Nahant 30k Race Recap (9/22-9/28)

Having never run a 30k before, the plan for this race week was to put in solid efforts, including a tempo (2x2mi) run and a 800 (7 @ 3:06 avg) workout, and then try and run the race below my Boston initial pace (7:50 for the first 14 or so miles.)  Secretly, I was hoping to fall closer to 7:30 than 7:50, but what I hadn't really taken into consideration when thinking that is the challenging elevation profile of the Nahant 30k. 

It starts out at the Nahant beach causeway, you run along the beach for the first 2-3 miles, and then you're just going up and down some fairly steep hills for the next 14-15 miles.  It was also a fairly warm day, with temps in the 70's for most of the race.  Knowing it was going to be hilly and hot, when I started out, I decided to just try and hold 7:45 pace, which is almost exactly what I ended up doing.

Mile 7

At about 8 miles/1 hour in, I was passed for the first time, and I didn't take it personally, but I did figure maybe I could use this guy to motivate me a bit to hold/pick up pace a bit.  I pulled out my GU, and held pace with him about 15-20 feet behind him.  Fortunately for me, the GU kicked in shortly and after about 20 minutes of hanging behind him a bit, when we came to a big hill, I charged past him.  I seem to do well on hills, I actually like some up-hill towards the beginning of a race to stimulate my legs.  Usually I can hold whatever pace I'm doing, and then when I crest the hill, I can improve (and hold) to a slightly faster pace.  Anyway, once i got that guy back, I passed a few more people (there weren't many to pass, it was a small field) and worked hard to get back at an even pace.

The last two hills really took a lot out of me, and my heart rate hit near my max at 185, and actually my average heart-rate over the last 3 miles was all over 180, so I was pushing hard, and paying for it.
Here is me making one of the final couple accents.

 Mile 17

So, I finished OK, with my pace drifting up towards 8 min miles over last 3/4 of a mile, but overall, I was very pleased at my ability to run an even keel race, at a pace that should translate to a full marathon on a flat course/full taper/good conditions.

I was a bit sore at the beginning of the following week, but not so bad that I couldn't stick to the schedule.  So, we'll call it a success!

42 miles run this week (vs 39 planned0 at a 7:53 pace.