boston training: week 11

ive never really been an anxious type of person (at least i dont think i am) but im starting to have mini bouts of anxiety here and there. not just about boston, but that certainly is the biggest thing on my mind right now. its coming, and its coming soon. yes, ive already started a packing list (ooooh i love lists). i am a planner, but not so much a worrier. but this week ive worried about everything (other than the weather. bring it on mother nature... just no snow, no headwind, nothing below 25 degrees or above 55... kthanks). 27 days out and i dont know what im wearing yet. thats not like me. 27 days out and i dont want to run any more. 27 days out and all the "what ifs" have started coming. stop it! shut up right now all you what ifs! this is boston and its gonna be amazing and full of rainbows and unicorns and you get a medal at the end! deeeeep breath.

omg 27 days.

this week started off with a rest day. my run sucked so bad last tuesday, i just couldnt do it on wednesday. not like i had a hard run to do or anything, i just couldnt make my legs stand up out of bed at 4am. so rest day it was (which sets myself up for a tough week... but so be it). thursdays strength miles proved the rest day was worth it... hitting exactly the pace as written for 3:25 marathon training, actually 2 seconds faster. starting a run at 3:41am best be a good one. 

#alarmsthatstartwith3

yup.

because i used up my sacred rest day on the first damn day of the week, i ran 4 measly miles at the nice slow pace of almost walking on friday. another episode of nurse jackie down... what a great show to watch on the tm (except that i almost fell off the tm when akalitus tased herself in the elevator!) this show is out of control... and one hundred million % inaccurate. i obviously love it.

and march. madness. i love love love this time of year.

fact.

madness, brought to you by bud light

every. damn. year. BUSTED. 

although the rest actually looks pretty good still.

(go duke!)

and in the midst of the weeks ups and downs of running, this happened...

that certainly helped put some fire back in my heart. more reality. its really happening. and amongst all the people i know (like everyone, im so popular. duh) on all forms of social media, i happen to be the only person in the entire boston marathon that is in wave 3/corral 4. starting line party of one.

and a huge shout out to michelle for this amazing bowl she sent me. his name is elwood and hes the best most cutest little unicorn cereal bowl ive ever seen and i wish i could squeeze him into my flip belt for the race and carry him with me from hopkinton to boylston! i love him!!!!! thank you!!

oh elwood. xo

saturday was a busy day and i needed to get my mp run done early (not 4am early thank god). it was about 23 degrees at 615am and off i went. the first 2 miles were a sucky mcsuckfest. the weather was gorgeous with no real wind, and i tried to just get myself to think that the run would get better. but of course when i started the mp miles, my legs wouldnt stop screaming. "youre tired! let us go back to bed! turn around!" and i listened. my plan was to go 6 miles out, 6 miles back... i turned around at mile 3. but something happened on my way back... im not sure where it came from. my head told my legs to shove it. i ran a little faster. i didnt turn towards home when i got to that turn, i kept going. the negative thoughts were still there, but i pushed through (for the most part). i had decided i wasnt going to do the full 9 mp i had, but i got in 7 that were solid, which was more than the 4 that was going to be when i had decided to turn around. i cant give up now. this is the 20th mile in marathon training right here, right now. hit the wall, bounce off, fall down, so be it. but get the F back up. finish this thing one way or another.

keep your head up. boston strong. forward focus.

ive looked at this handheld for over 2 years now (not this specific one, ive had 2 others, all made by nathan)... and saturday was my "little" brothers' 30th birthdays. so i added johnny and carried both of them with me on my run, and there they will both now stay for my journey through boston. xo

...its always darkest before the dawn...

i worked overnight saturday night (rough), only slept a few hours sunday, then had an amazing recovery run with sarah.

hen wanted to be a part of the bff selfie

the 10 miles scheduled for monday am seemed daunting, so i set out the most ridiculous outfit sunday night to try to get myself pumped up. 

should this be my race outfit?! 

no. the answer is no. but the one im thinking of isnt far off, obviously.

i ended up only wearing the shorts and sports bra, which is clearly why my run kinda sucked and i only ran 6 miles instead of 10. whatever. falling apart at the seams, yay.

thankfully this weeks "long run" was only 10 miles. and wouldnt you know, my legs felt all spring like fresh as a daisy! until mile 6.5 when the 22mph headwind (which i had as a tailwind on the way out weeeeeeeee i love running look at me gooooo im so FAST!) hit me and poof. dead. but still, week 11 long run dominated, like a boss. screw you cumulative fatigue, i took a slightly lower mileage rest week and its not gonna kill me.

the ice bath i took after the run might have tried to kill me though, although it didnt last long because i didnt have enough ice. and ice baths, ive decided, are a lot more tolerable when its 80 degrees outside. and with a bud light (as opposed to a vega shake).

not loving ice baths when the high temp on your run was 40

brrrrrrrr. for a few minutes.

week 11

2x3mi strength- (goal 23:00-23:30)- 22:58, 23:00. quite pleased with this run, especially with how i felt during the run (compared to other strength runs ive had). i also feel like the next few weeks runs will be easy (easier) after doing this one. of course they could also suck. the joys of marathon training. id basically compare marathon training to PMS. what a bitch.
7 @MP- (goal 7:48-8:01)- was supposed to do 9 mp miles, just didnt have it. the day was beautiful, the times i (somehow) pulled off for the 7 miles i did do were right on, but overall my head and legs just werent into it. using this week as a bit of a rest week, push through and come back stronger next week. 7:56, 7:52, 7:48, 7:46, 7:49, 7:52, 7:48. halfway through this run i felt like maybe i should run the rest of the miles closer to/at the 8:01 area but with the mp mile paces ive done for this entire training, i felt keeping it consistent (and not doing the last 2) would be better. yes, im training closer to 3:25-3:30 than i am 3:30-3:40. im well aware of the numbers. however, my goal for boston is to enjoy every step. i dont have a final game plan or number goal at this point, but im hoping the training that i have had will allow for miles close to 8 to feel good, comfortable, and fun. if that means some, many, or all miles start with an 8, im ok with that.
long run- (goal 8:20-8:42)- average pace 8:18. better than too slow, i think? my long run rocked. if you can call 10 miles a long run... but hey, i dont make the schedule.

not sure about this song yet.

(and for those keeping track at home, i have downloaded week 9s shakira song. the best!)

despite not taking the normal amount of millions of run selfies this week, i certainly have screenshots of some silly text conversations...

when you randomly send someone a shameless pic that youre belting out to celine dion... 

only to get a text back from him (yes him) that hes listening to celine as well. 

seriously... emily might single handedly keep me in tip top shape for boston

mmmmmm oreo balls

i have a problem... and totally got straight up busted

(can someone let me ship to their house for the future?)

when you and bff both love hank orange headbands

less than a month... que all the emotions. (i surprisingly havent cried as much as i thought i would during training... which likely doesnt bode well for race day).