Monday was the official “Off” day, and today we jumped back in with five miles of running at a mid-tempo pace. For me, that is 7:10 per mile, which should have brought me to the five-mile point at 35:50. I got to it in 34:36, which puts me at just over 6:55 per mile.
For the first quarter mile, I had doubts that I would be able to keep pace, but as I approached the half-mile point the rhythm felt more maintainable. I did not experience any burning like what I felt on Week 2, Day 5 at the 3.5-mile point. Maybe this is the payoff of training, or it could be fresh legs after yesterday’s rest day.
If I keep running faster than my prescribed pace for two more weeks, I will consider dropping my target marathon time from 3:20:00 to 3:15:00. But I agree with juggernaut’s plan not to switch too soon.