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NYCM Training Week 1 and A Giveaway

This year, believe it or not, I’m more excited than ever to kick off New York City Marathon training. Last year was my first time and I was a complete rookie. It showed in my results and my training plan. I ran a lot, including some weeks of 40+ miles, but never included any cross training, hill training, or speed training.

nycm2 (325x484) nycm3 (324x484) nycm4 (325x484)This time around however, I have a new resource, Mark Pelerin. Theodora highly recommended him after she discovered his blog on Tumblr and then enrolled him to help with her training. Bo and I are both relying on Mark’s talent and experience to help us train injury free while also improving each of our speeds.

This week’s plan is below:

Monday: Basic Run 4 miles with 4 striders

Tuesday: Personal Training

Wednesday: 3 miles + spin class

Thursday: Personal Training

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 4 mile NYRR race+ 3 miles= 7 miles

Sunday: 3 mile recovery run

I’m so excited! This morning the four miles wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped due to a case of tired legs but since I have a training plan in place I knew that throwing in the towel wasn’t an option. Instead, I kept it slow and comfortable until getting to the strides. 

Two thumbs up for marathon training season. Even though it means that Friday night’s out are a thing of the past, I’ll catch up with friends more on foot than in person, and that foam rolling and Epsom salt baths become a weekly staple, I’m still excited to get started!

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In honor of kicking of marathon training, I have a special prize for one lucky reader.  Stonyfield has partnered with some wonderful all natural brands to bring you a summer cool down box. One lucky reader will get to indulge in some great items that epitomize summertime!

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  • Two coupons for Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Bars in two delicious flavors: Gotta Have Vanilla, and After Dark Chocolate.  These bars, made with organic milk, are dipped in rich dark chocolate, and contain four live and active cultures, keeping you healthy while enjoying a sweet treat. 
  • Badger After-Sun Balm: A certified organic treat for sun-parched skin. Made with moisturizing plant butters and infused with soothing Blue Tansy and Lavender to make your skin feel smooth and leave you feeling calm.
  • Dr. Hauschka Melissa Day Cream: This new 100% natural moisturizer is perfect for combination skin.  Formulated with extracts of melissa (lemon balm), it smells like fresh squeezed lemonade.  Additionally, extracts of anthyllis, carrot, witch hazel and English daisy soothe, soften and even the complexion so shine is controlled and skin is moisturized.
  • Tom’s of Maine: Simply White, the first and only clinically proven natural whitening toothpaste to earn an ADA seal, helps bring back the natural beauty of your smile. 
  • The Daily Moisture Body Bar has an ultra-rich bar soap formula that contains premium moisturizing olive oil, natural vitamin E and leaves your skin clean and fresh.
  • Beautiful Earth Deodorant works to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria and its natural, refreshing fragrance helps mask odor.
  • Uncle Matt’s Organic Lemonade and Juices: By buying Uncle Matt’s fresh fruit and juice you’re helping more than 20 small growers that make up their family of farms. That’s one of the reasons they’re proud to be family owned and organically grown. Use this free coupon to pick up your choice of organic juice or lemonade and quench your thirst for summer!

Summer in a Box giveaway 2011 (640x480)

You can enter in two ways:

1) Leave a comment letting me know how you’re trying to go more organic this summer.

2) Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and make sure to include @healthyhappier in the tweet and leave me a comment letting me know you tweeted.

I’ll choose a winner at midnight on Wednesday!

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NYCM Long Run #1: First Avenue

Yesterday morning one of my favorite dates returned to my calendar, a long run with Theodora. As you may recall, we spent many miles training together last year as we each conquered our first marathon. You learn a lot about someone when you spend 18 miles running through Central Park or 15 miles exploring New York City and Brooklyn.

I was up by 6:15 to prep my CamelBak and enjoy some pre-run fuel.

IMG_3016 (640x478) I was excited to enjoy our first long run of marathon season and the hour of catching up.

IMG_3018 (640x480) Theodora met me at my place where we quickly stretched a few minutes and talked about our route. We are both tired of the West Side Highway so we chose to conquer the East River Path instead. Our initial plan was to run up the East River to the Upper East Side before heading back down towards Union Square.

Unfortunately we were met with some East Side barricades including running up the FDR on ramp by accident before having to hop over a concrete barricade. After that we were only able to progress a half mile before hitting another dead end. Come on NYC, why can’t you make the East River Path as nice as the West Side Highway? Frustrated, we headed over to First Avenue to continue our run up towards the UES.

I actually remember spending a very long 3 miles on First Avenue last November, with Melissa by my side, hating every minute. During the marathon you hit First Avenue around mile 17, right after the Queensborough Bridge, and then stay on it all the way until crossing the bridge into the Bronx.  It’s not the intimidating type of hill like a bridge or Central Park’s Harlem Hills, instead it’s a quiet gradual and consistent incline for two straight miles.

imageOnce we hit the 3.5 mile mark, we turned around and headed back down First Avenue until reaching 14th street where we cut over towards JackRabbit. IMG_3019 (640x480)

By the time we arrived we were disgusting, to say the least. We had dirt on our legs from our East River escapade and sweat everywhere else. Theodora was worried she’d get sweat in her eyes if she actually opened them.

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Only the two of us would decide to conquer a long run and then go directly to a Well+Good NYC free yoga for runners and athletes class. The second Saturday of each month, they host a free class at the Union Square and Upper East Side Jack Rabbit locations. These free classes are amazing because they specifically address the concerns of runners, cyclists, and other athletes.

IMG_3020 (640x478) By the time the class started there were six of us in attendance, enjoying an hour long class with an instructor from a local yoga studio. The small class meant that she adjusted us frequently which was a bit uncomfortable yesterday due to my sweat and stench. But, her adjustments did make me move into deeper stretches which felt amazing.

After class I ran .9 miles home to make my long run a total of 8 miles. My overall pace for the entire run came to 10:09 based on my faster last mile run home after yoga. Our pace for the 7 miles together was 10:17. While this is slower than normal it is still well within my marathon training pace and not bad considering the heat,  humidity, and gradual incline.

I used RunKeeper to track yesterday’s run with my iPhone and am overall very pleased with the output it provides.

image My goal is to try doing First Avenue again in a few weeks and see if I can improve the pace.

Question: Are you training for the NYCM or another race? How is your training going?

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Marathons+Moderation Guest Post #7: Less Is More

 

Hey Healthy Happier Bear readers! I’m Leslie from And Her Little Dog Too – my little corner of the blog world is about healthy living, eating, running and everything in between, with lots of appearances by my dog, Jackson! I also just got married a month ago so lots of the wedding planning as well as my honeymoon recaps have appeared on the blog too!

Last Fall, I lost my marathon virginity and ran 26.2 miles in the Chicago Marathon on 10-10-10. It was a beautiful day for a race and I was so proud of myself for crossing the line from a runner and becoming a marathoner! I learned so much from my first marathon, and as soon as I crossed the finish line and got that medal around my neck I was hooked!

A very short 3 weeks after completing my first marathon in Chicago, I found myself in a New York State of Mind on the start line for possibly the most popular marathon in the world – the New York Marathon! It was very much A Race Like No Other and I am so grateful that I was able to run two marathons that are on my marathon bucket list in the same season! I have long term goals to join the 50 State Marathon Club as well as run all the World Marathon Majors – Chicago, NYC, London, Berlin & Boston!

Running Back to Back marathons is no easy feat! Moderation during my marathon training was KEY for me because I did not want to burn myself out from over training or injure myself as I am prone to shin splints! My main mantra during training was: Less is More.

I spent the few months before both marathons focusing on quality, not quantity runs. I made sure I hit my long run every weekend, but during the week I put more energy into cross-training – through yoga, biking and swimming. The summer before I ran my first marathon I spent a good amount of time training for my first triathlon so the swimming and bike training were a good distraction from the build up in mileage.

I also made sure to sign up for lots of races during marathon training – I did the majority of my training and long runs on my own, all by myself, so whenever I was able run a race to go along with a longer run, I did! I ran the ING Rock & Roll Half in Philly as part of my attempt at 22 miles – I ran down to the start of the race and home! It was a tad painful and mentally very difficult, but running 13 miles in a race with tons of other people made the extra miles on the way home much easier – plus it’s always fun to get another medal for my wall! (I may or may not have signed up for races in the past JUST to get a medal – I heart them!)

So there you have it – just a few tips from my marathon training experience! This year I am repeating my running plan from last Fall as I am signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October, followed by the Philadelphia Marathon 3 short weeks later. What can I say? I have a running addiction! Come stop by my little corner of the blog world to check out how I run back to back marathons in 2011!

Happy Running!

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