Boston Training, Week 17

This was a "better safe than sorry" week. My piriformis was bothering me more than usual and I just didn't want to risk doing anything too stupid.

Tuesday - 8 miles at 8:22 pace on treadmill. Piriformis was sore so I just took it easy.

Wednesday - 3.5 miles at 8:55 recovery pace. Piriformis was sore and tight all day. I considered taking the day off but decided to go out nice and easy and see if it loosened up. I think it actually helped some.

Thursday - 7 miles at 8:15 pace. My 7 year old rode his bike beside me for this one. It was fun, when he wasn't complaining. "I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, my stomach hurts, a mosquito landed on me, I'm getting a cramp, how much further..." But he was also a tough coach, in that he never let up until we passed every person in front of us. Overall, I think he helped me keep my mind off of the pain.

Saturday - 10 miles at 8:15 pace. I just went out at a comfortable pace and didn't worry about it. The piriformis was still pretty sore but it's going to be OK.

That was it for the week. One week to go. I'm just going to do some easy pace runs on Monday and Friday, with a dress rehearsal run on Wednesday that will include a couple of miles at marathon goal pace. Then I'll likely run an easy 2 or 3 miles Sunday morning in Boston to burn some stress and stay loose. Then it's show time. I'm hoping that taking every other day off this week will help me turn the corner on this piriformis issue.

Bottom line is I'll be ready to race. I still have some mental preparation to attend to and I wish I was 5 pounds lighter, but compared to last year, I'm ready to go.