A Bit of Fun

One of the downsides of all the serious training is that I have been missing out on some of the more casual/fun sides of running that I have always enjoyed (The trade off is worth it). I miss a good long day on the trails with no purpose other than covering ground with friends. I miss running with slower friends and helping them to achieve their goals. I miss running a race just because my friends are doing it. I know all of that will still be here in a few years when I can switch my focus, but in the meantime I am going to work on trying to have a bit more fun and not being quite so Type A about everything somehow.

The next few weeks are a great time to get some fun in. Coaches orders the past two weeks have been light running at my discretion so I definitely took that to heart. Time to recover and relax a little bit so I can get focused when we start ramping up again. (I can't lie after just one week I am ready to get back to it, but know that mentally and physically I need a bit more time before jumping back into tempos and speed)

Last week had a great night out with my running gals for sushi and post race celebrations and Sunday I managed to have fun racing just for the sake of it. This week kicked off the fun with a Halloween Costume run in downtown Cleveland. 3.5 super slow but super fun miles dressed as a pirate were just what the doc ordered :) Followed that up with a nice trail run last night and looking forward to another easy trail run Saturday with my girls!

In the meantime I have started back up with some upper body and core strengthening to try and keep the post race fun (beers, wine, ice cream) pounds at bay.


Funny post event quote from Brandon the carrot "Carrot's are good for runners, Carrot's are not good runners"

The cheerleader was definitely making my post marathon legs look bad (seriously guys shouldn't have that good of legs ;))

Joke of the night from non costumed bar attendees "What's a pirates favorite letter? The C matey!"

Where do we go from here?

This is a bit scatterbrained, but I'm a bit scatterbrained, so I think it is appropriate. Bear with me :)

I'm pretty sure the cat is out of the bag. All this focus the past two years has been in an attempt to see if I am capable of making it to the women's marathon Olympic Trials in 2012. The B standard is 2:46:00. And while 4 minutes is still a lot of time in a marathon, having run the sub 2:50 definitely makes my crazy goal seem within the realm of achievable.

I'm not sure at exactly what point I decided I was going to try to do this. But a combination of Salty egging me on, watching the 2008 trials at Boston, and seeing a high school friend of mine go 2:28 in his first marathon made me wonder if I could go that route too. At one point in high school I had promise as a decent runner and it just didn't pan out. I got distracted by boys, partying, school, etc. and probably missed out on some faster running in my youth.

But I have to say running PRs in every distance this year at age 28 and 29 is pretty cool, and I definitely appreciate getting faster now more than I ever could have when younger. And I am not the only one. I am sure this is happening all over the country, but it has been really cool to be a part of this competitive surge in Ohio right now. If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of fast women runners in Ohio right now! I can remember a few years back thinking a sub 20 5k was the epitome of fitness, and it would have placed top 3 in a lot of local races. Now that pace won't even win a local marathon half the time. I think it is a bit of a domino effect. Someone does something impressive and it motivates the next person to do the same or better. I'm excited to see what this does for women's running in the US!

But at the same time I am not sure what my personal marathon limitations are and while 2:46 seems doable, 2:39 (The current A standard) still seems like a pipe dream. And the fact is there is still another year or so to qualify and there are already 104 women qualified. For the trials at Boston they threatened to cut the field if it got too large and I am sure that is possible with the upcoming trials too. The likelihood of the standards staying where they are for 2016 aren't likely with all these ladies getting faster, so I need to step it up, and I need to step it up now!

Getting sub 2:50 at Columbus really leaves me no other choice than to go for 2:46 now. Of course I will be elated to get any faster than 2:49:53, but running a 2:47 or 2:48 isn't the goal now, the goal is to get to the trials, or blow up trying :) While I obviously will always want to better myself and be as fast as I can, I can honestly say if it never gets better than this, it has been an awesome run and I am so glad I focused and worked hard for this now while I can. I don't want to look back and wonder "what if?" So really I have nothing to lose at this point!

From where I sit I have 2, possibly 3 chances left to line up my ducks to make it to the start line at Houston in 2012. First attempt will be at Boston which if you followed me this year you know wasn't an ideal course or race for me. I can't lie I want to do the 2:46 at Boston for sure. That way the pressure is off for my next fall marathon. Was it the wisest decision to pick this course for my attempt, probably not. But as we've seen, I'm not always the brightest. And I can't deny the appeal of going back and dominating that course after this years disappointment.

So now I have to figure out what to change in training so that my body can handle the pace and the course in April. I need to get stronger and obviously a bit faster still. All of this while trying to keep from mentally and physically burning out in the process. What I think this will translate into for winter training is more indoor track racing and workouts, focus on core and upper body strength, and more long runs on rolling courses.

Thanks to everyone that has made this possible so far. And thanks for the continued support! I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for!

Peace Race 10k

What's that you say, didn't you just run a marathon? Shouldn't you be recovering? Yep that's what I should be doing. Instead I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to do one more fall race with all these fast Ohio ladies.

Post marathon "recovery" had consisted of one stupid lunch run on Tuesday where I traveled all over Cleveland at 8 minute pace and did my best not to complain. Then a 4 mile slow jog on Saturday to make sure I didn't have any injuries. My right calf unfortunately is not happy, but I think it is just cramping because of my poor hydration this week, aka lots of beer, wine, and sweets, and no sense of a smart recovery plan.

So I drove out to Youngstown Saturday night and got a great nights sleep and thankfully got to sleep in because of the 10:15 AM start. We loaded up the elite (I still can't really call myself that, but, it was definitely awesome being pampered at Columbus and here and I am so appreciative of it and hope to perform at a level deserving of the designation soon) cars at 9:15 and headed over to the start of this point to point rolling course. I had been warned that it could be fast but that the downhills were going to trash my body. Wonderful, where do I sign up?

Got to warm up with some fun Second Sole chicks and then we were on the line. My mission was just to survive and hopefully not embarrass myself. No plans for PRs, just wanted to try and keep it under half marathon pace if possible.

Took it out a hair fast and my calf tightened immediately, but since it would be tight even running 9 minute pace I just went with it and ran what I felt my aerobic system could handle. There was a girl with headphones and I just could not let her stay in front of me so I probably pushed the first two miles a little bit. 5:44 and 6:00. After that we were done with the downhills and the rest of the course was mostly flat or up and my pace slowed dramatically. 6:20 (Like Paige I pondered if this was the 5k and not 3 mile, but alas it was 3!)

After 3 I started wondering what on earth I was doing to myself, but just kept running as hard as I could and hoping the time would pass quickly. Had some good Usher tunes swimming in my head which kept me from falling completely into survival mode. 6:12 for mile 4. Not great, but oh well. Then a guy with headphones caught me and I did my best to use his encouragement to step it up. I could see the lead women way the heck in front of me as we ran along the river and had to laugh. This is why you don't run 10k a week after your marathon!

By mile 4 I was fried. It was warm and my face was flushed, I seriously wondered if I might pass out. I could hear a female behind me and assumed it was my Second Sole buddy MC and just tried to keep the pace. Mile 5 another 6:20 and I am starting to wonder just what hill we will be going up at the finish. I am starting to recognize places from my first 50k and I remembered this monster climb exiting the park and had to hope that was not the hill, because if it was I was so screwed!

About 5.5 the female on my tail passed me and nope it was not MC, it was KG. Uggh this girl has smoked me in the past, but I didn't know she was there and it surprised me. Gave my best attempt to go with her, hah, good luck with that. She pulled away on the last climb (thankfully just a bridge, not a monster hill) and gapped 14 seconds on me quickly. I tried to muster some sort of kick to stay in 6th place as my Second Sole teammate cheered from the sidelines. Crossed in 38:10.6 and 6th female, and the way the awards worked out 2nd Ohioan (Really 4th Ohioan, but with awards for top 3 US, and top 4 Ohioans, I ended up with 2nd Ohioan the way it played out)

I knew going in it would hurt, so I wasn't too surprised that I was hobbling around pretty badly afterward. This was the feeling I was expecting post marathon and never got. So if you run your next marathon and don't get the pain you expect, just race a hilly 10k the next week, that will set you right ;) Thankfully MC convinced me to do the cool down, and by the end my legs were somewhat functional. Going to keep my eye on the calf this week though and get a massage.

So yes the race wasn't the brightest move, but despite a little pain I had fun. Now time for a bit more partying before deciding how to approach training for Boston. Lots more on that and post marathon stuff to come.

Marathon Splits

I haven't analyzed these at all. Not sure I will. I really just tried to run by feel and I think they reflect that. Obviously would have liked to close a little closer to the time I went out in but that's probably just because I was a hair aggressive early on and losing contact with other runners late in the race makes my perception of pace a little whacky.

1 06:14.8
2 06:19.0
3 06:33.5
4 06:28.1
5 06:23.4
6 06:27.1
7 06:35.1
8 06:27.6
9 06:24.0
10 06:18.6
11 06:29.4
12 ~6:22.5
13 ~6:22.5
14 06:38.2
15 06:27.6
16 06:25.3
17 06:26.4
18 06:35.2
19 06:49.1
20 06:30.3
21 06:24.7
22 06:31.3
23 06:27.2
24 ~6:40.3
25 ~6:40.3
26 06:36.5
26.2 01:15.7

10k 39:50.0
Half 1:24:17
20 Mile 2:09:18
Finish 2:49:53

Columbus Marathon Race Report

Wow as I sit here patiently waiting for Boston registration to open I don't even know where to begin with this race report. So many little things had to go right yesterday to add up to my race conclusion and it is just amazing how it works out sometimes. As frustrating as Boston was this year Columbus was doubly satisfying because of it. I wouldn't take it back now if I could.

I went into this race a bit quiet on my goals. While I was confident I was in shape to hit them I have never lined up my marathon goals with my short races so I didn't want to get cocky or ahead of myself. I also thought that I would likely be disappointed no matter the outcome because I knew going into the race I wasn't in shape to meet my ultimate goal for the marathon right now. I was very wrong about that!

My goal going in was 2:50 with a stretch goal of 2:48. I wanted to run my own race and just not worry about pace. I wanted to be 1:24-1:25 at the half no matter how I felt so I could give myself a chance at the goal.

I was a bit sad I couldn't run with my training partner since she was setting a more aggressive goal and I just knew deep down I wasn't ready for that pace. And I wasn't willing to risk running slower than 2:55 by being greedy. Had I run the sub 3 at Boston, maybe, but I certainly did not want to go over 3 again, and I know how quickly time can come back at you at the end of a poorly paced marathon.

So I meandered through my taper with slightly tweaked hamstrings and waited to see what the day would give me. Taking the more aggressive goal off the table left me relaxed and ready to roll. I wasn't nervous about my goal at all. I knew without a doubt I was in shape for 2:54-2:56 and just had the feeling that I was ready for better than that. Race day dawned and my legs felt super ready, weather was perfect, and I just knew it would be a good day. On my way to the elite warm up area I saw the race Director Darris and got a big hug sealing the deal for me, it just had to be a good day if you hug the race director!

NC and I got in our warm up and before you knew it we were toeing the line. I managed to find my parents and my husband and was relaxed and ready to roll out. I decided to take advantage of the elite perks and started right up front, you never know if you'll be able to do that again so I went for it. Our Second Sole team was out in full force and it was nice toeing the line with a bunch of us in the same Oregon green!

Took it out a little fast. I knew my training partner was aiming for 6:15 pace and that I wouldn't see her for long but I shouldn't be too far behind her. The first few miles flew by and for a brief instant I considered just going for it with her but I heard my trusty friends cheering me on and shouting "Patience!" to me as I requested and let her slowly move ahead along with a slew of fast half marathon women and a few other marathon women. I had checked out the names of the elites on Saturday and it looked like a lot of women with similar talents so I was solely focused on running my effort and my time and didn't want to worry about competing.

As is mostly par for the course for me I somehow got separated from people around me around mile 2 and was ready to make way by myself when I was caught by one of our training friends BY. He had just run Wineglass and was on 2:50 pace through 23 when both his hamstrings seized and he hobbled in for 3:06ish. I was happy to see him but didn't want him to hold himself back for me if he wanted to go faster. But he said he would be very happy with 2:50 and we fell in step together. We were a little fast at the point but nothing excessive. It didn't feel easy, but it felt controlled and I was willing to push a little bit if it meant having company! BY was also wearing an outrageous yellow shirt with chili peppers which made for lots of good cheering!

We fell in with another female marathoner running her second marathon and hoping for sub 2:50 as well as a Brooks runner who apparently reads my blog and likes it so much he has been doing my training! Small world. We joked about him being my stalker but for the next few miles we were all a happy group clicking off the miles as we made our way through the neighborhoods of Columbus. Each mile came and went in around 6:30 and things seemed good! At the 10k BY's wife joined in on the fun and it really did feel like it was a regular old hard training run, just with spectators and aid stations as well as my fun personal water bottles I had made up for the elite tables at 6, 12, and 18. It definitely didn't feel easy but time was passing by quickly! Before we knew it we were to mile 9 and friends and family were cheering on the sidelines. And then we were on to 12 and my next bottle and the start of double caffeine roctane Gus! The crowds here were crazy and I thought I saw my parents and David but couldn't really say. We lost MY and BY to a portalet and we forged forward now just myself and Brooks D.

Knowing the crowd would thin after 13 we eased up the incline of High street still clipping off miles around 6:30. As we arrived at the half in 1:24:17 we were suddenly joined by a bike escort and a friend of Brooks D asking what place I was in. I had no clue but had a feeling the new bike escort meant it was pretty far up. Sure enough he let me know that I was in 5th and I noticed I could see two more bike escorts in the horizon. Noted. But it was still early and from here on out in the marathon each mile can be the last one of feeling semi normal, and I know it too well so I stayed within myself as we kept clipping off the miles and slowly closed in on those bike escorts.

The day was playing out eerily similar to last years race except this year I was a minute ahead of my goal pace at the half rather than behind and we were obviously running way faster than I have ever run for the distance. I was enjoying myself, enjoying the spectators, the bands, and though we didn't talk much I was glad for the company. Around mile 16 there is a brief out and back where you can see those ahead of you and then those behind. I was thrilled to see we were getting close to #3 and #4 and as we made our way to 17 it was nice to note there were no women close behind. Though we did see BY and I was glad to see he was making up time from the pit stop!

I remembered struggling a bit with this section last year and that the pace had slowed a bit and it felt harder. I warned Brooks D of this and mentally prepared for a couple of slow miles. But I knew I was getting my bottle and gel at mile 18 and I knew my family planned to be between 18 and 20 so that kept my spirits up despite a few slower miles. Unfortunately as we neared 19 just like last year I lost my new friend. I was getting really close to the next two women now and despite trying to remain within myself I was definitely urged forward by getting by them and trying to finish top 3. I encouraged #4 as I passed at mile 19. And as I saw my family just before mile 20 I started to close in on #3. Getting to 20 is always a great thing in a marathon. That means it's 10k time. That 10k can go by quickly or it can go by slowly, but you know you are getting so much closer!

I encouraged #3 to go with me, she is the sister of another great Ohio runner and I knew her goal was similar to mine. As I passed by each girl the bike escorts would change. So I now had the #3 escort and she was great. I joked with her and she commented on how great I looked. Nothing like someone blowing sunshine at you at the end of a marathon! I didn't want to push too hard here, I remembered last year getting a little carried away from 20 to 23 and slowing down from 23-26. I really didn't look at the watch much and just kept pushing forward enjoying the spectators, waving when I could, thanking volunteers, and even jamming to some of the tunes. Mile 24 a band was playing Foo Fighters which always reminds me of my husband and it definitely got me moving.

My bike escort informed me that she would let me know if she saw the bike for #2. I told her let's not worry about that and let's just have fun. At the time I assumed #1 and #2 were my training partner and the lady I had met at Spirit of Columbus from TNT. I knew they both had the goal of 2:46 and I told my bike escort I really didn't want to see them, because I wanted them both to get the 2:46 and OTQ. No one deserved it more than them and I was hopeful they were getting it done! A bit before 25 a spectator shouted didn't we just see you and I knew that meant my training partner was still up there. I was hoping at least 4 minutes ahead. I saw a few local friends here and it was just nice to see people I knew as I worked my way to the finish.

As I turned down the familiar streets it was still eerily similar to last year. I was relaxed and I knew sub 3 was mine no matter what happened and was confident of 2:50. But then as I neared mile 25 my heart broke as I watched my training partner weave back and forth across the street. I encouraged her to come with me so we could finish together, but she told me she couldn't do it. Her family was just ahead and I encouraged them to get her back in the game. I didn't know what was wrong, but I know exactly how that must have felt as the same thing had happened to me at Boston this year when I was caught by multiple friends in the final miles. If I could change anything about the day it would have been her result. She struggled with the final 3 miles and still managed a 3 minute PR, but the result does not reflect her fitness or her strength and hard work and she deserved a more rewarding day. I know she is probably disappointed but I am so proud of her and I know she will go on to do some amazing things in the marathon (This was only her 2nd one at age 25!)

I knew that if it was me I would want her to finish strong and I went by and hoped that she would rally. The crowds became insane after this and though my body was sore and my gait wasn't fluid I was grinning ear to ear as I made my way to the finish. Thankfully my math skills are poor and I didn't realize I had slowed down a bit despite passing runners, but once I made that final turn and saw that I could squeak in under 2:50 I hauled ass down towards the finish and threw my hands in the air in celebration. 2:49:53. The sub 3 monkey off my back and somehow coming in 2nd place amongst a field of great women. (Note that the half marathon field was stacked and probably 13 of those women ran better races than I did in the full) But for me it was the perfect day, the perfect race, and my best effort to date. I ran with confidence, I had fun, and I truly raced the marathon. I had friends and family to share it with on the way and the streets of Columbus were full of volunteers and spectators urging me on to my finish. It really was amazing. And I couldn't be happier with it, even if it had been 2:46.

Lucky number 20 and number 3 at Columbus was apparently the charm. I just could not have asked for a better venue, a better crowd, a better support team, or a better effort from myself.

Now if the BAA site would just work so I could sign up for Boston in the hopes of having another day like this in April!
Awesome day in columbus! 2 49 53! report coming soon! thanks for all the speedy virtual vibes!

Funny Photo

In honor of getting out tonight for some laughs I thought I'd post a comical photo from our track workout a month or so ago.

Photo Courtesy of: Daryl Quentin

Everyone's expression here is odd. No clue what we were discussing.
I find it comical that my sweat lines imitate the Under Armour logo.

Marathon Training Week 11

One week to go! Legs aren't feeling great, but I am sure with some rest this week and pampering I will be ready to roll out on Sunday!

Goals for the week:

Total Mileage 45 - 50.

Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 5 miles @ 6:15.
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower.
Weekend:
10 miles @ 7:00
12 miles @ 7:20.

How it played out:

49.5 miles for the week

Monday-rest
Tuesday-8 with track
Wednesday- 7 at 8:16
Thursday- 7.5 with tempo
Friday- 5 at 8:10
Sat- 10 at 6:57
Sun- 12 at 7:17

Track: Another cold drizzly night goal was 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 all at 85 per quarter with rest at half the time of the previous interval. We were right on and it felt solid, decided not to push the pace any faster towards the end of the workout since it is so close to the marathon.

01:24.5
02:50.2
04:15.0
05:38.9
04:14.3
02:48.3
01:25.1


Tempo: Back to our rolling course, it's been awhile and the legs definitely didn't enjoy the rollers at 6:15 pace, but not a bad workout considering the light warm up.
06:15.8
06:12.2
06:17.1
06:14.6
06:13.0

Long runs went just fine. Hamstrings are "cranky" but hopefully the massage this morning has worked that out!

Mentally I'm not sure what's going on, this taper hasn't really felt like a taper for me. I'm not stir crazy, and I'm really relaxed about the marathon. Hopefully that's a good sign!

F5 Akron Relay Rundown

This was my 5th year participating in some manner in the Akron Road Runner Marathon. This is a great event, they care about the runners, the course is beautiful (yet tough), the schwag is great (RT subscription, brooks shoes or jacket for full, technical tee for all, free beer at the finish), and nearly all of my friends participate. My first experience with the race was on a coed relay. We surprised ourselves and finished on the podium that year and started a tradition. The following year we had all females and once again made it into the top three. Then I joined pacer Jim's pace team and had to give up my slot on the relay to pace the full marathon the past two years. This year I didn't want to pace any fulls and potentially slow my own marathons down so I was stoked to be back on the relay. And since I've been getting faster they even let me anchor!

Before the race we emailed our predicted best case/worst case times and based on those it looked like our team would run between 2:47 and 3:07, a big range since many are coming back from injury, haven't been running, or just finished big races. I was fairly confident I could hold 6:05 pace for my 7.9 mile leg. Would have liked to been sub 6 but wasn't sure given the course is a bit hilly and I wouldn't have anyone to really run with since all those around me would likely be running the full marathon and I would be faster than them at that point.

We had pretty much perfect weather conditions. 50s or 60s, a little sun, and a little wind. Can't beat that. Had fun cheering on my friends in the half and full at the start and mile 3.5 then we hopped on our shuttle bus and got our butts to our exchange point. Warmed up and got to the exchange corral at the fast end of our predicted time. And watched as the first two all female relays went through, and the top 5 overall females in the full marathon. Whoa, time for me to go to work :) The first two womens teams had about a 6 minute head start on me so I was pretty sure I wasn't catching either of them, but I also was running this race as a gauge of my fitness for Columbus so I couldn't slack off!

First few miles I was flying right around 6 minute pace and picked off the 4th and 5th female marathoners pretty quickly along with some men. I felt pretty smooth and just kept clicking through. The course is slightly up these miles then you have a mile with a decent climb followed by a flat mile, followed by another climb before the 2 miles downhill to the finish. Thankfully I missed my 3rd mile split because it was shockingly slow, around 6:30. I was chugging away trying to catch up to my friend who was the 3rd female in the race, and she was moving. It took me at least 3 miles to catch her and she looked strong and relaxed!

Another super slow mile through Garman and I was not happy with that split as I saw it and it was also over 6:20. I knew the next section was flat and I tried to get back into a groove running by a few local guys I knew in the full. Then I was on my own. No one in sight so I just chugged along looking forward to the downhill. Lots of friendly spectators were out in their lawns cheering which was nice, but it was hard to push myself into the wind while flying solo. I reminded myself it could be like this at the marathon and upped the ante.

Around mile 24 of the marathon I noticed a small pack in the distance and was pretty sure one was my running friend who was in the 2nd place all female team. She had a cold and has been fighting anemia so I was sad she was having a bad day, but knew I had to take one for the team and try to catch her. The next two miles have some decent downhills and I let it fly getting back under 6 minute pace around 5:40 and 5:45 for the last two miles. Caught my friend with about a half mile to go and encouraged her before cruising into the stadium. The whole time I had been looking at the race clocks and trying to determine what our team time would be. I was fairly certain I could keep us under 2:53 and sure enough the clock was closing in on 2:52 as I raced to the finish. Tried to get it under but clock time was 2:52:03 good enough for 2nd female team and 2:51:56 chip time for the team. The first female team smoked us by about 6 minutes with their anchor running the last 7.9 miles 10 seconds faster than me. Drat! Too bad we didn't start together, that would have been an interesting race!


This was our relays best time to date and I believe each girl ran her leg faster than ever before so it was a success! Added bonus was enjoying the free beer and watching our friends finish the marathon after wards!


I was happy with my effort but would have liked that time to be a bit faster. Went 48:05 for 6:05 pace which isn't quite the predictor I would have liked to see for Columbus, but it is hard to compare a relay effort to that of a head to head race so we will see how it plays out for me in two weeks!

Week 10

2 weeks to go until the Columbus Marathon! Sweet! I'm definitely getting excited for race day. We're finishing up the last few key workouts and now it's time to get my head on straight and get ready to work hard but stay relaxed on race day!

This week was solid, and helped by cool and drizzly fall weather.

Goal for the week:

Total Mileage 60

Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:10
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower
Weekend:
18 miles @ 6:35 - 6:40
12 miles @ 7:20

How it played out:

63 miles

Monday- Massage and rest
Tuesday- 9.5 miles with track
Wednesday- 8 miles 8:06 pace
Thursday- 8 miles 7:00 pace
Friday- 7 miles 8:28 pace
Saturday- 12 miles 7:18 pace
Sunday- 18 miles 6:34 pace and 0.5 mile cool down

Tuesdays track workout was solid. 5*1600 targeting 5:52-5:55 with 90 second rests. Last time we did this workout I fell way off the pace in the last 2 miles. This week it felt solid the whole time. It was chilly and raining so we headed to a new track that isn't as slick.

5:53
5:53
5:50
5:51
5:40

No tempo this week with the focus being on the last hard long run. 18 miles targeting 6:35-6:40 pace. Again chilly and looked like rain, but lucked out and other than our feet we stayed dry. Skipped the regular Sunday 12 mile loop because I didn't feel like tackling our monster hill at 6:35 pace. Instead we did a 10 mile and 8 mile loop. First 10 targeting 6:40 pace and hoping to run second 8 at 6:35 with a fast finish. Ended up going out right on pace, must have been the coffee. So we were around 6:37 pace after the first 10 and it wasn't hard to get it down to a 6:34 average by the end. Not going to say it was a breeze, but it was solid, we talked the majority of the first 10 miles and the time flew by even after we stopped talking. Would love it if we could get these mid 40s temps for the marathon!