Mileage planned: 24 - 37 (Plan had an option of 16 miler or 5k)
Mileage Complete: 28.6
With my longest run of the training cycle for the NYC marathon complete, I get to taper for the next few weeks.... which may be the hardest part of training for a marathon.
On Monday I wanted to get in a few easy miles to shake my legs out after yesterday's run, so Kasey and I made plans to meet up when I got out of work. However, by the end of the day my IT band was aching, and after the issues I had with it during my last training cycle I knew that I was better off skipping the run rather than powering through it. So we adjusted our plan and did a Yoga for Runners video that was up on YouTube. The video was easy to follow, and my hips and IT band felt looser after - it was from the "yoga with Adrienne" channel.
My Garmin was acting out on Tuesday morning, refusing to sync to the correct time. I tried to fix it before Kasey and my morning run, to no avail. I fought with it more after the run and eventually got it working after about a dozen resets of my watch and phone. The run with Kasey was good though, but a little cold. My jacket may have been a bit of overkill, and it was tied around my waist by the end of the run.
Swim was on the easier side on Tuesday night. After a few warm-up laps we worked on drills to improve our form for breaststroke. We even got to practice while wearing paddles and flippers.
Wednesday I took a rest day, but Thursday Kasey and I were up and running early as usual. It's pretty dark in the mornings now, and Dad didn't come out with us at all this week - he has been feeling a little under the weather, so is opting to take it easy. The swim class on Thursday night was super challenging for me, as the class was almost all laps and no drills - exhausting! It was a great workout though, and I felt strong for getting through it. We ended the class with timed 100m repeats, with the goal of the second 50m being faster than the first 50m.
I was planning to go to the track on Friday morning, something I don't love doing alone. Since I knew that Dad wasn't feeling well, I texted Kasey asking if she would be willing to do one extra morning wake up this week. Lucky for me I caught her right as she was waking up from a nap and she agreed without hesitation, not being sure what day of the week it was. But then at swim on Thursday night My friend Allison who is on the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team with me said that she wanted to do a track workout as well, so Kasey was off the hook for Friday morning. Ali came by my house early and we did our warm-up around the neighborhood before heading to the track. The weather was perfect for a track morning, just a little bit chilly and not humid at all. After the warm-up the workout consisted of:
1x1600/800 recovery
1x1200/600 recovery
1x800/400 recovery
1x400/200 recovery
1x1200/600 recovery
And then we did out cool-down as we headed back to my house after. The workout went really well, and I managed to hit all of my numbers. It is always great to have people willing to run with me, it makes it much easier to get out there for early morning runs.
On my running schedule for this weekend I had two options - either race a 5k or a 16 mile long run. Well, since Kasey has been upping her mileage lately, we decided to sign up to run a 10k this weekend. So I decided that my plan for the weekend would be to do a 6 mile run on Saturday and then run the 10k with Kasey on Sunday.
Saturday started out with a class at Emerge yoga. As I approach the taper, I like to be able to do a lot of yoga, so I signed up for an unlimited monthly pass. I met up with Rachel and Ali for a flying fitness class, and it was a great time. It did manage to kick by butt though, as I have been slacking in the strength training department for the last few weeks - my core was sore for days after! When I got home from yoga I headed out for a solo run, and the weather was lovely. I ran for an hour and managed to log about 6.5 miles, feeling great.
For the 10k on Sunday morning I picked up Kasey and Rachel around 7, and we headed out to Stonybrook. I debated a lot as I picked out my race day outfit, as the weather was going to be in the 50s, but it was sunny out so I did not want to wind up too warm during the race. I went with a tank top and shorts eventually, and it worked out well. We all had a great time at the race, and it was a challenging but enjoyable course. To read more about the race, check back for my recap of it this Wednesday!
But the best thing about this 10k? The text I got from Kasey after.... seems like our next goal may be running a half together!
Last year I ran the United Airlines NYC half, and had brought up the idea of entering the lottery to run it together this year. It has a new course and was a great time last year, so I am hoping she decided to enter the lottery, or signs up to run the Rock and Roll race in DC with me. Either way, it would be a great experience.