If I’m going to compete in “endurance” events like triathlons and road races, I should probably build up some … oh, I don’t know … endurance. In every race I compete in, I fade at the end; it doesn’t matter the distance. From the half-marathon to the 10K to the sprint triathlon to the downhill mile (not exactly an endurance event), I always fade like something that fades in a badly fading way. I’m the fadingest fadinger that’s ever faded.
To wit, in the 3M half-marathon I did the first 10K at a 6:57/M pace, and the last ~10K at a 7:26/M pace. i went from a 6:40 second mile to a 7:40 12th mile. Nice. In the Cap10K I again started with a 6:40 mile, but luckily I only had half as long to fade, so I finished with a 7:20 mile or so, for an overall 6:59 pace. And in the Congress Avenue Mile my quarters looked about like this: 60, 80, 88, 91.
Let’s not even mention my triathlons, where I end up running a 8-something pace for a 5K, like the Blanco Mini-tri where I ran the grueling 3K finishing leg in an impressive 14:58 for a blazing 8:55 pace.
So yeah, I fade.
And thus, I’ve resolved not to fade. I hereby pledge to build up a little endurance by actually doing the “long runs” that Gilbert asks us to do on the weekends. I started this morning with a 5 miler (actually the Congress loop, or ~4.7 miles). Yeah, so it’s not really a “long run”, but it’s the longest run I’ve done since the Cap10K. My pace was 7:31, 7:24, 7:06, 7:05, and whatever that partial last mile was. And so yeah, we’re not supposed to run these things fast (Gilbert says to do them at about 1 minute slower than your race pace), but I just can’t help myself when I’m running alone.
Anyway, I’ve resolved not to fade. We’ll see how long that resolve lasts, before it too fades.
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