Halves? I’m already kicking off my next half marathon training plan (this one being 12 weeks and very aggressive with the workouts and mileage) for the Brooklyn Half on May 19th. I have a couple tuneup races in April and May but am trying to just build the mileage in March. But I got back from New Orleans February 12th and the rest of the month flew by. Below are some eats and such from the tail end of New Orleans and back in New York.
Jackson SquareCochon: rabbit and dumplings, gumbo, fried gator, brussels sprouts, catfish and riceStrawberry Cream Cheese King Cake (we did not find the baby)Muffaletta from Central Grocery(Fried) Seafood Eggs Benedict at StanleyBack in NYC; prime rib and mutton chop and sides at Keen’s for Valentine’s DaySome of the Galentine’s SpreadMochi cake, ooey gooey butter cake, chocolate chip mashmallow cookies, and my favorite salsasRavioli Pizza. It’s a thing.
I did a little recovery run around the Marigny and French Quarter the day after the race, then had to skip a run the day we left New Orleans because it was downpouring and I needed to do laundry and pack. I barely ran the week I got back from New Orleans because I got a cold on Friday the 15th and took 3 days off on what was supposed to be a busy running-filled weekend. I did manage to host a small Galentine’s party and volunteer at one of my club’s races.
I had to test that the finish line tape would break away
I started running again on President’s Day, then showed up to the start line of the Al Gordon 4 Miler Saturday the 23rd feeling pretty unprepared speedwise and still pretty snotty. I was able to do it as a progressive run and not blow up in the back half like last year, so that was nice. I’m hoping my next 4 mile race in April will go a little better. I’m not racing at all in March, but doing lots of easy/recovery miles, going long with double digits pretty much every week, and trying out some speedwork. I’m planning to post training recaps in the hopes that this is my fastest dedicated Half Marathon training cycle ever. My PR of 1:57:04 is from this past October but that was during the height of marathon training. My A Goal at this point is under 1:55, but I’ll see how the tuneup races go.
Post-marathon, I signed up for the Ted Corbitt 15K as an attempt to get some race redemption under my belt in what remained of 2018. I hadn’t raced much this year and got PRs at the half marathon and 10K, but not any other distances (well, just the 5K and marathon that I actually tried).
I came in to this pretty well-rested and had peanut butter toast and cold brew before. I didn’t pack any nutrition but figured I’d be fine.
Last year, my first mile was super slow (9:44) due to getting into the corrals after they collapsed, so I made sure to get in there early this year. I accidentally started my watch early then couldn’t delete it in time. So I went in with an extra bit of seconds on the clock and was very confused with my splits the whole race.
I managed to hold back a bit on the first mile then went way too hard on the 2nd mile. I finally got into a groove for the last two miles of the first loop and was feeling good (PPTC cheerers and volunteers really helped).
Then I slowed down again for most of the second loop. The last mile felt tough but with the added endorphins from smiling and knowing that I was going to get a PR, then I was able to drop the hammer on the last 0.3 and sprint to the finish.
The pace was a little faster than my 8:57 pace from the Bay Ridge Half 9 weeks ago, which was my A goal. However, it’s a little slower than it should be if you plug that half time into a calculator. My goal for my next half is closer to 8:48, so I’m hoping to bring it down as my volume and speed work comes up in the next 8(?) weeks or so.
I’ve started some heart rate training since I have a HR monitor on my new watch. I’m surprised to find I kept it steady on this run (part of me is wondering if I had any cadence lock). To be discussed in future posts.
This was supposed to be a down week with 2 full days off and only 27 miles. But I was feeling weird about my last week where I missed the goal by 7+ miles. The weather was topsy turvy (heat wave, thunderstorms and lightning, etc).
8/6: I took the Mile High Run Club The Distance class and was able to get in 5.5 miles of intervals in 57 minutes. I pushed my paces just a bit and am starting to feel ready for some speed again. I’m shooting for a 5K PR in September (race TBD) so any time spent running in the 7:xx range is good.
8/7: I was planning to do a full but slow ~6.5-7 miles (with a run to the NYRR Open Run Brooklyn Bridge Park course and back). But Open run got canceled due to lightning about halfway through! I was able to run and just make a bus and avoid the rain on the way home and ended up with 4 miles for the day.
8/8: I was able to volunteer at the Al Goldstein Summer Speed Series #6 due to work conflicts easing up, so I ran there. Then ran to a water station to help out. Then ran back to race HQ then out of the park with a teammate and to the bar to meet the Brooklyn Beer Runners group. 5.2 miles total at a very easy pace. So hot, so humid. It rained a little bit which felt great.
8/9: Off day
8/10: Unplanned rest day. Got home from work and didn’t feel like doing the 9 miles for the Fireworks Group Run. Thought about running to spectate Take the Bridge in Williamsburg, but enjoyed my quiet night in, elevating my feet.
8/11: I had again planned to do my long run as part of Summer Streets, but woke up to some pains in the middle of the night and wasn’t feeling 100% when I got up at 7. I watched the thunderstorms and rain blow in and eventually made it down to the treadmill for an easy 3 miles. I also did a strength workout (bent-over rows, shoulder press, kettlebell deadlifts). Then it was time for more food adventures with Lori. We hit up The Nugget Spot for their special fried chicken sandwich with hot honey ice cream and Flip Sigi for the special burrito (but also longanisa poutine and short rib wonton nachos).
8/12: 12 miles around Central Park. I ran with friends and was glad to run a 12:xx minute mile instead of pushing to my current 10:40 pace. The humidity was brutal but it was good to get time on my feet and with good company.
Total: 29.7 miles out of a prescribed 27. This makes me feel more prepared for the ~34 on tap next week and for all of my future long runs (some cutback weeks go down to 11 miles).
July 16th: I came home from the first day of my new job, took a nap, and laced up my sneakers. I shuffled along the Lafayette Avenue part of the NYC Marathon course, then turned around and came back on Greene Avenue before heading up to Fort Greene Park. Nice and easy. The NYRR Virtual Trainer called for 4 miles, but I had to throw in the towel and get to Whole Foods for Prime Day and end with 3.3 miles.
July 17th: 4.8 miles in 52 minutes at The Distance at Mile High Run Club. I got in 5.2 miles last time and usually hit 5.3-5.4 in 57 minutes, but I took a quick pause to roll out my hamstrings later on in the class. My new base pace is 6.0 miles per hour/10 minute miles but should probably be 5.8 mph/10:20 minute miles, based on my easy runs lately. My new ‘half marathon pace’ is in the low 9’s and my sprint is just under 8 minutes. I’m hoping that all these paces will get back to where they were in April (when I ran a 10K in the 8:30’s), but I’m trying to be patient and put in the work.
July 18th: Unplanned rest day. When your bf wants to get sushi sooner rather than later, sometimes you say yes to sushi soon. No photos because the lighting wasn’t great.
July 19th: 5.4 easy miles with my friend Puffy around the park. We ran into so many PPTC members! Then I ran into my new boss (not pictured).
Murray & Me
July 20th: Rest day. Had drinks at Bocce and dinner at Flex Mussels.
Aperol and rose spritzes at Bocce
July 21st: 4 miles, a mix of treadmill and running to and from the gym (ended at Sweetgreen). The last mile was uphill in Morningside Park with lots of stairs, then we cut through Columbia University’s campus (my grad school alma mater).
July 22nd: 8 miles for long run day, mostly just loops of the park. It was overcast when I first left my apartment (finally), but the sun came out and the temperature rose from the 70’s to the 80’s. I paused for water a couple of times and did some of my final miles in the trails, which were nice and shady.
I celebrated in the afternoon by meeting my old coworker and fellow baker for a pie crawl. We made it to two stops and had 5 slices of pie between us. Next time, we’ll bike or walk to Butter & Scotch (last seen here) or the new Peetee’s Pie location in Clinton Hill.
Four and Twenty BlackbirdsDaly Pie
Total: 25.5 miles. My highest in months! Excited to get back into the 30’s soon enough.
I had originally been planning on a pretty higher mileage 18-week plan (Pfitzinger 18/55 but scaled down a bit) for this year’s NYC Marathon before getting injured in April. I’m now scaling back even more to something closer to 16 weeks and still base building until I get there. I might do the NYRR Virtual Trainer again since I liked their built-in feedback on paces and race expectations (Edit 7/16: Officially signed up for the moderate plan again). These are the last three weeks before that begins in mid-July.
June 25 – July 1: 18.4 miles total, a high for the last 10 weeks. Unplanned rest day on Tuesday (snoozed too hard in the AM but did go see a Colbert Report taping and eat at Han Dynasty and Van Leeuwen Brothers Ice Cream that evening). I did 4.7 easy miles with the Beer Runners on Wednesday evening before the weather got too hot. On Thursday, I returned to Mile High Run Club for The Build, which is primarily strength training. We did some kettlebell sets for arms/legs then abs, then finished bodyweight AMRAPs. We also had some shorter intervals on the treadmill in between strength sets. I stayed on the same treadmill (which are Woodways and amazing) for The Distance class immediately after. I usually hit ~5.4 miles in this class (interval training) but took my paces slower and used more of the cooldown, so I got 5 miles exactly and 1.2 from The Build for a total of 6.2 miles, my longest since April. I managed 2 miles in the too-hot gym Friday morning as a recovery run then bopped around midtown for lunch and coffee, running into a running friend at Toby’s Estate Coffee.
The Views from the new Domino Park in Williamsburg5th Avenue Toby’s Estate Coffee
My Long Run for the week was 5.5 hot, grueling Sunday morning miles along Brooklyn Bridge Park to Williamsburg with my friend Andrew. I started getting goosebumps and some heat exhaustion signs during the last mile despite trying to stay in the shade and drinking lots of water with Nuun. We took a few pauses, ended the run in Domino Park, then walked to Pies N Thighs and devoured brunch.
July 2 – July 8: Very few miles running (5.8, all treadmill), but there was swimming on the beach for the 4th and a hike at Anthony’s Nose on Saturday the 7th. One of the runs was at the new Peloton Tread Studio (30 minutes run, 10 minutes strength and core workout). I can’t wait to go back! I loved the treadmills once I got the hang of adjustments. I skipped one planned run Thursday because I was very busy baking a complicated banana cake from Momofuku Milk Bar. I got to have some food adventures with Allison and Lori and we stopped by my beloved Milk & Cream Cereal Bar for more cereal-infused ice cream.
America: In Our FacesCake and KaraokeMilk & Cream and the Food Babies
July 8-15: 23.3 miles over 4 days of running. Yay something in the 20’s! I had planned on 5 days, but was very tired on Saturday morning from celebrating my last day of work Friday the 13th. To celebrate with coworkers, I ate a lot. The 15th was also National Ice Cream Day, but I celebrated with ice cream on multiple opportunities.
My runs included easy miles in Central Park and Prospect Park, plus some treadmill intervals at Mile High Run Club’s The Distance.
BaohausBeebe’s PizzaIce & Vice LIC PopupCentral Park ReservoirKhachapuri (Georgian cheesy bread) in Brighton BeachBrighton BeachSteak Frites and Burger at Bubo
7/31: Cross-training with tennis. More drills (I think my backhand is getting pretty good), more time to work on my atrocious serve. I’m nowhere near being ready to play against anyone, but am hoping that with more time, lessons, drills, and practice, that I could actually play next year.
8/1: I was heading to NYRR Open Run but decided to see if the new Park Slope Blink Fitness location was open and lo and behold, it was. And there were treadmills available. I did 4 easy miles while watching Teen Jeoaprdy! and quietly shouting out the answers.
8/2: Unexpected rest day because the Al Goldstein Summer Speed Series 5K #6 was canceled due to thunderstorms. My friends and I got delivery from Emily (their Emily pizza is in my top 5), stuffed croissants from Union Fare, and some fruit pies from Petee’s Pie Company.
8/3: Surprise mid-week 9 mile long run. I got out of a work training at NYU Langone Hospital early, so I put all my stuff into a locker at a Blink location (going to the gym twice in a week?!) then headed out along the East River. I was feeling good and the weather was perfect, so I knew I wanted to run more than 6 miles. I figured that since it would be likely raining on Saturday before/during/after Team Champs, I may as well get the miles in so I wouldn’t have to worry about adding extra on.
My favorite water fountain and seal fountain sculptures in the LES
I turned around at 4.5 miles exactly in between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. Strava was being weird and generous and gave me an extra 0.2, but the wild loops around the piers to get extra miles in are all me. The 8:42’s are not quite right. I also had to do a lot of weird mini loops at the end of the East River path near 40th St. I’m hoping to do the East side from 59th St. up soon, but am happy to skip the 40’s and 50’s because there is no path.
8/4: Rest day. I thought about doing a few miles at the gym after work but picked up my bib then made it out to the grocery store and that was it. Had Burger Garage for lunch and was full for a long time. Burgers, sweet potato fries, and cookies & cream milkshakes aren’t really conducive to working out.
8/5: Team Champs 5 Miler in Central Park.
Due to severe thunderstorms in the morning (I woke up early to the sound of thunderclaps and rain on my air conditioner), the men’s race was pushed to 8am and the women’s to 8:45am. I did a solo 1 mile warmup after cheering for the guys near the start. It was pretty humid, as is normal in August, so 1 mile felt sufficient, though I had hoped for two.
I had a miserable 4th mile and stopped for water at each stop, then caught up to my teammate LP. She had her earbuds in so we didn’t really speak, but we sped up for the final mile and the part past our teammates together. I got a wave of nausea at the 4.85 mark, but managed to hold off.
8/6: 7 easy miles including a park loop in my PureFlows. This is the longest run I’ve worn them for because I’m hoping to make them my speed shoes for 5K/10K at most, but things felt pretty good in them.
Total: 26.7 miles. It’s only 0.6 miles less than last week, but I know it was supposed to be a few miles more (and that last week was supposed to be a few miles fewer). Next week (week 3) is supposed to be the first above 30.
Well, I’m a marathoner now! As for the days leading up to the race, I had no doubts about my abilities to finish this. But I also knew anything could happen and that I should respect the distance. Between all the love and support and reading stories like this, I am very emotional. Disclaimer: I am even more emotional after the events of this week and delayed publishing this by a few days in an effort to start coming to terms with the election results.
As of writing this Tuesday, I am also very sore. I got a massage Monday which apparently might have been too soon and maybe I just made more micro-tears in my muscles. Whoops! It felt good, that’s for sure. Anyway, back to race day:
If you’re unfamiliar with the course, this is an excellent primer.
Getting to the start at Fort Wadsworth was an experience. I boarded the 8:15am ferry, which should have left me plenty of time after the shuttle buses dropped us off for my Wave 3 10:40am start. But there was bus traffic the whole way and what should have been a 10 minute ride (according to others who have done it before) took 40 minutes. Apparently an earlier ferry broke down. I made new friends on the ferry and while waiting for the bus who came from all over. It was so nice to talk the time away and not worry about the ticking clock. I scarfed down my strawberry Uncrustable (saw others were having PB&J and it had been 2 hours since my freezer waffles). By the time I hopped off the bus and used the bathroom, the corrals for my whole wave were about to close. I quickly shed my throwaway layers, then ran into a PPTC member who had run this before and calmed me down a lot. I didn’t feel ready, but I knew it was go time. I ate my honey stinger waffle slowly and got a picture.
Miles 1 & 2:
I knew I should take the Verrazano Bridge very slowly, and I did. You definitely don’t feel the incline because of the adrenaline, so I focused on taking in the views and not tripping over throwaway clothing. The fire boats were shooting out water and there was a rainbow! I was Orange, so we were on the left side of the bridge and did a neat little turnaround before entering 4th Avenue. Blue was on the right side of the bridge and had their own route, then Green was on the lower level and seemed to come up then over to their special route, as seen below from the NYT. 11:12 for mile 1 and 10:26 mile 2, enjoying that downhill a bit.
Miles 3 – 6:
Bay Ridge was fun! I come down here sometimes for work or food, so I knew different stretches of the route. The crowds really started to come out and had some excellent signs. I saw a few PPTC people who ran past me and my pace was remaining steady with the same effort much closer to 11 minute miles than 10. I had hoped for more easy, breezy even 10:30’s like during my longest training run, but it seemed it wasn’t happening. I was afraid to push harder in case my body fell apart on the back half, so I reined it in. I untaped my pace bracelet for my A Goal time of 04:29 and threw it onto the median around mile 6. So long, A Goal! I had my first Gu of the day, Salted Watermelon around the 1 hour mark. Writing these down seems very important for any future marathon training I may do. This was a little later than usual but I figured the extra Honey Stinger waffle on top of the two-part breakfast had given me plenty.
I THINK this photo is from Bay Ridge or going up 4th Avenue but I could be wrong
Mile 7 – 9:
The best running miles of my life! This stretch included seeing the first of my coworkers, then one of my besties, then the PPTC cheer zone, then finally my parents and roommate. I have no words left to describe how exciting this part of 4th was. Then we did the Flatbush to Lafayette turn around mile 8 and I was equally impressed by Fort Greene. The party had really started. I saw great costumes, another coworker, and enjoyed the music. I took these miles a little fast and then my GPS messed up and told me I had run a sub-8 mile through Lafayette. I was fast, but not that fast! My watch had been beeping a little ahead of the mile markers but this is where it started being behind and I didn’t even realize. NYRR says I did the 10K in 1:07:28. Gu #2 (the other Salted Watermelon).
Coming in for family hugs on 4thHi, Dad! Bye, Dad!
Mile 9 – 12:
I saw a few more people along Bedford (another coworker, old roommate who ran the marathon last year, and a team captain) then enjoyed the more quiet miles of Orthodox/Hasidic Williamsburg. I had a work assignment in this area the last few months that just ended on Halloween, so I’ve become more familiar with the area and the culture. There was still a fair amount of crowd support and the course was just chock full of Northern Europeans. I felt like I was surrounded by Swedes, Danes, and Germans. Then Williamsburg re-brought the party. I could actually smell the booze! I saw 2 lovely coworkers in Greenpoint before the Pulaski Bridge and was riding that high.
Miles 13 – 16:
The Pulaski Bridge was short and sweet, then we were met with a large crowd throughout Long Island City, where my main office is. It was so weird to see my work building then just keep running right by! Some friends were having their usual marathon party and I almost missed them because I couldn’t remember which side of the street they were on. I ended up making a beeline for them and coming in for a quick high five before zipping off again. Then the Queensboro Bridge happened. It was rough, to say the least. I still had dreams hitting my B Goal (4:30-4:45) and I hit the half in 2:23:01, which would make the tail end of that goal doable with a slight negative split. But the bridge ended that, as I chugged along at a 12 minute mile. Gu #3 (Strawberry Banana) was chased with water still.
Maybe this was actually Marcus Garvey? Who knows!
Mile 17 – 19:
The Wall of Sound on 1st Avenue was no joke and I loved seeing the throngs of people five deep cheering for us. I, however, got totally confused about which mile I was on because of my GPS mishap and missed a couple of friends here. I sped up just a little bit but couldn’t get back under 11. I also chose to address my underboob chafing with some Vaseline. Unfortunately, they had run out of sticks so the medical volunteer just had to hand me a glob of it. No shame at this point and I smeared it where I needed. Gu #4 at the 3:20 mark, plus 2 shot blocks and some Gatorade at this point.
Chugging along
Miles 20 & 21:
The Bronx was really short and sweet and people were out in droves, contrary to what I had heard. The guy running next to me (who I saw again toward the finish) was a local and kept welcoming all of us to the BX. Also, it is just wild to me that we take such a detour around the Western Beef supermarket. I’m glad the afore-linked NYT article mentioned it because it was so confusing. Then right before the bridge, a lady had a great sign that said LAST DAMN BRIDGE. And yes, it was.
Miles 22-24:
All aboard the pain train! Actually, it wasn’t so bad at first. I got another Vaseline stick and swabbed myself on 5th Avenue, then we went around Marcus Garvey Park, which looked autumnal and lovely. I was apparently shuffling along in the 11:40’s here and had a great butt slapping hello with my friend Allison in the upper 120’s. Then I ate half a banana since I had taken my final Gu (Salted Caramel, which has a little more caffeine, though not as much as the Caramel Macchiato I meant to take) at the 4 hour mark. Then somewhere around mile 23 marker (my watch was still behind), I got a nasty side stitch on my right side. I tried to keep jogging through it, but it brought me down. The worst grimacey photos are from this point, but my friend Brittany hopped in and gave me water and talked me through it. She reminded me how to stretch and breathe then sent me into Central Park with a smile on my face, ready to run down Cat Hill and make the finish in under 5 hours (C Goal!).
Brittany walked and talked me through my side cramp
Miles 25 + 26 + 0.2:
The last two miles were a magical blur, full of spectators and my last wind. I chugged a final shot of Gatorade just to get me through the finish and managed to pick up my pace on 59th St. I passed a couple teammates but couldn’t really form sentences any more. I remember seeing the ‘800 meters to go’ sign and being excited, then feeling crestfallen when I realized just how far that was. Bronx guy was with me here and yelled out the sign, but it wasn’t enough. I pushed so hard just to get under a 10 minute mile then sprint in the finish, arms raised and feeling triumphant.
Then the epic shuffle to retrieve our medal, apple (yum), heat sheet, goodie bags with snacks, and finally the exit poncho. I pulled my phone out of the Ziploc bag and turned off airplane mode since I hadn’t turned it on to listen to music even once because I never needed it. The energy of the race was more than enough to get me through the tough parts). I tried to answer the many texts and WhatsApp messages I got and let my family know I was alive and heading to the reunion point. My walk speed was actually pretty quick and I tried to get out of the park as fast as I could while thanking all the volunteers. I entered the reunion school and got applause and cheers like a rockstar. Instead of chocolate milk, I was handed some delicious hot chocolate by a volunteer and grabbed some Milk Duds thanks to my Dad. After wiping down and changing and a mini photo shoot, we went to Bar Boulud for an amazing post-race meal. After a long cab ride back to Brooklyn, I tried to facebook and instagram a quick post before bed at 8:38PM.
Overall reflections:
The crowds make this race. I mainly mean the million + people cheering us on, but I do also mean the runners themselves. Everyone I talked to, smiled at, or otherwise wasn’t elbowed by (there were a few of those but most were apologetic) was so thrilled to be running this race. It was really something special to run through all 5 boroughs of this city I love and have called home for over 6 years. NYC is the place I’ve lived longest in my adult life and that is for many reasons, but the people are overwhelmingly the biggest one.
I brought too much nutrition with me. Fortunately my pockets were huge (thank you, Lululemon Speed Track Shorts), so my leftover Shot Blocks and extra Gus will be used in the future.
I feel very sure about my decision to not run another marathon until 2018 at the earliest. I’m looking forward to a leisurely summer and fall next year, where I can sleep in past 8am on weekends and not plan my vacations around my long runs. I also hope to get faster with the help of more speed work, and plan to try my hand at more shorter distance races that I didn’t want to risk this training cycle. I would hope that I could try a higher mileage plan for an future marathons and honestly, the thought of it right now is a bit much. I’ll probably end up doing the 9+1 in 2017 just so I have the NYC option open to me in 2018, but would of course consider other full marathons. My only definite 2017 races (barring injury) are the Philadelphia Broad Street Run (deferred entry from last year) and the Richmond Half Marathon.
I’m tempted to post a .gif of tumbleweed blowing by for my taper weeks, but I did get some nice runs in. I also got the sniffles (I can’t say I definitively got sick as it only lasted a couple days and seems to be more like seasonal allergies). But now I’m only 3 days away from running my first marathon and the excitement has finally washed over and replaced my minor anxieties about aches and pains.
Week 14:
The sniffles were real and I didn’t want to develop a full-blown cold, so I only did a weekday run then my first taper run in DC. I had planned a perfect 12 mile loop but got lost trying to get down to East Potomac Park, then couldn’t get onto 14th St.as planned and had to cut over onto the Mall further East than expected. I ended at Starbucks for a much needed soy toffee nut latte, courtesy of my free drink. I got to see some friends and have Nando’s for dinner, as we still don’t have one in NYC.
Week 15:
Mile High Run Club The Distance with Elizabeth Corkum. I hadn’t been to MHRC in months but I loved it and plan to take Corky’s class again when I reactivate my ClassPass. I managed to keep my paces consistent throughout the different interval speeds and saw some very fast Level 4 speed. I got 5.6 miles in, which is a huge improvement from 4.8 miles back in May. I also manged to keep my easy pace very easy overall.
Then on Saturday the 29th, I did the last 10 miles run with PPTC. My watch never picked up satellites because it was probably still on DC from the week before, so I decided to just run with the 11:00 min/mile pace group. We ended up at a closer to 10:30 pace for some of the miles, which was ideal for me since I hope to keep my marathon pace closer to that. I felt really good and was talking the whole way. Had a Gu around mile 6 and discovered I also love the Salted Caramel flavor.
Week 16:
Just some quick regular runs on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
I hit up the Expo on Thursday night and it wasn’t too crowded. I got my bib, said hi to some friends volunteering, took some photos with said bib, then did some shopping. Things I bought that I needed: margarita ShotBlocks and extra Gu. I also split a good deal on wool socks from Darn Tough with a friend. I’m not going to try out new socks on race day, but these are pretty darn nice from what I can tell on my test run. Most importantly, I got the jacket below in gray and I love it. Pretty sure it’s bad luck to wear it or the long-sleeve before I actually run the marathon, though.
I decided I didn’t need much more stuff. I have so many race shirts and running clothing overall that my collection should be complete once I acquire some more winter running clothes and accessories. Don’t hold me to that statement, please.
Anyway, I am obviously wildly excited for Sunday and love knowing that I have friends and family cheering for me in many locations and 3 of the 5 boroughs.
Tuesday 8/30: Queensboro Bridge repeat then getting a little lost around Long Island City to meet my friends for delicious desserts for 4.3 miles total. The bridge was an interesting experience. I was worried about the climb initially but it was fine (it’s a long one). The only issue was all the cyclists pedaling away in the pedestrian lane. I ran the way back on the side closer to the bikes and the fear made me run a full minute per mile faster. I met my friends at Sugarcube after and enjoyed their $10 special for a pastry (lemon choux for me, raspberry mousse for my friends) and gelato (strawberry Greek yogurt and rosewater flavors for me).
Wednesday 8/31: 7.2 miles total, which includes a warmup mile to the meeting spot, a loop of Prospect Park, 0.7 miles to the bar, then 1.5 miles home after 2 beers and a pimiento grilled cheese. One of the beers was free from a Pacifico bar rep, in my defense. The 1.5 mile shuffle home was shockingly quick and not queasy.
Thursday 9/1: Off day for running, but I did some top rope climbing (and failed bouldering) before work at Brooklyn Boulders. It was good to try another spot and some new routes. I’m still thinking about getting a harness and climbing shoes so I don’t have to keep renting equipment.
Friday 9/2: Fireworks group run to Coney Island. It was a little over 2.5 miles to the meeting spot, then a straight shot down Ocean Parkway to the boardwalk, then down a ways to the main spot near Ruby’s and Nathan’s Famous. 8.7 miles total, most of it with 2 other PPTC members at a conversational pace. We then stood in line for Nathan’s, watched the fireworks, and finally got our food close to 40 minutes after getting there. My chili cheese dog was amazing but the lemonade stole the show. We took the Q back and I did some foam rolling before bed.
Saturday 9/3: Off day from running. I drove a minivan full of friends up to Newburgh to our favorite Lawrence Farms Orchards for early season apple picking and produce shopping. Obviously I was most excited about apple cider donuts, but all of the other goodies were fun, too. I bought a fair amount of Honeycrisps and some eggplants. We went to a British pie shop for lunch, then I had Chinese delivery for dinner for carbing up.
Choosing eggplants
Sunflowers
Honeycrisps galore
Sunday 9/4: Long run day (or as Carla says, Church of the Sunday Long Run). My NYRR Virtual Trainer called for 13 miles but most other training plans would have me at 14 and I knew I would feel a lot more confident going longer. I left at 8am and did a warmup mile and loop around the park before meeting up with the group at 9am. Fortunately, the group was willing to go around 9-10 miles at my pace, so I kind of led the way across the Brooklyn Bridge, through lower Manhattan, back across the Manhattan Bridge, then a quick pit stop for water before ending at the new Park Slope Juice Press. I went just over 14 miles, so figured 14.1 would be better for inputting into my virtual trainer. Strava ended up giving me 14.5 miles total, but I assure everyone this was “just” 14.1 miles. Which makes it my longest run EVER. I’ve done 13.1 (really 13.3 because of not running tangents) in half marathons in 2015 but never further. These numbers made it feel real for me. I thanked everyone profusely for joining me on this momentous occasion (yes, really) and excitedly drank my free watermelon juice while strolling downhill.
I ate a Honeycrisp immediately, then downed some duck poutine and roast pork sandwich at Smorgasburg plus some apple cider donuts. Then I made good use of the Japanese and regular eggplants I bought with this miso roasted eggplant recipe I’ve been meaning to try forever.
Total: 34.3 miles out of recommended 30-34 miles. Yeah, that’s right, I achieved more than the minimum.
Heavens to Betsy, I can’t believe I’m so deep into training already (or that August is almost over). Overall, it’s going really well! Almost surprisingly well. I’ve been foam rolling like a champ and I think all the rock climbing has been helpful in building my strength. I’d like to keep squeezing in barre classes for additional stretching and strengthening.
Monday 8/22: Rest day from running. Rock climbed for a few hours and got up to (and completed) a 5.8 It’s so cool to see progress in this arena. Then I tried bouldering, which I haven’t attempted since 2012. I got up the V0 pretty easily but failed on the V1. Will try again and report back.
Tuesday 8/23: Quick 3 (morning!) miles around the neighborhood, including a turf soccer field. It feels really good on the feet and knees, that’s for sure. I did a half mile warmup, then 4 x 800m, then a little over a half mile cool down. My paces were not great, hovering around 9:00 minute miles which seems slow given that sub-8 minute mile at the 5K only a week prior.
Wednesday 8/24: 1 mile warmup to Prospect Park, 3.35 mile loop, then hurried up and waited for my friend’s running group and did 2/3 of a loop with them (cutting up Center Drive), then ran a mile to a bar in Prospect Heights. 8 miles total of varying paces from 9:31 on the downhill to 11:54 when I only had my prescription sunglasses on in the dark.
Thursday 8/25: Day off. Made my own Shake Shack concrete flavor for the first time, with a marshmallow swirl and crispy crunchies mixed into the Buttery Blackberry flavor of the week. Failed to take a picture.
Friday 8/26: Day off. Had a few beers, which had me concerned for my run the next day, but drank lots of water and went to bed very early.
Saturday 8/27: Long Run day. Ran an uphill mile to the starting point before 8 am, then did a conversational 11 across the Brooklyn Bridge, around lower Manhattan, and back on the Manhattan Bridge, all with several people from PPTC. Paces ranged from low 10:00s on the bridges to higher 11s in the FiDi with swarms of tourists. I had a ShotBlock after the first 5 miles then again closer to the 10th mile. This run had me questioning my sock choices, so I might try to get some with better sweat-wicking properties soon. I ran straight to Brooklyn Juice Company and had an amazing watermelon slushie, then foam rolled and showered before an amazing brunch at Miriam, local beers at Threes Brewing and String Rope Brewery, and ice cream at Ample Hills. BEST FOOD DAY.
Sunday 8/28: Quick 6 around the park before a beach day in Long Island. Nothing notable about this run except that I did the math wrong and thought these 6 miles would put me over the 30 mile threshold for the week. Got home, inserted into NYRR Virtual Trainer and boom, 29.4 miles total. Oh well, next week.
Total: 29.4 out of a recommended 30-34.
Long Beach was fun but full of seaweed, washed-up jellyfish, and some nasty riptides. At least there were fish tacos.
East Coast Appetite 
