I Run Like A Girl

Got about a million tangents running in my head that I’m ready to spill. I will try and be somewhat organized.

Week 2 of marathon training

This week was a pretty solid week of training. Two of my four runs I was feeling extra strong and set out for some extra mileage than planned; I don’t want to get ahead of myself and burn out early, but sometimes you just gotta #treatyoself and seize those strong moments and follow your heart (and your feet!) if it wants more 🙂

The weather was super volatile this week. The beginning of the week started out freezing, and I got in some treadmill miles in. Then a HEAT WAVE hit NYC and I was in shorts on my Thursday run!! All to come back to freezing temps for the weekend.

Monday: 3 miles on treadmill (9:35 pace), slight progression

Tuesday: 5 miles on the treadmill – 1 mile warm up (9:40 pace) + 3 miles tempo (9:00 pace) + 1 mile cool down (9:40 pace). This was my first dedicated tempo workout of training, and it felt great! I was nervous about being able to hold a 9-min pace for 3 whole miles…there were definitely some tough stretches, but we need these tempo miles to get use to race day pace.

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: 4 easy miles (9:43 pace). I originally planned for 3 miles, but it was a beautiful day (60 degrees!), and so I extended my run along the east river 🙂

Friday: REST

Saturday: 10.3 miles long run (9:27 pace). Originally suppose to be 9 miles, but the route I took called for 10ish miles: ran from my apartment up to Central Park and back down. It was SO MUCH FUN. One of those rare runs where you just feel strong throughout (after the first two warm up miles, of course…I never feel amazing starting off a run). Also, I hadn’t run in Central Park in ages and it felt so good to tackle some hills for once and see tons of runners on the loop early in the morning.

Sunday: REST (even though this is tomorrow…I will definitely be resting 😉 )

Progress this training cycle + running is my therapy + nutrition 

One thing I loved about this week was how refreshing each run felt. I’m glad I took the Fall off for marathon training, because I am just so SO excited to be back in the game. I woke up actually excited to get out and run.

Friday was a tough day for me with some personal stuff…and all I could think about was, “man I can NOT wait for my long run tomorrow to think through all this.” And of course, after my Saturday run, what was bringing me down was completely lifted off my shoulders. Isn’t running the best therapy for these life things?! What a great way to start a weekend with feeling proud of yourself from a run…the endorphin don’t hurt either 🙂

I’m actually pretty surprised and super happy with the paces I hit this week. I’ve been making an effort to go out of my comfort zone and run FASTER. One of the best tips I ever read on reaching race goals was: “To run faster, you have to run faster.” Simple, almost silly, but SO TRUE.

And so, each run, even the easy ones, I’ve been pushing myself so that eventually my “easy” pace will be faster and feel like a breeze. Running in this faster manner all led up to my long run this week being at a pretty solid 9:27 pace. Usually my long runs are at 10-10:30 pace, so I couldn’t be happier!!

I also think a HUGE different for me this time around is my focus on nutrition. I’ve been cooking almost every meal for the past two weeks, eating less processed food, and drinking less; knowing exactly what I’m putting in my body makes a huge difference. I’ve been feeling lighter, quicker, and altogether more energetic throughout the day:)

Upcoming race – NEED ADVICE

I’m looking into race options for the winter to tune up for the marathon. I’ve done the Central Park Half Marathon for the past two years, and it’s been a blast, but the race is losing it’s charm for me and I’m not sure if I want to repeat again, especially since most of my long runs will probably be in the park.

There’s also the Go Hard or Go Home Half Marathon, which is 4 laps in Prospect Park. It would be nice to try a different race/company, BUT I once did a 15K which was 3 laps in Prospect Park, and I wanted to shoot myself. Whoever thought to make races 3+ laps of ANYTHING is a terrible person.

Lastly, there’s the Febapple Frozen Trail Race in NJ, which could be my first trail race! I’d probably opt for the 10 mile option since it’s a technical race, and I’m not use to running on trails/hills. Reading past reviews, it’s a tough one. The time of year itself calls for lots of mud/snow/ice, and most people said the actual experience wasn’t too comfortable. A part of me wants to try something new, but another part of me thinks it’s a bit excessive to travel all the way to NJ just to freeze to death on a mountain.

So, long story short, I’d like to pick 1-2 of these for my tune up race this winter. If anyone has ever done them or has been in similar situations choosing races, please let me know in the comments!!! I know I don’t sound that gung-ho for either of them, but I’m definitely excited to see where my half marathon lands in a few weeks 🙂