City of Oaks, Week 2 Training

This was a taper week, which means it's supposed to be fairly lite. I ended up scaling back this week to only my 3 normal runs, with no cross training, but that was not because of the tapering. Just normal circumstances getting in the way.

Tuesday's track was 5 x 1K's. My times were 5:01, 5:01, 5:06, 5:01, and 5:06. Very even, which means my pacing is good. I felt pretty even on each interval. I really feel like I'm reading my body well. The overall, with warm up/cool down, was 6.16 miles in 1:07:26, which is a 10:55 pace.

Thursday's run was supposed to be an 8 miler. I ran the first 3.5 with Bill, Cindy, and Vivian. We ran Research/Harrison/SAS Campus and back behind building S. I cut off at Dr. G's and headed out Appletree to Harrison, down to Black Creek, out at Montibello and back in at Research. I finished with 7.4 miles in 1:16:33, which is a 10:19 pace. My tempo pace seems to be getting stronger. I'm hoping this is setting me up for a strong race pace and finish.

Sunday's run was supposed to be 8-10 miles. I decided to do an oldy but a goody; the Maynard loop, which is an 8.5 mile run. I started out strong, running south from High House in the direction of Kildaire Farm Road. By the time I hit Kildaire, which is the 2 mile mark, I remembered how challenging this run is. It's very hilly. I made the stretch toward the mall a bit easier but was challenged up the hills past the trailer park (yes, Cary has a trailer park; it's not all Preston) and up to Chatham. The hill leading me to Harrison is the one I remembered, so I wanted to hit it strong, which I did. I have to say, overall, this was very challenging, but I felt strong throughout and really finished well. I remember the first few times I ran this routes and dying on the hill coming up to Harrison, as well as the hill past the dog park before Lowes. When I hit the starting/finishing point, I kept running onto High House toward the house and finished the run at exactly 9 miles. I finished in 1:30:24, which is a 10:02 pace. I was extremely happy with my time.

This is it. This week is race week, which means a couple of lite, short runs. I have to say, I feel great. I am much more prepared this time. I'm actually thinking of signing up for the National Marathon in March in DC. Sounds crazy, but I'm really thinking about it.

1 week to go...