The Road to Boston (week 6 of 16)

Well I liked the chatty format of last week's post, so I think I'm going to keep it like that.  What I do not like is the limited amount of distance running I've done in the last two weeks.  That and the fact that I appear to have gained 5lbs (damn you delicious hotel cooked breakfasts)!!!  Still, I am a glass half full kind of guy, so looking at the upside I am simply pulling back to ensure I do not peak too early.  Plus this coming week will be my last travel for a little while, so I can get my runs back to normal.

Having said that....

Saturday February 4th
5am, 55F and stormy.  The value of a good training partner is that they can pull you through tough runs, and that is what happened this morning.  If it wasn't for Clea, I don't know that I would have completed this run. My calves were so tight after last week's treadmill madness.  And that caused my feet to go numb for the first half of this 20 miler.  Fortunately, some good conversation passed away many of the middle miles, and the legs loosened up for the second half.  Cut off by myself to finish out the last 2 miles (which were tough) and finished 20 hilly miles in 2:57:16 (8:51 average) and completely spent.  My legs felt very sore and painful driving home, and they appear to have staged an uprising because I am hobbling around like an old man.  I'm normally nowhere near this stiff after racing a marathon - I guess fueling on Big Mac and fries is not a good idea!!!

Sunday February 5th
5:30am, 45F.  Recovery run after yesterday's 20 miler.  Good to work out some of the soreness, but was getting some serious knee pain out of nowhere.  I swear I'm getting old.  Surprised we managed a fairly brisk 7 miles in 1:00:46 (8:41 pace).

Monday February 6th
7am 40F.  Stretching the legs this morning prior to my flight to Richmond VA this afternoon.  No knee pain today, though the calves are still super tight.  2 miles in 15:23 (7:41 average).

Friday February 10th
7am, 45F.  Pullback week.  Been in Richmond, VA all week, and got back into Austin at midnight last night.  Decided to take a few days off to give my strained calves some time to recover, and it seems to have worked (though I do now have to figure out how to cram in another 3 runs to keep my Febulous 100% going).  Did 2 miles this morning in a pain-free 14:33 (7:16 average).  Looking forward to a solo 20 miles tomorrow.