Week 6 Marathon Training – and Where the Heck I Have Been

I'm here!

I’ve spent the last few weeks enjoying the beautiful August weather we’ve been having. The sun has been out and I haven't been to work on a Friday in weeks. Work has also been crazy busy, so play time + work time = no blog time. I’m back! I hope.

The last few weeks have been REALLY great. I feel like I spent part of the spring and the hot days in July focusing on the negative. But with beautiful 70/80 degree weather and lots of little trips planned, I think I'm back to focusing on the positive.

Do you want a recap in photos? Those are my favorite.

Summer Streets! One of my favorite running weekends of the year. I had a great 9 Mile run down Park Avenue.

Another long run spent over the Williamsburg Bridge. It was hot and sweaty, but I was finally able to run up the Williamsburg Bridge without feeling like I was going to collapse. Gettin’ that hill stamina.

After Keith took the bar (!!!) we spent plenty of time celebrating him being able to bar hop again.

With busy weekends, busy work days, and training, I've been been seriously neglecting my kitchen. But Keith did manage to teach me how to make an awesome kale dish. Just oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a pan. So good.

I went to Cape Cod to visit my good friend from college, Jaime. I managed to get plenty of time in at the beach, plus drink PLENTY with my amazing gal pal.

I also had my 25^th birthday (EEEEP) at a german beer hall in Williamsburg. General debauchery ensued.

There was sister time (!!!)  plus a creeper.

(Keith's bro)

Arm wrestling time.

Bossy time.

All in all, a pretty good August. I also got a fair amount of running in. Which brings me to…

Week 6 Marathon Training!

Monday: 5 Miles (Easy)

Nothing to write home about – 5 easy miles after work.

Tuesday: 5 Miles – w/ 3 @ Marathon Pace

This is typically my “speedwork” day. It's definitely not true speedwork, but I try to pick up the pace after a warm-up mile. Sometimes I go faster than marathon pace, sometimes slower. It depends. I’m not really worried about it.

Wednesday: Rest (I got my hair did)

Thursday: 4 Miles (Easy)

I was SO TIRED this day. It took literally everything in my being to get out of bed. But I knew I had to because it was my birthday weekend, and I knew I wouldn’t want to exercise at all. So I cut it a mile short.

Friday: 12 Miles – Long Run

This was an interesting run. I was at home, which thankfully always makes for better runs since I’m looking at something other than concrete and trash. Keith did the first 4 miles with me, my dad biked a few miles with me, and then I was on my own. When Keith and I started out, we realized how freaking humid it was. By the time my dad was biking with me, my legs felt like lead and I was really hot. Then by the time I was on my own, I actually felt great. My pace REALLY slowed when I was with my dad, but I was able to pick it up and finish strong.

I ran by my elementary school I went to in Kindergarten/1^st grade. It is so TINY. It smelled the same too – like PB&Js and band-aids. I remembered when my kindergarten teacher completely disheveled our classroom on St. Patty's Day and blamed it on leprechauns. I remember sitting under a tree during recess drinking capri sun and eating doritos. Running past it put me in a really good mood.

I did lots of little loops around my neighborhood, passing no fewer than 4 cornfields. By the end of the run, my body was tired, but I felt like I could have kept on going.

This is in Jersey, I swear.

Overall, I feel really good about marathon training. My long runs have been going well, which is key. I haven’t been pushing the pace at all, but I do try to pick up speed in the last few miles to get my legs used to going fast when they’re tired. My runs during the week have been okay, but I’m finding it more and more challenging to fit them in the morning before work. I thought I could hold off becoming hermit Kate for awhile, but once weekday runs become 7-8 miles long, I may have to crawl into my shell during the week.

Short n sweet recap, but I felt like I needed to check-in. I’m heading up to Portland, ME this weekend with Keith for a beer fest, seafood, and the beach. More updates soon…

Until then, happy running!

Weird Sh*t on a Run

I’m in week 12 of Tri training, with a little over 7 weeks left before race day. Where has the time gone.

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Sunday: 1 hour BRick at the gym

Monday: 40 min Swim

Tuesday: Insane Spin class

Wednesday: 4.2 mile Run

Thursday: 30 min Swim

I think my body is finally getting used to 6 workouts per week. And my tummy is happy because now I’m eating extra rice crispy treats in the process.

Last week, I expressed some feelings of doubt about whether I will be ready for race day. I realize now that by continuing to fit in my workouts, I will be ready. But after reflecting on my doubt, I think I realized something.

I’m not a huge fan of swimming. (!!!)

Expectation

Reality.

I’m an optimist. I see the glass half-full. I go into most experiences believing that I will enjoy them, and come out the other side with more knowledge or passion for something. I believed wholeheartedly when I signed up for the tri that I would grow to love biking and swimming. I like to exercise, I like to learn new things… makes sense.

But I forgot about the human condition that we don’t like things we’re not good at. I forgot that I quit basketball in 8^th grade because I was terrible, and I stopped trying out for the school musicals because I didn’t want to be stuck in the chorus anymore. I am guilty of stopping things that I’m not good at. It’s just not fun. Who’s with me?

I don’t think that I’m a great runner, but at least I have seen myself improve and accomplish things over the past two years. I put in the hours and practiced and trained, and I like to think that I am at least a good runner. I also have seen my endurance improve in biking – I love going to spin classes and riding through Prospect Park with my shiny new bike. It’s fun.

Convincing myself that I have improved in my swimming is harder. I know my endurance has increased, but I kind of dread going to the pool on my own. I go to every group training session I can, because it's slightly less painful doing lap sprints with my fellow TNTers. When I go to the pool on my own, I get it done because I know I have to. And the consequence of not being prepared in swimming (ahem, drowning) is slightly scarier than being undertrained in biking or running. I get in the pool and say to myself “okay, let’s get this over with. And then you can treat yourself to a yummy breakfast or something.”

Am I being a negative Nancy? Perhaps. But I am also being honest with myself. If I’m going to finish the next 7 weeks of training, I have to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to become an amazing swimmer overnight. It’s going to be hard and not that fun for me, but I’m going to stick with it, and know that by race day I accomplished something awesome.

On an upbeat note, I am really excited about my new Up band by Jawbone!

Compliments my gold watch, no?

I received it as a gift from my boss for putting on our sales meeting back in April. With high-tech motion sensors (or something), it can track how many steps you take, your workouts, and how well you sleep. Just wear it on your wrist day and night, plug it into your phone so it syncs up with an app, and get immediate feedback on your activity right away. So awesome.

I walked over 5 miles yesterday! One good thing
that comes from my commute.

I also wore it on my crazy a** run the other night. I will now elaborate.

Per my description of how I’m not the biggest fan of swimming, I am like a kid in a candy store when it’s a run day. It all started out great. The weather was warm, it was the first time I was wearing shorts this season, and I was ready for some speedwork at the track. But apparently the entire community of north Brooklyn also thought it was a nice night for the track.

I would very much like to give a seminar on proper track etiquette to my neighbors. I had to dodge slow people walking while talking on cell phones, little kids zigzagging, and one guy pushing a shopping cart. ON THE TRACK. The outside is for slow walkers, the park and the green space is for kids, and the grocery store is where you can take your shopping cart. Mkay? I am trying to complete some 400s here people.

Then on my way home, a girl sitting on her fire escape dumped some kind of liquid (I’m hoping it was water) over the edge, about 2 ft from me. I looked up with a nasty stare, and she said “Oops.” Then, as I was walking the last block back to my apartment for a cool down, I saw a guy, who was stopped and resting on his bike, start PEEING NEXT TO HIS BIKE. WTF. It’s not like I live in some downtrodden neighborhood where public urination is a common thing. It wasn’t even dark out. If you must pee in public, do it when it’s dark, next to an alley or a wall or something. And for the love of Lance Armstrong, don't do it while on your bike.

Needless to say, I got back to my apartment, wondering what was wrong with this world. But it was a great run otherwise, so I can’t really complain.

Highs and Lows

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at casa Kate. Cue lots of pictures of me!

Two weeks ago, I left for a work trip in Sedona, AZ. I don’t know if I’ve ever officially said what I do on this  blog (I like to keep work and play separate), but I work for La Mer and Jo Malone (part of the Estee Lauder companies). This work trip was to celebrate our sales team’s hard work, and to present the fall collections for both brands.

I prepared myself with the fact that I would have little free time and little time for sleep. I tried to fit in a few workouts when I could, which started out with a hike the morning after we arrived.

Tiny next to the red rocks.

On Monday, I fit in a “Brick” (in triathlon lingo, a bike ride followed by a run… it’s very much encouraged to do these during training so you learn how to deal with jelly legs before the race). I have been told that Arizona is dry, but I really didn’t grasp how that might affect my breathing until I got there. I was WINDED at the end of my bike workout, and ran much slower than I usually do. I am blaming it on dry air because the rest of my co-workers claimed the same thing. So there.

I also got the chance to run outside one morning, which was a highlight of the trip.

I went nice and slow, took in the scenery and the MULE DEER.

You can't exactly see them, but they have these
adorably large ears. Hence, their first names.

Aside from these workouts, my trip consisted of running around between meetings and eating lots of Mexican food. I was ready to come back and get on a regular schedule.

One more pic! I just like this one.

After eating, imbibing, and networking for a week, I felt a bit guilty about my triathlon training schedule. So the dedicated athlete in me went to the Monday night swim as soon as I returned, and the training session ended with a 30 MINUTE CONTINUOUS SWIM. Ouch. That was hard. But I did it, minus what I think was a minor asthma attack towards the end of the swim. NBD.

I also did the first run in probably 7 months that I was actually proud of.

I did speedwork! It felt so good to actually be able to run fast, and test myself. I’ve been glancing at the weekly training schedules for TNT and hiding in shame from where I should be in terms of running. I know I shouldn’t beat myself up because I’ve been diligent about going to PT and icing/foam rolling, but I can’t help but think that when I finally go to a group run, I will be at the back of the pack.

On that note, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed in GENERAL about tri training. I suppose I should have anticipated that, but I really didn’t. I thought all of my worries would come from fundraising, which has been surprisingly easy.

(Pretend I’m not being a jerk in the next sentence, because I’m really not trying to be.) I really enjoy training for marathons/half marathons. I really enjoy running and spending my Saturday mornings running for hours at a time. This is NOT normal and I realize that. I thought tri training would be similar, but it’s much, much harder.

The actually workouts themselves aren’t crazy difficult. It’s important to start training early for a tri, because the endurance takes awhile to build up. For example, we did a few 6x100 sprints on Monday night’s group swim. This is 12 laps with only 10 second rests between every 2 laps.  It was hard, but I DID IT. 8 weeks ago I couldn’t do two laps without feeling like I was going to drown. As long as you’re diligent and consistent, the endurance comes.

I have been trying to get 5-6 workouts in a week, but for some reason, I am overwhelmed by the idea that I won’t be ready for race day. “Trust the training,” I keep hearing. Yes, yes. I know. But I’m still worried. My training feels disjointed, and my focus changes daily. Even when I’ve finished an awesome workout, I have to start thinking about my next one, in a completely different sport.

I know I shouldn’t be complaining. I am learning new skills, hanging out with nice people, and building endurance for two sports I’ve never spent much time on. Every week is a new challenge! But every week is also tiring. And as with most training schedules, there will be highs and lows, and I think I was experiencing a bit of a low. The key to fighting a low? Do something different!

I found an AWESOME spin class last week at NYHRC. The instructor’s legs moved faster than I’ve ever seen legs move, she played upbeat, fun music, and it was freaking hard. I also found out that her regular class is at 7AM on Wednesdays in Union Square, which I went to this week. Getting up at 6AM for an awesome class is worth it to me. I was lacking enthusiasm for my weekday bike workout, and I’ve found an exciting way to do it. I can feel myself going into a training high already! I’m getting my mojo back.

Blossoms and Thong Sandals

There are lots of fun and new things that have happened to me recently.

Today, I ran with a braid in my hair since the first time since high school. I also finally figured out that if you put your ear buds in backwards, the headphone cord doesn't swing constantly in front of you while running (why did I only realize this today?).

Is none of this compelling to you?

Well I also saw a guy at the track wearing a pair of gladiator-thong sandals. I would venture a guess that they don’t make these in men’s sizes.

He's onto a new barefoot running movement.

Another thing that feels new – seeing pretty trees blossoming for spring.

Beautiful Greenpoint!

I don’t know if they are actually more beautiful this year, or if I just never really appreciated them before, but I think they are so lovely.

The result of Papa Wyman's green thumb.

I went home for the night last Friday, and got some QT with my fam. I also had a 7-mile run in the lineup for Saturday morning, and long runs are always more fun away from your usual routes (how many times can I run the Williamsburg Bridge in 16 miles? Apparently three.). I felt really strong and the weather was great, and I ended up running the route at a sub 9:00 mile pace.  Followed by freshly brewed coffee and eggs with Mama Wyman, it was a picture-perfect morning.

Keith and I tried Upright Coffee for the first time this weekend too!
Coffee art never fails to win my heart.

I had a rumbly tummy all day today, and thought I should take the night off from running. But I got home, had some Ritz crackers, and felt like new woman. So I hit the track to kick off Week 5 of Half-Marathon training.

I was scheduled to do 7 x 400s, and the splits looked something like this:

1: 1:45

2: 1:48

3: 1:45

4: 1:45

5: 1:45

6: 1:44

7: 1:46

They vary only slightly because of my very scientific pink timex method.

My cool down home was defined by the stomach cramps that were creeping up during laps 5-7. Luckily I have a trusty boyfriend who lives a few blocks closer to the track than I do. And he happened to be home when I needed to rush up to his bathroom. God bless him.

On a less gross note, registration for the Brooklyn Half Marathon FINALLY opened today!

Eight weeks 'til the big race!