The gradual resumption of normal training continues with the addition of tempo workouts on Thursdays. New England weather also continues with plenty of runs right around 20 degrees, brrrr. Unfortunately, the plague of plantar fasciitis is yet another continuation from last week. Something new? Birthdays for both Aidan and Snarky Girl! Here’s the details on the last two weeks of training.
Monday, 12/3, Morning Crew – Swim 2250, Be A Shark workout
Swam with Snarky Girl as usual. Foot was very cranky today even though it didn’t bother me much on yesterday’s long run.
Handsome Birthday Raj (who is presumably not reading this…)
Tuesday, 12/4, Early Morning Crew – 2 miles WU, 5×800 @ 3:40, 3 min recovery, 1 mile CD
Tuesday Track Workouts in full swing! Five of us at the track this morning. We warm up together and then everyone does whatever workout they’ve got planned. Pokey and Speedy Stork are jumping in with me right now, which I love. I ran the 800s at 3:39, 3:40, 3:37, 3:39, 3:37, which I was very pleased with! This was challenging, but manageable. We celebrated Aidan’s birthday with dinner at his favorite restaurant (Indian food – yum!).
Wednesday, 12/5, Early Morning Crew – 4 miles easy (8:53 pace) plus weights
Met Speedy Stork for an early run. Foot was not thrilled. But I wore the new pair of Zoom Flys I got way back last summer and they were awesome! Speedy Stork said they looked very fancy!
Thursday, 12/6, Morning Crew – Tempo Intervals, 2 miles easy then 3×1 mile @7:45-8:00, 2 min recovery, 1 mile cool down
First official tempo workout in AGES so I felt a little nervous about this one. I really have been doing barely any faster running. This turned out to be fine though. I can still run a sub-8 mile, so that is truly excellent news!
Friday, 12/7, Early Morning Crew – 5 miles easy (8:57 pace)
Friday girlfriend run! So fun to have these back on a regular basis. Friday girlfriend runs are generally easy miles, designed for chatting rather than serious training. These are the last miles we relinquish to coach control if anyone is training for anything.
Saturday, 12/8, Early Morning Crew – swim 2200, plus weights
Swimming then lifting. It makes for a busy morning, but I love both, so I’m happy. It’s kind of nice to have some alone time after a busy work week.
Sunday, 12/9, Early Morning Crew – 8 miles (9:00 pace)
Winter has come early to New England and it’s really freaking cold. But this was finally a good long run. Long runs have felt very….LONG. It’s just been a struggle and hard to imagine how I ever ran 26.2 miles just a couple of months ago. That seems like a fairy tale. But here’s two weeks in a row of feeling pretty good and finishing thinking I probably had more in the tank. Maybe fitness comes back eventually after all. Also, happy early birthday to Snarky Girl and a great excuse for a festive cake!
Total: 29 miles running; 4450 yards swimming
12/10-12/16
This week kicks off Boston marathon training! I like having an official start date, but it seems to have led to a bit of a mental breakdown. I was in a huge funk most of the week until Coach Mick talked me through it. I certainly didn’t expect to start this training cycle with the foot still bugging me. I checked in with my podiatrist late in the week also and he said to be patient. Easier said than done, but I’m working on it.
Monday, 12/10, Morning Crew – Swim 2400, F4%K Not Running workout
First official day of Boston training! Despite the name, I am almost always quite happy to swim the day after my long run and today was no exception. Mondays in the pool with Snarky Girl are good days.
Tuesday, 12/11, Early Morning Crew – Speed Intervals, 2 miles WU; 5×800 @3:35 w/3 min recovery; 1 mile CD
Really freaking freezing, about 15 degrees with a little breeze. We had a good gang at the track and agreed not to mention the “C-word”. This went fine. I ran 3:38; 3:36; 3:33; 3:35; 3:35 for the 800s. Still managed to get all in my head about it and felt kind of terrible afterwards. Spent too much time today comparing myself to others when I should know better than to do that.
Wednesday, 12/12, Morning Crew – 5 miles (9:17 pace), plus weights
Ran with Speedy Stork and had a solid run, but mentally still in the toilet. Tough Guy Trainer could tell immediately that I was a mess and helped cheer me up a bit.
Thursday, 12/13, Afternon Crew – Tempo Run, 2 miles WU; 2.5 miles @7:45-8:00, 1 mile CD
Weird work schedule meant I had to run in the afternoon. Then it was unexpectedly snowing. Went to run on my favorite street for tempo runs and found the camber of the road horrible. Foot also hurting. Basically a super pissy day. Training for The Boston Marathon (!) is making me NERVOUS. Finally talked to Coach Mick in the afternoon and started feeling better.
Friday, 12/14, Early Morning Crew – 5 miles (9:12 pace)
Girlfriend run with a great group! Foot was a bit better today and mood was much better.
Saturday, 12/15, Morning Crew – 10 miles (9:10 pace)
I moved the long run to Saturday this week because Sunday expected to be 30 degrees, wind and rain. We got fog and rain today but also 40 degrees. Ran with Squirrel which was fabulous as usual. We can engage in a lot of running chat without boring anyone else. We were happy to be done, but 10 miles didn’t feel like any great shakes this week.
Sunday, 12/16, Early Morning Crew – Swim 2650 Fabian Workout
No Snarky Girl at the pool today but I got to watch some of the lifeguard class, which was fun. Also much less stressful to swim before church than to try to fit the long run in.
Total: 31.5 miles running; 5050 yards swimming.