Marathons & Moderation: Guest Post #1

 
Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope the weather is better in your neck of the woods than what we’re dealing with in New York City. It has been raining for the past three days and I literally thought I was going to float away this morning on the way to the gym. Oh well! I can’t complain too much because last night there was actually sunshine during the NYRR Wall Street 3 Mile race!
 
As you may recall, I reached out via Twitter a few weeks ago looking for readers and bloggers alike who would like to do guest posts on Marathons & Moderation. One of my primary goals for this year’s marathon training is to find moderation. Therefore, I thought I’d reach out to some of the experts to provide their two cents on how to stay sane, injury free, and enjoy marathon training by using moderation.
 
The first guest post comes from one of my local favorites, Ellen! Hope you enjoy the first of many Marathon & Moderation guest posts. If you’d like to guest post on this topic, please let me know in the comments section!
 
 
 

Hi, Healthy, Happier readers! I’m Ellen and I blog at Keepin the Pace, where I talk about running, cooking and finding ways to keep up with the pace of daily life while making it all happen. When Ashley sent out the call to guest post on marathons and moderation, I jumped at the chance. I’ve been a reader for quite a while, and will be running my third marathon this fall. Moderation or balance is something I’m always striving to attain – and something others generally tell me I’m pretty good at.

Let’s be honest here, by nature, there’s nothing "moderate" about training for months to push your body to run 26.2 miles. I’m not saying it’s crazy, but let’s start by defining "moderation." Running a marathon (and training for one) isn’t easy. It’s taxing both physically and mentally and requires a lot of commitment. That said, it’s also incredibly rewarding. And the best thing you can do is define what you mean by "moderation." The clearer a picture you have, the easier it will be to ensure that you attain it.

This fall, I will be running my third marathon (NYC). My previous marathon experiences were very different from each other in many ways: training, attitude, performance. I’ve learned quite a bit training for both, and here are some things to consider…

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Do some research. You’ve chosen the marathon, you know where the finish line is – now there are a few months to figure out how to get to it. Outside of training, you’d like to keep some semblance of normalcy in your life.

Define what moderation looks like for you over a few months… over a week… over the course of a day. For example:

  • Over four months, I’d like to make 3-5 social events/month.
  • Over a week, I’d like to have dinner with friends/significant other three times.
  • In the course of a day, I’d like to eat homemade meals 75% of the time.
  • Most of my goals here are food-related (that’s where my head is), but yours may have more to do with hanging out with friends, keeping up with work, yoga, etc. Look at your big plan and pick a few attainable goals that will keep you happy.

  • Backwards plan. Mark that marathon on the calendar and mark it big. Then map your long training runs backwards from that date.

    • Know that training plans are generally created in a vacuum… a perfect world where weather and work and a social life don’t factor in to training. Read several plans from different sources (I can tell you some good books) and take each with a grain of salt.
    • Once you’ve read, think about what works for you. Relative newbie running a first marathon? Probably not a good idea to plan for a sub-4:00 marathon training 45 miles/week. YOU are the best coach you can have right now. Map out your long runs on a day that works for you. (Note: This isn’t always Sunday. For me, in the summer, Friday works better).
    • Loosely factor in your weekday runs — these may be subject to change as your schedule changes. Check up on them at the beginning of each week and adjust as needed.
  • Go easy on yourself. You’re already awesome, this much we’ve established (uh, you’re running a marathon). Remember: Your marathon will not fall apart if you skip your speed work on July 17. Nor will you bonk because you had to cut your long run 2 miles short in September. So really, plan ahead, but know that your plan is not concrete.
    • Weekly: Sunday nights I check out my running/cross-training plan to see what works with my schedule. I know that I may need to change things around sometimes, and that’s okay. Try to keep your long runs intact, know that your shorter weekday runs give a little more leeway.
    • Daily: Splitting runs is fine. Really. Perhaps on a Wednesday I can’t run 6 miles at a time… but I can run 3 miles before work and 3 miles afterwards. It’s still six miles. It’s a weekday. You have a real life. Your marathon will not suffer, I promise.

  • Reward yourself. This is a big deal. I know that dangling that carrot in front of me helps quite a bit when motivating myself to get out the door for a 15-miler in the August humidity. Tie your rewards to the task – long run in the heat? Get an awesome summer wicking top. Met your yoga goals for the month? Maybe some new socks are in order. Either way, keep yourself motivated with little rewards along the way, and you will be handsomely rewarded at the finish line of your marathon.
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The bottom line is, enjoy your training (as tough as it might be). There will be a time in your life when you think back on this fondly. Make sure you were good to yourself — and check back to my blog to see how I’m doing! Good luck to your running endeavors and I’ll see all of you NYC Marathoners on November 6, 2011 for a nice little tour of the boroughs 🙂
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NYRR Wall Street 3 Mile Race Recap

 

For the past two years, I’ve read race recaps about the NYRR Wall Street 3 Mile Race and wished I’d chosen to do it. It is the only downtown NYRR race and weaves through the Wall Street area before looping back up the Hudson River. While this race is for walkers and runners alike, since it is a corporately sponsored event, they separate the two groups.

I was a bit apprehensive about the race because I’ve heard lots of mixed reviews. Unlike most races, it’s not in Central Park and it’s flat which gives it two big bonus points. But, on the other hand, many people complained that the streets downtown are narrow and uneven which results in lots of bottlenecks.

Luckily, my excitement outweighed any of the negatives and at 5pm this evening I left work excited and ready for a great race!

IMG_2213 (640x480)Picking up my bib from Melissa’s boyfriend’s apartment and changing at home took less time than I expected. Therefore, I ended up downtown with 45 minutes to spare! Luckily I was able to entertain myself in a nearby Starbucks while catching up on emails, jamming to old school Usher, and watching other runners head to the start.

IMG_2214 (478x640)Since the race started at 6:45, I left Starbucks at 6:25 so I could walk the 5 minutes to the start and get in my corral. Oops, there were no corrals. Somehow I missed this part of the email update that NYRR sent out. I made the best of it by getting as close to the front as I could. The crowd was crazy!

IMG_2217 (640x478)At 6:45, on the spot, the National Anthem ended and the race started. I had my iPod ready to go and set to my “most played” playlist. While I knew I wouldn’t get through the whole list, I knew that the first few are some of my favorites and if I wasn’t in the mood for one and pushed forward the next one would be equally as awesome!

image Unfortunately, I forgot to have my Garmin find the satellites before the race and therefore had to settle for using the stopwatch only. This ended up being a double edge sword because I couldn’t keep my pace in check but instead let my legs go as fast as they could. The first mile was pretty cramped, especially the first quarter mile, but I was still able to run at my full potential. I think the fact that I started towards the front of the pack really helped since most runners were running at my pace or faster. In fact, I felt slow versus the pack of runners around me.

imageAs we passed the first mile marker I saw that I’d kept an 8:23 pace. Holy hell! No wonder my lungs felt like they were about to explode. The more unusual pain was that the arch of my right foot was killing me. I knew that I didn’t want to risk not finishing and therefore did my best to ratchet my speed down a bit closer to an 8:45. The 2nd mile helped me do that naturally since there were quite a few curves and narrow streets. But, when I passed the 2nd mile marker I saw that I’d only decreased it to an 8:37. By this point my legs and body had hit a really good rhythm and I was even engaging my abs and arms to help improve my form. Since I had skipped the water station in order to keep my pace, I focused on my breathing to take my mind off of my thirst and exhaustion. Luckily, the 2nd mile is where we hit Bowling Green and Battery Park which means the scenery improved and the view of the Hudson was amazing! Even the gray clouds and overcast weather couldn’t take away from the views.

IMG_2221 (640x478)

IMG_2218 (640x478)I was very self conscious of my speed at this point as I saw everyone around me speeding up and I was doing my best to keep pace. I focused on my music so I wouldn’t focus on my time and get caught up in the numbers. This ended up working very well and before I knew it I was weaving between the benches on the Hudson River Path and passing through South Cove. I saw the finish line and knew that I had a little energy left for a final sprint.

IMG_2219 (480x640)                                                                        26:32 HOT DAMN!

The official times won’t be posted on NYRR website until tomorrow but for now I’m embracing this time and going with it!! This race is definitely another PR since my fastest NYRR split before today was a 9:14!

Once again, this race just reconfirmed how much my body has benefitted from speed training and weight lifting over the past four months!

Question: Have you ever surprised yourself in a race and performed better than expected?

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Say It Do It: Round 2

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already 10:45pm! This has been a Monday unlike any other. Here’s my day so far in bullet points.

  • I slept until 7:45am since my body was still clearly exhausted from our busy weekend in Atlanta!
  • I did my weekly grocery shopping at Duane Reade this morning when I saw their oatmeal sale sign! I left a few minutes later with 5 bananas, a canister of oats, apples, and a fresh pack of gum! I’m loving the redesigned Duane Reade shopping experience! They merge my favorite parts of the drugstore with all my grocery needs and happen to be located right across from my office!

  • Bo and I met at the subway at 6:15 so we could make it to the gym by 7pm. The evening gym experience was far different from my morning routine. I had to wait 2 minutes for a treadmill and then spent my run watching Entertainment Tonight and gawking at the number of people crammed into our New York City sized gym. It was a humid and hot sweatbox tonight! But, I slammed out an awesome 5k run in 29:10 in preparation for tomorrow’s NYRR Wall Street 5k!
  • Bo and I then enjoyed our first ever weeknight movie date! We bought dinner from Pret and snuck it into the theatre before enjoying the 8pm showing of Bridesmaids. Overall, I’d give the movie a B. It was definitely entertaining but some of the jokes were too long and at times the main characters life was a bit painful to watch. But, in the end we laughed and it was a great way to start the week.

 

Now, in Fit Chick in the City style, I want to share this week’s workout plans in order to help myself stay accountable. I know this week is going to be a busy one with two special events, one work event, and a trip to Philadelphia for Leslie’s big day.

Sunday- Physique 57 Arms+Abs DVD

Monday- evening 5k run on the treadmill+abs
Tuesday- AM Physique 57 Arms+Abs DVD+ NYRR Wall Street 5k in the evening
Wednesday- Personal training appointment+Pure Yoga Figure 4 event in the evening
Thursday- 6 mile run in Central Park+Physique 57 Arms+Abs DVD in the evening
Friday- AM personal training appointment
Saturday- fun run with Meghann in Philadelphia+ dancing the night away at the wedding
Sunday- rest day

Question: What are your goals this week? Did you stick to your goals last week?

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