4miles + 5xmile (10 miles)

AM: 4 miles, 5AM, high 50s.  Ran at easy/moderate pace.  I felt pretty darn good, much better than my last 22 miler at 6:45 pace.  It's very possible my body caught back up with recovery.

PM: 5xmile.  2 mile warm up, 1 mile cool down, 5 minutes rest between repeats, jogged 2 laps per recovery session.  I absolutely rocked this workout.  Furthermore, my legs were a bit tired, so it took some effort and was an "honest" performance.  Splits:

5:16; 5:18; 5:15, 5:15; 5:15

I'm coming off a 79 mile week and will be hitting 80 or more this week and yet I just completely rocked this workout.  When I was a junior in high school, this was my PR.  Now I can bang these out like its my job in a track workout.  If only I can go back to High School Dan and tell him: "run more you lazy piece of crap!"  But, alas, I cannot, so Fast Dan has to make up for High School Dan's laziness.

Of course, the most exciting part of my day was getting stuck in my apartment building's elevator for over an hour.  The building maintenance guy had a fire key but it didn't work and he couldn't even get it open.  It took someone from the elevator company to get it open.  I was stuck between the basement and 1st floor and had to jump out when it was open.

From what I understand and have seen, the Fire Department's first line of defense in this situation is a fire key.  If that elevator was on fire, and they couldn't open it with that, apparently I would have been in trouble.  Since fate chooses to mock me...I'm spitting back in its face.

I am now officially declaring my marathon goal race pace.  I will start off at 6:30 pace, (2:50 overall).  I will accept splits as fast as 6:20.  After mile 6, if I have even the slightest inclination I'm holding back, I'll speed up to 6:15-6:20 and do everything I can to hold on. 6:10 pace gives a 2:41, 6:20 gives 2:46.  Someone I beat in a recent half marathon just ran a 2:41 full in Baltimore.  Combine that with my 6:45/mile 22 milers and it's time to stop screwing around.  It's time to run what I'm capable of running, and it's time to stop giving in and just run through the pain and torture like I do for EVERY OTHER RACE DISTANCE.  There is nothing special about the marathon, nothing!

If I'm going to get stuck in a goddamn elevator with no way out if it was on fire, then I'm going to blow away my old marathon PR or collapse and die trying.  There is no way a piece of junk elevator is going to be the end of me!  And I won't let bad luck, fate, pain, tiredness, my freaking job, or glycogen depletion stand in my way...

I want a 20 minute PR...I want to keep improving at this alarming rate so I can keep plowing forward down the less than 3 hour realm.