2021 Boston Marathon – Week 4
On Sunday, I ran a final 20 miler for confidence and then started tapering for the Boston Marathon! Almost every run featured tears as I grappled with the personal struggles from the past two years. Struggling to put my London Marathon trying cycle behind me as that race approached, I finally started my itinerary for the Boston Marathon on Saturday.
Training Schedule
September 26th – October 2nd
Sunday: Long Run. 20 miles
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Easy Run. 5 miles
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run. 7 miles + strides
Thursday: Easy Run. 4 miles
Friday: Interval Run. 3 x 1000m @ 5K-10K pace w/400m recovery jog
Saturday: Easy Run. 5 miles
Total: ~48 Miles
Training paces
| Recovery | Easy | Marathon | Threshold | Repetition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No faster than 10:45 | 9:45-10:45 | 8:55–9:20 | 8:30-8:55 | 7:30 – 7:40 (5K) |
Workouts
Long Run
My last long run before my taper! I wanted it to be a strong 20 miler.
D.C.-area forecast: A splendidly sunny Sunday and Monday with a gradual warming trend https://t.co/WWRqhtlBSy
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) September 26, 2021
One mile into the run, I was on the W&OD Trail but quickly moved over to the Four Mile Run Trail.
I spent the early miles thinking about the past two years. I stopped at the point where, on one run, my feet were so swollen that I sat on a bench. I also thought about my 2020 Virtual Boston Marathon from last April.
I left the trail and entered the Potomac Yard neighborhood. I ate a Gu Roctane Gel (Lemonade), which was a bit bitter. When I reached the Mount Vernon Trail, I ran about a mile before stopping for water and a short rest near National Airport. When I reached Gravelly Point, I slowed down significantly after seeing how high my heart rate was even though I was running “easy”.
But, I was good on fuel. I stopped at one point for a Salt Fastchew and had a second gel in Rosslyn.
At the Custis Trail, I ran pretty well on the steepest of the uphill. And, I only stopped briefly at the water fountain at Nelson Street. I exited the trail at George Mason Drive and made my way south and downhill towards my neighborhood.
I stopped by the site where I tripped earlier in the year and had to stop training for a while. My knee is healed and my hard is probably 90% better. A mile down the road, I almost tripped again!
At the end of the run, I didn’t feel more confident going into the race but was glad the hard training was more or less over – 22 months after I started training for the 2020 Boston Marathon!
Distance=20.10 miles
Pace=10:27/mile
General Aerobic Run
I logged on to work early to take care of an urgent request so I got a late start to this run. Usually, I carry my work and personal phone in these situations but I decided to just take one. This is my time, not work’s.
D.C.-area forecast: Spectacular weather through Saturday https://t.co/vibf0tVvnO
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) September 29, 2021
From home, I ran over to the W&OD Trail. From there, I ran uphill. Because this was a general aerobic run, I kept the pace “hard”. When I finally consulted my Garmin, it showed 9:10 pace. After two miles, I reached the Custis Trail. Mile 3 to 4 was even steeper, but my pace was just over 9:10. I left the trail in Ballston and ran through the neighborhood to Clarendon. I was surprised to see that I was still running close to marathon pace. But, I knew I was stopping a few times for lights. I ran down to Thomas Jefferson Community Center for strides and ran another mile home.
When I got home and checked work messages, everything was under control. I realized that I should forget about work when I’m running more often.
Distance=6.45 miles
Pace=9:00/mile
Interval Run
I wanted to say good-bye to the track where, just last summer, I had to bike over rather than run because my feet were so swollen from my blood pressure medication.
D.C.-area forecast: Sunny and comfortable through tomorrow before muggier air arrives Sunday https://t.co/S0lY9d19By
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) October 1, 2021
Having recently reviewed my splits from the last time I did 1000m repeats, I knew that I wanted them to be in the 7:40 pace range.
My warm-up to the Wakefield High School Track felt fast but when I checked my Garmin, the pace was “slow”.
I put on my Best of Flo Rida playlist and got to work!
For the first set, I went off like a bullet and finished pretty strong, too. For the second, I held back a bit.
I thought about the back turn of the track and one workout in particular last summer when my feet hurt so bad that I wanted to give up. I teared up a bit. It’s been so hard coming back!
I’ve come such a long way and hope I don’t lose sight of that if the Boston Marathon doesn’t go as I hope.
I felt good enough to run a little extra so I took a different route home that took me on the W&OD Trail.
| Distance | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m (pace) | 7:39 | 7:37 | 7:29 |
Distance=2.64 miles
Pace=8:33/mile
Cross-training
Strides. This week, I did strides on back-to-back days: Tuesday and Wednesday.
Clothing
Sports bra. Lululemon Enlite Weave Back Bra. For the past two months or so, I’ve been having terrible chaffing problems with my sports bras. I decided to buy a new version of the one that seemed to cause the least problems. I had the chance to wear it for my long run this week and it was fine – not as much support as I would have liked but my skin wasn’t torn up at the end of the run. Price: $98.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Episode 175: Peter Bromka“, The Morning Shakeout. As I finally started paying more attention to the Boston Marathon, this was a down-to-earth discussion about the race by two elite runners – the host and his guest. It made me think about how I should approach the rolling start. I’m also looking forward to how the course might look different in October vs. April.
Racing Schedule
Future races. 2021 London Marathon. On Wednesday, I got my kit bag for the race… For the past week, I posted on the Wanda Age Group Championship Facebook page about whether a friend could pick up my race material. I didn’t get any response. As the flyer that came with the kitbag stated, “you must still hand in your kitbag at the Virgin Money London Marathon Running Show so we can add your medal, T-shirt, and drinks to it for you to collect at the Finish.” So, there wasn’t going to be an easy way for the race to give me my shirt but I would have wanted my bibs.
The #AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Champs back bib! Give these folks an extra cheer if you see them on Sunday! #WhereChampionsRun https://t.co/SMfU5L3D3O
— Abbott WMMajors (@WMMajors) September 29, 2021
It would have been nice to get an official response. In the end, after all the money and training, a plastic bag would be all I’ll have to show for this race.
Runner rankings. RunWashington’s DMV Distance Derby. My best times are:
- Teddy Roosevelt Island (1.4 miles): 10:08 (7:38 pace) on May 12, 2020.
- Custis Climb – Key Bridge to Glebe (3.1 miles): 25:47 (8:47 pace) on October 6, 2020.
- Hains Point (2.5 miles): 20:37 (8:13 pace) on November 26, 2020.
Next race: 2021 Boston Marathon on Monday, October 11th. Goal is 3:54:59 (8:59 pace).
