Week 1 & 2: Beau 2 Boston

03/07 – 03/20

Anything Cool?:

After running 26.2, and then getting saucy (drunk) immediately post race, Week 1 was a week of recovery. I do stand by the choices I exhibited after the race—beer, hard kombucha, fried chicken, corn hole for money (I won), tequila, implementing a new safe word with Sunnie, etc—though, as balance is paramount in everything. The race was the culmination of an extended period of training and sacrifice, and my friends wanted to party with me. So I did.

But, the changes I made before the race, in months leading up to it, are most noteworthy in this marathon-founded summary. I felt amazing and never really hit that dire fatigue or pain during the race. Vehicles of improvement, that helped me during the event and will be things I continue to practice (and write about) are:

• Reduction in red meat and dairy
  • I love steak, and bacon, and cheese, and really everything that could be labeled as red meat, or dairy. But, I’ve done the research and I’ve felt the changes, and avoidance/reduction of both subsets of food (red meat and dairy) has done so much to decrease inflammation in my gut and brain; I feel amazing. Initially, this is tough. After a few weeks of unrelenting energy and improved cognition, though, the change becomes both worth it, and, ultimately, easy.
• Electrolytes
  • Im consuming electrolytes on deck. In the morning, and in the evening, I add Nuun electrolyte tables to my water. In simplistic explanation, when you are hydrated, your immune system, and other recovery-based systems, transport the good and remove the bad at their most efficient levels.
• Barefoot training
  • *Post coming soon in “performance” category—patience.
• Yoga
  • *Post coming soon in “performance” category—relax
• Diaphragmatic breathing
  • *Post coming soon in “performance” category—You don’t have to sign your text messages as “from Mom”. I know it’s you, Nancy, you’re in my phone as “Mom”.

…

I’ve signed up for a marathon in Washington State in June (Olympic Peninsula Marathon) and have set a target time goal of 3:18 minutes. As I know that time is aggressive, having just ran a 3:48, the training regimen I’m now following gives me legitimate hope/belief. It is a plan taken from a book I recently finished “Run Less Run Faster” where quality over quantity is the essence. I will be logging less miles (weekly) than I ever have before, as noted in the training below, but the concentration of speed and tempo, paired with an emphasis on recovery and cross-training, is an approach I feel amazing about.

If we’re being honest, though, the location of this upcoming June marathon is what matters, where the real motivation lay. I’m from Washington, and my mom lives there. She takes pleasure in roasting me, if/when I fail. I will be ready for 26.2 miles, and for Nancy.

Training(s):

• 03/07: 26.2 miles, 8:38/mile pace.
• 03/09: F45 Strength based workout. Super, super light on weight.
• 03/10: 45-minute yoga class, with a focus on hip and shoulder mobility.
• 03/11: 6 mile tempo run.
  • 2 miles “Easy” (8:20 pace)
  • 2 miles Short Tempo (6:30 pace)
  • 2 miles “Easy” (8:00 pace)
• 03/12: Barefoot sprint work (grassy soccer field, adjacent my home, nice-looking mom hangout)
  • Down-back-down-back: 1/4 miles at near sprint, followed by 30 second walk, focusing on recovery breath.
    • Complete until reaching 2 miles. Obv it’s an exercise where the shirt is left in the car. Vitamin D and a vibe for aforementioned moms.
• 03/13: F45 hybrid workout, “Hollywood”. One hour class, hybrid of functional strength/cardio based movements.
• 03/14: “Fartlek” run. Yes, that is what it’s called.
  • 1 mile warm-up (8:30 pace)
  • 2:00 minutes at 6:00/pace
  • 3:00 minutes at 8:00/pace
  • 30 second walk, focusing on recovery breath (nasal/nasal)
    • Repeat above cycle, minus the warm-up mile, X 5
  • 1 mile cool-down: 7:45 pace
• 03/15: F45 cardio workout, “RedLine”
• 03/16: “Two-a-day”
  • F45 strength workout, “Iceberg”. Lighter weights for all leg work.
  • Barefoot sprint work. See above (03/12). Same workout/distance, overcast conditions, no moms.
• 03/17: “Two-a-day”
  • F45 cardio workout, “Docklands”
  • Evening yoga. Inclement weather here in Baton Rouge so we had to cancel our normal yoga session, with a professional instructor. I fumbled around my living room, candle-lit, Enya-blaring, for thirty minutes, but actually felt pretty good about my breath and movements.
• 03/18: 11-mile “long-run”
  • 11 miles at a 7:41 pace
• 03/19: F45 cardio workout, “Quarterbacks”
• 03/20: F45 hybrid workout, “Hollywood”

Summary:

• Completed a sub 4-hour marathon
  • 3:48 race time, Louisiana Marathon

• 198 lbs
  • The last time I was below 200 lbs I had just scored a date with an upper class(wo)men (you know who you are) and I was feeling pretty good about myself. I was a 15 year old high school Sophomore.
  • 180 lbs is my target goal for my next marathon (June, 2021).
  • In 2019 I sat in the 220 – 232 range. Sweatpants and cheat days on deck.
• Registered for the Olympic Penninsula Marathon, in Sequim, Washington. June 5th.
• Crane Pose (Bakkassana) with Sunnie. You’re welcome.