14 miles in 1:39:50, 7:07/mi, HR 160, including 6 miles easy in 45:19, 7:33/mi, HR 150, then 8 miles @ MP in 54:31, 6:49/mi, HR 168.
First six miles at easy pace, last 8 at GMP. Decided on running a 2 mile stretch of road that gains or loses (depending on the direction) about 100' per mile to see if this was more doable than the recent GMP runs where I essentially ran similar elevation profiles but longer continuous climbs/descents. Figured this would mimic the more rolling nature of the marathon course. My legs were tired from the core workout yesterday and the running recently, but my sleep was a bit better last night. Weather got a bit warm in the GMP section...could feel the heat coming off the asphalt.
Mile splits were 6:52, 6:39, 6:41, 6:59, 7:04, 6:35, 6:40, 6:58, with the uphill miles slower than the downhill. The paired segments were 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, & 7/8, so the average pace over the uphill/downhill pairs was 6:45.5, 6:50, 6:49.5, 6:49. Aside from an aggressive first mile, pretty steady throughout and more importantly felt better throughout. Still don't know if I can hold 6:50 to get my sub-3 goal in a couple of weeks, but this makes me feel like I should be in the ballpark. Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 557.43 miles. | 