Before we get to far into this week I wanted to recap my training from last week. I hit another all time mileage high with 68 miles. After the previous step back week I was ready to go. Some of those miles were tough, but for the most part running last week felt fantastic: no twinges or tightness just solid and strong running.

Monday: 10 easy, recovery miles post race. Kept it slow and easy. Quads were a bit sore from hammering the downhill at the end of Red's Race.

Tuesday: 7 more easy miles.

Wednesday: Had planned to run 12-13 with 10x800 on the track but because it SNOWED!?! I scrapped that run and ran eight on the treadmill with some varying incline and then followed it up with a kettle bell workout with hip strength and PT.

Thursday: It was COLD (20 degrees cold) I ran three miles down to our local track and then ran 10x800. My 800 times were 15-20 seconds slower than what they were in March on the indoor track. 3:13-3:25 instead of 2:58-3:07. I didn't get too worked up over the slower times. I was running in the cold (and not warming up) and was running on an empty stomach as well (all my morning runs are on an empty stomach). It was a strong run and what was more surprising was that I didn't feel wiped out that day. I think this has to do with the increased weekly mileage. I feel like something "magical" (for lack of a better word…sometimes running at 5am doesn't feel so magical) happened when I crossed the 60 miles per week mark. I'm more adapted to longer weekday runs and the weekly load and I'm recovering faster and not feeling as worn down. All good stuff. I even had enough energy for a 75 min butt kicking at barre class. How is that possible? Building endurance on many different levels.

Friday: 6 easy miles on the treadmill. More hip and PT exercises.

Saturday: 20 mile long run with a faster finish. Originally intended to run 21-22, but ran out of time. I had a hard deadline of being home in time to shower, change and get down to the Boston Marathon Expo! So instead of running the whole run easy I opted to speed up the last 5 miles and finished those in the 7:54-7:40 pace. I felt strong. Not to say that those five miles we easy, I had to work for it…but it was there. When I summed the muscle power to speed up it was there. More good stuff.

I also tested out some new pre-run fuel and gu to use during the run. I'd heard good things about Generation UCAN from Larisa D. and Katie E. and wanted to give it a try. Most of my long runs have been "fasted" or "glycogen depleted" (Michele just wrote a great article on this recently.) so I wanted to run with fuel this time to test out some new products and be able to have a stronger run. I made the UCAN into a paste and ate it 30 minutes before running. I took one VFuel while running. I felt sustained the whole time. The VFuel was a new product for me as well. It was a little salty for my liking, but wasn't as sticky sweet as the GU brand gu that I usually use. I followed the run up with Vega Recovery accelerator which I've been using since Eastern States and really like. Usually I refuel with whole foods, but I noticed a significant difference after Eastern States when I used Vega and whole food for recovery, so I've been sticking with it. The verdict: I like UCAN and will use it again. I need to try other flavors of VFuel…chocolate wasn't the greatest. But it was more of a taste preference it seemed to fuel me just fine.

We made it to the expo in time to meet Kara Goucher and Lauren Fleshman, who are now running for Oiselle!

Sunday: 4 recovery miles. It was a gorgeous day. I love when Easter has gorgeous weather…makes it all the more glorious! I saved my run for midday and asked Sophia if she wanted to join me. We went out for a relaxed stroller run. The only drawback was to get to our nice relaxed run we had to run up a huge hill…I have no choice. We live on the hill. And down hill takes us to a busy state route…so the only choice is up. Embrace the Hill, right?

This week is peak week! So far runs have gone really well and I'm feeling strong and ready for the rest of the week. My priority is staying loose and stain healthy.

How is your training going? Have you tried new fuel lately? What's your favorite?

--Sarah

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