Training For Napa

After not running since the half marathon on Sunday, I am itching to get out and hit the roads. At one point I considered taking off until Veteran’s Day, but I think it’s good that I decided to only take five days off. I feel rested and am motivated to get back at it. I’ve been thinking about my preparation for Napa on March 4. I have 17 weeks before the race. I respond well to a three-week taper, so that leaves me with 14 weeks. Frankly, before counting I thought I had more time.

My plan for now is to take four weeks to just run and not worry about the pace. I’ll try to get to 80 miles each week, which shouldn’t be a problem. Thanksgiving week should be the only challenge, since it will include two days where I’ll be in the car for 8-10 hours. The only time I will think about pace will be to run for a few miles at marathon pace once a week.

After an easy week, I’ll cutback the mileage a little and increase the speed. I haven’t worked out the details yet, but I want to include a lot of miles at marathon pace. I’ll do this for nine weeks, and then I’ll start my taper. If I do the work and the weather gods smile on me, this will be my best shot at running sub-3.