Week 9 - Stu's 30K

I know this is becoming one major bitch session week after week but the training hasn’t been conducive to anything else. This week is one I knew and wanted to be tough as I know Stu’s 30k is a tough course plus running 30k was going to be a challenge in itself. I normally look forward to races like this but going in I was worried about my left calf. It has been hurting for two week now and last week I ran 4 miles on Tuesday and that was it for the week. I haven’t done any formal research on this but I think you need really need to run more than twice a week (even if one of them is a long run) to reach your marathon goals. As race day approached I knew the weather was not going to be ideal but maybe that would keep my mind off of my leg. Enough of the semi whining and on to the race.

I got to the start about a 45 minutes early which was good because I got to hangout with Mikey and meet a couple of GNRCers. The start was a bit cold but it wasn’t an issue at all and neither was the snow since it really wasn’t any more than a flurry. I started running with Mike and Maria and stayed with them for around a half hour but then I fell back a little just so I could run my own race. I was able to see them up ahead for a bit and even one time it looked like I was gaining on them but then nature called and that was the last I would see of them. My leg felt really funny right from the beginning and I was favoring it the whole way. I stayed pretty steady, running with a few people, chatted with some dude named Michael, until around mile 10. This was no big deal because it’s always around mile 10 I start to feel like I have been running for a while. From there things just progressively got worse. I think the course had a lot to do with how badly I was feeling because it was getting a lot hillier over the last half of the course. I remember just thinking to myself just get me to 16 and I will be all set. A few times around 15 mile, not really sure when because the mile makers in this race were horrible; first of all they were hung on trees, poles or anything else that was around so I doubt they were accurate and they didn’t seem to have them every mile instead they mixed in kilometers and half marathon markers all good but I was trying to do mile splits, okay enough of that because that’s not why I was feeling so bad; so where was I, okay around 15 miles I felt some really strange sensations in my calf and I really thought I was going to get my first ever DNF. As I was running I thought well if I do not finish I can say technically I was running as James Daily so really it wasn’t Rick Smith who did not finish, all kidding a side I knew if my leg seized up there would no argument, my day would be done. I continued on just walking through the “frozen” water/Gatorade stops. As my pace slowed to about 10 minute miles when going up hill my goal became not to stop other than at the water stops. Now I kept going and going but people were passing me left and right. The last two hills I didn’t technically walk but I was running so slowly that I could not pass those who were walking. Now with under a mile to go I set the last goal of the day which was to finish under three hours. I know I was going to do that unless my leg finally gave out but it didn’t and I finished in 2:57. Not a total waste, I did finish and I did get less than 10 minute miles.

This was the second time I ran this race and the second time it kicked my ass. I would like to think I could have run at least 5 to 10 minutes faster if my leg wasn’t hurt but whom cares I finished, it’s over.

Results: Place: 238 Time: 2:57:27.83 Pace: 9.31

Next up: The schedule calls for 6 – 8 miles. I think I will do 6 unless by some miracle my calf is back to normal. The main goal is to get out and run at least 3 times this week.