Since a festival was scheduled for Sunday in the park and because the weather was finally cool again, I decided to do my long run a day early.
Although the Hansons Marathon Method typically lists a 16-mile run as the longest run in training (you do it three times, though), I decided to run a little bit longer since I felt I could get in a few miles within the 2-1/2 hour limit that is also recommended in the training schedule.
What I had in mind, however, was to break my 30K PR of 2:41:33 that I ran in the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 26, 2014. Yet since this was a training run, my goal was to do it within the guidelines of a slower-paced long run.
The cool weather was really a gift but also nearly was my downfall. Unlike in previous long runs in which I ate a gel and drank water after five or six miles, I didn't do this until mile 10. By this time I was surprised that I felt like I was slowing down a bit. Fortunately there was a couple running just ahead of me and it was enough for me to return back to my training pace.
I also had my second gel and water at Mile 14, when I needed to don a visor because of the sun. Around this time there was a runner who converged on my path from another one and we were running at about the same pace when I decided to pull ahead a bit so as to not run with him.
I surprised myself by running at nearly marathon goal pace for the last 2.6 miles to complete my simulated 30K. It was interesting that my brain/body was getting me to slow down although I had plenty of gas left in the tank. When I stopped I felt like I could go for another couple miles, perhaps to 20 miles, but I decided to be conservative and end the run at my planned distance.
My training run was about seven minutes faster than my previous PR from the 2014 marathon, making me pretty excited about this fall's race.
I also ended up with 66.55 miles for the week, the most I've run since I ran 61.32 miles in the week ending Oct. 11, 2014.
Time: 7:09 a.m.
Temp: 66 degrees
Gear: Technical tank top, Mizuno (x2), shorts, Saucony Zealot ISO 2.
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