Intervals — 5 days to go
I worked out with the running group last night. The workout was supposed to be 3 x 2 miles @ goal marathon pace, but I cut the last interval short to one mile.
My times were:
1st 2 miles: 14:44 (7:22 pace)
2nd 2 miles: 7:36 (7:18 pace)
3d 1 mile: 6:56
At the beginning I still wasn’t sure whether I was going to go for 3:20 or 3:30 in the marathon, but I decided I would run the workout at 3:20 pace, which is 7:38 min/mile. I couldn’t help myself, though — since the others were running faster than that, I did as well, averaging 7:20 min/mile over the first two intervals and going a lot faster than that for the last one. The pace didn’t feel too hard or fast, although definitely faster than I would want to attempt for a full marathon. I felt good enough about it that I am going to go for 3:20 on Sunday, assuming my legs feel good when I get to the starting line. Beating 3:20 would qualify me for the Boston marathon. I may not actually choose to run it, but I would like to qualify.
The forecast for the weather on marathon day remains almost perfect: low of 41 degrees, partly cloudly, no wind. It will probably be about 42-43 at 7 a.m. when the race starts, and will warm up to around 50 by 10:15-10:30, when I hope to finish.
This a.m.: weight 173.6, down a bit from yesterday. BF: 17.1%, same ballpark as day before, so at least the measurements on this new scale are reasonably consistent. Waist: 36.75 — no change. I won’t sweat it now, before the marathon, but after the marathon I need to be just a bit more vigilent about the dieting to start seeing some real results. I’m determined to get my weight down to 165 or less by Valentine’s day, before our Hawaii trip, so I don’t spend the whole year, and the running season, thinking about weight loss.
