Hard long run today, that I was pretty psyched about. I really enjoy the long fast runs, something motivating about getting out and getting after it. Today called for 1 mile easy, 18 miles @marathon pace + 20 sec/mile, 1 mile easy. I felt great going in, I started out a bit conservative, and just progressively felt stronger and faster throughout the run. Did the 18 miles in 1:58:30 - 6:35/mile pace and only had 2 or 3 brief moments where it even felt very challenging. My new marathon goal pace is about 6:15-6:20 so I hit the goal for the workout right on. It was a great feeling run. And I'm really loving how well my body is responding and recovering from long harder runs these days. I am noticing a difference in general strength and resilience. Funny to think back to Bolder Boulder 1.5 years ago when I was happy to break 40 min and run 39:5x. Today I ran that pace for three 10K's in a row and could have kept going. Its cool to see what consistent mileage will do over time. | 