Digging in for 2nd-to-Last Week of Boston Training - Mar 14-21

Saturday, Mar 14:
This weekend, a 16 miler was scheduled.  I started with 6.1 in 53:30, 8:40 average, at the park, with the Zombies, Run! app.  I had flown back from Chicago this morning, waking at 3am, so I did this run once back at home, after getting in a nap.  I would've tried to do the 16 today, but I woke up from the nap too late.

Sunday, Mar 15:
16.4 in 2:41:05, 8:47 average, at the park.  Wore long sleeve tech shirt for sun protection, since it was at 4pm, and sunset was at 7:30pm.  Ate pesto bread at mile 8, with water.  Had the rest of the bottle of water at mile 12.  My right femur felt a bit stressed afterwards.  My calves and abs were even sore, which is odd.  And my quads were trashed, too.

I completely rested the next two days, to let my body absorb the training.  Work was tiring, in any case, feeling like a sustained sprint every day.  We have marathon-distance tasks, but I'm having to do sprinting efforts all day to keep up.  Sleep has been off, too, with naps required after work due to the exhaustion, and then not feeling tired and staying up late when it's time to sleep again.  Been craving more carbs, too.

Wednesday, Mar 18:
60 min strength session.  Usually, the full-body movements help to increase blood flow and recovery.  I get a bit of cardio effect, too.

Thursday, Mar 19:
With 3 days of no running, I figured it would be a good time to do a workout.  I didn't want to have any regrets about not preparing for the hills in Boston, so I did a hill session on the treadmill.  Going at 7mph, I did 2x[1/2 mile at 3 degrees, 1 mile at 5 degrees, and 1/2 mile at 7 degrees], followed by 1/2 mile at 5 degrees in 4:08.  It was challenging but doable.  4.5 in 38:25, 8:32 average = 7:19 effort with the 5 degree average incline.

Friday, Mar 20:
Decided last-minute to go for the run... nearly turned back while walking to the fitness room.  I had a bit of time, and my body was reasonably fresh, though, so no excuse.  Ended up with 6.0 in 49:24, 8:14 average.  Went easier than expected.  Glad I went through with it.

Saturday, Mar 21:
Since the week was coming to a close, I took advantage of the weekend and the ability to run outside and get in my potentially last run for this break week.  6.0 in 54:15, 8:57 average at the park, with Zombies.  My legs felt all used up from the training the past three days, so I had to take it pretty slow most of the times, and I had to push my legs hard on the Zombie chases.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been getting more and more psyched about the race.  I got two pieces of gear from Running Warehouse, and I've started reading Boston books.

Looking at Facebook, I've also been missing Obstacle Course racing... I can't do them while training for Boston, since 1) I'd trash myself during the race, and 2) I don't want to risk injuring myself.  I can't wait to get back into it later in the year.  I like the feeling of having full-body strength, and I like the excitement and adventure of it.