Happy Day After The Super Bowl! It’s been an interesting, not necessarily in a good way, week in running. The week actually dates back to last Sunday, when I ran the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half.

All smiles after the race

Sunday (25th) – Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon. Last year’s race was frigid, so at least this year it wasn’t but with a combination of poor planning and anxiety/nerves (on a personal matter, which maybe I will discuss at a later point), I felt horrible. Since the race fell at the end of week 7 of London Marathon training, I was supposed to run 10-miles at race pace. I think it was the “Oh, I’m running 3 more than I need to and in a race setting, I don’t need to plan how I’m going to tackle these 13+ miles” attitude that did not help. I went into the race with no plan, no strategy, except to run and within the first couple of miles, I felt it. By mile 4, I wanted to throw up and I felt that way for the rest of the race with the exception of two good miles between 7-8. I am impressed that I didn’t just quit – I guess the only time I did that in a race, I felt much worst. Considering I stopped many times along the way to attempt to throw up, walked through the last 6 water stations and walked short parts of the last couple of miles (until strangers would give me positive encouragement), my time was pretty decent and even though my pacing was a bit like a roller coaster ride, I did manage to get in 10 miles at race pace. This goes to show that I should use my brain days before to strategize just a little for the race and not use it at all on race day so I can block out all my nerves and anxiety.

Where is NYC?

Monday – rest day. Because of our trip, my schedule last week was thrown off which led to 4 straight days of running with the half as the 4th. By Monday, my body wanted a break and with all the talk of the Juno and #blizzardof2015, I had no energy to even get in a short recovery run.

P.S. I love playing in the snow

Tuesday – snow day and easy 6-miles + barre. Tuesdays are typically my speed workout days but the rest the day before and the snow, it became my typical Monday. It’s like college again – Monday schedule on a Tuesday. I ran an easy 6 miles on the treadmill and then went to a barre class.

Wednesday – semi-speed day in Central Park. I was feeling a little better on Tuesday, so I met James for a speedier/tempo-ish run at MGP. There was actually no plan for the run except to get outside and it worked out that we ran a bit faster. During half of this run, I felt the way I did during the race. Is it the cold? Is it the nerves? Am I getting sick?

Thursday – 60 minutes easy + core work at gym. I may be wimpy about running outside in the dark and cold but I am not when it comes to get making sure I get my workout in. I had jury duty today and since I would likely be getting out a little earlier than I would for work, I thought about heading into the city to meet James for a run. By the time I made it home, I was beat. Commuting during rush hour and sitting around all day waiting to be called for a trial is a hard work! Instead of heading into the city, I took a nap and then I went to the gym to get an easy 60-minute run in on the treadmill followed by some core work.

Friday – spin class. In anticipation of my long run on Saturday, I went to spin and took it easy, apparently way easy. When I looked at my stats after class, I was ranked the 3rd lowest. I don’t know how much of that was just me taking it easy or just that my legs are darn tired!

Saturday – supposed long run day. I had grand plans to run 7 miles first then meet up with Amanda and Julio for the last 8 of my run. It was a perfect plan and getting my long run in on Saturday meant that I could enjoy my weekend a bit more. I woke up at 6:45 on Saturday morning groggy, my nose congested, and a sore throat. I had to go back to sleep. I haven’t been sleeping well (those nerves and anxiety) all week and I think it finally caught up to me. I felt terrible about canceling especially since it was supposed to be negative windchill and with power in numbers, we were going to conquer our runs, but I couldn’t muster the courage to get up. I ended up sleeping 11 hours that night and still woke up tired. By the afternoon, I managed to get in a quick 45-minute easy run on the treadmill.

I’m already on the 5th episode

Sunday – Super Bowl Sunday and long run. With Saturday’s switch in plans, I had to find a way to fit in 15-miles between Super Bowl food prep, laundry, cleaning the apartment, and making sure I get as much sleep as possible. My long run finally happened (on a treadmill, I hate to say) while the pulled chicken was in the crock pot. Josh set up the Serial podcasts for me on my phone so I had that to keep me company for 2.5 hours. I’m just glad that the run is over and so is the week. P.S. I rewarded myself with lots of Super Bowl eating with a break to watch Katy Perry.

Cupcakes thanks to M&D

This was probably one of the worst weeks in running, not because I didn’t get my miles in, but because of how I felt. It wasn’t just one run, it was multiple runs consecutively. In addition to not feeling well, I kept switching up my plans which threw me off as well. This week really kept me on my toes and reminds me that I have the strength to pull through a tough week in training. (Keeping my eye on the prize, not just the London Marathon, but the vacation afterwards!)

How do you tackle tough weeks? 

What were your favorite Super Bowl snacks?