Sunday 18

I went into the city on Sunday to run my miles in Central Park. I did 3 complete loops, including Harlem Hill, in order to get some "hillwork" in. It was a little cooler this weekend, probably in the high 60's, which made a big difference. Last week I really struggled, but this week was a lot better.

My target pace was supposed to be 9:30. I always start slow, but I have a hard time feeling out exactly how fast I'm going. I can just tell if I'm working hard or not. Often I can look at my Garmin, but it was really struggling in the park this time. In fact, because of all the editing, it's hard to figure out all my splits even after the fact. According to SportTracks I started at a 9:37 mile, and by a few miles in I was running sub-9's. I think I was probably a little slower than that.

My times for the loop were:
54:14
51:51 (ok, not including a bathroom break)
51:24 (no break!)

Depending on what distance I use for the loop, I get these paces:
9:53
8:36
8:32

Wow! I did feel tired at the end, and I knew I was going fast, but still. I did a little more than 18 miles in 2:35:27. Throw in another 8.2 miles at 9 minutes each, and that's a 3:49 marathon. (Ok I stopped for a few minutes, so make it 3:52. Still!)

I know the 4 hour marathon is within grasp, and it's making me nervous. I have 11 weeks left to worry about weather, injury, bad luck, or some screw-up causing me to not do it. In the past it was just some sort of dream goal, but now that it's so obviously attainable, it's scary.