This may be the most scenic road race in South Dakota, start to finish there is a great view!
The Workout: 20km @ 90% goal half marathon pace (gp= 6:06 / 3:47)
The Result: 21.1km @ 6:27 / 4:00 pace (downhill), 6:38 grade adjusted pace
Desi, a couple friends, and myself went camping near Spearfish on Saturday. I took advantage of us being near the Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon course to run this route instead of on the bike path.
I started the morning with a bagel and some coffee. After we left the campsite Desi dropped me off at the start of the race course. Immediately before starting I had some water and 200 calories of the First Endurance Liquid Shot, then I began the workout.
The goal of this workout, on August 31st 2014, was to enhance my Specific Endurance.
Increase ability to resist fatigue at goal race pace through progressively increasing both time and distance at goal pace as the race approaches.
This was basically the culmination of a progression from shorter distances at 90% goal pace to 21.1km at 90% goal pace. The next step is to taper for a few weeks, peak for the race, and hit 21.1km @ 100% goal pace, which is a hopefully a sub 1:20 half marathon.
Below you will see the slight 1.88% downhill grade of the course. I ran a 6:27 pace. 90% of GP would have been 6:45, and Strava puts the Grade Adjusted Pace at 6:38 on flat terrain, so a bit ahead of goal for this run.
