We’re in the final stretch!

I’m having a hard time believing that in 6 [sure-to-be] short days, I’ll be one of the lucky individuals lining up to run from Hopkington to Boston for the 118th Boston Marathon! While I’m definitely excited and admittedly have high expectations for the occasion, I’m guessing I really have no idea what I’m in for. It’s easy to imagine the crowds, the historic route, the final turns, but to actually experience them (specifically on this year) I think will be a whole new ball-game. I can’t wait.

I’ve had a lot of highs and lows throughout this training cycle, and somehow on race week I’ve arrived at a place of contentment and anxious excitement. This may change in the blink of an eye (love those taper-tantrums!), but overall I’ve felt very calm and (here’s the shocker)…prepared. Not prepared in my normal definition of marathon-readiness, but prepared to take the day as it comes and accept the outcome.

But more on my race-day mindset in a later post. For now, let’s look at last week’s training. Spoiler: it looks a lot like tapering.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 6.5 miles

Wednesday: spin + stair-stepper

Despite the fact that this wasn’t running…I’m considering this my last “workout” pre-Boston. Spin was TOUGH and I’m glad to have a go-to instructor for an A+ class.

Thursday: 8 miles

5 miles in the AM, 3 miles at night.

Friday: Rest

Unplanned rest day, which I really had no qualms about. I was considering swimming after work, but hanging out with BF trumped that.

Saturday: 12 miles

Let’s just not talk about this run. All I’ll say is that in the world of bad long runs, this one was queen. Perhaps the hardest long run I’ve ever had.

Sunday: 6 miles

Snow miles! This run felt infinitely better than Saturday, thankfully. I really just love running in the cold, and this was one cold run.

Total= 32.5 miles

It’s funny just how much change can happen over a short period of time. A few months ago, I would have scoffed at two rest days in a week. But now, not only did I not bat an eye, I actually welcomed it. This could be in part to my more lax/non-goal oriented training schedule, but generally I think I just got too overwhelmed with being so emotionally attached to my daily workouts. I feels good to let the reigns loosen a little, and although part is due to general recovery from being sick and injured, I think a bigger part is indicative of my own evolution as a runner.

Anyway, I’ll be back in at the end of the week to talk about the “race plan” (hint: it doesn’t involve numbers at all).

Happy Tuesday!