My alarm sounded at 3:20 a.m. last Thursday, and immediately I decided I wasn’t going to go out for my scheduled long run. I did need to go to the bathroom so I did that. Then I got back in bed. And I couldn’t go back to sleep. I kept thinking about race day barely more than six weeks away.
I know there will be moments in my race where I want to quit. And I’ve run enough races built on missed long runs and workouts that I know how training regret can feel on race day.
Because of a weird summer schedule for the week, I knew Thursday was my only chance at doing a long run. My run also had to start super early in the morning (by around 4) for me to be able to finish it in time.
So I convinced myself to get my running gear on and at least run a few miles. I needed to give it my best shot.
Somehow I clicked off the first few miles and warmed my legs up. Then, even though I was still tired and trying to talk myself into looping back home, I decided to push forward no matter what.
It wasn’t a breakthrough long run. I didn’t achieve a runner high, and I didn’t float along the roads for my planned two-loop course.
But I did cross off a long run for a sixth straight week. I made the choice to fight the voice telling me to go back to sleep. And I put in the miles.
At the start of this mini marathon buildup six weeks ago, I would most likely have skipped the long run and then been disappointed in myself the rest of the week.
My legs are still tight, and the long-run miles aren’t coming easily. But I can feel the edge of improvement. A hint of progress. Cooler temperatures this past week helped, and I might feel right back at the starting point when it heats back up.
But for now, I’m claiming my small victories. I also made it to my Tuesday morning track workout for a second straight week. And I fought through tough conditions on Saturday to do a tempo workout after driving for most of the day (we had a family trip to Crater Lake that we cut short because of poor air quality).
I don’t want to reach race day, miss my goal, and be able to point back to key runs I could have done but didn’t even start.
So much of quality marathon training, for me, comes down to daily commitment. Like Des Linden’s famous quote: “keep showing up.” The quality miles follow eventually.
Sometimes getting out the door is like ripping off a bandaid. I just need a swift motion to start the process.
So I’m halfway until race day, and I know I have made progress. I will always worry about my training not being good enough. Or that I simply started in too deep a hole. But I don’t have anything to regret so far. I’ve put in my miles daily and weekly.
Let’s hope the final six weeks include some big breakthroughs.
Weekly log
Monday: 5 miles easy around town.
Tuesday: 10-mile track workout with the HOTV crowd with 2 X 700m, 1 X 1,600m, 2 X 700m, 1 X 400m, 1 X 200m with 200m recoveries except for 400m recovery after the 1,600m.
Wednesday: 5 miles easy to recover from track.
Thursday: 23-mile long run with two loops super early in the morning with a focus on lit streets because the sun wasn’t up for most of the first loop; 7 miles easy with the HOTV social run group.
Friday: 5 miles easy recovery.
Saturday: 11-mile tempo run with 2 X 2 miles uptempo followed by 1 mile slightly faster than tempo pace with 1 mile easy between sets.
Sunday: 3 miles easy to cap a lower-mileage training week (comparatively) but higher stress week.
Weekly total: 70 miles.
Boston Beard 2024 week 6 highlights: showing up for another Tuesday track session and overcoming to finish my long run on Thursday morning early, getting to see Crater Lake and Salt Creek Falls for the first time, finishing out family time with my mom before taking her to the Eugene airport, spending time with my daughter watching the Olympics begin.