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

After recovering from the half-marathon and the travel from Europe, I was able to ease back into workouts. We started relatively light with a 10 mile tempo at marathon effort, but we got a bit more aggressive on the Sunday workout with one of our staples. I started with a 3.5 mile warmup, then went through a normal routine of drills and strides before starting my 4 mile tempo on the track in which I average just under 4:45. I then changed my shoes from flats to trainers as quickly as possible and did a 10 mile run at about 5:45 pace before again switching shoes and starting another 4 mile tempo, this time at about 4:42, then cooling down for another 3.5, giving me 25 for the day. I went into this workout feeling fairly tired from the high mileage week, so even though the times aren't necessarily impressive, I was pleased with my effort. There also happened to be a soccer game going on and I had to dig back to my old football days to zig zag around kids and soccer balls in the middle of my second tempo. I'm sure I looked quite insane, gritting my teeth in pain while trying to also acknowledge I was essentially encroaching on their playground. It was a big effort, and I was proud of it.

There's only time for a few more big Sunday workouts, so I was very relieved to nail this one. The hard work is nowhere near over, but I do have a substantial number of miles and solid workouts under my belt so far. I need to keep the momentum going while staying healthy.

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

140	Monday	9/17/2018	AM: 14 + strength PM: 6
	Tuesday	9/18/2018	4 miles easy, 10 miles @ 4:57, 4 miles easy
	Wednesday	9/19/2018
	Thursday	9/20/2018	AM: 1 hour + 15 x 200 meter hills PM: 40 minutes
	Friday	9/21/2018	AM: 12.5 + strength PM: 6
	Saturday	9/22/2018	AM: 12.5 + drills and strides PM: 6
	Sunday	9/23/2018	4 mile tempo (18:55), 10 miles @ sub-6:00, 4 mile tempo (18:50)

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

This week was taken purely as recovery following the half-marathon and also traveling back from Europe to Portland. I typically have no trouble sleeping on the plane, making recovery much easier, but it turns out that a 9 month old makes that slightly more difficult. With both those things in mind, we decided to take this week easy, and build back into volume. I was much more sore than I expected after Great North, so I'm confident that being conservative at this point is the right decision. We still have 6.5 weeks until the race, so plenty of time for more quality workouts and long runs.

Unfortunately this is a fairly boring week to post, but in reality, 80% of marathon training is tedious and unexciting. That's why I don't mind going it mostly alone this time of year; I can knock out miles all day, but the shorter, high intensity workouts are where you really count on others to get you through. I also throw 8-10 podcasts on my Ipod Shuffle, so I have a wide variety depending on my mood that day. Anything from comedy to history to politics...I always appreciate recommendations. Send them to me on Facebook or on Twitter if you have the time.

Last week's training is below and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

100	Monday	9/10/2018	6 miles slow recovery jog
	Tuesday	9/11/2018	AM: 12 miles slow recovery jog PM: 5 miles slow recovery jog
	Wednesday	9/12/2018	Off, travel from Prague to Portland
	Thursday	9/13/2018	AM: 14 miles + 45 minutes core/strength PM: 6 miles
	Friday	9/14/2018	AM: 14 miles + drills and strides PM: 6 miles
	Saturday	9/15/2018	AM: 14 miles + 40 minutes core/strength PM: 6 miles
	Sunday	9/16/2018	18 miles easy

Less than 8 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

I would call the half-marathon at the Great North Run last weekend a success. It was my second fastest half (62:19), and I was competitive, with a 5th place overall finish in a very strong field. I was fortunate to have a group to run with for the majority of the race, and fellow American, Scott Fauble and I were able to battle it out until the end. The Great North course is very hilly and unforgiving, so I see it as a perfect tune-up race heading into the rest of my NYC Marathon training. I am surprisingly sore following the race, but I really did go into the well. I am also traveling back to the US this week after a long summer in Europe, so it's perfect timing for a low intensity week. I will get in as much volume as I can, but the main goal for the week is recovery before the final 7 weeks of training.

The race took on some extra meaning as it was the first time in years that my wife and I were able to race at the same time. We were able to leave the baby with her mom in Czech and Eva crushed it with a 2 minute PR at 76:10. We are both on track for NYC!

I did rest for a few days before the race, but I did my best to keep the volume relatively high the first half of the week. The only workout for the week included 1k repeats at half-marathon pace with fairly short rest. Feel free to check out the full week below.

Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

105	Monday	9/3/2018	AM: 14, 45 minutes strength PM: 6
	Tuesday	9/4/2018	AM: 12.5 + drills and strides PM: 6
	Wednesday	9/5/2018	AM: 10 x 1000m @ 2:57, 1 min rest PM: 5
	Thursday	9/6/2018	AM: 11, 30 minutes light core and stretching PM: 6
	Friday	9/7/2018	8 miles easy
	Saturday	9/8/2018	5 miles easy + drills and strides
	Sunday	9/9/2018	Great North Half marathon

Less than 9 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

With another high volume and relatively high quality week in the books, I'm looking forward to the Great North Half-Marathon in just a few days (Sept. 9th). The training posted below finishes at 7 days from the race, and I decided not to start resting for this race just yet, but I am now currently taking some easy days with the hope of feeling fresh and mixing it up with a very deep field. I'll be lining up next to guys I have raced many times in the past, so I expect to feel right at home. Fortunately I will have a very short flight from Prague directly into Newcastle, so travel will not be an issue. It will also mark the close of my European training phase and I will head back to Portland a few days after the race.

I'll post an update following the race and do my best to get back into marathon training as quickly as possible. Thanks again for reading and feel free to check out last week's training below.

141	Monday	8/27/2018	AM: 14, 45 minutes strength PM: 6
	Tuesday	8/28/2018	AM: 12.5 +drills and strides PM: 6
	Wednesday	8/29/2018	Tempo, 4-3-2-1 miles, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min recovery (4:45 pace, 4:43 pace, 4:40 pace, 4:36 pace)
	Thursday	8/30/2018	AM: 14 PM: 6
	Friday	8/31/2018	AM: 12.5 + drills and strides PM: 6
	Saturday	9/1/2018	AM: 14, 45 minutes strength PM: 6
	Sunday	9/2/2018	Modified long run: 5 miles easy, 4 miles@4:55-5:00, 2 miles 4:40- 4:45, 2 miles easy, 3 miles @4:55-5:00, 2 miles @4:40-4:45, 4 miles easy, 22 total