Well, as you might have guessed from the title of this post–winter is back with a vengeance in Boston. I had a fantastic week of training and was super stoked to hit my first 40+ mile week, but mother nature sure didn’t make it easy. This was actually my second-highest weekly mileage ever–and it didn’t even feel that hard!! Hurrah for training and especially hurrah for wise coaching 🙂

I started things off with a nice long recovery run before hitting the track for probably the last time in a little while. I love Nike’s track workouts but they’re a little bit shorter and faster (ha) than the speedwork I should be doing for marathon training–my workouts should be geared more towards stuff like tempos and mile repeats. Wednesday I did my banded strength routine and then went to my favorite yoga class for a much-needed sweaty stretch session.

Thursday morning I had tempo miles on the books–and I did NOT want to get my butt out of bed. But I did, and it was pretty great. The only runs you regret are the ones you don’t do, right? I had 5 miles at half MGP, and while the first one felt pretty intense, the rest really flowed and ended up being even faster than expected. It was definitely the confidence boost I needed before I race this coming weekend.

Friday I shook my legs out and unfortunately started the process of freaking out about my long run Saturday. I had 17 on the books and a couple of my pals had 18 and 20, so we joined a group bright and early for a bus ride from downtown Boston out to Ashland, which is at mile 3 of the marathon route. It was really, really, really cold, with “real feels” below 0 degrees for the entire run. I wanted to take it really easy but we ended up running a little bit faster than goal pace, mostly just to keep warm! Word to the wise–gels turn into chews at sub-zero temperatures…

I was super grateful for the company on this run, and even more grateful for the free burrito bowl at the end! My 17 miles turned into a strong 18, and I’m feeling even more confident that I’m on track to meet my goals. The rest of the weekend consisted of an annual bonfire party with friends and lots of cooking and blizzard prep–we’re slated to get 16″ tomorrow. Here’s hoping it clears up for my half marathon next Sunday…

Week 6: 43.2 total miles

• Monday: 7.1 recovery
• Tuesday: Track attack! 5 miles total, workout was 6:45 avg. (details here)
• Wednesday: Strength circuit and 90 minute vinyasa yoga
• Thursday: Tempo tempo tempo–1 up, 5 at half MGP (7:30, 7:28, 7:26, 7:11, 7:22), 1 down
• Friday: 5.7 easy
• Saturday: 18.3 freezing miles!
• Sunday: Rest 🙂 + mobility and corework

Linking up with The Weekly Wrap (hosted by Hoho Runs and Miss Sippipiddlin) and with Eat Pray Run DC for her training recap linkup. Also, joining the Jess’s (Jess Runs ATL and The Right Fits) for their weekly recap linkup!