Marathon Week Training Regimen

In the weeks before you run a marathon conventional wisdom dictates you gradually lessen or taper your workouts in an effort to not be physically exhausted on race day. I have not run since last Saturday's five mile race in York and will not complete a run until this Sunday morning's marathon.

I have been nursing a very sore shin-splint in my right leg since last Saturday. It had been hurting to the extent I had been walking with a limp. It feels fine today, however I am not sure how it will hold up to a training run this week.

So I find myself caught between the desire to run a couple of miles this week to keep sharp and the suspicion I need to rest in order to avert re-aggravating my shin splint injury. At this point, I feel I will sacrifice a couple of minutes performance due to not training this week rather than face the prospect of running with a very sore shin splint for several hours. I would really like this run to be a test of endurance as opposed to a test of pain mitigation or pain threshold levels.

I am very excited the weather is forecasted to be a sunny and warm day on Sunday. I have run a couple of days in October where it was a sheer joy to be outside and running. I am getting a sense the same will be true for this Sunday's Harrisburg marathon sponsored by the Select Medical Corporation.