Two "Made-Up" Races (time trials)

Last weekend, I was scheduled to run the Spring Chance to BQ.2 marathon in Geneva, IL. That race was canceled. This weekend, I was supposed to run the Illinois Marathon in Champaign, IL. That race has been postponed to the fall. Two weekends, two canceled races. What's a guy to do? How about a solo time trial, made-up, race? Works for me. Twice!

Last weekend I pseudo-raced a half-marathon on our local Kickapoo Rail Trail. Ran from Urbana to St. Joe, IL, then back to Urbana. Turns out to be 13.1 miles for the round trip (actually more like 13.3, but I stopped slightly short for the "exact" 13.1 miles). Today, I did it again! This trail is ideal for a long run or race. It's basically straight and flat, nicely packed dirt, and has few road crossings. Just step on and go.

So, how did I do? Here's my table comparing results of the two consecutive weekends:

Date	Time	Pace	Avg HR	Avg Power	Temperature
4-19-2020	1:42:19	7:48/mile	147	271 W	46F
4-26-2020	1:40:14	7:38/mile	140	275 W	48F

I am very happy with both results. Particularly the second one! Here are more details of the second run from Garmin Connect (click on the run name "KRT half-marathon" for all details):

Last year at the actual Illinois Marathon on April 27, I raced the half-marathon in a time of 1:41:24. And my average HR was 161. These two time trials show I am in better shape one year later. If I was actually racing, with support and taper, I would have easily broken 1:40. Maybe 1:38? 1:36? I'll try again in 4-6 weeks. What is different? I am training with a little speed thrown in along with regular 10+ mile long runs. Hey, training works. Plus, I am wearing the Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% shoes...they work! I feel the responsive cushioning. My legs are not beat up during or after the hard effort. Better training + better shoes = better finish times. You can quote me on that one!