sub-3 or blow-up trying

More snow!  TM:  2-mile warm-up, 5 miles @ 6:27 pace, and then 1 mile cooldown- 8 total. 

Ran 18 miles with Ed @ just about an 8min pace.  Was hurting a bit by mile 15, but hung on till the end. Now the taper for Boston officially begins. 

Took a couple days off to give my achilles a chance to calm down.  I'm on the edge with them, yet have been able to keep the situation managable.

Rain/snow out, so another TM run....1-mile warm-up, 5 miles @ 6:27 pace, stopped to change shirt/shoes, 4 more @ 6:27 pace, switched shoes and rung out 2nd shirt, 2 more @ 6:27 pace and had to call it quits due to a slippery TM.

Hoped to do a 5x4x3x2x1 workout @ 6:27- maybe a bit ambitious with the humidity in the basement, yet was still able to get some solid miles in.

40's and windy...ran the "Pie Hill" course at a slow mp pace.  Tough hills, so I was pleased with my pace.  6 miles @ mp, 1-mile jog (uphill), another 3.5 miles at mp, and then closed out the remaining 2-miles at a moderate jog- 12.5 miles total w/9.5 @ 7:12 pace.  Felt happy with consistency- slowest mile was 7:19 and fastest was 6:54. 

8 slow mp miles on the TM:  7:30,7:24,7:18,7:13,7:08,7:03,6:58,6:53.

Broke out a new pair of Tangents today- hope to use them in Boston.  50 degrees out!  Did 1-mile warm-up followed by 3-mile tempo (6:21 pace), and then 2-miles worth of quarters (6x400), and a 1-mile cooldown- 8 miles total.  Legs were a bit dead due to mostly mp miles this week.  I've run only 40, but 30 @ mp or faster. 

Gorgeous out today!  Ran 2 miles at a firm pace (6:40,6:29) and then jogged 2-miles more slowly before hitting the track.  Decided to run 2-more firm miles (6:23,6:11) to see how I'd feel on a flat surface- second mile is faster due to picking things up on the final lap.  Jogged an extra 2.5 miles on the way home slowly to complete 8.5 for the day. 

Ran 11.8 miles with Ed at just under an 8min pace.  Boston's getting close!

Did a Yasso 800 workout on the TM...started with a 2-mile warm-up and then did 10 sets of 800 w/.25 jog between sets.

1st 3 sets:  2:58,2:58,2:58

2nd 3:  2:56,2:56,2:56

3rd 3:  2:54,2:54,2:54

Last set:  2:52

Felt good at the finish- tired, but not exhausted.  These would probably translate 5-10 seconds slower outside, yet I kind of liked having to keep up w/the TM and not think about pace.  It was good to get a consistent leg turnover going.  Ended up doing total of 9.5 miles. 

50's out w/light rain.  Headed out and did 6 miles @ just under a 9:22 pace. 

Raining out- ran 7-miles on the TM @ 9min pace, throwing in 16 x 100m @ 6min pace w/in the run.

Last run before Boston...60 degrees out!  Ran . 5 warm-up and then a 3-mile tempo (6:32,6:15,6:22) started flat, 2nd mile downhill, and third mile was rolling...finished w/1.5 cooldown- 5 miles total.

I've decided to take these last 3 days completely off.  Partly because I want the achilles fully rested and partly from the success of taking 3 days off for my last marathon- seemed to help.

This is the first year that I'm am completely uncertain about goals.  My fastest Boston Marathon was 2 years ago in 3:13- I was extremely well prepared, but then dealt with illness (strep throat), was exhausted at the starting line (way to much walking + shivering for 2 hours pre-race in the cold), and ran against a steady headwind.

Last year I was less prepared training wise and finished with a 3:15.  I had been injured in Dec/Jan and then had the flu the weekend of the race.  I definitely pushed things and ended up in the medical tent severely dehydrated. 

This year my base mileage is down.  I barely ran over 100 miles in January, doubled my mileage for February, and then got up over 300 miles in March.  This is the first marathon I've run without doing any pre-races- 1/2's, 10k's, 5k's, etc.- nothing!  Also, I struggled through a few achilles issues in March with my increased mileage- they're still a bit sore, but have improved significantly over the past couple weeks.  My weight is 4-5 heavier than my Fall marathon, yet my training runs are as fast as ever.  I'm as healthy as ever and looks as though I'll get the proper rest (8 hours the past couple of nights and plan on 8 again tonight).

As I analyze everything for Monday, I must also factor a 3-year base of averaging 3,000 miles of running per/year.  If the weather report holds, the temperature and winds will also be working in my favor.  With this all in mind, here is my best stab at 3 different goals...

1) Establish a new pr for Boston (sub-3:13)

2) Break 3:10

3) Get a new pr (sub-3:06:59)- I know I have the speed, it's just a matter of how I feel going into the final 10k.  Endurance is my only concern.

All in all, I'm keeping my expectations low and will probably know by mile 4-6 which goal to really zone in on. 

Rough finish to a gorgeous day.  I put myself in position to pr in this particular race, but it wasn't in the cards today.  There is nothing to blame except inadequate training for the distance.  I was in shape for a 15-20 miles race and I knew it, yet hoped I could stretch a few extra out there.  Here's a very straightforward report...

1- 6:44

2- 6:37

3- 6:46

4- 6:42

5- 6:59

6- 6:55

7- 6:50

8- 7:02

9- 6:59

10- 7:03

11- 7:15

12- 7:13

13- 7:22

14- 7:13

15- 7:29

16- 7:08

17- 7:40

18- 7:50

19- 7:36

20- 7:54

21- 8:27

22- 7:43

23- 7:55

24- 8:10

25- 8:57 (at this point I saw my family, pulled my 13-year-old out of the crowd, and she ran/walked the rest of the way with me.  I wasn't sure how the officials would react, but even the police were cheering for us.)

26- 13:14

Official time:  3:24:39

Probably went out way too fast, yet gave it my best as long as I could.  Hope to heal quickly and get a stronger base in for a Fall marathon.  Congrats to the other bloggers who ran well today! 

Felt good, so thought I'd start running again today.  Ran our local road race.  Planned on running slow, but noticed my first my come in at 7:31.  Decided to just keep a steady feel and ran mile 2 in 7:18 against the wind and with a slight uphill section.  Mile 3 was an easy 6:56- included a bit of wind in my favor.  Mile 4 was slightly uphill against the wind, yet still managed a 7:06.  Took mile five through 1/2 mile of trails and back onto the road with wind at my back- 6:57 and then decided to just pick it up a bit for the 6th mile before hitting the steep hill at the end- 6:38.  Jogged the final mile in as a cooldown- pleasantly surprised by the ease of running just a few days after Boston- 7.25 miles total. 

Low 40's out- ran 9.5 miles through the hills, 5 of them at 7:23 pace (slow mp).  Also, weighed in at 180lbs- 3 heavier than last year at this time- not bad considering how little I've been able to run outdoors through the winter.  Injury free, so I feel in great position for a fast 2011. 

Raining out...ran on TM: 1-mile warm-up, 6-mile mp (7:13,7:08,7:03,6:58,6:53,6:48) and .5 mile cooldown- 7.5 miles total. 

80 degrees out.  Ran 9 miles through the hills.  Walk/ran the last mile because my feet are still sore from Boston.  May do trails for the next few days. 

Ran 12.5 miles, 3 @ slow mp.  Eight of the miles were done on trails to help my feet recovery from the Boston beatdown. 

Ran while two of my girls went alongside on their bicycles.  We stopped by the track, so I could help my 7th grader learn the concept of interval training.  She's running the mile this year and has decent endurance, but wants to increase speed.  We did 4 x 200 @ about a 6min pace for each one (ranged between 5:55 and 6:23 on my garmin).  Then they hopped back on their bike for a total of 9.5 miles in all. 

Really liked my new shoe, Saucony Mirage- much better cushioning then the Tangents for the forefoot.