Saturday was the first of 5 20-milers that I’ll be doing to prep for Boston. Why so many? Well, practice makes perfect and (generally) I handle 20 miles pretty well in terms of recovery, so I can do a lot of them without compromising my other runs.
So the weather was perfect on Saturday. Seriously, it felt like Spring. Night and day compared to a week ago. I did 2 hilly loops totaling 11 miles before heading for some flat, paved trail for the remaining 9 miles. My breathing felt off the entire time. I slowed down, I sped up, and yet it was still off. I started getting hot and I guess I was sweating more than I thought. I tried drinking more but it was too late, I was already dehydrated. Boo. The last 3 miles were HARD. I wanted to stop and quit, especially at mile 19. 19 miles? 20 miles? What’s the difference? I thought about Boston and, knowing I would never quit at mile 25, I trudged onward. 2 hours and 55 minutes later (8:45 average pace), I was done.
I quickly got into my car (all I wanted to do was sit down) and chugged my chocolate milk. Then the aching and throbbing began. My legs were hurting big time. I transitioned into sitting too quickly. I usually walk around, drink my chocolate milk, and stretch a bit before driving home. Thank god it’s a short drive because I was in pain. Some stretching, a nice hot shower, lots of food, and a long walk with Hawk and my legs felt completely fine.
Boston Week 4 Recap
MON: 6 miles easy
TUE: 8 miles tempo with 4 miles @ 7:50 pace (7:44, 7:48, 7:54, 7:57). During the last interval there was a creepy raccoon wandering around and I had to stop and wait for it to move away. Ewwww.
WED: barre My body was screaming for a rest day so I slept in instead.
THU: 5 miles with 10 hill repeats. I did a mix of short and long hill repeats.
FRI: yoga. I left the class feeling wonderful!
SAT: 20 miles
SUN: 5 miles super easy
44 miles for the week. I was aiming for 47 but oh well, I needed rest. This week is a drop back week….all the way to 40 miles. Living on the edge!
Ever get that achy, throbbing feeling in your legs? The last time I got it was after the Pocono Marathon in May 2010 (it was so memorable because it was so painful).
The only time my legs felt horrible was after the Steamtown marathon! Ugh! Generally I handle long runs well and think I do better with more of them too.
Good job pushing through!
wow, 5 20 milers? That’s intense! I actually got that feeling after yesterday’s half marathon – it was freezing, and I did walk back to the car but then I immediately drove over an hour home with no stretching (too cold) and my legs were throbbing the entire time! Not surprisingly, I had a terrible run today. Nice job finishing the 20! I love the new look of the blog!
Wow, your blog looks great!
Sorry the run was tough. I’ve had many, many runs like that. At least you’re getting them out of the way in training so you can have a great day at Boston!
Wow, you’re amazing – 5 20 milers! You are going to be so ready for Boston, it’s really exciting to follow your training! Sorry the run didn’t go great, but glad the recovery was speedy 🙂
40 miles is your drop back week. I love it. You crack me UP.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new look of the blog. Looks fabu!
Better a sucky run now than on marathon day!
(Your new blog looks great, too!!)
five 20 milers?? YOU GO lady. I’ve only got that terrible achy feeling after marathons. I’m sure the next ones on your schedule will go a bit more smoothly – still got plenty of time and runs until Boston, that’s for sure!
Wow! 20 miles! That’s awesome you can do that this early in your training. I can handle distance if I’m running as slow as I want, but not if I speed up at all (and by speeding up I mean slower than 9:30-10min pace). And I love that your drop back week is 40! I think that is my max ever! I’m so in awe of people who can run so much! Maybe one day…
You’ll be ready for Boston for sure!
I LOVE the new blog, Kristy! I could NEVER sit down after a run like that. I have to walk at least a mile and then be upright for at least a half hour afterwards or my legs would literally seize up on me and I would have so much pain the next day.