HMSA Classical 25K

Yesterday (11/14/2010), I ran the Houston Masters Sports Association Classical 25K. 25K is almost dead on 15.5 miles for those of you not familiar with the metric system. It is the second race in the warm-up series for the Chevron Houston Marathon. I'm using the warm-up races to get ready for the marathon. I'm trying out my pace on some longer runs, getting used to running in crowds, figuring out when to take fuel, and learning how to use the water stops. This was the fourth race I have done this fall, and I feel more accustomed to all of this each time. It's way different than running by yourself and just reaching down to your Fuel-Belt for a drink or a shot of gel.

The race was a triple loop course so it's kind of a three chapter report. My plan was to average 8:00 per mile for the race. I chose this to see if my marathon goal of 3:30:00 is realistic. To meet this goal, I would have to average 8:00 over the full 26.2 mile course. I decided to try to run negative splits. Planning my pace to be 8:15 for the first loop, 8:00 for the second, and 7:45 for the final loop for an 8:00 average.

Now, here are the details of what happened. I did a good job of holding back and not going out too fast. I finished the first lap at an average pace of 8:19. It was a little slower than plan, but not too far off. On the second loop, I went a little faster than the plan. I saw a guy I work with about a 1/4 mile ahead of me when I made the half-way turn so I ran to catch up with him. The second loop finished out at 7:51. It was faster than planned, but I made up the time I was behind after the first loop, and I gave myself a small cushion in case I started to run out of gas on the final loop. On the final lap, the wind was blowing so I just tried to focus on staying smooth and keeping my pace up. The final hill was a little bit of a struggle, but when I got to the top, I could see the finish line. It was literally all down-hill from there. I finished the third, and final loop, at a pace of 7:44. I ran my planned time for the final lap, and even added another second per mile for cushion. My official time was 2:02:48.1, and I had an average pace of 7:54 per mile for the race.

I was able to run my goal pace of 8:00 per mile, but I think it might not be realistic for the marathon. I may have to tone it down a bit for the "Big" race. I was pretty dead at the end of the race. I will give it another shot at the Finish Line Sports 30K on December 12 in Sugar Land. The 30K is the final race in the warm-up series. I will just have a couple more long runs after that. Then, I will start my taper for the marathon on January 30.