The 2025 Boston Diaries: Chapter 18
One week to go
“You’ve got some solid vibes going into Boston it seems,” a friend texted me on Sunday.
“Happy to be excited,” I responded.
I most certainly am.
One week out from the 129th Boston Marathon, the final countdown has arrived. In a few days, I’ll be on a plane heading east, preparing for one of the most exciting stretch of days in my life; Certainly the most exciting stretch of days ahead of a race I have ever had.
I’m saving most of my thoughts on everything for the final newsletter before the race next week, but I’m soaking up every bit of running right now. Unlike in February and most of March, I am suddenly reading as much as possible about running again. I find myself on Strava checking in on my friends and how they’re doing. I can’t stop thinking about the race, about running, about the joy it brings me.
It wasn’t that way even a month ago.
And now, it’s (almost) here. One week left.
Let’s go.
This week in podcasting:
On the last “regular” podcast before my hiatus, I was so happy to welcome Ryan Zavala on to tell his story. It’s absolutely awesome, filled with ups and downs that are incredibly relatable. Like me, Ryan will be running Boston in a week. Hope you give this one a listen!
Thanks to Fleet Feet Omaha for being the title sponsor of Chasing Three Hours! With marathon season upon us, be sure to stop by, get fitted for shoes to help set a brand new PR, and get them $15 off by mentioning the pod!
The log:
April 7th: 6 miles
April 8th: 8 miles with 8 x 100 meter strides
April 9th: 6 miles
April 10th: 8 miles with 4 x 1200 at ~5k pace
April 11th: 5 miles
April 12th: 7 miles
April 13th: 13 miles
Total: 53 miles
Year to date: 738.25 miles
April 7th: After kind of doing my own thing with my running the past two months, I entered the penultimate week of training deciding to follow my original training plan; Pete Pfitzinger’s 18/851 plan. Which meant we’d start with six miles at recovery pace.
Nice to slow things down a bit, though running into some wind at a pace that’s slower than what I normally do made it a bit of a pain in the ass early on. Oh well, it felt pretty good! 8:58-per mile with my heart rate averaging 127 throughout. Not exactly where I’d wanna be, but I chalked that up mostly to an uphill early and the aforementioned wind. Good enough to start the week.
April 8th: Going back to the original plan would have strides on the docket for the first time since the first day in February. While I’ve picked up the pace here and there over the last month, one thing I worried about was strides, mainly because it’s faster than I have ran. Noticeably faster. But I have been smart and feeling good, so I thought the hamstring could handle it.
Thankfully, it did! I picked up the pace eight times over the course of a mile, and while I never went as fast as I’d normally go2 in a run like this, I did get close to that line. Was (a) good to run that fast again and (b) not feel bad after. Win-win! Eight miles total, 7:45-per, HR at 142 throughout.
April 9th: Got out for a nice recovery six as the midweek got going. Probably went a little faster than I would have aimed for going in, but just kinda let my body do the talking for me I guess. Six miles, 8:51-per, with my HR averaging 127.
April 10th: After months without a true workout, I wanted to put at least one on the board as the taper rolled on. I’d run eight total miles with four 1200s (with a .35-mile down period between each) mixed in. Was curious how my body would respond — where my fitness was at, more than anything — but I decided to ease into things, especially with the first of four 1200s right into the teeth of the wind.
Started with a three-mile warmup and then took off. And boy was that wind absolutely brutal! In a way, not going all out on the first one allowed me to check in on how my body was feeling — how my hamstring was feeling, in particular — and the response was solid. Made my way west at the northern-most part of the lake before turning south to go up the hill. Finished the last bit of the first 1200 with a downhill and it allowed me to beat the 6:00 pace goal I had for my rep. My watch beeped.
4:26 (5:57 pace).
I was feeling good.
I decided to ride the wind a bit and sped things up. Still wasn’t going as fast as I would have before the injury, but I was running faster than the first rep, mostly hanging out in the high 5:30s/low 5:40s, in terms of pace. The second 1200 came to a close and my watch beeped.
4:15 (5:42 pace).
Alright!
I ran a bit faster for the third rep but faded just enough at the end to close it in 4:14 (5:41 pace). By this point, I wanted more.
I got what I wanted.
I ran as fast as I have, for as long as I have, at any point in the last two months. I pushed hard but not too hard; I wasn’t doing anything dumb. My goal? One rep, just one, going sub-5:30 pace. My watch beeped at me.
4:05 (5:29 pace).
Boom.
I added a mile on the end to complete eight total. 7:01-per for all eight miles (5:42 average for the 1200s) with my HR at 158 throughout. Given it’s so close to race day, it felt less like a brick layer and more a reminder of all the bricks I had already laid the last few years. A confidence booster, at the very least.
April 11th: And then… I woke up not feeling the best. Hamstring was a bit tight. All that work the last two months and this is what happens? I was going to waste it away on a workout a week and a half from race day?
No, no I would not. I did some extra stretches and was very happy I only had five miles on tap. Took those first few steps as I made my way towards the lake and thankfully felt ok.
Five miles, 8:47-per, with my HR averaging 128. A run I was happy I was able to do and feel good doing so.
April 12th: Didn’t get enough sleep on Friday night and it showed on Saturday. Had a busy day ahead, so I just needed to get this one in before putting all my focus and energy on Sunday’s group run.
Averaged 7:59 for the seven miles — decided against doing strides, just because I didn’t feel like tweaking anything again — with my HR at 140 throughout. Solid enough. Onto Sunday I went!
April 13th: And wow, was Sunday great. Met up with a big group of AAC pals for a couple loops around Lake Cunningham. Hadn’t been there in months and it turned out to be a phenomenal morning for 13 miles.
Hard to imagine better and higher vibes than this run, though this week will give Sunday a run for its money, as multiple guys in the group prepared for their first Boston trip, while others counted down to their second or more.
I don’t think I talked about anything BUT Boston. I’m ready.
13 miles, 7:59-per, with my HR averaging 137.
One week left.
18 weeks, up to 85 miles for a handful of weeks, was the original goal. Oops!
My goal is always a sub-5:00 pace for the 100 meters.