I am am falling behind in the training schedule due to an injury shortly after the half-marathon. Now I feel like I am back at square one, especially since Helvetia was the last time I ran a long distance. The marathon is fast-approaching and I am feeling like I won't be ready; I have lost all my endurance. What can I do to play catch-up?

First of all, don't give up. You still have nearly 3 months of training before the Portland Marathon so there are still options. The last 3 weeks are the taper period, so you in effect have about 9 weeks to prepare for running the 21 miler. I would suggest you look at the training schedule leading up to the 21 miler and see if you can find a way to ramp up to that distance by increasing your Saturday run each week to get caught up to our training calendar.

That being said, it's hard to give tangible advice without knowing your particulars, but I would strongly recommend you continue coming to clinic runs. Try to get time with your head coach or ACs to tell them your goal and your current state of conditioning, and see what they advise.

Please do NOT play catch-up! The PDXFit schedule is designed to get you safely to the start line, provided that you have completed the workouts. It is ok to miss a workout here and there, but if you have missed a lot, especially because of an injury, you were probably over-training to start with. Playing catch-up is most likely going to get you injured again.



I have to agree with Coach Eric on his advice to find your head coach and discuss your options. Remember that there are always marathons happening throughout the year. You may have to travel to get to one, but it may be better to focus on completing a different marathon than playing catch-up for this year's Portland marathon. Spend the next couple of months on building your cardiovascular base stronger and avoid getting injured again. You can still use the PDXFit schedule, just readjust the marathon date to your new marathon date. Run with PDXFit on Saturdays, but only complete the number of miles for your new marathon training schedule.

Make sure that you have properly identified the cause of your injury, so that you can avoid having it happen again. Visit the medical professionals at the Clearwater canopy and get their advice. You may have to add stretching, yoga, strength training or some other workouts to help heal and prevent the injury from occurring. A massage or some ultrasound may help with the healing process and get you back running again, injury free.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me via email (Eric@StressThenRest.com) or in person on a Saturday morning.

Eric