Skip to main content

The 20 miler

So today was the 20 miler...has been haunting me since I did the one for the Monumental Marathon that I bonked at 15. I have learned a lot of things since then including not to OVERdo the GU, to run a route that has places to get water rather than trying to carry enough (though I still used the Camelback), and to run where there are other people running...including people you know so you have some support along the way.

I started out really good...knew not to go out faster than necessary...kept it just under a 15:00 through mile 10...mile 11 was just over...and then they were more than "just" over but I managed to average 15:45 which is well within the long run pace window...but unless a miracle occurs on race day it seems like I will probably need the full 7 hours...I hope not, but I might.

Breathing was good the whole time even though I forgot to take my drugs before I left and there's still a boatload of pollen in the air even with all the rain...and lilacs...and people mowing...

My feet were starting to whine around 14-15 miles...past 18 it was all mental. My feet really hurt when I was done and I expect them to really hurt at the end of the marathon, but I also know that I was still able to do some stuff this afternoon. I love my compression socks.

I am going to behave and taper as I am supposed to, running 12 next weekend and 8 the weekend after with shorter runs during the week...but I am still sort of anxious about having to go 10K past what I did today. But I also know that there will be entertainment every mile along the race course and the excitement of the race will help.

Today's weather was likely about what race day will be like...60s and humid with a mix of sun and clouds. It is quite possible that the "June gloom" will have settled in to San Diego by the time we get to the race, but that's ok. I hope it isn't any warmer than it was today, though.

Now I just need to stay healthy, get my runs in, and keep my head in the game. I really need to finish this one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Iron Rose 2020

  Some race reports are easier to write than others. Some take a while to process everything that happened. On September 26 th  I set out to do my own full Ironman distance triathlon (2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run). When coach at I first started talking about it we talked about maybe as a one day effort (race format) or three days (like some of the virtual options have been). My last big training weekend (biking 100 on Saturday, running 20 on Sunday, and swimming 2.2 miles open water on Monday) confirmed that I needed to shoot for single day because I had come so close to the three day in training. So we were full steam ahead with the plan already in motion. I had planned routes, marked my bike course, secured volunteers for aid stations (amazing people all around), dropped off aid bags…finished training and tapered.   Race morning Trena arrived at my house early and we headed over to Andy’s for the swim. Trena and Jen were doing safety kayaking for me. And...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vision 2020

I'm a planner. And a dork. And I wrote a lot of Vision 2020 plans around 2000 so now that it is 2020 everything feels weird. Ok, that's out of my system. Let's talk about 2020. I've already done a self-assessment of last year and met with coach to plan 2020. Everything is focused on Ironman Wisconsin on September 13.The milestones have been set, but there will be some infill along the way. Milestone 1: Carmel Marathon - I did a spring marathon (also Carmel) in 2018 ahead of Louisville and it seemed like a good idea to do that again. So for the 10th Carmel Marathon I am running the full. Spring marathons feel undertrained compared to fall because the time between recovering from fall and getting ramped up to multiple 20 mile training runs is not there. I take the spring effort as a see what happens sort of race. Must finish to keep the streak alive, but I will see how everything else unfolds. Milestone 2: TourdeLou - not so much of a race as a supported event ride ...
3 comments
Read more

Block 3: Race Withdraw is Real

Early in this block I was pretty pissed that some people who don't train (much) were going out and racing better than what be PR for me.  I have NO problem with people being faster than me (most are), as long as they put in the work.  But without work it just makes me upset.  And especially if they then bemoan how "slow" it was.  I wanted to race out of spite.  But I didn't get to. I've had some strong swims, and one complete disaster.  But I mostly shook off the disaster and moved on. This block was all bike trainer for cycling.  I did one of the workouts at the Loft while the class was doing something else.  I will do this for some of the weekday rides just so that there are other people around.  One of the things Coach Matt is doing is noting when I last did a workout so I can see how change is happening.  It seems I am doing better each time I do a workout, so that's good.  It will be nice to get outside (which should be tom...
2 comments
Read more