Counting backwards that is.....21days from today I will be running the 118th Boston Marathon. To say I am getting excited, scared and full of anxiety would be an understatement. If you had asked me in the beginning of March if i was "ready" my answer would have been an emphatic no. But I have to say this past month like any other training plan gives you, the runner, a sneak peek at how all of your training thus far has been and what race day can look like and I can finally say "I'm ready!"
What do I mean by that well in a typical 16 week marathon training plan the first two months are spent building your endurance, basically getting in the mileage. The third month you get into the higher mileage, you run longer tempo runs and you get to see a glimpse of things to come. For me this past month has been an emotional roller coaster with my training. I have put so much pressure on myself to meet certain goals that I'm defeating myself in my head before I even toe the line. Totally crazy right! I mean first of all lets be honest I'm not going to win the race. But winning for myself is important, crossing that finish line is
wicked important since I didn't get to do that last year (you can read about my Boston experience past year
here and
here) and setting a personal best would be the cherry on top.
So I was feeling really low about my training, doubting the process as many marathoners do. This winter has been so brutal and this is the first winter I have not belonged to a gym to be able to use the treadmill. So if i didn't get my butt outside in the -4 degree weather running simply didn't happen. I have been doing cross fit 2-3 times a week, bikram yoga and running. The cross fit is new for me and well I haven't quite figured out where it all fits into my running life. Some of the workouts are so rigorous that my legs are just totally spent. So that has also been challenging. The turning point for me was an 8 mile tempo run that I crushed! I came back looked at my time and almost cried. I said to my husband I needed that! Mentally I needed one awesome run to pump me up and this one was it. I felt like I was on fire, unstoppable!
8 miles at an 8:32, I haven't done that since 2009 and that included to 1/2 mile hills, one in the beginning and one at mile 6. The funny thing about my last couple of runs is that I have run for heart rate, NOT pace. I don't look at my pace at all, which for me with my Nikeplus sports watch or my Garmin is hard to do. But it's working for me. My 20 miler this past week was also pretty good. My knee started giving me issues at mile 15, but I continued. My heart rate was higher than I wanted I'm not sure if it was because it was much colder. I do think the higher heart rate did affect my overall pace. I still have a lot to learn about running and heart rate but I was still very pleased.
So there you have it 21 days and counting...now if we can get Mother Nature to cooperate, not too hot, not too cold things will be great! Tell me do you run for heart rate, pace or neither. I'm curious to know. Happy Monday!
xo~ deana
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