Are You A Creature of Habit?

Good morning!

Did you all have a good evening? It’s a fabulous Friday as I’m currently on an Amtrak train heading up to Hartford, Connecticut!

IMG_3098Last night after landing I spent the evening relaxing with good friends and food. Theodora was so kind to host me last night so we spent the evening catching up, laughing, giving Bailey belly rubs and spending some time on the foam roller.

IMG_3081We went to a neighborhood favorite, Tappo, for a relaxed dinner. As luck would have it, we ran into Laura and Laura there! The four of us ended up sitting near each other so we spent dinner laughing as I heard stories from the past few months.

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By 9:30pm I had to go to bed as I could barely keep my eyes open. Luckily I slept through the night, only waking up one time, and woke up this morning feeling really good. My legs and back are a bit tight but hopefully it’s nothing I can’t stretch out with some yoga later.

This morning I referenced my post from last year to see what I ate the morning before the marathon. While I am not necessarily a creature of habit in my daily life, I definitely am when it comes to running. Once I find something that works, whether it’s clothing, hydration method, exercise, or food, I stick with it! Therefore, I decided that today I will do my best to have the exact same food I had last year. I had a great marathon last year and felt perfectly fueled the entire time.

I made a few stops in Penn Station in order to put together the same breakfast and snacks that I ate last year as we drove down to Philadelphia!

  • A fresh juice –  Detox (beet, carrots, celery, ginger, and lemon) juice  (Check out this article on the benefits of beets!)
  • Spinach Feta wrap and small latte from Starbucks
  • Banana
  • Water with NUUN

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I am so excited to arrive in Hartford around noon! Amy, who flew in for the weekend from Cincinnati, is picking me up at the train station! We both agreed to have a relaxing afternoon including lunch, picking up our bibs at the expo, a quick Lululemon shopping trip, and relaxing on the couch! We are lucky that her sister-in- law, Danielle, is one of the race organizers! Danielle is allowing us to stay at her home tonight and has been so wonderful coordinating everything! Staying in someone’s home is so much nicer than a sterile hotel!  While Amy is running the half tomorrow, instead of the full, I’m still excited to get to spend the weekend with her and know I’ll have a friendly face to jump in for the last few miles!

Have a great Friday and good luck to everyone running this weekend, especially those people hitting the asphalt in Chicago and Hartford! Luckily the weather looks perfect for both cities!

Your turn: Are you a creature of habit when it comes to running or workouts? Do you stick to the same fuel or same rituals before a race?

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ING Hartford Marathon Training: Final Push

This week I entered what I am considering the final push of training for the ING Hartford Marathon. I have four more weeks of pushing myself before a taper week leading up to the marathon. While each person treats taper in a different manner, Gia and I aligned early on that I would have a short taper due to my disrupted training plan during July’s big move. Instead of intimidating me, realizing I have less than 35 days until the marathon excites me. I love having four weeks that I can focus on my training. I have no travel other than London weekends. My parents are going to here visiting which will be nice from an emotional aspect. The weather is perfectly crisp and cool, beckoning me to break a sweat in the mornings. After an evening chat with my coach, I feel focused and determined.

Gia and I decided last night that my primary goal between now and taper is to focus on the details.

I can blame it on the move or living between two cities but for some reason during August I pretty much stopped using my Garmin. Mentally and physically it made running a bit more fun for me after being so hard on myself during the July move and transition period. Running without a Garmin allowed me to enjoy the miles with Emily and Amy rather than focus on the specific workouts or pace. Running became a stress release again and I found myself looking forward to my runs versus resenting them.

IMG_2047Now that the amount of training left between me and the marathon is a far smaller chunk of time, I find myself ready to strap on the Garmin and dive into the details of daily workouts. It isn’t a sense of pressure but rather a sense of excitement to see what a renewed and refreshed outlook combined with a challenging plan can do.  Over the next four weeks, most of my focus will be on the Tuesday mile repeat workouts and the Friday long runs, beginning with this week’s 20 miler along Lake Geneva.

IMG_2044I know that I’ll get in the rest of the miles but these are the two workouts in which I believe the planning and attention to detail is so important. Thursday night I’ll tuck myself into bed by 9pm to ensure that at 4:45 my body will feel rested and fueled for a strong long run, as if it was marathon morning.

What workout do you enjoy the most during marathon training? I think I fell in love with mile repeats this morning as I bet I can see improvement each week and it’s a far enough distance to push your body but short enough to push the speed.

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Philadelphia Marathon Recap: Second Half

I knew the second half of the marathon was when my mental strength would be tested. During my past two marathons, both in New York City, I’ve hit the wall on or around mile 17. I told Elizabeth, who was still by my side during the middle miles, that I wanted to use the Philadelphia Marathon course’s out and back style to my advantage.

I’m going to focus on the runners coming back my way and smile at them while watching for people I know. Hopefully this will make the miles pass quicker.

For the next 3 miles of quiet along Kelly Drive I did just that. I enjoyed the people watching while also taking in the sites of Boathouse Row. While there were very few spectators in this area, I was lucky enough to be spotted by 2 old Philadelphia friends from my time living in the city and 3 more blog readers. In the back of my head, knowing that someone I knew could see me at any point on the course definitely motivated me to run strong.

Little did I know how true this was as within the next minute we came upon the Lululemon Cheer Squad where Leslie spotted me! Seeing her huge smile and scream was exactly what I needed at this point. I knew that I’d see her again around mile 22 and was excited to have something to look forward to during this quiet part of the course. (photo courtesy of Leslie)

By mile 17, when we reached the Falls Bridge, Kristin was running her own race and it was now just me and Elizabeth. Our pace continued to click away right around 11:08 and we both couldn’t believe how strong we felt. Even going back up the hill to Falls Bridge after the short out and back on the other side of the river, around 18, our pace stayed on target and our breath came smoothly. We decided at this point that we’d do our best to start pushing the speed. We knew we’d have to start ticking off 3-4 seconds per mile if we wanted to break 4:45 still.

However, as we tried to push faster we both realized that this wasn’t the best time to do so. We could tell that the next few miles were a gradual uphill through Manayunk, where we’d reach our next crowd. Instead, we decided to keep with our 11:08 pace and our plan to run the first 20 like a long run and kick it in gear a bit for the final 10k. This area of the course was a bit more challenging than I’d expected just because the out and back seemed longer. The gradual incline never seemed to end and the crowd support came later than I expected.

At mile 20, just past the turnaround point, Elizabeth and I saw Meghan pass us looking wonderfully strong. I knew she was going to kick this marathon based on her strong training, including a 15 miler just 2 weeks previous which was such a smart decision on her part. As she passed I tried to catch up but couldn’t do it. I spent the next 2 minutes screaming for her, not realizing that she had on her headphones. I swear the amount of energy I exerted during this time felt as if I’d just dashed a mile. When I crossed the 20 mile marker I knew I didn’t have the energy left in me to keep up with her pace. Elizabeth looked at me and said she wanted to push it a bit faster and asked if I wanted to join her. Her original goal was a 4:40, faster than my goal, and therefore I feared going out too fast at this point. Who knows if I made the right decision or whether my body could have handled it. I’ll never know. I thanked her for her amazing 20 miles worth of support and told her that I’d do my best to keep her in my sights instead. She had just helped me accomplish something I never thought possible- run for 20 miles without a single stop or even water walk. That in itself was an accomplishment enough for me.

At that point, mile 20.5, I put my headphones on, took another Gu, sipped water, and promised myself that unless I felt injury, I would not walk. I’d trained for weeks and wanted to make myself proud. I wanted to cross the finish line with pride. I slowly started to focus on people ahead of me and do my best to pass them, one by one. My pace at the 21 mile mark was 11:10, according to my Garmin and my goal was to keep taking it down each mile. While I didn’t necessarily have the energy to push out 10:30 minute miles, I did negative split those next five miles. Below is just a glimpse into my thoughts during these last miles.

Mile 22: 11:00 (I can do this. If I just listen to Pit Bull’s I Cry a few more times I’ll keep from crying.)

Mile 23: 10:58 (Okay let’s keep the body relaxed and no waving as that uses energy. One foot in front of the other. Oh look at those people cheering. Act like they are your own fans and read their signs as you push past them.)

Mile 24: 10:58 (Hmm, you could see epic cheer squad at any point. Remember that Ashley has her camera ready. Look strong. Keep focused. Okay, let’s change the music to something a bit more upbeat. Hmm, Call Me Maybe?)

Mile 25: 10:49 (How is it possible that I haven’t seen the cheer squad yet? How am I not tired of listening to Call Me Maybe on repeat? Oh lord my lower back is so tight. My legs aren’t hurting but my actual feet are. Okay, let’s change it to Gangam Style and then finish out the marathon with a Reach the Beach Tribute.)

Mile 26: 10:23 (Okay, I have to keep exactly on pace to beat 4:55. I’ve worked too hard to not make that goal. Wait, let me spend this minute figuring out if there is any chance of 4:50. Oh no, these legs don’t have 7 minute miles in them. Okay, focus on running. Holy shit there is the sign. Oh my gosh Bo and Beth are screaming so loud. I love them. I love the entire cheer squad for being here and being so supportive. How amazing is Michael. I can’t believe he is still out here cheering for me. Maybe if I show them how much I love them they’ll believe me. I heart them. Oh wait, let’s finish this marathon. Just .3 mile left. Time to sprint for them.)

See below in order, thanks to Ashley’s amazing race day photography!

I

LOVE

YOU!

Mile 26-26.5: 8:22 (Oh lord. My quad hurts so badly. Come on sprint just end. I wonder if everyone else from our team is finished. Okay just cross the line, don’t look at Garmin and walk directly to the Pennies in Action tent. I really want a banana.)

Finish: Holy hell. I just ran 26.4 miles without stopping a single time. My left leg is so sore. My shoulders hurt. I’m sobbing. I can’t believe this. I have to call Gia immediately. Do I want to run another marathon again or is this a good way to go out? Wait, if I can run 4:53 here what do I have in me if I don’t have a 5 week taper? Wow, I can’t believe how steady I paced myself during that marathon. Wait if it had been 26.2 I actually would have done closer to 4:50. Shut up Ashley no marathon is exactly 26.2 miles. Just go celebrate and find your friends and Bo.

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To everyone who made this marathon possible whether through generous donations to Pennies In Action (me with the founder in the above picture) or through your positive thoughts and motivation, THANK YOU!

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