On my workout grind...

Since I last blogged I've gotten some great workouts in and I've been feeling pretty awesome. Here's a quick rundown:

Sunday 20 miler
Monday swim class
Tuesday 6x800 m repeats + core work
Wednesday 4.5 mile run + Warrior Fitness Bootcamp

Let's start with the 20 miler. Last week when I had to run 18 miles alone, I seriously dreaded it then struggled through it and wished I had some running company. This week, for 20 I actually really enjoyed the solo run. It started a little rocky though. I walked out of the door and IMMEDIATELY it started pouring. Meanwhile, it had been lovely out all day but I had procrastinated from hitting the streets. Luckily it only lasted the first couple miles. Then, I had to stop at a portapotty at mile 3!!! Between that and the rain I was pretty irritated. But then, post portapotty it all came together. A nice easy smooth 20 mile run, which took me down through battery park city, across the brooklyn bridge and then home in about 3:10. The whole time I was running I was thinking...hmm, I should blog about this, and this, and this... But now it's Wednesday and I've blogged about none of it. Whoops! Maybe next time.

Swim class
I was pretty concerned that finishing up my run at 8:30pm on Sunday might make my Monday morning swim pretty difficult but for some reason, I felt great. Must have been the 3 advil I took right before bed. We continued practicing our breathing and rotation and the instructor ACTUALLY COMPLIMENTED ME! I was elated. Apparently, I'm good at not taking my whole face out of the water when I'm swimming. I'm hoping if we continue moving along slowly, I will improve and learn and keep getting compliments.
The other wonderful thing about swimming class was that afterwards I felt amazing! No soreness from the run at all. I'm truly convinced that swimming is the best cross training there is for running.

6x800s
Ugh! So I normally like interval training...when done outside,in the morning, with my team, with Spencer encouraging me to keep going. Now, on the other hand, doing the exact same intervals on the treadmill in the evening after work is TERRIBLE. I truly do not understand how people manage to work out at night. I had no energy at all and strugged to do the 800s at a 7 min/mile pace. I got through 6 though ranging in pace from 7 min/mile- 7:16 min/mile, which I guess isn't too shabby. The cleaning lady said she was tired from just watching me do them. LOL. I honestly felt like i was going to die the whole time...I almost wonder if the treadmill was calibrated correctly!! I did some thorough stretching afterwards as well as some core work. Spencer would have been proud (if I hadn't slept through practice that morning)

4.5 mile run and WFBC
Again, I was concerned this morning b/c I did a hard workout last night and had another hard workout this morning. I took the run super easy though, which was nice. I ran into Claire and one of the fast guys from Terrier in the park before I headed down 5th avenue to get to class. And, of course, class was amazing as usual. Strangely, it was the best WFBC class I've had in a while. I didn't feel exhausted from marathon training and actually had some speed in my legs. It Got over the walls just fine. (Not the rope though...I will get there one day) It was nice to not feel like a slacker for a change.

So, it got me thinking, what was so different that gave me so much more energy. I came up with a few things. I slept in yesterday (got 10 hours of sleep...amazing!) and have been doing a MUCH better job of stretching and foam rolling which I think helping my recovery. Also, on Sunday after my long run, I had a protein shake immediately. Before I started my run, I had a slice of bread to fuel my workout. Finally, I've just been eating MUCH better. For a while, I was eating and drinking all of the wrong things. Fried things, cake, ice cream, wine--very little fruits/veggies. The thing about marathon training is to an extent you can eat a LOT and not gain weight BUT, you feel so much better if you fuel up with healthy nutritious stuff. Unfortunately, b/c I changed so many thing at once, I'm not sure where the change came from but I do know I felt lighter and fitter and great. I am gonna have to keep this up leading into the race :)

So all and all a great 4 days. Let's hope I can keep this up! :)

Miracles Do Happen

Today was our biweekly tempo run. Per usual, I had been dreading this run all week, especially after getting killed at WFBC on Wednesday. I woke up with super sore hamstrings, quads and abs (Ruben really did a number on me this week) and hit snooze until about 5:50am. Oops! Finally, I got myself together and hopped in a cab (I know...I should not be dropping dollars on cabs but sometimes it's just necessary for those 15 extra minutes) at 6am and made it down near our meeting place at 59th street and the west side path around 6:10. I jogged over the 2 blocks from where the cab left me to the west side instead of the 1 mile I had initially planned to warm up.

I caught the tail end of group stretching and then Spencer let us know that we would be doing 8 miles at tempo pace or what he and running magazines like to call a "comfortably hard" pace. 8 miles is a loooong time to maintain a "comfortably hard" pace, especially when I mostly feel the hard part. Spencer also advised us to take the first mile a bit slower and that it should be our slowest mile. I, along with many others in the group tend to have a problem with overrunning the first mile despite Spencer stressing that we not every single week.

So here's the miracle you've been waiting for, "I DIDN'T HATE IT!!!" Now, please don't be confused, this was no easy run. While felt like I could have kept going at the end, which I suppose is the hallmark of comfortably hard, I certainly did not want to and I definitely wanted to slow down the whole time. At the same time, I felt pretty strong being able to hold an 8 min/mile pace give or take a few seconds for the whole 8 miles. And, unlike the last time I did a tempo run, I didn't have a middle mile where I felt like I was absolutely going to die--my times were generally pretty consistent. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 8:07

(I was a good little runner and followed Spencer's advice, plus he's been riding his bike to the mile markers and calling out our times for us, so I knew he'd know if I overran the first mile)

Mile 2: 7:58
Mile 3: 7:56
Mile 4: 8:04
Mile 5: 8:03
Mile 6: 7:59
Mile 7: 8:01
Mile 8: 7:39 (for .97 miles allegedly so the pace was 7:55 min/mile)

For those of you not familiar with tempo runs, here are some interesting articles that describe this particular brand of running torture.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--11909-1-1-2,00.html

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=5615&PageNum=1

So now, we have just one more tempo run before we taper. The marathon is approaching so quickly...just 5 more weeks to go from Sunday!!

Long Lonely (Inner Strength Building) 18 (17.5) Miler

On Saturday, I needed to run 18 miles before getting on an 11am bus to Washington, D.C. I was pretty bummed about it because a) it meant I was going to have do the 18 miler the day after a hill workout and at the end of a week of pretty heavy mileage and b) I was going to have to do it ALL BY MYSELF! So, needless to say I was dreading it. Despite the fact that I trained for my first and second marathons almost all by myself, over the last two seasons I've gotten spoiled and have been spending most of the longer runs chatting it up with friends.

Anyway, I still got up Saturday morning determined to knock out my 18 miler with the 7 middle miles at around race pace, which I think should be between 8:35-8:45 min/miles (I'm aiming high!). I planned to run down the West Side Highway 9 miles and turn around, picking up the pace after mile 6. All went pretty well (except a pit stop at a portapotty around mile 5.5) until after my race pace miles. I was SERIOUSLY depleted and was doubtful about whether I was going to complete the full 18. It was also super swampy out and so I was sweating like a beast. My socks (which btw are sweat wicking socks) were SOPPING wet and with every step I took, I could feel them swishing. This didn't make me particularly happy considering I had just gotten a pedicure the evening before. Here a link to the run.

9.24 Lonely 17.5 Miler by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Basically my non-race pace miles I averaged between 9:16 and 10:25, and my race pace miles averaged between 8:31 and 8:43. As you can see, I seriously BONKED for the last few miles. I only ended up doing 17.5--partially b/c I was so tired, and partially b/c I needed to get back home to pack for my 11am bus. I thought my heavy legs and sluggishness was a result of a week of training and no break before the long run, but after talking to my friend Consuelo who is also marathon training, I realized it was more likely the result of not drinking any gatorade, not eating anything b4 I started running, and only using a few shot bloks and no gu during the run. I'm going to have to do better with my nutrition going forward b/c feeling like you have literally nothing left in you is no fun at all.

All in all though, I am pretty pleased with the run. Holding between an 8:31- 8:43 pace for 7 miles after already running 6 miles and then doing another 4.5 was pretty legit. Also, considering the fatigue on my legs and lack of any nutrition, I think it's pretty respectable. In 2 weeks, I have a 19 miler which I think 9 miles of which will have to be at race pace so that will be a good test of what I can accomplish on race day.

Heavy training ahead!! On deck for this week:

Swim monday. 5x 1 mile repeats Tuesday (+ warmup and an easy 2 miles between getting to practice and getting home), 7 miler Wednesday + bootcamp, 4 miler Thursday, 8 mile tempo Friday, and 20 miler Saturday. Lots to blog about for sure :)

Too Fast, Too Soon....As Usual. The NYC Half

Today was the New York City Half Marathon. I had big plans of running a good race even though I haven't been focused on my running as much as I should be. I planned to aim for a 1:45 but would have been happy with a 1:48 or really anything under a 1:50. I started strong with an 8:15 min/mile, then did an 8:05 and 8:06. Then came harlem hill. I took it a bit easier on that and averaged an 8:23. At that point, I thought to myself, this is a little hard but I just have to get out of central park and then I'll be home free. FALSE.

I got through the 8 mile point at which point you exit the park onto 7th ave. I then thought it was time to kick into gear, with 5 miles to go. Unfortunately, I didn't have any gears left. I did an 8:03 and then it's unclear what my pace was because the gps on my watch doesnt work in times square and it was acting all crazy. When I got to mile 10, I felt terrible but still tried to push. All I had left was 9 min miles so I did 3 and finished the race feeling pretty defeated.

I ended up finishing in a disappointing 1:52:34, 8:36 pace--a few seconds slower than my race in DC exactly a year ago. During that race, I went out way too fast, faster even than today, but perhaps it was comparable given that in Central Park I was working against some tough hills. The only time I've ever paced correctly was the NYC Marathon last fall when Spencer sent me splits to follow. Apparently I need that kind of guidance all of the time. I also just need to get faster. I've been running since 2007 and ran my first 1/2 in 1:55 averaging a 8:47 pace. 3 marathons, multiple half marathons, and countless other races and I haven't even improved by 15 seconds per mile. Sometimes I wonder why I keep running.



3.20 NYC Half Marathon by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

October Flashback--tempo run and shorts!

Man, I really hate winter--it has been a rough one. Good thing that it felt like Spring today (48 degrees when we started and a high of 66 degrees today) and I got to run in shorts for the first time since who knows...probably October around the time I last did a tempo run! Maybe it was the Spring like weather, or maybe all of the hard work from the last few weeks is beginning to pay off but today's run was no less than awesome.

I met the team at the Equinox at Columbus Circle at 6am, which apparently is the new meeting spot. Wish I had known that 2 weeks prior. Oh well! Before we got started, I dropped into the Equinox to pick up my guest pass for the beginner triathlon program. Turns out that my guest pass works at any Equinox at any time for the next 8 weeks. AMAZING! I can't even express how psyched I am about this. Equinox really is a beautiful gym and NYSC pales in comparison...except that it's almost $100 cheaper.

We got warmed up for the tempo by running easy over to the West Side path from Columbus Circle. Once we arrived, Spencer told us that the advanced group would do 7 miles and the intermediate group would be doing 6. Basically, from where we started at 59th street, 6 miles was down to Charles Street and back to the start. *sigh* I honestly didn't know if I had 6 tempo miles in me.

I know, I started this post by saying it was an amazing run. But don't be fooled, I still hated almost every minute of it, like every single other tempo run I have ever done in my life. According to Spencer, you should be comfortably uncomfortable for the duration of the tempo run and at about 85% max heart rate. I don't know about other people but 85% max heart rate for a long period of time is just plain uncomfortable for me. There is just nothing comfortable about it.

I started off feeling great. Mile 1 flew by and when I finished I realized that I had definitely over run it at a 7:51 pace. Who did I think I was?! I slowed down a bit and ran the next 2 miles at an 8:06 and then 8:03 pace. At that point, I was feeling really awful and had to give my self a pep talk just about every minute. First I said, okay, you will do 4 full miles. You can do that. And, if you do 4 miles averaging an 8 min pace, that's pretty respectable. Then, after I hit the 4 mile marker I told myself I could definitely do 5. I mean, what's one more mile. I definitely felt better than I did during the last 3 miles of the marathon, so I could definitely get through 5. Finally, once I got past the 5 mile mark, I convinced myself that I just couldn't stop. After all, I might be the last runner and the team would be waiting at the end for me. With all of that coaching of myself, I somehow made it through all 6, averaging an 8:10 pace for the whole run.

There is one part I HATE about the west side tempo runs. Because it's an out and back, the super fast guys (which is like EVERYONE because this marathon training group is like the super elite crew that leaves me in their dust) always end up passing me along the way. Today, I was actually quite happy to make it to the turn around point before the fast guys starting passing me on the way back. Basically I was happy I could run 3 miles faster than they could run 4. Oh, the little things.

Today I learned that I need to go out slower so I have more left in me for the end. My first mile was wayyyy too fast and then miles 4-6 were all between an 8:14 and 8:24 pace. I have this problem all the time--especially in races. I'm hoping to correct it when I run the NYC Half in a few weeks. But that said, I was very pleased with the run. I took a look at my old garmin times and I did this tempo 6 seconds faster per mile I did my last tempo for the marathon. Considering I've only really been running consistently for about a month and I haven't been particularly focused on running, that made me pretty happy. Also, since it's only February and I'm thinking of doing a half in mid March, late March, May and July, I figure by the time marathon training rolls around I HAVE to get significantly faster. For 2011, I'd really like to shave 10 minutes off last year's time.

Dear Amanda, thanks for the 10 miles.

Today, as I anticipated, I was incredibly sore from the last 6 days of exercise but I have the NYC Half coming up and I needed to get a long run in. Amanda and I agreed to meet to do 10 or so miles today. We were both pretty excited because finally it was a little bit warmer.

I got started around 1:45pm and ran from my apartment down to meet her at Columbus Circle. As soon as I started, I wanted to stop but I knew at the very least I had to get down to meet Amanda so she wouldn't be standing there waiting for me. Once I did make it down there, we headed into Central Park headed counterclockwise.

At cat hill around 79th street, it became apparent to me that I couldn't stay in the park for the whole run. My legs were screaming, my heart rate was elevated, and I wanted to go home--I just didn't think I could take the hills. So I suggested that we head up to 102nd street then cross to the West Side and down the West Side highway path. Thankfully she agreed (because otherwise I may have just gone home) and we made our way West.

From then on, I basically told my self I was going to stop at when I completed the next mile, but somehow when I finished each mile, I convinced myself that I should just keep going. I was so lucky that Amanda was there, because I for sure would have quit even before we got out of the park. Finally, we made it down to 14th street which was 10 miles for me. Amanda kept on running home and I hopped in a cab back to my apartment completely depleted.

Today's run made me question my decision to do quite so many hard workouts. It was supposed to be an easy long run but, I was so tired and sore that what would normally be an easy pace (9:20min/mile) kept my heart rate at an average of 171. I considered skipping Warrior Fitness Boot Camp tomorrow but I have no self control and am going to go anyway. However, I will take Friday off completely so hopefully I can be a bit more rested up for next week's 11 miler.

Total Workout Today:

10 miles @ an average 9:21 min/mile pace
1:33 of running

Untitled by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Remember when I did 8 mile tempo runs

Apparently my body does not.

Today I meant to meet the terrier group (yes, I am zero for three on terrier instruction this week) for a tempo run. I am sorta trying to follow the 1/2 marathon program that they are doing to get myself prepared for the NYC 1/2 in March. I thought they were meeting at 23rd and the West Side path but apparently I was wrong and I was standing out there alone at 6am. Nonetheless, I decided I'd do a tempo run on my own. My schedule called for me to do 5 miles. I only got through 2 miles at an 8:20 pace before I stopped. Tragic. 3 weeks out from the marathon, I did 8 miles at about that same pace.

After walking for about 2 minutes, I started up running again. I did 3 more miles--2 @ about a 9:20 and then the last one at 8:30. It was incredibly not easy and really kinda sad. Spencer (our terrier tri running coach) says that I will see the work I did last Fall sometime this season and that I need to be patient. Based on today's run, I'm not really convinced, but I guess I'll take his word for it.

On another note, it was ridiculously cold this morning. 16 degrees with a windchill of 9 or thereabouts. But, it turns out that if you dress warmly enough, you really don't feel it. Today, despite running on the West Side, where the wind off the river basically assaults you, I felt no colder than any other winter day. However, I had on 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts (one lined with fleece), a fleece headband, and big funny looking gloves with hand warmers inside. Running creates a lot of laundry...

Today's Workout:

5 miles (44 minutes)