Has anyone else been singing this song in their head all week? Holy heatwave, Boston! It basically has been in the 90s every day, which means even my early morning runs have been sweatfests. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned approximately one million times, I don’t tolerate heat super well and especially when it’s also humid, it really impacts my running–which you’ll see reflected in my paces this week. Here’s a really handy tool if you’re interested in how heat might affect your pace, but keep in mind that every body is different and be sure to give yourself a break/drink when you need it.
As I discussed in my last couple of posts, this week started off with an extra rest day to take care of some soreness in my hip. Luckily, it paid off and I was able to complete a tough 17 mile long run along the entire course of the Newton hills! I realized that if I run from my apartment to my childhood home in Newton and back it’s exactly 17 miles, so it was a really fun trip down memory lane. Aka Comm Ave. I was out the door by 6:15 a.m. and with 3 stops to fill up my water bottle, I was able to hold onto a strong 8:38 pace despite the temps!
Since I’m about halfway into my training, I have a few goals in mind that I plan to implement in the coming weeks. First, I want to make more of an effort to do some long runs with friends. 
My travel schedule has been pretty limiting here, but I’ve met some awesome ladies also training for Chicago at track (hi guys!) and am hoping to meet up with them for some upcoming runs. Also, my weekly mileage has worked out to be a little bit lower than I was planning. I’d like to incorporate a ‘longer’ mid-week run of 6+ miles, probably on Wednesdays or Thursdays. My hope would be to average around 40 miles/week–it’s all about learning to run on tired legs so that miles 20-26 of the marathon feel like a breeze 🙂 Lastly, I’d like to make sure I’m doing some tempo running once a week to incorporate speed beyond my track workouts.
This weekend I’m off to the Cape for a high school friend’s bachelorette–looking forward to some flat running in slightly cooler temps, and of course to some quality beach time with the gals. Full weekly recap is below!
Week 8:
- Friday: OFF
- Saturday: 17 miles at 8:38 pace
- Sunday: 90 minute yoga/OFF
- Monday: 3 miles at 9:02 pace
- Tuesday: Track! 800, 4×400, 800, 4×400
- Wednesday: 5.4 miles at 8:34 pace
- Thursday: 6.6 miles, 3-5 at MGP, 6 x strides for an 8:09 average
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
Linking up with The Weekly Wrap, hosted by HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin!
So… this update has to start off with a little bit of less than awesome news. During my run on Wednesday I felt something funny tweak in my hip, and since then I’ve been dealing with some soreness in what I think is my TFL (tensor fasciae latae). I was supposed to run a local 5k today but I’m going to take today and tomorrow off in order to hopefully get things back in order in time for my long run this weekend. Here’s hoping ice, foam rolling, ibuprofen, and stretching will do the trick!!
In order news, I had a lovely and relaxing long weekend in Maine with my mom. Even though she lives down the street it’s always nice to get to spend some really good quality time together, complete with reading, lake swimming, and some late season strawberry picking. She even set an early alarm on Saturday to take a bike ride while I did my long run! Be sure to 
We arrived Friday to pick up our bibs at the expo, which wasn’t much to speak of but it was a good chance to get a sense of where the starting line was. After a delicious dinner at the original 
Given the amazing conditions and the fact that I was feeling strong, I figured I might as well shoot for the moon and give a PR a whirl, especially as the showers picked up and despite the hard effort I wasn’t hot or sweaty. I picked a couple of strong-looking folks to pace behind and held onto decent paces–and then started doing math in my head which led to me believe that a couple of fast final miles would lead me to PR. I dug deep and ran a 7:09 and a 7:03 for miles 12 and 13. 
Despite my watch saying differently, I clocked an official time of 1:40:29–two seconds slower than my PR, 12th in my age group and 45th woman overall. Not PR-ing was a little bit of a letdown, but this race felt relatively easy and I’m pleased to see that I was able to hold onto my time without my brother there as a pacer, like he was at the 
Greetings from another week of marathon training–I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Jeremy was out of town hiking the last of the 48 4000+ ft. mountains in NH (and he did it–YAY J!) so I had a quiet start to the weekend with a solo 14 miler. It definitely was my best training run so far this season–everything really just clicked for me and I felt strong and happy the whole time. It helped that it was a gorgeous morning with temps in the 60s the whole run. I’m really loving running on the Boston marathon route, since it takes me out into my hometown and works a few hills into my training.
I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing holiday weekend! I was thrilled to be in town after so much traveling–and doing my 14 miler on familiar turf didn’t hurt either (more to come in the weekly recap on Thursday). I finish up my first summer course on this week, which means I have one weekend of freedom without having to worry about school before my next class starts up. Of course, we’re going to be out of town–first heading to Portland, ME for a 
Hard to believe it, but I’m recapping the first full month of Chicago Marathon training! (Click here for my recaps of weeks 
After a busy couple of months of weddings, racing, and travel, I finally got up to my favorite place in the world this weekend–my family’s little cabin in Maine. My favorite thing to do up there? Absolutely nothing 🙂 Just a whole lot of sitting by the lake, reading, swimming, and hanging out with the fam. We actually had a little bit of unexpected excitement when we discovered a family of flying squirrels had nested inside our roof, so there was a lot of running around and some nasty clean out. Never a dull moment…
For me, the two most essential pieces of marathon training are getting in at least one “hard” workout and one “long” run every week. Beyond that, there is some flexibility–and you have to live your life and do what’s right for you. That said, marathon training is a commitment and takes a ton of time, energy, and planning. Especially at the beginning, it’s incredibly important to set yourself up for success by creating a routine of good habits. If you start off by skipping runs and slacking on workouts, you’ll pay for it later on (been there done that!) Like all good things in life, it’s all about finding the balance that works for you.
I absolutely loved 
Fun fact: I grew up so close to the Boston Marathon route that I could watch the race from my bedroom window. Other than the years I was away for college, I’ve spectated at pretty much every race. Even before running became a part of my life, I knew there was something really special about Marathon Monday. So when I had the opportunity to participate in this year’s race as a hydration station volunteer with my marathon training buddies (
Overall, volunteering was incredible. You get to be up close and personal with the race participants (I saw pretty much every runner friend I was looking for–definitely a first) and you’re providing a critical service. Everyone was so lovely and appreciative of our help!!
The nutty part is that the photo of him being carried across the finish line went viral 
Shorter and Faster 