April 6 - 12 Training

Mon: AM - 6 miles easy with 4x30s pickups (7:15); PM - 4 miles easy (7:44)

Tue: AM - 13.1 miles with 10 miles (5:43) at marathon effort; Goal was to run at marathon effort, which based on my fitness is around 5:45ish.  I wanted to keep this workout on a flat route as much as possible, so I ran three loops of my usual 3-mile downtown loop (even though it's not entirely flat) and then added on a mile.  The first loop was all about loosening up the muscles and finding my rhythm.  I hit the first three miles right at 5:45 pace.  The 2nd loop (5:41, 5:44, 5:39) felt more controlled and comfortable than the first loop.  In the last loop and last mile I tried to relaxed as much as possible while getting a good feel of the pace and effort.  

Wed: AM - 6 miles easy (7:29); PM - 4 miles easy (7:13)

Thu: AM - 9.3 miles with 6x1/4 mile downhill repeats; ran fast and controlled with splits of 67, 67, 64 and 65.  PM - skipped run. 

Fri: AM - 5 miles easy (7:26); PM - 4.5 miles easy (7:22)

Sat: 16 miles long run (6:41); Ran the first 10 miles easy then the next 5 miles alternating between 1/2 mile at 5:45ish pace and 1/2 mile at normal long run pace, 1 mile cooldown. The first 10 were nice and easy averaging 6:53 pace. For the 1/2 mile fartleks I ran a rolling course. I practiced running marathon effort without looking at the watch. Ended up averaging 5:39 pace for the fast portions and 6:52 pace for the recovery. Really happy with the workout.

Sun: 7.3 miles easy (7:12)

Weekly Total: 75.3 miles on 10 runs/7 days
I'm starting to feel the legs freshening up  with the decrease in volume.  Just one more week and it's game time. 

March 30 - April 5 Training

Mon: AM – 8.4 miles easy with 6x20s pickups (7:03);  PM – 4.5 miles easy (7:58)

Tue: AM – 14.1 miles including 9 miles progression in 52:06 (5:48).  The goal was to run the progression in 3 mile blocks at 6:10 pace (18:30), 5:50 (17:30), and 5:30 pace (16:30) respectively.  Ran the segments in 18:25, 17:25, and 16:16. The first segment felt easy, the second one felt comfortable and the last segment was tough. Was really thrilled with the workout.  Running 5:25 pace for a 3-mile tempo alone is tough, so to do it at the end of a progression run is a good sign that I'm fit.  PM – 4.1 miles easy (7:24)

Wed: AM – 8.1 miles easy (7:04); felt good and smooth.  I’ve noticed that the legs have been feeling pretty good after a quality workout.  This shows that I'm able to recover from my workouts pretty quickly. Nutrition is probably the most important part of recovery.  PM – 3.9 miles easy (7:25)

Thu: AM – 6 miles easy with 4x20s pickups (7:06); PM – 4.5 miles easy (8:01)

Fri: 12 miles including 3-2-1 mile intervals with 3:00 rest/400m jog.  Goal was 5:30 pace for the 3 miles, 5:10-5:15 pace for the 2 miles and 5:00 for the mile.  Ran the workout on the track so the actual distances were 4800m, 3200m, and 1600m.  I ran 16:10 (5:22, 5:25, 5:23), 11:24 (5:12, 5:12) and 4:56, respectively.  The 3 miles felt good and comfortably hard, the 2 miles was tough, and the last mile hurt.  It was probably the first time breaking 5:00 for a mile in a workout.  

Sat: 20 miles long run (6:38).  Legs felt really good as if I didn’t run a workout yesterday.  First 10 miles were rolling/hilly and the last 10 fairly flat.  Averaged 6:30 pace for the last 10 miles.  

Sun: 7.4 miles (7:09)

Weekly Total: 93.1 miles on 11 runs/7 days

This was probably my best week of training.  Nailing the tough workouts on Tuesday and Friday has boosted my confidence and proves that I'm fit and ready for Boston.  With just two weeks away from raceday, it's time to freshen up the legs and peak to run Boston Strong.