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A Nighttime Run in Central Park

Tonight I had the most amazing evening with the lovely and speedy Gia! My new running coach met me in Central Park after a long day of work for a diagnostic run.

I ran a mile from the office to meet her and was thrilled with the crisp, cool weather. I wasn’t sure how to dress for the weather and unsure of how much the temperature would drop. Luckily my crop pants, marathon finisher shirt, and marathon jacket was perfect!

The city was glistening with evening and holiday lights of white, red, and green!

003 (640x478) 004 (640x478)Once I met up with Gia the learning started immediately! Did you know that every lamp post in Central Park is labeled to help runners find their way? For example, this lamp post is on the West side of the city at 59th and 7th Avenue. Pretty cool eh?

005 (478x640)We spent the next 4.3 miles catching up, rehashing my marathon experience, talking about blogs, and enjoying the evening. This was my first true night time run in Central Park and I’m please to report that we both felt very safe! There were other runners, dog walkers, and a Central Park safety patrol in the park as well.

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We started our run with a 1 mile warm-up and then did some interval work for the remaining 2.5 miles before doing a 3/4 mile cool down. It was an amazing fete that I was able to keep up a conversation during our run as our average pace ended up being 9:44 which is not normally my “conversational pace.”

I’ll be sharing more about our training and my goals in the coming week as Gia is putting together my National Half Marathon training program this weekend! While Marc was a great first coach and served the purpose during the marathon, I’m really looking forward to working with someone whom I know personally, has run many half and full marathons, is located in New York City, and has now run along side me!

008 (640x478) 009 (640x478) I am hoping that I can make a week night run a regular part of my training routine as this really helped calm me down after a long and stressful day. Now that I’m home I feel very relaxed and ready for bed!

I’m off to spend a few minutes stretching and foam rolling! Good night!

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Half Marathon Taper Check List

A bright and cheery good morning to each of you! I hope your week is going well so far. Mine week is going wonderfully as it’s only a four day work week  and I have a great weekend coming up!

Believe it or not, the National Half Marathon is this weekend which means my training has entered taper mode. Come Friday, Theodora, Ali, and I will all head down to Washington, DC via Bolt Bus, ready to rock this half marathon! I’m definitely excited for a taper week as I have trained hard these past few weeks, incorporating cross training and speed training into my training for the first time! Luckily, the results are starting to show as I’ve lost a few pounds and set a new PR in my last NYRR race, last month.

184294_670132991193_24200188_37793700_7601844_n I thought I would share some of my taper week tips and preparation check list with you all.

  1. Rest: Even though I had a pretty epic weekend, I’m making sure that Sunday through race day I enjoy at least 7 hours of sleep per night. It is important to give your muscles time to heal and recover this week.
  2. Hydrate: Water is a miracle drug in my book, giving me energy when I’m dragging and keeping me going through even the hardest of workouts. It’s essential that you’re hydrated on race day and this can’t happen from chugging water that day alone. Focus on increasing your water intake all week and possibly throw in a little extra sodium or salt pills the night before the race to help retain some of that water. Also, if you’ve hydrated with a Camel-Bak or water bottle during your training, make sure to bring that same item for race day. You don’t want to try anything new on race day. Crunch Yoga
  3. Stretch/Yoga: I find that stretching and yoga help me relax, work out toxins and buildup in my muscles, and prepare my legs for the big day. Make sure to include foam rolling and or the stick in your practice to work out any knots in your legs or tightness in your itband. Make sure not to take any tough yoga classes which may strain your muscles the week of the race. As always, listen to your body. Yesterday, I enjoyed an amazing hot vinyasa class with Lauren at Yoga to the People. Since it’s race week, I didn’t push myself as far into the stretches as I normally would have and found child’s pose more than once during the practice. IMG_0973 IMG_0879
  4. Laundry: This may seem silly but make sure all your favorite running gear, right down to your socks, are clean for race day. More than once, I’ve gone searching for clothes the night before only to realize they are deep in the dirty clothes pile.
  5. Go shopping early in the week: Head to your favorite running store early in the week to buy your necessary supplies such as Camel Bak cleaner, Shot Blocks, or Gu. You don’t want to wait until Thursday or Friday only to find that they are out of your favorite flavor. I don’t recommend waiting until the Expo either because you never know which vendors or brands will be on site that day.
  6. Organize your gear early: No later than Thursday night, put all your race day gear in a pile near an outlet. This allows you to charge your electronics (Garmin, iPod, etc) in the same area as your clothes pile so you don’t forget them in the wall when you leave for the race or trip. I have definitely done this at least once and want you all to learn from my mistakes! Make sure to also pack these chargers for the weekend. Yes, they take up extra space, but if you or any running buddies need them during the weekend they are well worth it! Also, make sure to make a packing list for not only race gear, but also the rest of the items you’ll need for the weekend or race day.

    7. 7. Make a playlist: If you run with music, you know how important having fun music is for a great run. The upbeat music keeps your running going, even when the going gets tough. Be sure to include a few inspirational favorites, a few surprises, and one song that can get your pace going even when your legs feel like lead. If you’re looking for a few new song suggestions I suggest checking out iTunes list of most popular downloads, or Jes’ playlists here and my latest playlist here.

    image8. Set a goal: Establish ahead of time what your intention is for the race. Do you want to PR? Do you want to take at least 20 pictures along the course with all your friends? Do you want to finish your first half? Regardless of the goal, having an intention will help keep you strong throughout the race. Some people find it helps to write this intention on their wrist or hand, so they can remember it during the race. My goal for the National Half Marathon is to finish under 2:15.

    9. HAVE FUN so you can smile afterwards!

    What are your race week suggestions? Is there anything I missed? Are you running the National Half Marathon? If so, what is your bib color?

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Divas Half Marathon on Long Island

I stated on Twitter earlier that I was definitely not in the best of moods after my third day of consumer research which meant 10 hours of sitting and listening to interviews.

 

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It is clear that I’ve grown accustomed to a few things:

1) Morning workouts

2) Eating my own meals

3) Interacting with others

The past few days have meant very early departure times from our office so we could reach NJ before the height of commute traffic. This morning I wasn’t able to squeeze in a morning workout and was moody all day. In addition, we weren’t able to bring our own meals since we were in the middle of research at lunch time. Today that meant Panera which was okay but Monday and Tuesday that meant catered lunch. Research means a lot of listening and very little talking. I’m used to leading and participating in meetings all day long so this was a big change from my usual schedule.

But, instead of letting this mood ruin my evening I took some suggestions:

1) Get some exercise

2) Call a friend

3) Do something that makes you happy

I walked the 2 miles home from work instead of taking the Subway. The weather is absolutely gorgeous outside and this gave me a small amount of much needed movement.

I called my friend who passed her PT certification (Yay Chrissie!) to congratulate her and then spoke to my parents the rest of the way home. These two phone calls definitely made me smile. (Thanks mom & dad)

I registered for the October 3rd Diva Half Marathon Divas Half Marathon at Long Island and Girls' 5K logo                  when I got home. I’ve been talking about this for a while after hearing that Dori, Melissa, and Rebecca have all registered I decided to pull the trigger! It wasn’t cheap but it will definitely be fun. Now I just have to figure out how to get to Long Island! 🙂 This should hopefully fit into my NYC Marathon training plan perfectly.

I’ve actually never been to Long Island so this race should be really pretty and allow me to see a new area. In addition, it’s nice and flat which will be a treat! I’m looking forward to long training runs with these ladies around the city! Is anyone else doing this half marathon?

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