Today was my last long run before my first attempt at a marathon. I’m off on a road trip tomorrow for a week, and then I have a light week before the marathon on the 18th of June.
I wanted to get one last long run in to make sure my legs still understood that they could go long distances. I’ve been doing a bunch of shorter speed work over the last few weeks and it looks to be paying off.
This run was just about banking some last miles, and I had no intention of pushing the pace. It would just be a nice easy jog around my 10km course.
There were some issues however. Today the weather was miserable - cold wintery showers with a southerly wind. It was a day for curling up in front of the heater, not out pounding the pavement. But I needed to get those miles under my belt, one last time.
So I got dressed, gingerly. I really need to remember to warm up the heart rate monitor strap before I put it on. That thing is dammed cold!! Then it was out into the weather.
I tried to set my pace so I was warm enough, but without sweating much because as soon as the wind managed to find any wet skin it would freeze like an iceblock!
The first 10kms went pretty well. I completed the first circuit in 1 hour and 3 minutes. That’s a pretty good time for me, considering my fastest time is only about 5 minutes faster. I was feeling quite good at that stage, warm enough mostly, without drowning in sweat. And I was hardly even puffing.
On to round two.
I was now nice and warm and running with a quite relaxed stride, it felt pretty good. Again, I didn’t push the pace, as this wasn’t about going fast.
I completed the second 10km in almost the exact same time as the first. Very happy with that. Especially since I wasn’t trying to run very fast at all, it was a comfortable pace. If I can keep that pace up for the whole race, (and I should be able to) that would see me finish in under 4 ½ hours, which I’d be very happy with.
And so now my training is over. I have a couple of short easy runs the week before the race to do, but they will only be about 5-10kms. I’m happy with where I am now and all that remains is to have some fun on my holiday and then see what happens on the 18th.
I’m looking forward to it.
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My last long run is about my life.
Good luck, man! Remember to hydrate (and possible add some calories too, a banana or an energy bar) once you get over the first 20k. From that level on, it's a different race. Really looking forward to your race. Whatever the outcome, the mere fact that you're doing this is amazing :)
Thanks for that :-) and all the encouragement along the way.
I think I'm sorted for hydration and food. I've been experimenting with what I can eat and how long it lasts and how much fluid I need, on a hot day, on a cold day.
I've also got hydration salts all sorted out. So I think I'm about as prepared as I can be (without obsessing about it)
It also helps that I'm not actually trying to win the race ;-)
And that I have already run 40kms twice in training. So i know I can do the distance. It's just a matter of 'how fat can i do it?'
I think having the holiday just now is a good move also. It will get me all refreshed and ready to go hard on race day.
I'll let you know how it turns out ;-)
Fingers crossed! :)
enjoy your trip
Oh I will. You can be sure of that ;-)