A solid week

I wasn't sure how last week would feel coming off of New Bedford.  My legs felt fine after the race (one indication that I could have run faster) but I was mentally discouraged.  I knew I could either use this as an excuse to have a bad week of training or use it as a push to train harder to prove to myself that I was stronger than my half marathon performance.  And that's exactly what I did!

Monday - An easy paced 10 miles around the river.  It felt good to shake out my legs, but the fact that I wasn't sore annoyed me a bit....I should have run that half faster!

Tuesday - Another easy paced 5.5 miles.  Even though I felt okay, I didn't want to take any chances and run anything of quality too soon after the half.  Even though it was slower than I wanted, I still ran faster than my usual long run pace so I took it easy a second day.  I also had swim class that night - new teacher....harder workout! 

Wednesday - 5 mile pace run in the morning including 3.5 miles at goal marathon pace.  Then over lunch I ran another 7.2 miles with two girls from work....one of which is a 3:00:20 marathoner so her easy pace is my fast pace!  

Thursday - Rest!  I was supposed to swim, but my hair appointment took priority so I took the day off all exercise and got a cut and highlight.

Friday - A comfortable 6.9 mile run at lunch.  

Saturday - 22 mile long run!  I went from my house (about 1 mile from mile 21 of the marathon course) and ran the course backwards for 11 miles.  This got me just past Wellesley College and into Natick.  Then I turned around and ran back.  I was really pleased with this run as I ran a 3 minute negative split and felt really good going up the Comm Ave hills.

Sunday - 6.4 mile recovery run.  I was in a bad mood on Sunday morning.....just felt blah.  So I told myself I could be as annoyed and pissy while I was running but once I finished, I had to be happy.  And that's what I did!  It sometimes amazes me the power running has over my mood!  Plus I was really happy that my legs felt pretty good after 22 miles the day before.

I finished the week with 63 miles...not bad coming off a half marathon race!!  And the fact that I am feeling good is very encouraging!  Only a few more hard runs before I start taper....then the madness sets in :)

On a side note.....Wednesday night, Bryan and I met up with some friends (including fellow Team BMCer Steph) at the new House of Blues in Boston to see a band called Ozomatli.  If you've been reading my blog, you might remember me talking about them a couple months ago.  They are a great band from LA with a Hispanic flare.....great running music!!  I highly recommend them - my two favorite songs include "Can't Stop" and "When I close my eyes"  Listen to them....you won't be sorry!

Few pictures from New Bedford

Here are a few pictures from the New Bedford Half Marathon

I like this one cause it looks like I am flying with both feet off the ground!

Inadvertently giving a thumbs up.....I tend to run with my thumbs up for some reason! 

(and no....I am not wearing a running skirt - those are shorts!)

New Bedford Half Marathon

Last Sunday, I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon (are you proud of me for getting this written up within a week of the race??  I'm trying to be better!!).  I've run this race the past 2 years and have always said that its the race I love to hate!  The first year I got a huge PR but was scarred by the wind and cold weather.  Last year, I got another PR but didn't race nearly as well as I was hoping to run.....and the wind....that terrible wind!  

This year I was back and hoping for a big PR based on how well my training has been going.  The weather was perfect 45-50 degrees and partly cloudy.  I got to New Bedford, picked up my number, and met up with a couple people from the Runners World forums that were also running.  I went for a warm up run and settled into the start.  

I was hoping to pace at 7:50 min/miles for a finish around 1 hour and 42 minutes...."the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."  The gun went off and I was off!

Mile 1: 7:35 - wow....too fast!

Mile 2: 7:57 - too slow

Mile 3: 8:07 - what is going on??  Had a bad side stitch (maybe from starting too fast) and trying to work it out

Mile 4: 8:19 - yikes.....big hill here so trying not to get discouraged

Mile 5: 7:53 - starting to actually feel ok for the first time during the race

Mile 6: 7:53 - settling in

Mile 7: 7:50 - feeling ok but knowing the windy part is still to come

Mile 8: 8:04 - windy along the water but no where near as bad as the last 2 years....so why am I slowing down so much??

Mile 9: 8:03 - no comment

Mile 10: 8:11 - no comment with appropriate language for this blog

Mile 11: 7:55 - a couple miles left......trying to pick it up some

Mile 12: 8:05 - so much for picking it up?!?!

Mile 13: 8:04 - actually I am happy with this mile because there is a long hill here and I think I ran it pretty well

Last .1 miles: 1:15 - Garmin measured long so this time is actually for 0.19 miles so that's a 6:39 pace.....I was not going to let anyone pass me at the end!

So what does that all add up to you ask???

Watch time (there was only official gun time): 1:45:11 

Gun time: 1:45:27

Average pace: 8:02 min/mile

So while its still a PR by about 1:30, its no where near the 1:42 I was hoping for.  Not sure what went wrong....for some reason I just couldn't get my legs to move any faster.  But a PR is a PR and I am happy with my race.....after all I am training for a marathon right now, not a half marathon.  I was coming off my highest weekly mileage ever and maybe I had some residual tiredness in my legs.  I capped off the day with a nice Italian lunch with my new Runner's World friends.....I'm sure Bryan was happy I had other runners to talk to so I didn't talk his ear off overanalyzing every mile :)

So now with a month more until Boston, I need to just keep my eye on the goal!!       

Weekly Mileage Personal Record

I'm just going to ignore the fact that its been a month since I last posted and hope none of you notice.....off to hang my head in shame :(

But for those of you still around, I am excited to say that last week I hit a new weekly mileage PR!  Here's how it played out:

Monday - It may be March, but winter is still here and dumped a lot of snow on us east coasters.  So it was on the TM for a torture session including mile and 800m intervals.  As a friend on Runner's Worlds says "bacon pudding miles.....speed work on a treadmill is just wrong like bacon pudding!"  After a warm up I did 2 x 1 mile at 7:24 - 7:30 pace followed by 4 x 800m at 7:00 - 7:08 pace and then another 2 x 1 mile at 7:30 pace.  Ended with a cool down and had 11 miles for the day!

Tuesday - Easy 5.6 miles at lunch to shake out the stiffness in my legs from Monday's intervals.  I also had swim class after work which kicked my butt since I hadn't been there in 2 weeks!

Wednesday - Easy 5 miles on the TM in the morning.  Have I told you how much I HATE running in the morning?!?!?  Pure torture!  Then I did a hilly 10 miles after work and felt much better than I did that morning....thank goodness!  Finished the day with a total of 15 miles.

Thursday - No running!!  Swim class at night which went much better than Tuesday's session.

Friday - Easy 6.4 miles at lunch.....getting ready for Saturday's long run.

Saturday - 21 mile long run in 60 degree temperatures!!!  It was wonderful to run in shorts and a tank top but I was wondering how the heck I trained all summer in the real heat when 60 degrees felt stifling?!?! 

Sunday - 6 mile recovery run with Bryan (his longest run in a while and he felt great!).  Legs were feeling surprisingly good after the high mileage so that made me happy.  

So there you have it......6 days of running boiled down to 65 miles for the week!!  I beat my previous weekly PR by 5 miles and my legs felt great doing it!  I actually had a massage last night and had no aches and pains to complain about.....that never happens.  Hold on a sec.....need to go find some wood to knock on.....ok I'm back.  

I am stepping back a bit this week in preparation for the New Bedford Half Marathon on Sunday.  I pushed my harder runs to earlier in the week and am resting up now.  I even took and unscheduled rest day today because I just didn't feel like running.  I'll let you know how the race goes (and I promise you won't have to wait another month for me to post!) but I'm hoping all this hard work will pay off with another PR....this week in the form of a faster time!