Week 6: 27.5 miles

This was another good week of training. I took fewer days off than I'd like, because I want to get on a schedule of taking just Monday and Friday off, so I ran on extra day to avoid the dreaded two days off in a row. I ran some slower miles this week, which kept my legs fresh. I've started wearing compression socks after my long runs, for about two hours (or until my calves start really hurting). Then I take the socks off and it feels like I didn't run at all.

Although I'm having a tough time replacing my current shoes, I'm having fun researching shoes online and shopping. I've decided that I'm at that point in my running "career" where I should have two pairs of shoes going at all times. In the past I've worn the same shoes every day. Right now my two pairs are Brooks Adrenaline 12 and Mizuno Inspire 8. I still use my Sole insoles; they rock.

I've had a couple of MS symptoms this week but they are really mild and hardly worth mentioning (but who am I to stop talking now?): a hugging sensation in my calf which I sometimes refer to as "the gremlin", some mild vision stuff where I feel like I just can't focus or track normally, and some super mild disorientation. I'm incredibly sensitive and notice everything so I'm just recording this for later reference. In general I feel great and have lots of energy. I do get tired, but that feels like natural training tired, not MS fatigue.

This week I got to run with other people THREE TIMES. On Monday and Thursday I ran with Sean, who's building up his base for the fall ultras. Right now I'm in better shape than he is; that will last about another three days. He has an inhuman ability to get in shape really fast. On Tuesday I ran with two women from work. We met at the gym before work and did 4 easy miles, and we're planning to do it again this week. I'm really excited that this might become a regular thing. I'm lucky that my company has a gym which costs almost nothing to join. This year they are remodeling it and I've heard rumor there will be ten treadmills! I don't really like treadmills but I would be running on them more if the weather was bad.

This Wednesday is my first 7-mile pace run and this weekend is a 14-mile long run, which I'll have the pleasure of doing in Central Park. We haven't been to New York (city) since we moved to Massachusetts almost five years ago. Sean is so thoughtful; he booked us a hotel that's right on the Park, so I can walk out the door on Saturday and do my long run. I'm nervous about both of these runs, but more so for the pace run. As a slower-than-molasses runner, I get worried about maintaining speed for more than 400m. I miss track workouts and will be excited to add those back in after the marathon. But tempo and pace runs are really tough for me, which probably means they are exactly what I should be doing. And of course, holding a medium-fast pace for many miles is what I hope to be doing in the marathon.

There's still no snow on the ground. We were supposed to get some yesterday, and I got up at 4 to avoid it, but it never came. It did snow on my run and the sidewalks along 135 (the Boston course) were slippery, but it never accumulated. Sometimes it still amazes me that we've been living a block from the Boston course for almost 5 years.

This morning I broke my 3-miles-minimum rule and did 2 miles before Sean went to work. It was a great way to start the day. The 3-mile thing is a stupid rule; I'll be doing these short runs on Sundays from now on. It's a nice way to recover from the long run on Saturday.

Maple is sick this weekend and we're relaxing and watching Family Ties. It's quite possibly the best Sunday ever. If Sean weren't working it would be off the hook.

Pace range for this week: 9:00 to 10:30
Temperature range: 16 - 33 degrees

Here are the details for Week 6 (Feb 6 - Feb 12):

Monday: 3.5 miles

Tuesday: 4 miles (with friends!)

Wednesday: 6 miles 

Thursday: 3 miles

Friday: off

Saturday: 9 miles 

Sunday: 2 miles