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proper preparation
Mar. 15th, 2022 06:29 pmI think I've trained as well as I can for my race (this Saturday! Eeee!) and I hope that, as the saying goes, proper preparation prevents poor performance!
Over the past 8 weeks I've averaged 42.5mpw. I've done 6 runs of 12 or more miles, with two of 14 and one of 13.7, and run a tempo pretty much weekly with two 9-milers with 6-mile HMP segments, both of them averaging right around 8:13 pace. Today's 3x1 mile on the river trail (a traditional pre-half last workout of mine) averaged 7:37 for the hard miles, but each one got faster, ending with a 7:22 mile. (Admittedly, the first one was net uphill and the second two were net downhill, but none of them had a lot of elevation change.) Most importantly, I've come to terms with my age-related decline and am not, repeat, not, going to be overly-ambitious and push too hard early! (I hope.)
The weather at this point looks decent - a little warmer than I would prefer, but that's offset by a prediction of overcast skies. There will be a headwind, but the race is starting earlier this year than it did back when I ran it before, so I'm hoping the wind will stay fairly light (which is what's currently predicted). So the goals I set back in January still look good. 1:46:45 (about an 8:09 pace) is really a stretch goal, and I doubt I can actually hit it, but if I can average a 8:13 pace, as in training, it will bring me in under 1:48, which will make me happy.
The biggest wildcard for me is the course, since it's been changed since I've run it. We start by running UPcanyon, and then there's a turnaround, and we run back past the start and down the canyon to the finish; I don't know how steep (in either direction) the first part is going to be. The old course had a very steep downhill near the beginning, which is now going to be more like mile 3, and quite a bit of uphill between 7.5-8.5 and 9.5-10.5, which will now be later in the race (when I'm tired). On the other hand, it's all 2000-2500 feet lower than my training, so hopefully I won't even notice the hills. (Wishful thinking.)
Think fast thoughts in my direction on Saturday!
Over the past 8 weeks I've averaged 42.5mpw. I've done 6 runs of 12 or more miles, with two of 14 and one of 13.7, and run a tempo pretty much weekly with two 9-milers with 6-mile HMP segments, both of them averaging right around 8:13 pace. Today's 3x1 mile on the river trail (a traditional pre-half last workout of mine) averaged 7:37 for the hard miles, but each one got faster, ending with a 7:22 mile. (Admittedly, the first one was net uphill and the second two were net downhill, but none of them had a lot of elevation change.) Most importantly, I've come to terms with my age-related decline and am not, repeat, not, going to be overly-ambitious and push too hard early! (I hope.)
The weather at this point looks decent - a little warmer than I would prefer, but that's offset by a prediction of overcast skies. There will be a headwind, but the race is starting earlier this year than it did back when I ran it before, so I'm hoping the wind will stay fairly light (which is what's currently predicted). So the goals I set back in January still look good. 1:46:45 (about an 8:09 pace) is really a stretch goal, and I doubt I can actually hit it, but if I can average a 8:13 pace, as in training, it will bring me in under 1:48, which will make me happy.
The biggest wildcard for me is the course, since it's been changed since I've run it. We start by running UPcanyon, and then there's a turnaround, and we run back past the start and down the canyon to the finish; I don't know how steep (in either direction) the first part is going to be. The old course had a very steep downhill near the beginning, which is now going to be more like mile 3, and quite a bit of uphill between 7.5-8.5 and 9.5-10.5, which will now be later in the race (when I'm tired). On the other hand, it's all 2000-2500 feet lower than my training, so hopefully I won't even notice the hills. (Wishful thinking.)
Think fast thoughts in my direction on Saturday!