week 13

[Coach Cane]

I hope you enjoyed your field trip to scenic Staten Island yesterday

(or the race simulation in CP.) 

As we've said, it should have provided you with a good indicator of 

your fitness and whether your MGP is realistic, as well as a hard, productive run.

This is our last week of hard training before a three week taper and 
then a 26.2 mile adventure. Tuesday will be a 6 miler (a/k/a a full counterclockwise lap of the park). 
Begin by warming up for the first 5 minutes or so with an easy jog, then dial it up to MGP until you hit

Engineers' Gate. (3.15 miles).  Then accelerate to HM pace (which you established this weekend) for 

the remainder of the loop.  Then just finish up with an easy cooldown jog along the transverse for a few minutes.

Saturday is your second and final 20 miler. (Exact route will be 
posted here later in the week once I scout the conditions and other 
events, but we'll have something fun for you.)  Please run the 
majority of the workout at goal marathon pace + :30-:45/ 
mile.  Those of you who have not missed long runs and are feeling 
good are encouraged to accelerate for the last 6 miles and bring it to MGP. The

idea is that I want you to feel what it's like to run at MGP on tired legs, but this is

something that i only want you doing if you fit the above description. Under no circumstances should

you run the whole thing at or near MGP. Once again we will have some support out on the course this weekend

and we will also have extra staff to provide more pace groups and interaction.

Your taper begins as soon as you finish the 20 miler, but we'll still 
have a couple of challenging workouts for you in order to make sure you peak at just the right time. 
Here's the full week's outline: 

M: rest 
T: group 
W: easy 3-5, preferably on soft surface.  x-training is acceptable 
Th: easy 6-8.  Nothing hard today - remember that we want you strong 
on Saturday. Keep all of the run at MGP or slower. 
F: rest. 
S: group 
Su: easy 3-4 mile recovery jog, preferably on soft surface. 

Also, please remember to write to me directly if you have any training questions, injury issues, etc. The Facebook group is there to promote some camaraderie and support, but I don't monitor it regularly, so it's not your best way to reach me.