I ran this 20 mile race back in 2008 as my final tune-up the first time I ran the Chicago Marathon. So I thought I would give it a shot again this year with Chicago next on my calendar. It's a small race as far as entrants go (200 runners), but a beautiful course consisting of two clockwise loops around Bald Eagle Lake in White Bear Lake, MN. Although 20 mile races are rare, this race competes with another 20 mile race the very same morning (Bear Water) which takes place about 1 mile to the east at White Bear Lake. I ran Bear Water in 2009.
I've made some nice improvement injury wise over the past few weeks. my right IT band which was causing me problems the past few months is vastly improved. This race would be a good test to see if will hold up when pushed for 20 miles. I also had questions if my endurance would hold up over as my training has been hampered while nursing my injuries back to health. I have been getting my miles in for the most part, but outside of actual races, I haven't pushed myself very hard in my workouts.
The weather was clear and beautiful in the morning, but warmer than hoped for a race of this length. Temps were in the mid 60's at the start of the race and expected to climb 10 degrees by the time I cross the finish line. This is my third 20 mile race and my best time is 2:29. Coming into this race and I felt confident I should beat this time, but my real goal is to run under 3:10 in Chicago next month. To boost my confidence for Chicago, I felt I needed to run 2:24 (7:10/mile) or better today.
The first lap around bald Eagle was going as planned. My IT band was holding up well and I was maintaining the pace I wanted, however as we reached the midway point in the race I could feel myself becoming a bit uncomfortable in the heat. Particularly on the northeast corner of the lake where we had no protection from the sun. Around the 12 mile mark I began to struggle maintaining my pace. My pace slowly began to slip over the final 8 miles as I could no longer sustain a consistent pace. I kept telling myself it was due to the heat which was partially correct. But I didn't want to admit to myself that it was also my conditioning that was letting me down. In my prior two 20 mile races I finished strong, but it wasn't playing out that way today.
I finished with a time of 2:26:10, more than two minutes off my targeted time as I averaged 7:19/mile for the race. Not the confidence booster I was looking for heading into Chicago. The good news was my injured IT band held up over the run and I ran my fastest 20 mile race by about two and a half minutes. I also finished 5th overall in the race among 199 finishers and 1st among 15 in my age group.
With Chicago just 1 month away, I hope to piece it together with no new or recurring injury issues, although it's too late to gain back the conditioning I've lost in the short time remaining before Chicago. It is what it is. I just need to do the best I can and hope for a little luck.
Race Results:
