My focus is squarely on the New York Marathon now. Everything I eat and every bit of energy I spend is focused around the race. My course analysis predicts that I will finish at a pace of 8:30 to 8:40 per mile. This will put my marathon time right around the 3:45 mark.
The course is constantly up and down but almost all hills are subtle and gentle. There are three significant uphills. The first one is right at the start of the race going up the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The second one is right after the half-way point going up the Queensboro Bridge. The final uphill is in Central Park at mile 23. The third one is the one I dread the most!
My taper today was an easy 4-mile run around the Parsus office. It was hot again outside but I decided to run an easy 8:40 pace. Somehow it felt hard; maybe it is in my head or maybe it was the heat. 4 more days!