The Training Week That Was... 5/5-11

Two weeks to go until the Buffalo Marathon, which means that it is time to taper, or rather, begin to decrease the mileage I am training in anticipation of the race. My goal remains to clear 3:30, and with a little luck, good weather conditions and a break or two, I am confident I have trained in a way that has prepared me to meet this challenge.

This past week was the last one of the training plan with any high mileage runs, so from her on in, during these last three weeks prior to my scheduled marathon, the taper begins. In the recap below, the Key Run Workouts prescribed by the plan appear in parentheses:

Legend: R = Running, ri = recovery interval, ez = easy, mt = mid-tempo, wu = warm-up, cd = cool down, ez = easy, B = Bicycle

Monday: (Rest)
Tuesday: (Rest)
Wednesday: (Key Run Workout #1--Speed Work) R 5.4 miles
Thursday: (Rest)
Friday: (Rest)
Saturday: (Key Run Workout #2--5 mi. run @ mid-tempo) R 5.9 mi/B 4.2 mi.
Sunday: (Key Run Workout #3--13 mi. @ mp)R 12 mi
TOTAL--R 23.3 miles miles (-12.9 miles from the previous week)
Weigh-In*: 181.0 lbs. (Same as the previous week) [* @ 6:00 a.m. on 5/11]

This past Sunday was also my 39th (!) birthday, which means that next year, if I'm still registering for races, I'll be moving up an age group... so begins my farewell to the "regular" (translation: sub-"Masters") category. As is always the case, I was extremely blessed in the gifts I received, the finest of which was some great potato salad that my wife made. Among other Birthday Shwag were a pair of Optic Nerve Resolve glasses for running, a Sigg Swiss Engineered Water Bottle, and a copy of the book Kirby King of Comics, about legendary comic book creator Jack "The King" Kirby (an example of whose artwork graces this post).

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!