Category Archives: sleep

Chicago recovery, NYC prep

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Yup, that’s right, in 5.5 days I will be running the NYC Marathon. What was I thinking?!?!

In some ways, I am very excited for NYC. It feels like the appropriate close to the marathon season and this year, I trained for not one but two marathons in the same cycle, so that’s kind of cool. Double the marathon excitement but not double the training, but of course, talk to me after Sunday and I’ll tell you if it was a wise decision.

Coming off the Chicago Marathon, it was a little iffy what I should be doing for these three weeks. Most of the training was dictated by how I felt and loosely following Hal Higdon’s multiple marathon training plan though he doesn’t have a specific one for three weeks in between. I felt the best I have ever felt after a marathon this time so I was antsy to get back into everything but had to force myself to not overdo it. Here is roughly what my last two weeks looked like:

team on 1st Avenue and marathon sign!

team on 1st Avenue and marathon sign!

Week 1 – Post Chicago (total mileage: 24.2)
–Monday: walked around Chicago a bit, flew home in my compression sleeves, but made conscious efforts to move around as much as possible
–Tuesday: easy 2 mile shakeout run on treadmill in the AM followed by a massage in the PM
–Wednesday: easy 3 mile run on treadmill
–Thursday: couldn’t get up in the morning for a run before work and with after work plans, I just took this as a day off
–Friday: easy 4 mile run on treadmill
–Saturday: 10 mile run with team on the NYC Marathon course (First day that I actually felt exhausted since Chicago, I felt so out of breath and that my legs felt like they were not moving as fast as I wanted them to. In reality, I was going at marathon pace + 10-20 seconds, so fairly fast but my lungs were not happy with me.)
–Sunday: 4.5 mile recovery run along the Hudson River and felt great even after the run from the day before

sporting the new shirt!

sporting the new shirt!

Saturday - 8 days until the marathon!

Saturday – 8 days until the marathon!

Week 2 – Post Chicago (total mileage: 20.3)
–Monday: day off from running
–Tuesday: finisher intervals with team (warm-up + 3 x 1200 meter finisher intervals + cool down and light strength – 4.1 miles; this was my first real speed workout since the marathon and my legs actually felt pretty good)
–Wednesday: easy 3 miles + top shelf barre class
–Thursday: day off from running; felt sick and a little off
–Friday: day off from running; still not feeling great
–Saturday: 7 mile strength scavenger hunt with team in Central Park (average pace: marathon pace + 10 seconds – definitely moving fast and with strength bursts in between, and boy was my body was getting tired by the end)
–Sunday: 6 mile recovery run on treadmill

our selfie scavenger hunt!

our selfie scavenger hunt!

Week 3 – Post Chicago (TBD)
–Monday (today): day off from running + barre class and a massage in the PM
–Tuesday: easy run with team and glow sticks!
–Wednesday: easy run in the AM, work event in the PM
–Thursday: day off from running (maybe another barre class?)
–Friday: day off from running
–Saturday: easy shakeout run
–Sunday: NYC Marathon!

hopefully, I'll be getting my unstoppable on!

hopefully, I’ll be getting my unstoppable on!

In addition to all of this, I’ve been very conscious of drinking a lot of water, taking Vitamin C, and getting as much sleep as possible. The plan originally was to race Chicago and enjoy NYC. I was expecting to not want to run much after Chicago and to not feel as great as I did. I wonder if some of that can be attributed to the run/walk I did during the last 12 miles of the race but because I didn’t get the exact time I wanted, unfortunately, I am planning on taking NYC a little more seriously than I had planned. No real time goal since I’m not sure how I will feel later in the race, but a PR would be nice!

I’ve heard from two different camps about how I will feel on Sunday… your legs will want to fall off after mile 13 or you’ll be feeling so awesome, you can PR again! And that is exactly what scares me… no one exactly knows how I will feel, though I guess you never do for a marathon, but the amount of uncertainty behind the recovery and back-to-back marathons is the part that is difficult to understand.

With that said, I am going to stop thinking about it for a bit, put my legs up, and watch TV! 🙂

P.S. taking pictures of the NYC Marathon ads all over the city is addicting!

“I get knocked down…”

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“I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down…”

–“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba

Remember this song from 1997? Wouldn’t it be cool if I actually remembered what year the song came out without looking it up? I’m not that good, but regardless these few lines of “Tubthumping” summed up how I felt this week. The rest of the song is not as accurate of a representation… no “pissing the night away” or “a whiskey drink…”

It was a rough week in running. I missed every team practice and my total mileage for the week was just slightly over 18 miles, less than what I ran in my long run the weekend before. All the normal things that could derail a week did for me. From late nights at work to a cold I was battling since Sunday to a bad stomach ache to a big blister on the inside of my big toe, it was a struggle to find time to run let alone run without pain. I managed two workouts during the week on the treadmill, one easy run and the other an attempt of the hill workout I missed with the team. For the weekend run, I opted to skip the team run so I could sleep in a little more to battle the cold but also to save time on Josh’s birthday so we can get our celebration started earlier. I only managed 10 miles through pain in my toe. The following day, I woke up with a huge stomach ache and my day was derailed again.

One positive of the week was the yummy breakfast we treated me to on Josh's birthday! How can you go wrong with Lobster Benedict with avocado and bacon?!?!

One positive of the week was the yummy breakfast we treated me to on Josh’s birthday! How can you go wrong with Lobster Benedict with avocado and bacon?!?!

To be honest, this past week was a glass half empty week. I was in my deepest of lows during any training period, well maybe except for the week that the 2012 NYC Marathon was cancelled. I let all the excuses that came up take over. Even if I wasn’t supposed to be running because of the blister, I was letting that get the best of me as well. Likely the stresses from work and a weakened immune system after the 20-miler drained me. I beat myself up every day and then I would let it affect my self-esteem. I learned this week that running/exercising has way too much control over me and how I feel. I guess you can say I am addicted to endorphins. This is an issue that I will need to find ways to tackle during the off-season but in the meantime, I need remind myself of all the other positives in everyday life and learn not to stress as much.

Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado

Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado

On the positive side, I woke up today ready to conquer the start of a new week. To start the week off right, I finally got in an easy run followed by my first spin class at Local Barre’s new Wheelhaus Bikegarten studio. This was my first spin class with the clip-on cycling shoes and it was awesome! The shoes really add a whole new dimension to spinning and stability when you’re jumping between positions. In roughly 35 minutes, I biked over 11 miles. If only I were that efficient for my runs (watch out, Meb)! All this exercise made me quite hungry. We enjoyed a yummy homemade scrambled egg dish with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado. I highly recommend adding avocado to everything, it makes everything taste better! Even though I had to spend a couple of hours on work this afternoon, I am looking forward to a glass half full week. I am ready to tackle all the positives and negatives that may come my way.

How was your weekend? And how to do you handle bad training weeks?