Less than 4 weeks to the USA Outdoor Track and Field Champs: Last Week's Training

Another solid week of training in the books, and we're one week closer to the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The clock is ticking, and I still feel like it hasn't been long since the London Marathon, but the track workouts are really coming into form now. It should end up being perfect timing heading into the short track season. I think all distance runners would like more time to prepare for their events and have enough time to put in as many high quality workouts as possible, but often times there are benefits to a shorter training season. Many times in the past during the middle of a training block I have found myself wishing for more time, and then, out of nowhere, the workouts start clicking exactly as you had hoped they would. When this happens, and there are still 4+ weeks until the event, you run the risk of overtraining and getting stale. Even though I need a couple more great workouts to have my full confidence heading into the 10,000 meters in Sacramento, I also know that if I can hit them in the short amount of time I have left that I will be heading into the championships feeling fresh and ready to take on several races without much recovery time in between them. The Portland Track Festival is also less than 2 weeks away where I will run the mile in a deep field, and reintroduce myself to that desperate, lactic feeling of a short track race. I'm confident that I will be competitive in Sacramento, and I'm confident my 5,000 meter personal best is going to take a big drop in July. That is all I can ask for during a short track season in between marathon training blocks. It has been a welcomed mental relief to get back on the track and increase the intensity while decreasing the volume before I start building back up into marathon training again in the late summer. Feel free to check out last week's training below. I had one of the better track workouts of my career yesterday which I will share in next week's blog. Thanks again for reading and follow me here on twitter for more updates.

Monday	11.5	5.5 + 6 x 150 in spikes	40 minutes	17
Tuesday	6	10 x 500 w/100 meter jog recovery (80 down to 76)		18
Wednesday	14	off	40 minutes	14
Thursday	11.5	5.5		17
Friday	11.5	5.5 + 6 x 150 in spikes	40 minutes	17
Saturday	3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile (70, 67, 65)	5		18
Sunday	19			19
TOTAL				120