Probably shouldn't have raced today. Too soon I think. But was always going to be hard to DNS my local fun run (sorry Pub2Pub, you have well and truly been surpassed by bigger and better than things - especially now that you do not start OR finish at a pub)! Felt great for the first 5km, tucked in behind Tom and Mitch Dean. Things started to get tough at South Curly - which is very typical for a 10km race, but as soon as this happened, my mind (not my body) wasn't having any of it. Quite hard to explain actually, but it is exactly what Timothy Noakes (the 'Godfather' of running physiology, well, until he got onto his 'banting' bandwagon) terms the 'central governor theory' - in that your brain subconsciously montiors your body's vital signs (i.e. body temperature, blood pH, etc) to ensure that homeostasis is maintained. Once one of these components falls too far south, it reacts by reducing the neural output from the motor cortex to the exercising muscles - hence why you slow down. At the moment, my 'central governor' has its threshold set far too low. In other words, it's paranoid. The good news is that physically I feel fine, and like any bad situation, there is always some good you take out of it. First of all, I was happy with how I was placed - the pace was solid but by no means suicidal (although the back 3km would have been a different story). I was sitting with two runners that I have the utmost respect for and truly look up to, so it was an honour and a privilege to mix it with them.
Moving forward from here, I need to reconsider a few things. I am not going to stop running - it's part of my DNA, and the highs from the good days far outweigh the lows from the bad days. I need to also start implementing forced recovery weeks every three to four weeks. I need to take these when I am feeling good - not wait until it's too late and have no choice. 12 weeks of 150km with three hard sessions (four if you include a sub-3:50 30km long run) leaves no time for recovery or positive adaptation. So I am going to discuss this with Ken. Although, the other option which I need to consider is speaking to Gary Howard to see what he can offer. He comes highly recommended from Tom, and I believe he might be the man that will help me hold back at the right times. Nevertheless, in the interim, looking forward to getting out with the Manly crew tomorrow for an easy long run - and just enjoy it for what it is. I'll take each day as it comes over the next week.
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