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Adjusting Expectations to Reality

I learned a valuable lesson regarding running this weekend.  Performance expectations need to be adjusted based on the weather conditions.

Over the last several weeks of training I have been timing some of my longer runs.  I wanted to get an idea of what goal pace I should set for the Marine Corps Half Marathon on May 17, 2009.  Two weeks ago I ran a fifteen miler and logged an 8:08 pace.  It was not an easy run, nor was it very hard.

This past weekend I planned on running a half marathon and using that as my worst case pace for the race.  My intention was to mimic the race day experience.  I was to wake-up at 5AM, have breakfast, and start running at 7AM.  My goal was to run a 7:45 pace.  I was up at 4:30AM only to fall back asleep for another two hours.  By the time I finished breakfast and digested my food, it was about 10:15AM.

I loaded up my fuel belt with gatorade and started running.  The first 4.5 miles of my run I maintained a 7:42 pace but it seemed I was working harder than usual to do it.  By the time the second 4.5 miles was done my pace had slipped to 7:48.  And I was laboring, big-time to keep it going.  Around the 10 mile mark, I bonked.  My pace was at 8:00.

This was the first time I experienced the wall to this degree.  Instead of being a hero and pushing through the last 3.1 miles, I took a left hand turn and walked home.  I was frustrated.  I felt strong when I started and was running some excellent times.  What happened?

It turns out it was simply the weather.  Most of my previous timed runs were in close to ideal running conditions with temperatures in the 45 to 60 degree range.  When I ran on Saturday it was in the high 70’s when I started and climbing quickly.  I realized I was hot and sweating more but figured I only needed to drink a little more gatorade.  After a bit of research I found the following at Jeff Galloway’s training tips.

The hot and sticky days of summer are here. Make sure that you are making some adjustments in your running. Most runners begin to slow down at 55 degrees and start suffering at 65 degrees. Of course, the body can adapt to heat stress and push the threshold up a bit, but you usually can’t run as fast on a 75 degee day as on a 45 degree one. High humidity is also a major problem. It’s like a wet blanket; it doesn’t allow much evaporation or perspiration and your body heat builds up.

If you try to run too hard in hot or humid conditions you’ll hit “the wall” sooner than expected. Trying to maintain a goal pace in heat is like going out too fast early in the race. Temperatures generally increase hour by hour; therefore you must adjust your pace for the temperature expected at the end of the race.

Adjusting Race Pace for Heat: Estimated temperature at finish – Slower than goal pace – 8 min mile becomes…
55-60 degrees – 1% – 8:05
60-65 degrees – 3% – 8:15
65-70 degrees – 5% – 8:25
70-75 degrees – 7% – 8:35
75-80 degrees – 12% – 8:58
80-85 degrees – 20% – 9:35
Above 85 degrees – Forget it… run for fun

* Note: This chart is based upon my own experience in the heat and talking to other runners. It has no scientific verification.

No wonder I hit the wall so hard.  Boink!  I’ll try again this Saturday and make sure I start at 7:00AM.  Race day is less than 3 weeks away!

Over the weekend I settled on a training plan for running the marathon.  Initially I was going to use the standard plan at the marathon training site.  After searching the web, I have reconsidered.  I am going use a training plan I found at Runner’s World.  Given the alernatives, it seemed to fit my personality the best.  I like to compete, I like data, I am goal oriented, and I did not want to run 5 days a week.

On Saturday I ordered Run Less Run Faster from Amazon and it arrived today.  I already had most of the plan mapped out from the information on FIRST’s web site.

Having never run in a race of any kind, I am starting at ground zero.  With the Chicago Marathon over 10 months away, I entered the Marine Corps Historic Half on May 17, 2009, to get some experience in training and running a race.  The typical training plans are 16-18 weeks.  I only have 14 weeks before the half marathon.

The first thing I needed to accomplish was to set a goal time for the race so I could determine the paces I would use for the various training activities.  With Run Less Run Faster, there are 3 key runs every week.  The first is a speed work run, the second is a tempo run, and the third is a long run.  Days between runs involve cross training.  Without any race experience I ran and timed my own 5k to determine my half marathon pace.  I ran a 21:55, 5k which puts me at a goal pace for just under 1:42:00 for the half marathon and just over 3:30:00 for the marathon.  I’ll determine my goal and pacing for the marathon after running the half.

Update 2/27:  The training schedule ended up begin a little aggressive.  I pushed hard to meet the times on the 3 key runs but was then spent and was not able to do decent cross training or weight training on off days.  I found a similar program on Runners World and adjusted my goal times slightly.

I started jogging a few years ago and really enjoy it.  This year I have decided to run a marathon.  Call me crazy!

One of the main reasons I am running a marathon is to raise awareness and support for a cause my family cares about, child poverty.  I’ll be running with Team World Vision in the 2009 Chicago Marathon.

Please consider supporting the children through my running.