Last 20+ Mile Long Run for Chicago
Today we met for our last really long for Chicago. Of course the nice weather we have been having totally went away and we had a nasty morning. We met at 5:15 for the drive to the top of the old Freescale course. It was 80 degrees, about a 10 MPH wind out of the south and humid. Below is an hour by hour report of the weather while I was running...it sucked!
Time Temp Felt Like Humidity
5:51 80 86 81
6:51 81 86 77
7:51 81 86 77
8:51 82 88 74
The goal for today was to get the miles in and have a good run to build some confidence. The past two long runs have been a struggle for me, but I think I figured out the problem was my diet...or lack of calories. I changed it up earlier this week and have a lot more energy.
We started off in a big pack and then a couple of guys went ahead followed by Marcy, Alex, and me. We held a pretty conservative pace for the first 5 miles with nothing faster than an 8:45 mile. We got water at just after mile 4 where I ate my first gel. We picked it for the second five miles with paces ranging from 8:23-8:42. Our second water stop was at about the 8.5 mile mark. The next 5 miles took us through the hills of north loop. It was there were we lost Alex. He wasn't feeling well and dropped back to the next group. We got more water along north loop. Marcy and I were still running in the 8:30 range for miles 11-13, but we picked it starting with mile 14. We got water at near Double Daves on Duval and then again on San Jacinto at the top of the hill. We circled the Capitol to add a little mileage and then headed down Congress. Marcy wanted to do the whole 23-24 and I was happy with 20 so she went right on 6th while I want straight on Congress to the trail. I stopped again for water at Auditiorium shores and headed in. I picked it up even more the last 5 miles.
Mile 14-20 splits - 8:15, 8:10, 8:06, 8:20, 8:12, 8:07, 7:54
When I got back to the Barton Springs parking lot I was the only one there. I did 8 100 yard strides on the field and then changed clothes while waiting for the others. Slowly everyone showed up. I did some stretching and then headed into BS for a cold soak. It really felt great to be in the cold water. I accomplished my mission of getting the miles in and was really happy with the way I finished. I was focusing on form and felt solid. I noticed my heart rate was up a bit from our last long run, but given the conditions it looks fine. I also had enough energy and didn't feel like I was bonking.
Now the last 4 weeks of training begin. I am not going to say taper because mentally it is a let down so I am going to call it the countdown. I need to keep my intensity while lowering the number of repeats and miles during my Gazelle workouts. I am going to run the IBM 10k at MGP this weekend so I can practice grabbing water and running in crowds.
Stats - 20.27 miles/2:52:53/8:31 pace
AHR - 144
MHR - 171
Time Temp Felt Like Humidity
5:51 80 86 81
6:51 81 86 77
7:51 81 86 77
8:51 82 88 74
The goal for today was to get the miles in and have a good run to build some confidence. The past two long runs have been a struggle for me, but I think I figured out the problem was my diet...or lack of calories. I changed it up earlier this week and have a lot more energy.
We started off in a big pack and then a couple of guys went ahead followed by Marcy, Alex, and me. We held a pretty conservative pace for the first 5 miles with nothing faster than an 8:45 mile. We got water at just after mile 4 where I ate my first gel. We picked it for the second five miles with paces ranging from 8:23-8:42. Our second water stop was at about the 8.5 mile mark. The next 5 miles took us through the hills of north loop. It was there were we lost Alex. He wasn't feeling well and dropped back to the next group. We got more water along north loop. Marcy and I were still running in the 8:30 range for miles 11-13, but we picked it starting with mile 14. We got water at near Double Daves on Duval and then again on San Jacinto at the top of the hill. We circled the Capitol to add a little mileage and then headed down Congress. Marcy wanted to do the whole 23-24 and I was happy with 20 so she went right on 6th while I want straight on Congress to the trail. I stopped again for water at Auditiorium shores and headed in. I picked it up even more the last 5 miles.
Mile 14-20 splits - 8:15, 8:10, 8:06, 8:20, 8:12, 8:07, 7:54
When I got back to the Barton Springs parking lot I was the only one there. I did 8 100 yard strides on the field and then changed clothes while waiting for the others. Slowly everyone showed up. I did some stretching and then headed into BS for a cold soak. It really felt great to be in the cold water. I accomplished my mission of getting the miles in and was really happy with the way I finished. I was focusing on form and felt solid. I noticed my heart rate was up a bit from our last long run, but given the conditions it looks fine. I also had enough energy and didn't feel like I was bonking.
Now the last 4 weeks of training begin. I am not going to say taper because mentally it is a let down so I am going to call it the countdown. I need to keep my intensity while lowering the number of repeats and miles during my Gazelle workouts. I am going to run the IBM 10k at MGP this weekend so I can practice grabbing water and running in crowds.
Stats - 20.27 miles/2:52:53/8:31 pace
AHR - 144
MHR - 171
posted by Paco at 4:18 PM
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