Week 9 – Half Marathon Training

Hard to believe that the Brooklyn Half is only three weeks away – and even more surprising that I’m not shaking in my booties this year. I already feel ready to take on 13.1 miles of Brooklyn pavement (Is it too early to start planning my race outfit?).

Saw this at Lady Footlocker - awesome!

After my successful 10 miles on Sunday, I felt like I could conquer anything. So I unwisely decided to run six miles on Monday, which my body was not happy about. I know what works for me – and at this point, running the day before or after a long run does not in any way work for me. But I was feeling fancy, and based on my calendar for the week, I needed to squeeze in a Monday night run. I threw on my brand new, hot pink compression socks, a light jacket, and braved the unkind weather outside.

I intentionally started out very slow – I was going for miles and not for speed. My joints felt really sore, and my knee in particular was unmistakably achey.

Another reason why I decided to run – Meggie is getting into running and said she would meet me at the track for a few laps!

Megs helping me make my marathon shirt!

We ran at a conversational pace (very key) around the track a few times, and then I sailed on home where it was warm and I could rest my sore muscles. But not before I stopped by Keith’s for sustenance and warm layers…

I swear I'm cool. Be my friend.

Tuesday, I hit the gym after work for a little cross-training, and ran on the treadmill because I simply could not resist. I realized that my biceps and triceps have been seriously neglected. I did 30 pushups and collapsed. That *ish was hard.

After my sweat fest, I went over to my friend Erin’s fabulous apartment in Chelsea for wine and gossip. I helped her bake some delicious cupcakes while we chowed down on bento boxes.

She has a walk-in closet that could rival Carrie Bradshaw's.
Sheer, sheer envy.

We met up with our friend Grace at the Tribeca Film Festival to see Free Samples, a quirky film that included both Jessie Eisenberg and Jason Ritter. I think I was the only one in our group who actually liked it, but it was still a terrific Tuesday night.

I know this is a really bad shot. Pretend it's artsy.
The blob on the left is the director.

I was a bit nervous about last night’s speedwork since my knee was still sore from Monday’s run, but it ended up being just dandy. I ran my warm-up mile sans iPod, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the near-perfect weather. Once I reached the track, I put on Beyonce, and it was go time.

9x400s:

Lap 1: 1:48

Lap 2: 1:50

Lap 3: 1:46

Lap 4: 1:47

Lap 5: 1:49

Lap 6: 1:43

Lap 7: 1:45

Lap 8: 1:42

Lap 9: 1:43

I totally made most of that up. But all of the laps hovered between 1:42 and 1:50. Blame the evil timex.

This weekend, I have the Run as One 4M Race on the agenda. It is the same exact course as last weekend’s race. I’ll be tacking on a few extra miles beforehand, so wish me luck that I’ll be able to manage another 13 second lead on my PR…

9+1 Count:

3 down, 6 to go…

Brooklyn Half Marathon Training Miles:

165