Four Mile Tuesdays

My Tuesday runs have been bumped up from three miles to four miles. And it's about time. I know one is supposed to take it easy after a long run, but sometimes three mile runs don't even seem like they're worth the effort. Four miles, now that's something. 33% better than a three mile run.

Tuesday's four-miler was a nice, relaxed run along Bradford St. and out (almost) to Herring Cove Beach. I may have meandered a bit, clocking in at just over 8:00 per mile. I'm getting better now at taking it easy and not pushing the pace too much. For some reason, I feel a need to always keep my pace under 8:00. This is clearly an arbitrary cut off point. I'd still need to shave 45 seconds off of my pace to qualify for Boston, and there's no way that's happening. How on earth do so many people qualify for Boston? And how is it that, when I lived there, I'd see slobs running it? Is this qualification standard new? Averaging 7:15 for 26.2 miles seems insane. If this marathon bug catches, maybe in 2010?

A seven-miler is scheduled for this evening. And another 4-miler for early tomorrow morning before taking the boat back to the mainland. 36 miles total this week, which is up 10 miles from last week. Sunday's 14-miler could be my longest run ever. At least longest since I've been keeping track of mileage. That's a long way. I'm pretty sure that it's about half-way to the moon. I'll pack lightly.