that’s how I felt during the 12 mile MP workout. I ran too fast but I just got into the pace and couldn’t get myself out of it. It felt very easy for the first 8 and then I had to work – especially the last three. Here’s how it went down.
I started off with a two mile warmup at 9:00 and then 7:47. I wanted to be going a bit faster the second mile so getting down to 7:15/7:20 pace would not be that hard. I went faster than I expected, but it felt easy and relaxed. The splits for the first six miles were:
7:07/164 HR
7:01/163 HR
7:09/166 HR
6:59/168 HR
7:09/167 HR
7:06/169 HR
Those felt very strong. I tried to slow down a bit but couldn’t seem to get myself into the 7:15-7:20 range – I was in a flow that felt good.
The next three went well (7:06, 7:01, 7:05) and I felt like I could keep the pace up for quite a while. The HR was up in the 172 range but it didn’t feel too different than the earlier six. Miles 10-12 though were a lot more work. The HR was up to the high 170s, low 180s and I did not feel like I could have gone much more than 3 miles beyond the 12 planned (if I had to). The last three miles were:
7:03/177 HR
7:00/177 HR
6:42/183 HR
I didn’t try to run the last one at such a quick pace but I just picked it up to the finish I guess. It was a good run, but the last three were tough. There was no way I could have kept that pace up for an entire marathon, but I guess I don’t have to since I am only looking to do 7:15 pace. In reality, I ran that pace workout at about the same as I ran the Leaf Peepers half marathon. I think I might have actually been going faster because I was running harder with more left at the end of this run.
I feel good about this and my condition. The previous two days of recovery really made me feel better for this run. I felt really fantastic the first part of this run. I took the pace too hard but it was a good psychological boost for me.
Onward.
2/11/07 15.1 miles/1:50:38/7:20 pace/165 HR (with 12 miles at MP)
Week total: 67.5 miles
Let the bad air out ... 