Day 82

8 miles at "marathon pace"... yesterday I decided that I'd be running 8:00 minute miles for my marathon pace. After today's run I'm not so sure.

Distance: 8.0 miles
Duration: 1:03:13
Pace: 7:54
HR Avg/Max: 156/175
notes:

8 minute mile pace felt hard today... the first four or so miles were easy enough but all the while my heart rate was creeping up into the 155 range which seems a little high if it were really the first four miles of my marathon. Mile 5 I had a tough hill to tackle and about 2/3rds of the way up the hill there was a train crossing the road. When I got to the train I didn't want to stop so I ran back down the hill and then ran up it again. By the time I got there the second time the train was past but my legs were burning and my heart rate pushed up to 175... after that the heart rate never really came back down (except for one brief point where it hit 158). It was in the 160's for the rest of my run. By mile 8 I was glad that I was done!

I know that I had a lot of factors working against me today. I ran the time trial on Wednesday, it was hotter conditions then the race should be, this is my fifth day in a row of training, the hills, etc... but still it was a bit of a hit to my confidence. But there's still 6 more weeks before the marathon and three more weeks of good hard training before the taper, so hopefully the pace will feel better.