2:54:02 (8:42 AP, ~9:02 for the first 12 and 7:50 for the last 8 miles; not sure of all the mile splits, but for the ones I had, there were a couple 8:00 in there, a few 7:50s and the last mile was 7:31 - which, given how I felt this week was nothing short of a miracle, he he). 86F and sunny (I did not get started until nearly 10AM, my bad ;-)). I know 85F sounds like fun, but in full sun, when you aren't really acclimated, 3 hours in it is a little difficult ... but, it wasn't 100F, so I won't complain. Remind me again why I think that running 26.2 miles is a good idea? My legs are still a little "heavy" from last weekends race (and the 22 miles/800 meter workout the week before). One thing I am really grateful for about having a good race 5 weeks out from a target race is that I know that my race target is realistic, so I don't have to go out every workout and stress about "what does this workout mean in relation to my race?". I *know* I am in the ballpark for my "B" goal, and if all goes well, I might even hit my "A" goal (3:20-3:22 versus sub 3:20). I just have to be smart, and work on staying on my feet for 3 hours and 20 mins!! (which is actually no small feat - or feet - ;-)). Anyway, if I have to modify a couple workouts in the next week or so, to ensure I stay healthy, I can do that and not worry so much. And, I can start focusing on things that I usually don't have the oppotunity to focus on - like nutrition (both during the race, and in general), optimal hydration strategies, focusing on form when I am tired, etc. And, I can listen to my body and when it tells me that I am still recovering from some hard workouts, well, I can tone it down and not stress ... too much. Anyway - I told myself I would be happy with anything between 7:30 and 8:00 min pace for the last 8 miles today - and I hit it. So, I am, again, grateful! I feel that cardiovascularly I am in great shape, my limitations are neuromuscular (my tendons, muscles, etc aren't quite up to the task sometimes, or they take more time to recover after being pushed). So, I have been modifying my expectations, and hopefully, when I do this workout again in 2 weeks, it will feel "better" ;-). Happy Easter bloggers, I hope you are enjoying your family day!! Can I just please tell you how excited I am to see how Shalane Flannagan does at Boston?? She just ran a 31:04 10K at the Stanford Invitational - 3 weeks from Boston. She is in amazing shape!!
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