Getting Excited

Can you believe I have almost 20 weeks of training under my belt this season? This is the longest training season I have had, and I still have 3 more weeks until race day.

I feel as though all the changes I have implemented are positive. I have changed it up this season and hopefully I will finally be able to break through the plateaus and set-backs that have been plaguing me.

Of course, nice weather would be ideal too. I feel bad for those toeing the line at Boston this year. Forecast is 64 low / 84 high and sunny. Yuck. Not cool with a 10:00 am starting time. The good news is that today I checked my start time: 7:00 am. Much better.

Anyway, I digress. This week - like last week - is going very well.

Tuesday I had my "strength intervals" meaning I had to run 3 x 2 miles at 7:35 pace; .5 mile recoveries. I felt very strong doing them and my heart rate was in a great place.

Yesterday, I did 8 miles at goal marathon pace (7:45). Again, all felt great. Clearly the strength intervals are in place to make that 7:45 feel oh just a wee bit easier. All this uptempo running is clearly doing me good, as goal marathon pace has been way easier this time around than it typically is during peak training. The other great part of yesterday's run was getting past mile 7 at goal marathon pace (I just ran 7 at GMP last week). Why? Because it was just after mile 7 at the Grand Rapids Marathon that I started feeling like crap. My HR felt like it was skyrocketing and I felt dizzy and crappy. And I had to stop. The rest of the race was somewhat miserable.

But yesterday, I easily slid through mile 7 and felt like I could have run at that pace much, much longer. A good sign I think.

The other huge highlight of my week has been running with my boys. They are really enjoying it, and I of course am too. James is getting in great shape and really fast. Jake is just enjoying beautiful sunrises with his mom and relaxing. It's very very good.