Here are my results of my first Team Rogue Race Prep which included a 3 mile warm-up, then three 5 mile loops at MGP, and a 3 mile cool down for a total of 21 miles. This would be my longest run so far. So here is what happened.
Overall my results were mixed. Some good, some bad. Two good loops, one lousy one. Went out too fast on the first two loops which caused me to have a lousy last one. Was supposed to run 9:06 MGP (4:00 goal time). Reality was first loop: 8:38, 8:32, 8:31, 8:24, 8:22; second loop: 8:36, 8:37, 8:36, 8:34, 9:02. Much too fast. In the past I would pass a mileage cone, click my timer, look at it and adjust. However, with my new geekometer I just let it run and really didn’t focus on pace. What was I thinking? I dunno. Sure, a few times as I was running under a street light I would look at it and saw that I was faster than MGP, but for some reason I didn’t adjust and slow down. That’s all my fault. And this was a learning exercise wasn’t it. Because I had been running so slow on the earlier long runs I just wanted to see what I could do and I paid for it. So I was ‘fully cooked’ for my last loop: 10:25, 10:01, 10:29, 11:33, and 11:36. Another thing, the 3 mile cool-down was miserable, because I was already so exhausted and tight it was walk + run, but I needed to get the mileage in, however, they were junk miles. Sigh.
Overall I’m encouraged because I think if I do more quality workouts and manage my pace better, I should not burn out so fast. In other words, there is hope. Which is a good thing. Hope is good – right?
