It feels like summer was just starting yesterday, but now it’s basically over and for those training for early fall marathons (Berlin and Chicago, looking at you), we are running out of time!
I am now 4 weeks out from the Chicago Marathon where I’ll be attempting to run the Olympic Trials Qualifying (OTQ) standard (under 2:37 for women, avg pace 5:59/mi or faster). I would like to say that I’m ready, but the truth is that I don’t know. I feel stronger than my last build and I’ve been running more and faster than in the spring, but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough.
How has training been going
For those who don’t know, I recently set a new marathon PR at Boston earlier this year of 2:38:44. It was a big breakthrough, my first time under 2:40, and a heck of a lot closer to 2:37. On one hand, shaving off 1 minute and 45 seconds seems like just a tiny bit more, but at this level, those marginal gains take a lot. And if I had to grade my training execution this cycle, I’d give myself a solid B minus.
What I’m doing well:
-
Mileage - in my last build, I started at 50 miles/week and peaked at 80 miles/week, but most of my weeks were in the 60s. This time around, I started my build with 60 mpw as my base, and have stacked a lot of weeks in the 70s, and am hoping to peak somewhere around 85-90 mpw (all while staying relatively injury free)!
-
Quality workouts - I’m keeping the same schedule of 2 quality sessions a week (1 focused more on VO2 max or threshold work, and the other usually as part of a long run focusing on around marathon pace). But this time around, I’ve been doing more workouts with float recoveries (ex: alternating 800s @ 10K-threshold pace and @ a smidge slower than marathon pace). While these workouts absolutely kick my butt and I’ve failed a few most of them, it is a wonder to find yourself recovering (somewhat) at a pace close to marathon pace.
-
Injury management - I’ve experienced a litany of niggles throughout this build, but I’ve been able to keep them under control with no unplanned days off (but many actual days off). I started the build with a nagging case of plantar fasciitis and also a flare of peroneal tendonitis, but with a combo of foot strengthening, lots and lots of calf raises, and multiple rounds of shock wave therapy both of these injuries have basically gone away completely (shout out my awesome PT Jimmy Williams)!! Now all that is left is my constant companion, my slightly irritated achilles tendinitis, but this is something that I have learned how to manage quite well over the last 10+ years.
-
Strides - I’ve been good at keeping up 4x20 sec strides at the end of easy runs ~2/week. And I’ve actually even been employing them to cure my super dead marathon legs mid run. When I’m super fatigued the day or 2 after a big marathon workout, I’ll sometimes throw in a couple uphill strides and find that I get much better knee lift and pop in my step for the rest of my run.
-
Passive heat - I am starting to re-introduce 1-2 twenty minute sauna sessions per week as the temperatures have started to cool down for some blood volume boosts! I didn’t bother sauna-ing for most of the July and August because all of my runs outside were forced active heat training sessions already (i.e. the world was my sauna).
What I could be doing better:
-
Fueling - My in-workout fueling game is still strong (consistent 90-100g carb/hr for long workouts, building up to 110-120g carb/hr for the marathon). However, my post run recovery could be better. I can feel that I should be eating more in everyday life as my mileage has really started to ramp up. I don’t think my appetite has caught up yet to the amount of training I’m doing, plus when I’m in the zone working on Toga, I’ll sometimes find that many hours have passed without me having a snack. But I can feel it in the fact that it is taking me longer to recover between workouts that I need to be eating more. This is something I plan to improve over the next couple weeks!
-
Strength training - this has been the biggest fail for me this build. When life gets busy, strength work is the first thing that falls to the side. I’ve realistically been lifting about once every other week, which I’m extremely disappointed in myself for. But I have ~2 more good weeks of solid training before I really taper, so I can at least do better now! (I used to cram for exams with good results, so why not strength too?)
-
Cross training - I’m on the fence with how I’d rate this. Last build, I used cross training doubles multiple times per week as a way to get additional volume. This time around, I’ve been barely cross training, but at the same time I’ve been running on avg ~10 more miles per week, so I think it’s more that I’ve replaced my cross training with more running.
What’s left in the build
With just 4 weeks left, I have 1 more week of peak training, and then I start my taper, although I prefer a less aggressive taper. On deck, we have
-
Peak week at 85-90 miles, and the last BIG long run workout. 10 miles steady @ 6:50 pace + 10-12 miles @ marathon pace ~5:57. This workout will really show me where I’m at.
-
Taper week 1: 70-75 miles, still have 2 solid quality sessions
-
Taper week 2: 60-70 miles. Last big workout 3/2/3 (3 miles @ marathon pace, 2 miles @ half marathon pace, 3 miles @ marathon pace), cut out the doubles (but add in more sauna to maintain blood volume)
-
Taper week 3 (aka show time!!): Hovering around 40-50 miles, keeping the legs sharp and the mind fresh, and then we race!!!
While I wish I’d executed my build better, I can direct that energy to really focus over this last month. I recently listened to an interview with Clayton Young (2:05 marathoner, targeting the marathon American Record at Chicago) talking about something Josh Kerr (new mile world record holder) said that has been playing on repeat in my head. Josh put his goal of breaking the mile world record out there from the beginning, and he believed in himself when others didn’t. He said that “he did not focus on chasing the world record, but instead created an environment in which the record became inevitable.”
There is so much power in that statement. I am a strong believer in manifesting your goals and giving yourself no option but to succeed. So even though I have my doubts, I’m going to do my best to put them aside and create the environment I need to run the OTQ.
Could I have prepared better? Yes.
Is it going to be close? Yes.
Am I going to hit the OTQ? Hell yes.
Training for a fall marathon too? Toga builds your plan around your goal race, including the taper (ask the coach to adjust it), puts strength and prehab routines right in your daily plan so they’re harder to skip, and predicts your race time from your actual training.
Last updated September 29, 2026
Frequently asked questions
A float recovery workout replaces easy jog recoveries with steady running. For example, I alternate 800s at 10K-to-threshold pace with 800s just slower than marathon pace. The 'recovery' reps stay fast, which trains you to clear fatigue while still running near marathon pace.
My taper for Chicago is 3 weeks after an 85 to 90 mile peak week: 70 to 75 miles with 2 quality sessions, then 60 to 70 miles with a last marathon-pace workout, then 40 to 50 miles in race week. I prefer a less aggressive taper that keeps some intensity to stay sharp.
For me they do. I do 4 x 20-second strides after easy runs about twice a week, and when my legs feel dead a day or two after a big workout, a couple of uphill strides mid-run gives me better knee lift and more pop for the rest of the run.
The standard I'm chasing is under 2:37 for women, which is an average pace of 5:59 per mile or faster. I'm attempting it at the 2026 Chicago Marathon after running 2:38:44 at Boston earlier in the year.