Marathon Simulation Run

Today Mark Chase and I went to Boston and I ran my 5th and final 20+ miler of this cycle with the Miles for Miracles team. It was a very cold start to the run, and there was no way to drop any gear. Therefore, I decided to dress light, in anticipation of the weather warming about an hour into the run. Ultimately, I was happy that I did this, but initially I was quite miserable. My goal was to run 75 minutes for the first 10 miles, 70 minutes for the second 10 miles, and then gut out the 21st mile. Everything seemed to come together quite nicely yesterday. I went through 10 in 73 minutes, the second 10 in 66 minutes and the final mile I snuck in just under 7:00. Total time was 2:29:08 which represented a 7:01 overall pace for the 21 miles. It was a great opportunity to see the first part of the course and become familiar with it. I felt really strong and definitely had more gas in the tank. It was a fitting end to a good trainng cycle. Now, an easy 5 to shake my legs out tomorrow and the taper begins on Monday. Halleluiah!