First 20 down, and 10 Weeks to Go

Running brings to mind the gifts we are given in life. For me running keeps me balanced in the rest of my life. Three hours out or even 35 minutes around town and my crazy existence becomes makes sense. Work creates stress, and running releaves it.

I ran my first 20 miler of the year yesterday with my friend Donna. We ran a hilly route through Deerfield in excelent weather. The temperature was about 25 at the beginning of the run , and pushing 40 by the end. No frozen Gatorade at the end of this run. Our pace was fast, steady and felt good for the whole run. More than logging time and distance it was great to share perspectives on running and training with another runner who is as serious about her running as I am with my own.

It is ten weeks from the Boston Marathon, and I will try to pack in 5 more twenty milers in the next 7 weeks. Six 20's have been the core of my marathon prep for my last two marathons. The plan is simple. Train the distance, run at least half of the long runs fast. I am not a person to plan out intervals, tempo runs and long slow runs in advance. A typical training week for me is this:
Monday - Think about running.
Tuesday - 5 to 6 miles around either before work and late night. Run slow because I am usually tired at night. Pace likely to be 6:35 to 9:35 miles.
Wednesday-See Tuesday.
Thursday - Speed work- This my tread mill time at the Greenfield Y. I will run 7 to 11 miles on the treadmills in 50 to 75 minutes. I also do a around on the nautilus loop. Once a week I do not mind running on a treadmill. The secret for me to enjoy the treadmill is to go fast enough that if I slip I'll be tossed into brick wall and killed instantly.
Friday - See Monday or Tuesday.
Saturday - 4 to 10 miles, slow because I am running long the next day.
Sunday - 16 to 24 miles. These are often the fastest runs that I will do all week (except for Thursday). I do about half my long runs under an 8:00 pace.

This is basically my running program. In the summer instead of the Y I run in a weekly 5K training race (then I will run the course one or two more times). My weekly summer mileage is higher than my winter running goals. Last summer I topped out my weekly mileage at 62 miles, in the winter I will not likely get about 55 miles. Most weeks will be bellow 50 miles.