Marathon-paced run all along the green belt and around the west side of town early this morning. Started with a 20 minute warmup, then did 14 miles, by feel, at marathon pace. Was very happy to be able to hold an average pace of 7:30/mile with a "reasonable marathon effort". I brought my HR monitor and my HR generally stayed in the low 150s, which is where I want to be. It didn't go over 160 for any single mile, and the highest was 157 on mile 11. The path I ran was by no means flat but it certainly was harder than what STG will be in 8 weeks. Last year I finished STG averaging a 7:20 pace. If this workout wasn't a fluke (I tend to agree with the philosophy that no single good workout is a "fluke"), then I think it is not unrealistic to try and set a PR at this upcoming race. In the last 6 months I didn't have any aspirations like this with all the setbacks I'd been facing. Now I think I may have a decent chance at coming back to my previous best level of fitness. I've learned a lot from my injuries and illnesses, now hopefully I can exercise and eat more correctly to improve for STG! Pretty excited!
17.25 in 2:11:47 (that was 14 marathon miles in 1:45:07 averaging 7:30.5 per mile)
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