Race Rehersal Weekend

Hey all-

I had my longest and best training weekend so far this past weekend.

Friday was an off day, but I ended up doing an inaugural race - the Macklind Mile. It is a mile run on one straight road with a lot of downhill and no uphill. The race was well run, the course was so fast, and it even had the quarter miles marked. I went 1:15 through 1/4 mile, 2:35 through 1/2 mile, then didn't see my 3/4 mile before finishing (downhill) in 5:02. I really didn't run too hard, either - the course was just way faster than I was expecting. Anyway, it was a fun race and a good way to kick off the 4th of July, especially since we went to Denny's afterward.

I decided Friday to do a "race rehearsal" weekend of sorts - I wanted to do the full bike leg on Saturday and the full run leg on Sunday. So I did.

I went slightly over-distance on the bike, logging about 61 miles, which I later realized was really close to 100 kilometers - I wish I would have gone an extra 1.2 miles or so. The ride was really, really hilly. It probably would not have qualified as a "horribly hilly" 100k, but there were probably at least 20 significant climbs. I think my training course is probably (hopefully) more challenging than the Pigman course. Anyway, I got through the ride feeling pretty good, except one near the end of a ~15 minute consistent climb about 2.5 hours in. Its hard to really keep relevant statistics - I hit lots and lots of stoplights - but I think I was probably doing 18-19 mph most of the ride.

Sunday was my half-marathon day. I tried to get up early and failed, eventually waking up at about 11. So I started my run after a light breakfast at about 11:45. A bank sign told me it was 92 degrees. It was really hot, but my legs felt A-OK after my long bike Saturday. I went through Forest Park, down Wydown, and into Clayton. It was a pretty nice run, a few rollers but no major hills. The best part about the course is that there are water fountains about every mile and a half, so I didn't have to worry about carrying any water. I did stop for about 30 seconds at each fountain though, as I was sweating a ton. I had a Gu at 35 minutes and at about 1:10. I think I did OK staying hydrated, but I might have been a bit light on the calories. The last mile and a half or so I got really hot and pretty sluggish, I think I could have used another snack at about 1:30. I will definitely carry a couple extra gels than I plan on using during the race. Anyway, I finished the half-marathon in 1:43 or so, about 7:50 miles, which I was pretty happy with.

So anyway, that long training weekend definitely gave me a confidence boost about the race. I feel like the distance is definitely manageable for me. My swim is coming along - I'm still really slow, but I have been doing some long continuous swims, and can get through 1.2 miles breathing easily, with pretty low effort.