Week in Review

87 miles
1 double
17 mile long run
4 days in NYC
5 AFDs

This week's mileage was right back where I want it to be thanks to a solid long run on Sunday. Although I was exhausted from working the 13.1 event, racing and then driving home on Saturday night, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join Terry, Carly, Betsy and Elle in tracing the first half of the Boston Marathon course. We carpooled up to Hopkinton together in spite of the cold and dreary weather, toed the fading but still visibly painted starting line and set off in the direction of the finish line. Predictably, my legs felt stiff and tired from the previous day's effort, but fortunately for me Carly is knocked up and therefore amenable to not pushing the pace. We got dropped by the other girls more or less immediately but then were joined by Jenn Donovan and her fiance for a few miles. After they turned back for home, Carly and I were alone together to finish out the run. To be honest, the first 10 or so miles of the course are completely unremarkable (and relatively unattractive). It isn't until you reach the well-manicured lawns and quaint storefronts of Wellesley that it begins to look like anyplace you'd actually enjoy spending a bit of time. What is noteworthy, however, is the almost constant downhill grade. I could very easily see myself setting a new half-marathon PR en route to a huge implosion if I weren't prepared for the terrain. Fortunately Elle and Betsy are much smarter than me; they both cruised through the first half today and then crushed the Newton hills en route to a solid 22-miler. Carly and I called it a day at 17 and opted to get bagels and coffee while offering them moral (and vehicular) support. This wasn't one of my better or more enjoyable long runs from a physical perspective, but I had a blast with the group and am definitely glad I went.


The historical Hopkinton start line

With a big training weekend behind me and a much less stressful travel schedule ahead, I'm eager to continue to push my limits in the coming weeks. I'm also excited to report that I've added another goal race to my schedule, this one even comfortably farther away than the New Balance Boston 10k. I'll be joining Caitlin, Camille, Alana and many other familiar faces at the US Half-Marathon Championships in June. This race is held in conjunction with Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN, and utilizes part of the same lightning-fast course, so I'm very excited to see what I'll be capable of running there. For now I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, training hard and staying healthy. It's easier said than done but I'm up to the challenge!