Having said that have a bit more detail below. I am a big believer in racing as part of a training program and not needing to be 100% focussed on a specific race in terms of peak fitness. This one is in this category for me and really enjoy getting out there experiencing the energy of a race environment.
Was great to see a lot of people I knew out there and thanks to those who called
d out my name, apologies if I didn't yell back in time. Hope everyone had a great day and hope to see you out on a race course again soon.
Thanks to Powered By Chocolate Milk, Speed Theory Vancouver and Forerunners North Vancouver for the continued support.
A specific shout out to my good friend to my Jerry Ziak who is co-owner of Forerunners North Vancouver and has been helping me out with the run aspect of my training, If you can get out to the clinics at the store they are definitely worth the time.
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| Neck Beards add Warmth on Cold Days! Photo Credit: MEC |
Why a Marathon?
The last few months I have been taking training in 6 weeks blocks or so. About 6 weeks ago looking ahead I decided that it was a good time to do a marathon and with the opportunity to do one the doorstop with a start and finish in Steveston the fit was perfect.
Having a target to train for as winter starts to envelop Vancouver is always nice as the Fall to Winter season change is one I always struggle with.
Racing close means it can be a family event as well. Les ran the 5km and had a PR!!!! Adelaide and Victoria came out watch and do some cheering with Grandma and Grandpa while Mommy and Daddy ran.
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| Ada post Cheering Duties Photo Credit MEC |
The Build Up
I talked about my leadup to the event last week - http://opensourcetriathlon.blogspot.ca/2014/11/race-week-and-open-262.html.
In terms of long runs and mileage haven't been cranking out crazy mileage and have been averaging about 80 to 90km a week over 5-6 runs. My longest session in the build up was 32km which involved 28km alternating above and below Marathon Pace.
So coming into racing had a few questions about how I would feel in the last 10km and took that account into race planning.
Race Day - Executing the Plan
The "tables" which you can enter other race performances to give potential results at other distances based on your calculated vDot (http://www.runbayou.com/jackd.htm) indicated I was in around 2:45 shape.
However knowing that
- I hadn't had a huge base of mileage
- wasn't totally tapered
- race was predominately on gravel (is a couple seconds a km slower than the road)
- I didn't want to bury myself for the next month (or blow up)
Went with a plan to start out at around 4:10 per km pace (approx 2:55) then adjust as required throughout the day with the aim to have a good solid run.
4 Sections
With the race being 2 out and backs I broke it down into four sections each 10.55km long.
Section 1 (0k to 10.55km) - Garry Point to Turnaround 43:13 (4:06 pace)
Start of the race - just tried to run smooth and relaxed. Had the runner who ended up coming in 4th with me for most of this section but ran at the front so could focus on my own tempo. It all felt pretty relaxed but hopefully that should be the case early on in a race!
Looking at splits was a little bit faster than planned but effort felt fine so was not to worried as had aimed to be through this first section between 43 and 44 minutes.
Section 2 (10.55km to 21.1km) - Turnaround to Garry Point - 42:48 (4:03 pace)
What wind there was slightly behind me at this point. Was pretty solo for this and had to negotiate the other races going outbound. Was good to see lots of people I knew doing the 5,10 or Half marathon. Started getting in some nutrition at this point through a couple Gels in this section.
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| Action Shot thanks to @runcandicerun who raced the day before doing a full marathon! Fluro Capri Tights came out with the -4 starting temperature. |
A little slower going out but I think I can put this down to drinking some electrolyte at the turn (you could leave bottles at halfway) and not being able to run perfect tangents as needed to run through some of the other races that started after the marathon. The effort felt consistent and just focussed on running smooth through this part.
Section 4 (31.15km top 42.2km) - Turnaround to Garry Point 43:32 (4:08 pace)
Time to run home.At the turnaround I had 4+ minutes on the next runners so from a race perspective knew just had to run steady. From a body perspective hadn't run past this distance in the lead up and was scared of a brick wall being erected at km 35 on the dyke!
At 32km would have had to drop a sub 39 min 10km to go sub 2:50 and although i was tempted to give it a shot I decided to stick to the plan a run solid home. Legs got a little tight with about 5km to go a splits slipped a little but decided to just keep effort steady vs pushing harder. Asides from making sure I ate my last Gel and staying relaxed it was pretty uneventful run home.
Getting the W
So in the end finished in 2:52:57 and got the Win. The win wasn't as big a factor for me as having a good solid run. If I had had company in the last half I am pretty sure I could have stepped it up a little but getting a good solid consistent paced run was the key achievement as it is knowledge and confidence I can take into my 2015 training and racing.
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| Podium Shot - Subbing in for 2nd Place Ada decided raising hands up was a little too much! Photo Credit MEC |
Other Notes
Nutrition
For those interested in nutrition for this race I kept it pretty simple with;
- a GU every 40 minutes (approx 90 cal - Gu's are a 100 cal packet but you never get it all) for a total of 360 Cals
- A splash of water at most opportunities (every 4km or so)
- A swig of electrolyte (200ml max at halfway)
Weather
4 below Celsius is cold for someone who grew up in the heat. As a result I went with some capri tights (fluro yellow for some early am brightness) and gloves for the first 10 miles or so. The main thing I have learned about racing and training in the cold is you still need to eat even though you may not feel like it. That is why my nutrition above was pretty structured.
Why Wear a Puprle Headband?
I like to run with headbands as keeps the sweat out of my eyes and Ada likes purple. So chose that color so are a little easier to spot out on course.
Mistakes I Made
Forgot to set my watch to autolap before racing which meant going through the menu settings while after 1km to turn it on
Key Learnings
- Have a few more pounds to lose for sure. No rush on this but there are simple things I can form habits on as I move into 2015.
- Consistency is king. The last few months have been nothing special in terms of training but consistency has been pretty good even though there is still room for improvement. If I can move that to all aspects training life will be good.
- Core strength is a big opportunity for me to make sure I run well when fatigued.
The Fast Guys are Really Fast
Always humbling to know that the fast marathoners are running 1 min a km (25%) faster than your pace.
What is Next
So next up is a pretty easy week then some planning for the first part of 2015. I have soem fun racing coming up with the Gunner Shaw Cross Country at Jericho Beach on Dec 6th and a couple Time Trial (Mile and 5km) events with Forerunners North Vancovuer.
In 2015 the Tentative Plan is Pioneer 8km on the Island, Steveston Icebreaker 8km followed up by the PRR First Half - Half Marathon.
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