Annual Indoor Treadmill Marathon #2. Last year, about the same time out from Phoenix, I hopped on a treadmill and ran 26.2 miles in 2:53:4x. I decided a few days back that this was the ideal week to do it as my workout, so I did it tonight. Time was 2:45:32. Last year, when I ran the 2:53, I was hurting over the last 2 miles or so and couldn't pick up the pace. In Phoenix, I was sick, but still ran nearly 4 minutes faster with a 2:50:00.1. Tonight's 2:45:32 felt very relaxed. I picked up the pace about 5 seconds per mile on miles 24 and 25, went another 25 seconds faster on mile 26, and then ran the last .2 at 4:57 pace. Now, an hour later, my legs feel completely fine other than a tiny blister on the front of my right middle toe (just an air blister).
This was a major confidence booster. I planned on running in the ballpark of, but no faster than, 2:45, so I hit that spot on, but it felt a lot more relaxed than I anticipated. Splits were 63:41 for the first 10, 63:27 for the second 10, and 38:24 for the last 10k 19:04 for 20 to 23, 12:30 for 24 and 25, 5:50 for 26, and :59 for 26 to 26.2). So yeah, I think sub-2:40 is very realistic come Phoenix.
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