The Wall 30K in New Orleans

Well it seems Sunday, Jan. 30th, did not come with ideal racing conditions for many of us in the South.   It was not ideal for the Houston Marathon, and it was not ideal for The Wall 30k in New Orleans.  The temperature was ok (much colder would have been nice), but the humidity was out in typical Southern Style.  

 Start of The Wall 10k and 30k

My friend Wanda finishing the 10k.  

She will be running the Mardi Gras Marathon.  She is focused on a BQ race in Feb.  Go Wanda!

You may recall, I mentioned a few months ago, that I have given up my quest to race well when the humidity is high.  This has been a GREAT thing for me to do.  Now instead of heading to a race, unrealistically, thinking "I am superwoman, I can overcome."  Now, I am attempting to adjust my prerace pace, to a more realistic goal for the weather of the day.  This has been a GREAT thing for my racing.  For years, I felt like it was giving up to do this, so stubbornly, I started races with unrealistic goals, only to go out too fast for the day, being disappointed over and over and over again.  Also, by going out too fast, it made for a horrible race, most days.  Go out too fast, suffer, suffer, suffer, struggle to finish, finish with a slow, really slow time.  

Now, I adjust my time 15 seconds per mile, if the humidity is strong.  This allows me to hold an even pace for the whole race, I feel better, and I end up finishing the race with a better time than I would if I go out too fast, try to hold on, and end up falling WAY off the pace, the last half of the race.  

Early in the week, prior to the race, I was thinking I would attempt 8:30 pace for The Wall 30k (18.6 miles).  As the weather predictions deteriorated through the week, Sat. night, I ended up deciding on 8:45 pace.   Such a great thing for me to do.  I ended up averaging 8:41.  It was still hard to finish, but not nearly as bad as going out too fast and suffering through the rest of the race.  It's also a great feeling to finish the day with a quality long run, sticking with the plan, instead being disappointed with the results (once again).  

What is it about humidity that makes you feel so "beat up" after a race.  My recovery is totally different after racing in humid conditions.  Even with the adjusted pace, as I finished the race and started walking, yikes, feeling rough. Finally, took an ice bath later in the evening and felt so much better.  On the rare occasion that I race in COLD,  low humidity conditions, I feel so much better, post race.  Would love the science for dummies version of why this happens, please share if you know.

Jen and I went to the race together.  She has a great race report here.  She took some pics along the way.  I totally agree with her report, not a very scenic race, but a great way for me to get a quality long run in with other runners.  

The Data:

Mon Jan 25 - 9 miles @ 9:24 avg pace, weights, planks, push ups, abs
Tues. - 9 miles - 3 mile w/u, 6 x bent creek hill, 2 mile c/d
Wed. - 5 miles @ 9:24 avg pace, weights, core work, planks
Thurs. - 5.5 miles am w/ Kelly P. Hill repeats behind anatomies
3.5 miles pm on treadmill - 10:30 pace
Fri - yoga @ the yoga room, 4 miles pm
Sat. - 2 miles jog, and 10 min walk
Sun - 19 miles - .4 mile w/u, The Wall 30k (18.6 miles) - 2:42:10 unofficial. 8:41 avg pace. Happy with that, with the humidity of the day.
57 miles this week, .5 mile walk, 1 yoga class, 2 days weights.

This week will be a "step-back week" for a little recovery time.

What I'm doing right?

*when the race conditions are BAD, I am adjusting my race goal, prior to the race.
*getting 8-9 hours of sleep most nights.

*taking a "step back" week after 3 weeks of increasing my mileage and intensity.