Notes
20 miles with specific pace work:
First 13 = basically a warmup. I did 8 by myself (ran up to Schenley, up through Squirrel Hill, back to Friendship), then Jeremy and Steph joined for the rest.
Last 7 = "fartlek with your GPS where you simply hold 6:20-6:30 pace for as long as you comfortably can.
Once you feel you need to work hard to hold pace then ease up and run comfortable and relaxed until you feel ready to go again. You shouldn't need complete rest after each interval- you should be able to just ease up to ~7:00-7:20 pace and recover, keep the recoveries slightly hot. If you can hold 6:20-6:30 non-stop for the entire last 7 miles then do so! If you feel good then go for it! This is "practice" for the marathon."
I felt decent, but not amazing--this being the 4th workout of the week, it's no surprise!--and pushed through. During the marathon-paced stuff, I took 3 recovery jogs (~1/3 mile during miles 3 & 4, and .15 during the last). I was able to maintain 6:20-30 pace most of the time (though it obnoxiously became more of a fartlek when we somehow hit every red light on 5th ave), but I could tell I was running on somewhat tired legs.
Attempted to use maltodextrin, but found that my massive jar has gone bad! Smells horrible. So I took gels at miles 4 & 12, and will try again next week. Also will try to run on the river trails or somewhere less trafficky.