starting to get superstitious

Well, I've largely escaped taper madness, I think, but now I'm starting to get anxious. I have a tendency to get injured in the house. Nothing major, just stuff like sliding around a corner too sharply and tweaking a knee...tapering gives me more energy and since I'm fundamentally a fast-twitch person, that means sprinting in the house, up the stairs, down the hall, etc, etc.

So I'll be treading very carefully for the next week.

I'm also getting wary because training has gone well....too well, perhaps, and I'm waiting for the karmic boom to drop. I pushed things hard, and didn't get injured. I got sick this week, but that was fine, and I still managed to do a good speed workout, plus a sort of marathon-pace 10 miler today.

Ah, yes, the traditional 10-miler the week before the big day. I've done this a couple of times, I think. Ideally, it's supposed to be an MP run, but I didn't manage that before, mainly because the first time, I didn't train properly, the 2nd time, I didn't know what my MP would be, anyway, and the third time, training had not gone well and it had been a horrible run even at a normal easy run pace.

Today, I didn't feel that peppy because I was working late last night and didn't get quite enough sleep, and I didn't have much time to eat and drink beforehand and jogged over holding breakfast (a banana). My hopes weren't high and it wasn't supposed to be an MP run anyway. My legs were a bit sluggish at the start, but being with two excellent running mates livened up the pace a little...we were all kind of tapped into the same vibe, I guess, and it was decent running weather. I saw that mile two was 8:33 and I was like, hey, if some MP happens, great.

Well, none happened, really, because I just can't run at MP...except on average. Yes, my average pace for the 10 miler turned out to be just a shade faster than what I need to qualify for Boston, like fractions of a second per mile. There were a few slower miles, at the beginning and going up and across the locks, mainly, but also some easy cruising miles at below MP. This is no surprise--I've noticed during the other MP workouts that my body has chosen its own MP pace, at almost 30 seconds per mile slower than my 1/2 marathon pace, so nothing extravagant. I kept my breathing at 4-2, which is easier than what my 1/2 marathon was at. It was still an easy effort, but on the edge.

So, a big confidence boost. I hit MP pace (on average, lol), while going on an 'easy' run! Not too shabby, especially since I had started off slowly and still managed to make up time. So, if the first 2 or 3 miles at the start are 9:00ish/mile, I don't have to panic right away. I can relax. There's time to fix it.

I would like to lock into the 8:26/mile I need at least for the first half, to lessen the risk of crashing, but it's also nice to know that this 8:08-8:15 pace that I've been favouring is so comfortable. I just have to get it into my head that the first while will really just be a warm up, and that it shouldn't feel like much work until at least mile 16 or so. I still remember my last full, how eerily easy sub 8 miles were for the first 1/2...they kept slipping in. I was barely breathing. But I paid for them later.

This time, I'll try to be smarter.

Just a few more runs to go, an hour-ish at slightly above MP pace, some intervals at MP pace, and then a shorter one to loosen up, if necessary. A great thing about training with the group has been the heightened expectation. I've been told that I WILL qualify, there's no doubt about it. I have to. That'll make it easier to dig deeper near the end of the race.