Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 9

Over the weekend I bought a second hand bike trainer from a friend of mine, and I was ready to take it for a spin to start Monday morning off on the right foot- and I have to admit, it was nice to roll out of bed and get moving without having to venture out into the cold weather!

I loaded up the “London” loop on Zwift, and did a basic ride with no goals. I got in 8 miles in just under a half hour, and established that I am awful at swapping bike gears. But practice makes perfect, and I’ve got all winter.

After work Sophie and I headed to emerge to take a class with Vanessa, missing Emily who was preparing for finals, and her last week of grad school! Vanessa took us through sequences that opened up our hamstrings, eventually bringing us to the wall to work on handstands. I didn’t get up into one during class, but it was still a great, challenging class.

Tuesday morning Kasey and I headed out as usual, and it was another windy morning. We headed into the second mile and I felt like Kasey was picking up the pace, so I matched her and pressed onward as we got faster- I commented after she finished her mileage that she made me work today - but apparently she thought I was the one pushing the pace, so neither of us was really sure why the little burst of speed happened. I did one more loop around my parents neighborhood before heading back to the apartment, for a total of 6 miles.

The next time I got moving was Wednesday night, when Sophie and I agreed to meet at planet fitness to get in some treadmill miles. I had a speed workout on deck- a total of nine miles. A two mile warm up, 6x200@2:48 (200 rec), 2 miles straight @ 8:47, another 6x200@2:48 (200 rec), then a two mile cooldown. It was the good kind of night, where the miles just flew by and I felt like I could just keep going forever. I hit my numbers, and Sophie managed to knock out a 7 mile run, which I was really impressed with - I mean, she’s been consistently running for less than a month! Sophie, you’re gonna give me a run for my money as you up that mileage, and we will be racing each other in no time.

Kasey was in the thick of things with college finals, so our usual Thursday morning run was cancelled, and I hopped on the bike trainer on instead. I started the “Zwift 101” program that they offer, and did a 30 minute session that was all about training zones. Non-running activities continued that day, with a swim session with Allison after work. It was the usual plan of 1,000 yards, and I was especially grateful for the pool being warm with the cold weather we had outside.

Friday morning I was flying solo, with my original intentions being a treadmill run- 5 miles. But I really just did not want to get to the gym. So I procrastinated around the apartment, until I reached a time that I would only really be able to get in five miles if I ran outside. So, I sucked it up, added a few more layers, and headed out the front door. I took it easy around the neighborhood, enjoying watching the sunrise and occasionally seeing Christmas lights, still on from the night before. I had to rush a little to get ready for work when I got back to the apartment, but it was more than worth it to have gotten the run in.

The weekend was full of races, starting with the Ted Corbitt 15k. Mike and I signed up for this race together, and it was the final one he needed to complete to finish his 9+1 qualifier for the 2019 NYC Marathon. One of my co-workers, Carson, was also signed up for the race, so we all decided to carpool together again.

It was Mike’s turn to drive this week, and we did not get lucky with city parking near the start area. We wound up having to utilize a garage, and then walk about a mile to the start line. It was a cold morning, with a real feel under 20 degrees, but at least there was no wind this week. We picked up our bibs, made a quick porter potty stop, and dropped off our bags before heading into our start corrals. The three of us started together, but Carson anticipated needing walk breaks, so we weren’t planning to stick together through the whole race. I had 18 miles planned for Sunday, so I was planning to stick with Mike, so that the weekends runs would be a good approximation of how I would feel for the Goofy Challenge.

As we shuffled though the start line, we lost Carson sooner than expected in the crowd. I watched her neon pink ProCompression socks as she weaved ahead, wondering if we would see her again before the end of the race.

My toes were so cold at the start of the race that it felt like I had a block of wood in the back half of my shoe, a feeling which left me looking down at my feet to see if I had stepped in something before I realized that I was just numb.

We aired on the side of caution as we ran into the aid stations, walking when we needed to grab water since there were patches of ice where runners ahead of us had spilled water.

The race was broken up into two loops of Central Park, the first about 4 miles and the second about 5, and right as we finished our first loop, we watched the first finisher break the tape- that didn’t make us feel slow or anything. Soon after we spotted Carson’s pink socks, and sped up to catch her. We spent the rest of the race yo-yo ing with each other, as Mike and I continued to run a consistent pace, and she alternated between running and walk breaks. Eventually when Mike and I finished the race, she was only about a minute behind us.

We made our way through the finishers chute, collecting cups of yellow Gatorade, an apple, and the traditional bagel. Carson met up with us in the baggage claim area, and we headed to pick up our race shirts, then grab a pic of mike with the qualifier bell - with this race, he officially was qualified for the 2019 NYC marathon!

Weirdly, for me at least, I didn’t really take any photos during the race - it was just too cold! The gloves had to stay on my hands the whole time, and my phone was tucked away within layers of clothing.

We shivered as we made our way back to the parking garage, all VERY happy to be in a heated car. The ride home was uneventful, and I spent most of Saturday being perfectly lazy in anticipation of doing lots of running on Sunday.

The plan for Sunday was simple: a 5k, plus an additional 15 miles to make up one 18 mile long run. I set everything that I needed up on Saturday night, and Sunday morning I got dressed and headed over to my parents house to pick up Sophie, who would be joining me for the race. I got there early enough that was able to sneak in two miles before making our way to cedar creek park.

It was cold again on Sunday, and i just kept it easy for the first leg of the day. I did two loops near my parents house, not wanting to break a sweat and then be freezing while I waited for the race to start. After the two miles were complete I headed back into the house, and Sophie was ready to head out.

She drove us to cedar creek park, and we took a few minutes in the car pulling on layers before heading out into the frigid air. We had to wait in line to grab our bibs, and then ran back to the car to pin them on. We were parked right near the start line, so we were able to keep warm until just before start time, at which point we hopped out of the car and stretched a bit.

While waiting for the race to start I mentally debated my plan. I had a lot of miles ahead of me for the day, and didn’t want to be burning out. But I couldn’t talk myself out of racing this one. So when the start horn sounded, I took off and settled into a sub-8 pace, comfortably pushing myself. I had to pull my face mask on and off, the frigid air making it a little difficult to breathe. There was a turn around a little after the first mile, and I spotted Sophie and let out a cheer- she was booking it!

I had wound up in a group of about five women, and over the second mile I worked to break away from them, pushing myself to keep the pace. As we entered mile three I broke away with one other person, and the two of us fought each other to keep ahead throughout the third mile, until I had to back off a little- I felt the familiar nausea that sometimes comes with going fast for me, and I had too many miles ahead of me to risk a finish line puke.

I would later be a little annoyed with myself for this choice, as I came in second place in my age group, and that woman came in first, by about 5 seconds. Womp womp.

The last mile I fought to keep my sub-8 pace, and managed to hold it until the end of the race. I passed a few cheering members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team as I came into the finishers chute, and happily slowed my pace and moved towards the runners that were coming into the finish line to spectate as Sophie finished her race.

My race time was officially a 24:35, which was a PR for me! As I mentioned before, it was also good enough for second place in my age group, which I was pretty pleased about, since in 2017 I got third place age group.

Sophie and I headed out for some more miles at cedar creek while we waited for the final finishers to come in, and added another mile and a half to my total mileage for the day. We hung out with the Tri Team during the awards ceremony, and then headed to my parents house once it was all finished up.

Dad and I then headed to the bethpage trail from there, with the intent of getting though another 12 miles. I told myself that I would be happy if I got through 10, but knew I really wanted to hit 12 so I could total 18 for the day. The weather was nice, so why not go for it.

We made our way through the different paths at the preserve, which was mostly empty except for a few people out with their dogs or on their own runs. Dad and I chatted as we went, and he helped me to make it though the miles, without any more breaks like I had earlier in the day- other than one. When we were about half way through our first three mile loop, he realized he forgot to put his helmet on, so we had to stop by the car real quick.

But from there on out, we were good to go! When we did get through all of the miles, I was really happy with myself for getting though the distance without too much difficulty, considering I had set a new 5k PR on that same day.

Another high mileage week- the highest one so far in this training cycle as a matter of fact. With just a few more long runs ahead of me, I am officially getting excited for the races that lies ahead.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 9

Total mileage: 16.5

See that total mileage at the top of this post? If that’s not an indication that something went wrong this week, I don’t know what would be. But lets start with the good, before I move onto the bad….

After feeling successful about the previous day’s 19.5 mile long run, I was ready to face this week head on! I had the mileage on my side, and was feeling strong after hitting 40 miles a few weeks in a row. Yeah, the long run had been finished on the treadmill, but I didn’t let a thunder storm get in my way, so I was pleased with myself.

Jen was still in town on Monday night and needed to do a 3.5 mi run to keep up with her 10k training, so we decided to head to Eisenhower park to participate in the Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k. Coming from a family of Cops, causes like this are near and dear to my heart.

After work I stopped at home to change, and then met Jen at the park, where she had already filled out our registrations and was waiting for me to arrive. Luckily, they still had our shirt sizes even though we were registering day-of. We waited by the starting area, Jen running through her prescribed PT exercises pre-run. The national anthem began, and we were off, into the park. This was Jen’s second race post-IT band injury, so she was wary as the mileage began. I don’t get to run with Jen all too often, so I was happy to stick with her as we made our way through the park.

It was a humid night, with a chance of thunder storms on the radar. We got lucky though, with only a few drizzles throughout the race, with no thunder threatening the full distance being completed. The first mile came in at 10 mins even, and we could hear the NCPD academy recruits running to a cadence as we ran a loop onto the next part of the course. I was impressed with their ability to sing while running in this humidity.

Mile 2 included water stations, and we took a quick walk break to get some fluids in. We were both struggling a little with the weather, and I had a nagging pain in my ankle. I usually take the day after long runs off, but I figured an easy paced 5k would be ok. My ankle continued to disagree. The second mile came in at 10:51, and we headed into a tree filled area of the park for the third and final mile. As we grew closer to the finish line, we were both drenched in sweat. Turns out summer is a less-than-ideal time to run – who knew?!

Approaching the finish line we picked up the pace, and completed the distance in 32:27, with an average pace of 10:23. We collected some cool towels they had near the finish, and then completed another .4 miles so that Jen would be able to get her full run distance in. Once that was done we checked out the post-race BBQ that was going on. They had a ton of food options available, but we both agreed that the humid run had made us a little nauseous and agreed to head to my parent’s house to hang out for a bit, rather than staying at the park for longer.

After the race my ankle continued to feel iffy, and of course I couldn’t find my ankle brace Monday night. So on Tuesday I focused on strength training, trying to give my body a break from running. In the morning I did a quick “Beach Body on Demand” workout, and then after work headed to the Gym with Desi, as is the usual Tuesday plan. I took Wednesday completely off, and thankfully a new ankle brace came in the mail that day. A few months ago I dealt with tendonitis that lead to the need for an ankle brace, so at least it was easy to get a new one, as I knew what I was looking for.

Did you know, Kasey “hates” running even more in the summer than she does the rest of the year?

On Thursday Kasey was planning on getting some morning miles in so I planned to meet up with her and figured if my ankle really hurt I would stop. Thankfully, I felt good when I started moving and was able to get in some excellent mileage. Kasey and I got in two miles together before she needed to get ready for work, and then I did an additional 5 miles solo, for a solid 7 mile morning. I started the run with no pressure on my pace, to give myself time to warm-up, and then gradually picked it up, enough that my last 4 miles were at a sub-9 min/mi, and the average pace came in at a 9:12. I felt strong at the end of this run and was glad that skipping some mileage had me feeling better. I figured I could run a little extra on Friday or Saturday to bring the mileage back up.

Thursday night meant, as usual, strength training at planet fitness. This time focused on arms and core. We spent a little more than an hour working through our routine and completed the whole thing without incidence.

I figured on Friday night I would get a few miles in after work before meeting Jen at a beach concert. Of course, I should have just done these miles in the morning. I wound up getting caught at work late, which meant no time for miles before the show.

Den, Desi, and I met up with Jen and her fiancé, Will, at the beach and learned that it wasn’t a concert on the sand like I had expected, but was a concert in an open air bar that was surrounded by sandy beach. I had worn flip flops, something that is fairly out of character for me, thinking my shoes would be full of sand if I attempted to wear sneakers. We found a spot to hang out on the roof of the bar, and had a good time hanging out and catching up. Eventually Jen and I were in need of drink refills, and we headed over to the bar for some refills. As we waited by the bar a waitress rushed by, and in her hasty almost-run, landed on my foot. She apologized quickly and moved on, I assured her it was no big deal, just an accident. My toe hurt, but it was no big, right?

We continued on with our night, eventually joined by my friend Chris, and we all sung our hearts out to classic rock tunes when we made our way to the dance floor. Even Dennis, who usually hates the bar scene, managed to have a good time. It wasn’t until we left the bar and begin the trek back to the car that I realized, WOW, my foot REALLY hurts! I wrote it off as a lot of time on my feet in unfamiliar shoes, and headed to bed when I got home without putting anymore thought to it.

The next morning when I woke up, the first thing that my body called my attention to was the throbbing pain in my foot. Examining my toes, I discovered that I had a bruise that wrapped around my pinky toe and swelling to accompany it.

Well, that’s not a good sign. I had to head to a meeting with the florist that Den and I are using for the wedding, so further evaluation would have to wait until after that. Weight on the foot? Not fun. After the meeting I iced my foot, and proceed to spend most of Saturday planted on the couch, trying to keep off my feet as much as possible. I had a 10k planned for the next day and was seriously questioning if that was in the cards for me. Needless to say, no makeup miles were possible on Saturday.

Sunday morning rolled around, and Desi was at my house bright and early. The Whisper Run 10k, which we were registered for that morning, was meant to be her first 10k ever. My original plan was to race the 10k, and then run another 8 miles to complete that weekends 14 mile long run.

I had pulled out my biggest pair of running shoes, half a size larger than the other pairs, and re-laced it in a way that the internet told me would take pressure off the toes. The course for the race was a repeat of a 5k loop, so I figured if I was in an unbearable amount of pain, I could manage walking at least one 5k loop. Putting the shoe on was painful, but I really felt ok once it was on my foot. We headed to Eisenhower park for the second time this week and picked up our Bibs and shirts. We had just enough time to use the bathroom before we had to line up and get moving.

Desi and I started the race together, but quickly settled into our own paces. It was humid again, but bearable. My foot felt better running than it had walking, and I pushed the pace a bit. I just focused on the mile I was in and found lot of on course support from members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri team, some volunteering and others running with me. When the first loop was complete I headed into the second one feeling strong, focused on the upbeat music I had playing on my headphones. One more loop. I was starting to become a little more aware of my foot, but it still felt ok. My watch was closing in on mile 6, and the course was closing in on the finish line – from looking at my watch while I was running through the area of the park that has more trees I know that my pace was off, so I’m going to chalk the short race distance up to the watch, rather than to a short course. As I approached the finish line, another member of the Tri Team, Andrea, shouted “you better not let me cross that finish line before you!” and it was just the motivation I needed to push a little harder in those last moments. I crossed the finish line and kept moving for a minute, mainly to avoid puking.

I chatted with some of other members of the tri team as I waited for Desi to finish, and when the results were posted I learned that I had managed first place in my age group – I was particularly excited by this, as I had gotten first place AG at this race in 2017 and was hoping to manage it again this year. We hung around for the awards ceremony, and several members of the MBTT had placed in their age groups, woo hoo!

Once the awards ceremony was over, I evaluated how my foot was feeling. Walking sucked way more than running and my foot was screaming about being confined to a shoe. I was happy with my 10k results, and decided not to head out for another 8 miles to complete that 14-mile long run, for fear that this was anything more than a broken toe. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering… and kicking myself a little for deciding to wear flip-flops out on Friday night. What was I thinking?!

In the grand scheme of things, a broken toe isn’t much, but I was afraid that it would be more than a toe. After struggling through the last 5 miles of the NYC marathon last fall, and then having to sit out the Disney marathon in January, I found myself fearful that this would have an impact on the wineglass marathon. Was 2018 just a year that I was not meant to run a full? This was the question that repeated in a loop, as I wallowed in my swollen foot.