( This refers to my previous entry ).

I was waiting to do a full entry about my long run until I had a chance to look over the data in TopoFusion, and I’m actually pretty glad that I did. First, it turns out that I actually did closer to 23 miles than 22, thanks to a couple of weird missed points running on downtown sidewalks. Second, that means that my first leg, which I thought was right on 13.1 miles, was actually 13.72.

I started out parking at the Statesman lot down on Congress because my usual South First lot was full. I’m not really sure if this is acceptable or not, but some other running group was using it so I figured that there was safety in numbers. I took the time to change into my long-sleeved 30K shirt and headed North up to 6th street. This would hook me in to the course just below the half marathon point and let me do the 2nd half of the race course while I was fresh.

After I turned onto 6th St, I realized that there were quite a lot of runners following the same route. It turns out that AustinFit was doing their 30K long run and following the last 3/4 of the marathon course to do it! Interestingly, I hooked up with them near the tail end of the Orange group (12:00 pace) and spent quite a while gently passing people.

It turns out that I like passing people. My goal for this run was to do a 9:30 pace, and I spent the next 4-5 miles flitting between an 8:30 and a 9:00. It was pretty hard to stay constant when all around me were people to pass, and since I was faster than they were there was no good reference for me. After about five miles I ducked into a convenience store and bought a PowerAde, drank about half then, and carried the bottle for the next five miles drinking as I went.

This was fun. I realized how much I’ve missed doing my long runs as part of a group as I got to listen to the conversations I was passing. I didn’t miss their habit of stopping every mile for a walk break. I was trying to stay on the actual course as much as possible, running on sidewalks rather than the trail, and that forced me to stop for a couple of traffic lights - which helped to make up for my early speed (at least statistically - I’m sure I paid for it physically).

After about eight and a half miles, I found myself in a bit of a void between AustinFit pace groups and realized that I didn’t actually know the correct path to take to stay on course as the route crossed East under I-35. I ran around a bit and hooked up with the correct street before the dam, but I’m sure this added a few tenths to the distance. Not a big deal. Up over the dam and back, again taking the streets rather than the trail, until I got to Congress avenue (almost to the finish line), at which point I turned back North to my car. My Forerunner read 13.1 miles as I hit the parking lot, but my actual distance was 13.72 in 2:11:03 for a 9:33 average pace.

At this point the parking lot was looking pretty empty so I took a few minutes to move my car over to the high school on the North side of the trail. I probably didn’t need to, and it made the next couple of miles a little difficult (feeling stiff and creaky), but I’d hate to find that the Statesman had decided to hold a no-parking enforcement day after running 22 or more miles… I also changed into a short-sleeved shirt and drank another half bottle of PowerAde, taking the remainder with me.

I headed back out East on the trail and crossed over the South First bridge because I pretty much never cross there. By the time I got across - less than 2 miles from my car - I had finished my PowerAde. This was probably a sign that I should have picked up another bottle, and I figured I’d grab one on the way up, but I never did. I went back down Riverside to the dam the other way this time, cheering on some of the slower pace groups still finishing their 30K as I went by.

This time I stuck to the more comfortable trails. By the time I hit the dam - close on 19 miles into the run - I had some mild bonking feelings so I took my Gu (yeah, I should have packed more than one) and kept on running. This helped pick me up a few minutes later, and I did fine until I reached I35 going back when I got tired for the second time. Sure enough, I hadn’t done a good enough job of fueling. Again.

This was rough. I slowed down for the last 2-3 miles, hitting around a 10:30 pace instead of my target 9:30. I just wanted to get to my car and find some lunch. A little under a mile before the end, someone passed me going just a little faster than I was, and I picked up my pace to stay with her (behind her, just not letting her gain on me). Then she inched faster. And faster. With a half mile left to go, I decided that I’d just dig down and keep up.

I don’t know if she thought I was being a real asshole - probably not, she was running comfortably, not like she was trying to get away from me or race me. I wasn’t, though - by the time we got back to a 9:30 pace I was breathing hard, and when we got to my car I was running pretty much as fast as I could just to match her 9:00 effort. So, mystery runner (blue shorts with orange piping), thanks for the boost whoever you are!

The second part of my run felt a lot slower than the first part, but I didn’t have those traffic lights to deal with. The funny thing is that, even with the slowdown at the end, I did 9.15 miles in 1:28:19 for a 9:39 overall pace. My total for the day was 22.87 in 3:39:22 for a 9:36. Amazing.

Now all I need to do is get my fueling strategy down (1 Gu every four miles? Maybe doing the first at mile 6? Suggestions?) and figure out how I’m going to run 3.5 miles farther at 1:10/mile faster. Just a walk (run?) in the park, right?

Sorry for the delay… I’ll try not to let things slide this long in the future but, hey, they probably will.

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