My journey as a marathoner...

This is my last full week of training before the Twin Cities Marathon. I was feeling a bit sick early in the week, but I think I'm finally back to normal. I will have another entry later in the week with a preview of my race plans and goal.

Got in two really great workouts this week. It was a busy week at my real job (at UMass Lowell) and I felt a bit tired from non-running related activities. However, I had to get in 2 key workouts this week: the progression run and the 16 mile tempo. The progression run was great. Goal was to run about 90%MP for first half (slightly sub 6:00 per mile) and then run the last 5 miles at roughly Half Marathon pace (about 5:00 per mile for me). I ran about 45 seconds faster than the same exact workout before Boston Marathon 2014. It provides me with a huge boost of confidence knowing and feeling in much better shape. On Saturday, the plan was to run between 5:15-5:18 per mile for 16 miles. I was a bit nervous because of lack of sleep/rest and I had to be done warmed up and start the tempo at 6:30am, a bit earlier than I'm used to work out.. However, I'm glad to say this was by far the best and smoothest MP tempo run I've ever done. It felt great clicking off some sub 5:10. I

This was an "ok" week for training. I didn't feel much rested because I had to move some things around my non-running related schedule. I finished 2nd in the 10k race, just getting outkicked in the last 200m. This was a good tune up race that definitely served its purpose. I felt strong with running low 4:50s but didn't necessarily feel "fast". Only 3 weeks left until TC Marathon. Basically 1 more hard week then 2 easier weeks. It will be crucial to make sure I take very good care of myself in the next weeks.

Three very good workouts this week. Time to make the final push in training. Starting to visualize the course and the race. Feeling excited for the race.

Very happy with the workout on Wednesday, about a full minute overall faster than I did in my Boston block. These type of workouts can really stay in your legs for days. With a weekend race approaching, I took a day off to allow injury prevention, proper rest and recovery. I was happy with my win and effort at the USATF-NE 15k hosted by GMAA in Burlington, VT. Knowing that it was a bit humid and windy, my goal was to sit in the pack through at least 6 miles and make a good move at the end. I closed the last 4 miles at a good pace and felt like I had more at the finish. It's getting close to TC Marathon but I still have some more key workouts to get in. I feel good about where my fitness is right now. Need to stay on top of the little things.