On Track

Today was my last "hard workout" before Boston. I've used Pete Pfitzinger's training schedule for several marathon cycles now (although this was my first time using the 12-week plan instead of the 18-week one) so I know what to expect. That said, his final track workout always gets me a little nervous--it's mile repeats. 

I dread mile repeats. Last night I lay in bed thinking, Do I really need to do these? I know what a mile feels like... Couldn't I just run 800s instead? Or better yet, skip the speed work altogether? Well, I conquered that inner voice, though not until this morning when my alarm finally went off. (I'd probably been awake for at least an hour wondering when the misery would start.)

As with a lot of my speed work, I do mile repeats around the Central Park Reservoir. Because it has markings every 20 yards and is clearly labeled 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and so on, it works pretty well. You don't get the same hamster feel that a track can sometimes give you and it's easier for me to get to than the nearest track.

As much as I was dreading today's run, it went pretty well. It was definitely brisk out this morning, but I got to enjoy the sunrise over Central Park about halfway through my run. Even before the sun comes up, the pre-dawn reservoir is a nice sight to behold:

Photo from Central Park.com (You think I do speed work with my camera?)

The repeats went pretty well. I started out aiming for 10k pace, but probably ended up closer to 8k. They were 6:07, 6:04, and 6:02. Those are better than I did last cycle and my legs felt pretty fresh. Hopefully after a week of easy running they'll feel even better.
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Today's Run: 8.3 miles at 7:28 pace (that includes the mile repeats and recovery jogs).