FIVE DAYS TIL BOSTON!

Again, way too late on the posting once again but better late than never.

First, my last post was in reference to my final day at work, which has now passed. I put in a lot of effort in the last two weeks that I'm proud of, but it almost killed me. I am so glad it is done. I have been having a wonderful retirement thus far and know it is only going to get better. More on that later...

The Boston marathon is 5 days away. I leave Portland for Boston on Friday and have a few days to acclimate to the time zone. I have been training for this race since just after christmas. I had intended to do an 15 (ish) week training program but hiccuped a few weeks in and had to adjust. Actually, the reason I wavered is because I got sick. When I returned I solidified a 10 week program that was very similar to my Portland training. I truly think that anything beyond 10 weeks for me is tough to commit to and stick to. I love the concept of pre-training build up and think I'll employ that should I ever run another marathon. This is something that I believe Pfitz uses and I think Jen used it in her current training cycle. It compartmentalizes things a bit more and puts less pressure on a bigger plan.

I would like to type up the whole training plan and record my results, but that ain't gonna happen. Maybe some time later, but for now I'll say this:

1. I did the best that I could and am proud of that
2. I completed several long runs including 2 x 20 milers
3. I am relatively injury-free
4. I am slower than I was for the Portland race
5. I didn't push it on my speedwork like I have in the past

Touching on some of the above....

Long runs:

Week 1 - 11 miles @ 8:16 pace
Week 2 - 8 miles @ 8:24 pace (must have shortened this run?)
Week 3 - 13 miles @ 8:35 pace
Week 4 - 15 miles @ 8:29 pace
Week 5 - 18 miles @ 8:43 pace
Week 6 - 12 miles @ 8:09 pace
Week 7 - 20 miles @ 8:34 pace
Week 8 - 20 miles @ 8:43 pace
Week 9 - 16 miles @ 8:27 pace

The two 20 milers I just ran what was comfortable, not like training the last time. Last time I started at a good clip and it felt good but hard. I'd decided to push it for the whole run and if I died at the end so be it. I'm glad I ran that way because it helped indicate to me how fast I could really go and helped dictate my race pace. This time around, however, I wasn't feeling as ambitious and was definitely feeling slower. I was okay with trucking along at a pace that felt good. The last mile of my Week 7 20 miler was 7:22 because I decided I had energy left and wanted to use it. The last mile of my Week 8 20 miler was 7:36, same thing. So I think I maybe could have pushed those runs more. I guess I'm just feeling a little more comfortable and less pressured to run fast for the time being.

I had a really bad tempo run early on in the training which salted my attitude toward speedwork for the whole cycle. (This is where having a coach would have helped me out but I won't go there.) Again, I'm feeling less pressure for speed so I didn't take my tempo runs super seriously. I also cut short my track workouts if I wasn't feeling it. My build up before this training cycle was two months of eating and drinking (post-Portland marathon) so I just didn't have much speed in my body left hanging around. My build up to the Portland race was a full 10 months of dedicated training and racing including focused speedwork and triathlons.

There is probably a lot more I could get into on my training since I haven't divulged much in the last 10 weeks. However, all are bygones for now and the next important step is to....

Set My Goal!

I had a mini crisis last night about how the hell I was going to run this race. All this time I've been telling everyone "no, I don't have a goal time, I just want to have a fun run." At a certain point, however, this has to mean something. I am a numbers person and I can't just get into my corral w/o a race plan in mind. I haven't been laboring over my paces at all or put much though into it so I started stressing out. I contacted my old friend Coach Shawn who helped walk me through everything. We talked today for about an hour and it was great to be able to bounce this off of someone that knows what they're talking about. The plan is to start off with an 8:30 pace (8:20 or 8:25 is okay too, but only if I'm feeling it) then reassess at the halfway point. If I am still feeling really good kick it up a bit or if not stay on pace and if I'm feeling bad it is okay to drop back. As I've stated to numerous family/friends/waiters/waitresses I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN. (Is that such a crime?)

I am mostly worried about my ego getting in the way. Now that I've thought it through I am confident I can run it free of worry about my time and comparison to myself and others. I'm definitely going to enjoy everything and soak it all in. It is a fun race and I'm proud that I made it there.

Next on my worry list is logistics and packing....stay tuned!