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October 16, 2005
30K: Good Pace, Not-So-Good Pacing
Had the longest run so far in the program so far...the Niketown 30K race (18.6 miles) from Kapiolani Park, following the marathon course all the way out to Hawaii Kai and back without going through the loop.
The good news is that my average pace was in line with the three practice races we've done so far...9:31 pace compared with the 9:25-9:27 range before. The bad news was that I went out too fast and paid for it later on.
First miles was easy 10:00 miles, but once I hit the highway I really sped up (faster than my intended average) and I think that ultimately did me in. Should have really held back on that first half. The fastest point was miles 9-12 when I was doing sub-9:00 miles. So I looked good on the highway, and then when I turned into Kahala, I dropped to 10:00 and then ultimately 12:00 miles toward the end. So I suffered through glycogen depletion, some heat stress, and a touch of stomach trouble too.
But the bright side is that I know I have the strength to do a good marathon. I just need to control the pace better.
At least I found out now instead of on the day...so...for the marathon, more aggressive carboloading, much slower start through the half-marathon mark...and don't try for the sub-4 yet. Shoot for the 4:15 and speed it up from there. That should do it, I guess.
Right now, after a cold water shower on my legs, they feel OK. And more good news...My left knee has pretty much ceased to be a problem, or at least it's indistinguishable from the achiness I feel in both knees now. It's aching, but not painful. At least it's not as bad as seeing one young woman at the end of today's race whose quads cramped so badly they were visibly red and swollen. Worse than childbirth, she was saying. Yikes.
For the record: 2 hours, 57 minutes, 38 seconds; 258th place out of 711, and 34th place out of 55 in my age group (males 30-34).
Posted by Keith at October 16, 2005 08:30 PM
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