Marathon Pace

Last nights workout was fairly simple. A warm up mile, and then five at marathon pace. Although I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, I will say it with pride. Last year I ran the Philly marathon at an 11:00 pace. A lot of that was because of stopping/walking towards the end, but right now, I'm not sure I can run that pace. I know I am no longer a 4:50 marathoner.

So when this workout came up on the training plan I was really excited. Except for the fact I had no idea what my "marathon pace" was. I found the Squatch on gchat and asked him what he thought I should be running. 9:45? 9:30? He was satisfied that this was a good starting place, though he thought I could run the marathon faster. (Not entirely a surprise) This puts me in place to be a 4:09 - 4:15 marathoner, which if I can be honest, makes me want to pee my running shorts in excitement. I don't want to get cocky or over confident, but just the thought that I can/could/will run a 4:15 marathon gives me all the motivation I need to bust my ass during every single workout. Of course my goals will likely change a million and one times between now and November 6th, but this is my starting place.

So how did the workout go? Well, first off, the day before I had participated in a special workout called "Warrior Wednesdays"....which is basically an hour of squats, lunges, step ups, push ups, tricep dips, and various core exercises. Needless to say I was very sore. As if that wasn't enough, I had been dealing with some calf cramps/spasms Tuesday night that had left me feeling very sore and tight.

So, how did the workout go? Well, let's just say despite the fact that my legs felt like absolute crappity crap, I hit my numbers exactly. 9:42/9:39/9:40/9:44/9:32. One good workout doesn't mean much more than one bad one at this point, but it was nice to finish the workout knowing I am exactly where I need to be.