ashleyd /

18 Miles of Bliss

On Friday night, I wrote a post about running solo in preparation for 18 miles Saturday morning. While I wasn’t necessarily excited about spending the morning by myself I knew that it would a run that would make me stronger mentally.

But about 15 minutes later, my phone vibrated.

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To my surprise, the organizer of our work run club, Marcial, wanted to join me for a few miles. I eagerly said yes but warned him that the pace would be slower than our mid-week runs and that I may not be too talkative. He happily agreed and was even willing to meet me on our front step at 6:45am!

I woke at 5:40, an hour before the run, and quickly made and ate breakfast before doing anything else so that I’d have time to digest the peanut butter and banana toast. Next, I filled my Camelbak with plain water, instead of NUUN, and made sure that I put my 3 GU’s in the zipper pocket so we wouldn’t have a replay of last week’s fueling mistake.  While I love NUUN, Gia suggested trying water this week to see if my body reacts better as she has experienced and heard of others experiencing sensitivity when pairing NUUN with Shot Blocks or GU type products.

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Having this hour of quiet to myself really helped put me in a good mood and spirit for the run. I spent some time stretching and foam rolling, I sent a few early morning Twitter messages to other runners who were up early for races and long runs, had plenty of time to use the bathroom, and had time to just focus. It was a nice change from the normal rush around the house in the morning, even though it did mean waking up earlier.

As I was walking out the door Marcial texted me saying he had no water or fuel. Even though he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to make it since his furthest run prior to Saturday was 8 miles, I knew he’d still want at least a little something. I dashed inside and grabbed a water bottle and an extra bag of Sport Beans from our fuel box.

By 7 we were off and running through the cool, Fall air. Saturday morning truly felt like Fall in Manhattan. The air was crisp and when we were in the shade of the East River Path it was actually cold. I asked Marcial if he was fine just going with the path I mapped the night prior, 18 miles along the East River Path, South to the tip of Manhattan, north along the West Side Highway, then turning on 59th to head across the city and into Central Park for a few laps of the lower loop. He smiled ear to ear in eager excitement. That’s when I realized just how much fun this run would be.

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I spent the next 3 hours laughing with Marcial as I showed him Manhattan from my favorite vantage point, running on two feet. We literally were able to watch the city wake up during our run. Some of the highlights included the amazing cloud formation above Queens, elderly Asians doing a cardio workout to MC Hammer in South Street Seaport, watching eager tourists line up for the Staten Island Ferry, fitness instructors setting up their gear for a day worth of workouts on the Hudson River piers, laughing at how much dogs really do look like their owners, and bandit running part of the NYRR Fitness 4 miler by accident, and then finally pushing our tired legs up Cat Hill at the 16 mile point.

While we ran I answered all his questions about running and smiled at things I hadn’t wondered in so long, like what is that pack runners keep sucking on as they run by us (GU). In addition, we had the fun chance to see a few blog readers out on the path which really made this city seem tiny. It was such a nice surprise to have a few wave or say hello as they passed by, especially the rock star who pushed up the 59th street hill with us and joined in our grunts and agony before smiling and telling us about her 20 mile run she was finishing in preparation for Chicago! (GOOD LUCK!!)IMG_4725

Every mile past 8 was a new personal distance record for Marcia and it was so great to see his smile each time I’d tell him another mile had past. In the end, he lasted 16.5 miles! The key to him lasting was his enthusiasm and our pace. His normal pace is closer to a 9 minute mile so running around a 10:15-10:30 pace seemed easier over the long run.

This was exactly the run I needed to have this week in order to move into the second half of marathon training strong. Our pace was pretty steady, hovering around 10:30 almost the entire time, my new fueling strategies worked wonderfully, my body felt strong through the last mile, and mentally I felt the strongest ever.

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48 days out from the marathon I couldn’t be happier with my training to date and the results that are starting to show. Below are the splits from yesterday and I can’t be happier. Nothing under 10 and nothing over 10:47.

Mile 1 10:07
Mile 2 10:34
Mile 3 10:39
Mile 4:10:47
Mile 5: 10:50
Mile 6: 10:45
Mile 7:10:34
Mile 8: 10:26
Mile 9: 10:26
Mile 10: 10:25
Mile 11: 10:40
Mile 12: 10:38
Mile 13:10:25
Mile 14: 10:40
Mile 15:10:13
Mile 16:10:38
Mile 17:10:38
Mile 18: 10:06

When you consider that a 10:52 pace is a 4:45 marathon I’m starting to think my goal just may be achievable this year if I continue to be smart. This is definitely an exciting feeling!

How was your weekend? Any great weekend races or workouts?

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ashleyd /

A New Path

Yesterday was one of those days when I wanted to do anything but run. After the Uplift workout on Tuesday night my legs were pretty sore, I had evening plans that I didn’t want to rush to make, I have a lot on my mind, and work has been pretty crazy this week.

But, knowing that the rest of my work running group was waiting for me helped motivate me to tie on my shoes and get out the door. I knew that once we started running I’d be happier and in a better mood.

Unfortunately, around five minutes in I still wasn’t in a great mood. I was just bored with our routine in general. Since I had my Garmin I suddenly realized that we didn’t have to stick to our normal path. We could run ANYWHERE in Central Park. This thought suddenly provided me with the greatest sense of excitement and freedom. I could show the group new areas in Central Park they’ve never experienced.

After our normal mile route to the Central Park entrance we diverged from habit. For the next hour we did nothing like normal.

 

  • The group wanted to challenge themselves so they stuck with me for the entire 7 miles instead of only doing 4-5 miles like normal.
  • We were only on the main Central Park loop for maybe 2 miles total.
  • We ran against traffic on the reservoir for a new perspective.
  • We spent a mile on the Bridle Path.
  • We talked about growing up as a NYC child having Central Park as your playground while running around the softball fields, The Lake and Turtle Pond.

This 70 minute run, while painful at times on tired legs, was like a breath of fresh air. Sometimes all you need to do is shake it up a bit and turn down a new path in order to bring the fun back to something that has quickly become habit.

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NYCM Training Week 10: Rockin’ Training

Why thank you DailyMile for making my Monday! Getting an email that says I rocked marathon training is a great way to kick off the week. Especially if Monday also happened to be an unplanned rest day. By the way, if we’re not friends on DailyMile come and join the fun! There is nothing better than motivation, helpful tips, and feedback from this awesome, supportive community!

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I really can’t squeal loud enough about last week’s training. I met each of my goals including breaking the 30 mile plateau, doing my longer mid-week run (8 miles) even though I was traveling and completing my long run. While I feel like I conquered the workout+travel challenge this time around, I am very happy to be in New York City this entire week. It feels like a gift to have another 10 days in the city before I travel next.

Yesterday’s long run was 17.5 miles, including the NYRR Bronx 10 mile race. Conveniently, I ended my mileage at the 4 subway stop near Yankee Stadium. In my post run trance, I used the few minutes on the subway platform to gather a few thoughts so I could talk them through with Gia this week and mull over them. I truly believe that if we take the time to think through and analyze our workouts, we can learn a great deal whether it’s swimming, running, Crossfit, or any other activity which you do on a regular basis.

Delirious Post Long Run Thoughts

  • Light headed on subway platform= not enough fuel?
  • Too much water vs fuel?
  • Right arch pain?
  • First 6 miles were gradual uphill and felt super strong but miles 7-10 were WAY too fast (9:33, 9:44, 9:48)

So while I haven’t had time to talk through each of these notes with Gia there are a few areas that I need to focus on during the month of September especially, in preparation for the marathon.

  • Marathon goal pace: Theodora talked about this last week and Gia thoroughly believes in the importance of “feeling” your pace and being accustomed to it come marathon day. The next few weeks at least 2 runs per week are supposed to include marathon goal pace miles so I can grow accustomed to the 10:40-10:50 goal pace which will lead to a 4:45 marathon time.
  • Fuel: This has been a funny thing for me because even though I preach to others that it’s important to take fuel every 4-5 miles depending on exertion during long runs, I still haven’t perfected this art. This week I forgot my pack of margarita shot blocks on the kitchen counter. I didn’t realize this until the first mile of the Bronx 10 miler since I hadn’t taken any fuel during my first 6 miles. Even though I had NUUN in my Camelback, running 18 miles with only 3 stale shot blocks, found in the bottom of my Camelback, wasn’t fun. That being said, I just stuck 2 packs of GU and a pack of blocks in my Camelback so this doesn’t happen again.
  • Right arch pain: During 2 of my runs last week, 8 miler and Sunday’s long run, I had some pain in my right arch. I have very high arches and it literally almost feels like it’s falling/hurting/unsupported even though I’m wearing Brooks Adrenaline which are supposed to be supportive and were recommended by Jack Rabbit. After my ice bath on Sunday I spent extra time icing and rolling out my arch. If I still feel it during this week’s runs I may need to seek help whether it’s through massage, shoe swap or a doctor (yikes). Any tips?

Overall, I’m really pleased with last week and am especially excited about this week.

  • 2 easy, shorter runs
  • 1 medium run (7-8 miles)
  • 18 mile long run (Goals include ~ 10:40 pace, fuel every 4-5 miles, include some hills)
  • yoga
  • 2 cross training sessions (1 at Uplift Studios and 1 personal training session)
  • planks/dips/pushups

If you’re training for something now, what is it and how is training going? Do you take time to assess workouts or training? Do you use DailyMile or another similar tool?

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