Week 4: July 31
Total Mileage planned: 7
Mileage complete: 8.2
When I put together my training plan, I built in a lower mileage week so that I would be able to enjoy vacation without stressing about finding time for runs. It made for a total of 17 weeks of training instead of 16, and I was glad to have the extra week - especially when I managed to catch a cold!
Mid way though the hike to the Beach, we stopped by a smaller beach. Center is Dennis and me, left is his sister Liz and her boyfriend Bobby, and right is his sister Rachel and her boyfriend Greg.
The day after my long run on the cruise I spent most of the day hanging out on deck with Dennis and his family, and before dinner I got in a short run on the treadmill and took an ab class that the fitness center offered. It was an early morning the next day, as the ship was going to be docked in Tortola. We had a shore excursion planned, and got to go to devils bay to hike through some rock formations on the way to the beach which we would spend the day at. I had never been to Tortola before, and it was beautiful. The hike wasn't too challenging, but it got a little tricky trying to get our beach supplies through some of the smaller openings.
When we got back on the ship I headed back to the jogging deck with a plan to run four miles. Unfortunately, the crew was in the process of washing the deck, so to the gym I went. I ran two miles on the treadmill, then decided to check if the deck had been reopened - the view of the port was so beautiful and I wanted to enjoy it during my run. I got lucky and the deck was reopened, so I finished the final two miles of my run outside.
Up next was the Castaway Cay 5k, which takes place on the last full day of the cruise while the ship is docked at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. I signed up for the race at the front desk, and showed up early Friday morning to pick up my race bib. At bib pickup they handed out course maps, and made sure that everyone knew where the loops and turnarounds of the race were.
A map of the 5k course from the Disney Cruise Line Blog
We shuffled off the ship and onto the island, and boy was it hot! Most of the course was in the sun, but at least they had a water stop set up right by a turnaround point on the course. I started the race with Dennis's sisters and their boyfriends, but quickly settled into my own pace and took off. I managed to finish in 26 minutes even, which I was happy with, considering my 5k PR is just under 25 minutes. We spent the rest of the day recovering in the sand on the beach, dipping our toes in the ocean and relaxing.
Once we got off the ship we spent a few more days in Disney, then headed home to New York.
Week 5: August 7
Total Mileage planned: 22
Mileage complete: 19.8
I somehow always manage to get sick when I come home from vacation, and there was no exception with this trip. Still, I got to a few Orange theory classes during the week, and managed to get back to running before work by the end of the week.
Dad joined me on his bike for my morning miles on Friday, and we got in 5 before work.
I had a tempo run planned for the weekend - 9 miles consisting of a 5 mile warm-up, 2 miles at an 8:30 pace, and a 2 mile cool down. Dad biked while I ran along the bike path at Jones beach again, and the sun was relentless! It was a hard run to end the week with, but it felt good to get it done.
Week 6: August 14
Total Mileage planned: 30
Mileage complete: 34.1
This was the week of many track workouts.... by which I mean three. I had not done a track workout since before vacation, as when I got home I was not feeling well enough to push as hard is necessary for a track workout.
I started Monday morning off with an almost 7 mile workout. I ran to the local high school's track, with Dad on his bike. After a 2 mile warm-up I started running hard so I would hit the speeds I needed. It was a humid day, but the run went well and I was happy to be getting over my cold!
I like to write my track plans on my hand, so I can reference it easily when running
Other runs this week included 4 orange theory classes, two more track workouts, three easy runs with my brother Tom and cousin Jen, and a race to end the week.
The next track workout was with Merrick Bicycles Tri Team on Wednesday night. It was super humid, and the coach brought a challenging plan for us. The laps she had us doing were 400 and 800 m repeats, and things always get competitive among my teammates. By the time Friday rolled around, when I had my final track workout, I was exhausted! I knew that three was a lot of track days, but I felt like I needed to play catch up after falling behind with vacation and a cold, so i got as much of it done as I could, cutting the last repeat off of my plan.
Out for a one mile run with Tommy, Kevin and Jen
The runs that I do with my brother Tom generally range from 1-2 miles, although most are one mile even, around the same loop near our house - what can i say, Tom is a creature of habit. On the days that I talk him into doing two miles, it is often met with hesitation on his part. But this week we did one 2 mile run and two one mile runs. On the one mile runs my cousin Jen joined us - she was in town, visiting from GA and had never run a continuous mile, so we were super excited when she managed to run the full loop! Since returning to GA, Jen has continued to work on her mileage, and is even looking into running her first races! My brother Kevin also came along for one of the one mile runs, and I was happy to have so many of my people running with me at once.
On Sunday Jennie and I were signed up to do the Runners Edge Whisper run - I ran the 10k and she ran the 5k. It was great weather for a race, a little bit cloudy with a light breeze. We wished each other luck at the start, and took off running. The run took place in Eisenhower park, and the 10k was just two loops of the 5k course. The race started near the center of the park, looped around the skating rink, then went by the softball fields. After the softball fields it cut across the soccer fields, which was probably my least favorite part of the course as we had to run over grass rather than on pavement. It definitely slowed me down a little, but i managed to pass two people on the grass during the second loop. After the grassy area it went through the picnic area, then back to the center of the park. The finish line was located right next to the start, and by the time I finished my second loop Jennie and Dad were both cheering at the finish line. While i was 2 minutes short of a PR, i managed to take first place in my age group, which got me a really cool laser cut wooden medal, and a pound of coffee - which at least Dad was excited for (I am not a coffee drinker). I was really proud of Jennie, because at this race she managed to finish the 5k in less than 40 minutes for the first time. She only started running a few months ago, and has already worked so hard and improved so much. I can't wait to see what she accomplishes in time!
