Planned run 2hr 20min

Date: 18 Apr 2010
Time: 2:21:17 min
Distance: 28.02 km


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30369693

This is the farthest I have ever run. I felt really good all the way, energy level was perfect, and legs only began to feel really heavy at 24kms. I took off trying to keep the pace down, that ended up being around 5min/km to 5:11min/km or so. Again I had difficulty staying at the slower pace.

I ate half a banana and had a strong coffee before I left, and at the 10km point had a Gu and a bit of water. It rained heavily at that point too, and so I got wet and cold. In fact it was quite cool for the whole run, and that made a huge difference. I went a bit faster to try and warm up a bit!! The fact that my shoes were full of water and very heavy makes the pace from that point on pretty good I think. Conditions were not ideal at all.

Occasionally during the run, when I felt like I was tightening up a bit, I would try a short surge, as well as at any slight incline, I also tried to surge a bit. I seemed that I responded well to that as a tactic, it kept me feeling loose and relaxed. I will keep that in mind for the race, as it may help.

So a significant milestone today. The marathon distance looks 'doable' now. Given the time left for training, I should be able to build strength and endurance to make a good go of it in the race. Today was very cool, and that made a huge difference to the run and how I felt in it, thus the pace was faster than I planned. I do need to reign in my pace - I have another 2hr20 next week, and a 2hr30 the week after. The week after than I back off the distance and do a 2hr run, probably so I can get some recovery.

Injury wise, I had the left heel and Achilles pain. The Achilles twinges a little in the first 3km or so, and then is hardly noticeable. On hills the heel hurts a bit. I hope a bit of rest and ice will help that.