A Lazy Person’s Guide to Marathon Training

This week’s Marathons+Moderation guest post comes from Leanne, the co-founder behind Uplift Studios! Hopefully some of y’all, especially the lazy ones, will relate to her techniques for enjoying marathon training even if you’re a sloth.

On the inside, I am the laziest person I know. It may not seem like it to the outside world: after all, as the co-founder of Uplift (a women’s only fitness studio in NYC), as well as a pretty serious athlete, I have a lot on my plate, and most people would probably pass out with exhaustion just by looking at my schedule on a daily basis! But while some people fight their inner cookie monster, I am constantly engaged in a struggle with my inner…sloth. On the really lazy days, I’m tempted approximately 30 times or so to give up, quit it all, and lie on my couch reading magazines. 

The same applies to running. Those are the days when I head out for a standard run (for me that tends to be 5-7 miles in some sort of combination around Central Park or on the West Side Highway), and it’s already dragging the minute I step foot outside. It can’t end fast enough. And it won’t, because those are the occurrences when even a quick five-miler seems to make time stand still.

But then I enter marathon-training mode, and my perspective magically changes. It’s fascinating. During the aforementioned slogs, I check my watch every few minutes, dread every incline, and feel acutely even the slightest bit of wind resistance. But during marathon training runs, I stop counting and stop dreading. Maybe my measly 5-minute jog just yesterday felt laborious, but once I am in marathon mode, 90 minutes fly by. Two hours is a breeze. It’s partly because as a part of my goal-setting, I committed to doing really well in my upcoming marathon, so therefore I am committed to the training–in other words, I have no choice but to go on these long runs. But more than that, it’s about letting go. I stop micro-managing my time and mileage and the markers (The 102nd Street transverse, the Reservoir entrance, the Boathouse, Bethesda Fountains, the little bandstand near Strawberry Fields, the tennis courts, the baseball fields, the other side of the Great Hill, the top of the par…) and start—shock!—enjoying these long runs and this time to myself, which is something that feels rare and precious to me these days

Based on that, I also learned that marathon training is also a great time practice something, and I don’t mean negative splits, tempo runs or any other training tools or modes of running betterment. It has to do with the idea I mentioned about “letting go”—long runs are the ideal time to leave the Garmin at home, and just instinctively feel a run and your pace. Rely on you, not a watch or iPhone app. That’s the real proof that any physical change or goal can be made or met with just a minor mental shift in perspective.

 

 

Share Button
Follow:

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.

marcia

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.

IMG_4723

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.

IMG_4724

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.

IMG_4726IMG_4727

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?

Share Button
Follow:

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.

Share Button
Follow: