Boston Marathon Training Week 3 (10 Weeks Postpartum)
These weeks are really going by fast. It’s hard to believe in just 9 short weeks I will be at the start line of Boston. I’m nervous, excited, and terrified all wrapped up into one!
I’ve been feeling more confident about my ability to get the runs done. Going into this originally I was worried about how’d I fit it in. Would I have the energy? Would I find a way to get my long runs done? There were a lot of unknowns and while some days are still a struggle I’ve found that when in doubt I can find a way to do what I need to do. I have to be more lenient, I have to be more understanding, and I have to learn to just do what I can when I can.
As you all know, I made my marathon schedule much “easier” than I have done in the past but still a lot for me coming back from having a baby:
Here is a look at week 3 of Boston Marathon training:
Monday – 40 minutes steady
This was my last run at the beach for the week. I almost moved this run around because my legs felt tired, but I reminded myself that running on tired legs is such good practice for marathon training. Thankfully my legs decided to warm up in the first 10 minutes for a great run.
My workout: 10 minute warm up, 40 minutes steady, and a 10 minute cool down. My splits were: 9:47 (warm up), 8:15, 8:10, 8:10, 8:05, 8:12, and 9:15. 7 miles total of the day.
Tuesday – 3 miles easy
Back at home on the treadmill for my easy run. It was a bit of a let down after 3 beautiful days of running down at the coast but thankfully I started back to reality with a easy short run.
Wednesday – 4 miles with 6 x 10 second hill sprints
I do hill sprints every week and I’m finding that they are really helping already! I had to do this on the treadmill since I needed to stay with E so after 3 miles I set the incline to 9% and did my hill sprints. I finished it off with 1 more mile easy for a total of 4 miles for the day.
Thursday – 14 miles
I was anxious about my long run for most of the week, I’m not sure why but probably because they have been the most taxing on my body since starting back. I went to my parents for the run so that my Dad could watch E. I found a local trail to run the majority on which was a nice chance of scenery.
In total I did 14 miles with a 9:36 average. My body felt good until about 11.5-12 miles and then my legs began to tighten up a lot. I still have a ways to go on my endurance but was overall happy with the run.
Friday – Rest Day
Friday was as usual my rest day so I took it as a chance to have lots of snuggle time with my sweet E.
Saturday – 3 miles steady
According to the original plan I based mine off of the 3 miles would be a tempo run. However; I don’t have a set tempo for Boston since I’m focusing on only completing it so instead I just focused on running those 3 miles at a steady and moderately hard pace.
I helped my husband with his run first thing in the morning and then came back and got my workout done on the treadmill. It actually went really well and thanks to my rest day my legs felt recovered. I did a 1 mile warm up, 3 miles progressive (8:49-7:43), and a 1 mile cool down for 5 miles total.
Sunday – 4 miles easy
The final run of the week is always an easy run to help get ready for a new week.
The total mileage for week 3 of Boston Marathon training was 37 miles. I’m slowly increasing each week. Next week will be a step back week mostly because of the long run. I like to throw in step back weeks every 3-4 weeks to help reduce my risk of injury and especially as I come back after having a baby.
3 weeks down and 9 more to go!