Thursday, January 11, 2007

Liking This Speed

Ran 10.3 miles. 1.8 mile warmup + 7.0 miles @ 6:51/mile pace + 1.5 mile cooldown.
Paved roads.
Moderately hilly.
Weather: Temps in mid-20s, sunny.

Today was a test of sorts. I had a 10 mile MP run on Saturday that was at a 6:56/mile pace. Two days ago I had a run that included 7 miles @ 6:50/mile pace. Today, the goal was to do seven miles at MP along with a warmup and cooldown, but I wasn't sure how I'd do given the past five days. I feel I did well. Really well.

Like two days ago, I ran the first 1.8 miles with two guys from work who are starting to run. They did great again, and after running with them I set out for my seven at MP (target is 7:10/mile). The first two miles seemed the toughest, which was similar to Tuesday. After that, they just clicked off for the most part. However, today it did seem a bit tougher towards the end, but even then, not hardcore laborious, just a little tougher.

Mile 1: 6:53
Mile 2: 7:06
Mile 3: 7:11
Mile 4: 6:45
Mile 5: 6:38
Mile 6: 6:47
Mile 7: 6:38

The splits are a bit all over the pace in large part because of the hills. However, mile 5 was mostly uphill, so that's a nice sign being it was one of my fastest splits. Definitely a very good day.

4 comments:

Banking Miles said...

Nice run again for you. Seems that you have been stringing several good runs together. Based on these recent MP runs, what is the Parrot Predictor estimate about your marathon time? Any change from when you mentioned it before?

Jamie Anderson said...

Thanks Bapp. Given that I complete the week as planned (10 tomorrow, 10 Saturday, 23 Sunday), I'll be very much on track according to the Parrot Predictor. I remember Andrew posting that the more miles you get in, the more accurate it is. I should have at least 70 by Sunday, with the only obstacle being weather.

However, I kind of want to ignore any predictors at this point and go under the assumption that I still have a lot of work to do and keep plugging away at it. Complacency can be a killer.

Andrew said...

In marathon, consider a strategy that keeps miles 1-3 as a 'warmup' somewhere 15-30 seconds slower than MP. Then allow yourself to ease into 7:10's until mile 20, dipping below 7 as the spirit moves you. You may find this method of conserving energy in the early miles will pay off.

I like the ease with which you run these paces. Nice.

UMaine Cooperative Extension said...

The fact that you are running these paces at a decent effort in the middle of a 70 mile week speaks volumes about your training.

Well done.