Warmup in 19:34
10 minute warmup
Skipping exercises
2x2 min @ 1/2 marathon pace (6:32, 6:37) with recoverey jogs in between
Race:
Perfect day for a race - low 40s and some light drizzle. Actually the rain only fell during the first few miles of the race. I took off my hat just past 5 miles. Not much competition in the race. It was pretty spread out.
I continue to struggle mentally in the first half of these longer races. I am afraid of going out too fast, so I end up holding back too much. McMillan's said I should be able to handle about a 6:35 pace,. My 8 mile tempo from last week suggested I could go 6:32 or faster. Yet, I averaged around 6:38 for the first 6 miles. Once I get to the turn around I tend to let loose. I start thinking of the race in terms of miles left, and I think "I can go faster than this with only 5 miles left", etc. Consequently I dropped my overall time a lot in the 2nd half (see splits, below). Once I past the turn-around I decided I was not going to allow myself to run slower than 6:30 in a mile unless it was uphill. I knew whatever I did that the last 3 miles would be fast.
Unfortunately, the one guy who was close to me in front of me, the one I had spent that last two miles gaining on and was getting ready to pass, ended up being in the "miles" race instead of the "k's" race, so at my turn around he kept going straight. That is, he was running 20 miles, and I was only running 20k. The next person ahead of me was a group of three guys that were so far ahead I could barely make out a blur of colors off in the distance. They were probably 1 1/2 - 2 minutes ahead of me, and since they had each other, and all I had was my Garmin, I didn't figure I would catch up to them much. Never the less, with 4 miles to go I noticed they were much closer, and also that one of them had fallen off the pace. I spent the rest of the race chasing after him, but fell 8 seconds short by the fninish line, though I gained steadily the entire second half.
All in all, I am very satisified about the race, particularly that I was able to continue to push myself to my limits the last 6 miles, even with no competition near me. At the finish I had left all other competitors behind. I think it was about 4 minutes after me before the next person came in. Too bad the course was a little short, by about .13 miles. That would add about 43-45 seconds to my time, which would put me over 1:20. 1:20:27 or so. The pace calculates to a 1:20:37 20k. Not bad considering McMillan said 1:21:30 should be my goal time. That indicates I've improved my overall pace by about 5-6s./mile over the last 4 weeks! I ran 6:25/mile at the 15k 4 weeks ago, and only 4s/mile slower, or 6:29/mile today for the 20k! I feel like I am finally getting into good shape. I am looking forward to a couple weeks off, and then get back to building up the mileage a little higher. Next race won't be until June, which will kick off the summer racing season.
Splits:
1 - 6:41 - a little disappointed. I ran about 6:37 at the 15k, and was hoping to run about that today.
2 - 6:42 - Even more disappointed. The pace feels harder than the time suggests. I think it is mental, as I don't want to have any fatigue 2 miles into a 20k, which isn't realistic
3 - 6:52 - This is the main uphill mile. Nothing steep, just mostly gentle climb over the entire mile
4 - 6:24 - One fairly steep downhill, but the rest of the mile is also either downhill or flat. I took advantage and pushed the pace to make up some lost time. The lead girl who had been near behind me fell back out of earshot on this mile
5 - 6:31 - content to run under goal pace here.
6 - 6:37 - Surprised this mile ended up so slow. I think at one point I intentionally eased up because my pace had been under 6:30, but I eased up too much.
7 - 6:30 - Here I decided not to go slower than 6:30 anymore on flat or downhill
8 - 6:27 - feeling good, gaining on the competition, cheering on the back of the packers who were still heading towards the turn-around of this out-and-back course
9 - 6:41 - The steep uphill, challenging mile. I was pleased with the time. This was faster than I ran this split at the 15k
10 - 6:12 - Once I cleared the steep hill I cranked up the pace, even though I was still out of breath. i made a lot of headway on the guy in front of me during this mile
11 - 6:12 - Another 6:12! Sadly, I made less progress on the guy in front of me this mile
12 - 6:20 - Really glad to stay so far under pace on this mile. I ran the 11th and 12th miles faster than I did in the 15k last month.
12.29 - 1:34.5 (5:27/mile) - decent kick. I just wasn't able to close all the way on that guy in front of me. I believe I had enough energy, but not enough speed, to do it. This is why I need to go faster in the first half.
Cool down jog with Carl and Mike 1.5 miles in 15:11 (10:03/mile) | 