Week 10: Time to woman the f**k up

The winter of 2017 has not been the easiest for training.
The weather has been wildly inconsistent. I spent more consecutive days on the treadmill than I ever have before. Two of my most recent long runs have been on very flat courses. Some runs in 68 degree temps. Some runs in 18 degree temps. Slushy roads. Dry roads. WIND. No wind (that is a LIE)

I am not sure how any of these things might affect me on race day (this is because I STILL can not see into the future.. gosh.) I feel like the dramatic changes of temp, conditions and the mental conditioning that treadmill running brings might help? Maybe? O
The other option is that all the craziness will actually not help at all. As you can see, I enjoy playing both sides of the coin.

But the bottom line is this. Boston is not flat. NOT flat. And my hill work has been pathetic.
Even after training the hell out of hills last year, I still felt pretty darn sore for the final 10k of the race. (which is absurd, I was by FAR the best trained that I have ever been!!!) (so yeah, I have a little bit of fear that I might be limping along for much longer this year. crap!!)

I decided that the past week of training would be spent running routes that aren't cushy, easy, or even fun. Time to woman up. Time for training to feel inconvenient.

I had a few easy miles planned for Monday, and then shit got real.

I ran 3x2 mile repeats on Tuesday. It was 33, raining, and generally gross out. I concluded that the conditions were perfect for building character so out I went.

I was quite apprehensive of this workout, as I am not feeling as sharp or fit as I (think) I should at this point. Honestly, I was insecure about my ability to even complete the repeats.
My worry was unfounded, as I did well (running each rep at better than MP)
I did take a nasty tumble in the slush in the middle of my final repeat. I went to make the turnaround, hit ice, my legs flew out from under me and I smashed down into a giant puddle. Slush in my shoes, in my coat, and all over my pants.... Of course, there was traffic and the local people saw me eat shit.

I am much more soggy than I appear to be. 

Thursday was a run more or less at base pace, hitting some rolling hills.
It was reasonably comfortable, and hillier than a treadmill....

Mud AND snow. Winter is bi-polar.

Friday morning was Beach to Beacon registration. As a general rule, I avoid B2B. It is hard to register for, it is a pain in the butt to get to and to park at, it is crowded, and it is always hot and humid. For whatever reason, I decided that I MUST RUN this year, so Eric and I were on our computers at 6:59 waiting to register. The process seemed pretty glitchy, with a lot of waiting but in the end it worked out and both of us got in.
Right now, I am excited.
In August, I might not be (kidding, I actually will be!)

Success!

Friday was also my long run....
I wasn't psyched about the timing, as my previous long had only been 5 days earlier.
There wasn't much of a damn choice though....

Normal long run day not looking so good

I wasn't originally planning to run an extremely challenging route. Plans changed a bit when I reached the top of the first hill and realized that it was most definitely snowing over in the direction I had planned to go in. Small route change: much less snow but over 1,000 feet of climbing.
This lady is not really in shape for such things....
I was quite tired after this excursion. It was pretty successful though, with only a minute of stopped time (gotta use the great outdoor bathroom....) It was NOT an easy route, and was a significant uptick from all of my long runs this year.

Hills, anyone?

When Saturday rolled around and was actually the most miserable day of the winter I was thankful that my long run was done. I just can't manage running in such dreadful conditions....

UGHHHHHHHHHH

So, as planned, Saturday was a rest day and we celebrated Eric (and Andy's) birthday! We had a wonderful family and friends get together, and it was nice to celebrate with many of my favorite people.
(It was also 0 degrees with -39 windchill.... fml)

All the best peeps!

Sunday brought about a nice little run over the bitch hill.

Kind of snow drifty up in here 

Any by "nice little run" I mean "freezing DEATH march" in 17 degrees and 20 MPH wind. WHY?
Ugh. I honestly considered calling Eric to pick me up at mile 1.2 because I had frozen solid and was waiting for death to come and stop the pain.
At that point, the wind eased up a bit and I did my best to staunch my flow of tears and woman the f**k up.
(which I am now sick of. I have womaned up enough. girlfriend needs some 40 degree temps.)

But looking to next week... I see more bogus weather. JEEZES.
I may never run outdoors again...

Oh good. Super. A fuck ton of snow.

Whatever. I'll just sit inside and drink beer. When all else fails.... Beer.

Weekly stats: 
Miles run: 45.5
Longest run: 17 over mountains. 
Other: One strength workout. More would be better. 
Wildlife sightings: Turkeys and one Robin, who is clearly on drugs
Low/High temps: -3 with -39 windchill. My brain froze and I have no idea what the high temp was. 
How am I feeling? Hungry. The hungriest definitely made an appearance this week. 
Beer of the week: Sebago Barleywine- I think it makes an appearance on the blog every year

Week 12 of Boston Marathon Training: Taper edition

The past week was all about the taper. I always wish that I would notice my mileage reduction in a really obvious way, like suddenly having many more hours for sleep or recreation. However, this week only brought enough extra time to clean the house sufficiently so as to not need flip flops inside. #win

I was trying to think about my feelings regarding this years Marathon and, as promised last week I have basically nothing. Clearly, I'm very excited to be heading to the start line again. This year's qualification was earned at a time when I was mentally struggling with marathon training/marathoning/running so even though that seems so very long ago (it was in 2014 after all...) I still appreciate the work and struggle it took to get where I'm headed in a a week.

There is NOTHING easy about qualifying for Boston. Nothing. Perhaps I tend to get more emotionally involved in the races that I run to earn qualification and I view running Boston as a reward and the icing on the cake. Boston is one big party and it is so SO exciting to be part of the crowd that is lucky enough to experience the event. I'm really looking forward to it this year! I tend to feel all the emotions while actually running but not before. I feel fine now, normal, busy at work and I want cookies and pancakes and a steak but that is par for the course.
(I know I said I had nothing and then I wrote two paragraphs. Still, less than I see in a hot minute from complete strangers on instagram, hahah!)

So how was week one of tapering?
It was fine. I am good at tapering.
No, I'm not kidding.
I forgot to take pics this week so this blog is boring.

Monday:
Bitch Hills, in 25 degree snow showers. Like, steady freezing cold snow.
My lips were blue by the time I got home. Cute...
This was a good solid workout and one that I won't miss skipping for a few weeks!

Wow. Really cold.

Tuesday:
5 miles, easy pace, in 28 degree wind. Why is it winter again? WHY? At this point I was like, well, it had BETTER be 35 on race day or I am fucked.

Wednesday:
Off. Time to clean the house and do 5 loads of laundry!

Rest day beer: Foundation Brown is great

Thursday:
6 miles, mostly base pace with about 3 at marathon pace.
The weather for this particular run was amazingly similar to what we dealt with in Boston last year. 48 degrees, pissing down rain and wind! It was quite an exciting run and very wet. Sometimes it's rather fun to head out in the most crap of conditions. (really.)

We were sopping wet.

Friday:
Off day, time to see the Chiropractor.
It hasn't really merited mention but I have had a series of rather nasty issues with my back for the past 8-10 weeks. Non running related obviously, but serious enough to impact my daily life, sleeping and comfort. Because my chiro is a magician I am already feeling much better!

Saturday:
Today I could finally look at the 10 day forecast and I hated what I saw. 65 degrees and blazing sun sucks giant hairy ballsacks. I was not amused, and continue to feel unimpressed.
There's nothing that can be done and I refuse to look at the forecast again until like, next Sunday. I refuse to let the damn weather piss on my cornflakes. I won't have it!!

After recovering from the shock of thinking about going from 25 some odd degree running weather this week, to 40 degrees warmer next I headed out for my last real workout prior to race day.

Of course, it was barely 40 degrees with freezing cold wind so hardly good for acclimation. Oh well.
I ran 10 mostly MP miles (a few slow, a few fast) I felt fine, it was a solid run and if a marathon was 10 miles in ass freezing cold weather I would win, each and every time.

I felt a little icky after but I'm pretty sure it was just female issues. Another situation this winter that didn't really merit mention was that (through no fault of my own) my birth control situation got completely screwed up. Hence, so did I. I'm at the tail end of the issue and it was dumb and a strain on my ovaries and what not. Seriously, I'm  an old woman and I don't need to be put through hormonal trauma, thanks. I was pissed, and my doctor was pissed and it was just a giant hassle. #rantover

Sunday:
6 suuuuuuper easy recover miles on a nice brisk 45 degree day. All was well.

With just over a week to go I'm feeling ready and excited. This year will be a fun new experience because I have SO many friends running and we are ALL in the same wave! It's going to be amazing. I'm so used to being allllll by myself for 100 hours before the race that having friends to talk to and take a ton of selfies with will be a fantastic change.

So what am I hoping for at this point?
-That the weather doesn't decide to get crazier.
-That I have a calm week at work. This weekend was a borderline shit show.
-That I continue to feel good.
-That I find everything that I have ever wanted at the expo and that it is all half price!!!!
-That I remember to take more bad selfies because, without those, this blog is nothing.

Week 10 of Boston Training: which makes this the longest training cycle in years.

At this point in my last few Marathon training cycles I have trained, tapered and raced. The fact that I am still in training, and hard training at that truly boggles the mind.
...And is SO AWESOME.
I fucking love Spring training, the weather has been right at that point between miserable and slightly better than miserable which is the best running weather out there.
*****I am not lying so quit scoffing******

This week was a real and legitimate ass kicker. Last week's suffering payed off in decent gains in fitness and general badassery.
Once again I compare running to riding, lots of structured work where you suffer a bit followed by some REALLY awesome runs/rides which remind you why you do what you do.

Monday: The typical Hill work in 37 degree temps and some of the highest winds I have run in all season.
Right from the start this was an incredible run. Fast, less effort, just KILLING it.
Next week will bring the same, or very similar route with a slightly easier pace.
This happened to be the best run I have ever had on this route- hello to my skillz. Don't leave.

Smirking about my hill skill

Tuesday: Some easy outdoor miles. It was still windy. What the hell....

Wednesday: Speed work. I had 5x1 mile repeats on the to do list with instructions to "run absurdly fast." Well, that I did. Yipes. It was also just freezing and for some reason I wore shorts. My legs were so damn cold that it was a little icky and I felt like a dodo.

SO RED SO COLD

It seems that all my repeats were very close to the same pace which puts them in the 7:10 range which is absolutely friggin ridiculous.

TOO FAST!! But not actually too fast...

I was putting in a concerted effort to go into the weekend tired, completely worn down. Hence, the ultra turbo hard workout.

Done. Happy. Cold. Old.

Thursday: 3 miles easy, 4 miles controlled base, 1 mile straight uphill back home. I expected my legs to be completely useless and smoked after the 10k pace mile repeats. I was wrong, they were just fine and dandy. As previously mentioned, this good week was just payback for last week being a bit gross and wretched. It's just how things work. And again, it was NOT warm.

Cold. And my car is like REALLY dusty. Gross.

An exciting thing happened. In addition to being back in the blog world Danielle also joined Strava which is so fun! It's like 2012 again back in the day when she was the queen of the internets. She is making a comeback and now we can compare training notes online and give each other "thumbs up" which are critical things in a good training cycle.

Lying, she actually runs a ton more than I do!

Friday: Off and good thing. I was finally tired and starving hungry and the weather was horrible and I had to go to the optometrist which isn't my favorite. So I rested while being busy....

Shit weather

Saturday: Eastern States 20, which I already yammered on and on about. Good times.

Sunday: REST DAYYYY
I like to rest cuddled up to an ice cream the size of my head. 

YUM

It was A REALLY GOOD WEEK.
And kids, on the off chance that you missed the memo we are getting pretty damn close to race day. I, personally have one more week of hard work and then I taper. I have enjoyed training so much that this makes me a little sad but there's always more miles later! 

Miles: 53 and change, I don't remember the oh-point-whatevers
Favorite TV: NO TM RUNS!!! But in real life, Criminal Minds
Favorite beer: I had a terrible beer drinking week... I had nothing good or exciting!
Low temp: Ugh on Thursday it was 26 and then it stayed 26 all damn dayyyyyy
High temp- 50 on Saturday (which I missed, it was 43 on the coast)
Favorite food: I actually prepped some meals in advance so we had (well, I had) some steak and fresh kale from my Dad's garden. I also made peanut noodles which were soooooo good! My Mom made an incredible pizza and a whole turkey because she knows how I get.... And she still takes good care of me which I totally require because #helpless 

Boston training week 9. The wordy edition

The weeks are flying by at this point. I feel like it was about point two seconds ago that I did my long run last week and here I am, long run done again...

This week was a mixed bag.
I don't see that as a completely bad thing though. One does not wish to get bored with never ending stellar runs and ever speedier mile splits, right?!?
......right......

Monday: started out with a bang and the typical 10 miles of hill work.
I'm not going to lie, I felt like a bag of crap. I had not slept well in many days and was experiencing some female complaints. "Gross" was my basic description of this workout.
Gross doesn't mean I had to stop, or quit, or puke on my shoes and my legs felt good enough but the rest of me was like "whaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! gonna poop!!!! everywhere!!!!" Oh wow. No good. 
The weather was a bit more brisk than my previous weeks hill attempt. 37 degrees with some snow showers certainly kept me from getting too warm. #soblessed

Ugh all he hills

Imagine my surprise when I finished this run in just about the same time as last week. There was some astonishment. I  can only imagine that I was in a hustle to get home to the comfort of my own bathroom.

OK then, I'll take it

Tuesday: Boring slow easy treadmill run. Pouring rain so not going outdoors, thanks.
This run was hardly inspired but that is what recovery runs are for.
My Mom is super nice and she brought me a cinnamon bun the size of my face which I immediately stuffed IN my face with many shrieks of happiness. Easy miles call for huge snacks.

I had already had a few bites.

Wednesday: Speed work day! So much joy!
It was another warm one. 53 degrees and sunny so the short shorts ad tank got to come out and play again.
Today's workout involved 2 miles of warm up and 8 miles at slightly better than race pace with the final mile/ish being more effort based as there is a solid and significant hill.
This was tough, my legs were super dead which can only mean that I didn't run my recovery run slow enough. Annoying, since it was literally a death march. I had a couple minor technical issues (I had to stop and remove layers during mile one, which didn't change my tempo miles but was annoying, I had to re-tie my shoe in mile 9 which was a bother. Little things but since I wasn't feeling light footed and fleet to begin with, just a hassle.)

Post run exhaustion. So much drama.

 The good thing is that I just got shit done. I don't stop or cry (or, nobody sees me do such things!) I can tough it out and I try to assume that speedwork that feels like a bucket full of assholes will make me stronger and blah blah *insert bullshit line*

Putting on a brave face in my times of trouble.....

I had been feeling a little ouch from my toe for a couple days but had never thought to look a it (it was a minor ouch.) After this run I looked and found that my friend the Blister had made  return. Like any self respecting person would I grabbed my foot, took a pic and sent it to my Mom. Sorry Mah. It started little like it is in this pic, then it got way bigger and now it is turning into a little callus. GROSS. You're welcome.

Wow this is nice.

Thursday: REST DAY THANK THE SWEET BABY GEEZES
We all know a mid week rest day means that I work all day and am on my feet until like, 7PM but who's really paying attention. It was a nice Spring like week so that meant it was time for some nice Springtime beers! I drink IPA all year but I enjoy most of Bissell's beers and this was a favorite from the week. I find that a couple of their beers are so similar enough to be almost interchangeable, if you like Substance you will like Reciprocol. (and Bucolia, they are all very similar.)

Yum, beer is great!

Friday: After a few days of FINALLY sleeping again I was beginning to feel more like myself and less like an exhausted hell bitch. #gains
I had an 8 mile base pace run on the docket and despite the 56,098 MPH wind I went forth and got it done.
My legs, post rest day felt decent. The first 3 miles were straight into the aforementioned wind so I was like "urghhhhhhhh whoooooooohhhh this is harrrrrrrrd" (imagine how a really jowly dog looks when it sticks his face out a moving car window, that was me in the wind. cute, I know.)

LIKE THIS, no kidding.

It was a bit of work and when the wind let up I apparently kept working at the same effort without meaning too because my base miles ended up much, much closer to MP miles.
I don't approve of myself doing base runs at a greater effort but in the grand scheme of things it will make zero difference. I will be sure to calm down and dial it back a bit next week.
*Unless, of course a true miracle has happened and overnight I have become a person who runs fast. In this case I suppose I will just have to accept this and watch in awe as I literally crush all my current PR's.*
Right......

Windy AF. Seriously Maine, knock it off

Saturday was long run day and it was cold and windy. 35 isn't bad in the grand scheme of things but last weeks long run was a helluva a lot warmer, 53 I believe. So I was a little sad to need a warm shirt and full length tights.

I got off to quite a late start as some work issues had put me well behind schedule. Due to these work issues I didn't want to get too far away and then get called back to sort things out.

Basically, I spent 16 miles running back and forth along a couple roads near home, going no farther than 3 miles away. There were lots and lots of tight little turns as I reversed direction which I am sure is good practice for something (If I was running Great cranberry Island this year it would be!)

The run was decent enough and I didn't have any issues other than getting really cold hands and a little bored seeing the same things 300 times. My phones GPS got a little boggled at the end of my run (I assume because I was literally running back and forth) so it was like THIS mile was 9:45 and the NEXT one is 8:22 and the NEXT one is 9:55 but the FOLLOWING one is 8:08!!! I don't think any of that actually happened and I pay more attention to my overall pace but this kind of data always makes me laugh.

And another week of training comes to a close.

I did have one annoying TMI thing happen that I am going to share because I'm special like that. Somehow during this run my actual butt crack got chaffed. HOW does this happen?! I can picture my ass cheeks clapping away back there not giving a fuck and this baffles me. Anyhow, this kind of chaffage is no joke and I recommend somehow trapping the butt cheeks so that they can not do this! Ugh, the horror.

After running Eric and I went to grab a drink with my sister which then turned into dinner.
I was starving per the usual and I ordered a cannoli for dessert. Imagine my delight when there were TWO of them! I ate them both. This might or might not be playing a role in my butt cheeks smacking together but I honestly don't care.

"THERE ARE TWO" I yelled in joy!!!

So there you have it, week 9 is done. Next week will be loads more exciting because we are supposed to have some sort of storm, I'm super busy AND I have Eastern States on Saturday. Good times.

The weekly wrap up
Miles: 50.0
Favorite TV: Only one TM run, and I watched some old Dance Mom's. I'm lame.
Favorite beer: Bissell Brothers Reciprocal
Low temp: 17 glorious degrees on Saturday AM
High temp- 53 on Wednesday
Favorite food: A few things. My Mom (who I swear keeps me alive during marathon training because I run out of time to cook so I steal things from her *occasionally*) made Cheesecake (which was insane) and this lamb roast which was great and also some hard boiled eggs which I usually don't love but right now I do. Also, my Dad made fries which were sooooo good. I didn't make anything good this week except a Boboli pizza....

Boston Training week #7: the tardy edition

I'm a few days late with this post which means that I can't remember most of what I accomplished last week.

We all know that I wrapped the week up with a very successful 13.1 plus 3 miles at the Hampton Half. (thus far I can't find any mid race pics. this is a blessing in disguise!)

Backtracking a little, I started the week with a bang, hitting my hill work on Monday. With the up tempo long run that I had on Saturday I would not normally have made this choice. However, between work and weather it was really the only day to get it done.
I did one loop of my big hill route which is an honest to God ass kicker. It was a great weather day, 46 and sunny and the workout went extremely well.

Top of the hill. Really super pretty.

Tuesday was a rest day. Again, this was a last minute schedule change but I had some work issues that took up my entire day. No big deal, flexibility is key.

Wednesday was speedwork on the treadmill (it was a messy day with snow and rain and crap)
I did 8x800 at HM to 5K pace. Another solid effort.

Wednesday weather

Something confusing happened during my speed workout though. I check off repeats as I do them but I more or less lost count. I was quite sure I had done 8 but one got lost. So I did another one just to be on the safe side because I felt like finishing without being sure was cheating. *sigh* So yeah, I did 8 or maybe 9 but certainly not SEVEN repeats. That extra 800 is bound to pay off someday. 

Post speed work beer of the week. This is always a great choice.

Thursday and Friday were both good but also extremely uninteresting. Both workouts were 6 miles of warm up then base pace. Yawn. Fun to run, boring to read about. It was also chilly, temps were in the low 20's which isn't my favorite.

Saturday was a rest day with some stretching and yoga.

Sunday was race day and then the week was over!!

This was a very solid week of training. I felt that I had some clear fitness gains which is encouraging. Some tricky weather made climbing onto the treadmill inevitable but I'm ok with that, the treadmill has benefits and I had two key runs outside. Good stuff! 

The weekly wrap up
Miles: 46.1
Favorite TV:
Favorite beer: North Coast "Old Stock" 2016 edition
Low temp: 7 on Friday AM
High temp- 46 on Monday
Favorite food: I had amazing dinner with my BFF at 76 Pleasant St. This is our favorite restaurant and a real gem! I had some fabulous oysters and salmon and bourbon and it was incredible......