NY Marathon Countdown...what's up with these nerves?

So the marathon is rapidly approaching--just 1 week and 3 days to go. The thing is---I am soooo nervous.

Never before have I been this nervous leading up to race day but, I guess never before have I set such high expectations for myself. My goal this year is to do the race in 3:50--that would be a 12 minute PR from last year, which is HUGE. Really, I'd like to do it in 3:48, but I think that may be a little unrealistic. A 3:50 marathon would be an average 8:46 pace and a 3:48 would be an 8:41. *sigh*

So, let's talk about training, my race history, and whether I can do this. At the very beginning of marathon training I did a half marathon in San Francisco in 1:50. I was, by no means rested for this race--the Saturday before I did my first triathlon. I followed up the tri with a 4 mile run and bootcamp the following day, speedwork that Tuesday, bootcamp that Wednesday + a run, an easy run Thursday and hills that Friday. I then hopped on a plane to San Fran and ran the race that Sunday. All that to say, I'm thinking maybe I could have had a better time than 1:50--1:48 perhaps. Plug that 1:48 into running times race calculator

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6765

and it says I can do the marathon in 3:49. I'm going to hang my hat on that. I also was a very dedicated trainee this season. While I did not make all the Tuesday practices, I made up the speedwork the days that I missed (except when I was suffering from post-race soreness) and did all of the tempo runs and hill workouts. I also did all of my long runs just the way Spencer prescribed. There were about 3 long runs where I did between 6-9 miles at race pace (8:35-8:45) and was able to finish them strong. After both my 20 and 21 miler I felt just fine, like I could have kept going for sure. I went to bootcamp every week and even cross trained with swimming once a week. So, I should be prepared right?

Well, for some reason, despite spending that whole last paragraph convincing myself and hopefully you that I can do this, I'm still very nervous. What if I go out to fast? What if I go out too slow and can't make up the time? What if there's a terrible rainstorm, or it's super hot out that day? So many variables. So much to be nervous about.

So, instead of being nervous, I'm going to focus on what I can do to make this goal work. Starting today, I'm getting 8 hours of sleep, every single night, if not more, until race day. Also, starting tomorrow (after my office pizza party), I'm going to eat very clean--no cake, french fries, etc. All the bad stuff that makes me feel bloated and crappy is out. For the taper, I'm going to follow Spencer's rules to the letter. No extra running. No extra swimming. No bootcamp. Just rest and easy runs. Oh, and no alcohol. It's going to be a boring week.

So, in case you're wondering how my training has been going, since really that is the purpose of this blog, here's a bit of an update. This week actually started pretty poorly. Saturday and Sunday passed by and I didn't get my 16 miler in. On Sunday night I was seriously freaking out about it but still couldn't motivate myself to do it. Finally, on Monday AFTER A FULL DAY OF WORK, I hit the streets and did it. What a relief! I managed to get all 16 miles at a very respectable 9:30 pace with no water and just one gu. Tuesday, I decided to chill...after all I didn't get finished with my long run until 9pm. On Wednesday, I had another struggle of a day. Instead of getting up and doing my 6 miler in the morning, I woke up a tad hungover and flaked on my running buddy. I then, instead of going to run immediately after work, decided it would be a better idea to go get a burrito from Dos Toros (which btw, is DELICIOUS). Finally, I got home around 8:30pm and watched Biggest Loser, waiting for my burrito to digest. By 11pm, I felt good to run and then ran a cool 6 miles at what my garmin calls an 8:41 average pace but 8:13 average moving pace. Normally, I wouldn't bother including this "average moving pace," but it is important in this case because I had to stop at A LOT of corners waiting for lights. I couldnt run in the park because it was so late and so had to deal with other pedestrians and traffic---LAME. I managed to keep my heart rate at an average 164 for that run, which I think is pretty good. Finally, today I did an easy 4 mile recover run on the treadmill during lunch. I didn't want to get stuck doing another run after work b/c I have terrier in the morning and want to be rested.

So, what's on tap for the next week of tapering. Tomorrow we have a fartlek. We throw some speed into what would otherwise be an easiest run. Runners world is always a good resource for learning about this stuff:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263--12081-0,00.html

On Sunday, I'm going to be down in DC with my friend Consuelo who is doing her first marathon. YAY!!! I'm going to do the last 10 miles with her, and this will be my final long run before the marathon. Then next week, I have 3 super easy runs. One on Tuesday with Spencer (as a side note, as much as i whine about getting up early to go to speedwork, I'm going to seriously miss Friday practices with Spencer. I've actually grown to like the hills and tempo workouts. So freaking odd right!) and then a 30 min run Wed and 20 min run Thursday. I don't even know if I know how to run for just 20 minutes!

Well, that's of my chatting for now. Hopefully I can put all of this nervous energy into something productive!

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! :)

Dreadmill and Foam Rolling

This evening it was raining and I didn't feel like getting soaked so I opted for the treadmill at my office gym, or the dreadmill, as I so very affectionately call it (I borrowed this nickname from another fitness blogger). What's funny is that until 2007 when I became a "runner," I could not run outside at all and only could run on the dreadmill. Now, I HATE it! I seriously cannot understand how it takes what seems like forever to get through each .1 of a mile. But, I pulled together every ounce of marathon dedication and did a SUPER easy 4 miles (9:40 pace).

In addition to the dreadmill, I also spent some time foam rolling and stretching--both not favorites of mine. Now, despite all the miles I've been putting in, I've been a delinquent stretcher/foam roller, and my body is paying the price. For example, for the last week or so, after a run or bootcamp, sometimes when I walk I get random pain spasms in my hips. I got a massage on Monday b/c I thought it would alleviate this problem---no such luck. So today I sucked up and lived through the terrible terrible pain of foam rolling my quads, it bands and hips. OUCH!!!! Hurts more than any runs I've done. But, I figure if I want to actually make it to the NYC Marathon, I better stop ignoring Spencer's constant reminders to stretch/foam roll.

The Taper

A 1/2 marathon is by no means anything approaching the difficulty of a marathon but I'm still cutting down on my workouts this week so that I can have the best race possible. That means no bootcamp and no brick. BORING!!!

This morning I planned to get up and go for a nice easy run in the park by myself. On any other Monday I'd be off to WFBC so that Alex and Ruben could torture me in that extra special way that makes me hate to love them, or love to hate them...unclear. Turns out, I have plenty of motivation to get up at 5:50am to get to bootcamp but NO MOTIVATION to go on an easy run in the park by myself. I snoozed till 8:30am at which time I seriously had to hustle to make it to work on time. FAIL!

So when I got home from work at 10pm I had to change into my gym clothes and go to the gym. Oh yes, the god awful dreadmill. I did 2.5 easy 9-9:30 min/miles then did the last mile at an 8:35 pace. At that point, Equinox was closing so I had to vacate the premises so the folks there didn't give me those evil "I want to leave so can you please get out of here" stares. Being the recipient of those stares is no fun---I used to give those very stares when I worked at the gym in college.

Anyway, pretty boring workout really. As excited as I am for the half marathon, I look forward getting back into bootcamp next week.

Do you run in Central Park?

This morning I hopped on the subway at 6am to head to WFBC. I was pretty much half asleep still because I just haven't been getting enough shuteye. For example, yesterday I watched Dexter and went to bed around midnight even though I was supposed to get up at 5:45am. Anyway, I figured I'd close my eyes until I got to 34th street and faced the torture that would be sleep deprived WFBC.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by a lady sitting next to me on the subway who asked, "Do you run in Central Park?" Apparently she recognized me. There are definitely some people who I see ALL the time in the park and have come to expect to see on my runs. Once we realized we were fellow Central Park runners, we launched into a conversation about how awful this winter has been for running, how on Monday, even though it wasn't that cold, the wind made it literally painful to run--I returned home from my 13 miler with my hurting sinuses, a bit of a cough and persistent sneezing--and each of our marathon histories and just how much we love running. One of the many things I love about running is the camaraderie between runners. During both the super coldest of months and the hottest, the hardcore runners who grin and bear it to get their runs in always will give each other nods of encouragement and recognition. When I was in both Hawaii and Japan last October, runners said hello even we spoke different languages. When you're on a hard run, it makes it just a little easier when you receive encouragement from your fellow runners.

That brings me to a recap of my running/other activities recently. On Saturday I did Billy's SWAT class. We did a number of timed circuits. I was paired up with Sarah Klein who kicks ass and helped me set the time to beat on one of the circuits---50 box jumps, followed by 30 squat to shoulder press, 30 pushups, and 30 mountain climbers; then 50 box jumps followed by 20 of each of those exercises, and then 10. Another challenge circuit we did was 3 1/4 mile sprints each followed by 50 reverse crunches. I was kinda disappointed by my time on that one--only managed to do it in 8:52. I figure I shouldn't feel too bad considering I had done a tempo run the day before and my legs were pretty shot. Once class was over though, I still put my fatigued legs to work with a little spin.

On Sunday, I had big workout plans. 13 mile run in the morning. Terrier tri swim practice in the evening. Instead, I went to brunch and took the day off. It was totally worth it.

On Monday I did a nice easy 13 miles in Central Park. My 13 miler felt wayyyy better than any of my long runs over the last few weeks even though I did it all alone. I'm not sure whether I'm getting stronger or my body was just happy to have a day of rest on Sunday.

On Tuesday, I had my 2nd Terrier Tri cycling class. For the first time ever, I managed to get my heart rate over 170 during a spin class. We did two drills that got my heart rate way up. The first was that we would spin at 90 rpm and then bump it up to 110 for a period of time. The 2nd was that we did a 4 minute seated climb at 60 rpm and then added more resistance and did a standing 4 minute climb keeping that cadence. After a short recovery, we repeated this 2nd drill. It was no joke. I also managed to convince myself to jump on the treadmill and do an easy 3 mile run after cycling. I kept it nice and easy and to my surprise, it wasn't actually that bad. By the time I was finished though, my clothes looked like I had jumped into the swimming pool.

Finally, today I went to my WFBC. I got in trouble a few times for standing up during laps of bear crawls around the room. Gosh, I really hate bear crawls. Unfortunately, when you "get in trouble" it just means you end up doing more bear crawls so next time around I'm gonna just get it over with the first time. I was also put in the "slower" group today. This was pretty disheartening---I think I just wasn't giving it my all and I was a bit fatigued from Monday's long run and Tuesday's brick. The plan is to work harder next Monday when I head back, but to be honest, since it's the day after my 14 miler I have little faith in how hard I can actually work.

All and all, I'm pretty proud of my last few exercise sessions though!



5 day Exercise Recap:

Saturday 75 min SWAT class and 20 min spin
Monday 13 mile run @ 9:20 min/mile pace Untitled by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details
Tuesday 1 hr Terrier Tri spin followed by 3 mile run @10 min/mile pace
Wednesday 1 hr WFBC

Day 1 of Blogging

After reading tons of fitness blogs and loving them, I decided to start one of my own. For one, I'm pretty sure all of my friends are sick and tired of me raving about my workouts so, this gives me a place to share them. I began running back in 2007 thanks to my friend Stin and my firm track club. That November, I did my first half marathon and then the following November I ran the NY marathon and I've basically been a running junkie ever since. I did the Philly marathon in 2009 and then the NY marathon again in 2010. NY is an awesome race--I'm signed up to do it again this year. As a result of training with the terrier tri team running coach Spencer for NY 2010, somehow I got roped into signing up for the team and allegedly training for my first tri. So here I am, from a runner (loosely speaking) to a triathlete.

I'm not really much of a triathlete because I didn't really learn to a bike until Summer 2010 and I just am learning to swim this year, so it should be an interesting transition. I'm also a bit addicted to other gym activities like kickboxing, spinning and boot camp so that gets in the way of training for the 3 sports.

Today I was supposed to go to Terrier Practice at 6am but I literally put on all my running clothes, went outside, noted the "wintry mix" falling from the sky and turned around and went back inside and back to sleep. 2 hours later, I woke up and did the Terrier workout on the treadmill. 6x400 meters with a 400 meter active recovery and 4x200meters with 200 meters active recovery. I did the first 4 400 meter intervals at 8.5 and then the last 2 at 8.6 and 8.7. Then I did the 4 x 200 meter intervals at 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, and 9.0. I warmed up and cooled down for .5 miles each which ended up making the workout approximately 5 miles.

It's weird because sometimes I feel like I can push myself way harder on the treadmill because my body has to keep up with the conveyor belt unless I actually stop the mill. But on the other hand, I've heard that the mill pushes you a long a bit.

Total Workout today:

Running: 5 miles (45 minutes)