I ended up skipping the Wednesday workout entirely. In fact I just didn't run at all. I had a beer before the run at the Bridge Race, and after getting home in the dark at 8:30, I asked Melinda if I should go out for a run. The vote resulted in a solid "no".

So I moved the rest of the week a day up. This way, I ran 5 on Thursday (TT), pretty hard actually, because I stayed with the lead group. Rested on Friday, and ran the 12-miler on Saturday. I had some GI issues, but the run itself felt very easy at 8:09 average pace. Am I ready? Probably not, but I'm also not woefully under prepared.

Since I have an extra day (resting on Sunday), I'll space out my runs a bit more. Also, the days work out better that way:

M: 6 R

T: 7 w/ 2 @ MP

W: Rest, sailing, perhaps some Dark & Stormy (which will be the only alcohol this week)

T: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m at Thirsty Thursday, thirsty for water or soda only

F: Rest

S: 4 R in the morning, packet pickup, boat pull in the afternoon.

S: Goal marathon

Week -2 went well. It's not an easy week with the 600s, the tune-up race and the long run the day after that, but I did it all quite fine.

Instead of the tune-up race, I ran another 40-minute LT run, and this time, I was aiming for a 7:09 pace (because last time I ran 7:09 pace while aiming for 7:15). Guess what. This time, it turned out to be 7:00.

Funny thing, I ran the first mile, and I pushed the beginning a bit to get my system up to LT quickly, and when I hit the first mile marker, the split was 6:51. I loudly exclaimed "holy shit!" I slowed a bit, but it does seem like I can sustain 7 min/mile without accumulating lactate. Still not near where I used to be, but not astronomically far any more.

That puts me squarely at 48+ VDOT, I'll do training according to this number now.

The Sunday run after the workout was not easy. I ran in the Parklands again, just so that I would experience more brutal hills. It was "only" 16 miles, and I don't think it would have been an issue, if it wasn't after the hard workout on Saturday. This way, I had to fight. It wasn't quite as hard as my hilly 20-miler, but I would put it into the same category as my relatively flat 20-miler.

I'm finally hitting taper this week. I was thinking about running on Monday, because the schedule works better that way, but legs were totally dead, so I skipped it. I ran today (on Tuesday), 7 easy, but I had breathing issues. I resisted using the inhaler, but it made the run slightly unpleasant, feeling harder than it should have been.

Yet, this week, still has a hard workout on Wednesday. I'm debating if it is worth doing it or not. The hay is probably in the barn. The portion that's left outside can rot. :)

M: Rest

T: 7 R w/ 8 x 100

W: 8 w/ 4 x 1200m @ 5K pace

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100

S: Rest (that's new)

S: 12 MLR

I usually run my "5K pace" at my VO2 max prescribed by Jack Daniels. That would be 6:26/mile, or 4:49/1200m for the 48 VDOT. But his 5K time for the same VDOT is 20:39, so that's only 6:39/mile or 4:57/1200m. Maybe I should do that.

I will probably shift the 5-mile recovery for Thirsty Thursday (if I even do that), and maybe do the 12 MLR on Saturday.

Here is the last week:

M: Rest

T: 6 R

W: 7 w/ 2 @ MP (called the "dress rehearsal")

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m

S: 4 R (packet pickup, boat pull)

S: you know what... I'm scared.

Week -3 was fine. As I already wrote, I did the 4 x 0.75 mile workout on Tuesday, per schedule, and I ran a proper 4:42 average per interval, which is fine. And then I did another 20 on Sunday. It was hard, because a) I ran it in the Parklands, on hilly course (but my marathon will be just as hilly); b) it was 80 degrees; c) it came at the end of a longer week with a hard workout on Wednesday, and a 11-miler on Friday. But I finished it. The last bit was hard, but I still averaged 8:28 moving time, and didn't slow down much at all.

Week -2 is on us. I already did the VO2 max workout yesterday: 5 x 600 m. My splits were 2:28, 2:25, 2:21, 2:23, 2:16 for an average of 2:23. I'm happy with this. Again, it wasn't in ideal circumstances (it never is, right?): after dark, sudden cold (first run in long sleeves and hat), couldn't find inhaler (though breathing was *mostly* fine), two days after the 20-miler (by design).

Rest of the week:

W: 6 R

T: Rest

F: 4 R w/ 6x100

S: 8K-10K tune-up race, total of 9-11 miles.

S: 16 L

I will probably swap the Friday recovery for Thursday to do it on Thirsty Thursday, and I almost certainly won't do a tune-up race. I'll probably do a time trial instead.

Week -4 was a lot weaker than I wanted. The conference threw a real wrench into the machine and I didn't run at all from Friday to Sunday. Then, on Monday, I was so sore and tired from the Sunday regatta that I decided to just follow Pfitzinger literally and take a rest day. That is 4 days of no running...

So this meant only 36.3 miles for the week. This did include the 5 x 600 m workout, which is on the shorter side. Running by feel I managed a 2:20 average, which is probably a bit too fast. It translates to 1:34 laps, which is 49.5 VDOT. I'm sure I'm not there.

Week -3 is on us. After the Monday rest day, I did a proper workout last night: 4 x 1200 m, or more precisely 4 x 0.75 mile on the street, again, by feel. Averaging 4:52, this put me into the more reasonable 47-48 VDOT category. Here is the rest of the week:

T: Rest (fun day at Thirsty Thursday)

F: 11 MLR

S: 4 R

S: 20 L

Honestly, this sounds relatively easy, and it still gets me 52 miles for the week.

Great progress on Week -5.

The Saturday threshold went well: I managed 5.59 miles in 40 minutes. That's a 7:09 pace, spot on 47 VDOT.

Then, on Monday (in Fall Break), I ran my first 20 miler since the KDF Marathon preparation, and I averaged 8:13/mile (moving). According to Daniels, that's the fastest allowable pace for 48 VDOT, so it was a bit too fast, probably. I did lose some time filling my water bottles and crossing some roads, though probably that's not any help. Also, it was still hot. 78 degrees, 68% humidity.

I'm trying to plan my Week -4 around a weekend conference and sailing regatta. Sunday running is basically out, and Saturday is limited (no long run). Maybe, honestly, the best would be to skip both days. In fact, since the week after that is hard, I'm thinking something like this:

T: 4 R (already done)

W: 8 w/ 5 x 600

T: 5.25 GA or whatever the longest run is on Thirsty Thursday

F: 17 L in the morning. Conference starts in the afternoon.

S: some recovery on the trails, max 10

S: sailing

This is a somewhat decreased mileage, because there is a mid-week 11-miler in the plan, but I'll substitute that with the Thursday run. I can't do much on Thursday, because Friday is the only day for the long run. This way I also catch up, and perhaps be even more rested with no running on Sunday. And with the delayed 20-miler on Monday, it actually will be a pretty large volume week.

Paces for the 600s is 2:27. That is 6:34 min/mile.