Week 8: Training for the NYC marathon

This week was a bit different than the rest of my training for two reasons – first, I was heading to Atlanta for labor day weekend to visit my cousin, so I had re-arranged my long run schedule so that I would only have a 10-miler to do, and I planned to do it Thursday night instead of Saturday or Sunday. Second, my mom was sick, so my morning run support was more limited than usual.

Because of the travel I had planned, my calendar for the week looked like this:

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 7 miles

Wednesday: Cross train

Thursday: 10 miles

Friday: 4 miles

I planned to run after work on Monday, to give my body a little extra time to recover after Sunday’s long run before getting back into things. I wound up with a giant blister on my big toe after Sunday’s long run, and that was my biggest concern when I headed out to run Monday night. I had it wrapped up with a blister band-aid, but still spent most of the run nervous that it had popped. It was a humid night, and I was drenched with sweat by the time that I finished my short three-mile run (remember in week one, where three miles felt like a lot? We have apparently made it to the point in marathon training when I can call three miles short again).

Tuesday Mike and I coordinated for an evening run, and I headed from my house to his house on foot, as he ran towards me. We found each other around the half-way point and continued local loops as the sun began to set. We chatted as we ran by the local library and the highschool, and l clicked on my light up vest as it got darker. We passed my house at mile 6.5, so I continued with Mike for ¼ mile as he started to head back to his house. With the little out and back at the end of the run, I managed to get in a even 7 miles.

I wasn’t really planning to run on Wednesday morning, but dad pushed me to get out there again. I worried that my legs would be tired after Tuesday night’s run, but the weather was mild Wednesday morning, and I rolled myself out of bed and drove over to my parent’s house. I just wanted to get in 3 miles, and dad and I took off on our usual 3 mile loop, chatting as we went. In September my parents will be travelling and unable to meet me for morning runs, so I wanted to take full advantage of having morning run company while I could. 

My original plan for the week was to do my long run Thursday night, but Dad offered to get up super early with me on Friday morning, so that I could run 10 miles before work. Since I knew I would have company Friday, I opted to take a rest day on Thursday, which gave me the time I needed to pack and prepare for my weekend trip to Atlanta.

10 miles before work meant a very early morning on Friday – My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am, and I was at my parent’s house before 5 am. Dad and I got out on the road just after 5, and since we were keeping it local, we began the first of many loops around his neighborhood. I wore my light up vest, as it was pitch dark when we started running, and the headlight on his bike blinked brightly. Eventually the sun started to come up, and I pulled on my sunglasses as to not be blinded any time we ran east. Slowly but surely I made it through the 10 miles, taking in a some U can before and about half-way through the run to stay fueled. I felt good, although a little tired, when I finished the run. I did have a reward waiting for myself at home – a delicious duck donut, as a little prize for getting up and putting in the work.

Mike had gotten in his long run on the treadmill Thursday night after I went to bed, and we were surprised when we learned that even though we did not run together, and I did not know his pace while I was running Friday morning, we had covered the same distance (which was planned) at the EXACT SAME PACE. I guess that bodes well for our plan of running the marathon together in November.

 After work on Friday Mike drove Dennis and I to the airport, and we met my brother Tommy there. The three of us flew into Atlanta together, and Jen was waiting for us at the airport with her husband Will to pick us up when we landed. We had such an amazing weekend together, between just hanging out and chatting, going into the city to explore restaurants on the beltline and heading north to some vineyards. It was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time, and I was glad that I got all of my runs in earlier in the week so that I felt comfortable just going with the flow, and not worrying about trying to squeeze a run in.

Enjoying a much needed break in Atlanta with my brother Tommy and my cousin Jen!

Week 7: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

It has been the kind of week where I really have to think about what I did on Monday as I sit down to write this – I have been so busy that one day has just flowed into the other, and the only common thread has been that I would like to go to bed early.

I was feeling good on Monday morning, it turns out that prioritizing recovery really does have an impact on your body after a long run! I slept in that morning, and after work I walked over to the pool and got in 30 minutes of laps. We have reached the point in the summer where people seem to have forgotten that the public pools exist, so despite warm temps, I was literally the only person in the pool for 90% of my swim. But that meant that I was able to snag the longest lap lane, so I was happy. When I got home after den had made pasta to go with the leftover sauce that we used to make pizza on Sunday, and it was delicious.

Tuesday morning I had three miles to get done, and as usual I headed to my parent’s house to run. Dad was having some technical difficulties with strava as we got going, and then I looked at my watch and saw my garmin was having issues too, reporting a completely inaccurate and impossibly fast pace – so I threw out the first 5 minutes of the run, and restarted my watch.

I felt really good that morning, despite the humidity. There were thunderstorms predicted for later that day, and the air was heavy in anticipation of them. As I made my way through the second mile I thought about how my brother, Tom, had been hitting the treadmill lately with the goal of 10-minute miles, and decided that for mile 3 I was going to push the pace, just to see how it would feel and what I could manage, without too much discomfort. By the end of the mile I was breathing heavy, and my heart rate was up, but my mile buzzer went off with a 9 minute mile, and given that I was struggling to run a 12 minute mile two months ago, I was freaking proud of that 9. After the run I took a 10-minute core class on the peloton app, and then a 5-minute post-run stretch.

I had to skip a run on Wednesday morning, to attend an annual memorial mass that my family has for my Grandma. My initial plan was to run after work, but during the day I while chatting with my running buddies, we decided to do our long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, so instead I decided I would run Thursday and Friday morning, since I would have Saturday to recover before my long run. I still fit some movement in on Wednesday and headed to a yoga class with my friend Nicole that night.

I got up even earlier than normal on Thursday, so that I would have time to get in 6 miles before work. I headed to my parents’ house, and we got outside while it was still dark. I ran along as the sun came up, keeping the pace easy, and just kept moving forward to get through the miles. Dad even made me breakfast when we got back to his house.

After work I met up with some members of the tri-team for a “bootcamp” style HIIT class. It was a “lower body” day, and we spend 45 minutes doing dynamic movements, banded exercises, and lots of squats. I was dripping with sweat by the end of the class, and proud that I had made it through 45 mins of intense strength training. I knew I was going to feel it the next day.

Remember how I said I was going to run Friday morning? Well, I had a failure to launch. After the HIIT class on Thursday night, my body was tired. I told myself that I would just run after work – which also turned out to be a lie. By the time I got home from work Friday night the muscle soreness had fully set into my legs, and I could not talk myself into going for a run. Instead I had an early bedtime, so that my early morning on Saturday would feel a little more tolerable.

In a rare occurrence, the early Saturday was not so that I could run, but instead so I could volunteer at a NYRR race with Mike! We headed into central park and helped man the bag check for the morning’s race. We had a good time helping runners out, and both agreed that if it wasn’t such a pain to get into central park we would do this more often. Once we got home from the race I spent the rest of the day relaxing, feeling a little stressed about the 15 miler we had planned for the next day.

It was another weekend of meeting up with Mike and Michal to get in our long runs together, and Michal and I were determined to do a better job with our salt experiment this time around. Michal set an alarm on her watch to remind us to take salt every 20 minutes as we ran along, and it really helped. I also managed to not drop my salt after the first use, so that was a plus as well.

I decided to run with my hydration vest, since it would just be the three of us out there with no support. In addition to water in the bladder, I popped a handheld water bottle filled with liquid IV into one of the front pouches, because I really did not want a repeat of the fatigue I felt after last weekend’s humid long run, and I felt like better fueling would help with that. I was also stocked up with Ucan and Huma gels (I didn’t have enough of one brand to get me through the whole run, so it was a bit of the mix and match game), which I planned to take every three miles. In the past I have typically done gels every 4-5 miles, but with the slower paces I am running these days plus the humid weather, I decided to fuel a little more frequently this week. I packed my knee strap in my vest, but hoped I would be able to get through the run without needing it.

After a slight morning delay, we still managed to get out onto the Bethpage trail before 7 am. We started our run heading north, with a plan to go out for 4.5 miles and then turn around, so that Mike and Michal could refill their waters at the car at mile 9, plus a stop at a local hotel for a water fountain refill around mile 5. We chatted as we made our way through the gentle rolling hills, and groaned in unison as we slogged through the two hills that really felt like climbs on this part of the run. We kept the pace conversational, and cheered our salt containers together when the alarm went off reminding us to take more.

We took turns talking about our lives, and I was reminded how thankful I am for my running friends – there is just something about suffering through a long run together that really bonds you together, and I don’t know how I would have survived the last year if it were not for the people that running has brought me together with.

It was humid, but the sky gave us cloud coverage that was amazing compared to the sunny skies of the previous weekend. We all felt good when we got to mile 9, happy that we just had to do 6 more to reach our goal of 15. This time we headed south on the trail, doing 3 miles before turning back, with a bathroom pit stop around mile 10. When we reached our turn around point at mile 12, I started to feel like I was getting a blister on my foot but tried not to think about it too much. The cloud coverage held, and while we were all tired as we approached mile 15, we agreed that we felt good! I was so happy when we reached the end of this run and could not stop telling Mike and Michal exactly that. It was the running confidence boost that I needed after the prior weekend’s difficult 12 miler.

We stretched together for a minute before loading into our cars and heading home, and when I peeled off my shoe I did discover a giant blister on the side of my big toe. Welp. At least it didn’t pop. But my runs were done for week 7, and I was happy with how the week had gone.

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 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!

Treadmill Review: The Peloton Tread Plus

If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I am logging a lot of miles on the peloton tread plus these days. I have been staying with my parents while my husband and I get closer to closing on a house which means that I have had access to my Dad’s peloton tread, which is quite the upgrade from my treadmill. Don’t get me wrong – I love my treadmill and am thankful that I have one at all, but the incline on it is broken, and it is not quite as nice as the peloton tread.

I am going to start with a shameless plug – if you would up here because you were looking for a discount code, use my referral code “B8RAS5“ to save $100 on tread or bike accessories when you purchase a new peloton tread or bike.

If you are unfamiliar with the peloton tread plus, let me tell you about some of the technical highlights of the machine –

• Instead of a traditional running built, the peloton tread plus has a shock absorbing slat belt. The slats are made of aluminum, which are coated in rubber.

• Adjustable, rolling control knobs, mounted to the left and right hand rails. Each knob has a “jump” button in the center of it.

• Max speed of 12.5 miles per hour.

• Max incline of 15% grade.

• 67 inch running belt.

• 32 inch tv screen, mounted onto the treadmill with sound bar.

 The day that the treadmill was delivered to my parent’s house I was off from work, so I watched excitedly as it was installed. It is a heavy machine, at over 500 lbs, so it took several people to get it into the house and setup. Once it was in place, we connected it to the wifi and logged in to our peloton account and it was ready to use.

I had taken peloton running classes before both outside and on my treadmill but was excited to take a run on the tread plus. My first reaction? I could not believe how smooth the treadmill felt – it was like running on a cushy track, without the annoying turns. It is one of the louder treadmills that I have run on, but the noise isn’t too distracting.

Now, as I mentioned, my treadmill has a broken incline. So when I have taken peloton classes in the past, I just up the speed when the instructor tells us to up the incline. For my first class I took a 60 minute fun run with Matt Wilpers, from 7/21/19, and let me tell you, it humbled me. I live on an island, in an area that can be broadly described as flat. I typically pick up less than 20 ft of elevation on my local runs, and in 2020 I really just ran by my house for most of the year so I am not accustomed to hills at all. The hills killed me in that class, and I knew that I had some work ahead of me to get stronger with running hills.

The knobs on the left and right handrails control the incline and the speed, which means that you don’t have to reach forward to interact with the touch screen while you are running. The left knob controls the incline, and the right knob controls the pace. While running on the treadmill, you just roll the knob forward towards the tread screen to go faster or increase the incline, or roll it back to decrease the pace. The knobs move really smoothly, so at times I have been known to just give them a good glide when going into a sprint and seeing what I can do.

Each knob has a button in the center of it, and when you click it the value jumps by a full point – so for the incline it would go from flat rode to a 1% grade with a click, and for the speed it would go from 5 to 6 miles per hour with a click. You can also set custom levels, so that when you click these buttons options pop up above your pace and incline values on the tread screen, which you can tap to jump to pre-set paces or inclines.

When the belt is stopped, you can activate “Free Mode” on the treadmill. This mode disengages the treadmill belt from the motor, so you can’t set the belt speed – instead you have to push it yourself. While running you hold onto the bar at the front of the treadmill, and just start running to get the belt moving. I have a love-hate relationship with free mode. It is an AWESOME workout that makes me feel so strong, but it absolutely kills my average pace for a run. I know that it shouldn’t matter to me, but when I am working hard to hit paces during a run, it can be discouraging to see the average speed go down as my butt is getting kicked in free mode.  

The treadmill allows you to pair headphones via Bluetooth, and heart rate monitors via ant+. Personally, I have connected apple airpods and aftershokz headphones for runs, and when I use the noise cancelling mode on my airpods I can’t hear the treadmill belt at all. I don’t like chest strap heart rate monitors (I know they are more accurate, but they make it so hard for me to breathe when I have them secured tight enough that they are reading my heart rate properly), so I use my Garmin to transmit my wrist based heart rate to the treadmill. I have been able to do this with my Garmin 235 and 645, with an easy pairing process.

For my old Garmin, the 235, I was able to toggle to the heart rate screen and then hold the “up” button, which opens the heart rate options. From there I just select the “broadcast heart rate” option, and the watch pairs with the tread.

For my new Garmin, the 645, I can turn on the heart rate broadcasting the same way I described above, but I also had the option to make the watch broadcast it automatically when I start any activity. I was constantly forgetting to turn off the broadcast after a workout, so this was a much better option for me.

The peloton app is integrated into the treadmill, and the splash screen of the tread offers suggestions of classes to take based off your class history – i.e. which instructors you like and the typical length of class that you take. You also have access to the “collections” of classes that peloton has curated and the full on demand library, which is searchable. Once you select a class, a screen pops up that lets you know if you have headphones or a heart rate monitor paired, and you just click “start” to begin running. In addition to classes that are lead by peloton instructors, there are scenic classes that run you through various locations, and a “just run” mode, which just lets you know your stats as you run through the miles.

I noticed on some of my longer runs on the treadmill that I was feeling a lot of static electricity build up – I could even feel the hairs on my arms raise at times! I looked into it, and treadmills have to be plugged into grounded (three prong) outlets, because the action of the belt generates a lot of static electricity, which is discharged through the grounding prong of the outlet. I checked that my receptacle was grounded properly, and after confirming that it was, I looked into what I could do to decrease the buildup of static. The treadmill is in our living room, so it lives on a carpet – so I ordered a rubber mat to place under the tread, and it has helped so much with the issue. So if you are planning to install your treadmill into a room with carpet, I recommend ordering a mat to go under it.

The treadmill draws a lot of amperage when it is running on higher speeds – on some of the first runs that I did I learned this the hard way, when the power cut out mid run because I tripped a breaker. If you have never had a treadmill turn off while you are sprinting, let me tell you it is a terrifying experience. Now that it is winter and we do not have the air conditioners running in the house I haven’t had this problem lately, but it is something to consider. Make sure that the circuit that you are putting the treadmill onto isn’t shared with other devices that draw a lot of current, like air conditioners and refrigerators.

My wishlist for the future of the treadmill? I would really love if they added some sort of streaming integration. I love the classes, but sometimes when you need to get a long run in for marathon training, it would be nice to have the option to watch a movie instead of taking a class. I would also love if they added a pause button for on demand classes and the “just run” mode. I understand that for live classes it would impact the leaderboard if users were able to pause the class, but it would be great if there was an option to opt out of the leaderboard in exchange for the ability to pause. When you are using the peloton app (on a cell phone or tablet) to take a class, you can pause the class, since you can’t feed speed stats into the mobile app, where as the treadmill automatically records them for you.

My wish list for tread classes? I am dying for an all treadmill marathon training series! The peloton app has an outdoor marathon training series of classes, which I really enjoyed taking the first leg of over the summer. But with the likelihood of races being cancelled in 2021, I would love to see an all treadmill series, with long classes for long run days. I also love the pop punk running classes that Chase Tucker hosts and want more of those!

Overall, the Peloton tread plus is honestly my favorite treadmill I have ever run on. The one downside? The price tag. A peloton tread will run you $4,295, plus a monthly app membership fee to access classes. I am currently trying to convince my husband that we totally need one for our new house, but it is an uphill battle for sure. I am starting to save up, so hopefully I can get a Tread plus of my own in the future.

If this post helped you to make a decision about purchasing a peloton, use my referral code “B8RAS5“ to save $100 on tread or bike accessories when you purchase a new peloton tread or bike.

If you have any Peloton Tread plus or peloton questions in general, drop them in the comments below!

Running Isn't Cancelled: Staying Motivated Without Races

The short story: a virtual community is keeping me accountable and motivated during this time of social distancing.

So, at the beginning of the year, I had a packed spring race schedule - the NYC half, the Delaware half, the Long Island Half, and the Brooklyn half, among a assortment of shorter races. But one by one, my races got cancelled (understandably) as a result of the impact that Covid-19 has had on the world, and more specifically, on the tri state area. As a runner that usually jumps from race training plan to race training plan, it was weird to suddenly have no race goal - I felt almost like there was nothing to work for, and was unsure of what I should be doing. It seemed silly to continue following the training plan that I originally had in place, and burden my body with race specific workouts when there was no race at the end of the plan.

I took inventory - what did I want to be doing? How many miles did I want to be running? It was a strange question to ask myself. But I found that when I took the obligation of a training regiment off of myself, I was finding more time for strength training. For yoga. For the things that I want to do, but was too wiped out after a speed workout or a long run to get around to.

Knowing that I still (hopefully) have fall marathons on the horizon, I knew that I wanted to keep a solid running base. So I decided on a goal of 28 miles a week. Why 28? Because for the last two years I have tried to hit 1500 miles for the year, but was kept from it in 2018 by a wicked cold that lasted for most of December, and by a knee injury that lingered from August until the end of the year in 2019. So, to hit this goal in 2020, I need to run an average of 28 miles a week. So that was my starting point. For the most part, I have been keeping to runs that average around five miles, and trying to hit a double digit run every other weekend - usually 10 miles.

Mike and I started challenging each other on solo runs, since group runs are ill advised at the moment - we would run at the same time, and make up a scavenger hunt list for us each to find, from chalk drawings to holiday decorations. Once Mike downloaded the Peloton app, we started “meeting” on our treadmills, towns away, and taking the same classes, commiserating via texts and taking photos “together,” often coordinating outfits from the many races we have run together.

I knew that strength training usually falls by the wayside for me, but with all this extra time at home, it was something I suddenly had consistent time for. I am thankful that my job has allowed me to work from home for the last month, but now that I am not commuting, I have extra time on my hands. I don’t have a huge gym setup at home, but I have some dummbells and resistance bands, so I started taking classes through the Peloton app (which is currently free for 90 days). When one of the instructors started hosting a “21 day core challenge” through his instagram, I started taking daily 10 minute core classes. Though short in length, they are certainly challenging at times!

Eventually, the Merrick Bicycle Tri-Team came up with an idea - the REQ challenge. In this case REQ stands for the “Race to Escape Quarantine,” and the concept is simple: Different strength moves are worth points, and the goal is to earn a total of 12,300 points in a 30 day period. Of course, it is all for a good cause - the proceeds from the challenge’s $25 registration fee would be donated to local long island charities, to help families who are in need as a result of this pandemic. I hesitated about signing up at first, because I questioned my ability to complete the challenge. But I love the sense of community that the Tri team brings to everything they do, and the opportunity to help my community - so on the last day of registration, I closed my eyes and hit the register button - what had I gotten myself into!? Like the planner that I am, I sat down and wrote out 30 days of workouts, that would get me to my point goal, that way it would be thought free when it was time to pick my workout each day - I would just need to pick an envlope.

Now, I won’t lie to you and say that keeping moving has resolved all of my quarantine woes - I am beyond thankful that Dennis and I are able to stay safe at home, but I miss my parents. I miss my friends. I miss my people. But I know that we are all safer this way, and we are keeping people like my brother, who is a NYPD officer, safer by staying at home. But, having a sense of community, virtually at least, has helped to carry me through this pandemic. Knowing that the other members of the tri tream are working to hit the same numbers that I am. Knowing that Mike is shouting at the peloton app just like I am as we hold planks and sprint on our treadmills. It is not normal, but slowly it is settling into a weird, new normal, for now at least.

I hope that you all are staying safe, and have found some way to keep moving forward, one day at a time, through all of this craziness. And if you can, stay home to stay safe. We will all be able to return to a more standard day to day, one day.

2020 Dopey Challenge: 30 Days out

Two weeks in a row - the blog is back to active status guys! I am excited that I am finally starting to be able to train consistently again, and I am getting excited as the countdown grows smaller and smaller, and my trip to Disney for the Dopey challenge approaches!

Monday we got the first snow of the season in NY, and while I had originally planned to meet up with my brother at the gym after work I got a text from him asking to reschedule to the following day, so I agreed to meet him on Tuesday instead. Which made Monday a total rest day, which I think are good sometimes. I stayed home relaxed, and it was a relaxing way to start the week. Plus, my throat was a little sore, which for me usually means a cold is coming on - so I hoped that it wouldn’t mess up my plans for the week.

Tuesday morning I totally had intentions of getting on my bike trainer for a ride, but was exhausted when I woke up and just didn’t manage to get myself out of bed -these things happen. But Tuesday night after work I did manage to get to the gym with my brother Tommy, and we did a chest workout. I like that when I go to the gym with Tommy I get to just play follow the leader, as he likes to set the workout. Today’s set included chest presses, flys, and tricep pull downs, among other things. Once we were done lifting I found a free treadmill and hopped on, needing to get a five mile run in. I had kind of been dreading the treadmill, but when I hopped on and started a show on Hulu, and knew I just had to get through one episode and I would be done. The miles slipped away, and I even managed to increase the pace as I progressed through the miles. The gym that I go to recently remodeled, and I have to say I am a fan of the new treadmills.

Since dealing with this knee injury, I have been swapping some of my “easy” runs for swims or bike rides, and on Wednesday I did just that. I was supposed to run 5 miles, but instead I planned to swap it for a swim. First, I headed to the gym with my brother and we got in a leg workout. He was working on maxing out his leg press, so we wound up doing 7 sets on that machine, which was a lot for me! We also included squats and some calf raises, which I was sure to feel in the days that followed.

When we finished with strength training I headed to the pool and met up with a few members of the Merrick bicycles Tri team. Our coach, Jackie, had assigned us a workout. I was a little nervous about it, since when I go to the pool I usually just swim laps without any real goals. The workout was a long one for me -

Swim workout - concentrate on EVF (early vertical forearm)-

w/u 200 easy

4x75 (50 catch up drill, 25 free) rest 10' btw. each

2x200 bilateral breathing rest 30' btw each

4x75 (50 fist drill, 25 free) rest 10' btw each

2x150 - concentrate on your pull rest 20' btw each

8x25 (follow below)

2x25 - free fast 5' rest

2x25 catch up drill

2x25 - free 5' rest

2x25- fist drill

*add in optional:

2x300 for endurance- rest 30' btw each

I teamed up with Ken, and we split a lane for the workout. We swim really similar paces, so it was nice to have someone to swim with throughout the whole thing. It took us about 50 minutes to get through it all, and I was pooped and starving by the end! But I was glad I got in the pool.

Thursday was listed as an off day on my schedule, and I needed it! I headed to the doctors office on Thursday morning, as my sore throat had evolved into a cold. I’m asthmatic, so when I feel a cold coming on I have to be on top of it, or I wind up down for the count. Leaving the office I was on a steroidal inhaler, prednisone, and antibiotics, plus a recommendation to use my nebulizer a few times a day. I headed to work after the doctors appointment, and took it easy Thursday night. Instead of workout out, I headed to the fabric store and grabbed some supplies to start on my costumes for the Dopey challenge!

I did have intentions to run Friday morning. I even laid out clothes on Thursday night. But when Friday morning rolled around my body refused, feeling the full cold symptoms. I rolled over and got an extra hour of sleep, thinking maybe I would try to get in some miles after work.

But of course, I wound up having to stay late at work, and missed out on having a real lunch during the day, because I was just so busy. So by the time I got home, dinner was my first priority. My mileage for the weekend was planned to be 18 miles on Saturday and then 9 or 10 miles on Sunday. So I was worried about running too late on Friday, and not giving my knee time to recover. So instead of the 4 miles that I planned to run, I hopped on my bike trainer. I figured that way I would still get some cardio in, but it would be lower impact on my knee.

Saturday morning was a little rough when it arrived. Was it really 6 am already? Because it felt like I had just gotten into bed. I grabbed my gear bag, which I had thankfully packed the night before, and got dressed in some cold weather running gear and drove to Mike’s house. From there he drove us into Central Park, where we were planning to get our long run done. Mike was running the ted Corbett 15k, but I had hesitated on registering, and missed out. It was one of the last NYRR events on the year, and since I had already completed more than 9 events, I didn’t want to take a spot away from someone who needed this event to qualify for the 2020 marathon.

It was a chilly morning in central park, and I was glad that we took the approach of booking a parking lot right near the entrance of the park that was closest to race day central. We started our run as soon as we got into the park, and ran right to the porter potties - gotta have your priorities in order! We found Carson shortly after, and were on our way to 18 miles.

So, I carried my own water and tried to stay out of the way of the runners and organizers of the event, as I started my Central Park run that morning. Mike and I started on our loops, and were very relieved that Harlem hill was not a required part of our day. We proceeded to run loops of Central Park for a little over the next three hours, first following the race course and then exploring other routes. Around mile 16 the hills started to bother Mike’s knee, so we eased the pace as we finished up. Despite the pain we managed to finish the 18 miles, feeling strong overall. I really love running in Central Park, there is something going on to focus on between the people in the park and the scenery, and it makes for an interesting long run, even if the hills can be difficult at times.

As is the catch of dopey training, our weekend runs weren’t over after completing our 18 miler - we still had another 9 to run on Sunday! The original plan had been to do the long run Sunday, we we decided to swap the distances, as we were attending a holiday party Saturday night, and didn’t want a late night to impact our long run.

As is the theme of dopey training, we had a second long run planned for that weekend - a 10 miler a little closer to home. We were both registered for Race Awesome’s jingle all the way 5k at cedar creek park. Mike and I met at the park about an hour before the race, and we headed out to the trail that leads towards jones beach. We kept the pace easy as we chatted, and when it was time to line up to start the race we had run just over 4 miles.

We met up with my friend Allison who was pushing a stroller with her 11-month-old in it during the race, and we stuck together for most of the race. it was an out and back course with a loop of the park, and when we were on the “back” part, just around mile 2, Mike’s knee started to hurt again. We took a walk break, and after a moment of stretching we were on our way again. We finished our loop around the park, and headed towards the path again.

As we reached the path, Mike’s knee started to hurt again. It reached a point where we were walking more than running, so we decided to switch to walking after a total of 7.5 miles for the day. We both felt like we would rather cut the mileage a little short rather than wind up injured. Plus, it was nearly a mile walk back to the car, which was still distance under foot! We had a fun time at the race though, and were still able to snag some hot chocolate and bagels when we finished our miles, which was really good.

All in all, I felt good about the mileage that I got done this weekend, and am really trying to listen to my body. My knee was sore after the long miles, but I was so happy that I was able to get through them feeling strong. 30 Days between me and the Dopey challenge!