Time: 3:25:08
Pace: 10:15 min/mi
Comments: Went to bed early and made it a point to get out a little earlier. Due to all the rain I figured the Trinity River trail might be pretty sloppy so I opted to do two circuits around White Rock Lake.
This was certainly a challenge and there were parts that were plenty tough. Yet I really felt in control the whole way and it was substantially less exhausting than the 18 miler two weeks ago.
I set out deliberately overslow on the first 10 miles; completing it a hair over 1:49 for an average pace of 10:54 min/mi. Then I upped the cadence on the second loop and nailed a negative split. I took just more than 1:36 for the second ten miles for an average pace of 9:36 min/mi. Even better, three of the last five miles were sub 9:30, one even getting down to 9:17.
This effort suggests the strength is definitely there to complete the marathon and the stamina is getting into the range of making a sub-4 hour effort a real possibility.
Conditions
Hour: 5:45 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: overcast/mist
Temperature: 71 degrees
Humidity: 96 percent
Wind: 10 mph gusts
Location: Dallas, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Ghost 11
Injury update: Little bit of soreness in the right knee toward the end.