Sunday, March 25 - Planned 20 Miles

Ran 20.01 miles in 2:58:20 at an 8:55 pace

I'm can't express how happy I was with how this run went. It was definitely tough during the last few miles but I was also pushing a lot harder on the final stretch than I had expected to but more on that later.

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Sunday came and I was up early to head out on the run, still feeling a little nervous, but nothing unmanageable. I stayed focused in the beginning on maintaining a comfortable pace which ended up being around a 9:15 pace. I kept that up until the 10-mile turnaround which is when I realized how good my legs were feeling.

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During my 19-mile run, my left hamstring was really tightening up around the halfway point but today, I was feeling great. I knew I still had a long way to go so I tried to keep an even pace but by mile-12 I was starting to accelerate a bit. I was still holding back a bit not wanting to burn out but then as I crossed mile-14 I was confident I could finish strong for the last 6 miles.

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I continued to accelerate during the final miles of the run and even managed an 8:08 pace during mile-20! My legs were burning but I felt good. I know that 26.2 will be a significant jump from here, but I'm feeling confident both mentally and physically that I'll be able to get through it. I haven't nailed down a specific pacing strategy for the race just yet but I'll have plenty of time during the taper to sort things out.