Week 4

I decided to run on Saturday again because it was going to be a lot colder on Sunday. Starting out I felt a little tight in the hips and my stomach didn’t feel great but I did make without any pit stops which was nice since there isn’t a lot of cover on this route. The plan was to go for about a ½ hour longer than last week so I started out slow. After a couple of miles I found my groove which was a good feeling because I kind of felt bad at the beginning. This was the first week I put out water and I made sure I walked while I drank the water (3 ½ bottles). It became a little windy during the run but it wasn’t so bad since I really wasn’t pushing the pace. Another thing I did for the first times was to do an extra loop around the block right near the house. I did this because it will get me used to pushing it even when I want to stop.
After the run I took my snow shovel scooped up a bunch of snow threw it into the tub and took a 10 minute ice bath. Boy was it friggin’ cold. At one point I had run some warm water over my toes because they were hurting so bad and other areas became quite small. I did this training for Bay State and it really seemed to keep my legs from being sore the next day and it seemed to help this time as well.
I listened to a Chris McCormack interview for the first hour plus which was good to keep my mind focused and for motivation. He is always entertaining to listen to. I love that Aussie no nonsense approach to life. After that I listened to some tunes to keep going
None of the music was specifically picked just happen to pop up on shuffle. I did skip over some tunes but here is what I remember
Saturday Morning by the Eels – seemed appropriate for the occasion
Ramrod – Springsteen - one of my favorite Bruce tunes even if it makes me think of the semi famous bar in Boston (never went to it)
Be Good Johnny – Men at Work – nice 80s tune
Need You Loving Tonight _ Queen - actually listed to it twice because it’s an awesome tune to get your legs moving in the last mile
There were a few others but I can’t remember them

Here’s the facts: 14.5 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes which I think is right around 9 minute pace, not great but I’ll take it

Next week: plan on dialing it back a bit and will go for around 11.

Week 3

Once again due to weather I ran on Saturday. This week I met Jeff in Burlington and ran with him. We did an out and back, 47 minutes out and 47 back. My guess it was around 11 miles. It was pretty cold


Next week: 14 miles

Week 2

Decided to run on Saturday rather than deal with running in the snow. Since my boy Toby loves to run I thought I would break up the run into two loops. The first loop of 3.5 I would bring Toby and do a second loop of 6 plus solo. The first loop was okay. Due to the snow and ice we made good time for us because Toby couldn’t stop and pee that often. He did manage a few stops. We clocked in just under 35 minutes which is good for bringing him along. The second loop I did solo went well I did my usual 6 plus loop in just under 55 minutes. I felt pretty good and pushed it the last two miles.

Next week: the goal will be around 12.

2009 Boston Marathon Training Week 1

This week was week 1 which is always one of the hardest for me. The actual run is not that bad because I start off doing just 7 or 8 miles but it's the many cold, icy, snowy, wet, and long runs ahead which weighs on you mentally at the beginning. The good thing is by week 3 or 4 I really enjoy those long runs up until it comes time to bang out 17 miles which just becomes a matter of survival.

My running partner Toby:

Week 1 facts:This week I did a little over 7 miles in about 63 minutes