Tidewater Striders Distance Series 30k

To kick off this Tidewater Striders Distance Series 30k race report, here’s a quote from yesterday’s post:

“Last year I ran a crazy 1:56:48 which I think was a PR by over 3 minutes. If I can somehow get close to the magic 2 hour mark tomorrow, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Somehow I did manage to get close to the magic 2 hour mark….but it was close! 🙂

Race conditions weren’t perfect for Saturday’s 30k, but it’s been a lot worse in the past and I’m sure it will be less favorable for future races too. The secret is to take what you’ve got and make the best out of it.
Sure, it was windy (roughly 16mph winds out of the NE), but it wasn’t raining and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds to brighten up the day.

The race was due to start at 9am, so I set off around 8:15 to warm up and see how the conditions may impact different parts of the course. 3 miles later, I was back at the car, suitable warmed up and ready to race. Unlike 99% of the runners, I stripped down to singlet and shorts, performed a few last minute stretches and made my way to the start line with a couple of minutes to spare.

Despite a somewhat ambitious goal of 2 hours for the 30k (18.6 mile) race, I decided to just go with the flow for the first couple of miles and see how I felt. Mile 1 was a comfortable 6:34, which I followed up with another 6:34 for mile 2. Heart rate was only around 156bpm, so I stepped it up a little and pressed on for mile 3 and the clock at the 5k mark. The third mile came in at 6:17 and I hit 5k at about 40:12 – a little slower than 2 hour pace, but there were still 15.6 miles to race.

As is usually the case at these distance series races, the field had already strung out and I was running pretty much on my own – a small group ahead and a larger group a short distance behind. Some runners prefer to have the company of others during a race, but I’m perfectly happy in my own little world. The next three miles were fairly consistent – 6:29, 6:23 and 6:26 – and at the 10k mark I clocked a little over 40 minutes, still outside target pace, but only just.

The second 10k loop started with three strong miles – 6:22, 6:22 and 6:18. One of the runners had escaped from the group behind and I think having him for company made me push the pace a little. As I approached the 15k mark I decided to take an espresso gel which would hopefully kick in a few miles down the road. My split at the halfway mark was 1:00:11 – just 11 seconds off pace and still over 9 miles to race. Maybe I could break the magic 2 hour barrier after all?

I traded places several times with the escapee before deciding to make a move of my own. The 10th mile contains a nice incline and I enjoyed powering up the hill and striding out going down the other side. Despite my best efforts to drop him, he was still stuck to me, so I decided to just focus on myself and let the race unfold ahead of me.

The last 3 miles of the second loop were quite tough for some reason. The boost I was expecting from the gel didn’t happen, and I was left “treading water” and struggling with my form and cadence. Splits for mile 10, 11 and 12 were 6:23, 6:20 and 6:25, and with the 20k mark fast approaching I knew I had to dig deep for the final loop.

A quick glance at the finish clock at 20k gave me an instant boost – I was under 1:20 and for the first time in the race on pace for a sub 2-hour finish. Also, a quick glance back at the water stop confirmed I’d put about 25 yards between myself and the “escapee”. Looking ahead it also appeared I’d gained some ground on the only 2 runners I could see ahead of me – both of whom were way ahead of me in the overall series standings and far better runners than I’ll ever be.

Spurred on and feeling somewhat rejuvenated (maybe it was the caffeine in the espresso gel?), I surged on and recorded the two fastest mile splits of my race – 6:12 and 6:10. The 15th mile was slightly slower (6:21) and as I passed the 25k clock I told myself “only 5k left to race”. I took another gel at this point and was so wrapped up opening the foil pack that I missed the 25k split. I was also too busy looking at the two runners ahead and counting how many seconds they were ahead of me (45) to notice.

I knew I had little chance of running 15 seconds per mile faster than the guys ahead, and even if I did catch them they had the ability to step up a gear and drop me in a heartbeat. I decided to focus on myself and maintain the 6:26 pace to take me to a 2 hour finish. Mile 16 was the slowest since mile 2 and I panicked slightly, but I dug deep and somehow recorded a 6:23 and 6:24 17th and 18th mile. Finally the last hill was behind me and I gave it everything in the last .6 of a mile to the finish line, painfully aware that the clock was counting down the seconds. The wind cruelly seemed to pick up and I was also having to dodge some of the slower 30k runners on their second 10k loop and the 20k runners who were approaching their own finish line too. I sprinted to the line watching the clock tick away the seconds – 1:59:50, 1:59:51, 1:59:52…….and out of the corner of my eye I think I saw it tick over to 2:00:00 as I crossed the line. After 18.6 miles of racing, I’d nailed my prediction to teh second! Nice…

My overall position in the race was 5th and I’d managed to close the gap to the 4th place guy to just 23 seconds. Maybe another 5k and another espresso gel and I could have caught him 🙂

I immediately headed back to the car to put on warm clothes to help prevent getting a chill, and it was only when I stopped that I realized how cold and windy it actually was. Typically after a race I cool down for at least a mile or two, but today all I wanted was some warm food and a hot drink. I headed inside to fill out my race card and have to admit the cool down never happened. Actually it was really nice to relax and chill out with a few friends, and enjoy the hot soup and drinks….

Later in the day when the results were posted, I was somewhat surprised to see myself listed as the third overall male finisher with a combined series time of 5:01:11 – a nice little bonus after 3 hard marathon tune-up races.

Now I just to need to run 8 miles on Sunday to log 52 miles for the week and record a slight increase over last week’s total. I wonder how my legs will feel tomorrow??