One Week To Go . . .
until the California International Marathon, my first marathon.
Today I did my last long run. About 11 miles, 9 of it timed. I ran with my running group, sort of. I started with the fast group, which was chugging along at about 8 min/mile pace. It felt O.K., and I was feeling pretty good, until I heard someone ask when they were going to get going. Then they started talking back and forth about what their marathon pace was going to be, and I heard numbers like 6:20 and 6:30, and I realized, at that point, that I was with the wrong group. So, after a couple of miles, they took off at THEIR goal marathon pace, leaving me to keep my own pace.
I did pretty well. Overall, I ran 9 miles in 1:08:22, a 7:35 pace, and for the last 4.5 miles I managed to keep up a 7:18 pace. Since my goal marathon is (maybe) 7:38 pace (that’s what I need to do to run the marathon in 3:20), that was faster than necessary. It felt pretty good, but it’s still not clear whether I’ll be able to hold that pace beyond 18-20 miles.
I’m still undecided about whether to go for 3:20, or to be more cautious and stick with the 3:30 pace group (8 min pace) for most of the race. Aerobically, I can handle a 3:20 pace fine, but my legs tend to get really heavy late in a long race. I’ll see how I feel later this week.
The forecast for next Sunday, for what it’s worth so far out, is 42 degree low and sunny. That would be ideal — the temperature would be in the 40s at the start of the race and would get up into the mid-50s by the end of the race.
On another note, I bought another bodyfat scale so I can more accurately measure my weight loss progress AND keep track of bodyfat percentage (assuming this scale works, an assumption never really verified by my experience with the last scale).
So, the plan for this week: Eat well, but not too much. Lay off alcohol and junk. Keep the weight down, but don’t really diet this week. Run light mileage, but do a little bit of fast running. Stay off my feet and get to the starting line with healthy, fresh legs. Only 7 days to go.
November 30, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Great job bro and good luck. I ran my first marathon in Oct. and it was a blast!!! Now i’m hooked, good luck and don’t get caught up in the race, run your pace.