Hey all, happy Monday!

Guess who finally got hit with the snow this week. It started snowing Friday morning and snowed pretty much non-stop until 5 or so in the afternoon. And we’d been doing so well… Could be worse though, temps were in the high 30’s and 40’s on Saturday and Sunday though, so it’s melting fast.

This week was a little weird in terms of my training, but overall, I’m really happy with how it went. Luckily, my travel ended up corresponding with a rest week, so the lower mileage made life a little easier.

Monday – Rest/Cross-Train day. Did a lot of resting and no cross-training. I flew out to Ohio on Monday, so I was ok with cutting myself a little slack.

Tuesday – I had 3 miles easy scheduled. Luckily, the hotel I was staying in was right next to a paved bike trail that ran along a river. I had been a little nervous when I found out the hotel didn’t have a fitness center, but now I’m kind of glad it didn’t since it forced me to get out and explore a little.

I was feeling so proud of myself for this short (and chilly) run, and then I found out my coworker (who runs a lot of ultras) had gone out and run a casual 10 miles. Haha, my measly 3 didn’t seem all that impressive after that!

Wednesday – I had 5 miles of hills scheduled, but… I didn’t do it. I was really tired from a long day of work the day before, so I figured I could make up the run later on if I wanted to. I did end up walking around a lot all day, so it wasn’t like I was TOTALLY lazy. Also, check out these scary trees that I saw while in Ohio-

Check out those spikes!!!! I think the cactus has some serious competition in the prickly tree department.

Thursday – Got up at 2:30 am for the long drive to the airport, and then went straight into the office after I landed in Boston. It was not exactly the low-key travel day I would’ve hoped for, but work has been picking up a lot lately, so I had tons to do. Weirdly, it was almost 60 degrees back in Boston! It was still warm in the evening when I finally got home, and I knew I had to take advantage of it (and make up for Wednesday’s missed run), so I suited up in my reflective vest and flashing lights and headed out for a night run. I did 4.5 miles and managed a pretty decent clip for the dark.

I was also super excited to come home to this-

I had read some good things about this book online and really wanted to check it out for myself! I know my running goals are pretty ambitious, so I want to learn everything I can about different schools of training, cross-training, and anything else that will help me reach my potential. It’s also almost 400 pages long, so I knew it would be comprehensive. I’ve been browsing through it for the past few days, and so far I really like it! I may have to do a full review in a few weeks.

Friday – 5 miles, 3 @ goal pace. After running the evening before, I really DID NOT want to wake up early for this run. Somehow, I managed to talk myself into it. The warm temps from the night before were gone though, and it was rain/sleeting out (which switched over to snow by the time I left the gym) Back to the treadmill. I warmed up and then managed to do my tempo miles fairly easily. It never feels like cake, but I’m hoping that I’m building mental toughness with all these treadmill miles. On the day of the actual marathon, all the excitement and new sights  should make it feel that much easier. At least, I hope that’s what happens. 🙂

Saturday – 5.5 miles easy. All the snow from Friday was melting and turning the sidewalks into a slushy mess, so I decided to take my run to the treadmill, again. I tried to be careful with the pacing on this run to keep it on the easy side for me so that my legs would feel fresh to run long on Sunday. I know these easy miles are important, and I need to be careful not to push myself too hard. I also did some quick core work and stretching after I finished.

Sunday – 12.5 miles. The sidewalks were still super slushy in places, but there was no way in hell I was going to run 12 miles on the treadmill. I wanted to push myself on this run to try to get closer to my goal marathon pace on at least some of the miles. While I know there’s a benefit to running easy sometimes, if I’m going to hold my goal pace for 26.2 miles, I better at least try to run somewhat fast on my long runs. Here’s how it panned out:

Mile 1 – 9:54 (This was one of the worst miles in terms of slushy/iciness and I was still warming up.)

Mile 2 – 9:15 (A little better), Mile 3 – 8:53 (Navigating some tricky turns and icy sidewalks, but getting better)

Mile 4 – 8:19 (On the running trail, which was mercifully clear of ice and snow. Finally able to pick up the pace!)

Mile 5 – 8:30, Mile 6 – 8:17 (Woohoo!), Mile 7 – 8:09 (Speedy!), Mile 8 – 8:23

Mile 9 – 8:48, Mile 10 – 9:04 (Considering, there was a brutal half mile long hill during this mile, I’m ok with the slower split), Mile 11 – 8:51, Mile 12 – 8:39

Avg. Pace: 8:45/mile, but I was happy that I ran 5 of the 12 miles at 8:30 or faster.

I also got a tiny bit lost around mile 9, trying to navigate myself back to the running trail. I never actually found it and ended up running through residential areas where the sidewalks were still not in great shape. Still, I managed not to get too lost and ended up calling it quits at 12.5, just a half mile over what was scheduled. I happened to be right by CVS when I finished and I happily went in and got a chocolate milk. There is NOTHING better in the world after a long run than chocolate milk.

When I got back to my apartment, my roommates were shocked to see me so soon. It was fun surprising them with how fast I was able to run 12 miles. 🙂

Total Mileage for the Week: 30.5

Total Marathon Training Mileage to Date: 95.5 (I can’t believe that I’ve put almost a hundred miles on my sneakers in 3 WEEKS!!!! I guess that’s marathon training for you!)

Motivation Levels: Remaining solid! If you need a little boost – read this blog post from Miles to the Trials – The Evolution of 2:42

And the theme of this week –

What is your FAVORITE beverage/snack after a long run? If you’re training right now, how’s it going? Did you do anything special for the Super Bowl?