Now that the training and marathon are over, it is worth reviewing this training plan to see how it worked. The proof, they say, is in the pudding. While a 3:13 marathon is a lot better than the disastrous 3:24 at NYCM a year and a half ago, it is still 13 minutes slower than my goal going into this marathon, and three minutes slower than what I considered an acceptable time.

A couple of things led to that. First, getting two sinus infections at critical times during the training didn't help. Yes, that could be due, in part, to having a weakened immune system from training so much. But last winter I also got two sinus infections and my training schedule was pretty light. That may have more to do with having a kid in day care.

Second, the heat of the day, which although it was nothing like what people endured while running the 2004 marathon, was hot and I generally do not run well in the heat.

Third, starting so far back in a marathon of 20,000 runners was difficult. I do not feel like I settled into a comfortable and even pace till somewhere around the 10-mile mark.

Finally, I think the training was too much too early. Although I was proud of my 78-mile weeks, they came fairly early in the training cycle. That is typical Friel and may be appropriate for triathletes, but because of the timing of those high mileage weeks, the training schedule seemed very long. I do know I was feeling burned out by March. That was in part due to the long schedule and part due to the long winter.

So where to now? Those high mileage weeks have given me the confidence to take another shot at using the 18-week, 70-mile Pfitzinger plan from his book Advanced Marathoning. After all, 70 miles is a lot less that 78, although the mileage in Pfitzinger's plan will be more intense than the 78 I ran training for Boston.

Perhaps I'll need to choose a fast fall marathon for the next experiment.