This week last year I began my final preparations for the New York City marathon and completed my marathon preparation series.

• I finished up the series on rest by describing how to time rest during a workout. I described different types of rest, and gave a few tips that I use to measure my rest as I am working out.
• I got out in my neighborhood for my first Halloween run. The nice thing about Halloween is that drivers are being careful as they drive. The not so nice thing is that there are twice as many drivers as usual. I did not run on Halloween this year, though, as I felt a few days off after my marathon were called for.
• I described how the starting corrals work at New York City. It is a good thing to understand how they work, especially when you want to run with a friend in a different corral. I also provided a guide for how to single me out and cheer for me at the race. The article is made more useful by the fact that it linked to quite a few resources for cheering for any runner, and not just me.
• This week two years ago, I wrote about planning your workouts. You are much more likely to stay on track if you know what you are supposed to do ahead of time. I also wrote about The Bike Shop, where children can build their own bikes and learn how to maintain them in an effort to teach fitness and responsibility. The owner “sells” the bikes for $5 to local kids, teaches them how to maintain them, and brings them on group rides. If there is not a similar program in your community, perhaps you could consider starting one?