The theme of this week was: hooray for the cutback!! I definitely was feeling the accumulated stress of 3 weeks in a row at close to 50 miles, so was glad to be taking it a bit easier. I had some residual tightness in my right hip after last week’s 16 miler, so this couldn’t have been better timing. Monday I kicked things off with 6 really easy miles at 9:30 pace, keeping it light so my hip could loosen up. After some quality time with my foam roller Tuesday’s marathon pace run felt pretty good. I haven’t been running with headphones much recently, but I was definitely glad to have a little music to pump me up for this one! Tuesday was also the hubby’s birthday so we celebrated with delicious tacos and this amazing flourless chocolate cake. SO good.
Wednesday was a bonus “rest” day, so I put in a couple of sets of strength work but avoided the temptation to sneak in an extra easy run. I think these cutback weeks are super valuable and I’m trying to trust the plan as much as possible. Wednesday night we had a team event with a dietetic intern at the hospital–definitely covering the basics, but she did an awesome job and it was cool to be reminded about how much diet affects training. I really like this graphic as a simple way to think about fueling (more info here!)
Thursday was a beautiful 6 miles, the first 3 with a colleague who’s also training for Boston. Friday J and I went to a yoga class together and did some nice shoulder opening work–definitely something I don’t focus on enough!
Saturday was the big day of the week–it was a tough workout, and it was Denise’s last long run in Boston before she leaves us for Cali. She’s an awesome training buddy and I’m going to miss her but am so excited for her (she got a job at Facebook) and can’t wait to have her back for Boston! ICYMI, we qualified together at the Sugarloaf Marathon. And I’m thinking pretty seriously about heading out for CIM in December… anyone have tips??
Anywho, Saturday we hit the Boston course for a tough long run/workout–4 easy miles, 4 miles of 90 second intervals at 10k pace (6:50-7:00) with 90 second jog recoveries, 2 miles easy, 2 MGP to finish up. It was a doozy, especially with 627 feet of elevation gain, but great to suffer through it together. And today I got my easy run in with J to wrap up the week.
I’m excited to get back into the hard stuff this week–it’s gonna be a big one!!
Week 7: 37.4 miles
- Monday: 6.6 super easy miles
- Tuesday: 1 up, 6 at MGP (7:33, 7:33, 7:37, 7:41, 7:36, 7:31), 1 down for 8 total
- Wednesday: Mini band + core exercises
- Thursday: 6 easy
- Friday: 75 minute vinyasa yoga
- Saturday: 4 up, 10 x 90 seconds at 10k, 2 easy, 2 MGP for 12.5 total
- Sunday: 4.2 easy
Linking up with The Weekly Wrap (hosted by Hoho Runs and Taking the Long Way Home).
Shorter and Faster 
That’s cool that your friend will be working for facebook. Do you know what she will be doing?
Something about content strategy I think… clearly I don’t work in tech 🙂
You are so fortunate to be able to run the Boston course while you are training. That has to be so beneficial! I know when I run races on courses I’m familiar with, the anxiety level goes way down.
Nice job this week!
Thanks! Yeah it’s practically in my backyard and I grew up on the course, so oddly enough this will be one of the most familiar courses I’ve ever run. I’m gonna know those hills in my sleep.
It’s very important to take those rest weeks seriously. I’m glad you enjoyed yours. I really like the diet graphic you included (and the link). It’s easy to understand. Thanks for linking!
Sure thing! Isn’t that graphic a good one? Very clear and easy to keep in your head when you’re unsure what to put on your plate.
Hooray for cutback weeks! It always seems like they come at exactly the right time 🙂
Right??? They’re the best!
That is really cool that you have the availability to train on the Boston course. Congrats on a solid week of training
It’s so great! I live really close by so it’s a cinch. Thank you!
That long run sounds tough! Amazing work. How exciting for your friend to be working on Facebook, that will be quite the experience. Was it a unique interview process I wonder?
I know! I can’t wait to visit and get a tour. It sounds like it was a pretty intense interview process.
Nice week, and I am FOREVER in favor of step-back weeks, lol. Can’t wait to track the rest of your training!
Hooray for cutback weeks! I really like that infographic on athlete plates. Happy birthday to your husband!
And yes, you should definitely consider CIM! It’s rolling hills but net downhill and a flat final 10K. Sacramento is beautiful in December and the race is so well organized – and fast. The weather is perfect and the crowds are amazing. Just thinking about it makes me want to run it again.
Congrats on a solid week, I will keep tracking your training for inspiration, my goal is NYC Marathon in November
Thanks for stopping by! I ran NYC as my first marathon and loved it–you’re in for a treat 🙂