Boston Training 2016: Week 12 – Marathon Woman Inspired

Another week down and there are…

I am feeling more excited as the time gets closer. I am reading the book Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer and I am loving everything about it. I want to have the book read before I leave for Boston so I even walked to work one day and read. I am squeezing in all the moments I can.

From other runners who have been to Boston, I have heard about the Wellesley girls who cheer VERY loudly for you, orange slices that are handed out along the course, the crowds of people supporting you, Heartbreak Hill, Adidas as a sponsor and more.

What I have found so interesting is those things were the same but a bit different when Kathrine ran her marathon in 1967. The crowds along the route were smaller, there were no barriers and spectators could run along side of you on the course. On race day, there were 733 listed in the program and you didn’t have to have a qualify to compete. It wasn’t until a year or two later did that happen. Adidas was a sponsor of the race even then. Oranges were only given out to only the elite runners and the meal served at the end of the race was canned Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Let’s just say that on hot days, it wasn’t the best thing for runners to be eating after the race.

I could go on and on telling you little tidbits of the book I have found interesting but instead, I would suggest you read the book if running the Boston Marathon is something you want to do one day or even if you already have run it. Kathrine also talks about many other races and the start of the New York City Marathon.

I now follow Kathrine on Facebook (not in a creepy way) and saw a post that she will be at the Boston Marathon Race Expo. I am excited about this and look forward to the opportunity to meet her as she has inspired me.

Ok…now on to training and I will keep it brief.

Monday – 8km with the wonderful Coach Sue.

Tuesday – Attempted an upper body strength workout at the gym but my chest was still too sore from hitting the pole the weekend before so I moved it to a lower body workout.

Wednesday – Leader for our speed workout with my run club. We ran 8 repeats of 2 minutes at 5km pace with a 1-minute recovery in between. I ran with Warren for all sets but the last one as his speedy legs took off and left me in his dust. My chest didn’t like me at all by the end of the workout and the pain was different than earlier in the week. I felt worried.

Thursday – 6km with Coach Sue and I went to the walk-in clinic before work to get checked out and had x-rays. I found out that my chest is just badly bruised and it will take some time to heal. Ice after running will help with the discomfort I was told.

Friday – Walked to work.

Saturday- 19km run in a new to me area. Warren was headed to Vancouver to run the Dirty Duo trail run so I had him drop me off along his way to the ferry. I ran a rolling, hilly route to get my legs ready for the big day.

Sunday- VIRA – Synergy Health Management Ltd. Bazan Bay 5km race. Hoping to beat last years time of 21:04 but all I can do is ‘run my run’.

Total distance for the week: 49.61km (including the Bazan Bay 5km)

Have you read the book Marathon Woman?

What is the worst or best meal you were served after a race?