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