Marathon Pace Run and Last 20 Miler

I finished my most intense week of marathon training yesterday.  This was a 61 mile week for me (10 miles Monday, 5 Tuesday, 9 Wednesday, 6 Thursday, 10 Friday, and 21 Saturday).  I survived Hal's Advanced 1 marathon program!  Well, I am in the taper phase now, so I have survived the toughest parts!  This is a reason to celebrate.  The old Katie never would have run a speed workout, a marathon pace 10 mile run, and a long run all within 4 days.  I think this program has made me tougher.  The last miles of my long run felt the best of the week! 

10 Marathon Pace Run Friday, September 16, 2011

Splits: 9:00, 8:28, 8:14, 8:11, 7:56, 8:07, 7:40, 7:27*, 7:24, 7:15
Average Pace: 7:59

This run went okay for me.  I felt a little tired from the speed workout on Wednesday.  Like I said, I do better with more rest in between hard runs, but I was willing to give it a try.  I ran this workout in the dark in 10 loops around my neighborhood.  I hate running in the dark with no music, so the first few miles were hard.  Mile 7 is noted, since it was where I finally hit marathon pace.  Once I hit it, it was easy to maintain.  When I told Rick that, he said in a marathon that would be perfect and just the right time to be warmed up.  Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to get my overall pace down today.  And I still don't think I will repeat this approach race day.  I prefer starting fast! 

20 21 Miler (Last in a Series of 3) Saturday, September 17, 2011
Splits: 9:44, 9:30, 9:12, 9:27, 8:50, 8:50, 8:57, 8:52, 8:49, 8:52, 8:31, 8:42, 8:47, 8:41, 8:43, 8:45, 8:41, 8:22, 8:11, 8:10, 7:51
Average Pace: 8:47

NOTE: see my first 20 miler for Chicago (week of 8/15, average pace 9:37) here and second one (week of 8/29, average pace 8:59) here for comparisons.

This run was good for my confidence.  I was aiming for a sub 9-minute mile overall pace.  This would be a pace that was roughly 90 seconds slower than my marathon pace goal.  It is recommended that your long runs fall 45-90 seconds slower than marathon pace.  I can actually do mine 2 minutes or more slower and be fine, but I figured I would aim to complete this run closer to my marathon pace if I possibly could.  Also, I added the extra mile since, due to a miscalculation, I thought I needed it to get to 60 miles this week.  Oops! 

The first mile was the toughest mile I have run all week!  I was very tight and sore.  I took about 4 miles to warm up, then hit all of the rest at my goal pace or faster.  The weather was great (low 60s), my hydration was perfect (water and nuun), and my music was a nice distraction.  My pace on Saturday was the best of the 3 long runs that I've done, but it was also in the hardest week in terms of workouts and overall mileage. 

I am taking a much needed rest day today.  I am planning a few posts on my favorite part of training--the mental component.  If you are wanting to improve your focus for race day, these posts are for you!