Happy Marathon Monday! To all the runners and blog friends running Boston today, GOOD LUCK!!!
In my marathon training news – 49 miles this week. BOOM. As I type that, I’m really wishing I had made it an even 50, but oh well. I am really happy with how this week went overall and I am SO ready for the taper that’s comin’ my way.
Selfie from Saturday’s easy 6 miles.
This week’s long run was 22 miles – the furthest I have run since my last marathon, 2 years ago. Early on, I had a lot of anxiety about this run. The 20-milers felt hard, and I couldn’t picture tacking on another 2. Especially, considering how crappy I felt on the previous week’s “easy” 15-miler where I had my fall. So I was a little nervous.
It had been a few weeks since I had seen my family, so I headed home this weekend to tackle this run alongside my mom. Even though, we’ve been training at different paces for this marathon, there’s something about knowing that we’re both out there taking on the same challenge that makes it a tiny bit easier.
The forecast was showing some pretty warm temps (yay 60 degrees!!!) so we made sure to head out for this run on the earlier side. We each set up our own little aid station on the front step with extra water, GUs, pretzels (for me) and dates (for my mom). We had 2 different 5-mile loops in mind, so we passed our house multiple times, which was super convenient (especially for the occasional bathroom visit).
Breaking this run into mental chunks was another HUGE help. By the time I had completed 15 miles (or 3 5-mile loops), I wasn’t feeling like I had another 7 whole miles to run – it was just one more loop plus a 1-mile out-and-back. While my pace was a little slower on this run than on the first 20-miler, my hometown has a lot of pretty good hills in it, so I’m happy. I also managed to run my last mile the fastest at 8:47/mile. Partly this was because I was sick of running by this point. But I also tried to think of Meb and all the elite marathoners at Boston who still manage to kick ass at the end and run 5 minute splits and channel that toughness. Finally, my watch was beeping 22 miles and telling me I had set a new record for longest distance. My 3rd and final 20+ mile run of this training cycle.
My mom and I took a few minutes to sit on our front step and drink our water when the dogs snuck out the front door and started
licking attacking us because we were so sweaty and salty. Or maybe they were just trying to congratulate us 😉
The rest of the day was spent taking it pretty easy – which included a trip to the local ice cream place near us that has finally opened again for the summer and getting some well-deserved ice cream. The lines were ridiculous and we ended up having to wait a while, but it was totally worth it. I think ice cream might be my favorite post-long run treat. 🙂
So now the mileage is winding down. 3 weeks until Delaware and I could not be more excited. Bring on marathon #2 (for me and #3 for my mom) and state #11!
Did anyone else run long this weekend? Do you usually peak at 2o miles for a marathon – or more? I know there’s a lot of different schools of thought on that question.