by Emily Stephens, #road2boston ambassador
Hello, Everyone!
I am excited to finally be able to share the last two weeks of my training with you. Last week, a nasty storm left us without electricity!
Week seven (March 4 – March 10) was a great training week…up to my Saturday long run. My training plan called for rest on Sunday(!!), short weekday runs of 4-5 miles, and a rest day on Friday. Then 18 miles on Saturday. I felt great on Monday, so I ran 10 miles. [Trying to “make up” my long run from week six that was pushed off due to a storm.] I stuck to the shorter distances on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The weather was cold, cloudy, and it snowed a bit during my Thursday run.
Saturday long run. Worst run ever. I’m not going to sugar coat it, friends. Sometimes, running is not fun. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often.
Do you ever get tired of looking at the same scenery while running? I know – I live on Cape Cod and it IS beautiful here. My planned run was 18 miles. I mapped out what I thought would be the perfect route and had my husband drop me off at my starting point.
The first 11-miles were AMAZING. This portion of the run was all new to me. I enjoyed looking at schools, churches, houses, the beach, and even saw some flowers popping up out of the ground. Then I crossed the Keveney Street Bridge. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve run over this bridge. What I can tell you is that I didn’t want to run another step. And that’s what I told my friend who happened to text me just as I crossed the bridge.
“I am at mile 11 of scheduled 18. I want to quit. All funned out for today.”
She replied with the following encouraging message:
“You can do it! I know you can! Just think of how great you’ll feel after!”
I ran two more miles, well, 2.1 miles, and then called my husband for a ride home. I’m not sure if I was dehydrated, not fueled properly, or just mentally couldn’t run those roads again. Either way, I ended the week feeling defeated.
Week eight was crazy!! Thank you, Mother Nature! I enjoyed my Sunday rest day and ran 7 miles on Monday, rather than my scheduled 5. The combination of snowy, icy conditions with trees and telephone poles down everywhere and high winds made running too dangerous for me on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It felt so good to get out there and run 4 miles on Friday. There were still trees down everywhere; I had to alter my route because of wires in the road!
I was super nervous about my long run on Saturday. After bailing on the 18-miler the week before, I wasn’t sure how I was going to tackle a 20-mile run. I mapped out a route, packed up my gloves, snacks, and water then out the door I went.
The day was bright and sunny, there was a cold wind blowing, and snowbanks lined most of the roadways. But, I was a ROCK STAR. I felt so great during the entire run. After each 5 mile segment, I took a selfie and sent it to my husband. They all look the same!
If you have long hair that you wear in a ponytail for running, you need this hat! It’s the adidas heather tech beanie – with a notch to slip your ponytail through!
Week eight ended with a total of 31 miles, 11 short of my training plan. But, I am NOT looking back. I am looking forward to the next four full weeks of training. Let’s hope Mother Nature cooperates!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see what my fellow ambassador Seth (@runchillrun) and I are up to this week!
Until next time, make it a great day!
