Beantown

This has been a big week for me.  Not only was it my biggest training week, I also had finals and on Wednesday, moved most of my stuff down to my new apartment in Boston.  In terms of training, it was definitely a week during which my real life took priority over all else.  But despite the challenges, I think I managed to get in a decent week of workouts.  Monday was my long brick, 60 miles on the bike followed by 7 running.  Tuesday I swam as much as I could in the time the pool was open and by Wednesday at 10, finals were behind me and I was loading up my car.  I had to take Wednesday off but on Thursday after moving my furniture up from Connecticut, I squeezed in a 20+ mile ride around the Charles.  And Friday, I was truly happy as I relived my first marathon training days by running the route around the Charles.  It's the first time in a while I've smiled while running, and I completed 13 miles before my body was done.  So in total, I only skimped on the biking, which considering the state of the path around the river, was probably the best for my bike.

Now for some details...I woke up on Monday feeling nervous, not for my anatomy final but for the brick that would follow.  In my mind, it was the equivalent of the 20 mile run in my marathon training--my greatest distance and the workout that most closely simulates race day.  I came home, did some yoga and decided to bite the bullet and just go for it.  I had thoughts that if necessary, I would short-change the run, knowing that no matter what, I would finish on race day.  I decided it was more important to feel strong and end still smiling.  As it turned out, I started the run, expecting to walk a bunch and instead, ran the full 7 miles, plus a little bit.  And I didn't walk once.  I also crossed a major psychological hurdle for me and did the full run without music.  I'm a big fan of running with my music and was nervous for the race day when I would be without it.  As I discovered, I think I ran better without it.  At least at a more consistent pace and although I didn't time it, it felt pretty fast.  The best part about it all--I wasn't sore at all the next day.

As for Boston, I found an apartment a few weeks back and decided to move my stuff in before heading out on vacation next week.  Only I would choose to try and fit all this stuff into one week.  Anyway, I explored and discovered that my apartment is only about 1.5 miles from the Charles and after spending so much time running up there when my mom used to live in Boston, I was so happy to get back to it.  It's a great, flat course that follows the river on the north and south with multiple loop options over the variety of bridges, the longest being a little over 17.  It goes from Charlestown to Newton and back in.  The best part about it is the multiple surface options--dirt, asphalt, concrete (yuck!) and it's mostly shaded.  And gorgeous, if you go for the Boston cityscape.  I love heading out on the north side, past Harvard, and then running back in on the south, past BU, running towards the Prudential Center, the Citgo sign, and the route 93 suspension bridge, watching the various crew teams practicing and the plethora of small sailboats on sunny days.  I absolutely love Boston and this path is by far my favorite place to run, better even than running along the beach in Huntington, California.  It's so invigorating, surrounded by runners of all shapes and sizes.  It's inspiring and as I was biking, I couldn't wait to get out running the next day.  One thing though, I don't think I'll be biking it again--too many damn runners!

My run provided my only real "issue" of the week.  I've noticed that the biking seems to aggravate my hip injury, particularly the long distances.  I feel my piriformis tensing up and when I get out on the run, my hamstring tightens down in response.  After the first few miles I find that I have to stop every mile or so to stretch and release those muscles.  It's frustrating because I'm as fast and as strong as I've ever been, but my pace gets slowed by the constant stopping.  I'm looking forward to being surrounded by physical therapists in a few weeks!  I got pretty frustrated along the run and had to work hard to convince myself that it didn't matter.  I have an injury and I'm strong and healthy and this is just how it is...for now.  

So overall, it's been a successful week.  I feel pretty good about the race, not finishing pretty but finishing strong.  I love my apartment and am looking forward to heading back down there in a couple weeks to settle in, and I'm now officially a grad student.  And for the next 3 weeks, I've got nothing to do but train well, rest up, and enjoy my last few weeks of peace before beginning my grueling doctorate.