Picking Up Where I Left Off

Some of you are aware of my downtime caused by the Achilles tendinitis last year. As I have been gradually increasing my weekly mileage and pace since the hiatus, there are some mixed feelings I’m experiencing about my training. I find myself troubled a lot lately simply because I’m not where I want to be in terms of performance. The frustration also gets amplified from time to time by my ever-lingering injuries – one after another.

Perhaps I need to re-evaluate my goals for this year and make a more sensible projection when it’s still relatively early in the year. Although I’ve been short on my weekly mileage since the beginning of 2012 (I planned around 50~56, but only did 30-something), I’m not too worried about volume at this point. Because I’m usually able to log a lot more miles in summer. However, performance-wise I’m a mere shadow of my former self.

This struck me with a forceful impact during my interval training last night, when I couldn’t hit my target pace – not even for one lap. Albeit my knee was still not at 100%, it wasn’t the knee that slowed me down. My loss in endurance and speed during the 18-day sabbatical is demoralizing and nearly depressing. However, I should remind myself that I am a lot faster and stronger than last year around the same time. It’s just bothering me so much because I wanted more than this.

Maybe I’m being unreasonable or unrealistic. But I feel pressured due to my recent surprise entry to the NYC Half 2012. At this point, I am stuck at crossroads, trying to decide whether to try and break 1:30 or simply enjoy the sight. The thing is: there’s really no point for sightseeing as I’ve been living in the Tri-State Area all my life. So the real question is – is there enough time for my training?

To be honest, I didn’t lose a whole lot from the break. But the reality is that I did not make any meaningful improvement during all this time either. I should be in proximity of my goal pace without much difficulty at this point. It was disappointing to find out otherwise on my last track workout. I know I need to keep my eyes on the prize and stay focused by taking it one day at a time. I also know that my goal is more than attainable  if I can just execute my plan and follow through with each step. But meanwhile the most important thing I need to keep in mind is to tread carefully and not injure myself again before I toe the starting line. It doesn’t matter if I race for a PR or fun – if I can’t even make it to the race.

Author Bio:Kevin Lu is an engineer, currently working in the field of orthopedic devices. He received his B.S. and M.S. in biomedical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. Science, technology, and running are Kevin’s passions. In his spare time, Kevin trains for and participates in races of various distances. His recent personal records include 20:58/5K and 5:48:22/50K. Find out more about Kevin here and follow him on Twitter.

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