I wasn't paying much attention to the CTL/TTS discussions at first, but started to over the past few days and started looking at my numbers on TrainingPeaks. Here's where I am lost a bit.
My weekly CTL/TTS have been high, both on a relative and absolute scale, as TrainingPeaks classifies a weekly CTL/TTS of 160/990, respectively, to be high for a HM runners (since I'm mainly training for the HM at the moment). Last week I hit CTL 172/TSS 1388 and been averaging +160/+1100 for the past few weeks.
While my workouts have been going well (mainly on the treadmill), I chocked up big time on my very rocky dirt-trail 5 km race yesterday. I decided to let go of lead two runners after 2 km (7:52.5), partly because I almost rolled my ankle on the course, and I am very injury prone when it comes to the ankle, so I shut it down thinking it was not worth sacrificing my massive training for a small club race, and partly from it being run in +90% humidity at 30 degrees C. I ended up jogging it in to the finish.
I don't know if I'm just not cut for summer racing, or whether I just did not mentally have it in me yesterday to push the envelope, whether it be fearing injury or just not wanting to dig deep.
Looking back at my weekly CTL/TTS before the 37:45 10K I've run at the end of last March, it was in the 120-144 / 1000 range. I'm running much more now, so I expected a better result going into the race yesterday. I have 6 weeks till the half marathon now, but it will be in Europe where the weather is much, much more conducive to running fast.
There is a similar 5K next week, also off-road and hot/humid.. I'm torn between letting it go and trusting the work I've put, or giving it another go. I realize that I won't run anything fast in relation to my PBs, but the competitive part of me wants some form of redemption.
I must be the least talented individual out there if I'm running these sort of times with this much CTL/TTS.