Doing hard things.

The Peachtree Road Race was hard. Now on to another hard thing to do.

I recently finished the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th, an annual 10k race in Atlanta.

I didn't have a PR performance.

The race was as hard as it always is.

But despite not having a PR performance, I took away some valuable lessons.

The first lesson is that doing hard things, things that challenge you, is a good thing.

On the other side is a realization of what you're really capable of.

So what did I learn exactly of what I am capable of?

Let's look at the data.

Here is my heart rate data from the race.

Now let's take a look at the heart rate data from last year's Peachtree Road Race.

And last but not least, let's look at my PR year in 2021, when I first took running really seriously (and because it was the only safe thing to do during COVID):

As you can see, my heart rate response this year was another zone lower than previous years.

Few factors that came into play was that I did approach the race much more relaxed, and I also took an "easier" effort approach to the race until the final mile.

But another key factor leading into this year's performance was lots of volume of training done earlier this year in the winter, which had led to my PR 5k performance. That training was a bulk of easy runs with lots of speed work.

Now here are my times from my three recent Peachtree Road Races:

2021: 44:12, average pace 7:06 min/mi

2023: 45:56, average pace 7:23 min/mi

2024: 48:08, average pace 7:45min/mi

So I will admit that it's entirely possible that my zone 4 performance this year was just due to a "slower" approach running for this race. A 3 minute drop off from last year is a big gap.

But I believe that my running fitness is improving. Despite a slower time since 2021, this year showed that I can get through the same race with a "lower" effort from my running fitness.

By running this race, I now know what I am capable of next.

On to the next one...

So now that I know that a subdued race effort can still result in a decent time, I know that my running fitness is ready for the next challenge. I can also be much more confident that with the right training and volume, I can accomplish my next goal.

So the next hard thing to do is...to run a 3 hour or less marathon.

The marathon distance is tough enough, but making the goal with a specific finish time makes this challenge even harder.

I look forward to sharing more of my thought process and plan here with you all. And more importantly I look forward to seeing what's on the other side of this goal and all the lessons it'll bring.

~

I hope you all had a happy 4th of July weekend.

What is your next hard thing you're working to accomplish?

See you all in the next post.