My Marathon Pace

Only two weeks until my first marathon. I just got back from my tapering long run of 14 miles. My plan was to run this one at about a 9:30 pace and see how that felt as I make a final "dial in" for a marathon pace. Even with my Garmin, I set out a bit quick but tried to throttle back some. I ran at 9:20 pace for the 14 miles and still felt very good. This route consisted of about 10 miles of paved roads and 4 miles of slushy dirt roads. It also had quite a few small hills due to all the usual creek crossings.

Okay, now to dial in the marathon pace. Being an engineer, gadget enthusiast, and avid running data logger, I am fairly sure of my marathon race pace at this point. For my last several half-marathons, I always ran faster than planned. For this marathon, I am going to set a "planned pace" of 9:50 per mile. There is a good chance to run it a little quicker since there are no hills on the race course and since there will be the race atmosphere. So, I have those two positives on my side. On the negative side, there's still a possibility of a potty break and even a leg strain. If I average out those pros/cons, maybe the overall 9:50 pace will work...which leads to a total time of 4 hours 18 minutes.

So, my planned finish time continues to change. When I signed up for the marathon several months ago, I estimated a realistic finish time of 4:40. Believe me, I will still be very satisfied with that time. But now, as we're only two weeks away, I am shooting for 4:18. What a difference these months have made!

Let the Taper Begin!

I finished my last long run on Saturday. For that run, I ran along the Conecuh Trail (National Forest) located about 30 miles from my home. I have never been on that trail before, so I tried to get a bit of info from a coworker that used to hunt in that area. He said to expect lots of water.

So, I went there by myself as I do on all my runs. I pulled out my Garmin and made sure I set the "remember my location" button which would help me find my way back if I really got messed up along the trails. Off I went, landing in standing water within a couple of minutes. Let the fun begin! The trail was nice in some places and very dismal in others. I navigated through running water, roots, rocks, "don't feed the gator" signs, and around fallen trees and branches.

After a while, every root or stick looked like a snake. Be mindful of the gators, I thought. There were many places flooded out and I suspect an alligator could have been right there along the trail. There was no one within miles of me. Am I crazy for doing this? I kept on, listening to my podcasts, plugging away at the miles. Hoping to close out a 10 mile loop and then run it again, I continued onward, until there was such a deep backwater area that I felt it was best to turn around and go back.

I ran slower than usual, mostly due to the treacherous steps along the way. I did stumble and fall once, but suffered no effects. Later, I stepped in a small hole hidden below the water. I began to wonder about my decision. Hurt myself on the last long run?

Nearing the end, I was never more thankful to see my vehicle. I now appreciate the effort of those who love trail running and I am sure that I have no interest in doing that again. My Garmin said 19 miles, but I am certain it was a bit longer. As I looked at the uploaded map data, Garmin was not able to take into account all the wiggly turns that frequented the trails. No matter to me. I called it 19 miles and very proud of the effort. I ran for nearly 3-1/2 hours and felt no compelling reason to squeeze out another mile. This was the end of my long runs.

Now, with just 20 days until Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans, I am happy to begin the taper. I hope to stay with the taper plan and not try to justify one extra big run somewhere along the way. I am satisfied that I have put a great effort in getting ready for this first marathon and feel that I will easily make my initial expected goal of 4:40 race time. Right now, 4:20 even seems possible. I feel the only thing keeping me from 4:20 is a forced potty break or some leg issue. We shall see. Until then, let the taper begin!