four weeks to Philly

Four more weeks until I will be running around the streets of Philadelphia. This is both exciting and terrifying. While I don't feel ready yet...I do think I will be with a few more weeks of miles under my legs and Hokas. I finished this week at 47.4 miles total. While I'm not 100% sure, I am pretty confident that is my highest mileage week ever. It definitely is the highest of this training cycle. I felt pretty good all week with the exception of Saturday's long run. I managed to catch a pretty good cold at the end of last week, just in time for a planned 20 mile run. Other than that small set back, I had a really great week of training. I'm hoping more miles will equal more confidence come race day.

sometimes you just have to stop and take a picture
of the leaves and your matching hokas

I haven't been posting a whole lot about my training lately, but I thought with four weeks left to go, I'd post a recap of each week leading up to the Marathon. So, here we go:

October 20-26

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 10 x 1 min on, 1 min off @ 10k pace with 15 min warm up and cool down - 5.4 miles total. I always like this workout. I did all 10 slightly faster than 10k pace.

Wednesday: 40-50 min easy on the schedule. I ran 56 min easy for a total of 6 miles. My coach told me if I feel good on these easy days that I can go a little longer than what's on the schedule. I've been trying to do this whenever I feel up for it.

Thursday: 8 x mile @ MP with 1 min rest - 11 miles total with warm up and cool down. I was a little unsure of how this one would go. I had to work early that day (5:30am-2), which meant I'd have to run after work. Running after work is not something I enjoy, and typically feels pretty sluggish. It was also rainy and super windy that day. I told myself I have no idea what the weather could be like on race day, and if I got through this workout in unfavorable conditions, it would only help me if the weather on November 23 isn't the best. I've also been feeling like I've had a bit of a mental block or something during marathon pace workouts. They always feel harder than I feel they should, and I'm usually left questioning myself and my ability. I've been doing some longer track workouts this cycle at MP, which have been going really well. I told myself if I could do 1200's I was capable of doing these mile repeats (just one more time around the track is how I mentally prepped myself). In addition to everything mentioned above, Thursday was when I started feeling my cold coming on. I planned to start slow with my warmup and see how I felt. I knew I could stop at any point, and I would if need be, but I wanted to give it a try. After a lot of mental prep, I slowly ran out to one of my favorite places to run, Horn Pond, and started my workout. I felt amazing. Every mile felt better than the last. Even as the wind and rain continued to soak me from head to toe, I was so happy to be out there, killing this workout. Huge confidence boost after that one.

one of the trails at Horn Pond...it never disappoints

Friday: OFF - Friday's are typically rest days for me, but I was especially happy for this rest day because I woke up feeling pretty sick and run down. I stayed home from work and spent the day on the couch.

sick day on the couch made better by the delivery
of these amazing moto lesley tights 

Saturday: I wanted to do my long run on Saturday because we were going to a wedding in NH Saturday night. I knew a long run on Sunday would be out of the question. I got up at 5:30 to try and get through 20 miles before we needed to leave. I hardly slept that night for some reason and woke up sneezing and sniffling like crazy. I took some DayQuil and prepped like I normally would for a long run. I figured I'd give it a try and if I wasn't feeling it, I'd cut it short. The first few miles felt tough, but then I got in to a bit of a groove around miles 6-12. Then suddenly at mile 12 I knew 20 would be a stretch that day. I slowed my pace way down and got through 18. I was disappointed I didn't make it to 20, but my body forced me to listen.

Sunday: 40-45 min easy on the schedule. Thankfully I felt much better today, though surprising considering I danced the night away Saturday night at the wedding. I wanted to run a few extra miles to make up for what I couldn't do Saturday, so I would still end the week around 47 miles. I felt a little tired, but generally good. I kept the pace slow and enjoyed a beautiful fall day in New England.

Right now I'm feeling ready to go in to the next 4 weeks. I'm excited to get another shot at a 20 mile run next weekend (IN NEW YORK!) and 22 miles (YIKES) the following weekend. I feel like I'll be more prepared for this marathon and I'm loving the training process. I really feel like some good things are to come.

Sunday funday beautiful rainbow