Total Time: 2 hours, 26 minutes, 31 seconds (7 minutes, 20 secnds per mile)
Mile Splits, 1-5: 7:10, 7:23, 7:14, 6:58, 6:50 (35:35)
Mile Splits, 6-10: 7:23, 7:06, 7:13, 7:07, 7:12 (36:01, 1:11:36)
Mile Splits, 11-15: 7:14, 7:28, 7:30, 7:13, 7:26 (36:51, 1:48:27)
Mile Splits, 16-20: 7:22, 7:55, 7:47, 7:40, 7:20 (38:04, 2:26:31)
Type of Run: Race
Total Miles for the Week: 53.47
Elevation map for the course loop. Mileage on the chart is not accurate to the actual race mileage.
First, I want to say that in spite of the challenges laid out for me on this run, it was a lot of fun and an excellent primer for the big race at the end of the month. With about 20 runners showing up in total for the 10- and 20-mile races, the atmosphere was relaxed and there really wasn't anyone competing (except for RK's determination to beat my 10-mile PR time). There was a women's course record set for the 10-mile leg but other than that I think most of the runners were out there looking for a nice, solid finish to a very challenging course.
So yeah...there were some hills.
Once I started on mile 3, that's when the fun began. The little hills in the road to this point are not unlike something I would see in a 'flat' course, little 15-20 foot inclines that don't last more than 15-20 seconds or so. The hills that lay in store for me in the next 4-5 miles of the loop would go up for a quarter to a half mile or more, sometimes very steep and with turns in the road. Even when those are all done, the road is never even. There are very few 'flat' stretches at all which is part of what makes this course a battle, even without typical mid-winter weather conditions on a north atlantic island.
Since I was here last year and struggled my way through it, I knew what to expect. I kept my goal prior to the race modest at best: run 7-minute miles as long and smooth as possible. At first I expected to hold that pace for 12-15 miles; if I could hold it longer, I would do so. Each mile I could stay under the Boston-Qualifier pace of 7 minutes, 17 seconds would be a huge step forward for me.
As I passed through the 4th mile, I knew that the pace I was holding in Cape Elizabeth would no longer be a reality. It was only then that the situation dawned on me: in the previous 10 days, I had put in 2 800-meter speed workouts and ran a 10-mile race at a high effort. The initial goal I had set for myself would be impossible to reach and would only destroy me if I tried to keep it up for too long. My legs were already feeling fatigue and would not allow me to extend my stride.
I did a little improvising. I kept my strides short and let the hills carry me a little bit more than normal. I adjusted my mental goal to try and keep myself above 7:15 per mile instead of 7, which was not only far more realistic, it was also the target pace I want to have in Hyannis. It made perfect sense, so I immediately set it into motion before it was too late to set myself for that.
The first loop felt good. 1:11:36 was still good enough to beat last year's Tour du Lac time. That helped me to shut away any discouraging thoughts like "Damn, that was only the first loop!" With a short boost of confidence, adrenaline, and GU, I breezed through 11 and kept strong through 12. 13 was rough as I started to feel the muscles in my calves tighten. With effort I managed to force out my second wind and pushed hard through 14 and the behemoth of a hill that was 15. I was winded when I got to the top but I evened out quickly and felt good about my time so far. I knew however that my pace was slipping and the last 5 miles would be a struggle, especially mile 17 with its sharp uphills and left turns.
16 was solid, though a lot of that had to do with its smooth downhills. 17 was all uphill and, as I expected, I logged my worst mile of the race. Last year, that mile along with 15 destroyed all the energy I had left as I was running over a 9-minute pace. This year, they knocked me for a loop but didn't take me down. I used 18 to gather my wits and 19 to regain momentum. 20 was my all-out mile, but I spread the effort through the entire mile instead of trying to burn it in the last quarter, resulting in what I believe was a more disciplined and efficient mile, one that I could even pull off in the last mile of the marathon.
2:26:31 is not my best for this distance - the first 20 in Sugarloaf last year (2:25:13) still reigns as my personal best, but it is a PR for a 20-mile race, edging out the 2009 Eastern States by a mere 22 seconds. So effectively I have set a PR in two long races on consecutive weeks. That is an accomplishment.
Can I make 3 long-race PR's in a single month? The answer in less than two weeks.
