Boston Marathon Countdown: 8 Weeks

It's hard to believe another 2 weeks have passed by and I'm 2 weeks closer to Boston!  Still, 8 weeks seems like a lifetime when I look at all the miles stretching out ahead of me.  I try to focus on one day at a time, one run at a time but being the planner than I am, it's hard to not always be thinking ahead.  Today I ran 14 miles through my neighborhood.  It was so calm and peaceful.  I started in the dark and was able to see the sunrise as I ran.  I had a lot of time to think, yet I was also able to just let my mind go.  It was refreshing to do that - to not look at my watch for mileage or pace, to not be worrying about tomorrow's run, or counting up the week's miles in my head.  I couldn't do it for the whole run but there were moments when I was able to just run and it was amazing.   

I wish I could say that all my runs were like that these past 2 weeks, but alas, they were not!  I've been battling a soreness in my left hamstring again that was creeping into my quad and glute.  We had some pretty cold weather again last week, not to mention a lot more ice on the roads that made running outside a little tricky.  I did a snowy, hilly 18-miler at Kensington last Sunday that was by far the most brutal run of my career.  

This past week was a little better.  I was on mid-winter break so I was able to get a little more rest than usual.  I got in some speed work on the treadmill a couple of times. Despite some intense snow/rain/ice storms, the roads actually cleared up and I had decently dry pavement to run on.  That makes such a difference!  

The next 2 weeks will increase in mileage again.  I restocked my Clif SHOTS in preparation!  I'll keep you posted!

Happy Running!

Previous Boston Marathon Countdown Posts: 12 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 10 Weeks