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 9

I am jumping right into the training log. Maybe I will catch up on the first eight weeks, but for now I am on week nine of sixteen. It is a good place to start since my first 20-miler was this week, slightly earlier than during previous training efforts. I had to juggle my schedule a bit because of vacation! So, this was the second week of a four-week stretch without significant mileage cutback. I must be crazy for running 20 miles not even having signed up yet for the marathon…

Workouts:

Monday – 21-mile bike commute

Tuesday – Long run 20.25 miles at 8:25 pace
20.25 seems an odd choice. Well, let’s just say I took a few wrong turns. The sun was just rising this morning as I set out at 5:30. The first 10 miles felt great. I took it easy at 8:45 pace not knowing how I would feel toward the end since my longest so far has been 14 miles (I did 10-mile doubles as stand-ins for my 16- and 18-mile long runs). The next 10 miles felt great too although by the last 5 I was too focused on getting to work at a reasonable hour to notice how I was feeling. I had a map, but there are so many trails in this park and I have only been there one other time. I second guessed every turn, back tracking several times. After a glorious shower, I finally sat down at my desk at 9:00, adrenaline still warding off exhaustion.

Wednesday – 21-mile bike commute
Rough ride today. My quads were tender to the touch. I tried biking in really easy gears in an effort not to exert my leg muscles, but the wind made it almost impossible.

Thursday – 21-mile bike commute
I couldn’t bring myself to run an easy 5 when I got home. I was doing so well getting my third run of the week in, but I couldn’t do it today knowing how rubbery my legs would feel, like they would give out beneath me. Hop off the bike, hit the ground running. Not happening.

Friday – 10.5-mile bike commute
Even though I was feeling more rested, I welcomed the offer for a ride home today. Saving my legs for Yasso’s 800s tomorrow!

Saturday – 10x800m in 3:10 w/ 3:10 recovery jogs
This workout could have been great if I had gotten up at 7:00 when it was still 50 degrees. Instead I slept in. Apparently I was tired… So there I was in the 75-degree mid-day heat with the sun beating down on the black rubber track. The first few 800s felt fine, but the heat quickly caught up with me and I struggled to break 3:15 for the rest. My legs fatigued a bit toward the end, but overall it was a good workout.

Highlight:

We got the first eggs from our chickens this week! My 800m workout reward (and protein boost): a super fresh double-yolk egg, over easy.

Marathon #4?

I have a confession to make: I have been secretly training for the Maine Marathon for the past 8 weeks. That’s right, marathon number four, after I claimed Boston 2012 would be my last. I knew it wouldn’t be and no one believed me when I said it would be. I have a score to settle with the 3:30 mark…

Despite my clandestine training activities I have yet to sign up for the Maine Marathon. October 6th seems distant but the countdown on the website says 49 days which is not that long all. I figured halfway through marathon training it’s time to make a commitment. I’m still not ready to sign up and make the financial commitment, but by sharing my plans here I feel more accountable. Writing about my workouts weekly just might be the motivation I need to not skip a run here and there.

I skipped a run this week. But I ran three days a week for like four weeks in a row and I was just so exhausted I needed a break. Two days was hard enough this week. Oh, this sounds like a woman who’s serious about running a marathon in seven weeks…

With my new home being 10.5 miles from work, I’m testing a new training strategy that combines running three days per week and biking four days per week. I suppose I could have read into triathlon training, but I didn’t even think of it until now because that’s not what I’m training for (silly, right?).

The Plan: 16 Weeks
Monday – Bike Commute
Tuesday – Long Run Commute, some integrating a marathon pace tempo
Wednesday – Bike Commute
Thursday – Bike Commute and Easy run with strides or fartlek
Friday – Bike Commute
Saturday – Track or tempo day
Sunday – Day of complete rest

Lobster Pasta Pesto

Nothing says Maine like lobster! Whether you go to the fish market on the pier or to the supermarket, it’s easy to get and you know it’s fresh. The only hard part about lobster is cooking it, although some supermarkets will steam it for free while you shop. If you opt for home cooking, be sure you have a pot large enough to fully submerge the lobster. I do not recommend cooking it in a pot with a glass lid…that’s all I have. I don’t know why, but I just find lobsters so cute!

Enough about the lobster – this is a great recipe on its own. Or try it with scallops, shrimp or chicken. The key is in the pesto. I never get pine nuts, so I end up using walnuts which absorb so much of the oil resulting in a paste rather than of a sauce. There are two secrets to a creamy, reduced oil pasta pesto: pasta cooking water and adding the ingredients to the pasta separately.

Serves 2
Active Time: 40 min, Total Time: 1 hour

1 live lobster, 1¼ lbs
½ lb fresh pasta or 2 servings
dried pasta (fettuccine or spaghetti)

⅓ c walnuts (or pine nuts)
2 garlic cloves
1 c fresh basil leaves, packed
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ c fresh grated Parmesan, divided
freshly ground pepper

Maine Blueberry Pie

The pie was almost gone by the time I remembered to take a picture!

August is blueberry season in Maine, and blueberry pie is a symbol of summer around here. Blueberries for Sal anyone? Of course, I went high bush blueberry picking which may seem appalling to those not “from away.” I know low bush blueberries are the Maine thing, but these were still grown in Maine and they’re just so big, sweet, and juicy! The hardest thing about baking any fruit pie: letting the pie cool long enough for the filling to set before digging in. The apple is a tip from America’s Test Kitchen – pectin in the apple, particularly the peel, helps thicken the pie.

Makes a 9-inch pie
Active Time: 1 hour, Total Time: 2 hours
Oven Temp: 400°F

1 recipe Pastry Dough, double crust

5 c fresh blueberries
1 granny smith apple
¾ c sugar
1 tbps lemon juice
3 tbsp corn starch
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tbsp butter
1 egg

Chicken Pot Pie

Welcome to New England! It seems fitting that my first post from my new home, Portland, Maine, should be a New England staple. Actually, this is the first chicken pot pie I have ever made. I grew up on chicken and biscuits, an alternate to the classic pie form and my go-to comfort meal. I figured, how hard can it be? I make a very tasty pie pastry and the filling is the same. The result: a flakey crust surrounding the rich creamy filling.

A few tips: after cooking the chicken, do not clean the pan – the browned bits that remain will serve as the base for the sauce. In a pinch, you can forego making your own sauce: simply skip the flour and substitute one can cream of chicken soup for the milk; add water to reach desired creaminess.

Serves 3 to 4
Active Time: 1 hour, Total Time: 1 hour 20 min
Oven Temp: 450°F

1 recipe Pastry Dough, double crust

¾ lb boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp vegetable oil

½ small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1¼ c milk
½ c water
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
1 large carrot
1 celery stock
¾ c frozen peas
salt & pepper to taste

Boston Training: Week 5

Happy New Year!  It was a relaxing, chilly week in New England, with lots of visiting family and sleeping, but I managed to get my runs in.  The change of scenery was nice, although I could have done without breathing in the icy air all week.  Let’s just say I’m glad I’m not training for Boston through a New England winter.  Just over 100 days to go!

Workouts:

Tuesday – Easy 3 miles
No pickups today – recovering from yesterday’s long run.

Thursday – 8 miles with 6-mile tempo at 7:05 pace
25° and windy conditions were my motivator to get this run over with, and I got a sore throat in return.

Friday – Easy 3 miles

Sunday – Long run 14 miles at 8:15 pace
A sunny day in Acadia National Park.  This was my longest run since the Vancouver USA Marathon in June.  The beautiful landscape made the miles go by quickly, and a big bowl of clam chowder was my reward at one of the few restaurants in Bar Harbor not boarded up for the winter.

Highlight:

Acadia National Park: a runner’s paradise.  Wide gravel carriage roads with rolling hills, views of the ocean, and fittingly one of Runner’s World’s Rave Runs.  The most beautiful place I have ever run, and I highly recommend it if you are ever in the neighborhood.

There were no leaves this time of year, but it was still beautiful!