COUNTDOWN TO BOSTON: 6 WEEKS
So. It’s March 6, there’s snow on the ground (and currently in the air), and it’s still below freezing in Minnesota. I feel like I’ve been a good sport all winter…but honestly… I’m done. I have had enough. I’m sick of dodging ice on the paths, and tired of all the layers.
I’m going to start being crabby now until it warms up around here.
Who decided that April was a good month to hold the Boston Marathon anyway? Don’t these people realize that there are runners who live in the arctic tundra that have to work extra hard (mentally and physically) to train in the winter months?
What I wouldn’t give to finish my last 6 weeks of marathon training here:
Ahhh…Sand. Sun. Shorts. Who wants to buy me a plane ticket?!
Anyway, back to this whole training thing.
A few weeks ago I started having IT band issues, and that has set me back quite a bit. I have been taking it way easy, but now after a few weeks of only elliptical running, I am just plain ANTSY.
Since the leg has been feeling pretty good (thanks to the daily foam-rolling and no running), yesterday I went for a 5 1/2 mile run outside. I felt great and didn’t have any pain! Woo hoo!
It had felt so good, that I figured I might as well go ahead and try my long run today. My training plan had me running for 2 hours and 50 minutes (I am going by time instead of mileage) which would have been about 18-20 miles. I started off pretty optimistic that I could do it, but once I was about 7 miles in, the pain was back.
Grrr..
So, I turned around, went very slow, and walked a lot. Eventually I made it back home. I got 14 miles in today, but I am pretty sore. I could definitely tell that I had taken 2 weeks off from my long runs.
Looks like it’s back to my foam roller, elliptical, and yoga.
It’s frustrating not being able to train how you want to, but for the sake of my body (and being able to complete the Boston Marathon), I will take it easy.
At this point, I just want to be able to finish the race with minimal pain! Seeing how training has been going lately, it probably won’t be a Marathon PR for me, which is quite okay. The accomplishment is just getting there.
