Marathon Week
It's already here. I'll be running the Hyannis Marathon this Sunday (Feb. 25th). I did my last real training run today at lunchtime (7 miles). Tomorrow is a day off and then an easy 3 or 4 on Friday (there's a 5K run with Bill Rogers I may try to get in on -- especially since it concludes with beer), and another shakeout jog on Saturday -- maybe 3 miles and a couple strideouts. The race is at 10:00 a.m.
I know, I know. A New England marathon in February?! Hey, I'm not going to have to worry about heat exhaustion. Actually the weather is shaping up to be pretty good for running. Forecast calls for a breezy 37 degrees. As long as Friday's snow gets cleared out, it'll be fine.
So what is my goal? My target range is 3:40 to 3:50. But I'll be satisfied with anything under 4:00. I've been guilty of going out too fast in every marathon I've done (except maybe Phoenix). So I've practiced my race pace cut-down. The first 2 miles will be at 9:05 pace. The next two miles will be 8:55. The next two will be 8:45. After the first 6 miles, I'll hit my remaining race pace of 8:35. An 8:35 pace gets me right around a 3:45 marathon, but the initial cut-down adds 2 minutes so following this plan nets about 3:47. If I'm not feeling trashed at 20 miles, I'll try to get under 3:45 by picking it up just a little bit. That's the plan anyway.
Am I ready for it? I think so. Even though work did at times intrude on my training, I was still able to get in most of my runs. I did miss one of my long runs a couple months back, but I ended up with three 20 to 21 milers (and plenty of 16 to 18 milers) and six weeks of 50+ miles (with a max of 60). I've practiced my marathon goal pace a bit more than previous attempts, so we'll see how this all turns out.
Check out tomorrow's post for an update on the daily challenge!
C-Ya
I know, I know. A New England marathon in February?! Hey, I'm not going to have to worry about heat exhaustion. Actually the weather is shaping up to be pretty good for running. Forecast calls for a breezy 37 degrees. As long as Friday's snow gets cleared out, it'll be fine.
So what is my goal? My target range is 3:40 to 3:50. But I'll be satisfied with anything under 4:00. I've been guilty of going out too fast in every marathon I've done (except maybe Phoenix). So I've practiced my race pace cut-down. The first 2 miles will be at 9:05 pace. The next two miles will be 8:55. The next two will be 8:45. After the first 6 miles, I'll hit my remaining race pace of 8:35. An 8:35 pace gets me right around a 3:45 marathon, but the initial cut-down adds 2 minutes so following this plan nets about 3:47. If I'm not feeling trashed at 20 miles, I'll try to get under 3:45 by picking it up just a little bit. That's the plan anyway.
Am I ready for it? I think so. Even though work did at times intrude on my training, I was still able to get in most of my runs. I did miss one of my long runs a couple months back, but I ended up with three 20 to 21 milers (and plenty of 16 to 18 milers) and six weeks of 50+ miles (with a max of 60). I've practiced my marathon goal pace a bit more than previous attempts, so we'll see how this all turns out.
Check out tomorrow's post for an update on the daily challenge!
C-Ya
posted by Kurt in Boston at 3:57 PM
3 Comments:
Good luck with your taper and race! I think the taper is the harder of the two. HEIDI
Hey Kurt!!! Have a WONDERFUL time this weekend. The hard part is behind you!
You sound so pleasantly confident. I am sure you will have a great race. And yes, 37 degrees is not too bad for New England in winter. Much better than the 27 degrees Phoenix, AZ, had for the Rock'n'Roll runners in January :).
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