The Boston Diaries: Chapter 17
One week to go (but also 50)
I’ve felt a sense of calm over the last two weeks. Usually at this point in my training, I’m on edge. Nervous. I just want the race to get here. And yeah, I do want Sunday’s Lincoln Marathon to arrive. I just don’t feel like I need it to arrive. I’d love to write out some long post about trying to figure out why this is, as I reflect on these 17 weeks, wondering why this race feels different than any before, but it’s pretty simple:
I’m ultimately counting down to Boston.
Sunday’s marathon feels like my first where it’s not the end of something, but a continuation. Sunday will be my sixth marathon, but I’m still peaking ahead; to October in Des Moines, and most importantly, to Boston, 50 weeks from today. I’ve felt a sense of calm with it all.
When I ran a virtual marathon in 2020, it was the culmination. It was the culmination of multiple years, feeling like I finally got it right in my training. A culmination in me I falling in love with something I didn’t know I could love. I put fourth a goal — sub-four hours — and I achieved it. I woke up that morning with pressure on myself to beat a time goal and never stop to walk. By the time I finished, the marathon hadn’t broken me like it had two times before.
When I ran the Twin Cities Marathon in 2021, I brought with me that feeling from the years before, with the baggage of wanting to do it at a real race. I wanted a different experience than I had in Memphis in 2018 and Chicago in 2019. I had a new time goal — sub-3:30 — and when I beat it by five minutes, I was over the moon. All that hard work had paid off again. The end of another road.
I’ve written plenty about my goal going into Chicago and what it meant for me to achieve it. To put all that time and focus into a singular goal and beat it… I think about it almost every day1.
Which brings us to Sunday. Do I have a goal? Absolutely. I hope I run my best race yet and have a great time doing so.
But Lincoln doesn’t feel like the end-all be-all like each of the last three marathons did. This wasn’t week 17/18, it was week 17/67. I’m basically 25% done with my training for Boston, not 90%+ done with my training for Lincoln. It’s a part of the journey, not the destination.
What will all this calmness mean on Sunday morning? I have absolutely no idea.
But I can’t wait to find out.
The log:
Monday: Close to 20 minutes of weight lifting
Tuesday: 7 miles with 8 x 100 meter strides
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 8 miles with 4 x 1200 meter repeats
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 6 miles with 8 x 100 meter strides
Sunday: 13.03 miles
Total: 43.03 miles
Year to date: 1043.03 miles
Day 114: Knocked out this week’s weight session at the hotel gym in Pittsburgh. It’ll be my last one before Lincoln, just to make sure my legs and muscles feel as fresh as possible. I have mentioned it a handful of times the last 17 weeks, but the plan moving forward is to up this from one day a week to two before Des Moines training begins. I have really noticed a difference in how my body feels. Legs especially feel stronger. This was a good one to end the Lincoln cycle with.
Day 115: Tuesday’s run — 5.5 miles easy before knocking out eight 100-meter strides — was easily the worst run I had all week long. The long Monday of travel, on top of the wedding weekend festivities, really caught up with me. Knocked out the run at an 8:31 pace with the heart rate averaging 137, so not terrible, but I could feel the fatigue. Didn’t panic though. Planned on a good week of rest and was nice having meals at home throughout. The only concern was the final beast workout on Thursday and hoping my legs would be ready for the challenge.
Day 116: By the time I went out Wednesday morning, most of the fatigue was gone. Four miles, 8:54-per mile, 127 average HR had me feeling great. Legs felt like they were back under me and I finally felt rested and refreshed again. Exactly how I wanted to feel going into Thursday.
Day 117: And wouldn’t you know it, I absolutely nailed the final workout of training. All told, the run would go eight miles. Two weeks prior, I went out for a similar workout — 11 miles with five 1200-meter repeats — and left the trail a bit disappointed. I wanted to go 4:15-per and finished those five in 4:18, 4:17, 4:12, 4:22, and (gulp) 4:27. By the time that week finished, I was in a much better headspace, but that was one of the few workouts all cycle long where I just didn’t have it. I planned to have it on Thursday.
I would go out with a two-mile warm-up, four repeats of 1200 meters (with three minutes of easy running in between), followed by a cool down of whatever length it took to get me to eight miles. I decided to stick with 4:15s — a ~5:42-mile pace — ultimately hoping for a bit faster2. First two miles finished in 15:49 and it was time to push myself.
Unlike previous days at the lake, I’d have no excuses with the wind as it was relatively calm. I immediately knew the first of the 1200s was going to go well, as my watch showed me hanging out near a sub-5:20 mile pace throughout the early goings. By the time I finished it in 4:04, I was incredibly pleased. Even better, I had a lot left in the tank. Three minutes later, the process began again. Similar to the first 1200, I was often 10-15 seconds faster than my 5:40-pace goal. Second repeat finished in 4:08. Again, I felt ready for the next one.
Of course, the third 1200 came at the toughest part of the entire lake; uphill onto the dam, across the dam, and a tiny uphill to finish. My pace wasn’t nearly as fast as the first two, but by the time I finished, I was 3/3 at hitting my goal, doing so in 4:13. At this point, I knew I could do it. 1200 more meters. 1200 more hard-running meters. The final hard (almost) mile left in training for the Lincoln Marathon. By the time I finished in 4:11, I was elated. I had beat my goal by eleven, seven, two, and four seconds.
Eight miles, 7:10-per, with an average HR of 157. Hell of a way to nail the final workout — the final beast — ahead of Lincoln.
Day 118: The rain kept me inside on Friday, which wasn’t a bad thing, given I had five easy miles on tap. The usual 9:14 indoor pace with an average HR of 116. Hoping this’ll be the final treadmill run of the cycle.
Day 119: Saturday was one of my favorite weather days of the year so far. Got to the mouth of the trail and it felt like fall. On tap, six miles with eight 100-meter strides, one of the final two runs with strides this cycle. Ran at a sub-9:00 pace for the first 4.5 miles before knocking them out. 8:22 pace overall with a 135 average HR. The same run last September ahead of Lincoln? 8:33/137. Pretty cool to see.
Day 120: Even better? The last long run of training. On Thursday, Derek from Strava hit up the running chat to see if anyone wanted to do an easy-paced LR this weekend at the Wabash Trail. I told him I had 13 on Sunday, so we made plans to get together for the run.
Arrived a few minutes before 7:30am and Cory — a runner I went out with for an 18-miler almost a month prior — was there as well. The 13 miles absolutely flew by. Tons of great conversation, discussion of races to come, and more. Not to mention, the trail was absolutely awesome. I don’t think I realized how much I enjoyed running with people until I found this group. I’ve only gone out with them a few times, but I plan on doing so most weekends this summer.
Finished in 1:42:05 — 7:50-per mile — with an average HR of 144. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end week 17.
I’m ready for Lincoln. I’ll see you there.
Let’s just say the marathon blues following Boston next year will be a lot!
Every time I looked down at my watch, I wanted my pace to show faster than a 5:40 mile. I figured if I could do that, I’d have some leeway for moments where I wasn’t looking at it, if I was going uphill, etc.