I feel like I finally hit a groove again on week 12, managing to get out for all the miles I planned, and even making time for a little strength training.
I had three weekday runs planned - 9 miles, 5 miles, and 4 miles. After a lighter load during week 11, I decided to get the longest distance done early in the week, that way I had plenty of time to recover before the weekends long run - 18 miles!
I had no run planned for Monday, but Sophie and I hit up the gym and did a strength circuit that left us both sore after.
On Tuesday I planned to get my 9 miles done in the evening - my parents were STILL out of town at this point, and I was really looking forward to them getting home so I could switch back to morning runs. It’s just not something I’m great at doing on my own.
So Tuesday night I headed out on my run as soon as I got home from work, after opening a fun package that had come in the mail - my NYC marathon finishers jacket! I won’t be wearing it until after the race, but I couldn’t resist ordering the new design when I saw it. I wanted to make sure I would be able to get the right size.
It was going to get dark while I was running, as the sun is setting earlier every day now, so I set out my light up vest and light gloves so I could loop by the house and grab them quickly when it got darker. I put on the audio book I was listening to, Daisy Darker, and just ran easy as I listened to the story. I felt good during the run, and made a pit stop around mile 6 to grab my lights and a sip of water. By the time I finished the 9 miles it was dark, and I was ready for food. It was an uneventful, easy run, which I didn’t mind at all.
I didn’t have a run Wednesday, but I did get a fun package in the mail - new running shoes! I ordered two new pairs of brooks, a pair of Hyperion Tempos and a pair of adrenaline GTS 22s, hoping that one pair will be my marathon shoes! I had been waffling for weeks, and finally decided to buy both. I normally run in ghosts, but wanted something a little more supportive to help with my knee. The adrenalines are part of the cereal collection, so the colors are super fun!
Thursday morning my parents were back in NY, but fighting jet lag after being 6 hours behind us for over 2 weeks - so I was flying solo on my morning run. I was up and out before the sunrise, once again wearing all my lights as I ran. It was a little bit of a chilly morning, and it helped make the run a little more comfortable. I tried the adrenalines for the first time, and liked them. My legs were tired from the last few days, and it was by no means a fast run. I was happy when my watch finally buzzed, indicating I had finished 5 miles.
On Friday I had plans to do a screening of the new hocus pocus sequel with some friends after work, so I knew I had to get my miles in early. So I once again got myself out of bed, and this time headed out for a 4 mile run - I was pleased with myself for doing all of the longer distances earlier in the week, so at least it was “only” 4 miles that morning.
The screening was fun that night - we set up a screen and projector in the backyard, and enjoyed so many yummy snacks while we watched a sequel to one of our favorite childhood movies (I mean, Den and I even have a cat named Binx. If that doesn’t give us away as fans, I don’t know what would).
Saturday I planned to play catch-up around the house, since I was registered to run the 18-mile NYC training run with NYRR on Sunday. I cleaned and moved some furniture around, and in the midst of it all got an email from NYRR - the 18-miler was cancelled due to high winds. Womp Womp.
As soon as the email came out, texts came flooding in from my friends, discussing where and when we would get our miles in. Mike was opting to take to the treadmill, but Sami invited me to join her and a crew from the Merrick bicycles tri team at SUNY old westbury, to take on our 18 miles with a side of hills.
I was nervous about the weather, but Sami talked me into it. I rolled out of bed the next morning and snacked on a kind bar as I drove to campus to meet the group. We would be running loops, so I opted to leave my water at my car, and just grab some as we passed by each time, rather than lugging it along. Normally I would just wear my hydration vest for a run like this, but my back was hurting from moving furniture the day before - not my smartest plan.
As much as I tried to get to the group meet up spot on time, I was, as usual, about 10 mintues late. Thankfully they were kind enough to wait for me, and Sami had mapped out loops near and on the old Westbury campus for us to run through to complete the 18 mile run. I loaded my pockets with salt and two gels for the first loop, and we left the parking lot and spent a mile on the hilly campus before getting to the exit and heading to a flatter neighborhood near by. There was a decent size group of runners, and when the first mile chimed on my watch, I realized that I was getting caught up in the group and running faster than I intended. Thankfully, Sami felt the same way, and the two of us dropped back a little from the group. We made it through the first neighborhood loop with only one wrong turn, and headed back towards the parking lot so that we could get a sip of water around mile 8. I also ditched my jacket at that point – the race cancellation due to weather had lead to me layering up, but it really was not that bad out. Sure, there was some wind, but it wasn’t cold enough for a jacket.
We were rejoined by Bobby and Rob, who were planning to run 18 and 20 miles, respectively, that day, but the rest of the group called it quits, as they had only shorter distances planned for that morning. The four of us headed out for the next segment, this time spending a few more miles on the hilly campus before taking a detour off campus, and finding ourselves in an empty industrial park with a very large parking lot – that we happily did some flat loops of. The wind was much worse in the parking lot than it had been on campus, since it was more open, and didn’t have lots of trees around to block the wind. When we got back to the hills we made our way around a full campus loops with all its ups and downs, and wound up back at the parking lot just beyond mile 16. We all had varying distances left at that point, as people had been looping back to each other to get the group linked up again when they pulled far ahead, so we decided to finish out our runs with parking lot loops, which had the added benefit of less hills. When my watch chimed at 18 I felt good, but relieved to be done. I pulled my yoga mat out of the car, and chatted with the group for a bit as everyone pulled in after finishing their miles. I was so glad that Sami had talked me into meeting up with the group to run, because I know I would have slept in and put it off and then wound up spending way too much time on the treadmill otherwise!
With the completion of the 18 miler, it meant there was only one more long run to go before NYC! This race is going to sneak up on us before we know it.
