Getting on Track...

158 days...

One hundred and fifty eight days...

For such a large number, it sounds more like the number 3 to me.
And I'm starting to realize that if I want to achieve the goals I'm setting for myself...
I really need to get going on this self discipline training stuff.

It's not that I haven't been, but I know I could be doing more, and the last thought I want to experience at the end of this marathon is that I could have done better.

One area I should start with is by keeping up with this blog... it's almost been a month
[where are you guys on keeping on my case about this?]

So anyways to the training...

I ran my first race since the B.A.A. Half Marathon a couple weeks ago, with some of my Boston Bruins Marathon Team girls, and it felt great to get back out in a race. It may have only been a 5k, and may have been in extremely cold, rainy weather... but all the same it felt great. My time wasn't exactly where I was hoping it would be, but it was still an improvement since the last race.

Baby steps right?
Especially considering how I was feeling after the Half...

I've been trying to be a little more proactive in how and when I push myself when doing certain workouts. You know, attempting the whole 'take care of myself now, so there isn't an issue later'...
I don't need to do all kinds of training and end up hurting myself to a point I can't compete.

So with November Project... which is also something I need to be even more self disciplined on.
Not that I've missed many, but I'd rather not miss more than 1 a month, and I know some months that won't be possible... life gets in the way sometimes, but I'm going to try to incorporate it even more into my schedule than it already is.

Mondays are the one day that don't require a lot of modifications by me to avoid injury, but I realize that I need to do more sprints than just those during this Monday session. Any time they have us do any form of sprinting, my body basically says, "Stephanie, I hate you" the next day.

This still humors me. I was always a sprinter in high school, and am known in field hockey as a fast person, so I'm not sure why my body aches so much after these workouts...
stretching maybe?
not chasing a field hockey ball?
actually focusing on sprinting form
[that I haven't focused on since Coach Carbone would be yelling at me to pick my pockets down the straight aways]?

Who knows... what I do know is that I need to do sprints more often and incorporate them into my routine on days I don't have a long distance run planned. Or maybe do some quick sprint workout in the morning and a long distance run at night... ambitious I know... but I don't have a track down the street from me...

Wednesdays... oh man. This is always a mental battle. Not only has the temperature dropped significantly, but I'm not getting any 'better' or 'faster' as quickly as I was hoping I would.

Some days I feel really strong and good going into the workout, and it always seems those are the days 10 minutes in that I feel the weakest and slowest...

Then the days like today, where I was dreading the workout way before I even got to the stadium, and once I got started, was actually going at a decent pace... for me anyways.

It's just I keep seeing some of my NP friends crushing it, and hearing how quickly they were able to do "x" sections, and I sit there, struggling to do my share.

I don't know... obviously I'll keep working on it, but I'm just waiting to FEEL faster and stronger at it. There's shorter people than me racing by me, so I really have no excuses.

But I also know this is a particular exercise that if I don't do it correctly, or push it too much, my knees are going to be hating on me later... [sighhhh...]

It's a double edged sword sometimes.

Fridays... they have gotten better... and have actually become one of my favorite workouts with November Project.

No one likes hills... they aren't fun, and no matter what kind of athletic shape you are in...
they kick your ass... and I like that.

If anything, I feel this day of training is one of the most beneficial for me with the Boston Marathon. Heartbreak Hill is 5 miles of hell... and a typical hill workout with November Project is between 3-6 miles... [granted Heartbreak Hill is after running 17 mile prior too], but still.

Somehow still smiling on Heartbreak Hill last year

With November Project I'm doing an hour of hill repeats...

And... they've improved drastically since the first time I did them. I'm now consistently running up the first part; and on at least the first two making it up even higher; and now on all of them, I'm running the top part.

I haven't experienced an "oh that workout sucked for me" in a few Fridays now, so it's a nice way to "earn my weekend"

I'm also starting to get myself back on track with the nutrition and eating healthier. I wouldn't say I've been eating terrible, but my body could use some extra vegetables.

I'm really working on the whole mini meals throughout the day, as I was not blessed with a natural fast working metabolism, so I need to start fooling my body... haha...

I'm still not sure what's going to happen with the Boston Bruins Foundation Marathon Team...

We're all really rallying to work with the new lead person of the team to try and allow us to all be together. It's amazing how last years experience brought such a diverse, random group of people [who for the most part had never spent more than those 5 hours before the Marathon together] together the way we all are now. I hear from at least one person from the team, at least once a week.

pre-marathon

I think we'll all share a bond that will never really be explainable to someone who wasn't with us.

The hours of chatting and working out our pre-race nerves up in Hopkinton....

.....to hours later wondering if everyone we were just hanging out with was okay...

....to when we finally were finally reunited at the Bruins game to work the 50/50 isn't something I can seem to find the words to explain.

I still don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to any of them.

I know regardless of if we are able to all be on the Bruins Marathon team again or not...
we will all finish that race together...
figuratively speaking of course,
but none the less together.

158 days...

One hundred and fifty eight days...

Time to get on track full throttle.
Because we all know it'll be here in the blink of an eye.