Any F.I.R.S.T. folks out there? (Page 2)

I used the FIRST program to get my 3:30 BQ. The schedule was actually very agressive for me meaning I could quite do their test key runs. But I did their schedule and cheated by adding a little more rest time between intervals, adding rests into the tempo runs, breaking up the 20 mile long runs into a couple 10 mile runs. But it worked and I got my 3:30.

BTW, my previous runs were 3:51 in September (not using FIRST), 3:36 in December (switched to FIRST halfway through schedule), 3:30 in March. And the 3 runs/week of FIRST left me feeling less tired.

Well, maybe I am a bit faster than I thought

1:37:55 chip time which McMillan translates to a 3:26:30 marathon.

I felt really good the whole way and had to remind myself to not go out too fast. I did have some fast splits early on,  but a bit inconsistent; 7:35, 7:00, 7:10, 6:46. When I saw 6:46 I really tried to slow down; 7:17, 7:26, 7:24, 7:27, 7:27, 7:12 ( the bag pipe guy on Falls Bridge really pumps me up), 7:27, 7:31, 7:17. The last several miles were pretty consistent but what surprised me were my official split times:

10K 46:49 7:33

10 Mile 1:15:10 7:31

Finish 1:37:55 7:29

Negative splits overall and each one exactly 2 seconds faster. Pretty damn cool. I felt strong the whole way and probably could have gone a few seconds faster each mile but I really didn't want to blow up.  I will take a look at what the adjusted paces would be for 3:26. May be appropriate to kick things up.

It felt fine. In fact I was surprised when I saw that on my Garmin. I had to look twice to make sure the 6 wasn't an 8. I use reading glasses but obviously don't wear them when I run so the Garmin is hard to read sometimes.

I felt good post race and feel great today. I know I held back some, partly because of pride. I didn't want to have to come here and fess up that I did a crash and burn

I get your point, but there is no way I'm running a half marathon without pacing information. Was I tied to it too much? Maybe, but I'd rather run slower and be cautious in a race than blow up and DNF. I may be selling myself a bit short, but I doubt I could have pulled off a sub 7 for the whole thing. You never know 'til you try, but trying that doesn't fit my goals for this season. I am thrilled that I beat my goal of 1:40 and feel that much more confident about a BQ in November.

You'll never know what you can do if you don't try ......

Blowing up has become my middle name almost.

I'd recommend trying it in shorter races first.

But I think you'll be surprised what happens.