Notes
Decided to go with the 890's and save the Kinvaras. Was feeling better this morning, little ankle pain, shin barely noticeable, still some tightness in left calf. Plan was to do 9km at moderate pace followed by 12km at HM pace and 2km cool down. Wanted to start out around 4:10 and work my way down averaging around 4:08 for the 12k. Was disappointed to see the wind from the south and east, quite strong in the beaches, as most of the pace work would be done with the wind behind me.
The 9k "warm-up" felt pretty good. Some right shin pain but both arches felt the best they have in a while, and there wasn't really any discomfort in right ankle. Upper legs and core felt strong. The sun was a little hot and the first km was into the wind which really slowed me down. Tried to stay relaxed in second km but pace wasn't improving despite having the wind behind me so I had to switch gears, and in effect maintained this new gear until the end. For some reason my heart rate never really climbed too high despite the effort turning into more of a tempo effort by the 5th km. Pain started creeping in by the 7th km with legs feeling heavy, still no arch pain and amazingly shin pain disappeared. By 9th km I was struggling to hold pace and form but never considered quitting. I was prepared to drop the pace but my legs held up long enough to maintain pace to the end. Upper abdominal/rib cramps started around 11th km but never worsened. With 400m to go I still had another gear to bring it home strong (about 3:56 pace for last 480m into slight wind).
Overall incredibly pleased with the effort. Average pace was 4:07.1 although I did have the advantage of the wind. However it was still hotter than I would prefer and I wore my heavier trainers. Grabbed some water, did some stretching and ran 2km home. Glutes and hips were hurting along with left knee but lower legs were actually not feeling too bad considering. Still not sure what pace to go out in for Scotiabank, would love to get into the 1:26's but today's run was tough and not sure if I could sustain it for 21.1km in neutral conditions.
Dew Point: 7