Long Week With More on the Way

I got my 70 miles in for the week. I was pleased with the 20 miler last Sunday and the speed workout on Tuesday. The other runs were much slower than I had been running, even my recovery runs. I came really close to cutting Thursday’s 12-mile run down to 8. I had absolutely no drive to continue. However, once I made the turn and started the final four miles, it actually got easier. I got to the point, where I had no choice but to finish, so I didn’t have play mental games to keep me going.

Tomorrow will be one of my toughest runs of this training cycle. I’m scheduled to run 17 miles, including 14 miles at marathon pace. Marathon pace for me is 7:00 minute miles. This pace isn’t really based on anything; it's just a goal to shoot for. Pace calculators actually say I should be a bit slower than this, but I haven’t run a marathon since February 2003, so I picked 7:00 minute pace because it’s a round number and will be easy to monitor. Other than the distance, my biggest concern is that it’s been pretty windy here lately. I run along the bay, which means I have no protection from whatever wind there is. Anyway, if I can maintain my pace for the scheduled 14 miles tomorrow, I think I’ll be able to make a good run at 7:00 pace at the Napa Valley Marathon on March 5.

I’ve been thinking about my running and racing schedule for 2006. As of now, I’m hoping to run the Napa Valley Marathon on March 5 and the Bayshore Marathon on Memorial Day weekend (I’m not sure of the exact date). However, I’m not sure what if anything I'll race in the fall. If I find a fall marathon that I really want to do, I think I’ll train through Bayshore and run it as a long run and a fun trip. That way I can run my highest mileage and my toughest workouts during the longest days of summer and try to make a run at a sub-3:00 marathon sometime in October. Just something to think about.