Mile 6 has a big hill which I steadily chugged up.
I like this.
Good luck at your race next month. Hopefully it's chilly FFS.
Nice consistent splits.
If you eat breakfast before a race, I think you would be ok to skip the gels. I got into the habit of always having them on long runs. Last winter when I did most of my runs on the treadmill, I didn't bother with water or Cliff Shots since I could just walk upstairs if I ever needed something. I never needed to.
Just wondering, is the LA marathon in downtown? I was just out there last week. The hills are no joke.
Are we there, yet?
Good, well executed plan with the pacing. I suppose you could say it was brilliant. It's okay to chug up a hill, but I'd advice against chugging down a beer.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
I also learned something new about racing: apparently there’s a pace at HM effort or faster at which I just can’t swallow. This happened to me a couple of weeks ago in a HM; I tried to eat a donut hole and gagged on it. Sunday, I decided to take a GU at about halfway, and I couldn’t get the paste down! I had to let it dissolve and slowly trickle down my throat. I don’t know if I *needed* a GU for a 10 mile race but I was afraid not to eat it and possibly run out of steam (sugar/caffeine) toward the end.
I wouldn't be concerned about the GU. I don't think you need to take in any calories until you get above the HM distance anyway. I think it's more psychological than physical as far as benefits, so if you realize that you don't need them, it shouldn't make a difference. I don't even bother with drinking in HMs or shorter unless it's a really warm day. Even then the water is more likely to go onto my head than in my mouth.
Mitch, Ileneforward, OOTB, Ric, and Zel - thanks.
wip11, if I do another 10 mile I'll skip the GU. But I'm with you on the HM - I think I'll keep taking just one, before the halfway point. Maybe it's mental, but with a race I need all the mental help I can get.
Lurch, I know! I feel like I run "lots and lots of slow mileage" but I know in the McMillan world I don't.
LRB, Thanksgiving Day always has been. Although cold rain is likely this year, if the dire warnings are to be believed!
Half Crazy, the LA Marathon is all over...it's a point to point, so it stretches 26 miles from Dodger Stadium, through a bunch of neighborhoods, to Santa Monica. I don't think it's a hilly course; there are only 2 spots that I would call hills. One is about mile 4 in downtown, and the other is at the Veteran's hospital grounds at mile 20. (a lot of people are walking at that point!)
George, thanks, I felt my splits were positively brilliant but didn't want to say it.
Wow! What a well executed race! Congrats on beating your objective.
About predictions... the way I see it is we all have a sweet spot distance, and the further away the target race is from that sweet spot, the bigger the potential drift from the prediction. As for the marathon distance, it seems more complicated than that.