30 Kilometers

I took two rest days instead of one before Saturday's 30K. My legs were still wobbly Thursday so I decided to rest another day. That gave me 45 miles for the week.

Saturday morning 3:45 A.M. my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed, drag my self downstairs, hit the on button on the coffee maker, climb in to my running clothes, and toss every thing on the dining room table in to my backpack. 4:20 A.M. - I am in my car and driving. I packed the car the night before so I should have every thing I need for the today and tomorrow.

My destination is the East Coast Tune Up 30K in Lynn, Massachusetts. The directions are good and I am there in just over two hours. This race seemed to be the perfect race for me to try out my marathon strategy of running at a 6:58 pace. This course is similar to Mystic Places, mostly flat seashore, some hills, and lots of twists and turns through the neighborhoods.

The course begins and ends at the North Shore Community College in Lynn. It takes the runners out for some truelly beautiful seaside running in Nahant and Little Nahant. Hurricane Ophelia was making its way up the coast and was supposed to dump heavy rain on us, but we got lucky. The temperature was about 63, heavy overcast, and a slight spray in the air.

The runners who planned on finishing in over three hours had the option of starting the race at 7:30, the rest of the field got under way at 8:30. 313 runners finished the 18.6 mile course. Most runners were preparing for fall marathons but many were just out for a long challenging run.

The course meandered it's way south to the former Islands of Nahant and Little Nahant. It is an out and back course with some beautiful shoreside scenery. The first mile of the run is through city streets, but then the runners find them selves on the a concrete board walk for two miles. On Nahant the course is hilly with its most spectacular views on a rocky penisular owned by Northeastern University.

As a marathon tune up for me it was extremely valuable race. If I learn any thing from this race it is how difficult it still can be to pace yourself on a long fast course. Those early miles seem so easy. My goal was to head out at a 6:58 pace and to see what happens. Mile one, 6:38 (too fast). Mile 2 6:41 (too fast). The first seven miles were way too fast. I began to fade in the final miles. I finished in 2:11:41, for a 7:04 pace, and 22/313 overall.

The goal of this race for me was to set a pace for a the Mystic Places Marathon. I also know that I have to work at being in control of my pace from the beginning of the race. Had this been an actual marathon I would have been road kill by 26 miles.

Food. The food was good. Lots of cookies, banannas, yogurts, bagels, Tylenol 8 Hour...

If you have a fall marathon on your calendar next year it is worth doing this race just for the practice of running your goal pace, or setting your goal pace. I will be heading out at a 7:05 pace at Mystic Places and see what happens to me.