Whelp, another couple of weeks and another missed weekly recap–oh well! We had a couple of jam-packed weeks which included 2 weekends in Maine, my 29th birthday, the first week of fall classes, an absolutely nutty time at work, a half marathon, and a friend’s wedding. PHEW.
Rewinding to last week, I knew we were heading up to Maine for the first half of the holiday weekend so I met the girls Thursday morning for our 3 hour long run. The idea of this run was to run around a minute slower per mile than MGP (marathon goal pace) but to run for 3 full hours. We ended up covering about 21 miles at an 8:45 average pace. It was actually pretty challenging to purposely take the run slow, but I felt strong by the finish so mission accomplished. Grateful as always to have found such great long run buddies! I ran some fun workout-type runs in Maine and rounded out the week at 43.6 miles total, which is my highest weekly mileage to date.
Week 14 was a cutback week before I hit my longest run this coming weekend, so I registered for a small half marathon in Maine with my OG running buddy, Bry–we ran a half for her birthday so we decided to do one for mine too. Full recap to come soon, but despite some crazy weather we had a great time. Spoiler alert below in the full recap–not bad for a hilly course and less than ideal conditions.
Other updates: I managed to squeeze a massage into my schedule and it was SO necessary! It really relieved some of the hip tightness I had felt creeping back in, and it felt amazing for my shoulders which had gotten crazy tight with the work and school stress. I also finally invested in a new pair of shoes. I decided to stick with my Asics and the news ones are feelin’ excellent so far.
I’m definitely getting to the point in training that I’m just a little bit tired of constantly thinking about my running schedule, especially now that I’m back in classes and things have picked up at work, but I feel strong and ready heading into the last month of training. Time to start crossing all of my fingers and toes for good conditions!! Full recap below.
Week 13:
- Wednesday: 4 easy miles
- Thursday: 21 mile slow n’ steady long run at 8:46 average pace
- Friday: OFF
- Saturday: 3 big hills, 2 tempos (7:37 and 7:08), strides
- Sunday: 3 miles
Week 14:
- Monday: 4 negative split miles at an 8:08 average, 90 minute yoga
- Tuesday: Rainy track day! 6.5 miles total, workout details here
- Wednesday: 4 easy miles
- Thursday: OFF
- Friday: 5.5 miles with some tempos mixed in, 8:04 average
- Saturday: 3 mile shakeout
- Sunday: 13.1 mile RACE! 1:41:47 finish, 7:45 average
- Monday: 4 recovery miles at a 9:05 average
Hello hello. Slightly belated greetings from the end of another 40 mile week–woot woot!! Despite a shorter long run this week, I was able to top out 40.5 miles total. I actually felt really strong on my 14 mile long run despite the longer mid-week miles, so I really hope to keep this up until I start cutting back for the taper in just a few short weeks. Also, hurrah for cooler morning weather! We definitely still had a few steamy mornings this past week, but things are looking grand on the running weather front 🙂
Week 12:
Another week down, another weekend away! I spent last weekend down the Cape for a high school friend’s bachelorette. Despite the lack of sleep, I managed to sneak in a 14 miler along the course of 
The keys for me are keeping my Fridays easy, my Sundays empty, and lots of self care in between (aka yoga and massages!) I got my first massage of training this week at the new-to-me 
Happy Monday, party people! I have a quick update on my hip pain situation I wrote about in my 
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 
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.
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 
In JP, 
Shorter and Faster 