The Next Step

Had to get out early before church today to get in the long run. It was a nice morning around 60 with light wind. I felt ok starting out today but started real slow first couple of miles. I finally woke up and settled into a good pace. I seemed to feel better as I went along so just gradually picked it up as I went. I have been trying to run all my long runs faster toward the end. I finished up feeling pretty good but for some reason my legs didn't feel the best today. This is my last long run before the marathon so now I start the taper. Doing my long run on Sunday will also goof up my weekly mileage. This makes last week real low and it will make this week high even though I am starting to taper. Anyway, glad to get this one in.

2:47:41 (7:59 avg)

Went out early for an easy 6 miles after yesterday's long run. I felt pretty good considering the long run yesterday. I was a little tight but no problems. I felt good and just cruised along. I will cut some miles this week but still try to get a couple of faster workouts in. It was a nice day today (62) and looks good for the rest of the week.

49:23

Really nice morning today (55) for running. Today I planned a 4 mile tempo run at around 6:45 pace. Just want to keep some speed in the training as I go into the taper. I started out this morning my legs felt heavy. I have noticed that after a long run I feel it two days after the long run instead of the day after. Anyway I wanted to stick to the plan and actually might be good to run faster when I feel sluggish. After a 3 mile warm up I got started on the tempo. I felt pretty good during the first mile but still the legs didn't feel very fresh. I was hitting the pace though and felt about the same going through the 4 miles. If anything I actually started feeling better as I went along. It seems these tempos are a good way to shake out the legs and get some spring back in them. Here are the splits....

1st - 6:43

2nd - 6:44

3rd - 6:42

4th - 6:29

One thing I was real happy about is being able to hit and hold my pace on the road. I have been having trouble with that so it was good to be able to quickly find the pace and then stay with it.

59:14

Another great morning to run (54). I just a real easy run today after yesterday's tempo. I felt good and it was weird to only go 5 miles. It has been a long time since I just did a 5 mile run. However, it wasn't too long ago that 5 miles used to be my daily run. My plan this week of the taper is to run some real easy days like today and mix that with some tempo/MP runs that are a bit longer. Next week I will do pretty much the same thing but cut the miles some more than the final week of the taper will be mostly easy.

39:55

Very nice morning (50, calm). Today I did my weekly medium long run but wanted to run most of it at MP. I was for 7:15 to 7:25 pace but wanted to run by feel and run a pace that I felt could be maintained for a marathon. I ran a couple of miles as a warm up and the legs felt kind of heavy/sluggish. After the warm up I kind of eased into a faster pace and felt ok but the legs still didn't feel to good. After a few miles at MP my legs started to feel better and I was able to settle into a comfortable and consistent pace. The first 4 MP miles my pace was kind of bouncing around once I was able to get into a good pace I felt better and the run went much smoother. As I ran these I didn't feel like I was pushing very hard. I felt relaxed and comfortable. The only issue that I had with the run is that my legs didn't feel sharp/fresh. Hopefully, as I go more into the taper the legs will come around.

Here are the MP mile splits:

1st - 7:33

2nd - 7:03

3rd - 7:22

4th - 7:34

5th - 7:15

6th - 7:08

7th - 7:00

8th - 7:06

9th - 7:06

Overall a good run. I averaged 7:14 for the MP miles and built some confidence.

1:29:26

Just an easy 5 miles today following yesterday's MP run. It was nice out (52) but felt a little cool this morning since the wind picked up. I was a little stiff this morning getting started but after warming up felt ok. I will be cutting back tomorrow's long run to around 16 miles. I was talking with some friends saying I was only running 16 on the weekend and they looked at me like I was crazy. There response "only 16 miles". I guess it hard to expect non-runners to figure us out.

39:45

A little warmer than it has been the last few days (62) but still nice morning. I did a long run this morning but cut back the distance some since I am tapering down. I felt good this morning starting out and was able to quickly settle into a comfortable pace. I felt good as I went along and started picking up the pace after the half way point. I ran the last 3 or 4 miles close to MP (7:10 - 7:20). One thing that I worked on today was taking gels more regularly than I normally do on long runs. I usually only take one on my long runs but today took one at 6 and 12 miles. I felt fine so hopefully it won't be a problem in the race. I was thinking of taking them at 6, 12, 18 and 23 in the race but I am a little concerned about having stomach problems. The other option I thought of was taking them at 8, 16 and 22. If you have any thoughts on this please let me know since I am trying to keep fueled during the marathon but don't want to cause any stomach issues.

2:04:58 (7:49 avg)