The Return to Marathon Training

7/9-7/15: 85 Miles/Week.


This was my first week of marathon training.  I hit 85 miles with one double but nothing longer than 15.  I have begun the 2nd half of my year.  The second half of 2012 will be higher mileage than the first.  Basically the first half I concentrated on staying right around/slightly below 75 average per week, and I worked very hard on VO2-Max and Threshold.  I think, if there is one thing I was dissapointed about for the first half of 2012 was the fact that my threshold intervals indicated a higher level of fitness than what my half marathon race time was.  I was hoping to hit faster than 1:08 for the spring and I had to settle for 1:09.  At the same time, I also improved my VO2-Max significantly which gives more room for improvement.  Having a higher VO2-Max now (in Daniels Running Formula I have achieved a VO2-Max of 70) I was able to break new barriers in anything shorter than 13.1 pretty much.  But, the threshold workouts I did(8xmile, 3-2-1 mile, 2400m repeats) stand out to me as some of the more impressive, even though I think VO2-Max workouts are some of the most intense workouts a runner can do.  Basically, the VO2-Max workouts I was able to punch out in races, and my threshold stuff from this past spring has yet to show its true potential in races.  The only race where some of it showed was the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

This is where mileage comes in.  I am not suggesting that I should have run more miles in the spring.  That perhaps would have interfered with the quality vo-2 intervals I did or lead to injury/burnout.  BUT, I do think that having a larger base volume while training for a marathon will give a really good shot at crushing a half marathon PR too.  Last year, it certainly worked.  I ran 90-100+ miles/week over the summer, and when it finally came down to race in September, I ran a near 2 minute PR for the 13.1 distance at the Philadelphia RocknRoll Half.  I would say that is my best "long distance" race I have ever run.  In fact, what's interesting is that time is exactly on par to equivalent race times I did this spring.  I don't want to get too analytical here, but I just enjoy this shit because I'm a math guy.  Daniels chart below(in red are my times):


VO2-MAX=70

mile: 4:19 (4:26)
5000m: 14:55 (14:58)
10K: 31:00 (30:56)
13.1 Miles: 1:08:21 (1:08:39)
26.2 Miles: 2:23:10 (2:37:22)


Well no shit I have some work to do in the marathon.  My mile's a little off but who cares-its the mile and I am not a miler.  But for the marathon, Daniels gives a VDOT value of 63 for my PR.  Pathetic.  Honestly.  But I'm not going to beat myself up.  I'm hungry now.  Everyone has a race they need to work on.  I don't care how good you are.  Look at Dathan Ritzenhein-sure his marathon is solid(I'd take it!), but he's admitted he feels he hasn't "had THE race" in it yet.  This is what makes consistency and perserverance worth pursuing.  Dathan is one of and has always been one of my favorite runners.  He has had lots of injuries, but he just sticks with it and doesn't give up.  After placing a heartbreaking 4th at the Olympic Marathon trials in January, the guy came back to make the Olympic Team in the 10,000 meters.  He was 15 seconds off pace in a deluge, and came back to hang on with Rupp...who yes helped him but Dathan made the DECISION to go with him.  This kind of stuff is uncoachable.  It is just pure will of iron.  Tough as nails.  It's certainly admirable.  I wish him well for the Olympics.


But no matter what, high volume training and mileage building will help me become better in not only the marathon, but at other distances as well.  And this is where I think many people lose perspective.  There are so many marathoners out there who train for the race and don't run the way they expected to, and feel it was all a waste.  It wasn't a waste!  A marathon training cycles(when done without injury) gives unbelievable amount of fitness gains.  In 2010, I had a terrible experience at the Chicago Marathon, but the following spring was the start of a maginificent 2011.  I believe that year went as well as it did because of all the work I did over the summer and fall in 2010.  Runners must remember the simplicity of what you put in eventually you will get out.

The key is to just have a little faith in yourself.  Like Ritzenhein.

-Sloane

The 1999 & 2000 State Cross Country Championships

Out here in the fields
I fought for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland

Sally, take my hand
Travel south crossland
Put out the fire
And don't look past my shoulder

The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older

Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland

-The Who 


A friend of mine, Kevin Graves, who ran for Good Counsel high school posted this 1999 photo above on my facebook page.  Can you find me? The picture is the 1999-All County Cross Country Team for Montgomery County.  As I looked at this, I immediately remembered what a great season it was.  It was my junior year, the year I needed to step up and fill in the big shoes of Chris Graber who had graduated and went on to run for Duke University.  Graber was a tremendous runner and was easily one of the top runners not only in Montgomery County, but in the State, as well as the Metro Area.  I remember during my sophomore year when he was 3rd place in Reston's Footsteps Invitational behind the dominant runner Alan Webb(who would go on to become one of the nation's top runners in cross country and break records on the track).  Meanwhile, during the same race, I was back in 60something place.  Yes I did have a lot of work to do.  The 1998 season was a series of ups and downs, with Chris Dwyer(#2 runner) not running as well as he had the previous year, and Graber in a league of his own.  I was floating around as the #3 guy, and tried my best to keep up, but I was not at that level yet.

The 1998 MD State Cross Country Championships:

Sophomore year.









This was my second state meet, and Graber's last.  My first year I had placed 61st as a freshman.  As a sophomore I was hoping for top 30.  Graber of course was shooting to win.  Dwyer was also hoping for a solid finish...
Graber put himself into 3rd place for most of the race-against the defending champ Jason Santucci, and the Whitman runners on his heels.  The state championship course was a tough one, and there was what was called "the dip," a mountainous climb up and down TWICE during the race(among other hills).  Graber was in 3rd place when suddenly he collapsed at the top of "the dip."  Chris unfortunately got dehydrated and thus ran until exhaustion, causing him to collapse right before the end.  He dropped about quarter of a mile from the finish.

Meanwhile, Dwyer was having a tough day, stomach cramps causing him to drop way back.  I remember passing him during the race and thinking "this is not a good sign."  I wasn't running that great either, though I still managed a top 50 finish, coming in 49th.  That put me as QO's number one runner.  As I crossed that finish line, I realized that I now had to take the reigns and get the team back on track for next year.  We would lose Dwyer, Graber, and a few others.  There would be a lot of work to do.  Heck, it wasn't even certain we would make states next year!  I told myself I would not allow it to happen.  I was the new leader of the QO Cross Country Team.  I also told myself that I would get myself into the top 15 at states.  I set the goal and kept my eyes on it.

The Dip

1999:

The summer of 99' I trained my ass off.  I ran up every hill I could find.  Luckily, I had a training partner: Chris Shank.  Perhaps I didn't realize it then, but he was the best thing for my running back then.  Chris was competitive-just like me(I'm sure you're realizing by now that there were lots of Chris' on our varsity team...I think we had as much as 5 on varsity one year....known as the QO Chris team....everyone cheered by our last names....except my nickname was "Puffer").  Chris Shank wanted that top spot.  So he too, trained hard.  We would stupidly race workouts.  I always needed to be ahead of him.  It was like Maverick vs Iceman....but we were on the same team.  We would argue a lot.  It was counterproductive at times.  But now I miss it.
 The season started off slowly for me and our team actually was looking pretty solid.  Chris beat me in our first race back at the Fort Detrick Invite.  He ended up 9th place and I was 10th.  After that, he never beat me again.  His determination to get back on top motivated me even more, and our team followed.  As the season progressed, we got better and better, and I became familiar with the other top runners in the county, climbing my way up.  I placed 13th in the county and 11th in the region, with our team placing high enough to earn a trip to the state championship.  But I still didn't have that breakthrough race I was waiting for.  Not yet anyway.  I wanted to make states a good race.

Teamwork:  Me shaking Matt Grunseth's hand after a dual meet with Whitman.  I had happily won the race on QO's home turf.  Matt was key competitor to our team and was our 6th varsity runner.

The 1999 MD State Cross Country Championships:

By the time states rolled around I had become a good runner, but I still had much to prove.  There was no better race to do it than states.  I started out in the top 30, but worked my way up during the race.  I remember passing runners left and right, while Sean Pelkey, my coach was going nuts telling me where I needed to be.  I battled it out with Whitman's Paul Tufaro below, knowing I needed to beat him to earn top 15. 

I barely edged out Tufaro, finishing 14th in the state and running the race of my life.  Our team placed 10th.

Cross Country
1999 State Championships
At Hereford High School
4A Results
11/13/1999

Boys    
=======================================================================  
    Name                    YR School                  Finals    
======================================================================= 
1   Hershberger, Marcus     11 Gaithersburg           16:28.94
2   O'Connell, Jesse        12 Westminster            16:33.17
3   Davis, Josh             12 Westminster            16:34.94
4   Hayes, Stephen          11 Winston Churchill      16:36.66
5   Marvel, Justin          11 Severna Park           16:38.77
6   Gaske, Mike             11 Wootton                16:46.04
7   Pool, Kevin             11 Westminster            16:47.24
8   Gilbert, Tristan        12 Westminster            16:49.74
9   Albertine, James        12 Walt Whitman           16:58.34
10  Seymour, Matt           12 Magruder               17:01.01
11  Pickett, David          11 Meade                  17:06.81
12  Sheff, Adam             12 Winston Churchill      17:08.04
13  Still, Jacob            12 C Milton Wright        17:09.40
14  Sloane, Christopher     11 Quince Orchard         17:15.41
15  Peterson, Mike          12 C Milton Wright        17:16.71
16  Tufaro, Paul            12 Walt Whitman           17:19.17
17  Mathrani, Vik           12 Winston Churchill      17:20.75
18  Rice, Alexis            11 Woodlawn               17:21.45
19  Thomas, David           12 Meade                  17:26.77
20  Hart, Andrew            12 Perry Hall             17:28.90

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

In 2000, my senior year, we placed 7th in the state as a team, and I placed 12th individually.  

Chris Shank placed 30th and had a solid race as well.

Chris Shank and I after 2000 Cross Country States.

Cross Country
2000 State Championships
At Hereford High School
4A Results
11/6/2000

Boys 3 Mile Run CC
==================================================================================
    Name                    Year  School                    Pace   Finals
==================================================================================
  1 Hershberger, Marcus      12   Gaithersburg              5:28  16:26.02
  2 Bailey, Pat              10   C. Milton Wright          5:30  16:31.37
  3 Gaske, Mike              12   Wootton                   5:31  16:34.85
  4 Pool, Kevin              12   Westminster               5:31  16:36.66
  5 Duffy, Billy             11   Dulaney                   5:34  16:44.69
  6 Knox, Will               11   Dulaney                   5:38  16:54.00
  7 Rice, Alexis             12   Woodlawn                  5:39  16:57.28
  8 Anderson, Aaron          12   Gaithersburg              5:41  17:03.17
  9 Reuwer, Aaron            12   Dulaney                   5:43  17:10.06
 10 Ali, Maksudul            11   Gaithersburg              5:43  17:10.35
 11 Weller, Stephen          12   Broadneck                 5:44  17:12.31
 12 Sloane, Christopher      12   Quince Orchard            5:44  17:13.85
 13 Blass, Jeff              12   Arundel                   5:45  17:15.04
 14 Koehler, Scott           11   Broadneck                 5:45  17:15.54
 15 Sobeck, Kyle             11   Walt Whitman              5:46  17:21.35
 16 Strawbridge, Shawn       12   Severna Park              5:47  17:23.02
 17 Slowikowski, Jesse       10   C. Milton Wright          5:48  17:25.06
 18 Bernstein, Daniel        12   Walt Whitman              5:48  17:26.82
 19 Hayes, Stephen           12   Winston Churchill         5:49  17:29.07
 20 Koj, Hubert              12   Watkins Mill              5:49  17:30.60
 21 Ramdial, Peter           10   Bowie                     5:50  17:31.73
 22 Smith, Aaron             11   C. Milton Wright          5:50  17:32.23
 23 Coughlin, Ryan           11   Severna Park              5:50  17:33.35
 24 Serio, Phil              11   Westminster               5:50  17:33.53
 25 Schmidt, Craig           12   Broadneck                 5:53  17:40.01
 26 Adams, Daniel            12   Magruder                  5:53  17:41.90
 27 Rafoth, Jason            12   Arundel                   5:54  17:43.24
 28 Pauley, Eric             10   Gaithersburg              5:54  17:43.66
 29 Sparkman, Jason          12   Broadneck                 5:55  17:47.06
 30 Shank, Christopher       12   Quince Orchard            5:56  17:49.19

OFFICIAL: 4:26.5, 3rd at MidSummer Night's Mile

Clocked 4:26.5 tonight at the Midsummer Night's Mile for a 1.3 second new PR(previous was 4:27.8) in very hot conditions. I was also very pleased with some runners I coach.  Brandon Hirsch clocked 5:07, Pat Savoy 5:27, and Marie ran 6:47 who is still in the earlier stages of her training with me(started coaching her in May). 

This was a good race to get my gears going and to just have fun.  It was certainly a solid effort and I really can't complain considering I'm just getting back into the swing of things, even though I wanted to go faster. I got competitive with Joe Wiegner beating me(though the guy has run 4:10 and just has something that I don't with this short distance stuff), who ended up grabbing 2nd place in 4:21.  The winner ran 4:20.  I can't really remember my splits.  I know the pace went out hard because a guy said he was going to rabbit in 2:05(!!!).  I was like hell no.  Brian McCabe went with the rabbit but me, Chris Barnard(eventual winner who ran for Georgetown I believe), and Joe hung back.  I think my first lap was around 65 and the 800 was somewhere near 2:12.  The rabbit dropped out after 800 and Brian was leading.  The 3rd lap(always the hardest) I fell off pace and Joe passed me, hitting 1200 in 3:20, but I knew if I could kick it in I could PR.  Up ahead I saw Joe, Chris, and Brian all running together and a small gap between them and me.  But it looked like the race was really going to be between Joe and Chris.  Brian was falling off pace quickly from going out hard with the rabbit.  Suddenly, just like that, a switch flipped on in me, and I ran fast as hell to catch Brian with 150m to go.  I nipped him right at the line, hitting 4:26.5 and him running 4:26.9.  The PR was a nice bonus for the kick. 

Not a bad start to getting things going again.  I still really haven't dove into marathon/half marathon training again yet.  My mileage is still low(60s).  But its in the early stages now of development, and I will start slowly getting it back up again to where I belong.  This fall I have set up some great races, and I won't be racing too much over the summer.  I will be doing the Rockville 8K Twilighter as always, and after that, I won't be racing again until September when things really get into more focus.
The USA Half Marathon Championships last month completed a journey and progression I have made in my running since the beginning of 2011.  Tonight sparked the beginning of my next journey, and I am excited to see where it will take me.     

Wednesday, June 27: 6x300m

Today I did my first track workout in 4 weeks.  It was 6x300 meters with 2:30-3:00 rests between each.  This was not a typical long distance runner's workout.  However, this workout is important because it achieves benefits in speed and power, and I believe all distance runners should maximize their short distance speed at least to some degree, regardless of their peak racing event.  This shouldn't be done a whole lot for a long distance runner, just sprinkled enough throughout the training year.  It gets down to the right mix of overall balance.  Galen Rupp is a great example-he has run a 3:34 1500m time(also a world class time) and this isn't even his main event.  But it will surely help him with that final kick and turnover in the Olympic 10,000m this summer.  I think, no matter what type of runner you are though, you want to make sure you don't overdo either end.  Many "milers" just race mile after mile after mile, and don't incorprate enough "support races" (for supportive aerobic capacity) like the 3,000m and 5,000m(for them).  Some milers don't do enough "sprint training" or even 800 meter racing as well.  For a 10K runner like Galen Rupp, well, racing a half marathon in 60:00 all the way down to a 3:34 1500m race is the best range he can get to run his absolute best in the 10k.  If he did the marathon this year though, I think that would have been a disastrous move, and it's a good thing he didn't.

It's also important to attack certain systems at the right times.  For me, working on my stride power and doing exercises like hill sprints, strides, lots of drills, and short, speedwork sessions from time to time will help me become a better runner, and I believe will help me furthur down the road to become the best half/full marathoner I can be.  Even doing extra strength training/lifting helps with the anaerobic nature of short, speed intervals.  300s are a miler's workout.  And this is why I did them today.  They are high intensity, laregly anaerobic workouts.  They engage the muscles to contract very largely, and make a runner more power-efficient. 

Splits: 46, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46
I split 46 seconds for every interval, which is anywhere from 3:50-3:54 1500m race pace, or 4:06-4:10 mile pace.  I know I am not able to run that fast for a mile right now, however.  I am planning to run the MCRRC Midsummer Night's Mile next Friday, July 6.  It should be fun, and I did this race last year when I ran 4:27.  I plan on doing one more workout before then, like some 400/200s.  It's fun to attack one's weaknesses.

Review of the 2012 Spring Season

"Some days you have it, some days you don't," is what my Dad always says.  This is so true in running, and in other sports, no matter how "perfectly" you train or how knowledgeable you are.  Perfection is impossible, and this is why we never see even Olympians run every race perfectly, and sometimes even drop out of a race.  But races that don't go as well, races that don't pan out as expected, are actually necessary for the overall goals of improving.  Based on Brad Hudson's book(my personal favorite self-coached running book), in mathematical terms, good training and racing are similar to an asymptote(a curved line that approaches closer and closer to "0" but goes infinitely never really hitting it).

There always must be something that needs a "change" in the next training cycle.  Even if it's just a slight difference.  There is always something that is ready for improvement.  Maybe you realize you need to do more marathon pace running this time around.  Or maybe you need to do more threshold work.  Perhaps more intervals.  Or pure speed and muscle training.  Whatever it is, it should be something.  This doesn't necessarily mean that you should have done more of (whichever of the above) in your previous training cycle at the time.  Perhaps during the previous training cycle, you were concentrating more on XY as opposed to YZ, and that helped you achieve certain goals.  But it's not ideal to repeat exactly the same thing.  Constant variation is what I'm talking about.

I will now talk about the USA Half Marathon Champs, and give a full review of my Spring 2012 season.  As most of you already know who saw results/heard from me, the USA Half Marathon Championships did not go as planned.  Is this dissapointing? Of course.  Am I going to dwell on it? Maybe a little.  But at the end of the day, when I look at my spring season, I am overall satisfied with it.  Out of 6 races from January-June, I give myself a 5 out of 6, with 3 new PRs.  I call that success.

This year, I decided to repeat last year's spring with the exception of adding on the USA Half Champs at the end.  Since I had qualified for this race from the Philly Half last fall(1:08:39), I felt this was a great opportunity to compete on the national level.  However, I also knew in order for me to improve as a "longer term" runner and for my "long term" goals, I knew I needed to work on races like the 5k, 10k, and 10 mile distances and not forego peaking for them.  I certainly did so, PRing in all 3 events, and leaving myself with not much juice left for another long distance race in June.  I also felt though, at the end of the day, the right decision was to run the USA Half Champs.  Because running is about taking risks.  I never regret decisions I make in training or racing.  I think the best example of this is the Swarthmore race.  Let's say I had decided not to run Swarthmore(therefore not breaking 15 in the 5k), just to save a little extra for the USA Half Champs race.  Had I done this, maybe I would have run a 1:09 or so.  But would this have been beneficial?  Would it have gotten me furthur?  Absolutely not.  And the reason is even though I perhaps would have run a more decent time for the 13.1, I most likely still wouldn't have made a breakthrough race.  The other reason is I would have cut short my development of speed for the 5K, thus gaining nothing from either end.  I'll take the 14:58.

I do believe that "bad" races need to happen, to put one back into perspective and aim towards the next level.  But, I wouldn't even call the U.S half champs a "bad" race.  What I define as a "bad" race is a race where not enough effort is given and could have been used to furthur better a runner.  This I learned in high school.  I learned how to push to my absolute max.  What I would prefer to say is that simply, it was also "not a good race" meaning you weren't ABLE to push yourself.  There is a big difference here.  This is the type of race I had.  I realized very very quickly during the race, that the USA Half Champs wasn't going to go my way.  I started out the first 5K averaging 5:05 pace, and felt pretty good until I hit about 4 miles (20:32).  Then, very quickly, I slowed up and hit 5 miles (25:58).  It kind of just creeped up on me.  The turnover stopped.  My legs were getting heavy.  My breathing not too great.  I think at that point I realized I was no longer able to race and guys were passing me left and right.  I was getting walked all over.  Yeah...this just wasn't going to happen today-no matter how hard I would try-my body was already done.  I think I had about 4 miles of racing in me, then I was out of gas.  So I adjusted my goal and decided to shoot for goal marathon pace(1:10-1:12) and sort of treat it like a run.  It was the best I could do.  Brian Flynn came up on me around mile 7 and I heard him curse "this is a fuckin death march"...I somewhat laughed and agreed.  Together we ran for a few miles before he too went ahead and would run a 1:10.  I was still slowing and I think runners were passing me pretty much all the way until about mile 11.  Then I found someone to run with who also had a PR of 1:08(he mentioned he was surprised at how bad he was running-I told him I had the same PR as him and encouraged him that he was not alone) and we ran together through the streets of Duluth.  The other guy grabbed some powerade and kindly offered me some.  I took a little bit and it tasted good.  Even though temps were cool, it was 100% humidity out there, which felt very odd...you can't breathe but it's still cool out?  Spectators cheered and said "way to work together".  It was actually quite humbling to finish this championship race and I began to enjoy "the run" a bit.  But I was also pretty tired, and ready to be done.  As we approached the finish, I opened up my stride and passed the other runner, but I honestly felt bad passing him at the end.  He was having a really rough day.  Not that I was having a good day, haha!  I ended up running 1:12:47, good for 84th out of 99 male competitors.  I think that is the slowest half marathon I've run in 2 years.  We shook hands at the end and I wished him well.

It's certainly easy to say that perhaps I should have not run this race.  But given the opportunity to compete with the nation's finest distance runners, it was a good experience that I believe will benefit me for the future.  The other thing that I think I will benefit from is the extra training cycle I did for this.  The 8x1mile in 5:00 a piece workout on the track was a great workout that eventually I will put to use in a race.  Eventually the adaptations occur.  Indeed, I have furthur strengthened myself as a runner.  But, it is time to rest to some degree, and get back to basics.   


Below is a comparison of the same races I ran in Spring 2011, and Spring 2012:

UMD Indoor 5000M:

2011: 15:26
2012: 15:11

Shamrock Half Marathon:

2011: 1:10:04
2012: 1:09:27

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler:

2011: 52:54
2012: 51:57

Pikes Peek 10K:
2011: 31:26
2012: 30:56

Swarthmore Outdoor Track 5000m:
2011: 15:13
2012: 14:58


With these improvements, I am excited to see what I can do in the fall.

6/4-6/10: 69 Miles/Week

I stepped outside around 6:50 am Monday morning at Cabin John, and took off on the rolling trails.  Man, it felt good to get on trails again, and a few hills.  Florida is so flat and I was running on roads and sand for the most part, with the sun glaring at me.  Of course, trails are shady and cooler, but after running in Florida, the weather here seems normal now to me, not hot.  It's amazing how strong the humidity was in Florida.  Even at an early hour, I was still sweating within 10 minutes of my runs.  But Monday morning here felt somewhat cool.  My body has adapted to extreme heat and humidity after training in Florida.  Perhaps extreme humidity could be another form of altitude training, since there IS less oxygen in the air.  Regardless, I think fitness is fitness, and no matter what, cool conditions are necessary for Duluth to race optimally.  The weather looks pretty good as of now, with temperatures in the 50-65 range.

Week 6/4-6/10:

Monday: AM: 5 miles easy, PM: 7.5 miles easy

Tuesday: AM: 8 miles easy

Wednesday: AM: 12 mile moderate progression run(6:40-5:40), 1:15:00 total, PM: 4.5 miles easy

Thursday: AM: 6.5 miles easy + 6 strides

Friday: PM: 11 miles easy

Saturday: AM: 4.5 miles easy

Sunday: AM: 4.5 miles easy, + 2 Mile Progression on Track(splits by each lap): 82, 82, 80, 77, 76, 77, 75, 74, + 3.5 miles easy. 10 miles total.

Total: 69 Miles   

5/28-6/03: 96 Miles/Week

Another tiring week of training, but felt better than last week.  I am in Naples, Florida and training in tougher heat and humidity than DC.  I am running early though to beat it, but it still creeps up on me at the end of my runs.  I do, at the same time, feel like it is "toughening" me up.  A few days I have run on the sand next to the ocean and that was nice(soft surface plus ocean breeze).  This week's mileage was 96 miles with a very strong track workout in the middle of the week.  Next week I should be somewhere around 75-80 for the week with one minor workout.  I feel I am running just the right amount to get well prepared.  I did 17.5 for my long run this week as well.  My long runs for the past several weeks have all been 17-18 miles.  Actually, as I look at my training log, the last time I did a 20 miler was February 25, to be exact.  The 20 milers will return when I train for a fall marathon.

The week breakdown:


Monday: AM: 11 miles

Tuesday: AM: 15 miles on the towpath, 1:42:00

Wednesday:  AM: 8x1600m w/ 2 min rests: 5:03, 5:01, 5:01, 5:00, 5:01, 5:01, 5:01, 5:03, 11 miles total

Thursday:  AM: easy shakeout 1.5 miles(had to leave at 5:30 am for an early flight and needed to get the junk out of legs), PM: 11 miles

Friday: AM: 8.5 miles, PM: 8 miles

Saturday: AM; 12.5 miles, + strength training

Sunday: AM: 17.5 miles, 2:02:00

Total: 96 miles