Training Run

Time: 55 min
Distance: 10 kilometers

Comments: This is clearly survival week. I'm getting out there and getting the miles in but they are not very pretty. And the aftermath is brutal. A three-hour nap yesterday. So I hit the beach today with no intention of any type of major pace and eschewing all hills and hard surfaces. Just jog the bastard. That said, I actually had enough 'umph' to crank out a halfway decent pace for most of the thing.Tomorrow is a 45 minute effort then a day off and the Sunday long run of doom. I think I can do it but, as I said to start the week, if I have to cash it in, I should still be OK to start the taper.

Training Run

Time: 65 min
Distance: 12 kilometers

Comments: Still feeling the miles. Went out slow and stayed that way. Planned on an hour and a half but decided to cut it short after 65 minutes for safety's sake. It isn't that I feel weak or unconditioned, it's just I can feel the miles adding up on me. There isn't a lot of pep in the step and the workouts are serious work at this point. On the plus side, I feel like I <i>can</i> finish these workouts if I gutted it out but I haven't had any injury problems and keeping it that way is still my priority.

Training Run

Time: 45 min
Distance: 8 kilometers

Comments: Well, yesterday turned into a real recovery day. I felt shelacked the whole day. Truck-impact bad. So I headed out with a bit of trepidation this morning. I felt better upon waking but I wasn't going to let that lull me into a false sense of security. That said, the run started slow but got into gear pretty well. By halfway I was going along at a pretty good clip and even reeled in a Peruvian that blew by me and cut every corner of the route. Lord that irks me.I planned a full hour but cut it short when it became apparent the pace I ran was a LOT faster than a recovery run. I'll pick up the difference later in the week if I can.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 14

Time: 7 hours 15 min
Distance: 72 kilometers (45 miles)

Comments: Loooong tough miles. I knew I had to put in the distance this week after the abbreviated effort the week prior and the impending race. The result was an exhaustive effort during a high-pressure period work wise. Needless to say, I'm sleeping VERY hard. The soreness and tired feeling has been constant all week but it never reached a point of pain or injury. So I kept steadily at it through the long-run. Lot of strange obstacles though, a Peruvian chased me down and tried to beat me up and twice I was attacked by dogs. In the case of the former I just walked away from the idiot in the latter, I was able to scare them off by throwing rocks. In any case, I'm ready to get out of this country for awhile.

Injury update: I am very very sore but nothing of the level of ""injury."" I felt the ominous stiffness in a few of the usual places once or twice in all the miles I, put in but never any twinge

One month till raceday... oohhhh, I can almost <i>taste</i> it now. But this week is the tough slog before the taper. I put in a ton of miles last week and I need to do that and <i>just a little bit more</i> this week.The goal this week is to pretty much do exactly the same as last week but add a bit more than a mile to the long run on Sunday - tack on fifteen minutes to be exact. The biggest difference in the approach is I feel completely ready to bail on the plan at the first hint of pain. I've gotten my one big run in, a second is cream, not a necessity.Because, as much as I am focused on the Sept. 23 race date, I have to keep my long-term goal in mind as well.

Long Run

Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Distance: 32 kilometers

Comments: A brutal effort that really tested my ability to keep going. There wasn't anything very fancy about the effort, it was a matter of gritting my teeth and holding on to the finish. It wasn't that the run was particularly bad - in fact, I felt relatively strong and in control most of the way - but it was a lot of miles on top of a big mileage week.During the run I got passed a few times by other runners. I had to keep myself in control and maintain my pace. It was particularly difficult with one about an hour in - but I knew if I went out too hard at that point, I would suffer later. This, I think, is the key to this marathon - run my race and don't be swept up in it all. This, is good pre-race effort

Training Run

Time: 30 min
Distance: 5 kilometers

Comments: Just a little recovery run to cap off the week and get ready for the long run on Sunday. I've been trying to add these 'fourth day' runs in my weekly schedule for awhile now but with spotty success. I need the endurance levels it requires, not the extra miles.This was a nice little effort. Started slow got into a rhythm and kept up the low-level of intensity the whole way. Consistency is more important than brute strength at this point and this is the kind of run that you hone it.

Training Run

Time: 60 min
Distance: 10 kilometers

Comments: Feeling rather achy now. It's been a challenge to pour on all these miles after the forced layoff but there doesn't seem to be any real negative effects from it.Got out late again and put in an workmanlike effort. The hills were tougher than I expected but I steeled myself, concentrated on the pace and cranked them out. As tough as all this has been, it's a good sign I am strong enough to get through these last few weeks and then the race itself. A huge portion of success is having what it takes to hang in when things get right tough and this is where you find out how to do that.

Training Run

Time: 90 min
Distance: 15 kilometers

Comments: Well, I certainly felt the effects of the run yesterday when I woke up. And, getting onto the beach I knew I was a bit on the achy side.And while it got a bit better as I settled into the run, I never really felt like there was a ton in the tank. I never felt tired enough to give in but I certainly wasn't perky about the effort either.Despite that, I found myself holding a pretty strong pace for the last third of the run, so much so I overshot my 'finish line' and had to make up the extra time making my way up the big hill home (which I usually walk).

Training Run

Time: 60 min
Distance: 10 kilometers

Comments: After almost a week off and my last run not being anything to brag about I simply wanted to put in the miles today. So I figured the one hour loop to Playa Herraduras and back would be perfect. As often happens after a layoff like this, I felt very strong heading out and had to hold in my pace. As I mentioned in the start-up, I have not eaten well at all this week and I'm pretty sure the carb levels are minimal. So I did start to feel the tank getting low on the back half but I had not gone out so crazy on the front half there was nothing left. In all, not a bad run. Nothing spectacular but a solid workmanlike effort. Just like I was hoping for. Conditions: Hour: 11:30 a.m.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 13

Time: 75 min
Distance: 13.5 kilometers (8 miles)

Comments: Well, the start of this week is proving to be just as crazy as the end of last week. But I'm going to get on the stick for my regular Tuesday start and try to put in the miles I would have done if I had kept to the plan. That means a bit more than two weeks ago and a bit less than next week which will feature the 20-miler.Of course if I get any aching or resistance from the legs in any degree, I fully am ready to sack it in and avoid doing something stupid again.My diet over the past several days has been atrocious and my sleep patterns have been disrupted at best and nonexistent at worst. I'm hoping to get over the hump by Wednesday and settle back into a bit of routine.