33- It's Go Time.

Well, I promised a post about where my training is headed, so here goes! :)

Let me start by saying that I haven't had the best luck with 'training plans.'  The most thought/planning that I put into a plan was before I started Boston training, and it quickly fell apart once I injured my back and was out for 3+ weeks.  With that said, I'm always leery to set too much in stone.  Buttt, I'm also very ambitious and recognize that I have a limited training window to hit if I have any hopes of smashing my PR at Bayshore.  So, I'll be hitting it pretty hard.  How hard you ask?  Well, I'm hoping to toe that line between peak performance and burn out/injury pretty closely.  This means that the next three weeks, I hope to be doing nothing but my jobs, followed by training and anything that contributes to improving that training (ie rest, good food, sleep, reading about running lol).  I'm totally OK with devoting even more of myself to this.  Because when I step out to that starting line, I want to have no regrets.  And I won't.

So with my refreshed knowledge via "Advanced Marathoning" in combination with the lessons I learned about myself and my training through running Boston, I'm going to take the training planning one week at a time.  The things that I'm going to change from previous (thanks to my new knowledge) include the following:

- split runs on recovery days in order to maximize recovery w/o sacrificing milage (ie today's 10 miles was split into an AM 6 and a PM 4)
- speed work on Tuesdays (I did this alittle during previous training, but need to do it more regularly)
- dedication to the mid-week medium-long run
- 20 milers - atleast 2
- long runs must finish faster than I start (ideally marathon pace)  I'm very good at running 13-15 miles at my marathon pace, but it is the last 10-13 that really matter.  I need to teach my body to hit it hard at that point.
- tempos.
- keep up with my swimming to maximize recovery

So there you go.  That's the gist of it.  I have this week mapped out and I'm hoping it will go according to plans.  I'm still dealing with the fatigue of hitting it pretty hard post Boston and have to watch my one knee and foot that don't feel quite 'right.'  Other than that, I'm pumped.  I may not PR at Bayshore, but you better believe I will do anything and everything in my power to make it happen.