Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Weeks 9 and 10: When thoughts of doubt creep in

Another post full of two weeks worth of workouts! I'm just lagging behind on blogging, but I've been pretty good about getting in all my running workouts.

Here's how week 9 (Feb. 11-17) went down:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 6 mi tempo (8:20 average)
Wednesday: Pure Barre (still not a convert)
Thursday: Off
Friday: Uplift Strength (and a delicious Valentine's Day dinner with Dan!)
Saturday: 2 x 1600, 2 x 800
Sunday: 16 mile run on the treadmill since it was freezing outside (AGAIN!). I rented "About Time" from iTunes (super cute!), and when that ended, watched cross country skiers kill it in the Olympics.
Miles of empty treadmills...
And week 10 (Feb. 18-24)
Monday: Day off from work! Enjoyed long walks through the park
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 4 x 1200 that nearly killed me, plus ice skating at Bryant Park
Thursday: Uplift Sculpt Fusion
Friday: Off
Saturday: 4.5 mile "tempo" run to Revolve where I RIP Rode with Christianne (and also saw Melissa for a second!)
Sunday: 12 glorious miles along the West Side Highway
Sunday selfie! Capris + no jacket = HEAVEN
Side note: SIX WEEKS TILL PARIS!!!!!

Can I tell you guys something? While I have been feeling pretty darn good in my runs, I had a moment (OK, a couple moments...) this past week where I really felt like I was NOT prepared for this race. Like, at all. Maybe it's all the treadmill running I've been doing. Maybe it's because I have missed a lot more runs than I have in previous training cycles. Maybe it's because my shin has been bugging me lately and in the back of my mind, I'm worried about getting another stress fracture (once you've had two, it's a constant worry...).

We all have these moments of doubt though, don't we? Where we wonder if we can do it. Can't believe that we will cross the finish line in once piece. Worry that the niggle in our leg is something worse.

I think these are normal for any runner. In an effort to abandon negative energy and focus only on positive energy, I am instead keeping in mind that I have done this before. I completed training runs at slower paces than I'm running now, and PR'ed the hell out of the marathon. I did NO strength training for Chicago (not recommended!) and ran a 3:47. I'm not saying I'm going to BQ in Paris (HIGHLY unlikely!), but I'm stronger now and running faster than I was when I trained for Chicago.

I need to believe in myself and trust my training. It's brought me across the finish line before, and I'll be crossing that finish line again in less than six weeks. It's time to step it up and ROCK these last six weeks of training. It's all for Paris!

With that thought in mind, I've put my ClassPass on hold for March and April. As much as I LOVE it and credit it with making a difference in how I look and feel, I want to focus on getting in my runs and not stress about scheduling and making it to classes. I still have a Daily Burn account to use, yoga DVDs I can do at home, and my gym membership for all of my strength and cross training needs.

Here's how week 11 (Feb. 24-Mar. 2) looks:
Monday: Lotus Hour at Laughing Lotus - check!
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Body Ride at Revolve
Thursday: Run
Friday: Uplift Strength
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Run - plus Oscars watching!

What do you do when thoughts of doubt creep in?

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Week 8: Frozen

Halfway through training - how and when did THAT happen?! These first 8 weeks have been tough and I have no doubt that the next 8 will be even tougher (hello, 20 mile runs!). That said, I think I've had 8 solid weeks of training. I'm keeping up my strength, either in classes or on my own, I'm getting in most runs, and most importantly, I'm listening to my body.

Here's a look at this past week's workouts (Feb. 3-9):
Monday: Off - check!
Tuesday: Run - check! Tempo Tuesday
Wednesday: Spin class at Studio 360 - check!
Thursday: Run - nope. Took a rest day
Friday: RIP Ride at Revolve - nope. Ran instead (speed workout).
Saturday: Run - check! Long run in sub-freezing temps!
Sunday: Candlelit Flow at Yoga Vida - nope. Did Barry's Bootcamp instead (aka opposite of yoga!)

Tempo:
I was nervous for this run (mostly for the 3 tempo miles at 8:00 pace) but made it happen and was so happy that I did! 2 mi warm up, 3 mi at 7.5, 1 mi cool down. In the last half-mile of the last tempo mile, I brought it up to 7.6 for fun :) I love that this pace is becoming more comfortable for me! I ran 6 miles in 49:49!

Speed
Done on a Friday night after quite a week! I had two sets of 6 x 400m at 8.5, with 1:30 off between 400s and 2:30 off between sets. This sounded like a scary run, but I told myself that these would FLY by - I mean, each 400 was me running for 1:46, which adds up to being less than 24 minutes of hard work, which is totally doable. Plus, the Olympic opening ceremonies were on, which totally distracted me.
How I do speed work - PostIts with my plan!
Long:
Uhhh brr? This run was definitely a toughie. It was 26*/feels like 19*. I wasn't crazy about running in this weather, but I couldn't do the run indoors. I suited up in fleece-lined tights, UA ColdGear base layer, UA fleece-lined top, a jacket, gloves, and ear warmer. My hands and feet were OK for the run, but my face got SO COLD. 
Forcing a smile in frigid temps!
Snowy path to Freedom Tower.

Never seen the Hudson River like this!
On top of being freezing, my Garmin was totally not working, so served as a glorified timer. It said it had satellites, and sometimes even showed a pace, but never showed a distance. So lame. I used my RunKeeper app for the run, but then my phone died...I think because of the cold temps. I used MapMyRun later, and discovered I ran about 14.2 miles. I was "supposed" to run 15 miles, but just couldn't do it. I got too cold. My face felt sooooo frozen. As soon as I got back to Dan's, I demanded hot water, which helped me get back to feeling normal again :) I'm so proud of how far I went in the frigid temps!

Barry's Bootcamp
OMG Barry's Bootcamp led by BARRY JAY!!! He was a really great instructor. The class was HARD and probably wasn't a great idea since I ran 14 miles yesterday, but when I saw Barry himself was teaching, I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I needed more strength work this week! So glad I went!

And here's my plan for this week (Feb. 10-16):
Monday: Well-deserved rest day!
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Pure Barre
Thursday: Run
Friday: Uplift Sculpt Fusion
Saturday: Run
Sunday: Body Ride at Revolve (might cancel this)

Have a great week!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Week 7: 5 miles

It finally happened...I got sick. I knew it would happen eventually, what with all the running around, late nights at work, exercise classes, and everything else! Monday I went to AKT IN MOTION, Tuesday I did not work out, and Wednesday morning I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat. I debated going for a run, but after putting it out to Twitter that I felt crappy, I followed Ashley and Beth's advice and went back to bed. I stayed home that day, sleeping, drinking tea and OJ, and eating soup. I got a ton of sleep over those two days, which was great, and on Friday I stuck to my schedule and hit up Uplift, thinking a workout might help me feel better.

Honestly, I look back now and feel like it was probably not the right decision to go. I was glad to sweat, but I had SUCH a hard time with the weights and felt like death for much of the workout. Despite that, I am proud that I didn't push too hard, listened to my body when it told me to ease up, and survived the class!

Saturday Dan and I did some shopping in Soho, so I got a good amount of walking in. Being outside actually made me feel a lot better! Sunday I was feeling daring, so I hit up the gym. I told myself I'd see how three miles was - I ended up running 5 miles, and felt pretty good during it! No, it wasn't my prescribed pace or distance, but I also just needed to make sure I could still do it. I followed it up with a quickie strength workout (biceps, triceps, back, squats, lunges, and planks), which was also good.

This week I'm still not 100%, but I am getting there. I am going to attempt a run tonight (probably my tempo run) and aim to get back on my training plan as soon as I can. Being sick last week reminded me that I need to slow down sometimes, take care of myself, and most importantly, LISTEN to my body. We all get sick, and as much as I wanted to go out and run and see what I could do, I knew I should chill out, sleep, relax, and heal up. It would be FAR WORSE to be sick closer to race day. Nine weeks out, I can deal with it, and come back even stronger than before!

At least, that's my plan.

I had three workouts last week, which ain't bad for being sick!

This week's plan:
Monday: Off - check!
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Spin class at Studio 360
Thursday: Run
Friday: RIP Ride at Revolve
Saturday: Run
Sunday: Candlelit Flow at Yoga Vida

Fingers crossed on fully kicking this cold!