26.2 days
I got a nice little email from the BAA today, reminding me that it’s “only 26 days to the Boston Marathon!” As if I didn’t know. As if I haven’t been keeping a calendar and following a plan since I started training in December. As if I am not counting down every day, and every run, between now and April 19th.
It’s always around this time of marathon training that I start to collapse under the pressure. It seems I am not alone; the “training tireds” have taken hold of many DFMC teammates, as Brenda so aptly calls this phase. The buildup of many weeks of consecutive mileage increases, the mounting soreness and aches and pains, and the diminishing free time and sleep always get to me with about 4 weeks to go. I lose focus during the day at work. I am constantly tired despite 8 hours of sleep each night. I doubt whether I can actually run 26 miles all at once, even though I’ve done it twice before. And I am always hungry, but nothing looks satisfying.
This week is supposed to be my toughest week yet, with 45+ miles on the training calendar for the second week in a row–including a big 22 miles on Saturday. But I haven’t run a step since my 18 miler last Saturday. And now it’s Wednesday. oops. To be fair, I did attempt a run today; but my aching legs and dizzy head left me walking, rather embarrassingly, back down Beacon Street towards home. Instead, I went to buy myself some new running shoes to put the kick back in my step [insert cheeky 'no pun intended' here]. Here’s hoping those babies, and a little bit of willpower, can actually carry me through my 22 mile training run this weekend from Hopkinton to Boston College. Fingers crossed!
