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

After another week of solid volume I am happy to report that I am tired but healthy. My body is holding up as well as I could ask for, and I am now on the second half of the marathon training block. That does not mean that I am in the clear from injury by any means. Before the Olympic Trials Marathon last year, I was diagnosed with a femoral stress fracture the week before the race. It's easy to ignore warning signs of a serious injury when training is going well, and I am determined to not make that mistake again. Predicting an injury before it gets past the point of no return is very difficult, but my experience the last couple of years has at least forced me to take time off when in doubt. A week in the pool is much better than 12 weeks in the pool, and very little fitness is lost. I hope I continue to feel this way over the next 5-6 weeks, but I am trying to stay closely tuned in to what my body is telling me and am prepared to adapt if needed.

I'm now on my last few days in Czech. Going home is always enjoyable, but Czech has become a second home to me as I have spent a couple months a year here for the last decade and even lived in Prague for about 18 months. In terms of training, the timing is perfect as I will be able to use my last 5 weeks to train on faster terrain and at sea level in order to put the final touches on the training segment before Berlin. I'll be back in Czech a week before the marathon to recover from travel and adjust to the time difference. I always prefer to stay somewhere familiar where I know the running routes and can cook my own food for as long as possible before a race, so I consider myself very lucky to have a home base in Europe that allows me to do that.

There are several guys living in Portland who are training for fall marathons currently, and I will do my best to recruit some training partners for this next stretch. I haven't run a step with another person since I left Portland last month, so a little company would be appreciated. Thanks again for reading and feel free to check out last week's training below. Follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Weeks to go: 7	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	14	6	40 minutes	20
Tuesday	12.5 + drills and strides	6		18.5
Wednesday	4 mi, 3 mi, 2 mi, 1 mi starting 4:46, finishing 4:37, rest = 4 min, 3, 2	5		22
Thursday	14	6	40 minutes	20
Friday	1 hour + 8 x 200 meter hills	6		19
Saturday	10	off	40 minutes	10
Sunday	15 mi tempo @ 5:06 (hilly)	off		21
Total:				130.5