12 mile progression...

Today I did my first serious marathon progression run. I have been talking to many of my fellow New England runners about marathon training and what I have taken away is that longer progression work is the keystone to any marathon program. The plan for today was twelve miles starting at 6:00 pace and working down to 5:00 pace over the final miles. From the first strides of the run I knew was in for a solid effort. I passed three miles in 17:04 feeling strong and ready to accelerate. The first three miles of the loop are moderately hilly so I was very confident that I would be able to roll on the flats of West Keene. Five miles was passed in 28:14 and I made it to seven in 39:00. Ten miles was reached in 54:40 and I still felt excellent so I decided to push the pace over the last two miles. Around eleven and three quarters I started to get a little tired but I was able to push through and make it to twelve in 65:30. I was pretty psyched following the workout and I began to get distantly excited about VCM. This workout also brought my marathon specific work to seventeen miles for the week which is very exciting.

Mark