Michael: Test Runs

The earth’s slight wobble
Creates those long summer days
Of lazy sunshine.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Last month concluded a pretty successful test run of races in the states. At 59 I wanted to see if I could string together a mix of trail/road races within a few weeks and perform at a high level. If the experiment was a success, then I’d feel good about my training plan and also be charged up about stringing a set of 4 races together next August/September in the states when I’m 60.

First up was one of the Renegade runs in Irvine, Ca. a rolling 5 miler. That was a speed check and would be used to gauge what tweaks I’ll need to make to be competitive in either a 5/10k next year. I came in 14th overall in 35 minutes. Not bad, but I’m hoping with a bit more consistent speed work that on flat ground I can average better than a 7 minute mile for a 5k. It seems reasonable to aim for 19 minutes on a fast 5k course.

That was on a Thursday night. That Saturday I ran a trail marathon in San Diego; the Peak Marathon. In that event I came in 4th overall, 2nd male and first in my division. Briefly, during the second half of the race, I was the first male, but I faded badly over the final few miles and came in 2nd by a minute. The fade was a bit disheartening. No doubt next year I won’t warm up to an important race with another race just a couple of days before.

It was also hot and I lost over 6 lbs. But after reading a recent article in Runner’s World and Jason Koop’s ultra marathon training book, it doesn’t seem atypical.  According to the RW article, on average, the faster the runner, the higher percentage of body weight that was lost; contradicting the claim that a loss over of 2% leads to a decline in performance. But that doesn’t mean I can neglect hydration and it won’t hurt to look into how I’m balancing my needs of water, sodium and fuel.

In San Diego, I did have two salt tablets on me and I’d been training with taking one on the hour every hour after the first two hours of a run, but in the excitement of racing, I completely forgot about them. If that was a costly mistake, I’ve got to focus more and not to repeat it.

The following week in Michigan, at the Grand Island 50k I came in 3rd overall, 2nd male and again won my division. Yet again I faded badly over the final few miles. The weather in Michigan was perfect so I doubt dehydration was involved. So I’m a bit puzzled at this point and will definitely be looking into how I can avoid fading during the my next series of races.

Still, performing so well in these three races in the space of three weeks, leads me to believe that my training is on the right track and it’s not unreasonable to aim for strong performances in 4 races over a month’s period of time next year when I’m 60.