Papa John's 10 Mile review.
This weekend a large group from Lexington ran the Papa John's 10 Mile road race. This race was the last "test" that Nikki and I were going to do, in order to determine our fitness levels leading up to the Derby marathon. Here's a few things that I learned from the race:
1. Running in the heat requires a specific strategy. This seems pretty intuitive, but this early in the season it is easy to forget lessons that we may have learned last summer. The obvious lesson is to go to any length to stay hydrated and maintain your electrolyte levels. Maintaining a low core temperature is also helpful, therefore wearing a cap and proper clothing is valuable. I had a great new running jersey, but left my cap at home.
I felt my body heating up so much towards the end of the race that I took two bottles of water at the 8 mile aid station. I dumped one bottle on my head and drank the other bottle. If I had my headsweat running cap, I could have soaked it and the cooling effect would have lasted longer. This is a lesson I learned from the Pigman Half Ironman distance race in 2003 and the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman in 2004, both of those races included runs in the extreme heat. And during both races I benefited by stuffing ice or cold water rags into my hat.
2. Before the race starts, know how many and where the aid stations are.. During the Papa John's race, I found myself searching for the next aid stop because they seemed to be spaced too far apart. They also did not have any stations that had a sports drink, therefore I felt fortunate that I was practicing my marathon plan and had an eGel to use around mile 4.
3. Tension in your mind, creates tension in your body. The one mental training lesson that I worked through during the race was relaxing my anxious mind. As the temperature continued to increase and as I was feeling the affect of the hills through the park, I started to worry that my time was not going to be where I wanted it to be.
Around mile seven, I started saying to myself, "Relax your body and move forward." This isn't something I've practiced (like the "18 to go" Nikki and I used for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon) but I found it very helpful. It allowed me to get my breathing back to a deep full breathe and I was able to relax my upper body. I think I will use this saying the next couple weeks and during the marathon.
4. Practicing the nutrition plan the night before and race morning is important. Nikki and I have been doing this for our long runs, but having a test race is helpful, because it gives you the added issue of race nerves to contend with. I pretty much have the nutritional plan down, but one thing I learned this time is that my large cup'o'coffee has to be finished at least 2 hours before the race. Finishing the coffee closer to the race than that makes those last stops at the port-o-potty even more necessary.
How did the race turn out?
1. I ended up running, 1:04:04. This is about :30 to 1:00 slower than I had anticipated, but I'm happy walking away with that performance. The best thing that this race shows me is that I'm still on track to meet my marathon expectations. In fact, this race predicts out to a better marathon finish than my 10k time (38:53) from a few weeks ago does. That is a very good sign.
2. I ran the second half of the race 38 seconds faster than the first half. (1st half: 32:21, 2nd half: 31:43) That is very exciting to me, especially considering the weather and the course terrain. The ability to manage race excitement and control the pace during the first five miles gives me confidence as I begin preparing my pacing strategy for the marathon.
3. The lower training volume during the week allowed my body to respond well during the weekend. This response allows me to continue forward this week with the second week of my two week peak block. I'll include an above threshold run on Tuesday, a steady run on Thursday and then we'll get into the final rest and recover period before the marathon. The only thing that we'll include the 9 days up to the marathon are some strides within a few of the easy runs.
The other side of this equation is Nikki's last couple weeks. She seemed a little disappointed with her results, but my analysis is that she hasn't fully recovered from the previous weeks high training levels. So I hope I can convience her that her period of rest and recovery began the day after the Papa Johns. A few strides may be included, but nothing even close to a threshold level of intensity from here on out.
4. My average heart rate for the 10 miles was: 187 bpm. The max was: 201 bpm. There is no doubt that the heat caused the average to creep up that high. And maintaining that average for the marathon is very unlikely.
Time to go apply the lessons learned!
1. Running in the heat requires a specific strategy. This seems pretty intuitive, but this early in the season it is easy to forget lessons that we may have learned last summer. The obvious lesson is to go to any length to stay hydrated and maintain your electrolyte levels. Maintaining a low core temperature is also helpful, therefore wearing a cap and proper clothing is valuable. I had a great new running jersey, but left my cap at home.
I felt my body heating up so much towards the end of the race that I took two bottles of water at the 8 mile aid station. I dumped one bottle on my head and drank the other bottle. If I had my headsweat running cap, I could have soaked it and the cooling effect would have lasted longer. This is a lesson I learned from the Pigman Half Ironman distance race in 2003 and the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman in 2004, both of those races included runs in the extreme heat. And during both races I benefited by stuffing ice or cold water rags into my hat.
2. Before the race starts, know how many and where the aid stations are.. During the Papa John's race, I found myself searching for the next aid stop because they seemed to be spaced too far apart. They also did not have any stations that had a sports drink, therefore I felt fortunate that I was practicing my marathon plan and had an eGel to use around mile 4.
3. Tension in your mind, creates tension in your body. The one mental training lesson that I worked through during the race was relaxing my anxious mind. As the temperature continued to increase and as I was feeling the affect of the hills through the park, I started to worry that my time was not going to be where I wanted it to be.
Around mile seven, I started saying to myself, "Relax your body and move forward." This isn't something I've practiced (like the "18 to go" Nikki and I used for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon) but I found it very helpful. It allowed me to get my breathing back to a deep full breathe and I was able to relax my upper body. I think I will use this saying the next couple weeks and during the marathon.
4. Practicing the nutrition plan the night before and race morning is important. Nikki and I have been doing this for our long runs, but having a test race is helpful, because it gives you the added issue of race nerves to contend with. I pretty much have the nutritional plan down, but one thing I learned this time is that my large cup'o'coffee has to be finished at least 2 hours before the race. Finishing the coffee closer to the race than that makes those last stops at the port-o-potty even more necessary.
How did the race turn out?
1. I ended up running, 1:04:04. This is about :30 to 1:00 slower than I had anticipated, but I'm happy walking away with that performance. The best thing that this race shows me is that I'm still on track to meet my marathon expectations. In fact, this race predicts out to a better marathon finish than my 10k time (38:53) from a few weeks ago does. That is a very good sign.
2. I ran the second half of the race 38 seconds faster than the first half. (1st half: 32:21, 2nd half: 31:43) That is very exciting to me, especially considering the weather and the course terrain. The ability to manage race excitement and control the pace during the first five miles gives me confidence as I begin preparing my pacing strategy for the marathon.
3. The lower training volume during the week allowed my body to respond well during the weekend. This response allows me to continue forward this week with the second week of my two week peak block. I'll include an above threshold run on Tuesday, a steady run on Thursday and then we'll get into the final rest and recover period before the marathon. The only thing that we'll include the 9 days up to the marathon are some strides within a few of the easy runs.
The other side of this equation is Nikki's last couple weeks. She seemed a little disappointed with her results, but my analysis is that she hasn't fully recovered from the previous weeks high training levels. So I hope I can convience her that her period of rest and recovery began the day after the Papa Johns. A few strides may be included, but nothing even close to a threshold level of intensity from here on out.
4. My average heart rate for the 10 miles was: 187 bpm. The max was: 201 bpm. There is no doubt that the heat caused the average to creep up that high. And maintaining that average for the marathon is very unlikely.
Time to go apply the lessons learned!
posted by gary at 9:10 AM
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