Last Marathon Pace Run (Posted Tuesday)

Monday, I finally got out there mid-day, on a beautiful clear and cool (and windy) day, for the final pace run. This one was to be 2 miles easy and then 8 miles hard, with the last 2 miles 90% or so. I felt good, so I tried to follow the instructions.

First couple of miles, going counter-clockwise on the Longhorn Dam Loop, went smoothly, at about 9:15 pace. Then, I got going. Next 5 miles all in the 8:25 - 8:35 range. I was a little elevated on HR compared to other runs at this pace, but I felt pretty good. Mile 8 was 8:23, and then I tried to crank it for the last 2 miles as ordered. I ran the finishing stretch of 2 miles without looking at the watches, and ended up surprised that I ran an 8:10 and 8:05 final two. I was working hard at the end, for sure, but it felt good.

The 10 minute super easy cooldown lap of Auditorium Shores was at 10:00 pace, and I was glad to have that as part of the workout.

All in all, a terrific day at the running office. Running alone, it gives me confidence to apply towards Freescale, and I was able to work through some tough mental spots and continue working hard. Good one. Actual pace run was 10.1 miles at 8:28/mile average pace, and with the cooldown, was 11 miles.

Did full stretching routine afterwards.