It was a cold dark frosty morning at 5:45am. I ran alone. I ran a mile to warm up then picked up the pace. I averaged 7:36/mi for the next five miles. It seemed harder to get moving in the cold. The fastest mile was 6:47 on a downhill stretch on mile 3 and the slowest was 8:05 for the last mile. I intentionally slowed a little the last mile as I felt some minor tightness in my right calf. I didn't want to risk an injury at this point. My sore big toe hurt a little the first mile or two (probably due to the cold and Saturday's run) but the pain gradually faded as I continued running until it nearly disappeared. I continue to believe it won't bother me at TOU this Saturday. Advice Request: I was advised today by an experienced TOU runner to shoot for a negative or even split, even though all the uphill miles are in the second half of the race. My race plan has been based on expending a consistent effort over the entire race (downhill faster, uphill slower) which would mean the "all downhill" first half would be faster than the "downhill/uphill/level" second half. My question is: For my 3:20 goal, do I run a 7:38/mi pace (or even slower) the first 18 miles (downhill) and try to conserve energy to push the pace later in the race, or do I take advantage of the downhill to run a little faster, knowing the same effort will yield a slower pace on the hills later in the race? | 