Today's Workout:
Course: Prairie Fire Marathon Course - Wichita, KS
Workout: Long Run w/Fast Finish
Miles: 20
Total Time: 2:28:15
Avg Pace: 7:24/mile, Last 14 Miles 7:07/mile
Avg HR: 155
Elevation Gain: 386 ft
Calories Burned: 2,836
Temp: 85 Degrees, Humidity 50%, Wind 8SW
Miles This Week: 85
I had the opportunity to run 20 miles worth of the Prairie Fire Marathon course in Wichita, KS this week, and it ended up being my fastest long run ever. This is the course that I will hopefully complete Project 3:09 this October, so it was great to get a feel for how it runs. It is flat & fast! Hopefully I'll run it well in October ... and hopefully it won't be 85-90 degrees while I'm running it!
Here are my splits from the Wichita run:
Warm Up Miles 1-6: 8:48, 7:56, 7:56, 8:04, 7:56, 7:52
Miles 7-20: 7:34, 7:28, 7:14, 7:13, 7:06, 7:16, 7:05, 7:03, 7:09, 6:55, 7:07, 7:03, 7:05, 6:53
The good:
- Averaged 7:07/mile for the last 14 miles of the run, and could have been faster
- Got into faster miles quickly without using 10 miles as warm up
- Even though it was pretty warm, the pace wasn't that difficult to keep - in fact had to force myself to slow down every mile - the last 4 miles I was consistently running the first half of the mile at 6:30 before forcing myself to a slower pace
The red flags:
- I could have kept the pace for about 3 more miles, but NOT for a full marathon at this point
- Need to simulate exact early marathon pacing over and over to get used to the faster starts
- Still having trouble controlling the pace which is a sign of fatigue and poor conditioning
Luckily I still have about 10 weeks until the test for Project 3:09 to work those things out. But if I could have kept a 7:15 pace for the last 6 miles, I would have finished at 3:12 today, so I felt pretty good about that. I'm getting closer to my goal - but still a LOOOOONG way to go!
... be great today!
Very nice. You'll do very well come October. I have no doubt that you will meet your goal.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!!
I think you're running your long run pace too fast. Yes, you have to teach the legs to run at MP, but you should do that as a mid-distance run mid-week and keep the long run about 30-40 sec slower than your 7:12 MP goal pace (so about 7:45-7:55). BUT, you could throw in some MP every 5 miles for 20 miles:
ReplyDelete5mi base + 5 @ mp + 3 @ base + 5 @ MP + 3 @ base.
It's hard to NOT get caught up into the "more is better" approach... but remember back to the post you wrote about meeting an elite marathoner who said to slow your long run pace way down! LSD, Rest, Taper, the fuel from the race itself and Carb loading are all going to get you to your goal! :)
Just my dumb 2 cents. But you had a great solid run today. :)
I would never contradict Jill (the woman knows of what she speaks), but I'm still very impressed. Way to go after that goal! And in that heat!
ReplyDeleteWish I knew you were in town, we could have met for a beer, or maybe a run after you were worn out. Hope we can get together for when you run PF for real.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on those fast splits.
You are running really well right now, so no surprise that you set a long run PR!
ReplyDelete