Three weeks and one day out from Boston and I hopped on the starting line to another 20 mile race. The Eastern States 20 Miler starts in Kittery, Maine, running along the beautiful seacoast of New Hampshire, and finishes practically on the beach in Salisbury, Massachusetts. I have run the half marathon part of this race series a couple times before, and it is truly a lovely course! No real hills, beautiful scenery, and hopefully (never a given though), nice weather. This year we were very lucky for a beautiful, early spring day. Definitely some windy spots along the water, but with a temperature of about 50 degrees and nothing but blue skies, you really couldn't ask for a more perfect March day in New England.
I am not your typical runner that has set plans of what I am going to do each day in terms of mileage and workouts. I am often a couple of miles into a run before I decide if it's going to be a six or ten mile day! (Having a baby of course requires a bit more planning, but I still find myself pretty spontaneous in terms of running!) I truly believe this is one of my strengths as a runner. Because I don't go into a race or workout with a strict plan or pace, I don't limit my performance to predetermined expectations. I understand that this strength is also a huge weakness, especially in longer races. Take this weekend's 20 miler. I felt AMAZING for the first 10-12 miles. I averaged under 6:15 going through the first ten, and felt like I was holding myself back. By mile 16/17, after I had already made the decision to back off so I could finish strong, I completely hit the wall and was depleted of all energy. I was just in survival mode for the last few miles of this weekend's run, a stark contrast to the first half of the race.
So, let's take it from the beginning. How should I have approached this race differently? Since I am running Boston in three weeks, racing 20 miles was not necessary. A great tactic would have been to go out at an easy pace, 6:45-7:00 minutes for the first 6-8 miles, and then gradually speed up as the run went on, finishing at a solid, possibly sub-marathon pace. This was my initial plan, but it all went out the window after the first mile breezed by effortlessly in a 6:14. Ok, new plan. If 6:20ish pace feels easy, let's just keep this up for 12-14 miles and then run comfortably to finish!
Mile 1: 6:14
Mile 2: 6:13
Mile 3: 6:21
Mile 4: 6:10
Mile 5: 6:18
A few miles later after going under 6:20ish pace for the first five, I re-evaluated my backup plan. Next plan. Five miles on, 1 mile off, 4 miles on, 1 off, 3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off, finish hard! After settling in with a small group of guys around mile four, our pace also settled and plan number two, (or maybe plan 3?) was also disregarded.
Mile 6: 6:06
Mile 7: 6:15
Mile 8: 6:16
Mile 9: 6:20
Mile 10: 6:20
After going through the ten mile mark in just over 1:02, I knew I needed to back off, no matter how great I felt! I had just raced a 10 miler a month back, only about a minute faster than this split. Next plan. Alternate GMP and easy every other mile. Looking at my splits, I guess I kind of followed through on this plan for a few miles, but barely. My easy miles should have been about 7 minute pace and I was still in such a groove that I really didn't do this.
Mile 11: 6:29
Mile 12: 6:22
Mile 13: 6:44
Mile 14: 6:26
Mile 15: 6:49
And then came mile 16. My plan was to pick it back up again to 6:20ish but my lack of GU/Gatorade, the sun shining down on me, and my faster than I should had ran previous 15 miles, hit me hard! Final plan. Just finish.
Mile 16: 6:42
Mile 17: 6:52
Mile 18: 7:39
Mile 19: 6:59
Mile 20: 6:48
Although my splits for miles 16-20 do not appear that much slower than the first 15, the effort level was completely different. I had felt smooth and strong through 3/4 of the race but the last five miles were anything but. I completely stopped at the Mile 18 water stop to finally get some Gatorade and water down. The sugar definitely helped me get through to the finish without 100% bonking, but this is also where the second place woman zoomed by me! She took the smarter approach of going out conservative and finishing hard!
Final outcome:
2nd Female
20 miles: 2:09:41
Gun time: 2:11:23 (the race is actually about a quarter mile over 20 miles!)
I try to take a lesson out of every race and there are a few that came from this one. On a positive note, I ran nearly as fast for the first ten miles of this race as I did in a 10 mile race about a month back and felt AMAZING. This means there has been a great amount of progress in my training! I also backed off to an "easy" pace of somewhere around 6:40ish. Even when I felt completely bonked and done, I was still running under 7 minute pace, (except of course when I stopped for Gatorade.) This tells me that even when I am extremely tired and feel like I cannot go on, I can still chug along at a solid pace. My goal for CIM in December is to run sub 2:45, but my goal for Boston is to just go under 3! That is a 6:53 average mile. Seeing my 20 mile split of 6:48 feeling like I felt on Sunday, actually gives me great confidence that I can pull it in for a sub-3 even when I feel like I'm barely moving! Now on to constructive criticism. I obviously need to stick to somewhat of a plan, especially for longer races no matter how great I feel in the beginning. I ran nearly the exact overall pace as my last 20 mile race and it felt a hell of a lot worse. All of my hard work and training will be useless if I blow out the first half of a marathon. I have NEVER been a conservative runner, and I pride myself on that. I also know I have yet to perform at my best level in a marathon. My plan for Boston which I NEED to stick to, is to go out conservatively for the first half (6:40-6:45 pace), and go by feeling after that.