Week 9: PEAK WEEKS. I was not feeling great after the 10 Mile Race race mentally, but at least I recovered physically pretty quick. My Garmin says I got into ‘productive’ range again after that first full rest day.

Monday 2/21: Rest day

Tuesday 2/22: Decided to move my hard workout again since I was mentally on shaky ground after the Cherry Tree 10 Mile. Did super easy 30 minute treadmill recovery run .

Wednesday 2/23: Warmup, 1 hour at steady state, then cooldown. 9.1 miles total with 6.3 tougher miles in the middle. Squats and deadlifts in the evening.

Thursday 2/24: Recovery – 4 miles on the treadmill(s), plus upper body lifting at the gym.

Friday 2/25: Hour-ish tread recovery with 25 minutes at steady state (currently 9:40 minute mile/6.2 mph).

Saturday 2/26: Rest day

Sunday 2/27: Long long run. 2 hours and 40 minutes but I called it quits at 2 hours and 34 minutes. I did the last 1.4 on the treadmill. Once I hit 14 miles, I was so done and hit stop on the tread so quickly.

Switched to Gu after my Cliff Block chew disaster. I could have used a second gel in that final hour of this run (so hungry) so will definitely come prepared for the next (and final) long long run of this block. I unexpectedly hit some PRs on routes that I’ve been taking since marathon training, so it is cool to think about progress, even if it comes from an easier long run.

Week 10:

Monday 2/28: Rest day

Tuesday 3/1: Another long workout with steady state portions at 6.2 mph and easy run at 5.0 mph for 9.3 miles total. Mentally I just could not get outside, so it was all on the tread at various (small) incline amounts. I had procrastinated on this until it was 6pm (taking Herbie outside, calls with wedding vendors, work) and finally finished at 7:40 despite cutting off significant cooldown time.

Wednesday 3/2: Recovery jog – went just under 2 miles through midtown Manhattan on a mad dash to JackRabbit to buy more gels. After stuffing my belt bag with them, I moseyed over to the NYRR RunCenter to get my bib and shirt and this Sunday’s Washington Heights 5K. Then I was laden with stuff and decided to just take the subway back to the office instead of the planned 1.7 mile run back. The 5K is just for fun because I got a last-minute entry from my club but will have very tired legs after my last long long run the day prior.

Thursday 3/3: Mini Tempo/Fartlek in the middle of 20 minute warm up and cool down blocks. It was super windy but this was really fun. I hit more PRs during each segment which felt great to see after. My easy pace is steadily getting a bit faster – I’m not quite to the 10:30s of my heyday but I’m around an 11:15 now which is super encouraging because I spent the fall in the 12:30-13:30 minute easy range. Training consistently works, who knew? 6.3 miles total.

Gym after for lower body accessory work – single leg stuff, leg press, etc.

Friday 3/4: Rest day

Saturday 3/5: Long run with 40 minutes of steady state effort. I woke up and was in a grumpy mood (and also had some rumblings in my stomach), so I started on the treadmill downstairs to be safe. It was a good call. I did 1 hour easy, then a quick bathroom and water break, then did the 40 minutes harder push at 6.2 mph. Then was able to do the final 5+ miles outside once it was a little warmer and my stomach was feeling calmer. I took a little Starbucks detour and got a nitro cold brew with sweet cream, downed 1/3 of it, then ran the final mile home as I sipped it. I hit 14.5 miles total but missed a little bit where I forgot to start my watch after heading outside.

Sunday 3/6: NYRR Washington Heights 5K. I did a little warmup and some drills for 1.5+ miles, then the race itself. It rained a little bit before the start while we were in the corrals, then again later after I finished. I tried to take it easy on the hills (and boy are there some hills), then push on the flats and downhills.

Got to see a lot of teammates too! That was fun and made me want to do more of the northern Manhattan and Bronx races this year (or at least cheer for them).

Total: 37 miles, though I did some cooldown after the 5K that made it closer to 38. Hay is in the barn!