My journey as a marathoner...

Coach G and I have decided to skip the Codfish Bowl 8k. Because the race is close to my last week's race, we thought it'd a good idea to let my body fully and mentally recover from one race before we go on to the next race. This means I have approximately 5 weeks until my next big race - Mayor's Cup on Oct 25. I will continue to plug in some strength work with some high mileage. I am hoping to do big things at Mayor's Cup.

Mon Sep 15 AM 5 miles, 34min PM 10 miles, 63 min, strides Tue Sep 16 AM 5 miles, 35min PM 10 miles, workout 5x800 at 2:14 w/ 200m rest in 60 secs Wed Sep 17 12 miles, 1:13, strides Thu Sep 18 AM 5 miles, 34min PM 10 miles, workout 6x300 at 49 w/ 100m rest in 28 sec Fri Sep 19 10 miles, 69min, drills Sat Sep 20 8 miles, 56min Sun Sep 21 AM 10 miles, Race US 5k Championships 14:28.0 Results PM 5 miles, 35min Total: 90 miles The race Sunday was loaded as expected. This is probably the most competitive 5k natl champs in a long time. I was the 17th American in 14:28, a time that would have placed me in top 10 last year (which was my initial goal back in April). Although I improved 6 seconds from the Cigna race a month ago, I don't think I ran a smart race. I had too much left at the end of this race. I was way too conservative between 1.5 and 2.5miles, by the time I was able to start moving was a little too late. I wish I was more aggressive, but I guess this is a good sign of fitness.

Just one last update before I get down to business on Sunday. I said on my last blog that I would do two sharpening workouts this week. On Tuesday I did a 5x800s at 2:14 with a short 200m jog covered in about 60 seconds. I tried to work on feeling relaxed and getting the feel of what it will be like on race day. Although not going all out, this is very motivating as I only averaged 2:16 in the same exact workout 4 days before my 14:05 PR indoors.On Thursday, I did another turnover workout. Again, working on relaxation and race feel. I did 6x300's at 49sec each with a short 100m jog covered at about 28 seconds. Felt very good. The race seems to be very stacked, meaning fast times and a lot of scalps on the line. However, I am still sticking to my goal of getting top 10.

Mon Sep 7 AM 10 miles, 62min PM 5 miles, 34min, drills Tue Sep 8 12 miles, WO: Progression at Nashua Trails: 10625m in 34:24 / 2125m each lap Lap 1- 7:32 (5:42 pace) Lap 2- 6:57 (5:15) Lap 3- 6:44 (5:05) Lap 4- 6:38 (5:01) Lap 5- 6:32 (4:56) Wed Sep 9 AM 5 miles, 33min PM 10 miles, 62min, drills Thu Sep 10 AM 5 miles, 34min PM 10 miles, Davis road, 63min, 10x Short Hills Fri Sep 11 12 miles, 1:11min, drills Sat Sep 12 AM 10 miles, Methuen road, 62min PM 5 miles, 35min Sun Sep 13 16 miles, 1:48min total= 100 miles Excellent week of training. I'm finally feeling very fit now. The progression run was a good indicator of how I have progressed in the last six weeks. I closed the last 8500 of the 10625m workout in 26:50 while on July 24 , I was only able to do a total of 8500 in 27:30, but ran 51:30 for a 10 miler a few days later. I am feeling pretty comfortable with the mileage being at 100. I will do two quick turnover workouts (Tue, Thu) and then race Sunday in Providence at 11:00 in

Mon Aug 31 12 miles, 1:22min, drills Tue Sep 1 AM 5 miles, 36min PM 11 miles, workout: 4x2k at Nashua: 5:58 avr Wed Sep 2 AM 5 miles, 34min PM 10 miles, 66min, drills Thu Sep 3 12 miles, 1:13min, 8xshort hills Fri Sep 4 AM 5 miles, 33min PM 10 miles, Davis road, 64min Sat Sep 5 AM 10 miles, tempo Keene XC 5k: 15:35,1st PM 5 miles, 34min Sun Sep 6 17 miles, 2:00min = 102 miles This was the first 100-mile-week for me since February. I made a last minute decision to tempo Keene 5k race just to get in another solid effort as I prepare for the Providence 5k. Next week will be another good strength week with another 10k progression that Coach G has on my schedule, and then I will take it easy to made sure I get the appropriate rest I need for the race. Overall, I am a little tired right now but very satisfied with how the last few weeks of training. Anytime I can get in strength work, it is always a good thing. If you get a chance, check out Mario Fraioli's new website here .

Back in April when I was injured, I circled one race on my calendar. At the time I was still limping from the back/hip injury and faced a long period of recovery ahead of me. I figured it'd take about 2 months to rehab, another 2 months to get into regular running mode and another 2 months to seriously advance to the fitness level I want to be at. Doing a few summer races provided me with getting back in regular running/competitive mode. Now, September/October are the last 2 months of the 6months recovery process. The race that I circled as one of my primary events for the fall is the 5k US Road Championship, which will take place in Providence,RI on September 20th. This race is very special for me for two reasons: 1.Because I set this goal 6 months ago 2.Because it will be my first US Championship event. It will be very competitive with maybe a couple US Olympians, team members and national champions from the past. I am basically going to try sneaking into a top 10 finish like I h