Well, Maybe...

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I went on this crazy run yesterday for my marathon practice work out. Just a bunch of loops around my neighborhood. Normally on a longer run like this one I'd choose a route that takes me across town and back, but I felt like mixing it up. There is a lot of boredom by this point in the training cycle and you know it by how excited I am by running in circles. 

And it felt good. I felt steady, strong and in control. Perhaps one of the best workouts I've had all training cycle and it gave me a big confidence boost about how my performance will be in a few very short weeks. I'm still on the fence about aiming for a 3:10 or going with the "safer" plan of hitting 3:15, but based on this week's 10 mile mp I am thinking I might go full send and get after that 3:10 number. 

With a 60 mile week last week I executed yesterday's run at 7:10/mile over the 10 miles and didn't feel the need to exaggerate my effort. I know (and have experienced) that anything can happen on race day, but it makes me think that a negative split marathon is in the card. If I can run say 7:20 for the first 10 miles, dial it up to 7:10 for the next ten and ease off if needed for the final 6.2 at 7:14 things are golden. 

I know there are a lot of "ifs" there, but it is worth thinking about in the context of my previous efforts.

Detroit 2023 - First marathon...training with a random plan. set the goal to finish under 4hrs. Success. Mile 18 things got sticky. 3:54:51

Bayshore 2024 - oof.. On pace for the first half, then the woozies kicked in. Side of the road at mile 18. not good. Heat and poor fueling were problems. Look at my heart rate for this race, iwas in the 170-177 range before my implosion. (Compare that with my 164 heart rate on my run yesterday...faster and less strenuous) 3:57:47

Detroit 2024 - VERY strong first 20 miles, but too running to fast and got gassed the final 10k. But up to 20 was glorious. We're talking 7:12/mile pace. Sort of insane, and out of control, but proving I've got enough in the take for at least that distance. I just need to figure out that final 10k. Really grateful for this race, but wish I could have had a pacer to keep me honest. 3:21:33

Toledo 2025 (Half Marathon) - Tough tough training cycle. The injury and bike crash did a number in those final weeks of preparation...but that said, considering I was preparation for a full marathon and ended up with a half at 1:33:09 ...7:06/mile pace. I'd say that is a good, strong race and a proud finish. 1:33:08

My goal over the next two weeks is simply to to stay healthy and mentally get ready for race day. I have two more hard workouts left next week and then I am going to take advantage of tapering and aim at getting solid sleep above all else. 





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