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Workout Recap – June 11-24th

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing the updates from the past two weeks of half marathon training. Things are going better than I expected. It is clear that I thrive when I have a plan to follow and am therefore accountable to you all as my readers and followers as well as my coach.  I’m thrilled to be in the place where I want to train and have the emotional, mental and physical ability to work towards a goal.  While I am keeping a training journal, where I track my progress, I want to also share my training with you all as I know many of you are chasing the same sub 2-hour goal and others are just curious and enjoy reading workout recaps and getting a bit more details behind my daily workouts.

So, with that said, let’s dive into my second and third weeks of training which includes not only my workouts, but also my health and wellness goals.

Average steps:  10,552 (vs previous average of 6,500)

Number of glasses of wine: 4 and 3 (4 one week, 3 the next)

Did I track my meals breakfast, lunch & snacks Monday through Friday? Yes!

Have I lost weight? Yes, so far I have lost around four pounds.

  • Monday: My schedule allowed me to returned to Body Pump again this week. I increased the weights on certain tracks, which made a huge difference.
  • Tuesday: Once again, I kicked Tuesday off with a super, early private Pilates session at A-Line.  I have a few more privates left in my package and am spacing them out over the summer so we can continue to focus on improvements and form as I progress.
  • Wednesday: I was able to get off the wait-list for the early morning tower Pilates class. This is one of their most popular classes and books in advance. The tower class worked my entire body but surprisingly, my glutes and arms were the most sore on Thursday.
  • Thursday: This week’s 4 mile run with the Brooklyn mom running group was larger than normal which made it SO fun! I don’t know why a few new faces decided to join but we chatted the entire time. My glutes were a bit achy at the beginning so I was happy that our pace was slower for the first mile while my body woke up.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Due to a last minute change, I didn’t run the Queens 10k so instead I headed out in the afternoon for a 3.5 mile long run (9:02, 9:15, 9:09, 9:03). I kept the pace pretty consistent and finished feeling strong.
  • Sunday: The weather was horrible so instead of leaving the house for a workout, I hopped on the bike and did a Flywheel Power 30 class with my favorite instructor, Dionna. I focused on trying to hit a new PR and came just a few points away from hitting my goal.
  • Monday:  I took another lunch time mat Pilates class at Aline Pilates. I’m trying to take an average of two Pilates classes per week and stick with the same teachers as they are able to make corrections and help me focus on my breathing and weaknesses. I was the only person to show up for class so it actually ended up being a private class for the price of a group – WINNING!
  • Tuesday: My Tuesday Tempo runs are quickly becoming my favorite workout! I listened to a Tempo Playlist on Spotify and focused on the 3 segments of this workout – warm-up, tempo pace and cool-down. I kept a 9:07 pace (9;12, 8:55, 9:16 and 9:08) during the workout and covered 3.2 miles.
  • Wednesday: I squeezed in a 20 minute Flywheel POWER class bright and early before a doctor’s appointment. I pushed myself and hit a new PR for the 20 minute class.
  • Thursday: I ran 3 miles with the Brooklyn mom group but had to turn back early due to a busy morning.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Between chasing kids around the house during her birthday party and running errands, I went to bed with THROBBING legs as I’d logged more than 16,000 steps. I guess you could call this an active rest day.
  • Sunday: My third “long run” of half marathon training was a 4 mile run through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Since Theodora wants my long runs to be at conversational pace, I figured that I would use the Lululemon and Brooklyn Moms group run Sunday morning for this week’s long run. The plan worked perfectly as I was able to run with a few new mom friends who are my similar pace and talking made the miles pass quickly. I was surprised to see that my pace was a 9:29 – 9:39, 9:17, 9:25 and 9:30.

Overall, my second and third week have me so excited for what is to come but, I am not getting ahead of myself. I know that there is a lot of summer heat, humidity and longer runs coming soon! My goal this week is to make sure that I make it back to Body Pump or another challenging, strength workout. I feel my best when I’m doing 2 days of Pilates, 3 days of running and a strength workout! Since I’ll be out in Seattle with Brooks this weekend, I have a feeling I’ll log plenty of miles with the Brooks #RunHappy Ambassador crew!

 

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Running Forward

running-forward-sweaty-betty

Wearing: Sweaty Betty 7/8 Power Legging – Sweaty Betty Pace Setter Run Tank – Brooks Ghost 9

This weekend I made a conscious effort to disconnect from social media, especially on Sunday. There were many running friends racing their hearts out in Montreal, New York, Berlin and beyond. Once upon a time, each of those races, Berlin Marathon, Bronx 10 Miler and Montreal Half Marathon,  were my goal race. The Berlin Marathon was the last time I laced up my shoes and ran 26.2 miles, crossing the finish line in tears. The Bronx 10 Miler was a great race for me last year, after training hard during my first Summer back in New York. This year, I hoped that Montreal would be my opportunity to run a sub two-hour half marathon after multiple attempts.  Training hard was not a priority this Summer and instead here I sit in late September, trying to figure out what my goal is this Fall. As I have mentioned previously, after giving my body a few months of rest I am ready to train again for a goal.

I spent a few hours this weekend outlining plans and have set my sights and goals on the following races:

  • Rock’n’Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon – October 8th – Goal: Run a strong, smart half marathon. I have no expectation of setting a PR based on my training, so instead am going to run with my friend Mary and focus on a consistent pace, possibly increasing my pace if I feel strong enough during the final miles. The four long runs leading up to the race have given me the confidence to know I can run 13-miles.
  • Prospect Park Turkey Trot – November 24th – Goal: Run a sub 42:00 race which would be a PR versus last years 42:36 time (8:31 pace).  Since I have a solid two months to train for this race, I believe it is feasible.
  • NYRR Jingle Bell Jog – Each year, this race continues to be a favorite due to the cool weather, festive atmosphere and Prospect Park location. Four years ago, I ran a personal best in this race, keeping an 8:57 pace per mile. Based on my training for the Turkey Trot, my goal is going to be an 8:31 pace.

Over the coming months I am going to share weekly training recaps with you guys since many people find them beneficial. I am also going to do more research and speak with some of my coaching friends to ensure I’m training for these shorter distances properly. I am most familiar with the half marathon type of training which includes three key runs per week, so I know I need to figure out the training plan that works best for shorter distances.

So, who wants to join me at some of these races? 

Thank you to Lydia Hudgens for her magic behind the lens in bringing this image to life. 

 

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Rock’n’Roll Montreal 10k Training Update

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Good morning guys!

As you may recall, I’ve been in Las Vegas for a busy week of meetings. Our days start at 7:30 and end most evenings around 10pm so there hasn’t been time to explore Las Vegas or take in many of the sights. I have, however, made time to workout every morning I’ve been here. Having a training plan again has been great motivation when my alarm clock goes off at 5am.

Last week’s training went pretty well though I am definitely still finding my groove.  If you recall, here are my goals for each week leading up to the September 25th Rock’n’Roll Montreal 10k.

10k Training Plan

  • Runs: 3x a week (1 speed, 1 mid-distance run and 1 longer run at goal 10k pace per week)
  • Yoga: At least 1x a week
  • Cross Training: At least 2x a week

Here is a look back at how things went last week.

 

  • Monday: Uplift Express at Uplift Studios
  • Tuesday: IMAX Shift Brooklyn spin class
  • Wednesday: Unintentional rest day but still managed to walk 6 miles while running errands after work.
  • Thursday: A 5.5 mile run with Katie and Nicole through Prospect Park in the morning followed by a 70-minute Basic Yoga class at Area Yoga with Heather that night.
  • Friday: Unintentional rest day but still managed to walk 4 miles throughout the day.
  • Saturday: 75-minutes of tennis followed by a hot 2 mile run which 1.5 miles of speed repeats.
  • Sunday: An afternoon 5-mile run along the Brooklyn waterfront.

Thoughts: Overall, this was a good first week back as I completed the cross training sessions, yoga and ran three times. I wish I hadn’t waited so late in the day to run and therefore could have had stronger runs on Saturday and Sunday.  I am going to try to incorporate at least one Mile High Run Club class per week between now and the 10k as I believe this will help me start getting accustomed to running faster again.

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