Last Long Run Before Shamrock Marathon

With just 2 weeks to go to the Shamrock Marathon, it was important to get a final long training run in today. I’ll be honest and tell you I wasn’t really looking forward to the 20 miler on the trails of First Landing State Park, but with the relative lack of long runs in my legs, was more than aware of its importance. In contrast to my “3 day a week, follow the plan to the letter” 16 week build up to the Marine Corps Marathon last October, the road to Shamrock has comprised of numerous races of varying distances from 5k to 30k, more runs per week and the addition of some basic core strength training.

For Marine Corps I ran 5 x 20 milers, 2 x 18 milers and numerous long runs of between 15 and 17 miles, all within a 16 week period.
For Shamrock, I’ve only been training for 9 weeks (with 2 to go) and completed 1 x 20 miler, 1 x 30km race, 1 x 25km race, 1 x 14 miler, 2 half marathons, a 20km race and an 11 miler. As you can see the lack of long training runs compared to my Marine Corps Marathon plan is quite alarming. The balance of races to training is also non-text book!

My goal for today was to run at least 20 miles, with the possibility of increasing to 21 or 22 if I felt good. I headed to First Landing State Park at about 7am and was ready to run at 7:30am. The first thing I noticed was the stiff NNE breeze, and decided on another layer on top of my long sleeve technical shirt. I also added gloves to the mix before setting off along Great Neck Road and figured I’d start off with a couple of miles on the road before hitting the trail minimizing the amount of time spent in the park. Heading south for the first mile felt good with the wind behind and it was nice to gently ease into the run (mile split 7:49). However, as soon as I crossed the road to head north, the wind caught me by surprise and I realized I was in for a tough run.

I made it back to my starting point with watery eyes from the wind and heavy breathing from the extra effort I’d put in. The 7:29 split felt more like a 6 minute mile, but at least I’d soon have the shelter of the trails on my side. Mile 3 and 4 felt much better (7:19 and 7:11), but I was still a little chilly and still working harder than I would have liked at this stage in the game. I almost stopped for a drink at the main Visitor’s Center but decided against it and headed for the Cape Henry trail instead. The softer surface felt good to run on and the trees sheltered most of the cold wind.

The next 3 miles along the main trail were all progressively faster (7:12, 7:09, 7:03) and with 7 miles in the bag, I finally felt like I was getting into a good rhythm. Mile 8 and 9 also took place on the main trail, but the terrain is more varied and there are more twists and turns to contend with. This must have slowed me down slightly as I recorded a 7:10 and 7:17 mile. Just before I reached the end of the trail at The Narrows, I spotted 2 rather boisterous rottweilers, both off the leash and “playing” with their owner. At this stage in a 20 miler, I didn’t fancy dealing with their playfullness, so turned around and headed back to the 64th Street park entrance where I’d decide what route to take next.

Heading back along the trail I glanced at my GPS (this was after several glances back to make sure I wasn’t being pursued by 2 friendly dogs!), and noticed my average pace for the 9 miles was 7 minutes 10 seconds per mile – 20 seconds per mile quicker than my 20 mile long run a few weeks ago, but still not as fast as I’d hoped for. Already thinking about next weekends long run and the possibility of another 20 miler, I made a deal with myself – if I could finish off today’s run at 7 minute per mile pace or better, I would allow myself the luxury of just a 16 miler instead. Pleased with the challenge, I picked up the pace and began the countdown of the next 11 miles.

It’s amazing what a mind game can do for a run – mile 10 came in at 6:51 and mile 11 an even speedier 6:45. The funny thing is, it didn’t feel that fast. Now I was back at the 64th Street entrance and decided to head out onto Atlantic Avenue (part of the actual Shamrock Marathon course), run south for a few miles before heading back to the trail and the last leg of my run. With a pleasant tailwind pushing me along, I made it down to 30th Street with a couple more sub 7 minute miles (6:55 and 6:57) and noticed my half marathon time would have been just over 1 hour 32 minutes – not bad for a training run I suppose. I made the couple of left turns onto the boardwalk and was greeted in full force by a 20mph NE wind – just like the winds I’ve experienced on several occasions at previous Shamrock Marathons. The bitter wind didn’t feel great, but it was a good reminder (if I needed one) of what race day conditions could be like. I just kept my head low, dug deep and took it one step at a time.

Surprisingly I didn’t slow too much, and managed a 7:02 14th mile, followed by a 6:54 15th mile, but a quick glance at my GPS showed I still had some work to do if I was to average 7 minute miles for the 20 mile run. I picked up the pace once more, and after a quick stop at a water fountain, was soon enjoying the relative calm of the main trail. The water must have revived me slightly – 6:48 and 6:40 – and after a quick calculation I realized I’d be at 21 miles when I got back to the car. Still feeling pretty good with my run and the decreasing average pace, I decided to add on some distance and make it a round 22 miles, but first I had to finish off the trail and get down to the magic figure.

By now I was almost running at marathon pace and it felt really good. I was focused, happy and the end of the run was well within striking distance. With three more fast miles (6:41, 6:36 and 6:32), I made it to 20 miles in just over 2 hours 20 minutes – 10 minutes quicker than my 20 miler 3 weeks ago. I’d also got the average pace down to 7:00 per mile, so now it was just a question of maintaining the speed and cruising to the car. Despite a right calf that promised to cramp (definitely due to the lack of water on the run), I logged a couple more miles in the 6:40’s and finished off the 22 mile run on a positive note and in a much better frame of mind than I started at.

Definitely a confidence boosting run, and to honest I’m surprised at how well I was able to perform after (a) yesterday’s fast 5k, (b) complete lack of water/gels (c) tough windy conditions and (d) lack of company/crowd support. Before heading for home, I walked around for 5 minutes, stretched and drank 24oz of Hammer Nutrition’s Recoverite, which hopefully would minimize any post-run soreness and rebuild damaged muscle tissue.

I still haven’t decided on a goal time for Shamrock. Today’s run, however, will help me come up with a race pace to start off at. Also, if I plug yesterday’s 5k time into the McMillan Running Calculator, it predicts a marathon time of 2:51:25, which is only 25 seconds off my marathon PR. I think my lack of long training runs will adversely affect this prediction though, and maybe something like a 2:53 or 2:54 is more realistic. We’ll see – I still have 13 days to think about it……

Full details of my run can be found by clicking on the MotionBased map below: