Highlights = 2 light speed workouts to marathon sharpen. 2:56:07 marathon Saturday, followed by a 26 mile trail run on the Ice Age trail in Northern Kettle Moraine on Sunday - In a respectable 4:16.
The marathon logistics were easy as I stayed with my Friend Norm and his DW Beth. Another friend Andy (Fast Andy ran a slow for him - 2:39 5th OA) and I were running the marathon and Norm the 1/2 (He had run the fun - hot Boston 5 days before) We left the house 45 minutes before the 7:30 start. Easily found parking within a 2 minute walk of the start/finish area. Everything pre-race was logistically easy (More important than people realize).
I was surprised at how easy it was to enter the back of the corral system 10 minutes pre-race and 2 minute later be within feet of the start line. The 1/2M and Marathon start together, there was money for top 3 and CR bonus of $1,000. I made sure to start behind the stallions.
After the gun went off I found a fastish, but relaxed stride for the 1st 10k. I was running a honest 98% effort marathon pace, but by mile #9 I could tell I needed to back it down a bit and put in time until mile #20. I think that is why we taper more than 1 week. My legs were not fresh enough to keep Marathon Pace up. After mile #20 I gave it what I had - But I was still a 50 seconds possitive split on final 10k to 1st 10k.
| NO | FN | LN | DIVISION | OVERALL | DIVPL | SEXPL | 10K | RANK | HALF | RANK | 20MI | RANK | LAST10K | RANK | TIME | PACE | |
  | 4772 | Michael | Henze | M 40-44 | 16 | 2/66 | 15/365 | 41:26 | 17 | 1:27:47 | 18 | 2:13:51 | 18 | 42:16 | 14 | 2:56:07 | 6:44 |
The course is beautiful - Many neighborhoods and trees. All pavement, but some bike paths with mostly blacktop roads. The wind was 10+ MPH and was a factor. The uphills were nice and gentle enough not to be soul stealers, but a few of the downhills were steep enough to not gain a lot out of them. My 2 negative comments would be - There were a few more corners than I would like and the accuracy of some mile markers were off ... I stopped taking splits at mile #9.
Post race back at Norm's house was really nice and I stayed the night post beer.
Sunday I drove back to Neenah with a little stop off at my favorite trail to shake out the legs. I would have been happy to run a little or a lot ... It turned out my legs felt fine running slow ~ so I did the route I do most often ~ 26.
Monday ~ my legs are sore, but only a little beat up. I have 40 days until FANS 24. The next 3-4 weeks are critical to do everything right. The trick is to figure out what the "Right Thing" is? Is the right thing to push the mileage on a day or take the day completely off. Sometimes less is more and the right thing is not to run. Even though I just typed it - That is a hard thing to put into practice.
Good running to all!
A shorthand I've used is: Number of Miles in 24 Hours = 320 minus marathon time in minutes. It seems to be surprisingly accurate (give or take 5-10 miles) for most runners. That puts you at 144 for FANS. Let's see how close a prediction we get.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a fair assessment of best case scenario for my fitness today - But the 24 is a hard race to reach your potential in the race - Too many things that can go bad. I ran a 2:48:10 4 weeks prior to my 147 @ FANS.
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful to lose #20 pounds by June 2nd.
Commendable race despite it was not the goal you went in the race with. I saw your log and noticed the mileage for the day after and had to shake my head in amazement. How does he do it? It's not a question to answer but a compliment to your accomplishments and mileage. It helps us less mileage folks know when the tough get going we have it in us to keep going.
ReplyDelete"The trick is to figure out what the "Right Thing" is?" - +1
Cheers to the next 40 days and hope to meet you at FANS!
"The trick is to figure out what the "Right Thing" is?" - +100
ReplyDeleteAmazed at the mileage. What is the mix of road and dirt/trail/soft surface?