Less than 3 weeks to Bloomsday

Portland is on pace to have the wettest year since records started being kept in 1894. It has been a rough winter and spring, but the couple of days we've had with sun in April have felt incredible. I lucked out with both of my workouts this week with weather I haven't trained in since last year, and I definitely had an extra spring in my step. Some of it is mental, but it is physically much easier to run when it's not 40 degrees, windy, and putting your legs through an ice bath with heavy rain. Unfortunately there isn't much of a reason to be optimistic about the weather turning for the long run as we have had years where the rain doesn't stop until July. The trails have been a mess, but one positive note to running through war-torn Forest Park this year is that I'm putting a lot of miles in shoes that haven't worn much in the past. It's been fun to put the tread and fit to the test and still get some soft miles in. If you're looking for a new trail shoe, check out the Brooks Mazama and the Caldera. The Mazama really holds onto the ankle, is more firm, and built like a racing flat. The Caldera is great for longer runs as you have a more cushion under your foot and more surface contact for when you're running a bit slower.

We're edging closer to Bloomsday, and I am very excited to show something for my last several months of training. In spite of the setbacks, I am quite fit at the moment. I'm sure I'll still need a few more races under my belt to chip off the rest of the rust, but I hope to get that over the next couple of months. I'll also be spending the final 3 weeks of training getting a few fast workouts in as we've been mostly focused on strength since early March after my plantaris injury. I'll post those workouts next week.

This will be my first go at Bloomsday, so any course advice would be greatly appreciated! Comment on this blog, are find me on Twitter: @ryavail
Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Weeks to go: 3	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	9	off	40 minutes	9
Tuesday	11	5 + drills and strides		16
Wednesday	4 mile tempo @ 19:01, 3 x mile @ 4:38, 4:37, 4:34, rest = 1 min	4.5		18.5
Thursday	11	5	40 minutes	16
Friday	10	5+ drills and strides		15
Saturday	12 mile tempo @ 4:58 pace	off		18
Sunday	7.5	off	40 minutes	7.5
TOTAL				100

Less than 4 weeks to Bloomsday

It's been quite a while since I have posted my training, and I apologize for that. Following my disappointment in New York, I decided to take a short break, and the break kept extending itself as new challenges arose. I also felt that I was continuing to toot my own horn when it came to workouts without producing race results. I'll give a very brief rundown of the last several months, and then give a recap of my most recent training.

NYC was several months ago, but I think it's important to note that no injury occurred. I simply had a bad day. Bad marathon days certainly happen, and I think one could argue this was my first truly bad day. The timing was rough after being hurt for so long. Training had been going well, and I was confident and ready. Fortunately that training has not gone to waste, and I continue to inch towards my best fitness. 

The next race was the US XC Champs, which I also had high hopes for, but disappointed myself once more. I don't know exaclty why, as my workouts for the 8 weeks leading up the race were strong by my standards. I can blame it on the fact that I hadn't finished a race in 18 months, or not going to altitude before, but either way, I didn't reach my expectations. I followed the US XC Champs with a few of the best workouts I have had in at least a couple of years and was excited heading into NACAC XC in Boca Raton, FL as well as Gate River in mid-March. Unfortunately, the week of NACAC, I suffered a small tear in my plantaris. I had originally thought I had damaged my achilles, but an ultrasound fortunately showed that was not the case. It still required 2 weeks in the pool, so there was a bit of a setback in fitness, but nothing overwhelming. I have been slowly building back up since then and am back to reasonable volume and training. I plan to start posting my training weekly again and look forward to a productive spring/summer. 

It seems that the plantaris injury was caused by wearing spikes during training after the long break from track workouts. Because of this I have decided to skip track this season and focus on the roads. I will be running the Bloomsday 12k on May 7th and look to follow this up with Peachtree on July 4th. I will likely select something between these races as well as something in the early fall. This will hopefully put me in position to have several months of 100+ mile weeks under my belt before building up for an early fall marathon. 

I truly appreciate all the support this last year and a half, and I am extremely anxious to turn all my training from the last half year into race results. Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to re-engaging with my blog!

Weeks to go: 4	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	6 + drills and strides	1 hour aqua jog		6
Tuesday	Fartlek: (5 min, 4, 3)(4, 3, 2)(3, 2, 1) w/half recovery	5	40 minutes	17
Wednesday	14	off		14
Thursday	10 + drills and 150 meter strides	5	40 minutes	15
Friday	10	5		15
Saturday	3 miles, 2 miles, 1 miles (4:46 pace, 4:42, 4:39), rest = 3 min, 2 min	5	40 minutes	16
Sunday	18	off		18
TOTAL				101

1 day to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

Tomorrow is the day I've been working toward since I was able to start running again in April. It's been a very trying year, but I now have 7 healthy months of training under my belt, and I can safely say that the injury cycle has been broken, and I am back on track for a great marathon tomorrow and a healthy 2017.

In past marathons I have been able to check all the boxes I thought I needed to build my confidence going into a race. I was able to say I hit workouts as fast as I was aiming for, I stuck to my nutrition plan, completed all the supplemental training, and ran all the high mileage weeks. This time around I can check every box except the last one, and it has been an exercise in confidence. I had to be extremely careful these last 12 weeks which led me into the pool every time I felt tightness that I was uncomfortable with. I was most likely overreacting each time, but it is extremely difficult to catch a stress fracture before it's too late. Whether it was an overreaction or not doesn't really matter. My marathon specific workouts have been on par or at times surpassed any of my training blocks in the past, and I'm showing up to the line healthy. When starting this marathon segment months ago, I had convinced my self that I would only be able to get to an 80 or 90% fitness level without getting hurt. I am hoping now that I am actually closer to 100% and heading into race day feeling fresh.

The curse is broken! It's time to let the training (especially the countless hours of horrendously boring aquajogging) pay off. The field is obviously very competitive, and the American field is deep. New York is always a surprise in terms of how fast it starts, where moves are made, and who is having a good or bad day. I plan to stick my nose in the thick of it and be ready to adapt at any moment.

Thank you to the New York Road Runners for giving me the platform to continue my career among some of the best competition in the world, on the greatest marathon stage in the world. Thank you also to Brooks for sticking with me through this rough patch and committing to me well beyond 2016!

Weeks to go: 2	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	90 minutes aqua jogging	off	1 hour	0
Tuesday	11.5	5.5 + drills and strides		17
Wednesday	4 x 2 miles w/2 min rest @ 4:41-4:45	off		15
Thursday	11	5		16
Friday	1 hour aqua jogging	off	30 minutes	0
Saturday	10	5		15
Sunday	15 easy	off	30 minutes	15
TOTAL				78
Weeks to go: 1	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	70 minutes aqua jogging	40 minutes elliptical	30 minutes	0
Tuesday	5 x 1km @ 2:54-2:57 w/1 min rest	5		16
Wednesday	off travel to NYC	off		0
Thursday	1 hour easy	off		9
Friday	50 minutes easy + drills and strides	off		8
Saturday	30 minutes easy	off		4
Sunday	NYC Marathon	off

Less than 2 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

I'm happy to report that the concerning tightness in my back from the previous week has disappeared even after the long, hard tempo a week and a half ago. I was back to running six days this last week, and the body feels great. Sometimes forced rest can be beneficial, especially squeezed between high volume and high intensity workouts. I certainly don't want to jinx myself, but I am looking forward to starting the New York Marathon healthy, rested, and fit!

Playing it safe, we went to a Fartlek for the mid-week workout and decided to save my last threshold effort workout for this week. I have also backed off the lifting once feeling the back tightness two weeks ago, but it was about time for that anyway. I wanted one last week of decent volume before starting a brief, two week taper. The previous week had so much time in the pool that I do not feel that I am risking fresh legs by popping back up to 100 in 6 days. I still plan 1-2 days off and my final pool session during the coming 10 days, so my legs won't have any excuse not to show up as ready as my mind on November 6th.

With nearly all important training in the bank, this next week will be more about healthy distractions, reflection, and dialing in a race plan which I will share more about next week. Thanks again for reading, and feel free to check out last week's training below.

Weeks to go: 3	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	90 minutes aqua jogging	off	1 hour	0
Tuesday	12	5 + drills and strides		17
Wednesday	Fartlek: 3 x (5, 4, 3) w/half recovery jog	off	40 minutes	15
Thursday	12	5		17
Friday	10	5 + drills and strides	40 minutes	15
Saturday	12	6		18
Sunday	18 miles, push 4 @ 4:59 from 13-17	off		18
TOTAL				100

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

Less than 4 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

We're now inside 4 week mark to the New York City Marathon, and these final weeks can be the most challenging part. I am still in the heart of marathon training, but it is also time to start thinking about tapering volume within the next week or two. I feel like I'm rounding into marathon shape, so the thought of pumping the brakes is a bit disheartening, but necessary. I knew this marathon training block was going to take extreme patience by keeping my miles far below my normal training load, and now I am beyond the time frame in which I could justify doing something overly aggressive (aka stupid). All signs point toward a healthy start on November 6th and breaking the injury cycle!

As for last week's training, I felt pretty exhausted for Wednesday's threshold work, but that is likely due to the quality long run I had the previous Sunday. Small lulls like this are normal, and I felt much better for the long workout at the end of the week. This tempo, run, tempo workout is pretty brutal. I am learning each time how to better attack particular segments, and I would argue that this was my best yet. Even though I felt a little rusty for the first set of 2km repeats, I forced myself to push the 10 mile run to at least a moderate effort in order to head into the second set of tempo repeats quite fatigued. My pace wasn't particularly fast for the 10 mile run (about 5:50 average), but it was on some seriously hilly terrain following Beach Dr. in Victoria, BC. I finished each of the last 4 tempo repeats not certain if I could do another holding that pace, so I think the effort was spot on. This is one of the best workouts I have found to simulate the mental strain that will occur in the latter stages of NYC in a few weeks.

I was fortunate to be able to change up the scenery for this workout in BC as my wife, Eva, was taking her third crack at the 42km distance at the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon. It was her second time competing in this race and her second 2nd place finish! The course is beautiful and the organizers are fantastic. I highly recommend putting this on your marathon bucket list.

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

Weeks to go: 4	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	90 minutes aqua jogging	off	1 hour	0
Tuesday	12.5	5.5 + drills and strides		18
Wednesday	4 mile tempo @ 4:48, 2 x 2 miles @ 4:42	40 minutes elliptical	40 minutes	15
Thursday	12.5	5.5		18
Friday	14 + drills and strides	off		14
Saturday	13	6	40 minutes	19
Sunday	4 x 2km, 10 mile run, 4 x 2km @ 4:45 pace	off		24
TOTAL				108

Less than 5 weeks to the TCS New York City Marathon: Last week's training

I had a down week in terms of volume planned for last week, and with long workouts Wednesday and Sunday, I didn't have much room for easy running in between. Both workouts went well though, so I suppose the rest paid off. Now I'm ready for a few more weeks in the 110 range over a 6 day training period. That will be as high as I get this training block in order to ensure the end of my injury cycle. I am banking on the last decade of high volume to carry me through on strength and allow myself to focus on the quality of a couple hard sessions per week. 

The Wednesday workout surprised me a bit. I have done this 4 mile, 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile breakdown during most marathon blocks in the past, but I believe this was the best overall average to date. To be running some of my best threshold workouts while getting in long, hilly, grueling long runs should put me in position to have my best New York race to date. A month is still plenty of time to get hurt, however, so I have to keep plugging away without overdoing it. My two most challenging long runs of the training block are coming up over the next two weeks. If they go well, I will have all the confidence I need for November 6th. 

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

Weeks to go: 5	AM	PM	Strength	Mileage
Monday	80 minutes aqua jogging	off	1 hour	0
Tuesday	11.5	5.5 + drills and strides		17
Wednesday	4 mi, 3 mi, 2 mi 1 mi @ 18:54, 14:07, 9:20, 4:39	40 minutes elliptical	40 minutes	16
Thursday	10	off		10
Friday	12	8 x 200 meter hills		18
Saturday	8	1 hour aqua jogging	40 minutes	8
Sunday	23 miles, hilly Fairmount loop, 18-22 @ 4:57, 5:32 overall average	off		23
TOTAL				92