One of the things I committed to doing in order to improve my training is to start using heart rate based training instead of just taking the pace times that Runners World SmartCoach or similar tools auto-generated. Very shortly thereafter, I learned that there’s about 50 different “best practices” on how to go about this.
Within twenty-four hours of completing the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon, my wife and I were discussing the next races we’d be doing. Ceridwen, who had sworn off half marathons following the Derby Mini, has decided that maybe – just maybe – she’ll consider another one, but in the meantime she wants to focus on shorter distances and see what sort of time she can hit if she actually trains for a 5k instead of doing them on a whim or because I’m doing one (or a longer race that has a 5k attached). I, on the other hand, am stubbornly sticking to my ridiculous goal of qualifying for Boston in the open division.
I woke up feeling strong, prepared, and ready to run a great race. It was pouring all night and was supposed to pour again in the afternoon, but rumor had it that the odds of a dry run were pretty good. So I was feeling pretty confident and decided to shoot for my stretch goal; qualifying for Boston. It would be a 20 minute improvement on my PR, but this is my second to last reasonable attempt to BQ in the open division. So I set out at a 7:15 pace with the plan of dropping back to the 3:20 pace group if things went to hell. And off to hell they went.
We just got back from the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and Mini-Marathon Running Wild Expo. (Mouthful, eh?)
For those of you wondering why the Kentucky Derby has a marathon, it’s all part of the month long Kentucky Derby Festival including a golf tournament, a basketball classic, the largest fireworks display in the world, a balloon show, charity events out the wazoo, waterfront concerts, and all manor of other festivities that lead up to the Derby itself.
Main Entry1: ram·ble Pronunciation: \ˈram-bəl\ Etymology: Middle English, probably alteration of romblen, frequentative of romen to roam Date: 15th century intransitive verb a : to move aimlessly from place to place b : to explore idly to talk or write in a desultory or long-winded wandering fashion to grow or extend irregularly I’ve been meaning […]
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