As mentioned in my last post, my long run on the 18th was attempted at race pace. This was done on very tired legs. Legs that were spent the day before pounding out 50 miles at break neck speed through the wind and the cold on the bike. So there's my excuse. I finished my long run at a 7:13 pace, or should I say it finished me. I was totally spent and exhausted. I limped through the next few days and gave my body some much deserved rest. I picked it up again on Wednesday with my regular scheduled runs. Legs felt fine and recovered.
This past weekend, I switched it up a little and did my long run the day before my ride. I ran with a group of seasoned runners, one of which is OMG fast. We started the Mercedes 1/2 Course at a respectible 7:45 pace and gradually picked up the pace throughout the run. Felt fine the whole way. Mile 9 was at a 7:12 pace. Mile 10 was at a 7:05 pace (race goal). I still felt great so at mile 11, I decided to see what I had for the last two miles. Brad, the OMG fast runner, paced me the whole way. I was hoping to pop him, but he held strong. I pushed mile 12 at 6:45, and he countered by upping the pace to 6:30 at the start of mile 13. I couldn't do it. He had me cold. He's a great runner, and I was just a pretender. I dropped it down to 6:45 and let him go. We finished the run with me gasping for breath and him jogging a few laps around the block. I was happy that I had good leg strength in the end and am feeling confident about the race in 3 weeks. It's time to taper it back a little and go in strong.
No comments:
Post a Comment