101 Miles and 29 Days to go
My 101 Mile Week
Yesterday as part of my run, I ran the final 6.5 miles of the Boston Marathon course. I think this is the first time that I have ever made the turn from Beacon to Comm to Hereford to Boylston. When I turned onto Boylston, I got the chills from just being on the course, then I remembered the last time I ran down Boylston, April 14th, 2013, the day before the bombing. My eyes briefly watered as I thought about how we sat at the finish line after the 5K race watching the invitational mile and what had happened in the same place less then 24 hours later.
As I snapped back out of it, I realized that we were effortlessly running 6:20 pace (at this point we were 10 miles into our run and I was 78 miles into the week) and taking up an entire lane. The cars didn't seem to mind as they politely went around us. It was almost as if they knew we were on a mission. As we crossed the finish line, I stopped to take a picture. A future score to be settled.
In any training cycle some weeks go to plan, some don't, and some go better. I had a little bit of a rough start to the year with sickness and other things out side of my control, but have been in the "better then planned" category for over a month now. This past week marked the peak of my training cycle and the highest mileage week of my life -- 101.1 miles.
One of the reasons that I was able to get in such a high volume week was that we took a mini vacation up at Waterville Valley. Between runs we were able to get some hot tub time in, some skiing, some pool time, and relax by fire with movies and beer. Just the recharging that we needed.
Monday: 16.5 miles, 1471' climbing - Mix of roads and Cross Country trails at Waterville Valley.
Tuesday: 12.1 miles, 1093' climbing - Mix of slushy and snow covered roads at Waterville Valley.
Wednesday: 12.1 miles, 656' climbing - Mix of roads and trails back home
Thursday: 6 flat miles at lunch an 9 more hilly miles in Arlington after work
Friday: 8.2 miles, 417' climbing at lunch and 3 more on the Battle Road after work
Saturday: 21.4 miles including the last 6.5 of the marathon course
Sunday: 12.5 miles on the Minuteman bike path
What's Left
I have one more test before the marathon. Next Saturday is what we call the mini-marathon where the local running clubs and charities bus their runners to Hopkinton to run the first 18-22 miles of the course. The goal: start easy, slowly pick it up, and drop to goal pace coming down Grossman's hill and hold it through heart break (~6 miles) and then an easy couple of miles to finish.
Two weeks later I plan on doing a flat 5K in Belmont (Becca Pizzi Family Fun Run) as a shake out run 8 days before Boston. If I feel good, I'll race and try to break 17 minutes, if not I'll just have fun with it.
My mileage will now begin to drop over the next 4 weeks. I have a 70, 2 X 40, and a 60 planned.
Charity Update
January's recipient of my milage was the Judith K. Record Conservation fund that provides protection and rehabilitation of Belmont's conservation land that I run through so much. As an added bonus, they hold a concert every February that we were invited to and attended.
February's recipient of my mileage was NF Northeast. As February was my biggest month to date (301 miles), I felt compelled to really make the donation count. Nat was diagnosed with type 1 Neurofibromatosis in early March. He is a perfectly healthy and hopefully none of the symptoms associated with the disorder ever surface. Either way I foresee additional fundraisers and donations for NF related charities in my future.
Strong
Over the last few weeks I have never felt stronger. Whether it is running up hills, at marathon goal pace (or faster), or pushing through the final miles of a long run, I don't seem to be slowing down.
Monday while I was running the cross country trails at Waterville, I ended up on all fours going up hill on a solid ice. I smiled, gritted through it, and quickly took back off running when I got to the top. Today as I went out for the final 12 miles of the week I was feeling pretty lethargic. As I turned for the back half of the run I instinctively picked up the pace. By mile 10, I was dropping 6:50s. All I could think is if I can still run this fast 98 miles into a week, nothing will be able to stop me when I am fresh.
I am no longer scared of my Boston Marathon Goal: 2:55. I am simply excited to see what I can do.
29 Days to go.
- Scot
Special congrats to all those with big PR's this past weekend: Nichole, Jesse, Cory, Tim, Aharon, etc. (Feel free to ping me if I missed you and I'll add you to the list)
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| Boston Marathon Finish - 3/19/16 |
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| Neil and Amy Snowboarding Together |
In any training cycle some weeks go to plan, some don't, and some go better. I had a little bit of a rough start to the year with sickness and other things out side of my control, but have been in the "better then planned" category for over a month now. This past week marked the peak of my training cycle and the highest mileage week of my life -- 101.1 miles.
One of the reasons that I was able to get in such a high volume week was that we took a mini vacation up at Waterville Valley. Between runs we were able to get some hot tub time in, some skiing, some pool time, and relax by fire with movies and beer. Just the recharging that we needed.
Monday: 16.5 miles, 1471' climbing - Mix of roads and Cross Country trails at Waterville Valley.
Tuesday: 12.1 miles, 1093' climbing - Mix of slushy and snow covered roads at Waterville Valley.
Wednesday: 12.1 miles, 656' climbing - Mix of roads and trails back home
Thursday: 6 flat miles at lunch an 9 more hilly miles in Arlington after work
Friday: 8.2 miles, 417' climbing at lunch and 3 more on the Battle Road after work
Saturday: 21.4 miles including the last 6.5 of the marathon course
Sunday: 12.5 miles on the Minuteman bike path
 |
| SRR on Strava (Note my distance would not have even made the top 3 last week) |
I have one more test before the marathon. Next Saturday is what we call the mini-marathon where the local running clubs and charities bus their runners to Hopkinton to run the first 18-22 miles of the course. The goal: start easy, slowly pick it up, and drop to goal pace coming down Grossman's hill and hold it through heart break (~6 miles) and then an easy couple of miles to finish.
Two weeks later I plan on doing a flat 5K in Belmont (Becca Pizzi Family Fun Run) as a shake out run 8 days before Boston. If I feel good, I'll race and try to break 17 minutes, if not I'll just have fun with it.
My mileage will now begin to drop over the next 4 weeks. I have a 70, 2 X 40, and a 60 planned.
Charity Update
 |
| Nat enjoying vacation |
February's recipient of my mileage was NF Northeast. As February was my biggest month to date (301 miles), I felt compelled to really make the donation count. Nat was diagnosed with type 1 Neurofibromatosis in early March. He is a perfectly healthy and hopefully none of the symptoms associated with the disorder ever surface. Either way I foresee additional fundraisers and donations for NF related charities in my future.
Strong
Over the last few weeks I have never felt stronger. Whether it is running up hills, at marathon goal pace (or faster), or pushing through the final miles of a long run, I don't seem to be slowing down.
Monday while I was running the cross country trails at Waterville, I ended up on all fours going up hill on a solid ice. I smiled, gritted through it, and quickly took back off running when I got to the top. Today as I went out for the final 12 miles of the week I was feeling pretty lethargic. As I turned for the back half of the run I instinctively picked up the pace. By mile 10, I was dropping 6:50s. All I could think is if I can still run this fast 98 miles into a week, nothing will be able to stop me when I am fresh.
I am no longer scared of my Boston Marathon Goal: 2:55. I am simply excited to see what I can do.
29 Days to go.
- Scot
Special congrats to all those with big PR's this past weekend: Nichole, Jesse, Cory, Tim, Aharon, etc. (Feel free to ping me if I missed you and I'll add you to the list)
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