The Hay is in the Barn

I needed a confidence booster as well as a litmus test to see where I'm at, and I finally got a pretty good indicator today. Warmed up for a mile, than cranked out 13 miles at 6:44/mile and felt pretty darn good, and then cooled down for three miles. Dare I say I even had more in the tank to give.

I think that makes running a 3:07 at MDI in three weeks a pretty realistic goal (7:07/mile pace). While I'd love to be able to say I could hold today's tempo pace for the duration and crack three hours, that simply isn't the case, especially on that course. I respect the 26.2 mile distance and the hills at MDI enough to be realistic.

However, being able to run today's tempo pace 23 seconds slower per mile for the marathon distance to get 3:07 seems quite realistic. Breaking 3:10 obviously seems even more so and I'd be very happy to just PR (3:12:09).

Would like to get in at least one more tempo run this upcoming week, at a much shorter distance though. Maybe even do two, but an interval session might be more prudent. Will think about it a little more.

So in summary: Glad to have some confidence after today. Very much looking forward to MDI.

Warm-up: Ran 1.0 mile @ 7:23/mile pace.
Tempo: Ran 13.0 miles @ 6:44/mile pace.
Cool-down: Ran 3.1 miles @ 8:23/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Moderately hilly.
Upper 50s to mid 60s, sunny, breezy.
Saucony Kinvara 3, shorts.