Distance: 30.05 km
Pace: 4:00/km
I could't help but be inspired run quick this morning after watching the Olympic men's marathon. If you're reading this post, then I'm sure you watched the race so I won't give any big recap. It's hard to bet against Meb having a bad race. He's so consistent and knows exactly what his body is capable of on the day.
Before heading to bed last night I thought up a long run workout of 30k broken into three segments. Each 10k would get fast by 30 seconds per kilometer. My hope was that the marathon would pump me up to have a good session despite the multitude of kilometers/miles this week. The goal was to have 10k splits of 45:00, 40:00, and 35:00.
I ran from the condo in Salem out to Marblehead and then up towards ST's house. I then headed out along Lynn Shore drive and along the walking path bordering the beach. I wasn't sure where the 15k turnaround would be, but some mental math had me realize that I would have to find a few extra kilometers in Nahant. I also noticed that the Lynn Beach smelled absolutely terrible. Wet dog is the most accurate odor I could think.
Opening 10k (44:16) - I was feeling good and was having a hard time slowing down. I was feeling very good by 5k and split 4:18 which is well under the 4:30 I needed for 45 minutes. I had to force myself slow down but even then the next splits all ranged from 4:20 to 4:26.
Middle 10k (39:29) - I started noticing the breeze running out to Nahant along the causeway. It wasn't terrible but enough to make running just under 4:00/km a little more stressed. I was hitting the splits and feeling good while looking forward to the turnaround point. I ended up having to run back into the neighborhoods before getting the wind at my back. I immediately saw the pace drop to the low 3:50s and I was feeling really strong at the 16km (10 mile) mark. I again had to tell myself to back off the pace because the real work was going to take place in the final 10k. I kept plugging away but by 18k all of my enthusiasm that I had just 2k earlier was gone. I wasn't struggling but knew picking up the pace another 30 secs would be very difficult. I decided to take a quick pit stop and drink some water at the 19k mark before gearing up for the final push.
Final 10k (36:12) - Struggled. I tried my best to start the last segment off with a strong effort but could only manage 3:34. I could only muster 3:37-3:41 for kilometers 21-28. The positive is that I wasn't completely falling apart and my stride felt smooth and efficient. I just couldn't find the power to run 3:30. I really like the segment coming back into Salem and I was able to rally for the final 10 minutes. My final kilometers were covered in 3:32 and 3:31 which almost took me to the well.
Despite not being able to close the final 10k in 35 minutes, I still managed to finish 30k in 2 hours. I think had I received water earlier or a gel around the hour mark I would have been fine. Regardless, I'm pleased to cap off a big week with this run.
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