Of course it's about running.

With the Chicago Distance Classic just three weeks away, last Sunday I planned to run 12.5 miles at as close to an 8 min/mile pace as possible. This was going to be a test run for the race (since an 8 min/mile or better pace qualifies you for a preferred start at Chicago this fall). I also planned to experiment with energy gel during the training run, which I've never done before.

So how accurate was it? Well, on Saturday I ran ~8 miles at the weekly Team in Training group run. I won't be doing that the day before the Distance Classic. The race starts at 6:30 to hopefully avoid the August 13th heat. My Sunday started lazily and I didn't start until 8:00. Not much of a test so far.

However the actual run went really well. The first 6.25 went by in 49:25 (7:55 avg), but then I started to feel the effects of Saturday's run. The next 5 miles took 41:36 (8:18 avg), but then I really pushed the last mile and a quarter to finish in 1:40:15, or an overall pace of just over 8:01 per mile.

I didn't bother with the gel since I didn't want to take the time, so that part of the test failed too. But overall, the lesson is that if I know I'm trying to beat a time goal or have a hard training run coming up, I should take it easy the day before and make sure I'm rested and ready to go when that race or workout arrives.

Now the Distance Classic is just 17 days away. If I can run that pace under those imperfect conditions, then I really think I'll be ready to run fast on race day. If the weather cooperates...