Contemplating the marathon...

Thursday: Did 9 miles including 3x1600m at 5k pace. Started off with 3 slow miles to the track then launched into it.

06:16.8

06:18.7

06:19.2

In the past, I've been trying to do these in around 6:20 pace which is what I was aiming for today. HR spiked during the second one and I had to take an extended walking break to let it come down. Maximum HR during the first one was 182 and during the last one was 185. Then finished it off with a couple of miles trying to maintain the HR just below 160.

Friday: 5.4 mile recovery run. Average about 9:20 min/mile. Been doing my recovery runs lately in my Nike Free's and I think I"m starting to derive some benefits from them. My turnover has increased and I think my form is improving as well.

Today: 7 miles GA including 10 strides. Ran the first bit at a HR of less than 160. Averaged a little faster than 8min/mile for this portion. Strides also went without incident, though 10 of them is quite a bit. I was starting to get sloppy towards the end.

Next week is the last week of my between marathons schedule. I had previously decided I was going to do a half marathon next Sunday all out, but a part of me wants to take another crack at the marathon. I've had a solid 8 weeks so far of training which included 248 miles of running last month. The previous high I've ever gotten to was 218. I've gotten through it injury free and I definitely think my fitness is better than when I ran the marathon back in March. I had made a mental note to myself way back that if I could get my long run pace to below 8min/mile prior to next week, that the marathon would be an option. I still don't know if my Lactate Threshold is where it should be, but i think 3:10 is a realistic possibility. I'm still kinda upset that I wasn't able to PR in Napa and I'm certain i could.

Next Sunday is predicting a high of 14C which would be good but it looks like its going to be windy. The schedule this week includes a short marathon pace run on Wednesday. Will see how that goes before deciding for sure. Hopefully the forecast will change to be slightly cooler with less wind in the meantime.

Good luck to Yumke and JellyPepper who are in Cincinnati to partake in their marathon festivities tomorrow! Also congratulations to Ryan in becoming a father for the first time. He intentionally skipped out on the Boston marathon to be with his wife. Now is that dedication or what?