Ryan Vail was a part of the National Championship XC team at Oklahoma State in 2009 where he finished seventh overall. He was a five time NCAA All-American in XC and track. This past year he set PRs and Trials qualifying marks in the 10k (27:57) and half marathon 1:02:51). The Houston Trials will be his marathon debut.

With just over 2 weeks until the race, miles and workouts are winding down. It's been an interesting process given that it's my first marathon. I'm also Dave Smith's first athlete in the marathon, so it's been a learning experience for both of us. Dave has always pushed a high volume and strength oriented philosophy which made the training jump quite easy, but there was still a good deal of collaboration with other coaches around the country with more marathon experience. The marathon is a completely different animal than any other race I've had to compete in and carries several new challenges for me: Higher volume, longer workouts, practice with fluids and nutrition, and a long training block with no racing. I'll also be heading down to Austin this weekend to prepare my body for the warmer Texas weather.

The training has been very basic with an emphasis on long intervals and long run/tempo combinations. The long tempo efforts culminated in a 16 mile tempo at 4:58 pace 4 weeks out from the race, and the efforts have since been slowly getting shorter. The challenge now becomes getting myself to the starting line feeling fresh, and executing a smart race without any marathon experience. This is part of the reason I chose to debut at the trials. It will be a very deep field with many athletes that I routinely compete against and have a decent idea of their abilities. I'm hoping key off some of these marathon veterans while trying to ensure that I don't put myself into a situation that is over my head. I have been reaching out to some of these marathoners during the training process for advice, and the reoccurring theme is that it is crucial to focus every mile and ensure that you are running at a pace that is manageable and not following any strong moves in the early or middle parts of the race. With that in mind, I'm feeling strong and looking forward to competing for a spot in London. It's going to be an extremely competitive and exciting race.


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