Week 2 - NYC Marathon Training

Living in NYC, you see a lot of crazy. I’m hyper-sensitive to other people in the summertime, because the subways and streets seem even more crowded than usual. I’ve observed a few things recently that annoy me and I would like to get them off my chest.

Several times recently, I’ve seen people get on an elevator, walk to the back of it, and then just as the door is about to close say, “Can you press 4?” Even if you’re distracted, what is the first thing you do when you walk into an elevator? Do you not to immediately press the button of what floor you’re going to? Are these people just lazy? You should be in control of your own schedule. I am not going to be at your disposal in every other transportation mode you take throughout the day. Riding an elevator should be the easiest part of your day.

Also, I find it really annoying when people ask me the address for a place. JUST. GOOGLE. IT. I don’t understand. Not only will you have a better sense of where the address is if you look it up, but it will also avoid all follow-up questions that are likely to ensue (What is it on the corner of? How do I get there?). Maybe people just really trust my judgment, or they are old school and don’t automatically go to Google for their everyday questions. Either way, trust me when I say that asking for the address of a place is a waste of both of our times. (Please note that this anger brews almost entirely at work. Mom and Dad, still feel free to ask me for an address anytime you like. You are both the exception to this rule because you are very sweet and nice).

LOOK AT ALL THIS INFO GOOGLE GIVES YOU.

Sorry to unload all that on you first thing. It’s just that the NYC summer heat can cause irrational behavior that I am very sensitive to. And I am perhaps a victim of.

On a high note, Week 2 was a good week!

Monday: 3 Miles

I did a slow, easy run after work. My joints have been a little achey, I think from going to running 4 days a week. My body is still adjusting to marathon training, so I’m taking it nice and easy.

Tuesday: 2 Miles

I was supposed to do 4, but cut it short because my muscles were still achey. I took the less is more approach because it is so early in training, and figured I would make up the miles later in the week.

Wednesday: Rest

I watched a lot of Orange is the new Black and knitted.

Thursday: 3 Miles

I did these miles in the gym – I started off with 10 minutes of the stair stepper to warm up, and then switched to the treadmill. It was great to get a true warm-up in, because my muscles were ready to go by the time I got on the treadmill.

Friday: Rest

I went home for the weekend, and got some shopping and TLC in on Friday. Can I just express my immense love for malls in the suburbs? I do a lot of my shopping online now, because I just can’t stand the lines and crowds at stores in the city. But I went to the mall by my house and I had so much room to peruse! No lines for the waiting room, no one bumping into me in the sales section. It was just me and my credit card.

Needed approval from my sister that this was cute.

My mall got fancy with an Apple store while I've been in NYC.
And I only see two people. So nice.

Which is real?

Saturday: 7 Miles

I was out the door early for 7 miles on my favorite path at home. It was so peaceful, and I smiled the entire way. My dad joined me with his bike for the last half, which always makes the run go by in a flash.

My happy place.

This is my absolute favorite place to run. I used to play soccer here as a kid, and I usually climb and jump over the fence, and run diagonally across the field. It almost takes me back to soccer and Capri Suns.

I went to the beach after the run, which I had been looking forward to all summer. I got some freckles, read my book, and got a healthy dosage of jersey shore trash crazies.

Sunday: 2 Miles

I made up those miles! I told you I would. Slow and steady.

I got back to Brooklyn mid-day, went for my quick run, got some groceries, and then went gang-busters in my apartment. I have a few storage bins that I keep random “essentials” in (Christmas decorations, my Spanglish DVD). I’ve been meaning to go through them, as well as re-arrange my bookshelf. There were far too many books on my shelf, but I think “cool” bookshelves are supposed to have a mix of books you haven’t read and cool trinkets.

It was a success! I went through all my books and made some tough decisions. I put aside a bunch to donate, kept the ones I want to read on my bookshelf, and placed the rest back in a bin (I just can’t part with all of the books I read in college. They make me feel scholarly). I cleaned and re-arranged my bookshelf, my crowning jewel in my apartment.

Do you see all my trinkets?

All in all, a pretty perfect weekend. My legs were definitely sore Sunday afternoon, but I’ve rarely done 5 days of running in one week during training. I’m continuing to take my own advice of taking my increasing my mileage and pace slowly, and I'm really looking forward to each run. 

Week 1 – NYC Marathon Training

It’s true. Last week was my first week of marathon training.

My new mizunos! aka the same shoes Wendy Davis
wore on that infamous day. aka my filibuster sneaks.
(I didn't realize they were the same ones she wore
until Keith pointed it out after I bought them).

To answer the question that my mom/boss/friends/accountant have asked, “You don’t have a break between tri training and marathon training?” Nope.

When I signed up for the triathlon back in January, I figured my running fitness would be in good shape by July. I guessed that moving right into marathon training would be no problem.

I didn’t anticipate that I would be sidelined most of the spring by an injury I’m not going to talk about anymore. It’s brushed under the rug, just like the hours I wasted watching the Newsroom.

So when I started putting together my training plan for the NYC marathon, I was nowhere near the mileage that Hal Higdon or Runner’s World recommend you start at if you’re an “intermediate” runner. I was a little discouraged, not to mention unsure if I would be in good enough shape to do the marathon.

Then I decided to look back at what I did in 2011 and 2012 for training. I used the most basic of basic marathon training plans for the 2011 Cape Cod marathon. It was totally manageable, with no long run lasting more than 18 miles. And guess what? I finished that marathon with a huge smile on my face.

In 2012, I designed a pretty aggressive marathon training plan. I started off wanting to beat the 4-hour time mark, and felt fairly confident I could get there. But then I got injured, and I had to really dial it back. I had to re-assess my goals for the marathon, and realistically kiss that 4-hour mark goodbye.

But you know what? I PR’d by 23 minutes in Philadelphia. And that is something to be proud of.

For my NYC marathon training plan, I’m taking some advice from my past self. I’m going to train for my current ability, not where I thought I would be at this point. I’m taking it slow, and really enjoying each run. I guess this is sort of cliché running blog chatter, but for me, it really feels true.

I’m not going into the NYC marathon with a time goal (!!!).

There’s a huge part of me that wants to get under that 4 hour time threshold. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. But if I can learn anything from last year’s experience, having a time goal made running NOT fun for me. And while I had a super secret goal of beating 3 hours for the NYC tri, when I was doing the race I was completely clueless as to what my time would be. I had no watch during the swim or my transitions, and I started my run watch too late. My time came as a complete surprise. That surprise factor made me enjoy the race so much more.

So what was Week 1 of NYC Marathon Training like? Let me spit some numbers at ya.

Monday: REST from the tri (went to the pool and got a pedi with Meggie instead)

Tuesday: 3 Miles, Easy

Wednesday:  3.5 Miles, Easy

Thursday: Yoga

Friday: 3 Miles

Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Bike and Strength Training

Total Miles: 15.5

I took my paces pretty easy this week. I wanted to just enjoy running, and get used to the 4-day training week. I felt really good, and I was SO happy to get back into it.

As much as I loved the experience of the tri, I was secretly thrilled not to have to pack a heavy gym bag and squeeze into a wetsuit last week. Being able to just lace up my sneakers and go is one of the many reasons why I love running.

I was also thrilled to be able to fit yoga into my workout regiment last week. I literally haven’t been to yoga in FOREVER. I wanted to re-align my chi and do some uncomfortable stretching.

I checked out Yoga to the People in Brooklyn, which is a donation-based yoga studio (they recommend a $10 donation, but you can pay less or more based on your bank account). It’s a no-frills studio, which meant no AC. I’m really happy I brought a towel, since on Thursday it was about 100 degrees. It didn’t stop me receiving judgey stares from my neighbors because of the disgusting amount I was sweating. I SWEAT OKAY? It’s normal. You are a freak of nature if you aren’t sweating in a 90 degree studio while trying to balance in Warrior 2.

It felt SO so good to do yoga again. I stopped doing it because it always gave me back pain. But at the end of this class, I felt great (then quickly ducked out so the girl next to me couldn’t see my sweaty face. She was secretly shaming me). But I really hope to continue incorporating it into my training, since other running blogs swear by it.

My "long run" on Saturday was not as painful as I thought it would be. I only had 6 miles to do, and I made sure to wake up early to beat the heat. The sky decided to be kind, and I had cloud cover for the majority of the run. I took my usual long run path over the Williamsburg Bridge, which I haven't done in a hot minute. I huffed and puffed up the hills just as I expected to. I took walk breaks when I needed them. I wasn't in a rush. I was just enjoying myself.

I’m excited for another week of low-pressure running. Just me, my filibuster sneakers and I.

Summer Streets!

Today’s Workout: 4 Miles, Easy

Health Check: I've been feeling pretty tired on on "rest" days, so I've been taking full advantage of my couch on those days. Must mean I am working hard during my runs!

After this weekend’s heat, I am READY for the fall. Bring on the sweaters and booties please.

But until then, I’m trying to make the best of the heat. I’m trying to use a glass-half-full-attitude to convince myself that runs will be much easier come the fall, not to mention how grateful I am that I do not live an inch closer to the equator.

I had a relatively short long-run on the schedule this past weekend, and had Keith to accompany me on the trek (YAY). The weather report for our run? 8:57AM Saturday morning: 82 degrees. Yikes.

We headed into queens, starting our run chatty and energized. There were lots of runners and bikers already out, perhaps also trying to beat the heat, and by the time we got to the Queensboro Bridge, I was feeling nice and warmed up.

Cue the low point of the run - the slowww incline up the Bridge, where there is no shade and apparently no wind. Conversation subsided, and we took our time getting into Manhattan.

Keith and I made it to Park Ave, where pedestrians were in full force, and our endorphins kicked in.  We made it to Summer Streets!!!

We jogged several blocks and started picking off people we wanted to run past. That seemed to be working for Keith but I could only keep it up for about two blocks. Damn my slow-twitch fibers.

My favorite part of Summer Streets by far is Grand Central. You get to run through the cool tunnels that are often only seen from the inside of a cab. It makes you feel like Will Smith in “I Am Legend.” (Not that I’ve seen that movie or anything…)

This reference is a little obsucre, I admit.

The last few miles went by fast. There was a shirtless dude that was about 50 ft in front of us, and Keith and I made it our goal to pass him. So we picked up the pace and it was mission accomplished. Thus explaining the fast split at the end of a hot, hot run.

I was very impressed with Keith’s performance, since he’s more of a gym-goer than a runner. I was even more impressed with the amount of sweat we both produced. It was not a pretty sight.

During the last mile, I was seriously looking forward to the breakfast spot we were going to check out after the run. It was a cute little diner on 1^st Ave called the Ritz (not to be confused with the hotel chain. Absolutely no relation).

This fun run made me realize a few things about training:

Change is good.

I always run the same routes in Brooklyn – for anything under 10 miles (mostly weekday runs), I find it hard to change it up. But I’m going to make it a priority to try new running paths during my long runs, because Saturday’s run was awesome, and this city is worth exploring!

Mind over matter.

Keith usually doesn’t run over 3 miles when he hits the pavement. Yet on Saturday, he was able to finish 7, on a hilly and hot route with a smile on his face. I want to keep this in mind for difficult runs in the future (ahem, two 20-milers on the training plan sjflskjdfldskj). It’s a good reminder that working on mental techniques is just as important as the physical component. No matter the weather or the mileage, I can do it!

This week I will be starting to get into higher mileages, and I want to make sure I do all my runs, and at the required paces. I've been changing my plan around a bit because of my knee, and I want to get back on track. Begin Week 4 of Marathon Training!!!

Good Food, Good (and bad) TV

Today’s Workout: 5 miles, easy

Health Check: I feel awesome! But I need to add more veggies, and subtract greasy food from this week’s diet.

I headed home to the lovely state of New Jersey on Thursday evening. I had been looking forward to going home - the summertime, while kind to my social calendar, is unkind to my wallet. A few home cooked meals and some uninterrupted sleep was just what I needed.

My mom made an amazing meal Thursday night – pork chops and Spanish rice. It must have caused a food coma, since I began watching a movie with my family and fell asleep… at 9:45. Perfection (we were also watching Dante’s Peak, which I loved as a kid. But 13-year-old Kate did not, as it turns out, have Oscar-winning film taste).

Whatever. I still love this movie.

I skipped my run on Friday per Dr. Ngo’s orders, and was happy to take the day off. My knee was feeling loads better, and I’m not one to turn down time on the couch with my fam.

On Saturday morning, my dad and I hit the pavement to find unwavering humidity in the air. Papa Wyman was my amazing pit crew, as he biked next to me and handed me my water bottle at every mile. I took several walk breaks to minimize some of the impact on my knee, but overall felt great. I was scheduled to do 9 miles, and ran the first 7 with my dad, so the first hour or so flew by. I was solo on the last two miles, which seemed to drag on with intense heat. Anyone else ready for fall?

I started out intentionally slow, and picked up the pace in the middle. It started to get really hot by the end, so I slowed down a bit. I tried to speed up during mile 9, and even though I felt like I was going at an 8:00 pace, the heat fooled me once again.

I got the royal treatment after my hot run – I was allowed to stretch in my parents’ living room in the cool AC in my sweaty, sweaty clothes, almost immediately washed and dried aforementioned sweaty, sweaty clothes, and found an English muffin breakfast sandwich waiting for me right after my amazing shower. This is why I love doing my long runs at home.

They are too cute!

How is it possible I made it this far without once mentioning the Olympics? I’m not quite sure, but I'm about to change that.

I'm placing all my bets on you, Gabs.

MVP of the Opening Ceremony in pink

I watched the majority of the Opening Ceremony, and realized that I really need to work on my world geography (not quite sure about that pastoral/bedtime bit, but I do love that Kenneth Branagh was an MC of sorts). I also caught a fair amount of swimming, gymnastics, archery, table tennis, volleyball, and fencing. Gymanstics still remains the fave, and fencing is really boring. I don’t know how it works, and I can never tell who stabbed who first.

After Keith and I spent much of the afternoon watching the Olympics on Sunday, we headed over to a new cute diner in Williamsburg called Blue Collar. People have been drawing comparisons to In-N-Out Burger, which Keith and I tried in California, and I can understand why. It’s a no-frills counter-service restaurant, that has about 10 menu items, but everything is delicious and cheap. The cheeseburger was so good that I didn’t even need to eat it with ketchup (perhaps the second time that has ever happened in my life).

Mmmm...

To walk off our burgers, we decided to head over to the ferry dock in Greenpoint where you can catch a good look at the East River and Manhattan. We were lucky to see a storm that was brewing over the city, and obviously did some instagraming.

It was a good little weekend, and now I have my third week of marathon training to look forward to. It’s a “step-back” week, so nothing crazy to write home about – but I will be doing my first official “hill” training this week (and considering I’ve been running the flatlands of Greenpoint recently, it should make things interesting).

Here’s to a week of Olympic watching, and making dents in my couch. You're more than welcome to join me.

Week 2 – Marathon Training and the Perfect NYC Weekend

Today’s Workout: 3 Miles, Easy

Health Check: I feel well-rested and my muscles feel strong.

I’ve been neglecting my apartment the last several weekends. From traveling to weddings, D.C, Boston, and CT, it was nice to spend some time in the big apple for a change.

I went out with some friends on Friday night, and after a few too many glasses of Rosé (gotta take advantage while it’s in season), I remembered I needed to run the next morning and switched to seltzer. I refused to have a repeat terrible long run, so I guzzled water before bed, and made sure to get plenty of sleep.

The heat waves in NYC have been relentless this summer, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finally rolled out of bed at 9:15 on Saturday to see a beautiful 67 degree day outside.

My plan had me doing 8 miles, and I was really nervous for it. My knee was still giving me some trouble, so I made a conscious decision to rest up on Friday didn’t make up the two miles I was supposed to do on Thursday. I had no idea how I was going to feel.

When I started my run, both my knees were really sore – uh oh. Instead of doing a bridge run, I headed to McCarren Park, and decided to do the entire run on the one trail with dirt and grass in my neighborhood. I wanted to protect my knees as best I could, and I knew they would respond better to a trail over concrete.

Did I mention this trail is about a one half mile loop?

I thought it would be a lesson in banality – running 12 loops of the same bottle-cap littered, bum and hipster-filled park was sure to be a bore. But surprisingly, it went by really fast, and I felt GREAT. I hit just about every mile at a nice and comfortable 10 minute-mile pace, slightly speeding up for the last two miles. My knees felt fine after a few miles, and I didn’t tire at all of all the babies and puppies that were out in full force.

Keith and I traveled to Fort Greene on Saturday night with some friends. I find that we often get stuck staying in cozy Greenpoint, and don’t explore the surrounding neighborhoods nearly as much as we should. We got dinner and drinks at this amazing place called Habana Outpost, where we stayed put for several hours. Give me a guacamole sandwich and some beer, and I am one HAPPY camper.

Pretty pleased.

On Sunday, Keith and I did some fun New York activities, and started out by going to the Terracotta Warrior exhibit in Times Square.

Qin Shi Huang - you had wayy to much
time on your hands.

We also hopped on the ferry to check out Brooklyn Bridge Park – which I HIGHLY recommend for anyone who hasn’t been. We stumbled upon a really cute bar that made brick oven pizza, and sat in the park as we watched the sunset. It was a really great New York weekend, and I enjoyed the fruits of my running labors by eating every carb in sight (cue bagel, baguette sandwich, pizza, strawberry ice cream, fried rice, and some crab rangoons).

This evening, I did an easy three miler (without the trusty Garmin… starting to prefer my technology-free runs). I’m focusing on form and running SLOW, and I’ve been stretching as much as I can. This is my first week with 5 days of running, so my end goal is to just complete them.

Now I’m going to sit and enjoy my beautiful bookcase (THERE IS A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING IN MY APARTMENT!), and eat a dinner that involves vegetables (turns out, bread and pizza are not in the veggie group on the food pyramid. Sads).

Week 1 – Philadelphia Marathon Training

Today is the day! I started my 18-week training plan for the Philadelphia Marathon today.

Health Check: I feel well-rested and excited. My calves are a little sore since I’ve been trying to change my form and land on my midfoot. My quads are also a bit sore from yesterday’s somewhat hilly run.

Today’s Workout: 4 Miles - Easy

I’ve been building my base for several weeks now, keeping my mileage relatively high so that training wouldn’t come as a shock. Running too much too fast can cause injury – so I’ve been sticking to the 10% rule (increase your mileage by 10% each week. i.e. if you ran 20 miles last week, you can safely run 22 miles this week).

I enjoyed my last few pre-training runs, and have been trying to focus on my form. I had a summer Friday last week (lksjdfl I LOVE SUMMER FRIDAYS!), so I changed it up and did my long run that day so I could enjoy more weekend carousing.

Let me start off by saying that nutrition is probably the most important part of my pre-long-run routine (I would guess this is true for most, but I don’t claim to be an expert on this stuff). I can run a race on little sleep (as I almost always do), I can use music or podcasts to readjust my mental game, and I can promise myself the fruitful rewards of a bagel sandwich and an iced coffee to get me through almost any distance. But there is no way to overcome poor pre-run nutrition.

Thursday night dinner: 4 draft beers + 1 hot dog = uncomfortable long run

I got a little overzealous about having the next day off, so I wasn’t thinking about how those draft beers would feel in 80 degree heat the next morning. I also ate too much right before my run, and didn’t leave enough time between eating and running. As I suffered through the miles, I came up with a Wise Tip of the Day - remove hot dogs from any pre-run meal and you should be good to go.

I ran the first half without music, trying to power through my rumbly tummy and dehydrated muscles. I ran over the Williamsburg Bridge, and I can tell I am getting into slightly better shape since I didn’t feel like collapsing at the end of each incline. I kept my pace easy, and didn’t really look at my watch except to count down the miles to my iced coffee.

*I did in fact run 8 full miles, but my Garmin mistakenly clocked my first mile too quickly. I know my routes well enough to know where the general mile markers are, and I DEFINITELY know that I did not run that first terrible mile at a 7:24 pace.

I spent my day off cleaning, reading, and treating myself to a new pretty dress from Dalaga. As much as I love Summer Fridays, I dislike seeing all of the other people sitting in coffee shops doing absolutely nothing. WHAT do you all do for a living? I DON’T understand this counter-culture in Brooklyn.

Typical.

I went home to Connecticut this past weekend with Keith, and we traveled up to the Brimfield Antique Show with his mom.

We went last year, and I picked up a few great pieces for my apartment (including a rustic red trunk that is supposedly from the 1890s – it now doubles as a coffee table and my nail salon). We each had our responsibilities for the day - Keith was the negotiator and overall strongman, Mrs. Langlais was our go-to decision-maker, and I fulfilled the important role of initiating snack time and pee time.

Probably thinking about my next snack.

We definitely left with fewer items this year, but each purchased a few cool things. I got a set of orange Fiestaware salt & pepper shakers that I’m obsessed with, Keith got a pennant from the 1969 Pasadena Bowl Boston University played in (a rare find considering BU no longer has a football team…), and Mrs. Langlais got a picnic basket. 

Our picnic! Initiated by me.

We picked up some goodies on the way home from antiquing, and had ourselves a perfect summer evening.

Perhaps my finest photography to date.

I did a quick run on Sunday morning to add to my weekly mileage for last week, and I ended it by running the last quarter mile without my shoes on. I wanted to check how my form was, and I ended up kind of liking it! I certainly don’t have that luxury in my neighborhood, which is often littered with erroneous trash from hipsters and bums alike, but I’m hoping to add it into my routine at the track.

Ok back to today’s momentous occasion – the marathon!!!

Truth be told, I am a bit nervous. Before today, I was remembering mostly the negative effects of training – spending countless hours running on Saturday mornings, cutting down on social outings to fit in workouts, FATIGUE, and the overall effect of how marathon training slowly takes over your life. I’m adding two weeks onto my training compared to last year, and I’m often worrying about whether it will be enough, or more likely, too much.

But this morning for some reason, I woke up with a big smile on my face, and remembered all of the AWESOME parts of training – eating in excess without guilt, laying low on Friday nights to carb-load, enjoying lots of time to yourself and with Harry Potter audiobooks, and the overall sense of accomplishment from completing a feat that most people never do. Also, I found out last night that my super-running cousins also signed up for Philly!!!! So many things to look forward to.

I kicked off my training with a 4-Mile run – without my Garmin. I brought my iPod for a little companionship, but also to remind myself to go at an EASY pace. I am following my self-imposed rule from last week to devote one easy run a week without pace-checking technology. I gave my sore legs an easy warm-up mile, and then did the rest at a comfortable pace.

So here’s to 18 weeks of long runs, sore muscles, and pasta. And good luck to everyone who’s also starting to train for fall marathons!!!