Week 8

Success is best measured by how far you've come with the talents you've been given. ~Unknown

One takeaway I've had so far is just how difficult marathon training is when traveling on weekends. Having just returned from a quick weekend trip up to Boston; this was the 4th of the last 6 weekends that Christine and I traveled out of town. Not only is it a logistical challenge; planning new running routes, adjusting your training routine, etc; the resulting lack of consistency week in and week out takes a big toll. Though I love traveling as much as possible during the Summer months, I'm very much looking forward to staying in DC until race weekend.

So we are now in the middle of Week 8 (!!); and starting to show signs of wear and tear. Christine has been dealing with an IT-band issue; which has caused her to ease back the intensity a bit. I ended up taking an extra day off last week, since I felt really fatigued after an 8 mile MP run Thursday followed by a 12 miler Friday. No red flags yet, thankfully; but this just reinforces the importance of core work that goes along with marathon training, which I can definitely do a better job of. Foam rolling is your friend.

Overall, the extra day of rest has helped. I feel fresher heading into the long miles this weekend. Sunday's scheduled long run is 19 miles, which conveniently will be during DC's hottest stretch of the year. It's looking like near 100 degree temperatures all weekend. The plan will be to head out pre-dawn in hopes of finishing before the sun angle gets too high. 

While we remain optimistic of qualifying at Marquette, we have come up with a backup plan if we do not BQ together. That backup plan is the REVEL Canyon City Marathon. Just outside of Los Angeles, California, REVEL is the fastest BQ marathon course in the US. The marathon net drop is 5,073 feet. Over five thousand feet! That's ridiculous.

Should either Christine or I not qualify for 2017 Boston, we will head out to Cali for the November 12th race. That said, this is the last moment I want to spend thinking about REVEL.

All focus continues to be on a BQ at Marquette.

-J