Space City 10 miler post martum and goal for Houston half !
Initial euphoria of 10 miler has subsided and now I can think little more clearly. The 10 miler race boosted my confidence and proved that negative splits exist. I used to believe that if you don't go out fast enough you will lose that time and sprinting towards the end would not be possible. I was able to run later part of my race pretty well. Pertinent question is, if I could have gone little faster in first half and still managed to run a negative split?
Gerardo, Rob Walters and Scott tend to think that I could have gone out little faster. I might just try that in upcoming half marathon. VDOT of 53 equivalent performance for half marathon predicts 1:27:04. This is 6:39 min/mile. This would be an ideal case for a flat race. However, the course for Houston marathon has some hills. There is almost half mile long not so steep uphill after turnaround point. This means I have to preserve some energy for the later part of the race and gain advantage of downhill part of the race.
I was seriously hoping to just cruise behind Scott Bounds for the race because he is a very good runner for half marathon distance. Unfortunately, Scott Bounds would be in Istanbul that day. Both Scott and Jay H. recommended that I look for Edward Fry and try to follow him for the first part of race. I have looked up Edward Fry's 10 miler time and he seems faster than me with a time of 1:04:38. Good news is that Ed would most likely run a negative split. Hence, I should be able to keep him in my sight for first half of the race. Or, if I cross Ed in first half this simply means that I am going too fast :)
Today, I ran a speed workout session with Jay, Scott, Mark and Simon. I think I needlessly tired myself in the workout. I should have tried to hit constant times around 6:20's. A lesson learned for next time, I hope :) Tomorrow, I want to check out 3:20 pace group at Kenyan Way. If they go out too fast then I will drop back and catch Bob Brown & Mark Conran or 3:30 pace group. The goal would be to run easy 16-18 miles and run 7-8 miles trails on Sunday. That would put me at 50+ miles week. For next week, I plan on running easy on Mon/Tues/Wednesday (6+10+9), Th/Fri (12), Sat(0), Sun (16 with warmup/cooldown). That would make next week 53 miles a week.
I am reluctant to run a hard workout next week. I believe that I will benefit more with reducing stress and rest before the race than trying to squeeze in one more quality workout.
(I really liked this picture from 10 miler. It shows lots of positive energy and I might consider buying it)
Gerardo, Rob Walters and Scott tend to think that I could have gone out little faster. I might just try that in upcoming half marathon. VDOT of 53 equivalent performance for half marathon predicts 1:27:04. This is 6:39 min/mile. This would be an ideal case for a flat race. However, the course for Houston marathon has some hills. There is almost half mile long not so steep uphill after turnaround point. This means I have to preserve some energy for the later part of the race and gain advantage of downhill part of the race.
I was seriously hoping to just cruise behind Scott Bounds for the race because he is a very good runner for half marathon distance. Unfortunately, Scott Bounds would be in Istanbul that day. Both Scott and Jay H. recommended that I look for Edward Fry and try to follow him for the first part of race. I have looked up Edward Fry's 10 miler time and he seems faster than me with a time of 1:04:38. Good news is that Ed would most likely run a negative split. Hence, I should be able to keep him in my sight for first half of the race. Or, if I cross Ed in first half this simply means that I am going too fast :)
Today, I ran a speed workout session with Jay, Scott, Mark and Simon. I think I needlessly tired myself in the workout. I should have tried to hit constant times around 6:20's. A lesson learned for next time, I hope :) Tomorrow, I want to check out 3:20 pace group at Kenyan Way. If they go out too fast then I will drop back and catch Bob Brown & Mark Conran or 3:30 pace group. The goal would be to run easy 16-18 miles and run 7-8 miles trails on Sunday. That would put me at 50+ miles week. For next week, I plan on running easy on Mon/Tues/Wednesday (6+10+9), Th/Fri (12), Sat(0), Sun (16 with warmup/cooldown). That would make next week 53 miles a week.
I am reluctant to run a hard workout next week. I believe that I will benefit more with reducing stress and rest before the race than trying to squeeze in one more quality workout.
(I really liked this picture from 10 miler. It shows lots of positive energy and I might consider buying it)
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