It’s been a minute!
Things have been crazy-busy here, but I am in full taper mode now for the New York City Marathon. Cullen and I are actually in Albany, NY this week before we head down to New York City this weekend for the race on Sunday!
There’s a lot that’s been happening that I need to write about, so hang tight!
My shoes for the NYC Marathon.
First off . . . .running.
Running has continued to go well during these last few weeks leading up to the marathon. Most of my runs have been easy with a shorter long run on the weekend and a hard workout mid-week. I had one really successful long run a week ago, which really boosted my confidence, and one not-so-great run that I’m not going to let me get me down because I’ve had a lot more good workouts than bad ones this training cycle.
THE best reflective/light-up vest for running in the dark.
Two Sundays ago, I set out to run 17 miles with 2 x 6 miles at goal marathon pace, plus one mile hard. For my last several long runs, I have been able to recruit a friend to pace me, but he’s injured now, so I had to do this solo. I took my Generation Ucan and a new-to-me electrolyte sports drink called Nanohydr8, along with my favorite protein bars G2G.
I started at 7:30 a.m., and it was still dark (Our sunrise is at 9:00 a.m. already.), chilly, but I was still rockin’ the shorts along with a thin long sleeve and a light jacket. I warmed up for 1.5 miles before starting the goal marathon pace miles. I was planning on starting at about a 7:00 pace and then dropping the pace from there throughout the 6 mile interval. Luckily the first split came in right at 7:00. “Okay,” I thought, “That’s good practice for the marathon and not starting out too fast.” The pace felt comfortable and doable. Next split – 6:51. I continued to drop the pace ending at 6:43 for the 6th mile split. Yes!
Actual splits – 7:00, 6:51, 6:51, 6:46, 6:45, 6:43
I timed the run so that I ended the first set of intervals back at my house, where I grabbed water during a half mile easy recovery and then started the next set of 6 miles at goal marathon pace. I ditched my jacket, gloves, and headband at this point as the sun had come out, and I had warmed up. Starting the next set always feels more difficult, but luckily I settled back into my marathon pace quickly. First split of the second set – 6:47. I did have one stop at a stop light during the next mile, but luckily I was able to hit the other lights, so I didn’t have to stop any more times. Second mile split – 6:44. I continued to drop the pace during this set as well, ending at a 6:40 mile for the last interval.
Actual splits – 6:47, 6:44, 6:45, 6:43, 6:45, 6:40
One mile hard – 6:20. . . . Yes! Nailed it!
After this successful workout, I then did a hard workout of 3 x 10 minutes at tempo the following Wednesday that did not go very well. I definitely didn’t set myself up with as much success for this run. I had been running around a lot the previous couple of days trying to do all the normal things I do plus extra things such as coach more training group sessions, make all my food from scratch and eat super clean, go to a dentist appointment and hair appointment, and a several other things I highlighted below.
I did this workout early Wednesday morning and opted not to eat anything, which I think was my biggest mistake. I was only running 10 miles, so I thought I would be fine, but I had gone to bed hungry the night before, woke up, didn’t give myself much time to get ready, so I didn’t get the chance to feel hungry. I could tell I was low on energy as soon as I started, and I could tell during the first interval that I was going to struggle. I definitely let my negative thoughts creep in after that, but at the same time, even all positive thoughts would haven’t brought my times down by that much, it was more the external factors. I finished the workout, which was an accomplishment in and of itself as I thought about bagging the workout several times, which is not usually the case for me. I ended up with times in between marathon pace and tempo pace.
Actual splits – 6:32, 6:50, 6:40
It is what it is, and I’m not letting this workout affect me mentally. I need to keep the thoughts positive at this point in time!
Last Wednesday Cullen turned 4 years old! We had a low-key day with some friends over in the morning, playing with his new PAW Patrol Sub Patroler in the afternoon, enjoying the gorgeous 50*F weather outside, and then getting ice cream in the evening. We had a big party on Saturday that I’ll recap in another post.
These last two weeks I have also had to coach extra training group sessions as my co-coach was out of town. (It works out nicely though because now I’ll be gone for two weeks to New York.) We have training groups through the running store I work at (Skinny Raven Sports), and we currently have three groups going on: an Intro to Running group (those who are new to running or just getting back into running), our Raven Run Club (which is for those who have a running base already), and for the first time we are offering a Destination Training Group, where everyone is training together for the Arizona Rock ‘n’ Roll race in Phoenix in January. These are always fun to coach, but it was getting to be a bit hectic to coach in the morning at 6 a.m. and then again at 6 p.m. and fit my training in in between these times plus making food, family time, and all of the other things I normally do in a day. (I’m glad you’re back, Hallidie!)
Also within the last two weeks, I had to have a temporary cap put on my tooth followed by the permanent cap the next week. I had a root canal done last summer, so it was time to get the cap put on. I had no idea it was such a long, intense process (and spendy!). Everything’s good now, but that definitely took up some of my extra time.
The other thing I did this past week was follow the ‘Eat Like Shalane’ meal plan from the Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook, so I made everything from scratch and had very few processed foods (except a slice of whole grain bread and pasta, for example). When I first bought the Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook, I saw the sample meal plan that highlighted what a week of Shalane’s diet might be, and I have always wanted to follow it. I figured what better time than in my lead-up to the NYC Marathon.
I really liked following this plan as it showed me that I don’t have to resort to pre-packaged crackers, granola bars, flavored yogurts, and those processed foods for snacks. I was also forced to try new recipes from the cookbook, and I found several that I will definitely be making again: Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies, Kale-Rodicchio Farro Salad, the Fish Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa, and Soba Noodle Salad with Runner’s High Peanut Sauce. I followed her eating plan almost to the ‘T’ except for the dessert snack before bed. I felt really good eating this way, and I think I have been able to cut a few pounds towards race weight this week.
Teff Pumpkin Pancakes with Currents with the Can’t Beet Me Smoothie
If that wsn’t crazy enough, this last week I had a hair appointment and nail appointment before our trip, which was fun but takes time away from everything else. Plus, I had to clean the house, figure out food, prep food, and decorate for Cullen’s birthday last weekend. And then while we are gone, Craig will be celebrating his birthday, so I had to get his birthday gift and we went out for dinner one night to celebrate his and Cullen’s birthday. Oh, and you know, just pack for Cullen and I in there as well, work all day on Sunday and then finally fit in a long-ish run that day. Sheesh! I’m tired just thinking about it again! But, as always, everything worked out. The party turned out great, I got all of my runs in (since they are always a priority), I made all my meals from scratch, and I was able to go to bed by 9 p.m. most nights and get 8+ hours of sleep, and so far I haven’t thought of anything major I forgot to pack. Woohoo!
I have to give a big shout-out to Craig for helping me make all of these things possible. He watches Cullen while I am either running and/or coaching in the morning and running and/or coaching almost every evening as well. He has a big help in the kitchen cleaning up after I destroyed the place from making so many things from scratch–loading the dishwasher, unloading the dishwasher, and doing the dishes by hand, which is probably his least favorite chore. He also took Cullen on the Halloween Train on Saturday before his birthday party, bought all the food for the party, and helped prep food. He has also been my coach during these last few months and even though he has very little running and training experience, it’s amazing that he always tells me what I need to hear and makes the best decision for me. I guess that’s what happens after you’ve been married for over 10 years.
