Does this count as speed work?

Well, I completed the Martian Marathon with a chip time of 3:53. I'm really happy with that because I averaged 8:55 minute miles when I've been training at 10 minute miles. Also, this is approximately the same time that I had the last time I ran the Martian, which was 6 or 7 years ago (woah.) The race was fun, although it reminded me why I still prefer the culture of ultramarthons. Even though this was a relatively small marathon I still felt a little like I was part of a herd. Still, it was a nice way motivate me to put in a long run and it was fun to see all the people excited about the race (but really, do you need a hydration pack for a half marathon?) As always, Running Fit had everything very well organized, included some insane looking technical t-shirts and had some wonderful greasy pizza waiting at the end.

I was planning on doing the whole thing in around 4:20 and adding on a 4 mile run in the end to make a nice round 30 mile day. However, at the halfway mark I overheard someone say that we were at a 4 hour pace and decided I would rather speed things up and get home early than stretch it out another few miles. I need to write a blog post one of these days about the honey/salt/molasses concoction that I have been using on my long runs. I switched between that and the Gu that they had at aid stations. Interestingly, I felt a tiny bit nausious around mile 15 after a few Gu packets, but felt perfectly normal after going back to the honey mix. Kept pretty even splits throughout so I'm feeling pretty close to on pace for the 100.

Kudos to Deb who has kicked up the fundraising! I need to clear some grant reports off my plate and then hopefully will have the chance to start bringing in some money.