Week 12: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

I feel like I finally hit a groove again on week 12, managing to get out for all the miles I planned, and even making time for a little strength training.

I had three weekday runs planned - 9 miles, 5 miles, and 4 miles. After a lighter load during week 11, I decided to get the longest distance done early in the week, that way I had plenty of time to recover before the weekends long run - 18 miles!

I had no run planned for Monday, but Sophie and I hit up the gym and did a strength circuit that left us both sore after.

On Tuesday I planned to get my 9 miles done in the evening - my parents were STILL out of town at this point, and I was really looking forward to them getting home so I could switch back to morning runs. It’s just not something I’m great at doing on my own.

So Tuesday night I headed out on my run as soon as I got home from work, after opening a fun package that had come in the mail - my NYC marathon finishers jacket! I won’t be wearing it until after the race, but I couldn’t resist ordering the new design when I saw it. I wanted to make sure I would be able to get the right size.

It was going to get dark while I was running, as the sun is setting earlier every day now, so I set out my light up vest and light gloves so I could loop by the house and grab them quickly when it got darker. I put on the audio book I was listening to, Daisy Darker, and just ran easy as I listened to the story. I felt good during the run, and made a pit stop around mile 6 to grab my lights and a sip of water. By the time I finished the 9 miles it was dark, and I was ready for food. It was an uneventful, easy run, which I didn’t mind at all.

I didn’t have a run Wednesday, but I did get a fun package in the mail - new running shoes! I ordered two new pairs of brooks, a pair of Hyperion Tempos and a pair of adrenaline GTS 22s, hoping that one pair will be my marathon shoes! I had been waffling for weeks, and finally decided to buy both. I normally run in ghosts, but wanted something a little more supportive to help with my knee. The adrenalines are part of the cereal collection, so the colors are super fun!

Thursday morning my parents were back in NY, but fighting jet lag after being 6 hours behind us for over 2 weeks - so I was flying solo on my morning run. I was up and out before the sunrise, once again wearing all my lights as I ran. It was a little bit of a chilly morning, and it helped make the run a little more comfortable. I tried the adrenalines for the first time, and liked them. My legs were tired from the last few days, and it was by no means a fast run. I was happy when my watch finally buzzed, indicating I had finished 5 miles.

On Friday I had plans to do a screening of the new hocus pocus sequel with some friends after work, so I knew I had to get my miles in early. So I once again got myself out of bed, and this time headed out for a 4 mile run - I was pleased with myself for doing all of the longer distances earlier in the week, so at least it was “only” 4 miles that morning.

The screening was fun that night - we set up a screen and projector in the backyard, and enjoyed so many yummy snacks while we watched a sequel to one of our favorite childhood movies (I mean, Den and I even have a cat named Binx. If that doesn’t give us away as fans, I don’t know what would).

Saturday I planned to play catch-up around the house, since I was registered to run the 18-mile NYC training run with NYRR on Sunday. I cleaned and moved some furniture around, and in the midst of it all got an email from NYRR - the 18-miler was cancelled due to high winds. Womp Womp.

As soon as the email came out, texts came flooding in from my friends, discussing where and when we would get our miles in. Mike was opting to take to the treadmill, but Sami invited me to join her and a crew from the Merrick bicycles tri team at SUNY old westbury, to take on our 18 miles with a side of hills.

I was nervous about the weather, but Sami talked me into it. I rolled out of bed the next morning and snacked on a kind bar as I drove to campus to meet the group. We would be running loops, so I opted to leave my water at my car, and just grab some as we passed by each time, rather than lugging it along. Normally I would just wear my hydration vest for a run like this, but my back was hurting from moving furniture the day before - not my smartest plan.

As much as I tried to get to the group meet up spot on time, I was, as usual, about 10 mintues late. Thankfully they were kind enough to wait for me, and Sami had mapped out loops near and on the old Westbury campus for us to run through to complete the 18 mile run. I loaded my pockets with salt and two gels for the first loop, and we left the parking lot and spent a mile on the hilly campus before getting to the exit and heading to a flatter neighborhood near by. There was a decent size group of runners, and when the first mile chimed on my watch, I realized that I was getting caught up in the group and running faster than I intended. Thankfully, Sami felt the same way, and the two of us dropped back a little from the group. We made it through the first neighborhood loop with only one wrong turn, and headed back towards the parking lot so that we could get a sip of water around mile 8. I also ditched my jacket at that point – the race cancellation due to weather had lead to me layering up, but it really was not that bad out. Sure, there was some wind, but it wasn’t cold enough for a jacket.

We were rejoined by Bobby and Rob, who were planning to run 18 and 20 miles, respectively, that day, but the rest of the group called it quits, as they had only shorter distances planned for that morning. The four of us headed out for the next segment, this time spending a few more miles on the hilly campus before taking a detour off campus, and finding ourselves in an empty industrial park with a very large parking lot – that we happily did some flat loops of. The wind was much worse in the parking lot than it had been on campus, since it was more open, and didn’t have lots of trees around to block the wind. When we got back to the hills we made our way around a full campus loops with all its ups and downs, and wound up back at the parking lot just beyond mile 16. We all had varying distances left at that point, as people had been looping back to each other to get the group linked up again when they pulled far ahead, so we decided to finish out our runs with parking lot loops, which had the added benefit of less hills. When my watch chimed at 18 I felt good, but relieved to be done. I pulled my yoga mat out of the car, and chatted with the group for a bit as everyone pulled in after finishing their miles. I was so glad that Sami had talked me into meeting up with the group to run, because I know I would have slept in and put it off and then wound up spending way too much time on the treadmill otherwise!

With the completion of the 18 miler, it meant there was only one more long run to go before NYC! This race is going to sneak up on us before we know it.

Week 11: training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

This is going to be a short one – it was an abbreviated week of running, that I built into my training plan when I made it earlier this year. I knew that I would be spending this week in vegas for work, spending 8 hours a day on the show floor at a convention. Combine the fatigue of standing all day with work dinners and a three-hour time difference, and I knew that there would not be much energy left over for running.

When I was packing I put three running outfits into my bag – in an ideal world I was hoping I would get in 2 four mile runs, and one 8 mile run, but knew that realistically with the time the gym opened every morning (6 am) and the time I needed to meet me team each day (8 am) plus getting myself ready every morning, it was unlikely that I would have time to get in 8 miles before having to head out one day. But I was confident that I could get in two mornings with 4 mile runs and save my long run for once I was back in NY.

Saturday was mostly a travel day, and Sunday was the first day on the show floor. By the time I got back to the hotel room those nights my body clock was screaming for bed – I am not good at time changes. But with the early bedtime on Sunday night, I managed to get up very early on Monday, and get to the gym right as it opened – I snagged the last treadmill that was available and watched some T.V. on my phone as I made my way through a 4 mile run. It was warm in the gym, and I was sweating by the time I was finished, but I was pleased with myself for getting up and making time to run. That night the whole team went out to dinner, and I indulged in some excellent fettuccine alfredo.

Tuesday morning was a wash, after being out with my team a little later because of the dinner. That night my employer treated us to a show, and we all went and saw the Beatles “Love” Cirque Du Solei show – the athleticism that the performers displayed was honestly amazing, and I could not believe how big the cast was when they came out for the curtain call at the end of the show. We all opted to walk back to our hotel after, which was a little over a mile away, so that we would get a chance to see the strip at least once.

I headed to bed right after the show, so was once again up early enough on Wednesday to get in a run. This time I thought to bring my iPad along, so that I had a bigger screen to watch T.V. on while I ran. The hotel gym was just as hot as the previous run, but thankfully not as crowded. I was able to get a treadmill again and tried to give a little progressive push as I made my way through the miles. When the distance rolled over the 4 mile mark I slowed down my treadmill, and headed back to my room to get ready for the last day of the convention – I work in the industrial baking industry, and it was a baking convention that I was attending, so I may have indulged in a few extra sweets during the week – I couldn’t resist when they were being made fresh on the show floor!

Thursday was a travel day again, and I was up bright and early to head to the airport. By the time I got home it was after 6 pm, thanks to the time change adding a few hours on to our travel. I was pooped after a busy week, and really happy to be back in my own bed.

When I got home, my cat Binx seemed to have picked up a little cold while I was away. I mention this because I always get nervous when he is sick, since he has had some health issues in the past. I kept an eye on it, and made him a vet appointment for the following Monday, the first slot our vet had available.

I still had to head to work on Friday, and I was wiped out between the time change and the busy week. It was a rest day because of that, and after work I took it easy. I headed to bed early, because Mike, Michal and I had signed up for the great south bay half marathon on Saturday morning – our training scheduled called for 13 miles anyway, so we figured we may as well do our training runs in a race setting, with aid stations and all to practice for the marathon.

Unfortunately, I did not get the relaxing night of sleep I was hoping for. Instead, I was woken up by my Binx sneezing in my face at 2 am, and then spent the next hour worrying over him as he was sneezing lots and clearly not feeling well. By 3 am I woke up my husband, and decided to take the cat to the emergency vet – I pay for pet insurance every month, so I may as well use it rather than stay up stressing with no solution in the middle of the night. Three hours later, after some blood work and examinations, they concluded that it was just a cold, and sent us home with some medicine for the little guy. We got home right as I my alarm went off around 5:15, the time I had been planning to get up for the race.

Mike was planning to pick me up at 6 am, and after some back and forth I decided to go to the race. Worst case I could walk or drop out of I felt too tired, but I felt ok, and figured I could just take a fat nap post-race. 

It was a chilly morning, and we found our friends Rob and Michal as we waited in line to pick up our race bibs. Once we had our numbers we headed back to the car, so we could keep warm as we waited for the race to start. The race was set to start at 7:30, and just after 7 I left my friends in the car and went to stand in the porter potty line. Mike and Michal found me near there, and the three of us headed to the start together.

We planned to just run by feel, and stick together throughout the race. The plan here was to use the race as a training run anyway, so no one was trying to PR or anything. The race started, and I struggled a little to get going. I set my watch to just show the time of day, and ignored it as it buzzed out with the pace for the first few miles, not talking much and just listening to Mike and Michal chat, glad that there were three of us so I could just hang out without contributing much. Eventually I settled in, and started to feel good – it was nice to finally have some “good” running weather, after a summer of hot and humid mornings. Somewhere around mile 4, Michal commented on our pace being good – I had been ignoring the pace, but gave into temptation and looked – low 10s, I was shocked. I dismissed the pace chatter, and told them I didn’t want to talk about it, as we plowed on.

Michal was carrying handheld water bottles, which is her plan for fall marathons, so she needed to stop to refill at an aid station. I felt like if I stopped running I would loose my groove, so when they walked to take care of a refill (and an untied shoe for Mike), I kept running and after a few minutes they caught up to me. The three of us kept chatting, and as we slipped into the later miles of the race, I was surprised at how good I felt. We kept that same rhythm of me running through aid stations and them catching up, until it happened around mile 10. I didn’t realize I was doing it at the time, but after a turnaround at an out and back, I realized that I had pulled further ahead than I expected to. I peeked at my watch, and saw that I was running a sub-10 minute mile…. And I felt good.

In the years that I have been running, I have always heard people talk about how the best way to “race” a half marathon is to keep a consistent pace for the first 10 miles, and then treat the last 3 miles like a 5k and leave it all out there. While I hadn’t meant to pick up the pace, I felt good – so I decided to go for it, and challenged myself to run the last three miles progressively faster. I ran my last three miles at a 9:49, a 9:28, and an 8:58. It wasn’t my fastest half, but I felt proud as I crossed the finish line – glad that I had shown up for the race and pushed myself at the end of it.

I waited by the finish for Mike and Michal to run through and learned that Mike even pulled off a PR that day! It was a good day for running all around.

It was a good morning for running, and then I went out with my husband, brother, and Sophie to celebrate Sophie’s birthday. The rest of the day was a bit of a wash, as I spent most of it napping after a hard effort that morning + a bad night of sleep the night before.

That half marathon was really a reminder of how much I love this sport, and it made me feel more like myself than I have in a long time.

Week 10: Training for the 2022 NYC marathon

This week started a string of schedule changes for me – I would spend the weekend through next Thursday traveling to a conference for work, so I moved my running schedule around a bit to accommodate that. I swapped a few weekend run distances, and planned to attempt a long run Friday night after work, so that I would not be stuck on a treadmill again.

I started my week with a run on Tuesday night, planning to get in 8 miles. My friend Ryan agreed to keep me company for 2.5 miles, so I headed out after work to knock out the solo miles before he would arrive at my house. I looped around the neighborhood solo, getting excited when I spotted a cat along the way. I kept the pace easy, but was still soaked with sweat – even though summer was coming to a close, warmer temps were still hanging in. Ryan met me right as the sun went down, so I grabbed my light up vest before we got going. It was really nice to get out and run with him again, like we had been doing pretty often early in the year. Ryan and I have been friends since we were teenagers, and like most adult friends, struggle to make consistent social commitments with everything going on – so running for a half hour or so and catching up has been a highlight for me each time we get out to run together.

When I finished my run Dennis had dinner ready, which I was really thankful for.

My parents were out of town this week, so I lacked my normal morning run accountability. On Wednesdays if I don’t get out in the morning I struggle to find time as I have a standing appointment after work, and despite this I failed at getting up to run Wednesday morning. By the time I was free to run at night the sun had long since set, and I just did not feel comfortable going out for a solo run – so I headed to the gym and hopped on the treadmill for a mile, and then did some strength training, telling myself that I would run Thursday morning, even though I hadn’t planned to.

I managed to roll myself out of bed Thursday morning, hoping to get in 3-4 miles before work…. But my body had other ideas. Thankfully it wasn’t an injury or anything – just an upset stomach. I got in just over 2 miles before I had to trot back home and rush to the bathroom. By the time I had finished my business, there was no time to finish my run before work. Oh well, at least I showed up and got a little time on my feet.

Since I had to be at the airport early on Saturday to head to vegas for a work trip, I planned to squeeze my long run in on Friday night – of course, it had been a busy week, so I also needed to run some errands and pack Friday night. Not the best planning on my part.

As soon as I got home I headed out to run, and I just felt off. I couldn’t find a groove, but I did my best to just keep moving forward. I planning to get in 13 miles, but because I had to run some errands and finish packing, I planned for 2 hours of running. I headed out solo when I got home from work, and Ryan once again agreed to meet me for the last half hour or so. Honestly, if I didn’t have Ryan meeting me, I probably would have canned this run after an hour. I was exhausted, and just could not find a groove. I focused on moving forward and was really glad when I finally got some company.

Ryan finished out the run with me, and I wound up logging just over 10 miles. Not exactly what the plan called for, but it was something. I spent the rest of the night packing, and on Saturday morning a car service picked me up and took me to the airport.

Week 9: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

Well, week 9 means we are officially more than halfway through marathon training – yikes!

To be reflective for a moment, I think I am doing a really good job with my runs. So far, I have only missed 1 planned run in the last 9 weeks, which I feel is something to be proud of, On the other hand, while I was doing well with consistently strength training and cross training in the first month or so, I have not been doing a great job with it the last 2-3 weeks. So, my goal moving forward is to make sure that I am cross training at least twice a week, but hopefully a little more than that!

Monday was a travel day, as Den, Tommy and I made our way home from Atlanta. I really planned to run after work on Tuesday, but was so wiped out that I wound up going to bed before 8:30. After a full weekend of activities, my body was feeling the fatigue. I doubled down on Wednesday morning, telling myself that I was going to get up and run – and then it rained.

So, I texted Mike to see if he was around and free to run Wednesday night – lucky for me, he was planning to do his long run that night, as the weekend marked his husband’s birthday, and they had lots of celebrations planned that would keep him from having time to get it in then. So Mike ran 9 miles on his treadmill, and then met me at my house and we headed out for 7 miles together. It was getting darker by the minute by the minute, and I loaded up with lights, pulling on my flashing vest and my gloves with lights on them. I also pulled on a hat, since it was a little drizzly still.

I felt so stiff as we got moving and was reminded of alexi pappas’ quote about how when you are training you should feel great 1/3 of the time, ok 1/3 of the time, and crappy 1/3 of the time – this was definitely the crappy third. But at least I was with Mike, and we were able to chat to pass the time. It took 3 miles, but I eventually settled into the run and started to feel a bit better – not good per se, but not like I wanted to lay down on the floor and call the run done.

I reminded myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and to be thankful that I was capable of being out for a run. We talked about the tragic murder of Eliza Fletcher, and how she was killed while she was just out for a run, doing what she loved. Her death weighed heavy on both of our hearts, thinking about how she had young children, and how heartbroken her family must be.

By the time we finished our 7 miles, we were both dripping with sweat, and needed to chug some water. I got in from the run, ate some dinner, and went right to bed. It was a simple end to the night.

Even though I ran Wednesday night, I felt like I still wanted to get out Thursday morning and run a few miles. So I messaged Dad, and he agreed to accompany me on his bike. I got to his house and we went through our regular 3 mile loop, as the sun climbed higher into the sky. Soon, these runs are gonna be more dark than light. I felt good Thursday morning, and the weather was actually on the pleasant side. Dad even broke out his bike gloves so his hands wouldn’t get chilly.

That night I headed to the track with the merrick bicycle Tri Team – UCan was kind enough to send me a few boxes of their new pineapple gels to sample with the tri team, so Sami helped me organize a track night to hand them out. It was more on the informal side, and Mike and I opted to just run laps of the track rather than following a workout, pushing on the straights and recovering on the curves.

My next run was set for Saturday, and I had 16 miles on tap. All of my usual running crew was unavailable – Mike had done his run during the week, Katie and Michal had other plans, and my parents had headed to Hawaii for a two-week vacation, so I was on my own. I made the mistake of not setting an alarm, since I was going to be running solo anyway, and was shocked when I woke up around 10:30 am – my body had apparently decided I needed 12 hours of sleep! If it was colder, this would not have been an issue – but it was a hot day, with temps in the 80s and the sun high in the sky by the time I got outside. I really did not want to run 16 miles on the treadmill, so I decided to split my run in two – with 6.2 miles outside and 9.8 miles on the tread. I headed outside without water, figuring I would loop by my house at some point – but a little after mile 2 I ran by the local Starbucks and bought a water bottle, because I was so thirsty. Having the water bottle helped a lot though, and I was able to get through the rest of the outdoor miles without any issues – I even spotted my uncle along the way, out walking his dogs.

When I got back to the house, I set up a movie on the T.V. over my treadmill and got to work. The 10 miles on the tread were full struggle, to be honest. After waking up late and not eating much before starting my run, I was starting to get hungry as the day ticked into the afternoon, and after really having to push through every moment, I had to take a break at mile 13 and eat some real food – gels just weren’t cutting it at that point. I grabbed a bag of goldfish and wolfed them down, and immediately felt better after getting some food in my system. After that the last few miles weren’t necessarily “good,” but they were more manageable. I was very happy when I finally hit the 16-mile mark and got to abandon the treadmill.

I felt a bit disheartened when I finished the 16 mile run, but reminded myself that not every run can feel great – especially not every long run, and in this case I was dealing with less than ideal conditions, which were admittedly my own fault, since I decided to sleep in that morning and had to deal with the mid-day heat. But at the end of the day, I showed up, and got 16 miles underfoot – and that counts for something!

Sunday Mike and I headed into NYC for one of his favorite events – the 5th avenue mile. As the name implies, it is a one-mile race down 5th avenue in NYC. Since it starts later than most NYRR races, we opted to take the long island rail road into the city, instead of driving in, like we do for most races. We hopped on the train and then took a subway from Penn station to the MET, where Bib pickup was happening.
When we picked up our race numbers, they also gave us the race giveaway – a pair of shorts. We debated what to do with the shorts, and ultimately mike offered to run to the bag check at the finish like while I waited to use the porter potties, so that we would not have to come back to the bag check at the start after the race was over.

Mike and I were in the same corral, which was a deviation from the last time we ran this event – in the past even though we are the same age, we were split into the men and womens waves – but this time runners were split only by age, with no regards to gender, which meant we could start together.

After feeling like I had blown up during my long run the day before, I told Mike to leave me behind and run his own race, because I was nervous about going all out for a mile. The last time I ran this race I had pulled off a 6:53 – but this morning I was hoping to be able to go sub-8. Based off my current fitness, I felt like that was a realistic goal.

The race announcer counted down, and our corral was off. Mike jetted away, and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to get swept up in the excitement and take off too fast. I set a pace alert on my watch to let me know if I ran faster than a 7 min/mi or slower than an 8 min/mi, and was resolved to not look at it as long as it was not yelling at me, and to run by feel.

There are course markers every quarter mile, and then every few hundred yards in the last quarter mile. 5th avenue is a sneaky uphill climb, where your legs start to feel tired even though you don’t necessarily see a hill. But I could feel when we shifted from uphill to downhill, and geared up my pace as much as I could. I was relieved when the finish line was finally in sight, and glided through with the last bit of effort I could muster – pulling off a 7:44 mile. My fastest mile in quite some time. At some point in the race I passed Mike, which I realized while looking around after crossing the finish line and spotting him behind me.

We headed right home after, since we had plans to go out to brunch for Mike’s husbands birthday. It was only a mile race, but getting to go to brunch after felt like a reward for a job well done.

Race Recap: the Staten Island Half Marathon

Well, it took 7 years of doing races with the New York Road Runners, but I can officially say that I have completed every race that is part of the 5 borough series. Some, like the NYC half and the Queens 10k I jump at the chance to run each year, but I was a hold out with the Staten Island half. After hearing friends stories of the hills there, plus the annoyance of having to drive in or take a ferry, I never bothered with this race before. But this year, it fell on a weekend where all of my local running buddies had other plans, and I needed to get in a long training run for the NYC marathon. So when my friend Carson told me she was registered for the race, and encouraged me to sign up too, it was just the push I needed to finally cross this race off the “to-do” list.

Carson lives in Manhattan, so to make race morning easier I crashed at her apartment the night before. So on Saturday afternoon I hopped on the LIRR and headed into Manhattan, then walked uptown and met up with her and her boyfriend, Drew. The three of us killed some time by visiting the Nike store and walking through their winding 5 story shop, which showcased various athletic gear and assortments of sneakers, and then met up with an additional friend of carson’s and headed to “The Monkey Bar” for dinner. Carson is on a quest to find the best burger in NYC, and this restaurant was on her list to try. The highlight of the meal for me was the appetizers – we got an order of the king crab rangoon and their truffle mac and cheese to share, and both were delicious.

After dinner we headed uptown to Carson’s apartment, and the two of us prepped our bags and outfits for race morning. I had decided on a long sleeve tee and a pair of shorts for the following day’s race, which was projected to have temps in the high 40s, with clear skies. Carson had picked up our race bibs and shirts in advance, which meant we could sleep in a little later the following day. The two of us hung out and caught up, eventually turning in for an early-ish bedtime.

When my alarm blared at 5:45, it felt WAY too early. I slowly rolled out of bed and got dressed, and braided half of my hair while Carson got ready… I would finish the other half later in the morning, while we waited for the ferry to arrive at the terminal. Carson had set up an Lyft, which picked us up at 6:15 and drove us all the way downtown to the ferry terminal. It was a quick ride, and when we got into the terminal they had a shop open, so we were able to grab breakfast while we waited for the 7:00 ferry to arrive. As 7:00 grew closer an announcement was made that the arriving ferry had “limited capacity,” and nervous runners rushed to line up at the ferry door to ensure that they would make it onto the boat.

When 7:00 rolled around, we were able to get on to the ferry, and even found seats near a window on the lower level. We watched the sunrise over the water as we headed from Manhattan to Staten Island. When the ferry arrived at staten island we opted to wait in line for the bathrooms in the terminal, which were indoor, instead of waiting for porter potties outside, since it was a chilly morning (it was in the high 40s °F). By the time we made it through the line it was already 8 am, and we were scheduled to start the race at 8:30. I quickly braided Carson’s hair, and then we headed outside.

The race staging was set up right outside of the terminal, which made getting to the start super easy. As soon as we walked out we saw NYRR tents, and were easily able to find the bag check, where I left my overnight bag while we were running. Once our bags were left behind, we headed to security, where we had to walk through metal detectors. But as soon as we were through security we could see the start corrals, and headed towards our corral, after spending a minute stretching and arranging all my fuel for the race.

Before we knew it, the corrals were collapsing, and we were walking towards the start. My plan for the day was simple: steady state running. I wanted to settle into a comfortable pace and just keep moving forward, no walking breaks, not even for water or fuel. While Carson and I were starting the race together, we knew we would probably go our separate ways a few miles in.

We crossed the start with all the other runners, and the rolling hills began almost immediately. Carson had run the event another year and warned me that at the beginning of the course the road had a bad left/right slant, and she was so right! We tried to stay as close to the middle of the road as we could, watching our feet as we ran over the uneven roads. Despite this, we were feeling okay as we settled into running, chatting as we made our way through the first few miles. There were water stations every mile or so on course, and while we got separated after the first one, Carson popped back by my side soon after. Between miles 3 and 4 Carson decided to walk a little, and we said our goodbyes and parted ways as we came upon another hill.

By then we were at the out and back part of the course, and I could see runners streaming by in the other direction and turned with them around mile 6 as I approached the second half of the race. My pace was holding steady in the mid-10s range, and I felt pretty good.

I started to recognize the course around mile 9, as we ran by Ft. Wadsworth, where the start village for the NYC marathon is held each year. I felt excited seeing it, thinking about how in under a month I’ll be there with Mike, getting ready to take on the NYC marathon together. Shortly after that I ran up yet another uphill, which took me under the Verrazano, where the NYC marathon starts. That got me even more excited for race day!

The last few miles of the race were sometimes along the water, which gave us city views as we ran. When I got to mile 11 I switched from listening to an audiobook to some music, looking for something a little faster paced to give me a push to get me through the last few miles.

Before I knew it I was going up what spectators yelled was “the last hill of the race,” and then spotting the finish line. I pushed to get through the last little bit of the course and crossed the finish line – and accomplished my goal of running the whole race without walking.

From there I was herded through the finisher chute, where I was handed a metal and then a recovery bag, which had a box of water, a bottle of Gatorade, a bag of pretzels and an apple. The fenced in area lead right to the bag check, so I grabbed my stuff and then found a curb to re-organize and stretch while waiting for Carson to finish running. A little less than a half hour later she came out of the finisher area and proclaimed that she was ready to get off this island and head home.

The two of us headed to the ferry together and found a sunny outdoor seat on the top deck for our return trip to Manhattan. Once we were back in the city we hopped on the subway, where we parted ways for the day. I took the subway right to Penn station, where I was able to change out of my running clothes and grab a sandwich while waiting for my train to arrive. It was a lot of mass transit to get home, but at least there wasn’t too much waiting around. When I got to the station near my house Dennis was waiting to pick me up, and I spent the rest of my day relaxing and recovering from the morning’s race.

Week 8: Training for the NYC marathon

This week was a bit different than the rest of my training for two reasons – first, I was heading to Atlanta for labor day weekend to visit my cousin, so I had re-arranged my long run schedule so that I would only have a 10-miler to do, and I planned to do it Thursday night instead of Saturday or Sunday. Second, my mom was sick, so my morning run support was more limited than usual.

Because of the travel I had planned, my calendar for the week looked like this:

Monday: 3 miles

Tuesday: 7 miles

Wednesday: Cross train

Thursday: 10 miles

Friday: 4 miles

I planned to run after work on Monday, to give my body a little extra time to recover after Sunday’s long run before getting back into things. I wound up with a giant blister on my big toe after Sunday’s long run, and that was my biggest concern when I headed out to run Monday night. I had it wrapped up with a blister band-aid, but still spent most of the run nervous that it had popped. It was a humid night, and I was drenched with sweat by the time that I finished my short three-mile run (remember in week one, where three miles felt like a lot? We have apparently made it to the point in marathon training when I can call three miles short again).

Tuesday Mike and I coordinated for an evening run, and I headed from my house to his house on foot, as he ran towards me. We found each other around the half-way point and continued local loops as the sun began to set. We chatted as we ran by the local library and the highschool, and l clicked on my light up vest as it got darker. We passed my house at mile 6.5, so I continued with Mike for ¼ mile as he started to head back to his house. With the little out and back at the end of the run, I managed to get in a even 7 miles.

I wasn’t really planning to run on Wednesday morning, but dad pushed me to get out there again. I worried that my legs would be tired after Tuesday night’s run, but the weather was mild Wednesday morning, and I rolled myself out of bed and drove over to my parent’s house. I just wanted to get in 3 miles, and dad and I took off on our usual 3 mile loop, chatting as we went. In September my parents will be travelling and unable to meet me for morning runs, so I wanted to take full advantage of having morning run company while I could. 

My original plan for the week was to do my long run Thursday night, but Dad offered to get up super early with me on Friday morning, so that I could run 10 miles before work. Since I knew I would have company Friday, I opted to take a rest day on Thursday, which gave me the time I needed to pack and prepare for my weekend trip to Atlanta.

10 miles before work meant a very early morning on Friday – My alarm clock went off at 4:30 am, and I was at my parent’s house before 5 am. Dad and I got out on the road just after 5, and since we were keeping it local, we began the first of many loops around his neighborhood. I wore my light up vest, as it was pitch dark when we started running, and the headlight on his bike blinked brightly. Eventually the sun started to come up, and I pulled on my sunglasses as to not be blinded any time we ran east. Slowly but surely I made it through the 10 miles, taking in a some U can before and about half-way through the run to stay fueled. I felt good, although a little tired, when I finished the run. I did have a reward waiting for myself at home – a delicious duck donut, as a little prize for getting up and putting in the work.

Mike had gotten in his long run on the treadmill Thursday night after I went to bed, and we were surprised when we learned that even though we did not run together, and I did not know his pace while I was running Friday morning, we had covered the same distance (which was planned) at the EXACT SAME PACE. I guess that bodes well for our plan of running the marathon together in November.

 After work on Friday Mike drove Dennis and I to the airport, and we met my brother Tommy there. The three of us flew into Atlanta together, and Jen was waiting for us at the airport with her husband Will to pick us up when we landed. We had such an amazing weekend together, between just hanging out and chatting, going into the city to explore restaurants on the beltline and heading north to some vineyards. It was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time, and I was glad that I got all of my runs in earlier in the week so that I felt comfortable just going with the flow, and not worrying about trying to squeeze a run in.

Enjoying a much needed break in Atlanta with my brother Tommy and my cousin Jen!

Week 7: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

It has been the kind of week where I really have to think about what I did on Monday as I sit down to write this – I have been so busy that one day has just flowed into the other, and the only common thread has been that I would like to go to bed early.

I was feeling good on Monday morning, it turns out that prioritizing recovery really does have an impact on your body after a long run! I slept in that morning, and after work I walked over to the pool and got in 30 minutes of laps. We have reached the point in the summer where people seem to have forgotten that the public pools exist, so despite warm temps, I was literally the only person in the pool for 90% of my swim. But that meant that I was able to snag the longest lap lane, so I was happy. When I got home after den had made pasta to go with the leftover sauce that we used to make pizza on Sunday, and it was delicious.

Tuesday morning I had three miles to get done, and as usual I headed to my parent’s house to run. Dad was having some technical difficulties with strava as we got going, and then I looked at my watch and saw my garmin was having issues too, reporting a completely inaccurate and impossibly fast pace – so I threw out the first 5 minutes of the run, and restarted my watch.

I felt really good that morning, despite the humidity. There were thunderstorms predicted for later that day, and the air was heavy in anticipation of them. As I made my way through the second mile I thought about how my brother, Tom, had been hitting the treadmill lately with the goal of 10-minute miles, and decided that for mile 3 I was going to push the pace, just to see how it would feel and what I could manage, without too much discomfort. By the end of the mile I was breathing heavy, and my heart rate was up, but my mile buzzer went off with a 9 minute mile, and given that I was struggling to run a 12 minute mile two months ago, I was freaking proud of that 9. After the run I took a 10-minute core class on the peloton app, and then a 5-minute post-run stretch.

I had to skip a run on Wednesday morning, to attend an annual memorial mass that my family has for my Grandma. My initial plan was to run after work, but during the day I while chatting with my running buddies, we decided to do our long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, so instead I decided I would run Thursday and Friday morning, since I would have Saturday to recover before my long run. I still fit some movement in on Wednesday and headed to a yoga class with my friend Nicole that night.

I got up even earlier than normal on Thursday, so that I would have time to get in 6 miles before work. I headed to my parents’ house, and we got outside while it was still dark. I ran along as the sun came up, keeping the pace easy, and just kept moving forward to get through the miles. Dad even made me breakfast when we got back to his house.

After work I met up with some members of the tri-team for a “bootcamp” style HIIT class. It was a “lower body” day, and we spend 45 minutes doing dynamic movements, banded exercises, and lots of squats. I was dripping with sweat by the end of the class, and proud that I had made it through 45 mins of intense strength training. I knew I was going to feel it the next day.

Remember how I said I was going to run Friday morning? Well, I had a failure to launch. After the HIIT class on Thursday night, my body was tired. I told myself that I would just run after work – which also turned out to be a lie. By the time I got home from work Friday night the muscle soreness had fully set into my legs, and I could not talk myself into going for a run. Instead I had an early bedtime, so that my early morning on Saturday would feel a little more tolerable.

In a rare occurrence, the early Saturday was not so that I could run, but instead so I could volunteer at a NYRR race with Mike! We headed into central park and helped man the bag check for the morning’s race. We had a good time helping runners out, and both agreed that if it wasn’t such a pain to get into central park we would do this more often. Once we got home from the race I spent the rest of the day relaxing, feeling a little stressed about the 15 miler we had planned for the next day.

It was another weekend of meeting up with Mike and Michal to get in our long runs together, and Michal and I were determined to do a better job with our salt experiment this time around. Michal set an alarm on her watch to remind us to take salt every 20 minutes as we ran along, and it really helped. I also managed to not drop my salt after the first use, so that was a plus as well.

I decided to run with my hydration vest, since it would just be the three of us out there with no support. In addition to water in the bladder, I popped a handheld water bottle filled with liquid IV into one of the front pouches, because I really did not want a repeat of the fatigue I felt after last weekend’s humid long run, and I felt like better fueling would help with that. I was also stocked up with Ucan and Huma gels (I didn’t have enough of one brand to get me through the whole run, so it was a bit of the mix and match game), which I planned to take every three miles. In the past I have typically done gels every 4-5 miles, but with the slower paces I am running these days plus the humid weather, I decided to fuel a little more frequently this week. I packed my knee strap in my vest, but hoped I would be able to get through the run without needing it.

After a slight morning delay, we still managed to get out onto the Bethpage trail before 7 am. We started our run heading north, with a plan to go out for 4.5 miles and then turn around, so that Mike and Michal could refill their waters at the car at mile 9, plus a stop at a local hotel for a water fountain refill around mile 5. We chatted as we made our way through the gentle rolling hills, and groaned in unison as we slogged through the two hills that really felt like climbs on this part of the run. We kept the pace conversational, and cheered our salt containers together when the alarm went off reminding us to take more.

We took turns talking about our lives, and I was reminded how thankful I am for my running friends – there is just something about suffering through a long run together that really bonds you together, and I don’t know how I would have survived the last year if it were not for the people that running has brought me together with.

It was humid, but the sky gave us cloud coverage that was amazing compared to the sunny skies of the previous weekend. We all felt good when we got to mile 9, happy that we just had to do 6 more to reach our goal of 15. This time we headed south on the trail, doing 3 miles before turning back, with a bathroom pit stop around mile 10. When we reached our turn around point at mile 12, I started to feel like I was getting a blister on my foot but tried not to think about it too much. The cloud coverage held, and while we were all tired as we approached mile 15, we agreed that we felt good! I was so happy when we reached the end of this run and could not stop telling Mike and Michal exactly that. It was the running confidence boost that I needed after the prior weekend’s difficult 12 miler.

We stretched together for a minute before loading into our cars and heading home, and when I peeled off my shoe I did discover a giant blister on the side of my big toe. Welp. At least it didn’t pop. But my runs were done for week 7, and I was happy with how the week had gone.