Teg Tackles Twenty Six (.2): New Haven

Published by KIMBIA on September 17, 2013

Matt Tegenkamp has run 12:58, been an oh-so-close 4th at Worlds, and won a grip of US national titles… so naturally it’s time to take on the new challenge presented by the marathon. Between now and his debut at the distance — Chicago, October 13th — he’ll be sharing insight into that journey. This entry looks at his first major tune-up race: a defense of his US 20k title in New Haven, Connecticut.

Perfect Chicago Prep: It has a been almost 2 weeks since the New Haven USARC 20k, but I can’t stop thinking about the race because of all the positive motivators I was able to pull from the competition. The field was super competitive — no surprise — and I knew I was going to have to bring my A+ game to defend my title. What was a surprise was the weather: humidity… 100%. Dew point… 75! Sooooo happy the sun was hiding behind the clouds! So, here are my takeaways from the 20k… Fueling: At the 2012 New Haven USA 20k, I did not take a drop of fluid. This year, with the conditions, it was an absolute necessity as the feeling of “depletion” hit right around the 10k mark. The first fluid station, I grab a cup from a volunteer, which is not as easy as it looks because they are afraid of getting soaked… so they pull their arm back just as you reach for the cup. Anyway: grab the cup and go to take a swig… I forget to crimp the cup to make a funnel. Water all over my face and I actually breath a little into my nose! Oops. I’ll only make that mistake once! I have been training utilizing fluids but this was the first race setting and I could not believe how much more energy it gave me during the latter stages of the race. One thing I am happy about with the #ChiMarathon – I will get to use bottles which are so much easier to drink from!