Week 2 - Got It Done!

Despite holidays and traveling, I managed to complete all three of my key runs for marathon training. Having a treadmill in my parents' basement made this SO much easier to accomplish, but I'm still so glad I got my runs in!

Workout recap for the week:

Monday: Strength workout - ehhh, I walked 2.1 mi on the treadmill and did some squats.

Tuesday: Run (speed or tempo) - check! 7 mile Tempo Tuesday!

Wednesday: Strength workout - plus sitting by the fire, drinking hot cocoa, and opening presents - check! Walked/jogged 2.5 miles, and did 30 minutes of Sworkit strength. I did sit by the fire and open presents, but neglected to drink hot cocoa. 

Thursday: Run (speed or tempo) - check! 5 miles of speed work before boarding my plane to California! And immediately went to In-N-Out upon landing.

Friday: TBD - off? - ended up running 5 miles with Dan, who totally tricked me into running so far! It was beautiful out though, and would have been a crime to stay indoors all day...

Saturday: Long run - nope, ran on Sunday

Sunday: TBD - off? - 9 miles along the Pacific Ocean!

All in all it was a great week of workouts, but I'm missing my classes like Barry's, Uplift, and Revolve! Luckily apps like the Nike Training Club and Sworkit make at-home sweat sessions easier to manage.

Here's a little more about this week's runs:

Tempo: This was a "long tempo," with 1 mile warm up, 5 miles at tempo, and 1 mile cool down. The "prescribed" pace was 6.7 mph/8:54 min miles, but I decided to go a bit faster. I did a progressive run, starting at 6.7 and going up 0.1 every mile, so the last mile was at 7.1. I put on some holiday-themed Friends episodes and zoned out. Great run overall!

Speed: 4 x 800 plus warm up, cool down, and 2 mins rest between intervals. I ran the 800s at 8.3 mph/3:36 per 800. The first and second were OK, but the third and fourth were tough! In the fourth I actually felt as though time started to go backward...which is never fun. But hey, I got it done and made my flight! And...they're not supposed to be easy...they are supposed to be HARD. Important but hard thing to remember sometimes :)

Long: Ran 9 miles with Dan along the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach! It was SO LOVELY OUTSIDE...I could've run 9 more miles. Man, how easy (I use that term lightly) would it be to train for a marathon in PERFECT WEATHER?! No long fleece-lined tights, no numb hands, no chance of snow...hmm, maybe I won't come back to NYC? No but really, the run was good - very sweaty and very sunny, with an 8:46 average pace...which is almost 50 seconds faster than the average pace I ran for the first 9 miler I did when I trained for Chicago. Things are looking good this training cycle my friends!

Happy and sweaty after 9 miles on the beach!

In addition to the workouts, I came across the goals I set last year. Let's see how I did on them...

• PR in the half: Yes! Ran a 1:49:25 in the Long Branch Half in May. 
• Be injury-free all year: So far, so good!
• Try out a new exercise class: OMG SO MANY!!! Refine was my big favorite this year, but I also tried Revolve, and through Classtivity I went to Yoga Vida, PEDAL NYC, Uplift, Sacred Sounds Yoga, Aqua Studio, Fhitting Room, Jivamukti, Nalini Method, Exceed, and Barry's Bootcamp. 
• My favorites? Yoga Vida, Jivamukti, Fhitting Room, Uplift, and Barry's!
• Move up in bib numbers for NYRR races: Done! I ran a 1:50:02 in the NYC Half, which let me run in a faster bib group in the only other NYRR race I ran this year, the Pride Run. 
• Go to the Astoria beer garden, the Tenement Museum and the Guggenheim: Out of all of these, I only went to the Tenement Museum. Better one than none, right?
• Have an amazing vacation somewhere I've never been before: YES! Went on a cruise to Mexico in February, and went to Rancho La Puerta (also in Mexico) with my mom in October! In 2014 I'm going to PARIS!!!
• Roast a chicken: Nope - never did get to do this one. But 2014...yes. It will happen.
• Read more: I read a lot this year - not sure if it was more than 2012, but I did keep reading books!

I'm really not sure what my goals are for this 2014, other than a marathon PR (and roast a chicken). I'll have a think and get back to you all.

Thinking more short term, here's my workout plan for this week, which will be VERY subject to change depending on my traveling...

Monday: I'd like to get a little strength workout in sometime today...we'll see.

Tuesday: Run

Wednesday: Off - hello, New Year's Day!

Thursday: Run

Friday: Strength? I fly back on a redeye this day...

Saturday: Run

Sunday: Off? Yoga? TBD

Honestly, I will not be surprised if I don't in all my runs...but as always, I'm certainly going to try!

Here's to a fabulous 2014, all!

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