Category: ClassPass

The Weeks in Workouts & Food 11/28-12/4 and 12/5-12/11

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Monday 11/28: Off day. Delighted to say that the fruity pebbles cookies I baked on Sunday were gone by 4:30pm Monday.

Tuesday 11/29: Mile High Run Club “The Distance”. Got a later start than last time but squeezed in 5.5 miles in just under an hour. The different intervals include a warm-up/cool-down pace, marathon pace, half marathon pace, 5K-10K pace, then an all-out sprint. My half marathon pace is very close to my 10K pace now so I tried to take those intervals at the 5K pace. For the final minute of sprints, I decided to really crank it up and saw sub-7 minutes for the first time ever. That was thrilling. I was also proud of myself for keeping it consistent for the whole class and not fading (ahem like the girl next to me).

Wednesday 11/30: Gym time. I did 2000m warmup on the Erg, then some light lifting and strength exercises, focusing on my core and abs. Kettlebell swings, medicine ball situps, planking. I was in and out in less than an hour. Time to start squatting and doing pushups again, plus making sure my deadlift form is correct.

Thursday 12/1: Track night. We did a warmup, drills, 4 x 800m, then cool down. My splits were (if I remember correctly because I messed it up on my watch then gave up) 4:06, 3:58, 4:08 (coach said minus 10 seconds for tying my shoe after the first lap but it was a struggle after that), 4:01.

One of the coaches congratulated me on my 5-mile PR but said I needed to be running more miles in general (even though I’m “just” 10K training), closer to 18-21 a week. So that set the tone for my planning of the rest of the week/month/year plus my future spring half training. Also, I had Shake Shack for lunch which was delicious but not a wise decision before speedwork. Thought I was going to puke on the last one. It was great to be doing this with so many wonderful teammates.

Friday 12/2: Day off.

Saturday 12/3: Unexpected day off because I was hungover from several hours of happy hour the night before.

Sunday 12/4: Long run; I combined a ~4 mile run to DUMBO with my club with 3 beforehand to and around Prospect Park. This was my longest run since the marathon. It was a pajama run, so I tied my gingerbread man PJ pants around my waist for the first 3 miles (and felt a little ridiculous doing so), then wore them for the next 4 to a coffeeshop in DUMBO. Ended up walking home with pants tied around waist again.

Total miles: 16.5 miles.

12/5 – 12/10: No workouts except for some Friday night dancing at The Woods. I had to miss the track workout because I was hosting book club. I consumed some great cocktails, plus red wine and beer this week, which obviously did not lead to any morning workouts. #holidays

Sunday 12/11: My new longest run since the marathon, which was 9.6 miles to Levain Bakery from Brooklyn.If I had run from the original meeting point, it would have been over 10 miles and I’m still saying no freaking way to double digit runs, at least for a few more weeks. I stayed conversational the whole way but after we got a sub-10 mile for #7, I was so tired and hungry for the last 2.6. To be fair, it was after 12:30pm at that point since we had a post-10:30AM start.

Part of the group at Hudson River Park

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Weekly total 12/5-12/11: 9.6 miles and some dancing.

Other things of note: I only booked and went to one ClassPass class (Mile High Run Club’s The Distance on 11/29), so I’m scrambling to fill up the last week of my cycle. This should be fun! I’m trying to incorporate more strength training and cross training, so I’m doing yoga (flow AND restorative), foam rolling and stretching class (heaven after I run there), plus my good old standby spin.

I got into the NYC Half AND the Fred Lebow Half, so I’m basically going to be training for halfs the next several months. Guess I’ll need some legit winter running gloves.

And my roommate and I put up the Christmas tree that was in storage above my closet. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Pre-Ornaments

 

Post-Ornaments

 

Post-Marathon Running and Other Activities

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I’m not training for anything right now (I do have a 5-mile Turkey Trot lined up for Thanksgiving morning), so my runs have been sporadic. After recovering from the NYCM physically and the Election mentally (ok, no, I’m not recovered from that) I participated in a Light Up the Night run in Central Park on Sunday the 13th to promote better lighting in our parks.

We were given light-up bracelets, which I plan to use in the future along with possibly getting a brighter running jacket with more reflective details. Now that my pre-work runs are mostly in the dark as are my post-work ones, I would like to feel safer in this regard. Video from the event is here, I spotted myself briefly toward the end in my NYCM jacket.

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I ran with the 10:00 pace group and our first mile was slow due to crowding, our second was closer to 10:00 even and our third was a relatively scorching 9:30. We also paused going up Cat Hill, as seen above. I’m making a me-ow kind of cat claw.

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And a cool shot of our blinking bracelets after! I felt good after and headed home, though foolishly did not foam roll.

I finally got to try pizza from Emily and it was amazing. We got the Emily, the Colony, and the Emmy burger, plus some beer. It lived up to the hype, though we were glad to not have much of a wait.

  
On Wednesday the 16th, I headed to the gym to do some treadmill speed work (my first since Mile High Run Club back on 10/25). I timed myself planking and did some kettlebell swings and can tell that I’ve generally lost non-running fitness over the last few months. Time to get back to that! I reactivated my ClassPass and plan to dabble in barre and spin again, plus maybe try kickboxing.

I then totally squandered a beautiful potential weekend of good running weather by sleeping in both days this past weekend! Well, Sunday would have been rough, but Saturday was beautiful. I went to the New Museum with friends to see the Pippilotti Rist exhibit Pixel Forest.  

 
It looks like the Mercury has dropped mostly for good, so I need to get back into the mindset of colder weather runs. I still need some warm gloves, but purchased a warmer jacket on super sale just before the marathon, the Lululemon Rush Hour jacket. It has similar fabrics to last year’s Kanto Catch Me Run jacket that I wanted.

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Up next: After using the Turkey Trot as an assessment, I’ll see about using the $50 NYCRuns credit I have for a final race and PR attempt of the year (a 10K sounds about right, I’m not feeling the double digits so much). Also, I’m starting a 10-week speed training at an indoor track this week with my running group. The track is only 200 meters, which means lots of laps, but I’m excited. Speed (and strength and overall health) is my top goal for 2017.

 

The final weeks before marathon training

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I haven’t run a race since the Mini 10K, but I’ve been trying to build my base mileage before I start marathon training for NYCM (November 6th). I’m also still a ClassPass member and am now part of the Core pan, where I can take up to 10 classes per month. Plus I still have a gym membership at Blink, but I think the last time I stopped in was to stretch before taking a Mile High Run Club class back in May. I know, I know. What happened to my pull-up goals? I guess they’re on hold for now. I feel like I’ve been doing enough bodyweight during all my barre classes that I’m still pretty strong overall. Just not pull-up strong yet.

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I am somewhere between a Robin Scherbatsky and an Elaine Benes at the gym. Less grunting than Robin, less preening than Elaine.

But back to running and ClassPass. In June, I took 5 barre classes and 2 spin classes and logged 40something miles. Not bad, but I will eventually be running 40+ miles in a week. I’m trying not to add too much of any one thing in my running (whether that be miles, hills, or speed) in fear of tweaking my bursitis. I’m optimistic but still nervous about marathon training overall. I’m hoping to find a half marathon within a couple weeks of Labor Day to fit into my training plan (Hal Higdon Novice 2 but also buying into NYRR’s Virtual Trainer) and am taking suggestions.

I also played some tennis the other week at the West Side Tennis Club. Remember when I took tennis lessons on a clay court in summer 2011? Yeah, my backhand and racket haven’t seen much time on the courts since. I’m hoping to take some tennis clinics through ClassPass in the upcoming weeks to improve a smidge.

I’m going to hit publish on this post even though I feel like I have so many more words possible, (both on marathon training but mainly this week’s news events, but I feel like I’ve largely said my piece on Twitter and Facebook and now need to work on being a more active ally IRL.

May Workouts and Training Recap

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ClassPass emailed all NYC users (subscribers?) April 27th to let us know of an upcoming price change for monthly unlimited packages. They’re creating the Core membership and keeping it the same $125 a month but with a maximum 10 classes a month (the big up was to $190 for monthly unlimited, which is $200/month for new users). I crunched the numbers from the past 8 months of ClassPass and have only ever taken more than 10x/month once. So safe to say, I think the Core membership will work out great for me. If anything, I might be more motivated to take the full 10 classes a month. I’ve also kept my Blink membership, which really comes in handy due to their expanding number of locations around the city. I’m going to re-assess my membership situation for both once I’m deep into marathon training and/or if I move apartments at the end of summer.

In May, I ran 30.5 miles. I haven’t hit that kind of mileage since September 2015. But of course I am somewhat terrified of the realization that I will soon be running up to, around, and even more than 30 miles in a week when marathon training. 7.3 of those miles were official NYRR races in Central Park, 4.8 were on a treadmill at Mile High Run Club, and half included my running backpack. I also took a Spibelt for a spin on a late-morning hot training run. I actually appreciated the way my keys and phone jingled against the small of my back, alerting people to my presence.

I took 8 classes on ClassPass, including 5 barre and 2 spin. I really like the strength and stretching aspects of barre. I’ve tried classes at PureBarre (3 of their Brooklyn locations), The Bar Method, and now FlyBarre. Most have a similar flow for class and save the glute bridges for the end. I like to fire up the glutes, stretch, then head out for a short run home or to the subway after to take advantage. Outside of ClassPass, I redeemed a voucher for a free SoulCycle class that I won through bar trivia. This was my second SoulCycle class ever and it felt more aggressive (in a good way) than my previous one. Due to the humid day and temperature in the room, there was a lot of face sweating going on.

I also went on a hike back in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. I was relatively pressed for time and hiking alone on a Friday afternoon, so I opted for the Dark Hollow Falls hike. I drove my rental car straight from Reagan to SNP then geared up and ate lunch at the Big Meadows Lodge after stopping by the Byrd Visitor Center to nab a passport and getting a cancellation stamp. I read on the trail log that a black bear and her three cubs had been spotted almost daily that week and tried to keep an eye out for them.

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One national park down, many more to go
Awkward rock posing aside, the falls were beautiful

Brooks Pure Cadence 4 (aka my short distance shoes), getting a little muddy 

I ran 4 miles along the Roanoke River as well and damn, do I love a good towpath. All of my May workouts got me very excited for future races.

  
Hello, Roanoke Star! I had wanted to hike up to it but was pressed for time.

  

Training and General Update Post and brief Japan Day Run race recap

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Now that I’m in better physical health and running semi-regularly again and racing, I feel very energized about the next few months of running. Jazzed, even. But I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, knowing that I need to prioritize preventing re-injury and trying to make it to the start of mid-July marathon training for NYCM, much less that November 6th actual date. I ran (haha) an analysis via my data on Strava and MapMyRun (which I used for a few years before getting my Garmin 220 in June 2015) to see what my highest weekly and monthly mileage is historically. I knew that my mileage never got as high as it should have been for any of my half marathons in 2015 due to both injury and falling off my training plans. I have a tendency to cut long runs short and skip that 3rd or 4th run of the week, even when uninjured. I also don’t document my cross-training particularly well digitally, but all those ClassPass spin sessions and strength at Blink lives on in my paper planners, Google Calendar, and vaguely in my memory. All of the apps are interconnected in that Garmin uploads to Strava and Strava uploads to MapMyRun and MyFitnessPal. I’m going to try to increase the inputting of my spin sessions going forward since FlyWheel tells you how many miles you biked.

For my paper planner, I bought a couple sets of these running and barbell stickers from FayeCreates’ Etsy. This is the only decoration my planner (a $15 one from Sugar Paper’s Target collection, I might add) receives. But it’s so satisfying to see an array of pastel running stick figures and weights fill up my calendar, especially now that I’m running more frequently. This is also where I let you all know that I’m fascinated by planner communities, having once been part of (but never posting to) the LiveJournal community for organizers and sometimes browsing the YouTube planner gurus.

The general update is that I DNS the Run As One 4 Miler.I was coming off a very busy week and hadn’t slept well that Friday night (the night before the night before the race is a crucial sleep night, right?) and was dogsitting Elle’s pup Bandit and just wasn’t feeling it. Had much more fun sleeping in and doing a brief run on my way to Smorgasburg with some runner friends in Prospect Park. I got to eat my beloved Outer Borough again, try some fries with duck confit on top, and sample a few flavors of Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. Still on my must-try list are Big Mozz’s mozzerella sticks, Jianbing, and Wowfulls. I think I can skip the rainbow cake, but let me know  if it’s any good.


I did, however, end up completing the Japan Run on Sunday, May 8th. The skies opened up and poured down rain as I was picking up my bib at 7:15AM. A bunch of us hung out under the Bethesda Terrace and I ran into a PPTC Teammate then checked my bag and hid in the Meet Hello Kitty tent. Sadly, Hello Kitty didn’t appear until after the race and I wasn’t feeling very photogenic.

Soggy Bethesda Terrace

They let up for the first couple miles of the race, then began pouring again during the final mile. My third mile had been slower than I planned and I knew I was no longer in the running for a PR (had been feeling hopeful after the first 2 miles but my fitness just isn’t there yet). I had to remove my glasses and put them in my jacket pocket because they became too foggy and streaky for me to see. I managed not to run into any fellow racers since my vision isn’t too bad, and had a great sprint finish. NYRR and MarathonFoto did not capture any pictures of me (probably for the best). There was a guy running with his long hair down and in only a leopard-print Speedo who passed me on the third mile. I had hoped to be in some of his pictures but didn’t make it.

 

Japan Run Strava Splits
Strava Splits

My next race is the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K. I had originally wanted this to be a PR attempt, but I think I’m going to instead shoot for the Mini 10K on June 11th instead. That’ll give me enough time to increase my long, slow runs and also try some of the mile repeat 10K workouts from McMillan. I’ll be gambling with the weather but am hoping to be out there more often in heat and humidity in the next month anyway. I feel like my barre and strength classes and spin are helping me get stronger (I kind of love forearm plank pushups now?), so we will see.

 

January-March Injury Update

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I think the title of this post says it all. I started drafting it in January during twice-weekly physical therapy. I tried a 0.75 mile jog in early January and felt fine during (great, even!) but despite stretching after, my hamstring was very aggravated the next couple days. I gave it another 4 weeks and tried a mile on Super Bowl Sunday but was met with the same effects the week after. In the time since, I read something, somewhere, about people performing marathon training on largely on an elliptical just to reduce impact. While I have no plans to take it that far in terms of mileage, I’ve decided to incorporate the elliptical and hopefully a super cushioned treadmill into my game plan, along with the Alter-G at my PT’s office. I’m happy to report that I ran 6.5 miles on the elliptical this week (with 2 runs and around a 6 mph pace). Pain-free.

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I downgraded my Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (in DC) entry to the 5K and while I may not PR, I’m really excited to be doing a race for the first time since Halloween. After that, I can better assess my ability to run the Broad Street Run (also a 10 miler, in Philadelphia) on May 1.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2016:

  • the possibility of a late spring half (Brooklyn is out but maybe something else in that time period)
  • Run commuting to/from work (new job has showers! Also it’s about time I get a running backpack with a water bladder.)
  • NYCM training? I had to pay for the registration (goodbye $$), but am still a ways out from being able to assess whether it’s going to happen or not
  • Trying more of the workouts and moves from (Dr.) Jordan Metzl’s book Running Strong.

ClassPass updates and reviews to come. The new job has made me switch up my gym and class routine and locations quite a bit and I’ve struggled to get into my preferred spin days and times. On the plus side, I’ve been trying more yoga classes and have improved my planking and push-ups thanks to barre classes.

December Injury Update

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 So, the rest of November and all of December has been busy for me, but not with running. I stopped after the 10/31 10K to give my Achilles tendinitis some rest. I’m delighted to report that pain there has eased off, but unfortunately I have been experiencing more pain in my right hamstring and glute (and piriformis). I finally went to a renowned sports doctor (musculoskeletal care and all) and he diagnosed me with ischeogluteal bursitis. So I’m not running for the rest of the year. Come January 1, 2016, I plan to dip my toe back into it (or do a Polar Bear Plunge in Coney Island, effectively dipping my toes into the Atlantic Ocean after a quick sprint on the beach) slowly.

I wisely did not sign up for any winter races or early spring ones. I’m hoping to be well enough to do the Cherry Blossom 10 miler (I won lottery entry) in early April, then squeeze in either a later April half or the Brooklyn Half May 21. My new physical therapist assures me this is all quite possible.

I’ve been filling my running time with other fitness, mainly through ClassPass. I’m at the 3 times a month maximum at RowHouse and approaching it at Flywheel. I’ve also taken a few dance classes with friends. Despite my few years dabbling in ballet, tap, and jazz back in elementary school, picking up hip hop dance choreography is not one of my strong suits. It’s more fun with friends because I can laugh at myself and my inability to shake it during the Hotline Bling Remix.

I also have hopped on a real bicycle (not just stationary ones in spin class). I rode from TriBeCa to 125th St. and back with a friend during the amazing weather this past weekend, where I took the picture above. I’m coming for you, George Washington Bridge and Little Red Kighthouse!  I rode 15.5 miles roundtrip (and usually hit over 20 miles during spin class), so actually going somewhere will feel great in that distance will feel great. I just had to add a cycling tag to this post because this was only my 4th time out on the bike this fall, but I foresee more of it in my future (weather cooperating).

ClassPass Adventures in November

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After my 10K on 10/31, I watched the New York City marathon for hours, cheering on friends and teammates.  Rather than experiencing total runner FOMO, it got me pretty pumped about (hopefully, assuming no injuries or illness) running the race next year. NYC 2016 will be my first marathon. And maybe my only marathon (famous last words for runners). But let’s focus on making it to that starting line first.

After mainly taking spin and yoga my first 2 months with ClassPass, I decided to try to branch out a little with rowing classes at Row House. Most of their classes are a Full Body 50, which incorporates different speed/strength workouts on the Erg, then a bit of HIIT and other bodyweight moves interspersed. I usually warm up with 2000m on the erg at the gym, but I’ve never tried crew or anything and didn’t know how weak my form was. I was focusing more on strokes/minute but not really noticing my split times. The instructors at Row House are very helpful on getting you to slow down and assess your form before speeding up and trying power strokes. I took my first class at the Chelsea location and was sore in my arms and shoulders for 2 days after. I immediately signed up for more classes at the Columbus Circle location with Matt. Both studios are clean and modern (if a bit cramped in the locker room/bathroom areas) and have good playlists pumping along with the ability to dim the lights in crucial push moments. The workout has left me around a 7 on a scale from 1 to dripping with sweat. I’m taking another Row House Full Body 50 on the morning of Black Friday, which I assume will shake me out of my post-Thanksgiving slump.

I finally tried Flywheel at the Chelsea location and was a fan. my instructor Johnny was super high-energy and I ended up in the front row, so I felt like I was giving some energy right back. I came in 3rd in the class, which made me want to work even harder the next time. I’m having the best time reading Flywheel bios. What would mine say? I also love the “Never Coast” shirts and gear, which is amusing since I really enjoy coasting while on a real bike outside. My experience fly-ing so far makes me want to try FlyBarre as well since I’ve only been to PureBarre and have yet to experience much barre variation.

SURFBORT.

My most outside-the-box ClassPass experience so far has been at SurfSet, where you work out on surfboards that sit on top of 3 large balls. You use your core a lot to stabilize while doing the moves (lunges, planks, push ups, etc). I left feeling sore in my core after my first class, then had some thigh DOMS more after my second. The instructors (Diana and Aaron) are super helpful for newbies and will offer modifications for those who want to keep it simple or people who feel comfortable and want to kick it up a notch. And yes, they will totally take your picture on a surfboard for you afterward.

Training Recap 10/12-10/18 and 10/19-10/25

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Current activity levels post-half pictured above.

I tapered pretty hard before Nike Women’s SF Half, then got back to NYC and had a 3-day doctor’s order moratorium on intense exercise. I’m taking this time to deal with my Achilles tendon pain and try more cross-training (like hopping on a real bike). I’ve decided not sign up for the Richmond Half Marathon this year (11/14), but did choose to do the NYC Runs Haunted Island 10K on 10/31. I’d like to hit a 10K PR, weather and body permitting, but it’s ok if it turns into a fun run. I don’t want to not run any more races this winter, but am going to follow medical advice until my tendons and right hamstring/glute feel better. So I have my eye on some early December local 10Ks and Halfs just in case.

The week before SF, I just did a quick 2-mile run on the West Side Highway Tuesday morning and a “Ripped Ride” at Crunch on 38th. Those bikes have cages so you don’t have to wear cycling shoes, but I definitely prefer the clip-ins. I felt like my feet kept slipping into weird angles. The music and blacklight effects were good, but I was distracted, trying not to rub my heel against the bike. I wisely stretched and foam rolled before the class after a warm-up but had to rush off to join friends for Umami Burger. I had signed up for a dance class Thursday night but canceled it so I could pack.

In SF, I had signed up for 2 of the optional race weekend events; a tune-up/training session Friday at 5pm, then a 7:30am shakeout run. The 5pm workout was a lot of fun and got my heart rate up with side planks and HIIT work, but didn’t test my body too hard. I decided to cancel my shakeout run since I had walked about 5 miles Friday and developed a blister on my left heel. I walked around 5 miles on Saturday as well, but use Lyft Line to get to dinner and back and get off my feet for the last 12 hours before the race.

I signed up for a post-race yoga class early on Monday morning, but canceled that as well. Sleeping in was a great idea since I had hung out with friends after the race, watching the Mets game and eating a few meals. I got a Thai massage with a friend the day after, which was a good call. I hadn’t had this type of massage before and it was really cool to feel the masseuse walking on me. We felt noodley after and took a walk to see the Painted Ladies, which involved some hills, but I was fine. My flight was a redeye and I think the massage really helped me sleep (I’m a terrible airplane sleeper) and not wake up feeling too sore.

After my 3-day exercise break, I did my semi-regular spin class at BYKlyn. I pushed myself harder than usual, which felt really good. And that’s it for 2 weeks. My Achilles are feeling pretty good most days, but my hamstring pain persists. Over the weekend, I went to the Village Halloween Dog Parade, attended a grants committee meeting for my running club, and went on a wine tasting tour of the North Fork. I was hoping to squeeze in 3 miles before the dog parade, but it didn’t happen. But I met a lot of dogs, tried a lot of wine, and obtained half a dozen apple cider donuts.

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Not my winery bike.

Training Recap 10/5 – 10/11

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After last week’s tumbleweed gif, I’m tempted to post one of EVEN MORE tumbleweeds representing my nonexistent miles, but will refrain because then I’m just pushing this metaphor too far.

Monday: Running club meeting, where we focused on upcoming marathons. I had 2 slices of pizza but made the mistake of watching MNF after and drinking.

Tuesday: 1 mile warmup and cool down for my 3-mile tempo run after work on the West Side Highway, with plenty of foam rolling before and after at the gym. I grabbed a peanut butter protein smoothie from Gregory’s Coffee then headed to a book launch party and reading for Slaughterhouse 90210 at my beloved .Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. There were free drinks but I wisely did not partake.

Wednesday: After a very intense and lengthy dentist appointed, I tried a Boxing Burnout class at Overthrow. Their description on ClassPass: “Overthrow New York is to boxing what soul cycle is to cycling, creating a training experience and filling a need for a functional, efficient, and group oriented boxing workout in the fitness world!” Needless to say, there were no candles or encouragements to ride as a team. I got there early but they were out of wraps, so the front desk guy advised me not to punch too hard. OK, can do. We learned the basic punches and had a cardio warmup in fighting stance, then got to hit the bags (3 to a bag). I’m left-handed but it just made more sense to do everything right-handed with lots of left crosses. We did this in HIIT circuits, which was pretty cool because I knew that by the 5th set, I could really wail on the bag. We then formed two lines facing each other and did a mix of planks, push-ups, mountain climbers, and crunches. It was pretty brutal on the knees and the floor was both wet (from sweat and/or spilled water?) and managed to chip off in small pieces onto my back when laying down. I would definitely try this class again but wear a t-shirt to encounter fewer floor mysteries. I was so glad that I filled my water bottle up in the sink before class because it was pretty warm and musty and everyone without water looked like they were dying. Also, there were about 20 people in the class and 19 were female. I could tell some were regulars, but the instructor was pretty good at helping us newbies acclimate.

I stupidly stopped by Juice Press after and should have gotten a smoothie with more protein, but instead grabbed a $10 bottle of Fountain of Youth. I really need to re-join people for Saturday morning long runs so I can #willrunforjuice.

Thursday: Normal gym time, with a rowing warmup (2000 meters), then lots of back, chest and arms strength. Grabbed Korean fried chicken and beer after at WA Bar & Kitchen with my lifting partner. Their wings are on the saucy side, so I might just stick with BonChon which has more combo options.

Friday: My favorite 6:30am ride with Nikole at BYKlyn. Easy on the knees and Achilles with the added bonus of hills and a great soundtrack. I was exhausted after and might have taken a little nap before work and after my much-needed shower.

Saturday: I walked around Prospect Park and the Greenmarket, which were both overflowing with participants of the Brooklyn Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I met up with some friends who had run it for brunch and felt both inspired and terrified for my upcoming San Francisco Nike Women’s half.

Sunday: Staten Island 5K. I wanted to PR and go for sub:26 (a logical next step, my current PR is 26:16 from NYCRuns Memorial Day 5K), but I went out too fast (like 20 seconds per mile too fast on the first 2 miles) then crashed on the third during a slight incline for a bridge. The finish was spectacular, but I knew I had missed my PR. I ended up getting an extra 4 miles in while waiting for the Staten Island Half finishers to come in, then was rendered pretty much immobile because I had stupidly raced in my Brooks Pure Cadence instead of my Brooks Ravennas. I really feel the difference after more than 4 miles, mainly due to the heel-toe drop difference. Race report to come later this week before I leave for SF.