Boston Marathon Training {Week 17}

This was a good week! I was super busy, but everything seemed to click. I got in most of my workouts and felt really good. With Boston being just over a week away, I'm starting to have the OH SH*T thoughts that i'm running a marathon  and need to start packing all my stuff soon.

Motivation

This photo always puts a smile on my face- It's of Bill Rodgers and I from when I was just over a year old. We were on vacation in the Cayman Islands and my dad was running a 10K which Boston Bill was also running. I hope I can meet this legend in person this weekend and recreate the photo, minus the crying.
I also received the Boston jacket I ordered in the mail. I love it. It represents so much to me, and to wear it post race on Marathon Monday will be everything.

Workouts

I amended my plan as needed- the theme of this cycle. I am cautious to not over do it, and to listen to my body.  The highlights of the week were my speed sesh of 6x1200's at 7:30 pace which felt so easy, and my back to back 8 mile runs on the weekend. No lowlights to report back workout wise, although the last three runs i've had i've gotten all weepy thinking about the race. It's so hard to run and cry at the same time!
This weekend's weather was amazing! I enjoyed running outside and cruising up and down the lakefront. I purposely overdressed, so that come Boston, mid 45's will feel fabulous- and as it gets warmer, I wont feel overheated. All my "heat acclimatization" paid off for Carmel Marathon last year, so it was a no brainer to do the same thing with my training for this race.

Training Plan

Going into this week I was down on my training. I thought that I was undertrained compared to last year. On Friday night I wrote out a week by week comparison of Carmel vs Boston training, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my Boston training is leagues above Carmel.

Some quick stats: For Boston training: I've run 641.83 miles (93.5 hours)  and cycled 396 miles (31 hours 20 min) through week 17 for a total of 1,038 miles for 127 hours.

For Carmel I ran a total of 480 miles (65.5 hours)  and cycled 734 miles (51 hours) for a total of 1,218.8 miles for 119 hours over 18 weeks. This includes the final week of workouts and Carmel marathon. I still have one week more of workouts to go for Boston!
Monday- 18.15 miles cycled
Tuesday- REST
Wednesday- 8 mile run- 6x1200's @7:30 pace with 400 recovery. Would have done more, short on time
Thursday- 9 miles cycled, 10 mile run
Friday- 9 miles cycled, 6 mile run
Saturday- 8 mile run w/3 miles at a faster pace
Sunday- 8 mile run w/2 miles at a faster pace, 45 minutes worth of JasYoga

Goals and Stuff

I'm still feeling optimistic about a sub 3:30 in Boston. I'm feeling healthy,  recovered and good- plus the forecast is looking *perfect* with lows in the mid 40's, high of 53 and an extremely low dew point.  I still need to nail down what to wear- whether it be my Coeur shorts with pockets, or my Lulu shorts. Im good with shoes, top, sun glasses, etc. I think i'll leave my ipod at home and soak in everything marathon on my way from Hopkinton to Boston. I just need to pack everything up in my travel bag!

Other

Shoes damn near gave me a panic attack this week. I had ordered a pair of Nike Streak LT3's, but realized once I received them that they were more for short distance racing- while they are beautiful (and green!!) I was in a bind. (I should have ordered the Nike Streak 6's). After my 8 miler on Saturday I called several local running stores looking for Nike racing flats- like the Streak or Epic- I would have even taken a fresh pair of Newtons at this point, yet everyone was out.
I called the Nike store and was in luck! They had the racing flats I needed. I tried the Nike Zoom Epic on and ran around the store a few times, and knew it was love at first wear. These are very similar to my Nike Zoom Pegasus, but are a few oz lighter- which makes a world of difference to me, especially in the later miles of a marathon. I wish they had the yellow or aqua color, but pink will have to do.
I wore them for my last longish run on Sunday of 8 miles and felt great. I threw a few GMPish miles in and flew down the lakefront.

Looking Forward

I just need to take care of myself this week. Im starting to get antsy about the race and beginning to freak out about packing and logistics. Time to make to do lists! I had a 90 minute massage on Saturday and it helped me relax and feel so much better. I also bought a cool salt lamp thing. I dont know if it really has any legit health benefits, but it looks awesome in my bedroom and that makes me happy. I'll also continue to take my probiotics, vitamins, BCAAs, and ZMA for sleep.
I've already started writing out my race day plan- like when to wake up, what to eat, when to get the bus, etc. and I've also begun writing out (and memorizing) my race execution plan which breaks the course down into 5k chunks. I'm super freaking excited for April 17!!

7 Days to go until BOSTON!




-Xaarlin

Boston Marathon Training {Weeks 15 & 16}

2 weeks of being ridiculously busy. I sound like a broken record lately. When people ask me if I'm excited about Boston, my response is "of course I am!" The reality is that work has been insane and it's when I look at my workouts or a calendar and think "holy shit I'm running a marathon in 2 weeks!" Yeah, it's probably good I don't have much free time to obsess about this running hobby or work. But damn, I'm running the Boston freaking marathon in 2 weeks!


Motivation

The first of my 2 week's worth of motivation is receiving the runners passport and participant guide for Boston in the mail. I cried. Perhaps it was out of excitement, but also could have been out of exhaustion.


The second motivation I had was getting my fresh Marathon kicks in the mail. The newest Newton distance shoes! I was so exited for them. I didn't wear them the first weekend due to crappy conditions outside so I waited until this past week to wear them. I put one on and immediately realized they were too small. Zappos sent me the wrong size shoes. DOH! Needless to say they are on the first ups truck back and I'll get a refund. I just ordered some Nikes which I'll wear for the marathon which is a huge departure for me since I've exclusively run in Newton Distance shoes for all my half marathons and 26.2s since 2012.


Week 15


Recovery was slow after the half marathon. My calves were very sore for too many days. This is also a reason I chose to return the wrong size Newtons- I think they contributed to my soreness due to the heel toe drop. I love Newtons, but change is good too.

The highlight of this week (15) was my 19 miler. I ran inside because I didn't feel like running in cold rainy windy conditions.

The low light of this week was stepping off a curb and almost spraining my ankle. The tendons on the outside of my right leg were sore for a few days.

Week 16


Week 16 was my busiest yet. I had 2 rest days. I was exhausted. I spent 12 hours at one of my accounts doing walk throughs and was on my feet for way longer than normal- which exhausted me. My legs were so sore by the end of the week from all the walking and early 7am starts for work.

The lowlight of the week was crying on the treadmill Friday morning from exhaustion. No worries about overtraining tho- i was running on fumes by then.

The highlight of the week was Shamrock Shuffle- I executed a good race and did pretty much as I expected to do. I was pleased clocking my 3rd fastest Shamrock 8k at 36:03- less than 50 seconds off of my PR.


Goals and Stuff

I'd like to say my goal of sub 3:30 still stands for Boston. I had a nice 10 mile run outside this past weekend and felt great once I broke through the rust. I want to requalify for Boston 2018, but also want to soak up the entire Boston experience- kissing girls at Wellesley, drinking some beer at BC and maybe even snapping a few photos here and there. Ah, but my competitive spirit will likely kick in and I'll try to get a Pr or something.

Other

I'm pissed at myself for not realizing my new kicks were the wrong size until a week and a half after receiving them. I'm hoping the Nikes will be ok- I'll take them for some runs this week and next. YOLO.

Looking Forward

I need to eat better and cut out alcohol the next 2 weeks. I want to feel better for Boston.

I also need to figure out my race kit. But that's pending the weather forecast- Boston just got a foot of snow this past weekend- so I'll have to monitor it more closely next week.



13 Days to go until BOSTON!




-Xaarlin

Shamrock Shuffle 8k 2017 {Race Recap}

I ran my 6th Shamrock Shuffle 8k on Sunday. Although it's an extremely large race, I love it because the course is like a mini version of the Chicago marathon. There's very few times you can run on closed streets through Chicago- otherwise it's lakefront running the rest of the time.


L and I met up with our MRC Chicago team members for a pre race photo. This year we had 5 teams running in the shamrock! We all had good runs and absolutely smashed our goal of having the most fun. Join us on May 6th for our next run. Info {HERE}


Bag check was a breeze and I waited in a seemingly endless portalet line while counting down the minutes to the corrals closing- surprisingly people finally got a sense of urgency and the line moved quickly. I got into the back of corral A (my usual spot so I don't get trampled) and took a few pics of downtown when all of a sudden, Pete B flew into my frame!


We met up with Eric and Jeff and waited for the race to start.

Since I'd run 13 miles the day before, and 5 miles pre race, my goal was simply to run even splits at a good pace- likely around 7:10-15. Boston marathon training doesn't stop for a fun run.

The gun went off and we inched closer to the start-and then we were off! I saw Kimberly and we chatted a bit while heading into the tunnel. I think we've bumped into each other during the past 3 shamrocks.


I got behind Eric and trailed him for a good 2-3 miles and felt really good. He had just ran a marathon the day before and I was amazed that he felt so good! I crossed the 5k in 22:32.

Around mile 4 I decided to pick up my pace a bit and get done with the race. On Michigan Ave, I saw 2 beautiful border collies and loads of spectators. I knew that it wouldn't be a PR day for me due to all the marathon training Ive been doing, but tried to kick it in the last quarter mile to the finish and break 36:00. Which I missed by 3 seconds. Accurate manual splits below, the buildings screw up the distance.


Final stats:

47th/2256 AG
247th/11305 Women
1191th/19995 OA

MRC Mixed red team: 6th place

I was happy with my effort and somewhat even splits considering my tired legs.


Post race, MRC Chicago met up for beer in the park before heading to brunch at Villains.


I really like the medal- another bottle opener! (Which will likely go into my medal shoebox never to be seen again)


We truly have the best run club ever. I had no idea 2+ years ago that we would have the amazing community that we've built. I'm thankful for run club.


Post post race we went home and chilled out and ordered Chinese food. The pup was tired too.


Housekeeping:

I learned from my last race not to overdress, kind of. I wore a tshirt, but should have worn a singlet because the low-mid 40's with calm conditions at the start meant I'd feel overheated early on.

The capris were also overkill.

I took a salt tab pre race.

I didn't drink any water during the race- it's only 5 miles.

Overall, I was really happy with my effort and clocked my 3rd fastest Shamrock and hit my arbitrary goal of averaging 7:16's.