Okay folks. I have been whining and complaining about burnout and you have been full of advice to trust my training and take it easy and I so appreciate that. Thanks to every single one of you for your help. Now I need to take it a step further.

As I wrote some time ago I adopted the FIRST, “more is less” training program more than 1/2 way through my training. It seemed like a great idea at the time. It is a low frequency, high mileage approach to marathon training but it’s kind of killing me. Be that as it may, that has become THE PLAN. So here’s the final steps in the plan which covers this week and next week

Tues – 3 x 1600 on the track with 400 recovery
Thurs – 8 miles (“The speedwork and tempo runs taper down just a little, with a final eight-mile tempo run at marathon goal pace coming 10 days before the marathon”)
Sat – 10 miles

Tues – 30 min easy w 5x60s
Thurs – 20 min easy w 3 or 4 pickups
Sunday – Marathon

I’ve already blown it, though. I had a guest this weekend and didn’t do my long run until Sunday. I also hated most of it (the run, not the guest visit!).

It is Wednesday and I swam yesterday and I’m sitting here in running clothes but have no time to run. So – what would you do? I’m inclined to get that track workout in and then split the difference on the 18 remaining miles and run 9 miles on Friday or Saturday and then throttle back. What do you think?

One more thing – I wasn’t going to do any fundraising for this but 826 Valencia decided to pull together a team really quickly and they have set an individual fundraising goal of just $200. I’m hoping I can find 40 people who will toss 5 bucks their way. 826 boasts the worlds largest retail store exclusively dedicated to selling Pirate Supplies, hence the team is called the Booty Team and has a general piratey feel to it.

From their website:

Simply put, 826 Valencia helps students, ages 8 – 18, to develop their writing skills. Whether the students are working in the realm of fiction, nonfiction, or English as a second language, we are here to help them explore their love of writing. We offer free drop-in tutoring, workshops, and storytelling. We also help students create their own story collections, zines, and other publications.

I used to be a regular volunteer and spent many happy hours working on writing projects with students all over San Francisco. I also was a tutor to elementary aged kids once a week. 826 is a great organization and I would love to help them out but have no time to be an active volunteer any more. If you are interested in helping me help them you can do it here.

Thanks in advance!

If you are going to be in SF please let me know! I’d love to have a packet pickup meet up! I have plans for the evening of the 29th but not for the day.