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

Less than 10 weeks to the TCS NYC Marathon: Last several weeks of training

I know it's been quite the pause since posting my training pre-Boston Marathon, but I plan on putting all my training leading up to NYC between now and November. Even though I was unable to finish in Boston due to the weather, it was surprisingly my most difficult recovery period. My best guess is all the shivering made me sore in ways I was not used to. Regardless, it was a slower crawl back to fitness than I was hoping.

I started my higher volume a bit early this time as I planned two races during my marathon block this year because I haven't raced often lately. I started off with a fairly low key 10 mile race near Bremen, Germany, and I was pleased with the result. While the time wasn't particularly fast (48:19), it was warm and tactical. I also did not rest much for the race, so the goal was to go be competitive and get a solid, hard effort in. Being only 3 seconds from the win, I achieved my aim. Next up, the Great North Run (half-marathon) on September 9th. I ran here several years ago and had a great experience. The timing works out perfectly for NYC as I will still have 8 weeks of training left following the race. I will also be concluding my 7 week stay in Czech with my wife's family just after this race and finishing my training back in Portland. The Czech countryside is very hilly and full of beautiful running options, making it an ideal spot for my base training segment.

This fall will also be the first time in a long time that my wife and I are able to run in the same races. She will be joining me for both the Great North Run and NYC Marathon. Her workouts have been going better than ever, so I'm excited to see what she can do over the next couple of months! She gained dual citizenship this year, so depending on the weather, qualifying for the Olympic Trials in NYC is in the realm of possibility. It would be great to be able to line up in Atlanta for the trials together.

Below I've posted the last several weeks of training and will continue posting on a weekly basis until NYC. Thanks for your patience, and thanks again for reading. Follow me here on Twitter for more updates. 

120	Monday	7/2/2018
	Tuesday	7/3/2018	Tempo run 4 mile, 1,1,1 mile @ 4:40-4:50
	Wednesday	7/4/2018
	Thursday	7/5/2018
	Friday	7/6/2018
	Saturday	7/7/2018	Mile repeats 10 x  1 mile starting @ 4:56 and finishing @ 4:39
	Sunday	7/8/2018
130	Monday	7/9/2018
	Tuesday	7/10/2018	4 x 2 mile tempo run, 2 min between @ 4:45
	Wednesday	7/11/2018
	Thursday	7/12/2018	8-10 x hills or 200s
	Friday	7/13/2018
	Saturday	7/14/2018	10 mile tempo @ 4:55-5:00
	Sunday	7/15/2018	Long run 20 miles
140	Monday	7/16/2018
	Tuesday	7/17/2018
	Wednesday	7/18/2018	8 x 1 mile on hilly course, 2 min rest starting @ 4:50 and finishing @ 4:21
	Thursday	7/19/2018
	Friday	7/20/2018	10-12 x hills or 200s
	Saturday	7/21/2018
	Sunday	7/22/2018	Long run 21 miles, Push16-19 @4:48-4:55
115	Monday	7/23/2018
	Tuesday	7/24/2018	tempo run 3.5, 2.5, 1.5 @ 4:45
	Wednesday	7/25/2018
	Thursday	7/26/2018	15 x hills or 200s
	Friday	7/27/2018
	Saturday	7/28/2018	12 mile tempo run @ 4:55-5:00
	Sunday	7/29/2018	Long run 22 miles
140	Monday	7/30/2018
	Tuesday	7/31/2018	6-7 x 1 mile on hilly course, 3 min rest
	Wednesday	8/1/2018
	Thursday	8/2/2018	15 x hills or 200s
	Friday	8/3/2018
	Saturday	8/4/2018
	Sunday	8/5/2018	3 mile tempo @ 4:50, 10 miles @6:00, 3 mile tempo @ 4:42
140	Monday	8/6/2018
	Tuesday	8/7/2018
	Wednesday	8/8/2018	5 x 2 mile @ threshold effort on hilly course 1-2 min rest
	Thursday	8/9/2018
	Friday	8/10/2018	15 x hills or 200s
	Saturday	8/11/2018
	Sunday	8/12/2018	Long run 22 miles
120	Monday	8/13/2018
	Tuesday	8/14/2018	12 x 1000m starting @ 2:56 and working down to 2:45 pace, 60-90 seconds rest
	Wednesday	8/15/2018
	Thursday	8/16/2018	8-10 x strides
	Friday	8/17/2018
	Saturday	8/18/2018	10 mile race Germany
	Sunday	8/19/2018	Long run 18-20 miles
120	Monday	8/20/2018
	Tuesday	8/21/2018
	Wednesday	8/22/2018	15 x hills or 200s
	Thursday	8/23/2018
	Friday	8/24/2018	Fartlek 3 x 3-4-5 with equal recovery
	Saturday	8/25/2018
	Sunday	8/26/2018	Long Run 24 miles 17-20@ 5:00, mile 21 @4:40-4:45