[S]he Conquers Who Endures

12 miles out and back on the Boston Marathon course starting at the finish. AP 8:44 min/mi, elevation gain 254 ft. MY QUAD FELT 10000%!!! If anything hurt it was my hammies probably from going out too fast (ran with my group) and because of the elevation change. It was so motivating to run on the course especially as you get closer to heartbreak hill, it's a running party out there with all the runners and water stations. 12 miles on a harder course at a faster pace was easier than 10 miles last week. I'm happy. 1:44:49

Off or 30 mins easy

Cambridge Charles River trying to hit as much dirt as possible; 3.23 mi in 30:21, 9:24 min/mi AP. Everything felt fine after the long run yesterday, legs just felt heavy in a good way. Hopped on the bike for 30 mins on an easy gear and averaged a cadence of 89 rpm. Avg speed 12.8 mph for 6.39 mi.

Boston Charles River. Easy pace at 9:21 min/mi AP. Stride paces were: 6:04, 6:37, 6:21, 6:16, 6:11, 5:59 min/mi. Woa!! A bit slower than before. I think I'm guarding though. 4.96 mi total in 48:14. Hopped on the bike for 30 mins on an easy gear and averaged a cadence of 89 rpm for 6.35 mi at 12.7 mph. I think the bike is evening me out. I'm getting a lot of imbalances but then feel like I didn't even run after I get off the bike. Quad is still feeling good!

15 min w.u. 8-10 x 1 min on, 1 min off @ 10k effort 10 min c.d.

Cambridge treadmill at 1% incline. wu and recoveries @ 6.3 mph. on's at 8 mph, cd @ 6.5 mph. 5.6 miles in 50:06. This felt good. The first couple were weird but then settled into a rythm. Finished feeling like I could have done more or could have run the ons faster. Then did some light strength work.

Boston Charles River run in snow; 4.13 mi in 41:28, 10:03 min/mi AP. Then hopped on the bike for 30 mins easy. 6.59 mi at 13.2 mph and 92 rpm cadence. Everything is feeling good.

Treadmill in Cambridge at 1% incline; 15 min wu at 6.3 mph then 6 intervals @ 7.3 mph for MP and 6.3 mph for recoveries, 15 min cd @ 6.5 mph. 7.52 mi in 1:06:30. Then 40 mins of body weight strength work. My left adductor was a little tight, but didn't bother me too much on my run. My quad was great. I felt like I hadn't run at all after I finished with strength work. I think dropping back the intensity and amount of strength and adding the bike is helping me recover faster.

30-35 mins easy

Snowy and icy run along the Charles River in Boston, 3.76 mi in 36:14, 9:38 min/mi avg pace then 23 min on the bike @ 13 mph and 91 avg cadence for 5 mi.

12-14 miles easy

Out and back on the Boston Marathon course from Cambridge. 14.22 mi in 2:05:46, 8:51 min/mi AP. The first few miles made me question my fitness, once I got to heartbreak hill, my confidence came back and I was pleasantly surprised how strong my legs felt. 381 ft elevation gain. I didn't even think about my quad, I think it's no longer an issue! Walked a bit and stretched to cool down. Then took an ice bath. Eek!

36:08 easy on the bike. 89 rmp, 7.67 miles, 12.7 mph. My legs felt heavy and a little tight after I woke up. When I got off the bike, they felt great!

40-45 mins easy w 4-6x100m strides

Charles River Boston; 4.06 mi easy in the snow and ice at 9:33 min/mi AP for 38:44, then 6 strides on the treadmil. First was at 9.7 mph because my shoes were wet, the rest were at 10 mph. 10 mph felt really nice! 4.84 mi total in 47:08. Then 30:03 on the bike at 91 rmp for 6.53 mi at 13.0 mph.

15 min w.u. 6-8 x 400 @10k pace with 90 secs rest 15 min c.d.

Treadmill Cambridge all at 1% incline; 15 min wu @ 6.3 mph, 400s @ 8.1 mph (7:24 min/mi), rests @ 6.3 mph. Cd @ 6.5-6.6 mph. 6.36 mi in 56:00. My right piriformis was flaring up on this run, but my quad felt fine. Then 30 mins strength work followed by foam rolling (focusing on my glutes).

OFF or 45-55 mins easy

Boston Charles River. 6.12 miles in 56:43, 9:16 min/mi AP. Everything felt great!! It was so cold, I could not feel my glutes when I was done. Hopped on the bike for an easy ride at 90 rpm, 12.9 mph for 6.47 mi in 30:02.

15 min w.u. 2 x 2 mile @MP effort with 3 mins rest 10 min c.d.

Treadmill in Cambridge all at 1% incline; 15 min wu @ 6.3 mph then MP was at 7.3 mph with rest at 6.3 mph. cd was at 6.5 mph. I was really tired going into this because of work stress from yesterday. My first set of MP miles went better than expected and felt kind of easy. I kept the pace the same for the second set and was glad I didn't try to drop the pace because my legs felt pretty fatigued and shaky towards the end. My cardio felt fine. I think the treadmill irritates my piriformis. It was bothering me again today. 7.57 mi in 1:06:29. Then 30 mins of strength.

30-35 mins easy

Hana run on my ifit treadmill in Chicago that's not calibrated correctly. 3.5 mi at 6mph for 35 mins, 139 ft elevation gain.

15-16 miles easy

Barrington, IL hilly long run. This was mostly just mentally tough. I ran with a group training for Boston and was one of the slowest ones of a large group. The course was a lot harder than the Boston course and I was surprised I maintained a consistent pace throughout the run. I was also pleasantly surprised that this felt hard on my muscles, not my bones and joints. The elevation was similar to the half Merrython I ran back in December, but my body felt a lot better at handling the hills than it did in December. I think I'm finally recovering at a more normal rate! 594 ft elevation gain over 16.01 mi in 2:22:32 for 8:54 min/mi AP. After 3 weeks of long runs on hilly course, I think I should go flat next weekend?

40-45 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

Ifit treadmill workout in Chicago. First 4.7 mi of the Boston Marathon course @ 6 mph, 206 ft elevation gain, 47:05. Then 6 strides: -2% 8.5 mph, -1% 9 mph, -1% 9 mph, 0% 10 mph, 0% 10 mph, 0% 10 mph. 5.5 mi total in 55:20. Then 30 min walk through the Acadia National Park for 1.82 mi and 323 ft elevation gain.

15 min w.u. 8-10 x 2 min on, 1 min off @10k effort 15 min c.d.

ift treadmill in Chicago. Wu @ 6 mph, first 8 ons were @ 7.5 mph, with recoveries @ 6 mph, the last 2 were at 7 mph with recoveries @ 3 mph. Cd was at 6 mph. This was completely based off effort since my treadmill is so off calibration. I thought the ons were comfortably hard, but maybe they were more like 5k effort. I couldn't catch my breath to run the last 2 at 7.5 mph. When I was done, I had to lay on the floor for a few mins because I was so beat. Then did my strength work on wobbly legs. 6.5 mi in 1:02:00

OFF or 50-55 mins

Chicago lakefront path. It was finally a really nice day out to run! There was a few black ice patches and thank goodness for the plows on the path getting things nice and shoveled up. My legs were feeling pretty heavy from yesterday, but felt a bit more energized towards the end. 7 mi in 1:05:09, 9:18 min/mi AP. Finished up with 30 mins on the bike.

15 min w.u. 4 x 1200 @half mar pace with 90 secs rest. 4 x 800 @10k pace with 90 secs rest

ifit treadmill in Chicago. Wu, recoveries and cd were at 6 mph. Recoveries were also at -2%. 1200s were at 6.9 mph, 800s were at 7.2 mph. 9.25 mi in 1:25:10. I think I figured out my paces for this workout. Since the calibration is so off, I have to go by feel. This felt comfortably hard. I was scared to do the 800s because my legs were starting to feel fatigued, but if I didn't look at where I was at in the interval until a song was over I did so much better than staring at the screen! I finished up with 30 mins of strength after laying on the floor for 5 mins. What an intense workout! I think the calibration is off 1 min/mi on pace. If that's right, I really ran 0.84 mi for 1200s and 0.56 mi for 800s.

30-35 mins easy

Boston Charles River. 3.83 mi in 36:05, 9:25 min/mi AP. Legs feeling heavy from yesterday. Then 25 mins easy on the bike.

15-16 miles easy

Boston Charles River trying to dodge the black ice that was EVERYWHERE! I felt really good the first 5 miles or so and was surprised at my pace (8:45s) when the effort felt so easy. By mile 8 I felt really bad like my entire body hurt. Luckily I met up with a friend around mile 12 and ran a little slower with her. Then felt a bit better the rest of the run. I think I was not fueling enough on this one. I was drinking about 3.5 oz of gatorade every 3 miles. Then before the last 2 miles I drank 7 miles and felt way better on those last 2 miles. My pee was really dark when I was done. 17.01 mi in 2:31:47, 8:55 min/mi AP

40-45 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

5.66 mi @ 9:23 min/mi AP; 6 strides @ 5:51 min/mi AP. Total: 6.7 mi in 1:05:01

Boston Charles River. Didn't do the math correctly so ended up running longer than planned. Strides felt awkward, gotta get my body used to running faster again. 32 mins easy waterjogging after. My legs felt really good and refreshed after coming out of the water.

15 min w.u. 6-7 x 800 @10k pace effort with 2 mins rest 15 min c.d.

800s @ 7:41 min/mi, wu and recoveries @ 9:30 min/mi, cd @ 9:14 min/mi. Total: 8.16 mi in 1:11:03

Cambridge treadmill @ 1% incline. I didn't want to blow up on this one and 7:30s felt too hard. My legs felt slow but able to sustain 7:41s so I think I nailed the pace. Probably too much work yesterday, and not enough recovery. Nothing feels strained at least. :) 30 mins of strength work after. Tried new am drinking suggestion: 8-16 oz water immediately after waking and no juice. So far I like it!

45-55 mins easy

6 mi in 55:20, 9:13 min/mi AP

Chicago lakefront path. I have a really, really bad, huge blister on the side of my big toe. It hurt quite a bit on this run. Everything else felt really good.

15 min w.u. 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile @ MP effort with 90 secs rest. 15 min c.d.

3 mi @ 8:00 min/mi; 2 mi @ 8:02 min/mi; 1 mi @ 8:00 min/mi. 9.82 mi total in 1:23:06, 8:28 min/mi AP for entire run

Chicago lakefront path massive headwind 2nd half of run (23 mph) and so cold! I got desperate and tried new shoes on this run. I've been running in the Nike Pegasus and have been feeling like my body is being jarred on a lot of the runs. I especially noticed the ball of my foot would start hurting on long runs like there is not enough cushion. I picked up some Nike Zoom Elite 6 yesterday which felt like they had a ton more cushion under the forefoot/midfoot (apparently the Pegasus has an air pocket under the heel and the Zoom Elite's have an air pocket under the midfoot). My body felt so, so good on this run. I usually feel straining in my glutes and hips on the cool down - none today! I also felt like I didn't even run when I finished. I wanted to go back out and do the workout again! I'm definitely using these on my long run Saturday!

35-40 mins easy

4.49 mi in 40:04, 8:55 min/mi AP

Chicago. Cold and windy. My body felt good running wise.