Boston Marathon Training: 11 Weeks Till Race Day
Week 6: 2/3/20-2/9/20
Recap: Completed Weekly Mileage 39.6
Glimpses of my potential, a launch party, and proper fueling had me at “This Is 11 Weeks till the 2020 Boston Marathon.” After a few days of post race heavy legs, I was excited to tackle Week 6 of Boston Marathon training. This week Coach Ben of Run4PRs had me focusing on downhill strength and weight training. These workouts focus entirely on fatiguing my quads and legs, making it challenging to tackle the workout at hand. My perspective when it comes to my training is that I always look at my workouts as a fun challenge and I show up giving 100% of my effort. It’s not an easy mentality to have, but I look at it this way, “I get to do this! I signed up for the challenge, so why wouldn’t I give 100%?”
A few highlights from this week’s training included:
1) Properly fueling and meal prepping through Endure Strong so my stomach and body feels satiated. Read more about it below in my “Favorite Treat Of The Week” segment.
2) The SF/Peninsula chapter of Arete’s 2020 Launch Party was a huge success featuring new and returning run club members. We ran 4 miles, discussed the 2020 run club season, and raffled off prizes. I’m beyond excited to help co-lead this year and provide the support these women need to achieve their goals.
3) And finally, a glimpse into my marathon potential. I’ve been training hard and giving 100% to my workouts, however, marathon pace work hasn’t been the focus of my training. My training has been centered on hill work, speed, tempos, and easy runs. So to my surprise, I was excited when I ran mile 15 effortlessly at 7:35/mi.
Look out Week 7, I’m coming for you!
Lesson of the week: Trust The Process
With 10 weeks coming up on training, it’s hard not to think about race day and how I’ll be able to execute running a strong race. This week I was reminded to trust the process after a successful long run. According to my training plan, I had a 14 mile long run on the schedule for Saturday. Long story short, I ended up running 1.27 miles over my goal distance due to miscalculations. The best part, the 1.27 mile run back to my car proved that I was able to push the pace running a 7:35 mile. A small sign that I need to keep trusting the process of what I’ll be able to achieve on race day with tired legs. Thus, I need to stop worrying about the “how will I’s,” and keep giving my training 100%.
Training log:
Goal long run of the week 14mi.
Reality: 15.27mi at 8:45/mi
Mon, 2/3/20: Rest Day
Tues, 2/4/20: Rest Day
Wed, 2/5/20: 7 mile Progression Run
Mile intervals: 8:56, 8:41, 8:24, 8:08, 7:44, 7:17, 6:39
Total miles: 7.4mi at 7:59/mi
Thurs, 2/6/20: 5 mile recovery run with 5x20sec strides
Stride splits: 5:10, 5:17, 5:07, 4:55, 4:16
Total miles: 5.86 mi at 8:50/mi
Fri, 2/7/20: Downhill Repeats 8x200m
Downhill interval splits: 6:21, 6:47, 6:59, 7:11, 7:16, 7:06, 7:26, 7:08
Total miles: 7:03 mi at 9:16/mi
Sat, 2/8/20: 14 Mile Long Run
Mile splits: 9:26, 9:15, 9:20, 9:07, 9:09, 8:56, 8:57, 8:46, 8:45, 8:40, 8:39, 8:29, 8:28, 8:07, 7:35, 7:12
Total miles: 15.27 mi at 8:45/mi
Sun, 2/9/20: 5 mile recovery run with 5x20sec strides*
*Reality: 4 miles easy at 10:25/mi
Mile splits: 10:47, 10:25, 10:21, 10:07
Favorite treat of the week:
Investing in a nutritional meal plan! After weeks of not properly fueling my body, I thought it was time to figure out what works best for my nutritionally needs. At Endure Strong Meal Plans, their curated runner specific meal plans provide shopping lists, recipes, and resources so you can successfully fuel your body throughout the week. This past week I shopped and prepped my weekly meals and was truly impressed by how satisfied my stomach and body felt. Best part, NO GI ISSUES! YAY! Check them out!
Photo taken by my downhill repeats on Friday, February 7, 2020