D minus 15
15 days to go to the marathon. Since my interval session on Tuesday I’ve run two more times — 6.5 miles on Wednesday afternoon, and 5 miles yesterday at twilight. So that’s 19.5 miles so far this week. I may run just a bit today, and then I’ll run 12 plus miles tomorrow, my longest run until the marathon.
Yesterday was an easy run, although I ran about 400 yards or so at near 5K pace or thereabouts. Wednesday’s run was meant to be easy, but I was feeling good so I picked up the pace a bit, running about 3 miles of the 6.5 at not much more than goal marathon pace — about 7:44 average.
The goal tomorrow is to run maybe 13 miles, with about 5 miles at goal marathon pace. I may try for a bit faster than that — maybe 7:30 or a bit better. I need to push at least a little bit to make sure I stay sharp even while I’m in taper mode.
The CIM marathon is full now, with over 6000 entered, so it will be a crowded scene at the start. There will be pace groups for 3:10, 3:15, and 3:20, and I’m going to start with the 3:20 group. If, halfway through the race, I feel like I can go faster than that, I may try, but it makes sense to be a little cautious. Based upon my race results (not counting Clarksburg, which I mishandled), I should be able to manage a 7:38 pace.
My weight dipped a bit yesterday to about 173, which was good. I’m going to continue to try to be careful and get it down just a bit more so I’m not heavy at race time.
