A Little Bit of Confidence

After last night's track workout, I've found just a little bit of confidence that I might be able to finish in under 3:15:59. For the past few weeks I have felt sluggish and tired when running. The speed sessions have been OK, but trying to run at race pace out on the road has been tough. Maybe because I've been out doing that alone and on the track I've had company, people to keep my pace honest and to push me. The problem is, there is only a handful of people I run with who push me.

Pete, whom I haven't seen since February, was just finishing last night when I arrived. It turns out he had knee surgery over the summer and is just getting back into running again. Maybe I can actually keep up with him now! Bob was there, but he was just doing some easy laps, still recovering from the NC 24 and possibly preparing for another 24 hour run in Iowa. And then there was Rachel, who has probably pushed me harder than just about anyone else. She's incredibly fast and it's about all I can do to keep up with her sometimes.

We ran 3 X 1 mile repeats at marathon race pace last night. After some of our workouts, it felt incredibly easy and I couldn't believe just how fast we were really going. Each mile was under 7:15, which is our target pace for Sunday. Rachel and I are going to run together in Columbus, lining up with the 3:10 pace group. She only needs a 3:40 to qualify for Boston, but she can go much faster than that, as witnessed by her 1/2 marathon PR of 1:28! I need a 3:15, but the extra cushion might be a good idea. We can at least keep each other motivated and although I like going it alone, having a friendly face with you along the way makes things just a tiny bit easier.