Week in Review

55 miles
12M MLR
13M with 2 x 4 miles with 1M moderate recovery in 605/603//601/602 (635) 606/601/557/552
12.7M MLR with 5 miles progression at 627, 623, 611, 608, 601

Just one more week until I toe the line at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon!  After taking my easy runs SUPER easy, my legs finally felt decent again in a workout!  I was thrilled to hit the times in the 2 x 4 mile workout and I finally feel recovered from being sick and running pretty hard through it.  I'm ready to get there already!!

Week in Review

74 Miles
12M MLR
15.6M with 5 x Broken 2K repeats (1000m with 200m float, 800m fast, 400m jog rest)
     84/87/43 (57) 81/82 (2:08)
     87/86/43 (57) 81/82 (2:15)
     84/84/42 (59) 80/82 (2:03)
     84/84/42 (65) 81/82 (2:03)
     84/84/42 (53) 81/81
18M with 10 miles at 601/602/558/601/602/601/603/601/604/555

Phew, what a week! I'm definitely ready for a solid taper! And after Saturday's workout, Terry emailed me that I get the best (and worst!) present of all:  a really nice taper.  But first, let's start with Wednesday.  My trusty training partner, Jonah, and I headed out to the track near El Camino to run the broken 2K repeats workout.  Ironically enough, the last time I did this workout was back in late March in Durham when my marriage was crumbling apart in front of my eyes.  For more reasons than one, I wanted to really crush this workout, and I did just that!  Also, it's a really fun way to do a track workout.  Typically I cringe when I see that Terry's created a workout that logistically works better on the track, but I knew that this one would be more interesting than just doing 400m repeats or countless mile repeats.  

On Saturday, Jonah and I headed out for my final big marathon workout.  It was a bright and sunny day, and I gave Jonah strict orders that we should run 605 pace.  Instead, we were running low 600s to high 550s.  By mile 9, I watched as Jonah pulled away from me and I maintained my pace.  I didn't go with him because mainly I felt like crap, but I also didn't consider trying to go with him because I know that I've got a marathon in two weeks and he does not.  It was so cute because at the end of the workout, when Jonah rounded back for me, he immediately asked "Are you okay?!" because it's the first time he's seen me do less than how the workout was written.  I'm used to having workouts where I feel like poo-poo, but he's never really seen that happen yet.  After reading my log about how tired my legs feel, Terry immediately responded with strict instructions to take my slower runs even easier and to reduce my mileage.  I am happy I get to take a step back from running, but I also loathe taper weeks because they get so boring and tedious. I also typically feel super bloated during taper because I'm not running as much and because I'm eating more carbs than normal.

Terry also said that my tempo workout gave a good indicator as to what a good target pace is for Chicago - and I agreed with his assessment.  We both recognized that the best way to PR at Chicago is to run 605 pace through at least halfway or even 18 and then to try to run faster after that.  At least now I have a goal that my own coach also believes I can achieve!

(Taper) Week in Review

58 Miles
6 Runs
1 Day off
0 Doubles
2 Workouts


This week can best be summed up with a countdown:

• 6 Days until Grandma's Half Marathon
• 12 Days until the movers come
• 12 Days until my Accounting pre-homework is due

So basically all I've been doing is working, running, packing, and studying.  It's been good to keep busy before the race!

Week in Review

72 Miles
7 Runs
0 Days Off
1 Great Workout
1 Bad Workout
16 Mile Long Run

Just two weeks left until the Grandma's Half Marathon and I feel ready to go...or ready for the taper.  A lot of happening over the next couple of weeks...I'm moving my entire house over two hours away, I'm finishing my pre-MBA homework, and I'm saying goodbye to lots of great friends.  I will focus the next two weeks on the mental prep for this race so that I am as prepared as I can be and so that I can keep the noise out.  I'm so excited.  It will be a great way to spend my last free weekend with some great people - Laurie, Alice, Michelle and Eric.

Taper me Forward

Over the past couple of weeks, I've felt pretty rotten on the majority of my runs. I'm sure it has to do with the massive amount of pollen in the air and the sudden heat wave that has forced me to turn on my air conditioning in April. Despite having garbage legs in workouts over the past two weeks, the effort was still there, which is important to remember.

Instead of letting this overall bad feeling bring me down, I’m still heading into Cherry Blossom with an optimistic outlook. Back in the fall of 2007, I regularly had absolutely horrible workouts at Wake. The top five runners would always beat me in practice. However, somehow I was able to pull it together in races and always finished as either the 1 or 2 runner.

Now I’m in full taper and ready for that to propel me forward in this race. I did a light fartlek yesterday of 1-2-3-3-2-1 with half rest. My legs felt the best they had in weeks, with a light spring to my stride. The goal is a PR (faster than 1:00:50)!

Some cool things to look forward to other than the race:
1) At the expo, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Bill Rodgers will be presenting and signing autographs!
2) Matt and I are going to a pre-race dinner at the race headquarters hotel.
3) Megan and I are starting in the advance women’s start, so we might be running with Joan Samuelson
4) Yogurt with mochi in it after the race in Georgetown
5) My mom is going to be there to cheer

Most importantly, I’m excited to share the experience of this race with my Charlotte Running Club friends in a team competition and to see the DC sights on a run!