7:11

Where did the time go? Eight weeks ago I pondered my state of fitness, wondering if I could PR in the NYC Half. I did just that, and by a solid margin. But the personal record wasn't my ultimate goal. This was another solid step toward the 41st running of the NYC Marathon in November, and with that, a (hopefully) Boston qualifying time. I'll need a 7:15 per mile pace to achieve that. Last March, with a time of 1:33:54 in the NYC Half, I achieved a 7:11 per mile pace. Getting under 7:15 was a great psychological step for me. I can now view my training as *just* stretching out my miles without a need to gain speed. Same workouts, longer distances, starting in June.

But wait... there's more... As planned I have one more Half. I've decided to do the Lake Placid Half on June 13. With the hills up there, this will be an honest test of my fitness level in mid June. I've started estimating what my goal for the race will be. Since the NYC Half, my training hasn't been as consistent and I've questioned whether or not it has dropped off a bit. A couple Sunday's ago, I came in third in a 5k in Duanesburg, NY which was really cool... I think I'll do more of these small races! But my time was over a minute slower than my 5k PR. Sure, it could have been the 15 mile run to Coney Island the day before, but who knows.

[caption id="attachment_145" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Third out of 116 finishers, Jog for Jugs 2010 in Duanesburg, NY"][/caption]

With 4 training weeks left before the event, I'm setting a goal. I'd love to have a sub 7 minute per mile pace. The hills may not make it possible. I'd be happy to finish in about the same time as the NYC Half. But yeah, I'd love a sub 7 minute pace. That would put me at 1:31:41. 0:6:52 per mile would put me at 1:29:57... sub 1:30:00 finish time. Now that would be something. And according to Runners World's calculator, a 1:31:00 Half time should translate into a sub 3:10 full time. huh, but also according to this calculator, my 0:5:36 mile time should have yielded a 2:58:29 Marathon time by now. Not quite.

Ok, too many numbers. At this point, I will just stay on task and dedicated to the training. The numbers will come, whatever they may be.