It’s been a few, Poodles. And by a few I mean a few miles, a few bitter cold windy days, a few inches of snow and a few freak outs. Ok. I lied. That last one may be more than a few. Like, a whole goddamn bunch.
Training with Hanson’s Marathon Method never ceases to kick you in your cold, tired ass. It’s a beast. But it works. At this point for me, it’s more mental than physical. I am tired. I have been training for months. I have been trying to eat well, sleep soundly and keep the IPA swilling to a minimum. I have not skipped workouts. I have not bailed on my chosen paces. And now, my legs are tired. That’s it. I am tired. So fucking pooped. I hope these tired stems are ready. I feel like they are. My mind however needs a little bit of work.
It’s almost taper time. All that stands between me a my “micro-taper” – it’s a mere 10 days- are a set of strength intervals and one last Dreaded Tempo Run. Look towards the sky this Thursday and listen carefully. You’ll see fireworks and hear a deafening cheer laced with profanities followed by the crisp pop of an ice cold beer. Then sobs of joy. I swear. Getting through this training in one piece is almost better than crossing the finish line. Unless of course it’s Boston. Then it’s unicorns and glitter bombs galore. Here’s what I’ve been up to besides losing my shit. We’ve got lots to cover. So I’ll be brief.
Yeah. Right, Colby.
Colby’s Training from March 13th to March 26th, Weeks 14 and 15 of Hansons Marathon Method. I know, I’m behind. 😕
Monday: Easy Run. 6 miles. 9:23 pace. The Incomparable Drunk Otis Brown accompanied me. He’s ridiculous. 
Tuesday: Blizzard. Not kidding. Restfuckingday switched. I hate when that happens. Snow days however, I love.
Wednesday: Strength Intervals. 2 x 3 miles with 1 mile recovery. 8:19 pace. 9 miles total. Here’s when the freak outs began. Sometimes training isn’t all “I NAILED IT!” Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it’s just give it all you got, super hard work.
Thursday: Easy Run. 6 miles. 9:31 pace. I had to switch things around. No way was I doing a Tempo Run on the heels of the Struggle Bus Strength Interval Tour.
Friday: Tempo Run. 9 miles at 8:35. 11 miles total. Much. Much. Better. Phew. Crisis averted.
Saturday: Easy Run. 10 miles. 9:28. On Easter Island. Jk. But it looks like it, right?!?! I love my town. 
Sunday. Easy Run. 10 miles. 8:57 pace. Dude. It was like Groundhog Day. Only FASTER! And minus the moai. I felt great. I also didn’t look at my Garmin. I just ran. And was surprised at the end. It was faster than it should have been. But I needed that. Like, desperately. 😊
Monday: Easy 7 miles. 9:32 pace. I couldn’t remember if it was 6 or 8 so I split the diff.
Tuesday: Strength Intervals. 3 x 2 miles with 800m recovery. 8:19 pace. 8 miles total. I cut the last one short due to a very pissed off hamstring. Whaddya gonna do? Wrap it up. That’s what.
Wednesday: RESTFUCKINGDAY. Zero miles. Rolled my hammie. Stretched. Ate all things. Good night. 
Thursday: Tempo Run. 10 miles at 8:35. 12 miles total. Woop. There it is. The Double Digit Dreaded Tempo Run. Sweet Jesus. That’s tough.
Friday: Easy Run. 7 miles total. 9:36 pace. Jello. My legs were like green jello. For St. Paddy’s Day. ☘️☘️☘️
Saturday: Easy Run. 8 miles total. 9:06 pace. Whaaaaat? It’s funny. My “normal” tired easy run pace has gotten quicker with this round of training. Dare I say I’ve gotten stronger? This run was supposed to be slower, but like the previous week, I ignored my Garmin and just ran. Wild. Like my Jani capris. 👌🏼
Sunday: Long Run. 16 miles. 9:18 pace. And there it was. The Last Long Run. And it was GLORIOUS. Funny how you go from exhaustion’s door to Running Queen in a span of days. This was the confidence boost I needed. Happiness. Oh. And this came. *Squeeeeeeeee!*
We’ve got a couple of Boston Bound Badasses here!!!
- Total Number of Miles Run Over 2 Weeks: 110 miles
- Number of Times I Thought I Was Injured: Twice.
- Number of Hours of Sleep Lost Obsessing About Phantom Injury: 5
Do you panic about any muscle twinges or phantom injuries before a marathon? How long is your taper?
It's A Marathon AND A Sprint 
Sounds like your training is going/has gone really well. You should be in good shape. However, I’ve never met a runner yet who hasn’t got a problem here or there with either real or phantom twinges going into a big race. Mine (today) is in my right calf. Tomorrow, it may be my back, or left hamstring, who knows… It’s all part of the deal/fun/nerves/panic.* Just get to the start in one piece…
*delete as appropriate. 🙂
The Twinges. They stink. Currently it’s my left hamstring. Two days ago it was my right calf. Craziness!!! How’s your rib!?!?!
There will always be something… 😦 My ribs are ‘OK’ now, but not perfect, but with one (or two) Ibuprofen, they and my back will survive. My only worry now is the 18+ degrees C (64+ F) that was forecast. I hate running in the warm weather – give me 10 degrees (50 F) anyday… Perfect!
And, yes (I couldn’t find a way to reply to my other comment) we do live in a beautiful place. 🙂
The colder the better for me too! And good luck with your rib!!! My paws are crossed for you— and cool temps!
Keep it up GF! Almost there!
HOME STRETCH! Then of course the real question is: What shall I drink to celebrate? 🙂
A lot.
Word.
All the mileage!!! Congrats on getting all of that in. I definitely would have given up around mile 60 in my second week. Haha
Believe you me. I almost did! Thank you! I’m fading. The end is in sight!!! 😉
The hay is in the barn.
And the cow is in the pasture. Waiting for supper.
Tap that shit (the hamstring) and tape that shit (training). You rock, my dear.
Thank you Susie Suz!!!! And congrats on your race! #medalmonday
OMG you’re almost done!!!!!!!!!! I can’t freaking wait for you!!!!
Gurl. You have no idea. Actually. YOU TOTALLY DO. I am so ready to wrap up training. 2 more SOS workouts stand between me and a damn taper. EEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! xoxoxo
there’s my last week recap and next week’s nightmare 🙂 no shit, this is a beastmode ass-kicking plan, holy crap! and, now my schedule has changed – i’ve dropped to a half at the end of april because mainly the marathon course at Reno is brutal and i’m not going through all this to have no chance of a PR – my bad for not checking out the race beforehand…but after finally breaking on a tempo run last week, we did some evaluation and found a fabulous race on the Olympic peninsula which gives me a shot at a PR and it’s early June…so i just have to maintain for a month, run a half in Reno, then resume the final 5 weeks of my hansons plan…make sense, probably not and sorry for writing a blog post in your comments…i think you IG’d that Easter Island pic and for a second i thought you guys had gone on some tropical vacation ’till it occurred to me it probably doesn’t snow there…great job getting through all this and helping inspire and pull me along – i’ve loved these updates, Cheers!
No need to be sorry at ALL. I think that’s smart. No point in busting your can to not have a legitimate shot at a PR. Christ. This shit ain’t easy. I have strength intervals tonight and ONE MORE DREADED TEMPO RUN and then it’s Taper City. I have never, ever been more excited to scale back IN MY LIFE. Honestly? I think my poor lab mates are more excited. They get a daily running recap. Poor guys. Isn’t that crazy??? Some super wealthy dude in my town put him up outside his pharmaceutical company. Bizarre yes. But I love him. Run swiftly, Friend! I like this new plan of yours!!!!
You are READY. I’m so excited for you!!! You’ve been busting your ass for months, it’s the home stretch, baby!!
THAAAAAAANKKKKKKKGODDDDALMIGHTY. Then we segue into Planning Our Adventure. Thank you for listening to me bitch and moan. And for also talking me off of the running ledge multiple times. Muahhhh!! Beer and tacos to celebrate soon!!! xoxo
What are friends for??! Can’t WAIT to celebrate… beer, food, adventures! HOORAY!
Muahhhh!