Local Running: The 2024 Runners Edge Fun Run

I took my first trip to runners edge back in 2015, when I was training for my first half marathon.  I remember being intimidated at the thought of going, so my dad went with me, and we both left with a new pair of sneakers after the kind staff helped us get fitted and select a new pair that would work for each of us.

Ever since then I head to runners edge any time a new model of a shoe I love come out, just to make sure that I’m buying the right shoe for my fit (usually a pair of Brooks ghosts, but I still tend to go there to try them on and make sure!). The employees are always kind and patient as I try on and trot about in several pairs of shoes, before selecting the pair that will come home with me.  

They often host runs in conjunction with running brands, that will end with a coffee or beer on Main Street in farmingdale. I don’t get to these events as often as I would like, but it’s always nice to meet other local runners when I do make it!  

Last week I got a notification of Strava that they had added a new event – their annual fun run. The post promised raffles, snacks, giveaways, and a 3-6 mile running course, so I messaged some friends and made plans to head there on a Sunday morning. I was pleasantly surprised when my brother Tommy agreed to join us too! 

The forecast called for a sunny but chilly morning, with temps in the 20s. I decided to go with a layered outfit – a pair of brooks momentum thermal tights on the bottom, with top layers consisting of a brooks distance short sleeve 3.0, notch thermal long sleeve (with the perfect watch window), and a neon canopy jacket over it all. To go with the neon jacket, I chose my hot pink Ghost max sneakers.  

On Sunday morning I made the rounds, picking up Mike, Sophie and Tommy, and then driving us all to farmingdale. We even managed to snag a parking spot behind runners edge, rather than having to head to the parking lot across the street.

When we got to runners edge the store was already crowded. We checked out the vendor tables in the back of the store, and I got a chance to chat with Luke, the local Brooks Guru. Runners edge had a table of freebies, and I was lucky enough to find a pair of biking shorts in my husband’s size, which he was very excited about when I broke them out at home.

We dropped our goodies in the car, right as a runners edge team member climbed a ladder, and shouted over the crowd to explain the run course. There was a 3 mile option and a 5 mile option, and while the roads were open to traffic, there were barricades blocking several roads for us, and local police on the course to help direct traffic. They took a group photo, and then shouted a countdown to get us all going!

Tommy, Sophie and I opted for the 3 mile course, as Tommy revealed he had recently been doing a couch to 5k program, but hadn’t yet run the final 5k – so this was the perfect opportunity to get his miles in! Mike headed out with another friend with the intent of doing the 5 mile course.  

I was very glad with the layers that I selected as we started moving, and thankful that I had gloves – my hands were chilly even with them! We crossed the railroad tracks behind runners edge and headed towards bethpage state park, keeping a steady state as we trudged up a mild but steady uphill.

At the 1.5 mile mark we crossed the street and started heading back, a dirt road an option on that side of the street, which was nicer to run on than the road had been. I did wind up pulling off my canopy jacket, and tucking it into the internal pocket that it has, which converts it to a little backpack. 

Slowly but surely we made our way back to runners edge, but we had the bad luck of a a train coming just as we approached the train tracks, so we ran parallel to the tracks as we waited for the barricades to raise again, hitting the 5k mark just before the crossover opened again.

We crossed the street and walked the short distance left back to the store. When we got there they had bagels and coffee, and were handing out raffle tickets.

We hung around chatting as we waited for the rest of the runners to return to the store, and listened intently as they called off the raffle winners – they had so many prizes that it took a full 15 minutes to get through them all! Mike won a mystery bag, which contained a hat and some gels.

We headed home once the raffles were done, and all in all it was a fun event. It was nice of runners edge to host this for the community, with no cost to participate, plus some great giveaways! I’m looking forward to participating in more of their events in the future.

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.

2020 Dopey Challenge: 5k Video Recap

Hi Guys! to continue with my recaps of the 2020 Walt Disney World marathon weekend, today I am sharing a video recap from the 5k:

2020 Dopey Challenge: The Final Countdown

Guys, I am so excited - the time of the 2020 Dopey challenge is finally upon us, and the first week of the year was the last week of training…. and packing.

I started the year off slow, sleeping in a little after a late night. I texted Dad when I woke up, and he agreed to bike along as I ran, even though it was a chilly, windy morning - the real feel was 24 degrees. I layered up and drove over to my parent’s house, and Dad and I headed out. We chatted as we looped around the neighborhood, and soon I needed to switch from a jacket to a vest. We wound up totaling a little more than four miles, and at the end of the run I did something that I usually neglect - a cool down stretch. Something I really need to be more on top of, and I figured that I may as well use the new year as an excuse to be more on top of it.

On the second I headed back to work, and was so busy that the days flew by. On Thursday I was planning to head to the gym after work, even through I was dreading the new years crowds, but my husband’s family made dinner plans, since it was my sister-in-laws last day in New York. Since she is only here for a few weeks of the year, I headed to dinner with everyone, and just snuck in a short body weight strength session before bed.

Friday night I was so exhausted that I was hardly functioning when I got home from work. I felt a little better after dinner, but still didn’t have energy for much. So I organized some clothing and headed to bed early, since I had a race the next morning.

My body decided to wake up before my alarm, and I rolled out of bed around 5:30. I got dressed, and grabbed the race bag that I had packed the night before. The race was the first New York Road Runners event of the year - the Joe Kleinerman 10k, and I was heading into the city with a few friends from the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team to run it. It was rainy outside, but it was more misty than pouring, so I was hopeful that it would stop before we got to central park. I drove to Sami’s house, then met up with her, Tailia, and James, and Sami drove us the rest of the way to the park. Tailia had picked up everyone’s bib earlier in the week, so we just had to drop our bags and hit the porter potties before starting time. This year the NYRR re-did their corral assignments, with each runner being assigned a corral based off their best time in the last 12 months. For me, that meant getting moved back from corral E to F, since my best pace was from 2017 - but it gives me something to work towards this year!

We all loaded into the corrals, as we waited for the race to start. As a result of the rain, I put on way too many layers, that I would wind up shedding throughout the course. I didn’t really have any goals for the race, so I figured I would just see if I could keep up with some of my team mates. When the race started, the course took up us the worst hill in central park: Harlem hill. It is not only steep, but it winds up for so long that it feels like there was no life before the hill before you see the top of it. Once I made it through that hill, the work was not done - after all, the race was a 10k, and that was only the first mile.

I was glad I wore capris with pockets, and stuffed my gloves and headband into a pocket. From harlem hill I headed to the three sisters, and rolled through each one of them. We went all the way from the north end of the park to the south end, running the whole outer loop. The course was packed, and eventually I lost sight of my friends. When mile three rang in at a sub-9-minute mile, I questioned what I was doing - yes, the challenge of this pace felt GOOD. But I also hadn’t run paces this fast since before my injury in August, and I felt like I may be doing something stupid, with marathon weekend less than a week away. So I backed off the pace a bit, and focused on the run one mile at a time. Once we were headed north again we hit Cat hill, and then it wasn’t too far to the finish line. I had indeed lost layers as I ran, and was in the tank top that I had worn as my base layer by the time I crossed the finish line. I spotted Katie and Tailia on the side of the finish, and Sami and James came in right after me - looks like we had been within moments of each other throughout.

I found Carson after the race, and she took a walk back to the car with me. We all headed home, and Sami, Tailia, James and I had breakfast together, chatting and talking about our 2020 goals, and what races we wanted to run in the coming season. I headed home after and worked on marathon weekend costumes for a little bit, and then eventually headed into the city for a second time that day - Jennie had gotten us tickets to see Frozen on broadway, so we made a while girls night out of it, and got dinner in the cities before. It was a great night, and we had so much fun.

Sunday was a sleep in day for sure - the perks of tapering. Once I was up I got started on the day’s projects - packing and costumes. I had a lot of work to do, including finishing sewing three skirts. I had a lot of work to get done, and a long say of sewing ahead of me. Overall the crafting went smoothly, other than the skirt I made for my marathon costume - the material I picked was too silky, and when I tried it on with my running shorts it was super clingy. So off to the craft store I went, with Mom’s company, and I picked out a new material (and bonus, it was on sale!).

By the end of the day I had finished a mask, a headband featuring a tiny hat, three skirts, and two shirts. Phew! The line up for the weekend?

For the 5k Mike, Jude and I will be running as Buzz, Woody, and Zurg.

For the 10K the three of us will be going as Lock, Shock and Barrel, aka “Oogie’s boys” from nightmare before christmas.

For the half, Mike and I will be running as the Mad Hatter and Alice.

Finally, for the full, the last leg of Dopey, Mike and I will be running as Dopey and Snow white.

I am a little nervous about the heat for the full, so I have a raw threads snow white tank top, incase it it just too warm for a shirt that has a cape attached.

With all the costumes ready, I just had to get the rest of my supplies packed up, which I took care of on Monday night. My checked bag was very on-brand for me, and weighted in at 49 lbs, juuuust under the 50 lb limit. Once I was all packed, I just had to wait one more day before heading to Florida.

Race Recap: Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k

This is the second time I was participating in the NCPD Memorial 5K, as excited to get out for a good cause. The race fundraisers for the families of the fallen officers from the Nassau County Police Department. Coming from a family of cops, I think that the families of fallen officers should always receive support from the community.

Plus, the last time I did this race it was a great time! It’s an easy and quick course through Eisenhower Park that is entirely flat, and they don’t even make you run over the grass which sometimes happens with races in that park. I had originally asked my cousin Ryan to run this race with me, but he was under the weather tonight. I texted Mike to see if he still had plans, for the last time we had discuss the race he was busy. But lucky for me – his other plans fell through and he was able to come run with me.

The race happened on a Monday night, so after work I headed home and change into the shirt that I wore for the New York City Marathon in 2017, which featured the NYPD running club. I swung by Mike’s house and picked him up, and we head to the park together. It’s a local race for us so it only took about 10 minutes to get there.

The parking lot closest to the race were already filled up, and I didn’t want to park on the grass this time around us so I opted for a slightly further out parking lot. We’re already going to be running a 5K, so with a little extra walking really matter. We got over to the race area just as people are starting to head to the start line, and fell into the massive group of people waiting to get going. Soon after there was announcement at the start was going to be delayed by 10 minutes. I looked around us and waited in the starting corral knowing that a lot of the tri team was going to be doing this race and spotted a few of the jerseys ahead of us. We weaved through the group of waiting runners and I spotted Tara. 

She asked me what my plan for this race was, and honestly I didn’t really have one. I just plan on sticking with Mike and letting whatever piece happened it just happened. But when she greeted me she had told me that she was hoping to see me, so I could pace her for this race. I asked her what time she wanted to run, and she said something in the eights. I knew that Mike had been able to hold pieces that fast as he had been coming with me lately to do a few miles during my tempo runs, so I figured we may as well go for it. 

The national anthem was saying, and the race finally begin just a few minutes delayed. At first it was very crowded, with over 700 runners doing this event and no real seeding system runners of all different paces were starting at the same time. Made for a congested start, but with a little bit of weaving we were able to break into a less congested area of the race. The 1st mile including out and back portion where we ran towards the aquatic center in the park, and then we ran back towards the start area and spotted other members of the Tri team among the spectators. A lot of people that I knew spectating the race, and it was exciting do you hear them shout out my name as I ran by. At one point we ran through so many people that I knew, that Mike joked he would pay someone a dollar just to cheer for him. My watch buzzed to indicate that we had ran a mile just as we passed the 1st mile marker, an 8:29 pace. Before starting we had said we would try to stay between 830 and 845, so I tried to slow the pace down a little bit going into mile two that way there wouldn’t be any burnouts. But so far Mike and Tara were both sticking with me and looking strong.

It was a nice night out despite being August in New York, and Even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and overall just felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these pieces to be coming without a high level of effort even the humidity was tolerable. I was surprised with how little I was sweating, and how overall i felt really good. The week before this race I had totaled 50 miles, so I really didn’t expect these paces to be coming without a high level of effort. There was a water stop in the 2nd mile, but I didn’t manage to get over in time. Sorry Mike and Tarah, if you guys had really wanted water at that point. I figured it was only a 5K, so we would survive to the end even if it sucked a little bit. The true torture came when we ran by an ice cream truck shortly after, and I didn’t even have any change to get something. We finished mile 2 with an 8:40 pace, as we weaved through a more wooded area of the park. At this point I kept a little bit of a closer eye on the pace - I wanted to make sure that we all would be able to stay together to the finish line.

I tried to cheer on my fellow runners as Mike, Tara and I pushed to keep the pace. We looped through the back side of Eisenhower park, and were soon nearing the area that we started the race in, and closing in on our third mile. Mike fell behind a little bit during the last mile, so as we approached the finish line I told Tara to go on without me, and slowed a little so Mike and I could be reunited, and finish the race together. When he caught up to me he was practically sprinting, and I met his pace as we raced for the finish line together. - we finished the race in 26:38, a new PR for Mike!

There were volunteers handing out cool towels and water bottles at the finish line, and those towels were amazing. We caught our breath, and then walked around the post-race area until we found the BBQ. They had catering from Texas roadhouse, and each runner was able to select two hot foods, a side, and a drink. I got a hot dog, a chicken slider, a oatmeal cookie, and a seltzer. They were also handing out draft beer to the runners, so Mike and I each got a pint, and I passed mine along to him once we found a seat to eat, since beer isn’t really my thing. The beer was unlimited for each runner, you just had to being back your cup to get more.

Mike and I enjoyed our tiny feast, watching other runners finish their race as the sun set in the park. Once we were finished eating we chatted with some of my friends from the tri team, as we waited for the raffles to be drawn - each runner had been given a raffle ticket, and there were additional tickets available for purchases, with some great prizes. We didn’t wind up winning anything though, and headed home after the numbers had been drawn.

Overall, I love this event, from the cause it supports, to the BBQ after the race, and the T-shirt that they give out, and I hope I will be able to run it for years to come.

Race Recap: 2019 NYRR Pride Run

Another weekend, another race. This time the New York Road Runners Front runners of NY Pride run - If that’s not a mouthful, I’m not sure what is. This race would bring me one step closer to my 9+1 qualification for next year’s NYC marathon, and was sure to be full of LOVE! This would be my second time running this event, and we were slated for sunny skies.

When we registered for this race, I had Kasey, Mike, Sophie, and Sophie’s sister Janna planning to run with me. We all signed up, but only three of us made it to the start line. Mike wound up having a wedding in Connecticut that night, and the timing just wasn’t working out, and Kasey got put on the schedule for work. A bummer for sure on both fronts, but I was glad to at least have some good company as I headed into the city on race morning.

I picked up Sophie and Janna from my parent’s house, and they were in full rainbow mode and ready to run. I had opted for a neon pink shirt and neon ProCompression socks, as I just didn’t have anything rainbow that I really felt did the event justice.

I had decided to pre-purchase parking via the spot hero app, since every other time that we had headed into the city for a Saturday race this year we had wound up looping the streets surrounding central park looking for parking for so long that we had to kick one person out of the car to get the bibs which the other paid for a garage - and they’re expensive! Paying for parking day of in the city has cost us around $55, where as the spot hero app got me parking for $22 - a bargain in my opinion. We easily dropped the car off just a block outside of central park, and had a quick walk to bib pickup.

Once we had our bibs we moved over to bag check, and I sorted through the crap that I wanted to have with me, vs. the stuff I could leave behind. I had intended to run with my GoPro for this event, and carried it with me, but shortly after bag check discovered that the battery was dead. Once my stuff was dropped off we headed towards the corrals, with a quick stop at the porter potties along the way.

It was a big race, as NYRR was trying to set a world record for the largest charity pride run. They would have to net the most finishers, so there were over 10,000 runners in the field - much larger than the standard NYRR weekly race! We headed to the back of the corrals, as this was Janna’s first NYRR event, so she did not have a proper time-based corral placement yet. Shortly after we got to the corral, Carson spotted us as we waited to get moving, and joined us in the corrals. It was a long walk to the start, as they were releasing runners in waves that day.

When we did make it to the start, it was so crowded that I managed to loose sight of Sophie and Janna. I saw them right behind me, and Sophie waved me on. I planned to stay with them, but the next time I turned to check for them they were out of sight. So, Carson and I moved forward, figuring that we would find them by the finish line. We chatted as we made our way through the first mile, which brought us up Cat hill. Near the hill one of the members of MBTT spotted me, Michal, and we chatted for a moment until she decided to cut back her pace a little. It’s always fun to spot a familiar face on course.

We missed the first aid station simply because it was crowded, but pulled over to grab water at the second. it was a humid morning, and we needed to make sure to hydrate, even though it was only a 5 mile run. We continued making our way around central park, and as we approached Harlem Hill Carson and I parted ways, as she wanted to take a short walk break. I pressed forward, enjoying the challenge of the hill. I had needed to take a few days off that week, as my calf had been feeling a little strained, but it was feeling great during the race, and I was just happy to be moving. Did the hill suck? Yes. But there I was, running up it anyway, somehow happy about it as sweat dripped into my eyes. Running is emotionally weird, guys.

If you’ve run central park before, you probably know what comes after Harlem Hill - you finally make it to the top, praise the end of the uphill, have a moment of relief, and then head straight for the three sisters. Sigh. More hills. But I was still happy to be out there, happy to feel good running, even pushing the pace a little when I could. I wanted to play it smart with the heat, so I wasn’t going too crazy.

Once I made it through the ups and downs of the three sisters, it was smooth sailing to the finish line. A flat stretch, lines with spectators decked out in pride gear, cheering on the runners, a final turn, and the finish line chute. I almost crashed with another runner at the finish line, who came in HOT behind me, but crisis was averted. I moved through the finishers chute, being handed water, and apple, a rainbow bagel, and the real prize - a rainbow ice pop. Really, the ice pop alone would have been enough to convince me to run five miles.

I was very thankful for the many pockets on my shorts, as I crammed my apple and bagel into them as I enjoyed my ice pop. I waited in line to pick up my shirt, and once I had it I went to pick up my checked bag. Carson found me along the way, and walked over to get her bag as well. We then found a nice curb to enjoy our ice pops on.

Sophie texted me when she finished her race, and I walked back over to the shirt pickup area to meet her. Her and Janna briefly got separated - an issue as Janna had never been in central park before and had no cell phone on her - but Sophie found her surprisingly fast, and then they grabbed their shirts. By then we had all finished our ice pops, and made a group decision for another round - there were plenty of vendors in the park after all! Once we had our ice pops acquired, we walked towards the cherry hill fountain, where I knew some of the tri team had planned to meet up. I knew I was probably too late, but wanted to see if I could spot anyone.

I was indeed too late, but we snapped a few photos with the fountain anyway. We walked back up to race day central, posed with a few of the photo ops, then parted ways with Carson as we headed for the car and she headed for the subway.

It was another good week with the road runners, despite the warm temperatures. At the end of the race they announced that they had met their goal, and broke a Guinness world record for the largest pride run

Kelly, where have you been for the last 5 weeks?

Remember that time I said weekly blog posts were coming back?

Yeah, me too.

I wrote out a whole post for week two, but it just felt like a lot of complaining – my asthma flared up again that week, and it just put a big old negative vibe over how I felt about the whole training cycle at that point. I try to share the ups and the downs of training, but there’s a difference between a “down” and a long winded complaint about not being able to breathe.

And then there’s the whole laptop issue – as in mine decided, after five plus years of loyal service, to throw up a blue screen of death. Cool computer, cool. I guess I really should have invested in that external hard drive, considering the amount of turmoil my heart was in at the idea of losing years of photos.

After Dennis and Tommy both deemed the computer situation too precarious for them to be comfortable trying to risk it (both feared death at my hands if the photos were lost), I called in backup: My co-worker and friend, Ben, who has basically been my computer lifeline for the last 8 years. And after a bit of what I assume was wizardry, he managed to pull the contents of my hard drive off the computer, and onto a newly-purchased external drive – hallelujah! I then had to sort through the contents of the drive, and make sure that everything I needed was there, before he could wipe the computer and restore it to proper functioning.

That seemingly little task, checking the files, I somehow managed to avoid for weeks – it was one of those little things that nags at the back of your mind, but you somehow forget until you’re passing out or half way through a long run, and have no means of getting it done at that exact moment.

Me and My co-worker turned friend Desi, at the planet fitness where we do our strength training. 

So, laptop-less, the blog sat stagnant for the last month. Now that Dennis and I are living together, I did have his desktop as an option (which is where this post is coming to you from), but it somehow doesn’t feel the same as my laptop, which I have written all my other posts on. I suppose I am just somehow sentimental about the computer that helped me put my thoughts out there to the world.

Now, lets get to the good stuff – the running!

The good news is, after week two of training the ability to breathe returned to me, and I finally found a combo of allergy meds that work well enough to make me a functional human again. Instead of going through all of the runs and workouts that I have done over the last month, I’m going to talk about my training schedule, and some of my favorite sessions that I have gotten in so far during this training cycle, and update you about some of my running friends!

This time around, the heavier hitting weeks have me logging about 40 miles, with 3-5 cross training sessions weekly. My ideal week, where I hit every workout that I would like to, looks something like this:

Monday: AM- Swim, PM - yoga

Tuesday: AM- run (easy), PM – Strength training

Wednesday: AM – Run (quality, speed work or tempo)

Thursday: AM- run (easy), PM – Strength training

Friday: AM- Swim

Saturday: Optional run – easy if recovery feels necessary, quality if I have the strength

Sunday: Long Run, with a possibility of yoga if the energy is available

As I have gotten deeper into the training cycle, I have started to shift the “Quality” run days to Tuesday/Thursday mornings, rather than Wednesday/Saturday, as it makes me feel more prepared going into my long run. The last time I tried to do any sort of quality work on a Saturday, I felt drained on Sunday, and it impacted my long run for sure. I have also tried to get to yoga twice a week, when possible.

July came in as my second highest mileage month ever, at 158.6 miles. Second only to April of 2017, when I was training for the Long Island marathon, which was the first week of May 2017. I also added more bike mileage, and kept on swimming.

At the end of June, I did a big thing (for me) – my first ever open water swim! Excel, the masters swim program that I participate in, offers weekly open water workouts, and as I was able to borrow a wetsuit from one of the coaches I committed to joining one of the first sessions. I was super nervous when I arrived – growing up on long island I have been swimming in the ocean my whole life, but more in a “run at the waves!” sort of swimming. This felt more serious, and exponentially harder. But the had two people watching out for us as we swam, one in a kayak and one on a paddle board. When the whole group had arrived we waded in the water and began the swim, which was an out and back towards a tiny island with the last lap being different than the first three, such that we would swim parallel to the shore. Despite the wetsuit the water was cold, and I felt panic in my chest as I started swimming. It was a very different feeling than swimming in a pool, where I am used to being able to see the bottom. All I could see when my face went into the water at the bay was murky and non-specific. I paused to float and take a few deep breaths. Then practiced some positive self talk, reminding myself that I COULD do this, and then adopted the policy of just closing my eyes when my face was in the water, which worked much better than I had expected it to. Fourty-five minutes later I was back on the shore, and on top of the world. I felt so accomplished at completing my first open water swim, and even committed to buying a wetsuit that night. It was harder mentally than it was physically, and today I am still not 100% comfortable in open water, but it was the first step in the right direction.

Dad also hit a big milestone in June – He participated in the “great american cycle challenge,” where he pledged to bike 200 miles and raise $500 to fight kids’ cancer. By the end of the month he had logged over 300 miles, and raised more than $600 (thanks to the donations of the Family, Friends, and the ever generous members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri team!).

On the fourth of July, my family once again took on the role of “one those families that run on holidays,” as Kevin, Ryan, Kasey and I ran the bellmore strider’s fourth of July 4-miler. Kasey even broke her rule of “no runs longer than 3 miles,” which she established after her second half marathon back in April, and completed the full distance. My brother Kevin, while not a runner, is in generally good shape and recently had to be timed running 1.5 miles as a part of a physical exam, so he was ready for this race. When Kev, Ryan and I ran this race in 2016, Kevin finished with an average pace of 7:40, something I am still a little bitter about to this day (mainly because I wish I could run that fast for any stretch of time). His goal for this year was to beat that time, and my goal was to keep up with him for as long as possible. How long did I last? Just over one mile. How fast was that mile? 7:18. A near- puke pace for me. As Kevin disappeared to the distance, I mentally shook my fist at him, whishing I had that speed, but maybe a little bit enjoying the knowledge that he would slow down too – he usually doesn’t run more than 2 miles, so his pacing isn’t very practiced. He was still super speedy, finishing with an average pace of 7:30/mi. When I came through the finish line he was cheering on the side lines, so that made up a little bit for him kicking my butt. My average pace wound up being an 8:12, just a little faster than my 10k PR pace… so maybe I can dream of a new PR on the horizon. Kasey and Ryan stuck together for the whole race, and rolled through the finish a few minutes later, followed soon after by my friend Desi, who was running her first race ever. All in all, it was a fun day, as the race was followed by kayaking with Dennis and friends, and then a BBQ.

In July, the most challenging week to get workouts in was the week that I spent a float on the Norwegian Escape with my extended paternal family. There was a gym on the ship, but it was often a struggle to get myself onto the treadmill when there was so much to do, so much to eat, so many books I could be reading while relaxing. Thankfully, Kasey and I were sharing a room, and together we made getting to the gym a priority. I got in a total of 4 runs that week, some of which even had an awesome view of Bermuda while we were docked. Although, the amount of food that I ate may have cancelled out some of the effectiveness of those miles. It was certainly easier to run while the ship was docked, as when the boat was moving the rocking made the narrow treadmills somewhat hazardous to run on. The ship did have a small outdoor “jogging deck,” but it was near a pool (so the floor was always slippery) and it was right near the exit of a restaurant, so there was always heavy foot traffic. Plus, it took 8 laps of the small track to get to a mile, a prospect that was less than appealing. We had a great vacation, visiting beaches, caves, and zoos while in Bermuda, and spending lots of time relaxing while on the ship.

While I had managed to keep my weekday mileage close to where it needed to be during the cruise, I had too much to do the day we got off the ship, and time slipped away from me without ever getting my long run in. But the following weekend I rallied and managed to get longer distances done on both Saturday and Sunday, so I felt a little better about missing the mileage. One of my friends on the Tri Team, Tara, was looking for a running buddy for an early morning Saturday long run. Tara kept me company for so many of my winter long runs leading up to my first marathon in 2017 and it had been far too long since we last trained together, so I quickly agreed to meet up with her. She had 12 miles on her schedule, and my plan told me I needed a 16 mile long run for the weekend. I lied to myself and said that I would totally do the extra four once we finished the 12 together – spoiler alert: I have poor time management skills related to running, and I indeed, did not run the additional 4 miles.

We agreed to meet at the Bethpage state park parking lot at 6:15, but in my infinite lack of navigation abilities, I picked the wrong parking lot on google maps. This lead to a slightly later than planned start, but by 6:30 we were on the road. Tara had a prescribed pace of 9:30-10 min/mi, which was right where I wanted to be as well. We headed north on the path, deciding that was the hillier direction to travel in, and ran all the way to the northern end, having to do a few loops of the last quarter mile to ensure that we wouldn’t be running loops around the parking lot. We chatted throughout the run, and Tara let me rant about anything and everything, but mostly about how much I hate wedding planning. Before I knew it the 12 miles were over, and I did not have enough time to get in any extra distance, because I had made plans to go bike riding at jones beach with some co-workers.

Biking?! Yes, you read that right. After two years of running with the Tri Team, I am now in possession of an actual road bike! Remember the friend that I mentioned before, who saved my computer, Ben? Well he recently upgraded his road bike, and he offered me a loan of his old one, as we are about the same height. I happily accepted his offer and am so excited to add more biking into my weekly routine.

Dennis and I loaded the new road bike into my car, and the drove around the neighborhood picking up bikes for the ride – first one at my parent’s house for my friend Desi to ride, and then his bike from his parent’s house for him to use. We met another co-worker at the bike path and were ready to ride after some quick adjustments. As we hit the path, I did not realize just how different a road bike would feel from the mountain bikes that I had rode my whole life, and wow. Why did I wait so long to try a bike like this! We rode a total of 17 miles, encountering a fierce head wind from miles 6-10. But when the wind was at our backs, it felt like I was flying!

When Sunday came around, I had all but decided 12 miles of running + 17 miles of biking was good enough for a long run. I slept in Sunday morning and was feeling great, considering all the mileage that I had logged the day before. After a lazy morning that included standard Sunday chores, I was starting to worry that the 12 miles I had logged the day before just wasn’t enough. I consulted my running schedule – the following weekend had a 14 mile long run. So if I ran 14 this weekend and 16 next, I could be be guilt free. I sat on this for a while, until I got a text from Kasey, asking if I was still planning on doing a long run that day – she wanted to get outside, and offered to come along on her bike. And thus, a plan was devised. I would run the 2 miles from my apartment to her house, and then we would do the 1.1 mile loop near my parents house until I was satisfied with the distance. When we got on the road we started chatting, and the miles slipped away. We stopped at my parents a few times to refill the water bottles with water and ice, and on the last stop I may have even stolen an orange. Once I finished the loop that meant 12 miles was complete, Kasey and I parted ways and I headed back to the apartment, in search of food and rest. It wasn’t as fast as the day before, but I had gotten the mileage done and was happy for it.

The last weekend in July I carved out the time for a 16 mile long run, and got through it with the help of Dennis and my college roommate, Minal. She was in town for the weekend, and the two of them agreed to bike along with me as I ran on Sunday morning. Since the sun was bright, we opted for the Bethpage trail again, since there is a good amount of cloud coverage. There were laughs, there were hills, there were songs sang, and then it was done. A 16-miler that was gone in the blink of the eye, even if I did get a little grumpy around mile 14, where for a moment it felt never ending. My solution when I felt like I was dragging? To race myself for mile 15, and to my own astonishment I actually managed to pull off an 8:23 pace that far into a long run. The sweet victory was rewarded with scones at Robinsons, our favorite not-so-local tea shop – it’s a 40 minute drive but so worth it.

Now that I have regaled you with tales of my long runs, lets take a moment to touch upon upcoming race plans!

Next big race is the Wineglass marathon, but if you have made it this far into the post, you probably already know that. I’ll be running that race solo, with a goal of coming closer to the 4 hour mark.

After that I have three RunDisney weekends on the schedule. First up is the two course challenge, as a part of the food and wine half marathon weekend. Dennis and I will be on our honeymoon in Disney that week, and since we were going to be there anyway, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a race in. I’ll be racing the 10k solo, and then running the half with my cousin Kristen, who lives in Florida not too far from Disney.

Then in January it will be marathon time again, and I will be heading to Florida with Jennie and my long time friend Mike. Mike has done a handfill of NYRR weekly races with me, and will be taking on his first half marathon that weekend! I will be doing the Goofy challenge, so after we run the half together I will be (hopefully) completing my 5th marathon the following day. Lots of celebratory snacks and park adventures will be had.

Sidenote: Jen is back in commission guys. After a long battle with ITB syndrome, her PT has cleared her to start running again, and along with her fiancé Will she has started to up her weekly mileage again. The marathon weekend falls on the weekend of her birthday, so I should probably start a formal petition for her to come and join in on the running fun, right?

Anyway, since I had such a good time with my parents during the princess half weekend in 2018, we have decided to repeat the trip in 2018, and Kasey’s family (which is headed by my Dad’s sister, my Aunt Karen and her husband, my Uncle Tom) have decided to join in on the fun this year! Mom, Aunt Karen and Hallie all agreed to participate in the 5k with me, but with Kasey’s new found “no more than three miles” rule, in conjunction with her dismay for the 3 am wakeups that she experienced during the star wars half marathon, I was convinced she would be sitting this weekend out and laughing at us from the sidelines as we took bus naps. But I am happy to report that she has signed on not only for the 5k, but for the main event, the DISNEY PRINCESS HALF MARATHON!!!!

My running buddy is back guys! Kasey, I am so glad that I will have you joining me in the misery of long runs, and I look forward to listening to you as you pretend to hate running. But don’t worry, we know the truth….. Plus, like you said – we will be having the good Disney eats guilt free, all trip.

So, that pretty much gets you up to date. As of today, I am feeling strong with my training. Hopefully you have made it to the end of this long-winded post, and it makes up a little bit for the weeks of radio silence. I will be back here soon, to talk more about the races that have been going on this year, and the progression of my training. So until next time, Happy Running!