Journey to Fitness Chapter #15: All Roads Lead to D-N-F!

All Roads Lead to D-N-F!

It was a hectic 3 weeks (Week 6-8) leading to the final 10km “Race”.

Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law has to get in the way.

As what Mike Tyson said ““Everybody has a plan until they get hit.”

Miles had to travel for 2 out of the 3 weeks, disrupting his training program. On top of that, he foolishly joined his friends for a hike which he was barely trained for, leaving him exhausted for days.

The two weeks travel proved the downfall of Mile’s 10km training, missing out on a total of 4 runs, including the last Long Run of 12.8km.

Nevertheless, Miles still went ahead with the final 10km “Race”. Well, what else can he do?

The Trio of Miles, Wade and Gallop gather on a fine Saturday morning at the Stadium, looking to conquer another 10km, hopefully in an improved timing over the last run.

The air was cool and crisp, the atmosphere was relaxed. They laughed and joked while warming up for the 10km run. However, expectations were high, at least on Mile’s part.

All the Tempo runs and intervals over the past 8 weeks comes down to this one “Race”. As they toed their feet on the “Start” line, a sudden sense of sombre silence filled the air. The silence actually drowned out the sound of the birds chirping on that bright Saturday morning.

*Beep* and with a click to start their respective stop watches, the trio were on their way.

Running at the outer most Lane 8, they figured that they need to run less rounds. With each round at an approximate distance of 450m, they will require just slightly more than 22 rounds to complete 10km.

With a target of 6:45mins/km and a threshold of 7mins/km, Miles started the first lap at a good pace. Hitting 3mins in the first 450m, which works out to be a pace of roughly 6:40mins/km.

Miles felt good and he was determined to continue running around 3mins per 450m lap.

6:37, 6:33, 6:38, 6:43 mins/km

The first 4 km (9 laps) went by without much incident. Miles was holding on to the target pace pretty well.

Miles started to feel fatigued! Did he started out too fast? A quick check on his watch shows his HR at 168 bpm. Not his usual running effort….

7:01, 7:20 mins/km

However, with every round, Miles wasn’t able to keep up with the intended effort and pace. For the next 2 km (4-5 laps), his pace started to decline. Hitting 7mins/km and 7:20mins/km.

Miles was disheartened, and his mind started to wander. Self-doubts started to creep in again. Judging by his decline in pace, Miles was certain he will not be able to hit his target of finishing the 10km in 1:07:30 hr (6:45 mins/km pace). And by the 7th kilometer, he could sense his own body giving up, having to take occasional walk breaks and eventually completing his last kilometer in 8:28 mins.

Wade and Gallop noticed the gradual slowing pace of Miles, but still gave him the thumbs up and a smile when they overtook him around the track.

Miles did the unthinkable and stopped his stopwatch after 7km, totally beaten and dejected. The mind was weak and even though he could have continue running, it would probably be at his usual training pace of 8-8:30mins/km, or even slower since he had started taking walk breaks.

Wade and Gallop stopped their run as they caught up with Miles walking round the track. No words were spoken, they just walked side by side with Miles as they tried to catch their breath.

In his mind, Miles knew that he failed this time. He would like to blame it on the 2 weeks of travel, the over-eating, skipping of a few (crucial) training runs. But deep down inside, he knew that he was just mentally weak, and physically over-stretching himself.

As they finish walking the final lap together, the trio turn to each other with a smile and the usual happy chatter started again.

“The most important decision to make now…. where are we going for breakfast?”

“I want to eat a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot……”

“Eat so much!!! You’re getting fat!!!”

“I want to swallow a whole ROAST CHICKEN!!!”

“I need a long cold drink with lots of ice and SUGAR!!!”

As the memory of their D.N.F. (Did Not Finish) fading fast from their memory, the trio was at their usual happy mood again, looking forward to their breakfast…. and mentally taking note of the next challenge ahead.

Macro Week #15 (10km Intermediate)

Micro Week #08, Session 3 –

Plan: Race 10 km

Actual: Run 7 km (38:01 mins) Average Pace 7:03 mins/km

In the last 10km trial run 8 week ago, Miles completed the 10km in 1:13:46hrs at an average pace of 7:23 mins/km.

Though his pace has improved, Miles wasn’t able to complete the run.

In his mind, Miles has decided to move on. Learn from this experience. Time to put the dreaded DNF at the back of his mind!

His next target: Half-marathon!!!