ashleyd /

Meltdowns

You can tell that those of us training for a Fall marathon are hitting the wall. There are so many emotional posts out there where we are all trying to be happy and positive, just like Theodora’s latest post.

I’m emotional this week. I can attribute it to many factors some of which include, but are certainly not limited to the following:

  • WORK: I work in the fragrance industry. In case you didn’t know, it’s more than a bit driven by the holidays. Therefore, the next few weeks is crunch time when it comes to driving the business.
  • PERSONAL LIFE: I haven’t spent more than 2-3 hours of quality time with Bo in weeks. Between travel, our work schedules, and marathon training I feel like a horrible wife.
  • FOOD: My cravings have been all over the place. I have eaten very healthy this week until today. When you combine my time of the month, work stress, and an office full of Halloween candy you get a sugar induced headache and stomachache. It’s a good thing one day can’t ruin everything.
  • TRAINING: While I haven’t exceeded 32 miles in a single week, my body is still starting to feel exhausted. I woke up on Tuesday feeling a cold trying to take over my body. I’ve fought it off this week with water, vitamins, and sleep. But, I’m ready to focus on my need for speed and personal training as soon as the marathon is over. My personal training goal is one full, unassisted pull-up and my running goal is a 2:10 half and a 36:00 4 miler!

Now that I’m done venting, let me try focusing on the positive. Life isn’t all bad, in fact it’s pretty awesome.

  • I’m about to run my second marathon!
  • The weekend following the marathon one of my best friends is coming to visit!

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  • My friends chose a Halloween outfit for me so I’m not stressed about that! See below for a hint.

  • I’ve registered for my next half-marathon, during which I hope to PR!
  • This week I was able to line up the next 6 Marathons+Moderation guest posts!
  • This weekend is shaping up to be amazing!

In fact, just writing this post has helped me put the week’s stress into perspective. Sometimes you just have to put it all out there and focus on the positive.

 

Question: What is stressing you out right now? What is making you happy right now?

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ashleyd /

New York City Marathon Training: Week 14

Wow, I can’t believe that in less than 3 weeks, I will have finished my second marathon!

It has been a crazy few weeks and unfortunately I haven’t done an weekly update since week 11. I apologize for that, but to make up for lost time here is the last few weeks in a nutshell:

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  • In the past 3 weeks I’ve flown 8 times on Delta
  • I’ve run in five different cities: Tampa, Charleston, Savannah, New York, and Los Angeles
  • I ran my fastest mile ever during last week’s speed work session
  • I had one great 20 miler and one horrible 20 miler that has given my the mental strength to know I can conquer the New York City marathon again this year.
  • As long as the weather is on my side, I’ve chosen my race day outfit.
  • I’m finally excited about the marathon and have decided to re-read A Race Like No Other.
  • Now that I’m pumped for the race, I’m loving the ING NYC Marathon Daily Tips emails they are sending out to runners!image So, now that I’ve gushed about my excitement and given you the skinny on the last month, let me give you the update on the past week of training.

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Week 14 Actual: October 10-16th

Monday: 4.0 mile basic run with striders

Tuesday: 4.0 mile speed workout (1 mile warm up, 1 mile at 8:54, 1 mile at 8:04, 1 mile cool down)

Wednesday: 3.0 mile easy run

Thursday: personal Training

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 20 mile long run in Tampa with Meghann

Sunday: rest day

Total mileage: 31 miles

I took two rest days this week though Sunday was more like a recovery day since I danced into the wee hours of the night after Saturday’s long run.

My goals for this week’s training are as follows:

Week 15 Plain: October 17th-23rd

Monday: 4.0 mile basic run with striders

Tuesday: personal training session

Wednesday: 5.5 mile speed workout

Thursday: personal Training + yoga in the evening

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 13 miles (I am actually going to run the last 13 miles of the marathon route! If you’re interested in joining, please leave a comment as a group of us are organizing a last 10 mile run.)

Sunday: yoga

Total mileage: 22.5 miles

Also, if you have any marathon training questions, please leave a comment as I am working on my own Marathons+Moderation post and would love to address any questions during my post this week!

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ashleyd /

Taper Nutritional Changes

Happy Monday!

It felt wonderful to sleep eight hours last night, in my own bed, and know that I won’t have to sleep in a hotel bed or step foot on an airplane for until Thanksgiving holiday!

                       I AM SO EXCITED TO STAY IN NEW YORK CITY FOR THE 38 DAYS!

This morning I woke up, in my own bed, bright and early for a short recovery run. My legs definitely were still tight and not very happy with me. The run was a steady run on the treadmill and I spent ten minutes on the foam roller afterwards trying to loosen some of the knots in my quadriceps and calf.

After my workout, I did something I haven’t done in months: pack my lunch! Saturday, during our 20 mile run, I told Meghann that I wanted to focus on my nutrition the three weeks leading up to the marathon. I did this for the National Half Marathon due to Lent’s timing and have never felt better. This time around, I’m not going to insane, but just trying to focus on small improvements:

  • Bringing my breakfast and lunch to work 3-4 days per week.
  • Swapping out afternoon sweets for dried cherries, more details below.
  • Swapping diet soda for water, Crystal Light Pure, and coconut water

Today’s lunch, though lacking photographs, included plenty of snacks to keep me fueled throughout the day and aid in avoiding the multiple Halloween candy bowls which have graced my co-workers’ desks.

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  • Jif natural peanut butter and orange marmalade on Arnold sandwich thin
  • 2 dill pickles
  • Chobani Peach yogurt with 1/8 cup of Uncle Sam’s cereal
  • String Cheese
  • Adora Calcium disk
  • Single serving of dried cherries

While this may seem like a lot of food to some, keep in mind that I am at the office from 7:30am until 7:30pm most days. Therefore, this, along with my banana oatmeal, was 12 hours worth of food.

In other news, today’s dried cherries and my nutritional swap, is due in part to a new partnership I have with Choose Cherries and their Powered by Red initiative. Cherries, as you may know, are natural anti-inflammatory due to anthocyanins, the same compound which gives them their red color.  Choose Cherries is sponsoring me for the ING NYC Marathon this year! In exchange, I will integrate cherries into my life for the next three weeks to see if they help with training. I’ll also be providing some delicious recipe ideas and an opportunity for you all to participate in an interview with Leslie Boncie, the author of Run Your Butt Off by submitting your questions!

IMG_5052 (478x640) IMG_5051 (478x640) Have a great evening! I’m off to enjoy Gossip Girl with my compression sock covered legs elevated!

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