I was looking at the results for the 25K and checking out my splits. Assuming the laps were equidistant, the first two thirds were only 5 seconds difference. On the last loop (when my cramps started), I lost about 45 seconds per mile. Here are the splits:
1st loop (~8.3K) - 1:11:34 (13:49 pace)
2nd loop (~8.3K) - 1:11:39 (13:50 pace)
3rd loop (~8.3K) - 1:15:02 (14:33 pace)
I subtracted my chip diff from the time posted for my first lap.
So, I'm not unhappy with that but I'm not thrilled either. I am using the warmup series races to get some inkling about my progress towards a sub-6 hour marathon in January. It's well-known although not often worried about by others but Houston has a 6 hour time limit. That's a 13:45 average pace.
With a 13:45 average pace for the Half marathon and a 14:03 average pace for the 25K, the jury is still out and time is of the essence. To pull off this miracle, I'm going to need help from God and physics (like those two things are different!). I'm going to need God to provide some pretty near perfect weather conditions for the race and I'm going to need to drop 10 or 15 more lbs. before January 14th to get a little help from the Laws of Physics. IF they keep the finish open for 2 or 3 minutes after the 6 hour time limit, and IF I can get across the start in 3 or 4 minutes, that just leaves me with having to make up 2-4 mintues at sub-13:45 pace to even score an official time for the marathon.
Time will tell. 56 days to be exact.
8 comments:
Vic,
Regarding your 2 or 3 minute stretch on time, I recommend you go to the Strider message board and pull up message 1067. And keep in mind the race in 2005 was a bit smaller than it will be in 2007.
I finished 4 blocks ahead of the course opening cops.
doug
Vic,
The last official finisher's gun time from 2006 at Houston was 6:09:40, but you've worked too hard so far to know to be banking on that.
Besides, Jessica and I got to see a better finish between Doug and Dusty Cook than when Cheriuyot outlegged the runnerup. :)
Jon
I am so with you on the praying ahead of time to God for perfect conditions on that day.
You can do this!
Keep up with the struggle Vic. I know you can get there. It was good seeing you out on the course on Sunday.
I agree...God and physics are definately two key variables. But you are forgetting another HUGE variable - your legions of supporters who log on everyday to see how you are doing. Should God and physics work against you during the marathon, you can bet that there will be enough of us at the finish line "forcing" them to keep it open just a few minutes longer!
That being said, I don't think that there will be a need for us to do that. You might be surprised how much stronger you feel after a solid December of training! Keep it up Vic!
Vic,
I think David is right, you have over a month of training. Between your will & drive, your fans and more training, you can totally do it! Just keep up the hard work and it will pay off on marathon day. Of course, praying for great weather will certainly won't hurt either.
Christy
Thanks for stopping by my blog!! I totally agree with what Christy said...you can do it!!
It was your HM report a few weeks ago that helped me to believe I could train for one! You are very inspirational!!
I will be cheering you on!
Dude, Your improvement will continue. The other variable you haven't mentioned, positive crowd support last year helped me through some tough spots. That should allow you to subtract about 3% off your total time.
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