Congrats on the PR Flavio! I'm interested to hear the details.

Cal: Good luck tomorrow!

My annoying week:

61 miles running, 80 minutes pool-running, and 1000 yards swimming.

M: 5.5 miles (9:40), upper body weights/core, 3.5 miles (9:13) plus drills and 2 strides.
T: 4 miles, including one 800m repeat on the track in 3:11 before going home.
W: In the morning a second try at a track workout - 8 miles including 3x1K in 4:03, 4:03, 4:01. 4 miles (9:19) in the afternoon.
Th: 80 minutes pool-running and upper body weights/core.
F: 13.5 miles, including a tempo workout of 1.5 miles and 1 mile at 6:40 pace with 60 second recovery; long rest, and then 3x1 mile in 6:35, 6:31, 6:24 with 2:00-2:30 recovery between each. Followed with leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.
Sa: 8 very easy (9:16) plus drills, 2 strides, streaming yoga.
Su: 13 miles progressive, split as first 4.5 miles averaging 9:12 pace, next 4.5 miles averaging 8:01 pace, and next 4.5 miles averaging 6:54 pace, followed with cooldown jog to make 14, and then leg strengthwork and 500 yards recovery swimming.

If this week looks like it was a convoluted mess, that's because it was. I think I've mentioned before that I have some balance problems when running that are sometimes better, sometimes worse. On Tuesday, they got really bad, and I was also just struggling to see (granted - it was before sunrise on a foggy morning). I ran the first 800 of the workout and felt like I was going to faceplant so I just went home. I realized that the vision issue might be a migraine (my migraines are essentially painless, just vision loss), so I called my neurologist and got a refill on my migraine meds. Those took care of the shimmering blurry vision issue.

For the rest of the week, I was struggling - I'd feel very unstable at first, and then great by the end of the run. After thinking about it way too much, I suspect it's that my ankles aren't working right - instead of flexing through the ankle and rolling through the foot, my ankles are stuck in one position at first, and then generally releasing and working more fluidly. (This is not a flexiblity/mobility issue - I'm great on that score). So I decided to try a) doing some funny walks pre-run where I walk heel to toe and practice that rolling motion; and b) really thinking about that rolling motion in my feet any time I felt unstable. This seemed to help a lot, so I think that's part of the key.

I saw my neurologist on Friday and he started me on B2 supplements and scheduled me for another EMG. In the meantime I've got a PT appointment on Tuesday to see what else I can do to manage this.

I honestly don't think this is anything serious (if it was, it wouldn't improve as I ran). My hunch is that it's just some minor issues in my ankles/feet, and it's just a matter of figuring out the exact nature of the issue, and then doing the right exercises to rewire stuff so that they're working fine from the start).

Good luck Cal, iamdissapoint, strugglr and lurkers.

JMac - I totally get that aversion to factory farming - on multiple levels. It's likely a bit pricier, but there are certainly places that sell beef, etc. from regenerative farms. Even mail-order is an option these days. I just think it's nice that I can show on a map exactly where 99.5%+ of the beef I've ever eaten was raised. Heck, I think I was in my 20's before I ever at a package of hamburger from any store.

Solid training week! Regarding your comment on Strava about workout somehow being easier with increased mileage, that's something I've found as well. Well, perhaps not "easier", but certainly not proportionally more difficult to the increased mileage. I do think it would be very interesting to see what you could do after a cycle with a few 100 mile weeks sprinkled in.

Flavio - Congrats again on the big PR, and sticking with it those last few tough miles. Looking forward to a RR.

DWave - Ministry of Silly Walks-approved training?
Hope you get that straightened out. Pretty solid week, considering.

Shout out to everyone out there running Botswana!

This past weekend was a rough one weather-wise for pretty much everyone I know who ran a marathon. Lots of too warm and humid. 2:35 marathoners aplenty blowing up to 3:05 or so, with plenty of DNFs. The one guy I know who finished super-strong (2:43-ish PR) was pacing a couple guys to low/mid 2:50's. Both of those guys dropped (one at 14, one at 18), then he started dropped 6 min miles the last 8 and passed a ton of people on his way to a 4th OA finish.

Light week effort-wise and a bit of a cut-back on mileage as well. Just the one medium-intensity session midweek. I'm oddly satisfied with the LR, as that was the furthest distance and longest duration I've ever run without stopping outside of a marathon.

Weekly for period: From: 10/04/2021 To 10/10/2021

Total distance: 78.48mi

anyone have a link to the live tracking? I can't find anything, and the phone app says 2020.

AceHarris from the past crossed at 3:03. He was capable of a sub 3 by a few minutes. A friend of mine has hit a wall pretty hard. Another just finished. I'm guessing the sun came out and clouds went away.

Cal appears to be picking up some speed. Maybe he planned a fade, or just decided to give it all he has.

JMac Thanks. I downloaded the NEW app (boston RACING) because the old one is apparently garbage...like the COVID thread 

Cal ran a gutsy race; sped up for that last 5k pretty nicely. I was following 5 people and 3 of them really blew up, one DNF. Cal held steady and another guy really nailed it, ran 2:46:59 on only slightly positive splits; he's 48 years old.

I'll be curious to hear how the weather was out on the course. Just looking at forecasts it looked way too warm and muggy for marathon racing. Plus a headwind the whole way.