Maine Marathon Training: Week 15

Taper time: keeping the intensity up and cutting the mileage down. How does biking fit into the taper equation? I have trouble taking it “easy” on a bike – every ride is a workout – but this week I was deliberate about slowing down and not charging up any hills. Next week I really need to cut back on my rides. It’s so hard to take the bus to work when I could be riding or running in the beautiful autumn weather!

Monday – 12 miles with 9-mile tempo at 7:45 pace & fast-finish mile in 7:00
My last long run (8 miles next weekend hardly counts as long). It was tough getting out there on a Monday morning, but it felt good. My route covered portions of the Marathon course including the last 2 miles. It’s a beautiful finish, around an ocean cove, but you can see across the cove and know you’re still 2 miles out. We’ll see how I feel about that come October 6th.

Tuesday – 21-mile bike commute

Wednesday – 21-mile bike commute, 4 miles with 10×1:00 fartlek
I’m not good at running less than 10 miles mid-week. I just can’t seem to find time to run other than my commute. So today I biked into work then headed right back out the door to get in my 4 miles before starting the day. It seemed to work out pretty well, but it’s taper time so I took Thursday off completely.

Friday – 21-mile bike commute

Saturday – 2×1600 at 6:30 pace
First time back on the track since my toe started hurting. I felt sluggish but had no trouble hitting my splits. That’s it – I’m finished with hard workouts. Time to really start resting. I can feel the nerves setting in. Can I really run 26.2 miles at 8:00 pace? On a hilly course? I’m really going to try to take it easy at the start (8:15 pace) which means I’ll need to finish at under 8:00 pace! I have my doubts…

Highlight:

The Maine Marathon is only one week away!

Raspberry Tart

Fall is definitely here in New England, and I went raspberry picking today. Something is wrong with this picture: cool air; leave changing colors and falling from the trees; plump, juicy raspberries in peak season. It’s almost October and there are plenty still to ripen in my yard, which has provided a steady supply of fresh berries since late June. First came the black raspberries, followed by the blueberries (both low- and high-bush) in August, then a bumper crop of blackberries. I have been eying the thicket all season in anticipation but had given up hope as summer slipped away and there were no raspberries. It’s time to make some jam because my freezer is already full of berries!

Or it’s time to make the most amazing raspberry tart ever. This recipe celebrates fresh raspberries, and the pastry cream a perfect complement. I have made this several times but still forget how delicious it is until taking the first bite. This time I exercised restraint and halved the recipe (I am only baking for two…) which worked out just as well and fit nicely in my mini-tart pans. But speaking from experience, you will be craving more, so here is the full recipe!

Serves 10 to 12
Active Time: 1 hour, Chilling Time: 2 to 24 hours
Oven Temp: 425°F
Adapted from Williams-Sanoma Dessert

1 recipe Pastry Dough, single crust

1 c whole milk*
2 eggs, at room temp
¼ c sugar
pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla
¼ c heavy cream
3-4 c raspberries

Maine Marathon Training: Week 14

You have to wonder about the effect of taking time off so late in marathon training. This week went almost too well. My final 20-miler felt awesome, at a pace that would put me only one minute away from qualifying for Boston and I had energy to spare. Hopefully I’ll be able to duplicate that effort and feeling in two weeks. That’s right: two weeks until marathon day. I waited so long to commit that it seems to have come up very quickly. Fall has definitely arrived here in Maine and October 6th is just around the corner.

Workouts:

Monday – 21-mile bike commute

Tuesday – Long run 21 miles at 8:15 pace
Too bad the marathon wasn’t today. This run felt so good that when I arrived at work this morning (which is at the top of a very large hill) I said, “I have a few minutes to spare and I want to run a bit longer!” So I ran around the block a few times. It may have had something to do with the weather…at 5:30am it was pitch black and 36 degrees. A nice change from the heat and humidity of summer running. Hat and gloves stayed on for the first 10 miles. It was so quiet and peaceful as I watched the sun rise and the world wake up. The Maine Marathon course is out-and-back, combining my two commuting routes to work plus some. So this morning I was able to cover the full length of the course beginning from home and running familiar ground. I started out slow and just ran at a comfortable pace the whole way. It’s hilly. They’re rolling hills but there are some short nasty ones in the first/last six miles. I know every bump. I run it every week. I bike it multiple times every week. I think I might be ready.

Wednesday – 21-mile bike commute

Thursday – 10.5-mile bike commute
Time to start giving my legs a break so I hitched a ride into work this morning.

Friday – 10 miles with 5-mile tempo at 7:00 pace
Another great tempo run. Still nervous about my toe running this workout, but it seems to be holding up. Suddenly these past two weeks I am hitting the paces I was before Boston 2012 and Vancouver 2011. I hope I haven’t peaked too early from the time off and vacation!

Saturday – 4-mile easy run

Highlight:

Enjoying the crisp autumn air and the leaves starting to change colors.

Maine Marathon Training: Week 13

This week felt like a test in some ways: how much did I lose by taking a week off then being on vacation a week? Luckily it seems I was able to maintain. I definitely felt sluggish during my marathon-pace tempo Tuesday but it was my first day back from vacation. I don’t feel as fast as I did before my last two marathons and I can tell my workouts are a bit slower. I’m hoping the endurance gained from biking will be able to carry me through at a steady pace or better yet to the ever elusive marathon negative split!

Workouts:

Monday – 12 hours sitting on planes, plus layovers
Okay, maybe this counts as a negative workout but running through airports to make connections must count for something. Either way compression socks were a key factor in my legs not feeling miserable by the end of the day.

Tuesday – 16 miles with 10-mile tempo at 7:45 pace & fast-finish mile in 7:00
First day back to work from vacation and I had to run home. Home is overall uphill, which is just one of the reasons I prefer the commute into work. It feels like we lost a half hour of daylight while I was away! With the sun setting at 7:00, the last few miles of this 2-hour plus run were in waning light. Oh, then there was jet lag so it felt like 1:00am by the time I got home. All things considered, it was a decent pain-free run.

Wednesday & Thursday – 21-mile bike commute

Friday – 10 miles with 4-mile tempo at 7:00 pace
I was nervous about this run: the same workout on the same route that caused my toe to hurt three weeks ago but with a 4-mile tempo instead of a 3-mile tempo. I wore the shoes I do my long runs in and the ones I plan to wear for the marathon. It paid off because this run felt great. I cruised through the tempo pain-free and was in high spirits the rest of the day. Maybe it was the pre-run GU…

Saturday – 7-mile “easy” run
Felt tired and slow, but I suppose it was recovery run.

Highlight:

Just one more 20-miler then it is taper time!

Squash Blossom Risotto

What to do with all those zucchini? Stop them before they have a chance to become zucchini by enjoying the edible blossoms. I have had just about enough zucchini. And the blossoms were at risk anyway since there was a frost advisory last week. You hear about stuffed, fried squash blossoms but I already did that a few weeks ago. The bright orange adds wonderful color and a mild flavor to this risotto. I’m putting tomatoes in everything these days…they’re almost as bad as the zucchini were in August!

Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a meal
Prep Time: 5 min, Cooking Time: 25 min

3 to 3½ c vegetable or chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
½ small sweet onion
1 garlic clove
¼ c white wine OR 2 tbsp water & 2 tbsp white vinegar
1¾ to 2 c sushi rice

6-8 squash blossoms, plus a few for garnish
1 c cherry tomatoes

¼ c freshly gated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter
dash of nutmeg
salt & pepper

Maine Marathon Training: Week 12

Ten days in Austria felt like a month by the time I returned home. I packed so much into this vacation and walked miles every day but it was still relaxing. I eased back into running after a week off and was sure to explore areas of each city/village I ran in that I had not yet explored. My toe showed little sign of improvement until it suddenly stopped hurting toward the end of the week. The knee pain from compensating lingered but is gone now. Who ever said flip-flops were bad for your feet has obviously not walked off any injury in them with many sightseeing miles day after day.

Workouts:

Sunday – 3.5-mile easy run
Easy morning run along the Salzach River in Salzburg… in the torrential rain. I explored a narrow, winding cobblestone street just off the river that was once the primary trade route to Vienna. I was definitely hesitant with my footing for this run and definitely in pain. My knee and toe both hurt for the rest of the day as I darted from museum to palace to church in the rain.

Tuesday – 5.75-mile trail run
Hallstatt is a small village perched on a mountainside overlooking a lake. Pinned between sharp peaks and the lake I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my run in, so I headed into a valley. The road quickly turned to a trail and soon to stairs climbing the valley walls. The reward for my early morning stair workout was several spectacular waterfalls. The “run” back down did not treat my knee kindly.

Wednesday – 10-mile long run
Sunset along the Danube. I got a taste of the scenery for the river cruise the following morning. There is a bike route 90km from Melk where I was staying all the way downstream to Vienna (I think it’s a dedicated bike path most of the way).

Sunday – 8.5-mile ‘sightrunning’ tour
Vienna! This was my last day of vacation, with Monday being airport hopping across Europe and up the east coast. It was fitting that Runner’s World posted this article on Sightrunning Tours when I returned home. I used my last morning run to explore some of Vienna’s contemporary architecture. I could have headed back to the hotel after 6 miles when my knee really started hurting, but there was this building I really wanted to see…

Highlight:

Vacation: exploring, sun, history, architecture, relaxing, cake!

Looking down on Salzburg’s Old City from the fortress on the hill.

Hallstatt: View from a paddle boat. The valley behind the church steeple is the one I ran into…

Petit fours at the Vienna Opera House

The Habsburgs’ summer palace outside of Vienna’s historic center.

Maine Marathon Training: Weeks 10 & 11

Houston, we have a problem: my toe hurts – the left one, next to the pinky toe. That sounds pathetic, but I could barely walk all day after a 10-mile run. Self-diagnosis based on “reliable” online research rules out a stress fracture (wrong part of the toe) and rests on tendonitis from overuse. I skipped a shorter run this week in a desperate attempt to be able to complete my second 20-miler two days later. Well, we all know what a great idea it is to run 20 miles on an injury. The result: a bum knee from compensating and a full week off. I had to skip my second Yasso’s 800s! BUT I finally signed up for the marathon, displaying optimism that my toe and knee will recover (and registrations were very quickly approaching the 3,500 cap).

Workouts:

Monday – 13 miles with 10-mile tempo at 7:45 pace & fast-finish mile in 7:00
Not the best run, but I made it through. I don’t think Monday’s should be a running-to-work-day.

Tuesday & Wednesday – 21-mile bike commute

Thursday – 10 miles with 3-mile tempo at 7:00 pace
I was pounding the pavement. My toe started hurting 4 miles into the run before I even started the tempo. By mile 7 I knew something really was not right, but I had to get to work so there was no stopping. I first noticed the slight pain in my toe last Saturday during my 800m workout. I forgot about it because it didn’t bother me at all Monday, but I was wearing more cushioned shoes then. My favorite, lightweight, speedy Mizuno Elixir’s may be at the end of their practical life… Today they left me limping the rest of the day.

Friday – 21-mile bike commute
Skipped my easy 5-mile run today.

Sunday – Long run 20.5 miles at 8:30 pace
I managed to keep this mostly a trail run to be easier on my toe (harder on my quads as I discovered the next day). I even planned a 5-mile starter loop to assess how my toe was feeling. It actually began feeling better the more I ran. Warming up maybe? Things loosening up? Setting back out the door was a huge mental boost – I felt like I was starting all over again and a 15-mile run didn’t seem so daunting. I knew I was compensating, but things felt good. This was the first time I have tested an injury to the point of compensating, so I didn’t know how bad the outfall was going to be. The pain in my knee was very acute the following morning and has lingered for two weeks. Took the rest of the week off from running…

Tuesday & Wednesday – 21-mile bike commute

Highlight:

Vacation! Week 12 spoiler alert: running in Europe and miraculous injury recovery after two weeks with little improvement.

Relaxing in a garden in Munich after a long flight and little sleep. There was a violinist playing in the pavilion.