2016 Boston Marathon Training – Week 17

I spent most of the week in a Nyquil-induced stupor.  I had a slight fever and cough on Monday.  The cough lingered all week but I still got most of my mileage in.  By Thursday, I felt much better after a much needed massage.  Today, I did my last workout here at home and in a couple of hours, I’ll be on a flight to Boston!

Training Schedule
April 10th – April 16th

Sunday: 6 miles easy.
Monday: Specific Endurance Run.  14 miles w/20 min. moderate.
Tuesday: 8 miles easy + hill sprints.
Wednesday: Specific Endurance Intervals. 2 miles easy, 4 x 2K @ half marathon to marathon pace – 15 sec./mile, 2 miles easy.
Thursday: 6 miles easy.
Friday: 6 miles easy.
Saturday: Specific Endurance Intervals. 2 miles easy, 2 miles @ marathon pace, 1 mile easy.

Mileage Total: ~55 Miles

Adaptations.  Since I’ll be evaluating the program after the race, I wanted to stick to the back-of-the-book taper as closely as possible.  It’s slightly more mileage than I’ve run in previous marathon cycles so I only planned to cut a half or full mile off here and there.  But then, I got sick on Monday and I had to just run what my body would allowthe day .

Details

Specific Endurance Run.  14 miles w/20 min. moderate [Log Details].

I felt pretty sluggish during my easy run with my running club the day before but I chalked it up to taking Saturday off and starting a little fast.

On Monday morning, I woke up with a little cough.  I got dressed for my run but just couldn’t get out the door.  I was exhausted.  I packed all my stuff into a bag and figured I’d run home from work.

The run started well but after a few miles, I felt wiped.  At first, I thought it was because I dressed too warmly – this morning’s clothes were for 50 degree weather and now it was close to 70 degrees!  But, after 9 miles, my legs were barely moving and I decided to shut it down.  I was a good 5 miles from home and needed to figure out which bus I could take.  I walked to the nearest stop and sat on the curb.  Instantly, I knew I was sick.  I got on a bus that I thought would take me close to my house.  As soon as I got home, I took some Nyquil and went to bed.

Specific Endurance Intervals. 2 miles easy, 4 x 2K @ half marathon to marathon pace, 2 miles easy [Log Details].

I went to work Tuesday and felt awful the entire day, and even though I felt a little better on Wednesday, I stayed home.  Oddly, I felt better by mid-morning and thought I would try to run.

I didn’t feel terrible during the warm-up.  I struggled to hit anything close to half marathon pace, though, during the first repetition so decided to just run by effort.  I am sick, after all.  That plan worked until the third rep when another runner passed me.  My competitive instinct kicked in and I ran that interval harder.  Towards the end of the run, I felt completely taxed.  I kept myself going by thinking, 2 more miles of hard running…  That thought process continued for through the last repetition.  I completed my last hard workout of this training cycle!  I walked some of the cool-down home.  I am sick, after all.

2K segment pace: 8:04, 8:05, 7:38, and 7:51.

Specific Endurance Intervals. 2 miles easy, 2 miles @ marathon pace, 2 mile easy. [Log Details].

I got a lot of rest after Wednesday’s workout, including two easy days of running and a massage.  I had a little bit of cough but the worst of my cold was over.  Going into this final workout, I figured I should feel about as good as I’m going to feel.

The warm-up felt fast but it felt good to be running again so I didn’t try to hold myself back.  Before the run, I set my Garmin for 7:40-8:20 pace as goal marathon pace.  I ran by effort rather than pace and didn’t look at the watch.  At what I thought was about a mile, I looked and saw 8:16 pace – slower than what I would have thought but the pace felt honest.  In fact, I slowed down a little more.  I took the cool-down home easy.  At this point, I just need to get to the starting line healthy.

I finished my last run at home!  Race day is almost here.

Goal marathon pace segment pace=8:20.

Other Running-Related Activities

Illnesses.  I was sick most of the week.  I quit my evening run on Monday and instantly realized I had a fever.  When I got home, I knocked myself out with some Nyquil.  I didn’t run on Tuesday and felt better that night.  But, waking up on Wednesday, I still had a bad cough.  On Thursday evening, I started sneezing.  I thought maybe I was suffering from allergies.  I took a Zyrtec and two Ibuprofen but I don’t think it helped.  I think this was a genuine cold.

Injuries.  I noticed the back of my knee hurt on a couple of my runs.  I started massaging it with a yoga ball.  I also scheduled a sports massage on Thursday.  This time, with a new masseuse.  He treated me to a mix of massage and stretch.  After the body work, I didn’t feel sore, which was a good thing 4 days before the marathon.

Nutrition.  My April Stridebox came on Tuesday.

Future Races.  The Boston Marathon is in 2 days!  The weather had been trending warm.  I felt thankful that I chose the Crank Sports e-Gel for my race fuel since it has electrolytes.  I’ll have to modify my game plan but I still think sub-3:30 might be possible.

Media of the Week

Song.  “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”, Dropkick Murphys.  Yes, I am!

The Week Ahead

Inspiration.  “Pain is no evil, unless it conquers us.” – Charles Kingsley