Today's Long Run

OK Nathan, here is the report I posted on the other blog, it was a good run today:

"51F and misting, this weather was perfect. 22.14 miles in 3:30:00, average pace 9:29 per mile, no heart rate monitor. My goal was to run 9:30 per mile, so I made it just barely. I went for it right out of the gate. My first mile was 9:22 and my last was 9:31, fastest split was 9:08 and slowest was 9:42. Unlike some other long runs, this wasn't a steady acceleration to the end of the run. I was struggling a lot to make 9:30 the last few miles but my overall average was there, about a 4:08 marathon pace. I don't think I could have run the extra 4 miles needed for a marathon today, though. I was done, done, done by the time I quit. I finished about a mile from my house and sat down on a rock. After 10 minutes of no improvement, I felt like laying down but I knew somebody would call an ambulance if I did that. I always run with a cell phone, so I woke up my 16-year old son from his Saturday morning slumber. No one else was home, so he agreed to pick my butt off the pavement and I made it home. Yesterday morning he skipped seminary, failed to take out the trash and drove the best car to school. I was going to give him a piece of my mind but decided to exercise some restraint. Didn't realize the payoff would come so quickly.

So where does this run leave me? No clear answer as to a goal marathon pace, but I still learned a lot. I think with a proper taper I could get 4 more 9:30 miles out of these legs, but I was definitely running in risky territory today. On the other hand, nothing ventured, right? Have to take risks to improve, and I'll know when the day arrives what to do."