3x1 mile intervals

Tonight's workout was 9 miles, with 3 of them at 10k pace. As I've noted in previous posts, I figure my 10k pace is about 8:15 per mile.

This evening I started out with a couple of warmup miles, and then at about the 2.5 mile mark I did a face-plant when my left shoelace came partly loose and my right foot went into the floppy loop. There's no way not to go down when that happens, because for a second there your feet are tied together. I hit the sidewalk, rolled on my left shoulder, and popped right back up. My hands were a little hot from breaking the fall and I skinned up my left knee a bit, but it was all very minor and after a few seconds I was on my way again.

A quarter of a mile later I took off on my first 10k mile, and I kind of surprised myself, running it in well under 8 min. After a quarter mile jog I did the second interval, this time in 7:29. The third one was a little faster again. I finished the run at a comfortable pace and logged 9.3 miles in 1:21:51 for an 8:58 average.

These intervals are a good indication of my fitness level. I think I could enter a 5k right now and probably run it in about 21:15 under the right conditions. Race predictor calculators, such as the one at Running Times, suggest that with a time like that I should be able to run a marathon in 3:27. Well, I know better than that, but it does tell me that I have a good chance of breaking 4 hours, and maybe even of recording a PR, which would be under 3:52.

All I really need to do now is stay healthy.