NYCM Training: Week 1 Recap

Here we go again! Marathon training is about to take over my life (oh wait, it kind of already has...) so get ready for Party Margaret all summer long (that is, only if you define "party" as staying in and taking multiple naps per day)! I'm actually really excited about it, and hope hope HOPE (crossing fingers, knocking on wood, etc.) that I can stay injury-free the whole time. I will be stretching a lot, incorporating more yoga (at least once a week!), cross training, and resting on rest days. If this first week was any indicator, it's gonna be a good 18 weeks!

I've started updating my training log for this week, and I'm also inputting workouts to Daily Mile if you want to keep up!

I had some excellent runs and took part in some awesome classes at Exhale Spa as part of a two-week pass I bought through Gilt back in September. Normally I wouldn't double up on workouts nearly as much as I did this past week, but I'm definitely enjoying trying something new and mixing it up. Here's how my week looked:

• Monday: 1 hour elliptical, 1 hour Exhale Vinyasa Flow yoga
• Tuesday: 3 mile run, Total Body Conditioning, Core Fusion Open
• Wednesday: 5 mile run (1 mi warm up, 3 mi tempo ~8:52, 1 mi cool down)
• Thursday: 3 mi run, Core Fusion Open
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 5 mile run (9:07 average), Core Fusion Cardio
• Sunday: 8 mile run (9:11 average), Core Fusion Yoga

My favorite class has definitely been Core Fusion Cardio! It reminded me a lot of the total body conditioning class I take Tuesday mornings, but with more mountain climbers. Fun, challenging, and definitely sweat-inducing. I loved it.

This is the first week I've run five times instead of four in...I don't even know how long. I'm testing it out to see how I do on Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 plan, but week 1 seemed to go well so I'll try it out again week 2. 

Today's long run was really great! I was super awesome and stayed in last night (don't worry, I was social for a full two hours on Friday night!) so I could get up at 6:30 and get running at 7am before the heat set in. The park was full of people who probably had the same idea, and my playlist helped the run fly by (many thanks to T Swift and Miley...by the way, I totally need some new music!!!). I ran clockwise and found it to be very conducive to people-watching. It also helped me not get passed by a ton of people, since everyone seems to run counterclockwise. I ran the big loop once and OWNED Harlem Hill (OK, it might have owned me just for a little bit) and then kept going till I got to 8 miles. I was definitely a sweaty mess by the end, and my splits were kind of all over the place, but I had a great time and am already looking forward to future long runs (especially when it's no longer 80 degrees!).

The map:

And the splits:

• Mile 1 - 9:42
• Mile 2 - 9:19
• Mile 3 - 9:23 (oh hey there Harlem Hill!)
• Mile 4 - 9:11
• Mile 5 - 8:59
• Mile 6 - 9:14
• Mile 7 - 8:54
• Mile 8 - 8:42

Total - 1:13:29

Believe it or not, this photo was not retouched. I really am that sweaty.

I am totally thrilled with this run and if anything, I might have to reteach myself to slow it down a bit in these long runs. It's all about building up endurance!