Half Marathon TT

So, I've been tossing around the idea of trying to run a fast marathon this fall using only CF & CFE. I know it's possible and that with good planning and training; the problem is I haven't actually been planning or training much. With the gym occupying most all of my free time I had put my training on the back burner, just squeezing in workouts as time/energy permitted. Knowing that the Monumental marathon is quickly approaching I had to come up with a test to see where my running fitness was at and if a marathon was even worth considering.

This led me to today, when I decided to take advantage of the good weather and run 13 miles after work. Unfortunately my usual training partners were all busy so I was left to do it alone, but that was actually a good thing as there was no pressure and I could try to focus on my pacing. I decided I would do it all on the monon and not go farther than 4.5 away so I could stop at 9 if I wasn't feeling well. I felt fairly comfortable the first 4-5 miles but had trouble staying at a consistent pace, varying from 6:40-7:00. I wanted to run the middle miles hard and was blessed enough to catch a guy turning around right in front of me. I followed him for 3 miles and was able to run 6:30, 6:20, 6:12 which I was stoked with (I think he was trying to drop me, didn't seem too friendly). The last 3 miles weren't so pretty. I had worn bad socks and as they started to droop, I got a blister on each foot and about the same time both calves tightened up. I decided to run the last mile around the gym as I knew the 6:30 class would be running outside and I really needed to have others around.

I wasn't paying much attention to the total time so I was excited to see that I finished the 13 in 1:28:30. I did this with running 1-2x and an avg distance of less than 2 miles.

So, I guess I need to really ask myself: is it possible to run the full mary at the same pace? Will I be able to plan in more run wods? Do I want to rush this just for kicks or should I wait till next year when I know I could run a PR with CFE?

tough call...