Dilemna - To rest or not to rest.

Pacing Mule

... That is the question

Small bit of background and a quick preface that I am not looking for medical advice as that would be a no no charter wise !

I'm relatively new to running - started in January with the goal of running a 5 mile race in June. A couple of weeks ago having reached the goal of being able to run 5 miles at a time (all be it slower than the target time for June) I pushed the boat out a bit and entered this Sundays 10k Samsung night run.

10 days ago I ran 10km non stop for the first time ever in 64 minutes (the day after entering - had wanted to make sure that I could cover the distance in the allotted time) Happy days ! but then the wheels came off as such.

Couple of days later I had a mini blackout in the gym. Medical advice was to stop running for a few days (suspected viral infection) which I did. Bloodwork came back all clear etc so docs are happy that viral infection was the cause and for me to resume training. So no mediacl advice is sought here.

My issue though is that perhaps as a result of not training for a week / or an after effect of the infection still not being 100% cleared up my runs this week were very poor compared to before my little episode. On tuesday I went for a short 5k run outdoors to get back into the swing of things gently but ended up walking from kilometre 3 to 4 as I was knackered. Gave it a couple of days and hit the gym today - covered 6.5k in 42 minutes but again had to stop a few times along the way to walk.

So my dlimena now is this - I have a 10k race on Sunday night which best advice in general is to prepare very gently and take a day or 2 off before hand for best performance and distance endurance. (For me as a beginner a 10k race is like a marathon in terms of distance and pushing previous boundries) However I am so far off the pace / level I was at 2 weeks ago that part of me is thinking I need more running practice for want of a better word to try get back to that level or even close to it for Sunday.

So what would you do in this situation ? Would you consider it more beneficial to rest now until Sunday and save energy or would you slot in another run or 2 before then confident that it wouldn't effect performance on Sunday (again bearing in mind that a 10k distance for me is quite a big deal at this point!)

Krusty_Clown

You will not be able to positively influence the outcome of Sunday's race, between now and race time, so forget ideas about getting back to your level from two weeks ago. You also won't have lost any significant amount of fitness in two weeks, so the need to take breaks is most likely a result of your illness or tiredness. I would suggest fitting in at least a run, but keep the pace very easy and comfortable (a lot slower than your planned race pace). Friday would be the best bet, giving you Saturday as a rest day.

Good luck in the race.

spurscormac

In your position I would do one of the following, depending on how you feel.

Feeling ok:-
Thursday or Friday - short run at an easy pace, & I mean easy. Well below any goal time for your 10k, nevermind the 5k.

Still feeling unsure:-
Don't run at all before the race.

Race Day:-
Take it as it comes - if you have a goal pace see how you feel on the day, if you feel ok, try it. If the wheels come off early on, ease back on the pace & finish it as a gentle training run.
If you don't feel up to it, then just forget about it, and don't bother with the race, make sure you fully recover to get back in training for your 5k goal later in the year.

In general - make sure you're not training @ too fast a pace, you should be building your fitness not setting PBs in training.

Oryx

The advice above is on the button. Lots of training between now and the race will cost you, not build you up. One gentle run to test how you feel would be all I would do, coming off a viral infection and feeling rough.

If you do the race, go in with no expectations and pace it by how you feel. Dont get carried along by a fast crowd. You already know that youre not coming at this 100% race ready so just enjoy it and let the time be whatever it is.

Pacing Mule

Thanks for the advice guys. Even todays run has knocked the stuffing out of me so will have a very gentle one in the morning and then lay off until Sunday. Was hoping to break an hour for the 10k but I think it's best if I approach it in the mindset of having a goal to finish the 10k and see what happens on the day time wise. Bit of a downer but can't be helped.

Pacing Mule

Went out this morning with the best of intentions to run a very easy 5k but lost the run of myself a bit. (My wife had gotten to the park a few minutes earlier and I set off a bit faster than I would have to catch up with her)

I did feel a bit better than Tuesday but did require a few bouts of walking along the way.

As posted in my log:

My splits were

1 - 5.02
2 - 5.37
3 - 6.14
4 - 6.51
5 - 6.23

Total time of 30:06

Now here's the interesting thing. A couple of weeks ago when I ran 10k non stop I covered the first 5k in 30:18

1 - 5.25
2 - 5.50
3 - 5.46
4 - 6.32
5 - 6.46

So my run-walk-run-walk-run etc actually beat my non stop slower running. This would be skewed of course by the faster first couple of km but it is a bit of an eye opener for me. My "run" isn't much faster than my walk it seems

seanynova

change the title: "to race or not to race"

you could also consider not even bother racing at the weekend....lots of other 10k's dont the line

seanynova

change the title: "to race or not to race"

you could also consider not even bother racing at the weekend....lots of other 10k's dont the line

Pacing Mule

100% definitely doing this - no dilemna there

ncmc

I totally understand your disappointment here Pageant Messiah, this is your first big race and you want to post a good time, but lets look at the facts. You’re goal at the start of the year was to run 5 miles in June, you are now going to be running 6.25 miles in April! That is a big achievement! Secondly, you haven’t been well, having a black out sounds pretty serious, of course it’s going to affect your training. The last thing you want to do is push yourself too hard and make yourself really ill.

So go out tomorrow and take it nice and handy – walk when needed and watch you aren’t following other peoples pace, set your own pace that you’re comfortable with and stick to it. It’s your first 10k, so whatever time you do it in, you can use it as a marker to improve your next 10k time. Best of luck and let us know how you get on!

seanynova

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

100% definitely doing this - no dilemna there

i think thats the wrong choice....it takes more courage to step down form the line more often than it does to toe the line.

your goal is to finish now, not race, just finish! - you already finished a 10k last week....why do you need to do it this weekend in a race setting?

health should come first! its not like you couldnt do a 10k next month, or any other time for that matter.

Pacing Mule

seanynova wrote: »

i think thats the wrong choice....it takes more courage to step down form the line more often than it does to toe the line.

your goal is to finish now, not race, just finish! - you already finished a 10k last week....why do you need to do it this weekend in a race setting?

health should come first! its not like you couldnt do a 10k next month, or any other time for that matter.

I think you're reading a bit much into it tbh. The docs are happy for me to participate. It's not that I am risking my health against doctors orders.

Why do I want to do it in a race setting ? Why not ! - running / training is a solo sport 99% of the time. I'm looking forward to participating and sharing the event as a group. And whilst I'm there I'd like to do the best I can - but I won't be pushing things too hard.