Well, I'm 4 weeks into my training and feeling pretty good. I ran 47 miles this week, which wasn't really planned. Ran 11.5 on Monday, which is usually a day I do spin class, so that really helped me get the miles up this week. I've been very consistent with all my workouts. Other than the week I was in Detroit, I haven't missed a workout. My biggest challenge lately has been weather. It's been super cold, nights below zero, days around 20-25, evenings in the teens and windy. My 13 miler with Kim was met with snow covered roads, but since it was an easy run, that wasn't so bad. Tues/Thurs runs have been the toughest. Two Tuesdays ago, at the Maggot workout, there were only 5 of us due to the snow. It was actually very pretty out though; as we ran to the track the lights were on, and the snow was coming down hard, it was really pretty to see the snow in the air in the stadium lighting. This past week, we got a couple inches of snow and I didn't even attempt to get to UNCA, I ran from the Y to Roberson HS, hopped the fence and ran my track workout. Running on that much snow and trying to keep an 8K pace was tough. The effort was there though and I was able to get it done before it got dark, so mission accomplished.
Thursdays have been tough simply due to the severe cold and wind. Bundling up for every out door run is wearing on me. I did run pretty good two weeks ago despite not being able to feel my face. This past week we had to modify the route a little due to residual snow/ice, so the pace was a bit slower, but I did bust out a nice 5:53 on the last clean 1mi+ back to the Wedge, so I still feel like I'm getting the work in.
The issue I was having with the ball of my left foot seems to have subsided for now, but after my run yesterday (15mi) I'm having a little soreness in my right ankle, sort of similar to the tendinitis of the past, but I think I can keep that at bay. The 15 miler yesterday did go very well. The temps change so much in two hours right now, I started out with numb hands, ears and man-parts, and by the end I was without gloves and almost hot. I was really proud of the pace, I ran an overall 7:28 per mile, first 7 were around 8min/mile, then I ran the last 8 where I wanted each mile to be slightly faster than the last. Last mile was 6:23.
Had a moment yesterday (these are somewhat frequent on a long run day) where I was in the car, sipping a protein shake, listening to some motivating tunes, and I was thinking about Boston and I started tearing up pretty good. It's been months since I got accepted, and I still have months to go, but I'm just so excited and honored to run this race. When I think about the miles I've put in, the workouts in extreme heat and cold, the injuries, the early Friday nights, and early Saturday mornings; I'm just so proud of what I've accomplished and the thought of running this race and experiencing the city and the ppl......it's impossible not to be a little emotional about the whole thing.
