Week 11: Summer came back and brought its friend, Humidity.

Week 11: September 18

Total Mileage planned: 27

Mileage complete: 27.1

This training cycle is flying by, I can't believe that week 11 is already over! Just a few more weeks of long runs stand between me and the NYC marathon. I may have broke down and pre-ordered the finisher's jacket that New Balance is selling...

With all the mileage I have been logging lately, I decided that I needed to pause my orange theory membership until after the race - I was only getting to 1-2 classes a week, and that was just not enough to justify the monthly cost. So on Monday, I took one last class before putting my membership on hold. I plan on going back after the race, so I have one thing to look forward to when post-marathon blues set in. Kasey and I headed to a night time class, and it was a power day that included a lot of switching and WAY TOO MANY SQUATS. It's not like I ran 18 miles the day before or anything... Oh wait. 

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Tuesday means morning miles with Kasey and Dad, and we we out bright and early, before the sun but not before the humidity.

Remember like two weeks ago when it felt like fall in summer? Can we have that back here in NY? Apparently not, because now that fall is actually at hand the humidity is back with a vengeance. The only redeeming part of the weather this morning was the light drizzle that was going throughout. That night I had another swim session, where we worked on drills and improving breathing techniques. I logged about 1800 meters for the night. I need to pick out a new pair of goggles, as the pair I have is about 6 years old and has seen better days.

Wednesday became an unexpected rest day when the tri team track night got cancelled. So, I took advantage of the free time and went and got Italian Ices with a few of the ladies from the team! I love it when I get the chance to socialize with team mates without being out of breath because I'm also running at the time. Group runs are great too, but this was a welcome change for the night.

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When I headed out the door for my run on Thursday morning, I opted to leave my headphones behind. While I'm not someone who does every run with music, I felt like lately I had been relying on it as a distraction a little too much. I ran to Kasey's house to grab her for the run, and then took the quiet time to really unplug and just be in the moment. Turns out I had forgotten just how nice that can be. 

Swim class on Thursday night was almost relaxing, other than the fact that I still feel winded about 60% of the time I'm in the pool. But the classes are starting to feel like a part of my routine, and I can count on them to be challenging which isn't a bad thing. With every class I know my forum is improving, and I can feel myself getting stronger.

The track workout on my schedule wasn't too bad this week, just a 2 mile warm-up and then 6 yasso-800s, followed by a 1 mile cool-down. A brief comment on Yasso-800's: The concept was created by Bart Yasso, who while training for marathons would log 800m repeats at a track, and saw over time that his average pace in the 800m repeats would correlate to his marathon finish time. For example, if he averaged a 3:00 800m repeat, he would finish a marathon in around 3 hours. Other runners at Runners World tested this out when they learned of it from Bart Yasso, and found the same was true for them - and the Yasso-800 was born. My goal time for these 800s was a 8:00 min/mile, or an average of 4 minutes per repeat. I ran around the neighborhood to get in my warm-up and got to work as soon as I got to the track. My average time for the 800s? Right around 3 minutes and 55 seconds, which hopefully means I am on my way to my long term goal of breaking 4 hours in a marathon. I don't plan to go for this during the NYC marathon, as I want to take in everything the race has to offer without stressing about my time every three seconds, but this will probably be my goal for the Run Rock 'n' Roll marathon in Washington D.C. in March of 2018.... assuming I manage to commit to a 4th consecutive marathon training cycle, which I am not really sure is something that I want to do. Anyway, the track work went well, and I used the run home as my cool-down.

Saturday was a rest day, and Sunday was the New Balance Bronx 10-miler. I was fortunate enough that Dennis agreed to drive me to the race, because there was no easy way for me to get from the middle of Long Island to the starting line that early in the morning by means of mass transit. While I could have driven myself, I was happy that he agreed to get me to the start line. My goal for the race? Turn it into a tempo run, with 6 miles at an 8:30 pace, and use the other 4 miles as a warm-up/cool-down. How did it go? Well, I made the same rookie mistake I made at the 18-mile tune-up, and chased a pacer....BUT, I enjoyed the race, and had a great day hanging out with Dennis and my parents at the Maker Faire at the NY Hall of Science after. 

All in all, I would say week 11 went well, and I am feeling like I will be well prepared for the NYC Marathon next month. 

Check back in the coming weeks to hear more about the NB Bronx 10 miler, and to hear about how crazy I feel when I have to start tapering! Until next time!