“What is it
with you and marathons??!?! I don't know exactly the forecast for Weott, but it
looks to be unseasonably warm.”
Honestly, I didn’t really look at the forecast until I got this
message. Matt had been assuring me for
nearly a year that this race has perfect, almost climate-controlled weather
being that it was under the Redwoods.
When I checked it out, this is what I found:
It was
pretty much instant panic from there especially after Matt confirmed that the
high pressure parked over us didn’t appear to be leaving anytime soon. That was Monday.
Now, as if
by miracle, a tiny front appeared on the forecast models, cooler temperatures
for the weekend. Cue collective sigh of
relief. It isn’t going to be as cool as
I’d like, but the heavily shaded course will buy me more time to finish the race
before it gets too hot....as much as 10 degrees cooler under the trees, and probably an 11:30am finish, well before the high temperature part of the day.
The course
is a double out-and-back, venturing 6.55 mi. in one direction, returning to the
start/finish, and then out another road for another 6.55 mi. The first 6.55 mi climbs overall and the
pavement is really bad in some spots. It
will require similar attentions to footing as trail running. Everyone I’ve asked about the marathon has
said that the first half chews up your legs with the roadway being as it
is. Portions of it were repaved since
last year’s race, however. With this, I’ve
decided to take a bit of a conservative approach to the first half: 8:00/mi.
out and no faster than 7:45/mi back. After
that, I’ll re-evaluate to see what I can hold for the remaining half. How all that turns out will depend on
everything besides the course.
 |
Taken from Humboldt Redwoods Marathon page. The photo is reversed because
HRM is the same course, only in reverse. It amounts to about 1,500 ft. of gain.
I will be
running the first half with, Danny, our trail running adventure buddy. He’s training for a June 1 marathon and
decided to run the first half with me and then accelerate to the finish,
effectively completing a 26.2 mi. progression run. On an ideal day, I’d like to at least keep
him in my sights to the end.
Realistically, I don’t think that’s likely.
Ideal day,
perfect EVERYTHING and karma pays me back for last year: 3:25. 7:49/mi.
Just your
average day: sub-3:30. 8:01/mi.
The wheels
fall off: 3:34:59. 8:11/mi.
Current PR:
3:43:07. 8:31/mi. (the monsoon year, CIM 2012)
This has
been my most consistent training cycle ever and I feel like I’ve had a
breakthrough this spring. Hopefully it
will show in the marathon on Sunday.
Three days!
14 comments:
Dang, I'd take a wheels fall off day anytime. It's all in perspective! That is the high, right? You will be long done by the time it is 78. Funny--I don't remember bad pavement at all, but it was awhile ago, and I was used to trails, so maybe I didn't notice.
What year did you run the half? If you've run the half since 2000, you probably ran it on the Avenue of the Giants side, not Bull Creek Rd. (where the pavement is bad in spots).
Regardless, I think it sounds like you need to come back and run it again ;) I doubt there's a prettier forest road marathon anywhere.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE GREAT!!! SO excited for you! I've loved following your training. Thanks for your comments, I always enjoy them! Enjoy your moment, it's going to be great no matter what. Blood sweat tears and allergies have brought you here ;-D
The weather has been so wonky everywhere this year. Praying MOther Nature smiles on you and you run what you are capable of! Good luck!
Man, 95 here today, and I'm waiting until 6 p.m. to head out for my ride. I'm terrified that this hot weather is going to hold or return in time for my race next weekend. And of course it's snowing in Utah, Colorado, and Alaska, where many of my friends live. So jealous of them all. :)
And the difference between perfect run and the wheels came off is 10 minutes? That's an impressively tight margin. My spread is more like an hour in a 50K.
Good luck this weekend.
The race sounds gorgeous, but tough. I hope that the weather cooperates with you.
Jill, I don't think 10 minutes is too tight at all. It is just 10 sec/mi faster than what I've done my moderate effort long runs at and I'm fairly confident I've got at least that.
I think the biggest difference between our training/racing philosophies is that I taper A LOT for races. A longer taper drastically reduces the chances of a bonk big enough to slow me by :30/mi let alone 2:30/mi an hour would amount to. And honestly, if I were to be slow enough to run an hour off my goal time, I'm probably injured severely enough that I'd DNF so as to not make it worse.
To Kristin, Abby and Marcia. Thanks! I always feel like you ladies have got my back :)
I didn't mean to suggest that your time would swing that much. I actually have a fair bit of consistency in my racing. Three of four races at the Crystal Springs 50K have all been within two minutes of each other. Another race I've done three times, the Steep Ravine 50K, also has similar finishing times (but in the 7:05 range as opposed to the 5:50 range. Thus the hour swing.) But I don't train with any kind of speed, of course. I bet I'd come in around 5:00 in a road marathon. Beat disagrees with me but I'm pretty sure I would, and I'm not lining up to try. :-)
It still amazes me that marathoners can hit their projected paces so closely.
Okay I am never registering for the same marathon that you're registered for!:) Even if the temp doesn't make it to 78 before your race is over, I would think it'll still feel hot coming off cool winter/spring training. Maybe you can dump a bunch of cold water over your head at the aid stations?
On the other side of things, we just had a big snowstorm and the trails are yet again under snow/mud...grrr.
I think those sound like really good time goals. Good luck!!
-Alicia
Jill, I wasn't quite sure what your comment meant, so I figured I'd explain how I arrived at my goal times. I don't really compare my trail races to each other because the terrain is often so different that predictions would be useless. When you remove that factor, it is pretty easy to predict your time, especially on road races.
My guess is that if you can run Crystal Springs under 6 hrs, you could probably run about a 4:30 marathon without much problem. Have you considered flatter trail marathons? That would be a good compromise between a road marathon and the hilly trail stuff you do. I've heard good things about the Bizz Johnson Marathon (in October). :)
Alicia, since I don't really train in much winter, it won't be a huge deal, especially compared to a friend of mine from Fairbanks that is running it, too. But I agree, stay away from the races I run. :) I should post my racing schedule so you know what to avoid.
No, thanks for the discussion. I'm fascinated by marathon training because it often produces such consistent results for people and seems scientifically dialed. I've run two half marathons, both in a non-serious, stop-to-take-a-few-pictures way. I think one was 2:06 and the other was 2:04. The second had about 1,000 feet of climbing. Based on this Beat thinks I should be able to run a 4:15 marathon even without specific training, since he sees no reason why I would slow down for a second half given my usual late-race surges in 50Ks. But, I've had so many nagging and often random pains (like neck pain) crop up during my road runs that I suspect I would lose my will and start walking.
Someday I may try to put in a real half marathon effort and at least drop that time below two hours. I don't do great with flat running — think I may be overall faster on hills, but I do hope to one day put in a real effort to log a 5:30 trail 50K. Not sure I'll ever run a road marathon, but I do enjoy following along with your process and hope you have a great race tomorrow.
The main difference in how my legs feel often is based on terrain. Beat is probably right. The only reason I'd see you slowing down in a road marathon is that you weren't used to how upright stance and repetitive unchanging terrain bashes up your body. It definitely hurts in a different way than trail running. I feel like I do a little better with many small hills than pancake flat races.
The marathon is actually on Sunday, but thanks! :)
Good luck! I'm excited to see how it goes!!
Oh man, I hope the weather cooperates for you. I hate heat. Hate, hate, hate. But we've had so much snow this spring that it screwing up my hill training, so ready for it to be done.
Hope you have a stellar A-race - will be cheering for ya in Colorado! :)
Post a Comment