The end of the road (are we there yet?)

pgmcpq

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great running pgmcpq. You're set up nicely for the final big push over the top (guess who's been watching The Pacific!).

Thanks - though as a lifelong "foot soldier of life" I tend to be a bit fearful of of the "over the top boys" analogy. I tend to think Blackadder tbh.

pgmcpq

actwithoutwords wrote: »

Congrats. That's a really fantastic time. Chopping off 5 minutes is great work as well.

Again a bit of a surprise than me - at mile 10 "ish" I glanced at average pace on the watch and though - "Umm .....I really hope I haven't screwed this up" followed by "Well, in the worst case I crawl home at a 9m/m and it will still be respectable". It is interesting - there was little tangible evidence from training that I could sustain this pace - so going in I was not sure that even 1:38 was on the cards - but you really do have to trust the training and suspend disbelief ... if you see what I mean.

Abhainn

pgmcpq wrote: »

Umm - you may have have saved me there ! I had been undecided aboutng about a gentle 18 miles at the weekend - I did it after my last half in January though it proved to be a struggle. I'll take the advice and scale back and see how I feel. I plan to run "on feel" until the weekend - keeping it at the "not hard" level. Would you suggest skipping the LSR completely ?

You have long runs behind you, enjoy taking it easier this week. You would be surprised how much that PB took out of you, I've been there. Move the LSR to sometime next week

pgmcpq wrote: »

Again a bit of a surprise than me - at mile 10 "ish" I glanced at average pace on the watch and though - "Umm .....I really hope I haven't screwed this up" followed by "Well, in the worst case I crawl home at a 9m/m and it will still be respectable". It is interesting - there was little tangible evidence from training that I could sustain this pace - so going in I was not sure that even 1:38 was on the cards - but you really do have to trust the training and suspend disbelief ... if you see what I mean.

Ditto. Last June I was dissappointed at beating me HM best by 1 min to 1:23. On the day though it was warm and only when I reflected later that probably had something to do with it.
Fast forward 3 months and I smashed my next HM by 5 min to 1:18. Some times performances aren't easily explained.

shotgunmcos

Well done on your HM pb. Stick to the plan and your Marathon goal will fall in line with that form

pgmcpq

Abhainn wrote: »

You have long runs behind you, enjoy taking it easier this week. You would be surprised how much that PB took out of you, I've been there. Move the LSR to sometime next week

Thanks - that settles it for me. I'll scale back the weekend run ... and try to work from home next Wednesday.

Tuesday: 6 miles ... a cold, damp morning that really took me by surprise when I got out the door. Really was not dressed for it ...
Intended 5 miles at recovery-to-gentle pace ... but again after a few miles the pace started to increase and every now and again the thighs would give me a gentle nudge about slowing up. And the extra mile ? Well ...

Wildlife : The park was almost empty this morning. Running though the wetlands preserve I saw what I think was a hawk (falcon?) sitting on top of the of the lamp posts. Looped around to make sure that this was not early morning madness but no there he was. About a foot high, brown with dark patches ... looking a bit disheveled ... but sat there calmly eyeing me up. So the extra mile at the end was me looping back a few miles later to see it he was still around - but no. Really should see if I can find a small light camera - never been much of a morning person (running works as I don't have to think) so this is all new to me.

pgmcpq

Wednesday: 7 miles @ average 7:40. Nice day, sunny calm - just the sort of day to remind you that running is "fun". Legs felt back to normal, at least no residual aches from the weekend. Decided to press the run a little but not excessively... so the final result was pleasing.
In the evening 30 minutes on the stationary bike ... just to give the legs something new to think about.

Thursday: 7 miles and then some. Starting to focus on leg strength in the next few weeks. So bookended the run with some aggressive hill climbs. At the end bumped into another runner who had moved away last year so did another slowish part of mile with him.
In the evening 25 minutes back on the stationary bike .... just as an escape from other duties !

Friday: 7 miles. Windy, cold and damp morning. Tough run - probably tougher than I wanted to do this week but wind was unavoidable - knocking close to a minute off my pace when I turned into it. Happy to get to the end of it.

pgmcpq

Saturday: I had noticed some IT band niggle on Firday so 30 minutes in reverse on the elliptical.

Sunday: Well having abandoned ideas of a long run but feeling pretty good after a rest day, and wanting to colear the head after a rough week at work, I decided to split the difference and try 16 miles. I also wanted to try out the current candidate marathon shoes - same brand/size/order as what I had been wearing but still want to get a few miles on them. It was clear after five miles that it was not going to be a good day at the office. Usually I expect to feel miserable for the first couple of miles but today the endorphins just did not kick in. Drizzle at mile 8 turned to rain at mile 10. Decided to try to finish the last 6 miles at pmp :
8:08, 8:06, 8:59(water break), 7:40, 7:57, 8:01. Neither great nor terrible.

I'm starting to notice that weeks where I throw in a few session on the stationary bike seem to be much rougher than others despite lower mileage.

After a relatively down week it's time to start ramping up for one last peak.

WeeksToGo|M|T|W|T|F|Sat|Sun|Total
6|5recovery| 6recovery | 7pmp+bike|7(3*hills)+bike|7|eliptical|16| 48

pgmcpq

Monday: 6 miles recovery.Wet, cold, grey. Not fun. Even as a recovery run this was a struggle - I did discover a new section of waterfront to run on - other. Pace was slow even for a recovery run ( 9m/m+). May well take tomorrow off as the weather is likely to worsen (Though they are predicting high 70s ...about 24 centigrade here by the weekend ).

pgmcpq

Tuesday: Got up. Looked out at heavy rain. Returned to bed. The thing I fear most is that once I do this once it will become a habit. In the evening did an hour on the stationary bike (listening to a podcast on NAMA - only fell off once).

Wednesday: Decided to try a mini-tergat like session. Did 5-4-2 miles at pmp ... 12+ miles total with warmup as much as I can fit in time wise. ( Actually though about stopping at 1 on the final pmp stretch so I could have 5-4-1 anmd make witty remarks about overlapping fullbacks/wing-halfs but .... ). The first 5 were a struggle ... as ever I am a slow started and at the final 2 the effort was beginning to take a toll. Middle 4 were good - though the pace ducked down to close to 7m/m (pmp is 8m/m .. maybe a couple of seconds less) which was not too clever and probably accounts for the final 2 being a stuggle. All in all good to get back out pushing the boundary a bit.

pgmcpq

Thursday: 10miles@pmp. Warmed up but still grey and dreary.
Well I know that two "hard" sessions in a row is not generally a good idea but I need to move the LSR this week to Saturday so this time it was necessary so Friday could be an easier run. Intended to attack a few hills but after the first two it was clear that this was unlikely to happen. Gritted teeth got me through 10 miles and 4 small hill climbs. Thigh muscles seem heavy and my focus was off so I found my breathing and stride both losing form. Breathing is a concern as this should be automatic. Stride problem often arise when I get fatigued. Sill 10 miles @ 8m/m on the day following 12 miles and including a bathroom and drink break .... might not have been pretty but got the job done.

pgmcpq

Thursday: After the morning run I went to work. Had to run for the light rail.
Didn't make it ! More speed work required ?

Friday: Finally some sun ! A relaxed 6 miles @ 8:15m/m - faster than recovery (again the pace picks up as soon as I take my eye off it ). First four were on (very soggy) grass in an attempt to get the run in without the knees noticing. Focusing on getting my breathing back under control again.

pgmcpq

Yikes, realized today that I am exactly one month away as of today.
Somehow the time ticking away didn't really register until today.
So with 4 weekends, and 2 full training weeks, 2 taper weeks, left my plan is (subject to change - the close the race gets the more likely sessions are to be abandoned at the first sign of trouble ) :

Week|5|4|3|2|1|
Milage | 60 | 60 | 45 | 30 | 25 |
Weekends LSR |20 (final5mp)|22|17(final5pmp)|13(final3pmp)|race
Mid weeks | Tergat 5,4,1 | Tergat 5,4,3,2,1 | Tergat 5,4,3,2 | 8pmp? | 5pmp? |


Looking back I have been neglecting any tempo runs so I will try to throw in some my third quality session in the next two weeks.

The number in the race are small (part of the reason I've chosen it), though there is a larger hallf and relay that takes place in parallel. It's over two loops ... I'm told it can get lonely on the second loop !
However that there was no 3:30 pacer last year. There was a 3:20 pacer and a 3:40 pacer so I'm undecided what to do ... I'd really like to follow a pace group for the first half to avoid going out to fast ... maybe keep the 3:20 guys in sight for the first n-miles ?

pgmcpq

... feet

Saturday: Temperature was about 70F (maybe 20C ?). First warm weekend of the year which means .... having to make my way through wedding parties taking photos to get my water bottle - 'cuse me ... eh just getting me water there mate ... 'cuse me...

20 miles. Planed on a 5 mile PMP finish.
It was three weeks since my last 20 mile or longer run. Forgot how hard it can be. First 10 miles were fine (other than the usual encounter with an expandable dog leash). After 10 it became harder than I expected/remembered. Coming to mile 15 I was not sure that I had enough for the final five at pmp. However, actually pumped out the last six miles at : 8:10, 8.11 (water break), 7:34, 9:04, 7:28, 7:31.

Well other than the 9:04 pretty good. The 9:04 however .... I stopped at 17.9 miles as my foot was bothering me. Sure enough I found a a large blister on the top of my second toe. I have never had problems with blisters before. I had been thinking of adding a mile or two to the end but now I just finished off the final two miles.

Sunday: After some work on the blister I set off gingerly to try a 6 mile recovery run. All went well. Later that day I put shoes on to go out ... and could barely walk ! It seems to have reblistered again. Again cleaned the area up after we returned Sunday night. In addition a small to on the other foot has picked up a bruise.

There are no new shoes here, I use vaseline and Glide on feet for long runs. I think the problem is that the weather has heated up and last summer I was wearing a pair of Asics Evolution2 that has a nice mesh top that probably kept the feet cooler. The Evolution series has now bulked up and I am not a fan of the added weight.

WeeksToGo|M|T|W|T|F|Sat|Sun|Total
5|6recovery| bike | 12 | 10PMP|6|20(5PMP)|6recovery| 60



Monday: Well .... I figured I might as well keep pressing on - either the blistering was going to force me to stop or I'd skip a recovery day. This close to the taper it seems a bit silly to stop. I decided to try running with a running sock (usually just use what ever comes to hand for training), different shoes, as well as vaseline. 8 miles Of more or less, 1 warmup, 2 tempo, 6 short hills, the rest at PMP. Between hill 2 and 3 I was stopped by a guy I know to see who asked me where I got the it supports band I run with. So I volunteered to get him some (any excuse to go play in the local athletics store!). Again at 6+ miles in I had to stop and deal with the same blister again. After drying off the toes a little I finished the run.

At this point I am getting a bit frustrated with this damn blister - I keep draining it but it keeps blistering.... ( Telling people I have ducked out of training because of a blister .... I can just _feel_ the eyes roll ). Well see how it goes today.

Finally : Good luck to all those running Connemara or Rotterdam this weekend.

pgmcpq

Tuesday : 7 miles recovery pace. Nice morning if a little humid. Did the first 3 on grass - found the session curiously tough. My guess is yesterday took more out of me than I realized. Blister problem continues but seems a little better - think its going to be part of the daily routine for a while - hopefully it'll be sufficiently ok by the weekend.

Update :

Just come across the following comment from tergat from an old thread on tapering :

Long runs are a critical element of marathon training, but it is important to back off the duration so that your legs wont be too sore on race day. If you having been really pushing the mileage high and your long runs long, then start tapering the long runs about 4-5 weeks before race day..

Hummm ... I have been pushing the long runs though last weekend was my first 20+ in three weeks. I had planned 22 this weekend as my last 20+ run but this makes me think again ...

pgmcpq

Wednesday: 12 miles. Morning are starting to get warm here now. Had semi-planned a tergat style 5-4-3-2-1 while knowing it was likely to be abbreviated due to time. Ended up as a 3-5-3 the first break being forced "by nature". Found the session very tough. When I looked at the times afterwards I was keeping a 7:05-7:20m/m pace ... really too fast for my level. Blister remains a problem but did hold up for the run without any major discomfort.

Rest of the morning was a disaster : Missed the light rail again on the run. In the failed final sprint I forgot to validate my ticket. Got on next train 20 minutes late, ticket inspector did a spot check ... so I got pulled off the train and sat on the platform as my sumons was written - War and Peace was completed in half the time - train is now gone and I have a $74 dollar file + loss of a $1.90 ticket. Keeping my dignity I told the trumped up rent-a-cop where he could put his light rail and walked to a PATH station (subway effectively). Waited for the train - got on train - train departs - subway has signal failure - train stops. Does finally resume the journey but by this time I am beyond caring. So commute time 1 hour, 40 minutes (normal 35 minutes door to door), cost $77.65 (normal $1.90). Public transport howareya - seriously ticked off - ( ok my own fault but it's a crazy system and $74 ....?) going back to driving.:mad:. Ok nothing to do with running but I have to vent somewhere .....

pgmcpq

Thurdsay: 6 miles .... actually cannot remember much about this.
Friday: Go up to a minor storm so spend 45 minutes on the elliptical + a light core workout
Saturday: 22 miles in 3hrs 06 (8.27m/m?) Curious run .... The first 14-15 miles were fine ... and then it all became a bit of struggle. I also went out 2hrs30m after breakfast - too soon as I know know - as I had to stop at 18.5 miles after a slightly worrying 2 miles. Form was poor, pace starting out too fast and my usual trick of converting thoughts about distance and time into review of my stride, breathing, shoulders etc did not work. Very happy to get to 22.
I don't know if the knowledge that this was my last 20+ miles run before the marathon was playing with my head. I had the sense that my patience was completely shot. So with no attempt at fast finish miles this run did leave me uneasy in that it seemed tougher than I would have hoped at this stage.
Sunday: 6 miles recovery. Much more of a struggle than it should have been. Again a poor run where instead of enjoying a leisurely run in a great day .... I was wishing for it to be over. Combined with yesterdays run this is poor ... pre-taper madness ?

While neither run was a objectively a disaster I would like to have finished the week on a more positive note. More unhappy with my mental discipline than anything else (really did lapse into the 'are we there yet' mode). Reading reports from Connemara yesterday I need to give my self a good talking too.

Consequently I have decided to take Monday off my legs completely and focus on core work. Looking back I have run 19 of the last 22 days and used with a bike or elliptical on the other 3 days. A day off might get my head, legs and lungs back in the game !

WeeksToGo|M|T|W|T|F|Sat|Sun|Total
4|8(6hills)| 7recovery| 12 | 6recovery|elliptical|22|6recovery| 61


Three weeks to go ! This is my last full week of training.

pgmcpq

Tuesday: 10 miles, overall average 7:39m/m. 1 warm up, 4 tempo, ~2.5 hills, 2.5 < pmp.

Well it's not often I say this but the decision to take Monday off was a good one. Much better effort today. Did not break out the splits but the first 5 miles were at an average of 7:30. Fractionally slow for tempo miles .. but overall a good session. Felt much better about my general form.

It must be said it had cooled off this morning a bit. I am becoming a bit concerned that ofter a winter of serious training adjusting to summer may take me time - time I will not really have. Still can't worry about the things I cannot control. Under the heading of things I can control ....got some irritation on the same toe that had the blister. Now that is a worry as the shoes this morning were the same model I plan to use on race day. They have served me well to date ... strange that now it seems to have become an issue.

pgmcpq

Tuesday PM: 30 minutes on the bike.
Wednesday: 8 miles (~5 on grass) average 8:30m/m. Well ... that was a bit of a shocker. Left the house this morning and realized it had suddenly got much colder than it had been, and there was a hint of frost. Went back and grabbed the nearest running vest ... went back out again and almost returned once again to get gloves ! Decided to gut it out. I had intended a recovery run but probably due combating the cold the pace was quite a bit faster than intended (<8m/m). Intended less than 8 but hung around to try to meet up with another runner who had asked me to get him a knee brace. He failed to show (again!).

Still getting some friction on the toe. Don't know it this is because the initial swelling has not gone down or what. I have also developed this strange habit of tensing my right hand and making a fist. I am having some chiro adjustment done over there but this is a strange little habit I have picked up.

As the mornings get brighter and warmer, the park gets busier so there have been no wildlife sighting for a while. I am starting to notice some fairly serious looking runners show up ( the well worn gear, the relaxed arms and shoulders, the smooth looking stride ) and putting in some decent mileage.

pgmcpq

Wednesday PM: 30 minutes easy on the elliptical.
Thursday: 8 miles : average 7:50m/m ...(7 miles around 7:05-7:15 and one 11+m/m bathroom break ). Intended 7 miles at PMP ... actual was a bit faster than that. One more mile thrown in to make up for the break at mile 5.
Ok run .... did leave me wondering how likely pulling another 14.2 around the same average would be ! Finally delivered the knee brace.

Really, really, really need to try to hit my planned paces. I have real problem keeping a consistent pace - once my mind wanders at all I tend to speed up.

pgmcpq

Thursday PM: 20 minutes backwards on the elliptical ( I started doing this late last year after IT band problems - cannot remember exactly what it is meant to achieve.
Friday: 6 miles (5 @ 7:40m/m). Quick run squeezed in before a visit to the chiro ( shoulder problems this time - as one wit put it to me "You're wrecking limbs very methodically - one at at time going counter clockwise). Think this is part fo why I keep tensing my right arm. Run itself was more of a struggle that I would have hoped for. Morning was was cold and damp - had a slight attack of "runners nipple" after first four miles - bit of a suprise on this short a run. Mrs pgmcpq decided to join me this morning for the first time in a while.

Plan is now for a 16 LSR tomorrow, 3-5 mile recovery Sunday and then .... I am offically on taper time.

Reading thorugh reports of Connemara is interesting. That people find the energy to hold converstions with eachother on the run is amazing to me. I need all the oxygn I can get to simply run.

pgmcpq

Friday night went to see Graham Parker ( ok - I guess most people are now scratching their heads wondering who he is ). Unfamiliar venue but decided to eat there. Food took forever to arrive. Great show but had severe stomach cramps after (doubled over in the parking lot outside ).
Saturday: Got up and felt sorta better. Left the house just before full time in ManC 0 ManU 0. 16 miles @8:16m/m. At 8 miles my knees start to hurt - both. Stopped briefly and they recovered. A few miles later same again - by now I am getting alarmed but being almost done I finish up. Post ru8n stretching it downs on me that the shoes might be done - a little suprised but when got home I compared them again a newer pair of the same model and the feel seemed to be confirm the theory.:( Damn, damn, damn. I'm ticked off with myself for not noticing this before and heading out for a long run on dead shoes. Still nothing I can do now.
On my return MacC 0-ManU 1, Spurs 2 Chelsea 1.

Sunday A break in the usual routine - drove to a nearby beachfront boardwalk (Staten Island) and did 5 miles. As ever too fast to really be recovery. As much of the NJ Marathon is along a seafront this was as close an experience as I could get. As it turned out the wooden board walk is tough to run. The surface is poor with many "loose" boards that probably don't pose a danger but give an insecure feeling - it then descends to a surface of paving stones - not ideal for recovering knees.

So that completes the week. Ended up doing more miles than I expected.

WeeksToGo|M|T|W|T|F|Sat|Sun|Total
3|rest| 10 (4tempo, hills, 2pmp )| 8recovery | 8pmp|6|16|5recovery| 53


... leading to two weeks to go ... Taper Time .... let the insantity continue begin. Definitely want to reduce down the miles this week to 30-35 range. Long run will be 10 miles. Need to watch my food intake - the three breakfasts a day (pre run, post run, reached the office) probably needs to be cut back !! Most of all I must try to :

Avoid doing anything stupid

Monday: 6 miles - @ 7:41 with 4 hills (about 1.5 miles of hills). Good morning - felt pretty good for most of it.

Killerz

Your log makes for good reading. I think those LSRs will be invaluable to you. theyre also done in really good times and should give you a fair bit of confidence. Really take it easy in the build up to your marathon - you'll feel like you should be doing more - dont! And dont change your breakfast routine or other routines around either - its obviously working for you.

Best of luck with the taper.

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Your log makes for good reading. I think those LSRs will be invaluable to you. theyre also done in really good times and should give you a fair bit of confidence. Really take it easy in the build up to your marathon - you'll feel like you should be doing more - dont! And dont change your breakfast routine or other routines around either - its obviously working for you.

Best of luck with the taper.

Thanks for the encouragement. TBH my concern about the LSRs is that they were done at too fast a pace - I have read about others who put in LSRs at pmp and crashed at 18-20 mile mark. Mine were not pmp but were not too far off ... probably I should have been closer to 9m/m. I know this is a controversial issue ! I can't really say I feel confident. When I finished the half in March my second thought was - "Ummmmh ....can't really see my self keeping this going for another 13.1!". But at this stage it is what it is - the training is done....I have to trust the work to date.
Do love my post run breakfast !

After reading your most recent run report my LSRs look like kids play. A 34+ trail miles ..... yikes !!

PS: Holy c**P I just noticed this was the "short run" before a 50m.

pgmcpq

Tuesday: Rest day - plan to cut down to 5 days this week,
Wednesday; 7 miles at 7:17. 1 mile warmup and 6 tempo (maybe slightly above). Felt pretty good, great morning, so pushed it out a bit but I had decided on 7 as a maximum before I went out. Kept pretty much to flat terrain and away from the hills. Legs felt the benefit of the day off but by the start of mile 7 I could feel the strain. Happy to find that my form was ok. Breathing .... well allergy season has started here ( developed allergies about six years ago) so days start with all the wheezing, sneezing, spluttering and acceleration of an old steam locomotive.

pgmcpq

Thursday : 6.5 miles at 7:32m/m. Nice morning - decent run. Again breaking the hard-easy pattern but the way the rest of the week shapes up it was necessary.

Exiting a the boardwalk that runs through a small wetlands preservation area just after it opened around 7:30am I ran into a small dance class that was taking place and causing some consternation !

pgmcpq

Friday : 3 miles (2.5 on grass). Was meant to be a relaxed easy run. Was more difficult than expected. I was really surprised - legs seemed very heavy - not what I wanted to find during the first week of taper week. I would not have expected the last two days (13.5 miles total) to result in legs this unresponsive. Hopefully just one of those days.

Plan is to do a slow 10 miles tomorrow and on Sunday rest (go cheer on Mrs pgmcpq in a half marathon - yes she is doing the marathon on the 2nd also - she's much tougher than I am)

pgmcpq

Saturday: 10 miles 7:54 m/m. Way too fast:(. Told myself I was not going to do this. Like I said I am an idiot.

I went out do 10 miles taking it easy, with maybe 2 pmp miles at the end depending on how I felt. It was warm but I work two shirts as next Sunday they are predicting a temp of 72f (21c?). Also took Gatorade instead of water. Prefer water but would like to have the option of both on race day. Grabbed Gatorade by accident on a HM in January and had some problems so I figured a few trials might get me used/immune to it.

Anyway .... despite my best efforts it was too fast. Way faster than I should be doing at this point. Did finish with 2 faster miles ( pmp as I thought... actually ~7:30m/m) but was horrified when I stopped the watch to see the overall average time. Calling this a pmp run - which it was.

Run itself was ok although legs felt heavier that they should have and I am again some knee discomfort at mile 8 which is worrying. Noting serious but still ...

As a result I am reducing mileage in this last week from a proposed 25 to probably about 15. Wednesday will be a pmp run- the rest will be easy. Maybe 1 mile Saturday to stretch the legs.

WeeksToGo|M|T|W|T|F|Sat|Sun|Total
2-taper time|6(4hills)| rest | 7 (6tempo)| 6pmp| 3 |10pmp| rest | 32

pgmcpq

Monday: 6 miles, nice and easy 8:15mm. 1 faster mile at the end. Felt pretty good.

6 days to go: Plan is :

Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 5 pmp miles
Thursday: rest
Friday: 3 slow miles.
Saturday: 1-2 miles (maybe)

pgmcpq

Tuesday: rest, core workout session
Wednesday: 5 miles pmp (average 7.50m/m). Cold, windy (22mph)- morning. First mile was 8:15, gradually speeding up - final mile was 7:20. Given that several miles were into a head wind that's decent enough. Breathing seemed a bit laboured, legs felt good. Will do a few slow miles on Friday focusing on breathing and stride. Saturday morning we will drive down, hit the expo enjoy the oceanfront and then ....

Two pieces of bad news a) The weather channel has it hitting 81f with hight humidity on Sunday (that's about 27c with a 'real feel' warmer than that) - warmest day of the year here by some distance and unseasonably warm this early in the year. I have never gone more than 10 miles in this kind of temperature so I have concerns. (The less reliable forecast shows it cooler but with b) There is no 3:30 pacing group. There is a 3:20 and a 3:40 but no 3:30 ! Wasn't sure I wanted to committee to a pacing group but I was hoping to get pacing help over the first 5-10 miles. Tagging along with the the 3:20 group is probably not a good idea but the 3:40 would leave my with too much to make up. Given my inability to judge pace to well I was hoping for a pace group.

However of the two the weather worries me more - at 80+ the pace group may be academic ! Oh well .... can only control the things I can control.

pgmcpq

Thursday: Was supposed to be a rest day -actually ended up being a mulit-mile hike through the streets in a visit to our new offices (think Dilbert). Lunch was supposed to follow but a timing gap was filled with a bizzare walking tour ! Eventually I quietly bailed and went back to the office.
Friday: 4 Miles fairly easy. This is the final run before Sunday. All is well - though I felt a little ... lethargic. Hoping to pack,cleanup, get a massage and put my feet up for the rest of the day. Unfortunately the weather for Sunday is 82f ('bout 30c), humid, and with a 40% chance of thunderstorms :eek:. Otherthan windy it's hard to get much worse! Hope they are wrong but my confidence in a BQ time is fading with every forecast. Need to try to stay positive but if the day is as bad as I fear I may need (very reluctantly) to adjust my goals. I am very very reluctant to give up the BQ goal ......

It's a two wave start with the first wave a cut off at expected time of 3:30. I am figuring that back of the first wave (just behind the 3:20 group) might be the place to start ?

Best of luck to everyone doing Limerick !