Dama, I don't know if it's really a pride issue for me, as I really have no conception of what it means to do well in a marathon. I know what kind of times the elites do, but not what sort of expectations all the different categories of sub-elite runners might have (maybe I should start checking out the marathon forum to find out). For me it's just a feeling. I don't feel good if I run slower than an 10mm pace, and even 10mm feels too slow most of the time. I only add distances to my running if I can sustain at least a 10mm pace. That's how I define my long and slow (steady pace) run, which I run once or twice a week. Then I do hills and fartleks at distances a mile or two less than my max distance. I like the fartleks a lot, because during most of speed plays I run at 8mm pace, which feels really, really good--truly joyous. I can hardly wait till that's my long slow pace. Then I may actually want to run for several hours at a time, like in a marathon!