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Nahant 30k

September 29, 2013 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
30k race with rolling hills - 2:03:02 - 6:37pace with more left in the tank (in a good way). Short warm-up. Unsure which shoes to go with since my normal pair is almost worn out, my flats gave me blisters yesterday, and my newish ones are still a bit too new for me to trust over 18 miles. Went with my normal pair. Didn't feel any soreness or heaviness getting out of the car, which was a good sign. Started out slow and steady thinking it'd be more or long run transiting into tempo but somewhere in the first mile I got the idea that it could be a good race! Picked it up over the course of the first mile and by the second I had myself well positioned at a sustainable but swift pace with other people going more or less my speed. There were probably only 100-200 entrants total, given that it's on an obscure distance way too long for the uninitiated. They bill themselves as the best prep for a fall marathon and after this race I'm apt to agree. The course was beautiful - down a foggy cause way onto a small peninsula jutting out into Massachusetts Bay. It's an out and back with over a dozen rolling hills. The hills give it the reputation of being the hardest race on the North Shore but coming from college in Wiliamstown, I wasn't impressed. In fact, the hills were perfect! Great for getting a nice view and catching people on the way down, but no longer than a minute and not steep enough that you had to significantly slow down most of the time. I didn't get passed by a single person the whole race who I didn't overtake later on. Nevertheless, in spite of moving up continually through the pack, hunting or trailing competitors and fellow BAA club members for miles, I maintained a relatively even pace: 40:22 for the first 6 miles, 39:01 for the second, and 40:03 for the last third, not counting the last mile and three quarters which I believe was a bit faster. Not exactly a sprint, but a good push. Had a great time regulating my breathing, trying to get more oomph out of my stride, and reeling people in. Let myself take the downhills more aggressively as the race went on as I got less concerned about wearing out my quads and more interesting on maximizing the momentum I could carry into the subsequent flat stretches. Body and legs never got overly fatigued, though they started to feel it a bit around mile 7 and again in the last mile, still nothing like the end of a Marathon. On the whole, I was very pleased with how it went. I'm glad I didn't actually look at my watch till it was over, focusing instead on feel.