Week 15: 4/9 - 4/15 / Chaos

Monday: 4 easy am and 4 easy pm. Snail's pace. Barely made it home each run. I couldn't even run downhill my quads are in such rough shape from the descent yesterday.
Tuesday am: 3.5 easy shakeout along the Shawsheen solo.
Tuesday pm: 6 quick with Benny Jenks on North Andover roads.
Wednesday: 6.5 with Emery after work. Pretty quick. Still feeling my quads from the hike over the weekend.
Thursday: ~10.5 with Sam Wood at Maudslay. Great day for the trails and finished just in time to watch the rainstorms from my seat at the Ale House in Amesbury.

Friday: 8 with Jose from my place in Andover after work along trails. Ended up going shorter than planned since he has a race tomorrow and I have the expo. 

Saturday: 0 - first day at the expo was truly a wake-up call in terms of how hyped up and popular marathon running is, especially at Boston. I couldn't believe how chaotic the entire expo was from beginning to end. Sold a lot of Spenco sandals!! They sure are comfortable...
Sunday: 3 - post-expo jog more for my sanity than for fitness. So incredibly tired after 22 hrs of standing / 26 hrs working over a 2-day period. Happy it's over but also glad for the experience. The most rewarding piece was showing as much enthusiasm and support as possible for everyone I met and interacted with. A month ago I was pretty envious of the people running Boston, but not today... tomorrow is going to be brutal for them. Sending along positive energy!!

Total: 42.5 miles and I was lucky to get that. This is not ideal training but considering the fact that I worked some serious overtime and spent so much time on my feet, it was unrealistic to hope for much better. Oh well. Spectating the marathon tomorrow with vague plans about where I'll be and when. 

Week 14: 4/2 - 4/8

Monday: 10 steady solo after work.
Tuesday: 9.5 miles with 3 sets of diagonals with Brandon.
Wednesday am: 2 mile shakeout before work.
Wednesday pm: 11.6 miles with Matt. The last 20 min (3.6) were really flying, at 5:15 - 5:20. Great run!
Thursday: 9 miles steady with buddy Marc Ouellette at Appleton farms in Ipswitch, MA. Achilles sore...
Friday: 0 off - feeling a little beat up from going steady-hard 3 days in a row. rolled out, core and relaxed.
Saturday am: 3 easy. Achilles is still a little beat up. Rolled out but on my feet for 7 hours today at work. Guess it could be longer...
Saturday pm: 9 easy. Achilles/calf noticeable but possibly better than this morning?? Hiking tomorrow to hopefully clear things up.
Sunday: Easter hike up Cannon via Lonesome Lake to the Kinsman Ridge Trail, down to Echo Lake and back to the car via the Pemi River Trail. Had a blast trying out my new "ultra-lite" frame pack. It was a little tough to keep up with my friends who brought far less gear and we ran just about everywhere possible (including down!) but they ended up thanking me when I provided extra gear for warmth at the top. Took a spill with about 2 minutes left to the trip, leaving my right patella and right forearm pretty bruised. All in all an awesome hike! Definitely a bit scary up there since I'm unfamiliar with white mountain weather this time of year, but had a solid exit strategy if things got dicey. Snowed a lot of the time.  4 hours total, probably 3.5 hrs moving and 8+ total miles.

Total: 62 miles including one solid hard effort, one good long hike (great for the calf), solid running and a good amount of momentum for the coming Spring season. Can't wait to race!

Week 13: 3/26 - 4/1

Monday am: 7 easy, wicked tight in left hip and right calf, so called it early. Cold out!
Monday pm: 8 easy, rolled out all afternoon. 3x7 pull ups, 2x80 mb twists, 2x30 mb sit-ups, 3x20 pushups
Tuesday am: 5 easy solo in the morning.
Tuesday pm: 9 or so on the Rivah. STARVING by the end and got Chipotle after.
Wednesday: 9 easy with a couple 400s at 75 on the Andover Academy track. 3x10 pull ups, 2x80 mb twists, 1x30 mb sit ups, 3x20' push ups, hamstring/back extensions.
Thursday: 10.5 / 75 at Maudslay State Park with Newbould. Ran steady and felt awesome. Great to catch up with B too.
Friday: 12 miles steady / 80 minutes on new roads and trails in Andover. Started out quick and down to 6:00-6:10 by mile 3. Slowed up in the woods as I explored a few trails and took it easy along the Shawsheen back home. 3x12 pull ups, 3x20 push ups. 3x70 mb twists, plank variations, hamstring extensions, hip mobility. Feeling great!
Saturday am: 4 miles easy along the Shawsheen, real slow, before work.
Saturday pm: 6.3 / 40 minutes (6:20 pace?) in Salem with a co-worker who I met today, Emory. Good brisk short run! Starting to crave a race. Might just have to pick a 5k for next weekend!
Sunday: 14 / 1:27 with Jose Ortiz on trails in Haverhill. Fast paced run on mostly clear trail. Good to finally meet Ortiz and had a great run together! Fighting a cold since last night.

Total: 85... tired. Very tired.