Today’ training was aimed to get the milage in and do some race pace running. It started early this morning with some Mountain Biking, in the rain. This however is never a bummer and the muddier you get the better it is. Did a short loop not really sure about distance or time, it was for fun.

I planned to run off the bike, but then got stuck at home, warming up and having lunch. Then I decided for a nap and the motivation became low to work in the rest of the program. It eventually came after a few hours of stuggling with excuses and an espresso and I set out on my planned run.

The idea was to start comfortable 5:00-5:30 pace for the 1st 20k and then to finish strong at race pace 4:05-4:15. However along the way I changed it a bit. I did 1st 10k as planned, the 2nd 10k I took faster 4:30 pace and the last 10k I pushed at race pace. What was the goal? Bring my heart rate up, get my legs warmed up steadily and then simulate with tired legs my race pace to see if I can maintain it. Also get a better feeling for negative splits.

The goal for NYC marathon will be to run the 1st half in 1h30 and the 2nd half below that. I need to be able to pace myself and get the legs accustomed to it. How do I feel? Awesome!!! Its possible and need to do a bit more tempo and interval work to get the fast twitching muscles engaged.

Now its time for compression socks some frozen peas for a quick recovery, also rewarded myself with a nice protein loaded Rump Steak. Looking forward to this training week!

PS: For the non-geeks. The exclamation mark in front of steady means not-steady