Tonight was my last workout before the marathon. It stormed all day, but as I left work I could see that there was going to be a break in the weather, so instead of heading for the YMCA I drove home and hustled out on the streets for a 3 mile marathon-pace run.
While it wasn't raining, the weather looked pretty threatening, plus it was getting dark, so my inclination was to hurry. Instead of running 3 miles at 9:15, it was 3.41 miles at an average pace of 7:56. I felt strong and loose, and finished feeling very confident about Saturday's race.
So, after what seems like 100 months of training, wilting heat and humidity, one injury after another, and continuous physical therapy, I am ready to do the deed.
Despite all the tribulations of this session, there's a lot I can hang my hat on. For one thing, several of my long runs, including two of the 20-milers, were very fast for me. If I would have extended my last 20 miler to 26.2, I would have had a sub-4-hour marathon.
Another plus: all the physical therapy worked. The injuries were repaired and, since I continued to do the strength and stretching, I believe I have laid the foundation I need to avoid further similar injuries.
Last, all the hard work has left me as fit as I have ever been. I had to scale back my training a bit in the last month because of an achilles problem, but I still got my long runs in, so I don't think I lost much conditioning. My speed work this week confirms I didn't slip much.
Time to go get it done.
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