Tale of Three 12 Milers

Three weekends and three 12 mile runs on the Kickapoo Rail Trail. These were my last three long runs leading to the Illinois half-marathon on April 27. I was hoping to have each run get progressively easier to build confidence heading into the race. Let's see the statistics for the three sequential runs. The mile splits are the most interesting.

KRT Run #1: March 31, 12 miles in 1:52:30 (9:22 pace).

KRT Run #2: April 7, 12 miles in 1:48:12 (9:01 pace).

KRT Run #3: April 13, 12 miles in 1:41:08 (8:25 pace).

Indeed, every run got better than the one before. On the first run, I basically gave up and cut it short. I intended 13 miles, but stopped short. Felt terrible. I averaged 9:22 pace, but the last miles were slower and slower (10:28, 10:53, 11:16). Not exactly a confidence-building run.

The second run went well from beginning to end. I averaged 9:01 for the full run and even picked up the pace on the last miles (8:59, 8:32, 7:53). Now that is what I'm talking about! Could I keep this momentum going for another week?

The third run was fantastic! I went out slightly faster with the plan to hold it for the full 12 miles. I did that (8:25 average min/mile), but also picked up the pace toward the end running into the wind: 8:21, 8:17, 7:46.

I now feel optimistic about the Illinois half-marathon in 2 weeks. I'll maintain speed work, but cut back on long run distance and total mileage. If I'm fresh on race day, this could be a great race. If the weather is cooperative, maybe a PR (1:32:35)? Probably not, but I should be faster than last year's 1:41 finish. Bring it on!