6 weeks until race day!
AHHHH! The marathon is starting to seem less like a distant idea and more like a real event on the calendar. I feel pretty ready, but I know the next ~6 weeks of training will also be really helpful and important.
M: Run with Jacy, 9 mi @ 8:53/mi ave with some strides at the end. Always nice to start the week off with a social run.
T: Hill repeats (second to last of the training cycle!). 9.2 mi total running, 3 warmup, 12 x 1 min hill repeats, 3 cooldown (did that part from home). I apparently ran a segment called “The Crumbler” on Strava 12 times. This was super hard for me and my HR was in the 180s at the top each time omg. PS: GAP on strava means “Grade-Adjusted Pace.”
W: Morning group run, 9.16 mi @ 9:05/mi
R: 8 mi @ 9:42/mi average. I was tired as I always am on Thursdays! 30 min strength for runners (Becs / Peloton)
F: 7 mi @ 8:56/mi average. I don’t really remember this run but I am always in a good mood on Friday runs.
S: 18, broken down as 6 easy / 6 marathon pace / 6 easy. I tend to run my long runs a bit faster than my everyday easy runs for a few reasons, including a) fuel (I don’t use gels on everyday runs unless 10+ miles or significant hill/speedwork) and b) supershoes. This one was also aided by excellent weather (low 60s, low humidity!!!) and the excitement of trying out my AlphaFly 3s.
Ave pace 8:25/mi and MP miles between 7:51/mi and 8:08/mi (I was aiming for ~8:10). It wasn’t part of the official assignment but I was feeling so good and wanted to see what a MP mile would feel like at mile 18 so I threw one in at the end 🙂
I took just one very brief water break (at mile 6) and carried all 4 gels with me and took while running, to start simulating racelike conditions.
Anyway, I was super happy with this run. As for the shoes – I’m not sure if I will wear these vs the ASICS Metaspeed Edge for the race! I am going to allow myself ONE more spin in each. Both are so fast and both are comfortable enough though I think the ASICS slightly more so. I don’t think the 3 feels much faster than the original Alphafly, but they definitely feel better on (less pressure at the forefoot where the plate hits, I think).
S: Rest. Some strength training would have been good, but I slept in and between life activities I just didn’t get it in. I need at least one day per week of NOT getting up in the 4s!!
TOTAL: 60.5 mi // strength x 1 (oops)
Yesterday I went ahead and booked some restaurants (for the night before / night after) in Traverse City. Now I just have to not get injured, AND Josh’s knee has to continue to improve (he was able to run 8 mi yesterday without significant pain so that is good progress!).
Reading Report
Back by popular demand . . .
1- The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese – this book is going to be in this section probably until May, but I WILL FINISH IT. I have been making slow steady progress on it and it IS getting more and more gripping as it has taken some dark turns!! I’m now up to page 466 (out of 715).
2- Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan – finished! I liked it a lot, though not as much as the only other Jodi Picoult I’ve read (Small Great Things). This is book #13 for the year, and only the 6th novel. That feels low for mid-April but it is what it is (and also Covenant is 3 books long and Wellness which I ready earlier is at least 2).
3- Come and Get It by Kiley Reid – started over the weekend, ~49 pages in. Kind of juicy so far! Lots of money/class talk. I think I saw this recommended on Sarah‘s blog!
PS: Thinking of anyone running the Boston marathon today!!! SOOOO loving all of the themed podcasts etc as I hope to get to experience myself in 2025 or 2026!
12 Comments
Wow, final countdown!
I really loved Come and Get It, I picked it up at the airport and didn’t expect to love it, but definitely finished it in a night (sharing hotel room with a kid…) and thought the characters were so real.
I am reading ‘come and get it’ right now, too! I loved her first book so was excited to check this one out although it has gotten very mixed reviews from people I know. I am really liking it so far, though. It definitely makes me feel uncomfortable at times!
6 weeks until your race – how exciting!!
Time flies! I can’t believe the race is so close!
My sister is running Boston today!! She aged up to a new category this year and I’m very excited to see her results. She ran last year 3 months after breaking her neck (and collarbone, and some vertebrae)…and it poured rain so I’m really, really hoping things go more smoothly this time around!
The irony, I always start running in the spring and hope to fit in a few km’s today. What can I say. She has a LOT more grit than I do 😉
I hope she had an AMAZING race!!! So cool!!!!
Sarah!! You are crushing it. Eat well sleep well and you will do awesome at your marathon. I hope once my kiddos get a bit older I can get back to a marathon too (it’s so hard with a toddler- too hard for me!) I’m so glad your training has turned around since the car incident. Take good care of yourself over the next few weeks ❤️
YES it is hard with a toddler – hence this being first marathon since 2009!! You will get back there 🙂
So glad the running is going so well! No non-fiction books on the go right now? I always like hearing about your non-fiction picks!
nope not until I finish Covenant of Water. I refuse to quit now!!!!
I loved Come and Get It! I think I would have loved it no matter what the setting, but I’m from that area of Arkansas and I went to law school in Fayetteville and I loved the way Kiley Reid captured it. So many of the places in the book (Wilson Park, Maxine’s, Arsaga’s) are Fayetteville institutions, and all the street names are real streets. Made me very nostalgic!
Oooh, six weeks to go. How long is your taper going to be?
I tried to comment on an earlier post about Josh’s knee but it somehow disappeared (most likely something stupid on my part.) Not sure what his issue is, and knees are complicated, but I’ve been having really good results from Ben Patrick’s Knee Ability Zero program- he’s the “Knees Over Toes” guy. I bought the book from amazon and have been working my way through the exercises (the later ones are still too hard for me, but I’ll get there… hopefully.) Anyway, it’s been helping me- I had an achy knee for a while- and it’s also helping my sister and BIL with their knee issues. Just thought I would throw it out there- even if it’s something he just wants to keep in mind for the future.
awesome! I will share with him!!!
the next 4 weeks will be the most intense and fun training! so excited for you!!!