Today I did my long walk at the track. I prefer the trails but because I need to be home early to take care of my wife and daughter while my wife recovers, I didn't want to waste time driving to the trail (the best trail is 40 minutes away). So I hit the track at 5:00 AM to avoid the heat and get in as much mileage as possible.
My goal was to stay below a 12:00 pace, and I ended up doing 11:43. Because of the Garmin I was able to stay very steady throughout the whole walk. Here are my splits:
13:08, 11:56, 11:49, 11:43, 12:30, 11:42, 11:44, 11:44, 11:44, 11:39, 11:48, 11:49, 11:49, 11:43, 11:48, 11:52, 12:11, 11:14, 10:33, 9:47!
Again I only carried water in my pack. I took two electrolyte caplets. I drank half a Big Red soda at each "aid station" break (two). I ate a Mojo Bar at the first break and some peanut butter filled pretzels and lemon drops at the second. As you can see in my splits, I was able to maintain pace the whole time and I was able to push hard in the last three miles. So maybe this approach to fueling and hydration is going to work out well for me.
This weekend provides a good contast between trails and tracks. Yesterday I did 22 miles at a 15:03 pace; today I did 21 miles at an 11:43 pace, a 3:20 per mile differential.
Good luck to everyone racing today: Jennifer, Dianna, and Annalisa.
