Late this past week, I reached the point of feeling ready for Boston. I came through the valley of the shadow of a tendon strain with the help of an excellent chiropractor, got in some workouts with GMP miles where I felt strong and practiced running in 63 degree weather, in the range of the currently forecasted high temperature on race day.
Monday – Off. Care for sore ankle/inner shin confirmed by stress score of 23 and potential for cold coming on. Left work early and took and afternoon nap. Strength/core work: 3×25 single leg goblet squats, 2×95 seconds planks.
Tuesday – cross-train 8 “miles”, 66 mins on elliptical (143 bpm) as my ankle/shin was still sore. Happily low stress score: 17. Would rather be running, but this was a good workout; as I went through the session my body felt comfortable going faster without spiking my heart rate, in contrast to Sunday where I could feel my body fighting me during a portion of the run
Later in the day, I went to see Dr. Duke, a sports chiropractor who diagnosed a strained/tight posterior tibial tendon and made me feel a million times better after a single treatment. Made appointments for further treatment the following two days.
Wednesday AM – 7.2 miles easy (8:48/160 bpm) in CP with a friend’s daughter visiting from San Francisco amidst the cherry blossoms. Happily low morning stress score: 14. Delighted to be able to run but very frustrated about loss of body confidence and coordination after only two days off. Strength/core: planks, single legged toe touches.
Wednesday PM – 4.5 miles easy (8:30/145 bpm) in CP, plus 3×15 weighted single leg goblet squats. Felt coordination slowly starting to return and body confidence got a boost from Dr. saying I wasn’t going to make my tendon problem worse by running on it.
Thursday – 14 miles in CP with 6 at GMP (7:34/171 bpm average with splits of 7:36, 7:33, 7:45, 7:32, 7:29, 7:31) (8:01/163 bpm for entire run). From despair to hope and optimism in a day! I am back on track! Purpose of this run was to dial in GMP. Happy that with the exception of a West Side Hill where I sucked, after days of being in a black hole, I did it. Strength work: 3×20 goblet squats, weighted hamstring exercises, single leg toe touches.
Friday – 14 miles, mostly on track, with 7 miles steady state (7:52/158 bpm avg) and 3 miles GMP (7:30/167 bpm avg)(8:00/155 bpm average for entire run). This was a great run! I woke up with low stress score and wanted to run more GMP miles. I was initially disappointed that high school track practice made the track too crowded for a hard effort, but after some miles the polite CT group left a lane open for me and I enjoyed watching them work hard as I clicked off the miles. Legs felt good. Strength training: weighted single legged goblet squats, weighted eccentric heel drops, push ups, single leg toe touches.
Saturday – 7 recovery pace (9:05) miles on hotel treadmill in Winchester Va, on our way to the Great Smoky Mountains in TN. Studied Ryan Hall’s training logs before he set an American record in the 2011 Boston marathon on the drive and was amazed to see how much faster he raced than he logged most of his tempo miles. Strength work: 4500# deadlifts, single leg goblet squats.
Sunday – 10.7 miles easy (8:35/148 bpm) on hilly trails in the Great Smoky Mountains NatIonal Park on Gatlingburg TN with Deena doggie, while listening to “The Illegal” recommended by Catnip for a few miles, then silence. Ran at midday in 63 degree weather to simulate forecasted conditions for Boston. Noticed my ventilatory threshold is much lower in warmer temperatures. Good to know. Strength work: 3 sets hamstring exercises, 2 sets eccentric heel drops, single leg toe touches.
Weekly total: 57.5 miles running, 8 “miles” elliptical
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Boston Training total: 1089 miles
Weekly average: 64.2 miles per week
20+ mile long runs: 4, including 1 28.5 mile run
GMP miles: 92
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Goals for final week: don’t get injured, don’t get stale, run in warm temperatures when possible to prepare for race day.