sub-3 or blow-up trying

Rest...1/2 hour of crunches in the evening.

I've had several weeks of higher mileage, so decided to take 2 days in a row.  Plan on a light week with 2 hard days (Tues/Sat).  Hope to run recovery Wednesday, light Thursday, off Friday, and 1/2 marathon on Saturday.  The 1/2 marathon looks to be a very tough course.  I noticed 2 guys who run 2:48 and 2:52 marathons who ran this course last year in 1:28 and 1:29.  Another guy who ran a 3:10 marathon ran this in 1:33.  I'm tapering a bit and will give it my best effort.  Then plan on hitting March hard before my marathon taper.

This may be a 40-50 mile week for me.

Wow!  The extra day of rest really paid off.  I did my tough uphill course to Morris and pr'd by well over a minute.  It helped to have the wind at my back (mid-to high 20's w/strong winds), yet I still ran a negative split easily.  Ran mile 10 in 6:03 and could have kept going.  Here's the splits...

3.5 mile warm-up (nice and slow)

1st 5 miles:  34:01/6:48 pace (ran mile 1 in 6:21 w/ease and new it would be a good day)

- 2 minute break-

2nd 5 miles:  33:43/6:45 pace (ran mile 10 in 6:03...it was flat and into the wind)

Good day so far for running.  Increased mileage and use of incline on the TM seem to be finally paying off.  Also, absolutely love the tangent 3's...they'll definitely be my Boston shoe...pancake dinner at church tonight w/family and hopefully another run on the TM...

Did leg workout at the gym + 6.5 miles on TM, progressively from 9min to MP, total time 49 minutes (7:53 pace avg). 

Quick evening workout on the TM.  Mostly done at an 8min pace.  Plan to take the next two days off from running...1) To taper for Sat.  2) To put in a light week before pounding the month of March.  I'm committed to two "big day" workouts a week throughout March with a minimum of 75-miles per week.  The taper for Boston will begin 3-weeks out from race day. 

Core-work tomorrow, followed by full-rest on Friday.  With a tough course on Saturday, my goal is to keep the pace under 7-minute miles.  One guy who ran my same time (3:10) at the Bay State Marathon, ran the upcoming 1/2 marathon last year with a 7:10 pace.  A 2:48 Bay State Marathon guy ran the upcoming run at a 6:45 pace.  In my mind, a 6:55 pace on this particular course might translate to 3hr marathon pace...we'll see.  Regardless, it will be an opportunity for a great work-out. 

rest

rest.

Just lost my whole race report, but will try again...

3.6 miles of warm-up...Fairly cold day (mid to high 30's) with strong winds (20 mph). 

Wore a stop-watch and somehow missed mile marker 12, so will do my best with the race breakdown, rounding everything off to help my memory system...

Mile 1:  6:25 (mostly flat, slight uphill at the end)

Mile 2:  13:05 (6:40...starting to roll a bit...little more up than down)

Mile 3:  20:25 (7:20...brutal hill...uphill the entire mile!)

Mile 4:  28:25 (7:00...rolling hills...able to recover and stabilize)

Mile 5:  34:15 (6:50...still rolling, but not too bad)

Mile 6:  40:40 (6:25...slight downhill...only comfortable mile in the race)

Mile 7:  48:05 (7:25...all uphill...people were beginning to drop pace significantly)

Mile 8:  55:05 (7:00...started towards off-road...again, felt strong, stopped completely to drink and take a gu)

Mile 9:  62:30 (7:25...brutal stretch...very steep hill...spongee section of offroad that felt comfortable to run on though)

Mile 10:  1:09 (6:30...steep downhill...mostly coasted and used this time to regather strength)

Mile 11:  1:16 (7:00...fairly easy stretch, but began to go uphill for the last 1/4 mile)

Miles 12-13.1:  1:31:51 (missed mile marker 12...the entire stretch was uphill and directly into the wind...held my place and even passed 4-5 runners...7:33 avg pace)

Overall, although I didn't break any records, very happy with my time.  Went with John and Lori.  John ran a Fall marathon in 3:12 and 1/2 marathon in 1:29.  Today he ran over 1:34.  Lori ran a Fall 1/2 marathon in low 1:40's and did 1:49 today.  Many of the runners were preparing for Boston and said the Boston hills are nothing compared to this (I hope they're right).  Based on meeting folks after the race, I would guestimate my time today to translate to a 3:05 in Boston.  Great workout today, yet still more work to get where I'd like to be!

Ran another 4.5 miles on TM in the afternoon (7:30 pace)