I wasn’t 100% this week. Probably that was mostly because I was (and am) still recovering from the 50K two weeks ago. I was (and am) also fighting some allergy or maybe a mild bug. On top of that, I’ve also had some sciatic issues on and off over the last few days. All in all, I wasn’t going into the Champoeg 30K with a very serious “race” mindset.
Had I been feeling better, I would have liked to have hit a steady 7:30/mile pace for this relatively flat 18.6 mile race. As best I can tell, that still wouldn’t have been an all-out race effort: it would have been a slightly-faster-than-marathon-pace workout. But, like I said, I wasn’t feeling that great. Was I smart enough to dial it back to a slower goal pace? No, no I wasn’t. I still went out with 7:30 miles. Because I am not smart.
The 30K route consisted of three repetitions of a mostly-out-and-back 10K course, which meant that by the time we were done we would pass by most spots six times. Champoeg State Park provided a pleasant background for such repetition, though. And all the out and backs meant there were lots of opportunities to say hi to my friends who were running too. The trail was 95% asphalt, mostly on bike paths.
I made it through the first 10K lap easily enough, but by the time I was halfway through the second my energy was starting to flag. I decided I would try to finish up two laps with 7:30 miles, then slow down and run the last lap at a comfortable pace. Sounds like an awesome plan, right? Unfortunately, by the time I made it to lap three, I was pooped enough that there didn’t seem to be any such thing as a comfortable pace left. My abs and stomach hurt and I was just plain tired. My last six miles were run in 8:10, 8:20, 8:33, 8:24, 8:12, and 8:16. I wasn’t having a lot of fun out there, but I had no idea how bad it was until I finished and found myself just completely wiped out. Eighteen flat miles just shouldn’t feel that bad! I was totally wiped out for the rest of the day.
Official results: 2:25:49 (7:50/mile pace). 32/89 finishers, 30/54 men, 4/9 men 35-39.
I'd Rather be Running 