#YearOfRunning2013

2013 had a lot of ups and downs for me. While things in my personal life may have been less than stellar, I did have one heck of a year when it came to running [and triathlon]. I've been spending a lot of time recently reflecting on what went right for me this year and where I can improve. I thought it would be fun to participate in Miss Zippy's link up to do a quick recap of how things went this year.

Best race experience: The New York City Marathon. This was so much more than a race for me, and now after losing my dad it means even more. I have never been so miserable but still had so much fun in the same race. This was one of those races that makes you fall in love with your life. A close second was finishing second female at the Keystone State Sprint Triathlon. This is probably the race I am the most proud of. I really went for it and didn't hold back, and saw a glimpse of what I am capable of in the future.

Best run: My 18 mile long run. I ran some of it by myself but was accompanied by my dad on his bike for most of it. I ran at marathon goal pace and felt strong the entire way. Not only was it a run that I am incredibly proud of but it was the last long run I did with my dad. Even though he was biking, he was the perfect long run buddy. He knew how to motivate me when I was struggling in a way that no one else could. 

Best new piece of gear: It may not be running gear but hands down my road bike. I got it last November but didn't take it outside until this year. I was never a big fan of biking and frequently skipped rides until I got this bike. Biking is freeing and exhilarating in a way that running is not. I went from cursing every hill I had to climb to seeking out the hilliest rides I could find in my area. One of the things I'm most excited about for 2014 is spending more time riding.

Best piece of running advice you received: Whenever I would get nervous before races or before a hard workout my dad would always tell me something about relaxing, not thinking, and just doing what I trained to do. I tend to get in my own head and worry about silly things I can't control. Learning to turn my brain off and just race was hands down the best thing I learned this year.

Most inspirational runner: I'm going to have to go with the lovely Robyn Humphrey. Robyn is a super fast runner but more than that she has such a positive outlook on life that is contagious. Robyn is supportive of every runner no matter their speed and is the perfect run club leader.

If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Meaningful. I know I'm in a different frame of mind because of losing my dad but everything I did this past year means so much more to me now. Everything this year had a purpose, whether it was setting a new PR, pushing out of my comfort zone, or  running a race I had long dreamed of doing. Looking back, having my dad at every race cheering me on when I least expected it means the world to me. [Once he showed up in the middle of the woods during a trail race and completely scared the shit out of me]

10 Miles of Repeats

This marks the first official week of marathon training for me. In the middle of August I started adding in a longer run of about 10 miles each week and was generally running a bit more but I was still in triathlon season. Between traveling for two weeks, starting school and moving back to Baltimore, and doing my last two triathlons of the year it was hard to really focus on training for a marathon. When September rolled around and I saw everyone already doing 16-20 mile long runs I started to get nervous about my own training.

I am happy to say that I am no longer freaking out about whether or not I will be ready to run 26.2 miles come November 3rd. I know that I have a lot of work to do but I am 100 times farther than I was last year at this point and that comforts me.

Wednesday morning I had a bit of a redemption run for Sunday's long run. Sunday I struggled to run 11 miles the day after racing a triathlon. Wednesday morning I ran 10 miles like it was no big deal. Funny how the same distance can be so much easier or harder depending on the day.

10 miles at 8:18 average

I am still in awe of this run. This was actually a track workout featuring 6 x 1 mile repeats. The last time I did mile repeats I averaged 7:41 over the 5 repeats with an overall average for the run of 8:36. My warm up miles were around 9 minute miles and my warm down miles were over 10 minute miles. While I felt pretty good during the repeats I did not feel so hot during the warm up and felt dead during the warm down.

On Wednesday I averaged 7:44 for the mile repeats, which is three whole second slower than last time. It's how much faster my warm up and cool down were that makes this run impressive to me because I wasn't pushing the pace then at all and went considerably faster than last time. I also had more energy to complete the distance. When warming down I felt like I could have kept running for awhile, instead of counting down the tenths until I could stop.

7:50, 7:47, 7:39, 7:48, 7:49, 7:31

As you can see in my splits, right under a 7:50 was what my body wanted to run on Wednesday. When I would try to speed up it was always way too much, and that's how that last mile became so much faster than the others. It was more that I couldn't lock into the 7:45 pace that I was supposed to.

This run was also a mental battle. The first time I did mile repeats the workout portion seemed to fly by. This time I felt like I was out there the entire day. After the first one I was having a hard time wrapping my head around still having to by 5 more. By the end I was so happy I stuck it out though. I got to the track before the cross country team and left after them. I worked my butt off and finished 10 miles by just after 9 in the morning.

Reaching for Your Goals

This summer I have surprised myself more times than I can count. I've hit paces faster than I thought were possible, climbed hills I thought would eat me alive, and raced like I had nothing to lose. If I've learned one thing this summer it's to take chances. My fitness level is a million times higher than last summer and I know it's because of all the work I've put in over the last three months.

I'm not sure when I made the change but somewhere along the way I stopped going through the motions during workouts and started trying to really push myself. I didn't want to survive a workout, I wanted to dominate it. It may sound a bit obvious to go hard during workouts but it's all too easy to stay within your comfort zone. I know that if I want to become the kind of athlete I want to be I need to reach outside my comfort zone and not be afraid to fail.

For the past three weeks I've done the same interval run and each week the run went very differently.

15 min warm up
2x [1min on, 1 min off, 2 min on, 2 min off, 3 min on, 3 min off]
10 min warm down

The first time I was in Chincoteague on vacation and the temps were probably low 70's with low humidity. I had had a couple crappy runs the previous two days and lacking confidence going into the workout. As soon as I started running I knew it was going to be great though. My legs felt light and quick, and I felt like I nailed the workout. Afterwards I remember coming home and telling my dad it was one of the strongest workouts I'd had all summer.

1 min @ 7:16, 7:06
2 min @ 7:42, 7:27
3 min @ 7:40, 7:21
Avg pace 8:31

The second time I did this workout was when I was in the Florida Keys where it was at least 90 degrees all day long. It was ~15 mph winds and very humid too. This run was a struggle but I fought really freaking hard for it. I felt pretty crappy and my calves were insanely tight but I managed to run pretty comparable to the week before. Some faster, some slower.

1 min @ 7:24, 7:28
2 min @ 7:32, 7:20
3 min @ 7:51, 7:13
Avg pace 8:40

Thursday evening I did this workout for a third time, this time on the track. Both Chincoteague & Florida are super flat so I thought it would be pretty consistent with the past two times I did it. Between Sunday's race and lifting heavy on Tuesday my hamstrings were crazy tight and never fully loosened up. The weather was warmer than in Chincoteague but definitely cooler than Florida. Between my tight legs and moving back to school on Wednesday & Thursday I wasn't expecting anything special here.

Before I started the workout I told myself to run as hard as my body would let me on that given day. Effort is more important than pace. As you can see I absolutely crushed this workout. I'm assuming some of the extra speed is attributed to doing this on a track but still, that's a huge improvement! I know that in order to be making so much progress I have to be something right, which is an incredible feeling.

1 min @ 6:35, 6:37
2 min @ 7:00, 6:46
3 min @ 6:51, 6:54
Avg pace 8:19

I have a little over two months until the New York City Marathon and I know the only way I'm going to achieve my goal [which I haven't said yet] is to get really far out of my comfort zone. I don't want to look back and wish I could have done more or run harder. I want to show up to Staten Island knowing that I put in the work and am ready to conquer those 26.2 miles.

Fitting in Training on Vacation

The entire month of August has felt like a vacation to me. The month started off with a weekend trip to Virginia for the Culpeper International Triathlon. I then came home and put in a solid week of training before heading to Chincoteague, Virginia for a week at the beach with my family. Before leaving I planned on upping my running mileage and getting in multiple open water swims while there. I had every intention of training very similarly to when I'm home. 

On maybe the second day there my boyfriend told me his family had planned a last minute trip to the Florida Keys for his birthday, leaving the same day I would be getting home from Virginia. So now I was going to be on vacation for two straight weeks with essentially no access to a pool or a bike. Even better, I'm doing my last sprint triathlon on Sunday and we get back into Baltimore around midnight the night before. Since I'm already signed up I might as well do the race but considering at most I'll get 5 hours of sleep it probably won't be pretty.

To be honest, I'd had big hopes for this race. I did it last year and despite having a mechanical issue of the bike I had a really great day and with all of the training I did this summer I really wanted to see what I could do. I'd started stressing about ways to fit in bike rides and such while in Florida but quickly came to the conclusion that doing this race for fun was a much better idea. That way I could truly enjoy being on vacation and not have everything focused around me getting in training.

And it's not like I've been doing absolutely nothing while away. I logged over 41 miles of running while in Chincoteague plus did some kayaking and beach cruising on my hybrid. I'm not calling these a good replacement for training but staying active certainly won't hurt. Getting in training has been harder in Florida though. Since I'm not with my family it's a lot harder to ask everyone to eat a later dinner so I can go for a run in the evening. And although I'm not always the best at waking up in the morning it is so much easier to set an early alarm and run before the Florida sun starts cooking you.

Throughout the past year of training I've learned that I need breaks. If I am training too long for one particular thing without much variety I lose motivation in the worst way. When I first found out about going to Florida my brain was in overdrive trying to think of how I could log the most hours while away. I didn't want to miss out on more training. When I realized there was little I could do I started thinking that maybe this break would be exactly what I needed before really buckling down and focusing on training for the New York City Marathon.

So what have I done? In Chincoteague I did two long runs of about 10 miles, 3 easier paced runs and a really strong interval run. I knew that since I was getting in less training than normal to make when I can do really count. So far in Florida I've done an 2 easier runs, an interval run, a hike and a lot of kayaking. At this point I am starting to get antsy for more but that just means this little bit of a cutback has worked, right?

I don't know what marathon training is going to look like, and I'm okay with that. I am trusting Mike to get me there in one piece and ready for a huge PR. What I do know is that my head is now on straight and I am ready to tackle training. While I do think I like triathlon training better and will focus more on that next year, I do really like focusing on different types of races throughout the year to keep things interesting. Now, I am recharged and hungry to get back to work.

Finding the Spark

For the past ~2 months I have making it a point to put more effort into my training. I have always been a hard worker when it comes to training for something but I had been finding myself getting too comfortable even during my harder workouts. I am not the best at easing up and frequently end up doing easy and recovery workouts a little harder than I probably should. I was finding myself not going easy enough on easy workouts and then not being able to give what I want on my harder workouts.

Training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon was the first stop of my journey to getting back to competing somewhat competitively. I was committed to my training but was not as invested as I could have been at all times. I did the work and certainly challenged myself but mentally I wasn't pushing myself to that place. Since I started triathlon training at the beginning of the summer I have been trying to push myself out of my comfort zone more.

The site of my super hilly long ride on Thursday

During workouts if I am feeling good I will push harder, even if the time on the clock says I am going fast enough. I don't want to settle for what the numbers say I can do. It's all too easy to only do as much as your mind says you can do. I remember at swim practice and meets those times where I would go after a time that not even my coaches thought I could do. I wanted to test myself and was not afraid but rather excited. That feeling you get in the pit of your stomach before you're about to do something really bold and gutsy but amazing is what I lived for as a swimmer.

I have spent a lot of time training this summer and a lot of time thinking of where I want training to head in the future. Instead of dreading my hard workouts I look forward to them and am excited to find that spark that keeps me coming back for more. Although clearly not all workouts are meant to be super hard, it is an amazing feeling when, instead of pushing hard during an interval, you push a little bit harder than you thought you could. I never want to settle but rather I always know I can do more. Sometimes it's better to miss your goal than to not even try to go after it.

You can also find me here:
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Twitter: @smulcahy48

A Little Bit of Triathlon, A Little Bit of Marathoning

My mind has been all over the place lately. I have been absolutely loving triathlon training this summer and know that I want to do bigger things in the years to come. I want to go both faster and longer and really commit to training. I won't be signing up for anything until the winter or spring but I have already started to get an idea of what I want to do and I am SO excited about it. I keep trying to remind myself to focus on the present and not get caught up in figuring out things that are so far away.

I have a race this Saturday and although it's been on my calendar for a few months now I still am having a hard time coming to terms with this. Part of me is really happy about this, mostly because I love racing and can't wait to push myself, while the other part of me is sad that the triathlon season is coming to an end. After the Culpeper International Triathlon this weekend I will be racing the Keystone Sprint Triathlon at the end of August and while I plan on completely racing it, it is not a primary focus for me. I will be going on vacation for a week in the middle of August and it's still up in the air whether I will be able to bring my bike with me.

Then there's the marathon. After this weekend I need to start shifting my focus towards training for the New York City Marathon. It's hard to get on the Internet and not be surrounded by updates from everyone and their dog training for some fall marathon. With a little less than 100 days until New York it's probably time that I added in a bit more running. Because I'm very indecisive with regards to everything, I am both happy and a bit sad heading into marathon training. I am sad to be doing less swimming and biking, mostly biking, and sad that I don't have another 1.5 months to dedicate solely to triathlon training.

But I am also really excited to be training for a fall marathon. I likely won't be running another full marathon for awhile since I want to focus on triathlons and after such an incredible half marathon training cycle this spring I am excited to see what I can pull out in the marathon. I'm not exactly sure why but I've been feeling especially inspired lately and am dreaming up a big goal that I want to chase. I am not content with just training to finish and don't want to do only the bare minimum. I want to push myself because I know that I am capable of it.

Another Big Week, Another Big Ride

Things are really ramping up around here! Last week marked my biggest week of training so far with more miles on the bike than I ever expected I would hit this year. Despite a few days of being pretty tired I am absolutely loving the higher volume of training. Oh, and remember how in my last post I mentioned that I had a pretty sluggish ride on Wednesday? Turned out both of my brakes were rubbing which completely explains why I didn't feel that bad but wasn't really going anywhere!

I was glad I figured that out before my long ride on Saturday, which quite frankly was too long. I was planning on doing the same route I did last weekend - 33 miles - but instead ended up doing 40. The added miles wouldn't have been so much of a problem except this route was very hilly. Definitely the hilliest ride I've ever done. I've been trying to do a lot of my rides and runs when it's a bit warmer out so I can get [more] used to the heat since it will likely be nearing 90 degrees during the run portion of my upcoming race.

My boyfriend and I set around early afternoon on Saturday with hopes of not being rained out or blown away by the storms that were on their way. Luckily we only had a few drops of rain but unfortunately we had a pretty strong headwind for the majority of the second half of the ride. Despite the heat, wind, and monster hills this ride rewarded you by taking you alongside a cute and quaint part of the Susquehanna River.

Once we got to the river we took a little break to refuel and enjoy a few minutes on the water before the big 2 mile climb back towards York. The way out wasn't too hilly but we went back a different way that was just unrelenting hills. There were hardly any flat sections on this ride, making my quads pretty trashed by the time we made it back.

Although this ride was a bit more than I was expecting it was something I think I needed to do. I had been doubting my abilities on the bike and was becoming frustrated that I wasn't making any progress with hill climbing. This ride was by no means fast but I was able to do hills that I never would have even attempted had I been on my own.

3875 ft of climbing over 40 miles!

With my next race - Culpeper International Triathlon - a little under two weeks away I am starting to get nervous. I have been putting in a lot of hard work and am excited to see how I do on race day. I am starting to get excited about fall marathon training too, which I am pretty surprised about. Seeing everyone starting training these past few weeks has me motivated to pay extra attention to my runs during these next few weeks of training.

What I Learned from My First Marathon: Training

When I signed up to run the ING New York City Marathon back in March I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I was intrigued by the marathon and wanted to give it my best shot. I pictured myself doing all the things that I thought marathons did, like ice baths, foam rolling, compression socks. I thought if I acted the part then I would be a real marathoner. The problem is, nothing ever goes according to plan. Even after finishing the Harrisburg Marathon I still don't feel like a marathoner. I don't even feel comfortable calling myself a runner yet. Despite all this, I learned more than I could have ever imagined. I think it is important to write down these things so I don't forget them the next time around, and hopefully they provide some help to others. So here we go.

1. Long runs will end up consuming the entire day
I lucked out in that I could do my long runs on Friday since I didn't have class and then have the rest of the weekend to do weekend things. The trail that I did my long runs at was anywhere from 30-45 minutes away depending on traffic so that added 60-90 minutes to the whole trip total. The actual runs lasted anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how long I was running plus a few minutes here and there for switching out my water bottles. I would have to wake up early in order to eat breakfast in plenty of time. Then after the run I often would take a nap because I was tired. My day would start at 6:00 and I wouldn't be back to the apartment until 1:00. This ended up working out for me since I had no Friday classes but it sure took up the entire day.

2. Expect setbacks during training
The month of September was pretty rough for me. Instead of really pushing myself and getting into the heart of training I had to take a week off from running to rehab a strained quad muscle. Even before that week I had backed off of training quite a bit to try to relieve some of the pain. Then I had to ease back into training. I didn't really plan for anything to go wrong and so the rest of my training was messed up. I did the best I could for the rest of training but that setback really messed some things up. I am now allowing for setbacks in my training so that if something does go wrong it won't greatly affect my race.

3. A running partner is a wonderful luxury
I did almost all of my training by myself and I was fine with it most of the time. I truly like running by myself so I really didn't mind it. It was the long runs that really got to me. I was constantly doubting myself and I often cut runs short because I thought I was doing terribly. For my last three long runs I asked my dad my bike alongside with me to keep me company. What a difference. The time flew by and I knew I couldn't bail out early. I still don't have anyone to run with though (hint, hint anyone who lives in Baltimore County).

4. Long runs are invaluable to training
Due to my minor injury in September I got behind on my long runs. I did two 14 milers, a 15 miler, a 16 miler and a 20 miler. Next time I want to do a lot more long runs to get more comfortable running for longer distances. While my training did get me across the finish line in under 5 hours I know I can make significant improvements with more endurance training. I also think it's important to do some longer runs during the week to held build endurance. My brain hasn't quite caught up to my body so I kept thinking 7-8 miles was too much plus a long run but when I did try it I did absolutely great.

5. Bad runs are just a part of the program
At the end of the summer I wrote a post about how I had been having some really great training runs. I most likely jinxed myself because I had a whole slew of bad runs throughout September. Bad runs are annoying but they will always happen.

6. Strength training and other forms of cross training will help keep you healthy and happy
When I first started marathon training I was also training for a triathlon. I ran 3-4 times a week, biked twice, swam once, did yoga 1-2 times and did strength work 2 times a week. I saw great improvement in every area and I felt great. Once school started and I was pretty much only running I strained a muscle in my quad. I don't think that was a coincident. I put so much importance of the actual running that I neglected to do anything else. Not again.

When Mysterious Aches/Pains Strike

For the past two weeks I have been having all sorts of mysterious aches and pains. First it was this weird pain in my left hamstring/hip/glute. I don't really know what or where it was but it disappeared as quickly as it showed up. For the time that the pain was there, though, it was pretty intense. It started on a Saturday morning and by bed time it was so bad I could barely walk. I skipped my scheduled run the next day and went for a bike ride instead. By Monday it was gone. The only problem was that a new pain had showed up in my right upper inner thigh. I get this strong discomfort when I first start running or when I walk down the stairs. It has been going on for a week now so I set up an appointment to get it checked out.

This is the worst time for me to have any kind of injury or pains though. I am just getting to the part of marathon training with the 16-20 mile long runs. I had been feeling really good about where I was with my training and was coming off a really great race. Now I feel defeated and am questioning whether I will even be able to complete my training. I don't have the kind of running background that allows for 1-2 weeks of rest or cross training. I need to be building my mileage and increasing my long runs. Hopefully I am just being dramatic and everything will be fine.



Besides cutting out lifting I have really altered a few aspects of my training. Of course I am doing the usual stretch, ice, foam roll deal but I am taking them to the next level. Since it is the beginning of runs when my leg is bothering me I am starting each run off with a dynamic warm up. Not only does this get the body warmed up but it also stretches out the body in a safe way before starting my run. If I am doing a harder run I end it with a dramatically longer warm down followed by stretching. I am also stretching after easy runs since it is best to stretch after all runs.

If I finish my run at my apartment I foam roll my entire lower body after I am finished stretching. I'm sure it means something, although I am not sure what, but I can replicate the pain in my leg when I roll my hamstring. Since it hurts I don't do that though. My quads and hip flexors are what really seem to be needing the most foam roll love lately. After I am done rolling I then ice my leg. Icing seems to eliminate the pain for at least a little while. If I run at school I still stretch after running but I foam roll and ice later in the day when I get back to my place.

I took it generally easy last week, even cutting out my long run when the pain started to increase. I am also doing a fair amount of cross training in the forms of yoga, swimming, and biking. Although a few people have suggested it, I haven't taken any anti-inflammatory medicines yet, nor do I think I will. I don't like to take any kind of medicine unless it is necessary and right now I want to track my progress to see what is or isn't working. I am also taking the elevator whenever possible since stairs produce the pain as well.

Any suggestions?

My NYCM Training Plan

It is weird to be writing a post now about NYC Marathon training since almost everyone has already been training for well over a month now. Technically I have too, I just wasn't calling it marathon training. I guess it was pre-training. Anyway, I'm not here to give you a detailed day-to-day training plan because if you've been reading my blog for even a few days you have probably figured out I suck at sticking to what the plan says. I generally decide what workouts I want to do each week and then schedule accordingly. I do have my long runs pre-scheduled but they are subject to change should there be any setbacks with my training.

Running four days a week
I have run more and I have run less and neither seem to work for me. Four days is my happy medium that will allow me to improve my running without risking injury (too much). I will run five times a week if I am crunched for time and need to shorten a run, as long as my weekly mileage does not increase. Of my scheduled four runs I will do a long run, a track run, and two easy or recovery runs. I want to be as flexible as possible and will either do my recovery run after my track run or after my long run, just depends of how I am feeling that week.

Cross training
Over the summer when I was training for a triathlon is when I saw the most improvement with my running. I think swimming and biking over extra days of running will keep my body happy and injury free, and will help with the monotony of running all the time. As of now I am planning on swimming once a week and riding my bike on the trainer 1-2 times a week. I don't know the source but I have always heard that cycling has a direct correlation to improvement in running, which is another reason why I want to continue cycling. Other reasons for incorporating cross training include low impact exercise and maintaining a base for triathlon season next year.

Yoga and strength training
I started strength training a little over a month ago and can already see some major improvement in my leg muscles. Of course I want to tone up and look good but I also want to give my legs and body the strength it needs to run 26.2 miles. In addition to lifting twice a week I am going to go to yoga once a week. My legs actually crave a yoga class after a hard run now. Luckily my school has a few free yoga classes available throughout the week.

Rest, recovery & everything else
I am well aware of the stress that marathon training puts on the body and know how important proper recovery is. If I don't get an average of 8 hours of sleep a night I can hardly function. But sleep isn't the only part of recovery. I am going to take one full rest day a week to do absolutely nothing. I think I need this more mentally than physically but either way it is important. I have also noticed lately that eating enough protein, potassium, and salt are critical for me. If I am not on track nutritionally I feel sluggish and weak, which is not how I want to feel during marathon training. I will also be spending a decent amount of time doing injury prevention, including foam rolling, compression socks and sleeves, stretching after runs, and ice baths after hard runs.

Double Digits!

This morning I did my first double digit training run of 10 miles. I probably should have done at least that much while training for my first two half marathons but it's too late to change that now. I am taking my long runs really seriously since they are the most important thing about training for a marathon and I don't want to get too far behind.

I had trouble falling asleep last night so when I woke up to an abnormally cool morning I decided to sleep in for an extra hour. After my extra sleep I got all my stuff ready, ate breakfast, and headed over to the trail. I tried to download an audiobook last night to listen to during the run but messed up and bought an ebook instead. Whoops. I didn't really want to listen to music either.

A few minutes after starting the run I decided to do some miles at marathon and half marathon goal pace since my track run on Tuesday got stormed out. I'm not sure if either marathon or half marathon goal pace are correct for me but they work for now so I'm sticking with them.

2.5 miles warm up,
2 miles @ MGP (9:28)
1 mile recovery
2 miles @ HMGP (9:01)
2.5 miles warm down

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:39:04.6	10.00	9:55
1	10:45.0	1.00	10:47
2	10:26.0	1.00	10:26
3	9:44.8	1.00	9:44
4	9:25.9	1.00	9:27
5	9:30.9	1.00	9:30
6	9:59.3	1.00	10:00
7	8:49.7	1.00	8:51
8	9:46.4	1.00	9:46
9	10:30.5	1.00	10:30
10	10:03.6	1.00	10:05
11	:02.4	0.00	10:08

Since I left my garmin on autolap my individual miles at my goal paces weren't recorded. I did make sure to do the math while I was running to make sure I was on pace and one full mile for each goal pace was accurate. The other miles include easy running since they started half way through the mile.

What surprised me the most during this run was how much easier it was than I anticipated. I did a similar run while I was at the beach that really sucked the wind out of me. It left me questioning everything. Today's run left me confident and eager to keep training. My half marathon goal pace felt like a comfortable-hard that I could have maintained for awhile longer. And I was able to keep my pace consistent instead of all over the place.

Starting to Feel Like Marathon Training

Even though I haven't started official training for the NYC Marathon I am working on building my base right now. I find it difficult to focus on training for more than one race at a time so right now I am focusing on triathlon training for another two weeks before transitioning into marathon training. By doing this my "official" marathon training plan will only be 10 weeks, but fear not because I have surely been training for the past few weeks like everyone else. It is just mentally easier for me to call the first six weeks my base phase. It puts less pressure on my running and allows me to establish a solid base before things get real. And hopefully by that point my "official" training won't seem so daunting.

It is difficult, though, with so many other people already into full swing with their training. I have to keep telling myself this is my first marathon, I need to trust my plan. At this point I am getting really anxious and excited to start official training and not have to worry about swimming and biking. My next race is a triathlon with some serious hills during the bike leg, which means I have been spending the past four weeks climbing every hill I can find. This triathlon is not going to be an easy feat and consequently requires specific training. If it was a general easy triathlon I wouldn't be worrying about training for it so much. 

Right now all I want to do is tell people that I am training for a marathon. If I allow myself to thing with that mindset then I will stop wanting to train for my triathlon, which I very much need to continue training for. But since I refuse to say I'm in marathon training for the next two weeks I wanted to write a blog post about it. I want to feel included!

When I started training for my upcoming triathlon I made training more of a habit, which in turn has prevented training from seeming like a struggle or hassle. I look forward to training, and don't question it. I just do it. In the past I have had to really fight myself to get out for a run. Now I look forward to running and miss it on days when I am riding or swimming.

After a hard track workout last week I took my very first ice bath like it was no big deal. I jacked all of the ice from the icebox in our kitchen and put it into my bathtub. With drink in hand and a sweatshirt on I hopped in and soaked my tired muscles until they were numb. I probably didn't need the ice bath but I have been doing some high-intensity workouts lately and my muscles wanted the recovery.

I have also been wearing my compression sleeves before & after hard workouts, paying more attention to what I'm eating in terms of fueling and refueling, and making social arrangements around my training plan. The longest run I have done so far is 9 miles but I already feel so accomplished with my training. I can tell I'm making progress.

Honestly, I am loving everything about (almost) marathon training!

Respect the Distance

This morning I was up early (for me at least) to squeeze in a 7 mile run before it got too hot outside. I try to be finished with all morning runs by 9:30-10:00 depending on the weather. When my alarm went off at 7:30 the last thing I wanted to do was get out of my cozy bed. I knew that this morning was my only chance to get in a longer run so I sucked it up and got moving.

I have been running with my ipod a lot lately so I made sure it was changed and loaded with some new jams. I started my run around 8:45 hoping it wouldn't be too hot out yet. The last time I ran 7 miles I felt amazing and was going pretty quickly. I knew today was going to be much slower but I still thought I could finish in a decent time.

I felt good when I started running but made sure to hold back so I wouldn't burn out during the later miles. By about the half way point my legs were pretty tired and didn't want to be running anymore. I don't think I was running too fast but I probably could have slowed down even more.

This was my first run after last weekend's triathlon and I probably should have opted to run 3-4 miles. 7 miles really isn't a long distance but it sure felt like it this morning. I thought I could just jump back into training and maintain similar paces right away. Running is very humbling for me and has a way of always knocking me back down when I need a reminder.

Training for a marathon is no joke and I need to remember to never assume that it will be easy. It is always challenging and that is the point. If it was easy everyone would do it, right?