Author: Mark Allman

Today’s “training” was a bike ride to pick up my car that’s been in the shop for over a week. Distance was about 6.2 miles (just like a 10k). A guess at pace was 35 minutes. Pace when riding through traffic really isn’t realistic. Weight was 147.4.

Today was the Walpole 10K race. It’s fundraiser for the High School XC team. Ran the race in about 53 minutes (8:33 pace). As usual, forgot about the weight. I also forgot about stopping my watch timer when I crossed the finish line., so the 53 minutes is an estimate.

Today’s a “long run Sunday.” Getting ready for the Mad Marathon in a few weeks.

Today’s run was a 17.3 rolling hills route. Pace was 9:44. As I do occasionally, I totally forget about measuring weight at the start of the day.

Today was a planned shorter day. Tomorrow is “long run Sunday” so focus today on some hills work.

Today’s run is a 3.77 mile hills route. The hill has a 10% to 12% grade. Pace was 9:07. Weight was 146.2.

First day after taking a few days off after running a 26.2 mile training route. The run on Sunday wasn’t too stressful, but I decided to rest anyway. I had scheduled today to be a 12.5 mile run but as a first day back I thought I’d trim it back a bit.

Today’s run was a 8.05 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 9:17 and didn’t seem like I was going that fast. 146.6.

Another “long run Sunday.” Fortunately the weather was nice. Temps in the high 60’s, mostly cloudy and no rain. This is the third Sunday in a row that I’ve run at least 24 miles.

Today’s run was a 26.16 mile mix of rolling hills and flat stretches. Pace was 10:13, which is about what Alaska was. Weight was 145.8.

Today’s run was a 10.6 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 9:50. Weight was 147.2.

The weather was good training weather but that’s about it. At 4AM the feel-like temperature was 82 degrees. No wind and 110% humidity (or at least it felt like that). It was like running in a steam bath. I told myself all throughout the run “these is good training conditions.” Had to, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have even started.

Today’s run was a 12.5 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 9:31, and the heat and humidity made it feel like a royal struggle for that. Weight was 146.8.

Back to the grind. I’m not too sure how much of a post-race break is needed, so I figured a few days.

Today’s run was a 5.1 mile hills route in very warm conditions. Nothing like Alaska. Pace was 9:34. Weight was 146.4.

Today is race day. I felt surprisingly confident. No clue why. The weather was perfect: 49 degrees, mostly clear skies and not much wind at the 8AM race start time.

I ran the race at a cautious pace — nothing too crazy at all. I did not want to get to around 20 miles and feel like the tank was empty. I’ve never run 30+ miles before. I had a Clif bar at 5 miles, a SIS energy bar at about 12 miles. a SIS caffeine gel at about 19 miles and a regular SIS gel at about 24 miles. I also had my Camelbak with 20 ounces of SIS Beta Fuel plus about 20 ounces of SIS electrolyte.

Results: not a problem. Shockingly not a problem. Right at mile 30 there’s a hill. Ran up it with no issues. The joints were hurting a bit but that’s it. I crossed the finish line strong. The pace ended up being 10:15, which is about 15 seconds faster then the 24.4 mile training route I ran a week ago.

Bottom line is that I think I have the fueling plan worked out. Now it’s time to try to inch the pace up a bit faster.