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