Boston Marathon Training 2014

Thursday night I finally sat down and updated my Boston Marathon Training work sheet.

I was doing okay with the training ramp up until my treadmill/knee incident on January 19th. My goal miles for January were 122.3 but I only managed 81.09. A lot of those miles were on the treadmill so I could avoid the cold weather and stay healthy.

Due to my injury, I took the week from January 19th through January 28th off completely. This was my heavy ibuprofen and icing phase. On medical advice I did not run at all. I even DNS the Derry 16 Miler. I couldn’t even give the number away! It’s a tough race right on the Merrimack river. So it’s cold and windy. On the 28th I finally started using the elliptical.

If it weren’t for the elliptical I would not have had any miles for almost a month. The elliptical took a bit of getting used to. One of the positives that I’m taking away from my injury is that I finally learned how to use an elliptical. This machine does work different muscles, so it will be good for cross training, and it does give you a good cardio workout.

On February 16th I finally went for a Sunday run with the MRC. Since it was my first real run since my injury, I cut my run short and only did 7.91 miles. Just about everyone else did 16 miles that day. Mine was not a #SLR.

I managed to pick up a flu bug and was sick on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was Presidents Day, a holiday. Getting off of the sofa for a glass of water felt like running in the last 0.2 miles of a marathon. Less painful, but just as draining. Tuesday was better but I did not have the energy to go to work. Wednesday was better, but I did not run all week.

Saturday I ran The Half at the Hamptons. I must have been the best rested runner that day. No running for a week! I managed to come in under 2 hours. Under the circumstances that is pretty good. My knee never bothered my the entire race. My hips bothered me for the last few miles. I need to work on that.

My goal miles for February were 142.8. I ended up with 42.47! I am screwed! My goal miles for March are 189.2. There is no way I can more than triple my miles this month. Well, maybe.

The New Deal

I have a 5K, a Half Marathon and a 20-Miler in March. I also have four Sunday Long Runs of 18.1, 20, 17.8 and 20. Those will get me over 110 miles if I can finish all of those long runs. I have to finish the races, but I can cut the SLRs short. I may hit 150 miles this month if I am careful and take it easy on my long runs.

April miles are 88.2, including the Boston Marathon. I’ll probably fall a little short in April also. I traded a 14.8 SLR for the Over the Rainbow 5K, part of the LOCO series.

I love races and I’ll get to hang out with friends and drink beer while all of my other friends are out running The Great Bay Half. I think trading the Half for a 5K was a good move. Great Bay is one of the toughest half marathons I have ever run. With only two weeks to Boston, I wasn’t going to race at all. A friend talked me into the 5K and beer drinking. Gotta love friends!

Any thoughts of a PR at Boston are out the window at this point. This year it is about

more than just running. Not having any pressure to have certain times at certain points of the race will allow me to enjoy the festivities more. It’s always a great time, even when it hurts. It’s Boston. What’s not to love?

Run well my Friends.

Andy