I can’t believe it’s been over a week since my last update. Holy Cannoli! (oh, man that makes me want to go get a cannoli in Worcester at Wholly Cannoli it’s an amazing little bakery, but I’m getting off track)
OK, so here’s the short summary of what I’ve been up to:
Saturday March 5th – 18 mile training run
Sunday March 6th – Claddagh Classic 4 mile race
Monday March 7th – Spin for Hope cycling event for American Cancer Society
Tuesday March 8th – Strength/30 mins elliptical/7.2m hill run
Wednesday March 9th – REST DAY
Thursday March 10th – Strength/60 mins elliptical/Newton Hills run with friends
Friday March 11th – (100 jump rope skips/2m dreadmill run/2m bike) x4
Saturday March 12th – 16.5 mile training run
Sunday March 13th – Hynes Tavern 5 miler race (plus 1.25 mile run there and 1.25 mile run home)
Monday March 14th – Strength/60 mins elliptical
Let me see if I can go back now and fill in the details. My 18 miler was AMAZING! It was relatively warm out (~40 degrees) and sunny and I did my favorite hilly loop through Tewksbury into Andover, back to Tewksbury and then back to Lowell. I averaged a really good pace and felt great the entire time. I raced home because I had plans to go out to lunch with my running buddies to my favorite Lowell eatery – LIFE ALIVE. I made it home with just enough time to do a 20 minute soak in an ice bath and then a quick defrost in the shower. Lunch with the Lowell Ladies was great. It was nice to catch up because we hadn’t been doing our weekly runs for a while.
Sunday was the Claddagh Classic 4 miler. It’s a torturous course with a hill I like to refer to as a WALL because it’s so steep. I dressed for the occasion in a cute green and black kilt. It was sunny and really warm, mid-50s. The only good thing about the giant hill on the course is getting to fly down the back side of it screaming “ON YOUR LEFT!!!!!!!!!” to everyone as I blow past them. The benefit of being a slightly heavier than average runner……gravity is your friend on downhills. I finished the 4 miles in 35:17, a new PR for the course.
Monday and Tuesday went by pretty fast, I was stressed about work still AND it was time for my annual review which was scheduled from Monday and then got rescheduled for Tuesday, prolonging the anxiety. I was terrified, but pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
Wednesday, I brought my stuff to go to the gym and I was totally ready for a workout after work, but decided it had been a while since my last rest day and my body would thank me for the break, so I went home and relaxed.
Thursday, was time for another Newton Hill run. This time, Charles and I drove together and met up with my friend Scott and his friend and first time Boston marathoner, Paula. Paula is running for the Greater Lowell Road Runners (GLRR, or as I like to refer to them “Good Looking Road Runners”). Since it was only Scott’s second run on the course and Paula’s first, I stayed with them over the hills and then picked up the pace into Boston. Charles ran with the wicked fast guys. My pace was a lot slower than usual because I wanted to make sure Scott and Paula didn’t get lost, but it was still a great run and sometimes it’s good to do lower intensity workouts.
I made up for it on Friday with a super high intensity interval workout. I did the (100 jumps + 2 mile Dreadmill run + 2 mile bike) x 4 workout and I did the dreadmill runs on an incline increasing the speed every quarter mile until I was totally maxed out and dying. My last 2 mile split was 16:35.
Saturday morning, I started to sort of regret that high intensity workout when I went out for my 16 mile run. Granted it was a “recovery” week for me and I was backing down on mileage, but the first 3 miles my legs felt like lead weights. I went out nice and easy and just loosened up, then I found my stride and fell into a great rhythm. I made up the time I lost in the first 3 miles and still averaged sub-10:00s for the entire run. I felt so good at the end of the run I added on a half mile just to keep going. After the run, was another ladies lunch at Life Alive. I brought one of my marathon cheering signs slightly modified for my pregnant running buddy Kim. It said “THE RACE BIRTH IS THE REWARD FOR THE TRAINING PREGNANCY” and on the opposite side it said “THE PAIN IS TEMPORARY, THE PRIDE LASTS FOREVER” She loved it and brought it with her to the delivery room the next day.
Sunday was the Hynes Tavern 5 miler and the last of the 3 races in the Wild Rover Series. I sported my kilt one more time and ran another PR! 43:08. Not bad considering I ran 16.5 the day before and I ran 1.25m to the race (and then 1.25m home). It was really windy out too. Strong headwinds for the entire race. Still lots of fun. After the race I went grocery shopping and made myself some yummy butternut squash brown rice risotto and sauted baby spinach and baked some chicken to go with it. Not a bad way to finish up the week and head into a new week with only 35 days to go until the marathon.
Oh and FYI, my bib# is 23195.
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