Taper time and how this training cycle went

Hi friends!
The Boston Marathon is less than 2 weeks away. I really am shocked at how fast this training cycle has gone so far. I feel like I just started training! However, I am really amazed at the training I put in and I am proud of what I have accomplished. Now we will just have to see what this training has done on race day!

In hindsight I wish I would have documented my training more often on this blog. It would have been fun to look back and see how I was feeling during the training. Between family, training, and work it just seemed that the blog got pushed on the back burner. Marathon training involves a big time commitment and I chose to spend my extra time focusing on other priorities.

Overall training went well. I am happy to say that I have been injury free and feel ready to race. My training over the past 14+ weeks has looked like this:
Monday: REST DAY
Tuesday: Speed work, usually intervals of various lengths
Wednesday:Middle long run (10-13 miles)
Thursday: Marathon Pace workout
Friday: Easy run
Saturday: Easy run
Sunday: Long run

Favorite spot on one of my running routes

The one thing I am grateful for is having a husband who is supportive of this dream of mine. There were many days that he watched the kids so I could run 3+ hours. He's pretty awesome!

Secondly, I am thankful to my parents. There were many mornings that my parents took time out of their day to help watch the kiddos so I could get some miles outside. It would have meant A LOT more treadmill miles without them.

Thirdly, I am thankful for an awesome running partner. It sure made the long runs easier! I don't know if I am going to be able to do long runs alone again! Plus, it was great to have someone else doing the same training. I definitely felt motivated to run on days I didn't want to run because I knew she was out their running her butt off too.

Lastly, I am thankful for the God given ability to be able to run and run fast. I feel blessed to have running in my life, it has helped me to realize I am capable of what I set my mind to. Sometimes it involves a lot of hard work, but when I am able to go out an pursue a dream it makes it worth it. Happiness really is found in the pursuit of a dream. Boston has been a dream of mine since I was running cross country in high school. Wat before I ever had run a marathon I knew I wanted to run Boston some day. I am giddy with excitement!

I am so excited to hit the streets of Boston and run the race I have been dreaming about.

12 weeks to Boston

Just popping in for a training update! I had hoped to post weekly regarding this, but between being a wife, mom, working(I have been working extra hours since it is flu season), interviewing for graduate school, and training I have not had the time to sit down to write this blog.
It is exciting that Boston Marathon is 12 weeks away! I am even more excited that training is going so well! Yes, there have been runs that are not enjoyable. As in, while running I keeping thinking "can this just be done?" However, so many of the runs feel amazing!
I had found on the Boston Marathon page a training plan, after looking at the training plan I got excited! I looked over the workouts (especially the speed workouts), and felt they would help me get to where I need to be. There were a lot of marathon pace workouts, which I feel will help me the most. In my last training cycle for No Frills Marathon, there were not ANY marathon pace work. During that marathon, even though it was a PR, I did not feel I could get into the pace I wanted because I hadn't practiced the pace. I feel this is going to get me that 3:20:00 marathon (or faster).

Here's what last week looked like for training:
Most of this was on the treadmill due to my work schedule and the fact that it is really dark in the mornings!

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Treadmill miles: 2x(4x800m) at 10k pace (6:40min/mile) with 90 sec recovery. 5 min between each set. Total miles for the run was 9.03

Wednesday: Treadmill miles: 8.86 miles easy pace
Thursday: Treadmill miles: Tempo run 3x15 min at marathon pace (7:30ish min/mile) with 5 min recovery     between sets. 10 miles total
Friday: Treadmill miles, 6.02 easy pace
Saturday: Treadmill miles 6 miles easy pace
Sunday: Got the day off work! 21 miles outside! Last 4 miles run at marathon pace. This was a tough run, but good. My legs felt really strong! Total runner's high!

View on my 21 miler

Part of the reason I feel that my running has been going so well is that I have been doing strength training. I had a gait assessment done and the therapist said that I need to strengthen my hips. I guess having 4 babies made them a bit weak, who knew? So, I have been doing exercises to strengthen my hips. I have also been doing squats, lunges, and planks regularly. I believe it's the little things that are making the difference.

Hoping your week and month are going well! I do hope to get another post up next week.

Question of the post:
What are the little things you are doing to improve things in your life?

The first 3 weeks....

Hi friends! I hope that this post finds you well and that you had a great Christmas and New Years. Our household had a great Christmas even despite the fact that I worked Christmas. It was definitely a very challenging work week, but sometimes things happen that really make me thankful for what I have. I feel very blessed to have so many things. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and kiddos.

As well as, a loving and supportive family. So many things to be thankful for that it would require a extremely long blog post and you are probably here to read about running, so.....

First day of training!

My first 3 weeks have been pretty much the same training wise. It looked a little something like this:
Monday: 5-7 miles easy
Tuesday: 7-10 miles with 3 miles at marathon pace (7:36min/mile)
Wednesday: 3-6 easy miles
Thursday: 7-10 miles 5x1000m at Marathon pace with 3:30 recovery in between
Friday: 3-6 miles easy
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 8-12 miles

An early morning long run

My training has felt really good! I few of these days where outside since we have had such nice weather. A few on the treadmill, which has it's benefits.
I had a gait assessment done by a physical therapist, which I recommend to everyone! She had me run on a treadmill and she took video. I am not going to lie, it was really weird being video taped! I kept thinking do I look at the camera or not. I felt like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights "I don't know what to do with my hands." She showed me that my hips are weak, probably due to having 4 kiddos. She gave me some tips on how to improve my form and strengthen my hips. I am excited to see the benefits of this!
I am also working on my core strength and I incorporating some strength training into my routine. I am making sure I get rest and focusing on making sure I recover properly. By recovering properly I will be able to nail the hard workouts and get that 3:20:00 marathon!
Until next week!
What are your goals for 2015?