Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 12 of 16)

Starting the week in Arizona, ending the week in Germany. Wheeeeeeeee travel!

Monday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 4.86 mi @ 9:53/mi avg + 1.9 mi hike

Ran from the condo to meet the family at a trailhead for a hike. Used a pedestrian/horse trail that started leading me off into the mountains at one point, but was able to navigate back to the roads. 

Tuesday

Planned: #10kTuesday

Did: 6.22 mi @ 9:07/mi avg

Ran once the sun came up on a cloudy morning in the desert. Looped up through town and then back through a hilly residential area.

Wednesday

Planned: 6 mi EZ

Did: 1.45 mi @ 9:15/mi

Quick little run before leaving for the airport. 

Thursday

Planned: hills

Did: 5.3 mi @ 8:19/mi avg

Back in town, ran an out and back in the morning while adjusting back to east coast time. Didn't do the hills but tried to push the pace a bit.

Friday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 2.5 mi EZ + 3.26 mi hike

Easy neighborhood out and back plus a beautiful hike with D for the final day of vacation.

Saturday

Planned: 12 mi 

Did: 20.02 mi @ 9:13/mi 

After pondering my remaining training weeks, I realized I needed to do 20 miles this weekend instead of next weekend. The Monday race date had me thrown off a bit, and I usually like to do my final 20 miler 3 weeks before race day.

Had wanted to start early, but the forecast & radar showed strong storms coming through at 7am. Turned out to not be strong at all, and once I got started later in the morning it turned out to be sunny and hot! Struggled a bit towards the end but overall felt good with this run.

Sunday

Planned: 6 mi goal pace

Did: 3.12 mi @ 8:58/mi 

Trans-atlantic flight and a long drive, ran once I got to the hotel in Germany. 

Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 11 of 16)

This week will start out normal but will end with traveling to Arizona for D's spring break. I'll hopefully be running a 20-miler somewhere in the Phoenix area this weekend!

Monday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 2 mi run, 2 mi walk

Lovely chilly afternoon on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Plentiful sunshine. 

Tuesday

Planned: intervals

Did: 7.35 mi @ 7:56/mi w/ 3x1mi

Track Tuesday, felt great in the near-freezing temps! Got in 3x 1 mi repeats each below 7:00/mi (6:58, 6:58, 6:52). 

Wednesday

Planned: 10 mi easy

Did: 10.02 mi @ 10:25/mi avg

Easy peasy run in TR after dropping off D at school. Chilly but sunny!

Thursday

Planned: hills

Did: 5.1 mi @ 8:15/mi avg

Ran the hills of USC Upstate at a pretty good clip - crazy warm weather today, but a strong run.

Friday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 1.54 mi @ 10:01/mi avg

Quick easy loop around the neighborhood before heading out to the airport for spring break trip!

Saturday

Planned: 20 mi

Did: 20.03 mi @ 9:25/mi avg

In Arizona for spring break vacation, so I mapped out a run from our hotel near Tempe to a park where Scott & D met me. It was quite warm and dry and windy, but my route took me through some beautiful parks and was overall an enjoyable journey! I even saw a few wild pigs (javelina) in a drainage ditch, which was quite odd!

Sunday

Planned: 10 mi marathon goal pace

Did: 2.9 mi hike + 3.54 mi 8:43/mi avg

Hiking with the family to see a waterfall, then ran back to the condo on the way back from the trailhead. 

Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 10 of 16)

Busy week this week with Scott out of town, so the standard early morning runs aren't happening. At least it's a drop-back week for the long weekend miles. 

Monday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 2.48 mi trail run

Ran the trails at work during lunchtime. The trees are all in bloom and campus is beautiful!

Tuesday

Planned: speedwork

Did: 6.4 mi @ 8:26/mi

Ran through USC Upstate at lunch to get some hills... no real opportunity for speedwork today. Unseasonably warm today, mid to upper 70s! Whew!

Wednesday

Planned: 6mi 

Did: 6.02 mi @ 10:07/mi avg

My only WFH day of the week, took the opportunity to get in a run after dropping D off at school. Easy pace along the SRT, quite nice. Considered doing more than the scheduled 6 miles but felt tired and decided to stick to the plan.

Thursday

Planned: hills

Did: 5 mi treadmill speedwork (10x400m)

Got in to work and went straight to the gym for some speedwork on the treadmill since I'd missed it earlier in the week. Did 10x 400m at progressive pace starting from 7:30/mi and getting up to sub-6/mi. 

Friday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 12.2 mi long run (10.4 + 1.87)

Due to a busy weekend and some scheduling challenges, decided to do get the long run done early Friday. Started at 0515 and ran on the Swamp Rabbit around Furman until 0645. Got 10.4 mi @ 8:16/mi done in that window, hopped in the car and drove to work, and finished out with 1.87 mi on the cross-country trails. Very glad to have that done early!

Saturday

Planned: 12 mi

Did: 3.11 mi @ 7:10/mi Earth Run 5k

Had the Milliken Earth Run 5k on Saturday morning, and my first year as Race Director. It was perfect weather and we had great participation - really happy with how things went, and quite surprised to accomplish 2nd overall female in the race too!

Team!

Sunday

Planned: 6 mi race pace

Did: 9.4 mi @ 8:08/mi (with 6 mi race pace)

Time change, cold, and rainy meant I was not looking forward to running... but deciding to do a one-way run to meet the rest of the family downtown for lunch made it much more appealing! Decided to work in my goal pace miles within the middle of the run. Started out from the house, made it over to the Swamp Rabbit trail, and set off as soon as my watch ticked over to the 2-mi mark. Kept good consistent speed through the next 6, debated a pit-stop at SRCG but decided to keep going and felt awesome. 

Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 9 of 16)

Oh dear, I forgot to blog last week... writing this all fresh from my brain on uhhhh Friday/Saturday of the following week. Whoops. I did switch my working schedule around a bit so now I'm WFH Mondays & Wednesdays, in office Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I've found Fridays are muuuuch nicer in the office (nobody's there!) vs. Mondays (which are always very Monday-ish and I never seem ready for them when they come around).

Monday

Planned:off/XT

Did: 1.84 mi @ 10:40/mi + 30 min strength

Workout coach

"Congrats you sat around A LOT today..."

Tuesday

Planned: 400m reps

Did: 6.28mi @ 8:20/mi avg w 7x400m

Track Tuesday at Furman! Struggled a little today, but got all 1:35-1:37 except the last one at 1:32!

Wednesday

Planned: 10 easy

Did: 10.14 mi @ 9:37/mi

Got this done after dropping D off at school and it was a lovely sunny morning!

Thursday

Planned: hills

Did: Altamont run

Back on the mountain for the first time in a while! Hard climb as always, of course, but man it felt good to climb and it seemed like the legs (not the lungs) were the limiting factor.

Friday

Planned: off/XT

Did: easy 1.65 mi

Just an easy loop around the neighborhood before heading into the office for the day. 

Saturday

Planned: 20 miles

Did: 20.02 mi @ 9:15/mi avg

Headed out to the Lake House for the weekend due to Scott's traveling and me needing to run for about 3 hours. This meant I had to run on much hillier terrain than the usual long runs on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, but it was a great challenge and good to change the scenery for a bit.

I headed out from the house once the sun was sufficiently up and made my way down Lake Road towards the dam. Ended up being about 7 miles to Dam Road, and 8 miles down to the hydroelectric station. I turned around there and continued the other direction down Dam Rd. Found my way around a few more miles before turning back and heading on the return down Lake Road. 

Overall felt great and sped up pretty significantly on the final few miles. 

Dam.

Creek

Pollen!

huge dead catfish

Sunday

Planned: 10 mi goal pace

Did: 4.5 mi easy + hot yoga

Just didn't have the time or energy for the 10 mile race pace run today. Took it easy with a few miles around the Swamp Rabbit before yoga.

Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 8 of 16)

A somewhat normal week except for Monday (school holiday = working from home + kiddo care).

Monday
Planned: off/XT
Did: 3 mi @ 9:31/mi avg

Took D out at lunch for a loop through Furman. He rode his bike while I ran. Gorgeous day!

Tuesday
Planned: intervals (800m @ 3:27)
Did: 6.29 mi @ 8:10/mi avg w/ 4x800m

Track Tuesday at Furman, got a late start so only did 4x800m but all were right on target. Felt somewhat sluggish but finished it out alright.

Wednesday
Planned: 9 mi EZ
Did: 9.02 mi @ 9:49/mi avg

Got out midday for this run in the WARM SUNSHINE oh man. What a beautiful day, though it was also pretty breezy. Felt amazing though!

Thursday

Planned: hills
Did: 5.22 mi @ 8:14/mi avg

Ran faster than planned during lunch through the hills of USC Upstate. Not exactly an Altamont climb but definitely enough ups and downs to feel the work!

Friday
Planned: off/XT
Did: 3.28 mi @ 9:01/mi avg

Ran the Earth Run 5k course at lunch and man, what a warm day it was! Crazy February weather. Took it nice and easy, course is in good shape for the race in a couple of weeks.

Bradford Pear trees are blooming at work - smells like cat pee 😝

Saturday

Planned: 18 mi
Did: 18.04 mi @ 8:54/mi avg

I was not sure how this run would go... really didn't make plans ahead of time but it worked out great. I knew there was a group 5k run from Run In at 9am where I could get a free pair of Goodr sunglasses after running, so that was my target for the final 3 miles of my planned 18 total. I got a bit later start from the zoo (very close to Run In) than I'd had in mind, so I set out around 6:40am. Solo run on the trail towards downtown, had a bit of an interesting time navigating around a partial trail closure, then was on my way north. Went almost to the crossing at Watkins Bridge before turning around and heading back south. The Swamp Rabbit Half Marathon was this morning, and started in TR at 7:30. I knew I'd have the leaders catch up to me as I ran back south, just wasn't sure when. I crossed Blue Ridge Drive and the police men stopped traffic for me... then asked "are you one of the runners?" Me, happily trotting along at a solid 9:00 pace... no, sir, I am not currently winning this race. 😂 Anyway, I did get passed by the top 5 runners before I peeled off of the race course to get back over to Run In. 

Was right at 14.2 miles or so total when I got there, hung out a bit, then we were off! I ended up doing about a 7:20-7:30 pace for the 5k and was the first female to finish (not that it was timed/ranked)... pretty pleased with that! And I got some sweet new sunnies. 😎

After hanging out a bit more, I headed back to my car with one more loop around the parking lot to get my total of 18 miles. Felt pretty awesome considering the number of miles! Really happy with the run today.

Sunday
Planned: 9 mi MP
Did: 2 mi walk + 9.74 @ 8:02/mi avg + 60 min hot Vinyasa yoga

Run planned for the afternoon, so did a walk before church in the morning. For the tempo run, was able to coordinate a one-way run from home to downtown in time for yoga class. Ran easy from the house until I got to somewhat flat road and then kicked off the speedy miles heading down the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Had to take a pit stop at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery, but otherwise felt pretty good for the 9 miles and kept a consistent pace! Only one mile above target, so pretty happy with that.

Hot yoga was much needed and welcomed after this tough week!

Boston Marathon #127 Training (Week 7 of 16)

In Germany for the week, so getting to do some international runs!

Monday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 3.1 mi @ 9:50/mi

Got up early before starting the workday in Germany. There's an incredible network of cycling/pedestrian paths including a loop around the lake where the hotel is located. I did a loop almost around the lake (except for when I discovered a bridge was closed, so had to return back around the way I'd started.

Tuesday

Planned: #10kTuesday

Did: 6.7 mi @ 8:24/mi 

Managed to get up early and run despite staying out until nearly midnight the night before. Felt great to do a quick 10k with some work colleagues before heading in for another busy day at the plant. 

Wednesday

Planned: 9 mi

Did: 10.13 mi @ 9:06/mi

Ran in the evening from the plant back to the hotel. The great thing about Germany (and most of Europe) is the amazing network of bicycle and pedestrian paths! The route went down a 2-lane highway before peeling off to the west and crossing just barely over the border to the Netherlands. Turned from paved pathway to a hard-packed earth trail through the woods, far from any traffic or roads. It was beautiful! And of course I didn't take any photos... oops. But eventually got back to the paved path and through the city center back to the hotel. Got there just in time to shower and meet my colleagues for dinner!

Thursday

Planned: hills

Did: 3.45 mi @ 9:17/mi

Super easy run this morning with colleagues after a too-late night out. Last day in Germany!

Friday

Planned: off/XT

Did: 3k treadmill run

Another late night, and a flight back to the USA this morning so got in a few quick kilometers on the hotel treadmill before packing up and heading to the airport. 

Saturday

Planned: 16 mi long run

Did: 16.02 mi @ 8:30/mi avg

Decided on a different venue and ran on the Doodle trail with a small group - ended up going a bit faster than I should have for long run pace but felt pretty great considering the jet lag and accumulated fatigue from the week! 

Sunday

Planned: 8 mi race pace

Did: 9.15 mi @ 7:59/mi avg

Got out in the morning right at dawn to run my race pace miles... again, was concerned about fatigue from the week plus the long run the day before, but ended up being a perfectly executed run!

8 goal pace miles 🌟

Wowwwww... hit 50 miles this week!