Today is Day 2 of a workless week for L.A. That means I just woke up after snoozing through a morning alarm for the gym, the coffee is brewing in the Keurig, and I'm spending my morning hanging with my best friends, talk show hosts.
Last week I tied up everything at work and prepared for one FULL week out of the office. FREEDOM! My cousin from California was coming to visit and I was happy to take a much needed break.
My cousin arrived Sunday and we have been bopping around town ever since. She has a very acute sense of smell so naturally walking around NYC with her is a trip.
Once we've stuffed ourselves to the brim with NYC food fun we'll take off for Philly. It's a wild wedding weekend with both my cousin and one of my best friends from college getting married. No, they are not marrying each other but that I would be cool.
I'm a bridesmaid in N's wedding so I just have one wedding on my personal agenda but Mom and Dad are making the rounds. Good luck guys!
Now let's chat marathon training. It's about to get real. Last week was the first week that I felt like I was training for a marathon, not just trying to get in a good running workout.
All week my short runs were 6 miles. 6 miles used to be the number I would run in a morning if I overindulged in Bareburger the night before. Not anymore. 6 miles is the standard and by Thursday I was mentally preparing myself to accept it.
Thanks to my first weekend in NYC all month, I was around Saturday morning to take part in the ING NYCM Long Training Run #1 in Central Park organized by NYRR. I was pretty psyched to run it with people from Team for Kids but not psyched to be running 13 miles in the park. I love running Central Park but one loop is usually enough for me. The scenery is gorgeous and often provides much needed shade but the route is filled with lots and lots and lots of rolling hills. This is fine for 6 miles but not for 13.
I woke up bright and early to meet up with M, a fellow TFK runner. M is in town from Dallas and we had never actually met before Saturday morning. She is a friend of a friend and we were put in touch thanks to someone spotting my (obnoxious) fundraising posts on social media. We've been emailing back and forth sharing fundraising and training sagas. She was finally going to be in town this weekend so we got to meet up!
We slowly made our way to the TFK area where the team was waiting to warm up. Warm up? Oh that's something new but probably a good idea. We did a light jog and some stretching before jumping into our corrals for the run.
The corrals were based on your pace group. I jumped in with my ideal pace group expecting to fall back. Between the hills and humidity (95% HELLO) I didn't know how this long run would play out. There was also not a set distance for this race. You could run any amount of miles you wanted up to 20. Did I run 20? Not a chance, but some other lunatics did.
I set off for my first loop. They had it positioned so we hit the Harlem Hill first and only in one loop. Thank you somebody with a brain!
All along the run, pace keepers or coaches were running with us. I had a superstar coach in the 9 minute pace group who ran backwards checking on us while providing words of wisdom along the way.
"Keep this up and on November 4th you'll finish..."
"Head up, look forward, your muscles will remember how to take this hill..."
"STAY IN THE LINES..."
Okay, the last one was not as fun but he was awesome. It was nice to let someone else play the motivation game on a run for once. Usually my internal dialogue does the work but this time I just turned down my Katy Perry tunes and listened to my coach.
By the second loop, I went to the beginning of the pace group. I wanted to hang with the boys and see if I could keep up. Running with the mass group was definitely an experience. At times, we were a little close for comfort but the conversations overheard were quite entertaining. I was looking for anything to distract me from the fact that I was running 13 miles willingly.
In the middle of mile 9, I was starting to feel a trifecta of pain. My right hip was tight, my left knee ached, and the left ankle was not thrilled at this amount of activity. Don't worry team, we only have 4 miles to go? Luckily, I got a quick phone call which interrupted my iphone music and pain pity party.
"Of course you would call me at this hour..."- L.A.
"Did you run yet?"- Dad
"I'm on mile 9 of 13. "- L.A.
"Oh. Call me after."- DAD
No good luck? Hope you make it? How are you feeling? He was just calling to brag about his morning miles and because no one else wakes up before 9am at home. It was 8am and that's like noon in our time clocks.
The pain somewhat subsided and I was thrilled to stop once my Garmin beeped at 13, not a mile more. I grabbed some Gatorade to replenish (yuck) and headed back to the TFK spot to stretch. I was pretty proud of myself for running a casual half marathon on this Saturday morning. I was also quite offended by myself and the amount of sweat that accumulated on my clothes. Sorry but it was humid (95% HELLO) and it looked like I went for a swim in the pool.
Post stretching I ran out of the park in desperate need of my shower. It was the first time that I got in a cab and felt that I was dirtier than the cab. I felt a little bit guilty but the subway would be a confined space with strangers and even I knew that was just mean.
I got home and turbo showered to run out next for my best friend's birthday brunch. The bride to be was also celebrating a birthday and wanted to blow it off due to the week's upcoming festivities. No way. We all like mimosas and you way too much.
I rested for the rest of Saturday and then went out again that night. Wow, being in town and social is a lot of fun. Note to self, do this more often!
This week is a little bit of a challenge on the training front. There are SO many exciting events going on with family coming in town and a duo of wedding festivities. My days on Friday and Saturday are booked which don't really allow time for a long run. Sunday is out of the question because Saturday will be a day full of celebrations. You follow my lead.
I am going to attempt to do my long run tomorrow or Thursday. Tomorrow I can run it in the park or throughout the city but if I run Thursday it will have to be somewhere in Philly. I kind of like the idea of exploring new territory on the run so we'll see. I guess I need to make a decision later today? In the meantime, I will just indulge in carbohydrates. Don't judge, I am training for a marathon AND on vacation.
The rest of my weekly miles will be shifted around based on the long run. I am going to do my very best to hit my total mileage for the week. Fingers crossed!
LAST WEEK
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
Total
|
Total (FLEX)
| |
TFK Plan
|
6
|
REST
|
6
|
6
|
REST
|
13
|
5
|
31
|
36
|
L.A.
|
6
|
Strength
|
6
|
REST
|
6
|
13
|
0
|
31
|
THIS WEEK
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
Total
|
Total (FLEX)
| |
TFK Plan
|
6
|
REST
|
6
|
6
|
REST
|
14
|
6
|
32
|
38
|
L.A. Plan
|
6
|
REST/ Strength
|
6 (or 14)
|
14 (or REST)
|
REST/ 6
|
REST/ 6
|
REST
|
32
|
38
|
Last but not least, FUNDRAISING! I guess I have hit a little bit of a stalemate on this front. I took a little break from harassing people for money to be social and focus on my training plan. Now, I am going to get serious because the fundraising deadline is October 5th. I know that sounds like a ways away but really it's just 66 days!
The rest of my morning will be spent sending THIS LINK to all of my super generous friends and family.
Coffee's ready and it's almost time for Live with Kelly. Chat with you later L.A. land!
Lots of love and laughs.
XOXO
L.A.
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