Long run at the track

     My running has been going well, although I have had some concerns about whether I will be able to succeed in my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. As I previously mentioned, my pace is getting faster and I feel like my training is definitely paying off. My training usually consists of hills, where I live just doesn't give me much choice. So I am working a lot harder on my long runs than I will be on the marathon route, which is quite flat. So I had an idea to run last weeks 20 miles on the track, pretty crazy I thought, 80 times around! 


    I went to Pr Running in Westboro MA to talk to their very experienced staff about where I was at with my training etc. Well, first off, they strongly advised me not to worry about trying to qualify for the Boston, just run how I feel was their advice, don't spoil the race by putting pressure on myself. That was exactly what I needed to hear, I was thinking too much about it, and as much as I have been progressing, this will really be my first marathon. I just want it to be a positive experience. I did mention to them about running my long run on the track, they didn't think it was really that crazy at all.


 So, Saturday at 6am I was at the track and ready to go. The cool thing about the track is, no traffic! I really liked the smooth even surface for a change, no potholes to dodge. Keeping my water on the bench next to the track as well as my gels made things easy too. My run went well, started off slow and progressed to marathon pace, except for the very end when I started to have some foot pain. My average was 8 min 15 sec per mile for 20 miles. Everything I have read says don't try to run your race in training, so I guess what they are saying is that you will probably be able to run faster on race day. We shall soon find out. I would need to do 7min 46 sec per mile for the full 26.2, so like I said, not going to pressure myself, I'm going to run how I feel. I have to be honest though, I really hope I feel great that day and kick butt and do a 3:24, that would really make my day.


   Well, thats really it for now, reading up on nutrition, specifically carbo loading. So many great things to learn about running. 


Happy Running