Category Archives: Marathon Training

Spring Changes!

Posted on March 21, 2012 | 6 comments

Hello all – happy spring…err or maybe summer? It’s supposed to hit almost 80 degrees this week. Kind of crazy for March.

But, I will NOT complain about warm weather while in the midst of marathon training. That would be absurd. I will simply say, thank you, thank you, thank you – over and over again.

Before I get into a marathon training update, I’ll explain why I’ve been gone again. There were some major changes in my life. I started a new job a little over two weeks ago – and as you can imagine – that was a pretty big deal. I had been at my last job for almost three years, but an amazing opportunity came along at an organization I REALLY love, and a position that basically rocks. After a lot of hemming and hawing, and talking over the pros and cons with my husband and family, I finally accepted the job and gave my notice.

I’m not exactly what you would call good with change. I like my routines, my schedules, knowing what’s going on, etc. So starting a new job was somewhat stressful and a big adjustment. Hence, the blogging fell to the bottom of the list. But I’ve still been reading and running, so now I’ll try to catch up. Last thing I want to say on the job front is that I’m VERY happy with the decision I made. I know it’s only been a few weeks and I still have a lot of learning to do, but so far this has been a great change! And I want to thank my husband, my friends and my family for all supporting me in making this decision, and listening to me go on and on questioning my choice. It was the right one!

And Now Onto Running
On the running front, things have been progressing. I won’t lie and say that I’ve stuck to my training plan 100%. I’m currently at around 215 miles in week 9 of my training plan. There have only been two weeks where I did NOT reach my weekly mileage goal. The first was due to illness and the second was due to St. Patrick’s day. I just completely messed up my schedule last week and left too much running to happen on the weekend, and then of course I was exhausted. But we had fun!

We hit the parade and then enjoyed a full day out in NYC – so running was kind of forgotten.

But I am trying to get back to the plan this week.  I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and 4 miles this morning. I have a 7 miler planned for tomorrow, 3 miles on Friday, and then a lovely 17 miles on the schedule for Saturday. Of course, it’s supposed to rain this weekend – the only rainy days this week.  I’m hoping the Saturday forecast might be a little wrong and some of the nice Friday weather will hold on until Saturday.

All in all, I am feeling a little bit better running-wise. My legs are finally losing their lead and I am getting back some of my speed. It’s still not feeling easy or as easy as it has been in the past, but I’m hoping I’m getting there. Hubby’s training is also going very well. He is running four days a week and has been following his plan pretty closely too. I’m hoping we’ll both have a great race on May 27!!

How are you enjoying this spring weather? Have you changed jobs in the past year – did it stress you out a lil bit? Who’s running a spring marathon – how is training going?!!

Have a great Wednesday all!

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Posted in Career, Marathon Training, Running, Uncategorized

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Stupid Sickness and Lead Legs

Posted on February 28, 2012 | 7 comments

Hi there – I’ve been MIA for a bit, but that is not so unusual for me. This time thought, it was not just because I was lazy or busy, or feeling busy even though I could probably squeeze some blogging in. This time I was SICK. Sick like I haven’t been in years. I pride myself on being a pretty healthy person…and may even be a bit unsympathetic to people who are  out sick often. “Take your vitamins, eat right, exercise and you probably won’t have those problems” – I’m often known to think in my head. Yeah – I can be harsh. And probably unduly so.

But after this past week of suffering, I will certainly try to be more sympathetic and understanding when other people are ill.

So what got me down? Strep throat. EEK! Yes, I tend to run away from people when I hear this too. It’s contagious, it’s obnoxious – in short – it’s the pits. And that’s exactly how I felt for almost a full week. The symptoms started coming on last Saturday night when we were in Utica, NY visiting the in-laws. I had finished my 13-mile run earlier in the day (it went pretty well) and was feeling all legit and athletic…and then my throat got scratchy.

Like a true stubborn Taurus, I refused to believe anything was wrong and continued on in the same manner – running 6 miles in Utica on Monday when we had the day off. We headed back to NYC later in the afternoon on Monday and as I chatted with my mom on the phone, I admitted my throat issue. She saw the warning signs. She told me to go to the doc ASAP, but I kind of just listened and pretended that she was overreacting. I was NOT sick.

But then I was. I made it to work on Tuesday and through the entire exhausting day (we had an all-day video shoot that required running around and coordinating). And then on the way home I crashed. I thought about stopping into urgent care, but once again my stubborn side won out and convinced my better judgement that a good night’s sleep was all I needed.

Again – WRONG. I went to bed at 7 p.m. and woke up for work with nausea, a raging sore throat, and overall weakness. To the doc I went, and he told me what I knew but didn’t want to know – I had Strep Throat. Blah. Back to bed I went.

And so the rest of the week for running was shot. I feel like I slept for five days. From Tuesday through Saturday, I was pretty much a mess. And then just when I started to get really upset and convince myself that it wasn’t strep throat, but something more serious – like mono or cancer – I awoke on Sunday feeling…better! I wasn’t 100% and actually still don’t think I am yet, but I could swallow without wincing, I didn’t need to sleep 18 of the 24 hours in the day, and I even had a little appetite.

So I ran. Yes, I know it’s probably not the best thing to do. But I needed to get out of the house, and I went SUPER slow. And I felt better afterward. I ran 5.5 miles at an unbearably slow pace to top out at a whopping 11.5 miles for the week! So sad, but what are you gonna do?

But now it’s a new week and I have been attacking it head on. I ran last night after work and was so excited for what I hoped would be a fabulous run….and it sucked. I felt like I had lead strapped to my legs the WHOLE time. It was kind of ridiculous. I was sad after I finished the short but painful 3.5 miles and tried to cheer myself up by watching The Bachelor. Only to find myself cursing at the t.v. and telling said Bachelor how dumb he is. And so I went to bed with high hopes of a fabulous morning run.

Strike two for the fabulous run happened at 6:05 this morning when the lead legs returned. In full force. Seriously – what the heck?! It was awful yet again. I have never felt so heavy and slow in my life. Within the first few steps, I knew I was in for a tough run, so I had that conversation with myself where I try to justify cutting the run short. And then my willpower tried to overtake my fear and it was an all-out fight the entire time. When I managed to finish 4 miles (feeling still sooo crappy), my willpower won out and convinced my fear that two more miles wouldn’t be that bad.

I powered through those 6 miles this morning (it was a gorgeous morning btw), but it was a sad finish. I felt heavy and soggy and defeated…but also the slight twinge of runner’s high. And that’s why I’ll suffer through the next lead run and the next and the next…until hopefully I shake the lead out. Because at the end of the day, no matter how crappy I run, I still feel better than if I hadn’t gone at all.

But still – I want to get the lead out. How do I get the lead out? Help!!

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Posted in Marathon Training, Running, UES, Uncategorized

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I’m In A Fight With My Body

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 4 comments

So I started this post on Sunday, February 12. And I am finishing it on Thursday, February 16. Things got a little busy. I started off my Sunday post by sharing one of my favorite post-run snacks. Bananas with peanut butter.

My Hubby thinks this snack is disgusting, but I find it just the perfect mix of sweet and sustaining after a run.

What is your favorite post-run snack? Another of mine is Chobani with cereal.

So after I bragged in my previous post about the fact that I was totally sticking to my training plan …then I went ahead and missed a run last week and had to regroup. I missed my Thursday run last week, so I had to make it up on Sunday. As I trudged out for four miles on Sunday morning, I remembered why I hate missing runs – because then I don’t get my much-needed rest day on Sunday after my longest run of the week. My body was pretty mad at me.

In an attempt to appease my body, I made a delicious soup on Sunday night. I wanted something warm and yummy, but also healthy. I turned to CookingLight.com for some help, and ended up making this quick and easy modified-version of their soup:

I used this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-pasta-pea-soup-50400000115796/ with a few modifications…

Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 thinly sliced green onions
  • 4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup uncooked orzo
  • 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup of frozen spinach
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

  1. Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic and onions; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Add orzo and chickpeas. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until orzo is done. Stir in oregano and next ingredients through spinach. Ladle 1 3/4 cups soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 4 teaspoons cheese.

It was just what I wanted. And to add a little more to the meal, Hubby and I shared a plate of crackers and cheese.

Sunday night ended with us watching the Grammy’s and me heading to bed early.

And then my body decided it hated me again when I didn’t take a rest day for another four days. I have 30 miles on my schedule for this week, with a 13 mile long run this weekend. To many runners, this mileage is nothing. To me, just getting back into the swing of things, this is a significant bump up.

The rest of my week in running has looked like this:

  • Monday: Ran 4 miles at the gym. My gym has a 30 minute time-limit on the treadmill at the peak hours after work. So I ran faster on the treadmill than I think I ever have before and finished my four miles in 31:05. Phew! I was also dripping with sweat and a little wobbly getting of the treadmill.
  • Tuesday: I ran 5 miles outside after work along the East River. It was Valentine’s Day, but I had to get some miles in. Done and surprisingly felt decent!
  • Wednesday: I ran 4 miles outside after work along the East River. My body threw a temper-tantrum and I had to go super slow. This whole run was painful.
  • Thursday: I ran 4 miles outside before work along the East River. Again, my body was very angry about this arrangement and protested the ENTIRE way. It was a brutal run and I felt a slight twinge in my hip. I hear you body, and yes, I am planning a rest day. For tomorrow in fact!! 

This week four or marathon training has been pretty painful. I really hate conflict, so my body needs to get over this anger stuff pretty quick. Hopefully tomorrow’s rest day will help. Something else that eased a little of the pain was the nice bouquet of flowers I received from Hubby at my office on Valentine’s Day.

 

So pretty! Nice job Hubby!

And now I am happily looking forward to Friday as a day of rest and recovery. But I’m gonna need to have a serious chat with my body about what’s going to happen on Saturday. Hopefully with a rest day on Friday, maybe the 13 miles I have planned on Saturday won’t be too painful. 🙂

How do you cope with the pains of training? Do you scale back your mileage or push through it?

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