Comfortable

Pacing 3:20 in Dublin on 28th had me a bit concerned that I would not be sufficiently recovered to get the legs and body back into shape for the task ahead. After all 7:38 pace over 26.2 miles commands a bit of respect.................and a bit of form also as respect alone will not do much for me on the day. To keep the pressure off my Achilles I kept my runs to grass as much as possible although with only 2 short runs during the week (totalling 11.5 miles) it was all down to my long run this morning to see where I was at. With 15 miles in the bag last weekend the plan was to up it to 18/20 miles today between 2 warmup/cooldown walking miles.

As well as the increase in distance I also wanted to push the pace at little closer to "race" pace from last weeks 7:59 miles. After a 12:30 warmup mile I ended up running at a reasonably consistent pace between 7:25 and 7:45 per mile for the next 20 miles (average pace of 7:33) before warming down over a 13 minute mile, happy to have bagged a decent run, even if I was tiring towards the end, with my heart rate drifting from the mid 130's to 152 for the last 2 miles. The marathon course, other runners and the crowd support in Dublin should be more motivational that this mornings 9.5 laps of the grass track at Murphy's Farm.

I took the opportunity to trial my pacing gear, which arrived during the week - the fit was good and there were no issues - so all looking good.