Savor this day of rest. Once this stepback week is past, we move forward to the peak part of your training. This is not an easy training program. No marathon training program is, because of the necessity to log lots of miles to get runners ready to finish 26 miles 385 yards. If you have any nagging injuries, but have been postponing seeing a sports medicine professional, maybe now is the time to schedule an appointment.
Prevention is sometimes the best therapy.
If you want a test race, this might be a good weekend for it. A half marathon would fit perfectly into the training plan, particularly coming at the end of the fourth of our three-week cycles. You also have the leeway to juggle weeks to accommodate the local racing calendar. In fact, Tom Moran, who works with me in the CARA Chixcago Marathon Training Class, feels that runners in the Novice program should not even consider racing. Since you didn't run as far yesterday, you might even want to include some running today.