Training Update: Last Long Run

Taper is here!

On Saturday, I did my last 20-miler, and now have only one 13-miler this weekend and a 10-miler next weekend standing between me and The Big Race! (There will be some short runs in between those, obviously, but as far as long stuff I'm done.)

Several months ago, I set target paces for my training runs based on my very ambitious goal time, and according to the plan I was supposed to hold a pace of 8:40 per mile on Saturday. Considering that I was supposed to aim for something like 8:54-minute miles during my last 20-miler two weeks ago, this seemed like a fairly big jump in pace. I figured I'd probably struggle. On the contrary, my watch kept telling me my splits were fast but I felt so good I decided to just go with it. I finished the run with an average mile time of 8:29!

For non-runners: 11 seconds per mile doesn't sound like a lot, but for a long run it's certainly the kind of difference in speed that gives one pause. I'm pleased, and a little mystified, that I managed to be so far ahead of my goal, and so comfortably at that. Now the big question is what this means for my race. I've reached out to some knowledgeable friends and will probably do some other research to try to get at the answer. Should I speed up my race pace or not? It's a tricky situation. If I do, I risk running out of steam before the finish line. If I don't, I could always pick up the pace when there are only a few miles left to go if I'm feeling up to it. But what if I finish with some reserves left, knowing that I could have finished with a faster time if I'd started my final kick sooner?

Lots to think about, and I look forward to letting my mind race instead of my legs as I start my favorite part of training: the lightening of training.