That's the plan as I enter my final two months of preparations for the St. George Marathon. That would equate to 26.2 miles in just a hair under 3:30, a good 14 minutes slower than my slowest marathon ever. But I haven't run a marathon since 2002 and I've undergone four surgeries in the last eight years.
This week went a whole heck of a lot better training wise than last week. I actually ran a time trial and more importantly a 4 mile tempo run that told me a lot about my conditioning. Based on what I did tonight I think I could run 8:15 pace for a marathon if I had to right now. That means shaving about :15 a mile off my current comfort zone. It's not impossible, but it won't be easy.
It all goes back to the long runs which I dread over the coming eight weeks. If I can get up to a 20 miler and condition my body for the punishment to come I might get there. Wistfully I imagine nothing would be sweeter than running sub-8 pace for the race but the added years and pounds tell me that if I can run under 3:35 I should be elated.
Sigh. I long for a better training schedule, but it just has to take a backseat to family stuff right now. I just keep plugging away so as not to lose ground, but I want to be better. Much better. Some day.....
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