So it was off, Garminless (but with iPhone) to the canal in beautiful, almost warm, weather for another fairly steady 5 miles. I'm never too sure about the measurement on the iPhone, but the 2.5m point was fairly near where I usually turn with my Garmin, and the overall time of 38:46 suggests it was there or thereabouts. A couple of miles at 7:20 on the way back were reassuringly easy so even if the currently predicted high temperatures do arrive for M Day I think I should be ok to drop back to 3:15 pace and enjoy the day.
My main "concern" is if it looks perfect for running. I don't feel in sub-3 shape, and my weight certainly suggests I'm not, but my HR at speed, pace and training distances suggest I'm in at least as good shape as last year. I guess the only thing I haven't done is any really long MP runs, but I've done a lot of 6 in 10 sessions, and two or three 20 milers with 6:50 or below run at the end.
Realistically though, I think I might try and run the first 10k at 6:50 and see how that feels - if it's tough I'll drop back to 7:10 and go for a PB. But as mentioned above if it's hot all bets are off!
I had some very reassuring conversations on Saturday night with 3 Peaks veterans who al assure me I'll be well away from being timed out, so I'll now concentrate on establishing a schedule to run what I think I'll be pleased with - 4:30 or so.
Andy, I think you will find Simon Anderson's latest blog posts of relevance and some interest. Available via Otley A.C. website.
ReplyDeleteAndy, even I can manage under 4:30 for the 3Ps! My times are here: http://www.threepeaksrace.org.uk/ThreePeaksSplitsResults.html (finished 273rd) and the splits aren't too dissimilar to those in your table.
ReplyDeleteThe trick is to take it steady as far as Ribblehead which is easy to do in under 2hrs so you have a bit more time to get to the Hill Inn.