Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 13. The clusterfuck

Well. This was not the week I had planned on AT ALL.

Things began well enough. Just a few recovery miles on Monday before I had to bail, and take the puppy to the vet for shots. It was certainly still snowy enough, but it was a pleasant day for a pleasant run.

Still snowy 

I was ready for a big run on Tuesday. The final "major" speed/endurance work, with another round of 3x2 mile reps. Out of all the workouts that I do, this is by FAR the best confidence builder that I can think of (besides the successful long run!)
I stopped by home to grab my running kit, and being in a rush, basically scooped up Ellie when she ran to me. (Yes, I should have made her sit, and wait, and such. AND DO I EVER WISH I HAD.)
The second I lifted her I knew I had done something pretty awful. But you know how sometimes awful can feel less bad after you move a bit? So, I went and ran my repeats despite my concern that I had sustained a painful back injury. And to be honest, the workout was fine. The aftermath was ok. But as I stooped over, post workout,  to remove my tights and socks, the tightness and pain came roaring back in.

FUCK.

Wednesday was a rest day, and a cold day. I figured the cold would be a helpful addition to the ice I was applying (kidding, I know it doesn't work that way) And my assumption was that a rest day would put things right. Even though this was certainly not a running injury, a lower back problem simply can't be helped through running.

Not Spring yet

I was feeling pretty positive at this point. I had a minor back issue in February (not minor the day it happened, but very swiftly resolved) and I was confident that history would go on repeat.

And, to be honest, on Thursday morning I was pretty sure I was correct! I felt decent enough, although there was some lingering tightness in my hips. I assumed that after a day of movement while working, that I would me more than ready for an evening hill workout. Time to get shit done!!

Here is what actually happened.
I knew that prior to my workout, I would be in charge of Ms Ellie for a bit. I was looking forward to this, as she is usually a shining beacon of delight at the end of a long day. As it turned out, she was more a whirling dervish of Sharknado. I had my hands full. Oh, and not to mention that I had COMPLETELY OVERDONE IT at work (like, ALL IN. WTF.) So when Eric was done working, he came downstairs to find me in gales of ugly tears. The puppy had morphed into a lunatic. I had discovered that I was MUCH more seriously wounded than I thought, and I was having a full-on, legit, messy, ugly, meltdown. Nice.

I took half a muscle relaxer (lightweight here) passed out anyway (real lightweight), and awoke on Friday on the fucking hot mess express.

Right. I clearly was not going to run. Or do much (other than a 10 hour work day.) With my recent training feeling so good, and going SO well, (and equestrian season ramping up, and my coach expecting excellence in 10 days when she returns) I was feeling pretty shattered. Lame, right? But I'm human. I want to succeed, not fall down injured.

So what did I do.
I called in professional help.

Trigger point therapy on Saturday, and more to come next week!
This brutal session was well worth it. My therapist regarded me in the manner of a ticking time bomb... "There is a LOT wrong here" he said, after gingerly prodding my amazingly tight hip area. "I can see why you are in pain" "That is NOT bone, it is muscle. Which is so tight it feels like bone." Yeah. Not good. He said a bunch of other stuff, but I was busy yelling and cold sweating.

SEXXXXXXXXY

Prior to my appointment, I had delicately attempted to run (to see where I was at) and it COULD NOT happen. I should have known before I even tried, as it took me 15 minutes to wiggle into my tights and shoes..... I love that I put a 27 second run on Strava! I am fucking hysterical. I honestly can't figure out why I'm not a runner with a sponsor.

NO

The diagnosis: extremely tight hip flexors, glutes, piroformis, quads, and basically nothing wrong in the lower back (except all those asshole muscles pulling it out of whack.)
The next step: incorporating stretching into my day (novel idea) returning to running carefully but as long as things feel ok, it's ok (ok, I can do this) Follow up treatments this week, and Chiro ASAP as my left hip is clearly higher than my right. Sweet.

By Sunday, I could once again put on my own socks. Little victories!

It's not a big deal. UNTIL IT IS. 

This, while poorly timed, is a good wake up call.
I have ignored my back issues for a year. I have had plenty of chances to be proactive, and I have not been. This injury is all on me, but it is a good chance for me to regain control over my proactive care, and make it a priority. It is very easy to react to a problem, as I am doing now. I'm not 25 (or 35) anymore, and if I am going to have both a physically abusive job (THAT sounds worse than it is....) and a physically demanding hobby, I MUST do more to stay healthy!

So. Onward to next week. Having a stellar Boston is still a notion that I can get behind. But most importantly, I need to be smart now so that I am not out for the entire season.

Stats:
Mileage: Shit. 14.7 miles. 1/3 of what I had planned.
Crisis bodywork appointments: 1
Actual sobbing meltdowns: 1 (RARE. SO RARE.)
Times I ran 0.04 miles and stopped: 1 (SMART SO SMART)
Times I was so pissed: MANY. (first world. first world......)

Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 12

And here we are, just 3 weeks away from race day (umm, that came up quick.)
(edited to add: I had this post ready to go yesterday and when I hit publish I discovered that blogger was malfunctioning. I lost half my post and all the pics. So I'm going to cobble this back together, but I am annoyed.)

I am once again in Wave 3, corral 1. I can't help but think that I am the slowest person in that particular corral. Oh well, I can start in the back (or knowing me, just basically miss the start, and start when/wherever.)

The past week was a good week, and a big week. A warm (er) week, and a cold week! An up week, and a down week (like, literally, not like feelings wise or anything.) A fast week and a slow week (but mostly fast, woof.)

Monday was a nice, slow day. 5-ish recovery miles, a few done with my crazy ass puppy, and a few (far less exciting ones) without her.

*AND THEN THE WORK BEGAN*

Wednesday was evening speedwork day, with 6x1 mile reps on the agenda. This workout went really well, and I managed to complete every repeat in the low 7's (like, the fastest one was a 7:08. Jesus Christ, I have basically become Shalane Flanagan!!! orrrr not.)
Oh, and winter is still going strong. It warmed up to right around 40, but it was a freezing morning.

Cold. Why?

Thursday was big bad bitch hill day. Luckily, unlike last week, I was able to do this a full 24 hours after speed work instead of 11.
Since this was a peak week, I added in an extra lap up the bitchiest part of the hill.
And the snowbanks are still stupid, STUPID BIG.

12' snowbanks

I also took Ellie for a short hike on Thursday evening, to let her work on her own running skills!

RUN!!

On Friday the weather was just disgusting. 3 inches of snow, a bunch of rain, wind, SHIT.
I hate to do downhill reps on the treadmill, because it is impossible to make them as aggressive as I would like to (the treadmill's best decline is 3%, and then your pace is limited to 8MPH.) So, I did what I could, but the workout just does not feel as legit done this way.
*Sigh* Either way. It beat certain death on the roads. And I did 3x1.5 miles downhill, so it was still ok.

Saturday was "rest" day this weekend, and I actually made a concerted effort to limit the time spent on my feet. Evidently, this is the best I can do (and it really is- this was the bare minimum of steps taken on a "light work" Saturday...)

Basically, I slept all day

And this brings us to Sunday. Long run day. It was warm enough! (48!) Less wind than the previous day, when it was a hurricane. And enough sun so that shorts and a tee shirt were in order.

SUMMER!! or, 48 degrees

Despite the run getting off to an iffy start (nothing major- just a sloshy stomach for whatever reason) it ended up being solid. A couple minutes of stopped time (like, 4 minutes total) for a quick outfit change, to say hello to Eric and Ellie as they drove past me, and a couple pee breaks. As much as I'd like to eliminate all stops, I also don't care to pee myself.

A little bit of hip soreness starting at mile 17 reminded me of the need for some focus on that area for the next few weeks. 3 weeks isn't long, but it's enough time for me to make a little headway in that area,.

Anyways, I arrived at the pub on schedule.
And met my friends!

Ellie is embaressed by us 

And Ellie met hers.

Winston stole her bone

So, I'm feeling good. More fit than a month ago! Time for me to begin to predict the start of Summer on April 15th (hey- I'm not being gloomy, I'm just being historically accurate!) I feel physically good, and mentally significantly better than pre-Hyannis. But if it is 67 (or like, 60) there is no way I can be physically ready for that change. Oh well.

 Stats:

Mileage: 51.7
Long run: 20.2
Beer at pub: The typical triple/double, which is called a Pentacream, FYI
Coldest day: It was 9 on Wednesday morning. Gross. And 34 with 35 MPH wind on Saturday, also gross.
Snow days: The 3" snow, plus rain, plus gross made for an early release Friday

Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 11

So at this point, we're in the thick of things. This week and next are definitely going to be peak weeks of training.

The good news? I'm feeling good. Stronger. The legs are coming around.

And generally speaking, the weather was far better this week. It was the first week in (I believe) the past 5 months that I have been able to avoid the treadmill entirely.
Which is good. While I am thankful to have the treadmill, I have REALLY not been enjoying it this season.

Last Monday I had a normal recovery run. The roads were a soggy, slushy mess after the 4" of Sunday snow, but it was warm (about 42!!) so out I went. I ran about 3 miles with my puppy, and then finished up on my own. Other than having sopping feet at the end of this, all was well.

Tuesday was technically a rest day, but Ellie, Evan and I went for a snowshoe/hike that was a pretty solid workout. The weather was spectacular, and it was a really enjoyable time, so, TOTALLY worth it.

OMG worth it!!!

Even when I have an "easy" day at work, when you throw in a 3.5 mile hike, your rest day looks like this. Not so restful.

Very restful

Wednesday was the beginning of ALL kinds of hard work.
I finally managed to get my speed work done on the road. This made me happy, because getting off the treadmill is always a good thing. This also made me feel afraid, because I am not terribly good at setting a pace. I was able to pace off Eric last year, because he was running a lot, and he is basically a metronome. This year, I seem to be rolling solo (because Eric is riding his bike, not because he has vanished or something terrible.)

I ran 3x2 mile reps, randomly hoping I could manage the arbitrary 7:36 pace that I seem to be sticking with in 2019.

They came in at 7:45, 7:31, 7:29.
While I'm not going to do the math on this, I would say the average is close enough to 7:36 to just call it good!
I finished this workout as the sun was setting....

And then, well before the sun rose the next day, I was running over Bitch Hill.
In an inch of fresh snow, and icy roads, just to make it extra special.

I'm not a huge fan of running at ass o'clock. On this particular day, there was no choice. So I woke up feeling pretty good about the adventure, and just got it done (just as the sun rose....)
(which made for a very, very tired Thursday...)

Yeah. I don't really look fresh as a daisy here.

The one good thing about completing two runs less than 12 hours apart? I basically felt like I had two rest days. So by Saturday, I was like, super fresh!!

And it was a good thing that I was all rested up by the weekend, because I had a 14 mile run planned, 11 of which were to be at marathon pace.
AGAIN, I'm really not the most confident at pace setting, PLUS my watch is kind of a psycho, and therefore is not really a lot of help. So I was like, ok. I'll warm up for a mile. Run kinda fast for 11. Then run less fast for 2. It was a solid plan!
Well, it turned out well, and was one of the better workouts of this training cycle (coming in at a 7:55 overall pace, which is silly. I will not be running 7:43 pace miles at the marathon, which was my pace for the 11 MP miles...)

Straight to the pub

Anyway. Good, done, went to the pub, saw my dog/husband/dad, the end. It was also 40 and windy AS FUCK which was both good (warm) and annoying (wind.)

Yay!

Sunday was downhill repeat day, which was just fine and not worth talking about. It was warm enough (30) windy (typical) and even though I had run fast the day before my legs felt quite good. Go figure.
The roads are clear. The snowbanks are big. And March is only halfway over, so we could still have Winter's second coming.

Currently...

Stats:

Mileage: 44.6 (plus about 5 miles of hiking which I do not count.)
Long run: 14
Beer at pub: The typical triple/double, plus a random pickle gose that we all had a sip of AGAIN! (I hate to think that I am beginning to enjoy pickle beer!!)
Coldest day: Not terribly cold. it was in the mid 20's on Bitch Hill morning, but that is basically summer
Snow days: We had 4" on Sunday, and another inch on Thursday morning. So basically nothing. 

Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 10

Well, another week done. While we might be one more week closer to Spring, the weather for most of this week would make you think we were still fully ensconced in winter. MEH.

I feel like this was a good week of training. I'm definitely feeling the motivation that comes along with the LACK of a 2020 BQ. So yeah, watch out bitches. (meaning: don't let my very average training scare you or anything...)

Monday was a snow day, but the temps actually moved in to the 30's, so by late in the day the roads were half way decent. I had a nice easy few miles, and spent a lot of time trying to see over the snowbanks (not happening.)

Ellie thinks the snowbanks are Mt Everest

Tuesday was a good, and hard, workout. 5x1 mile reps, at the all too common 7:36. I fit this in after a very, very busy work day (where I had already been on my feet for over 9 miles, per the phone...) I think this was a good workout to get me ready for some challenges in the upcoming weeks.

Thursday I hit bitch hill again. The snowbanks continue to be ridiculously high. This winter has been as big of a bitch as the hill is. However, it was an excellent workout.

Saturday was 18 to the pub. It was about as nice of a day as we have seen in 200 years (39, sun, light wind.) If I had run earlier in the day, I imagine it would have been quite warm. But, as usual, the shadows were pretty long by the time I was able to leave work, and it was comfortably cool. The icy dirt road had more or less lost its ice, and had turned into a flood.

This was the small flood

Other than the mud, and the flood, it was a good run. My right hip felt a little strange for the final 2 miles (which is weird) but it immediately felt fine.
Plus, it was so warm that I needed ZERO orange hats, and ZERO vests (also, weird.)

Basically no winter clothing

It was a fun reunion at the pub, because Eric, Lee, Ellie AND Evan were waiting for me!!

Ellie was like "nope"

There was another (small) snow storm on Sunday, but after all the melting on Saturday the roads were like death. I had been planning some downhill reps, and attempted to take the workout to the treadmill. Downhill reps are best done outdoors, but one does what one can when conditions are not ideal.

Overall, this was a good week. I'm really shooting for the BQ in Boston, and the only thing that will be out of my control will be the weather. (my head is back in the game for grossness, but I certainly won't have any chance to train in heat.) I'm really trying to hit the hard workouts, I'm keeping an eye on my annoying sesamoiditis, and I'm trying to determine if I can tolerate the blisters that the Hoka 5's keep giving me... (annoying....)

 Stats:

Mileage: 44.3
Long run: 18
Beer at pub: The typical triple/double, plus a random pickle gose that we all had a sip of  (plus a smoked pineapple sour that we all had one sip of! It was a weekend of one sip beers.)
Coldest day: Still SO COLD. It was well below zero on a few days in the morning. It was 19 when I ran on Friday. It was cold, it was windy, it was winter. 
Snow days: Monday was a no school snow day, because there had been 5 inches overnight. However, Monday was actually a properly nice day once the snow quit at 9AM. 

Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 9? I think?

The good thing about Hyannis becoming an unexpected half, is that I was able to get right back into training. (making lemonade here, right?)

I didn't want to crack out a 45 mile week, after having a couple really easy ones, but I headed in the right direction.

(and this is going to be a quick, shitty recap. I have 1.2 million things on my plate but still want to document the progression.)

I got back on the road on Tuesday, after tanking a couple days to get my head right. I know Hyannis was not a physical breakdown (although I could send to gain some fitness.) But I definitely thought over my mental strength training strategy, and know what I want to work on for the next 6 weeks. I'm certainly not going to let another cold, rainy day derail me! (it's another story if it's 90 though, haha.)

I went for an 0.2 second run on Tuesday to let Mrs Ellington stretch her gorgeous legs.
(Don't call PETA people. We ran like, 6 feet....)

She is perfect

Wednesday was treadmill 1200's because it was 12 degrees out with 40 MPH wind. Not gonna run outside, in the dark, and the freezing, and the hurricane. THANKS.
The repeats were good. And done at 7:36 as always....

Thursday was a quick 4 before puppy class, where Ellie discovered that she was scared of other puppies (?) and sent most of the time hiding under a chair. (Eric took her out and about to a puppy party on Saturday to work on this timidness!)

Friday, I ran over bitch hill. When I need to get some mental (and glute) strength, this is a good route. And dark. And snowy.

Hello snowbank

Saturday, I ran 15-ish in decent (33 degree) weather. Probably the warmest day of the week.
It was a fine run. I Picked a route that would not allow me to stop to resupply, and I think removing this convenience will be good for my toughness. Even though is is usually a 90 second stop, I may choose to eliminate it for the rest of the season since it makes my life "easy" (and I clearly must work on womaning up!)

The usual people 

Oh, and one more thing?
This winter has been just a mess. People keep saying "it's been so easy, we have no snow!!"
And I'm like, homey, you live in Portland. Maybe you have no snow, but WE have a metric fuck ton. Plus, February was super cold. And March came in like a lion.
Luckily, I have decided that no cold, or snow, or rain, or sleet will mess up my day. (racing, that is. I must continue to claim my right as a Mainer to complain daily about the conditions!)
No promises once Fool's summer hits though ;-) I will complain and hate it.

No danger of that this week, though.

SO MUCH

Stats:
Mileage: 34.7
Long run: 15.4
Beer at pub: The typical triple/double 
Coldest day: UGH SO COLD. A couple mornings at -6 degrees. A couple days with a high of 14, plus awful wind. 
Snow days: Oh lord. None from school. Pretty sure we got a little stupid mess at some point? Stupid. It's bad that I can't recall but there's too much in my head!