Boston Marathon Training Has Begun!

Last Monday marked my first day of training for the 2015 Boston Marathon. I didn’t quite feel ready to get started, but the countdown is now officially on. Here’s how Week 1 went and what I did for training.

Monday

Things got off to exactly the wrong kind of start as I ditched my plans to wake up early for a pre-work run due to feeling exhausted and on the verge of sick. I’m bad at getting up or going to bed early, so it seemed sensible to me to sleep until I had to get up for work. This meant an after-work run, which meant exercising some extra restraint at the office holiday party. Once I got home I ran 5.1 miles before dinner. The run itself was fine; I was surprisingly warm despite the cool temperature, and my pace was on the quicker side for a workweek run.

Less exciting was that this run reminded me how much I hated having to run through the city for nighttime runs, since the student-heavy areas are tough to navigate.

Tuesday

Tuesday found me on a 5:40 a.m. flight for work, which I think would make a pre-work run impossible for even a morning person, right? I was proud of myself for making it out on a 4.75 mile run after work in the neighborhood near my hotel, in the wind and rain no less.

Wednesday

Guys. I got up before 7 and got in a 3.12 mile run in the cold and wind. I am a goddamned American hero. You said it, I didn’t. Wait, I said it? Never mind, it’s on the Internet, it must be true.

Thursday

Rest day–not necessarily because I wanted it to be, but also because I was on a day trip that involved 6:30 am and pm flights. Even American heroes have their limits.

Friday

I started the day with a high-intensity interval training class at Burn Fit. These classes have a segment devoted to lower body, upper body, and core, respectively, and string together a total of six exercises per focus area with minimal rest in between. I started taking these classes about once a week after realizing I was doing almost nothing for strength work. They fly by and I hope to see strength gains.

I was thinking about doing a short run after work on Friday but was feeling kind of tired. Then I checked my Fitbit and realized I was already coming close to clocking 20,000 steps for the day. I decided it was ok not to run.

Saturday

Saturday was my first group run with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. I tend not to like group runs, but I thought I should join at least the first one to see what it was all about.

Well, it was awesome. Who knew?

The run started and ended at Marathon Sports in Wellesley. I got into a carpool arrangement with two other runners coming from Boston and started the day by making new friends with them.

The DFMC staff (who are all incredibly nice and supportive of their runners) started by making announcements and sharing information with us. Then, we heard from a former DFMC runner whose daughter is a Dana-Farber patient. Finally, it was time to run.

There were at least a hundred runners in my estimation. The route the DFMC mapped for us was about 10.5 miles and went from Marathon Sports through a segment of the actual Boston Marathon course. The route covered some of the notorious rolling hills, and I have to say this run gave me a little more peace of mind about running them on race day. (We didn’t get to Heartbreak Hill though, so I may eat those words.) Best of all, the DFMC set up water stops for us at two points on the route, so I didn’t have to carry my water bottle while I ran. At the end of the run, we were treated to water, Gatorade, candy, and homemade cookies, as well as a sweet store discount at Marathon Sports.

I realized after the run while waiting for my carpool buddies that my Reynaud’s will be a problem for these runs. I cooled down really quickly indoors and was suddenly shivering and numb. I’ll need to bring dry, warm clothes with me to change right after the run.

Sunday

Um, rest day, duh. In a normal week I might have done a yoga or spin class the day after the long run, but between out-of-town friends visiting and holiday parties, it just wasn’t happening this week.

Week 1 is in the books!