Did the Ballbuster again this morning, conditions were somewhat better than last time. It was a cold start this morning but by the time the race got underway the sun was well on its way up and the frost was clearing so I was looking forward to a less dangerous ride this time.
My plan was to try and run the first 13km loop a bit harder than last time, not flat out but aiming to keep my heart rate around the 165 mark (85%). This went to plan, no great dramas and the first run up the 2.5km climb was not too bad, came in just over 3 minutes quicker than last time, HR averaged 167.
Onto the bike, using the Cervelo with race wheels on so was nice to give it a blast on the flattish sections, the bike really feels fast when you get it going, road was covered with pot-holes from a cold winter but I found a line nearer to the middle of the road that wasn't too bad so kept the pace up. The downhill sections of the laps are pretty technical so difficult to keep a high heart rate as you have to get on the brakes a bit and with some loose gravel on the corners it was still a little slippy but nothing like last time. I rode the bike laps pretty consistently, about a minute per lap faster than last time but HR was also higher than before.
Out onto the final 13km run and yet again the first 5-10 minutes were a case of waiting for my feet to come back to life after being frozen on the bike, this wasn't too bad though and my aim was to settle in to the first 15 minutes and then hold about 170 HR and try and make up some places. My legs were pretty tired and the downhill parts were very tough, your legs just want to slow down but I was trying to keep the pace going, didn't feel as though I was running particularly well though.
Made it to the bottom of the final climb in just over 3 hours and the final 2.5km is seriously tough, by that point you are used to the time it takes to get up the hill on the bike so the run up it seems to take forever. Whilst I wasn't exactly flying up the hill, I still picked off a few more places for a final lap of bang on 1 hour and an average HR of 169.
Total time was 3.21.32 so nearly 6 minutes better than last time which I am happy about.
My emotions are slightly mixed though as in a way 6 minutes faster in much better conditions doesn't feel like much improvement for the level of training I have put in over the last 4 months. On the other hand I am only starting to bring in some speed work into my training whereas in November I had only just come to the end of the season where I was racing shorter distances so that may also have something to do with it. Whilst this race is still 3.5 hours long, I can still hold a pretty high intensity for the duration, but my training is more focussed on the intensity that I will hold for 11-12 hours which is quite different.
Half a half marathon next weekend and I am expecting a similar story, this is an even higher intensity race so I think I may struggle to beat my pb from last time but I'll give it a good crack.
Had a big support crew at the race today which was great, I cold hear them shouting at me from the top of the hill which was nice, I think they are all trying to get some practice n before Austria, should be a well oiled supporting machine by that point!
Race results are on the website, I came 74th out of 231 finishers (was 114th out of 335 last time).
No comments:
Post a Comment