Marathon Pace Miles

I ended up skipping my second run on Wednesday. I was feeling tired from Sunday's race and my Thursday workout was more important than some slow miles on Wednesday evening.

Last night, I headed out for a 9-miler, with 6 miles at marathon pace. I wasn't quite sure how it would go, but I'd decided I'd start the MP miles and back off if I was still really feeling the effects from Sunday. My target in the marathon itself will be 7:50, but I wanted to run just a bit faster than that last night.

After a 1.5 mile warm-up, it was time to pick up the pace. I ended up feeling pretty good, although the miles were perhaps a bit harder than I'd like them to be. But, I was unrested, and I ran a bit faster than anticipated; the marathon will feel much easier in the early miles. Here are my mile splits:

7:48
7:47
7:45
7:43
7:42
7:23

I had no real intention of running the last mile as fast as I did. In MP miles 4 and 5, I'd been gradually gaining on a runner who was probably running right at an 8:00 pace. For some reason, as I got closer to him, he decided I wasn't going to pass him. Of course, that got my competitive juices flowing, and I started to push the pace. When I actually went past him, I could hear that he was working hard. I was running sub-7 pace when I passed him. He tried to hold on for a while, so I kept working. Finally, I heard him gasp and give up. I refused to look back, but I did back off my pace for the rest of that mile. At the end of the mile, I looked back and he was nowhere in sight. I hope he didn't drop dead. Even if he did, he started it.

This morning, I lifted, a mostly upper body workout, although I did some lunges and dumbbell squat presses as well.

Tonight, I'm going to see a Teton Gravity Research extreme skiing (and riding) movie. It's time to start getting excited about the upcoming ski season.

Tomorrow morning, I will run an early 22 miler. I want to finish by 11:00 so I can see all of my son's soccer game tomorrow. This is his next to last JV game of the year and their last real chance to win a game. Their opponent next Friday beat them 8-0 earlier in the year, so their last game probably won't be a win.

After the regular season concludes, the varsity team will advance to the state playoffs. They will be seeded in the lower half of their 16 team bracket, meaning they are likely to only play one game. A few of the JV team members will get promoted to varsity for the playoffs, and my son is hopeful that he'll be chosen. After getting over his injuries earlier in the season, his playing has really improved recently, so I'm hopeful that he'll get a taste of varsity experience yet this year. Next year, he will be a junior and unless he plays very poorly in summer practice, he'll be a member of the varsity for the next two seasons.