Monday, April 1, 2013

32K in 2:47:36 avg pace 5:14min/Km

On Saturday night, it rained the whole night and as Sunday morning approached, I was split between postponing the run to Monday or going ahead with it. Plus, my groin was painful!
What to do?
I decided to go hammer it because there was no telling whether Monday would be any more condusive. Plus, if you wait for a perfect day, you will never get anything done. And one thing marathon training has taught me is that you learn to run in the storm, not wait for it to stop. Plus, a ship that can not ride a storm cannot make it to the destination.
So I walked to my starting point as I felt out my groin. Ouch. It ached. But since I was not going to be taking sudden turns in this run, I didnt expect it to worsen.
It had rained but it was not raining so I decided to stay on the tarmac and avoid slippery or muddy sections of the road.
I started conservatively knowing that I would start to push from about 16Kms. It went very well. From the 8th Km, it drizzled a little then it stopped. The road was good, the air was clean and I had a grip on the tarmac.
This time, I was strong throughout and even though the hills kicked my butt from the 23rd Km, I wasnt totally wasted. I was able to maintain a semi-decent pace and look and even manages a sub 5min/Km last lap.
I was strong when I finnished meaning I didn't leave everything on the road and that is something I have vowed to do next time as I seek to get faster and stronger. I was able to concentrate better and my feet werent as heavy as lead and I was not as scared of the hill.
In summary, 5K in 24:04, 10K in 48:49 12K in 58:42 15K in 1:13, 21K in 1:44 24K in 2:00:25, 28K in 2:23:43 and the 32K in 2:47:32.
I am very pleased with this because a fortnight ago I did the same distance in 2:57:21. My average pace on Sunday was 5:14min/Km compared to 5:32min/Km.
Last time, at Kilometers 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30th Km I returned 6:24, 6:25,6:45, 7:54, 7:05 - that is a 34:23 5K! this time I returned 5:52.3, 6:04.9, 5:54.1, 6:47.7, 6:20.4 which is a 30:57 5K. That is a good improvement. That is the toughest section because its hilly and my legs are most tired.
I now seek to do the same distance in sub 2:40 on 14th April. This time I should clear 25K in 2 hours flat. I will keep my training the same: tempo runs and repetitions during the week for speed and strength.
Keep running fellas!
Cheers.
A

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You have made me anxious of the 32km road...I am really looking forward to conquering it too. You are an inspiration. Break the walls!

Running Writer said...

Thanks. Its all about going all out while being smart and running fast without running hard. Yes, I have conquered it. Now the issue is to be faster and stronger over that distance. When we can do 26K in 2hours flat, we will be ready to face your friend for a challenge.