After a distance-covered PR of 45 miles last weekend, and a few easy'ish days to recover, I should be more than ready to race hard at the 10k Saturday then turn around and have a great 20 miler on Sunday. My recovery is noticeably better than ever.
The 10k will definitely take more out of me than the 20 miler, since I'll be going for a PR. The course is easy and flat along the Platte River, so my "A goal" is to run a low 35 minute 10k -about 5:40 per mile. It should be possible if I can fully recover in time. Still, as long as I feel strong and run some 6:00, or better, miles I'll be content.
I've been having tons of fun at shorter races since I've moved my focus to ultras, so I'm really excited for this one.
From now until May 12th (50's For Yo Momma) I'm going to run three to four more 20 milers to prep for summer. On Sunday, I'm running the first 20 miler around Lakewood with some good, long climbs. If I manage to recover for Saturday's race, I'll be dead again Sunday for the 20, so the goal is just to finish strong.
Showing posts with label CMRA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CMRA. Show all posts
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Lake Arbor 5k, a brief race report
Breakfast:
>half a BumbleBar w/peanut butter and virgin coconut oil
>Tazo Awake Tea with 5 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract and a piece of ginger
The race started with me remembering what it felt like to go fast. We came through the first mile in 5:45. -I never race with a watch but the guy next to me told me. That seemed perfect for me, not as fast as I'm used to, but about where the pace should be considering my training for the last few weeks.
I passed around four people in the second mile but none in the third and got passed by no one after the first mile. So it was a pretty uneventful race. Apparently there was a course map at the sign-up table which would have helped some since I wasn't real sure where we'd be running and, more importantly, where the finish line was. That made for a long last mile.
18:29 and 8th place is a bit embarrassing, but I finished ahead of the people I knew I should have and right behind a guy I figured I'd finish right behind, so I'm not sure to make of it. And being sick this week left me a little less confident than I'm used to, so who knows how much faster I could have run. On top that, I've been overreaching with my training for sure (six weeks straight at 80) so anything sub-6:00 is good enough for now. Next month's five miler should be at almost the same pace with decent conditions.
For now, back to training. I'm going to inject 10-15 miles at sub-6:00 into random runs over the next month which should help me get my heart used to the harder effort and put me around 32:XX for the five miler.
Pictures if I find some
>half a BumbleBar w/peanut butter and virgin coconut oil
>Tazo Awake Tea with 5 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract and a piece of ginger
The race started with me remembering what it felt like to go fast. We came through the first mile in 5:45. -I never race with a watch but the guy next to me told me. That seemed perfect for me, not as fast as I'm used to, but about where the pace should be considering my training for the last few weeks.
I passed around four people in the second mile but none in the third and got passed by no one after the first mile. So it was a pretty uneventful race. Apparently there was a course map at the sign-up table which would have helped some since I wasn't real sure where we'd be running and, more importantly, where the finish line was. That made for a long last mile.
18:29 and 8th place is a bit embarrassing, but I finished ahead of the people I knew I should have and right behind a guy I figured I'd finish right behind, so I'm not sure to make of it. And being sick this week left me a little less confident than I'm used to, so who knows how much faster I could have run. On top that, I've been overreaching with my training for sure (six weeks straight at 80) so anything sub-6:00 is good enough for now. Next month's five miler should be at almost the same pace with decent conditions.
For now, back to training. I'm going to inject 10-15 miles at sub-6:00 into random runs over the next month which should help me get my heart used to the harder effort and put me around 32:XX for the five miler.
Pictures if I find some
Friday, January 6, 2012
Stapleton XC CMRA Colorado State Championship
As usual the CMRA put on another great race.
I've been excited for this one. Everything I found and everyone I talked to said it would have a 'true cross country' feel. So I've been anxiously waiting to be able to wear spikes and get dirty.
-Breakfast
>BumbleBar with peanut butter and coconut oil
>a small chunk of a caffeine pill (~25 mg)
I got to Stapleton Central Park at around 9:15. The sun was shining by then but it was still below 40 so I kept all my layers on for my warmup. Before heading out of the car, I drank my last mouthful of water and took about 100 mg of caffeine (half of a pill).
The race started in an open field, which backed up their 'true cross country' claim. As everyone jostled for positions I stayed relaxed and focused on keeping my form perfect and not stumbling or wasting energy in the 5" of snow that covered this stretch. -That move paid off more than anything else during this race. At the half mile mark I was in about tenth place.
Once we got to the first hill the snow thinned out and I started my race. After a few more small, rolling hills we hit the mile mark and I had moved up to 8th place. Miles two through three were on packed snow over single track trail which made passing much harder, and after almost getting hip-checked off a boulder during the back stretch while trying to pass someone I decided to wait it out again. Once we hit the end of the first loop (6k; half way done), we headed back into the powder and I passed another three people in the next half mile and started feeling like a real competitor. Over the rolling hills of the next mile I caught the guy in fifth and passed him on a turn, then the guys in third and forth shortly after in the powdery back-stretch.
As I came around the final turn I saw the second place guy ahead of me but it was way too late to catch him. Still, I kicked as hard as I could thinking maybe he'd trip or run off the course alowing me to make up the ground. Obviously that didn't happen.
But a 3rd place finish is good enough for now, and I was only 50 seconds behind the guy in first -a guy who's 5k PR is probly more than a minute faster than mine.
Can't wait to hit the training for a few weeks before the (road) 5k on January 7th.
I've been excited for this one. Everything I found and everyone I talked to said it would have a 'true cross country' feel. So I've been anxiously waiting to be able to wear spikes and get dirty.
-Breakfast
>BumbleBar with peanut butter and coconut oil
>a small chunk of a caffeine pill (~25 mg)
I got to Stapleton Central Park at around 9:15. The sun was shining by then but it was still below 40 so I kept all my layers on for my warmup. Before heading out of the car, I drank my last mouthful of water and took about 100 mg of caffeine (half of a pill).
The race started in an open field, which backed up their 'true cross country' claim. As everyone jostled for positions I stayed relaxed and focused on keeping my form perfect and not stumbling or wasting energy in the 5" of snow that covered this stretch. -That move paid off more than anything else during this race. At the half mile mark I was in about tenth place.
Once we got to the first hill the snow thinned out and I started my race. After a few more small, rolling hills we hit the mile mark and I had moved up to 8th place. Miles two through three were on packed snow over single track trail which made passing much harder, and after almost getting hip-checked off a boulder during the back stretch while trying to pass someone I decided to wait it out again. Once we hit the end of the first loop (6k; half way done), we headed back into the powder and I passed another three people in the next half mile and started feeling like a real competitor. Over the rolling hills of the next mile I caught the guy in fifth and passed him on a turn, then the guys in third and forth shortly after in the powdery back-stretch.
As I came around the final turn I saw the second place guy ahead of me but it was way too late to catch him. Still, I kicked as hard as I could thinking maybe he'd trip or run off the course alowing me to make up the ground. Obviously that didn't happen.
But a 3rd place finish is good enough for now, and I was only 50 seconds behind the guy in first -a guy who's 5k PR is probly more than a minute faster than mine.
Can't wait to hit the training for a few weeks before the (road) 5k on January 7th.
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