Week 15: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

Not sure how this happened so fast, but we are officially in taper town! I have less than three weeks between now and a 26.2 mile tour of the 5 boroughs of NYC… and only ONE double digit run left between now and then, which is wild to me.

I am gonna start with a side note this week – way back in week 8 of training, I mentioned that I was having massive blister issues when going out on long runs. I want to report, that thanks to a suggestion made by my friend Katie, the issue has been completely resolved – all I had to do was change socks for my long runs. Now, I love my tall compression socks, but this blister issue was getting worse each week. So when Katie suggested that I try a pair of injinji toe socks, I was skeptical. But I ordered a pair and used them for my next long run… and every long run since. It was like magic, and my blister issues are a problem of the past now. I still use my procompressions for bike rides and shorter runs, but I have to accept the blister prevention trade off, and say that injinji will be my go-to for longer miles.

I started the week with a rest day on Monday, that included getting a massage at the yoga studio. I had planned to go to a yoga class after, but the instructor that I like was no longer listed as teaching, so I opted to go home and have dinner with Den instead.

I got up bright dark and early Tuesday morning – the sunrise is officially after 7 am now, which means that the dawn is just barely breaking as I finish my morning miles now. It was a little chilly, but I was still happy in shorts as I set out for a 4-mile run. I wound up cutting it a little short, and finishing at 3.7 miles, due to an urgent bathroom need – it wasn’t time efficient to head back out and get in the last .3 miles after, as it would have made me late for work. So I’ll probably tack a little extra distance onto another run this week.

Most of the day Tuesday I wound up taking advantage of my standing desk at work, because my hip flexor felt awful anytime I tried to sit. I was frustrated by this, because I had felt fine before that mornings miles, despite a little soreness in the middle of the long run on Saturday. That night Sophie and I headed to the gym and focused on leg exercises, especially ones with a single leg option. Better late than never with some single leg strength work, right? Don’t worry, I won’t pull this crap on marathon week.

I originally planned to run again Wednesday morning, but because of the hip pain I figured I would take an extra rest day and move Wednesday’s planned miles to Thursday, since my long run wasn’t until Sunday anyway. I set an alarm for 4:45 am on Thursday morning, so that Dennis could bike with me for 6/8 miles before heading to work – but then woke up at 5:30, very surprised that my alarm had not gone off! Upon checking my phone I learned that I accidentally set a 5:45 alarm. Whoops.

So I headed out and was able to get in 5.75 miles that morning. I figured it was better than nothing, and I am in taper town at this point, so missing a few miles isn’t going to have that big of an impact. Honestly, if anything it will probably give my hip the break it needs. It was a very dark morning run, and it was even chilly enough that I kept my zip up on for the whole run for the first time this season… I did ditch my gloves and headband after the first mile though.

My last weekday run was on Friday evening, when my friend Ryan asked if I had time to get in a few miles together. I had worked late and picked up my bib for the Suffolk county half on the way home, so we were planning to head out for a few miles around 8 pm – but I just could not. By the time I got home I felt overwhelmed with my to-do list, and felt run down. I felt bad, but I bailed, but Ryan was gracious about it, and we re-scheduled for the following week.

Saturday was spent cleaning and prepping the house, as my brother was planning to move in with us, and then headed into Brooklyn to check out a tattoo convention with Kasey and Tommy. After the show the three of us headed to Tom’s apartment, and loaded up his stuff into cars and moved it to the house. It was a busy day, and by the time we got home and got everything into the house, I knew that I had not eaten enough throughout the busy day, and tried to cram in some extra calories before bed.

My alarm clock felt too early Sunday morning when it rang out, but I rolled out of bed and got ready for the race. Mike had offered to drive, and picked me up so we could head to the start line. Runners were being instructed to park about a mile from the start, and then there were busses to shuttle us to the start. We got there about 15 minutes before the race was set to go off, and were able to hop in line for the porter potties and made a quick bathroom start before joining the crowd at the start. I lost a gel to the porter potty, when it flew out of my pocket – it was one of those times I was glad that I always carry an extra.

When we got to the start the national anthem had already been sung, and I dropped my throwaway layer into a pile of sweatshirts as we joined the masses. There were 10k, half marathon and marathoners all lumped together in the start area. After a moment the start was signaled, and we shuffled towards the start with the crowd. Unfortunately, there were no corrals at the start, so there was a TON of congestion at the start line, as people of all paces were lumped in together. After about a half mile the crowds finally eased, and Mike and I were able to settle into a comfortable pace.

The first water stop was just before the second mile, and it was kind of chaotic. It was a loop through the start line again, and the volunteers seemed overwhelmed by the number of runners streaming through, trying to grab water. The first cup I got was empty, but the second had a little water in it at least. The next aid station was between miles 4 and 5, and it was full of volunteers from the lightening warriors tri team – this one was fully ready for us to run through, and we were easily able to grab some water. From there we headed towards the main attraction of the race – the bridge! I was struggling to find a good pace, with the air more humid than is typical of the fall since it was getting ready to rain. The uphill as we headed up the bridge for the first time did not help this. But eventually we got to the top, and started the downhill, where we opened up the pace a little bit. There was a bit of flat ground between the bridges, and an aid station between the two bridges. Before we knew it there was an uphill pitch again, and we were crossing a second, smaller bridge. This one had exposed grating for us to run over, which felt a bit tricky. We had to slow down, nervous that we were going to trip.

As soon as we got off the bridge we reached the turn around point of the race, right around mile 9, and had to go right back onto the bridge. Just as we got off the open grating and onto the road again, we heard what honestly sounded like a car crash. Mike whipped around and saw that someone had taken a bad spill on the other side of the bridge, and the runners around him were rushing to help. We kept running, as we saw that there were paramedics stationed a little up the road, and let them know what happened as we ran by, and they rushed to go help. Hopefully he was ok, as it sounded like a bad fall.

Once we were off the second bridge, we could see the aid station between the two bridges in the distance. I needed to stop and use the bathroom, something I generally try to avoid during races, but there was no way to avoid it. I told Mike to go on without me, but he insisted that he would wait just past the aid station, and there he was when I emerged 5 minutes later. I grabbed some water, and we continued on our way. While we climbed the bridge for the last time, I felt good in the steady pace we had found, but Mike was itching to zoom through the last bridge and rip the band aid off, so he picked up the pace and headed up the incline without me. Eventually I caught up with him, as we very happily got to head downhill. From the height we were at we could see another aid station in the distance, and Mike joked that it was a mile away – I was surprised when it was ACTUALLY a mile away though.

It had been overcast for the whole race, with humid air weighing down on us, and when we got to that aid station, we both down two cups of water and two cups of Gatorade. The red Gatorade was nice and cold, which felt like a gift. It gave me the power up I needed to push through the last few miles.

Once we were off the highway and back in town, we had just over a mile to go before the finish line. The final mile was in remembrance of fallen soldiers and had photos of them in remembrance. This is something that makes me cry 100% of the time when races do this.

After we passed the 13th mile marker, we saw the big blue arch that we assumed was the finish line, and I grabbed Mike’s hand so we could run over the finish together – we turned and ran through the arch, both expecting the finish – and learned that it was just the entrance to the finishers chute, despite both of our garmin’s claiming that we were already at 13.2 miles. So, we ran through the finisher’s chute hand in hand, and crossed the finish line together.

We were handed our medals (which I somehow managed to loose in the following hours… maybe it will eventually show up at my house), and then lead to a tent at the end of the finisher’s chute, where we were given a reusable insulated water bottle full of water, a full sized sweat wicking towel, and post-race snacks including watermelon, hot soup and bagels.

Mike and I found a place to sit while we ate for a minute, and then wandered through the post-race village, and he redeemed both of our coupons for a free beer at the finish. Then we found the bus that would shuttle us back to the parking lot, so we could head home.

For some reason this was a hard race for me. I am not sure what it was, but I felt so defeated when we were done, and was exhausted all day after. It was just one of those runs. I am hoping that I just went in a little under fueled, or the humidity caught me by surprise, and its not indicative of how I will feel at NYC – I hope NYC feels as good as my 20 miler did!

Week 14: Training for the NYC marathon

Less than a month to go to race day, which means the runs are getting longer as the days get shorter – and this week is officially peak week! Aka the week where my total mileage will be the highest of any week of this training cycle, the goal is 40 miles.

I started my week with some yoga at emerge on Monday night, where Vanessa (the owner of the studio, and my favorite yoga teacher), was teaching a class. It was a small crowd, which is unusual for her classes, and she organized the 10 or so of us into a circle around the room, so we were all facing the center throughout the class. While the class started like most classes do – with sun salutations, after guiding us through a few fast-paced rounds, she challenged us to keep moving, but however our body needed on that night, rather than her instructing us. She spoke to us throughout the class about doing what we need rather than what is easy, how even the kindest person on the planet is judgmental, especially of themselves, and how at the end of the day, each individual knows what is best for them more than anyone else. As the hour came to a close, she ended the free flow and lead us through a few group movements and into meditation. It was a unique class, but one that I enjoyed.

My first run for the week was scheduled for Tuesday, with 5 miles on the calendar. I made plans to go to the gym with Sophie in the evening, so I wanted to get the miles in before work. Unfortunately, even though my parents are back from vacation, Mom is still dealing with the time change (they got used to being 6 hours behind in Hawaii), and Dad tested positive for covid… so I was on my own. I don’t really like running by myself in the morning – there is just something about starting the run in the dark that gives me the heeby jeebies way more than running as it gets dark at night. But I reassured myself that the sun would be coming up soon enough and pulled on all my lights as I headed outside. It is the time of year when the temps drop, and I overdress for every run, because I am cold when I wake up. It was about 45 degrees outside, and while I started the run with a jacket and ear warmer, I ran by my house less than 2 miles into the run to ditch both. I stayed close to home for this one, just looping the blocks near my house. I almost bailed on the run at 4 miles, when I ran by my house, nervous about the time, but ultimately kept going. I slightly overestimated my last loop, and wound up at 5.4 miles when I got home – my morning routine was a bit rushed after that, as I hurried to get out the door for work.

Despite our plans, our evening gym trip did not happen – we pushed to Wednesday night instead, because my stomach was not cooperative after work.

Being peak week, I had to get in a 10 mile run on Wednesday. I have a standing appointment after work every Wednesday, so there was no way I would have time to run that far in the evening, and I didn’t want to push the miles to Thursday or Friday, as I need to do my 20 miler on Saturday, and wanted to give my body time to recover. So, it was time for an early morning.

Dennis agreed to bike with me for the first half of my run, and we got up at 5 and rolled out of bed. We both set ourselves up for the morning the night before, so it was quick to get ready and get out the door. It was another chilly morning, but this time I opted to just add a vest to my shorts and t-shirt, which turned out to be a better plan. It was pitch black when we got on the road, but we both were decked out with light up vests, and Den had lights on his bike, while I wore light up gloves. I popped on a podcast about the haunted mansion and put one foot in front of the other to get going. It was slow going, but my plan was to run by feel and not push it, to make sure I’m not burnt out when the long run rolls around this weekend. Around mile 5 Den stopped at the house, and I kept going, the sun finally starting to brighten the sky. It was an uneventful run, and I just felt happy that I had committed to getting this run done early, and actually got out of bed and did it. My Garmin died around mile 6, but thankfully I had noticed the low battery when I started it, and tracked the run on Strava simultaneously, knowing that the watch may die. Will it annoy me that my watch face shows the wrong mileage for the rest of the week? Yeah. But at least I knew when I had hit 10 miles, right as I looped back to my house. I rushed through getting ready and grabbed a Kodiak cake flapjack cup for breakfast, and was on my way for the day.

The last weekday run was scheduled for Thursday morning, and I had 5 miles to get done. Rain was predicted Thursday afternoon, so I knew I needed to get out in the morning. Lucky for me, Dennis was working from home that day, so he had a later start time than normal, as he was skipping his commute. So he was able to join me on his bike for most of the run. We got up and out before sunrise, and I looped a little right near the house before venturing further to do an out and back for most of the run. I had opted for long sleeves and shorts after a few chilly mornings in a row, but was too warm after a mile in long sleeves. Like I’ve said before, it’s the time of the year when I am excited to break out all my cold weather running gear that has been neglected for months, and inevitably wind up over-dressed.

Dennis had to bail at mile 4 to get back to the house on time to start work, so I was solo for the last mile. But at least the sun was up at that point, and by that hour there were plenty of people around, walking their dogs and heading to the school near by. A benefit of running on dens schedule instead of my own was that I had plenty of time to get ready after, and even took a minute to stretch and make myself some avocado toast.

After work I met Sophie at the gym, and we spent a half hour lifting with an upper body focus, and then took one of the core classes that the gym offers. When we left the gym it was full on monsooning outside, and even though I ran to the car I got completely soaked.

I was legitimately excited that I got to “sleep in” on Friday morning, and after talking with Mike and Katie determined that I am not the only one among us feeling a bit exhausted during peak week – but honestly, I feel excited too! But it is a little wild to me that by the end of the week I had already logged 20 miles, and still had another 20 to go before I could call my weekly miles “done.” Since Friday was a rest day, all I did was a restorative yoga class in the evening. I figured it would force me to stretch for a bit and get me in a good mental state ahead of Saturdays long run.

Mike and I planned to head to the beach for the long run, since we don’t run there in summer – there is hardly any shade, and it just gets too hot out there. But as the temps drop it becomes one of my favorite places to run locally. In my head, I broke the run down into 4 5-mile sections, and I wanted to focus on not going out too fast, and picking it up a little at the end if we were feeling good.

We headed there around 6:15 am, and were on the boardwalk by 6:30. I wasn’t sure if the water would still be on at the beach, so I decided to carry my hydration vest as we headed out. I had it loaded up with my gels and some salt as well, that way if we decided to forge on rather than do sectional out and backs I would be good to go. As we started our long run the sun was rising over the beach, and it made for a limited “golden hour” view, as everything looked beautiful as the sun rose higher in the sky. Mike and I joked that we have very different methods of dressing ourselves for marathons – I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, while he had on a long sleeve, t-shirt, jacket, shorts, and long compression pants. I still am not sure how he didn’t overheat. I set a pace alert on my watch to keep a conservative pace for the first 5 miles, and had to slow us down a few times as we settled into the run. As we headed further out on the boardwalk, I checked one of the water fountains and they were still on – which meant we didn’t need to double back to the car constantly to refill on water. So we ran until the end of the boardwalk, and turned around a little after mile 4. As we headed in the other direction, we added a few offshoots to get our mileage up, and around mile 9 turned down the bike path to cedar creek, where we experienced the one hill of the day – the drawbridge that we crossed on the path. The sun was up by this point, and we could see ton of fishermen down on the dock, casting their lines into the bay. Around mile 13 we turned back again, and headed for the car so I could ditch the hydration vest for the last 5 miles. We got to the car at mile 15, and decided to do another boardwalk out an back. Mike and I wound up separating for the last 5 miles, as he needed to slow a little bit, and my hip was unhappy with the short strides that my legs were doing when slowing down. I decided to push the pace, and managed to get into the 10s for the last few miles. I was feeling really good during the final mile, and kept pushing – when my watch buzzed to indicate 20 miles, I had managed to make my last mile the fastest, at a 9:37. I was really proud of this, considering back in June I was struggling to run one mile continuously, and here I was, running 20. I had a little surprise at the end of my run – my Mom knew I was running on the boardwalk, and came out to do a morning walk and catch me at the end of my run. So I got to chat with her while I stretched and waited for Mike to get back to the car.

It was by no means my fastest 20 miler, but I am really proud of how strong I felt, and how far I have come in the last few months.

I spent the rest Saturday relaxing, and Den and I had a few friends over Saturday night for a big ramen dinner, and some nostalgic movies. I was hoping that I would be able to work on painting our living room Sunday, but was not sure if I would feel up to it after running 20 miles Saturday… but my body pleasantly surprised me, and I was more than happy to get up Sunday morning and clean then tape and start to paint. I am really excited for our living room to feel like a coherent space, rather than an assortment of furniture that other people were getting rid of – is this what it means to feel like an adult?

To end this post, I’ll say the thing: We are officially in taper town! 

Week 13: Training for the NYC Marathon

I was so pooped after my long run Sunday, but despite an early bedtime the fatigue carried into Monday. I struggled and needed an afternoon cup of tea at work, just to make it through the day without feeling too sleepy. After work Mike and I met up and headed to a yoga class together, to get some movement and stretching in.

The rainy weather that started over the weekend persisted into Tuesday, and the rain was coming down hard that morning, so I opted to sleep in and get my run done after work, either on the treadmill or outside. When I got home from work it was windy and foggy, but the rain was a drizzle at most so I opted to head outside to run. I pulled on my “Run Visible” Brooks jacket, to make sure that I would be visible, despite the less than stellar weather. I only had 4 miles on my schedule, so I did a nice out and back rather than loops near my house. I took it easy, enjoying the chilly weather, and eventually warming up enough that I needed to peel the jacket off and wrap it around my waist (in that moment did I think about how the new version of this jacket has a feature where it can turn into a vest when you take it off? Yes. I will continue to try to resist buying it, as the one i have is perfectly functional). I knocked out my miles, feeling good overall. Once I was done with my run I headed to the gym with Sophie, and we got in a solid 45 mins of strength training.

The Wednesday morning forecast called for rain again, so I hoped that the weather would be better in the evening again. I slept in, and we had another day full of rain and even some thunderstorms. As I drove home from work the rain was in full force, but thankfully it slowed down, just as forecasted, right as I got home. I geared up and headed out for another solo run, this time 9 miles. I have been on an audiobook kick lately, and listened to “One of us is Next” as I ran and out and back and then loops around my neighborhood. It was a little drizzly still, but at least it wasn’t windy. As the sun went down both my light up gloves and vest started to die, and I hoped that they would last until I was finished, so that I wouldn’t wind up alone in the dark (thankfully, they just barely held on). I made a quick pit stop around mile 7.75 to chug some water, then did one final loop to finish out the 9 mile run. Even though I was tired and just wanted to shower and be lazy for the rest of the night (I am pretty sure only a runner would consider themselves “lazy” after running 9 miles….), I pulled open the peloton app and selected a 10 minute core class. My friend Katie and I agreed to keep each other accountable with our core work, and she tagged me when she got hers in earlier in the day after running, and I knew I spending the extra 10 minutes on a little strength would be worth it. I am still not sure if the class was really hard, or if I was just really fatigued.

On Thursday afternoon Sophie and I headed to the gym, and did a workout that focused on the upper body. This new gym that we started going to is often packed out in the weight room, making it hard to find space to use the dumbells, so we usually stick to the fixed machines, because it is just easier to find space that way. But tonight I finally felt comfortable enough to make space for myself to do the exercises I wanted to do, and it meant we wound up doing a good enough workout that I was sore for days after.

I had 5 more miles to squeeze in before the weekend, and when I got home from work on Friday Den was just finishing up power washing the house. I asked him if he would want to come on the first mile of my 5 mile run, and he surprisingly agreed! I slowed my pace to match his, and we did a one mile loop right by the house (he would spend the next three days limping around a little, as his muscles protested the fact that he moved them in an unfamiliar way – while he can handle himself on a bike, running is not really his wheelhouse). I continued on for the last 4 miles, challenging myself to get a little faster each mile, and pleased when I pulled off a progressive run.

That weekend I headed into the city to run the Staten island half with my friend carson. You can find my race recap HERE!

Week 12: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

I feel like I finally hit a groove again on week 12, managing to get out for all the miles I planned, and even making time for a little strength training.

I had three weekday runs planned - 9 miles, 5 miles, and 4 miles. After a lighter load during week 11, I decided to get the longest distance done early in the week, that way I had plenty of time to recover before the weekends long run - 18 miles!

I had no run planned for Monday, but Sophie and I hit up the gym and did a strength circuit that left us both sore after.

On Tuesday I planned to get my 9 miles done in the evening - my parents were STILL out of town at this point, and I was really looking forward to them getting home so I could switch back to morning runs. It’s just not something I’m great at doing on my own.

So Tuesday night I headed out on my run as soon as I got home from work, after opening a fun package that had come in the mail - my NYC marathon finishers jacket! I won’t be wearing it until after the race, but I couldn’t resist ordering the new design when I saw it. I wanted to make sure I would be able to get the right size.

It was going to get dark while I was running, as the sun is setting earlier every day now, so I set out my light up vest and light gloves so I could loop by the house and grab them quickly when it got darker. I put on the audio book I was listening to, Daisy Darker, and just ran easy as I listened to the story. I felt good during the run, and made a pit stop around mile 6 to grab my lights and a sip of water. By the time I finished the 9 miles it was dark, and I was ready for food. It was an uneventful, easy run, which I didn’t mind at all.

I didn’t have a run Wednesday, but I did get a fun package in the mail - new running shoes! I ordered two new pairs of brooks, a pair of Hyperion Tempos and a pair of adrenaline GTS 22s, hoping that one pair will be my marathon shoes! I had been waffling for weeks, and finally decided to buy both. I normally run in ghosts, but wanted something a little more supportive to help with my knee. The adrenalines are part of the cereal collection, so the colors are super fun!

Thursday morning my parents were back in NY, but fighting jet lag after being 6 hours behind us for over 2 weeks - so I was flying solo on my morning run. I was up and out before the sunrise, once again wearing all my lights as I ran. It was a little bit of a chilly morning, and it helped make the run a little more comfortable. I tried the adrenalines for the first time, and liked them. My legs were tired from the last few days, and it was by no means a fast run. I was happy when my watch finally buzzed, indicating I had finished 5 miles.

On Friday I had plans to do a screening of the new hocus pocus sequel with some friends after work, so I knew I had to get my miles in early. So I once again got myself out of bed, and this time headed out for a 4 mile run - I was pleased with myself for doing all of the longer distances earlier in the week, so at least it was “only” 4 miles that morning.

The screening was fun that night - we set up a screen and projector in the backyard, and enjoyed so many yummy snacks while we watched a sequel to one of our favorite childhood movies (I mean, Den and I even have a cat named Binx. If that doesn’t give us away as fans, I don’t know what would).

Saturday I planned to play catch-up around the house, since I was registered to run the 18-mile NYC training run with NYRR on Sunday. I cleaned and moved some furniture around, and in the midst of it all got an email from NYRR - the 18-miler was cancelled due to high winds. Womp Womp.

As soon as the email came out, texts came flooding in from my friends, discussing where and when we would get our miles in. Mike was opting to take to the treadmill, but Sami invited me to join her and a crew from the Merrick bicycles tri team at SUNY old westbury, to take on our 18 miles with a side of hills.

I was nervous about the weather, but Sami talked me into it. I rolled out of bed the next morning and snacked on a kind bar as I drove to campus to meet the group. We would be running loops, so I opted to leave my water at my car, and just grab some as we passed by each time, rather than lugging it along. Normally I would just wear my hydration vest for a run like this, but my back was hurting from moving furniture the day before - not my smartest plan.

As much as I tried to get to the group meet up spot on time, I was, as usual, about 10 mintues late. Thankfully they were kind enough to wait for me, and Sami had mapped out loops near and on the old Westbury campus for us to run through to complete the 18 mile run. I loaded my pockets with salt and two gels for the first loop, and we left the parking lot and spent a mile on the hilly campus before getting to the exit and heading to a flatter neighborhood near by. There was a decent size group of runners, and when the first mile chimed on my watch, I realized that I was getting caught up in the group and running faster than I intended. Thankfully, Sami felt the same way, and the two of us dropped back a little from the group. We made it through the first neighborhood loop with only one wrong turn, and headed back towards the parking lot so that we could get a sip of water around mile 8. I also ditched my jacket at that point – the race cancellation due to weather had lead to me layering up, but it really was not that bad out. Sure, there was some wind, but it wasn’t cold enough for a jacket.

We were rejoined by Bobby and Rob, who were planning to run 18 and 20 miles, respectively, that day, but the rest of the group called it quits, as they had only shorter distances planned for that morning. The four of us headed out for the next segment, this time spending a few more miles on the hilly campus before taking a detour off campus, and finding ourselves in an empty industrial park with a very large parking lot – that we happily did some flat loops of. The wind was much worse in the parking lot than it had been on campus, since it was more open, and didn’t have lots of trees around to block the wind. When we got back to the hills we made our way around a full campus loops with all its ups and downs, and wound up back at the parking lot just beyond mile 16. We all had varying distances left at that point, as people had been looping back to each other to get the group linked up again when they pulled far ahead, so we decided to finish out our runs with parking lot loops, which had the added benefit of less hills. When my watch chimed at 18 I felt good, but relieved to be done. I pulled my yoga mat out of the car, and chatted with the group for a bit as everyone pulled in after finishing their miles. I was so glad that Sami had talked me into meeting up with the group to run, because I know I would have slept in and put it off and then wound up spending way too much time on the treadmill otherwise!

With the completion of the 18 miler, it meant there was only one more long run to go before NYC! This race is going to sneak up on us before we know it.

Week 11: training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

This is going to be a short one – it was an abbreviated week of running, that I built into my training plan when I made it earlier this year. I knew that I would be spending this week in vegas for work, spending 8 hours a day on the show floor at a convention. Combine the fatigue of standing all day with work dinners and a three-hour time difference, and I knew that there would not be much energy left over for running.

When I was packing I put three running outfits into my bag – in an ideal world I was hoping I would get in 2 four mile runs, and one 8 mile run, but knew that realistically with the time the gym opened every morning (6 am) and the time I needed to meet me team each day (8 am) plus getting myself ready every morning, it was unlikely that I would have time to get in 8 miles before having to head out one day. But I was confident that I could get in two mornings with 4 mile runs and save my long run for once I was back in NY.

Saturday was mostly a travel day, and Sunday was the first day on the show floor. By the time I got back to the hotel room those nights my body clock was screaming for bed – I am not good at time changes. But with the early bedtime on Sunday night, I managed to get up very early on Monday, and get to the gym right as it opened – I snagged the last treadmill that was available and watched some T.V. on my phone as I made my way through a 4 mile run. It was warm in the gym, and I was sweating by the time I was finished, but I was pleased with myself for getting up and making time to run. That night the whole team went out to dinner, and I indulged in some excellent fettuccine alfredo.

Tuesday morning was a wash, after being out with my team a little later because of the dinner. That night my employer treated us to a show, and we all went and saw the Beatles “Love” Cirque Du Solei show – the athleticism that the performers displayed was honestly amazing, and I could not believe how big the cast was when they came out for the curtain call at the end of the show. We all opted to walk back to our hotel after, which was a little over a mile away, so that we would get a chance to see the strip at least once.

I headed to bed right after the show, so was once again up early enough on Wednesday to get in a run. This time I thought to bring my iPad along, so that I had a bigger screen to watch T.V. on while I ran. The hotel gym was just as hot as the previous run, but thankfully not as crowded. I was able to get a treadmill again and tried to give a little progressive push as I made my way through the miles. When the distance rolled over the 4 mile mark I slowed down my treadmill, and headed back to my room to get ready for the last day of the convention – I work in the industrial baking industry, and it was a baking convention that I was attending, so I may have indulged in a few extra sweets during the week – I couldn’t resist when they were being made fresh on the show floor!

Thursday was a travel day again, and I was up bright and early to head to the airport. By the time I got home it was after 6 pm, thanks to the time change adding a few hours on to our travel. I was pooped after a busy week, and really happy to be back in my own bed.

When I got home, my cat Binx seemed to have picked up a little cold while I was away. I mention this because I always get nervous when he is sick, since he has had some health issues in the past. I kept an eye on it, and made him a vet appointment for the following Monday, the first slot our vet had available.

I still had to head to work on Friday, and I was wiped out between the time change and the busy week. It was a rest day because of that, and after work I took it easy. I headed to bed early, because Mike, Michal and I had signed up for the great south bay half marathon on Saturday morning – our training scheduled called for 13 miles anyway, so we figured we may as well do our training runs in a race setting, with aid stations and all to practice for the marathon.

Unfortunately, I did not get the relaxing night of sleep I was hoping for. Instead, I was woken up by my Binx sneezing in my face at 2 am, and then spent the next hour worrying over him as he was sneezing lots and clearly not feeling well. By 3 am I woke up my husband, and decided to take the cat to the emergency vet – I pay for pet insurance every month, so I may as well use it rather than stay up stressing with no solution in the middle of the night. Three hours later, after some blood work and examinations, they concluded that it was just a cold, and sent us home with some medicine for the little guy. We got home right as I my alarm went off around 5:15, the time I had been planning to get up for the race.

Mike was planning to pick me up at 6 am, and after some back and forth I decided to go to the race. Worst case I could walk or drop out of I felt too tired, but I felt ok, and figured I could just take a fat nap post-race. 

It was a chilly morning, and we found our friends Rob and Michal as we waited in line to pick up our race bibs. Once we had our numbers we headed back to the car, so we could keep warm as we waited for the race to start. The race was set to start at 7:30, and just after 7 I left my friends in the car and went to stand in the porter potty line. Mike and Michal found me near there, and the three of us headed to the start together.

We planned to just run by feel, and stick together throughout the race. The plan here was to use the race as a training run anyway, so no one was trying to PR or anything. The race started, and I struggled a little to get going. I set my watch to just show the time of day, and ignored it as it buzzed out with the pace for the first few miles, not talking much and just listening to Mike and Michal chat, glad that there were three of us so I could just hang out without contributing much. Eventually I settled in, and started to feel good – it was nice to finally have some “good” running weather, after a summer of hot and humid mornings. Somewhere around mile 4, Michal commented on our pace being good – I had been ignoring the pace, but gave into temptation and looked – low 10s, I was shocked. I dismissed the pace chatter, and told them I didn’t want to talk about it, as we plowed on.

Michal was carrying handheld water bottles, which is her plan for fall marathons, so she needed to stop to refill at an aid station. I felt like if I stopped running I would loose my groove, so when they walked to take care of a refill (and an untied shoe for Mike), I kept running and after a few minutes they caught up to me. The three of us kept chatting, and as we slipped into the later miles of the race, I was surprised at how good I felt. We kept that same rhythm of me running through aid stations and them catching up, until it happened around mile 10. I didn’t realize I was doing it at the time, but after a turnaround at an out and back, I realized that I had pulled further ahead than I expected to. I peeked at my watch, and saw that I was running a sub-10 minute mile…. And I felt good.

In the years that I have been running, I have always heard people talk about how the best way to “race” a half marathon is to keep a consistent pace for the first 10 miles, and then treat the last 3 miles like a 5k and leave it all out there. While I hadn’t meant to pick up the pace, I felt good – so I decided to go for it, and challenged myself to run the last three miles progressively faster. I ran my last three miles at a 9:49, a 9:28, and an 8:58. It wasn’t my fastest half, but I felt proud as I crossed the finish line – glad that I had shown up for the race and pushed myself at the end of it.

I waited by the finish for Mike and Michal to run through and learned that Mike even pulled off a PR that day! It was a good day for running all around.

It was a good morning for running, and then I went out with my husband, brother, and Sophie to celebrate Sophie’s birthday. The rest of the day was a bit of a wash, as I spent most of it napping after a hard effort that morning + a bad night of sleep the night before.

That half marathon was really a reminder of how much I love this sport, and it made me feel more like myself than I have in a long time.

Week 9: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

Well, week 9 means we are officially more than halfway through marathon training – yikes!

To be reflective for a moment, I think I am doing a really good job with my runs. So far, I have only missed 1 planned run in the last 9 weeks, which I feel is something to be proud of, On the other hand, while I was doing well with consistently strength training and cross training in the first month or so, I have not been doing a great job with it the last 2-3 weeks. So, my goal moving forward is to make sure that I am cross training at least twice a week, but hopefully a little more than that!

Monday was a travel day, as Den, Tommy and I made our way home from Atlanta. I really planned to run after work on Tuesday, but was so wiped out that I wound up going to bed before 8:30. After a full weekend of activities, my body was feeling the fatigue. I doubled down on Wednesday morning, telling myself that I was going to get up and run – and then it rained.

So, I texted Mike to see if he was around and free to run Wednesday night – lucky for me, he was planning to do his long run that night, as the weekend marked his husband’s birthday, and they had lots of celebrations planned that would keep him from having time to get it in then. So Mike ran 9 miles on his treadmill, and then met me at my house and we headed out for 7 miles together. It was getting darker by the minute by the minute, and I loaded up with lights, pulling on my flashing vest and my gloves with lights on them. I also pulled on a hat, since it was a little drizzly still.

I felt so stiff as we got moving and was reminded of alexi pappas’ quote about how when you are training you should feel great 1/3 of the time, ok 1/3 of the time, and crappy 1/3 of the time – this was definitely the crappy third. But at least I was with Mike, and we were able to chat to pass the time. It took 3 miles, but I eventually settled into the run and started to feel a bit better – not good per se, but not like I wanted to lay down on the floor and call the run done.

I reminded myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and to be thankful that I was capable of being out for a run. We talked about the tragic murder of Eliza Fletcher, and how she was killed while she was just out for a run, doing what she loved. Her death weighed heavy on both of our hearts, thinking about how she had young children, and how heartbroken her family must be.

By the time we finished our 7 miles, we were both dripping with sweat, and needed to chug some water. I got in from the run, ate some dinner, and went right to bed. It was a simple end to the night.

Even though I ran Wednesday night, I felt like I still wanted to get out Thursday morning and run a few miles. So I messaged Dad, and he agreed to accompany me on his bike. I got to his house and we went through our regular 3 mile loop, as the sun climbed higher into the sky. Soon, these runs are gonna be more dark than light. I felt good Thursday morning, and the weather was actually on the pleasant side. Dad even broke out his bike gloves so his hands wouldn’t get chilly.

That night I headed to the track with the merrick bicycle Tri Team – UCan was kind enough to send me a few boxes of their new pineapple gels to sample with the tri team, so Sami helped me organize a track night to hand them out. It was more on the informal side, and Mike and I opted to just run laps of the track rather than following a workout, pushing on the straights and recovering on the curves.

My next run was set for Saturday, and I had 16 miles on tap. All of my usual running crew was unavailable – Mike had done his run during the week, Katie and Michal had other plans, and my parents had headed to Hawaii for a two-week vacation, so I was on my own. I made the mistake of not setting an alarm, since I was going to be running solo anyway, and was shocked when I woke up around 10:30 am – my body had apparently decided I needed 12 hours of sleep! If it was colder, this would not have been an issue – but it was a hot day, with temps in the 80s and the sun high in the sky by the time I got outside. I really did not want to run 16 miles on the treadmill, so I decided to split my run in two – with 6.2 miles outside and 9.8 miles on the tread. I headed outside without water, figuring I would loop by my house at some point – but a little after mile 2 I ran by the local Starbucks and bought a water bottle, because I was so thirsty. Having the water bottle helped a lot though, and I was able to get through the rest of the outdoor miles without any issues – I even spotted my uncle along the way, out walking his dogs.

When I got back to the house, I set up a movie on the T.V. over my treadmill and got to work. The 10 miles on the tread were full struggle, to be honest. After waking up late and not eating much before starting my run, I was starting to get hungry as the day ticked into the afternoon, and after really having to push through every moment, I had to take a break at mile 13 and eat some real food – gels just weren’t cutting it at that point. I grabbed a bag of goldfish and wolfed them down, and immediately felt better after getting some food in my system. After that the last few miles weren’t necessarily “good,” but they were more manageable. I was very happy when I finally hit the 16-mile mark and got to abandon the treadmill.

I felt a bit disheartened when I finished the 16 mile run, but reminded myself that not every run can feel great – especially not every long run, and in this case I was dealing with less than ideal conditions, which were admittedly my own fault, since I decided to sleep in that morning and had to deal with the mid-day heat. But at the end of the day, I showed up, and got 16 miles underfoot – and that counts for something!

Sunday Mike and I headed into NYC for one of his favorite events – the 5th avenue mile. As the name implies, it is a one-mile race down 5th avenue in NYC. Since it starts later than most NYRR races, we opted to take the long island rail road into the city, instead of driving in, like we do for most races. We hopped on the train and then took a subway from Penn station to the MET, where Bib pickup was happening.
When we picked up our race numbers, they also gave us the race giveaway – a pair of shorts. We debated what to do with the shorts, and ultimately mike offered to run to the bag check at the finish like while I waited to use the porter potties, so that we would not have to come back to the bag check at the start after the race was over.

Mike and I were in the same corral, which was a deviation from the last time we ran this event – in the past even though we are the same age, we were split into the men and womens waves – but this time runners were split only by age, with no regards to gender, which meant we could start together.

After feeling like I had blown up during my long run the day before, I told Mike to leave me behind and run his own race, because I was nervous about going all out for a mile. The last time I ran this race I had pulled off a 6:53 – but this morning I was hoping to be able to go sub-8. Based off my current fitness, I felt like that was a realistic goal.

The race announcer counted down, and our corral was off. Mike jetted away, and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to get swept up in the excitement and take off too fast. I set a pace alert on my watch to let me know if I ran faster than a 7 min/mi or slower than an 8 min/mi, and was resolved to not look at it as long as it was not yelling at me, and to run by feel.

There are course markers every quarter mile, and then every few hundred yards in the last quarter mile. 5th avenue is a sneaky uphill climb, where your legs start to feel tired even though you don’t necessarily see a hill. But I could feel when we shifted from uphill to downhill, and geared up my pace as much as I could. I was relieved when the finish line was finally in sight, and glided through with the last bit of effort I could muster – pulling off a 7:44 mile. My fastest mile in quite some time. At some point in the race I passed Mike, which I realized while looking around after crossing the finish line and spotting him behind me.

We headed right home after, since we had plans to go out to brunch for Mike’s husbands birthday. It was only a mile race, but getting to go to brunch after felt like a reward for a job well done.

Week 8: Training for the NYC marathon

This week was a bit different than the rest of my training for two reasons – first, I was heading to Atlanta for labor day weekend to visit my cousin, so I had re-arranged my long run schedule so that I would only have a 10-miler to do, and I planned to do it Thursday night instead of Saturday or Sunday. Second, my mom was sick, so my morning run support was more limited than usual.

Because of the travel I had planned, my calendar for the week looked like this:

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 7 miles

Wednesday: Cross train

Thursday: 10 miles

Friday: 4 miles

I planned to run after work on Monday, to give my body a little extra time to recover after Sunday’s long run before getting back into things. I wound up with a giant blister on my big toe after Sunday’s long run, and that was my biggest concern when I headed out to run Monday night. I had it wrapped up with a blister band-aid, but still spent most of the run nervous that it had popped. It was a humid night, and I was drenched with sweat by the time that I finished my short three-mile run (remember in week one, where three miles felt like a lot? We have apparently made it to the point in marathon training when I can call three miles short again).

Tuesday Mike and I coordinated for an evening run, and I headed from my house to his house on foot, as he ran towards me. We found each other around the half-way point and continued local loops as the sun began to set. We chatted as we ran by the local library and the highschool, and l clicked on my light up vest as it got darker. We passed my house at mile 6.5, so I continued with Mike for ¼ mile as he started to head back to his house. With the little out and back at the end of the run, I managed to get in a even 7 miles.

I wasn’t really planning to run on Wednesday morning, but dad pushed me to get out there again. I worried that my legs would be tired after Tuesday night’s run, but the weather was mild Wednesday morning, and I rolled myself out of bed and drove over to my parent’s house. I just wanted to get in 3 miles, and dad and I took off on our usual 3 mile loop, chatting as we went. In September my parents will be travelling and unable to meet me for morning runs, so I wanted to take full advantage of having morning run company while I could. 

My original plan for the week was to do my long run Thursday night, but Dad offered to get up super early with me on Friday morning, so that I could run 10 miles before work. Since I knew I would have company Friday, I opted to take a rest day on Thursday, which gave me the time I needed to pack and prepare for my weekend trip to Atlanta.

10 miles before work meant a very early morning on Friday – My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am, and I was at my parent’s house before 5 am. Dad and I got out on the road just after 5, and since we were keeping it local, we began the first of many loops around his neighborhood. I wore my light up vest, as it was pitch dark when we started running, and the headlight on his bike blinked brightly. Eventually the sun started to come up, and I pulled on my sunglasses as to not be blinded any time we ran east. Slowly but surely I made it through the 10 miles, taking in a some U can before and about half-way through the run to stay fueled. I felt good, although a little tired, when I finished the run. I did have a reward waiting for myself at home – a delicious duck donut, as a little prize for getting up and putting in the work.

Mike had gotten in his long run on the treadmill Thursday night after I went to bed, and we were surprised when we learned that even though we did not run together, and I did not know his pace while I was running Friday morning, we had covered the same distance (which was planned) at the EXACT SAME PACE. I guess that bodes well for our plan of running the marathon together in November.

 After work on Friday Mike drove Dennis and I to the airport, and we met my brother Tommy there. The three of us flew into Atlanta together, and Jen was waiting for us at the airport with her husband Will to pick us up when we landed. We had such an amazing weekend together, between just hanging out and chatting, going into the city to explore restaurants on the beltline and heading north to some vineyards. It was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time, and I was glad that I got all of my runs in earlier in the week so that I felt comfortable just going with the flow, and not worrying about trying to squeeze a run in.

Enjoying a much needed break in Atlanta with my brother Tommy and my cousin Jen!

Week 7: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

It has been the kind of week where I really have to think about what I did on Monday as I sit down to write this – I have been so busy that one day has just flowed into the other, and the only common thread has been that I would like to go to bed early.

I was feeling good on Monday morning, it turns out that prioritizing recovery really does have an impact on your body after a long run! I slept in that morning, and after work I walked over to the pool and got in 30 minutes of laps. We have reached the point in the summer where people seem to have forgotten that the public pools exist, so despite warm temps, I was literally the only person in the pool for 90% of my swim. But that meant that I was able to snag the longest lap lane, so I was happy. When I got home after den had made pasta to go with the leftover sauce that we used to make pizza on Sunday, and it was delicious.

Tuesday morning I had three miles to get done, and as usual I headed to my parent’s house to run. Dad was having some technical difficulties with strava as we got going, and then I looked at my watch and saw my garmin was having issues too, reporting a completely inaccurate and impossibly fast pace – so I threw out the first 5 minutes of the run, and restarted my watch.

I felt really good that morning, despite the humidity. There were thunderstorms predicted for later that day, and the air was heavy in anticipation of them. As I made my way through the second mile I thought about how my brother, Tom, had been hitting the treadmill lately with the goal of 10-minute miles, and decided that for mile 3 I was going to push the pace, just to see how it would feel and what I could manage, without too much discomfort. By the end of the mile I was breathing heavy, and my heart rate was up, but my mile buzzer went off with a 9 minute mile, and given that I was struggling to run a 12 minute mile two months ago, I was freaking proud of that 9. After the run I took a 10-minute core class on the peloton app, and then a 5-minute post-run stretch.

I had to skip a run on Wednesday morning, to attend an annual memorial mass that my family has for my Grandma. My initial plan was to run after work, but during the day I while chatting with my running buddies, we decided to do our long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, so instead I decided I would run Thursday and Friday morning, since I would have Saturday to recover before my long run. I still fit some movement in on Wednesday and headed to a yoga class with my friend Nicole that night.

I got up even earlier than normal on Thursday, so that I would have time to get in 6 miles before work. I headed to my parents’ house, and we got outside while it was still dark. I ran along as the sun came up, keeping the pace easy, and just kept moving forward to get through the miles. Dad even made me breakfast when we got back to his house.

After work I met up with some members of the tri-team for a “bootcamp” style HIIT class. It was a “lower body” day, and we spend 45 minutes doing dynamic movements, banded exercises, and lots of squats. I was dripping with sweat by the end of the class, and proud that I had made it through 45 mins of intense strength training. I knew I was going to feel it the next day.

Remember how I said I was going to run Friday morning? Well, I had a failure to launch. After the HIIT class on Thursday night, my body was tired. I told myself that I would just run after work – which also turned out to be a lie. By the time I got home from work Friday night the muscle soreness had fully set into my legs, and I could not talk myself into going for a run. Instead I had an early bedtime, so that my early morning on Saturday would feel a little more tolerable.

In a rare occurrence, the early Saturday was not so that I could run, but instead so I could volunteer at a NYRR race with Mike! We headed into central park and helped man the bag check for the morning’s race. We had a good time helping runners out, and both agreed that if it wasn’t such a pain to get into central park we would do this more often. Once we got home from the race I spent the rest of the day relaxing, feeling a little stressed about the 15 miler we had planned for the next day.

It was another weekend of meeting up with Mike and Michal to get in our long runs together, and Michal and I were determined to do a better job with our salt experiment this time around. Michal set an alarm on her watch to remind us to take salt every 20 minutes as we ran along, and it really helped. I also managed to not drop my salt after the first use, so that was a plus as well.

I decided to run with my hydration vest, since it would just be the three of us out there with no support. In addition to water in the bladder, I popped a handheld water bottle filled with liquid IV into one of the front pouches, because I really did not want a repeat of the fatigue I felt after last weekend’s humid long run, and I felt like better fueling would help with that. I was also stocked up with Ucan and Huma gels (I didn’t have enough of one brand to get me through the whole run, so it was a bit of the mix and match game), which I planned to take every three miles. In the past I have typically done gels every 4-5 miles, but with the slower paces I am running these days plus the humid weather, I decided to fuel a little more frequently this week. I packed my knee strap in my vest, but hoped I would be able to get through the run without needing it.

After a slight morning delay, we still managed to get out onto the Bethpage trail before 7 am. We started our run heading north, with a plan to go out for 4.5 miles and then turn around, so that Mike and Michal could refill their waters at the car at mile 9, plus a stop at a local hotel for a water fountain refill around mile 5. We chatted as we made our way through the gentle rolling hills, and groaned in unison as we slogged through the two hills that really felt like climbs on this part of the run. We kept the pace conversational, and cheered our salt containers together when the alarm went off reminding us to take more.

We took turns talking about our lives, and I was reminded how thankful I am for my running friends – there is just something about suffering through a long run together that really bonds you together, and I don’t know how I would have survived the last year if it were not for the people that running has brought me together with.

It was humid, but the sky gave us cloud coverage that was amazing compared to the sunny skies of the previous weekend. We all felt good when we got to mile 9, happy that we just had to do 6 more to reach our goal of 15. This time we headed south on the trail, doing 3 miles before turning back, with a bathroom pit stop around mile 10. When we reached our turn around point at mile 12, I started to feel like I was getting a blister on my foot but tried not to think about it too much. The cloud coverage held, and while we were all tired as we approached mile 15, we agreed that we felt good! I was so happy when we reached the end of this run and could not stop telling Mike and Michal exactly that. It was the running confidence boost that I needed after the prior weekend’s difficult 12 miler.

We stretched together for a minute before loading into our cars and heading home, and when I peeled off my shoe I did discover a giant blister on the side of my big toe. Welp. At least it didn’t pop. But my runs were done for week 7, and I was happy with how the week had gone.