Tag: Running

Sugarloaf marathon training: week 12

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running9 Comments

I think this might be one of the quietest weeks in the Boston running world. I knew this was coming, but it’s strange to be ramping up when it seems like everyone else is in recovery. I’m definitely getting ready for the taper, but I’m not there quite yet–this was a big week with my longest long run and next week will be my “peak week” of training. Either way, I’m less than a month out from Sugarloaf, training smart, and feeling strong and healthy! WOOT. Also exciting: I only have 3 more classes left this semester, so after May 2 I have a glorious 2.5 week “break” before race day.

My mileage looks a little bit deflated this week since I threw off my schedule by skipping a rest day last weekend and taking it on Monday instead–meaning I ran all 7 days last week. Phew. And of course, my “day off” was Marathon Monday, so I was on my feet screaming and yelling all day 🙂 Sometimes I find myself getting a little bit too caught up on the numbers, but I know it’s about the bigger picture–and last year at this time I peaked at 43.6 weekly miles compared to the 50+ I’ve been running consistently this year, so I’m truly more ready than I’ve ever been.

A few weekly highlights were:

  • Seeing the Boston documentary! While there were some unnecessary tangents, it was really inspiring and fun to watch with lots of other running nerds.
  • A really strong tempo workout on Thursday, hitting a 6:47 at mile 8 of a tough run.
  • The March for Science on Saturday! Despite my legs being shot from my long run, it was amazing to get out there and protest–and the signs were HILARIOUS.

    Marching for science!

My training buddy/neighbor Denise, who is also running Sugarloaf, proposed that we do a “time on feet” run together on Saturday morning. This basically meant that we would run for 3 hours and 15 minutes at an easy pace, focusing on time vs. distance. Despite some cold drizzle, we had a great morning and did a little sprint in for 22.22 miles total. I felt a couple of little niggles near the end, but overall this was a strong run and I couldn’t have been happier to have the company.

Week 12: 49.6 miles total

  • Monday: OFF
  • Tuesday: Tempo day! Workout was 3 at MGP, 2 at HMGP, and 1 at 10k/threshold. Paces were 3 miles: 7:55, 2 miles: 7:29, 1 mile: 6:47 (!!!) for 9 total.
  • Wednesday: 4.6 recovery miles
  • Thursday: 5 easy miles + 3 at MGP for 8 total
  • Friday: 5.6 easy miles in the rain and a much-need massage
  • Saturday: Longest long run! Run by time for 3:15, which worked out to 22.2 miles.
  • Sunday: OFF/Vinyasa with deep relaxation yoga class

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

Sugarloaf training week 11: Boston Marathon weekend!

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running4 Comments
Expo testing (v. serious)

Well kids, the most magical weekend of the year in Boston is over and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I had so much fun with friends old and new. Read on for the play by play!

Monday-Friday: Some pretty kick ass training, if I do say so myself. I was really happy to hit this mileage without feeling beaten down or sluggish. The highlight was definitely that little guy over there on Thursday–3 sets of two miles at my half marathon goal pace getting faster with each set!! These workouts absolutely feel hard as heck, but I know they’re going to get me to my goal. So, worth it. Friday I hit up the Boston Marathon expo with Alexa–the expo is a BLAST and I was tempted to buy all of the things. But I didn’t.

Saturday: I met up with one of my running pals, the lovely Megan! She moved to Philly about a year ago after running an incredible Boston last year as her first marathon. Megan is the loveliest person and we just jump right back into it whenever we see each other. We decided to run the BAA 5k, which was sort of insane and frustratingly so crowded we couldn’t do much more than jog the whole time. Pro tip–if you want to RACE this race, get as far up in the corrals as possible! Either way, Megan and I spectated, laughed, and insta-ed our way over the marathon finish line and then of course headed to mow down on some brunch. After we parted ways I wandered over to the Strava popup store to pick up my free socks for completing their marathon week challenge, and got a quick peep of the elite women’s invitational mile around Copley Square. Never a dull moment on marathon weekend! The rest of the day was studying, grocery-ing, and meal prep. #adulting.

Sunday: The weather was supposed to climb into the mid 80s (WHAAAAT) on Sunday, so I got up at an ungodly hour to meet big bro for an 18 mile fast finish long run. We took the shadiest route we know of and sweated it out–it was a little bit of a sufferfest but I was grateful for the company and even more grateful to be training for a spring marathon–last August, we did this every.freaking.weekend. Post-run I was pretty depleted, but made it to a fun Easter brunch in NH with J’s family.

Marathon Monday: Like last year, I signed up to volunteer at the mile 21 water stop with a couple of running pals. If you’ve never volunteered at a distance event, DO IT! It is such an incredible honor to support the runners who have done so much work to get to race day. As I’m sure you’ve all heard/read, it was a tough day weather-wise but I am so proud of all of the amazing finishers for battling it out. Especially Alexa, who gave me the best giant hug of the day. It was also super incredible to see so many of my favorite elites up close and personal (Meb! Galen! Desi! Jordan!)

Week 11: 56.3 miles

  • Monday: 7 easy + strides
  • Tuesday: 8 mile hilly progression run (last 3 at 7:54, 7:41, 7:19)
  • Wednesday: 4.6 slow recovery miles
  • Thursday: Tempo! 1 up, 3×2 miles at HMGP (sets at 7:30, 7:27, and 7:19) with 3 min recoveries, 1 down
  • Friday: 4.6 easy
  • Saturday: Easy BAA 5k with Megan! 3.9 total
  • Sunday: 18 mile fast finish long run (last 6 at 8:04, 7:57, 7:57, 7:54, 7:56, 7:28)

Also! One of my grad school pals wrote a post about part-time MBA students with full time jobs who run marathons. Check out my ramblings here.

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)–congrats on a strong Boston, Jess!!!

 

My Boston 2013 story, and why I want to BQ

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running5 Comments
Visiting the old homestead on the marathon course!

If you’ve been following along for a little while, you probably know that I love, love, LOVE my hometown. Boston is a wildly imperfect, occasionally uppity, student infested, cold, beautiful little mess of a city. I’ve lived in and around Boston my whole life, and most of that has been within spitting distance of the marathon course. As a kid, I literally watched the race from my bedroom window. I was, however, a dedicated non-runner until about 6 years ago, so the notion of running Boston (or any distance over a couple of miles on a treadmill) didn’t really cross my mind.

Fast-forward to 2013 at my first “real” job, when a project fell into my lap–to coordinate our organization’s Boston Marathon team. For those who don’t know, thousands of Boston runners every year gain entry by raising money for nonprofit organizations. I had just started running myself, so I was stoked to land such a fun project. We had a small and mighty team of 6 runners, and my coworkers and I were cheering our heads off at mile 23 when I started getting some funny texts from my friends that something had happened at the finish line. I ignored them at first, figuring it was some small shakeup, until word started to spread that we needed to move away from the route and head home. I managed to shoot off a text to J and my parents that I was ok before cell phones signal shut down. The next few days were a bit of a blur–confusion, lockdowns, and all the rest.

The site of the bombings
An eerily empty Boylston Street
The makeshift memorial at Copley Square

Everything really clicked for me when I took a walk downtown during the days following the bombing. It’s still a little bit hard for me to look at these pictures, but I was so moved to see how fiercely my communities–both the community of runners and the Boston community–came together to shout our love for each other into the void of hate that had shown its face.

Even though I didn’t fully realize it at the time, it lit a fire that was somewhere deep down in me. I was fully and completely a runner. I started to take my running more seriously–I cut my half marathon time down from 2:12 to 1:36 and ran my first marathon in New York City in 2015. For the first time in my life, I had found an athletic activity that I enjoyed and that I was actually pretty good at.

Slowly but surely I came to the realization that not only could I run 26.2 miles, but I might be able to do it fast enough to qualify for Boston one day–not only to run, but to earn the right to do so by committing to taking myself seriously as a runner. My brother’s scary experience at last year’s race only served to stoke the fire–this community is so strong and supportive even during the hardest times.

I’m close. I’m doing the work. I’m going to have an amazing time this weekend, and I’m going to be a little bit jealous. Because that jealousy will just fuel my drive to earn my spot on that starting line in Hopkinton. So to those running this year–you are amazing. I can’t wait to celebrate with you and support you and keep you nice and hydrated. And I’ll be focusing on Sugarloaf and fighting with every muscle fiber to for the opportunity to toe the line with you.

Thinking-Out-Loud2
Linking up with Amanda for Thinking out Loud Thursday!

Sugarloaf marathon training: week 10

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running13 Comments

Well, the Boston marathon is 1 week away and things are buzzing! I absolutely love living in such a mecca for runners and the atmosphere around the marathon is super special. This year, my goal is to let it feed and inspire my running, instead of letting myself fall prey to the jealousy monster. If all goes well, next year I’ll get to be a true part of the madness!

This week was another mileage test for me–I ran 52.9 miles total and truly didn’t feel any sluggishness at all! My major lesson learned in terms of adding mileage is to skew the additional miles towards easy/recovery runs. I’m really thriving with some harder workouts on Tuesdays/Thursdays, long runs on Saturdays, and keeping the rest nice and easy pace-wise.

I did hit the track this week–and of course, it was in the high 40s and pouring rain for our workout. Thank goodness for my girls and their gosh darn positivity for holding me accountable! It’s never ideal, but there is something about running in the rain that makes you feel like a real badass. Plus, you never know what kind of weather race day will bring–gotta be prepared for anything!

Another major highlight this week was really nailing my fueling during my first 20 miler of this training cycle! I got 3 gels down with no GI distress and felt perfectly hydrated throughout (thanks in no small part to adding Enduropacks to my water). I also ran the last 10 miles of this one solo, which was a good mental exercise for me since I’ve been doing most long runs with friends. On Sunday Alexa and I went to a really lovely workshop called “Be Race Ready” with one of my favorite yoga teachers/runners. We did some gentle yoga and meditation using mantras and other calming techniques. It really helped me to focus on trusting my training–I’m working so hard and it’s SO important to keep my mind in the game along with my legs!

So what’s on tap for my marathon weekend? First off, lots of runs in shorts this week–it’s going to be lovely out! I’m also planning to head to the expo with Alexa on Friday, Saturday I’m running a fun BAA 5k with my friend Megan who is visiting for the weekend, and then I’ll be volunteering at the mile 21 water stop yelling myself silly on marathon Monday. Can’t wait–best of luck to everyone who is running! You are all AMAZING!!! Also, happy Passover if you celebrate–go carb load with some matzoh balls 🙂

 

Week 10: 52.9 miles total

  • Monday: 7 easy + strides
  • Tuesday: Rainy track day! 7 miles total, speedwork at 6:56 (details here)
  • Wednesday: 5.1 recovery miles, banded strength circuit
  • Thursday: 1 up, 6 at MGP, 1 down–8 miles at 8:00 min pace
  • Friday: 5 easy with J
  • Saturday: 20 miles!
  • Sunday: “Be Race Ready” yoga/mental prep workshop with Cara

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!

Sugarloaf training: week 9 (my first 50 mile week!)

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running3 Comments

Guess what you guys? It FINALLY feels like spring here in Boston!! Also, (brag alert) guess who has two thumbs and ran her first 50 mile week ever… this gal! I was super duper jazzed to finally get past this mileage hurdle feeling strong. Rewinding to Monday, this week started out with a nice rainy easy run, during which I ran into my mom and her gal pals powerwalking around Jamaica Pond. #squadgoals.

Tuesday I had the first of two hard workouts–during which I finally managed (sort of) to program my Garmin for interval training. I was running 4 2k (1.25 mile) intervals at a 10k pace. The wind was kind of crazy during the back half of this one and I couldn’t figure out how to see my pace during the workout, but I managed to run pretty even splits at goal pace just by feel! It’s cool to trust my body to know what I want it to do… sometimes. Wednesday I did another easy run over to my book club meeting–nothing like a run that ends with guac and red wine! Thursday was the second hard workout–5 minutes easy running alternating with 2 minutes hard for 7 miles. I actually had trouble with this one. For some reason I kept feeling jolted in and out of the intervals and didn’t find my rhythm–but I got through it and the back-and-forth made 7 miles fly by! Friday was a few early miles before…

We got hit by another noreaster. With snow. In April. UGH! I took this one in stride because it didn’t actually accumulate, but it was pretty nasty while it was happening. J and I had a really nice Saturday of yoga, errands, and celebrating my Dad’s birthday before heading to an all gluten free dinner party!! This was a pretty big deal for me–usually dinner parties are minefields of breadcrumb hell, so it was super cool to be able to eat everything. Because carbloading? Yup! One of every dessert pls.

Denise is boxing, I am laughing.

Sunday morning things were looking up! The roads were almost completely clear, and my friend Denise (who lives on my block and is also running Sugarloaf) and I hit the roads for an 18 miler. We ran an out and back on the marathon course, with the first 12 miles easy and the last 6 at MGP. This run felt really, really strong, which I totally needed after last week’s crampy mess. Denise is a great, steady pacer and she’s super fast, so it’s fun to challenge myself to keep up 🙂 After the run we scooted out to support Alexa at her marathon fundraiser–which was a really intense boxing class. The boxing was actually super fun but it was laughable how little I was able to do after 18 miles.

Also, a TV crew came to film some of my coworkers pretending to be cheering during the marathon. I barely make it on camera, but my ponytail did. The little teaser video came out really well (ponytail is famous around 7-8 seconds in).

Onwards and upwards–7 more weeks til race day!

Week 9: 50.2 miles total

  • Monday: Easy 7 + strides
  • Tuesday: 1 up, 4 x 2k at 10k pace (7:35, 7:16, 7:06, 7:10), 1 down for 8 total
  • Wednesday: 5.6 “watchless” easy miles
  • Thursday: 7.3 mile fartlek (5 min easy/2 min hard)
  • Friday: 4 easy
  • Saturday: 90 minute yoga class
  • Sunday: 18 miles! First 12 easy, last 6 at MGP (7:56, 7:58, 7:50, 7:50, 7:50, 7:29)

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!

Friday five: my favorite races

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running3 Comments

Hello hello and happy Friday! As we gear up for another snowstorm (yup, happy freaking April to us), I wanted to think back to the warmer days and talk about my favorite racing memories. One of my favorite bloggers/podcasters, Ali on the Run, did an episode this week on her favorite races and it got me thinking about some of my own favorite races and racing memories.

I came up with this list without considering races of different distances, but oddly enough, it ended up including a 5 miler, a 10k, a half, a full, and a relay. I truly loved all of these races for very different reasons, so I’m going to list them from shortest to longest instead of ranking them, which I can’t bring myself to do 😉

Harpoon 5 Miler: This uber-popular race takes place every May, starting and ending at the Harpoon brewery. I had avoided it for years because I can’t drink beer and that seemed like the main reason most people ran (#celiacproblems). But I decided to give it a whirl last year and it was SO much fun!! The course is flat and wicked fast, you can run as part of a 6 pack team (you run individually, but your results count for team awards). I loved this race mostly because it was the first time I felt like I could really run fast, not just long. Also, I got to drink cider afterwards with J and a crew of our pals! Harpoon is the weekend of my marathon this year, so I won’t be running, but I can’t wait to be back.

Tufts Women’s 10k: I think this was one of the first race recaps I ever wrote! It’s also oddly the last 10k I did (back in 2014) so I need to fix that, stat. This is a fantastic, fast, all-women’s race that has been happening for the last 40 years (!) in Boston. I didn’t have a watch at the time, so I ran totally by feel and just enjoyed myself and ran for fun. Everyone was super encouraging and the 10k distance was the perfect challenge at the time. I really hope to get back out for this one soon!

Cambridge Half Marathon: I think this was the first time I’ve ever run an inaugural race, and it was so awesome! I was coming off of the frustration of just missing my goal time in Chicago and went into this local race with no goals other than to run hard and see what I can do. I was SHOCKED to run a 1:36! The course was perfectly varied and not too crowded, and it was so fun to run through a couple of my old neighborhoods. I am crossing my fingers and toes that this race happens again this year!!

NYC Marathon: I’m 1000000% biased on this one because NYC was my first full marathon, but oh my goodness is this one magical race experience! The crowds are wildly supportive and it’s so incredibly cool to run through every borough of NYC. I experienced pretty much every emotion in the book during this race and honestly don’t know if I would run it again (it’s expensive and kind of a logistical nightmare) but I think every runner should have this one on their bucket list. Once in a lifetime for sure.

Ragnar Cape Cod: First of all, a HUGE thank you to my amazing friend Megan for making this happen. She got a group of our coworkers and friends together for this insane, sweaty, exhausting 200 mile relay down the entire length of the Cape. I don’t know that I ever would have thought to do a Ragnar on my own but it was such a fun experience, mostly due to getting to run with an amazing group of ladies. You can read more in my recap, but suffice it to say that if you ever have a chance to do a Ragnar, say YES.

What are your favorite race memories? Got any tips on races I need to add to my bucket list?

Linking up with  Lacey, Meranda, and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0.

Sugarloaf marathon training: week 8

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running6 Comments

Oh what a week–lots of ups and downs in training! I started things off really easy on Monday after my half–just a short yoga class and an extra rest day. Tuesday I got my legs back under me and felt a little bit sluggish but not too bad. Wednesday I didn’t have time to fit in my usual yoga class, since we were celebrating my parents’ anniversary at Brassica (which was fantastic!!) Instead, I did a very easy run totally by feel. I did wear my watch but I set it up so that I didn’t get any pace information–all I could see was the total elapsed time. It felt really nice to run so intuitively! I have trouble taking my easy runs really easy, so I hope to incorporate more of this into my training.

Friday morning I had hills on the books and didn’t feel like getting up early to go to November Project with J, so I decided I’d run after work. As soon as I got into my running clothes, one of my friends from school texted about heading over to a happy hour for my MBA classmates–and I decided to go. It’s rare I can carve out the time to spend with people from school outside of class or study groups, and it was a blast–I even found out one of my classmates is an avid runner, so hopefully we’ll be able to get together to run at some point soon! Even more momentously, this was the first time this training cycle that I gave myself full permission to skip a run because life just got in the way–and I don’t regret it one bit. Life happens–it’s ok to give yourself the occasional break!

After drinks I went to see an amazing musical version of  The Parable of the Sower, which we read in my book club. It was fascinating, but it ran fairly late, and it took me a little bit to wind down and get to bed–not ideal before my long run. Saturday I tagged along with Alexa for the “longest long run” before Boston. It was SO fun! We took a bus out to the start line in Hopkinton with literally thousands of other runners, and then we ran the course in towards the city. It felt like a party! People were in costumes, there were cops directing traffic, and there were tons of water stops set up by various groups and charities. This video gives a good sense of what it was like. I had a pretty good run physically, but my tummy was totally out of whack–I think I didn’t hydrate nearly enough the day before/morning of the run, and that combined with lack of sleep threw me off. Either way I got 18 done and Alexa crushed her 22 miler. I can’t wait to see her run Boston! The rest of the day was pretty lazy–mostly doing homework and then watching Moana, which I adored 🙂

I wrapped up the week with another easy “watchless” run yesterday–my stomach was still really crampy and off, but I’m hoping it’s a passing thing. I did get to meet my friend’s new puppy, Toby, which pretty much made for the best day ever.

Week 8: 40.6 total miles

  • Monday: Easy 60 minute yoga class
  • Tuesday: 5.7 miles + strides
  • Wednesday: 5.1 very easy “watchless miles,”
  • Thursday: 6 miles
  • Friday: Nothing (oops!)
  • Saturday: 18.3 miles
  • Sunday: 5.2 recovery miles

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!

Friday five: my marathon training must-haves

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running8 Comments

Hello hello and happy Friday! I’ve been pretty stuck in a rut of only posting my training recaps, so I thought it would be fun to pop in with a list of my top 5 marathon training essentials for this training cycle. It has been interesting and a little bit different training for my first spring marathon–less tank tops and more warm layers. Here are some of my old and new faves!

Mizuno base layer: I tend to shy away from paying full price for any of my running gear, so I snagged this base layer on sale a few months ago after seeing lots of bloggers recommend it. It is SO worth it if you live in a cold climate!! It’s super soft and incredibly warm, while still being breathable. Plus the blue and orange is really cute.

Salted Caramel GU: I’ve always been a gu skeptic, which I am now realizing had more to do with my lack of acceptable gu technique than the gu itself. Basically, you have to take it down slowly with sips of water, otherwise it feels really icky in your throat. But this salted caramel stuff is the bomb! It tastes like caramel sauce and goes down super easy. I usually do a caramel gu or two and then a peanut butter one, since the caramel has caffeine and I only need so much of that. I digest these SO much better than the shot blocks I used to use!!
Image result for run all the miles eat all the burgers

Tasty Burger: This is a local Boston burger chain that I absolutely adore–I eat a burger and fries for lunch before my long runs or dinner before races, and it’s the BEST. Just the right amount of carbs and protein, it’s cheap and delish, and they have gluten free buns!! I swear this isn’t a paid endorsement, but I do think I should probably buy this shirt.

Yurbuds: I just found a pair of expensive wireless earbuds on eBay for relatively cheap (see above re: not wanting to buy things full price) and honestly don’t like them–I’ve tried every combo of earclips and tips and they fall out every time. I’m sticking with Yurbuds from here on out! They are super comfy in my small ears and if I tuck the cord into my sports bra strap I don’t even notice they’re there. Plus, they’re super cheap so if they break I just buy a new pair, no sweat!

Trail Toes: If you’ve ever gotten blisters on your toes, get this stuff immediately. It’s actually made for ultrarunners but it’s the one product that lasts for me and keeps any potential blisters at bay. If I’m good about applying before long runs. I can avoid blisters on my hot spots entirely.

What are your top marathon training essentials?

Linking up with  Lacey, Meranda,  and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0.

 

Sugarloaf marathon training: week 5

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running4 Comments

Hey y’all! Coming in a little bit later than I had planned with this week’s recap. I’m on break from school this week (meaning I’m *just* working 8:30-5, so relaxing) and honestly am having a little bit of trouble making myself do anything in particular. I very much thrive off of being busy, which is why I love training for races, but sometimes I can swing over in the other direction when I need a break. Luckily this was actually a great week of training, despite my laziness!

I kicked things off with my usual Charles River loop and caught an incredible sunset. I love that as the days get longer I get these amazing city views and sunsets on my after-work runs. And while I’m generally a morning runner, I love having the flexibility to run after work if it works better for my schedule that day.

Tuesday I tackled a fun but challenging tempo workout. Coach Laura has been putting a number of half marathon paced tempos into my plan as I gear up for the New Bedford half in a couple of weeks, and I felt really strong during this one, hitting below my goal pace for all of my tempo miles. I am not necessarily aiming to PR at New Bedford (honestly, if my PR from the Cambridge half is my forever PR I’d be pretty damn happy), but I would like to break 1:40, which would mean an average of about 7:37/mile. We’ll see how things go!

Wednesday I nailed my goal from last week of committing to strength training with a tough 20 minute workout using resistance bands to add some intensity. These little suckers don’t look like much but the really up the ante in terms of basic strength moves like clamshells and leg raises! I also got a massage on Wednesday and definitely need to keep up with the at-home rolling to keep my back nice and loose.

Thursday and Friday were fairly uneventful, although it was really nice to run with J on Friday after work! He’s running the 15k at Sugarloaf (and he’s gonna CRUSH it)–it’s so cool to see him learning to like running and I’m hoping we can keep running together at least once a week during training.

One week apart. WTF?

In a crazy change of events from last weekend’s 70 degree run, this weekend was FRIGID, with temps in the teens. I procrastinated and pushed my long run off on Saturday but Sunday wasn’t much better–the wind was howling and the real feel was 1 degree when I started! I got through it, though, and nailed all my paces (see details below). I need to work on starting out slower during these kinds of workouts, because I was cooked by the end of 14 miles.

This week I’m STOKED for a 17 mile long run (yes, you read that right) because I’m heading out with friends to do our run as a point-to-point on the Boston course thanks to this cool free event hosted by Boston Road Runners! Boston runners, check it out 🙂

Week 5: 37 total miles

  • Monday: 5.4 easy miles
  • Tempo Tuesday: 1 up, 2 miles @half MGP (7:30, 7:19), 3 minutes easy, 2 miles at half MGP (7:23, 7:24), cooldown
  • Wednesday: 20 minute banded strength circuit (similar here), 60 minute massage!
  • Thursday: 5.1 easy hilly miles
  • Friday: 60 minute yoga class, 5.6 easy miles with J
  • Saturday:Rest
  • Sunday: 14 hard miles! Workout was 6 up, 4 miles of 1 minute at half MGP/1 minute recoveries, 2 miles easy, and 2 miles fast finish.

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!

Sugarloaf marathon training recap: week 4

On By shorterandfasterIn Fitness, Running9 Comments

img_1598Wow–what a week! I was feeling a little bit down after last week’s treadmill slogs, but this week perked me right back up with some beautiful (albeit really scarily warm) weather. I busted out the shorts multiple times and even got TAN LINES on Saturday. Yikes, people–how is this February??

To rewind a bit, I kicked things off Monday morning with an easy spin around my favorite loop on the Charles. Tuesday I skipped some short/speedy stuff at track for a more marathon-specific tempo workout that was a 1 mile warmup and 6 miles at marathon goal pace (MGP). The target range was 7:55-8:05, and I ended up running a 7:49 average–it felt SO amazing to be back out on the roads at a challenging but comfortable pace! I think I needed this confidence boost after having to cut my speedwork short on the dang dreadmill last week.

img_1618After a tough hip-focused yoga class Wednesday and some recovery miles Thursday, I hit up November Project on Friday with J for a hill workout. We did “full frontal” hill repeats on Summit Ave, which is a .4 mile hill that varies from a 7-8% to a 16-17% incline. This hill is KILLER–in just 4 hill repeats, I climbed 735 feet. For reference, I will climb 942 feet during the entire 26.2 miles at Sugarloaf. I was proud of myself for running the entire time, but I was feeling this in my hip flexors like whoa. Also, I swear that Jeremy is the one who enjoys this torture! I just automatically revert to a corny peace sign pose when faced with a camera. *facepalm*

Saturday I had 16 easy miles on the books, and I knew I was going to need some company to get through it. So J and I met my brother Ari the first 6 miles together, then Ari and I ran the next 8, and I finished up the final couple by myself. The weather was really hot (close to 70 degrees) and I was drained by the end of the run. It’s good to get used to all kinds of weather conditions–you never know what you’ll get on race day!

My goal for the next couple of weeks is to commit to strength training and taking a full rest day once a week. We’ll see how I do! Full recap below:

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“Holy moly why is it so hot??”

Week 4: 38.5 total miles

  • Monday: 5.8 easy miles
  • Tuesday: 1 up, 6 miles at MGP
  • Wednesday: Yoga class
  • Thursday: 4.2 easy
  • Friday: 5.4 miles of hills
  • Saturday: 16 miles
  • Sunday: Rest!

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!