This past Sunday was the longest training run of the season thus far and the longest since the 07 Columbus Marathon. The course was a 15k loop and run twice (total of 30k-18.6 miles for those of you not that great with math and conversions). It was in Avon Lake and the 7am start was a frigid 20 degrees at the start! There were three races starting together (5k, 15k and 30k) but from the looks of it, only around 50-60 people did the 30k.
The start of the race was pretty uneventful. It’s a course I’ve done three times in the past so I knew it would be largely flat yet windy race. From the start, I couldn’t get going or into any sort of rhythm. Within the first mile, I had to slow due to ice on the bike path on which we were running. At the five mile mark I was 3-4 minutes off my expected time. I didn’t panic and decided I wasn’t going to quit and mail it in by slowing way down! I was out there for the duration so I put my head down and just sucked it up! By mile 8 I hadn’t picked up much on the time lost earlier but I was running consistently. The end of the first lap did slow a little, again due to the ice but I finished the first lap about where I had been in previous races but not quite where I thought I should.
The second lap was more of a fight! More ice between 10 and 11 made for even more treacherous footing and I slipped once this time through. By the 2nd of 4 water stops on this lap, I had began doing the walk/run thing and was using the garmin very well to make sure I hit my pace marks! I hit the half better than the previous week (which was good since I still had 5.5 miles left) and was determined to follow my plan and not have the wheels fall off! At the 25k mark, I realized I had run consistently with that of the only 25k I’ve done in the past and I was 8 or 9 minutes faster than the 15 miler from 5 weeks previous (still slower than I’d hoped). By 16, I smacked into the wall and really didn’t feel all that great! I trudged through and despite getting passed right at the end, my time was surprisingly faster than I’ve ever run a 30k race.
The good news is despite a “PR” for a 30k this week, I know I’ll get better for the Around the Bay 30k at the end of the month! I’m guessing I’ll be about 8-10 minutes faster because I’ll ramp up training between now and then. Sure, it’s quite a bit of time but I’m confident I left something on the course at this race!
This week: 15k trail race in Indy and potentially a 4 mile trail race in Columbus. Just depends on how much wine I drink on Saturday…haha
Happy Running!!
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