees.

The company on the run was wonderful. But I felt hot and sluggish, and complained more about my 5 miles than these awesome chicks did during their 15 miles. I needed extra liquids for the rest of the day and a long nap.

I thought one run was all I needed to get used to the heat again since I’d been running in it all summer. So I set out for an untimed, "easy" 6 miles today at noon. I wanted to push myself to run well and finish without walk breaks. Silly girl…

Suffering around mile 4.

But then it hit me: It's ok to have a bad 6 miler. It certainly won’t impact my marathon training. I ran the most amazing 18 miles a few days ago. And a strong 18 miler > a good 6 miler in my opinion.

In fact, I’ve had horrible runs like this all summer. Walk breaks have become the norm. But obviously it doesn’t matter.

The summer can temporarily take my speed, but it can no longer have my confidence.

I proved to myself that as soon as I ran in more comfortable conditions, I ran well. My speed returned and the walk breaks didn’t. Summer running has not been fun, but it’s not hurting my training.

This goes for you too I promise you will see a vast improvement in your runs once the weather gets cooler. Don’t lose confidence; there is hope!

This week will be a step-back week in marathon training. No speedwork, no long run, no timed runs. I need to get used to the heat again without putting pressure on myself. I also want to reconnect with the pool, bike and yoga studio.

I’m also crossing my fingers that we have an early Fall

Are you sad to see Summer go? I'm torn. I'll miss the long daylight hours. But I'm pumped for cooler temps, football and baked goods made with pumpkin

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Becky
August 30th, 2010 - 18:53

Did you write this for me? Thanks! I needed it. I’ve been feeling OK about training, but I am slowly losing confidence. Now is not the time to lose confidence. Now is the time that I need it most! Not only do I worry about my speed and the heat (which has returned to New England with a vengeance!) but I worry how to handle my long runs and step backs so I don’t peak to early. It’s a science, I tell ya!

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Lauren
August 30th, 2010 - 19:45

Yes!! Don’t lose your confidence!! Training for a fall marathon is ROUGH because you have to put up with all the summer heat. When I trained for Baystate a couple of summers ago, I was so stressed because I felt sluggish and slow on every run. BUT, once fall came and the humidity broke, it was like these chains that had been holding me back all summer broke off and I suddenly felt confident and strong. The day of the marathon was in the 50s and it felt awesome! …and that was the day I qualified for Boston. I only say this to give you confidence for your own race! It’s been super tough for me this summer too (and I don’t even have to deal with the heat you’ve got!) but I keep hanging onto the hope that once the temps break, it’ll all get better.

And that’s the end of my speech about that.

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Sana
August 30th, 2010 - 21:40

Oh goodness! Can you run during the morning or the evenings? The heat is KILLER!

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Lily @ Lily's Health Pad
August 30th, 2010 - 22:22

You are so right. Running in the heat is TOUGH. I don’t even touch running unless it’s 70 degrees or below! And I refuse to run races that require summer training. You are a brave woman! I say, bring on the cooler temps of fall.

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mishfish13
August 30th, 2010 - 23:38

i totally admire your mindset! the heat always seems to kill me too and i just dejected head to my treadmill… which i never run well on (what is it with treadmills and mentality??)

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Kate
August 31st, 2010 - 03:41

Great post! I find it so hard not to let things like that affect my confidence, but I still always feel like I’m slow. Then I stop enjoying my runs, and feel slower, and the vicious cycle continues!

Glad you’re feeling better now

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Kathrin
August 31st, 2010 - 08:46

that’s what i kept telling myself. once the heat is over, the speed will return and hopefully working throughout the summer will have a payoff then.

i hate summer go, but i am so tired of the temps. there was one cool day since april! this is NUTS!

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Jen
August 31st, 2010 - 09:37

Summer is by far my favorite time of the year (overall) but not for running. I usually find myself back in the pool and reconnecting with swimming. That hasn’t been the case this summer since I’ve been training for a fall marathon. It’s such a toss up – if you train for a fall marathon you run in the heat but have longer days. If you train for a spring marathon you run in the dark cold. Lose, lose but I think I prefer the heat and light!

This summer has been especially brutal and I have definitely felt your pain. Fall is my favorite season of the year for running – love the refreshing cool temperatures, lower humidity and pretty scenery. Looking forward to having it for my last bit of training.

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Lizzy
August 31st, 2010 - 09:45

Love this post! You had a kick ass 18 miles and 18 miles is a lot closer to 26 then 6 is, right? We are allowed to have bad days but you can totally blame it on the heat. It’s in the 90s up here this week but supposed to get down to 70 on Saturday – can’t wait!

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Megan @ The Daily Sweat
August 31st, 2010 - 10:28

Gosh, I feel EVERYONE is ready for Fall, me included. Even though I live in Washington and we never get a lot of hot weather, I’d take cool, crisp days over hot days most of the time. It is actually raining here in WA right now, and I absolutely love it. : )

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rc1001
August 31st, 2010 - 13:58

This is my first summer as a runner and it has just TANKED my confidence. I’m ready to do something that makes me feel good again. That may be running in cooler temperatures, or doing other workouts entirely. I’m leaning more towards the second one.

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Kelly Olexa
September 6th, 2010 - 01:14

I am SO with you on being ready for FALL weather!! I guess it is kind of good that I BEGAN my venture into running in the middle of summer running outside. My naive attitude wasn’t even thinking of “wow this training might be harder because of the heat”- I’m glad I didn’t ask around because if I realized that most people that run also don’t “like” the extreme heat and humidity for running, I probably would have caved and not be enjoying the run as I am now. That said, OH WOW was it great to be on a business trip in Seattle and Lake Tahoe recently with weather topping out at 70 degrees most days. Beautiful. I love the title of this blog post too- PERFECT! Keep up the attitude!!

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