Training Recap Week 9: Feb 13 - 19

46 miles total this week. We moved the tempo intervals to Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday routine due to the prior (week 10) workout that included multiple 5K tempo runs over 17 miles of work - quite a challenge. Makes sense, but you'll see we were back at the long run / tempo work only two days later with two 10K tempo runs incorporated into a 16+ mile long run!

Not too many editorial comments this week. But one thing that is in the back of my mind and creeping forward is that it's been a while since I've put together a 20 mile+ long run and I'll need to get a few of those in before we get to the starting line on April 16th.

M: staple 4 mile route, 4.8mi tot in 34:31
T: 8mi + 6x 200m strides after the run
W: 10K in 44:19, change of plans vs. 11mi. Training partner was dealing with significant leg soreness/tightness and cut his run short to add in some stretching. I varied my route a bit but cut my workout short as well.
T: 5.1mi tot, including 6x {2min tempo, 1min recovery} intervals run mostly at 6:15-6:30/mi pace
F: off
S: 16.6mi tot: 3K warmup, 10K with goal 7:00-7:10/mi (did 6:58!), 4 min of easy running, then 10K with goal 6:40-6:50/mi (did 6:48 and had to contend with some hill climbing in the process!), 3K cooldown
S: 4.5mi tot, couple of miles on trails that are still not covered with snow (and may never get there this winter - fine by me!). The soft trail surface + new running shoes provided some relief on the knees in particular.

Training Recap (That's What I'm Talking About)! Week 10: Feb 5 - 12

This week included a mix of the usual work and training grind, but a rare opportunity for a long weekend away with my family. We rented a condo in Campton, New Hampshire and visited Waterville Valley for a beautiful day of skiing. We also got to visit our friends we met at UNH and who now live in northern NH, Thad and Joselle (Germano) Presby (remember her name, see the end!). They treated us to some great company and a fantastic dinner. As we discussed the near perfect skiing weather we enjoyed (and anything else worthy of significant appreciation), Thad would say now that's what I'm talkin' about! I agree, it was one of those great weekends!

We also visited my family in my early childhood home town of Ashland, NH on the way home (more on that too, in the Sunday workout!).

Here were my workouts this week, 46 mi tot:
M: 5mi in 33:44. Something got into me here with splits 7:04, 6:55, 6:47, 6:26, 6:33
T: 6.9mi tempo intervals: 1.4mi warmup, then 12x {400m at tempo effort, 200m recovery}, cooldown home. Intervals done in 3 sets of 4 at half marathon, 10K, 5K, 3K paces (something like 6:30, 6:05, 6:00, and 5:50/mi).
W: 11mi at "recovery" pace. Completed in 1:19 tot, 7:10/mi. Final 4 miles were sub 7:00/mi.
T: 6mi + 6x 150m strides, 6.6mi tot in 47:34. Again had the legs going just fine, with the final 4 miles of the 6mi run at 7:05, 6:57, 6:42, 6:19
F: off/XT (skiing the bunny slopes with Danielle & the kids)
S: off
S: 16.8mi point-to-point Campton to Ashland: 3K warmup, 4x {5K at goal marathon pace, 1k recovery} (runningahead summary/map). What a cool run this was! I love designing a point to point course, and thankful to have a supportive family willing to accommodate my adventures and pick me up at the destination! This ended up being a crazy challenge for several reasons:

• It was only 8 degrees F with sub-zero wind chills
• I left my energy gels (GU) at home. So this left me with a sports bottle I filled with Gatorade that would become frozen slush by the end (delicious orange slush)!
• I had to be very certain of my route in a relatively unfamiliar setting, so Danielle could follow my intended course in the car, and make sure I was alright
• The planned workout was very aggressive, calling for 5x 5K intervals at goal marathon pace
• The terrain ended up being a more extreme version of the Boston Marathon course, with a large elevation drop followed by a large elevation climb. It was all down from the mountains, but then UP to the lakes!

After the first 4 5K intervals and completing the fourth 1K recovery my watch started beeping again giving me the "go" signal for number 5. I knew that the next segment of the course was going to send me upward once again. I was at a convenient stopping point (a covered bridge by Little Squam lake beach in Ashland) and so I called it a workout. My watch read 2:00:00 when I stopped and I pulled out the cell phone to call Danielle who had driven by just a few minutes prior.

Me hanging out with the best support crew in the business!

all ready to go at the starting point in Campton

Summary after 13 weeks of training for Boston:

And now for the trivia portion of the blog post, and to wrap it up - Joselle Germano as it turns out was the woman who was the top woman finisher in the Bay State Marathon in 2001. I had forgotten that she is a very accomplished runner because I know her first through Danielle and our studies at UNH and we have not talked much about running over the years. You can see her outstanding performance in that race here:

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/01/ma/Oct21_13thAn_set2.html

Joselle in the last mile of the Bay State Marathon - victory is near!

Mt. Washington finish

Training Recap: Week 11, Jan 30 - Feb 04

44 miles total this week, another successful one in the books that I am very thankful for. Unfortunately I received some surprising and sad news that one of my friends from my basketball group has recently passed away. I learned about this on friday and so decided I would dedicate my 16 mile long run to him, including improvising a running course that passes by the gym where we have played together for the last several winters. While a 16 mile run most people would assume is a big achievement I consider this only a very small token of respect I can offer him.

M: off (used the "no training partners" excuse, but also my body really needed it after saturday's 20 miler that included 4mi tempo intervals, and another run on sunday)

T: 8mi tot with 1000m tempo intervals: 1.4mi warmup + 6x {1K @ 6:20-6:30/mi, 2min recovery}, 1.4mi cooldown. For the final 1K interval I turned on the jets (relatively speaking) for a 6:04/mi pace

W: 8mi starting at recovery pace then progressively working to sub 7:00/mi in final 2 miles

T: 7.5mi tot: 5.75mi at brisk paces down to 6:27/mi for the last 3/4 mi. Then, 12x 20sec uphill sprints in 4 sets of 3 (starting with left foot forward, right foot forward, facing backward & spin & go, prone position & jump up & go)

F: off

S: 16mi in 1:55 for 7:15/mi pace overall. Did this one solo, so I had to work on the mental edge to not quit early (the route needed some tweaking at the end to make it 16 tot). Glad I did not, especially on this day. Worked this one pretty well I think with a consistent pace, faster than planned (would have been 7:30 working down to 7:20 for final miles).

S: 4.5mi @ 7:10/mi pace

Summary after 12 weeks of training for Boston (we're past the half way mark)!