Motivational Ebbs

I have to confess I was very dejected after my last effort at setting a new personal record for five kilometers. All the race conditions were prime for a good outing.

After reflecting on my personal running 'State of the Union', I have to give myself more credit for what I have achieved this year. All too often athletes become consumed with achieving their next goal they lose stock of where they are in the present.

I have lowered my personal records in the one mile 5:57 (from 6:26) , five kilometer 21:40 (from 23:13) and ten kilometer 46:56 (from 59:31) distances. I am running a two mile race (Paxton Fest ) in two weeks and a five mile race in about a month and a half (York White Rose Run).  Barring an injury, I should establish personal records in both the two and five mile distances.

I was concerned I had peaked after and year and a half of running.  I decided to attempt a training run of ten miles this past Friday after work.  I ran with a water bottle(see pic)  from a company named Nathan.  The model is called the Quickdraw Elite and has a 22 ounce capacity.  I wanted to determine if I could run this distance without causing severe dehydration and potential kidney issues- as evidenced by a post run urine color of dark brown/black.

This container has a adjustable strap which secures your hand to the bottle. You do not have to grip the bottle to carry it.  It allows for a more fluid arm motion.  Fortunately 22 ounces of liquid is not enough to cause any arm soreness - in my experience.

I had a great run of ten miles, finishing in 1:22:40 (one hour twenty-two minutes and forty seconds). This translates to an 8:16 per mile pace. My simple post run dehydration test revealed only a slight issue with dehydration.  I ran out of fluids after eight miles. I now know I need about 22 ounces of fluid for every eight miles I run. (when the temperature is in the low 70's)

I have run ten miles in a training session before. The difference with this run is I finished the last several miles at a brisk pace. When I have attempted to run ten miles previously, I was nearly walking for the last several miles. Another positive takeaway for this year is I have built my endurance substantially.

There is a ten mile race called the Oley(Pa.) Country Classic in early November.  I am contemplating running this race to see if I can record a time at a pace which will qualify me for the Boston marathon someday. This magic pace is eight minutes per mile. I have run 6.2 miles at sub 8:00 / mile pace.  I would like to try and see if I can run ten miles in under one hour and twenty minutes in a formal race.

The eventual goal of qualifying for the Boston marathon is to run 26 consecutive miles at a pace under eight minutes per mile.