ashleyd /

Two States, One Run

Good morning from Cincinnati!

IMG_4075 (640x478)

Yesterday brought another day of travel and a new city!  Luckily, Delta was kind enough to upgrade me to first class so I could work in comfort during the flight!IMG_4067 (640x478)

Per many of your recommendations on Monday’s post, I’ve spent the past two days trying to knock this cold. I’ve been drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins, eating fruit, washing my hands, getting extra sleep, and cut back on my cardio. Yesterday morning I did workout with my trainer but we did a heavy weights day versus doing cardio intervals. IMG_4069 (478x640)

Luckily, I woke up this morning feeling like my normal self because I had a running date with one of my colleagues, Erin! Erin reads the blog daily so when she mentioned that she was also in Cincinnati I knew a short run would be the perfect way to catch up, answer some of her running questions, and enjoy Cincinnati. Believe it or not, this was the first time I’ve run outside during a visit to downtown Cincinnati even though I come here for work at least 4 times per year!

My hotel provided us with an easy to read running map so we didn’t have to think about our route.

IMG_4074 (640x478)

I highly recommend asking the front desk of any hotel you’re visiting for a running map before you head out. They can point you in the right direction to ensure your safety and enjoyment. It makes running in a foreign city a lot easier!

You see that thick blue line on the map? That’s the Ohio River which separates Northern Kentucky from Ohio! We immediately knew we wanted to do that run since it would allow for some great views and hill work on the bridges.

IMG_4076 (640x478)IMG_4078 (640x478)

IMG_4079 (640x478)

The 3.1 mile run took us over two bridges and through the newly renovated Newport on the River area. The run was done before I knew it due to the great company and constant conversation! Before I knew it we were back at our hotel with burning quads and smiles on our faces!

IMG_4080 (640x480)

This was the perfect way to shake out my legs before tomorrow’s long run!

Question: If you run when traveling to new cities, how do you find walking or running routes?

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

New York City Marathon Training: Week Six

Happy Tuesday, I think? Unfortunately, I’m not feeling 100% which means that I’ve been chugging green tea, Dayquil, and water like it’s my job. I feel like this is the marathon’s way of telling me that I’m an idiot for traveling so much during marathon training.

IMG_3859 (478x640)

Just to put things in perspective, let’s review my travel schedule for an eight week time period:

  • San Francisco August 9th-11th
  • Chicago August 11-13th
  • Philadelphia August 13th
  • Philadelphia August 19th-August 21st
  • Cincinnati August 24th-August 28th
  • Philadelphia September 17th-September 18th
  • Los Angeles September 21st-September 25th

As you may recall, during week six I ran in two different cities, New York and Philadelphia. My total mileage for the week came to 28 miles, just short of the 30 mile mark, which I was hoping to exceed during week seven.

DSCF7939 (640x480)

Monday: 5 mile tempo workout

Tuesday: 3.1 miles speed workout

Wednesday: 4.5 mile hill workout in Central Park

Thursday: elliptical+weight workout

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 14 mile long run in Philadelphia

Sunday: 1.5 mile walk+1.5 mile run in Philadelphia

Hands down, my favorite part of last week was running with friends for 3 of my 5 runs!

During all that travel, I’m also supposed to be training for a marathon. No pressure, right? So far, I’ve really been trying to look forward to each new city since it means a long run in a new city each week, rather than the monotony of running the Hudson River path each week. While it’s worked so far, I feel like the travel is starting to catch up with my health and drain my immune system. Therefore, I skipped this morning’s run in favor of sleep. After taking a dose of Nyquil last night at 9:30, I slept soundly until 7:30 this morning. Clearly my body is screaming for rest. My sinuses feel like they are about to squeeze my head, I’m paler than normal, and my normal energy is definitely absent. All I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep for hours upon hours.

    Therefore, this week’s plan will look a bit different than past weeks. I’m going to cut back on workouts this week and use it as a mini step back week of sorts.
    Monday: Personal training session
    Tuesday: rest day
    Wednesday: Personal training session
    Thursday: 12 mile run in Cincinnati
    Friday: 4 mile shake out run in Cincinnati
    Saturday: yoga and 3 miles of speed
    Sunday: We’ll see how I feel after Saturday night’s wedding!

I don’t like that my mileage is so low at this point in marathon training but I think I need to listen to my body this week. Luckily, after this week’s travel my schedule settles down for a few weeks.

Question: Do you step back your workouts when you’re feeling under the weather?

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Marathons+Moderation: Guest Post #12

Hi Healthy Happier Readers! I’m Jess from JessRuns.com.

DSC05872

I’m super excited Ashley asked me to write a post in her Marathons and Moderation series. Fall is always the hardest part of the year for me to train because I have to balance my weekend long runs with my Saturday tailgating habit.

DSC04815

Spending six hours every weekend at a tailgate hanging out with friends, eating bad-for-you food and not getting nearly enough sleep doesn’t tend to mesh so well with long-distance training. Some of my tailgates start at 6 a.m., which means I can’t exactly fit long runs in before the tailgate.

But after almost five seasons of somehow managing to balance both training and tailgating, I have some fine-tuned tips to share so you can make it work too!

DSC04949

I hope you’re ready for some planning.

Step 1. Before the season starts, pull out the football schedule and figure out which weekend your team has a bye and when your team is on the road. Take advantage of those weekends to fit in your longest and most demanding workouts because you won’t have to stress out about getting to a game or a tailgate in time.

 DSC04287Step 2.  Identify the most important games. For me, this is always homecoming and a few other big conference games. Plan your short runs or recovery runs on those days.

Step 3. Build your training plan with flexibility in mind. There may be a weekend where one of the biggest games of the season conflicts with your 20 mile long run. Since you can’t move the game, I recommend moving the run. Shift it to the other weekend day, wake up extra early before work and get it done on Friday. Don’t stress so much about the day you get it done, just focus on getting the mileage in. 634283786414717012

Step 4. Embrace the weekdays as part of your training. In the beginning of your training plan you can probably fit your longest runs in on Fridays. That way you can save your shorter runs for the weekends when you’ll be busy tailgating.

Step 5. Back off the booze at the tailgates. Yes, it is possible to tailgate without going overboard. If you have a big run planned for the next day, keep yourself in check.

It’s totally possible to balance tailgating with your friends and training for a race. The key to making it all work is to plan around the biggest games and build enough flexibility into your training plan that you can move your long runs around.

Share Button
Follow: