Sunday - Faust

22 mile run with the last 10 at marathon goal pace.
Greg, Fyffe, George and I set off from the Goose Pond parking lot in Keene with Boj on the bike to run to the start of the DeMar marathon. Goose Pond puts us seconds away from the 12 mile mark, and makes it so we run by Bretwood Golf Course, Rt 12A, and a very scenic beginning to the marathon along a river and some open fields with farms. The weather was perfect and invited the idea of encouragement.
Fyffe calls these runs "skull crushers," which alway makes me smile to hear. The run out was a steady and solid 6:45 pace and was very conversational. I opted to wear the kicks I'd be throwing down with at VCM to give them a little play. I was innerly focused and determined to hit this workout and do it well.
The run brought us to the 1 mile mark and that would be our start on the run back. We decided that we would run the 10 miles back and cool down the last mile. All in all, 22. These are all wheeled and certified miles, which I prefer, since I'm a certified roller.
The change in gears felt great. It was like holding a fart, leaning over and give easing it out... Just relaxing.
Our mile splits were a bit erratic the first... 8 miles. Haha. We did not get a consistent mile mark early on. At 2 we were 11ish (we didn't get a true split, or I didn't), then from 2-6 miles we settled and ran 22:44. This is slower than I was hoping for or felt would be ideal comfort, but when the time comes, I'm committed to running comfortable and I'll know what's ugly then. Fyffe and Greg changed their workout plan a hair and stopped at 6 miles to refuel and recover before charging on. I was committed to this workout all week and was set that I needed it to go well. I was married to the idea that if the workout was a success then my race was foretold to be a success.
Boj stuck with me as I continued on. The mile markers were all visible after 6, so it made me feel more at ease. This was a very runnable section with long flats and slight down hills. A few bumps but nothing that would break the rhythm. It was inevitable, I knew I was going to run well, and was happy with how I felt and my next few splits. 7mile: 5:20
8mile: 5:26
9mile: 5:25
10mile: 5:20
By my watch this puts my last 10 miles at 55:00. This was encouraging and exactly what I was looking for. The was a Mowgli run, just staring it down, no fear of what will be, and not losing focus. Certified roller...