Dec. 21 - 27

M - 8 on treadmill
T - 9 with 6 times 30 seconds on, off
W - 9 on treadmill: 3 WU, 5 miles in 30:00 starting at 6:18 and progressing to 5:46, 1 CD, some strength stuff
Th - 10 in New Jersey, moderate
F - 10 on Christmas morning - ran 34 minutes with Dad
S - 10 with a big group in Thompson Park
S - 10 - travel day

Total - 66

One Month Gone

A week of no running, a week of jogging every other day, a week of six easy runs (longest was 60 minutes) ...

Dec. 14 - 20
M - 8 with 6 times 30 seconds on and off
T - 8
W - 9 with 20 minutes at tempo effort in Hains Point. Windy.
Th - AM 6 PM 3 on treadmill, strength stuff
F - 7 with 6 times 30 seconds on and off
S - 12
S - 7
Total - 60

Snow!

When I was a child, I would have put on my snow clothes and gone out to play. As an adult, I put on my running clothes and head out to run.

This is supposed to be a record-breaking December snowstorm. The snow started in the middle of the night. Now, at noon, as I sit here and type and look out the window, my belly full of breakfast, the snow is falling fast.

There were perhaps five inches of it this morning when I started running from my apartment in Capitol Hill to the Running Company in Georgetown, where I was planning to meet anyone who was dumb enough to show up to the usual Saturday run at 9 a.m. Basically, there's really just one thing to keep in mind when running through snow: Watch out for the spots where people have shoveled to make the area safe; those are the only unsafe spots.

This was not a run. This was more like an expedition. And it took me much longer to get to the store, where I met Max and Murphy, than I thought it would. (It took 37 minutes.)

The snow will unify runners. On Pennsylvania Ave., near Foggy Bottom, I saw a wizened master heading toward me. I raised my ski glove as I passed. He slapped it: "Great. No cars out here, man!"

A minute later I saw Georgetown's running squad, a solid pack. A guy yelled, "Dude, come run with us!" (Sorry, brother.)

The stores were open in Georgetown. It smelled like grease. I opened the door to the store and saw that Murphy and Max were almost ready to roll. We ran back to the Mall, following no particular path, just intuitively seeking out decent footing. I parted with them in front of the Capitol, running on the sidewalks through deep snow.

12 miles. Longest day since the marathon.

Grote Poll

I was humorously mentioned in the Grote Poll, a running Web site done by Ryan Grote, who now works for the Running Company. Thanks, Grote! (And I have to give you props for having a quote from Wallace Stevens.)

You can also read my teammate Jake Klim's recap of USATF XC Nationals in Kentucky. Klim's blog, The Red Fox, is also listed under "My Blog List."

http://grotepoll.com/component/content/article/1-grote-poll/34-club-nats-race-recap-from-georgetown-running-companys-jake-klim

On the Philadelphia Marathon

Emory Mort, left, caught me between miles 7 and 8 and shared his race plan. He even invited me to follow suit.

Step one: Catch the pack (What pack?).

Step two: Hit the half and open it up along Kelly Drive.

“Sounds good,” I said, as we passed a couple guys. “But let’s chill on this hill.”

I thought the hill was one of the two which people will mention when describing the Philadelphia Marathon as mostly flat and fast. People say the first hill comes late within the opening 10 miles and that the second comes in the 20s in Manayunk.

As it turns out, the course definitely has more than two hills, and the one Mort and I were climbing with ease was just a prelude to the real deal in Fairmount Park, which would be followed shortly thereafter by a long, leg-beating downhill.

Matt Ernst, a GRC teammate who raced here in 2008, told me months before the race, straight-up, that the Philadelphia Marathon does not roll out a PR course. I resisted that notion, though, because, well, I was aiming for one. Thought about it daily. Wanted it badly.

So, rather than listen to Ernst, I continued to imbibe the oft-told tale that Philadelphia’s marathon is not much more difficult than Chicago’s marathon, where I set my PR of 2:29.06 in 2006. But Ernst was right. Philadelphia’s course, while not nearly as difficult as New York’s, is also not nearly as swift as Chicago’s. It has two hairpin turns and at least three memorable hills. (What about that hill found shortly after the half during the brief loop off Kelly Drive?)

It should be noted, too, that the Philadelphia Marathon is not as well run as the latter big city events. For starters, clocks and mile markers were often inaccurate. And with the 8K, half marathon and marathon all finishing in the same place, the finishing stretch was clogged for the top marathoners.

This is not to say one cannot have a good experience here. I did.

This is also not to say one cannot PR here. One most certainly can.

Back to Mort. The former Cornell University standout looked like he was in the early stages of a comfortable yet peppy Sunday long run. And his pace was accelerating.

As I believed I was prepared to run around 2:27, most of my early miles were clocked between 5:33-5:40. What’s more, I consider myself someone who, as my coach would say, gets it … and thus generally adheres to two principals: Respect the distance; never force pace.

Mort, though, executing his race strategy as well as he was, made it look like I was racing without a clue. By the real hill, as I kept running between 5:35 and 5:40 per mile, Mort was gone and rolling – in the process of running the marathon (his first, I believe) the way it should be run, and finishing second in 2:24.31. After hitting the half in 1:12.42, Mort closed in the 1:11s.

The winner, John Crews, the first American to win the race since 2000, also ran negative splits – hitting the half in 1:09.24 and closing in just under 1:08 to clock 2:17.15. A graduate student and graduate of North Carolina State, Crews won by more than six minutes, hit a PR, qualified for the Olympic Trials and won his third marathon in as many attempts.

Philadelphia runner Karl Savage held the lead for 23 miles and was all alone at the half in 1:06.55, which is much faster than the course record pace. In Manayunk, as the bearded runner passed me going in the opposite direction (the second half of the race is mostly out-and-back), he still held a decent lead on Crews. But Savage faded hard, finishing third in 2:26.04 and closing with a 1:19-ish half.

A year after frigid temperatures left sheets of ice on the road near water stations, the 2009 race was run in near-perfect conditions, with mostly-calm winds and temperatures in the 40s. (Certainly none of that 30-plus MPH stuff I recall on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.) And yet, as is the nature of the marathon beast, some thrived as some suffered.

After finishing 4th in 2008 in the low 2:25s, Craig Segal, a good friend and fellow Jersey boy, finished 7th this year, in better conditions, in 2:27.36, as he struggled some in the second half. He and I had similar races: We set it up well in the first half but suffered though serious rough patches later on. However, rather than fold as our goal times slipped out of reach, we fought for every second and continued to run like hell.

There’s honor in that -- and no regrets.

---

With a starting time of 7 a.m., I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and ate the usual breakfast – a slice of toast with a decent spread of peanut butter. My dad woke up a few minutes later, and for the next couple hours we read and chatted some while hydrating and drinking coffee.

The nerves and adrenaline were already working, but just enough to let me know they would be there when I really needed them, as nothing would cause me to be more nervous than to not be nervous on race day.

Still, I was calm, confident. We were in my sister and her boyfriend’s apartment in Manayunk. My family, including my wife, was with me, and although they have been with me before other marathons as well, it felt even more reassuring in this instance, I think, because we were on our own turf rather than at a hotel.

My dad is a very good master’s runner. Some of my best memories are of watching him race in the 1990s Jersey Shore scene which featured, among other memorable characters, Dr. George Sheehan. When, as a senior in high school, I discovered for myself this sport called running, there was a newness to it that was as invigorating as it was transformative. At the same time, something was so incredibly tenable and recognizable: My entire life I had observed Dad going about his training, day after day after day.

Dad told me I was ready. So did my coach. So did my teammates. But how it would all play out?

I lined up next to Craig at the front of the line. The race started and we followed the early path of September’s Philadelphia Distance Run.

The pace up front seemed hot and I did my best to settle back and relax. As I crossed the mile in about 5:35, I heard talk around me that the clock was 10 seconds off. How does one really know?

For about 5 miles, I ran alongside Muliye Gurmu (she would finish third) and a half marathoner. Some of the clocks were well off. I knew by my own watch, however, that I was doing just fine, and passed five miles in the high 27s.

Writing this now, more than a week has passed. It’s all a blur – always is. I never wrote down my splits, and, as I always do, stopped taking them between 14 and 17 miles.

The crowds along Chestnut Street were pretty loud; I let it get to me a little too much and dropped the people I was running with, as I saw my teammate, Patrick Murphy, who was entered in the half marathon, about 50 meters ahead. When I caught him around 10k, we bumped fists and he asked me how I was feeling.

“Good,” I said. We ran together for about a half mile, and he blocked the wind for me on a short hill. Murphy, in the past few months, had been putting in as many hours at work as I had put in miles in training. But we had still managed to train together several times weekly, and it’s always exhilarating to run with a friend and teammate amidst the madness of a big city race. To think, thousands in the race and thousands lining the sidewalks … and here we are running together in the middle of the road.

I still felt strong after the real climb through Fairmount Park. As has been the case in recent marathons, I was struggling getting down water and gel – but forget that. As I made my way down a hill toward the Schuylkill River, I was pleased to see the clock at 10 miles at a few ticks over 56 minutes. I had yet to take a gel, I believe because my stomach around the 8th mile was feeling irritable. But as I hit the first hairpin turn and began my return to the art museum, the halfway point and Kelly Drive, there suddenly was deadness in my legs. I took the gel, hoping it might make me feel better.

Though my pace did not slow through the half, I was now exerting myself, pressing slightly. I thought about taking a second gel, but couldn’t get it out of my pocket.

At the half, my coach yelled out 1:13.38. I had set the race up well. Mike Carriglitto and I were running eighth and ninth. (I had noticed him take a pitstop just miles earlier and assumed he might be undergoing a bit of a rough patch, too.)

As we hit the top of the hill off Kelly Drive, Adam Tenerowicz caught us and quickly revived us. Suddenly, heading north on Kelly Drive, we had the strength of a pack.

Then, out of nowhere, it seemed, there was four with Curtis Larimer, who was feeling even better than Tenerowicz. The pace accelerated, and I knew it wasn’t sustainable.

Tenerowicz went with Larimer and Carriglitto, along with me, fell briefly behind. I then watched in amazement as Carriglitto, the picture of guts and strength, threw in a surge, caught up and, with them, disappeared.

While getting dropped, I ran a mile a couple seconds faster than the previous. Without the pack, though, things got tough in a hurry. Tenerowicz would negative split to finish sixth in 2:26.51. Carriglitto would hang on to finish eighth in 2:28.30.

Alone, against the wind, somewhere between falling off goal pace and bonking, I focused on nothing more than getting to the turn-around point in Manayunk. I covered 10 miles to 30k in 5:44 pace, propelled forward by the single thought, yes, I could still do this.

I had some terrific support. My coach and a college buddy were screaming their heads off and barking out encouragement. This was huge: the thought that someone else respected what I was doing, maybe even thought I was doing well.

Twenty miles. 1:53 and who knows how many seconds. My pace could not have been much faster than 6-flat, and I knew I would really have to dig in to run 2:28 or even break 2:30. And so I dug.

Cycling back toward the finish line with his friend and Craig’s coach, my coach could see Craig was gapping me and decided to double back to support me. I met Todd Lippin when I was a senior in college, at the track during winter break. He showed up at the track with, incidentally, Craig and another good runner as I was finishing up.

After only running one year in high school, I had been slowly – very slowly -- evolving at Gettysburg College, in a division three running program that is now quite good but then was not.

These were the days before Lets Run, the days when a young, American runner could live and train and compete in a decidedly insular world.

Todd was training for Boston, having once run 2:30 there, and invited me to train with a group of division one college guys, some graduates of the Jersey powerhouse, Christian Brothers Academy, for the rest of the winter break. For me, this was the time I began to have something of a clue – when I realized that 50-60 miles per week is not good mileage. Though you would not think it would take a major revelation to uncover something so simple, for some reason it almost always does: The guys who run fast run A LOT. As in, WAY more than do I.

Todd met up with me around 23 miles. He cycled along the path that loops around the Schuylkill and barked out words of encouragement perhaps every 15 to 30 seconds.

I was entirely catatonic and thus unable to respond – nod, even – but little by little I began to believe what he was saying: There were runners I could catch. Some guy pulled up with cramps, and I was at least able to mutter some encouragement as I passed by, running about 6:10 pace, running as hard as I could.

I passed a guy who passed me in Manayunk. I emptied it out.

Passing by the art museum and curving toward the finish, I could hear teammates yelling for me. The finishing stretch was jammed; I bobbed and weaved. Then it opened up, and I saw Larimer.

I was somehow on my toes, digging in, clenching my teeth and passing him with 10 meters left. (I thought it made me 11th, but Larimer’s chip time was a second faster.)

12th.

2:31.34.

I had run well. Or had I run poorly? I had not run a PR, had not broken 2:30 – certain goals were not achieved. But I had competed well. And I had tested my limits. And, yes, my second half – 1:17-high – was disappointing

Emotional. Short of breath. Looking out at a sea of people moving through a chute that seemed to stretch all the way to Center City. My mom found me, pulled me out near the Rodin Museum. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight like I was 20 years younger and had just experienced something that was simply too much – all-consuming.

---

Days after the race, Runner’s World published an interview with Crews. What was his mileage in training?

130 MPW.

Of course it was.

After work, ten days after the marathon, I went out for an easy 30-minute run, my second since the race. I still felt odd strains, but also a lightness. The simple joy of running when it’s easy.

I rolled down the hill on Independence Ave. past the capital and hit the National Mall, the dirt path full of puddles. I was the only person out, and the softer surface seemed to heal my aches. I thought about taking off at the pace I wish I had in the last 10K of the race. Instead, I ran easy, enjoying the air, the rain, the movement, the monuments full of light.

In two weeks, real training will re-commence. In the meantime, I need to be honest with myself. Of seven marathons, my fastest are 2:32.20, 2:31.34 and 2:29.06. In other words, I’m a 2:30 guy … who wants to run much faster.

I had more consecutive weeks in the lows 100s for this cycle than I did before Chicago. Still, the peak week, 110, was the same, and going into this cycle I had loftier goals.

It’s not about a number. It’s about how much you can absorb. And it's not that I could not handle higher mileage than 100 or 110; it's that I could not find the time (I am a full-time journalist) to run more than that. There are more factors to consider than just work, namely my first priority: Be a good husband.

At the same time, there are very few good excuses. Look no further than my hero, Billy Rodgers, who put in monster weeks while working at a hospital. Look no further than Hains Point on Friday morning: There, without fail, I will see one of the country’s top marathoners – also a working runner – banging out a fartlek workout as part of a training week that routinely covers more than 140 miles.

In America, and in D.C., it’s a good time to be a runner. And, at 28, the writing is on the wall.

Dress Rehearsal

At BCC track. 3 miles at MP pace.

5:35 ... 5:35 ... 5:35 ... 16:45 ...

2 WU, 3 CD ... 8 miles for day

One Week Out

So it's race week.

For weeks, I have been hesitant to post. Not sure why. I think, in part, it is because I was not thrilled with my last weeks of the buildup. I did not pop the workouts the way I would like, and I did not roll my last long run of the cycle the way I like to (although a workout of 4 by 2 miles was fairly successful, the details of which are below.) Partially, I think this can be explained by the fact that the end of the buildup had more than 4 weeks up in a row. During those last two weeks, perhaps my body was calling out for rest.

Then, in the first week of my taper, on Wednesday, I was heading out M Street enroute to a 13-miler and felt a strain in my leg -- the kind you cannot ignore -- the pain fairly compartmentalized above the ankle. A tendon strain -- I knew it because I had felt the same thing in early 2006. Back then, as I recall, the area hurt a bit in the early minutes of a 20-miler. I thought it would loosen up, as most daily aches and pains are wont to do. Instead, I ended up walking home and not running for two weeks.

So, this time around, three weeks out from my goal race of the year, I knew the thing to do was shut down the run immediately. I iced, got on Aleve, took the next day off and by Friday I was good to go -- logging two 60-minute runs and 17 miles on Sunday to end the week.

Heading into week two of taper, the sluggishness was more pronounced than I am used to. Though sluggishness is common at this stage of the game -- the body has to readjust to lower mileage as it must adjust to higher mileage -- I felt it even more because my mileage plummeted even quicker than planned. On Wednesday, though, I met up with teammates at the BCC high school track and did my 3 by 1-mile, 10-days out workout better than I ever have: 4:59, 4:58, 4:59 in terrible weather. Compare that to 5:01, 5:04, 5:04 before running 2:29.

Of course, these are small things, but it helped put me back in a positive place. For now, let's just execute (I guess I am talking to myself now) and look ahead to Wednesday's dress rehearsal.

Oct. 19 - Nov. 1

AM 10 PM 5
T – 12
W – 13 with 8 by 2 minutes on, off
Th – 10, 5
F – 18 - 10 minutes easy, 20 minutes tempo, 60 minutes easy, 20 minutes tempo
S - 12
S – 20
Total - 105

AM 10 PM 6
T – 10 PM 6
W – 5, 10
Th – 15 - 4 by 2 miles with two minutes rest in Hains Point. Measured it out with my car. For a solo effort, 10:43 average was not bad. Got out a bit too hard in the first two reps.
F – 6, 5
S – 13
S -22
Total 108

Nov. 2 - 15
M - 10
T - AM 6 PM 4
W - AM 2, strain
Th - rest
F - 8.5
S - 8.5
S - 17
Total - 56

M - 9
T - 8
W - 9 - 3 by 1 mile with 400 jog - 4:58, 4:59, 4:58
Th - 8
F - 8
S - 7, strides
S - 14
Total - 63

Oct. 5 - 18

Monday - AM 10 PM 5
Tuesday - AM 12
Wednesday AM 12 with 8 times 2 minutes at 5k effort, 2 minutes rest Later AM Got a tooth pulled
Thursday AM 12 PM 6
Friday AM 12 PM 5
Saturday AM 12, strides
Sunday AM 4 WU, Lower Potomac River 10-Miler (53:51, 2nd), 4 CD - 18
Total - 104

LPR 10-Miler:
I found out about this race in Piney Point, Md. while writing an article about the Southern Maryland running scene. Two things were of interest: Flat course, cash for top three. Also, the race worked into my training schedule, and I was interested in traveling to Piney Point, one of the most southernmost points of Southern Maryland. The race was at 7:45 a.m., and I left D.C. at 5, although it only took me only 70 minutes to get there. (Here's the deal: When Google mapping something in D.C., take the estimated time and round it up to an hour. When traveling south out of the district, take the time and chop off 30-45 minutes.)

In its first year, 19-year-old Ethiopian Ezkyas Sisay had won this race (sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Running Club) in 54:27. The day before, Sisay had raced the Baltimore Half Marathon. Perhaps, then, he only ran fast enough to get the money, as second place was about 2 minutes back.

The race director had told me Sisay was returning, but I did not see him. I did see Steven Crane, one of the best runners in D.C., who I have run with in the past. Before the start, we talked a bit about pacing and Steve said he wanted to run 5:15-20 pace. I had run that pace at the Philadelphia Distance Run; that pace could work, I said, if my body was not too tired from a week of regular mileage.

Quickly, we were alone, stride for stride, with a cyclist leading the way. I felt smooth, controlled, like we were right on pace. At the mile, though, I saw we were just over 5 minutes -- and I seemed to have two options: Slow down. Race.

I chose to race. Heck, I was already there. I did not look at my watch until mile 5, passed in 26:05, and I was with Crane (who has run sub 50 and 1:05.02 in the half marathon) until 6, when he started to pull away and I started to labor. There was a magnificent view of the bay, except I did not seem to be taking much notice. Miles six to 8, in fact, were pretty bad; I was in over my head. But I gathered myself at 8, as we turned back onto Lighthouse Road, out of the wind, and headed back to the finish, near Piney Point Lighthouse. (It really was a beautiful setting for a race; it would nice to get a good field for this some year.) I atleast ran under 11 minutes for my last two miles, and thus under 54 minutes.

In one sense, it's not the way you want to race. In another, I ran low 32s for 10K, a PR, and stuff like this, mixed with decent volume, bodes well for Nov. 22. I am absorbing 100-plus mileage very well right now.

Monday AM 10 PM 5
Tuesday AM 12

Wednesday AM 5 PM 11 - For the afternoon workout, Jake, Jake, Karl and I met at BCC for Yasso 800s, a marathon workout which they were nice enough to go along with. This workout was developed by Bart Yasso of Runnersworld Magazine. I remember him quite fondly from my days as an editorial intern there; we did some lunchtime runs together, in fact. The weather was pretty crappy: cold, rainy and cold. We started minutes after the end of a soccer game, so we at least had lights for our first two of 8 reps. The idea here is quite simple: 8-10 800s with a 400 jog for rest. Your average time, then, is supposed to be what you can run in the marathon. I was looking to hit 2:25-2:28 and, with the help of my teammates, I was able to average 2:25. It was a true team effort, as it can be quite hard to guage pace in the dark, but we really worked together.

Thursday AM 7 PM 10
Friday AM 13

Saturday AM 14
It was my five-year reunion at Gettysburg College. Rather than spend a weekend there and drink too much and sleep on a floor at at time when I might be in the best shape of my life, I drove up Saturday morning to compete in the Gettysburg Invitational and then had a great time catching up with people the rest of the day.

Saturday, as it happens, was the peak of a streak of terrible weather that lasted from Wednesday until today. The race was at 11, and I left D.C. at 8, knowing it never took me more than 90 minutes to get there.

I should have alloted more time. For one, the WTOP traffic reporter was pretty busy. And, and, as I crossed the 14th Street Bridge and hooked onto the GW Parkway, I found out that it was blocked off where the road splits, so I had to turn around in Rosslyn. The rain was coming down hard. It was difficult to see. Traffic was moving slow. I knew it was not looking good. I was running late. And for what? To race in a cold mudbath! WTOP reporters, generally, encouraged doing everything except leave your house.

I did not park until 10:30, rushed to the locker room to change and hurried to the starting area. I got in but a mile's worth of warmup, changed into my XC spikes, kept on a long sleeve shirt beneath my singlet, did a couple strides (after which my spikes were completely full of cold water) and tucked in at the back of Gettysburg's starting box.

Assistant Coach Aubrey Shenk, the starter, traditionally says something I love before firing off the gun. Gentlemen, it's a beautiful day to enjoy your sport. A lot of times, when he would say this, it was not always a beautiful day to enjoy the sport. Still, it was a beautiful sentence.

Coach Shenk did not utter it this year.

The gun went off and 300-plus runners charged out across a field with about two inches of standing, cold water. I was never very good at XC (too much of a rhythm runner) and now I was rusty -- stuck behind a clump of guys I could not exactly forcefully move. Around 2K, it started to clear up, and I started to move though the pack. I must have moved up 50 spots in the next 4K -- and I was not paying any attention to splits, as times were meaningless. By 6K, though, I was no longer passing -- only maintaining -- as we trudged on through water and mud and water and mud. Man, it was cold. True XC.

Honestly, I kind of liked it. I had fun. I got a great workout. There was no pressure: I know I am in shape. I know 8K XC is not my scene right now. I finished 55th in 28:05. That's marathon pace.

Gettysburg Men finished 3rd out of 25 teams, and the women were 4th. I would have been 8th man on the team on Saturday -- and thus not top 7 -- and that makes me feel good. The team is one of the best we have had in a long time. These guys work really hard -- but more on that some other time.

Sunday - 18
Total 103

Training Post-PRD

September 21-27
M - AM 10 PM 4
T - 12
W - 13, strides
Th - AM 12
F - 12, strides
S - 18
S - 9
Total - 90

Sept. 28-Oct. 4
M AM 10 PM 6
T - 12
W 10 - 10,8,6,4,2, with half the rest around the Mall
Th - 12 PM 4
F AM 10 PM 6
S - 10
S - 20
Total - 100

PR at PDR

After a month of 100-plus-mile weeks, I cut back for two weeks (90; race week was 70) so I could take a real charge at the Philadelphia Distance Run on Sept. 20. This was the first half marathon I have run fresh. Others have come in the thick of a marathon buildup.

The goal was to crack 1:10 and I came very close, clocking 1:10.11 for 36th place. This amounts to a PR of 1:38.

Ryan Hall is wise enough to know that the training which produces a sub-60 half marathon is not necessarily the same training that will lead him to his first victory at a major marathon. For one, sub-60 requires fresh legs, and about six weeks away from a marathon, Hall’s legs, frankly, are better off dead.

Shortly after Ryan Hall announced he would appear at the Philadelphia Distance Run I received an email from a training buddy who joked that he fully expected I would finish ahead of the Olympian and, as it turns out, the only American to ever crack one hour in the half marathon.

In my response, I noted that while Hall might be attempting to go sub-60 for a new PR and American record, I would hopefully be going for sub-70 for a PR of my own.

Hall ran pretty darn well at PDR -- well enough, at least, to remain undefeated in the half marathon. Running comfortably with Samuel Ndereba and Felix Limo, Hall bolted at 12 miles, closing with a final mile of 4:27. His time was 1:01.51, and he appears to be in fine shape for New York.

My goal race for the fall, the Philadelphia Marathon, is Nov. 22. Because of that, my training plan for the fall has called for two buildups -- one for PDR, another for the marathon. For the first time, then, I was reasonably tapered for a half marathon. As well, I had more quality speed sessions under my belt from the last few months than at any other time since college. That said, I was reasonably sure I would demolish my previous PR of 1:11.52 from last March's National Half Marathon.

I stayed with my sister and her boyfriend, Greg Bowyer, in Manayunk. We left their apartment around six and quickly got to a parking garage close to the start, in front of the art museum. We met up with my mom and my father, who of course was full of race day nerves. I also met up with my GRC teammates, Jake Klim and Dylan Keith. About 50 minutes before the race, Jake, Dylan, Greg and I set out for our warmup – out and back along the last couple miles of the race.

It was pretty cool. We saw Hall and his crew. We saw Constantina Dita, who only won the gold medal in the marathon in Beijing …

I warmed up in a jacket, glove, hat and pants, but toward the end of the 20 minutes I could feel myself heating up. The weather was placid, close to ideal, and it was clear there would be no need for gloves or a hat.

About 10 minutes before the gun, I parted with my family and jogged to the start with my teammates. When we got to the first corral, though, we were surprised to see that it was more packed than a corporate cattle operation. We really had to be aggressive just to get through the gate. We wound up about three seconds off the line; thus, the first mile had lots of unnecessary weaving.

I felt good, though. After (three?) miles, I caught up with Jake and we started to work together. We unfortunately seemed to be stranded between packs; a sizeable group was ahead and we tried to make a slight push in order to catch them. Curving out to Kelly Drive, I saw my mom and sister, which gave me lift, and I told Jake that we should try to catch the group, tuck in until the bridge at 8 and then really try to roll on the other side of the river.

We were running 5:17s and it was hard to tell if we were really pulling in the pack. By the time we really were pulling them in, around mile 7, the pack was splintering, with two guys falling off and the rest surging ahead. At 8 miles I was still feeling pretty good, but it was clear Jake was a bit stronger. After a 5:20 he surged ahead, as we hit the bridge, and I more or less held pace, or very close to it.

I passed 10 miles in 53:11, still sub-5:20 pace, and tried to keep my eyes ahead. Suddenly, though, I heard a van honking its horn behind me. Repeatedly. Why? There was no one around me, and there seemed to be plenty of space to get by. It was the truck for the two lead women, including the great Catherine Ndereba. I paced off them for perhaps a half mile. Still, they surged ahead. (Interestingly, a guy on the truck told me, as the women were catching me, that I was on pace for 1:09.40, which turned out to be Ndereba’s winning time.)

Honestly, I ran out of gas in the last 1.5 miles. I had run road PRs for 10K and 10 miles and so perhaps I was asking for a bit too much. It’s a tough part of the course, anyway. The sun really hits the pavement, and it’s slightly uphill. I can’t recall my exact 20K time, but I knew I was very close to dipping under 1:10. Though I gave it everything I had, I fell a bit short.

All in all, I was very pleased with the PR of 1:10.11, as I think it sets me up very well for the November marathon, and my place of 36th.

Jake finished 26th in 1:09.27. He’s had a great year. Check out his blog (listed on the right) to see some of his results from the spring.

Greg also PRed at 1:16.46, and after hearing about the hours he has been putting in for his job, the journalism biz suddenly seemed remarkably 8 to 5.

Dad, 53 and bearer of the torch, only continues to impress: 1:26.58.

Here are some of my splits:

1. 5:20 - 5:20
2. 10:38 - 5:18
3. 15:52 - 5:14
(16:23 – 5k)
4. 21:09 - 5:16
5. 26:24 - 5:15
6. 31:40 - 5:15
(32:43 – 10k)
7. 36:56 – 5:16
8. 42:17 – 5:20
9. – 10 53:11 – 10:54 – 5:26
10-13.1 – 17:00 – 5:28

http://running.competitor.com/live/philadelphia/liveblog

Another Under 13

Matt Tegenkamp ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnuNmUxA9c&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eletsrun%2Ecom%2F2009%2Flrcteg0904%2Ephp&feature=player_embedded

Training Aug. 31 - Sept. 6

Monday - AM 10 PM 6
Tuesday - AM 12 PM 4

Wednesday - 15 minutes easy, 20 minutes at marathon effort, 2 minutes easy, 15 minutes at a faster effort, 2 minutes easy, 10 minutes at a faster effort, 2 minutes easy, 5 minutes hard, 35 minutes easy - 16 ... This was an out-and-back effort from SW to the Capital Crescent to the C&O Canal. Though I have listed the intended efforts, this was definitely a feel thing, meaning my legs were fairly dead and I worked through it. I only took a couple splits on the C&O and both were sub 6, which isn't bad for this kind of continuous, solo, morning effort.

Thursday - AM 11 PM 5
Friday - AM 13
Saturday - AM 11
Sunday - AM 22 ... Emily joined me on a bike. I tend to have really solid workouts when she does this, as I can drink water every 20 minutes or so. I wanted a flat, stop light-free route that would allow me to run at a good rhythm and do some near-pace work. By the time we hit the Capital Crescent Trail I was running sub-6 pace at a smooth, fairly conversational effort. We made it all the way to where the trail hits downtown Bethesda (the end?) and turned back. Interestingly, at about 2 hours, as we were emerging from the trail into Georgetown, I sort of bonked and more or less shuffled the last half hour to the apartment. I think it was a simple case of running out of fuel, having not eaten any breakfast (bad mistake, never again) or any gels. Lesson learned.

Total -110

That caps a month of 96, 103, 106, 110. I am going to come down for two weeks before the Philadelphia Distance Run and then start a new cycle for the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 22. Ahead are two flat, fast courses -- and hopefully two PRs.

Training Aug. 24-30

M - AM 10 PM 6
T - AM 12

W - AM 5 PM Met Patrick, Karl, Bain and Jim at The Line in Rock Creek Park. We did our 3 minutes on, 1 minute off workout that winds through roads and trails. One thing about me is that I stink at running trails. Even on easy runs, I find myself falling behind. It actually went pretty well, though, for the first six reps -- proof that I am much more fit than when we did this months ago -- and I took my turn leading a tough one up a big hill on Ross Drive (I think). On the seventh we veered off the road toward an uphill trail, and the workout really started to choke me. Mission accomplished.

Th - AM 12 PM 4
F - AM 12

S - AM Gettysburg Alumni Race 5k XC - The Gettysburg College XC training camp lasts a week, and the last workout is always a 5k time trial. Beginning around 2005, the time trial was deemed the alumni race, and alums were invited to toe the line against the undergrads. I won this race as a senior in 2004, virtually tied with Andy Carmer in 2005, won in 2006, went to Africa in 2007, finished right behind winner Jeff Buttersworth in 2008 and in 2009 ... finished fourth in 17:05 for 5030 meters, my slowest time yet. Odd, too, because I am way more fit than I was last year, when I believe my time was 16:27. It was hot, very muddy and, honestly, the whole thing is pretty low key, as it serves no one well to go all out in late August with the big races in the middle of November. I really just ran in the pack most of the way; and suddenly there was less than 800 meters to go and I was running against a 1:53 half miler ... Gettysburg finished 6th in region last year, and it looks like they have an outside shot at making nationals in 2009. It is awesome to go back and see how hard they are working. Around 2000, the Centennial Conference and Mideast Region made a competive leap; Gettysburg was slow to adjust, but now we are really catching up. -- 10

S - 24 -- I was without a watch because Ironmans are designed to self destruct every six months. And so I set out from my apartment in SW with the penciled-in goal of 24 and made my way to the Capital Crescent Trail. Then I was in Bethesda, where we started last Sunday's run, and I hooked onto Georgetown Branch Trail and kept going for some reason -- knowing there was no way this loop was going to work (too long). I had started at 9:15. In Rock Creek Park, I stopped for water along Beach Drive and asked someone for the time. 11:30. Oh. Kept going and actually felt pretty good; looped past the zoo, past that area where we always stop for water (I really should know this all better by now) and then I got to the bottom of 24th Street and crossed the road -- I was thinking I could make it back to the Running Company at least and call Emily from there. But my body simply stopped, like a car out of gas. And so I walked up the hill, saw someone who looked reasonably nice, borrowed a cell phone and sweet Emily picked me up at the corner of Calvert and 24th. 24 is sort of a guess. It might have been longer; it might have been shorter, too.

Total 106

More later ...

RITZ! AMERICAN RECORD!

Golden League meet in Zurich. Bekele keeps his winning streak. Unreal. Only very recently, Ritz split with Brad Hudson and joined the Alberto Salazar group. Now he breaks Bob Kennedy's record, which goes back to the mid '90s. Kennedy was the top runner in the U.S. at a time when the world running scene simply exploded; what once seemed unthinkable performances suddenly became commonplace, and Kennedy talks about that in this interview -- http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/2006/bobkennedy030706 -- which I recall reading some time ago.

Anyway, got a little distracted there. The results are below, and here is a link to the video: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235529-2009-weltklasse-zurich/199912-kenenisa-wins-ritz-sets-ar-at-zurich

1.BEKELE, Kenenisa, ETH, WL, 12:52.32
2. SOI, Edwin, KEN, SB, 12:55.03
3. RITZENHEIN, Dathan USA, AR 12:56.27
4. CHEPKOK, Vincent, KEN, PB, 12:58.17
5. KIPSIRO, Moses, UGA, SB, 12:59.27
6. EBUYA, Joseph, KEN, SB, 13:00.22
7. MASAI, Moses Ndiema, KEN, 13:06.16
8. KIPRUTO, Silas KEN 13:09.08
9. KOMON, Leonard Patrick, KEN, 13:17.43
10. KOGO, Micah, KEN, 13:18.57
....

Training Aug. 17-23

Monday AM 6 PM 6
Tuesday AM 12

Wednesday PM workout at BCC with Dirk, Jake and Patrick. 4 by 1600 with 400 jog for rest; goal was to increase pace by five seconds per rep. Dirk, as he always does, set the pace, and did a great job. The weather, as it always is, was humid as hell, and I think we dealt with it well. 4:58, 4:53, 4:49, 4:58. I averaged 5:03 for this workout July 14; here, I averaged about 4:55. Obviously, I would have liked to have made it to 4:43 with Dirk on the last rep or, at the very least, have maintained or slightly increased the pace of the third rep. I was there until about 600 to go, and then I really tied up. Still, it was a good workout, and I think this hard running is going to pay off.

Thursday AM 12
Friday AM 12 PM 6
Saturday AM 12

Sunday AM Met Jake, Dirk, Max, Patrick and other Jake for an epic 21-ish-mile run that starts in Bethesda. Pace was very relaxed early on, but it got pretty quick through Rock Creek Park. The last couple miles were on the Georgetown Branch Trail and thus gave me nightmares of two crappy Parks Half Marathons; though Jake and Dirk had surged ahead I kept a fairly good rhythm. Again, this was very good training -- a lot of running at a decent pace with fairly tired legs. 2:21.

Afterward, we bought shaved ice from a street vendor unfazed by a swarm of bees. They were good -- really, really good. I drove home and met up with a friend and went to the Nats game and soaked up too much sun. Dirk, meanwhile, who is training for a duathalon race, capped his afternoon with a cycling workout.

Total - 103

Next week I have my annual alumni race, 5K XC, at Gettysburg College. Looks like we will do a midweek tempo.

Wow

If Kenenisa Bekele, the best 5,000 and 10,000 meter runner on the planet, can outkick one of the fastest milers of all time (Bernard Lagat), how fast can this guy really run?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zblxSiFr8Y

A solid effort by Matt Tegenkamp.

Top Three at World Marathon Champs

Think Kenyan runners are tough? The winner, Abel Kirui, bounces and dances after flying across the line in 2:06.54. Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai pukes up his sports drink in the last mile enroute to 2:07.48 in hot weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0P2jse5ZCo&feature=related

Check out how fast the pace is from the gun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shwx2cyjEbc

Training Aug 10 - 16

Monday - AM 10 PM 4
Tuesday - AM 10 PM 4

I am doing my recovery runs as slow as I need to in order to be ready for the week's key workouts. I am also going out of my way to run on grass, and seem to be carving a trail through the field in West Potomac Park behind the FDR memorial. In the afternoons, I train on the treadmill at the gym, which is boring, yes, but isn't training inside an ice box more conducive to not feeling like hell all the time?

Wednesday
AM - 3
PM - two sets of 1600, 1200, 800; 400 jog between everything. Hung in with the group as long as I could. Legs were tight. Fell off slightly in the second half, but not much. 4:54, 3:38, 2:22; 4:58, 3:40, 2:25 - 11

Thursday - AM 10 PM 5
Friday - AM 14
Saturday - AM 9
Sunday - This is becoming a staple workout for us each training cycle. We meet at Angler's Inn on the C&O Towpath, pile into cars and head up to Riley's Lock. We warm up two miles and then begin 4 sets of 2 miles hard, 1 mile easy at Mile 23. It was boiling. Dirk and Karl were setting the pace, and the rest of us did our best to keep up. Usually, one aims for half marathon pace, but when its this hot, even half marathon pace feels all out. The first was smooth: 10:44. For the second, I really dug in, continuing the trend of not thinking, and I was surprised to see we only hit 10:27, because it felt like 10:00. The third was 10:44 -- went out hard and bit it. Last was over 11; I was too bleary-eyed to say for sure. 11:05? I didn't quite have the power in the second mile of each of the last reps, but I was still pleased with the workout. We added on whatever to get 17.

Total - 96 (Didn't need to slog out 13 on Saturday; I knew what was coming on Sunday.)

Training last week

A down week after 7 weeks up ...

M - 10
T - 10
W -11 -- 2k, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 -- 6:29, 4:57, 3:38, 2:21, 65 - 11
Th - 10
F - 9
S - 5k - 15:58 - 10
S - 20
Total - 80

Working on my first 100 this week. Tough workout coming up on Sunday.

Asbury Park 5k

This was only my second race of the summer, and it was my first time under 16 minutes, as noted in an earlier post, since 2005. 2005, coincidentally, is the year I moved up to the marathon, and thus the year my training changed to emphasize strength and more strength.

But this summer has been about getting back to the basics: running free as opposed to under control and getting some of that anaerobic fitness back. It started at the B.C.C. track on Wednesday nights in early July, as my post-Frederick recovery phase was flowing into a buildup to the buildup. (What a cruel sport!)

At the track I run with guys who are faster and better than me. I run in the back and try not to think. It has been working: Today, for instance, I ran 4:54 (1600), 3:38 (1200) and 2:20 (800) for the first half of the workout and only a bit slower in the second half, in which the reps were the same as in the first.

5k on the roads is a tough, tough race, and I went into the race this week not expecting to feel comfortable for even a step. I did not feel optimal warming up; I did not worry about it, either. It was a loop course and thus the heavy Jersey shore winds were a help on one side and quite the obstacle on the other.

This is Asbury Park. This is the home of Springsteen and the Stone Pony, where I would say I had some of my most formative music experiences.

This was my Dad's second race 28 years ago. Bill Rodgers won. Afterward there was a question and answer session with him and George Sheehan. There was no chairs. They sat on the floor in a big circle. Glory days.

Dad and I balance each other. When he says we should drive down to the race the night before because the morning registration will take forever, I tell him it will take less than a minute and thus it is not worth the extra drive. And I am right. When he says, in the morning, hey, boy, it is time to go, we are going to miss out on prime parking ... he is right.

I passed through the mile in 4:55. We made a U-turn and the wind blasted us. We briefly ran in a line of three. There were three ahead. Maybe, then, I backed off a little when I should have pressed, because they pulled ahead, and they stayed just barely ahead of me the rest of the way. Two miles in 10:07. Not bad; remember the wind.

The last mile I am racing. There are three within 10 seconds. But I can't gain any ground. We hit the boardwalk and the wind is howling and the finish line looks like it's a mile away and my watch says 14:40. Shit! I put my head down, swing my arms. I am sooo slloooowww. But, hey, I snuck under 16. 15:57 chip time.

For now, that's all that really matters.

I am officially registered for the Philadelphia Distance Run and the Philadelphia Marathon.

An Asbury Park Press article and results are here: http://www.jsrc.org/.

Nick Pellegrino, a great New Jersey runner, won the race in 15:07.

15:58

Snuck under. Passed two miles in 10:07; last mile was dead into the wind. Cool weather in Asbury Park. 6th place.

More later ...

June 20, 2005

The last time I broke 16? 4 years!

I was fifth man on the Runner's High squad that dominated the USATF-NJ 5k Road Championships. My hair was very long and Sam Adam's set up a free post-race beer table.

4th Nick Pellegrino - 14:57
7th Rob Defilippis - 15:13
9th Bill Hoffman - 15:20
10th Tom Falvey 15:27
13th Me - 15:37

http://www.compuscore.com/cs2005/june/pres1.htm

Note: Gene Mitchell, Running Company owner, was second.

Must stay focused in the last mile this Saturday. It's going to hurt.

July 27 - Aug. 2

Monday - AM 10 PM 4
Tuesday - 13 easy

Wednesday - Worked out on track with Dirk De Heer, Karl Dusen and Patrick Murphy. Workout was 2 sets of 3 times 1K. Rest was 200 meter jog between intervals and a 600 jog between sets. Drafting off a very talented group, I ran my best 5k-10k-style workout in quite some time, averaging 3:02. Averaging this for 6 by 1K is much better than 16:10 on the roads, and it makes me remember how much I used to love running on the track in college. After struggling through XC and putting in a big winter break, in the spring (finally) I would find a groove. Can I go sub 16 in New Jersey Aug. 8? - 11

Thursday - PM 10 on treadmill
Friday - AM 12 PM 5

Saturday - 10 with team. Some of us were hurting some from Christopher Raabe's victory party the night prior, but I don't think we ran like it.

Sunday - 18 with team. We ran through the roads of Rock Creek Park and got nailed by a rainstorm. Felt a bit tired today. The goal was to go 20, but by 2 hours my body had had enough. Went to a late Saturday night movie and the lack of sleep hurt me. Reminds me of what the narrator says in the "Big Lebowski" ... Well, sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes, well, the bar eats you.

Total - 93

After seven straight weeks up -- 72 to 93 --I will come down a bit next week (80) and then begin a true marathon buildup.

July 12 - July 26

M - AM 8 PM 5
T - 10
W - Workout at BCC with team, 4 by 1 mile workout (see older post)
Th - 10
F - 10, 5 strides
S - 18
S - 7
Total - 80

M - 12
T - AM 8 PM 4
W - AM 20 minutes easy, 10 minutes at tempo effort, 5 minutes easy, 10 by 1 min at 5k effort, 1 minute jog on grass in West Potomac Park, 15 minutes easy - 11 - continuous workout
PM root canal
Th - AM 10 PM 5
F - 11
S - Crystal City Twilighter - 16:10, 25th place, 10 seconds faster than last year - 9
S - 15
Total - 85

A video of the race -- commenting on the GRC and Pacers rivalry -- by the one and only filmmaker known as Tow Path: http://vimeo.com/5795097

Interview with Christopher Raabe

Raabe, a D.C. runner who runs for The Running Company, recently became the first American in many years to win Grandma's Marathon. He ran 145 MPW in preparing.

http://dailynews.runnersworld.com/2009/07/a-brief-chat-with-christopher-raabe.html

Had a decent 3 by 1 mile workout last night with the team. My 4 by 1 mile workout, on the other hand, was not as good ... But I am fairly sharp for this stage in my training. We've had an awesome group lately, and I just try to hang on.

4 by 1 mile (one lap jog for rest): 5:03, 4:58, 5:00, 5:10

WRR Spring Rankings

I ran three D.C. races this spring and was ranked 45th.
George Washington Birthday Classic 10k - 6th, 34:10 for 6.4 miles
National Half Marathon - 7th, 1:11.52
Frederick Marathon - 1st, 2:37.06

Several of my teammates are ranked ahead of me:
http://www.runwashington.com/news/1540/

I have some upcoming 5ks: Crystal City Twilighter is July 25 at night in Arlington. On Aug. 8, I am heading to Jersey for the Asbury Park 5k. The emphasis right now is on readying myself for a huge August and September, so whatever happens in these 5ks (which I imagine will not be much) happens.

July 6-12

You could really feel the heat today. Is summer here?

Turned 28 this week, and lately I feel like I have an oversize engine running inside a West African bush taxi. Emily says I need more sleep.

M - 10
T - too much work
W - 13 with 30 minutes tempo on towpath
Th - AM 10 PM 5, lift
F - 10
S - 10 with Dad, a tour of D.C.
S - 17
Total - 76

Not bad for six days, but would have liked to hit 80 this week.

Training June 26-July 5

M - 7, lift
T - 10
W - AM 10 PM 3, lift
Th - 10 with 6 by 3 minutes on, 1 minute off and 10 times 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off in West Potomac Park. Would have liked to do 8 or 10, but body was rebelling. The workout called for a surface other than road - did the 30-second accelerations on grass.
F - 10 from store with team, 5 strides
S - 10
S - 16. Ran out to C&O towpath - out in 55, back in 52

Total - 76

Last Two Weeks

M - 10
T - 8
W - 8 by 3 minutes on, 1 minute off through Rock Creek Park with Reaves, Murphy and Dirk - 10
Th - 9
F - 8
S - 10
S - 15
Total - 70

M - 10
T - 7
W -
AM - 3
PM - Track, with team - 2k (6:36), 1k (3:11), 2k (6:36), 1k (3:10), 2k (6:40). This was my first track work since marathon, so I was pleased to feel in control at 5:20 pace for the 2ks and about 5:01 pace for the 1ks. Temps were in the 90s. -- 9 for day (arrived late, short warm up)
Th - 10
F - 10
S - 16 with team starting in Georgetown
S - 7
Total - 72

The marathon recovery phase over, I seem to be in a good place right now, as I build my mileage back up and mix in some hard workouts. The basic plan from here is to get back to the 90 range by July and prepare for huge months in August and September. Track workouts with the team will be my primary workout for the week. Long run, this week, should be back to 2 hours.

Frederick and Beyond

Many weeks have passed without a post. Why?

Well, here's a few lames excuses -- which is to say that sometimes I can't muster the energy to write after work.

Hank Williams Jr. - http://www.somdnews.com/stories/05222009/weektop120705_32186.shtml

T-Pain - http://www.somdnews.com/stories/06052009/weektop113721_32187.shtml

Martin O'Malley - http://www.somdnews.com/stories/06192009/weektop115248_32188.shtml

I lived in Frederick from 2004 to 2006. My first newspaper job (not counting the stringer gig with the York Dispatch) was at the Frederick News-Post, where I started as an editorial assistant but wound up picking up the arts and entertainment beat within the first few months.

Frederick is special to me. For one, it is the first place Emily and I lived together, and it is where me made our first mutual friends (who remain some of our best).

It is where, after living together for six months, Emily suddenly had this idea to join the Peace Corps. Then, a month shy of my 25th birthday (Emily was 23), we got married during a beautiful ceremony planned in two months. That fall, we left for West Africa.

Frederick is where I decided, a year out of college, to focus on the marathon. While assistant coaching Gettysburg College's track team in 2005 I had lowered my P.R. in the 5000 to 15:13. I did this around Easter; maybe I had it in me to break 15 later in the spring. Yeah, and maybe if I continued to train really, really hard -- and strapped rockets to my back -- I might have run 14:52.

The 2006 Frederick Marathon was my second marathon, and I ran 2:32.20, 11 minutes faster than my introduction to the event at 2005's Baltimore Marathon. Michael Wardian won the race in 2:26-something.

The decision to run a marathon this spring, though, came shortly after the 2008 New York City Marathon. It was my first marathon in the U.S. in two years, and I went there with hopes of running 2:30. Instead, I hobbled home in 2:41 and cried a bit on Emily's shoulder. (Nice.)


Had that race gone well, perhaps I would have organized the spring around a half. But, in New York, I felt rusty -- I knew then I needed to make it a year of marathons.


And so I chose Frederick. I chose it because it is a place with meaning, and because I thought I might win a race and crack 2:30 and prove to myself that, yes, I was back. And ready to run faster.

There were signs, too. There were in signs in my training that I was at or ahead of the fitness level I brought to Chicago to run 2:29 (Am I dwelling on this much? Yes) in 2006. This spring I ran a P.R. for the half marathon in March (1:11.52 at 2009 National Half Marathon) during a 100-mile week. I was handling the volume and tough workouts quite well.

Race morning was cool, overcast. At 6:30 a.m. I stood at the starting line with a thin ski hat, gloves and arm-warmers. I bumped into a Georgetown Running Company teammate, Patrick Hughes. He was entered in the half, and we decided to run the early miles together.

About a dozen people shot out in front of us; after a few minutes, though, there was just a pack of four about 100 meters ahead. Heading into the first mile, we passed Brewer's Alley, my old Wednesday night hangout, and I commented to Patrick that they indeed make an excellent oatmeal stout brew. In other words, the effort was smooth.

Heading into mile two, I was already getting warm. I tossed off my gloves and, shortly after that, when I saw Emily, the arm warmers. Emily, by the way, had made a sign with the words "furthur" on it, and I was both profoundly touched and pysched by the gesture.

Patrick and I, clicking off miles between 5:36 and 5:45, were slowly pulling in the leaders in the half marathon. While there was one hill in the early miles, the first eight miles were relatively flat, and there wasn't much wind to deal with.

While I was taking water about every 3- to 5k, I was having trouble getting it down: Volunteers were handing out Dixie cups, and the water was splashing out upon hand-off, leaving a small sip at best.

Heading into 8 miles, we caught a guy who had fallen off the lead pack and went by him. There was a water station ahead, and I took a gel -- my first of three, stored in my hat. Using a trick I learned from my coach, I bent my neck down slightly, pulled off the hat and grabbed the gel rather smoothly. I thought, as well, that I was ready to lose the hat, and so I tossed it aside ... And that was when the weather really seemed to change: I was surprised to feel cold air in my hair as we ran down a long road into a stiff breeze with rain beginning to fall as well as a darkening sky.

When Patrick and I caught the lead guys in the half, I figured we would breeze by. Instead, they picked up the pace, so I tucked behind them -- and felt fortunate. After all, I was not racing these two.

After running behind them for perhaps half-a-mile, though, I was surprised when the runner in front of me (who would go on to win the half) moved to side of the road and looked back as if to say, stop slacking.

Well, WTF, I thought. He has four miles to go; I have 17.

So, then, I was leading the race, part of a drama separate from my own.

The eventual half winner surged in front and fell back; he did this through 10.5 miles. Finally, I just asked if I could tuck in behind him -- Because. I. Am. In. The. Marathon.

He said he had not realized -- despite different color bibs? -- and politely obliged. Until he surged ahead, and I was left winding through a farm road getting blasted by wind.

Frankly, it was a relief to reach the Frederick Fairgrounds, see the others turn into the finish and continue on solo. I hit the half in 1:14 flat and tried to relax, as the wind eased and I hit a portion of the race with spectators, including my friends Scott and Kate, and later, Emily, whose support throughout the race provided some major adrenaline.

The next couple miles were good, though the course was kind of herky-jerky winding through the Carroll Creek development area -- and it was really starting to rain. Around 15, as I headed back out of town to the truly tough part of the course, I saw I had a big lead.

By 16, I was climbing a huge hill and soaked and starting to get cold when I heard the day's best news. The man on the bike keeping me on course had picked up my hat when I tossed it aside. He handed it back to me, and I thanked him profusely.

Heading towards 18, my pace was slowing to 6-flat -- mostly, though, because of the course. I tried to be patient, took my second gel. Then, at the water stop, I took a cup of water and tried to drink it. But my body rejected it, and suddenly hydrating was no longer an option, as water fell in heaps from the sky and nausea set in and a formidable series of hills in the Spring Ridge neighborhood came into view.

Every marathon is a new experience. In this marathon, I learned about a brand of all-consuming, full-body pain. I tried to look ahead, keep it together: Flat miles were around six-flat, but hilly miles were markedly slower. I ran in total fear that I would blow the race.

By 23 I was back on the road that would take me back to town and the finish line. Runners were on the opposite side of the road. They were racing, working very, very hard -- and yet they took the time to cheer me on. The best I could do in return was flash a thumbs-up, but it was important to me to acknowledge their efforts.

By then, I knew my time would be slow. Still, there was a thrill of leading a race -- of having the bike beside me and the cops on motorcycles ahead.

We passed a 24-hour Waffle House at 24.5 -- yes, I once had a few late-night meals here -- and the waitresses leaned into the glass to see me. At 25.5, the finish line was palpable, and I got a burst of energy. I was running by a dairy farm -- the smell of manure rather pungent -- and a farmer leaned out of a barn window, yelled to get my attention and pumped his fist. I pumped mine back -- incredible.

On the cinder Fairgrounds track, a huge roar rose from the crowd. I broke the tape for the first time in my life.

Video by Frederick News-Post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctbjLVtElps

Article by FNP sports editor Stan Goldberg: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/archives/fnp_display.htm?StoryID=96513

Part of a journalist's job is to assimilate information and get to the heart of a story in a short amount of time. Because of that, I have to give Stan some credit for really getting it.

Dress Rehearsal

Three miles at marathon pace. 17:00. 5:42, 5:40, 5:37. Very chill -- thankfully -- as designed. Legs are not totally fresh but feel OK -- yup. Was just starting to get warmed up.

Last week:
M - 6
T - 10
W - 6
T - 3 by 1 mile at 5k pace with 400 jog - 5:07, 5:07, 5:08 - 8
F - 7
S - 9
S - 13
Total - 60

After Sunday I went into glycogen depletion mode and continued as such until after my dress rehearsal this morning. Back on the carbs, and it feels nice. It's the traditional carbo-load, kind of old-school, but I'm an old-school runner at heart.
This week:
M - 6
T - AM 7 PM 3
W - Dress rehearsal - 9

Getting close

Each buildup I do is significantly different than the last. This buildup really emphasized long workouts.

18 miles with two twenty-minute sessions of tempo. 18 miles with 12 miles at marathon effort.

While I've run up to 110 MPW in the past, I decided to stick with high-quality, consistent weeks of 95 to 100 MPW in 7 to 8 runs.

After New York, my Dad made one observation that really stuck with me: He noted that the guys running up front (meaning more the sub-elites than professionals) tended to be either crazy thin or crazy jacked. As for me, I fall somewhere in the middle; despite being told often how skinny I am, indeed, as I have seen with African runners and elite American/European runners, there is in fact another level of skinniness one might aspire to.

I am 6'3, 158 pounds. Legendary Kenyan runner Paul Tergat is the same height and 15 pounds lighter. The thing is, I really don't think it is possible for me to get much smaller (and I like to eat ... a lot). So, instead, I joined a gym near my office and hit the weights a couple times a week, doing both strength and core work. After a few months of this, my weight has not increased and I am physically much stronger; it seems to help me in workouts when I start to get tired.

Another change I made to my training was incorporating regular strides and uphill sprints (which I can accomplish rather easily on my street), doing these at least three times weekly.

You see, it has dawned on me that years of higher mileage can begin to have negative effects. The immediate gains from phases of 80-100 MPW is huge. I recall how amazing it was after college (2004) to run consistent 75-80 mile weeks (something I had never done) and to see my times for 5k drop down at a time when I was doing less speedwork than I ever had.

Part of the reason this happened was that I was giving myself fresh stimuli (pumping up my aerobic edge after years of over-pumping the anaerobic system), but as the years go by and you adapt to the workload, the gains from such training decrease, and, if you want to improve, you have to find new ways to spark adaptations.

Well, I like to think some of the things I have been doing outside of running have helped to counteract some of the negatives -- the wear and tear -- which have come with years of steady marathon training (reduced speed, stumbling out of bed like an old man).

Recent races and workouts would suggest I am ready to run well in 10 days ...

What I was getting to when I first started writing this, before I got way off track, was that while the buildup for each marathon I have prepared for has varied quite a bit, the three-week Pete Pfitzinger taper I do has not (http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/marathontaper.shtml). In this week before race week, the workout is 3 by 1 mile at 5k pace.

The weather was cool, windy. I started at about 7:30 a.m.

5:07, 5:07, 5:08.

I have done this workout faster in the past (closer to 5-flat) but I think I ran too hard to do it, or perhaps harder than I had to. Judging off my 10k last weekend, I'd say my 5k time at this very moment (stealthy marathoner that I am) is about 15:50, and so I ran at that pace, not feeling like I was "flying," as I had in the past, but that I was under control. And ready for 26.2.

New Jersey, Gettysburg

PHOTO: By Joan Mercer. Crossing the finish line of my first 10,000 on the track since 2003 at the Mason-Dixon Invitational at Gettysburg College.

April 13-19
M - AM 10 PM 4
T - 10
W - AM On the track - 3 WU, 4 by 2 miles with one lap for rest, 3 CD - 15
10:46, 10:48, 10:41, 10:50
Th - AM 11 PM 4
F - AM 12 PM travel to NJ
S - 23
S - 10
Total - 98

Four by two miles on the track with one lap recovery has become a staple marathon workout for me. I generally do it once every buildup.

The best I have done this workout was during my buildup for Chicago in 2006, when I did perhaps two weeks earlier in the cycle and ran 10:40s across the board. I did that in the afternoon after a light day of work (no commuting back then) and in pristine weather.

For this latest workout, however, I started at 6:30 a.m. with 30 degree temps. One of my training partners was nice enough to meet me and help me for the first and third reps. My legs were tight and I was pretty bundled up, so I was pretty pleased to get through it with times at 10:50 or faster. This is MUCH better than I did this before New York. I got through the first with two 5:23s. The second, in turn, was 5:24s. Something clicked on the third, with 5:20s, and then the fourth, running solo, was pretty tough, though I managed to hang on. Right now, when I am tired, my reserves are pretty deep.

On Friday I traveled by train to see my family in New Jersey and decided to go long on Saturday since we had Easter plans for Sunday. The week prior, I had run 20 miles on the Frederick Marathon course, including miles 15-24, which are totally different than when I ran the race in 2006 (2nd, 2:32.20). These miles are quite a ways out of town; I never ran out there when I lived in the area. There are some hills to deal with, for sure, but all are followed by downhills, and I left the workout feeling confident I could handle them. I have been incorporating lots of hills into my training the last few months: For one, I live in a hilly area, but after learning about the course changes in Frederick I made an effort not to avoid them, as I am wont to do. I do most of my training in Takoma Park and Silver Spring along the Sligo Creek trail, and to get back to my house every day I can choose either a series of rolling hills, a long gradual climb, or a long, steep punch to the kidneys up New Hampshire Avenue to University Boulevard. All of my midweek 15-milers recently have finished with the latter.

On a Saturday morning, Dad and I (with my sister doing everything because we could not figure it out) worked out a route on Mapmyrun.com. We incorporated a somewhat legendary area route with a less than legendary name ... "Around the River." I believe, and I am not entirely certain, that it began when Tim McLoone's The Running Store was located in Red Bank and fielded a team. Good area runners like Dad met there and hammered a 10-miler out through Red Bank and across a bridge to a hilly, narrow, dangerous Navesink River Road which takes you around to another bridge to Rumson. You then run up River Road and return to Red Bank. Get it: you go ... Around the River.

Dad, who coaches track and XC at my old high school, Rumson Fair-Haven, had his team's top runner, Max Sparshatt, come over at 10 a.m. (the kid rode his bike!) on the most miserable running day of the year and join me for the first 13 which included an extended version of the above route and a sideroute to include a huge hill up the dirt Cooper Road. Temps were in the 30s. The rain was coming down hard and the wind was sweeping across the bridges, numbing out our legs. So we did the only thing one can do on such a day, and that is run fast. Honestly, the weather was so annoying it was laughable. Dad was nice enough to meet us with water and gave me a couple gels. That made it feel like a practice, and, well, if there is anything I miss from college, it is just that. I really got into it; the worse the weather got, the more we cursed it, the faster we ran.

By 13 we were back near my parents house so Dad could drive Max home (no, we didn't make him ride his bike) and I basically just took off for an Around the River loop, finishing with a long climb up Browns Dock Road. I was sub-6 for the last 10. A great way to end a training cycle.

April 20-26 First taper week
M - 6
T - 8, strides
W - 15
Th - 8
F - AM 6 PM 4 in Gettysburg
S - AM 10,000 at Mason-Dixon Invitational - 12
S - 17 in Gettysburg - Brilliant
Total - 75

I usually do a 10k tempo during my first week of taper, and rather than run around an asphalt track by myself, I decided to return to my alma mater for a 10,000 at the Mason-Dixon Invitational. In college I wrote a poem about this race to pump up/loosen up my teammates before the Centennial Conference Championships. 25 laps ... 25 laps! Back then, the 10,000 was the marathon.

32-anything would have given me a PR, and I went in with a strategy to run 5:15s. The odd thing about being a pure marathoner without the talent to truly excel simultaneously at a variety of distances, is that, well, it makes running shorter distances very difficult. Why? Because 98 percent of my training is geared towards the marathon, meaning I am developing my aerobic system much more than my anaerobic system, meaning I can run at an aerobic pace for a very long time but at an anaerobic pace for a relatively short period of time. Right now, for me, my anaerobic zone is clearly somewhere between 5:10 and 5:20, and so it gets very tricky: I could probably do 10k at 5:20 pace, in a race environment, quite comfortably, almost like a tempo. But in trying to run 5:15s, or mid 32s, I could wind up suffering to a 5:20 average. And that's basically what happened: 33:12. I ran a bit faster than 5:15 pace through 3.5 miles, but then it got a bit tough (first hot day of the year) and I ran some slow laps before picking it up some and closing (Go Speedracer!) in 76. I won by three minutes, and it would have taken someone to race with the last two miles to get under 33.

All that aside, I got the workout I needed, and it was great to be back in Gettysburg and catch up with teammates and, of course, Coach Shenk. My parents came down for the weekend as well. Two meals at Lincoln Diner!

One Week From Taper

M - AM 6 PM 6
T - 10
W - 15 with 10 times 3 minutes on, 30 seconds off
Th - AM 10 PM 5
F - 10 minutes easy, 20 minutes tempo, 60 minutes steady, 20 minutes tempo, 10 minutes easy - 18
S - 10
S - 20 on Frederick Marathon course. (More on this later.)

Total - 100

Two Weeks

I have been back from Peace Corps for one year, and I can confidently say that I am running at much higher level than I was in the fall before the New York City Marathon.

The photos above are from the D.C. National Half Marathon on March 21. I ran with the lead pack of the marathon for the first 10k. Patrick Moulton, in blue, who has run 2:15, won the race in 2:20 and change. Michael Wardian, center, of Arlington finished second in 2:22.15. I was actually surprised by the pace they were running: Wardian's event record is 2:24, and after going through two miles in 10:50, the pace accelerated. I passed through 5 miles with the group in 26:40, feeling comfortable, struggled a bit miles 6-8 uphill through Adams Morgan -- and got dropped! -- and then rallied with 10:55 from 8 to 10, closing strong the last mile. I hit a p.b. of 1:11.52 for 7th place, and to do this during a 100-mile week with tired, aching legs was very encouraging. During my marathon cycle prior to running 2:29, I ran only 1:12.45 at the Harrisburg Half.

March 16 - AM 10 PM 5

T - AM 10 with 6 times 2 minutes on, off

W - AM 15

Th - AM 10 PM 6

F - 9

S - 3 WU, National Half Marathon, 2 CD - 18

S - 18

Total - 100

March 23 - AM 10

T - AM 10 with 6 times 2 on, off PM 4

W - 13

Th - 10

F - 2 WU, 3 times 2 miles in 10:45-10:50. Hip flexor very sore. 8 easy. 16

S - AM 10 PM 7

S - 18

Total - 98

Moving On

Photos by Emily Dufton

It was a week of darkness at 7 a.m. and cold, damp air. Irritability, sluggishness, running-behind-schedule ... there you have it.

Some mornings you just can't tear yourself out of bed as early as you want to. Perhaps you hit the snooze and oversleep by 30 or 40 minutes. You get up and try to drink your water and coffee and dress in half the time, but it never seems to work out that way. You are running late, always, thinking during your run how you will make your lunch and pack your bag (shower?) and be out the door and in your office and the first article will be filed by noon. Let's face it: This is no way to train.

This was a recovery week to get some "rest" before another month-long block of 100 MPW. In previous marathon cycles I have run up to 110 MPW, but in this current life I have found 100 to be much more manageable, and I would rather aim for 100 and hit it and feel good about it than shoot for 110 and hit 107 and feel like I failed. After New York, in the fall, I joined a gym across the street from my office in Waldorf. This, actually, has helped me quite a bit: For one, I am lifting weights now and doing more core work, but once or twice or three times a week I do my second run there on the treadmill, and although treadmill training is boring, it is easier than driving all the way home, changing my clothes and running through the dark up and down the hilly neighborhoods of Takoma Park. This is more time-efficent; taking the hills out allows me to get some recovery.

Tomorrow, as I said, I start another month-long block at 100 MPW. Upcoming races before the Frederick Marathon May 3 include the D.C. National Half Marathon March 21 and 10,000 on the track at Gettysburg College April 19. Ideally, I will get a p.r. at both races, but it's hard to say. My half marathon p.r. of 1:12.10 was the first half of the 2006 Chicago Marathon ... The National Half course is pretty tough, and I'm not sure if I will be able to dip under 1:12 without my legs all the way under me. My 10k p.r., in turn, went back to college until a month ago. I ran 33:38 during my sophomore year in college (my third year running), ran the race poorly my junior year, and ran the distance again for the first time about a month ago. I should be able to run in the 32s, but during a marathon cycle you just never know. You might be able to run 5:30s all the day but explode quickly at 5:15 pace. And some days, when your legs are tired, it feels as if your top-end pace is 6-flat.

Like during my workout this week. It was supposed to be 7 miles at half marathon pace. Next weekend I want to run on the edge of 5:30 pace and get under 1:12 ... I did the workout on the C&O Canal, parking the car in a dirt lot across the street from Angler's Inn. This is around mile 11 on the canal, and it's great spot to start: You are only a couple miles away from the overlook over Great Falls. I warmed up a few miles and got rolling at mile post 16, but I just didn't seem to have it. After going through 3 miles in 17:27 (turning around at mile 18) I got pretty frustrated -- actually, very frustrated -- and decided to jog it up to the next mile post and try to regroup for a solid last three miles. Well, as it turns out, it was not as bad as it seems: The C&O Canal Web site has official distances between each mile post. I ran 17:27 for a bit more than 5k, not 3 miles, which is about 5:30 pace, and then hit the same pace for the last 3-mile rep.

Honestly, I should know by now that, for tempos, it is best to just run off effort, accepting that on some days my legs are too tired to turn over as fast I want them to. The way to think about it, perhaps, is that if I ran 33:10 for 10k a month ago, there is simply no way I am less fit now than I was then. For what it's worth, my Wednesday 15 and long run (20) today were solid.

Monday - AM 6 PM 4

Tuesday - 10

Wednesday - 15

Thursday - 10

Friday - 10

Saturday - 11 with 7 tempo

Friday - 20

Total - 85

Daylight Savings

In a past life, when (unless I was doubling), I would walk to the newspaper each morning and train in the afternoon, daylight savings was something I looked forward to. In this new life of training in the morning at 6:30 and then driving about 50 minutes to the newspaper and then perhaps running some more at the gym in Waldorf in the evening, daylight savings is not cool at all. It is 7:30; I need to finish my coffee, put on my shoes and shuffle (literally) out the door ...

The Six Day Week

We got our biggest (and first real) snowstorm on Monday. It seemed wise to rush into work before the roads got worse, and in Waldorf I found that my gym was closed. It was a forced zero, but I managed to get pretty close to the 100 MPW mileage goal in six days, hunkering down on 16 per day, which was made easier by temps rising up near 70 towards the end of the week.

Today I got in a very solid 22, 2:30. I ran with Patrick Reaves from the D.C./Maryland line and through Rock Creek Park, and we managed to settle into a nice rhythm. On Friday I did a classic Coach Lippin marathon workout: A continuous 18-mile run beginning with 40 minutes steady into 20 minutes at tempo pace followed by 40-50 minutes steady followed by 3 times 6 minutes on, 1 off minute off ... then an easy run home. I suppose you could assign an effort to the 6 minute reps -- 5k pace or interval pace -- but it was really just whatever-you-have pace. Marathon training, in a sense, is all about running on tired legs, and the essential aim of this workout is to reach a point where you wonder, "How the hell am I going to run the last five miles to the house?" ... This is when you start to run as hard as you possibly can.

Monday - Zero, zilch, nada
Tuesday - AM 6 PM 10
Wednesday - AM 10 PM 4
Thursday - AM 12 PM 4
Friday - 18 - workout
S - 12
S - 22
Total - 98

Training Feb. 23-March 1

I don't think I had one day of fresh legs this week, so I suppose I should not be shocked that my main workout of the week -- an 18-miler with 12 at marathon pace -- was not particularly fast. I did it on a 2k-ish cinder loop around a lake in Greenbelt Park. The rolling hills there do not seem like much of anything at first, but they seemed to get steeper every loop. It was cold, and my legs were tight. And it's just a workout.

M - AM 8 PM 6
T - AM 10 with 8 by 100 meter strides PM 5
W - 15
Th - 12 with 5 by 3 minutes at interval pace
F - 12 with 4 uphill strides
S - 18 with 12 miles at MP - 6:00 avg.
S - 14
Total - 100

Ryan Hall article

Hall says his Olympic performance was hampered by not taking enough time off after London. By shortening his downtime after the race he began his Olympic training cycle at a higher level of fitness than he had for past marathons, but because he did not allow his body to completely heal from London, he found that a certain point in the training cycle he hit a plateau.

http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=3672440

German Fernandez

Broke the NCAA mile record in his second race of his freshman season.

http://www.okstate.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=3681820&DB_OEM_ID=200

Training Feb. 16-23

Monday - AM 10 PM 5
Tuesday - PM 10
Wednesday - 15
Thursday - AM10 PM 4
Friday - 10
Saturday - Workout with Georgetown Running Company team. 2 WU, 3 times 2 miles in 10:30-40 on C&O Canal Towpath with one mile rest, 4 CD -14
Sunday - 18

Total - 96

Now is the time to believe in what I am doing.

I finished 98th at US XC Nationals. 12k. 43:11. Not a great time -- that's a 5:44 avg -- but it put me in a respectable part of the field. Some really good runners were in the 41s and 42s and if I had a little more the last 4k maybe I could have been there.

It was a rolling 2k loop with a slippery downhill where many runners wiped out. No comfortable spots. Finished with a long muddy hill. It was the kind of race in which you had to leave a little something in the tank; going to far into oxygen debt meant a kind of death.

Meb K., 2004 Olympic Silver medalist in the marathon, a national champ at various distances, held off Tim Russell at the line.

Results: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/Results/om.asp

Video taken by Georgetown Running Company: http://vimeo.com/3146164?pg=embed&sec=3146164

The next morning I got out with some Georgetown Running Company guys for a 17-miler in hilly Rock Creek Park. Monday and Tuesday I felt post-Marathon sore. I did nothing but easy running and strides until Saturday, when I raced a 10k in Alexandria, the last good area race before the National Half Marathon March 21.

It was a prize money race with a couple of the best D.C. runners and some Ethiopians. I let the top five go and ran with the chase pack.

Weather was ideal and I felt smooth running 5:20s. The course ended up being long, 6.4, and I wound up finishing 6th in 34:10, which means about 33:10 for 10k. An encouraging effort.

I am in the second week of a month-long block of 100 MPW. The fifth week will be a down week and then I will do four more 100-mile weeks. Then it will be time to taper for the Frederick Marathon, May 3.

Training Week of Feb 2

Monday - AM 6 PM 4

Tuesday - 8 with strides

Monday - 10

Th - 6

F - 6 with strides

S - 3 WU, 12k race, 3 CD - 13

S - 17

Total - 70

Week of Feb 9

Monday - AM 6 PM 6

T - 12 with 5 by 30 seconds

W - 15

Th - AM 12 PM 5

F - 13

S - 3 WU, 10k race, 4 CD - 13

S - 19 in Greenbelt Park (wish I could call it 20)

Total - 99

One week until USA XC Champs in Derwood, Md.!

Training for week of Jan. 26

A tough week for training. We had a small snowstorm which left behind sheets of ice where I usually train.

I tested the cross country course in Derwood, Md. on Saturday. It is a rolling, difficult but fair 2-K loop course. The true difficulty will be the terrain, which is frozen over in parts, slippery throughout and bumpy. Hard to say what it will look like in a week, but with the open 12k race the last of the day, any ice left on the course will probably get ground up. Looks like it could be a mud bath.

M - AM 6 PM 6
T - 10 with 4 times (2 hard, 1 easy, 1 hard, 1 easy, 30 seconds hard, 1 easy)
W - 10 on treadmill
Th - 10
F - 10 - progression run on treadmill. Started at 7 minute pace, 6:00 by 2 miles, 5:45 by 4 miles, 5:30 pace miles 5-8, 6:30 pace miles 8-10.
S - 10 on and around XC course
S - 20 - 2:15
Total - 82

Training since NYC Marathon

(My weeks start on Monday)

Week of Nov. 3 - no running
Week of Nov. 10 - 30-40 minutes every other day
Week of Nov. 17 - 5 runs at 45 minutes, 1 run at 60 minutes
Week of Nov. 24 - 50 miles with 12 for long run, one day off

Dec. 1, M - 8, strides
T - 6
W - 8 with 4 miles in 22:05, 10 strides
Th - 6
F - 9
S - 9
S - 14
Total 60

Dec. 8, M - 8
T - 8, strides
W - 10 with 4 miles in 22:20, 10 strides
Th - 10
F - 9
S - 10
S - 15
Total 70

Dec. 15, M - 10
T - 10, strides
W - 11 with 5 miles in 27:38
Th - 10
F - 12
S - 10
S - 16
Total 80

Dec. 15,
Dec. 8, M - 8
T - 8, strides
W - 10 with 4 miles in 22:20, 10 strides
Th - 10
F - 9
S - 10
S - 15
Total 70

Dec. 22
M - AM 6 PM 6
T - 10
W - 10 workout spoiled by ice
Th - 8 with Dad
F - 10
S - 10
S - 18
Total - 78

Dec. 29
M - AM 6, PM 4
T - 10
W - hard 1200, 10 k tempo, hard 1200 - horrible conditions - 13
Th - 12
F - 12
S - 12, 8 by 3 minutes hard, one minute easy
S - 18
Total 87

Jan. 5
M AM 6 PM 6
T - 10 - Sligo Fartlek
W - AM 10 PM 3
Th - 12
F - 10, reps of 10 mins, 8,6,4,3,2
S - 8
S - 18
Total 83

Jan. 12
M - AM 8 PM 4
T - 8 with 20 times 35 seconds hard, 25 seconds easy
W - AM 10, PM4
Th - 1 easy, 13 at marathon pace, 1 easy - 15
F - AM 8 PM 6
S - 10
S - 19
Total - 93