How quickly another week of training goes by .. just 3 weeks from today i’ll be in Wildwood, NJ vacationing awaiting the Ocean Drive marathon (if you can actually enjoy the beach in March). Its hard to believe the first spring marathon is just about here. All the cold runs, the snow, the wind … its all pretty much behind me for now I hope (based on the upcoming temperatures).

So knowing how close I am to the marathon, i’m safe in saying that the week has gone quite well with my training, and i’m optimistic for another good weekend .. I’m feeling a bit of pain in my right foot though, near the little toes (tendinitis-like). It really feels like an overuse type of pain, so the fact I didn’t run today did help it somewhat, its not bothering me as bad .. I’ve been doing a better job of doing general stretching so that I don’t flare up my hip and back like I did last fall .. plus i’m capping the miles at 66 right now, no more. It was when I started pushing the miles over 72 for consecutive weeks that I really started to cripple up with soreness.

Some highlights from my training this week so far include really kicking up the tempo on my speed workout on Thursday .. I knocked off all my 800’s at a faster pace than i’ve been doing and completed them at the same pace. I was really wiped out afterward, but it was what I consider a ‘good wiped out’ … it felt like a good workout. Another highlight (worth noting) is that my Tuesday and Wednesday morning “mid-long” runs (10.5 and 12.25 miles) are becoming nothing for me to complete now .. i’m just falling right into my pace and my body is doing the rest. Its a good feeling to knock off 12 miles and not even feel it, thats the feeling of being “fine tuned”.

With everything going well for now … its time to think about the fall, and what will I run this year? I checked for a September marathon, and nothing but the Lehigh Valley Health Network marathon came up that looked interesting (but I can look again). I hate to do the same marathon for a third straight year, but its right in my own backyard, how can I skip it? The starting line is about 5 miles from my house… so we can chalk that one up. I’m considering doing the Chicago marathon on Columbus Day weekend this year, and then finding one more for the month of November .. haven’t decided on one yet (anyone have a suggestion?) I’m not sure if I want to try the New York City marathon lottery this year again .. i’m not sure if its worth it (based on some of the stories i’ve read about it). LATE EDIT: I just registered for the lottery, got an email telling me that time is running out to get into the lottery. I’m number 557582 (does that mean there are 557581 other people in the lottery????? thats NUTS!)

So during this hectic week, I was asked to write a commentary on the benefits of adding speedwork to marathon training by a marathon runner (who is also a published writer). You can see my write up this coming Monday 3/8 on Melinda Hinson Neely’s website by clicking here.

Hoping for 22 miles again tomorrow and then a hill workout again on Sunday (maybe 12 miles?) … but the weekend could be cut short for reasons out of my control, but we’ll see what happens.