Marathon training, week 18

First week of taper! 

Monday: Five easy plus strides
Tuesday: Our final real track workout of the training cycle (next week is just a few marathon pace miles in a dress rehearsal): Two mile road tempo, then 2xmile on the track with a 400 jog. We were back on the dirt track at Pontiff playground for this one, but luckily the track wasn't in very bad condition this time. We did the tempo on the park walking path (6:26, 6:25), then I ran 5:58 and 6:05 for the miles. Definitely went out too fast for the first mile! After this workout, my right SI joint started to bother me. Actually, something starts to feel irritated or "off" after almost every Pontiff workout. I just do not do well running at high speeds on a rough and messy dirt track. My feet slide around in the dust or mud (depending on the weather), and catching my balance puts a lot of pressure on my joints. But it has been improving, luckily.
Wednesday: 5 easy on the soft dirt path around the park.
Thursday: 6 aerobic with 1-minute surges for last four miles. This averaged 6:58 pace, which...is too fast. I need to reign it in. My tapering legs are feeling way too fresh! 
Friday: Instead of our typical tempo, we ran a 9.5 mile run with 6 at marathon pace thrown in the middle. I tried to really hit my prescribed marathon pace (6:52), but again...erring on the fast side. I talked to our group's coach about my pacing issues and and he said that wasn't unusual in taper, but just make sure it wasn't any of the long stuff. Too late for that, we're about done with any long stuff! MP miles were all 6:49 except two at 6:41. 
Saturday: 4 easy.
Sunday: Easy 13ish. Conversational, no workout, just a medium length shakeout, really.
Weekly mileage: 51.8. Funny thought: my average weekly mileage for my PR marathon was about 50. Hm. 
So, about that marathon pace. Our group has a coach who writes the workouts and also gives pace recommendations. His recommendation for me is 6:52. I am not sure I can run that pace, which would probably put me right around 3:01 (given the extra distance I'm bound to run - this course had a lot of turns). But I do think I'm ready to race in the 6's - and I'm willing to give 6:52 a chance. Unless he changes recommendations during this last week, that is!