Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Boston Training

In 6 days I will be running the Boston Marathon!  I recovered from the South Carolina track race quicker than expected- I feel like every 100+ mile race I run I bounce back faster.  Physically, at least- I was able to run 5 miles the day after the race but I was an emotional mess for days after!  After that first week I ran 50+ miles the next two weeks.  I incorporated speedwork, lactic threshold runs, and hill work (in the Low Country, that means bridge repeats!).  This past week I tapered down to about 40 miles, and I started back at Bikram yoga for crosstraining.  I only plan to run about 10-15 miles this last week, so I can go into the marathon with fresh legs.  Right now I am feeling pretty good, although my back's been a bit sore, and I've been having trouble sleeping- I have chronic insomnia that comes and goes, and unfortunately it's on an upswing.  But my legs feel good, and I haven't had any trouble hitting the paces I want on my runs.  I'm not expecting anything spectacular next week; it's only my third road marathon and I haven't been specifically training for it.  Looking at my "3-tier" goals, my A goal for this race is to finish sub-3:30, B is to re-qualify for Boston (under 3:35), and C is just enjoy the experience of running such an historic race!  I know plenty of people who train for years to qualify for Boston, and I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to run there- I plan on making the most of it however I can.