My recaps are coming later and later in the week; and although my memories are fading I think getting them down in a weekly format will eventually help me next year if I ever try again. I say this is my one and only 50 miler, but who knows. I thought the same of my marathon last year. If I actually end finishing my 50 miler successfully, I hope it leads as an example for anyone that’s worried about running that long of a race. I have mileage goals, but I’ve also had set backs and 20 mile weeks.
Last week was my taper week for the Hyannis Marathon; however, with my long term goal, I try to hit 50 miles a week. Therefore, I had to work hard to hit 25 miles and still take Saturday off before my marathon Sunday.
Monday – 6.4 Miles + 90 Minutes Bikram
Was a holiday so I celebrated President’s day with a Bikram session at Burlington Bikram. I wasn’t going to run but I felt restless due to skipping my long run over the weekend due to snow. Since I kind of wasted time until the evening, I decided a good speed session was in order! 6.4 miles in 49 minutes on the vanity (home) mill at incline 3 for a 7:49 pace. All signs were pointing to a great race on Saturday.
Tuesday – REST
I took Tuesday off, I think I had a lot of errands to run, or maybe I was lazy.
Wednesday – 4 miles (AM) + 7 miles (PM) = 11 Miles
11 miles was probably a lot of miles for a taper week day, but I kept my 4 miles at an 8 minutes pace and my 7 miles on work treadmill at incline 2. I never wrote down my pace in my log so I assume it was something slow and I didn’t bother to track it.
Thursday – 4 Miles
Work treadmill, Incline 3 in 34 miles 8:26 pace.Wanted to run longer, but kept myself short.
Friday – 3.1 Miles
This run was on incline 2 in 26 minutes. Things were questionable about whether the marathon was happening due to weather and I debated ending my taper. I decided to still focus on getting 25 miles before Sunday and let the odds be in my favor.
Saturday – Bikram 90 minutes
I debated running a mile to get to 25 miles before the race,but decided I wanted my legs fully rested for Sunday. Instead took a bikram class with Tony and focused on stretching. I might have skimped on a lot of the balance poses but I still felt great afterwards.
Sunday – 26.2 Miles Hyannis Marathon
My recap is up, but if you want the summary, it was 3:34:25, average 8:11 pace. I had a strong half with 13.1 miles at 7:11 pace and a rough final 10K where I was almost crawling while shaking. I have a lot of bruises everywhere including the folds of my neck from the rain and wind!
Total Miles – 50.6 Miles
Total Feeling – I would like to avoid running anything longer than a half marathon in the rain again! The scabs, and destruction of my running shoes aint worth it! Otherwise, I felt even with 24 miles before race day, because I kept them short and at an easy pace, I felt pretty strong by Sunday.