11.1 mile progressive run tonight. Beautiful night, 65 degrees and a little windy. First 3 miles in 22:45 (7:35s). Next 1.8 in 12:45 (7:05s). Next 1.7 in 11:30 (6:45s -- I'm guessing the measurement on this section was probably off by .05 or so, but google maps isn't the best option, I so need a garmin). Next 1.1 in 7:39 (6:57s). Last 3.4 in 22:02 (6:28s). Opening mile in 7:30 and closing mile in 6:20. All followed up with 1.2 mile cool down. Total run time for the 11.1 was 1:16:40 (6:54s). Not the most accurate measurements, but the sum total was right and appm for that comes out to 6:54s. I know my first 3 miles were correct, so the breakdown on the last 8.1 would have been 6:39s, so this was a great run tonight that felt mostly comfortable and in control, obviously the last few miles were cookin. Sometimes I don't know about cracking 3 hours at Boston. Some days I think I don't have a chance at it, then other nights things click and I think that I might. Either way, its going to be a tough run.
UPDATE: Not satisfied with my googlemap results, I drove the car today over the route from yesterday. The primary reason for this was that yesterday's run was not a tempo run and was almost entirely controlled moderate breathing, it simply didn't have a tempo feel to it, wasn't intended to be a tempo run, but the times were coming out to nearly tempo pace (6:30ish is my general tempo pace. As usual, when in doubt trust the body over technology. So the splits based on the car's odometer come out as follows from the 3 mile mark on. First section was in fact 1.8 (7:05s). The next section was more like 1.625 (again 7:05s). Then 1.1 (6:54s). The last section was closer to 3.35 (6:34s). If I take out the last mile run at 6:20 (because I really picked up this finishing section beyond any pace I'd want to be in a marathon), that gives me for the 2.35 15:38 (6:39s). The sum total of this was not in fact 8.1, but 7.875 and a pace of 6:51s which is right on M-pace. This makes this run still a great run because I was able to hit approximately marathon goal pace for a run that was what I would consider still in the aerobic zone. This gives me solid hope for breaking 3 hours at Boston primarily because I didn't feel that I was working at a rate that was exhaustive over time. Obviously over the course of 26.2 there will be some system exhaustion at this pace, but I did it without really feeling taxed and with some slight chest congestion. I think that the training in combination with 'race day magic (adrenaline)' will make this goal achievable. Again though, it won't be easy. I felt well fueled for this run, which is a final important factor to keep in mind. Sum total for the run was 10.875 (7:03s) + 1.2 cool down. | 