Happy Holidays and Happy Training!

For most the holidays offer an opportunity to rest, but for many runners, it offers the opportunity to train. The cookies, turkey, ham, and winter ales taste much better after a great run. I invite everyone who enjoys the usual Christmas pleasures to train your ass off in the morning, and indulge in the evening. I will be enjoying Christmas in my wife's family village, Rodinov, before

Picking the Carp for Xmas dinner

returning to Portland this coming weekend. Christmas in Czech consists of most of the usual western traditions, but the meal does differ. The traditional Czech Christmas dinner, on the 24th, is carp, carp soup (all the extras from the fish), and potato salad. Presents are opened on the evening of the 24th, and extended family is met on the 25th. I will be squeezing in two runs per day through the week, but I will do my best to enjoy Christmas in the evening.

Last week focused again on hills and a brutal Fartlek, and this week will not be much different. I will spend January on more specific interval and tempo work in preparation for the USATF Cross Country Championships in Boulder on the 7th of February. I plan on racing through late June or early July, so I'm really trying to not get ahead of myself and let myself focus on volume and strength through the end of this month. It's much easier to accept being a bit less sharp going into January when I have my coach, Dave Smith, telling me to do so.

Alright, time for you to stop reading this and go join your family in the living room. That's probably what I should do as well...thanks again for reading, and Happy Holidays!

Week 5	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	12	6	40 minutes	18
Tuesday	30 minutes, drills, 10 x 300 meter hills, 30 minutes	5		17.5
Wednesday	14.5		40 minutes	14.5
Thursday	11.5	5 + drills and 6 x 150 meters in spikes		17
Friday	5.5	Fartlek 4 x (1, 2, 3, 4)		18.5
Saturday	11	5	40 minutes	16
Sunday	18.5	Off		18.5
TOTAL				120

7 Weeks to the USA Cross Country Championships: Last Week's Training

I'm a little behind in posting my training, so the week posted below corresponds to 12/8-12/14. I am finishing up my time in the Czech Republic, still alternating between Prague and the village of Rodinov. I'll be returning to Portland on the 27th. The mild winter in Czech has allowed me to do some great base work heading into January, when I will begin more specific interval work. My workouts thus far have focused on Fartleks and hill repeats. The Fartleks have all been done in my wife's village in the Vysočina region (highlands) which offers unrelenting terrain, perfect for grueling Fartlek sessions. I have really put an emphasis on hammering the hills during these Fartleks, putting myself into debt at random points in the reps, forcing myself to aerobically recover on the flat or downhill sections while still trying to maintain a decent pace. I don't measure my pace for these workouts, and the speed would not be impressive with the terrain. I focus completely on effort, which is very high and uneven. This is not an approach I will take in my interval training, so this early base period offers an excellent opportunity practice this style of running. I don't think there can be a better type of preparation for cross country than varied terrain and tough, uneven efforts.

The hill repeats have been used for strength training. While I have done some lifting in the past, I prefer hill repeats. You can still get a great aerobic workout while building strength using normal running form, reducing the risk of injury from various lifting positions. The hills are in addition to my usual running drills and core sessions. While I certainly won't be polished heading into January, I will be very strong.

Training is progressing well for Boulder in February, but the altitude presents an additional challenge. I plan on traveling to Albuquerque with the Brooks Beasts for some time before the race in order to adjust to altitude. I have not decided exactly how long I will spend there before the race, but it will likely be a couple of weeks. This will not be enough time to maximize any boost in hemoglobin, but it should be enough to get through the most challenging segment of adaptation. I would prefer to get higher quality workouts in at sea level than spending a month in Albuquerque before the championships. There is a fair argument for either option.

Feel free to check out last week's training below. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 4	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	11.5	5.5	40 minutes	17
Tuesday	30 minutes, drills, 15 x 200 meter hills, 30 minutes	6		18
Wednesday	14	off	40 minutes	14
Thursday	11.5 + drills and grass strides	5.5		17
Friday	11.5	5.5	40 minutes	17
Saturday	5	Fartlek (5 min, 4, 3)(4, 3, 2)(3, 2, 1) w/half rest		18
Sunday	20	Off		20
TOTAL				121

NYC follow-up, vacation, and 2015 plans

It's time for a long over-due follow-up to the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. After every marathon I have had the desire to separate myself from running for some time, but the difficulty with internet connections in South Africa exacerbated it this time around.

First, a huge thanks to Mary Wittenberg, David Monti, and the rest of the New York Road Runners for another tremendous experience. They have an extremely challenging jog organizing the elite athletes right in the middle of the world's biggest marathon in one of the world's biggest cities, and the entire process was flawless. I feel that I have more to prove on this course, so I hope to be back many times in the future.

My goals heading into the race were to defend my title as top-American, top-10 overall on a good day, and top-5 on a great day. I accomplished the goal of top-10 but fell short of the others, although it's no shame to be beaten by Meb Keflezighi with the year that he is having. The man does not age. The weather wasn't ideal, but of course, this is something every runner has to deal with, and it can end up being an equalizer for someone like myself in a race full of so much international talent. Wilson Kipsang was about 8 minutes off of his PR while I was less than 5. The wind kept the lead pack together for longer than it would have under ideal conditions. I was still with the leaders at 30km before they made their final strong move to the finish. The entire race up to the 30km mark was run as a Fartlek. Leads would change and someone would push the pace for a few minutes, and then it would slow right back down. I'm proud that I had the confidence to go with these moves as long as I did. This was a step forward for me in my racing tactics. Immediately after the race, I was disappointed that I did not try to continue with the pack for longer, but as I look back now and recall how badly I was suffering the final 2 miles in the park, I know I made the right decision. I would have liked to place higher, but it just wasn't happening on that day. I fought and gave it everything I had over the last 10km. Nick Arciniaga was a huge part of that. We took turns with the lead once the lead group dispersed until the final few miles where it was every man for himself. I was fortunate enough to come out ahead this time around, but I will certainly not make the mistake of underestimating him at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles.

After the race I took 2 full weeks off from running, although this down time did include a great deal of hiking in South Africa. I didn't take much time off after the London Marathon or my track season this year, so the break was appreciated. My wife and I met my in-laws in Prague, and then headed for Johannesburg. From Johannesburg we headed straight for the Drakensberg Mountains where my wife and I had planned a 5-night trek. This was the most challenging trek we had attempted to date as there were no trails, high altitude, and little cover. Unfortunately the weather got the best of us and we had to turn around on the 3rd day. The first day included incredibly dense fog which rendered our map and compass useless and put us behind immediately. On the second day we were pounded by rain and wind which found it's way into every crevass and soaked even our water-proof gear, tent, and sleeping bags with temperatures only just above freezing. The rain and wind continued through the night, and we became worried about the possibility of hypothermia and decided to make one hard 12 hour push back to the start. While the weather ended up clearing up, I'm still sure we made the right decision given the situation. The views that we did get were unbelievable and unforgettable.

From Drakensberg we traveled to Durban where my training began again slowly. Next stop was beautiful Cape Town and wine country, where we surprisingly ran in Luke Puskedra and his wife Trudie on their own post-NYC Marathon vacation. After thoroughly enjoying the southwest region, we headed back to Johannesburg and spent our remaining days exploring the wild animals of Kruger National Park. This included an overnight stay at a game lodge where my morning run was alongside gazelle, baboons, and giraffe. Near this same lodge I was given a ride home at the end of my second run as the manager was concerned about the sun going down and the inevitable hippos that would be leaving the water to feed on grass.

South Africa is an extremely diverse country geographically and culturally. I felt like we were only able to explore a sliver of what the nation has to offer, and I hope to return in the future. It is definitely on my radar for a future winter altitude training camp, potentially as soon as 2015/2016 before the Olympic Marathon Trials.

From South Africa, we returned to the Czech Republic where I was stay until just after Christmas (the 27th). As long as the weather holds out, and so far it has, the Czech Republic is a fantastic place to train as I have mentioned before. While Prague is incredibly beautiful and full of excellent running

though it's parks, the villages are a truly unique experience, and one that I was able to share with my old Oklahoma State teammate, Dan Watts and his wife Ceci. Last Saturday we ran a local cross country race which my wife's family helps to put on for it's 15th consecutive year. The small race features only about 100 people, but it is a supportive, encouraging, and fun atmosphere. My prize for 1st place included a bottle of Czech wine, champagne, and a coupon for a free Christmas tree at a nearby lot. While my wife's parents usually prefer to cut-down a tree from their own forest, they are considering the easier route this year. It's refreshing to get back to the basics at a small community race and remember why I love doing what I do.

Next up are the USATF Cross Country National Championships in Boulder, CO on February 7th. I am looking to focus on shorter distances through the spring before returning to the marathon in the early fall in preparation for the Olympic Trials in February of 2016. We are a little over 8 weeks out from the US champs, and I already feel my fitness coming back very quickly. My first two weeks back training consisted of nothing but easy jogging and strides at weeks of 60 miles and 85 miles. My 3rd week is posted below. I realize week 4 is almost over, and I will post it early next week. I'm happy to be back into my normal groove and look forward to posting my weekly training for the rest of 2015. Thanks again for reading and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 3	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	14.5	travel from South Africa to Prague		14.5
Tuesday	off	11.5	30 minutes	11.5
Wednesday	11.5	5.5 + drill and strides		17
Thursday	Fartlek (3min, 2, 1) x 3 w/equal recovery	4.5		17.5
Friday	11	5.5	30 minutes	16.5
Saturday	Local XC race run as a tempo (7.5 km) – 11			11
Sunday	16			16
TOTAL				104

Less than a week to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training.

We are 5 days from the TCS NYC Marathon, and there is really nothing left to do but get to the starting line. Last week was the last of the harder workouts with two threshold type efforts on Sunday and Thursday. Overall, the 12 week build-up has been another step forward. After my first 4 week stretch at altitude in Flagstaff, my threshold efforts, long tempos, and long runs were all slightly faster. I also put more time in on pavement to prep my legs for the extreme pounding of 26.2 miles on November 2nd. These are only small differences in an otherwise consistent block of marathon training. It is very difficult to predict one's exact fitness in the marathon, as opposed to the 10km for example. What I can say for sure is that my fitness and preparation are better than when I ran 2:10:57 in London this year, and that puts me in a position to do big things in NYC this weekend.

Over my short marathon career I have so far proven to be a consistent racer at the distance. Much of that has to do with maintaining a certain comfort level during the first half of the race, this may have to be tossed out the window come Sunday depending on how the rest of the elite field decides to race. In New York, the second half of the course is quite a bit more challenging than the first, so it is very difficult to make up a lot of ground if you've lost contact with the front pack. I would like to be a little more aggressive this year, and put myself in that top 10 group early on and attempt to fight and hang hold on over the second half. With that said, I am not suicidal, and I will make judgement calls on the spot depending on how severe a particular move or push is. I attempted to race intelligently last year by letting the front group go and running with a second pack that ended up dissipating and leaving me on an island on a cold and windy New York morning. I will try to avoid that this year. I do not care what my overall time will be, and I will not try to predict one; I want to compete. The anticipation is building as I imagine the NYC startline, the massive crowds lining the entire course, and the atmosphere of the city. Check out the NYC promo video put together by Startling Line Designs and get excited for 6:45 AM EST Sunday on ESPN2!

While I'll be spending most of the week resting and focusing on the race, you can find me on Friday  at Paragon Sports at 1:00 PM as well as the NYC Expo with Brooks at 3:00 PM, so come by and say hello. I will also be at the opening ceremonies at the finish line at 5:30 on Friday. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 11	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	3 mi warmup, 3 miles (4:43), 2 miles (4:38), 1 mile (4:37) on road + 10 mile run @ 5:48 pace	off		19
Monday	11	5	30 minutes	16.5
Tuesday	12 + drills and strides	off		12.5
Wednesday	10	5	30 minutes	15
Thursday	4 x 2 miles @ 9:24-9:26	off		14
Friday	8	7	30 minutes	15
Saturday	Planned day off			0
TOTAL				92

2 Weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training.

It seems like the taper stage of a marathon training segment should be something to look forward to, but it brings its own challenges. As the volume decreases in terms of weekly mileage and workout length, the training tends to get faster, bringing on a different type of fatigue than the earlier stages. This is planned, but that doesn't make it any easier. The real rest will come the final 10 days when volume and intensity drop significantly. While the rest is certainly welcomed, it also means the start of a little anxiety and restlessness as the race approaches. I'd love to say that as soon as the marathon is over you can finally relax, but the truth is that I spend the next day or two analyzing every detail of the race in my head trying to figure out where mistakes are made. That is why I have made it a habit to travel ASAP following the marathon. It's important for me to completely remove myself from the environment for a few weeks. This year I'll be heading to South Africa 3 days after the NYC Marathon. Our first week will be spent backpacking in the Drakensberg Mountains, and we will then take a more relaxing approach by hitting Cape Town and Kruger National Park. After the backpacking trip, I'll slowly easy myself back into running and take advantage of the summer weather and beautiful terrain. In all, I plan on about a full two weeks away from running. After only taking a week off after London, and a few days off after the track season, I think the break will be overdue.

I'm already getting ahead of myself here. Another great week of training is in the books, and I'm confident that I'm ready for the best marathon of my career come November 2nd. After a successful 4 weeks in Flagstaff at the beginning of the block, my tempos, intervals, and long runs have all been faster, and I've put more time in on hilly roads than before any of my previous marathons. I feel that I am significantly more prepared for the tough New York course than I was last year. I'll discuss more specific goals and race strategy in my blog next week.

I recovered well from the tough 16-mile tempo in Victoria and had a solid workout on the track on Thursday hitting a fairly even pace for all 8 miles of work. The next Thursday will be my last challenging workout (4 x 2 miles) before I enter full rest-mode. Feel free to check out last week's training below, and thanks again for reading. Follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 10	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	3 mi warmup, 16 mi tempo (4:56 avg) on Victoria Marathon course, 1 mi cooldown	off		20
Monday	10	Off – drive from Victoria		10
Tuesday	13.5 + drills and strides	4.5		18
Wednesday	5	10	30 minutes	15
Thursday	4 miles @ 18:53, 2 x 2 miles @ 9:23, rest = 4 min, 2 min, on the track	off		15
Friday	12	5	40 minutes	17
Saturday	5	10 + drills and strides		15
TOTAL				110

Less than 3 Weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training.

I'm getting this post out a bit late due to the travel surrounding the Victoria Marathon this past weekend. I made the short trip up north to play the athlete-support role for my wife's first marathon. Based off her training, we both thought a sub-2:50 was possible, even in her debut, but her 2:45 finish was quite a surprise to both of us! Those kinds of surprises are quite rare in the marathon, especially in a debut. It was also good enough to place her as the 2nd female in a competitive and established field. Most importantly, it was a positive experience, and Eva is already looking forward to her second marathon. While I did put together a training calendar for her, she was independent and took most of the training into her own hands. It is a dangerous game to coach your wife, but fortunately for my sake, training went without a hitch and the race exceeded both our expectations! The experiment can continue.

The trip to Victoria was also a great experience on my end as the elite athlete coordinator allowed me to do my final long tempo for NYC during the marathon. I started the first few miles with my wife as a warmup in order to give the leaders plenty of space, and I then started the 16 mile tempo in which I averaged 4:56. The course was more challenging than I expected. It has rolling hills the entire way. There aren't any long sustained hills like the bridges in New York, but it is definitely enough to mess with your rhythm each mile. I actually thought it was a great simulator for the NYC course, so I'm very pleased with my average for the tempo. I was also allowed to place my fluids on the course which made for an excellent race-day simulation. Since I ended up stopping my workout a little after 20 miles, I was left quite a ways from the finish, so I carried my credit card in my gel pocket and grabbed a taxi in order to make it back in time for Eva's finish.

There was one small snag the evening before the race. I was placed in charge of packing the PowerGels which my wife and I would mix into our bottles for our race-day fluids. Somehow, I left them by the door on our way out, and I did not realize this until Saturday evening as I began to prepare our bottles. What an amateur mistake! All the local running shops were closed, and I didn't know anyone there with extra gels. Since my wife had been practicing with these fluids for her entire build-up, I obviously did not want her to experiment with something new on race day. I got up very early on Sunday morning hoping that there would be a booth setup near the start line selling nutrition products, but there was none. I then looked up the 3 running stores in town and starting running towards them in the hope that one of them may open early for race day. The first shop, about 2km from our hotel, was shut, but my second attempt was successful. Not only were they open, but they carried the Tangerine, caffeine enhanced, Powergel that we had been practicing with! A big thank you to the Running Room in Victoria for saving the day and potentially my marriage.

November 2nd and the TCS NYC Marathon is closing in, and the volume is consistently dropping. Last week marked the end of my longer marathon workouts, and I will now finish the training block with threshold workouts of approximately 6-8 miles in length. Feel free to check out last week's training below. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 9	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	22 miles in 2:02:42 w/ 3 mile push from 17-20 (4:57, 4:54, 4:55)	off		22
Monday	14.5	5	30 minutes	19.5
Tuesday	12.5 + drills and strides	6		18.5
Wednesday	12	5	30 minutes	17
Thursday	3 mi warmup, 4 miles @ 4:46, 4 miles @ 5:50, 4 miles @ 4:46, 4 miles @ 5:40 continuous on road	off		19
Friday	12.5	Off – drive to Victoria	30 minutes	12.5
Saturday	12	4.5 + drills and strides		16.5
TOTAL				125

Less than 4 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

We're down to just under four weeks to the TCS NYC Marathon, and I've completed my last big week of volume for this marathon build-up. With last week being at 140 miles, each week from now on will drop by 15-20 miles per week heading into the race on November 2nd. I still have several hard workouts in front of me, but they will ideally be getting progressively faster as I drop the volume and start to freshen up.

Sunday's long run consisted of my pace job in Berlin, which I discussed in last week's blog. The other workout for the week was a 6 x 2km repeat workout followed by an hour of moderate running (averaging around 5:40 pace) with a 200 meter jog recovery. While the 2km repeats were slightly faster than I have run before, the hour run preceding the workout was significantly faster than my last attempt at this workout in the spring and the recovery shorter. It's fair to say that I recovered from the pace job and travel from Berlin very quickly.

The last long run workout will be coming up next weekend in Victoria, BC. My wife will be running her first marathon at the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, and after writing her training for the last three months, I will have to be there to see how it turns out! The course will be flat and scenic, it will be very well organized, and the weather will be exactly what we're used to; it's the perfect place for Eva to debut in the marathon. I have a 15-16 mile tempo planned for that weekend, and Jonathan Foweraker, the Elite Athlete Coordinator, has generously allowed me to enter the marathon in order to practice my fluids during my long tempo. He has been extremely accommodating, and I'm looking forward making the short trip north and being part of the race weekend.

As the mileage slowly starts to wind down, I have more time and energy to think about the TCS NYC Marathon. My coach, Dave Smith, and I are chiseling away at a race plan based on the various scenarios that my be presented. My travel is sorted, promotional material is being put together, and I'm beginning to slightly feel the reach of the pre-race jitters. These next few weeks will fly by, and I'll be jogging around in Central Park before I know it. I've got to make the next couple of weeks of training count in order to take another big step forward in my marathon career. Feel free to check out last week's training below, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates. Thanks again for reading. Big shout-out to Starting Line Designs for the new Blog, Twitter, and Facebook artwork!

Week 8	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	Warmup + pacemaking Berlin @ 5:19 pace	off		27
Monday	Off – travel from Berlin to Portland	14		14
Tuesday	15	6 + drills and grass strides		20
Wednesday	14	5	40 minutes	19
Thursday	1 hour moderate run, 6 x 2km (5:54, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52) w/200 meter jog recovery	4 mile shakeout		23
Friday	12.5	6	40 minutes	18.5
Saturday	10	5 + drills and strides		18.5
TOTAL				140

Less than 5 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

Last week was a planned down week in terms of volume and workouts. The down week was originally planned for a week earlier, but after committing to pace Shalane Flanagan at the Berlin Marathon, we decided to swap weeks for obvious reasons. We had a 2 x 4 mile workout planned for Wednesday, but I could tell during the warmup that my body was not ready for the prescribed pace of 4:40-4:42, so I opted for a fartlek instead. The previous week was probably the toughest week of marathon training I've ever had (see previous post), and I felt it for a few days. I backed off the intensity and volume for the second half of the week, and I bounced right back. I generally have one or two brief points during my marathon training blocks when I push a little too hard and am forced to recover for 2-3 days. I have learned not to become frustrated when these come up. I simply give myself the required recovery, and then I am ready to continue where I left off.

While Shalane did not meet her goal of setting the American marathon record, she did achieve a huge personal best as well as a top-3 finish at another Marathon Major. She requested an aggressive pace through the half-marathon (69:36), and she gave it everything she had the last 10km to try to hold on. She was hurting so bad at 20 miles, I am astounded at the mental toughness she showed to power herself to the finish line. I was thankful to have Rob Watson by my side for the pacing. While I was confident in my ability to hit the pace, having a partner really helped take some of the pressure off.

My original workout planned for Sunday was a 3 mile warmup, 4 x 2km @ 4:40-4:42 w/200 meter jog recovery, 10 mile moderate effort run, 4 x 2km, 3 mile cooldown. Even though pacing for 41km was a tough day, the planned workout would likely have been more challenging and added up to almost the exact same volume. I handled the travel very well in both directions, so overall I think it fit right in with my NYC training. I do hope to run the Berlin Marathon at some point in my career, so it was beneficial to get a feel for the course and meet the organizers.

On a side note, I hope you will all take the time to check out this video from Matt Llano and NAZ Elite. Matt came out as an openly gay athlete in December, and he has now given a touching and in-depth interview regarding his experience. I was able to spend some time with him in Flagstaff during my altitude training last month and he is a phenomenal runner and a fantastic person. Matt is looking to help other athletes in the LGBT community with his story. You can help by watching the video and sharing it with others.

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to check out last week's training below, and follow me here on twitter for more updates.

Week 7	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	24	off		24
Monday	14 + drills and strides	6.5		21
Tuesday	14	6	40 minutes	20
Wednesday	Fartlek 4 x 10 minutes hard	travel to Berlin		15
Thursday	travel to Berlin	7 miles easy post flight		7
Friday	12.5	6		18.5
Saturday	10	5 + drills and strides		15.5
TOTAL				121

Less than 6 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

I am back to solo running for the most part after returning from Flagstaff, but it has given me more time to focus and reflect on the coming NYC Marathon this year:

The New York Marathon is the biggest marathon in the world, and New York is one of the greatest cities in the world. The participants, the crowd, and the New York Road Runners come together to make this event unimaginably massive, incredibly inspirational, and absolutely intense. It is arguably the world's most competitive race on the most challenging World Marathon Majors course. To place well at the TCS New York City Marathon you must be tough, you must execute a well-thought out race plan, and you must be competitive. It is the cross country of the marathon world, and that is definitely my style.

The New York City Marathon is the pinnacle of road racing. It is home to some of the greatest marathon performances in the history of the sport. Combine this with the atmosphere, the terrain, and the competition and you have the recipe for the word's greatest marathon. No matter your credentials or personal best times, New York is the true test of a marathoner's metal. 

Every marathon gets tough around the 18-20 mile mark. If you have prepared accordingly and executed your race plan well, this should be where the real race starts. This is typically the gut check point for marathoners and a point when I begin to question myself. While I've improved in each of marathons at having confidence at this point in the race, NYC will be a whole new mental and physical test as I plan to be more aggressive and mix it up with the lead pack. New York throws in it's own twist on this barrier as you enter Central Park at around the 23 mile mark. Central Park is hilly and full of turns at exactly the toughest part of the race. So much can be lost or gained during this short segment: minutes, places, glory, money can all go from bad to great or great to bad in the telling last few miles of the New York course. 

With just under 6 weeks left to the TCS NYC Marathon, I have another big volume week in the books. I ended up hitting back to back 150 mile weeks in preparation for having a few down days with travel to Berlin where I will be pacing Shalane Flanagan through the majority of her American  marathon record attempt. I had some recovery time built into the schedule already, it was simply pushed back until this week. Not only was last week high volume, but I also had two quality workouts on Monday and Friday. I was pleased with both workouts, but I was especially pleased with my ability to run those paces in the middle of back to back 150 mile weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll feel like with a few lighter days under my belt. After returning from Berlin, I will still have about 5 weeks of training leading up to New York, and that is still a lot of time when it comes to a marathon block.

The Monday workout was a 17 mile tempo. My legs felt tired and awkward going in the workout, but after shaking off the rust over the first few miles, I started hitting the 4:55 pace that I had originally set out for. I still have one more long tempo planned 3 weeks out from NYC, and that one will be slightly shorter, and hopefully slightly faster.

Friday consisted of tempo efforts of 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, and 1 mile. I opted to do this workout on the track so I could really get rolling since the last month of training has been mostly on the hilly roads of Flagstaff. I have done this workout leading into most of my previous marathons, but this was by far the fastest. Again, coming off of Monday's effort and in the midst of so much volume, I was surprised that I could nail these times. With several weeks to go, we need to be careful not to get too far ahead of ourselves and put it on ice for a week or so.

Thanks again for reading. My training from last week is below, and follow me here on twitter for more updates.

Week 6	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	6	13		19
Monday	3 mile warmup, 17 mile tempo @ 4:58, 2.5 mile cooldown	off		22.5
Tuesday	14.5	6	40 minutes	20.5
Wednesday	13 + 8 x 200 meters on the track @ 30-32	7		22
Thursday	15	7	40 minutes	22
Friday	4 mile, 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile tempo (18:51, 14:07, 9:24, 4:38). Rest = 4 min, 3 min, 2 min	6		23
Saturday	12	9		21
TOTAL				150

Less than 7 weeks until the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

The first bit of weekly news is not directly related to the New York City Marathon, but I have been asked by Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan to help pace her to the American Record (2:19:36) at the Berlin Marathon on September 28th. It means a great deal to me that they consider me trustworthy enough for such an important task, and it fits very well into my training plan. My schedule had a long hard run planned for the exact same day, and I am experienced with European travel. I am put at ease by the fact that I will be setting the pace with veteran marathoner Rob Watson. I would also like to run the Berlin Marathon in the future, so this is an excellent opportunity to preview the course and meet the race organizers. I'll be leaving on Wednesday, arriving to Berlin on Thursday, and returning to Portland in the early morning following the race.

If you look at the calendar below, you'll notice that I've shifted my week to start on Sunday. With the schedule we have laid out from now to New York, this will make it easier to hit my mileage goals. This means that the Sunday workout shown on the schedule is the same as was described in last week's blog. I took this week a little lighter due to the travel and readjusting the legs to sea-level. The Fartlek on Wednesday occurred before flying back to Portland. We decided to go with a Fartlek due to the intensity of the Sunday workout and the hope to leave Flagstaff on a positive note, even if I was a little tired. The transition back to sea-level has been a bit more challenging than I thought it would be. Aerobically I feel great, but the legs have felt a bit awkward adjusting to the pace change as I'm trying to run quite a bit faster even on easy days. I have a couple of big workouts this week that will put my legs to the test.

My blood results have come back since returning to sea-level, and not surprisingly, most relevant indicators have increased. My iron has dropped, but this is simply due to the altitude and high mileage I was putting my body through. It was good to go in with such a high base ferritin level.  Feel free to check out the stats below. The first number is my level followed by the normal range; my apologies for the scattered layout. It may seem a bit strange to publish these numbers publicly, but when I have been considering altitude in the past, it was extremely difficult to find specific data, especially from elite runners. Everyone has a very different response, so the numbers from one athlete are not nearly enough to draw conclusions, but it's the best I can do. The numbers themselves do not predict exactly how my training will be impacted, but the next month of training will be the test as to how much benefit I was able to gain out of the 4 weeks at 7,000 feet. A huge thanks to Dr. John Howell at Portland Integrated Health and Medicine for getting the tests done, helping me analyze the results, and help plan my future altitude endeavors.

Last week's training is also below the blood work. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

BEFORE ALTITUDE (4 weeks in Flagstaff, AZ @ 7,000 feet)

CBC (INCLUDES DIFF/PLT)                                      RANGE
WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT                  6.8          3.8-10.8 Thousand/uL
RED BLOOD CELL COUNT                       4.58        4.20-5.80 Million/uL
HEMOGLOBIN                                            15.0        13.2-17.1 g/dL
HEMATOCRIT                                            43.5         38.5-50.0 %
MCV                                                             95.1         80.0-100.0 fL
MCH                                                             32.7         27.0-33.0 pg
MCHC                                                          34.4         32.0-36.0 g/dL
RDW                                                            13.6          11.0-15.0 %
PLATELET COUNT                                   155           140-400 Thousand/uL
ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS                    5392         1500-7800 cells/uL
ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES                 1020          850-3900 cells/uL
ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES                      231            200-950 cells/uL
ABSOLUTE EOSINOPHILS                     129            15-500 cells/uL
ABSOLUTE BASOPHILS                         27               0-200 cells/uL
NEUTROPHILS                                         79.3 %
LYMPHOCYTES                                       15.0 %
MONOCYTES                                            3.4 %
EOSINOPHILS                                           1.9 %
BASOPHILS                                               0.4 %
FERRITIN                                                  204             20-345 ng/mL

AFTER ALTITUDE (4 weeks in Flagstaff, AZ @ 7,000 feet):

CBC (INCLUDES DIFF/PLT) NW

WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT      4.6              3.8-10.8 Thousand/uL

RED BLOOD CELL COUNT           4.72            4.20-5.80 Million/uL

HEMOGLOBIN                                15.6            13.2-17.1 g/dL

HEMATOCRIT                                45.7             38.5-50.0 %

MCV                                                 96.8             80.0-100.0 fL

MCH                                                 32.9             27.0-33.0 pg

MCHC                                              34.0             32.0-36.0 g/dL

RDW                                                 13.7            11.0-15.0 %

PLATELET COUNT                        172             140-400 Thousand/uL

ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS         2461           1500-7800 cells/uL

ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES       1656           850-3900 cells/uL

ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES            202            200-950 cells/uL

ABSOLUTE EOSINOPHILS           258            15-500 cells/uL

ABSOLUTE BASOPHILS               23              0-200 cells/uL

NEUTROPHILS                               53.5 %

LYMPHOCYTES                             36.0 %

MONOCYTES                                 4.4 %

EOSINOPHILS                                5.6 %

BASOPHILS                                    0.5 %

FERRITIN                                       149             20-345 ng/mL NW

VITAMIN B12                                522             200-1100 pg/mL NW

Week 5	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Sunday	3 mi warmup, 4 mi tempo @ 5:06 pace, 10 mile run @ 6:15, 4 mi tempo @ 5:00, 3 mi cooldown – Lake Mary Rd.	off		24
Monday	15	7	40 minutes	22
Tuesday	15	6.5 + drills and strides		22
Wednesday	10 x 5 minutes hard, 1 minute easy	5 easy – travel back to PDX		22
Thursday	14	6	40 minutes	20
Friday	14	3.5 + 10 x 200 meter hills		20
Saturday	14	6		20
TOTAL				150

8 Weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last Week's Training

The field has officially been announced for the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon, and I'm pumped to be a part of a deep and talented field. While I did not have a bad day there last year, I left feeling the result did not fully represent my fitness level, and I was very much hoping to return and make up for it this year. I'm already getting goosebumps re-imagining the starting line, the energy from the overwhelmingly massive crowd, and international superstars I'll be toeing the line with. Having one NYC Marathon under my belt is an asset that will change the way I approach this year's race.

We're already less than 8 weeks away, but if you've followed the previous blog posts you know that my preparation is into the 5th productive week following my track season. I'm now finishing up my 4th week at 7,000 feet in Flagstaff, AZ, my first long stint at altitude, and each week has been slightly better than the previous. My coach, Dave Smith, put a great deal of time into planning my training for this trip, and it has paid off. I have to give a lot of credit to Nick Arciniaga, Scott Smith, Matt Llano, Ben Bruce, Guor Marial, Jordan Chipangama, and Coach Ben Rosario for helping me with the adjustment, the pacing, and learning the training routes in Flagstaff. With their help I was

Downtown Flagstaff

able to get dialed in almost immediately rather than learning from my own mistakes and digging myself into a hole. My time in Flagstaff has been great for my New York preparation, and I have really enjoyed getting to know the town and the beautiful surroundings. I definitely plan on returning in the near future.

Last week included two pretty major workouts for me. After having a few weeks under my belt, I felt adjusted and ready to push the effort a bit more than I had previously. I also brought the mileage back a bit, but I will return to 150 this current week. Wednesday included a 5 x 2 mile workout on the hilly Lake Mary Rd. with a half-mile recovery jog in between, bringing the total to 12 miles. Scott Smith and I started in the 10:00 range and maintained through 3 reps, picking it up on each of the last two down to 9:43. I still don't have workouts to compare these times to, so it's hard to know how excited to be, but Scott and Ben Rosario were happy, so I was happy. Again, it was difficult for me to feel the pace out on this type of workout without the experience, so it was great to be with guys that knew what the effort should be early on.

Sunday was another big day, and we had a very talented group together for it (Llano, Marial, and Chipangama). The workout started with a 3-mile warmup before hitting a 4-mile tempo at 5:06 pace. After switching shoes and taking fluids we jumped right into a 10 mile, moderate effort run,

Llano, Vail, Marial, Chipangama

before switching back into flats and jumping into a second 4-mile tempo at 5:00. This was again on Lake Mary Rd. This type of workout has been a staple for me during my marathon training, but the tempos have usually taken place on the track, so this was a whole new challenge. It's a tough way to get 24 miles in, but the second tempo forces you to experience the latter stages of the marathon for a short period of time. Even long tempos are normally finished in the 16 mile range, but this workout starts the second tempo 17-18 miles in.

While I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in Flagstaff, I'm looking forward to heading back to Portland. After being in Europe for a long chunk of the summer, I've been away for quite some time. Hopefully the training here will allow me to have my best month of training yet when I get back to sea-level. I'll be heading into Portland Integrated Health and Sports Medicine on Thursday to get my blood drawn again and see the before and after altitude comparison. I'll share the results next week. Feel free to check out last week's training below. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on twitter for more updates.

Week 4	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	14	6	40 minutes	20
Tuesday	14	5 + drills and grass strides		19.5
Wednesday	5 x 2 miles on Lake Mary Rd. w/ half mile jog recover (10:01, 10:00, 10:05, 9:55, 9:43)	5 easy	40 minutes	22
Thursday	12 miles easy	Off – hiked around Grand Canyon		12
Friday	12 miles + 8 x 200 meter hills	6		20
Saturday	12	6	30 minutes	18.5
Sunday	3 mi warmup, 4 mi tempo @ 5:06 pace, 10 mile run @ 6:15, 4 mi tempo @ 5:00, 3 mi cooldown – Lake Mary Rd.	off		24
TOTAL				136

Week 3 in Flagstaff

Another week at 7,000 feet is in the books with a couple of solid workouts in the middle of a 150 mile week. On Wednesday I decided to make an early trip to Sedona Red Rock High School in order to drop to 4,500 feet and allow the legs to move a bit quicker. I had to be off the track by the start of school at 8:00 AM which meant leaving at 5:30. The drop in elevation and trading the hilly terrain of Flagstaff for a track obviously made a world of difference for my legs and lungs. The workout consisted of

3.5 miles, 2.5 miles, and 1.5 miles with a 4.5 minute and 3 minute recovery. While the recovery seems long, it's necessary to extend it beyond the normal 3 and 2 minutes I would normally do at sea-level. While the pace was not overly impressive, it was close to my threshold efforts at sea-level when using an altitude conversion. Most importantly it gave me confidence to continue to push through the tough days in Flagstaff and look forward to some incredible sea-level training in the near future. Sedona is a beautiful town surrounded by magnificent rock formations. I had the privilege of refueling with a smoked salmon omelette from a place called the Coffee Pot which has 101 omelettes on their menu. I'm looking forward to heading down again this week for another workout and another dining experience.

Sunday's long run was also fairly successful. Doing an out and back on Lake Mary Rd. in Flagstaff was challenging as the first 11.5 miles were into the wind with a net elevation gain, so it was a slow start. After turning around I was able to get moving and also put in a 4 mile push from 16-20 at 5:11 pace, bringing the overall average to about 6:05. Again, nothing outstanding, but it's nice to see consistent improvement each few days up here.

I'm already down to my last 9 days here before heading back to Portland to continue marathon training. There are still trails to explore, restaurants to test, and the Grand Canyon to see. Feel free to check out last week's training below. Thanks again for reading and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 3	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	15	7.5	40 minutes	22.5
Tuesday	13 + 8 x 200 meter hills + drills	7		22.5
Wednesday	14	6.5		20.5
Thursday	3.5 mile, 2.5, 1.5 @ 4:54, 4:53, 4:51 w/ 4.5 & 3 minutes rest. On track in Sedona (4500 feet)	6.5		22.5
Friday	12 + 8 x 200 meter hill repeats	6.5	40 minutes	20.5
Saturday	12	6.5		18.5
Sunday	23 miles in 2:20:03, pushing miles 16-20 @ 5:11 average on Lake Mary Rd.	off		23
TOTAL				150