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.

Video Recap: Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 8

Monday: an actual rest day. I had plans to go to yoga, but they fell apart when a storm hit, and the messy roads made for a stressful, low visibility ride home from work. Instead, I took full advantage of the power of a night on the couch.

Tuesday morning was my first early wake up in a week, and my body felt heavy, particularly the giant bags under my eyes.

It was a windy morning, which obviously means I started with too many layers.

Kasey was waiting for me at the end of my block, and we chatted as the sun slowly rose in the sky. I like that this is the new normal, her humoring my chatting with one headphone off her ear in the morning. As we approached her house she commented about how we haven’t had a good since rise in weeks, since before daylight savings really - and what was the point of an early morning run if you don’t at least get a good sunrise?!

She finished her run shortly after that, and the morning view got a little better, as though it had heard her complaining. I headed towards my parents house to snag some water and drop a jacket, before turning to complete my round trip journey. Back to the apartment, picking up the pace as I went. I wound up with an unintentionally progressive run, for the most part, starting at 10:10 and getting down to 8:47 for the last mile. Five total to start the weeks mileage.

When I got back to the apartment it was so warm inside, even with the thermostat set as low as we can set it, they I stood out front to cool off for a minute, as the cats sat in the window wondering why I wasn’t getting inside immediately to feed them.

That night I headed to yoga with Sophie and Emily to make up for skipping our usual Monday class. And then Emily and I went again on Wednesday, that time to a restorative Yin class. Every time we do a yin class I feel like I blink and it’s time to go home, it is just that relaxing.

I passed out earlier than usual on Wednesday night, and was up on time Thursday for my run with Kasey, even if I did have the usual morning feeling of hope that she would cancel on me (she never does). We discussed how windy it was, but as usual Kasey motivated me to get out of the door. She always does.

We were fighting the wind anytime we headed west, but our paces were quicker than usual. My plan was run the usual route with Kasey, and then transition into a speed workout when her run was done. Looking at the paces the night before I felt like the 200m repeats were a little more than aggressive, but programmed them into my garmin nonetheless.

My schedule called for a warmup, 4x200m @ 6:48/200m recovery, 2 miles at 8:56, then another set of 4x200.

I hit the lap button, and went right into the 200 m repeats, which were basically a sprint pace for me. But they only lasted about a minute, so they were doable. I got though the first three, then quickly dipped into my parents house to drop off my light up vest, as the sun was up by that point. Dad poured me a sip of water, and I was on my way again. One more repeat in the first set, then a transition into the two mile set.

I got one mile into that set, and my stomach started cramping, insisting that another pass by of my parents house was necessary for a quick potty break. I got back to their house, headed for the bathroom, and got running again as quickly as I could. The second mile went MUCH smoother than the first, and rang in a little faster. At that point I was headed back to the apartment, and just had to get through one more set of 200m repeats.

As I picked the speed up each time, I counted the number of houses I ran by. I managed to hit my numbers for all of the repeats in the second set, and felt the sweet feeling of relief when the tough numbers were done, knowing that I could ease the pace as I just had to make it though a cooldown back to the apartment. Seven miles, at an average pace of 8:50, and boy did I feel good about it.

I rounded out the work week with a 5 mile run on Friday morning. Thursday’s wind had passed, and I got to take it easy this time around. Kasey had an early shift at work, so she met me at the usual time, and we headed out to get our miles done.

I had intentions of swimming after work, but wound up having to stay late to get a project out, so my plan fell apart.

On Saturday morning I headed to prospect park with Mike and Carson (one of the girls I work with) for the New York Road Runners jingle all the way 5k. It was my turn to drive, and I managed to miss an exit on the highway, extending our drive a little longer than anticipated. So, when we pulled up on prospect park Mike hopped out of the car to go grab all of our bibs while Carson and I looked for, and eventually found, parking. We then had to jog to the start area, where we tracked down Mike, and managed to check our bags before heading to the start line - and we got there just in time for the start, bells pinned on and all.

I had forgotten just how hilly prospect park was, and an easy summary of this race is “it was three miles of me swearing the hill was almost over (it was not).”

When we first crossed the start line it was crowded, but as we worked our way into the first mile the road opened up, and it no longer felt like we were at risk of being elbow checked. We joked around and sang made up songs, and were through the first mile before I knew it.

The second mile got challenging fast, as we began an upward climb that felt never ending. Carson told me that she was going to need to take a break, and I told her she wasn’t doing that- peak run bully performance. But Mike agreed with me, and we rallied to all keep going, counting out “One! Two! Three!” to check that we were all together, even if sometimes Carson replaced her shout of “three” with assorted other noises.

The downhill that I swore was coming lasted about two seconds before we were climbing uphill again, but the best part about a 5k is that it is only three miles long, so soon enough the finish line was upon us, and we picked up the pace for the last stretch, coming in at just under 30 minutes. We filtered through the finish line, collecting our apples and bagels, which were shaped like candy canes and wreaths.

I promptly orchestrated a photo shoot with our festive bagels, each of us in turn posing as the letter “Y,” with the bagels serving as our J and O- spreading JOY!

After the long ride home from Brooklyn, I headed out for three more miles with Sophie. Both of us felt like we just couldn’t get moving, and we’re glad when my watch ticked over to the three mile mark.

I had originally intended to get my long run done after the race on Saturday, but I felt like crap and knew that it wasn’t going to happen. In this case, feeling like crap was a headache that I just couldn’t shake, that was tied to feeling nauseous.

Sunday morning thunderstorms were on the forecast, and I was still feeling fatigued. Unlike past training cycles, this one has me doing a long run every weekend, just getting a little longer each week, and honestly, I was at a point of mental fatigue this weekend, and just couldn’t talk myself into an 18 mile treadmill run.

So, I looked at my training schedule. The following weekend I was planning to do a long run with Mike on Saturday, by adding a few miles to the race we had scheduled - the Ted Corbitt 15k. Realistically, I should be doing back to back long runs to prepare for Goofy, so I resigned myself to get in the long run after the 5k I was racing Sunday, since I only had three miles scheduled that day.

And just like that, I pushed my 18 mile run back a weekend, and headed to planet fitness for a lower mileage day, thanks to Emily agreeing to go with me- my motivation was seriously lacking.

We hung out on the treadmill for a little more than an hour, and I got in 7 miles, before having to move on to the rest of my plans for the day, which were distinctly non-running related.

I beat myself up a little bit for changing the plan, but sometimes you have to roll with the punches, and my mental fatigue was real this week. But I did what I could, and sometimes that’s the best I have.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 7

The week was off to a good start, with a Monday night yoga class with Emily and Sophie. We headed to Vanessa’s late class, move and meditate. She kicked our butt with an intense series of core movements and lunges, and I was blissed out by the time I reached savasana. I got home with enough time to eat dinner before promptly passing out.

Tuesday morning was a struggle. Kasey got out the door before me as usual, and before I even got out the door texted me that she had wiped out.... and then promptly proceeded to not answer my texts. But the “find my friends” app told me she was still moving closer to me, so I headed out the door to find her, and she was just up the block from my house.

We continued on with our run, which I was very overdressed for. I slowly began to melt, but at least we chatted about the impending holiday as we got through our miles. I kept telling myself the run would get better, and pushing myself forward. I just couldn’t seem to catch my breath though, and then I remembered the air quality warning that my phone had sent me.

Kasey finished her miles, and as I moved forward from her house it started to rain a VERY cold rain. And you know who didn’t have a hat? Me. At this point I was just really over this run. It sucked, I was sore, I couldn’t breathe, and my apartment was miles away. So I did something I don’t often do - I ran to my parents house, and I stopped. I was supposed to be doing a track workout anyway, and with how I was feeling the paces I wanted to hit weren’t going to happen, and it still sucked after two miles, so I called the run, and hung out with my dad for a bit before hitching a ride back to my apartment. I told myself that I would head to the gym after work, and get the track workout in then. 

So I made plans with Sophie to head to the gym when we were both done with work. I got on the treadmill, and committed to getting my speed work done. It was hot in the gym, and I quickly became a sweaty mess, but I stuck to my paces for the most part. The plan was for a 1 mile warmup, then 1 mile at a 7:43 pace (1:30 jog), 2x800 @ 7:29 (2:00 jog) then one more mile at a 7:43 pace before a cooldown. I managed to hold the pace for both miles, and the first 800m repeat, but had to back off of the pace a little for the second 800m repeat to avoid puking on the treadmill. I got a total of 5.6 miles in, and Sophie hit her goal too- 5 continuous miles so that she would feel ready for the turkey trot we were running later that week.

I had good intentions of going to yoga on Wednesday night, but while Emily, Kasey and I were on our way to pickup the turkey trot bibs we got a call from the studio letting us know they were cancelling the class that night. So instead we just took it easy and had a girls night in at the apartment, and Sophie joined us as well.

Finally Thursday rolled around, and it was time for the third annual running of the Garden City Turkey Trot! It was the third year for Ryan, Hallie, and me, the second year for Kasey, and Sophie’s first year joining us! It was COLD on thanksgiving morning, like less than 20 degrees. So we layered up, and sat in the car for as long as possible leading up to the race- we may have had to run to the start line to avoid getting run over by the front runners.

When we did get to the start line, we began our race almost immediately. Kasey and her siblings quickly pulled ahead of Sophie and I, who stuck to a pace around a 10 min/mi. For me, holiday races are usually about spending time with your people rather than finish times. About a mile into the race I had to fanagle removing a layer while running, because I was overdressed, as usual.

Sophie and I ran along together and just before mile 2 I got a text from Kasey asking where we were- she had ran ahead of her brother and sister and was bored of running alone. We were running through the first water station, and told her as much, but by the time she got it we were passed it, and spent the rest of the race trying to spot each other- Kasey finished less than a minute after Sophie and I, so I’m pretty sure she was right behind us as we tried to find each other.

Hallie and Ryan came in a few minutes later, racing each other to the finish line in full force. We stopped to take a few quick photos together, then quickly headed for the warm car, happy to get out of the cold weather.

My next run was on Saturday night, on a treadmill. I managed to put this run off all day. When I woke up I started working on some Christmas gifts, and told myself that I would go out to run at 9. At 8:45 I called dad to see if he felt like biking, but he was in the process of hanging Christmas lights alone, as my brothers were still asleep. I had a pretty free schedule all day, so I agreed to help him hang lights, and we did that until Sophie and I headed to yoga at 12:30.

By the time we finished yoga I was hungry, and headed back to the apartment to grab lunch. I then continued to procrastinate, and made 4:00 the new time that I needed to get my butt to the gym. I was successful this time around, and my plan for the treadmill was a threshold run- 2 mile warmup, 2 miles at 8:54, 1 miles at 8:06, 1 mile cooldown.

I’ve been listening to Harry Potter and the deathly hallows during easy treadmill miles lately, and tuned in as I got the warmup done. When I switched to the harder paces, I flipped to a fast paced playlist on Spotify, and got moving. It was a little rough at times, more mentally than physically, but I got through the three times miles at the prescribed paces, and then trotted through my cooldown, happy with myself for getting to the gym and putting in work.

The last run of the week? Sunday Runday.

Dad agreed to ride along, and Mike needed to get an 11 mile run in, so the three of us made plans to head to jones beach. I needed to run 18 miles, so Dad and I headed to the beach about an hour before Mike, so we could get the first 6 miles done. I managed to keep them at a sub-10 pace, so that I would have a little buffet when I inevitably slowed down at the end of the run. We headed west first, returning to the new area we had run the weekend before, then back to the parking lot to find Mike. A quick Gu stop, and we were headed out on the path towards tobay beach.

The miles slipped away, as they always do with Mike and Dad, as Dad encouraged us to keep moving. The weather was perfect, with not too sunny skies and a nice breeze (did I manage to get a sunburn? I don’t want to talk about it.). When we got to tobay it was time for a quick bathroom stop, and another round of Gu. As we headed back towards the boardwalk I marveled over the sky, which was a beautiful blue with picturesque clouds. 

When we finally made it back to the boardwalk we only had two more miles to go, and as Mike started to feel fatigued I encouraged him to take one more Gu. I felt better than I had in a long time running this distance, and was coming up on 18 miles feeling strong. We started the final decent to the car, hit our mileage, and then discovered that the underpass we needed to go through to get to the car was entirely flooded. So, we wound up with a nice long walking cool down, as we took the long way to get to the other underpass.

I had been nervous going into the 18 mile run, but finished it feeling strong and optimistic about the marathon that my future holds.

Kelly's Goofy Plan: Week 6

A lot of “weather” happened this week, which lead to me being stuck on a treadmill more than I would prefer. Here’s hoping that this isn’t a trend that continues as we get deeper into winter.

Emily, Sophie and I started the week off with a yoga class, heading to emerge on Monday night. Sophie is my brother’s girlfriend, who finally moved to Long Island, so you can expect to continue hearing about her, as I rope her into whatever plan I come up with. We opted for the more challenging of the classes offered that night, and I was ready to pass out as soon as I got home after class.

Kasey and I texted back and fourth Monday night debating what to do about Tuesday morning’s run – it was supposed to be cold and rainy, a combo that we do not enjoy. We bit the bullet and agreed to meet at planet fitness the next morning, although by the time I got there Kasey was almost done with her workout, as she has to be out the door to get to school much earlier than I have to leave for work. I got in a 5.5 mi speed workout, and then a quick core workout once I got home from the gym.

That night I headed to the gym once more, this time to meet Allison for swim. We planned to meet at 7, so I headed over a little early to sneak in some strength training before jumping into the pool. Remember when I used to be good at getting in strength training twice a week? Yeah, me too. When Allison got to the gym we swam 1000 yds total before calling it quits.

With Wednesday came another yoga class, this time a Yin/restorative one. I was ready to get moving on Thursday morning for my run through, feeling refreshed from the class. Kasey and I met up as usual, and it was one of the first mornings that really felt like winter this season. I broke out the heavy jacket, and one of the many ear warmers that I own, all of which make my forehead look very strange.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling fatigued – more mentally than physically, and talking myself into getting out to run on Friday morning did not go well – by which I mean that it didn’t happen. So after work I had a date with a treadmill. I dragged myself to the gym, thinking that I if it realllly sucked then I only had to run five miles, and that was the perfect trick to get myself moving. It was the kind of run that I needed help tuning out, so I pulled up Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows on my iPhone, and the miles began to slip away. Before I knew it my tiredness had slipped away, and I hit a groove in my run. So I made it to 7 miles without dying, and was even happy about it by the time my miles were done.

You would think that procrastinating my run on Friday would have motivated me to be more on top of things Saturday, but it did not. When I got up I lazed about on my couch, and eventually Dad invited me to join him and mom at the beach for a walk, as Dad wanted to check out the new addition to the bike path that they just opened at Jones beach. Dad also wanted to complete the miles for a virtual 5k that we signed up for months ago – the NYPD tri team virtual 5k, the proceeds of which benefited the families of fallen officers. When we saw the event we signed up, got our medals and bibs in the mail, and then the race supplies sat around my parents house for a few months while we stressed out about the allll of the wedding things that needed to get done – but now that the wedding is in the past, we finally had time for a Saturday morning walk.

Once we finished up at Jones beach a ran around doing errands, the 7 mile run that I needed to get done still on the back of my mind. Eventually I texted Sophie to see if she would go to planet fitness with me, and she agreed to come along. By the time we got on the treadmills it was 5:20, and workers at the gym came around firmly reminding us that the gym was closing at 6. Crap. Something I had totally forgotten about. So 7 miles was out of questions. Sophie had wanted to run 5, and as we commiserated I said to her “I don’t think that I could even run 5 miles in 40 minutes!”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew that I had to try. Was it a fast pace for me to hold? Yes. It was 5 eight-minute miles in a row after all. But my 10k pr was at an 8:14 pace, and that was over a year ago - but I was feeling strong, and i got after the pace. The magic of the treadmill keeping pace for me, and the miles ticked away. After I hit the 5k mark I eased up the pace a little, thinking that was good enough…. but just a few seconds later found myself cranking the pace back up, chasing that goal I set. And sure enough, I somehow pulled it off - 39:54, 5 miles. Honestly, I felt great about it. I may have sweated more than a human really should, but still, it was great.

The week ended with a long run, accompanied by Dad. We headed back to the Jones Beach bike path, intent on running to the end of the new area this time. We had some beautiful weather, with minimal wind, which is always a gift when running that close to the beach. We started the miles at the board walk, then headed west and did manage to get all the way to the end of the new path. We got to run through all of the “holiday lights” festival that Jones Beach hosts, and even though it wasn’t lit up we discussed each of the displays as we ran by. I was feeling sluggish by the time we hit 13 miles, was beyond ready to be at 16 miles. Dad reminded me to pick my feet up, and I reminded myself to focus on the mile I was running rather than the miles ahead.

Soon enough the run was over, and Dad and I took a traditional trip to the diner to refuel. I broke tradition slightly by ordering a tuna melt instead of two over-easy eggs, but I would consider it a successful training run nonetheless.

Race Recap: RunDisney Wine and Dine 10k

As is tradition for runDisney events, my alarm went off just a little too early on race morning, but at least I had managed to get a solid 5-ish hours of sleep. I had assembled my running supplies the night before, so my roctane powder was already all mixed up into some water and my outfit was folded up in the bathroom, that way I could get up and get dressed without waking up Dennis - we were staying in the beach club, and our hotel room was setup so that the bathroom was around the corner from the bed, so even with me scuttling about to get ready, he didn’t seem to wake up. And if you know me, you know this is nothing short of a miracle, because try as I might I am just not a quiet person when I get ready. 

My alarm went off at 3:25, and I was out the door by 3:40. I met another runner on my way down to the bus, who introduced himself as Jonathan, and we chatted as we walked to the bus and waited. He told me about his podcast, about a mouse, and it was nice to have someone to chat with as we rode the bus to the start area. 

I was flying solo when I got to the start area, and wandered around to check out the characters that were out for meet and greets (lumiere, chef Mickey and goofy), and listened to the DJ for a few before heading towards the corral. 

Weather was mild on race morning, but being a chicken I had pulled on my long sleeve race shirt and rain coat because I was cold when I woke up- but I didn’t intend to run in these things, so I had to give them up when I checked my bag. Luckily I had saved the heat sheet that they gave me at the wineglass marathon, so I pulled that on and headed to the corrals, armed with my muffin and other assorted pre-race fuels. I considered a porter potty stop on the way, but ultimately I just found a spot to sit in the corral, hoping I wouldn’t later regret that choice. 

As I sat in the corral I thought about what I wanted out of this 10k. In the back of my mind I thought about really racing it - if I managed to PR it was possible that I could place in my age group, but it would be a stretch, as I really wasn’t in shape to PR at this point- my workouts had been lacking in October because of the craziness that was getting married. So I left my long term goal of placing in my age group at a rundisney race in my back pocket, and figured I would just play it by ear, and aim to have a good time on course. A cop out, perhaps. But I was worried that I would pass up a fun RunDisney experience for a PR that may not come. 

Eventually I did decide to go pee before the race, and of course as I headed back into the corral I saw they had started collapsing the corral and sending runners towards the start line. Timing, not my strong point. 

As the race started I struggled to hit a good pace, as the start line was crowded with runners and walkers. I’m all for running your own race, but it was a little bit frustrating that there were walked mixed into the first wave of corral A, which, in theory, should consist mostly of people who are running. I’m not trying to pace shame anyone- it was just frustrating to have to weave so much just to be able to keep running. 

The first mile of the race was all highway, with the big attraction being a screen attached to a overpass, playing clips of monsters inc. I hit the first mile in 8:09, feeling strong now that the crowd was thinning out a bit. 

In mile two there were some character stops- first lightning McQueen and to-Mater and then captain jack sparrow with his pirate ship. I’m not a huge fan of either of these, so I opted to run by these stops. The first water station was also in mile two. Pace for mile 2 was 8:18, and I was still feeling good. 

There were more “hills” than I’m accustomed to in Florida races, and they slowed me down a bit in mile three, with highway ramps becoming a part of the race. During mile three a green army man cheered us up the on ramp, commending us for our pace and encouraging us to keep it up- I lost a little time on this mile regardless, which came in at an 8:26. 

At this point, I knew we were approaching Epcot, and I stowed my phone in my pocket. So forgive me if I mess up some of the location details as we go on, as I don’t have any photos to reference. 

Mile 4 brought us backstage, and into Epcot through future world. Just before entering the park chip and dale were hanging out with a DJ and there was no line for photos..... I couldn’t resist. I ran in and got a quick picture before heading onward. We got our first glimpse of spaceship earth just before entering the park, which was alive with music, as they had a mix of pump up and Disney music playing through out Epcot. From future world we headed into world showcase, and then around England we headed backstage and got an up-close look at the gondola construction. 8:31, not too shabby. 

We hit mile 5 right as we headed back into Epcot, and right around there Oswald was hanging out in front of a tiny barn, again with no line! So I hopped off course for another character photo, and then began my last lap around world showcase before the finish line. There were plenty of photographers around world showcase, which was all lit up with lights on the buildings. When I spotted Jimminy cricket in one of the countries, I stopped for another quick photo before beginning my descent to the finish line. With two character stops, mile 6 came in at 8:36, and dad texted me asking if I had finished the race yet just before the mile marker. 

The last 0.2 miles of the course took me through the end of future world, and I attempted a jump shot before leaving the parks- we will find out soon enough if I was successful! The photographer said something to me as I ran by, but honestly I have no idea what he said. (good news- he got the shot!)

Just before rounding the corner to the finish line we went by a drum line, and then things went downhill fast- I let my competitive nature get the best of me. Just as we went by the last fence and the finish line came into sight, a runner that had been on my tail for the last mile or so shouted to me - “come on, don’t let me beat you now!”

A phrase which is basically my kryptonite. 

As he ramped up his speed trying to pass me, I picked mine up as well. He goaded me more, rooting me on to push for the finish line - and for the record, I in no way see this as a bad thing! I love a little friendly competition, and have raced to more than one finish line in the past. 

As we pushed each other to go faster, he started to pass me, and called out for me to help going, to which I responded, “if I puke I’m blaming you!” More jokingly than anything else. The finish line was less than 200m away, what could go wrong in that distance? 

And I was fine.... until I wasn’t. Suddenly my stomach seized, and I had to ease off the pace as a sudden wave of nausea hit me, and I started gagging. The finish line grew closer, it was less than 100m to go.... but I had to pull to the side of the race to puke. So sorry to anyone whose finish line photos may have me puking in the background, my bad. It was not something that I thought was in the realm of possibility for this race. 

But after a minute or so I was able to compose myself, and get over the finish line, with a time of 54:18- about three minutes slower than my PR, but I was pretty pleased with it. 

I made my way through the finish like chute, collecting my medal, poweraide, water, and the famous rundisney snack boxes, then grabbed the bag I had checked earlier that morning. I always pack a drawstring backpack into my checked bag so that it is easier to carry everything after the race. 

Once I had all my stuff together, I got a few character photos- Sebastian, Lumiere, and chefs Donald and goofy- before heading to the bus which would take me back to the beach club resort. 

It was a good morning all in all, and after a quick shower I proceeded to sleep for another two hours before heading to magic kingdom for a day of fastpasses and making Dennis take pictures of me with my new medal. It was a great day in the parks, made even better by family! That night I met up with a bunch of my cousins for dinner, who happened to have an overlapping vacation. We grabbed food at the brewery that is on the boardwalk, and it was hard to resist the margaritas - but I somehow managed, knowing that I had another early morning ahead of me.

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2018: Video Recap

Haven’t been to busy on the running front this week, thanks to the cold that I’ve come down with. But I finally got around to editing the videos that I took during the 2018 Disney Princess Half Marathon! 

Hope you enjoy the video, and let me know in the comments if you’d like to see more videos in the future.