Marathon Week at long last! I continued to cut back my mileage for my taper and by the end of the week I have so much energy I can't sleep at night. The marathon was a fantastic experience and I exceeded all of my expectations. It will get its own blog entry in a few days when I have time to give it the attention it deserves. So we shall move on to the week:

Monday - A 45 minute elliptical session. Just like last week, I am cutting back for the taper (these are usually an hour long). I go pretty easy.
Tuesday - A 4 mile run. These runs are getting so short that I have trouble considering them full workouts. I add four strides at the end because I need to feel like I've done something.
Wednesday - A 7 mile tempo run. I run fast! I try and hold something back, but I still clock a training course record. I'm excited with how easy it felt to run fast and I know that I've got enough time to get rested up before Sunday.
Thursday - A 4 mile run. I run easy and I intentionally don't bring a watch. I follow the run with 4 strides on grass.
Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical in reverse. I stay relaxed and make sure not to push hard. I skip my usual cool down and go outside to run six strides. They feel a bit funny after spending half an hour spinning my legs backwards.
Saturday - 3 miles of jogging (just enough to work up a sweat) and four strides at the local community college soccer field. My good races have often followed pre-race workouts that felt a little tougher than I had expected. I'm worried because on this day it feels too smooth.
Sunday - The Frederick Marathon! I run 2:41:46 and place 2nd overall. I receive a plaque for being the second place male, a trophy for being the first finisher from Frederick County, and I've got a check for $400 coming in the mail. I'm even quoted in Monday's Washington Post! How freakin' cool is that? I'll provide details in a future blog.

To say that this week went well would be a dramatic understatement. The marathon was my greatest athletic accomplishment to date. I'll just leave it at that for now.