Yesterday I did the final 20 miler of my marathon training plan whilst at the Broad Street 10 mile race. It was actually about 19.5 or so - I parked down at the stadiums, and instead of taking the subway up to North Philly (like everyone else) I ran up there. Then raced back down tothe Navy Yard. Of course my race time was alot slower than last year, but that wasn't the main goal.
Marathon is in 20 days.
Now I just rest (and recover from yesterday. My legs r sore & my toes have been taking some severe beatings lately). My marathon question in the past was always "could I finish the distance?" Now I'm confident that I can. The race pace is the only remaining item to be determined. If I go at 8:30 miles then I'm sure I'll finish reasonably strong; if I go at 8:00 then I'll qualify for Boston but I might hit the wall, bonk, blow-up and/or melt-down in the final miles. If I go at 8:15 pace then I definitely don't BQ and I might not finish feeling strong & Happy anyway. So what to do, what to do?
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nice job making the race a training run, AND keeping it that way! i've attempted to use that theory but end up losing to my competitive side... the 20 miler will pay off more than a 10-mile pr.
ReplyDeletewhat was the pace of your long runs and tempo runs? are you confident and semi-comfortable with 8:00-ish pace? you could start out a little slower than 8:00/mile and progressively speed up if the legs are up for it. even if you don't bq, a 3:30-ish marathon is nothing to be ashamed of. (especially on your first shot!) i've done 6 with a pr of 3:39 myself. i'd say to try to go into this one more conservatively since it is your first, and don't be too disappointed if you miss out on a bq. you definitely sound like you have it in you, whether in your first or one on down the road.