Week 3: When it's Humid, I head for the Treadmill.

 I was met by, as my dad says, Hot, Hazy, and Humid weather when I headed outside for my run on Monday morning. It was the end of June in New York, and the humidity was very much out to play. I managed to get out of the house before 7 am and worked my way through the 6 miles on my training schedule. The miles were difficult, and slow going, but I kept going even when I wanted to quit. I walked a little at the end of my miles to cool down, red faced and exhausted, but happy that my miles were finished for the day. I rounded out my day with some yoga that evening, so that my legs would feel fresh when I took on speedwork the following day.

When I had done speed work a week earlier, it was borderline a traumatic experience. I was DREADING another speedwork session. I told myself I was going to get up early to beat the heat, but then just could not get myself out of bed that morning. So, I packed a gym bag, and after work I headed to my parent’s house to get in my interval run on the treadmill. I was honestly worried about being able to hit the prescribed paces in the workout but figured that I had a better chance on the tread than I did outside.

My schedule called for 8 600m repeats, at a 7:50 pace. I took a warmup class, stretched, and then picked out a HIIT class from the peloton, so that the energy of the class would match my goals for the intervals I had on tap. I was skeptical the first time that I rolled the speed up to a 7:53, but managed to hang on for 600m. and after 400 m of recovery, I managed to do it again. It kept going like that – a slight disbelief, a hard effort, another interval checked off. At the end of the 45 minute class I was dripping with sweat, but only had one more interval to go! I popped on a 20 minute Pop Punk run, and made it through my last interval, and glided into a nice cooldown to finish off my run. This run was so welcome after the struggle that intervals had been the week before.

The next day I focused on strength training, and after work met up with Sophie to do a few peloton classes. We did an hour of strength training total, consisting of a 20 minute lower body resistance band class, a 20 minute strength for runners class, and a 20 minute core class. As we are early in our marathon training, we even did a nice 10 minute stretch to close things out. How many weeks do you reckon I will actually manage to keep up with strength training and stretching like this?

Thursday morning called for a 6 mile tempo run, which I knew I was not up for just yet. I planned to run in the morning and had to fight to get myself out of bed. I set a goal of trying to hit around a 9-minute mile for 3 miles, and planned to run 7 miles total, so at least I would get the full mileage that the training wanted, even if the paces were not perfect. I let myself take it easy the first mile so my body would have plenty of time to warmup, and then tried to take the pace down when I got into mile 2. I fought to get the pace to just under a 9 min/mi, and didn’t quite get there for mile 2 – but by the time I rolled into mile 3 I had found my stride, and managed to hang on to the pace for miles 3 and 4. I spent the last three miles slowing down and just getting the miles under foot. It was a hard run, but I was happy that I had dragged myself out of bed at the end of it.

On Saturday I had my first race since march of 2020 – the NYRR pride run! It was a freaking humid morning, so I had no plans to run at an all out pace, but I was excited for the “event” that is a race, at long last! Mike and Jude picked me up, and we headed into Manhattan together. We pre-reserved parking at a lot near Carson’s apartment, and met up with her before heading into central park. They had covid precautions in place, so they had asked runners to pick up their bibs in advance if possible, so Carson had gotten our bibs and shirts earlier that week.

NYRR had set up the race to have a “rolling” start, with different start times based off your pace, but we all decided to start at the later time, together. We headed into central park, checked our bags, and were able to run right up to the start line and begin our race without being packed into a corral. Carson and I stuck together as we made our way through central park. This year the race was a 6k, and when we got moving, I was pretty much immediately dripping with sweat. It was central park, so of course there were hills - first up were the three sisters, then we made our way around the south side of the park before going up Cat hill. It was nice to be running with Carson though, and we did all we could to make it through the miles without melting.

When the finish line was in sight, Carson picked up the pace to fly through the finish, and I matched her stride for stride – although had she gone much faster, I probably would have thrown up. They gave us ice pops as we left the finishers chute, which were so good in the heat. We waited for Mike and Jude at the finish line, and then found a restaurant that served crepes, and we each ordered a different type and shared them, as we caught up. It was a great morning in the city, and made me really miss the days of races!

My last run of the week was a long run of 10 miles. It was humid again on Sunday, so I decided to just take the run inside, and headed to my parent’s house to use their treadmill. I did my diligence with a warm-up stretch and a warm-up run, and then started with one of Bec’s 60 minute marathon race prep classes. When I made it through the hour long class, I was dripping with sweat. I sat down on the treadmill for a minute to catch my breath, and then got up and went into another class, a 20 minute rock run with Andy Speer. By the end of the second class, I was at just over 8 miles, and ready to be done with my treadmill run. I stalled for a few minutes, swapping a load of laundry, and then clicked into a class that I always enjoy, one of Chase Tucker’s 20 minute pop. It got me to pick up the pace a little and carried me through the 10 mile mark I was aiming for. I forced myself to stretch, and was glad that I was done with another week of training.

Week 9: Chicago Marathon Training

After the scorching heat that we had all weekend, I was relieved when I checked the weather app from bed on Monday morning and saw that the temps were in the 70s- way more manageable than the 100+ degree weather that had driven me to the treadmill for my long run. I dragged myself out of bed and looked at the training schedule that I have hanging on the fridge. I knew I needed to run, but I had no idea how far I needed to go - 6 miles. Not too shabby. I wanted to roll back into bed, but went through the motions of getting ready to run, knowing that once my sneakers were on I would get out the front door. 

I was greeted with a particularly rude wave of humidity- yeah, the temps were lower, but the humidity still made it feel like I was breathing through a straw. My body was slow to adapt to the motion of running, so I took it one mile at a time, always having to talk myself into the next mile. First I ran to the track, a mile and a half. If I went home from there, it would at least be three miles. I may as well run towards my parents house, so I could grab some water. Another 1.5 miles, three total. Already half way done. If I went straight home I could get 2 more miles in, so with a little zig zagging it could easily be turned into three. When I got to the vicinity of my apartment I still needed a half mile. I considered skipping it, but knew I would feel more accomplished about the run if I did the full distance. So one extra loop around the complex, my watch buzzed at the 6 mile mark, at the very humid run came to an end at last. 

Tuesday morning rolled around, and I just did not get out of bed early enough to get to the track, and have time for my full workout. So instead I opted for some mobility work, following a few routines that Nike Training Club offers. That night I was headed to the track anyway, to host another track night for MBTT, and I figured if I headed there right from work I would have time to get my workout in before hand. 

Of course, time was not on my side, and I got stuck at work late. I hardly had time to change and get out the door to get to the track on time. I explained the workout that Coach Jackie had set for the group, and guided them through it as they completed there laps- I may have even told Sophie and Mike to slow down a few times. 

It was raining by the time they all finished, so I headed home instead of running after the practice- there was a lacrosse game going on there anyway. 

When I got home I toyed with the idea of just getting my workout done on the treadmill. I was feeling inspired after seeing everyone put in work at the track, and eventually I talked myself into it. I figured worst case I would get a few easy miles in. 

I set up my iPad for entertainment, and got started. The workout was mile repeats- three of them at a 7:30 pace. I did a mile and a half warm-up, and then hit the speed I needed on the treadmill. Slowly counting down from 120 as I went, willing the distance to tick to a mile before I ran out of numbers. I managed to hang on to the pace! A 600m recovery, and it was time for round two. Somehow being successful the first time around gave me the motivation I needed it, and I started counting down again, this time from a slightly higher number. But I made it though the whole mile without stopping, and felt good. I walked the beginning of the recovery phase, and it was hard to start running again. But I only had to do one more repeat, and then I could call the workout successful. I buckled in, got moving, and knocked out the last repeat and glided into the cooldown. Three mile repeats complete, and Den had cooked some dinner while I ran, so I got to immediately chow down when I was done. 

Wednesday was my rest day, so I got to sleep in. But after work I headed over to the pool to get in a few laps, and then headed over to Sophie’s to get in a core workout and watch some TV together. It took longer than anticipated to get through the core workout, as my stomach was NOT cooperating, but I did what I could and hoped I would be okay when I tried to run my tempo run the next morning. 

I texted Mike on Wednesday night to see if he would be willing to meet me at the track Thursday morning, so that I would have someone to keep me accountable. He agreed, and the next morning I was up and out the door bright and early, so that I would have time to run to and from the track, where I planned on getting my run in. It was about a mile and a half to the track, and I got in the beginning of my workout before Mike arrived. I had aimed to get there a little before him, that way he would join me for the middle of my harder- paced miles. I had to get 7 done, so it was going to be a long workout. 

When Mike arrived he hopped right in with me, and was nice enough to keep pace with me as we tried to talk at each other. I say tried, because it was HARD to hold a normal conversation at those paces, at least for me. But he hung on to those paces for three miles, which was how long he needed to get in that morning. We paused for a quick selfie, and then I was back to running laps as Mike headed home. 

It was warm out, but the miles had come without too much struggle at first. As I got further into the workout though, it became more of a struggle, with mile 7 making me really want to quit. I had to stop for a water break half way through, but then I pushed through and finished the hard miles, and got to slow down and get in my cooldown as I ran home. 

I was pooped after work on Thursday, but had made plans to meet Sophie at the gym. I really wanted to bail, but had made a commitment, and needed to be doing a better job with strength training anyway. We were planning on a “leg” day, and proceeded to do approximately a million different squat variations, which rendered our legs dead for the several following days. 

Those dead legs kept me in bed, the next morning, but I had time to get in a few miles Friday night, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. When I got home from work I laced up, and Dennis even agreed to come out for a short portion of my run- something that hasn’t happened since 2016. He did one loop of the neighborhood with me, about a mile, and then I went on to do another 5 solo. I kept an easy pace and listened to some music, enjoying getting miles under foot. Mom and Dad snuck up on me in the car while I was running near their house - the magic of find your friends - and passed me some water, which was very appreciated.

While I was out running Mike texted me asking if we would like to come over for a BBQ that night, and it was the perfect treat after my run. It was nice night of grilled chicken and fun conversation with friends. I was bummed when Den and I had to head out early, since I had to head to the airport to pick up my cousin Jen, who was visiting from Atlanta that weekend. 

I picked up Sophie and the two of us headed to the airport to pick up Jen, and then went back to the apartment for a sleepover and second dinner, which consisted of fondue and wine. It was a great Friday night. 

Jen was coming into town for her bridal shower, and I knew the date before I set up my training plan for Chicago, so I made sure to give myself an off day that Saturday. Instead of miles we had mimosas, plus pedicures. The bridal shower was lovely, and I made up for the off day on Sunday, when I had a 15 mile run planned. 

Mike also needed to get his long run in, so we coordinated and agreed to meet at massapequa preserve. We had our bike support team with us too, as my Dad and Mom both came along to ride with us. Mike only needed to do 9 miles, so the plan was to do an out an back together, and then I would head out once more to finish up my miles. Mike and I settled into a conversational pace, and moved along the path. There were a lot of people out on the path, as it was a nice day out. I may have been a little ambitious with the pace when we first got moving, as I tuckered Mike out quicker than usual. When I saw this was happening I dialed back the pace, and made sure that we were taking water breaks often enough. We were almost at the half way point when this happened, so we just had to head back to the car, and his miles would be complete.

Heading back we opted to change up the route, heading into the wooded area of the trail, rather than the paved area that we had tun on initially. It was a bit cooler in the shade of the trees, although there was some mud as we ran through the area, and there was more than one tight spot when people had their Dogs off leash and we had to get by. A few times I ran ahead to get in some strides and then doubled back to find the group, and each time I would find Dad biking up to catch me, as Mom was not a fan of me going ahead alone. Eventually we made it back to the cars, and had logged 10 miles together. I had planned to turn around and finish up my last five miles right away, but my body had other ideas. I had a bathroom need, and with no bathroom near that area of the trail, I opted to head home and use the bathroom there before heading out for the last five miles. Not ideal, but at least I would be able to get them done without being uncomfortable.

It was much hotter running near my parent’s house than it had been on the trail, as the path had a lot more shade. My legs were unhappy with me for stopping when I first started moving again, but eventually I settled back into the flow of things and knocked the miles out, despite the warm weather. It was less perfect, but my 15 miles were complete, and Mom had even gotten lunch while I finished my run.

As always, I was thankful for the community that I have that supports me, and hope that they all feel just as supported in return. It was a week full of hard work, in the best possible way.

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. 

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 12

Total Mileage: 48.6

After getting back to NY on monday night, I was ready to relax and recuperate for the rest of tonight, and when Tuesday morning rolled around, it felt like the world’s biggest Monday.

Monday was prime day, and I did fall victim to one runner deal - a nox gear vest. I am a nerd for visibility gear, and was excited to add this to the lineup. The benefit of prime day - it was on sale AND it would get to me in just a few days.

Lucky for me, I had a full crew ready to run on Tuesday morning, and Dad, Kasey and I hit the roads bright and early, and even got our first taste of sunrise running for the season. After the pleasant air in california all weekend, being back in the humidity was a bit of a rude awakening, but I stuck it out to get 7.5 miles in before work. I treated myself to yoga on Tuesday night instead of a gym session, and it was exactly what I needed to get out of the Monday-on-a-Tuesday funk.

We had another full showing on Wednesday morning, and I got through 8 miles before work. I also accidentally nearly took a sprinkler to the face. I run without my glasses, and somehow sprinklers sneak up on me pretty often…. I can usually hear them, but occasionally I get a surprise shower. On strava, I named this run “new world record for sweat,” as everything I was wearing was entirely sweat through by the time I made it back to the apartment. It was the kind of morning when the post run shower was a huge reward.

Thursday I got to bust out my new vest for the first time, so you know I made sure to get out the door before the sun was up. Kasey’s reaction to my new gear? A cross between “I don’t know if I can be seen running with you while you’re wearing THAT,” and “I would rather be hit by a car than wear a light up vest.”

So, she’s not a huge fan of my safety gear, I can’t win them all. I can’t say I was shocked. This run was a doozy either way, and when Kasey had finished her leg of the morning, Dad asked if we wanted to take a jumpshot before we parted ways - our reaction? Opting to promptly lay down on the sidewalk in despair, as it seemed more fitting for how we both felt that morning. Major burn-out feelings, and sadly for me, I had to get up and keep running afterwards. But I did get up, to complete a total of 7.6 miles that morning. I had a standard Thursday night at the gym, and got another hour of strength training under my belt.

I was gearing up to get in my last long run before the marathon that weekend - the big 22 miler! So Friday I focused on recovery, and got in a yoga class after work.

Saturday was the big run day of the week, and Dad was in it for the long haul with me, as bike support, stocked up with everything I could need over the miles. We headed to the sunrise highway entrance of the bethpage bike trail, where we met up with my MBTT teammate, Tara. The weather was drizzly and cooler than it had been all week, so it was perfect for a run.

She was on board for 12 miles, and we got going on the trail, chatting as we went. We were going to head out and back, 6 miles out and 6 miles back. Of course, Tara is known as a distance bully (and well, I may be too…). As we approached 6 miles, she threw out the possibility that maybe she could run 14 instead of 12, and I latched on to that immediately, happy to have her company for an extra two miles. The miles just slipped by, with the three of us chatting as we went, and sometimes I got to just listen to Dad and Tara chat, and just letting the distance rack up. Before I knew it we were back at the parking lot, and it was time for us to part ways, and time for me and Dad to head out for another eight miles.

My friend Desi wanted to get a few miles in, and was heading to the parking lot to meet us, but was still about 20 minutes out. So Dad and I looped out once more, this time just for two miles, and were back at the parking lot in what felt like half a second, and Desi was there and ready to get running. She is still a fairly new runner, so I had to slow down the pace a little for her, but I am generally content to trade pace for company. Of course, those last six miles were the longest 6 of the day. I could feel myself dragging, and had Dad pull out the emergency bottle of Gu roctane powder drink mix, or as I like to call it, Go Go Juice - and it did just the trick, and gave me the boost I needed to finish up those last few miles.

Dad and I upheld our post long-run diner tradition, refueling with over easy eggs and buttered rye toast. I was freezing by the time we left the diner, and when I got home took a good long shower before changing into comfy pants and putting my legs up. I did reward myself for a job well done with some new compression socks - what can I say, I am a sucker for a good ProCompression sale!

But alas, that was not the end of my running week - I had one more mile to get in! The New Balance 5th Avenue mile, to be specific! Mike and I had signed up to race on Sunday morning, and while I wasn’t sure how running was going to feel the day after a 22 mile run, I was excited to race a mile for the first time.

MIke agreed to do the driving this time, and we headed into the city on that rainy Sunday morning. My legs were tired, but all in all I was feeling good. After a few loops of city streets near central park, we managed to find parking and headed towards race day central. We were able to pick up our bibs on race morning, as NYRR weekly races usually allow, and this time the race giveaway was a hat. We threw our hats on, and then headed into central park to run a half mile warm-up, half to prepare ourselves for the race and half to keep warm, as it was drizzly and a little bit chilly that morning - good running weather, but not great standing around waiting to start running weather. We ran into central park, saw some doggos, mike caught a few pokemon, and my legs acted like slugs, outraged that I dare make them run the day after a 22 miler.

The waves of the race were separated by age and gender, and my wave was the one right before Mike, the 3rd and 4th groups to go. So when we saw the high school age waves going, we made our way over to the start area. Soon enough it was time for me to get into my corral, and I was more nervous than I had expected to be - I had never raced a mile before! I really wanted to finish in under 7 minutes. I hadn’t run a timed mile in over a year, and my old record was 7:14, so at the very least I wanted to beat that.

The race began, and runners chased the pace car down 5th avenue. I hit a pace that felt fast, trying not to get too caught up in the excitement of the start. I settled in, and the pace was hard, but I reminded myself it was only for a mile. The first half of the mile was a gradual uphill too, which was particularly unforgiving. When the road evened out, I let loose, checking the pace on my watch, right around a 7 min/mi. I buckled down, and held strong, even picking up the pace as the finish line came into sight, a 6 still leading the time - official time? 6:53. Heck Yeah!

I headed through the finishers chute, and walked back towards the finish line, and found a good spot to watch out for Mike. A few minutes later I spotted him approaching, looking strong as he came into the finish line - and pulling off a sub 8 minute mile! We munched on our post run bagels, and made our way into central park to get a few more miles in before heading home. My legs were heavy, but I never pass up an opportunity to run with friends.

All in all, it was a great week for mileage. My 22 miler went well, and I felt strong and ready to race, despite my training cycle not going exactly to plan.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 7

Weekly Mileage: 43.3 miles

As we entered August, I was losing the summer battle of humidity, and turning to the treadmill for so much of my weekly mileage. I got outside a few times this week, but used the treadmill for most of my quality miles.

Since Mike and I plan to run the Walt Disney World half together in January, we have discussed at length our need to run together more, that way we get used to running together and can easily accommodate each other’s running style. We live less than two miles away from each other, so in theory this is an easy task to accomplish. But factor in wildly varying schedules, and regular runs together turn into the occasional NYRR race together that we schedule months in advance.

But on this particular Monday night the stars aligned, and we were both free so we decided to meet up for a 5ish mile run and a Yoga class. As we looped through the streets of the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but wonder if Mike was secretly running for congress or something, as it felt like once a block someone was shouting “Hi Mike!” Despite the humidity, we found a comfortable pace and chatted about race plans, goals, and life in general until the time approached to head for yoga. We were booked for an 8:00 class, AKA Vanessa’s hard class, and we made it there right on time. It was a challenging practice, but I was feeling so good by the time we made it to savasana…. And then my Abs felt not so good for the following three days, as Vanessa had given them quite the workout in class. I even texted Mike to see if he was on the same page, and we agreed that it was a good soreness at least.

Since Monday is usually an off day for me, I kept the Tuesday morning mileage short. Dad joined me on his bike for a little more than three miles, that wound up being slower than I had hoped. A combination of the air and lacking a rest day, I tried not to beat myself up about the pace too much – rest days are important. Work ran late on Tuesday so the usual strength training session got called off, and I headed to swim instead. The pool was in a long course configuration and we were doing repeats that were of higher distances, so I eventually wound up with flippers on. It was a good workout, but I was exhausted by the end of the session, and decided to do my Wednesday run at night instead of in the morning, and luckily Mike was free again, and we made plans to meet up at the gym.

In the spirit of me having poor time management skills, Wednesday night did not go exactly to plan. Dennis and I had to go pick out suits for the groomsmen, so we headed to the stores with the best man and my brother, and the process was painless enough, but took longer than anticipated. I had agreed to run a mile with Tommy, who is getting back into his running routine of the one mile loop near my parent’s house, so after shopping was done we headed out together. Once we had completed the loop, I headed to planet fitness, where Mike was waiting for me. We hopped on the treadmills, and got to work. I had a threshold run to complete, where my goal was to complete two sets of 2 miles at an 8:14 pace, with a 2 minute jog between sets. Knowing that last week I had a workout that was a four mile repeat at this pace, I wasn’t too worried about hitting this goal. Once we for the treadmills moving and the warmup mile was done, I popped on my headphones and with the help of some fast paced music, got through the miles, with only a slight struggle. I felt accomplished hitting the prescribed paces. Mike, I am still impressed that you kept a sweatshirt on for the duration of that run. Planet fitness felt like a fiery inferno and I’m pretty sure that I sweat out at least 16 oz of water, so Kudos to you man, and your tolerance that I do not possess.

After finishing my Wednesday run late, I decided to continue this week’s trend of night time running on Thursday, to not squeeze too many miles into a short period. So, after work Desi and I headed to the gym, about 50 minutes on the treadmill. My training plan says that my “easy” pace should be around a 9:17, which I firmly believe is a lie, but I decided to set the treadmill to approximately that pace and stuck there for the five-mile run. We then got in a core workout and a short arm circuit before calling it a night.

Then it was at last Friday. I actually dragged my butt out of bed this morning and made it to swim, where there was a lighter crew than usual. We started the workout with 4 sets of 100m repeats, that alternated in varying orders between “fast” and “slow” 25 m segments. I was, invariably, the last person done every round. Once we got the tough stuff out of the way, we changed gears to longer reps, and at the end of the workouts I had gotten in over 2,000 m at a slightly faster pace than usual.

Mike and I broke an adult friendship record on Saturday and saw each other for the third time this week (we went to school together from 3-12th grade, so this didn’t used to be a particularly difficult feat). We met up at the gym around 9 am to get some miles in on the treadmill before heading to a yoga class. Guys, this run was ROUGH. My intention was to warm up and then start the workout with 800 m repeats at a 7:35 pace, then after three rounds run for 20 minutes at a 9:04 pace before doing it all again. Mike opted to do the same style of workout, but adjusting the paces to be more his speed. I made it through the warm up and the first set of 800 m repeats, but when I hit the 9:04 portion of the run, I just could not get my heart rate down – even though that is a pace that I hit pretty regularly, my heart rate was sitting at about 190, where it had been for the 7:35 repeats, and refusing to come down unless I was walking. Knowing that I had a long run to get through the next day, I opted to cut the run at 4 miles. We headed to a slow flow yoga class from there, and it took the better part of the hour before I was feeling better. Sometimes, all you need is a good yoga class.

The long run this week was a doozy. It was the first time this year that I was planning to run 18 miles, so while I knew I had accomplished this mileage before, it was still an intimidating task. Dad agreed to accompany me for the journey, and picked the Cedar Creek to Jones Beach path as the path of the day. I got to his house a little after 7:30, and by 8:00 we were parked near Jones Beach Theatre and headed towards cedar creek. The first few miles felt good, all ringing in within a 9-something pace, but then I felt myself slowing down, as the sun rose in the sky, and the heat and humidity intensified. I took a gu at mile 4, hoping that I was just feeling a little fatigued. We hit cedar creek right around the 5 mile mark, and began the trot back to jones beach, where my feelings about this run rapidly declined, and I started to feel like I need a sip of water every quarter mile. This path has little to no shade, and by mile 8 I was starting to feel like an egg that was being fried. Drinking water was now making me nauseous, and when I took a second Gu it was everything I could do not to throw it back up. When we reached the car again at mile 10, I stopped at the bathroom at the beach, and was seriously tempted to lay down on the floor to feel the fan for a moment. I felt beyond overheated, and tried to cool myself down by splashing some water on my face. I was light headed, but the time out of the sun improved my conditions considerably. It was like as soon as I went inside I was questioning if it could really be THAT bad out there, where I had just been dreaming of an Icee on the beach boardwalk. When I came out of the bathroom I discussed the options with Dad, and ultimately decided to move the run onto a treadmill. Eighteen miles would have been a huge mental struggle on a treadmill, but I could do 8. I really wanted to just get them done outside, but the remainder of the path had even less shade than the portion that we had been on, and didn’t want to risk my health because of my stubbornness.

So, as Dad drove back to the house I rallied the troops. Kasey was already going to the gym anyway, and Emily agreed to come keep me company on the treadmills for a bit. The prospect of this brightened my spirits, and I was ready to keep moving when I got to the gym. I loaded up the treadmills cupholders with my water bottler, inhalers, and running fuel, and accepted that I was just going to be that weirdo at the gym that was eating on the treadmill. You gotta do what you gotta do, right? By the time Emily headed out I was through five miles, and was beginning to bargain with myself, thinking of ways to trade off these final three miles for some other activity. But I reminded myself of the upcoming race, using sport beans as a reward for each mile that I got through. When the treadmill finally rolled into the end of the 8th mile, I was so relieved, and so ready for a nap. I got back to the apartment, took a shower, shoveled some pasta into my face, and promptly passed out. The sun had really done a number on me, and when I woke up an hour later I had a splitting headache. Despite all the water I had drank, I was certainly a little bit dehydrated. I dragged myself out of bed to get more water and food, and the pulled on some compression sleeves before resigning to the couch for the rest of the day. Sometimes I feel lazy when I spend my Sunday relaxing after a long run, but this week it was just so relaxing to hang out with Dennis and watch way too much arrested development, and then head to bed nice and early.

Also accomplished this week: I finally got some more running decorations up in the apartment!

There were moments that I was on the struggle bus, but I still got through my mileage, and for that reason I am happy. I hope that my runs bring me the same sense of accomplishment next week, and that this training continues to stay on track until race day. The next challenge? The 19.5 mile long run that sitting on my schedule for next weekend. Yikes!