Marathon Pace Cutdowns

OBJECTIVE
1 mi. warm up; 4-3-2-1 mi.@ marathon pace (7:38/mi.) w/2 min. recoveries; 1 mi. cool down

ACHIEVED
1 mi.@ 9:05/mi. WU
4 mi.@ 7:29/mi.
3 mi.@ 7:28/mi.
2 mi.@ 7:27/mi.
1 mi.@ 7:10/mi.
1 mi.@ 8:27/mi. CD

TOTAL (including recoveries): 12.36 mi.@ 8:05/mi.

7:52 AM 42° 73% 4 mph

This workout is a double-edged sword. I only do it once during a marathon training cycle and it looms ominously on the schedule as I get closer to the day I'll run it. It's a challenging workout and a good gauge of fitness. Complete it within the goal parameters and it's a big confidence builder. Fail to complete it or end up markedly slower and it might be time to recalibrate the marathon time goal.

I honestly don't have a good handle on where I'm at fitness-wise right now. My training since the St. George marathon in October has been okay. I've generally got all of my runs in but I've been wondering if I should have ramped up the mileage on my longer efforts. I've only run 2 +20-milers. A couple weeks ago, I felt stretched at the distance but succeeded in a very solid pickup with Laurie. Last week, it was all I could do to finish. ... the tale of two runs .... On the positive side, I have set two PR's since St. George at 10 miles and 10K. However, these are shorter distances so my overall endurance is still the question. Where does that leave me? Today would really be the last real test.

Marathon pace is 7:38 minutes per mile to finish in 3:20:00. I haven't completed a run at this pace but I have tried a few pickups in the closing miles of long runs at this pace. Today would allow me to "feel" the pace I need to maintain for 26.2 miles. It would also let me gauge how my body feels at that pace. At the outset, I was wondering if I even had a chance of completing this one.

I gave myself an extra 90 minutes to sleep in this morning. It is New Years after all. I drove to the YMCA to start from there. I figured the bayou trail was my best bet given the total distance I needed and the time of day.

The warm up mile was slow and I felt slow. I still wasn't sure how this was going to go. I thought I had programmed my Garmin for a 2 minute recovery after the warm up but I apparently missed that one so I went right in to the 4-miler.

The morning was nice and traffic was extremely light. I suppose New Years partiers were all still in bed. I put it into my head that I wanted to run 7:30 per mile. I didn't look at my watch. The pace came fairly easy. About midway through I checked figuring I was too slow but was surprised that I was a bit faster than planned. At that point, I decided I was feeling pretty good! Then I started wondering if I would be able to continue the pace through the remaining legs.

During my first recovery break I walked back along the route retracing my steps. I knew my overall course was going to come up a bit short. I figured by walking back during the breaks a could lengthen the route a bit so I wouldn't have to add on at the end just to get the right distance.

I felt fine along the 3-mile leg until somewhere during the last third. I started feeling a bit fatigued. The battle this I refocused my energies. Again during this leg I didn't look at my watch much but just put 7:30/mi. in my head.

It was warming up during the 2-mile leg as I ran back into the rising sun along the bayou path of Faulkey Gully. There were more people out along the trail on my return trip. Again I was feeling fatigued but it was only on the verge of being uncomfortable to hold the pace.

I was happy to get to the 1-mile leg. At this point, I knew I'd be able to finish the workout and up to this point that it had been a solid effort and a success as each leg was under the goal pace of 7:38/mi. I picked it up for this leg. I'm not sure about the physiology but I broke through something ... lactate threshold, went anaerobic, ... something ... ??? It was tough by the end. I finished it faster but didn't feel like I could have done another one. I'm not sure what happened on this last leg but I'm glad I experienced it because it seems to suggest that my fitness is where I need it to be to run a 3:20 marathon. However, there doesn't seem to be much margin for error. By pushing the pace up only by 18 seconds per mile, I found myself in a bit of trouble. The good news is that the entire workout was run about 10 seconds per mile faster than it needed to be.

This was a good run that helps my confidence. I'm glad I did it even though it scared me going into it. I'll monitor how my legs are feeling and just plan for a short, easy run tomorrow. Saturday is a 15-miler with the group so hopefully I bounce back from today's hard push.

Now for an aside. Remember this public service announcement from the 80's?



This kept popping into my head during the run today. Let me explain.

I'm amazed at the power of the human brain. This has struck me before when running but hit home again this morning.

The brain is an unbelievably powerful computer. If I focus on a pace and "tell" myself to run that pace. Somehow my brain can do all the necessary calculations and put my body on the pace. All of this seems to happen on a subconscious level. The more I run, the more I'm convinced that it's more mental than physical. That's not to underestimate or under appreciate the physical aspect. It's just to say that there's a huge element to it that's mental. At least that seems to be true for this middle-aged, middle-of-pack guy.

PRE RUN
weight = 161.0#
Clif bar & FRS

POST RUN
2 SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin & Amish baked oatmeal w/skim milk