Apologies for my lack of blogging, I started and abandoned three other posts in the last couple of weeks simply b/c I didn't have time to finish one nor the brain power to concentrate. I'm in the midst of my last heavy mileage week prior to tapering and also the last couple of heavy development weeks for a major product I have going on at work. It's not ideal but the running makes the daytime craziness a bit more deal-able. So here I am, less than 4 weeks out from the IL Marathon and feeling primed and ready to roll. I ran with Missy & Bella the other morning and was telling her (...them?, hard to tell if Bella listens to our running chatter) that I feel much differently with this cycle of training. Sure there are handfuls of different facets to my training this time around and I'm not the same self that's trained for a marathon, in what feels like a previous life, but the simple truth is I don't feel beat up. I'm adapted and comfortable averaging 60+ miles a week and if I had more hours in the day, don't doubt averaging 70+ miles would be quite doable as well.
A quick peek back at my running log reveals why...
50.2
47.1
52.5
43.1
40.4
44.3
43.1
48.4
49
50.5
56.3
57.7
63
60.3
70.6
53.3
58.2
50.5
63.9
48.3
60.9
56.8
63.3
59.4
That's weekly mileage since late October, when I started working with Lloyd and dedicating myself to a goal race in May. And another big bonus, I don't feel burnt out either! This is big people, WAY BIG! So here we are, a few more weeks of hanging in there, a couple more key workouts to nail, including a great test of concentration tomorrow with 45 mins worth of tempo cruise intervals. And who knows, maybe a few more chances of positively identifying the runner I see most mornings south along the Hudson as Neil Patrick Harris or a damn good look alike. I've gone back and forth on this one, is it him? Nah, he's not tall enough. I think it still might be him, look at that hair. Maybe? How cool would it be to say I run "with" The Barnacle?? :-)
5 comments:
Wow - no weeks below 40 in many many months! That IS huge! So glad you are feeling better about things this time around. Good luck on the long tempo cruise intervals tomorrow!
Things are looking awesome, Maria!!!
I bet Bella is listening. You need to randomly toss out words like "woofie" (or whatever Missy uses for "treat") and see if she perks up. Our dogs pick up just about everything!
Thanks ladies!
And yes, Bella certainly hears some of what we say ...i.e. get a stick! she does this awesome jumping/leaping thing but she probably glazes over when we start crunching weekly mileage numbers :-)
Although as Missy will tell you, she's quite the endurance dog!
bella def perks up and glances at me if i say her name or "good job/dog!" when we are running off leash, she pays attention to commands like "heel" and "by me". but, as maria will tell you, sometimes that gets difficult when another dog is involved :)
sage, i started running with bella with super short distances. we would run the length of one block and if she wanted to stop and investigate, i would excitedly urge her to keep running and when she did, give her a treat. this gradually translated into longer distances. to be honest, she wasn't too hard to train - i think i got lucky :) good luck with your pupster!!
back to maria!!!! (sorry for the hijack) it must be so satisfying to be running at this level. so liberating. i'm SO glad you decided to work with lloyd. as you said, the talent was always there.. and just needed some guidance.
no doubt, you will continue to run strongly for many years to come! i believe this is just the tip of the iceberg :) i am looking forward to sharing that journey with ya!
missy
I'm so excited for you that you've had such solid training this time around.
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