Week Recap: 3 to go

It is April and April is also the month during which the Boston Marathon occurs. That said, the priority list has been rearranged with sleep and rest now coming before mileage and speed. This is the point in the process where you can no longer afford to be running with a tired body and heavy legs. Last week was my last chance to push myself to the limit and I tried to make the most out of the opportunity. Unfortunately, I felt stale and uninspired until the weekend logging some forgetful miles and some less than stellar speed work. I ran every run in the evening as my body was too worn down to log 4am miles.

Runs: 7 (no doubles)

Mileage: 90.6

Workouts: 2

Long Run: 20.3 miles (Boston Marathon Course)

Hours: 10.36

Monday -- Miles: 12 (6:49 pace) Course: Central Park. Knowing that the New York metro area was under a red flag warning, I tried to limit my time along the Hudson, using the West Side Highway just to get to the park and back. But, there was no escaping the wind. Even in the park it was like running into a wall. My legs are still a little sore. I wore calf sleeves.

Tuesday -- Miles: 12.25 Course: Central Park. Workout: 5X400 All out. Despite the length of this workout, I really struggled to make something of it. I still have dead legs and that brought my already slow pace to a crawl. I fell off the back of every repeat even though I was working really hard. Intervals were 67, 67, 67, 67, 66 with a jog back to the start. I did 5 miles at just under 7:00 pace to cool down.

Wednesday -- Miles: 15 (6:57 pace) Course: West Side Highway. I met Josh about 4 miles in along the West Side Highway and we headed toward Battery Park. It's starting to sound like a broken record, but my legs are still sore and a massage is badly needed. Unfortunately, I won't have an opportunity until next week.

Thursday -- Miles: 13. Course: Central Park Great Lawn. Workout: 2 miles @ MP, 5X800 @ 2:30. The workout only called for the 800s, but I tacked on the two miles at MP solo just to get the legs moving. The challenge was keeping to marathon pace and not dipping too far below. I ran 5:38, 5:42 then shut it down and jogged back to the store. The 800s were a challenge. I don't particularly love doing repeats on the great lawn because although it is fast, it really tears up my legs. Did 2:28, 2:27, 2:26, 2:29, 2:30 with 400 jog as rest. I considered dropping out of the last one, but at the last minute, went for it anyways. It hurt. The thought of a taper felt really good when this was over.

Friday -- Miles: 7 (7:10 pace) Course: West Side Highway. I haven't felt this bad and uninspired on a run in a long time. I felt like I was carrying cinder blocks. Getting in a solid dinner tonight and hoping this is the end of the slump.

Saturday -- Miles: 20.3 (6:42 pace) Course: Boston Marathon from Framingham to Boston. Full recap here. We started at a slow 7:10 pace, and quickly dropped into the mid to high 6's. Legs finally felt GREAT and the scenery and company of Kevin, Josh, Meagan and Terry made this run fly by. By the end of the course, we were in the low 6's. Successful last long run of the training cycle.

Sunday -- Miles: 11 (6:55 pace) Course: Central Park Lower Loop. Other than a slight soreness in my left quad and the driving cold rain, this was a surprisingly good run. I waited until 5pm to step out the door to give my body as much time as possible to recover from yesterday. I am going to keep an eye on the quad and get a massage tomorrow. Time to start the taper.