The Time Has Come

It's a bit surreal to think the Marine Corps Marathon is less than a week away.  It's something for which I've trained so long that I can't believe I'm going to actually have to go and run a marathon this Sunday.  The nervousness and jitters have already began to set in.

After reading a blog post from a more experienced runner (The Run Factory) about using a pace group to qualify for Boston, I've decided that I'm going to find the 4-hour pace group at MCM 2012 and cling to them for dear life.  I've proven to myself that I can hold a 9:00-9:15/mi pace for 20+ miles in training runs, but I want to ensure that I do it on race day.  I figure that having a pace group will greatly reduce the mental strain of maintaining a steady pace, especially considering the magnitude of the Marine Corps Marathon and the intensity of the supporters.  I want to break the 4-hour mark this Sunday, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to hang with the 4-hour pacers.  It seems like a daunting task to run a sub 4-hour marathon given that my last time was 4:22:18, but I feel like I've put in the miles and speed work to accomplish this goal.  I'm going to stay with the pack, or I'm going to blow up trying.

Last week was another nice week of taper running, and my body feels very strong and healthy.  My only semi-long run was a 10-miler on Sunday, and I tried to make it sort of a mock marathon.  I can walk to the start line of the MCM from my apartment, so I got up last Sunday and walked down near Arlington National Cemetery and started my run at 7:55am.  I really struggled to find my pace for the first 5-6 miles.  I was kind of all over the place from about 8:50/mi to 9:50/mi.  I also felt like my mind was wandering, but not in a good way were the miles just mindlessly fly by.  Somehow I started to focus mentally on the marathon, and I could envision running along the Potomac on race day (partly because I was running along the Potomac).  I finished up the run with 4 miles right on pace between 8:50-9:00/mi, and I felt great after the run.  I honestly felt like I could do it again without much effort.  Of course, this Sunday I will need to do it again and then add another 10k.

Well, this is it for blog posts until the race recap next week.  Thanks to the 4 people that read this, for tagging along on my second first marathon journey.  :-P  I'll continue to blog after the marathon, but I don't know which race will be next.  I'm definitely planning on running some shorter local races in the winter months.  DC Road Runners has the Snowball Series with some 5k, 10k, and half-marathons which I'd like to take part in.

Last Week's Training Summary:

Monday:  Off
Tuesday:  Off
Wednesday:  4 miles; 34:29; avg. pace 8:35/mi
Thursday:  6 miles; 52:45; avg. pace 8:41/mi
Friday:  Off
Saturday:  4 miles; 34:45; avg. pace 8:41/mi
Sunday:  10.57 miles; 1:37:39; avg. pace 9:14/mi

Total Miles: 24.57
Total Time: 3:39:38
Average Pace: 8:56/mi

Happy Running!