As you know from my last post, this past Monday marked the 8 week point until the 123rd Boston Marathon - meaning we are half way through our 16 week training program which kicked off back in December. Training was going well until I strained a hip flexor in early January while scaling a mountain in Peru the day after running a 3 marathon. Okay, so it wasn't from scaling a mountain in Peru or running a time I can only reach in my dreams, but man that sounds better than saying it was during what was to have been a routine/easy 3 miler on a regular running route. Seriously?! Yup.
Having learned in previous seasons that you can't rush healing, I gave my hip time to heal and started easing back into my mileage with plenty of help from my foam roller, advil, and stretching. Foam rollers come in all shapes/sizes and are particularly popular with runners for helping to massage muscles and speed recovery.
Things have been progressing nicely and with a few 14 milers in the bank with 16, 18, and 20 all on the schedule in these next few weeks. You might be asking why only 20 miles if the marathon is 26.2? Most training plans have you maxing out with a long run of 20-22 miles around 3 weeks prior to a marathon, as by this point you should be able to tackle that distance and - if you can - you are able to get to 26.2 on race day. Following that long run at the end of March, we will begin tapering. This roughly 3 week period allows your muscles to rest/repair, optimize you immune system (which gets stressed during long runs), and build up glycogen stores (the carbs your body holds onto which you use as energy when exercising) so you can arrive to the start line in peak condition to take on 26.2 miles.
Speaking of peak condition, one of the best things runners can do is ensure they are getting proper amounts of sleep to allow their bodies to heal/repair, and I have certainly been guilty of short changing that as of late. As such, I am off to bed so I can tackle some early morning snowy miles tomorrow (we have another storm system moving in). Friday will be a light cross-training day with plenty of stretching, and I'm eyeing 15-16 miles this Saturday including the Newton Hills (the four famed hills of Boston's course including Heartbreak Hill which I have not yet tackled this training season).
And since a picture is worth a million words, here are some of my favorites from training thus far - a mix of weekday runs, DFMC group shots and volunteers, and a few from today's 6 miler around the Charles (a rare treat given my schedule/Mama duties no longer allow me to train in Boston on weekdays - this was the first time in 3 years that I have done that loop)!
