Just over two days to go until the Frederick Marathon, so tonight’s run was just an easy four miles – a couple of which were on grass to save the pounding on my legs. Nothing spectacular to report I’m afraid. I feel pretty good, not quite as fresh as I’d like but hopefully that will come in the next two days.
Today I also decided what socks I’ll wear for the marathon. Sounds like a no brainer I know, but it could be the difference between a good race and a disaster. I’m going to opt for the slightly cushioned Balega Hidden Comfort instead of the thinner Hidden Dry and hope the extra comfort will help me during the latter stages of the race.
Also, thanks to some great advice from a couple of good friends, I finally settled on a goal time today too. Drum roll please…..here we go……2 hours 53 minutes which is 6:36 pace. Based on my recent 5k and 10k race times, the great McMillan Running Calculator predicts somewhere in the mid 2:53 range for the classic 26.2 distance. Naturally I’d love to run quicker at Frederick, but realistically I’d be a fool to go out any faster than 6:36 per mile pace. However, if I’m still feeling good at 21 miles (where the last of the hills are supposed to be situated), I’ll be pushing hard all the way to the finish line.
That’s all for now. Time for an early night to rest up for the busy weekend ahead. I can hardly wait….
Good luck with the Frederick Marathon! I’d certainly be happy with a 2:53 pace. 😉
Haha. 2:53 would be wonderful, but there’s a lot of running to be done before I even get close to it.
A sub-3:00 is another important goal for me, so I’ll be conscious of not starting too fast and blowing up at the end.
You never know what’s going to happen in a marathon – one of the many reasons it’s my favorite race distance.
Thanks for the comment..
–Steve
Very true. Good strategy.
It’s a funny coincidence that we both just wrote to each other about the “element of surprise” in the comment sections of our blogs, without seeing the other’s comments first. Great minds think alike, eh?! Hahahaha.
Nice… Good luck Steve. I’ll be looking out for results on Sunday. I’m sure you’ll do great. Show those hills who is boss.