Remember that time I said weekly blog posts were coming back?
Yeah, me too.
I wrote out a whole post for week two, but it just felt like a lot of complaining – my asthma flared up again that week, and it just put a big old negative vibe over how I felt about the whole training cycle at that point. I try to share the ups and the downs of training, but there’s a difference between a “down” and a long winded complaint about not being able to breathe.
And then there’s the whole laptop issue – as in mine decided, after five plus years of loyal service, to throw up a blue screen of death. Cool computer, cool. I guess I really should have invested in that external hard drive, considering the amount of turmoil my heart was in at the idea of losing years of photos.
After Dennis and Tommy both deemed the computer situation too precarious for them to be comfortable trying to risk it (both feared death at my hands if the photos were lost), I called in backup: My co-worker and friend, Ben, who has basically been my computer lifeline for the last 8 years. And after a bit of what I assume was wizardry, he managed to pull the contents of my hard drive off the computer, and onto a newly-purchased external drive – hallelujah! I then had to sort through the contents of the drive, and make sure that everything I needed was there, before he could wipe the computer and restore it to proper functioning.
That seemingly little task, checking the files, I somehow managed to avoid for weeks – it was one of those little things that nags at the back of your mind, but you somehow forget until you’re passing out or half way through a long run, and have no means of getting it done at that exact moment.
Me and My co-worker turned friend Desi, at the planet fitness where we do our strength training.
So, laptop-less, the blog sat stagnant for the last month. Now that Dennis and I are living together, I did have his desktop as an option (which is where this post is coming to you from), but it somehow doesn’t feel the same as my laptop, which I have written all my other posts on. I suppose I am just somehow sentimental about the computer that helped me put my thoughts out there to the world.
Now, lets get to the good stuff – the running!
The good news is, after week two of training the ability to breathe returned to me, and I finally found a combo of allergy meds that work well enough to make me a functional human again. Instead of going through all of the runs and workouts that I have done over the last month, I’m going to talk about my training schedule, and some of my favorite sessions that I have gotten in so far during this training cycle, and update you about some of my running friends!
This time around, the heavier hitting weeks have me logging about 40 miles, with 3-5 cross training sessions weekly. My ideal week, where I hit every workout that I would like to, looks something like this:
Monday: AM- Swim, PM - yoga
Tuesday: AM- run (easy), PM – Strength training
Wednesday: AM – Run (quality, speed work or tempo)
Thursday: AM- run (easy), PM – Strength training
Friday: AM- Swim
Saturday: Optional run – easy if recovery feels necessary, quality if I have the strength
Sunday: Long Run, with a possibility of yoga if the energy is available
As I have gotten deeper into the training cycle, I have started to shift the “Quality” run days to Tuesday/Thursday mornings, rather than Wednesday/Saturday, as it makes me feel more prepared going into my long run. The last time I tried to do any sort of quality work on a Saturday, I felt drained on Sunday, and it impacted my long run for sure. I have also tried to get to yoga twice a week, when possible.
July came in as my second highest mileage month ever, at 158.6 miles. Second only to April of 2017, when I was training for the Long Island marathon, which was the first week of May 2017. I also added more bike mileage, and kept on swimming.
At the end of June, I did a big thing (for me) – my first ever open water swim! Excel, the masters swim program that I participate in, offers weekly open water workouts, and as I was able to borrow a wetsuit from one of the coaches I committed to joining one of the first sessions. I was super nervous when I arrived – growing up on long island I have been swimming in the ocean my whole life, but more in a “run at the waves!” sort of swimming. This felt more serious, and exponentially harder. But the had two people watching out for us as we swam, one in a kayak and one on a paddle board. When the whole group had arrived we waded in the water and began the swim, which was an out and back towards a tiny island with the last lap being different than the first three, such that we would swim parallel to the shore. Despite the wetsuit the water was cold, and I felt panic in my chest as I started swimming. It was a very different feeling than swimming in a pool, where I am used to being able to see the bottom. All I could see when my face went into the water at the bay was murky and non-specific. I paused to float and take a few deep breaths. Then practiced some positive self talk, reminding myself that I COULD do this, and then adopted the policy of just closing my eyes when my face was in the water, which worked much better than I had expected it to. Fourty-five minutes later I was back on the shore, and on top of the world. I felt so accomplished at completing my first open water swim, and even committed to buying a wetsuit that night. It was harder mentally than it was physically, and today I am still not 100% comfortable in open water, but it was the first step in the right direction.
Dad also hit a big milestone in June – He participated in the “great american cycle challenge,” where he pledged to bike 200 miles and raise $500 to fight kids’ cancer. By the end of the month he had logged over 300 miles, and raised more than $600 (thanks to the donations of the Family, Friends, and the ever generous members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri team!).
On the fourth of July, my family once again took on the role of “one those families that run on holidays,” as Kevin, Ryan, Kasey and I ran the bellmore strider’s fourth of July 4-miler. Kasey even broke her rule of “no runs longer than 3 miles,” which she established after her second half marathon back in April, and completed the full distance. My brother Kevin, while not a runner, is in generally good shape and recently had to be timed running 1.5 miles as a part of a physical exam, so he was ready for this race. When Kev, Ryan and I ran this race in 2016, Kevin finished with an average pace of 7:40, something I am still a little bitter about to this day (mainly because I wish I could run that fast for any stretch of time). His goal for this year was to beat that time, and my goal was to keep up with him for as long as possible. How long did I last? Just over one mile. How fast was that mile? 7:18. A near- puke pace for me. As Kevin disappeared to the distance, I mentally shook my fist at him, whishing I had that speed, but maybe a little bit enjoying the knowledge that he would slow down too – he usually doesn’t run more than 2 miles, so his pacing isn’t very practiced. He was still super speedy, finishing with an average pace of 7:30/mi. When I came through the finish line he was cheering on the side lines, so that made up a little bit for him kicking my butt. My average pace wound up being an 8:12, just a little faster than my 10k PR pace… so maybe I can dream of a new PR on the horizon. Kasey and Ryan stuck together for the whole race, and rolled through the finish a few minutes later, followed soon after by my friend Desi, who was running her first race ever. All in all, it was a fun day, as the race was followed by kayaking with Dennis and friends, and then a BBQ.
In July, the most challenging week to get workouts in was the week that I spent a float on the Norwegian Escape with my extended paternal family. There was a gym on the ship, but it was often a struggle to get myself onto the treadmill when there was so much to do, so much to eat, so many books I could be reading while relaxing. Thankfully, Kasey and I were sharing a room, and together we made getting to the gym a priority. I got in a total of 4 runs that week, some of which even had an awesome view of Bermuda while we were docked. Although, the amount of food that I ate may have cancelled out some of the effectiveness of those miles. It was certainly easier to run while the ship was docked, as when the boat was moving the rocking made the narrow treadmills somewhat hazardous to run on. The ship did have a small outdoor “jogging deck,” but it was near a pool (so the floor was always slippery) and it was right near the exit of a restaurant, so there was always heavy foot traffic. Plus, it took 8 laps of the small track to get to a mile, a prospect that was less than appealing. We had a great vacation, visiting beaches, caves, and zoos while in Bermuda, and spending lots of time relaxing while on the ship.
While I had managed to keep my weekday mileage close to where it needed to be during the cruise, I had too much to do the day we got off the ship, and time slipped away from me without ever getting my long run in. But the following weekend I rallied and managed to get longer distances done on both Saturday and Sunday, so I felt a little better about missing the mileage. One of my friends on the Tri Team, Tara, was looking for a running buddy for an early morning Saturday long run. Tara kept me company for so many of my winter long runs leading up to my first marathon in 2017 and it had been far too long since we last trained together, so I quickly agreed to meet up with her. She had 12 miles on her schedule, and my plan told me I needed a 16 mile long run for the weekend. I lied to myself and said that I would totally do the extra four once we finished the 12 together – spoiler alert: I have poor time management skills related to running, and I indeed, did not run the additional 4 miles.
We agreed to meet at the Bethpage state park parking lot at 6:15, but in my infinite lack of navigation abilities, I picked the wrong parking lot on google maps. This lead to a slightly later than planned start, but by 6:30 we were on the road. Tara had a prescribed pace of 9:30-10 min/mi, which was right where I wanted to be as well. We headed north on the path, deciding that was the hillier direction to travel in, and ran all the way to the northern end, having to do a few loops of the last quarter mile to ensure that we wouldn’t be running loops around the parking lot. We chatted throughout the run, and Tara let me rant about anything and everything, but mostly about how much I hate wedding planning. Before I knew it the 12 miles were over, and I did not have enough time to get in any extra distance, because I had made plans to go bike riding at jones beach with some co-workers.
Biking?! Yes, you read that right. After two years of running with the Tri Team, I am now in possession of an actual road bike! Remember the friend that I mentioned before, who saved my computer, Ben? Well he recently upgraded his road bike, and he offered me a loan of his old one, as we are about the same height. I happily accepted his offer and am so excited to add more biking into my weekly routine.
Dennis and I loaded the new road bike into my car, and the drove around the neighborhood picking up bikes for the ride – first one at my parent’s house for my friend Desi to ride, and then his bike from his parent’s house for him to use. We met another co-worker at the bike path and were ready to ride after some quick adjustments. As we hit the path, I did not realize just how different a road bike would feel from the mountain bikes that I had rode my whole life, and wow. Why did I wait so long to try a bike like this! We rode a total of 17 miles, encountering a fierce head wind from miles 6-10. But when the wind was at our backs, it felt like I was flying!
When Sunday came around, I had all but decided 12 miles of running + 17 miles of biking was good enough for a long run. I slept in Sunday morning and was feeling great, considering all the mileage that I had logged the day before. After a lazy morning that included standard Sunday chores, I was starting to worry that the 12 miles I had logged the day before just wasn’t enough. I consulted my running schedule – the following weekend had a 14 mile long run. So if I ran 14 this weekend and 16 next, I could be be guilt free. I sat on this for a while, until I got a text from Kasey, asking if I was still planning on doing a long run that day – she wanted to get outside, and offered to come along on her bike. And thus, a plan was devised. I would run the 2 miles from my apartment to her house, and then we would do the 1.1 mile loop near my parents house until I was satisfied with the distance. When we got on the road we started chatting, and the miles slipped away. We stopped at my parents a few times to refill the water bottles with water and ice, and on the last stop I may have even stolen an orange. Once I finished the loop that meant 12 miles was complete, Kasey and I parted ways and I headed back to the apartment, in search of food and rest. It wasn’t as fast as the day before, but I had gotten the mileage done and was happy for it.
The last weekend in July I carved out the time for a 16 mile long run, and got through it with the help of Dennis and my college roommate, Minal. She was in town for the weekend, and the two of them agreed to bike along with me as I ran on Sunday morning. Since the sun was bright, we opted for the Bethpage trail again, since there is a good amount of cloud coverage. There were laughs, there were hills, there were songs sang, and then it was done. A 16-miler that was gone in the blink of the eye, even if I did get a little grumpy around mile 14, where for a moment it felt never ending. My solution when I felt like I was dragging? To race myself for mile 15, and to my own astonishment I actually managed to pull off an 8:23 pace that far into a long run. The sweet victory was rewarded with scones at Robinsons, our favorite not-so-local tea shop – it’s a 40 minute drive but so worth it.
Now that I have regaled you with tales of my long runs, lets take a moment to touch upon upcoming race plans!
Next big race is the Wineglass marathon, but if you have made it this far into the post, you probably already know that. I’ll be running that race solo, with a goal of coming closer to the 4 hour mark.
After that I have three RunDisney weekends on the schedule. First up is the two course challenge, as a part of the food and wine half marathon weekend. Dennis and I will be on our honeymoon in Disney that week, and since we were going to be there anyway, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a race in. I’ll be racing the 10k solo, and then running the half with my cousin Kristen, who lives in Florida not too far from Disney.
Then in January it will be marathon time again, and I will be heading to Florida with Jennie and my long time friend Mike. Mike has done a handfill of NYRR weekly races with me, and will be taking on his first half marathon that weekend! I will be doing the Goofy challenge, so after we run the half together I will be (hopefully) completing my 5th marathon the following day. Lots of celebratory snacks and park adventures will be had.
Sidenote: Jen is back in commission guys. After a long battle with ITB syndrome, her PT has cleared her to start running again, and along with her fiancé Will she has started to up her weekly mileage again. The marathon weekend falls on the weekend of her birthday, so I should probably start a formal petition for her to come and join in on the running fun, right?
Anyway, since I had such a good time with my parents during the princess half weekend in 2018, we have decided to repeat the trip in 2018, and Kasey’s family (which is headed by my Dad’s sister, my Aunt Karen and her husband, my Uncle Tom) have decided to join in on the fun this year! Mom, Aunt Karen and Hallie all agreed to participate in the 5k with me, but with Kasey’s new found “no more than three miles” rule, in conjunction with her dismay for the 3 am wakeups that she experienced during the star wars half marathon, I was convinced she would be sitting this weekend out and laughing at us from the sidelines as we took bus naps. But I am happy to report that she has signed on not only for the 5k, but for the main event, the DISNEY PRINCESS HALF MARATHON!!!!
My running buddy is back guys! Kasey, I am so glad that I will have you joining me in the misery of long runs, and I look forward to listening to you as you pretend to hate running. But don’t worry, we know the truth….. Plus, like you said – we will be having the good Disney eats guilt free, all trip.
So, that pretty much gets you up to date. As of today, I am feeling strong with my training. Hopefully you have made it to the end of this long-winded post, and it makes up a little bit for the weeks of radio silence. I will be back here soon, to talk more about the races that have been going on this year, and the progression of my training. So until next time, Happy Running!
