Weekly Roundup 3.25-3.31

Week 14 of 16

Guess what time it is?  It’s taper time!

I am a week late to start tapering but I was forced to miss a few key weeks in training due to injury so I made the decision to push one more week.  I’ve told clients before that they could run a good marathon with training only reaching 16 miles however mentally I knew I needed to get in a 20.

I’ve never really been a high mileage runner.  My first marathon in 2012 I ran 50 miles in my biggest week but since then I’ve stuck to a goal of getting up to 40-42 miles.  This week I hit my highest mileage in training this year with a total of 34 miles.  Nothing crazy or even impressive but I was happy to get there considering a few weeks ago I didn’t even know if I’d be healthy enough to run a marathon on April 15th.

I started the week off with an easy 4 miles after work on Monday.  I was still a little sore and sluggish from my last long run so I tried by best to stay relaxed and just enjoy being outside with the sun shining.

Tuesday is run club and all day I planned to go.  I don’t know why I changed by mind but as soon as I got home I grabbed Georgie for a short run around the neighborhood.  She made it almost 3 miles so I showered, put on my PJs and I was done for the night!  Oops.

Craig met me at the gym on Wednesday afternoon for a strength training session then I came home to another short run with G.  I wasn’t going to run at all but it was one of those lovely evenings that I just felt like doing something.  I actually don’t even like running Georgie two days in a row but she was sitting at the back door begging so I couldn’t say no.

Friday was super cloudy and grey but WARM.  Like high 50s.  Shorts weather.  I decided to take a little field trip to Cotuit and run my favorite 5 mile loop by the water.

Saturday was long run day.  It was a big day.  20 miles.  I have always created a marathon training plan for myself with two 20-milers.  The first one always seems to be a struggle physically.  The second one is more of a mental boost.  This was my one and only shot.  On one hand, I didn’t want to do anything stupid—like reinjure myself.  On the other hand, I just knew I needed to complete the run to enter Boston with the confidence that I could at least make it 26.2 miles.  I know it’s not going to be a fast marathon time for me.  When I got injured all I said was if it’s a nice day, I feel good and I was happy out on the course, it would be a successful marathon for me.  I am way more focused on just enjoying the experience this time.

My dad decided he would bike with me for my entire 20 miles.  In the past he biked alongside me for almost all of my long runs.  This was his first of 2019 training.

The first 11.5 miles felt great.  The sun was shining.  There was virtually no wind.  I was in shorts again.  As I turned around back to my parents the wind suddenly went non-existent to strong, constant, in yo face headwinds.  It was awful.  For the next 8 miles, I felt like I was running in slow motion.  I was old man shuffling.  I stopped a lot.  I drank a lot of water.  My dad was encouraging me the whole way.

At 19.5 miles, we passed the Cape Cod Winery and I saw the best sign of the day.  Wine.  And it was calling my name.  I needed to get home!  It wasn’t pretty and I may have felt like I got hit by a bus after but I did make it 20 miles.  NOW I was ready to taper.

Other highlights:

·      What’s your favorite post-long run meal?  This week we went for Mexican followed by ice cream.  Give me all the food!

·      Boston Marathon bib number have been assigned (…and then mine was updated!)  I was originally assigned to Wave 4, Corral 5 but now I’ll be in Wave 2, Corral 8.  Yeah!

Upcoming events:

·      2 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 3.25.19

4.25 miles (32:17)

Burdenko H2O

Tuesday 3.26.19

2.76 miles with G (26:05)

Taught spin class

Wednesday 3.27.19

1.96 miles with G (18:46)

Lift

Thursday 3.28.19

Taught spin class

Power Water

Friday 3.29.19

5.15 miles (39:02)

22’ walk

Saturday 3.30.19

20 miles (2:46:36)

20’ walk with G

Sunday 3.31.19

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16             Week 9 of 16             Week 13 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16             Week 10 of 16

Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16             Week 11 of 16

Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16             Week 12 of 16

This week’s mileage: 34 miles

This week’s G mileage: 5 miles

March Totals: 118 miles

2019 Totals: 278 miles

Weekly Roundup 3.18-3.24

Week 13 of 16

Hello 33!  Monday was my birthday and it was a great day.  I came in to work to presents and cards from my coworkers.  Eric brought me coffee from Marylou’s.  My pool class sang to me.  The sun was shining and I even got to leave for the day at 3pm.

I took advantage of the shorter day by heading to Cotuit after work for a 5 miler by the beach.  It was perfect!  After my parents brought me sushi for dinner.  I opened presents.  We went for a walk with G then had leftover birthday cake from our Sunday dinner the day before.

The celebrations continued on Tuesday morning with my spin birthday party.  I had a full class and everyone brought the energy!  So fun!  I even stayed on the bike and pedaled the whole class—first time since my injury.  That afternoon I began a new program in the gym by Craig as a lead up to the marathon and then later that night I made an appearance at Run Club and actually ran with the group!  Woo woo!  It was pretty chilly but the best part was that it stayed light our entire run.  Thank you daylight savings.

Since I’m still not 100% I didn’t want to push it and run again on Wednesday so I decided to take G out instead.  Good, short recovery day followed by a full day off from running on Thursday.

I had to work Friday morning but I went home for an easy 4 miler.  It was cool and damp and I have zero interest in running but I got the job done.  Yuck.

Saturday was a funny day.  We woke up to snow on the ground on Cape Cod.  By the afternoon, the temperatures were supposed to be in the 40s but the wind speed 20-30 mph with gusts over 40 mph.  I waited all morning until 1:00—supposedly the warmest hours of the day.  I ran from my parent’s house in Falmouth and actually planned my run so that the wind would be at my back along the water.  I usually run the reverse route thinking I’ll be fine but then totally regret it.

For most runners training for Boston, this was the infamous “last long run” before the race.  It’s normal to run 20-22 miles before a 3 week taper.  For me, I had 16 planned.  I ran 16 miles once—just over a week before my injury.  I still get nervous before every long run over 2 hours and even more so for this one being so close to race day with a stubborn hip and a few weeks of missed training.

Other than feeling completely exhausted and beat up from battling the wind, I was happy with my efforts.  I was happy I waited to run when I did and I was happy to get in 16 miles and I was even happier about my pace in those conditions.  I finally feel like I’m marathon training again.  Instead of beginning my taper, I plan to get in one more solid week of training with one more long run.

Upcoming events:

·      3 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 3.18.19

Happy Birthday to me!

5 miles (38:32)

18’ walk with the fam

Burdenko H2O

Tuesday 3.19.19

Run Club! 3.45 miles (29:10)

Taught spin class

Lift

Wednesday 3.20.19

1.56 miles with G (13:49)

Thursday 3.21.19

Taught spin class

Power Water

Friday 3.22.19

4 miles (31:04)

Saturday 3.23.19

16 miles (2:01:38)

Sunday 3.24.19

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16             Week 9 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16             Week 10 of 16

Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16             Week 11 of 16

Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16             Week 12 of 16

This week’s mileage: 30 miles

This week’s G mileage: 1.5 miles

March Totals: 84 miles

2019 Totals: 244 miles

Weekly Roundup 3.11-3.17

Week 12 of 16

Can you believe there is only 4 weeks left until Boston?!  I can’t.  I mean I know I missed a couple key weeks of training but still.  Time is flying by!  And the good news is that I’m not 100% but I’m pretty darn close.

This week started out with a beautiful 6 miles on Monday.  I was feeling super sluggish throughout the day—daylight savings always kicks my butt—but I couldn’t help but have a great run with the sun shining and hints of spring weather.

I decided to take it easy on Tuesday and opted indoors on the elliptical plus a strength training session.  It was another nice day but I didn’t want to overdo it after 10 miles on Saturday and 6 on Monday.  I was back outside on Wednesday for 4 miles with temperatures dropping again.  I pulled out my 2018 Boston Marathon jacket for some extra motivation.

Thursday night kicked off “birthday weekend” with two really fun spin and swim classes.

I got my nails done on Friday morning before seeing Kathy for PT.  Even though I’d been feeling much better, she suggested I come in for some manual work and to get taped before my weekend long run.  It’s so hard to say no.  She’s too good to me!  I also never get to see her because her only days in the Mashpee location are on Fridays when I’m off so it’s always fun to get to chat with her.

The rest of the day was great.  I treated myself to a big iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks and an everything bagel at Bagel Havel.  I went for a short run with G—our first together since my injury!  Later in the afternoon I went to Naukabout for some day drinking with Craig then came home to carb load and get to bed semi-early to rest up for my long run.

My alarm went off much earlier than I wanted on Saturday morning but I was headed to Plymouth to meet up with my friend Steve who then was driving us to Boston to run on the course.  The Marathon Sports Wellesley store is located at Mile 14.7 which is perfect to run and experience the later stages of the race.  They held group runs each week during Boston Marathon training but this was the first I was healthy enough to attend.  Running out was great.  I was looking around trying to take in some of the sights along the course.  Sights I did not see on April 16, 2018.  Seriously though, nothing was familiar.  Nothing!  When I said I ran with my head down to block out the rain, I was telling the absolute truth.  

Along the way we got to run the Newton hills and I now know what hill is Heartbreak Hill.  In case you missed my race report from last year’s Boston Marathon, I was halfway up Heartbreak Hill when I asked another running if we were on Heartbreak Hill.  It’s still not as bad as I imagined.  I’m still thinking it’s more of a mental battle for people.

Once our watches hit 7 miles we turned around to face some nasty headwinds all the way back.  The wind was constant and brought us to a standstill at times.  I remember turning to Steve and saying it felt like we were running in slow motion!  It was brutal.

We got back to the store to a little party with Hoka and I finally tried 26.2 Brew—the beer brewed by Sam Adams made specifically for the Boston Marathon runners.  I also picked up my Boston Marathon jacket as an early birthday present.

After the run I went straight to my parents’ house for a *late afternoon* birthday brunch.  My mom made French toast casserole, bacon and a nice fruit spread while we sipped on mimosas.  

We also made a stop to Dairy Queen.  It was opening weekend and we couldn’t pass up buy one, get one.  I met up with Katrina for a while that night to complete the day.  I was exhausted but it was so good to see her and catch up.

The birthday celebrations continued on Sunday.  David and Lindsey made me feel special all day at work.  One of the spinners brought us Irish soda bread.  I am pretty anti-St. Patrick’s Day but I gave it a try!  After work I had my annual birthday lasagna with my parents along with my mom’s famous birthday cake.  Overall a fantastic birthday weekend.  Big thanks to everyone that made it great.

Other highlights:

·      My birthday is on Monday!!

·      I always like to share cool products so check out these awesome custom socks Lizzie sent me for my birthday.  It’s Georgie!  The company is called Divvy Up.  Aaaamazing!

Upcoming events:

·      4 weeks until the Boston Marathon!

Monday 3.11.19

6 miles (45:55)

Burdenko H2O

Tuesday 3.12.19

30’ elliptical

1/2 Taught spin class

Lift

Wednesday 3.13.19

4 miles (30:36)

Thursday 3.14.19

1/2 Taught spin class

Power Water

Friday 3.15.19

2.06 miles with G (20:43)

10’ elliptical

Saturday 3.16.19

14 miles with Steve (1:56:45)

20’ walk with the fam

Sunday 3.17.19

1/2 Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16             Week 9 of 16

Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16             Week 10 of 16

Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16             Week 11 of 16

Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16

This week’s mileage: 26 miles

This week’s G mileage: 2 miles

March Totals: 54 miles

2019 Totals: 214 miles