Mon - Easy 7ish, no watch.

Tues - 3 miles up, 12x400, 2 miles down.

Eventually I’ll recap that race… but I’m just like, lazy and shit.

Mon - easy 6.5ish (50min)
Legs feel weird being fresh…

Tues - another easy sixer (46min)

Wed - 7.5 miles, middle 2.5 at goal Boston pace

Finally.. it’s time to taper the mileage.  Shit, I can’t believe in 14 days I will be in Hopkinton again.

Mon - Easy 10.5 (79min)
Plan was 16x400s on the track, but it was rainy, windy, and I was still pretty tired from working so late Saturday night… so I’ll hit the track tomorrow.  

Tues - 16x400s
Damn, so sick of cold and windy shit here!
Hit the track for a beast of a workout in 26 degrees and some gnarly wind gusts, pretty stoked on how this played out all things considered.  Kept it smooth and steady, never pushed until the last 2.  Damn, I might be kinda fit.

2 miles up
16x400s (w/ 60sec jog recovery)

3 weeks out!  Here we go..

Mon - 10 miles (insanely easy)
No watch, no worries about pace, just an old school easy run.  Felt great.

Tues - 10.75 (79min)
Honestly, best run of the cycle.

Wed - Wave Tempo!

Mon - Easy-Peazy 5 miles (no watch)
Little recovery yog after the half yesterday, felt a little tight the first 2 miles, but then eased into the run.  Actually felt great at the end.. would have loved to run more, but well.. recover hard.

Tues - Easy 8.5
Stupid snow forced me back to the gym to hit the treadmill for another little recovery run.  That is all.

Wed - Easy 11 (82min)
Treadmill run, roads were not in great shape… and too many plows out.

PM RUN - Easy 3 outside
Was, like… cold dude.  UGH.

[14 mile day]

Thurs -  6x1mile repeats
Alright… finally, back at some work after the easy few days post-New Bedford!

2.5 miles up
6x1 mile (400m jog) [5:55, 5:42, 5:45, 5:46, 5:49, 5:42]
1.5 miles down

Felt pretty smooth this morning, took it light the first mile then eased into the workout (ok, maybe mile 2 was a bit too hard) but this felt great.  Last mile the legs started to feel the residual fatigue from the half, but overall I’m pretty stoked on this little workout

[11.5 morning]  No 2nd run today, it’s my Moms bday

Fri - Easy 11 (83min)
Felt kinda flat this morning, meh…

PM RUN - Easy 4 miles
Met Scott for a very easy 4 miles on the Rail Trail, was nice to have someone to talk with a bit and I’m stoked fo his big 5k PR in a few weeks at BAA5k!

[15 mile day]

Sat -  Easy 10 miles (76min)

PM RUN - Easy 3 
Quick run after work, should have skipped this.. was late getting home and Brianne was a touch more than pissed.  Oops.

[13 mile day]

Sun - Long Run!
20 miles (2:18)
Nice & easy to start, then got into the flow of this run a little bit and just let the miles clip off.  Got a little faster than planned in the middle miles, but plan was last 5 around MP, but finished with 6:33, 6:33, 6:32, 6:32, 6:13, 6:18, 6:12 (then last .5 mile at sub 6 pace).

[87 mile week]
Whoa… was not expecting to hit high 80s this week, after the half on Sunday I took it really light for a couple days.  At the end of today’s long run, the last few miles I could feel some of that residual fatigue in my legs… but I’m totally stoked on how both that long run AND the week panned out.

22 days from Boston, with one more high mileage week w/ a quality workout mid-week planned and one last long run (23 miles) before cutting mileage a bit.   

Mon - Easy 10.5 (82min)
Insanely easy jog around town.  Legs feel pleasantly fatigued from the steady-state yesterday 

PM RUN - Easy 3.5 miles
Hit the gym for a super light jog

Tues - Easy 11+ (83min)

PM RUN - Easy 3.5
Hit the gym for s super light yog.

14.5 mile total

Wed - 3x3 mile repeats
2.5 miles up
3x3 mile (3min jog recovery)
(6:18. 6:13, 6:06)  (6:17, 6:11, 6:07)  (5:59, 6:01, 5:53)
1 mile down

13.5 mile total

Thurs - Easy 9 miles (69min)
Cutting back the next few days in hopes of having something in my legs on Sunday!

PM RUN - Easy 3 miles
Treadmill run just to get the blood flowing after a boring day

!2 mile day

Fri - Easy 6.5 (51min)
Super easy, just trying to rest the legs a touch (but not much) before New Bedford)

Sat - “Day Before” shakeout 
1.5 miles up
2x1 mile at marathon pace (half mile jog recovery
1 mile down

5 mile total

I stole this little shakeout from my friend Craig Leon (2:15:42) last year in Houston when he was running the Olympic Marathon Trials.  I was working it for Mizuno.  He asked if I wanted to join him the day before the race for a shakeout run, and he was planning a few mile repeats at marathon pace.  I thought he was fucking crazy, but he went on to drop a nice PR.  He told me that it’s JUST ENOUGH to get the legs turning over, not taxing on the body, and allows him to feel confident about the race.   

I’ve done this the last 3 big races (Rail Trail Half in June [I won], Rock N Roll Philly Half [PR’d], & Marine Corp Marathon [10min PR].  I really dig it… a meaningless easy run actually tends to make me MORE nervous, but this requires you to at least take your mind of the race for a few minutes, while getting solid bloodflow.  I think I’ll keep this one in my bag of tricks.

5 mile total

Sun - New Bedford Half Marathon! 
1:18:20

Mon - 400s!
2 miles up
16x400 (1min jog recovery)
(83, 82, 81, 79, 79, 79, 79, 79, 79, 80, 80, 79, 80, 79, 78, 78)
2 miles down

Was pretty stoked to get one more chance at a 400 workout, 6 weeks out from Boston.  Wanted to really focus on NOT running the first few reps too fast, and the goal was to never really push too hard, but maintain a solid effort, feel strong, and finish knowing I had more & could run faster if I had to.  Mission accomplished.  

[10 mile morning]

Tues - Easy 10+ around town (78min)
About a mile in someone yelled at me, and I turned around.. it was Pete Hagerman, a local runner about my parents age who was THE MAN in the local running scene in the late 80s/early 90s.  He knew who I was, and asked if I was training for Boston.    He was out on his daily run, and it was awesome to talk to such an experienced runner.   I joined him for a mile or so at his pace… which was slow, but it was well worth the conversation.
His Boston PR is about what I plan on running in 6 weeks, so it will be awesome to think about him and his influence on raceday.  Pay Homage.

PM RUN - Easy 3.5 miles 
Hit the treadmill despite 45 degrees out, I ain’t getting all dressed up just to jog a few miles.

[13.5+ for a nice little Tuesday]

Wed - Easy 11 miles (83min)

PM RUN - 3.0 on the treadmill.
Snuck it in before meetings with Abe’s teacher last night

[14 mile day]

Thurs - Tempo!
3 miles up
5 mile Lactic Threshold Tempo
(6:03, 5:59, 5:58, 5:45, 5:42)
1.5 miles down

[9.5 mile morning]

Fri - Easy 10+ (79min)
Gnarly wind punched me in the face as soon as I got out the door so I kept this super duper mellow & slow… felt good doing so.
Run hard, recover harder.. brah.

PM RUN - Easy 4 miles
First double with BOTH runs outside.  Insanity.

[14 mile day]

Sat - Easy 10.5 (80min)
Nothing fancy, just a fun run around town on a windy morning.

PM RUN - Easy 3 mile
Quick run after work with Chris.. was nice to just jog with someone.

[13.5 for the day]

Sun - Steady State Long Run!
1 mile warmup
19 miles (5 - 10% off MP) (averaged 6:42)
(7:04, 6:52, 6:47, 6:45, 6:51, 6:41, 6:43, 6:44, 6:47, 6:40, 6:40, 6:42, 6:39, 6:51, 6:35, 6:38, 6:25, 6:25, 6:13)  
I was legit scared of this run… sounded super intense and I was hoping to find a training partner… but well, I had a blast on this one.  Check out that last mile… felt AWESOME.   Confidence booster!

[95 mile week]

Mon - 10 miles (77min)
stoked to have a fresh week, turned the page on last week.

Tues - 10.5 easy miles (79min)
Man, felt good to see temps above 40 degrees!
Had a nice massage this morning, flushed the ‘ol legs out

PM RUN - 3 recovery miles 

13.5 for the day

Wed - 10 mile Wave Run!
- 2 miles up
- 10 mile wave (alternate 1 mile segments @ 6:30-6:40 & 6:00-6:10)
(6:39, 6:09, 6:17, 5:58, 6:22, 6:01, 6:37, 5:58, 6:35, 5:58)
- 2 miles down

Felt a touch nervous going into this, sounded brutal but was stoked to get after this sort of workout.  Sick of the treadmill so I braved a light snowfall and some shitty black-ice during this run which for sure slowed the pace on a few segments.  Felt strong though… love how easy marathon pace feels after running a hard mile prior to MP.  Really think I could have ran faster this morning, but wanted to keep within the paces prescribed… plus, with cold weather, tights, jacket… can’t wait to run in shorts/singlet!

14 mile morning.

Thurs - easy 10+ miles (78min)
Took this one super mellow, kinda tired from the workout yesterday plus the weather was horrible… roads were like a Slush Puppie truck spilled everywhere, crappy.   Would have ran this one at the gym, but because of the weather the gym opened late, and I needed to get this on in before work.

PM RUN - Easy (aka super slow) recovery 3 miler

13 mile day

Fri - easy 10 (74min)
This run was awesome, same 10 mile loop I run daily… but a few minutes faster at an easier effort than yesterday, weird how recovery actually works!
Legs felt a lot better than they did yesterday morning, starting to feel the fitness that these easy double runs are dong some magic or some crap.

PM RUN - Easy 3 miles on the TM after work.

13 mile day.

Sat - Marathon Duration Run!
22.6 miles (2:45)
Felt smooth and got stronger… had a great run.
First 10 miles was easy (avg 7:42 pace)
Last 12 miles I kept progressing and avg 6:59

Sun - easy 6.2 (49min)
This was a well needed recovery run.
slow and low on the treadmill to get a lil blood flowin.  Felt real good after a couple miles and I warmed up.

[93 miles for the week]
.

Monday - 16x400, er.. 10x800s
So I’m pretty fucking fed up with this Maine winter.  12 degrees, 25+mph winds… and yea, the track is covered in snow.. so another speed sesh on the treader.  Except, the treadmill maxes out at 11.0mph (5:27pace) which is too slow for 400 work, so with the guidance of my illustrious coach: www.elitemarathoning.com he suggested making it an 800 workout and getting awesome quality in that zone.. so, well… done.

2.5 miles up
10x800 (2:45, 2:44, 2:44, 2:45, 2:43, 2:44, 2:44, 2:44, 2:43, 2:43)
1.25 down
——
11.25 miles for the morning… feelin’ right.

Tues - Woke up in the middle of the night puking my guts out.
ZERO

Wed - 10.5 miles (85min)
Still not feeling super, plus Abe was home sick… but had a 2 hour window to get a run in, figured I’d give it a go.   Felt ok, but low energy because I couldnt keep any food down for 24 hours.

Thurs - Wave Run!
Still not 100% but I wanted to at least attempt a workout.
Plan was a few miles warmup, then 5 miles alternating each 1/2 mile between roughly marathon-pace/half-pace… took about 1.5 miles to get into the groove then finally settled in.
Starting to feel better.
3mi up, 5 mile wave (30:35), 2.5 down

10.5 miles

Fri - Easy 10.5 (80min)
Feeling better and better….

PM RUN - 2 miles.
Was not planning a double, but had a meeting with adidas rep and test ran the new adidas Energy Boost.  

12.5 for the day.

Sat - Easy 10+ (75min)

Sun - 16 miles (1:59) 
Another blizzard.. so off to the treadmill.  One of the worst long runs I’ve had in a while.
Started this run feeling kinda outta it, got into an ok groove after a few miles, then around mile 12 I had to go #2, hopped off the mill, ran to the bathroom…. got back on and just couldnt find my stride.  Started to feel kinda crappy, and given my illness this week…. I thought it would be smart to just call it good after an easy 2 hours.

Bummed on how this week panned out.  But excited for a healthy week starting tomorrow!

Week’s Total:  71 miles

Mon - Easy 9 miles (70min)
Slow n low this morning, nothing fancy.. just an easy recovery run.

Tues - Easy 11 miler (81min)
Nice morning, but streets were like a fucking Slurpee spilled everywhere, way to messy to get a quality lil run in, so headed to the treader for an easy 80min.  

PM RUN - Easy 3 miles on the treader, nothin’ fancy.

Wed -  Marathon Pace Tempo!
2 miles up..
10 miles, er 11 @MP Tempo (felt good so kicked it to 11 miles) (68:45)
(6:23, 6:16, 6:16, 6:14, 6:18, 6:14, 6:16, 6:12, 6:13, 6:10, 6:05)
1 mile down..

14 mile morning.

Thurs - Easy 10 (75min)
First run outside in a while… what a wimp.

PM RUN - Easy 3 miles on the treader

13 mile day

Fri -  Easy 10 (75min)

PM RUN - Easy 3 on the mill.

13 mile day..


Sat - Long Run!
22 miles “easy” (2:44) (7:28 avg. pace)
Was stoked to be able to get a solid LR done outside for a change, felt awesome.  Kept it very easy (mile 1 was ~8min pace) and progressed a bit throughout the run, but made sure to never work too hard.   Just ran relaxed.
Did this run as a depletion run, so took in ZERO calories/electrolytes during the run… which if you remember me bonking hard last month, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all during this run.  I’ve never felt so smooth on a long run…. especially running 100 miles the last 7 days!

Sun - Easy 7 miles (56min)
Damn tired because was up all night with a puking 2 year old… gross.
Just an easy run on the treadmill after yesterday’s long run.
Legs felt surprisingly fantastic… but I wish I would have got more sleep.  Taking it super mellow today… eating, recovering, resting!

92+ miles for the week… (stoked).

Mon - easy 6+ (49min) on the treadmill.
Legs a little stiff from the hard effort yesterday, but after a few miles they came to life and felt pretty nice.

Tues - Easy 9 miles (77min)
Legs feeling alive again, but I’m a wimp and didnt feel like running in the cold so I headed to the gym, nice and easy 9er on the treader.
On way home from gym I texted my awesome, badass massage therapist Dave to see if he was busy this morning, somehow he wasnt… so he swung by and worked out my junk in my legs… I feel like a new man.

PM RUN - Easy 3 miles

Wed - Easy 10.5+ (80min)

PM RUN - 3 miles, slllloooowwww

Thurs - 6x1 mile repeats (@MP - 25/30sec)
2.5 miles up
6x1 (5:53, 5:48, 5:46, 5:42, 5:40, 5:35) (1/4mi jog recovery)
1.5 miles down

Felt ridiculously strong here, am I.. getting… fit??!!
11.5+ for the workout.

Fri - Easy 10 miles (76min)
Legs felt fine after the good effort yesterday

Sat - 11 miles (82-85min?)
So in case you missed it.. we got hammaered with the worst blizzard in 30 years here in Maine.   It fucking sucked.
Roads were horrible, every store, restaurant AND GYM shut down for the day.  Hell… I couldnt get out of my garage due to a snow drift blocking me in.

Finally, around Noon my plow guy arrives, cleans the driveway enough for me to get out and I call everywhere and find one gym, 30min away that was open… Planet Fitness (gross).  I was going fucking bonkers stuck inside, my wife and son knew it… so they sent me on my way to get  a run in.   Made the drive, paid the OUTRAGEOUS day fee. and got 11 miles in… and all was right in the world.

Sun - Long Run! 20 miles (2:15)
This felt smooth! Had to hit the treader at the gym, roads are still horrible and no room to run, plus with the hard effort.. was easier to keep fluids/gel by my side.  Set the “random” setting so I had some pretty fun rolling hills on this one.
Did an easy mile just to get warmed up then 18 mi (6:40-6:50 pace)
Then last mile at marathon pace (6:18)

Week’s Total: 84+
Surprised I was able to hit this mileage, AND (more importantly) felt so good and recovered fast from the hard 10 miler last weekend.

Feeling like I’m getting more and more fit every week….