Week 4: training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

It was almost surprising to realize we were already at Monday again when I got up this morning - where did the weekend go!? I didn’t have a run in the morning, but I did make plans to go to the gym with Sophie after work.

This time instead of taking a class we opted to head to the weight room, focusing on our legs. Since my knee has been a little achey, I’m trying to prioritize strengthening it up as I get more into training. We spent about 45 minutes taking turns on different machines, and when I got home I finished up the workout with a 10 minute core class before dinner.

After Sunday’s easy long run and my day off from running on Monday, I was feeling good Tuesday morning, even if I hadn’t gotten to bed as early as I would have liked. I remembered to opt for a pair of stability shoes, in hopes that it would benefit my knee, and got out with Mom and Dad along on their bikes. I settled into a comfortable stride, and as we turned the first corner Dad commented that we were going faster than my usual paces as of late – I looked down at my watch and was surprised to see that we were in the 10 min/mi range. I made a quick decision to see how long I could hang out at this pace, since I had been thinking about trying to add some pushes into my running routine anyway.

I tried not to look at my watch every three seconds to see if I was still pulling off the pace and was happy when the first mile clocked in at 10:15. I could feel my body working, and it was in no way a conversational pace. When I called back to Dad and said that breathing sucked, he pointed out that even if I was going slower it would still suck, because of the humid air. He was right, and I kept pushing through mile two, when my watch dinged out a 10:14 completion time. With one mile to go, I focused on just keeping that pace. I was struggling more, and when I had a ¼ mile left I saw my mile time was a bit slower than I wanted, and I pushed the pace until I saw the average drop down to a 10:12, just before my watch let me know that I had finished mile 3. I slowed down and eventually transitioned into a walk, happy that I made the choice to push myself. As we got back to the house Mom commented that she “had to pedal the whole time to keep up!”

Apparently at that pace there is no coasting along on her bike, haha.

Now, I get that a 10:15 average pace run may not seem fast to you – but to me, as I come back to running after some medical issues and a few months off, I was elated that I managed a few miles at what used to be an easy pace for me.

Sophie agreed to meet me to swim after work, so my first stop of the night was the pool. We got stuck in the short lanes, as it was crowded. The short lanes are tiny – I would say 10-15 yds at most. It is annoying, because by the time I glide up after a launch off the wall I am already halfway through the lane. Sophie didn’t have a lot of experience swimming laps, so I did my best to give her some tips. I felt underqualified to do this, because I am probably one of the slowest swimmers that I know. Granted, I train with an awesome tri team full of athletes, but I typically use swimming as active recovery, so I am never too concerned about having a perfect stroke or going fast. We spent a little under a half hour in the pool, and then called it quits.

After our trip to the pool I tried something new – Emerge, a local yoga studio, was holding a “Acutone” class, which combined acupuncture and live Tibetan bowl music in their light therapy room. I have been enjoying the solo acupuncture sessions that I have been going to at emerge, so I decided to sign up for the special class. When I got there, they had reclining chairs set up for each of us and walked us through the process before starting the class. When the class started the music began, and the acupuncturists came around to set each of us up. Once I was all set up, I did my best to relax and try to meditate and was surprised to realize I fell asleep when the class was coming to a close. All in all, it was a relaxing experience, and a good opportunity to learn.

Since Wednesday was the first weekday morning that called for 5 miles, it was the first time I needed to be up before the sunrise in order to get my distance in before work. On Tuesday night Mike had sent snaps of his run on Tuesday night, which had taken place in sunny 90 degree weather, and after letting him know he was crazy, I got him to agree to come out for another morning run instead of braving the heat in the afternoon again.

I picked Mike up on the way to my parents’ house, and they were waiting outside with their bikes when we got there a minute or two later than we were supposed to arrive. My legs were officially sore from Monday night’s workout, and my brain was still asleep, tucked under a cover of fog and not quite ready to jump into the day. Mike was excited that the construction on his house was finishing up and filled me in on all that was going on, and eventually my brain caught up to my body, and I was able to join into the conversation.

My knee was cranky on this run, and I had to stop and adjust my support band about halfway through. I briefly considered cutting the run short before the adjustment, but when I got the band into its proper location things felt better. By the time we hit 5 miles, Mike and I were both dripping with sweat. While there had been enough of a breeze when we started that Mike “considered wearing a sweatshirt,” the breeze had died down as the sun came up, and the humidity rose with it. I was very glad that we got the miles done in the morning.

When I got home my legs were feeling the miles, and I knew that I needed to make time to stretch, or I would pay for it later. I popped on a 5 minute peloton stretch, and did that before moving on with my day. I didn’t have anything else planned, as my uncle was coming over to install some sheetrock and I wanted to help with that as much as possible, so that in the future I could attempt to do it myself.

I was so pooped on Wednesday night that I got into bed by 8:30, and was asleep soon after. Despite this, when it was time to get up Thursday I wanted to roll over and sleep for another hour. The last few days had been so nonstop that I felt like I hadn’t stopped moving since Monday, but I knew I needed to get this run done and that my parents would be waiting for me.

I stepped outside and felt like I had been hit in the face with a brick of humidity. I immediately went back in the house and grabbed my inhaler, knowing that I would need it before this run if I didn’t want to struggle with breathing the whole time.

Mom and Dad were waiting for me with their bikes, and we got out on the road together. Today was more of a struggle than other mornings, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, and made it through the three miles, with the support of my parents.

Thursday night I played catch up with the core challenge, and stacked three classes in a row. It was a challenge, but I felt really strong when I made it through all the classes, and ended the session with a good 10 minute stretch.

I had a long list of plans for the weekend, so I knew I had to prioritize time to run so that I could stick to my training plan. Mike and I made plans to run on Saturday morning, and I picked him up at 6 so that we could try to beat the heat. Of course, as soon as I got to Mike’s house the low gas light dinged on my car, and we had to take a slight detour to stop for gas before heading to the Bethpage trail. It was just the two of us that morning, and our plan was to run 10 miles together, with no bike support crew to make sure we were staying hydrated.

I planned accordingly, and had stuck my Nathan vest in the freezer the night before so that it would stay cool the whole time, and filled the rest with water that morning. In the pockets of the vest I had 2 Ucan gels and pouches of Gu, because I couldn’t decide if I wanted sweet flavors (I had birthday cake and a s’mores flavored gu) or fruit flavors (the Ucan was strawberry banana flavored). We parked on the street near the path, and stretched as we talked towards the bike path. The only goal was to make it through 10 miles, regardless of the pace. We got moving, chatting as we made our way to the first hill of the day, that would show its ugly face just before we hit a mile. As we climbed we complained to each other, but noted that we would be thankful we opted for hills when we are running across the many bridges of the NYC marathon.

We kept making our way down the trail, and I opted to take a gel around mile 3, since I hadn’t taken one before starting and I could feel the humidity getting to me already. As much as carrying the hydration vest is annoying, I was glad to have it and take sips of water as needed. As much as the hills mainly consists of rolling hills, the more uphill portion was done when we hit mile 5, and got to turn around to head back to the car. At mile 8 we made a pit stop at the bathroom in the park so Mike could re-fill his handheld water bottle. The last 2 miles were a bit of a slog, as we were feeling fatigued and it had gotten more humid as the sun rose higher into the sky.

When our watches buzzed at mile 10, we were both happy to be done with our long run. We hopped in the car and headed home, and after a quick change I picked up my mom and together we headed into the city - we had plans to get brunch and then tickets to see Hamilton! I had bought these tickets almost a year ago, but then delayed them twice, so it was nice to finally make it to the theater.

Sunday I prioritized recovery - I got up and headed to Emerge yoga, where I took a great Sunday morning class and then had an acupuncture lesson. I left the studio feeling super relaxed, and was glad that I took the time to go.

Week 2: Training for the 2022 NYC marathon

Well, I resisted going out to run on Sunday, but mentally bargained with myself that if I rested Sunday, I would run a few miles Monday to make up for not doing a “long” run like my training plan had called for over the weekend – I was only supposed to run 6 miles, but instead opted to participate in a 5k. 

Logically, I know that missing 3 miles this early in training is not going to keep me from crossing that finish line in November. Heck, if anything skipping it and gradually increasing my training load would probably help prevent me from getting an injury from ramping up too fast! But I just couldn’t get over the mental hurdle of feeling like I didn’t stick to the plan that I committed to, and felt the need to “make up” some miles on Monday morning.

Sunday night the forecast was calling for thunderstorms on Monday morning, so I pulled an outfit and laid it out on my treadmill to make the morning as easy as possible. I woke up before my alarm went off, and managed to sneak in a few minutes of cuddles with my cat before rolling out of bed and heading downstairs. 

I decided to stack a few peloton classes – a 5 minute pre-run stretch, a 30 minute Disney run, and then a 10 minute core class. 

The class wasn’t anything particularly special – I followed along as the instructor shouted to increase and decrease the speed, just at a slower average pace than I was used to. The incline is still broken on my tread, so I avoided any ups and downs, and just stuck to trying to run as much as possible. When the class had ended I had 2.5 miles done, and I rolled out a mat to do some core work.

I had to modify some of the standard planks to forearm planks in the core class, as I have been having some carpal tunnel issues with my wrist, but other than that I put in as much effort as I could. It was a bit frustrating to not be able to perform the exercises as well as I used to, but I tried to remind myself that fitness isn’t always linear, and I needed to give myself grace as I worked on building back up. The core class was the beginning of a 5 week challenge that one of the peloton instructors was hosting, and I decided it would be a good motivator to get me to do more core work.

Monday night I met Sophie at the gym, and we took a TRX class together. Back when I did orange theory regularly, I was familiar with TRX – but now, I felt like a fish out of water. It almost felt comical at times, but with a few modifications I managed to survive the class. 

Tuesday morning I had what is becoming the standard morning run routine of rolling out of bed and heading to my parents’ house for the morning run. Dad got a good laugh when I ran by a dumpster in front of a house and a squirrel popped up and gave me a surprise as I went by. It was a morning in July, so of course it was hot and humid. It was a slog through the three miles, but I was happy to be done when my watch chimed at the three mile mark. 

On Tuesday night I once again headed to Emerge (my favorite yoga studio), this time for a massage. I had booked it a few weeks ago, as my shoulder had been bothering me, and when the same thing happened earlier this year combining acupuncture and massage got me back to feeling normal. It was an intense deep tissue massage, complete with cupping that I almost want to call painful (I was, surely enough, bruised from this the following day, to my mom’s shock when she saw my back the next morning), but my shoulder felt so released after it was done. Before leaving I scheduled another one for next month, just a few days after the NYRR 12-mile training run. I know if I book it, I am more likely to go through with it, and I really do feel like it helps my body recover. After I got home from the massage I begrudgingly did my 10 minutes of core that I committed to, and then spent the rest of the night not working out.

My body seems to be getting on board with these earlier wakeups (and earlier bedtimes), because on Wednesday I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm for the third time this week. My cats were annoyed that I was exiting the bed, but Dennis did not even notice. I got ready and hopped in the car to head over to my parents’ house, where their bikes were waiting in the driveway. As soon as I got out of the car, I realized I was missing a crucial item – my Garmin. Ugh! I had dropped it into my backpack the night before when I got the massage, and never put it in my morning run pile, and my sleepy brain totally forgot about it. 

So, I am not even sure that this run counts since there was no running watch involved (that’s how it works, right?). I settled for tracking the run with my phone and got on the road. I really didn’t have any time to waste since it was my first 4-mile morning of this training cycle, and I hadn’t gotten up early to account for the extra mile. A mistake? Perhaps. It was the kind of morning where the humidity makes the air feel soupy, so I knew it would be a somewhat difficult run.

I added a big old loop to the front end of the run, because in my head that meant I was getting the extra mile out of the way first, and then could continue onto my standard loop. By runner logic, it made the whole run feel shorter. Dad and I chatted a bit as we passed along miles, and Mom lingered a little behind us. When I checked my phone to see the distance as I knew we were approaching 4 miles, dad was surprised to hear that we were already at 3.9 miles, and he faked outrage that we had gone more than the 3.5 miles he petitioned for the day before. 

I hit 4 miles about a block before getting back to my parents’ house, so I took a little cool down walk to finish off the morning. I did have to rush a little when I got home to get out the door for work, so I only had time to mix a protein shake and grab a superhero muffin. 

That night I planned to do my 10 minutes of core before bed, but after going out to dinner with my husband I was stuffed to the brim, and instead committed to making up the 10 minutes another day of the week.

Thursday morning I once again headed out with my parents for another three mile loop, and for the first time in this training cycle it felt routine. It was still slower than I wanted it to be, but I was able to settle in and enjoy the miles - It felt like it used to when running was really a steady routine for me. My knee felt a little sore after the run, so I made a note to add some resistance band training into my routine for the rest of the week. 

After work I met Sophie at the gym and we did two group fitness classes together. First a 30 minute arm class, and then the stepper class again. By the time I got home I was POOPED! I snuck in my 10 minute core class, took a quick shower, and then got in bed around 8:30 pm, so it was an early night for me.

Even though I went to bed super early on Thursday, I slept as late as I could before work on Friday - my body felt exhausted! My brain was in a fog that morning after such a long night of sleep. The only exercise that I did Friday was a 10 minute core video, to check off a box for the core challenge that my friends and I are participating in. 

Since MIke and I are planning to run the NYC marathon together, we want to do as many runs together as we can. While this isn’t practical on weekdays because we have different work schedules, we try to sync up our weekend runs whenever possible. I had plans to head into the city to see “Little Shop of Horrors”, so between that and the heat of summer we knew we would need to get out early for the run. My parents agreed to bike along and pass us waters as we ran, so we agreed to meet at their house at 6 am. I picked up mike on the drive over, and we quickly got on the road.

This was my first time running with another person (at least with someone else who was also running) since March, and I had almost forgotten how much misery loves company. Now don’t get me wrong, I love having my parents join me on their bikes for my runs, but it is just different when you have another runner along. The four of us made our way around the neighborhood, Dad making sure we stayed hydrated despite the heat. Mike and I caught up, cutting each other off as we flowed from one story into another. 

The plan was for a 6 mile run, and at mile 4 we decided to take gels, even though it was a short run - in part because of how hot and humid it was, and in part because we both like to practice our fueling on every “long” run, to make a consistent habit out of it. The 6 miles flew by - in my mind at least - we certainly didn’t break any speed records. But we had a good time, and I even ran through a sprinkler at the end to cool down. Since we weren’t in a rush after the run, we loaded up the peloton app on the TV and took a post-run stretch together. 

I spent the rest of my Saturday in Manhattan. Dennis and I met up with some friends and went to brunch, followed by seeing the “Little Shop of Horrors” revival, which was very good. After the show we headed to a bar, and then found a restaurant that served super yummy tacos and quesadillas. By the time we got home I was ready for bed, after an awesome Saturday that was both fun and productive.

I had one thing on my Sunday schedule - cross training! Where I live we have community pools, and we had finally gotten around to picking up our pool pass, so I wanted to swim some laps. My knee was still feeling a bit sore, so I figured it was a better choice than biking. Dennis walked with me to the pool, which is just under a mile away from our house. When we got there I was able to snag a free lane, and popped on my aftershokz open swim headphones with an audiobook playing to entertain me as I swam back and forth. It felt really good to get into the routine of a stroke and I knocked off laps for a half hour. 

We walked home together, and finished our weekend with a nice pasta dinner, and some mindless TV to relax. 

I’m hoping that as my miles continue to ramp up in this training cycle, I find time to get to the pool and swim more often. 

Week 2: The return of group runs!

Before I jump into how training went on week two, I want to make a few notes about how I am adapting the training plan from Hanson’s marathon method to match my fitness level at the start of this training cycle – since my Chicago registration happened a bit last minute, I signed up about 19 weeks before race day, which did not give me much time to ramp up my weekly training load. For most of 2021 I was averaging about 25 miles a week, but had been derailed for two weeks before training started, first when I threw out my back for a week, and then when my knee started acting up while on vacation.

I did not want to jump from 25 miles weeks to 35+ mile weeks, because I know from previous training that my body needs to ease into training load increases like that. So, while the Hanson’s plan calls for 6 days of running a week, for the few weeks I decided to cut one of the 6 mile “easy” runs down to 3 miles, and make one of the easy runs “optional,” depending on how I was feeling with the weeks training load. This would allow me to increase my mileage by about 10% per week, which I know is more my speed.

I also modified the tempo runs at the start of the program – Hanson’s marathon method training plan starts tempo runs at 6 miles., holds you there for three weeks, and then adds a mile and repeats that cycle. As I started this training plan, I was really only doing easy runs and 6 miles at my goal tempo pace did not seem attainable. As marathon training approached, I started throwing in a mile at a sub-9 pace during these runs, so that I could start to get the feel for running fast (for me) again. When my training plan called for me to start adding tempo runs on week three, I decided to start them up with a two mile “tempo” effort, and then bring them up by a mile each week, rather than pushing for a fitness level that I just was not at. Since the whole tempo run was mean to be 6+ miles, I tried to keep the mileage at the right amount, just with a slower pace for some of the miles, so that I could focus on building up the load before adding speed.

These may seem like big modifications, but I felt like they were necessary if I wanted to ease into this training plan and not wind up injured. As I get deeper into training and I gain fitness, I hope to ramp up the training back to the full schedule. Could I just opt for one of the “lighter” Hanson’s plans? Sure. But I would really like to hit my “sub-4” marathon goal, and I think this plan gives me the best chance at that.

So, without further ado – onto week 2!

I opted to sleep in on Monday morning, and figured that I would get in some miles after work. When I got outside I somehow settled into a decent pace, and actually felt really good with. It was one of those runs where it just felt like things were flowing, and when I returned home I had a full blown glazed doughnut look going. It was a short run – just a 5k, but it was a reassuring reminder that there are days that running really feels good. Nothing like a run that leaves a smile on your face to start the week.

The next morning was not as magical – in fact, I kinda wanted to throw the whole marathon training plans into the trash. It was meant to be the first speedwork session of this training cycle – my calendar told me that the goal was twelve 400m repeats, at a 7:50 pace, with a 400m recovery between each effort.

It was a humid morning. I got through the warmup mile with no issue, and then hopped into pushing the pace for the first interval. I went a little too fast on the first one, and had to remind myself to reel it in – there were a lot of repeats ahead of me. The second one didn’t feel as good as the first, and by the end of it I felt like I was going to puke. That was promising.

I took my recoveries as needed, made pit stops for water during the rest intervals, and I honestly wanted to quit. I told myself to just make it to six repeats. I could quit after six repeats if I really needed to. I got to six repeats, and I told myself I would make it to eight. It wasn’t too many more than six – even if I needed to slow down the pace, I would make it to eight.

My recoveries turned into walks more than jogs, and there was a lot of self-encouragement happening. I knew that I could decide to quit and try the workout again on another day. But I was so close to finishing the workout – if it was a friend struggling through their workout, I would encourage them to do what they could. The intervals slowed down, hitting in the low 8s instead of the high 7s like they should. But I got through 12 of them and was elated that the workout was DONE. It wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t quit.

After a hard Tuesday, I was happy that Wednesday was a rest day. I needed time to mentally recover from Tuesday’s workout as much as I needed to physically recover. I took my day off from running but did complete an hour long strength session to check off a cross training session from my weekly goals. I created a nice strength stack with peloton, and worked my way through a strength for runners class, some core work, and some total body workouts.

Thursday meant another quality run on my calendar – this time the first tempo run. While the schedule said I should be doing 6 miles at an 8:58 pace, I set my goal for two miles at that pace, sandwiched between a two mile warm up and a two mile cool down. By some small miracle, I even managed to get up early enough that I got out to run before work. It was under 60 degrees outside, and it was a comfortably hard run. I struggled to get the pace under 9 minutes for those two “tempo” miles, but did my best to work towards the pace goal. I was happy with my overall effort at the end of the run. I was a little discouraged that two miles felt so hard, but I am trying to trust the process and choosing to believe that my fitness will catch up with my goals, eventually.

The end of the week brought another no-run day for me, and an hour long strength stack. I like to start with a “strength for runners” class, and then make my way through other muscle groups. I sometimes dread strength training, or worry that it will make my runs harder, but I know that I need to take time to focus on it so that I can support my body as much as possible.

I just could not get my body moving on Saturday morning, and decided to commit to a treadmill run – since I had the time I headed over to my parents house so I could run on the peloton tread. I set up a stack of classes, since I wanted to total 6 for the day, starting with a warm-up class, then a 45 minute endurance run with Becs, and a 20 minute fun run with Matty.

The endurance run had a surprising number of hills sprinkled in, and at times I felt like I was just trying to hang on as I moved through the miles. I know that hills are important though, and that even though I didn’t always want to listen to the incline instructions, I clicked up as they directed, and made my way through the treadmill “hills.”

Now Sunday, Sunday was a great day. After a long year apart from the Merrick Bicycles tri team, I finally got myself up and out for a group run! Was I a little late? Yes. But thankfully Katie and Michal were nice enough to wait for me.

We made our way through the rolling hills on the Bethpage bike trail, and were grateful for every bit of shade that the trees were willing to give us. We ran a total of 7 miles together, swapping stories and comparing fueling plans as we ran. When we stopped to stretch at the end of the run, another group of runners from the tri team found us, and since they had a few more miles to run, I decided to join them for their last 3 miles so I could get up to 10 total… because I really thought that I was supposed to run 10 miles that day. It wasn’t until I got home and checked my schedule that I learned I only needed to run 8…. Whoops!

The last three miles were somewhat strenuous, but I talked with Rob and Laura about their training goals – an Ironman and a ultra marathon! Makes my fall plans feel like chump change, but I love hearing about how people prepare for these big challenges!

All in all week two felt pretty solid, even if the summer humidity started to rear its ugly head. I was discouraged early in the week after a tough interval workout, but was so happy to finally make it to a group run again, and I hope that I can make it to more this summer!

Week 1: The shortest week of training

 The first step of marathon training? Pick a plan that works for you, and will help you reach your goals. In the past I have tried a handful of different training plans, from the Runners world app to a Hal Higdon plan. Both were fine, but my favorite so far has been Hanson’s marathon method.

Their plans consist of longer weekday runs, include a speed work session and a tempo run each week, and a “long” weekend run that builds up to 16 miles as the training progresses. The runs all have specific paces, based on the runner’s goal marathon time. I was using this plan to train for the Chicago marathon in 2019, before I got hurt, and really felt like my fitness was building up well.

The training plan starts on a Thursday, for whatever reason, so it was business as usual until then. Peloton had released a new series of classes that were all focused around the musical “Rent,” so my goal until then became to work my way through those classes.

The week before I started training I had gotten to go to Disney world, and after a few says of walking around the parks my knee had started to get sore, in the same way that it had when I had runners knee in 2019. As a precaution, I started using my knee band, and that carried over to runs during the first week of training. I also started doing some of the exercises that I had learned in physical therapy, in hopes that I could squash this issue before it got any further.

On Monday I did the Rent spin class, and the full body strength class, and then followed it up on Tuesday with the Rent run. I bundled my run with a short strength for runners class. Since injuring my knee in 2019, I have learned that the issue I had can be caused by weak quads, so this cycle I am committing to making time for strength training. When Wednesday rolled around I did some yoga before work, and then a spin class after. I wanted to run more early in the week, but didn’t want to stack on miles before my training plan officially started.

Thursday was the day though – I was excited to officially start a new training plan, which would get me to the start line of the Chicago Marathon. It feels like that is a long time coming, since I was supposed to run this race almost two years ago. The plan said six miles. I laid my clothes out the night before and got up early enough that I could get in my miles before work.

It was pretty nice out that morning, and I was just so happy to have a goal to work towards once more. I did not worry about my pace, and just worked on getting to my goal of 6 miles. I know that by the end of this training cycle 6 miles will not seem like that much running, but right now, that is a longer run for me. I was really happy with myself for showing up and getting my run in before work on the first day of training – this is something that is sure to become a battle as the runs get longer.

Friday had the same plan as Thursday, but things did not go quite as smoothly. Six miles was on the schedule once more, and like I mentioned, at this point that is a “long” run for me. I did succeed in getting up and out on the road before work, but I just could not catch a groove. My breathing felt labored, the air felt heavy, and I was struggling to stay in a running pace – so at mile three I decided to call it. My body was tired, and I felt defeated…. Not the mindset I needed if I was going to make it though marathon training.

But something that I have learned in the last 5 years of running, is that you need to learn to listen to your body – and on this Friday morning run my body was saying stop, I am exhausted. I am not used to six miles two days in a row.

So I listened. It is rare that I start a run and do not finish it, but this was just one of those days. I would try again on Saturday and try not to mentally beat myself up too much. On Friday night we went by my aunts house, and enjoyed hanging out with my family - it is nice that things are going back to normal, but still a little bit weird! We ate pizza, and hung out by the fire, just chatting and catching up.

Saturday was a new day, and I had no plans. Which meant I could get out early and get my run done, before moving on with my day, right? Wrong. It meant that I could procrastinate my run for hours before finally getting out the door. I mean, I hung around the house doing chores in running clothes for hours before finally getting in the “run” mindset. Since I had time, I decided to do some resistance band warmups in a “strength for runners” peloton class before heading out the door, and when I finally got out the door things felt so much better than they had on Friday.

This time around I slipped into faster (for me) paces without really meaning to. Maybe coaches are onto something when they tell you to warm up and cool down. It was a little bit cooler and less humid than it had been on Friday, and by the end of the run I realized I had even managed dip into a sub-10 pace for a few miles. Post run I made sure to cool down and stretch, so that I would be as prepared as possible for my final run of the week on the following day.

Sunday morning I had picnic plans with Mike and Carson. I had intentions to run before heading to old Westbury gardens, but It just didn’t happen. But we spend a fun morning among the flowers, and found a shady spot to enjoy some bagels together and catch up. 

After a morning outside, I decided on a treadmill run for the afternoon. I felt like sitting around and watching T.V., which was honestly a big part of my treadmill decision. I had 8 miles on the schedule, and settled into an easy pace to get through my first “long” run of. It was for sure a “dedication over motivation” kind of day, but I got it done and was happy that I talked myself into getting on the treadmill – it felt like a strong finish to my first week of training!

The Constant Question: Will my fall Marathons happen?

Hey guys, its been a while. Like many of you, I have spent the last few months at home, staying safe in the days of COVID-19. It has been a weird new normal, and even though I am sleeping more than ever, it has been emotionally exhausting. My metaphorical cup has been too empty lately to feel like I can pour anything from it to create, so I have been quieter than usual on the social media front. The closest I have come to creating has been sewing dozens on masks, which is immensely stressful at times, and I worry myself ragged that I am not doing enough to help keep people safe. But here I am at long last, hopefully a few of you are still out there, doing okay as you read my ramblings.

First and foremost, I’ll start by saying this: I KNOW there are far more pressing matters these days. There are more important things than races coming back to running - us runners are still getting out there and logging miles without them.

There are plenty of more serious, concerning, and frankly, stressful issues than races. Perhaps that is why I keep fixating on the question of my fall races - it’s almost a nice daydream at times, to imagine running through the streets of Chicago or New York.

I know from a logistics standpoint, it’s unrealistic to believe that these major cities will be able to accommodate hordes of runners taking over their streets to run a marathon – every resource from the police presence to the clean-up crew is strained at the moment, so I am trying to manage my expectations. As of right now, I am registered to run the Chicago Marathon in October, and the New York City Marathon in November.

As the days tick off on the calendar, one after another spent working from home, I have started to think about training for these races. For the first six weeks of quarantine, I aimed to run about 30 miles a week, with a long run every other weekend. Then after a week of less than stellar runs, I decided to cut back for a week, only running once, on the day that would have been the Brooklyn Half marathon. My friends and I had been looking forward to running it together, so we each logged 13.1 miles on our own, and then had a virtual Zoom brunch to celebrate.

Last year when I first started training for the Chicago marathon (that ultimately did not happen for me because of a knee injury), I built my training plan from the “Hanson’s marathon method.” I really liked the training, and it made me faster, but so many miles lead to me slacking on the strength training front. It is an intense, high mileage program, and the thought of jumping into right now, when my races may not even happen, is super intimidating.

I still have a few weeks before any 18-week training program needs to start, so I decided to try something new – the Peloton Marathon training plan. Now, from looking at the schedule the mileage seems low, so I am planning on using it as a “lead in” to marathon training, in the weeks leading up to my actual training schedule, to get used to following a plan again.

I was first introduced to the peloton about a year and a half ago, when my parents purchased a bike (after I moved out too – rude). But since I sometimes headed over to their house to ride the bike, I had a peloton subscription, which allowed me to take classes through the peloton app. For the last few months I have been taking advantage of this, doing everything from core workouts to bootcamps. My husband, who is much more into biking than I am, approached me about the idea of getting our own peloton bike – my response was along the lines of “If you’re looking for someone to say no, you came to the wrong person.”

So now, we have our own bike, and it has been great for cross training and getting workouts in during quarantine.

Back to marathon training – this week I started following the training schedule that the Peloton team offers for training, and it has 4 runs in the first week, and two days of strength training. So far I have completed the first tempo run, which was pleasantly challenging, and one day of strength training. The guided runs are audio based, so I can listen to them on the road, or on the treadmill, which I like the flexibility of.

It is still early, but as of now I like being on a schedule again. It has me feeling motivated, and like I am working towards a goal again. I had been starting to feel stuck in quarantine, but this has me feeling like I have forward momentum, for the time being at least.

So, I hope that this post has found you well. That maybe it has inspired you to shake up whatever routine that you have fallen into, and to look for something that will make you feel like you’re moving forward once more.

And I hope that after all this, I will have a fall marathon to run – because a virtual MARATHON just sounds like a bit much to me.

2017 TCS NYC Marathon

This is bound to be a long one folks, so grab your favorite carbs and buckle in:

The 2017 NYC Marathon

I suppose the place to start is the night before the race. I had been invited by my friend Sami, who is a fellow member of the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team, to stay with her the night before the race, as we were heading into Manhattan together on race morning. After a bunch of self-debate, I decided to stay with her as it would reduce my race morning stress. Plus, these days I keep hearing that the “good night sleep” you really need before a race is two days out anyway.

The pre-race dinner that Sami put together

This meant that on Saturday I had to make sure I had everything that I would need for race day packed up and ready to go – from fueling needs to spare ponytails. The hardest part of this was deciding what to wear, as the weather predictions had been somewhat varied leading up to race day. I narrowed my choices down to two options: both would use the NYPD running club shirt I had picked up at the expo, and then either my CW-X compression tights or my new balance 2 in 1 shorts would be paired with the tank. Both pant options had their own pros and cons – in the shorts I felt freer when running, but risked chafing if it rained too hard. In the CW-X tights I had extra support built in, but would feel closed in if it got too warm. How I dressed for previous marathons did not help much, as I had worn the tights for the first and the shorts for the second, and both had worked well for me. Each outfit option was paired with a pair of PRO compression socks (knee highs for the shorts or no shows for the leggings), my SPI belt, and a hat that I regularly run in. In addition to my outfits I packed a race morning breakfast, some water bottles, my throw away layers (an old pair of pajamas), running gloves and a headband just in case the weather took a turn for the worst. I also assembled sandwich bags of extra fueling (some Gu and some sport beans) and gave one to Dad and one to Dennis in case something went wrong with the fuel I was carrying on race day.

Dennis had agreed to drive me to Sami’s house when he got out of work Saturday, so we headed out around 6:30. Of course, 15 minutes into the drive I realized I had left my headphones on the charger at home and we needed to turn around to grab them. After the near tragedy of heading into the race sans headphones, we were finally on the road and he was able to drop me off at Sami’s for the night.

Sami is seriously the best host ever, and I could not ask for a better teammate. She had prepared an awesome carb filled dinner for us, and our teammate Talia joined us as well to chow down. They both have more experience with the NYC marathon than I do, so it was nice to get some race day advice and have my nerves calmed by two runners that had run the race before. Sami made an awesome, dinner spread with everything from pretzel bread and chicken to sweet potatoes and steak. And of course, lots of water.

After dinner I pulled out the outfits that I had packed and laid them out for the next morning. I pinned my bib to my tank top, and felt that I was as ready as I could be. This was real, the NYC marathon, after all these months, was one sleep away. I settled into the cot Sami had set up for me, and headed to sleep.

I managed to sleep better than I expected to, but even with the time change giving us a bonus hour of sleep 3:30 AM came too soon. After checking out the race day weather, I decided to go with the outfit consisting of shorts and compression socks with my tank top. I started picking at my bagel with peanut butter, not really sure how I should be fueling for a race that was still 7 hours away.

At 4:15 AM Mike and Denise, two more members of the tri team, arrived to pick us up. Denise was running the marathon too, and her husband Mike had agreed to drive us all to the subway in Queens. We had little idea of where exactly we were going, so Sami got the address from one of her friends that was meeting us there. After a little bit of confusion which included Sami sticking her head out of a window to “get her bearings,” a road that split confusingly in three directions, and a handful of shared laughs, we arrived at the subway around 5 AM to find the rest of the group that we were meeting.

We collected our stuff and headed underground. I had a metro card that was borrowed from a friend, and had the bad luck of it refusing to scan! Luckily, Denise had extra credit on her metro card and saved me, letting me into the subway. We waited for about a minute before the subway rolled in, and the settled down for the ride. We all chatted, lots of nervous energy between us.

It was still dark out when the subway rolled into Manhattan, and we gathered our things and shuffled out. When we surfaced again there were plenty of runners about. We had about a mile to walk to get to John Jay college, where we would board the NYPD running club busses and head to Staten Island. It was a bit damp out during the walk, and in retrospect I probably should have brought a second pair of shoes to do all of my traveling in. When we got to John Jay we deposited all of our stuff in the lobby, and I headed to the bathroom line so I would have the chance to use a non porter-potty.

We had about a half hour wait at John Jay before they started boarding the buses. They were NYPD buses, and they lined the block when we stepped outside. We hopped onto one and began our journey along the waterfront of Manhattan to Staten Island. The buses all had their lights on, and it was awesome to see the line of lights ahead of us with every turn. Soon enough we crossed the bridge onto Staten Island, and got our first glance of the start village. The NYPD busses took us to a baseball field that had a tent set up, with the heat on and a breakfast spread out and waiting for us. Our little group set up a blanket city in the corner of the tent, and I grabbed a cinnamon bun and nibbled on that. When we got to Staten Island it was around 7:30 AM, so we still had plenty of time to kill. We hung out and relaxed for a few hours, the bag bus eventually collected our stuff, and as 9:30 rolled around we started our migration towards the main start village.

We had to go through security to get into the village, where they checked our start area bags (they had to be the designated clear bags) and scanned us with medal detectors. It was amazing the number of people that were mulling about. My assigned start time was 10:40 am with wave three, in corral A of the blue section. So that I could start with Sami I decided to move into the orange start area of that same wave, which just like the blue group would run over the top deck of the Verrazano Bridge at the start of the race. The start village is divided by the color group that you start with (blue, orange or green) so we all headed into the orange area and found an empty bit of sidewalk to hang out on until it was time for wave 3 to move into the start corrals. I made my final pre-race preparations, moving everything that I would be taking with me into my SPI belt and putting on some sunscreen.

Pre-race jitters were in full force at this point. Four months of preparation to get here. It was while we were waiting that it started to drizzle a little, a weather condition that would persist for the whole race. Once we heard the start of wave two, which was noted with fireworks, we started to make our way towards the start corrals. We headed into our corral, which was already packed with people and I started removing my throw away layer. As they collapsed the start corrals and we moved towards the start line itself I broke out my pre-race Gu and ate that as we moved along.

We passed by some NYPD officers as we moved up, and I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted one of my Dad’s old partners! It was a good feeling to see a familiar face pre-race, and we of course took a photo to send to Dad.

The national anthem was sung, the announcers wished us all luck, and “New York, New York” began playing through the speakers. And just like that, I crossed the start line and the NYC Marathon had begun. I started the race with Sami and her friend Allison, and we would spend the first 7 miles of the course running together. All of the miles kind of melted together as I travelled through the five boroughs by foot, so forgive me as some parts of the race description below are less than specific.

As you may know, the course starts on the Verrazano Bridge. We got to start the race on the upper level, and were immediately heading uphill. It was fairly quiet on the bridge aside from the odd chatter of runners here and there. I was surprised by how many people were stopping to climb up on the median dividers and grab a selfie with the bridge in the background. The sky was overcast, and looking out from the bridge there was fog out over the water. It was still drizzly, but not really “raining” at this point in the race. We took it easy for the first mile, and picked up a few seconds during the second mile when the course shifted to being downhill. Once we got off the bridge I got to experience the beginning of all of the NYC Marathon spectators, as the streets were lined with people cheering and holding signs, and so many kids with their hands out for high-fives from passing runners. The first seven miles breezed by, in a sea of cheering crowds, aid stations, and assorted chatter. I was ready to pick up my pace a little, so Sami encouraged me to run on, and we parted ways.

Mentally, I broke the race down into where I knew I would find my people after this point. Merrick bicycles tri team would be at miles 8, 18, and 23. Dad, Grandpa and Kasey would be just passed Pulaski Bridge around mile 13. Mom, Dennis and Rachel would be right after the Queensboro Bridge at the beginning of First Avenue, right around mile 16. Remembering that I would get to see some of gave me a great push as I ran. Know that if you were one of my people out there, or even one of my virtual people who texted, snapchatted, or followed my journey through the NYC marathon app, your encouragement meant so much to me!

Cheering from afar: My cousin Jen made me this cheer card of her Dog, Lucy!

Spotted first was the tri team, along the street and full of energy as they cheered and held up signs, their cheering squad complete with a megaphone and monkey costumes – these guys went all out and it was so fun to see them. Their signs and massive numbers made them easy to spot, and after running by them I put my headphones in for the first time to get me through to mile 13, where I would see some of my family. The energy of the city was alive, and there were crowds everywhere but the bridges. I saw some of my favorite signs of the race along mile 11, where people went full force with “Stranger Things” references.

My basic fuel plan was a Gu before the race and then every 4-5 miles, depending on how I was feeling. I also had sport beans with me to use as a little pick-me-up as necessary. Early in the race I was cramping a little so I took my first on the run Gu at mile 4. Around mile 10 I failed at putting my sport beans back into my belt, and they plummeted onto the NYC streets. I texted Dad so that he was ready to pass me my back up bag of beans when I ran by.

When I got to the Pulaski Bridge I was super excited to get to see my family. Once I was in queens they were easy to spot, with Kasey and Dad both sporting signs that they had made for me, which was amazing. I was so happy to see them that I almost ran away without my beans, but they called me back to grab them just in time.

The weather continued to be very wet as I ran, although it never really rained. Just a constant drizzle that left puddles on the ground. I was glad that I had a running hat on to keep the water out of my face. Regardless of the weather, the crowds continued to be nonstop. As I headed over the Queensboro Bridge, it was the first moment of real silence that I had experienced for the whole race, the only noise being runner’s footsteps. But as the edge of the bridge approached, the spectators lining First Avenue could be heard long before they were seen! Even before I was off the bridge I paused my music so I could really take it all in, and right after turning onto first I could see Mom and her sign, cheering with Dennis and Rach, tucked into the crowds. Even two weeks post-race I tear up a little thinking about each moment that I got to see someone that came out to see me run this race, it just means the world to me. It felt like all of NYC was lining First Avenue after that bridge, it was just crazy.

The next spot I had to look for spectators was between mile markers 18 and 19, and I was still feeling good. As I headed there, texts came in from Mom and Dad that they would be in central park when I got there, just before mile 25. I read them on my Garmin and made a mental note to look for them. When I got to mile 18 I paused my music so that I could look out for the team, but I hit mile 19 without finding any of them. It was really disappointing to have missed them, and I had a more emotional response than I expected to not finding them. But I powered on, knowing that there were still plenty of miles to get through and more of my people ahead.

Mom with her sign

Around mile 20 I started having issues with my IT band, which had largely been cooperative throughout this training cycle, even though I had issues with it when I was training for the Long Island Marathon this past May and during that race. I had hoped that I would sneak through NY without any issues, since my long runs had all gone well, but my luck ran out around mile 20. It was bearable, just a slight annoyance at this point.

Early in the race, and I’m talking flashback to the first mile as we climbed the uphill of the Verrazano Bridge, we overhead a guy telling his friend that yes, this uphill was hard but it was the hardest hill of the race and would just get easier from there! Sami chimed in, asking if it was his first time running NY – it was not. She then promptly called him a liar, stating that the hill at mile 22 was worlds worse than the uphill of the bridge. I laughed at the statement and we ran onward, trying not to worry too much about what was ahead of us.

As I approached mile 22 I started to think of this hill, and knowing that it was coming I decided to stop and use the bathroom as I ran by a porter potty with no line, that way I would not be tempted to stop as the uphill got hard. I also had been warned that the finish line area took a long time to exit, so I didn’t want to be rushing through there to get to a bathroom.

After stopping for a minute, my IT band felt much better and I was able to pick up the pace a little. But soon after, my asthma started acting up and would continue to do so for the rest of the race. Thankfully I had my inhaler with me, but it caused me to slow my pace down by 1-2 minutes per mile which was beyond frustrating - because I knew that I was capable of a better pace. It didn’t help when the incline started at the end of mile 22, and continued for what felt like forever. I reminded myself that I would see some of the tri team during mile 23, and they did not disappoint. The team had spread out throughout the mile, which was awesome because I got to find people over and over again. First I saw Tara and her daughter with Talia, and jumped in for a hug because I could not contain my excitement when I saw them. Tara ran many of my long runs with me last winter when I was training for the Disney marathon, and Talia is a constant source of inspiration for me with her dedication to the sport and her speed! Next I saw a cluster of people covered in Team gear, and at the end of the mile, right as I was getting into my own head as I struggled with breathing, I heard Allison and Jeanine shouting and from up on a tall curb, and it was just the pick me up I needed!

I headed into mile 24 knowing I would see Mom right before mile 25, and was excited to find them next, even though at this point every stride forward was a struggle full of frustration and feeling like I had failed because my breathing was just so off. I was still running, I was still in this race, but it was harder than any run I had done before as a made my way through central park, and inched closer to that finish line. I found Mom cheering with Dennis and Rachel right before mile 25, and was so happy to see them. I practically collapsed onto Dennis with a hug, and before starting to run again I asked where Dad was – I had assumed they would all be together from what I had read on my watch earlier, but Mom thought he was either a mile earlier or a mile later than them, she was not sure. Sadly, I later learned that Dad and Kasey were right before mile 24, and I had somehow missed them. When the texts had come in from Mom and Dad earlier, I thought that they were together and misread Dads.

I didn’t realize that I had missed them at the time, so I kept looking for them as I ran through mile 25 of the race to no avail. When I passed through the final group of cheering spectators out on 5th avenue and hadn’t found them before I headed back into central park for the final stretch, I realized that I must have missed them which was upsetting. But there was less than a mile between me and the finish line at that point. Breathing was still an issue, but I was still running. I was questioning why I run marathons, I was questioning how I ever found running fun, I was questioning if I could even really finish this race, despite the fact that there was less than a mile left. It was, without a doubt, the hardest mile I have ever run. I felt really disappointed in myself, even though asthma is something that is totally out of my control, like I had done something wrong or messed up in some way. Honestly, two weeks post-race I am still dealing with feeling like this, even though I have mostly come to terms with it. This feeling is part of why it took me so long to write this post. It took a few days post-race to emotionally recover from the race, before I could really even think about the race without feeling upset.

I re-entered central park, and there were screens up reminding us that the finish line was just around the corner. Then I could see the grand stand seating, full of spectators. And just like that, the finish line was in view. I laid down everything that I had left as I ran towards it. As I ran by the last area of finish line seating I heard Mike, who had dropped me off at the subway early that morning, calling my name and cheering for me and it helped me with that last push. I crossed the finish line, and it was done. The NYC Marathon. I had finished the NYC Marathon. It had taken me 4 hours and 37 minutes, but it was done. Slower than Long Island, faster than Disney, more emotionally draining than either, and I had done it. I wanted to burst into tears as soon as I was over that line, but I could hardly breathe as it was. I focused on the shuffle forward. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths. A volunteer put a medal on me. I took a photo – I look happy, or maybe relieved? Someone handed me a Mylar blanket. I was warm but I knew that would pass since all of my clothing was soaked through, so I accepted it, and another volunteer taped it closed for me. Was I really finished? Was this happening? I kept moving forward, and someone spotted the NYPD running club shirt I was wearing, and directed me out of the main stream of traffic and to a side tent. A cadet was there to get me around the corner and to the NYPD tent. He asked if I was ok, and I nodded my head. If I spoke, hysterical tears would have erupted. Breathing was still all I could handle. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths. He asked if I needed to lean on him, but I was ok. I was moving forward, towards the tent. They gave me a poncho – possibly the worlds coziest, fleece lined poncho, and a recovery bag. Dad was calling, I found a bench and sat down at last. He asked where I was. I didn’t really know. I sent him a photo of where I was, and told him to use find my friends. My brain was reeling, that was all I could handle. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths.

After a few minutes of just sitting still on the bench I started to feel better. I took some Gatorade out of the recovery bag and started sipping it. My breathing started to return to normal. I took a minute to take it all in. It was still drizzling, the sky was overcast. I remembered that I needed to claim the bag that I checked with the NYPD running club, so I walked back to the tent to find out where I needed to go for that. They pointed me towards a group of runners loading into the back of a little cart, which drove us a few blocks over to where the vans were shuttling people over to John Jay, where some people were going to the NYPD running club after party. I sat down on a pillar on the corner and waited for Dad and Kasey to get there – I had called them to let them know I was moving from my previous location. Unfortunately, no one in the shuttle area knew where the finish line bags were, but luckily I ran into Denise who was heading to John Jay. She was able to ask someone there and let me know where to find the bus full of bags, which wound up being about a block away. By the time we found out where the bags were all of my people had found me at the finish line – Dad, Kasey, Mom, Dennis and Rachel. After grabbing my bag from the bus we headed towards the subway, which took us to Penn station, and then boarded the train which took us home to Long Island. I tried to eat some pretzels from the recovery bag, but my stomach was unhappy with me as we rode the train home, as sometimes happens to me after long runs. I was able to change out of my running clothes and into an outfit that Den had lugged into the city for me, which was nice and dry. Of course, I kept the NYRR poncho on because, as previously mentioned, it’s basically my new favorite accessory.

Post race photo of Dennis, me and Rachel

When I got home I showered to thaw myself out, and managed to eat a little bit of pasta before passing out. I would pay for not eating enough with a diminished mental capacity and general exhaustion for the following two days. Of course, I suppose that could also be attributed to running a marathon.

Overall, running the NYC marathon was an amazing experience, and I plan to run it again. The crowds were like no other that I have ever experienced, even if at times they made me feel like there was a lot of pressure on me. The changing views of the city and running over the bridges was a unique course, and I loved seeing so much of New York City in one day. The aid stations, like all aid stations I have experienced at New York Road Runner races, were great, with water and Gatorade clearly marked and always available.

I could not have asked for a better training cycle leading up to this race. I got all of my long runs in, hit the track at least once weekly, and managed to avoid any major injuries or illnesses. I think this great training cycle is the reason I feel a little disappointed in my results. I am proud that I finished, I am thankful for the experience, and I am humbled by this course, which was truly challenging. I just have to remind myself that my asthma is out of my control, and there was nothing that I could have done to avoid the breathing issues that I encountered. I was as prepared as I could be, running with my inhaler as I always do. While I have some lingering feelings of failure, the further I get from race day the more I feel like I learned a lot during this race, and the challenges I faced help me to grow both as a runner and as a person. They prepared me for the races and obstacles ahead of me.

So what is next?

I can’t say that I have another marathon on my schedule that I plan on running. I am technically signed up for Rock ‘n Roll D.C. in March of 2018, but as of now I am planning to run the half instead of the full, as I just don’t feel ready to commit to another training cycle for a full marathon. That will come in time I am sure, but after 3 marathons in 2017, I need a break before I dive in and give myself to this distance again.

Short term, I want to focus on improving my speed for shorter races – I haven’t raced a half marathon since November of 2016, and I would love to see what I can do now that I have a few fulls under my belt.

Long term? Well, I may or may not have entered the lottery for the 2018 Chicago marathon.