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.