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March 05, 2005
1:28:01/162
Last time I ran only 4 laps around Pontcharra, I suffered. This morning it only cost me an average of 2 heart beats per minute to run the same distance 17:40 faster.
Today's time for 19.5 km (12 mi) works out to a 4:31/km (7:16/mi) average pace, counting three drink stops and one stop to relace my right shoe a bit. Don't read too much into the exact pace. The mileage is an approximation of the kilometrage, which is a sort of careful estimate using my map wheel. I don't really know that exactly how far it is. The last digit I believe is pretty close, however.
Today's run I did almost as a 3/1, or fast finish long run. I couldn't quite get myself to a sprint at the very end. The trouble was when I picked up the pace at the beginning of the fourth lap, I started sweating more. Then my legs started getting cold and tightening up.
Unfortunately this pace was not fast enough according the Greg McMillan's calculator to make it into the steady-state bracket, but too fast to be an endurance run. It would get me to a 3:10 marathon, but I don't think I'll try to do that in April. 20 km is currently a comfortable distance for me. I can do it without feeling too tired. I'm sure that beyond 30 km things will get interesting, though. I don't want to get out there having already burned up my reserve energy and have to run more than 10 km on will power alone.
The temperature when I ran was close to freezing. It was snowing the whole time. Snow was melting immediately on the salty road, but not on the sidewalks. If the temperature had been 7-10 C (45-50 F), conditions would've been ideal for a medium long run like this.
The only trouble I had was the lacing on my right shoe. Maybe I had the laces too tight around my ankle early in the week, or maybe it was my street shoes. Anyway, it felt quite sore where the top of the shoe hugged my ankle, so I loosened that. I wish the people who make running shoes would put wider tongues in their shoes -- why skimp on the tongue in $80-$100 shoes? -- and figure out a more appropriate way to hold the shoe on the ankle than laces.
Posted by Mark at March 5, 2005 10:42 AM