I had to skip a day due to a stomach virus. I had diarrhea for days, but I could still run - except for last Sunday, when I had that brutal 15-miler scheduled, 12 of which was supposed to be at marathon pace.

I decided to delay the schedule by a day for now. So this week (-5), so far, I've run

M: 15 MLR (no attempt to do the M pace - I was not strong enough for that)

T: Rest

W: 6 R w/ 6x100 strides

T: 12 MLR

----- This is where we are. -----

F: Rest

S: 12 w/ 40 min @ LT pace

S: 5 R

M: 20 L

Pfitzinger wants 7 miles at LT pace, but that's not for us, mortals. A really good runner can do the 7 miles is 40 minutes, but it would take 50+ for me. That long at LT pace in training is too hard. When I used to do it in 45, I could accept it, but now, let's just do 40 minutes, however long it turns out to be.

Week -7 was successful. The Thursday TT run particularly nice: the 4 mile splits were 7:07, 7:09, 7:10, 7:02 for an average of 7:07. That would be 47.7 VDOT, and 3:19 (flat) marathon. Sounds promising. I ran the 16-miler in the Parklands, and I felt strong. The last 5 miles of that was run at 8:00-ish pace without trying.

Week -6 was started without much expectation that I could finish it. Somehow I'm too busy, and the scheduled runs are on the wrong days. I thought about reorganizing, but I would have had to run om Monday, and I just felt too tired.

But so far I'm doing it. I've just finished my 5x1000m workout, running the 1000s at 4:06. I only have time for this midday, so I did it on the treadmill. At least this way the paces are pretty much guaranteed to be good. This the pace given by Jack Daniels for 47.3 VDOT. So perhaps a bit slow, but I don't mind. I needed to have some strength left for the evening race (sailing).

The rest of the week:

T: 12 MLR

F: Rest

S: 6 w/ 6 x 100 strides

S: 15 w/ 12 @ MP

Not sure I'll do marathon pace on Sunday... But the rest should be OK. This would give me 48 miles for the week. My largest volume since forever.

Week -8 was definitely *not* a success. I skipped my Wednesday LT run due to the fact that I was busy all day, but I also didn't want to redesign the week, because I was just too tired. I wasn't living healthy (food, sleep, alcohol) either, so maybe that's a reason. I felt down on myself, and I contemplated abandoning my plan.

Then, while on my way to Thirsty Thursday, which was hot, and I was already sure I wouldn't run 11 miles, I realized that I'd only skipped one day. So I decided to snap out of it, take it easy in Thursday (which I did with less than 5 miles, though I ran a fartlek by chasing down some groups, and pressing hard on Library Hill), and continue the plan. That resulted in a nice 17-mile long run on Sunday done at a 8:18 moving average with 7:42 last mile. I finished the week with 32.7 miles instead of the planned 48.

So that's a step-back, and I have a recovery week coming up. But the old rule says, you can't make up missed runs. So I just go on. We will see what happens now. I will also try to limit my alcohol consumption. I think that's key.

Week -7: (slightly rearranged to fit my schedule)

M: Rest

T: 12 MLR

W: Rest

T: 9 w/ 4 @ LT pace (no TT - it's the parade)

F: 5 R

S: Rest (CF Moto demo)

S: 16 L

Total: 42 miles.

This looks downright easy, if I don't have expectations for the LT run. Which I don't.

Week -9. Alright. Everything by the plans, except for the marathon pace on Sunday.

 It was a very hot week. On Thursday I've run 11 miles in temperatures in the mid 90's, but even my pace was fine. It was hard though. That, and the increased mileage, and the fact that it's been my highest mileage week, like for ever, made my weekend long run increasingly challenging. I gave up on the marathon pace, and I just ran a long run. Still it was a full sweat, partial dehydration, hard last few mile run. 8:26/mile average.

Week -8:

M: Rest

T: 5 R

W: 10 w/ 5 @ LT

T: 11 MLR

F: R

S: 5 R

S: 17 L

I might switch this up. If I shift everything from Wednesday one day ahead, I could run hard Tuesday evening, 11 MLR on Wednesday (say midday in the gym), easy 5 on Thursday (Thirsty Thursday). It would probably fit my schedule better.