The Final Week

So it's come down to this...one last week of taper. The work is done so now the focus shifts to staying relaxed and keeping my head straight. As of today, the weather is looking good and all the pieces are in falling into place for a great weekend in VA Beach.

I'll try to post some more info this week leading up to the race. After Thursday the best source for updates will be my twitter account.

Thanks again to all my family and friends who've provided support and encouragement along this journey.

Monday	03/16/09	Off	0.0
Tuesday	03/17/09	Recovery Run	6.0
Wednesday	03/18/09	7 Miles w/ 2 Mi @ marathon pace	7.0
Thursday	03/19/09	Off	0.0
Friday	03/20/09	5 Miles w/ 6x100m Strides	5.0
Saturday	03/21/09	Recovery Run	4.0
Sunday	03/22/09	Shamrock Marathon	26.2
Week 21 Totals			48.2

Two Weeks to Go = Taper City

OK -- The volume is really coming down now and I've got three days off this week (yes!). The key workout this week is on Wednesday when I do my final interval session -- 3 times a mile at 5k pace with 2 minutes rest. It seems hard but shouldn't be too bad given the rest interval. Other then that it's strides a 'short' 12 miler on Sunday. I'm starting to get the pre-race butterflies as I approach March 22. The other item I'm focusing on is my nutrition. I need to closely watch what I eat the next couple weeks and make sure I don't put down too many calories as my training effort decreases.

Welcome to Taper City!

Monday	03/09/09	Off	0.0
Tuesday	03/10/09	7 Miles w/ 8x100m Strides	7.0
Wednesday	03/11/09	8 Miles w/ 3x1600m @ 5k pace w/ 2 min recovery	8.0
Thursday	03/12/09	Off	0.0
Friday	03/13/09	5 Miles w/ 6x100m Strides	5.0
Saturday	03/14/09	Off	0.0
Sunday	03/15/09	Medium Distance Run.	12.0
Week 20 Totals			32.0

Three Weeks to Go!

So I'm entering my recovery/taper/race prep phase. After 18 weeks of focused training, now is the time to recovery and prepare for the race. This week start to drops the total mileage down while keeping some speed and tempo. I'll need to focus on the things outside of running like work/life balance and eating right the next couple weeks. The real work is done, now it's time to prepare and focus on the goal. Three weeks to go...

Monday	03/02/09	Off	0.0
Tuesday	03/03/09	8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery	8.0
Wednesday	03/04/09	Recovery Run	5.0
Thursday	03/05/09	Off	0.0
Friday	03/06/09	4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides	4.0
Saturday	03/07/09	Tempo Run or Race	10.0
Sunday	03/08/09	Long Run	16.0
Week 19 Totals			43.0

Week 16 Schedule

This is going to be fun and challenging week. I've got some shorter speed work on Tuesday and my usual mid-distance runs on Wednesday and Friday. The fun starts on Sunday when I race for the first time this year at the Colonial Half Marathon. It's a challenging half marathon on a cross-country style course with rolling hills. It's going to be another good test of form before going into the final four weeks of marathon prep.

Monday	02/16	Off	0.0
Tuesday	02/17	8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery	8.0
Wednesday	02/18	Easy Medium Distance Run	11.0
Thursday	02/19	Off	0.0
Friday	02/20	Easy Medium Distance Run	10.0
Saturday	02/21	4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides	4.0
Sunday	02/22	Race - Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon	17.0
Week 17 Totals			50.0

Week 16 Schedule

This is going to be a tough week. The track session on Tuesday will be the longest speed session this year. I will likely do this workout on the track. The second key workout will come on Sunday when I execute another 'race simulation'. This time I will be running up to 14 miles at race pace (7:10-7:15). Like before, I will knock this out on the C&O Canal to avoid road crossing and simulate the flat terrain at Shamrock.

Monday	02/09/09	Off	0.0
Tuesday	02/10/09	Easy Run	8.0
Wednesday	02/11/09	9 Miles w/ 5x1000m (.65) @ 5k pace w/ 2 min recovery	9.0
Thursday	02/12/09	Off	0.0
Friday	02/13/09	Easy Medium Distance Run	12.0
Saturday	02/14/09	Recovery Run	5.0
Sunday	02/15/09	17 Mi w/14 Mi @ marathon pace	17.0
Week 16 Totals			51.0

Week 15 Schedule

This week I start to add more speed work to my volume. I'll repeat the 5k-pace workout I did on 1/21 with five 600 meter efforts. Strides and a tempo run will round out another 50 mile week.

Monday	02/02/09		Off		0.0
Tuesday	02/03/09		8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery		8.0
Wednesday	02/04/09		Easy Medium Distance Run		11.0
Thursday	02/05/09		Off		0.0
Friday	02/06/09		4 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides		4.0
Saturday	02/07/09		Tempo Run or Race		10.0
Sunday	02/08/09		Long Run		17.0
Week 15 Totals					50.0

Week 14 Schedule

This is a big week of running. It includes two 12 mile runs, one with 7 miles of threshold, and a 20 mile long run before the Super Bowl. If I get through everything, it will be the highest weekly mileage of this training cycle.

Monday	01/26/09		Off		0.0
Tuesday	01/27/09		6 Mi w/ 6x100m Strides		6.0
Wednesday	01/28/09		12 Mi w/ 7 Mi @ half marathon pace		12.0
Thursday	01/29/09		Off		0.0
Friday	01/30/09		Easy Medium Distance Run		12.0
Saturday	01/31/09		Recovery Run		5.0
Sunday	02/01/09		Long Run		20.0
Week 14 Totals					55.0

Week 13 Schedule

Hello everyone. Below is my schedule for this week. Gotta love recovery week!

Monday	01/19/09		Off		0.0
Tuesday	01/20/09		Easy Run		8.0
Wednesday	01/21/09		8 Mi w/ 5x600m @ 5k pace w/ 90 sec recovery		8.0
Thursday	01/22/09		Recovery Run		5.0
Friday	01/23/09		Off		0.0
Saturday	01/24/09		8 Mi w/ 8x100m Strides		8.0
Sunday	01/25/09		Long Run		14.0
Week 13 Totals					43.0