Total mileage planned: 30
Total mileage complete: 34.9
Ever since pausing my orange theory membership, I somehow feel like I am slacking. So this week I had to remind myself that I am training for a marathon, and that marathon training and swim class is not slacking! Anyway, this week went according to plan, and I even got in three swim sessions to make up for the one that I missed last week.
Den's sister Rachel got out of work early Monday, so we decided to head out for an easy run together. We kept it conversational for 2.5 miles, and just ran the usual route in my neiborhood. An easy run was welcome after the long run the day before.
Tuesday means a morning run with Kasey, and we were up and going before the sun. We were both feeling the long run from Sunday, but after I dropped Kasey off I decided to push the pace a little if only to prove to myself that I could. I managed to get the last mile of my run down to a 8:21 pace, which I was happy with. Sometimes I like to kick up the pace at the end of a run just to remind myself that I can, and even though it can be hard it helps me remember that I am strong and can push even when I'm tired. It was chilly enough this morning that I was able to break out one of my long sleeve Run Disney shirts, which I have missed all summer!
Made it to swim class on Tuesday night and the laps were challenging but I feel like I really made some progress with the drills that we did. The coaches rotate every week between the different groups of swimmers (the groups are sorted by speed and skill), and this weeks coach, Rich, was great (I mean, they are all great but he had such a hands on approach, and at the end of every drill had a helpful correction.). He recommended that I come to Sundays swim session, as they would be working on more techniques that would benefit me.
Saved my Wednesday workout for the evening, when I met up the with Merrick Bicycles Tri Team for the second-to-last track night of the season. The turn out was smaller than usual, as a lot of athletes have finished their races for the season, but the workout was as challenging as ever. The prescribed paces varied between a 10k and 5k paces and the body weight exercises included squats, push-ups, burpees and planks.
Thursday was the second double day of the week, with a run in the morning and swim at night. Dad joined Kasey and I on bike for the run, and we ran through our usual route. On this particular run Kasey was wearing a shirt that read "Impossible is nothing." Now, this may seem like a generic sports line, but for whatever reason it really resonated with me on this run and for the rest of the day. I only started running about 2.5 years ago, and the fact that it is now a part of my daily life when I used to struggle to complete even a mile without walking amazes me.
I remember hearing about people finishing marathons, and thinking that it was the most incredible thing. That these people had the strength and determination to run for 26.2 miles left me awe struck. It was something I dreamed of, but not being able to run a mile really made it feel impossible! So the fact that I have run two marathons and am training for my third really proves to me that impossible is only a limitation that you put on yourself. So as much as the goals I have today may sometimes feel impossible, maybe one day I will reach them.
Thursday night swim went really well. We did times laps to start off, first on every 40 seconds for 75m then on 60 seconds for 25m. I like laps like this because they give me time to catch my breath, so I can really focus on making sure my forum is good rather than just trying to survive. We ended the class with a team drill, that involved being thrown into a faster lane and doing 100m repeats with each 25m length alternating between a "hard" and "easy" effort level.
One other thing that happened Thursday - I signed Dad and I up for the Disney Princess 5k in February. I was already signed up for the "fairy tale challenge" and had been kicking myself for not registering us for the 5k before it sold out, so when Raw threads Athletic had bibs available I jumped on the chance to get us signed up. Now I will be able to share my love of RunDisney with Dad so I am really looking forward to that.
I ended the work week with a morning track session, and really had to push to get through this one. For the first time in a long time, I missed a lot of my numbers, generally by 2-5 seconds. It was a morning of "close, but not quite." I tried not to beat myself up too much, and at least finished the full distance of the workout. My legs were just not feeling up to the paces I needed them to go at. I ran a total of 8.6 miles, so at least it was a good distance covered.
Saturday was a rest day, and Dad and I had plans to head into the city for New York Comic Con. It's an annual fall tradition for us, that started back in 2011. While I've dressed up and made big costumes in the past I didn't have anything planned for this year, so before we left I rummaged through my closet and pulled out an outfit that bore resemblance to the one that Hermione wears at the end of the third Harry Potter movie, and decided to wear that. We had a good time at the con, and ended the day at the starlight diner for dinner, a frequent stop for us when we venture into Manhattan.
Dad and I at New York Comic Con, 2017 - Our 7th year going to NYCC!
Sunday is weekly long run day, but I only had to do 12 miles this week. As per the swim coaches instruction, I headed to swim first thing in the morning. It was rainy, so I had no excuse to not go since I wanted the weather to clear up a little before my run. This wound up being my longest swim session to date, with a total of 2500 m covered. The coach took videos of us so we could see what we needed to correct, which I found super helpful.
I was a little nervous about trying to run after swim, but honestly I felt great. I was excited to get moving when I got home, and ran to Kasey's house to grab her for the first few miles. I decided to try to make each mile about 10 seconds faster than the previous one, which really made the miles fly by. Kasey ran the first three and the last three miles with me. It was rainy so she didn't do the middle 6 on bike, but I ran by her house at mile nine so she could finish the run with me. I was prepared for the rain with a baseball cap and my water resistant headphones, and just enjoyed having the moments to myself. Rainy training runs are something that I always enjoy, so long as its not pouring, and this run was super relaxing despite the increasing pace. I finished the run feeling really hungry, but I suppose stacking swim and a long run one after the other can do that to a person.