2020 Boston Marathon – Week 2
On Tuesday, I traveled to the warmth of the Tampa area in Florida for the Christmas holiday. I ran Thursday’s marathon-pace workout in Starkey Wilderness Park. My splits were consistent but felt a little hard.
Training Schedule
December 22nd – December 28th
Sunday: Long Run. 10 miles, easy to moderate. Hills if possible
Monday: Easy Run. 6 miles w/strides or hill bounds
Tuesday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Marathon-pace Run. 7 miles w/8 x 800m @ goal marathon pace with 1 min. jog recoveries.
Friday: Easy Run. 6 miles
Saturday: Easy Run. 6 miles w/strides or hill bounds
Total: ~41 Miles
Notes. Despite traveling to Florida for the Christmas holiday on Tuesday, I completed my workout on Thursday as scheduled.
Workouts
Long Run. 10 miles, easy to moderate. Hills if possible [Log Details]
I had a good night’s sleep and the weather was great for running.
D.C.-area forecast: Milder today through Christmas, with dry weather and light winds https://t.co/IvUUnhIXhn
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) December 22, 2019
The workout notes said I should run “hills if possible” so from home, I ran through Clarendon to the Custis Trail. I ran well on Washington Boulevard and thought low-9:00 pace might be too fast. I played my 2019 Boston Marathon playlist for motivation but my mind was pre-occupied by work to be done before leaving town for the Christmas holiday.
I ran west on the Custis Trail until it connected with the W&OD Trail. My pace felt comfortable on the rolling hills but my mind still wondered if it was too hard and would lead to an attack of exhaustion at any moment. Once I reached the downhill section of the Trail, my goal switched to hitting the lower side of my pace range and I cruised at around 8:30 pace.
I finished the run feeling tired, but not beat up, which I thought was a good sign that my overall health was back to normal.
Overall pace=9:07
Marathon-pace Run. 7 miles w/8 x 800m @ goal marathon pace with 1 min. jog recoveries. [Log Details]
For the Christmas holiday, my boyfriend and I visited his family in New Port Richey, Florida. On Thursday morning, I awoke to a mysterious splitting headache right above my eye sockets.
For this workout, we drove out to the Starkey Wilderness Park. My view for the run was pine and oak trees draped in Spanish moss with low-lying palm trees. And, the temperature was in the low 60s!
My goal for the goal marathon segment was to run even splits. For most of the repetitions, I was under goal pace and slowed a little to stay in range. My splits were consistent but felt a little hard.
The next day, my headache was gone. I concluded it was the allergy medication interacting with my blood pressure medication making me feel unwell.
800m @ goal marathon pace splits=8:11, 8:10, 8:09, 8:07, 8:13, 8:08, 8:07, 8:06. Overall pace=8:09
Easy Run. 6 miles w/strides or hill bounds [Log Details]
Saturday was my last day of vacation! My headache from Thursday passed and I concluded it was caused by allergy medication interacting with my blood pressure medication.
The skies were overcast when I started this easy run around Siesta Key, Florida but the temperature was in the upper 60s. From the resort, I ran north towards the bridge into the town and back. Along the way, I reflected on the year gone by and the one to come. I was proud of myself for finding a better work-life balance in 2019 and knew my overall health and fitness would be the focus of the year to come.
I arrived at the beach just in time for the flag raising at Sunset Point.
I did strides on the beach. I thought it would feel good but the sand felt hard!
Overall pace=9:39
Routes
Parks. Starkey Wilderness Park. This week, I traveled to New Port Richey, Florida for Christmas and did my workouts on this asphalt trail, which is approximately 7.5 miles long. The terrain is an almost unnoticeable incline from the parking lot to the terminus at the Suncoast Trail. There’s a bathroom at the trail head with a bathroom and water stations every half mile or so. It was a bit isolated, however, so carrying a cellphone was wise.
(My Guide to Washington D.C. Area Running Routes)
Nutrition
LHR Virtual Boston Training Group. This week, coach Luke Humphrey gave us three audio assignments on nutrition. In one of the recordings, he seemed as though he was talking about me when he pointed out that many runners log a lot of miles but could really improve their performance if they dialed in their nutrition. One audio clip discussed the basic role of macronutrients as fuel for exercise, another went into more details on a high carbohydrate diet, and the third was about eating to body type. My overall take-away was that I should eat to my daily needs.
(My Guide to Running Nutrition)
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Episode 92: Peter Bromka“, The Morning Shakeout. In this episode, the host talks with a runner who missed the Olympic trials qualifying standard at the California International Marathon by a heart-breaking 2 seconds! Quotes from the interview that resonated with me were that “The Marathon Doesn’t Owe You Anything” (53:00 mark), how well you trained will exposed (55:00 mark), and understanding hard truths about yourself (57:00 mark).
Racing Schedule
Future races: 2020 Boston Marathon. Over the past few weeks, runners were asked to activate their Boston Marathon account and the coveted Celebration Jacket, as well as other race-themed apparel from Adidas, was revealed just in time for Christmas.
Next race: 2019 Fairfax Four Miler on Tuesday, December 31st.
(My Racing Schedule)
