Here’s a summary of my week of training just so you can get an idea of my love hate relationship with the treadmill…

Monday – 3 mile easy treadmill run before work + swim class after work
Mondays have really become a favorite workout day. I like waking up, putting on shorts and a t-shirt, and heading downstairs to the treadmill for a quick run and I really look forward to my swim classes. I just hate showering so many times in a day.

Tuesday – 1.6 mile warmup to the track + 4 x 800’s at 10K pace with 400 meter recovery in between + 1.6 cool down
While I sometimes sit at work dreading having to run outside later (since it’s still cold), I do love the idea of the track. In high school, I hated speed work. Ironic, right? I was a sprinter too. I hated anything more than 100 meters because it felt like my heart was going to burst. I also never took running seriously back then. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve really enjoyed the track workouts and 400 meters really just doesn’t seem as daunting as it used to be. I think 400 meter tracks shrunk since I was in high school.

Wednesday – Barre class before work + 5 mile run in Central Park with teammate (was supposed to be 3 miles easy but instead it was faster and longer)
How I manage to get up twice in one week to workout before work is beyond me. I don’t get to go to barre classes as often now that I have swim and the half training plan so I really enjoy the days I get to go. After work, I met up with my teammate, Julio for a run in Central Park. The last time I ran in the park was on the dreadfully freezing Manhattan Half Marathon day. While I was excited to have a running buddy, I was really dreading the hills. I am such a wimp. The run ended being much more than the easy run I was supposed to do. We ran 5 miles slightly slower than my half marathon pace. I was able to hold a conversation, but I could definitely feel it. Nice to have a friend for the push though.

Thursday – 45 minute tempo run along the Hudson River
This is the first tempo run I’ve run outside since October. The last couple of weeks, I was running these on the treadmill. It’s so easy on the treadmill, you don’t have to think. Set the speed to your desired pace and you’re all set. Outside, I felt so out of my element. I didn’t know how far to go for my warmup and then I was confused about the right pace to start the “tempo” part of the run at. My legs felt fatigued after 2 miles and I forced myself to keep running. It was miserable and it was windy out. My average pace ended up being close to half marathon pace but everything felt off, kind of like my pace run last weekend.

Friday – rest
I learned to really enjoy rest days. No waking up early, no workout after work, and only one shower in a day. Amazing! My Nike Fuelband feels differently though. I more than exceed my daily fuel goal every day but Fridays.

Saturday – 0.5 mile warmup + 4 miles at HM pace + 0.5 mile cool down on the treadmill
Even though it was a nice day, I couldn’t stomach the idea of attempting another pace run outside (I realize I shouldn’t be this dependent on the treadmill). It was just so much easier to set the treadmill and go. However, this time I started the warmup at a much slower pace then worked my way up to HM goal pace by increasing the pace every half mile to keep it interesting. I finished feeling great. 

Sunday – 93 minute (was supposed to be 105 minutes) long run for a total of almost 10 miles along the West Side Highway with teammates
Thank goodness for running friends because if it weren’t for them, I probably would have stayed in bed. I could barely keep my eyes open through breakfast and even though I don’t normally drink coffee before a long run, I had to have a cup today. I also don’t know how just a couple months ago, I ran 90 minutes on a treadmill. This winter really forces you to do crazy things. This morning, I met up with my teammates, Julio and Tania for a run along the West Side Highway. We went south from 39th Street to the Staten Island ferry and back. The run ended up being slightly less than 10 miles, completed in 93 minutes. I guess I could have kept running for another 12 minutes but having not run my long run last weekend, I felt like I didn’t need the push today. Next weekend though, I’ll really need to make sure I meet the time.

All smiles afterwards!

You’re probably wondering if this was just a random brain dump of my week. And it is, but the moral of the story is that I like treadmills for tempo and pace runs, track for intervals, and outside in general for easy and longer runs and meeting up with friends (of course only when it’s not frigid out). I need to get over this fear of the outdoors for tempo and pace runs. Marathon training season and the warmer weather are right around the corner. However, for now, I’m going to be a wimp and take advantage of the colder weather as an excuse.

P.S. I love my new Oiselle t-shirt and I love the story of Kara Goucher teaming up with them. #runlove

How do you feel about the treadmill?

What’s your favorite running clothing brand?

I had a blast of a weekend but I am definitely paying for it.

All last week, I was planning my long run for Saturday before the wedding (my cousin got married) but after getting woken up too early and not having a good last couple hours of sleep on Saturday, my morning was thrown off. Instead of the 90-minute run that was on my training plan, I ran the scheduled 3-miles at HM pace. I’ve really taken a liking to running pace/tempo runs on the treadmill since I can just set the speed and go. However, I’m also pretty darn tired of running on a treadmill lately. With the weather looking up, I decided to do the pace run outside. After a mile warmup, I went out too fast for the pace run (I was probably averaging 5-10K race pace) plus the combination of breakfast not sitting right, it was one of the hardest 3 mile runs ever. The cool down couldn’t come fast enough. With all that behind me, I enjoyed my Saturday evening at the gorgeous wedding. As always, it is so much fun to see a lot of the family together, dressed up, and ready to celebrate/party.

I had been planning to go out and cheer for my friends and teammates in the NYC Half for months when I learned that with the wedding was the night before and it didn’t make sense for me to run it. I was pumped to be a spectator for once and decided to watch from 39th Street and the West Side Highway, slightly past mile 8, right by where the ferry dropped me off, and right when the runners were approaching the long quieter (in comparison to Times Square) stretch. I was with my teammate, Toni, had my cow bell in hand, and long list of people we were planning on cheering for!

That’s Geoffrey Mutai (I promise if you zoom in you can tell)!

We arrived just in time to see the winner, Geoffrey Mutai pass by in the lead. These guys look incredible and make it look so easy (it’s so unfair)! The weather was absolutely brutal though for the spectators especially standing right by the Hudson River. We had the app but it was so hard to take my hands out of my mittens to track everyone. At that point, we were just going by what we knew about everyone’s pacing and looking out for purple singlets. It was exciting to catch our extremely fast teammate, Amanda who ran on her birthday; other teammates who were probably surprised by shouting of their names from two crazy bundled people; my cousin, Margaret who I somehow never know which races she runs, but always see her from the sidelines (she looked incredible yesterday and set a PR); Julio who I was getting worried we’d miss since we didn’t know what he would be wearing but luckily he surprised us by running right in front us (it’s so important that the runners know where exactly you will be so they can look out for you too); James, the teammate who I ran last year’s NYC Half with and set a PR (it was so cool seeing him because he was so surprised to see me that we hugged, he shouted at me for not running this one with him, and then I shouted back at him that he should keep running!); Coach Brian out on the course in his bike and a very official NYRR helmet; and then somehow we missed the rest of the people we were both planning on seeing.

However, despite not catching everyone and how cold it was, it was such an incredible experience being a spectator. Having been on the other side, you know how much effort, training, and time it took these runners to prepare for such a race and any extra boost (even if it is only for a passing second) I can provide to help them run faster is a bonus. Also, now having been on the spectator side (even though I’ve cheered for Margaret in the NYC Marathon before) trying to catch so many people, I have an even bigger appreciation for spectators. It is never perfect weather to stand outside for hours, trying to catch that one person while watching thousands of runners pass you by to see them only for that passing second, and in Josh’s case trying to take a picture as well and then finding a way to make it to the next spot with enough time to spare. It’s a tough job being a spectator. As my friend and teammate, Maria put it later on in the day, it’s easier running than cheering. So thank you fans, always!

The plan was to run the 90-minutes on Sunday early evening but by the time I got home from cheering and meeting up with friends afterwards, I was pooped and felt nauseous. Instead of forcing my body to run, I took a nap and hoped that I would feel better. There were a couple of lessons learned this weekend about trying to fit in a long run into a busy schedule:

1. Sleep is important
2. Hydration is important (I didn’t drink enough water on Sunday especially after too much to drink on Saturday night)
3. Do not eat greasy foods for lunch if you want to run later in the afternoon
4. Do not wear heels for hours if you want to run the next day (the bottom of my feet still hurt)
5. The long run will hang over your head all weekend, so better to get it in earlier if you can
6. A bad run one day is not a sign that you’re out of shape
7. Listen to your body (though it’s much easier to listen to the brain telling your body that you’re a wimp for not running)
8. It’s okay if you miss a day (at least that is what I’m going to tell myself all week until the next long run)