Week of March 29-April 4

Monday -- 20-minute progression into tempo run, 10x20-second hill sprints, cool down = 8 miles
Tuesday -- 9 miles steady
Wednesday -- (treadmill) 15 minutes steady, 3xmile at 5:59 each = 6 miles
Thursday -- 6 miles steady
Friday -- 1 mile easy
Saturday -- Papa John's 10-Mile Race (1:01:37)
Sunday -- Off
Total -- 42 miles

Mileage still low but it was a decent week of training and ran well in the Papa John's 10-Miler. Monday started with a 20-minute progression run and finished with hill sprints; Tuesday was a steady run on the roads at around 7-minute miles or under; Wednesday was mile repeats on the treadmill but legs really tired so just did three; Thursday was another steady run; Friday was an easy mile with the high school runners; and Saturday was the race.

Papa John's 10-Miler breakdown -- I started out slower than normal in this year's Papa John's 10-Miler, feeling really-really relaxed through the first mile in 6:07. I stayed relaxed through the first 3.5 miles, then the course got hilly through six miles with plenty of ups and downs. I passed two miles in 12:20 and three miles in 18:37. The halfway point was reached in 31:22 (6:16-average), which gave me a second half of 30:15 (6:03-average). I finished off with the last three miles at sub-6 miles and felt strong all the way to the finish line although I obviously started to tire. My final time of 61:37 was an average mile of 6:09. I think, after a few more weeks of training, that 6:30-6:40 miles should be my target pace for the marathon. That'll bring me through 10 miles in around 1:05-1:07, a pace that should be manageable. Though it wasn't super fast and I didn't push 100-percent, I was still pleased with the Papa John's 10-Miler. It should be beneficial to me. Now, I'm in desperate need of a hard long run this week.