Wow, only 5 weeks to go. Three weeks of torture! Game on!! Best of luck.

I use to take a spinning class at the local gym. The instructors name was Doll. She would go around the room and get nose to nose with you during the hardest parts of the workout, and yell "HOW ARE YOUUUUU?", and you had to yell back at the top of your lungs how you were doing. If you didn't yell loud enough, she would keep yelling at you to yell louder. It's crunch time for Boston. This is often the hardest few weeks of training, before taper. So..... HOW ARE YOU????

omheck. I'd have told her to F off, LOL. I'm doing much better than expected. Injuries are at bay. Had a good 10k race this weekend...haven't run a road race 10k in 2+ years so it was quite a challenge for this doesn't-wake-up-till-mile-8-long distance runner. I followed it up with a 21mile long run yesterday and imagined I did the last 13miles at around 8:15 but last night when I downloaded my run, I discovered I ran the last 14 miles at an 8:06 pace. which surprised me. I think I am confident enough to try a speed session a week for the next few weeks and see how my body responds. I don't think I'm in the 3:25 shape I was in last fall but I might be able to pull off a 3:35-3:40 if I don't hurt myself between now and then. Biggest hurdle? I get that pain in the ball of my feet at around 13-14 miles. I used to get this all the time until I switched shoes and now that I have switched shoes for the first time in 2+ years, it has returned. GAH! I don't want to go back to my short-bus lookin shoes...I LIKE my new ones, waaaaaaaaah!

Good luck with the URI, cfKid. Hopefully the rest will do you some good. I FINALLY had a decent week! My knee seems to have magically healed (at least, mostly) since I posted last week, and some of my runs actually felt pretty good. Even on yesterday's 17-miler, I threw in a couple mean hills, because what the hell - I NEVER just "throw in hills." Hate them. Crossing my fingers that I'll make it through my last 20-miler next Sunday. This time, I'm going to test BadDawg's theory and run it with the safety pins on...and perhaps a leprachaun. I can't believe we're so close already! I feel like my training has been so half-assed because of my knees, that at this point, I'm just hoping to finish with my pride (and knees) intact.

Good luck with the URI, cfKid. Hopefully the rest will do you some good.

+1 on that, wishing you the best Kid. Marathon training for mortals is as much art as science, since you've built a solid base some rest heading into Patriots Day might be a really good thing for you. Run Boston as your last training run, and the Pig could be a banner day. Glad to hear your knee is behaving itself Erica, the leprechauns must be on your side. They can be mischievous little devils though, so keep an eye on 'em. I've never heard "short bus lookin shoes" before, I had to laugh at that one. That's an EASY call if your feet keep acting up, on the short bus you go. You could always get some Hello Kitty or Happy Bunny stickers to make 'em cool. I had a good easy week, and capped it off with an unexpectedly good run at the New Bedford Half. I was running much faster than planned, and kept waiting to blow up. I never did explode and crushed my (soft) PR with a 1:30:40, and ran 26 total miles for the day. Yesterday's recovery run sucked big time, but today I attacked my hill course and my legs worked pretty well. One more long run on the 29th (Eastern States 20), and it's time for cruise control and bubble wrap.

Didn't have a great week last week. My interval session could not hold my pace, even though I did the scheduled mileage. I ran 22 miles on Sunday at 8:25 pace. Was hoping for 8:10. Since then, I've felt this intermittent sensation of less than full breaths when I breathe. I feel it in the pit of my chest under the breast bone. It feels like a figurative "hole" there. Wierd sensation. It comes and goes over the past 3 days. I think I'm going to see a doctor. I swam on Monday, then played volleyball. I don't have any sensations like this when I'm doing an exercise. Its' when I'm standing or sitting around. Anyone have any ideas? Tomorrow I'm scheduled for 1 mile intervals.

Quite a mixed bag of training success going on here. hsemerson - I'm not sure what your goals are, but your training certainly looks solid enough to get the job done. You may surprise yourself come race day. Lifesabeach - it seems you've gotten your energy levels back. That's good! How many miles are on your shoes? Maybe time for a new pair? Or a pair with more forefoot flexibility and cushioning? CfKid - small consolation, but better to be sick now than during the race. Don't rush the comeback or try to make up for lost training. When you can run again, pick up your schedule where it should be at that point. Feel better. seeEricaRun - don't you love magically self-healing knees? Just in time! Good luck going forward from here. BadDawg - a half marathon PR en route to a 26 mile day? Holy crap! You are so ready! Make sure you use double bubble wrap from here on in. And I don't know why, but when I saw this comic strip, I thought of you. evanflein - getting the job done, as you always manage to do. Good hills and no snow in San Fran, I hope you get to take advantage of those conditions while you are there. mahanska - I agree with workn' - get yourself checked out. Keep us posted. workn2bfaster - good job practicing your line waiting skills. They will serve you well in Boston. Crappy rides? You apparantly haven't ridden the Rock n Roll rollercoaster then. Safe trip home.

Short answer to the question: Not worth a damn. Missed last year due to chronic hamstring problem that I could not get over in time and had to take several weeks very easy. Tore ACL on 1/26/09, will miss '09 again. Good luck to all of you. God willing, see you in 2010. I'm not hardly ever one to trash talk, but I will add this and you all can pile on me for being bitter.... Last year when I was struggling with the hamstring issues I made a post just expressing some of my frustrations. Most folks were VERY sympathetic and encouraging. But then there was "Save Cheevers" who laid into me becuase "his problems were worse than mine" (not as it turned out, I guess, huh?). Anyway, if you are reading this "Save Cheevers" mark your calendar for April 2010. I will recover from ACL surgery, I will train my tail off, and I will show up and kick your ass in the 2010 race. Count on it. Best wishes to all. Cherish every chance to run this very special race. You never know for sure if you will get to do it again.