5 and a half weeks until chicago

I'm a sprinter who can relate to distance running, but

that training is incredible! Look for the Paula and Cathering duel it should be good. Break a leg shipalum.

LOL

Again, no mention of Yoko Shibui.

Last week here in Kunming she did 5x3000, 20km tempo and 40km tempo. I know the times but I am not going to tell you.

Yoko is going to be ready to go about 2:18:00.

jason

Jason I hate to be the one to tell you, but 2:18 have

already been done. Catherine and Paula are aiming much

lower than that! My guess is (whats her name) Yoko Ono will be running for no higher than third.

Vipam

Remember, this is a MARATHON. It is NOT a 10km. Past performances often do not accurately predict success in the marathon.

Paula and Catherine are obviously going to be tough to beat, but the Japanese are always well-prepared.

jason

...Paula and Catherine HAVE run the two fastest marathon times ever, and each ran the latter part of her race alone with no one else to push. I am not saying that Yoko doesn't have a chance, but will say that we should be in for an interesting race if she is doing as well as you have described. Either way, good luck to all of them. This race should be just as exciting as London, if not more so.

An actual reply to "shipalum" instead of a sidetrack debate on the quick chicks --

Without naming names, you sound like you're the "shipalum" I was conversing with at the Lehigh River Relay this summer. First a caveat - - considet the source, in that I have been suffering general a---kickings by the "shipalum" of my approximate age since the early 1980s.

Yr plan sounds very good, IMO. Note that given your prep thus far, if your times in practice in the last 4 weeks before the race are not what you had hoped, don't panic -- by then there's such a moutnian of training behind you that, if you can be confident enough to stick w/the program and taper right, you can make your goal mark in the race.

FWIW I've found that a proper taper can have you feeling worse -- heavy, slow and tired -- than during the peak period, up until as close as 2 or 3 days before the race, when you very suddenly snap into line. I call this "taperitis" -- just stay confident.

I wonlt add too much typing here, am already behind sched here today, but if you are that "shipalum" -- and want to talk abt a couple of potential "homestretch" workout suggestions or some general ideas, feel free to call me -- I'm in the book, the only "McVeigh" in Summit, NJ.

thanks joe. i appreciate the response. i have a tentative plan for the weeks leading up to race day, but i'm willing to change some things if they make sense. i may be giving you a call sometime in the next few weeks just to run my workout ideas by you. there's no perfect plan of course. i'm just trying to figure out how to best prepare myself for those last few miles when it's determined if i run great, good or bad. anyway, thanks, and i'll talk to you soon.

Your training / racing plan over the next 10 days sounds very good and could provide you with a lot of information that might answer some of the questions you raise.

1. After the HM at marathon pace you should be able to answer the question, ?can I go round again without slowing?? If the answer is a negative, or a doubt, then add some more long slow runs (20-23 miles at M-pace + 1.00-1.15 secs/mile) in the next 3 weeks (one every 5 days is ok if you watch fuel replacement and run low-intensity on all other runs).

2. After the Philly HM, (which you should have been able to race 10-12 secs / mile faster than marathon target pace), you will know if you are fast enough. Too slow (say, only 5-10 secs faster than M-pace) and you might want to add in some 2km-2m repeats at M-pace ? 12-15 secs/mile in the lead up to Chicago (a session of 4 x 2m with 400m jog should be ok and can be run every 3 days for the next 3 weeks, all else being M + 60 secs/mile or slower for Easy runs and up to M + 12 secs/mile for steadier runs of up to one hour).

One question you might consider is, how will you know the correct intensity for the first HM? Is this just some dream target marathon pace, or do your other performances predict this target time, or will you run at a target HR (eg: a steady 170 bpm) to get the intensity right? How will you gauge / ensure, the whole 13.1 miles, that you are still only putting in marathon effort?

Sounds like a good plan,

Good luck in both HM?s.

Don't forget to taper well before the big day.

Hadd

thanks for the suggestions hadd. i may need to add a couple 20-23 milers in the next few weeks. i've been doing those types of interval sessions in recent weeks and will do a couple more. i do have a specific time goal, but i'm going to race on feel rather than by the clock. the half marathon this weekend will be at goal marathon pace, not necessarily the pace i can run a marathon at on that day. my goal time is going to be a challenge to reach, but it's definitely something i'll be close to. we'll see