I was a bit tired at the beginning of this week so I took Tuesday off and felt much better after doing so. It was my first day off in about 7 weeks. For the past 9 weeks, I have averaged 90 miles per week. On Saturday I did a moderate workout of 2 x 3 miles at a brisk pace. I basically ran from Pennyfield to Riley's Lock and back. I hit 16:00 for the first 3(5:20 pace), took a few minutes rest, and came home in 15:45(5:15 pace). This felt a bit quicker than marathon pace, but it felt good. Perhaps this was my first real "marathon pace workout." I also did a really nice very hilly 15 miler this week, on the backroads of Poolesville.
Next weekend is the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon, which I am gearing up for. Am I ready? I have been closing quite quickly at the end of general aerobic runs, which is always a good sign for me before racing. Based on really the last year of training, I am ready to PR. It is tough though, and there are no guarantees. The 1:08:39 I ran last year is my current PR, an average of 5:14 per mile, under perfect conditions. The only thing I'm a bit worried about is the weather. The forecast so far for Sunday calls for high of 80, low of 60's(of course this can change). And of course it won't be 80 during the race(I'll be done by 9am), it will probably be in the 60s, which isn't bad. Also, I think of all those workouts and training runs where I cranked out 5:00 or sub 5:00 miles in the heat these past several months. Even workouts before I ran the USA Half Champs in June, I think will begin to pay off now. The half dozen 20+ milers I did this summer are the building blocks for my marathon training, but are also serving as support training for the half marathon. At any rate, I am looking foward to racing!
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