Weekly Recap: 10 Weeks Until the Boston Marathon

10 weeks until marathon #39, the Boston Marathon on April 18!

Here’s how training went this past week in the frozen tundra:

Monday: It’s not quite so easy to ‘never miss a Monday’ when you wake up to -4 degrees, you know? I was tempted to cancel on my friends, but I forced myself to get up for 7 easy miles, 9:20 min/mile average.

It was another frozen lashes kind of morning run.

After work, I did 50 min of upper body work (two 20 min Jess Sims classes + a 10 min class with Daniel) and 15 min of core on Peloton.

Tuesday: Even with an early bedtime & lots of hydration the night before, and a Ucan gel before my morning run, I struggled on this workout: 3 miles easy following by 8x1k repeats at marathon effort with 2 minute jog in between. A disappointing workout at best; there’s always excuses- single digit temps, snowy trails, etc. I did my best effort for the day, that’s all I can ask of myself. I finished the morning with 10.5 miles at 9:15 min/mile average. I am not one to get too worked up about not hitting paces, as long as I get to run. I ask a lot out of my body and sometimes it doesn’t cooperate, but every run is a good run.

20 min of core on Peloton after the run.

After work, I decided to jog over to join the Oiselle Volee run, as it was just a loop of Bde Maka Ska, which is really close to my house. Since I had already run 10.5 miles, I only joined for an easy 3 miles, 10 min/mile average. But it was still nice to pop in to say hello to some old and new faces on the team.

13.5 miles on the day.

Wednesday: The temperature was above freezing, but it was at that treacherous melt/refreeze point that makes me very nervous (new readers: I’ve broken my leg twice when slipping on the ice during a run, once in 2008 and once in 2018; the 10 year curse?) I took things conservatively, 8 miles at a 9:35 min/mile average with my friend Julie.

Ruth didn’t run with me that morning (she ran 8 zippy miles with Dustin the night before); but I thought I could get a post-run selfie with her on the porch; she wasn’t too interested in that! I love her anyways, my little Ruthless Ruth.

Thursday: I had a break in work around 9 am, so I snuck in a quick 6 miler, 8:45 min/mile. The trail around Lake Harriet was totally clear to the pavement. Glorious run.

But unfortunately those glorious clear trails were short-lived as we received more snow Thursday evening.

Friday: The snow on Thursday was a mix of icy rain and snow. I was worried about the trail conditions, so I was up early and out the door just to walk down the block to see if it was totally ice; it wasn’t, so I went ahead with my plan to do my long run Friday morning outside.

I had company with my friend Julie for 10 miles (thank you Julie; misery loves company!) It was definitely one of my harder long runs, weather-wise. We were pelted with icy rain for the first 4-5 miles and the wind was quite unpleasant. But we managed 5 easy miles followed by 4 miles of hill repeats (to prep for those Boston hills!) and then 1 mile easy to where Julie dropped off to head home. I was supposed to follow up the hill repeats with 4 miles at marathon effort, but the icy trail conditions did not make that safely possible. I considered heading home to do the marathon pace miles on the treadmill, but then I decided to just tough it out and go as slow as I needed to and get in the miles outside. 17 miles, 9:25 min/mile average. Not a speedy run, but I stayed safe. In hindsight, I probably should have just done the treadmill, as it was risky out there. Followed the run with 20 min of core + 20 min of upper body on the Peloton app.

The temperature when I started my run was 33, but as the 17 miles went on, it continued to drop, all the way to 5 degrees. That rainy snow turned into ice. I was a bit underdressed, particularly my face, which was very cold.

The Right Fit: Athleta Rainier tights, Craft jacket (from the Antarctica marathon), Oiselle PNW headband, Oiselle flyout base layer, Kahtoola nanospikes, and the Oiselle Bad Weather mittens.

I should have worn a gaitor or facemask as man, my face was really numb/cold. Am I smiling for this pic? I really couldn’t feel anything to tell!

It took awhile for me to thaw post 17-miler. I was very happy to be working from home the rest of the day, though I would have loved to have had the whole day off to take a nap, ha!

Saturday: I had blocked off a 1/2 of work to complete my long run Friday because we had a flight on Saturday morning to Whitefish, Montana for a snowboarding trip with friends. I still had time for 8 treadmill miles (but wouldn’t have had time for 17!) before we headed to the airport. I took the 8-miler easy after the long run on Saturday, followed by 10 min of core, before packing up the snowboards and heading to the airport!

By the way, my regular running shoes are the Saucony Endorphin Speeds, with my racing shoes as the Endorphin Pros. I also rotate in some Hoka Cliftons on easy days. But I decided to test out the New Balance Fuelcell Rebel v2’s (Dustin runs in them and loves them.)

I wore them for the 8 miles on the treadmill, and even though it was an easy run, the shoes were bouncy. They felt good. They don’t offer a ton of support though, if that’s what you need. I don’t think they’ll replace my Endorphins, but I’m happy to have a new pair to switch in.

Sunday: I took Sunday as my rest day from running, though I expect it to be a full day snowboarding on the mountain in Whitefish, Montana. (Fingers crossed for no injuries, please!)

I have been snowboarding a number of times in Big Sky, Montana, but this is my first time in Whitefish, Montana. Whitefish is pretty close to the Canadian border, but an easy direct flight from Minneapolis to Kalispell, Montana. The mountain is also a bit of a hidden gem and generally not very crowded. We are here with another couple, and we all wanted to avoid the crazy long lift lines and crowds that have been happening in places like Colorado!

Summary: 59.5 miles of running (should have just run 1/2 mile extra to get that 60, right?). Big miles, but that’s marathon training! Daily core (at least 10 minutes every day) plus lots of upper and lower body on Peloton for strength.

By the way, last Sunday, Dustin and I took one of the virtual cooking classes with Elyse Kopecky (of the Shalane ‘Run Fast, Eat Slow’ and ‘Rise and Run’ cookbook fame.)

It was fun; I did a ton of prep beforehand as there were several dishes (a roasted carrot salad, linguine with edamame pesto & broccolini, stuffed chicken with prosciutto, sweet potato brownies, and a beet-infused ginger cocktail.) I wanted to actually be able to pay attention vs. scrambling to keep up. My tip is to definitely prep as much as you can ahead of time!

The class was held via Zoom; she explained everything very clearly and gave out some helpful tips. I recommend taking one of her classes for a fun at-home activity!

And that’s a wrap on life and training for the Boston Marathon!

I’m linking up as always with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner as part of their Weekly Rundown. Check it out!