After a couple of chores I headed to a familiar location, the beach path along Santa Monica beach…not quite the burly trails of choice but with Long Beach Marathon in 33 days it was time to get to get some long runs completed.
So the objective was pretty simple; 20 miles in Zone 2 and a goal pace of 8:45. I staged my car as an Aid Station and had planned to do two 5 mile out and backs but I went two extra which was four extra for the round trip and by the time I got back to refill I was dry and thirsty…another lesson learned the hard way! It was also the opportunity to wear test what I am planning to wear on Marathon day, specifically my Sugoi compression shorts and VitalSox compression socks. The other good thing was that it was a good simulation of the marathon course which follows a pretty flat path around and through Long Beach.
The first hour clicked by pretty easily as did almost the next, by 1:52 I had clicked off the first 13 miles, after this I stared to slow down and my cardiac drift was on the up. I eased of the pace in an attempt to drop back into Zone 2 (below 148) I was in the mid 150s. I took a minute’s walk break at the start of miles 16, 17, 18 and 19. I hit the 20 miles mark in 2:58:32 and then kept going for a nice 3 hour finish with 20.21 miles in the bank.
All in all a solid run, I spent 24% in Zone 2, 40% in Zone 3 and 26% in Zone 4 the last of which is too high and I an left wondering if I was dehydrated…something to consider on the next long run. Now I just need to sort out this quad issue, it’s been lingering for 10 days or so, to that end my wife is out of town through Friday so that’s going to check my running options and I am aiming to get some treadmill miles at lunchtime along with some good fashioned old yoga and ice.
Hopefully the downtime this week will allow my leg to bounce back and I can repeat last weekend this weekend with a little more staying power!
