I finished out the last hard week of training before the big day with a 60 mile week, tired legs and a do or die trying attitude. I just needed to get through this week smoothly, nail my hard workouts and then finally embrace the taper.
3 x 3 mile repeats
There was a lot of fun thrown into this week with spring break for the kiddos and a birthday for my awesome Mom!
Of course they were excited about birthday dessert (the first of two for the day!)
There were beautiful springtime sunsets that took my breath away...
Nope, still doesn't get old...
And a 16 mile run with an 8 mile tempo sandwiched in between that would put a nice, big fat bow on my hard training for Boston!
Here are my workouts for last week!
Monday March 28th - 8.4 easy miles (and yes - I count the .4 - it's totally counts!)
Tuesday March 29th - Happy Birthday Mom and my dead legs needed a day off after the 22 miler on Sat, 8 on Sun and 8.4 on Monday.
38.4 miles in 3 days = YES - a day off!!
Wednesday March 30th - Hard workout was supposed to happen today. Nope, legs still dead. Let's just run 8 miles today and do it tomorrow, mmmk?
Thursday March 31st - Time to get to work! 12.42 total miles
1.2 mile warm up, 3 x 3 mile repeats (Aerobic Threshold Repeats) at 7:10-7:15 pace with 3 minute jog in between, 1.5 mile cool down.
Splits:
Set one: 7:08, 7:12, 7:10
Set two: 7:01, 6:58, 7:04
Set three: 7:03, 7:02. 7:00
Really happy with this workout. I was so happy I took Tuesday off and pushed this to Thursday. I felt ready and pumped for this!
The goal was to run the paces my coach wanted me to run. Nothing too crazy out of the range.
Friday April 1st - 8 easy miles and a 2 hour massage to flush out the muscles and get primed for Saturday's run.
Saturday April 2nd - 16 miles
4 easy, 8 tempo at 7:15 - 7:25 pace, 4 easy
Actual - 8 tempo at 7:15 pace!!
I felt satisfied with this workout. I stayed right on target with where my coach wanted me to be. My legs were definitely tired and I had to talk myself into pushing through, but I did it.
Sunday April 3rd - 8 easy treadmill miles (was so happy to zone out to some good music and recover from yesterday).
Total Miles 60.8
Are you following me on Instagram? You can find more pics there :)
Well, that's a wrap!!
One last detail before I forget...
One last detail before I forget...
Total Miles for March: 238!
*I haven't run this kind of mileage in a very long time and I felt comfortable with this number. A huge confidence booster in marathon prep.
I am really, really (really) happy with this training cycle. I worked my butt off, stayed injury free, and had some pretty awesome runs (and races!). I have loved having a coach to guide me through this journey and push me more than I have ever been pushed in marathon training. There is a delicate balance in challenging yourself and overtraining/pushing to an dangerous level.
This was so perfect for me. I can't even tell you how excited I am to lay it all out there on April 18th. It feels like a dream.
I am ready to taper, ready to travel to Boston and ready to race this marathon.
I will be interested to see if I get the taper crazies. As of right now, I am ECSTATIC to taper!
The focus is getting a lot of sleep, eating well and dialing in the mental game. The hay is in the barn...
Who raced this weekend?!
Do you get the taper crazies?
Happiness Is Running Life!
xo,
Natalie
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