Boston less than a week away!

​It’s hard to believe the Boston Marathon is less than a week away! On Monday I ran my last 10 miler and I’m doing a few shake out runs this week…like 5 miles or less.
My hamstrings are super tight, so I will be working on stretching and rolling out my legs with the foam roller, and maybe take a yoga class if I can squeeze it in. Also, it’s always been helpful to get a Cryofreeze session in to help in muscle recovery and prep. Those are brutal, but afterward your body feels heavenly!
 
I won’t lie the last few long runs and interval runs have also been brutal for me. I just didn’t want to do them. I think I procrastinated all day.
 
From the 16 miler two weeks ago to the 12 miler last week, I was dreading having to go those distances at about an 8:15 pace. I didn’t quite make the pace in either run, but at least I finished in one piece. Ha!
 
My interval runs the last two weeks consisted of 8 x 800’s at a 3:40 pace and then 10x800’s at the same pace. An 800 is a basically a ½ mile hard run-- just a tad slower than sprinting. I finished those pretty strong. The first set was between 3:37 and 3:45. The last set of 10 clocked in at 3:30 to 3:43. Nice!! But that’s probably why my hamstrings are not happy today!  
 
It’s all part of the last few weeks of marathon training. The feeling that you’re so sick of running and can’t do another training run to save your life. But, gotta, suck it up and get it done. The suffering is almost over and the glory awaits as you cross the finish line.
 
In case you have ever considered taking up marathon training, I attached a training plan similar to what I did for my very first few marathons, when all I cared about was getting the miles in and being able to finish at a natural pace for me.  If you are wondering, my natural pace marathon finish is 4 hours and 15 minutes. That’s without any speed work.
If you love running and want to build a good foundation, try following this plan.  Let me know how you like it and if you really love it and after 8-10 weeks, you want to add some speed work, I can incorporate that for you.
But this plan is great for someone who isn’t out to set world records, but you want get that marathon run off your bucket list and, who knows, maybe down the road, you might add a little speed demon stats to your resume of sports accomplishments.
 
Happy running! 

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On Sundays for Cross training, I would suggest doing a weight lifting class but go lighter on your legs. So an upper body type exercise is great -- even like a boxing workout. 

On one of your Rest days, you should consider doing a yoga for runners class to stretch out those muscles. You could also do a yoga class on one of your lower mileage running days.