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December 17, 2004
friday 15 mile marathon pace run
today i had to do a 15 mile marathon pace tempo run. i decided to run up on the napa valley marathon course. i probably picked the wrong section of the course to run the tempo on. i warmed up between 0 and 1 miles and then i started the tempo and ran out to 8 miles and turned back and ran to the start...(that would give me the 15 miles I needed). the thing is...the first 8 miles of the napa marathon course are relatively rolling... With 60+ miles in already for the week...i felt inconvenienced by the small rollers on the course... this was probably the hardest workout for me so far... the hardest run i've had since my 1/2 marathon back in october.
my brother in law ran the first 4 miles of the tempo run with me. that really helped me. the setting was very nice. we ran by wineries the entire time... i think the fields & vineyards & estates are absolutely beautiful ...the entire valley is surrounded by steep mountains...that just keep you company the entire way down the silverado trail (that's where many of the main wineries are in napa...and one of the main routes in napa!). the other bonus is...every mile is marked and they are very accurate...in the past i've come up to the silverado trail to do long tempo runs and have been reassured by the markings on the road.
i ran the following splits:
6:46
6:54
6:40
6:44
6:49
6:51
6:46
6:45
6:46
6:56
6:45
6:50
6:49
7:00
6:55
1:42.34 --15 miles ~ 6:50
i was hoping to run a little faster...but i felt tired overall..from my training...in general...and again the ups/downs..maybe 50 feet climbs here, 100 feet climbs there...back and forth got to me...it was hard to run a consistent pace...
i am glad the workout is done! :)
more later
Posted by liz at December 17, 2004 07:26 PM
Comments
Liz, This is a great workout. Race day adrenaline counts for A LOT! You will be ready for the Phoenix Marathon! I am so excited for you. Now you just need to rest! Great workout and especially solo for most of it! I am proud of you! :) Enjoy your day off tomorrow!
Posted by: Mary at December 19, 2004 07:10 PM