What it takes

"All it takes is all you got." - Marc Davis

105 miles totaled this week, here's a breakdown of what that looked like:

Monday- 11+ miles, easy day (long run previous Sunday of 20 miles)
Tuesday- AM 10 x 3:00 hard (2:00 rest) for 13+ total miles, PM 4 miles easy
Wednesday- AM 10+ miles, PM 6+ miles (both easy)
Thursday- 14+ miles on a snow covered bike path
Friday- 3 x 5k (all around 18:00) workout for 14+ total miles
Saturday- 10+ easy miles
Sunday- long run 22 miles

This was a BIG week in the build-up for Boston.  It will most likely be my high for total mileage in one week.  I like the balance of easy and hard days from this past week.  I had my toughest days on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.  The rest of the days were equally important, helping me reach my desired mileage for the week.  Here's what my workouts looked like.

(Heartbreak Hill)

Tuesday- On Tuesday, I drove to Wellesley so I could put in this timed interval workout on one of the toughest sections on the Boston course.  I am fortunate to live close enough to the course to do this on occasion and it also helped that I was on spring break from college this past week.  I parked in downtown Wellesley just before mile 15.  I did my warm-up from there until you make the "firehouse turn" onto Commonwealth Ave.  This is where many say the "race" begins at Boston.  It signifies the start of several rolling hills that concludes with the infamous Heartbreak Hill just after mile 20.  I started my workout here and did half of the repeats to get me to the top of Heartbreak and then the other half backwards on the course.  The workout, 10 x 3:00 hard (2:00 rest), is a nice break from doing measured repeats on a track.  If you are struggling with track repeats, give these a try!  I have done time intervals, such as 10 x 2:00 or 5 x 5:00.  You simply try to settle into your tempo pace and run hard during the fast section of the repeat and then jog to recover in between.  I averaged 6:20 pace during the workout (48:00 of running- 30:00 fast, 18:00 recovery), which includes the rest portions.  This means I was in the 5:40 range during the hard running of this workout.  This is encouraging because I was running through the hills of Newton.  This is the kind of workout that provides some confidence come raceday.  It is important to train on similar courses that you will be running your goal race on.  If you cannot make it to the course, look at its elevation online and try to map out something similar near you that you can run on to simulate it.  This will help better prepare you for any race!

Friday- This was the toughest workout I have done in my build-up to date, and might be the most difficult I have done in my life.  I completed a 3 x 5k workout in the snow/rain with 20+ mph of wind.  In these ideal conditions my splits were: 18:03 (5:48 pace), 18:09 (5:50 pace) and 18:03 (5:48 pace).  Awesome!  I was thrilled with the result of the workout.  Nine miles of quality running and even splits.  My third repeat was the same as my first, which I was very happy with!  This was one of those grind it out kind of days.  The conditions were rough, my legs were tired, but I stuck it out and put in my best workout of the cycle.  Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come!

Sunday- Long run: 22 miles 2:25:50 (6:37 pace overall).  I ran the first 22 miles of the Boston Marathon.  I started in Hopkinton, passed the train station in Framingham, went through Wellesley and battled the hills of Newton.  This was a solid long run.  It brought with it the end of a 105 mile week.  I went into this run with 83 miles already on my legs in the previous six days.  I am not rested.  My legs are not fresh.  I eased into the run, passing through the first 5 miles in 34:10 (6:50 pace).  I picked it up from there and went through the half in 1:27:30.  My last 4 miles were in 25:50 (6:27 pace).  This included another trip up Heartbreak Hill.  After cresting the hill, I ran my final mile, the "graveyard" mile, in 6:00.  It felt good to run a fast mile at the end of a 22 mile long run.  The key from this run was that I did not push the pace, except during the final mile.  I ran comfortably and strong the whole way.  I felt great post-run too.  My legs did not feel too tired.  I ran 22 miles but I did not hit the wall and ran my fastest mile last.  My goal is to try and hold 6:06 pace for the marathon.  This would put me at 2:40.  A 2:37 marathon would mean running 6:00 pace.  This long run allowed me to tour most of the course and left me feeling I could run a lot faster once I am rested and ready to race.

Up next: On Sunday I will be making my third trip to run in the New Bedford Half Marathon.  This year feels very different to the previous two.  New Bedford was my first half marathon just two short years ago.  I was a newbie.  I had no idea what I was doing out there.  I ran 1:45.  The next year I returned to New Bedford and ran 1:30.  A 15 minute improvement!  Right now, my personal best sits at 1:20 set at the Hartford Half Marathon this past October.  I have been training to run much faster than that come Sunday.  I am ready to "let it rip" and try to run a fast half marathon.  This is my tune-up race for Boston and it will help indicate what kind of shape I am really in.  I feel like I am due for a big time PR.  The competition will be very strong on Sunday and I hope that running with New England's finest will help pull me to a fast time.  It will be important to stay positive all week and hope for the best on Sunday!

Run Happy,
David