"The goal is to become the unique, awesome, never to be repeated human being that we were called to be." -Patricia Deegan

Friday, December 31, 2010

The Ultra Runner's Interval Session

One 8k New Year's Eve WAMC race.

36 minutes of 170 bpm Am-I-Gonna-Vomit pain.

I ran into several 6 Inch Trail Marathon finishers who were there for the 8k this evening and all agreed: rather race 46k than 8k. 46 is easier. (Only dissenter I know would be the 6 Inch King of the Mountain 5k specialist Himself).

Because these "short" races are really my version of a long interval/tempo session, I can afford to experiment a little. I predicted I should be able to do a 4.25 avg pace, based on previous training/races.

I started a little hard, but it felt comfortable at around a 4.15. So the experiment continued. At the 4k mark it was a 4.17 avg. Then I turned back into the wind. A breeze, but my pace slipped quickly to a 4.36. A pretty big positive split. The 27 degree heat was the factor I didn't include in my prediction.

Anyway, now I can relax and enjoy my LSD 28k single track bush run on Sunday - running with my pack. Arf.

No comments:

Post a Comment