If you’ve talked to me IRL (in real life) this week, you may have noticed that I’ve been in a funk. I don’t want to run, I don’t want to work, I don’t want to do laundry, my pants feel too tight, and yet all I want to eat are cookies. It’s no secret that the winter gets me down (oh HEY Seasonal Affective Disorder). I think I could very happily hibernate in my bed (with netflix, library books, and hot chocolate of course) until April. Alas! The world doesn’t work that way. I’ve got a full-time job, a blog, bills to pay, friendships to maintain, and Spring marathon to train for. The push and pull of what I want to do (hibernate) and what I need to do (run/work/be a real person) generally gives me a bad attitude and this week it was at its peak.
In addition to my bad mood, work has been busy, so I didn’t make the CPTC team tempo workout on Thursday. But rather than logging a goose egg (a.k.a. zero miles), I still managed to run for about 9 1/2 miles post-work. Could I have found a way to make it to the workout? Yeah, probably, but I know myself pretty well and last night easy, relaxed miles were what I needed, at least mentally if not physically.
This week so far:
Monday – 4 miles + strength training (omg!)
Tuesday – 6.5 miles, morning
Wednesday – 6 miles, evening
Thursday – 9.5 miles, evening
Friday – 5 miles w/ 2 miles at HM goal pace, not a real workout, but better than nothing!
Saturday – 10 miles, morning <– If I write it down, I’ll do it, right? (planned)
Sunday – 4 miles easy in Philadelphia (planned)
Total: 45 miles (assuming I get in those weekend miles – I’m headed out the door now, I swear)
I’m still hovering in the mid 40 mile range which is alright, but guess what? That’s about to change. I’ve finally put together a tentative Boston Marathon training schedule that begins on Monday, January 16. It’s only 13 weeks long, but I have a good base, so 3 months should be enough time to ramp up the tempos and long runs.
Megan’s 2012 Boston Marathon Training Plan
It’s in google docs, if you want to see it and can’t access it for some reason, let me know!
A few points on the plan:
- *I’ve purposely kept it pretty loose. I like having a general plan for mileage and long runs, but how can I plan a specific workout for say, Febrary 9th if I have no idea what my schedule, mood, or legs will be like on that day?
- *My overarching training philosophy is to run fairly high mileage (peaking around 80 mpw), finish either a weekly tempo run on Thursdays (exact workout to be determined by the CPTC coach) OR a tune up race, and to incorporate some “fast finishes” into my long runs. Before the NYCM in 2010, I ran a 22 mile run with the last 7 miles at goal marathon pace. It was a solid workout and a big confidence booster and I’d like to do that again on March 24th or 25th.
- *You might notice that I only have about 6 rest days planned during the 13 week cycle. There are a few reasons for that: I run my easy runs slow, so the 4-6 milers are essentially recovery days for me. It’s very difficult to reach 70-80 miles a week if I take a day off, for me it makes more sense just to run some slow, recovery miles. Of course, if I’m feeling hurt of burned out, I’ll take a rest day, I just can’t plan for that in advance.
- *Do I expect to run all of these miles and workout? Realistically, no. Work or weather or travel or the flu might throw a wrench into these plans, but I am anticipating that. If I can complete 85-90% of the planned workouts and mileage, I think I’ll be in a very good place.
- *Note: I am not a sports scientist or coach. This plan isn’t based on a particular training philosophy, rather it is cobbled together from the experience and training I gleaned from my previous 3 marathons. High mileage, fast finish long runs, and weekly tempo workouts of 4-8 miles. Should you listen to me? Will it work? I have no idea, but stick around and you’ll find out!
In other news, I am getting ready to hit the road for a weekend in Philadelphia with this gal. A long weekend away couldn’t have come at a better time! The only thing on the schedule is eating, drinking, shopping, and visiting with friends. We have dinner and brunch reservations at some really fun places and I can’t wait!
On Friday night, I got the weekend off to a good start. I had dinner with a group of my lady friends. I’m glad it worked out because it can take some planning to coordinate the schedules of seven busy 20-somethings (we missed our 8th, Danielle!)
Queens Kickshaw. Fancy Grilled Cheese. Beer flights. Get it. See my friend Katie’s previous recap for photos of the sandwiches. I went halvies with Anna on the gouda-guava jam-black bean hummus-pickled jalapeno sandwich and the minted eggplant-ricotta-manchego sandwich. Whoa.
There’s nothing like a beer flight and lots of cheese to improve your mood.
Okay, off to go run. Seriously. Let’s hope I finish in time to make my bus to the city of Brotherly Love…
When you’re in a funk, do you force yourself to run anyway? Or do you allow yourself some time off? I must admit, occasionally skipping a run for no other reason that I JUST DON’T WANNA can feel pretty damn good.