Week 25 Recap

Sam: S(14, Mountain Goat), M(5), T(off), W(8), R(off), F(5am, 8pm w/ 4 miles @ pace), S(7). Total=47. The two off days were nice. The pace work wasn't so nice. I'm hoping I was just tired from Sunday's race, but it definitely wasn't a confidence boost. Time to coast at this point. I'm looking at one more workout, probably Tuesday. It'll be super-chill, something like a mile at pace and then 4x400 on the track.

RO$$: S(8), M(11), T(0), W(11), R(0), F(9), S(9). 48 miles total. It was a pretty uneventful week. I would call it a half-taper. I ran less days than I initially intended to, but kept the daily average pretty high. I can't wait to taper. I'm tired.

Week 24 Recap

Sam: In the name of drama and intrigue comes Week 24. Tomorrow morning at 7 am, we'll be exactly two weeks away from the marathon and three hours away from Mountain Goat. I wish I could say I'm ready to burn rubber on the Goat course tomorrow, but this week was outright horrible for me running-wise. The most obvious culprit is the lingering right hamstring. There have been flare-ups of tendonitis that are mostly dealt with by a good warm-up, but these rage back a few hours after each run and stick with me throughout the better part of the day. I took the mileage way down and added an additional day off this week to hopefully help matters. Work has also been inordinately busy lately, as I'm juggling three projects at once resulting in a lot of early mornings and late arrivals back home. This week was also truncated by a trip to Delaware to help with the Triple Crown. My role involved marking trail for two and a half hours yesterday and finish line duties today--both of these meaning a lot of time on my feet. Finally, there's the driving to consider: Syracuse to Emmaus to Newark to Philly (great game with Chickie's and Pete's Crabfries thrown in for good measure) to Newark to Syracuse. S(18, super slow), M(off), T(3), W(off), R(6, strides), F(6), S(6). Total 39 miles.

RO$$: S(9), M(7), T(8), W(0), R(10), F(9), S(9). 52 miles total. Unsurprisingly, I felt pretty tired after last week's high total, so I felt no reason to push things and just wanted to recover somewhat. I thought it would be another seven day week, but the Penguins decided to blow their 3-1 lead to the Lightning, so I attended Wednesday's game seven loss. It was probably for the best. The day of rest was much needed, and no one wanted to see the Pens lose to the Caps in round two. I had hoped to do a final long run this weekend, but it didn't happen. The lack of real quality long runs has been a disappointment for me, but I've run more overall than I expected to. We'll see how things play out. This week should be fairly big before the long-awaited taper.

I'm very concerned about Sam's hamstring. Best of luck, friend. Truly, there is no shortage of suspense in the world of MaT: Will Sam make it to the start line and enjoy the much deserved fruits of his hard work by throttling Gordon and RO$$? Does Gordon really exist, or did Sam and RO$$ just make him up? And will RO$$ actually clean his house and spare his guests the indignity of sleeping in a dirty shithole? Stay tuned!

Gordon: (S) 10 M(10) T(10) W(3) (R) 9 F(4) S(20) 66 mile week - I have been pretty low in confidence since my mileage has been less than ideal. This week worked well for me considering I have had a lot to do outside of running and work. I plan on keeping the mileage the same for this week before the crash of mileage for the taper.

I honestly have no idea what the race will feel like. The 20 miler was meant to be a tune-up to feel the pace. At the 15 mile mark I ran into Prospect Park where there are a number of mile markers. I hit 6:20 pace for 3 miles there, but I felt tired. This was also on the Sunniets Day of the Year, and I got a pretty bad sunburn and I was running at 1:00 pm, which may have contributed to the sense of fatigue, but it was disconcerting, nonetheless.

In other news, the wedding weekend has been almost completely finalized, and I've only got a few more details to hammer out (I'm sure the last month will be hectic), but it has felt good to get a lot of these decisions finished with.

Week 23 Recap

RO$$: S(9), M(10), T(10), W(10), R(9), F(13), S(9). 70 miles total, and if you go from last Saturday through Friday, I ran 77 miles in a seven day span, so after three sub-par weeks, I'm back, baby! I don't really have anything interesting to say about the week since all I did was jog around. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad. It just was.

My plan for the next two weeks is to continue doing what I'm doing. My friend James and I used to joke about how Ben True was the only athlete in the Heps who was undertrained/talented enough that he'd actually get in better shape through the preliminary rounds rather than become worn out, and I think I'm in a somewhat analogous position when you compare me with Sam (well, except for the talent part). I'll fart around in the last week, because I kind of did that before the half and that went well, but for the next two weeks it's business as usual.

Haters Gonna Hate: This week, my training takes the back burner to the fact that our dear blog has had it's first random internet stranger post, in defense of -------- -----'s race day bathroom mishap. It's a proud moment for Marathon à Trois, a proud moment indeed. If I'm in any position to hit my own 2:37 in Pittsburgh over the last six miles, rest assured, you'll all know what I'll be thinking about.

The week: S(14, tempo), M(off), T(6), W(9), R(8, hills), F(6), S(11, fartlek) for total of 54 miles. Sunday's run gave me a good backdrop for understanding the Boston winds, as Steve and I did an 8 mile tempo to see if he should bother running Mountain Goat amidst third year rotations (he should). We went four miles out on the canal path with a tailwind that we could barely feel and then got blasted the whole way back once we turned around. Overall, we averaged around 5:50, but rest assured, it was a whole lot harder with the head wind--easily 20 or so seconds per mile.

Gordon: S(10), M(6), T(5), W(5), R(6), F(10), S(8) - 50 mile week. I was planning on a week like Ross' where I could put in the last bit of mileage, but I got sick midweek. I have no idea how I'll feel for the marathon at this point. I think that I was feeling really good around the half marathon, but I haven't hit my stride training wise or at least as not as much as I'd like. The upcoming week is my last week where I'll do any kind of mileage. Then starting next week I'll probably put in a pretty mean taper, which I am looking forward to.

Week 22 Recap

Sam: Four weeks to go. Last week went a lil' somethin' like this: S(17), M(0), T(6), W(5), R(4), F(5), S(9). 46 miles total. Not a whole lot of running going on this week thanks to the fact that I was trying to keep the hamstring tendonitis at bay. It's feeling pretty good; I just don't want any major flare-ups from here to the marathon. Saturday was a 5-mile "race" at Long Branch Park, where they held the Heart Walk. Most people go for the Walk, which is around 11 am, but they also have a run at 8 am for a far fewer number of people. There were three and five mile options, so I finished with a lot of three mile people in 27:11, making it a fairly unheralded victory. Today is long with some pace work mixed in.

RO$$: S(8), M(10), T(0), W(0), R(12), F(0), S(16). Like Sam, 46 miles total. This week ended up being a little short because of two Penguins home games (a win and a loss, for those concerned about the host city's state of mind), and the fact that it was raining pretty hard on Tuesday. Yesterday I went out to a trail with the objective of doing a twenty miler, but right around mile 12, it started raining hard enough that the run became truly miserable, so I cut it short. If there's one thing I'm not willing to do in the name of running a slighty faster marathon, it's making myself suffer through a downpour. No home Pens games this week, so I'm hoping that this will be a big week. Rain could mess that up, though.

Week 21 Recap

Sambone: S(0), M(15, was going to go short but ran into Mike D. and PJ on the trail in Delaware...great run), T(8 w/ the last 20 minutes pick-up), W(3), R(am 2, pm 12 track workout), F(6), S(14 w/ 10 @ 58:45). Total=60. Today's run was a big confidence boost. I ran the Mountain Goat course, which is pretty hilly, trying to keep 6-minute pace. I went through 8 miles at 48:05. This point is probably the highest elevation mark of the course. The last two miles were potentially a tiny bit short, but it was still nice to finish faster going downhill. 2:37 has become my own personal A-standard for Pittsburgh, though as I've said, if I run anything close to this, I'll be pretty happy. As I did with the half, I figure it's arguably best to try to keep this pace as long as possible and let the chips fall where they may. Probably not true come mile 20, but it sounds good for now.

RO$$: S(11), M(0), T(0), W(9), R(11), F(7), S(8). 46 miles total. Monday I was a bit of a baby and didn't run because it was raining, which obviously took down my total for the week. This morning I ran my race, a 10k in something like 38:15. The pace obviously wasn't too fast, but the course was super hilly, so my splits were probably anywhere between 6:45 and 5:15. (I didn't wear a watch, or else I'd report my splits.) Other than the first mile, I felt pretty good, and feel fine about my fitness. As I noted about the last few miles of the half-marathon where I picked it up, it's hard to run faster than you ever do during the course of "training." So I'm glad I went out and made myself do a workout. As long as we're throwing out goals, I'd say my A-standard is 2:50. I predict I'll finish somewhere around 2:53 provided the weather is good.

Coming up this week, a new installment of "What Can Marathon a Trois learn from . . ."

Gordon: S(4) M(20) T(4) W(8) R(8) F(4) S(8) 60 miles total. Sunday I got caught up at the end of the day with work. I had intended to run the 20 miler in the afternoon, but a lot of crap came up from work that had to be done, and the night got away from me. So, I planned to run the 20 miler on Monday night. This was a terrible idea that had lasting consequences for the rest of the week, but it had me motivated all day on Monday at work to get myself ready, which made the day go a lot faster (and, as I'm sure Ross can attest, at this point I'm just starting each day with my eyes on the clock, waiting for the time that I can go back home).

Anyway, the 20 miler felt great. I did have to buy a power bar at the 15 mile mark, but I can safely attribute that to the fact that I had to work the entire day, and I'd eaten lunch about 5.5 hours prior to that point. The last 5 miles I tempo-ed and I put down close to 6:15 pace for the last three. All told, it was a great run, but MAN, was I exhausted for the rest of the week. I'm glad that I'm in a new week and I am planning on running a race this week (similar to what Ross did). Although, I'll be running a 5 mile run.

Week 20 Recap

Sam: S(22), M(6), T(6), W(12, 1000's), R(7), F(6), S(10). Total=69. Not a bad week coming off 71. The long run felt easy, and my Wednesday workout went well. Finally, we've reached the 6-week mark for the marathon. Tomorrow, I'm taking the day off for the Phillies game. It's good timing since I haven't had a day off in a while. After that, the focus will be on two hard workouts Tuesday and Thursday, with Tuesday being pace work and Thursday probably being more mile stuff.

RO$$: S(5), M(9), T(0), W(11), R(9), F(9), S(5). 48 miles total. While the total was low, it was a better week than that indicates, because Friday's run was the first run where I would say that I felt "good" since the half-marathon. So I went decently fast through some stretches of that run, and then went for a pretty strenuous bike ride later that night. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was probably something in the neighborhood of 15-20 miles. So I was wiped out Saturday. I knew that if I went 7, I would hit 50 for the week, but I decided it was better to quit while I was ahead rather than shoot for some arbitrary barrier I've exceeded hundreds of times. It paid off, because my run today went well.

Reading Sam's log makes me think that he's going to beat me and Gordon by half an hour, and deservedly so. However, coming up on Saturday for me: An actual race. It's a 10k on a super hilly course. I usually run it with my dad but he's hurt, so I'm on my own. In other words, look out, Mt. Lebanon.

Week 19 Recap

RO$$: S(9), M(8), T(11), W(0), R(11), F(0), S(17). 56 miles total. Really not a great week, although it was my highest daily average for one week so far. Today's long run did not go well. I drove out to a trail where I could do a relatively flat, out-and-back run. My intent was to run out nine miles at whatever pace I felt like, and then see what I could do on the way back. Well, on the way back I had a side stitch that I couldn't shake (which is my fault since my only pre-run food was a cinnamon bun and a blueberry muffin), and eventually my legs started shutting down. Once I hit mile 17, I decided to just walk it in rather than do further damage. That probably sounds worse than how things actually played out, since most of the way back I was going around 6:50 pace (which felt slow), and I never went slower than 7:20. Still, I certainly wasn't blazing in around 6:00 pace as I had hoped I would. Lesson of the day for the race: respect the distance.

And, Sam, I loved your last post. I laughed out loud when you said you were trying to hit 90 this week. I admire the ambition. Apologies to the readers for my recent silence. (The flood of emails can stop now.) Maybe I'll write a post of my top fifty least favorite things that kill the excitement in the last minute of college basketball games.

Sam: S(20), M(6), T(14), W(5), R(14), F(6), S(6). Total = 71. In the scenario where I ran 90 this week, Friday would have been 10 and I would have logged a second long run today (Saturday)--the old fake long week that Robert and Bruce used to rave about during long-short summer mileage training. Alas, it obviously didn't happen. Oh well, probably for the best.

Week 18 Recap

Sam: Good rebound week. S(14, race), M(9), T(off), W(6), T(10), F(8, back on the trails!), S(10, Mountain Goat training run closing the last few miles around 6 minute pace). Total=57. It took me until Thursday or so before I was clear of the residual half-marathon fatigue. Today's run, I felt great. It's nice to have the feeling that I've got my legs back under me. The Hal Higdon plan calls for pace work the day before a long run. Tomorrow I'm going for another 20 miler, so we'll see if I pay for it.

RO$$: S(14), M(8), T(7), W(7), R(9), F(8), S(9). 62 miles total. This ended up being my highest week yet, but it didn't feel like anything special. The fact that it's light out now and a little warmer has made a world of difference. I will say that I still don't feel fully recovered from the race, which surprises me since I didn't feel all that taxed afterward, but from Wednesday of last week through Monday of this week things were pretty hectic, so I'm probably just wiped out in general. Those two seven mile runs were sheer hell. On Tuesday the plantar fascia of my left foot hurt so bad that I thought it might legitimately set back my training, but on Wednesday I started wearing my Superfeet shoe inserts again and now my foot feels normal. I'm sure my legs would feel better if I took a day off, but I'll rest when I'm dead.

Gordon: S(14), M(5), T(5), W(8), R(5), F(5), S(11) 50 miles total. Looks like I'm the turd in the punch bowl, here, but I was tired this week. I am aiming for a 70 week here and I'm going to try and cap it off with a 20 miler on Saturday.

Week 16 Recap

Bruce Jenner: I can barely remember this week. Talk about going through the motions. Let's see, it was something like ... S(12), M(6), T(3, supposed to be a double), W(9, hills), R(off), F(6), S(9, race). Total=45 miles. I just got back from the Tipp Hill 4 Mile Shamrock Run, which was a disappointment. I ran 22:07 for fourth, which doesn't sound awful, but I really blew up the second half, running splits somewhere in the range of 5:00, 5:20, 5:55, 5:50. Granted, the course was largely downhill through two miles and uphill for most of the second half. It didn't help that around 3.5 miles in a volunteer told me to go the wrong way. Fifty meters after that I got to a fork where there was no one around. I had to call back to the guy behind me who didn't know which way to go either. Someone further back yelled left, and on we went. So, in summary, while 22:07 isn't bad, I think I could have been under 22 minutes even if I wasn't going to catch third place (William Hoyne). Next week is the half marathon. I'm going to see how 6 minute pace feels and if I blow up, so be it.

Fred Samara: S(10), M(9), T(9), W(8), R(7), F(0), S(14). 57 miles total. Not a bad week. Only three miles below my high since the inception of the blog, but when I hit 60 I ran for seven days. I was actually building toward bigger things, but I felt awful Thursday night and cut my run short, and then it was raining when I got home Friday. No way in hell was I dragging myself through a run in the rain at the end of a work week. (Just so I don't seem like a baby, it was raining throughout my entire run today.) My plan for the half is almost the exact opposite of Bruce's. My primary aim is to make sure I don't blow up under any circumstances. I'm going to start out at 7 minute pace, go about that fast (maybe a little faster if I feel good) for eight miles, and then see what happens. No way could I make it four miles at 6 minute pace right now.

Gordon: S(10) M(5) T(5) W(5) R(3) F(3) S(4) 35 Total. I would feel bad, but it was hard getting back to work. My plan is to put in a normal week and run through the half marathon regardless of time. Ross, I'll probably stick with you since you know what you're doing over longer distances and I don't.

Week 15 Recap

RO$$: S(0), M(9), T(8), W(0), R(8), F(8), S(8). 41 miles total. This week I pretty much was going through the motions, which I suppose is to be expected since I both hit 60 miles and ran seven days in one week for the first time in like four years. I'll be completely honest -- I'm not really enjoying this "training" process. I'm tired of coming home every day and running for an hour or whatever by myself in the dark; it's getting old. It seems like all I'm doing is assuring that I'll break three hours, but nothing more. That prospect doesn't exactly excite me, but I sure as hell don't want to work any harder, hence my frustration. I'm still really looking forward to the marathon itself, I just wish it were closer than two-and-a-half months away.

This week, once again, there are no Penguins home games, so I may try to hit 60 again. We'll see. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can do a long run, but the trails around here were still covered in snow today, and I highly doubt I'll suck it up and run for two hours around the city, so I'm not feeling too optimistic about that one. Until next week!

Broken Promise Man: S(20), M(6), T(8 w/ 35 minutes cut down from race pace), W(6), R(14 w/ Jerry Smith fartlek work for about an hour), F(6), S(7). Total mileage=67. Yes, I broke my promise of running 70 miles this week, but there really wasn't room to push for those extra miles considering I really enjoyed/needed my short, easy days. Thursday's workout was intense but good for me. I figure I can handle probably Jerry (who coaches the Syracuse Track Club) for once a week without getting broken. The pace work on Tuesday was a mental challenge being on a treadmill, but it felt OK. This coming week might be down a bit since there's the Tipp Hill Shamrock 4M on Saturday. I'm planning to run that hard and let the chips fall where they may with the half. I would echo Ross's comments with training, though I blame it mostly on the long winter. Speaking of hockey, I saw my annual Syracuse Crunch game tonight. They lost to Hamilton 3-2. Nate Guenin spent the last two minutes in the penalty box for slashing.

Gordon: S(16) M(5) T(3) W(10) R(10) F(10) S(6) 60 miles total. I, honestly, felt that I had to have a 60 mile week here. I, also, had the week off. So, it would have been pretty pathetic to have not made it. All things being equal, having more time did not make it any easier to run. Molly had an interview at Penn State. So, we were traveling from New York to my parents place to State College. This meant that while I was in State College I was running with a watch rather than running a familiar loop. A lot more boring than running a trail or a loop. The first run in State College was pretty fun, thinking about being on campus and living there next year, but after that I was just running on the side of a road, getting my feet wet in slushy snow, and hating every car that passed me by.

I, also, hate winter, miss the sunlight and am looking forward to the days when I can stop counting my mileage again.

Week 14 Recap

RO$$: S(8), M(8), T(9), W(7), R(10), F(8), S(10).

Prior to the 1981-82 NHL season, only two players had achieved the incredible feat of scoring fifty goals in fifty games -- Maurice Richard in 1944-45, and Mike Bossy in 1980-81. But in 1981, Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, blew through the 50-in-50 mark in an inconceivable fashion.

After 37 games, Gretzky had 41 goals, so he was well on his way to both getting 50 in 50, and becoming the first player to do it in less than fifty games. In his 38th game, he scored four goals, bringing him to 45 total, and reducing 50-in-50 to a mere formality. But what Gretzky did in his 39th game resulted in a mark that surely will never be equaled, the greatest of all of the Great One's records . . . .

Gretzky not only scored 50 goals in less than 50 games, but he skipped the forties entirely. Unbelievable.

In a similar feat of paradigm-shifting athletic greatness, this week I ran 60 miles. My previous weekly high since MaT's inception was 46 miles, which means I skipped the fifties, making a leap that many would have dismissed in an earlier era.

Wayne Gretzky was my favorite athlete as a child; I've owned four of his jerseys over the course of my lifetime. This week was my tribute to him, and I am now one step closer to my goal of finishing within thirty-five minutes of Jeff completing his half marathon, going home, showering, having a satisfying post-race dinner, finding some sorority chicks, and then partying with them through the next day's dawn.

Sam: While it's tempting to post my weekly running above Ro$$'$ due to his verbose weekly recap, I'll keep with MaT tradition and post in the order in which we check in. After all, Ross deserves to be on top with his 60 mile week, and you must respect The Gretz. I, on the other hand, had a weak week. Friday was a tease 50 degrees, and today it's right back to the snowy bluster we're all accustomed to. Thankfully, I spent most of today sampling martinis and food samples at bars and restaurants downtown for Winterfest. S(cherry picker for 12 hours), M(6), T(8), W(0), R(7), F(10), S(8) = a lowly 39 miles. There were days when I was running pretty quickly, but it's tough to recover volume-wise from two days off. The good news is that I should be fresh as daisies for my first 20 miler tomorrow. We may have the first 70-mile menage a t'week on our hands.

GORDON: S(9) M(5) T(8) W(0) R(5) F(8) S(9) 44 miles total. It was a good week for getting runs of more than 5 in which I think has been harder to do. I have gotten back into the swing of biking 50 miles each week (5 miles to and from work). The past two weeks the biking was really wearing me out, and I was feeling really fatigued on my runs afterwards, but I'm back to the point where the biking has little impact on how I feel during my runs.
I, myself, have the week off this coming week and I have no plans which bodes well for my running life, and bodes poorly for my social life. But, Molly's got an interview at PSU next weekend. So, we'll be there and I'll have nothing but free time for runs and heavy shitfaced drinking.

Week 13 Recap

RO$$: S(8), M(8), T(0), W(8), R(0), F(9), S(8). 41 miles total. Pretty good for a week where I didn't have any real goals, just wanted to grind out five runs. I've started to pick it up at various points if I feel good during runs, which shows some progress, but if I go uphill or have to stop at all (because of traffic or something), I lose all momentum, so I've got a ways to go. This week the Pens don't have any home games, so I'm hoping that maybe I'll be able to get to 50. If I were feeling truly ambitious, I'd say I'm going to run all seven days, but I can't guarantee anything that crazy.

GORDON: S(10) M(5) T(8) W(5) R(5) F(5) S(12). 50 miles total. I had had bigger plans for mileage this week, but I was overcome with exhaustion. In the past two weeks prior to this week I have had to cut out my biking to and from work owing to the snow. I started it up again this week, and I think it completely wore me out. This week and next week are both easy weeks for me in terms of work load. I'm also incredibly pumped up now that I've been admitted to Penn State's doctoral program.

Sam: What a weekend. Some of you might have read that we lost a 12 foot chunk of gutter (plus fascia board + part of the soffit + a big ass 2x4) off the side of our house as a result of ice dams. The claim that I was going to rent a boom lift to fix it was not fiction. I will post a video of the repair process when I catch up on all the things I put to the side during the project--running included. A great start to my first 70 mile MaT week was alas wasted, as was Sunday of this week. At least it was good cross-training. Also, congratulations to Gordon! S(9, slick 5k race in 16:42), M(6), T(8), W(18 with 4 mile pickup), R(0), F(3), S(0). 44 miles total.

Week 12 Recap

$am: S(9), M(6), T(8), W(45 minutes swimming laps), R(10), F(6), S(6). 45 miles total. A rest week for me, but I have started incorporating about 3 minutes of random non-running exercise per day. Scissor kick lunges for 60 seconds straight on Monday took a big toll on my butt muscles. Tomorrow, don't forget the biggest sporting event of the winter. No, it's not the Super Bowl; it's the Super Couch Potato 5k at Onondaga Lake Park. Stay tuned for results.

RO$$: S(5), M(8), T(8), W(0), R(10), F(5), S(10). 46 miles total. It's a somber day here at MaT World Headquarters, despite the fact that I pulled off a miraculous upset and ran more miles than Sam this week. Evgeni Malkin just blew out his knee, effectively eliminating the possibility of the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup. Tomorrow, the Steelers are going to lose the Super Bowl. After the Steelers won the AFC Championship game two weeks ago, I marvelled at my good fortune as a sports fan, and wondered when this incredible five-year ride would end. Now we have our answer. I know I'm being melodramatic, but I'm going to remember this awful weekend for the rest of my life.

Gordon: S(7), M(7), T(8), W(8), R(0), F(0), S(5) 35 miles total. Looks like Ross swept the field here. Traveling to State College Thursday night, and back to NYC on Friday night really took it out of me. I set out on a 10 mile run on Saturday but was too tired/lazy and packed it in for a 5 miler. No more traveling this week - more running.

Week 11 Recap

Sam: Big week for me. S(9 w/ 5k race), M(5), T(11), W(8), R(10), F(6), S(18). 67 miles total, crushing weekly highs dating back a long time. In the bad news department, Gordon is off the wagon again. I don't think he ever checked in for Week 10, so please keep Gordon in your prayers this weekend.

RO$$: S(0), M(9), T(0), W(7), R(7), F(0), S(14). So 37 in four runs -- not bad. I like where this marathon plan is heading. Sam is going to qualify for the Olympic Trials, which will be incredibly exciting. I'm going to run right around our stated goal of 2:57, which will look relatively lame but I've got an entire city of fans set to cheer for me so it's cool. And by then the Gordon Hall Foundation that Sam and I will have set up for our dearly departed friend should be in full swing, so we'll probably raise like $10,000 for our efforts.

Gordon: S(7) M(7) T(8) W(8) R(8) F(5) S(6) 49 miles total, I'm planning on attempting to up it for next week - last week was almost a carbon copy of this week. So, it's about time that I up the amounts. I've been hitting 50 miles per week for biking, and I'm going to cut that out and add in another 25 miles of running. See where that gets me.

Week 10 Recap

Sambo: Not a bad week. S(6), M(17), T(7), W(4), R(0), F(6), S(8). 48 total. First time at 2 hours (actually ran 1:58), and Friday I did a 6x1 minute fartlek--nothing fancy but it felt good. I wish I could get Thursday back, but it was an insanely busy work day.

RO$$: Very good week for me at this point, which is of course significantly worse than Sam's decent one. S(8), M(12), T(0), W(7), R(5), F(0), S(8). 40 total. The run on Monday could have been a lot better, but running for 1:30 through snow and ice is pretty much guaranteed to blow. Steelers in the Super Bowl again. Crazy.

Week 9 Recap

Sam: S(14 w/ 5@6:30 pace), M(6), T(8 w/ 7@6:18 pace on the treadmill), W(4), R(5, tired), F(0), S(10 with Mike). 47 total.

RO$$: S(9), M(0), T(0), W(8), R(0), F(10), S(Steelers 31, Ravens 24). 27 total. Obviously not the strongest week for me. No excuses. Friday night after I ran 10, I did dance for three straight hours, though, so it was a long run of sorts.

Gordon: S(7) M(7) T(8) W(5) R(3) F(7) S(6) Week: 40 on the nose. I wanted 40 this week - so, happy to get it. Mapped out a 7 mile route on mapmyrun.com and am now going to try to stick to it for a 50 mile week. We'll see where that gets me. I'm jealous that you got two tempos in. I'm really kicking myself for not having started these yet.

Week 8 Recap

Sam: This week we find ourselves nearing two months of marathon prep. Thankfully, we've got another 19 weeks to go before the big day, otherwise we'd probably all be toast. This was a decent week for me, highlighted by no days off and a huge crack in the bottom of my right foot. It was also this week that I was overtaken by my dog on the fitness front. He's a big fan of charging hills, leaving me gasping for air as I let him pull me up them. No formal speed work or long run, though I'm planning to do 15 tomorrow with the middle 5 at pace. Such courage may warrant its own blog post once the feat is accomplished. S(8), M(7), T(4), W(8), R(3), F(9), S(6)=45 total.

RO$$: S(7), M(8), T(0), W(0), R(6), F(0), S(9). Unlike Sam, I did not run 7 days this week. In fact, I'd be surprised if that even happens once in the build-up to the race. But I'm pretty pleased with 30 in four days. This was was like many training weeks at Cornell, where I ran slowly in a bunch of snow and wondered whether or not I was actually getting in better shape. Eventually I'm going to start incorporating log runs. I'm already cranking out the pull-ups. Pyramid of four!

Gordon: S(5), M(5), T(5), W(5), R(0), F(5), S(7). A measly 32 - I ran 7 yesterday (Sunday), and I'm planning on running 7 or 8 each day this week. This week I got home too hungry to turn around and run, but too late to have a proper amount of time in between dinner and my run. Each run was a series of terrible sidestitches, and near misses on shitting my pants. Fortunately, there's a blizzard on the way to NYC, and I'll be able to increase my running by skipping work.

Week 7 Recap

RO$$: S(9), M(0), T(5), W(5), R(0), F(9), S(6). 34 miles total -- the highest week yet for me, largely because I ran five days and not four. Just trying to build the miles sensibly. I've been doing pull-ups almost every day, so I'm starting to get pretty jacked. Guys, don't be surprised if you don't recognize me whenever you get to Pittsburgh on race week.

Sam: S(7), M(6), T(6), W(11), R(10, 6.5@6:05 pace), F(6), S(0). 46 miles. Pace work felt pretty good. Need to buy a new pair of trainers. Suggestions?

Gordon: S(5) M(6) T(4) W(5) R(0) F(5) S(5) 30 miles total - That's great about the pace work. I've been meaning to get started, but the pain in my knee keeps cropping up. I keep wondering if I should just tough out a tempo run or if I should take a week off to let it get better. Thoughts?

Week 6 Recap

Sam: Big travel week. Pretty bad on the running front. I've driven over half as many hours (18) as miles run (30). Su(7), M(0), T(8), W(6), R(0), F(5), Sa(4). My dad's new house backs right into Middle Run, which links to a ton of trails. We were all fans, including the dog.

RO$$: Very slowly but surely creeping up. S(7), M(0), T(8), W(0), R(0), F(8), S(5). Tip of the cap to loyal MaT reader Alyssa, who accompanied me on Sunday's run.

Week 5 Recap

Sam: Su (15), M (6), T (0), W (4), R (6), F (7), Sa (14). Weekly total of 52 miles but with sandwiched long runs. No workouts this week, but I did some pickups during today's long run. Heading to Delaware tomorrow, so I'm excited for some trail running. I've planned out my long run schedule from here until May, since I guess that has to be part of the conversation for an aerobic pussy like myself. Climbing to 20 miles with pace-work in the middle sounds pretty daunting.

RO$$: S5, M7, T0, W0, R0, F5, S7. I should be able to pick things up a little but from here. On another matter. Did you guys get an email about possibly not getting an elite slot? I didn't have any hard evidence that I could break 2:57 (which I'm still assuming is the general goal time, not 2:19) by way of past times, so a woman emailed me just to give a heads up. If we don't get elite status, I don't think it will be a big deal, since there will be a sub-8:00 per mile group, which should be right near the front. When I ran 3:00 at Pittsburgh, I was 81st overall, so there can't be that many people registering who have actually run 2:57 or faster.