Sometimes a really shitty race can be a great motivator. In fact, I would say it is a far better motivator than a good race. Or especially a great race despite sketchy conditions (hi San Francisco Marathon!). I mean if you don’t taper, drink a lot (of alcohol) leading up to the race, walk all around the day before and still run a marathon PR on a very difficult course why bother doing anything “right?” Marathons are sooooo easy and I will just PR no matter what I do. Really.
Right.
So I guess…thanks Hamilton Marathon?
I didn’t run for 10 days following the Hamilton Marathon. This is by far the longest I have ever not run after a marathon. Part of that was because I could barely walk the first few days, but part of it was intentional. It seems like I have been jumping from the training for one marathon to the next for the past year and a half. The last four marathons I ran were in the span of under eight months. That may not be that many for some of you, but for me it was way too many to get optimal results.
And I want optimal results. In fact, I want even more than that.
Enter in Boston Marathon Training 2013: Trying to Avoid as Much Sketchiness as Possible and Do Something that Benefits My Running Besides Just Running too.
I have just been base building for the past few weeks. I run pretty much whatever pace feels comfortable each day, which has been a great way to relax and enjoy one of my favorite times of the year.
I am not on a schedule of official speedwork or tempos yet but I have run two races for fun as hard efforts the first of which was way tougher than the second. On December 2, I ran the Join the Voices 5-miler in 37:02 (1 min 5 sec PR!) and on December 16, I ran the Hot Chocolate 10k in 46:02 (41 sec PR!). Both were exactly the same pace. I guess I am consistent. One day it would be nice to run a shorter race more in line with what I should be able to do based on my longer race times, but it is still a good stepping off point for actual training to begin.
Sixteen weeks of training begins on Christmas Eve. I suppose my advent calender is counting down to two exciting things!
