Training for Marine Corps Marathon week 5: Some better weather (before the shit hits)

Week 5 was over quickly, as I completed all my appointed miles by Thursday.

It was a much more pleasant start to the week weather wise (despite my face in the first pic!) I believe it was something absurd like 68 degrees when I ran on Monday, so I FINALLY did some speed work. 6x800's at a mid-7 pace (mostly in the 7:20's) seemed pretty good given my general lack of effort in that department.

A great run actually

It was still solid weather on Tuesday, so I ran over bitch hill in a much peppier way that last time. I did find a little horned sheep who needed a little help getting un-stuck from his fence. He/She was crying pitifully from the time I caught his eye, but he was rather thankless once I released him and scampered off, little butt a-shaking. Rascal.

Not smart

It was certainly warmer for some easy Wednesday miles, but not humid. Nothing special about that particular run, I was just feeling pretty tired.

Thursday was long run day. It was a totally decent day (about 79, getting muggier but not bad, deer flies swarming like little assholes.) I was about 82% dead on my feet, so it honestly felt like an 18 miler. I was worked over.

Overall, the calf crap worked out better this week. They felt so crampy on Monday that I was shook- but after my first repeat they totally snapped out of it. Weird. I didn't even think about them again until Thursday. They felt meh on and off for a while- then the rest of my legs decided to feel meh as well, and I forgot about what little jack asses they are.

No running over the weekend, but a hike up Eisenhower on Saturday and the Hancocks on Sunday certainly kept me active. It was a really, really great hiking weekend.

A good place to be!!

And on to week 6, which looks like a horrible, humid disaster of a shit heap.

Stats:
Miles: 33.8
Hottest day: Hottest run was 80. It was in the upper 80's on Saturday. 
Longest run: 13.5
Hiking miles- 16 which is excellent, and was a ton of fun

Training for Marine Corps Marathon Week 4: Getting it done

There were a million reasons to skip my workouts this week:

-Getting 1100 bales of hay over the course of 24 hours
-Being really busy at work
-The humidity rising, an the temps soaring
-Being old and sweaty

I did not skip any runs, but I did move things around a bit. I really can't wrap my head around a long run in 96 degree temps, with high humidity. Nope.

I did have a little trouble with my calves this week, and it's hard to say why. They don't really hurt but during two of my runs they both felt really tight, as though they were on the verge of cramping. I see this being one of two things (as my shoes don't really need to be replaced yet.) My legs are either protesting somewhat, as they transition to better fitness. Or, I'm still not nailing the whole electrolyte balance thing. Who knows.

Due to the Friday/Saturday/Sunday extreme heat warnings, all the real work was done early in the week.

Monday was basic stuff, on tight calves.

Tuesday I ran super early, the legs felt just fine and I ran a little fast here and there. Certainly not a structured speed workout, but a little zoom.

Wednesday was bitch hill, tight calves, super gross out. Like, hot pea soup.

Disgusting

I did my long run after an even longer work day on Thursday. Overall, it was ok. I had to call Eric for some extra food, as I became starving! It was just a tough long run. I was tired, it was hard. I did the planned mileage, suffered moderately, and sucked it up.

Also disgusting

I scooted out early Saturday(in just horrible humidity) for a short few with Ellie. The weather was just sopping and disgusting. It was really an unpleasant weekend.

Stats:
Miles: 35.1
Hottest day: 94, I did not run. Hottest run was 80, super humid, and with 2.3 million deer flies
Longest run: 13.4
Hiking miles- NONE TERRIBLE!!!!! (busy. work. stupid. no day off. AGAIN)

Training for Marine Corps Marathon: Official week one

This week marked the "official" (18 week) countdown to MCM. I determined that I I counted the past few weeks as "official" training, that it would bother me forever. Because who does a 20+ week plan? Apparently, I do...

Summer arrived (in all ways) last week, but I was able to get in a good few days of early season work.

I hope to pre-load my weeks during these first few, allowing extra time at the end of the week to either:
-Go to horse shows/deal with life
-Hike
-Stack hay
-Get in one of the "following weeks" workouts, if I know the shit is going down.

Prepping for Hyannis/Boston over the winter I had the following challenges to cope with:
-Winter weather
-Coping with said terrible conditions
-Having no staff at work

During the summer I have the following challenges to consider:
-Summer weather......
-3 or 4 multi day weekend horse shows
-last minute, physically taxing thousand bale hay deliveries
-12 hour workdays, but a few days when I get done early (yay!!! not a challenge!)

I'm basically planning to get my runs in when they can be done. I feel like this could make for a really messy looking week (on Strava anyhow) but the miles get in regardless!

It was nice to feel motivated last week. I reached my "required" mileage by Thursday which was a really great feeling.

Easy run Monday, "long" 7 mile run Tuesday, 8x400 at a mid-7 pace on Wednesday, and a recovery day on Thursday. I added a few miles (like, 3) on Saturday because I wanted to check out what was going on in town. #nosy

I got soaked on my Tuesday run, which actually feels pretty great during the hot summer months.

I'm just drenched. 

I ended up doing next weeks "long run" (9.1) on Sunday because by early week schedule is STUPID. It was 65 and raining too, so BONUS. This will make me look MOTIVATED on Strava this week, and LAZY next week, but I know what's up.

Stats:
Miles: 24.8 (not counting the bonus 9.1)
Hottest day: 83, woof
Longest run: Technically, 7

Mt Tecumseh: 2nd 4k footer of 2019, May 5th 2019

It is Spring, and thus, WE HIKE.

We had a decent weather day on Sunday so we took advantage and scooted off (or drove 2 hours) to Waterville Valley to take a crack at Tecumseh.

Knowing that the Spring weather would have brought many hikers out the previous day, we waited to read the trail report before selecting this as our final pick. With the report saying that there was a stable monorail, doable stream crossings, and no major blowdowns we set off with confidence.

So basically, you drive to Waterville Valley Ski Resort (the sign promises you a "Vacation Of A Lifetime" which I am skeptical of. But I suppose it is a very subjective topic.) You drive to lot 1 at the actual ski area, park, walk across the access road and the trailhead is RIGHT there (my GPS was very accurate.)

On this particular day, there was a fairly significant brook gushing along, about 6 steps into the journey. Ellie had never seen such a thing, and was moderately horrified. We carried her across easily (there were 2 legit stream crossings, and a couple smaller ones such as this. If you have a small dog, and good balance, or a brave dog, there would be no issues.)

The beginning of the trail (the first .83 miles, to be exact) was in excellent condition. It basically looked like Fall, as the beach leaves have not yet rotted. The going was pleasant, an it was a really fine day (it was in the mid 60's at the base, dry, no bugs. Basically a miracle!)

Just prepare to see a lot of dog hiking pics this year.

Right at that .83 mile mark, we stopped to put on micro spikes. The trail turned into snow pretty quickly and was quite hard packed and icy in places. We have the gear, so there is no reason to struggle.
And at that point, we saw other hikers on the way down who were certainly struggling. Even in the most promising summer conditions, I question hiking in casual shoes. And THIS was not the time to try those shoes out. To each his or her own, and if you can climb a mountain in keds- good for you! But just don't.

Mile .83

Mostly, the trail was (as reported) in pretty good condition. Solid monorail, and only a couple times that it turned into a tightrope.

We did see a few postholes, and if you took so much as ONE step off the trail, IN you went (we did not, but we witnessed a crotch deep sinking by another hiker.)

Also, the occasional on-trail death trap

Tecumseh is listed in many places as being one of the best, and easiest hikes for first time 4k foot hikers. I agree with this because it is a short hike (5 miles.) It is also well marked, below treeline, and clearly heavily travelled. HOWEVER. It is not flat. There is most definitely a stretch that is unrelentingly uphill. While one might expect this, I feel that someone who is inspired to try their first big mountain would want to have a few good uphill climbs under their belt before attempting.

It is steeper than it looks. 

Also, if the thought of a remote hike seems daunting, and intimidating than this is the hike for you! You basically hike up next to a ski mountain. There certainly is a feeling of security, knowing that you're so close to civilization.

Random black diamond trail

And more good news! Before you really get tired of hiking uphill you pop up JUST high enough to get a nice view, from a summit with little to no fanfare. (but a summit is a summit!!!)

The miracle? That we actually have a view!!!!

We scooted down in basically no time, taking advantage of the relentless hill to more or less slide down (not really, but Ellie is a fast downhill dog. Which we don't actually care for!)

Ellie leads the way (she is there, I promise)

Anywhoo. We made it down in plenty of time to beat sunset, we had some parking lot snacks and a beer. Ellie chased beech leaves and we were all happy. We forgot to take photos.

So, my thoughts. (Keeping in mind that we dealt with a considerable amount of snow/winter.)
Yes: This is one of the shorter, and therefore easier than some of the higher, or longer mileage peaks. (Jefferson and Bond come to mind here, one for challenge, one for pure distance.) There were absolutely no technical or fiddly sections of trail. Very well marked and clearly heavily travelled. All below treeline, so no real worries about dealing with horrible weather. Even in Spring, all stream crossings were manageable.

But: Quite steep in some sections. If you have a few hikes under your belt, where you have spent several hours on your feet, and have managed some decent elevation gain, you'll be fine.

Stats (I can't remember how I worked this out last year. So this is the 2019 stat edition)

Total elevation: 4003 (you're a squeaker, aren't you??)

Strava data: (we take this with a grain of salt) 
-elevation climbed: 2,131
-miles covered: 4.77 (book has it at 5+)
-elapsed time: 3:08 (this includes all stopped time.) Book time varies between 3:30 and 4:00

Difficulty: Easy/Moderate. Easy due to length, well marked trail, lack of above treeline danger. Moderate die to quite a decent stretch of incline, plus 2 stream crossings that could daunt a beginner hiker in wet or icy conditions.

Views: Limited, but fairly good at the low fanfare summit.

Bugs: None

Dog friendly trail? Absolutely, but don't let your dog crap on the trail. Come on....

Boston Marathon 2019: Post race edition

I have enjoyed my post marathon recovery time very much.

I think it is easy to enjoy a few days off, when you are 100% satisfied with the way your race turned out. To be honest, as the days have gone by, I have felt more and more pleased with my race execution. This is a nice change from how I felt after Hyannis, but as mentioned, that was a good wake up call (if not a good race.)

I was pretty sore until Thursday, and then *poof* I was fine. Thanks to my multiple massages and chiropractic adjustments leading up to race day, I am actually feeling better than I have in quite a while.

Eric and Ellie and I enjoyed out typical post-race Tuesday in Boston. It was a sunny but chilly day, and VERY windy! If the heat on Monday had killed me, I would have been pretty offended (but it didn't. So I wasn't!) We enjoyed a nice walk after sleeping in (I woke up at 6, was too tired to deal, and fell back asleep until 8:00 which is RARE.)
Then we tried to have a little breakfast, but ended up enjoying a nice walk more than food.

Spring everywhere

I thought my stomach had bounced back from the hot-race-grossness, but I actually felt a little off all day. This was a bummer, because I was both STARVING and slightly SICK. Rude. My plan was to march through Boston eating pastry, ice cream, ramen, burgers, donuts and gelato, but I basically bailed after one lame ham and cheese croissant!

I did have some Thai... 

I ran exactly zero miles until Sunday, when I went out for an easy Easter 4, and it felt fine. I certainly don't have any "workouts" planned at the moment, but I think I'll shuffle around a couple times next week. Or not. I'm really not into having a plan until about 6 months post race. (more accurately: I make sure NOT to push anything for at least 14 days.)

So. What is next??

I had the Sugarloaf Marathon in my calendar as a backup, incase I did not BQ in Boston. Despite the fact that I would like to run Sugarloaf someday, this will not be the year. I did what I planned to do in Boston, and another marathon so soon just doesn't sound fun or particularly wise. While lying in bed post Marathon last Monday I said to Eric "ummmmm, I don't think I'll bother with Sugarloaf." And he was like "well. that seems like a GOOD decision!" (rare???)

I seem to have forgotten my dislike for Fall marathons (or more accurately, summer training) and secured myself a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon. I'm actually really looking forward to it (or so say I, in April!) But I'll also need to make sure to run more than 12 miles this summer. My plan is to take it pretty easy through May, and then contemplate my training *plan*.

Oops

Generally speaking, I tend to do some pretty random Spring things (run up all the hills! Do a 60 mile week! Run a random 50k!) but as of today, there is nothing of the sort on the agenda.
*We will see how long that lasts*

Boston Marathon 2019, week 7, the bad back edition

I feel like this update is so late, that I should just tie this week's recap into it.
But that would be cheating.

Last week began well enough. I ran a few recovery miles on Monday and things felt fine. Better than the week before, actually.

Overall, the whole week was spent in better energy. Part of this may have had something to do with needing to bail on my only hard workout of the week. I had planned some long endurance/speed miles (3x2 mile reps) on Wednesday. At 10 days out from a potential marathon a workout like this can be a risk, but so can the weather at this time of year. If a blizzard was looming to cancel the race event, or it it was shaping up to be 70 degrees, this workout would have been well timed (and the biggest challenge of an otherwise easy week.)

Alas. At lunch on Wednesday I did something AMAZING and HEROIC and really, really tweaked my back. I basically had to cash in my chips and call it a day- which meant that I was really hurt. It sucked.
(and "amazing and heroic" means "picking up a dog toy" so, there's that...)

How my crap back made me feel

Thursday was slightly better. Eric and I took Ellie on her first hike up Mt Tirem, and it was such fun!

Adventure dog!

Ellie was a real trooper in the snow, and it was a really nice Valentine's Day evening.

NO FILTER

I basically felt recovered on Friday and did a few sucky treadmill miles. The treadmill feels like shit to me at this time. I don't know if it is me, or the treadmill, but I hate it.

I ran a kickass 11 on Saturday in the most sloppy and damp conditions. I was an absolutely sopping wreck by the time I reached the pub, but I got the job done. And it was a really excellent pre-taper run.

Sloppy world

Because I finally pulled the trigger.

Because why not

And the weather looks amazing, as usual. WTF.

Typical 

Oh, and I feel like I need to include the traditional Saturday group photo to prove we were all there! And to show how much Ellie is growing (a lot, she has doubled in size!)
She is also extremely popular. She made countless new friends this weekend, and is really very good in public for such a young dog.

BIG DOG

So, what do I anticipate at Hyannis except for rain?
This has been a very reasonable training cycle. Not quite as perfect, or intense as last year. Taking that into account, I imagine that I will be able to finish successfully, but most likely slower than last year.
Honestly, if I get to the 13.1 and I feel like a bucket of assholes I'm going to bail and come up with a plan B. I have no intention of running 26.2 shitbag miles, thanks.
The rain doesn't bother me, I seem to have had a bit of practice in similar conditions!
So yeah. I'm just going to run along and see what happens. I have rarely found that there are any surprises, or "unexpected" PR's on marathon day. I know I am not fit enough for any kind of PR, but I do believe I am in condition to BQ. Who knows, it's always a crap shoot!

Stats:
Mileage: 26.5 
Long run: 11.1
Beer at pub: A flight of double, pink pils, picea and cyborg sour (which I don't really love)
Coldest day: There were a few- it was never super warm. Sunday was pretty chilly- I think the day started at 6 degrees and got to like, 19. 
Snow days: Wednesday due to 10 overnight inches, 3 inches of grossness on Friday, 2 more on Sunday. And more to come. 

Boston Marathon Training Week 6, 2019: The good, the bad, and the ugly edition

This past week had a variety of fun winter issues.

Believe it of not, it was actually 50 god damn degrees early in the week. It was like a frickin Christmas miracle!!

I took Monday off since I had run 20 miles on Sunday. I was happy not to be sore, but I was generally dragging a little. I was just mega-mega blah, and it was both annoying and a bit ridiculous.

I perked up a bit on Tuesday, and enjoyed a really pleasant easy run.  (despite the messy, wet, puddly roads) It was quite dark by the end, and I was glad to have my high visibility LED vest.

Don't tell me you can't see me

Wednesday was meant to be speed work day but (ANNOYINGLY) I had to postpone it until the next day. A horse managed to stomp on  right foot, and my little toe was basically garbage. It really was a shame... (not really a big deal, but I certainly had one stupid, sore toe.)

So there we were on Thursday. Speed work day. I was feeling like JUNK (basically a theme!) and the workout was garbage. But I got it done. 5x1 mile at 7:36 and it was bullshit. (I believe this was the BAD part of the week, as my title leads us to believe.)

Friday, I intended to have a creative and entertaining treadmill workout. But I was 100% gross and blah and running sucked, and my foot hurt, and my treadmill was bring a psychopath (like, the incline is broken and needs recalibration. and can basically suck it.) So I did nothing fun and slogged around like a giant, hairy, mess of a walrus. DOOM. (THIS was the UGLY part of the week)

Saturday was long run day, and it was super cold (well, it magically made it to 23) and SUPER WINDY (like, 40 MPH) I planned to run 18 miles and I automatically assumed it was going to be a gigantic suckfest of death, like all my running in THE HISTORY OF EVER.

Ummmmmm

But it was fine. Quite good actually. Much better than last week, and a huge bit better than the previous two days. Mysterious.

Orange hat. IT IS A THING.

I got a weird gross blister though.

Yuck. It looked grosser in real life. 

And I was happy to see Lee, Eric and Ellie at the pub!

YAY!!!!

Ellie can't even handle it....

Just gives up.....

Sunday was downhill rep day, and (AGAIN) It was an extremely good workout.
3 massive downhills completed at a sub 7 pace (thank the lord for downhills...) So yes, this (and the long run) were the GOOD days of the week.
(and also, the days continue to get longer.....)

5:00 is no longer pitch black dark

I'm pleased that the week ended on a good note. definitely an uptick from mid week.

Guess what? I'm still not so sure about running Hyannis. I may actually be fit enough, but I'm not going to sign up until the 10 day forecast comes along. I can't handle 70 (or 50) degree weather and don't want to waste my cash.

If I do race, I'll begin to taper on Thursday of this week.
If I don't race, I will continue to train as normal, but will shorten my long runs to 10 and then 13 for the next two weeks, and I don't want to overtrain prior to Boston. I'm so dainty.

Stats:
Mileage: 45.7
Long run: 18.1
Beer at pub: A mix of triple cream and double cream, and a taste of pickle gose which is a weird as it sounds
Coldest day: High temp of 23 Saturday, but 53 on Tuesday which was really nice
Snow days: None from school (two weeks in a row! two hour delay on Friday because ice) Some random flakes, some ice, some slime. Nothing plowable. 

Boston Marathon Training 2019: Week 5, Mid Winter Classic edition

So yes, it was the week where we all get excited for the Mid Winter Classic.

It also felt VERY MUCH like Mid Winter.

We experienced several very cold days. Basically it went from cold.......

Gross

To COLDER.

STOP

And we also got a foot of snow. Jesus.

I hit the road last Monday for some easy miles, prior to the polar vortex and snowmagedon moving in.
Honestly, the roads were basically shit. It's nice that we are getting more daylight hours at this point, but as long as the roads stay this garbage I can't do much for speedwork on them, especially after work when it is dusky.

Disgusting 

It was pretty though.

Pretty stupid.....

Plan A was to run some mile reps on Wednesday and then do some indoor downhill work on Thursday. (it's almost cheating to do indoor downhills indoors, but when it's 5 below, and dark, and ice you do what you gotta do.) It ended up not mattering anyway. I was 100% exhausted garbage on Wednesday, and even after extending my pre speedwork warmup to try to wake the legs, they would not wake. I bailed, and said fuck it.

I managed the workout successfully the following day, with 5 reps at 7:36 (of course.)
I did not get the downhill reps in which is a shame.

Thankfully, Sunday/Race day was warmer. Since Hyannis is still on the table, I felt compelled to run 20 to keep it a viable option. Eric dropped me off, and I ran a carbon copy last year's route to the race start. Around back bay, down Commercial St, over the Casco Bay Bridge, and up 77. It was cold to start, about 14 degrees, but as I ran the final couple miles the sun felt surprisingly warm.

I felt good about my timing, and I arrived just in the nick of time to get my number from Eric and Ellie, and to scoot to the start. .....which was then delayed by 10 minutes.....
One side of my brain doesn't mind this at all. Things happen. No big deal.

The other side of my brain FROZE SOLID because so did my body. I was already hot and sweaty, and standing in the 28 degree shade put me into a world of hurt. One might think that a 14 minute break in between 10 mile efforts would make things easier, but in this case it did NOT.

The first few miles of the race were most unpleasant. I was extremely cold. My hands and butt felt completely frozen. Not really fun. I think the following photo shows me with a pretty unimpressed expression.

I am in the orange hat looking pissed 

Around mile 3 I did warm up, but also decided that I really wasn't feeling that it was "my day." Last year, I felt extremely capable of pushing the pace. I actually felt like I was giving a solid "race" effort. I decided to pull it back and rein it in. I slowed to what felt like a much more casual long run pace than I have been managing lately. I mulled over my slump and thought it could be nutrition related, so I had a couple Humas. More likely, it was due to a pretty major lack of morning hydration, and a pretty major lack of sleep. One I can control (water) the other, I can not!
Thankfully, once I pulled the pace back I felt much more positive about the whole situation.
(and here's the weird thing, my pace actually hardly changed. Go figure. Maybe it was just giving myself permission to chill that made the difference? Who knows.)


I ended up finishing in 1:21:23, an 8:09 pace (which is certainly a MP pace effort.) My first 10 clocked in at an 8:39 pace, I believe, which brought the overall 20 to an 8:22 pace.

I was very happy to see Eric and Ellie, and many friends at the finish! Ellie was extremely popular, and all the socializing really wore her out.

Happy family!!!!

So overall, I would say this was a good day. I'm happy with having 10 MP miles at the end of a workout. I was pleased to feel well at the finish, and not to feel too sore or stiff. I'm not feeling 100% on point like last year, but am certainly more sharp than in some previous seasons.

And I STILL have not decided about Hyannis. I managed to do this 20, so it is now a more real possibility. If I had those extra 5 minutes in hand from aging up, I would feel pretty certain of success. (thanks for NOTHING BAA!!! Haha.) Who knows. I still have the notion of waiting for the 10 day forecast and making sure it isn't going to be 60 degrees, and then making up my mind! (and FYI: 60 is bad. It needs to be chilly!)

Stats:
Mileage: 41.2
Long run: 20.1
Beer at pub: A mix of triple cream and double cream (Can't stop, won't stop)
Coldest day: FFS SO COLD. Negative one million Thursday through Saturday. 
Snow days: None from school (miracle) Close to a foot of snow on Tuesday night. Some random other non plowable little shit. 

Boston Marathon 2019: Week 4 of training (where I complain about winter)

Let's see. Week 4 of training. What happened... (I actually have no recollection, so I shall refer back to Strava.) Please feel free to follow me here. I'm brutally honest on Strave (and in real time!) about how the old workouts are progressing. So if this lame old blog isn't doing it for you (and it's crap, so it should not be!) follow me there.

So, going back to the 21st, I ran 5x1200 at a 7:36 pace. Arbitrarily, 7:36 has been deemed as the "speed work" speed this year, regardless of distance.

I had a couple mid week treadmill runs. The weather this winter has been disgusting, bizarre shit. As we all know, we had our first serious storm on October 27th, and the weather has been garbage ever since. (I have lucked out on a few of my long runs. Decent enough weather. But other than those workouts, NO bueno.) So anyway, if it is raining 3 inches (which it did) or a million degrees below zero (or like, 6 but whatever) and the roads are covered with DEATH (always) I'm just done. Nope. I can't take it!

I had a VERY rare workday last Friday which had be wrapping things up at 2:00. It was 34 degrees, and only moderately windy and weird. I got the fuck out and got 18 in.

Lee, Eric and Ellie met me at the pub (and Ellie met Winston, the bar dog!!) And then Linda (my mom) made us tacos at home, which were excellent.

Ellie loves this nonsense 

I was glad that I chose Friday for my long run, because Saturday was god damn freezing. We made poor Ellie go for a 0.2 mile walk, mostly to let her sniff around for ducks.

Ellie likes this less

I snagged my first round of downhill repeats on Sunday in slime city. It was 29, and all kinds of snowy and I was fairly convinced that I was going to take a spill. Somehow, I did not.

UGH Winter. I'm just done.
Yes, I prefer winter running to summer running for sure. But the wild fluctuations between -5 and 48, between snow and down pouring rain, and the fact that (to this point) 100% of the snowstorms have ended up being ice is beginning to piss me off. Not to mention that our power has gone off basically every time winter has looked at us crosseyed this season. ANNOYING.

At least the sun is starting to come up at like, 10AM.... (ok, ok it's not that bad. but close!)

But really winter. Go away. 

Mid winter classic is coming up on Feb 3rd.
I still have no idea if I want to run Hyannis, or if I am even remotely fit. What the fuck, 2019 training cycle?? Why do I have no gauge of where I am at? Maybe I'll wait and see the 10 day forecast, and then decide! (brilliant!)
I'd love to just crack out my 2020 BQ ASAP, so that I can go back to being a lazy slack ass. That's a fairly good motivator, when you are me. :-)

Stats:
Mileage: 44.4
Long run: 18.2
Beer at pub: A mix of triple cream and double cream (AGAIN) 
Coldest day: Good question. Saturday was really cold. 
Snow days: None from school (miracle) 3" of rain. Bullshit. Also, some random snow at some point but not that much. 

Boston Marathon 2019: Week 3 of training (in which I actually ran)

Week 3 was certainly better than week 2.
I felt better, managed to fit in speed work AND a long run.

And got a puppy, and proceeded to never, ever sleep again!

Ellen Charlotte Bradlowski

I ran 6x800 on Monday, at 7:36

I did some pretty basic, boring mid week stuff. A little up/down tempo stuff on the treadmill. (Which I was pretty much stuck on since I worked late every day....)

The forecast looked ominous.....

Gross

I did a really solid 16 to the pub on Saturday. It was chilly (upper teens) but the roads were dry and it was just fine.
We also introduced little Ellie to our Pub!!

Puppies and pub runs!!

So at this point, certainly well on track for Boston. Not so sure I can say the same about Hyannis but I have neither signed up, nor completely ruled it out. #undecided

Stats:
Mileage: 39
Long run: 16
Beer at pub: A mix of triple cream and double cream, current favorite 
Coldest day: I think Monday was a high of 11, so not great....
Snow days: None from school (miracle) Gross Sunday storm.