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. 

Chicago marathon Training: The First Month

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you probably know that with previous marathon training cycles I’ve posted weekly training updates, where I talk about what I’ve been up to and how I’m feeling. It keeps me accountable, and lets me compare how I was feeling in previous cycles with how I’m feeling today. 

Well, if you’ve been wondering “aren’t you marathon training, where are the updates?” I’m here to let you know, they’re coming!

I opted for a longer than usual training cycle with Chicago, so that I could have a bit of wiggle room built in for travel that I knew was going to happen between June and October, and the first month of training was going to include travel for 3/4 weeks, so I opted to not make a hectic month even busier with trying to squeeze in weekly training updates (but don’t worry, I still clipped together some race recaps for you guys!). 

But going forward, somewhere between weekly and bi weekly training updates will be coming back to the blog, starting with a quick recap of what I’ve been doing for the last month. 

This time around I decided to try a new (to me) program for training: The Hanson’s marathon method. I ordered the book, read the reasoning behind the program, and took a deep breath at the thought of such a large undertaking - it’s a lot of miles, and a much shorter ultimate long run distance than I am used to, but I am a believer that growth can only occur outside of your comfort zone, so I am going to go for it.

While I try to tell myself that my “A” goal for any marathon is just to finish and to have a good time, I also get a lot of joy out of pushing my limits - and that is why this time around my goal is to aim for 4 hours. So using the Hanson method, that means longer tempo and track workouts, and higher mileage weekdays. Then weekend long runs cap at 16 miles - this part scares me, and I can’t promise that I’m not going to do at least one 18 or 20 miler at some point.

So far, I’ve been feeling strong with this training plan. There have been a few times that I am definitely feeling the cumulative fatigue of so many miles, but I just make sure that I am listening to my body, and really slowing down on easy days.

Since I was travelling most weekends in June, two of my long runs happened out of state. First, when I headed to Disney for memorial day. It was a short trip, just Saturday to Tuesday, but Dennis’ whole family was going to be there, including his sisters who currently reside in California and Grenada (for most of the year - she is in vet school, so when school is in session she is far away). Our decision to tag along on this trip was somewhat last minute, but we were both happy that we were able to make it work. It was already HOT in Florida, even though it was only May. We were hydrating a ton throughout the day in the parks and were exhausted anyway, largely from the heat, by the time we were back at the hotel . One morning I woke up before the rest of the family, and went out to get my first “long” run of the training cycle in, since I had the time. We were staying at Saratoga Springs, the same place we stayed when we did the Dopey challenge in 2017, and running loops around the resort brought back memories of Greg and I running our make-up half marathon when the race was cancelled due to thunder storms. It was hot, but I found a water fountain on one of the paths, and would stop for a drink every other loop. Of course, my garmin died mid-run, but anticipating this happening I had started Strava on my phone when I began running. To my own surprise, I pulled off 8 miles at a 9:07 pace, which is my “goal” pace for long runs, and according to my schedule every other weekend I am supposed to be hitting this pace. It was humid and hotter than I was used to, so I was really pleased with myself.

The following weekend I was in Gettysburg, where my Aunt and Uncle live, to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The start of the weekend was dedicated to the party, but on Sunday morning Dad and I headed out to the battlefields and did an 8 mile run/bike ride through all of the memorials. It was super hilly, but the sights were well worth it. I loved running through all of the history, and was surprised by how many other runners and bikers were out there getting their miles in. This one was slower, coming in around 9:50 or so, but I was happy with it, and it was a great run.

As for hometown runs, I have spent three weekends at Jones beach with my parents, running up and down the boardwalk and bike path as they bike along to varying degrees of success. The weekend that I raced the queens 10k, I somehow pulled off 10 miles at a sub-9 pace the day after, and while I was exhausted as a result, I felt so good about it. The other two weekends weren’t quite as successful - one weekend I decided to do a tempo run that was 9 miles total, with 6 of those miles being around an 8:40 pace, on a Friday night and when I went to do my long run Saturday morning, I managed to stay at goal pace for the first half of the run, but then had to back off in the second half, as I crashed and burned hard. That particular morning may have even included a mid run temper tantrum, where I had to fully stop and sit down on the side of the path for a few minutes. It was just hard and mentally, I wasn’t coping well. Most recently I had a 12 mile long run, where I managed to stay on pace when the wind was to my back, but lost it once I had to run into the wind. The final pace came in around a 9:20, and I was happy enough with that.

My weekday runs were pretty standard for the first month, if it was a Tuesday or Thursday and Kasey had school she joined me for a few miles. Dad biked along for most of my morning runs, and my younger brother Tommy even gave running another chance, and joined me for about two weeks for the last miles in the morning. Most Wednesday nights I headed to track night with the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team, and most Tuesday mornings I did a track workout of my own, either on the treadmill or at the track. I also squeezed in tempo runs on Thursdays or Fridays, and boy, are those harder than I anticipated! This is the first time I am doing a training plan with tempo runs, and they are more challenging than I expected.

Despite the cold that I am currently dealing with, I feel strong in this training cycle so far, and I am very much looking forward to the miles that lie ahead.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 14

Race week was finally upon us: I just had to get through 4 days of work, and then I got to hop on a plane and head to Florida for Walt Disney World’s Marathon Weekend!

I had a busy week, so I decided to focus on packing on Monday that way I could make a list of any last minute purchases that needed to be made. The hardest part? Trying to decide what I was going to wear for the marathon! I had already decided to make a Minnie Mouse outfit for the half, but knowing that Florida weather is tricky this time of year, I was stumped when trying to pick something for the full. Eventually I settled on a tank top and shorts - the “Will run for Mickey shaped food" one, with a few extra layers packed in case things got cold.

On Tuesday morning I got myself on the bike trainer, and rode 10 miles. I was finding myself nervous about each workout as race day approached, worrying that I was overdoing it. But I reminded myself that this cycle had gone well- so much better than the one leading up to wineglass. And I was strong, and not going to hurt myself with a bike ride.

Tuesday night was my last run before the race day, and there was an easy track night on my schedule. Emily agreed to head to planet fitness with me, and we even managed to find treadmills near each other - nothing short of a miracle this close to the new year. And wouldn’t you know it- Mike showed up and hopped on another treadmill near by. I was excited to see him still working hard in the days leading up to his first half. When he got to the gym I was in the middle of an intense (for me) pace, and almost flew off the back of the treadmill when I tried to turn my head to look for Mike. So, I waited until the interval was over before looking around for him while at a slower, safer, pace, and saw that he was just a few treadmills down.

As for me, my plan was for a total of six miles - 2 mile warmup, 1x1200, 1x800, 1x1200, and then a cooldown. The paces weren’t too aggressive, but the 1200s felt long. I was red faced and sweaty when I hit the cooldown, and happy to have gotten through this last night run before the race.

Wednesday I spent making sure I was VERY hydrated, drinking waterbottles full of nuun all day. After work I took a quick trip to target with Emily to pick up all of me last minute Disney trip needs. I finished up packing and got all my bags in line, only one day of work left!

At long last it was Thursday, and a full plate at work meant the day flew by when I expected it to drag. It was a little of a frenzy getting home on time to leave for the flight, and before I knew it Mike and Jude arrived with Mike’s parents, who were giving us a ride to the airport. We were flying out of MacArthur Airport, AKA the best airport on Long Island. Its further east on the island, and much smaller than the airports near New York City. It makes for a much lower stress start to a vacation, and an easier airport drop off. Liz and Mike Sr. were able to drop us off right next to check in, without having to fight standard airport traffic. We said goodbye, and headed into the airport.

We got there with plenty of time to grab food before boarding out flight, and excitedly discussed our DIsney plans. Jennie works in Manhattan, so she was going right from work to JFK, and had a little less luck than us with - as she sat in the airport delays were slapped onto her flight. As Mike, Jude and I climbed onto the plane, Jennie was still waiting to see when she would take off. It was seeming like she would be leaving NY as we landed in Florida. We managed to get three seats in a row on our very full flight, and even got overhead baggage space. Once we were in the air, I pulled up the media that southwest offers on my iPad, and selected Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, as I hadn’t seen it yet. As the flight came to a close, I found myself tapping the screen to see how many minutes were left in the movie, nervous that I was going to miss the end of the film. But, I managed to just squeak through the ending as the plane landed. We were officially in Florida, and I was ready for the magic to begin!

Once we were off the plane we grabbed our checked bag, and headed for the magical express. It was Mike and Jude’s first time with magic bands, so I got Mike to scan us in, and after a quick reservation look up, we were on our way to the all-star Music resort. I had called the resort earlier that day and requested one of the newly renovated rooms, and for just $5 a night they were able to upgrade us to a preferred room, which was renovated. This was especially nice because it meant we were in the building closest to the main hall, which I knew I would appreciate with all of the running and early mornings I had ahead of me that weekend. We settled into our room, and set our alarms for the next morning - the plan was to head to the magic kingdom for extra magic hours to start our trip off on the right foot.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 13

The last Monday and the last day of the year -December 31. I took a rest day to start the week, cleaning up the apartment and doing some last minute errands to prepare for company on New Year’s Eve.

We rang in the new year with family and friends, and Tuesday was a little bittersweet, knowing that we had to return to work on Wednesday. After a long day of relaxing, I got out for a run just as the sun was starting to set. It was windy, but I just wanted to get a few miles in to start the year off on the right foot.

I brought my headphones along, but as I tried to find a groove with the music I realized it was the kind of run that called for me to unplug. I turned the music off, and listened to the sounds of the neighborhood, and three miles slipped away, with a little push at the end.

I didn’t sleep well Tuesday night, and it thwarted my plans for a trainer ride on Wednesday morning. I was hardly able to drag myself out of bed in time for work, let alone to get anything done before that. But after work I made plans with Sophie and Emily to head to the gym- having a plan with them keeps me accountable.

Once we were all home and about ready to get moving, we of course gave each other excuses, but blew through them and agreed to meet anyway. We even managed to find three treadmills near each other, and got to work.

I had a speed workout planned, as is my usual approach to treadmills. A two mile warmup, then 6x200 @ 6:58, 2 miles at 8:57, and a final repeat of the 6x200 set.

I actually felt good this time around, and hitting the numbers happened without feeling like I was going to die- even if I did feel like I may fly off the back of the treadmill a few times. At the end of the workout I had gotten 9 miles done, and was thankful that Emily and Sophie had kept me accountable.

On Thursday I had bike trainer plans for the morning. I was hoping to get Day one for the “tour de zwift” event done, but didn’t realize that I had to log on at a specific time to participate- a rookie zwift mistake. But it was the first event that I ever tried to participate in, so I didn’t know any better. Since the first stage wasn’t available, I did an FTP test instead, since I hadn’t don’t one since April. It was challenging, but I was happy to get it done. That night was a lot of running around and packing for my family’s annual trip to woodloch, so nothing was accomplished fitness wise- but I did find a little time to work on my costume for the Disney half marathon!

On Friday my family was heading to woodloch just before lunchtime, so Kasey and I agreed to meet up at 8 for a long run. I planned to do 12 miles, but once I met up with Kasey- who had overslept for the first time ever- she informed me that we were leaving 30 minutes earlier than I thought, so I had to cut the mileage down to just a bit over 8 to get it done and have time to shower and get ready for the ride.

The weather was nice, and we covered a lot of ground on our run. I was overdressed, as usual, with a too heavy jacket - maybe one day I won’t be scared by temperatures that are below 30. We both agreed that our legs felt heavy, but we somehow trudged forward at sub 10 minute paces, the miles getting away from us as the time we had remaining to dedicate to the run dwindled. Eventually we parted ways so Kasey could run home and I could head back to the apartment.

An hour later, we were on the road and headed to Pennsylvania. Woodloch Pines is a resort that was founded in 1958, and can most easily be described as a cruise on land. Lots of food, activities, and shows over the course of a weekend. My family has been going there since I was a little kid, our numbers growing over the years. This year we were heading there earlier than we normally do, to accommodate my cousins that are now in college, so that they don’t have to travel home an extra weekend.

We started the weekend with a trip to the Go Karts - there were nine of us wanting to ride, and six cars. So a few of us doubled up, which was simpler when we were all tinier. Kasey and I wedged ourselves into a car, and I only thought I was going to die a few times as we whipped around corners - so basically it was the same as driving with her normally.  We still had some time to kill before dinner, so we headed over to the main lodge after go karts and played some pool and ping pong with Dennis, my brother, and a few of our other cousins.

After dinner we headed to the traditional horse race- which uses giant chess horses and dice, and cheered for our favorites to win the races.

The next morning after breakfast, Sophie Kasey and I headed to the gym to get in some miles on the treadmill. I would have liked to go outside, but it was raining so the treadmill was a better option.

My plan told me to get in a “threshold” run, which consisted of a two mile warmup, and then 10 minute intervals swapping between a 8:58 and a 9:17 pace. I got through the warmup easily enough, but the air circulation was lacking in the tiny hotel gym. The paces weren’t hard but the temperature in the room ensured that I was a puddle of sweat as I slogged through the miles. Kasey and Sophie headed out after three, so misery had no company in the second half of my run. But I kept going, and soon enough I was able to slow the pace for a quick cooldown, before ending my run with a total of 7 miles. Then it was on to another meal, and another busy day at woodloch- this time a home run derby, and a variety show.

The big event on Saturday at woodloch - which is an almost annual event for my family - is the big dress up night. The lead up to this goes something like, Kasey asks me what I am wearing, I tell her what I think I may wear, and then i change my mind last minute anyway. It was a bit of a frustrating day, but it felt good to put my best foot forward and try to enjoy the night.

Sunday we enjoyed our last meals at woodloch, and then headed home. I was exhausted from a busy weekend, and very happy to see the kitties when we got home.

With only 4 days to go before I head to Florida, I have quite a bit of packing to do, but not a lot of training left before the marathon- just a few more miles to go before the big day!

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 10

Whole week 10 started out strong, it turned into a wash when a cold derailed my training at the end of the week.

On Monday I took a total rest day, feeling wiped out after Sunday’s long run. But come Tuesday, I was ready to get moving and started my day with a zwift session. I’m working my way through the “zwift 101” training courses, so I did the 30 minute “interval” trainer, and biked about 7 miles. I even managed to squeeze in a quick bike training club core session before work.

After work I met up with Kasey and Sophie, and we ran outside near my parents house. I don’t often run at night outside, but I really enjoyed seeing all of the houses that were lit up for the holidays. It was a little bit windy, but we got through the miles nonetheless.

I managed to make it to yoga with Emily on Wednesday, doing a yin class together. Then I met up with Allison to swim, this time making it to 800 yds before calling it quits, largely because I was so hungry, and my body was calling for dinner!

I repeated my Tuesday schedule on Thursday, biking on the trainer in the morning and then running in the evening. The zwift session was called “into the red” this time, and pushed me to harder paces than the previous sessions had.

In the evening, the whole squad headed to the gym together, since sometimes it truly does take a village - Kasey, Emily, Sophie and I all clambered onto treadmills, and got going. My plan was to do a interval workout, that would total about 8 miles. I did a two mile warmup, then upped the pace to 8:06, where I would stay for two miles. It was not the kind of day where the pace came easily, and it was a mental and physical struggle to keep myself moving that fast. When I got through the first set, I seriously considered just keeping an easy pace for the rest of the run, and saying to hell with it for the second set. But after a few minutes of recovery, I had talked myself into at least trying to do the interval a second time- breaking it up into smaller blocks. I could surely make it one mile at the pace, right? So after a half mile of recovery I cranked the treadmill up again, and pushed for that 8:06 pace.

As I struggled through my paces, the guy on the treadmill next to me ran his run, coughing on me sporadically as he went. I was a bit annoyed with this, and thought to myself “why do I feel like I’m going to wind up with a cold now!?”

Welp. Spoiler alert. Totally wound up with a cold.

But- Thursday nights run went perfectly to plan. I talked myself through the second set, and got in my cooldown, running a total of 8 miles that night.

The week came to a close, and Emily and I once again headed to the gym for some more treadmill time on Friday night. I felt fatigued and a little short of breath as we went, and I had to fight for each of the five miles that I ran through. I tried to shake the feeling, but it wasn’t turning out to be a good run. I headed to dinner with Emily and Jennie after, and my throat felt more and more sore as we ate our meal. I was supposed to meet up with Tara the next morning for a long run, so I headed to bed as soon as I got home in hopes of sleeping it off.

Alas, it was not meant to be, and I did not sleep it off as I hoped to. I woke up Saturday morning feeling dehydrated, my throat so sore that it felt swollen, and congestion pounding in my head. I had to bail on the long run, and just kept sleeping- for a total of 13 hours. Which was MUCH longer than I am usually capable of sleeping on my own.

I hoped that some cold medicine would put things in check, and maybe I would be able to get some miles in later in the day or on Sunday. But it was just not in the cards for me, so I focused on trying to stay hydrated and resting, checking in with my asthma meds.

Sadly, the cold was destined to get worse before it got better, which left me with a very low mileage week. I tried not to beat myself up too much about it, hoping the the cold would at least clear up in a timely manner.

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.

Intro to the next cycle: Training for the 2019 Goofy Challenge

If you’ve done a RunDisney event, your first question here may be “Kelly, if you’re going to do Goofy, why not run the extra 9.3 miles and just do the Dopey challenge?!”

Simple: Vacation time.

In May while celebrating Emily’s birthday, I convinced mike to come into the city to meet us at barcade…. and then proceeded to talk him into running a marathon

Don’t you love grown up jobs?

Anyway, I did manage to rope two of my friends into traveling to Florida with me - Mike and Jennie. While you have heard of Jennie before (she ran in the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon weekend with me in 2018), Mike is new to the blog, and while we have known each other since the third grade (about 20 years now), he is the most recent victim of, as Dad calls it, my run-bullying.

Back in 2016 when I was a new runner, Mike was the friend that agreed to sign up for my first New York Road Runners race with me. Since then, we have done a few races together every year, and one drunken day in NYC later, I had talked Mike into the 9+1 program that the NYRR offers - with the ultimate goal of running the NYC marathon in 2019. So the disney half is a step on his path to the NYC marathon, and will be both his first half-marathon and his first RunDisney event.

Jennie will be along for the ride this time, hitting up the Disney parks with us and acing as the captain of our cheer squad. Don’t worry guys, I will make sure that she gets a full lesson in acting as captain from both Dad and Emily.

Anyway, Mike started training using the plan that RunDisney offers on their website, and after taking a solid week off of running post wineglass marathon, I began to roll right from one training cycle into another. I am starting to get my mileage back, and once the wedding is over at the end of October, I will be able to shift my focus fully to training for these races.

The best part about this training cycle so far? Fall weather. Here in NY, we seem to have finally broken through the humidity barrier, and settled into cooler temps nicely - Here’s hoping that this training cycle goes a little more “according to the plan.”