Building mental strength

Taking the new marathon shoes out for their first spin!

Taking the new marathon shoes out for their first spin!

It’s no secret, I was pretty down on myself after the London Marathon. I wanted to continue running but I didn’t want to commit to racing or training. There are definitely pros and cons to not focusing on training but knowing there’s an upcoming marathon. Pros – I definitely give myself a lot more leeway when it comes to sticking to certain workouts or following a schedule. For the most part, I run when I feel like it and with the exception of the long runs, I don’t usually care about the distance of any of the runs. Cons – Mentally, you start doubting your ability to run the distance. I’m not running NYC for time (as I try to keep reminding myself over and over), but I don’t want to suffer through a miserable experience if I am not physically ready to run 26.2.

I found Wilson Kipsang at Marcus Garvey Park.

I found Wilson Kipsang at Marcus Garvey Park.

The last couple of long runs have helped build my mental strength – 18, 18, 13.1, and 20+ miles yesterday. Yesterday’s run started off rocky. Coach Brian organized a 20-miler for the Alzheimer’s Association team and November Project. The run was organized by pace and the group I signed up for – 9:30/10:00 min/mile was starting at 7:00AM. For the first time in the 4 years that I have been driving out for early morning runs, there was a lot of traffic going through the Lincoln Tunnel and I was late getting to the start. The group already left by the time I arrived so I ended up heading out 20 minutes later with Coach Ali and another teammate. About a mile into the run, I had to use the bathroom again, and made a stop at Chelsea Piers (P.S. for anyone running along the West Side Highway, this is a great public bathroom option). After that point, I ended up running the rest of the run by myself.

Telling Cat Hill that I am better than it.

Telling Cat Hill that I am better than it.

In overly dramatic runner fashion, I was upset and angry that I was late to the start and ended up missing the group. I was disappointed I would need to run nearly 20 miles by myself and even more disappointed that I didn’t have my headphones with me. I mean how could I possibly do a long run without people or headphones? Ironically, it ended up being one of the best 20-milers I’ve ever run. The route wasn’t too difficult navigate and more than 13 miles of it was on the marathon course. There were 3 water stops organized throughout the route, manned by awesome volunteers. Josh was at the first water stop, right at the start of the Williamsburg Bridge, about 6 miles in, and by the time I got there, I was in a runner’s high and forgot all about the morning’s stress.

Just the run I needed.

Just the run I needed.

I ran a conservative first half, averaging around 10 minute pace with the slowest mile on 1st Avenue in Manhattan (mile 12-13) due to the traffic lights and crowds. The last 7.5 miles were the fastest, averaging around 9:30 minute pace with the last mile at 9:13. I finished feeling strong, with energy left in the tank, and mentally confident. My fueling was on point and I was relatively consistent with pacing the entire way despite the traffic lights. I started slow, and along the flatter parts of the course, I was slightly faster, a little slower on the bridges and hills, but despite the rolling hills in the last parts of the route, I maintained a strong finish. Yesterday’s run without friends and music was exactly what I needed to build my mental strength.

In my experience, a marathon is 1/3 physical and 2/3 mental. I am hoping this new-found strength will carry me into the marathon and help me run a consistent race.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Congratulations to all of my friends who ran the Chicago Marathon (especially Amanda who ran a 6 minute PR), Brooklyn RnR Half, and Staten Island Half.

Santorini

Santorini stole our hearts! It was the perfect end to our vacation – London, London Marathon, Athens, and Santorini. We enjoyed beautiful weather and sites on the island and hope you enjoy the pictures (some appeared on my Instagram page), though no picture can do the views justice, half as much as we enjoyed the trip.

IMG_3031Food – We continued our trend of eating salads with almost every meal, especially Greek salads with feta cheese or the Santorini salad with fresh cherry tomatoes, capers, and homemade chloro cheese. Aside from breakfast which was served to us on our balcony at the resort, we made it point to eat at top rated restaurants on TripAdvisor. All of the vegetables on the island were extremely fresh, especially the cherry tomatoes, fava beans, and olives which were local. We ate at some amazing restaurants including Cave Restaurant at our hotel, Avaton Resort & Spa and Kapari Wine Restaurant.

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IMG_9798Activity – After all the walking and sightseeing in London and Athens, we wanted a break in Santorini. However, the island was the perfect blend of activity and relaxation for us. Since we only had 4 nights on the island, we tried to keep it as low-key but active as much as possible. We hiked from our hotel in Imerovigli to Oia along the most scenic and challenging paths. The hike was over 4 miles long and took us a little over 1.5 hours with a lot of stops for pictures. We also did a run from Imerovigli to Fira and back all along the cliffs overlooking the caldera. The run was about 5 miles out and back on a very hilly, stone-paved/uneven path. A perfect, yet very tough recovery run. On our last day in Santorini, we went to Perissa Beach. The water was cold since it’s the beginning of the season but extremely calm.

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IMG_9835Shopping – I love browsing through all the local shops on vacation to see the arts. I wish we had more space at home or a big enough suitcase to bring back some of the beautiful pieces we saw in Santorini. We did some browsing and shopping while we were in Oia and Fira. I do recommend shopping in Oia over Fira as everything appeared to be more local rather being a tourist locale. If you happen to be in Oia, I recommend checking out Aquamarine Jewelry as the staff is extremely friendly and they sell gorgeous pieces made in Greece.

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IMG_9838Sights/Relaxation – There is so much to do on the island from catamaran cruises to wine tours, but we really wanted to see as much as possible but also relax and we did just that. We made sure to sleep in as much as possible, start the day with a leisurely breakfast overlooking the caldera, and then decide what to do next. In addition to the activities mentioned above, we read by the pool, enjoyed the amenities of the spa, and I even had one of the best massages ever. While everyone talks about the sunsets from Oia, we enjoyed the sunsets each night from Imerovigli and they were incredible. Our hotel is right at the edge of Imerovigli, so we had unobstructed views of Oia but also of the caldera, which we felt was the perfect spot for the sunsets.

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We had an amazing vacation and cannot wait to return to Santorini. To read more on my reviews from our travels, check out my TripAdvisor page.

What’s your most favorite place that you traveled to recently?