Less than 3 weeks to the US Olympic Marathon Trials: Last week's training

The bulk of marathon training is now unfortunately behind me, but the next couple of weeks will be used to sharpen up before complete rest begins. I was fairly nervous heading into last week's long tempo as I felt it would be a big test of my marathon fitness after a short and condensed marathon build-up. Fortunately it went better than expected as I was able to average 4:58 for 16 miles in less than ideal conditions. This effort also came at the end of a 140 mile week, so to be able to pull that off with tired legs was a big confidence booster. There is only time left now for a couple more hard threshold efforts at lower volume, but the faster running should help knock the final bit of rust off.

I head to Chula Vista tomorrow for a couple weeks at the Olympic Training Center, and I'm looking forward to leaving the Portland rain behind. It will also be an excellent setting to relax and focus on the little things over my last couple of weeks. There is not a great deal of fitness to be gained from this point out, but it is an important time for risk aversion in terms of diet, sleep, and not over-training. I plan on checking out the Los Angeles course while I'm there so I can start visualizing each aspect of the race. The list of participants is nearly finalized, so it is also time to start making a more concrete race plan while I have a lot of down time in California.

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Week 9	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	14	6		20
Tuesday	14.5	6 + drills and strides	40 minutes	20.5
Wednesday	Fartlek: (1 min, 2, 3, 4) x 3, 17 miles total	5		22
Thursday	14.5	6	40 minutes	20.5
Friday	1 hour run + 8 x 200 @ 30-31	6		19
Saturday	11	5	30 minutes	16
Sunday	16 mile tempo @ 4:58 avg.	off		22
TOTAL				140

Less than 4 weeks to the Olympic Marathon Trials: Last week's training

I knew this short build-up toward the Olympic Marathon Trials would fly by, but I am still surprised that we are down to 3 and a half weeks until race day. In a week and a half I'll be heading down to Chula Vista for my final preparation and heat acclimatization. I'm not sorry to be leaving the cold rain, but I am sorry to be down to my last couple long run efforts. Even though long run workouts are the most challenging part of marathon prep, they are also a chance to prove to yourself that training is progressing the way it should.

The timing pushed two long run efforts into this week's 7 day block, and they both went surprisingly well. Both workouts were in the middle of fairly intense downpours with temperatures in the upper 30s, and that weather can often be worse than snow. I'm always decked out in excellent rain gear, but you still end up carrying a fair amount of extra water with you when you're in it for a few hours. While the Monday long run was a solid overall effort, it was Thursday and Sunday that made me feel like my old self again. I have run both workouts faster in the past, but not by a lot, and not in this nasty weather. These efforts also came in the middle of a 140 mile week, which I did not think I would get up to this time around, but my body is handling it much better than expected. I think I am fairly close to being back to my pre-NYC and pre-London fitness with 24 days to go. This coming weekend will be a big test as I aim for 16 miles at sub-5:00 on the tail end of my last big mileage week.

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Week 8	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	25 miles, progressing to race pace and holding 18-22 @ 4:56	off		25
Tuesday	12 + drills and strides	6		18.5
Wednesday	12.5	6	40 minutes	18.5
Thursday	6 x 2km starting @ 6:00 and working down to 5:53, 1 min rest			19
Friday	14	6 +drills and strides		20
Saturday	12	5	40 minutes	17
Sunday	4 mile tempo @ 19:10, 10 mile run, 4 mile tempo @ 19:07, road	off		22
TOTAL				140

Less than 5 weeks to the Olympic Marathon Trials: Last week's training

There's less than a month to go until the big day, and training is still inching forward in the right direction. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I wouldn't mind having one more month to train, but my sacrum didn't ask my opinion when it fractured. This will be an interesting experiment moving forward with my training in future marathons after assessing the outcome next month in Los Angeles.

The biggest difference in this training block, outside of it being shorter and starting from cross training, has been the lack of faster intervals early on. In the past I have spent the first 2-3 weeks with 6-8 mile repeats that would typically cut down below 10km pace. I feel like this set me up well in later threshold and tempo efforts and allowed me to cut those down well below half and full marathon pace. I am now having trouble cutting down on these efforts and feel that I'm missing out on this background work. With that said, the long runs and steady state efforts are feeling nearly back to 100%. I am hoping that while getting through slightly lower quality interval and threshold sessions, my long run and marathon pace training is more significant at this point and is more indicative of my marathon fitness level. The next two weeks will be the most intense and will provide a great deal of feedback as to my progress. I continue to be optimistic, and I relish the opportunity to train and compete at all after my summer scare. 

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Week 7	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	12.5	6	50 minutes	18.5
Tuesday	22 mile progressive long run	off		22
Wednesday	12.5	6 + drills and strides		18.5
Thursday	12	1 hour aqua jogging	40 minutes	12
Friday	4 mile, 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile @ 4:50 pace	5		21
Saturday	12.5	6 + drills and strides		18.5
Sunday	14.5	5	40 minutes	19.5
TOTAL				130

Less than 6 weeks to the Olympic Marathon Trials: Last week's training

Last week's weather in Portland brought some challenges, but fortunately things are now back to normal. We had snowfall of only a couple inches, but freezing rain turned this into ice and it was not possible to run outside for about 2 and a half days without risking injury. Because Portland rarely sees this type of weather, the city is not prepared to deal with it. They have very few plows and nobody goes out to shovel their sidewalks, so even walking to the grocery store can be an ordeal in weather that people from the midwest or northeast would scoff at. In the end, I had to push my long run back from Sunday to Tuesday and I had to spend some time on a treadmill and an indoor track, so no major setbacks. With all the cross training I've done the last 6 months, neither the treadmill nor indoor track felt like the torture that it has in the past.

The week consisted of only one workout since the long run had to be moved, but that workout was a 12 mile tempo with an average very close to marathon pace. Just 2 and a half weeks before I struggled through a 10 mile tempo at 5:16 pace, so I am hopeful that if I can maintain this consistent progression, I may just be able to come into form at the right time.  More important than the workout at this point is the fact that I put in over 110 miles in 6 days, making the average daily volume closer to a 130 mile week, and I am still healthy. I finally feel like I'm back in full marathon training. Time is running out, so I must remain vigilant and continue to focus on all the small things:  diet, sleep, strength, rehab, etc. My only chance at making the 2016 team for Rio is to have everything come together perfectly, and I feel that I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Week 6	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	7	11.5	40 minutes	18.5
Tuesday	12	6 + drills and strides		18
Wednesday	12 mi tempo @ 5:01 avg.	off		18
Thursday	12.5	6	50 minutes	18.5
Friday	Cross training - XC skiing	off		0
Saturday	12.5	6 + drills and strides		19
Sunday	13	6	40 minutes	19
TOTAL				111