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| Myself in 1st and Ricky Anderson in 2nd |
As it is basically the end of my season I am feeling little tired and with a lot of travel coming up in the next 6 weeks or so am going to get some rest in - at least riding wise. Due to this I wanted to get in at least one 100 miler before the end of the year with the BMTR group on Zwift Saturday and while I was running a Mile Road race the next day - so not the best prep - I rode it any way. The plan was just to stay with the group and work to be mourned 2.5 w/kg for the ride, ended up being at 2.6) and try and spin more than I usually do so rode with the C group. I figured this would allow me to get in the ride and not hammer my legs which likely would have happen if I rode with the B group.
That's pretty much how the ride went as just got in with the front group and did a lot of drafting and taking some pulls and as this was the RGV route I was ready for the usual surge on the Aqueduct climb and then through the S’s near the end of the loop. The rest of the ride was pretty steady. As usual, as on these rides not everyone is doing the full 100 miles for any number of reasons, the early pace was a little faster but as the numbers dwindle the pace slows and we went from being faster than 4 hour pace to a little slower - but that is all good as just the right pace for what I wanted.
The front group as it got smaller slowed enough for another group to catch back on which was great as it adds more people to share the pace. So we continued on until the the last lap where as is also usual there was to be some form of sprint - hey the competitive juices do flow at the end even on a comfortable ride. In the sprint before the climb the group separated some then about 5 of us went clear on the Aqueduct and it came down to us in the sprint. I did not want to do too much so pulled a consistent pace and in the sprint got third - but all in good fun and our final time for the 100 was just under 4:02. Having done almost a 10 mile warmup it made for a good 110 miles.
As far as nutrition I had my usual Modified BP Coffee before the ride and also 1/2 bowl of Oatmeal with some butter/cream and a little maple syrup and also 1 CV-25 Vespa (884 cals, 32 g Protein, 40g carbs, 65g Fat). For the ride I ended up drinking about 50oz of water and in that had two scoops of KetoFuel for the salts and then took one CV-25 Vespa at 2 hours along with 2 S!Caps so the minimal carbs in the Vespa was it for carbs and calories and felt great during and after the ride. I did make sure to get in some carbs later in the day, splurged on a Fried Pumpkin Pie - hey just sounded good and was, with a coffee and then some potatoes for dinner just to make sure the tank was topped off for the next day.
Ride info: https://www.strava.com/activities/8107884268
Legs felt good waking up the next day with no soreness - although as is usual did fill a little awkward running till warmed up. The interesting part about this road mile - other than I have never done one in all my 49+ years of running - is that it is later in the day (3PM). Due to this I went to church and preached so was standing for a while and then went to the race. I thus did not eat much all day other than the same as I had before my ride the day before but way before I was to run. I did have a nut butter and a fruit bar on the way to the race and took a swig of coke before the race to see if it would help, but did not notice much.
I got to the race and knew I had to get in a good warmup as for me I rarely am wanted up till 5 miles or so miles:). Also, the day was cold as while it was predicted to get up to 45F I think it never got much over 35F. More on that in a minute. During the warmup I notice during some pickups that speed was just not in my legs. Not surprised as have not done any speed work of much worth in a very long time. I did do some pickups during the week but also noticed there that they weren’t fast.
All, that said my plan was to go out with the leaders to some extent - ended up not being much - and then just settle in as best I could. I had hoped to go under 6:00 pace as had just run 6:40 pace for a 5K the week before - a 5K where the temp was in the high 50’s - but it is amazing how just that little more speed can be so hard to accomplish if not ready for it. As a little background my goal over the last year or so - and more now with the Gravel Worlds 50K run in August coming up - is to work to get to where 8:00 pace is very comfortable and I have noticed things moving in that direction but have not done speed work which I will need to do.
As the race started I went out a little too quick but I just like to get some separation from the other arms and legs as did not want to go down and truth is I felt fine - well for the first 200 meters of so:) Went through 1/4 mile in 1:20 and then did a 1:39 for the second 1/4 mile to be right on pace but not good as pace was slowing. Right at about a 1/4 mile I could feel my chest constricting some and my exercised asthma kicking in - probably from the exertion in the cold - so slowed so as not to have to just stop. I then ran the next 1/4 mile in 1:43 and the final 1/4 mile in about 1:44. I wanted to kick it in and legs felt I should have been able to but every time I went to pick it up my wheezing said no!! Thus finished the mile in 6:17 and as was a little long if my GPS was right, looking at most peoples distance it seemed to just over a mile but very close, my official time was 6:22.
I was not too happy with the time - but rarely am I. However in looking back I guess it is what I was ready to do and being able to go out in 5:20 pace, even if I slowed a lot, shows there is some speed there and just need to work at it more to extend it out. Also, as the finishing is a very gradual up hill the fact my last two splits stayed even was also good as while I slowed I stayed at a pace I was comfortable at which while being close to 7:00/mile is a start. I ended up 23rd OA and 1st int eh 60-69 AG.
Run info: https://www.strava.com/activities/8114441160/overview
Lessons learned:
- I need to do speed work - even for longer runs it is good to be able to ratchet up the speed - so as I need to do on the bike I need to add in some running speed work at least once every two weeks.
- I need to work on pacing, especially in the cold and for shorter races, as I think if I had gone out a touch slower - even if I at the time felt good - I may have been able to better control my breathing and thus overall gone faster. The speed work will also help with this as will give me a better feel for faster paces.
- Need to look into natural ways to deal with my exercise induced asthma as while could use an inhaler I do not want to.
- The biggest lesson is to be happy with my performance no matter what as I need to realize many my age can’t run a mile let alone run a 6:22. God has blessed me to keep going and I need to find joy in that and not the time I run or ride. I can still want to go faster but my joy needs to be in moving itself.
