Only two days left until Twin Cities! At this point, I just can’t wait for the race to get here. The workouts have gone well, the taper has gone well, and the legs are feeling pretty good. The weather is looking solid although it might be a touch cold (the forecast calls for the start of the race to be just a touch under 40 degrees).
I don’t like to talk too much about the race ahead of time. I don’t want to build up too big of expectations before a big race. I’d rather just let the race play out and assess it later. Sometimes over thinking goals just makes you clock-watch during the race instead of just being in the race and competing. So no predictions here, but hopefully there be a good result to post up here in a few days.
I’ll leave you with the last big workout I completed and have been saving for my final pre-race post.
-Matt Lawder
Recent Workouts-16 mile Tempo
This workout was actually completed three weeks before the race, but have been waiting to post it. I had a sixteen mile tempo to set pace and get in a final really good effort. I went on the Forest Park road loop which keeps all the miles pretty steady. Kwin Keuter was with me for the first 6 miles (actually he ran through the 10k mark), which helped out a ton. Having someone there to confirm the pace in the first couple of miles is great. By the time you get to the end of a workout like this you’ve either locked into pace or are toast, there’s not too much that can help you. But having Kwin set me up early on was great.
I practiced taking GU and fluid during the workout too. Since it’s a 3 mile loop it’s nice because you can put out a water bottle and keep coming by every 16 minutes or so. And once Kwin finished his workout he helped set up the water for me. I took GU at around 5.5 and 10.5 miles and took water at about every 3 miles. Not much else to report but the splits:
Mile 1: 5:25
Mile 2: 5:25
Mile 3: 5:31
Mile 4: 5:26
Mile 5: 5:22
Mile 6: 5:27
Mile 7: 5:25
Mile 8: 5:24
Mile 9: 5:25
Mile 10: 5:25
Mile 11: 5:20
Mile 12: 5:22
Mile 13: 5:22
Mile 14: 5:18
Mile 15: 5:20
Mile 16: 5:14
Total=86:15 (5:23 Average)
My 3 mile splits were 16:21/16:16/16:15/16:08/16:00+5:14
Pretty good workout. Hope I have another good one on Sunday.
