53F, SE 3 mph, cloudy and getting ready to rain, but it didn't until I finished. First and possibly only metric marathon of this training cycle. Didn't run yesterday because of work schedule, which combined with LLHR on Wednesday left me pretty rested. I ran one warmup mile off the clock and then hit the button and started. First split was 8:04 and I thought it was going to be a disaster. Then the second one came in at 7:30 and I was generally OK after that, though I did slow down toward the end, as did my heart rate. Just not enough stamina -- not a cardiovascular limitation at this point, though that might change in Dubai if it gets warmish, which it may do; lows right now are in the low 60s there, not terrible but not great.
Splits were as follows: 8:04 (153), 7:30 (158), 7:35 (162), 7:37 (162), 7:43 (164), 7:27 (163), 7:34 (166), 7:22 (167), 7:30 (167), 7:31 (168), 7:38 (168), 7:41 (167), 7:35 (166), 7:45 (162), 7:51 (166). Average HR was 164, max 169. 7:38/mile overall, not counting the warmup.
Came in at 1:39:46 for the half, which I think is pretty close to what I ran a week ago in the race, but hard to tell for sure because of the measurement problems in the trees out there.
Not stellar results today, but certainly not a disaster, I can work with this. I checked out my best MM in the Boston training cycle, 7:29/mile, 169 average heart rate and 177 max. It was a lot warmer that day, 66F, so not apples to apples. Definitely a little slower right now. But a PR, while not likely, is not out of reach after factoring in today's lower heart rate and the fact that I am on a modest upswing fitness-wise.
Headed to Dubai on Monday night, there for almost 3 weeks. Marathon is on January 22. If schedule and circumstances permit I might try this run again in the first few days after I arrive.
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