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

With the NYC Marathon nearing, it's time to put the finishing touches on a successful marathon training block. After last week's long run with tempo repeats, I started to feel tightness in my lower back that was concerning (felt like sacrum), and with NYC so close, I was not about to take any chances. I took 4 days in the pool and skipped the scheduled Fartlek for the week. I am likely overreacting as I did before with the quad tightness, but at this point I cannot be too careful. All the major workouts are in, and the easy mileage now is more for confidence and maintaining a routine than actually increasing fitness. With the help of the extra rest, I had a great 16 mile tempo this past Sunday, and the back feels great! I can't second guess whather the down time was necessary at this point, and I'm excited to still be on the path to a healthy and fit start on November 6th. This past year of three consecutive stress fractures has made me much more cautious but certainly not less hungry. 

The 16 mile tempo took place on the Fairmount loop in Portland, which is a very honest loop. There really isn't a flat point on this 3.5 mile course, so it is an exaggeration of what NYC will bring. On top of that, we had a nice wind/rain storm last weekend in the Pacific NW, so it was quite the battle. I made sure to keep the effort in line as this is not the time for racing, but I did fight to maintain a steady pace. I would like to think a 5:04 average on this day was worth much more, and it gave me a mental boost fighting the conditions and rain. 

I recently did an interview with Athletic Illustrated asking why I decided to run my third New York City Marathon. I like racing marathons without pacemakers. I realize, of course, that NYC is not the only marathon without pacemakers (not even the only US major), but I also love the challenges the course and weather can bring. I have said this before, but NYC is as close as I can come to tapping my cross country mindset at the 26.2 distance, and that's where my strength is. I toe the line without thinking about locking into a 4:58 pace, but only thinking about beating guys that I should have no business beating on other courses. Smart, tough running will take you a long ways in New York. This year will be no exception. 

Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below. Also, follow me on Twitter and stay tuned for an opportunity to win a pair of Brooks shoes and cool new piece of tech called Tune. 

Weeks to go: 4	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	90 minutes aqua jogging	off	1 hour	0
Tuesday	1 hour aqua jogging	1 hour aqua jogging		0
Wednesday	90 minutes aqua jogging	40 minutes elliptical	40 minutes	0
Thursday	90 minutes aqua jogging	off		0
Friday	1 hour easy	1 hour aqua jogging	40 minutes	9.5
Saturday	12.5	6		18.5
Sunday	16 mile temp @ 5:04, hilly, rainy, windy	off		20