Long Run with MP Miles

Goal:
8 miles easy, 8-10 miles @ 6:13-6:07, 2 miles cool down

Actual:
8.2 miles warmup ~1:00:00
10 miles in 1:00:45 with splits of
615
610
603
557 (downhill)
603 (30:28 half split)
608 (u turn)
601
603
602
558 (30:12 half split)
2.3 mile cool down for 20.5 miles

This was my first straight up marathon pace tempo in a really, really long time. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous.  I was.  But I also knew that my training over the last two months had gone really well.  Last Tuesday, I ran a solid 10 mile wave tempo at 6:12 average, and I wanted to beat that average time this turn around.  I did a very similar course as I did last week, starting at the Dilworth Speed Loop and heading down to the Greenway through the neighborhood streets.

For the first 8 miles, Matt and Phil joined Billy, Chris and I, and then after the first hour, the three of us continued with the tempo.  Chris stayed with us for the first two miles and then peeled off to do his own thing.  I was very grateful to have Billy there for moral support, because after the first mile's effort felt hard, I questioned if I could hit my goal pace for this tempo.  In some ways, I'm glad I felt this in the workout because it helped me prepare for the same scenario should it happen on marathon race day.  Even if I feel terrible the first couple of miles in the marathon, it doesn't mean that the story has already been written.  If I trust that they will begin to feel better, then it's a better mental approach.  Sure enough, after that tough first mile. my legs started to feel stronger and hitting sub-6:10 felt easy.  I knew that Terry wanted me to hit 10 miles if I felt good, and I paced myself well so that I wouldn't feel tired and quit at 8 miles. After we coursed through the streets near the greenway, our final two miles were an out-and-back on the greenway from Freedom to the dunkin donuts and back.  I like ending my tempo here because the tight turns and the u-turn force me out of my rhythm and I really have to focus on keeping the pace.   I also asked Billy to go ahead and run a bit faster so that he could simulate his own marathon pace.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this workout as it shows that the work that I've put in over the last two months is really beginning to pay off.  I only have a little over 7 weeks until the Cal International Marathon and I'm really excited to punch my ticket to the Olympic Trials 2016.