Chicago marathon week 7

On Sunday afternoon I got a message from Tara, asking if I would be down for a early bike on Monday morning. I normally start my week with a run, but the offer was tempting. I warned her that I would be slow, but she said she didn’t mind, and I agreed to meet her at the park at 6:20 a.m. the next day. 

I packed up my bike stuff, and got everything into the car, and after a frantic moment when I couldn’t find my Tri shorts, had everything together and ready to go, so when my early alarm clock went off I just had to roll out of bed, get dressed, and be on my way. 

The alarm went off Monday morning, and I was greeted with a dreary day. I hopped in the car and under gray skies headed to cedar creek park, where a few members of the Tri team were waiting for me to get going. Of course, my bike had lost air in one of its tires, so I had to fill it up before we could get on our way. 

The ride itself was uneventful overall. I thought about how much I prefer running, was thankful that Tara had gotten me out on the bike, eventually was unable to keep up with the rest of the team, got rained on a little bit, and cursed at the bike, which was refusing to switch gears properly. When I turned around at 7.5 miles my teammates continued on, going all the way to tobay, and I rode back to the parking lot solo. 

That night I brought my bike to dad to check out- apparently my derailer wasn’t lined up correctly. I’ll add “learn more about bike maintenance” to my to do list I guess. Once that was taken care of I headed home and hopped in the pool, swimming 500 yds in an effort to flush out my sore legs. 

Monday rolled into Tuesday, and when my alarm went off my body was not having it. I was still recovering from a cold, and every part of me screamed for more rest. So, after checking the weather and making sure the temperature would be tolerable after work, I rolled over and opted to sleep in a little. 

Tuesday night I stopped and picked up my race packet for the Jamesport Triathalon, which would be my first official Tri, and then headed home to get in the miles that I had promised myself. Dennis and I were planning to head to his parents for dinner, and we decided to take alternate transportation over there- he would be biking as I ran. We took the long way out of our neighborhood, and managed to make it a 5 mile trip. Despite the cold I was still dealing with, this run felt great. We chatted a little, and I just let my legs do the work. It felt difficult at times, but I reminded myself that running marathons isn’t easy, and that I needed to get comfortable being uncomfortable. We had one hill and one overpass that were less than stellar, but I managed some sub-9 miles and was pleased with myself. 

My excitement of Tuesday night was short lived though, when I rolled out of bed on Wednesday morning to head to the track. As I was running Tuesday night I had considered backing off the pace a few times, but I felt so good that I just let my body roll with it. Well, when I got to the track it quickly became clear that I could have used a little more rest between runs. 

I had a ladder workout planned, which would start at a 400m repeat, go up to a 1600m repeat, and then come back down. A total of 7 hard steps, and then a run home. While I hit my paces for the first two repeats, the rest just weren’t happening at the paces I wanted. Dad had met me at the track, and thankfully brought along some water in a cooler, which helped on that hot morning. By the time I was on the last repeats I was going slower than I should have been, but was giving it all the gas I had. The cooldown was arguably the hardest part, because by that point I just wanted to be walking. But I trotted along, getting in a total of 7 miles. 

I knew I was in need of some recovery, so on Wednesday night I met up with Den’s sister, Liz, and we headed to yoga together. We picked out a Yin-restorative class, and I was ready for some relaxation. It was as if the teacher was aware of my chronically tight hamstrings, as she propped us up into deep releases. Did I fall asleep during the class? Well..... yeah. But you try to stay awake when you’re feeling that relaxed!

Thursday morning called for another run, but an easy one this time. I headed out before work, and met up with Dad as I weaved through the neighborhood. My brother Tom was planning to meet us, but we got a text from him moments after his planned start time that it wasn’t happening for him that morning. I was a little bummed, but it enabled me to get my full prescribed distance in within the pace range I wanted, so we just kept looping, slowly shifting away from my parents house and back towards the apartment. My watch buzzed as I hit 8 miles right in front of the complex, with the average pace coming in around 10:40. It was a solid morning run, and I was glad that I wouldn’t feel like I needed to make up miles later. 

The final weekday run was to be a tempo run, and I decided to plan to run after work. I had races planned for both Saturday and Sunday- which meant early mornings all weekend. So, I let myself sleep in more than usual Friday, and after work only procrastinated the run for a solid two hours before getting out the door (I mean, it was hot out! I had to wait for it to cool off a little, right?). 

When I got out the door I debated which path to take. I needed to warm up for about a mile, then the goal was for 6 miles at a pace between 8:30-8:45, followed by a cool down. The thought of picking directions gave me a feeling of major decision fatigue, so I did something unusual for me- I ran towards the track, even though I wasn’t doing speed work. I figured it was a good central point between the apartment and my parents house, so if I decided I needed water I could run either way, and it just felt like an easy choice. 

By the time I got to the track I was up to a mile and a half, and my second miles pace was tracking in the high 8-minute-mile range, so I decided to start see if I could bring the pace down a little and count the second mile towards the tempo miles. My efforts paid off, and the second mile rang in at 8:37. A good start, I told myself. I listed to music as I ran laps around the track, one mile flowing into another. I kicked a soccer ball back to the group playing in the middle of the field a few times, ran into Mike’s brother, who was also running some laps, and found a really great groove, where I just felt good. I did wish that I had brought some water, but I managed without. At 9:00 on the dot the lights shut down at the track, just as I was midway through the lap that would finish my 6th tempo mile. I panicked for half a second, as the teenage boys that had been hanging out hooted and hollered into the darkness. I called dad on the phone to have some company and reassurance as I left the area, and got on the road to run back to my apartment. I took the long way, that was I would have a two mile cooldown. 

When I reached the apartment I immediately chugged a bottle of water, and then sat outside as I sipped a second. I had run 9 miles at an average pace of 8:57, with the tempo miles coming in at 8:37, 8:27, 8:30, 8:36, 8:39 and 8:41. I was super pleased with myself, and glad that I had eventually got my butt off the couch to get the work done.

The weekend was full of races- which will have their own reports up soon! To give you a little preview, on Saturday I completed the Retro Run 4-miler with the New York road runners, and on Sunday I did something I swore I wouldn’t do: I completed my first Triathlon, at the Jamesport sprint distance Tri. 

Chicago Marathon Training: Week 6

If you’re looking for recaps 1-5, bad news: This is the first official weekly recap as i train for the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Of course, as luck would have it, I wound up with a cold this week, so it was likely the least interesting week of training so far. If you’ve been with the blog with any of my previous training cycles, you probably know that I have asthma, and when I wind up with a cold it can take me out for a long time if I am not super on top of it.

Last Sunday I headed to Jones Beach for my long run, with my parents along on their bikes for the miles. Lately we have been riding up and down the boardwalk early on weekend mornings, dealing with a breeze in one direction and the sun being just a little too hot in the other. We got in 12 miles at a 9:19 pace - a little slower than my goal of 9:06 for long runs, but still within the upper end of the range I wanted to hit. After the run we stopped and got bagels and I hung out with my parents at their house for a bit, until I got a call from my husband - he was running a fever. Eek! As I headed home I swung by target and stocked up on cold supplies, and delivered them to Dennis, who spent the entire day in bed. I started taking Zicam, in hopes that I could avoid the wrath of the cold. I went for a swim in the afternoon, and generally tried to avoid being in the apartment as much as possible.

Den’s fever broke on Monday, and while he was still sick, I crossed my fingers that since the fever was gone, I had avoided catching his cold. I headed out for a run before work, with Dad along on his bike, and aimed for some easy recovery miles. Dad and I chatted as we looped around the neighborhood, and six miles flew by, despite my legs feeling a little heavy at the start. That night I was still feeling okay, so I headed to hot yoga with Liz and Rachel, who were both in NY for the week. We got to the studio a little later than I prefer, and wound up on the right side of the room, AKA the hotter side, right under one of the heating panels. We were in for a doozy of a class. I was dripping with sweat within the first five minutes, my hamstrings screaming any time a pose made me stretch them out. We somehow survived the hour, although I found myself wondering how I used to do hot yoga on a regular basis. I have another 8 classes left on the package that I purchased from the studio, so I suppose I have plenty of time to re-acclimate.

The plan for Tuesday morning was track to do some speed work - I set my alarm early, and dragged myself out of bed bright and early rolled into my running shoes. I had about a mile and a half run to the track, which was perfect for my warm up. My legs were unwilling to get with the program and get moving, but I pressed onward hoping I would hit a groove eventually. Dad was already at the track walking laps when I got there, and I pressed the lap button on my Garmin to get started with my repeats. The plan was four 1200m repeats, with 400 m of rest between each. I wanted the pace to be between 7:30 and 7:50 with the faster end of the paces being preferable. The first repeat rang in at a 7:49 pace, and wound up being the fastest of the morning. I struggled not to take full stops or walk breaks instead of jogging the 400m of rest, but my body was just not up for the fast paces. The other three repeats came in between 7:50 and 8:03, which isn’t bad, it just wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Dad biked along as I ran back to my apartment, on the cooldown after the hard work. All in all I had finished, 7 miles total, and I was wiped out when I got home. I questioned why paces that I have been able to hit lately had been so hard - and a few hours later I had a sore throat and was congested - I had the cold that I tried so hard to avoid.

I was wiped out on Tuesday night, so I opted to skip the swim that I usually go for. Wednesday I had a planned rest day, and truly took it easy, not even cross training like I usually do. By Thursday morning I was full of cold medicine, and getting out of bed was more of a struggle than usual, even though it was at a slightly later hour than normal - but it was the Fourth of July, and I was registered to run the annual Bellmore Striders 4th of July 4-miler with Rachel. Its not often that i get to run with her, as she has moved to California, so I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

I scooped her up on the way to the race, and when we got to the train station we had about 40 minutes to go before the race was set to start. We collected our bibs, and had numbers right next to each other, now that we share a last name. Unfortunately they had run out of small shirts, so despite the fact that we had pre-registered, we wound up with tanks that were mens mediums, a little big for me and a lot big for Rachel.

Once we had our bibs we walked back to the car and stashed our tanks, pinned on our bib numbers, and pulled on our red, white and blue ProCompression socks. I had just gotten a new pair of their Sonic Boom print, so I loaned Rach my old flag pair.

The race was delayed by about 15 minutes due to long porter potty lines, but while we were waiting Dad made it to the start area on his bike. He had gone for a ride at the beach that morning, but had made it to the race just before the start to spectate.

Rach and I lined up next to the LIRR in the start area, and once the national anthem was sang, we were off. It was hot and humid, and when we spotted a sprinkler in the first mile we ran right through it. There are a total of 9 turns on the course, and we counted them off as we went. We clocked the first mile in 8:59, and I was feeling better than I expected to. Rach and I stuck together, chatting a little as we began to sweat our butts off. As we approached mile 2 Rachel needed to back off of the pace a little, as she was starting to feel nauseous. We walked into the a water stop at the second mile, taking a moment to cool off. The second half of the race didn’t go as well as the first, as Rachel was quickly overheating. Dad spotted us when he was spectating, and headed to a 7-11 to pick up some cold water for her. We did the best we could to alternate between walking and running, and Dad caught up to us with the cold water, which seemed to help. Eventually we ticked off mile three, and had just one mile between us and the finish line. Dad biked with us as we walked for a bit to make sure Rachel was okay, but eventually headed to the finish line as she managed longer run intervals. Since she moved to California she’s not used to running in humidity any more, and it certainly took its toll on her race today. We managed to run through the finish line, and then found Rachel a shady spot to sit while I grabbed us water bottles and watermelon. She cooled down, and started to feel a little better. I dropped her off after the race, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and hydrating.

I was bummed that I wasn’t getting in as many miles as I wanted to this week - my initial plan had been to run the 4-miler at a tempo pace, with a few warm up and cool down miles tacked onto it, but my body just couldn’t handle those paces while full of cold medicine. I decided to just go for a few easy miles on Friday morning, because something is always better than nothing. I got in a easy 5k before work, emphasis on the word easy. Even those three miles were a struggle - I was so ready to be back to 100%, and training as I intended. I wound up feeling like crap for the rest of the day, and actually headed home from work early because I just couldn’t breathe, and needed to use my nebulizer.

On Friday night Dennis and I attended Mike’s wedding, and I was so excited to watch him and Jude tie the knot. I wondered how many times I would wind up blowing my nose, and if it would lead to me having to re-apply my makeup. The wedding was beautiful, with their ceremony on the shore of Lake Ronkonkoma, where they exchanged vows that they wrote each other. I would be lying if I said happy tears were not cried more than once. We danced the night away, thankful that all of our miles gave us the cardio we needed to jump up and down to the music. When Mike’s brother gave the best man speech, he even paused for a shout out to Mike for qualifying for the NYC marathon - I was a proud run bully in that moment.

We had a late night on Friday, and when I made my marathon schedule I budgeted in a rest day for that Saturday, and was happy to sleep in. Since I had taken it easy with my runs on Thursday and Friday I considered going out for some miles on Saturday, but my body really was not up for it. Any time I tried to do little activities (such as cleaning up or cooking) around the apartment, I was feeling light headed, so I opted to park myself on the couch, and hope that another day of rest would give me the recovery I needed to get in a long run on Sunday. Dennis made us a hearty dinner on Saturday night - Fartlek Chili from the “Run Fast, Eat Slow” cookbook, and it was an excellent pick me up.

I didn’t bother to set an alarm for Sunday morning, as there were thunder storms in the forecast for the early morning hours. When I eventually woke up I procrastinated getting outside, even though there were no storms in sight. I ate some breakfast, used my nebulizer, and then watched some T.V. as i assembled my running gear. Eventually I was fully assembled, and there was no more reason to stall. It was going to be a solo 8-miler, as Mom and Dad had headed to Norman J. Levy preserve (AKA garbage mountain) to go for a walk before I got out of bed. It was in the 80s, but the sky was blue with a little bit of cloud cover, so it wasn’t too brutal outside. My only goal was to get some miles under foot, regardless of how fast or slow they wound up being. I popped on my headphones, set my garmin to show the time, and put on a podcast to keep me company.

The run felt better than I expected, and I made sure to keep the pace low- effort. Slowly but surely the miles ticked by, and as the miles stacked up it was more work to keep moving forward. But when the run came to a close, I was glad that I made the decision to get out there, despite not feeling 100%.

Here’s to hoping that things turn around next week, and my training gets back on track!