We went running a few times in October...

When I ask Andrea how she is feeling, the
answer is typically "sleepy!"

Sometimes you just have to put on several layers of clothes, a fleece robe, grab a down blanket, and fall asleep on the couch at 2pm!

Some might say this isn't living... I think this is living life to the absolute fullest!

October was a pretty great month of training. This was really the big month for us... the "make or break" cycle of marathon training. After running 5K PRs on October 1st, then a great half-marathon race in Long Beach, we went right back into full volume training. For me the last 3 weeks have been 145, 140, and 140 miles. For Andrea, they have been 68 (with a day of cross training), 85, and 83 miles. We've put in 2-3 harder workouts per week, with 20-24 mile long runs every weekend.

Mileage is great (miles make champions!), but the real emphasis since Long Beach has been on specific marathon-paced workouts. Short tempos, long tempos, BIG tempos (like last week's half-marathon "dress rehersal" tempo run). These are the bread & butter workouts, and we've hit them all right on pace.

Full logs for October: Andrea  -  Jake

Now we'll start a gradual taper since we are exactly 3 weeks out from Philly. There are still a few harder efforts on the schedule (the worst thing you can do, in my opinion, is cut back volume AND intensity too soon), including a 4-3-2-1 x Mile stepdown the signature "2 x 5 miler" workout, which is really the final piece of the puzzle, 10 days out.

Confidence is high, as it should be. We've put in a lot of work and are fit, strong, and fast!

Post-Long Beach workouts, and the plan for the final 3 weeks

A) Post-Long run on Saturday, B) Post-BIG Tempo run last Thursday, C) A rite of passage for all marathoners

Andrea is not only an amazing runner, but an amazing BAKER as well. She get like 10 million girlfriend points for making my favorite food: A giant, warm, delicious, super-chocolatey Tollhouse cookie bar!