Detroit Marathon Training - Week 13 - Run #3

Today was it. The last "long run" of my marathon training. From here it's all downhill as I begin my "taper" now that the marathon is only 3 weeks away. Unfortunately, today's run didn't send me out on a very good note.

My first mistake was a fast start. I took the first mile to calibrate my Nike+ sensor, so I ran a mile and stopped briefly to set it. It indicated my first mile was actually .9mi, so it seems that it was exactly 90% accurate out of the box as the instructions indicated it would be. My first mile went by in about 7:30, which is not what I wanted to do. The next mile was the only other mile I checked my iPod, and it came it at .99mi, so I think I have it calibrated pretty well. I then tucked it into my Camelback and there it stayed until the end of my run.

Not all was bad with my run. I hit the turnaround point, 9 miles, at 1:14:30 for an average pace of 8:17 per mile. On the way back, I started wearing out around mile 13. I was really struggling and was not sure if I would make it. For the first time since I've been running, my feet started hurting. Usually I just get pain in my legs, but this time my actual feet were aching. So I don't know if that is a not so subtle hint that I need to get new shoes. I have around 350 miles on these shoes. I'll just have to see if it happens again.

My finishing time was 2:39:21 for 18 miles which averages out to about 8:51 per mile. This is slightly faster than my last 18 miler which was two weeks ago. But I feel much worse at the moment than I did two weeks ago after the run. I have been wheezy and my feet are aching. I just hope that my runs over the next few weeks go better because today did not do much for my confidence, even though I managed to finish.

Weekly Total: 28.1 miles
Yearly Total: 717.6 miles