ashleyd /

NYCM Training Week 5: Savor the City

Wow, 89 days from now I’ll be heading to bed in preparation for the New York City marathon! While 89 days sounds short when I say it, at least in my head I know that it’s over 12 weeks away!

Last week’s 26 miles weren’t necessarily done in normal fashion but I finished the week feeling stronger than I have in a while! Reflecting on the workout schedule I posted last Monday night leaves me smiling:

Monday: 5 miles in Central Park+Pure Barre blogger class

Tuesday: cross training

Wednesday: 5 4 miles

Thursday: yoga/stretching +2 miles

Friday: 14 mile long run 12.5 mile run +Physique 57 blogger class

Saturday: 4 miles

Sunday: 2 miles

While I didn’t get the miles in the exact order, I woke up super early Friday morning to get a quality long run in even though the morning’s humidity left me soaking wet within a few miles. I was out late both Friday and Saturday night and was therefore thankful that I front loaded my week’s miles.

Looking forward to this week, my goal is to savor my last full week of training in the city for six weeks. Running in New York City can be an amazing energizing experience if you plan things correctly. Tonight, thanks to my office running club, we enjoyed one of my favorite runs in the city: Queensborough Bridge. The 5 mile run wasn’t always easy due to the incline but sharing this experience with two runners who had never experienced it was magical! I was able to share my bridge defeat with them that I experience during last year’s marathon and find inspiration in their excitement. In addition, they are such supporters that we’ve decided to run the bridge more often to help prepare me for the marathon.

IMG_3872IMG_3874

This week’s long run will allow me to finally enjoy the NYC Summer Streets program as I conquer Park Avenue with other NYC runners. The route, which runs from 72nd street down to the Brooklyn Bridge will be a perfect way to log miles without the normal traffic interference!

This week’s schedule will take me to 29 miles, just short of the 30 mile hurdle which I’ll conquer next week. In addition to enjoying my first personal training session with Lauren who is back from maternity leave, I want to squeeze in at least one yoga session to keep things balanced and loose.

Monday: 5 miles (Queensborough Bridge)

Tuesday: personal training+foam rolling

Wednesday: yoga+weights

Thursday: 6 miles

Friday: 4 miles

Saturday: 14 miles

Sunday: Rest

If I’m lucky, I’ll also enjoy a massage sometime this week. I can’t decide whether to schedule it before my long run, midweek, or as a long run reward.

Question: What is your favorite way to reward yourself after a great week of workouts?

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Hey Healthy Happier Bear readers! I’m Heidi from Life in Pink. I have a long convoluted history with running. I started running in high school on the track and field team and later the cross country team but was never the fastest runner. Needless to say I didn’t pursue running in college and hardly ran at all except on rare occasion. When I moved to DC after college, eventually I got stuck in an office with no windows and 3 other government relations coordinators at a thankless firm. It was my unhappiness there that inspired me to sign up for my first marathon.

Tough Lesson #1: Train Hard I researched training plans briefly, and just hit the register button when the Marine Corps Marathon opened up. Loving to run sometimes isn’t enough to get you to put one foot in front of the next for 26.2 miles. I didn’t train well for that first marathon. I didn’t train hard. I trained half heartedly. And if there’s one thing you don’t want to do half heartedly friends? It’s train for a marathon. That wall? Instead of mile 20, it comes at mile 15. That bus that picks up stragglers? It’ll be nipping at your heels around mile 18. But I accomplished my goal of simply finishing. Tough Lesson #2:Training Takes Time For my second marathon, I decided to take the time to train properly. Seven am runs to beat the grueling DC summer heat became a well versed habit. I did hill repeats on Capitol Hill and I cross trained with lunch time spin classes. Regardless, committing to my training and giving up those Friday nights out paid off when I shaved over an hour off of my previous marathon time.

Tough Lesson #3: Have A Cheer Squad Not every race goes perfectly. Whether it’s a 5k, a half marathon or a marathon, having family there with band aids when a blister is forming at mile 19, or even just someone to hug you at the end, family and friends make a world of difference. I ran my hometown race in Burlington, VT in 2009 and again in 2010 and set my marathon PR in 2009 with my dad and grandfather cheering me on at the finish. At mile 20, just before running by my grandparent’s house, my aunt texted me and asked where I was. My response? Mile 19, need Band-Aids. Seriously, it was like a race car team changing my tires before I went back out on the course. It was amazing. But seriously? I’ve run races where there’s no one there thanks to my husband’s US Army training, and I’ve run races where I have a whole team of cheerleaders – and having the cheerleaders is always more rewarding.

Tough Lesson #4 It’s All About the Attitude After my amazing PR and the elation that came from that at Vermont City Marathon 2009, I registered for it again. It was a beautiful race, if you’ve never been to Vermont? Go. Visit. Fall in love. Run the Marathon up there – the finish line next to Lake Champlain is one of the most beautiful. I registered for the race after Adam and I moved to CT in Fall 2009. Race day came, and I did not feel confident. I ran the race anyhow. How could I not? No one really wants to DNS an expensive race that you traveled to and took time off of work for. But I used myself as a mental punching bag for a good 15 miles. Everything I could have done wrong, I did. Marathons are not just physically challenging, they’re mental. You can train all you want but if you’re head isn’t in the race? You’re not going to have fun and above everything else, running and racing should be fun.

It’s not about the distance, it’s not about your time. It’s about being mentally strong. It’s about being confident. It’s about the reward – finishing. No matter what distance you run don’t feel like because you’re not running marathons or ultras or triathlons, that you’re not as accomplished as others. Stop comparing yourself and just be proud of yourself. I’ve taken these lessons not just in my running, but in every day life. Because ultimately attitude is everything and having a positive one will not just get you through 26.2 miles, but also through any other situation in life. After my 4th marathon, I took a break. Do I want to run another? Sure. Five is better than four right? But right now, I’m not at a place in my life where I can commit to the training, the long runs, the miles, and the pain in my knees. Knowing that leaves me in a better place to tackle the distance in the future.

Thanks again for the opportunity to share my lessons with your readers! -Heidi

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Marathons+Moderation Guest Post #27

Hello Healthy, Happier Bear Readers! When Ashley asked me to be a guest blogger on her awesome blog, I was ecstatic! I am a newbie blogger (just over 3 months) and really love “meeting” other runners through the virtual world.

My name is Michele and I blog at nycrunningmama. I am the mother of a happy 1-year old boy and wife to my best friend. I have been running for most of my life (in order to stay in shape for the sports I was involved in) but didn’t really fall in love with running until I was deployed to Iraq. Running became my “me” time during each of my deployments – although I was pushing my body, I was resting my mind, so I happily looked forward to my daily runs. You can find out more about me and read my bio on my blog!

clip_image002

If you would have asked me three years ago about Marathon + Moderation, I would have probably told you that those two words do not go together. I was single, living in an apartment two blocks from Central Park and had no real obligations other than a very flexible job. I was able to run whenever I wanted and for however long I wanted. I was comfortable and happy to log upwards of 60-70 miles/week. Life was good. Most days, I would run however long my body felt like running – 8, 10, 12 miles. I very rarely had anything that required me to cut my run short – so if I chose to extend my run to two hours, I could.

Fast forward to today.

I find myself trying to juggle logging the necessary miles with being a stay-at-home mom, blogging, working on my pre/post-natal exercise specialist certification, cleaning, cooking, and other chores around/for the home. My “free” time is limited. I no longer have the luxury of running whenever and however far I feel like.

clip_image004

What does this mean?

I am no longer able to waste my time running “empty” miles. Nowadays, each mile has to matter and every run has to have a purpose. Every. Single. One.

I’ve been forced to get smarter with my training. It was a necessity – after my son was born, I realized I was lucky to squeeze in a 30-45 min run a few days a week. Whether it was due to my decision to be an on-demand nursing mother or simply because I couldn’t bear to be away from my son for very long, I no longer had the freedom to just run.

In an ideal world, I would be a sponsored elite runner with no obligations preventing me from running twice a day and logging as many miles as my body permits. But, I have no hopes of running even remotely close to a sub-2:30 anytime soon. So, being smart with my *moderated* miles is key for me.

clip_image006

These days I hope to run 6x days/week. I have three quality runs that are the essential workouts to my training – speed, tempo, and long runs. The other three runs are recovery/easy days to get more miles in while giving my legs and body a rest. Although it’s a training plan, it’s a flexible one that allows me to easily skip a day and rearrange as necessary. But, at a minimum, I make sure that I complete my three quality runs – they will be the runs that affect my pace during the marathon.

clip_image008

I am currently logging considerably less miles (about 20-30% less) than I was a few years ago. And despite that, I am actually faster than I was. My goal time for my spring marathon (NJ Marathon) is sub-3:10, almost 12 minutes faster than my previous PR. I’ve dropped close to 20 seconds off my mile PR. And I completed my first ultra in November (Knickerbocker 60k). I am proof that you can lower your mileage and improve your times at the same time.

clip_image010

Regardless of what constraints you have in your life – child/children, work, time – you CAN train for a marathon without logging an obscene number of miles. The secret is ensuring that every mile (and minute) you run is important – don’t waste them!

Share Button
Follow: