Boston Training Week #4

January 20-26: Down Week

M - 9 miles in Seattle's Seward Park. Was only supposed to go 8 but lost track of time; love running there.

T - 9 back in DC. Started snowing in the afternoon. PM Yoga with Emily

W - 5 easy on treadmill

Th - 15. Continuous run; 10 degrees, so had to do the double thermal, hooded sweatershirt, jacket thing. Started out with 4 miles easy down to Hains Point, where I went straight into a 3 mile tempo in a circle because the gate was shut and the road beyond looked really icy (doable for recovery running, maybe, but not great for a tempo).

It was tough to get going - felt like I was wearing a weight vest: 5:55, 5:45, 5:40. Straight into 4 miles at about 7:20 pace, then straight into 3 by a mile with 60 seconds rest. At that point, I had to start heading back home and just had to accept that I'd have to slow down when it got icy (things like the fish market parking lot and crossing South Capitol are hard to negotiate smoothly): 5:59, 5:50, 6:03.

PM - Worked with massage therapist, then did gym stuff, focusing on legs.

F - 11.5 with Capitol Hill Distance Project

Sat - AM 6 easy PM yoga

Sun - 16 with Charlie, Outlaw, Klim, and Patrick. Klim had a slam-dunk idea to head out to Sycamore Landing in Maryland - not far from Riley's Lock - and run some country roads that were clear of snow and ice and really nice and quiet. This was great training - and I think, at that, also a perfect place to do Boston-specific training. I'll head back there soon, I bet. According to my watch I had 16 in 1:41, about 6:20 avg. The one thing I noticed was that, after I split with the group at 13, it was hard to stay focused: the hills were winning. With a mile to go, heading down the one icy stretch of the run towards the car, I met up with Murphy and got rolling again a bit; still, I need to make sure I can get it done without the help of a group.

Total - 71.

I feel good about this first block of training - 76, 81, 87, 71 - and look forward to the next month. The next four weeks should be pretty similar, with a little more volume and a workout/race on February 23: the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge, a race I've always wanted to run. Core goals remain being laser-focused on the type of training I believe works for me in the marathon and at age 32 (per previous post: "everyone's magic formula is different"); cutting away bulk miles and not exhausting myself; and, getting leaner and stronger.

Thinking of this, for some reason ...

"There are going to be times when we can't wait for somebody. Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus. If you're on the bus, and you get left behind, then you'll find it again. If you're off the bus in the first place — then it won't make a damn." -- Ken Kesey