Week -9 went OK. The crux of the week was the marathon paced run on Sunday: 17 miles of which 10 at marathon pace. My fast splits were 6:39, 6:57, 6:58, 6:48, 7:05, 7:01, 7:08, 6:57, 7:06, 6:54. The strong wind and the terrain is largely responsible for the variation in pace, though I did start a bit fast, and I developed side stitches after 5 miles. I took a 5-second "stop - slow breath out - go" to get rid of it, and it worked.

This is a 6:57 average. I was aiming for 7 minutes, but 6:57 is perfectly fine. This would translate to a 3:02:xx marathon, but if we add the hills, you get 3:05.

I still obviously do need to develop all three aspects of my running: endurance (marathon paced and long runs), stamina (lactate threshold), and fitness (VO2 max), because the last miles were not easy, and this only 10 (or 17, depending on how you count), not 26. Though I have to keep in mind that this has been my largest volume week for almost a year, and I have had some good workouts recently, so I was running on tired legs (and I definitely felt it).

So I think we are on track for 3:05. Getting to 3 hours again seems incredibly hard, but let's do one step at a time.

Another important note: the 12-week cycle is short, and so definitely not ideal for me.

Week -8:
M: Rest
T: 13 MLR
W: 15 MLR
T: 5 R
F: 10 w/ 5 @ LT (6:30/mile)
S: 5 R
S: 18 L

Seems doable, the crux being the threshold run on Friday. Then the following week is recovery (with 59 miles, LOL)!