Training...

So, I should probably relate how training is going for my fall marathon(s). On the surface- it's going well! No injuries, no burn-out- I did a 15.5 mile run yesterday and felt great! I felt a bit fatigued afterward, but it is just as likely that the fact that I didn't have breakfast or lunch (I had to rush to go to work) is as probable a reason for the cause.

I also did an 8 mile recovery run this morning, and it went fine. 10:25 pace around a hilly course, and my heart rate average was 135. Essentially, I followed the path of the Heart of the Hills race, which I'm going to try to run my best this Saturday.

I have a race strategy. I'd really like to run the first third of the race in the eight to 8:15 min/mile pace, the second third in the high sevens, and the last third as fast as I can. Hopefully the mid to low sevens, but that's just a hope. Maintaining sub-eight really is what I'm after; hopefully enough to have my average pace below eight min/mile.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Beyond that, my weekly milage has been pretty good. I did 51 last week, while only doing 41 this week. I skipped my mid-week long run, probably because I came home from work a bit too fatigued to convince myself to get out the door. I did go biking a couple of times, so that was nice. I even went swimming for about 10 minutes. *sigh* Baby steps.... a lot like when I first started running.

On the flip side, my average pace is pretty slow. Running with my 501 training class keeps me in the 10:30-11:30 pace. I do make it up during my speedwork. But I really need to add in my Thursday tempo runs. I guess that'll be my goal for next week... this week, I'll take it somewhat easy for the race saturday. I hope.