Quite Continental

Goal last week: 28 miles (5 miles, 20 miles, 3 miles)

Actual mileage: 28 miles (5 miles, 3 miles, 20 miles)

Goal this week: 28 miles (3 miles, 5 miles, 20 miles)

After having a bad few runs over the last two weeks, due to various factors, I found myself having a renewed sense of commitment to my training program.  I only have 5 weeks left!  I can’t believe it!  Just kidding, I definitely can.  I have been in training for over a year at this point and while I am thrilled at my progress and am proud of my accomplishments and even consider myself a runner now, I am definitely looking forward to the time when I can run as much as I want, whenever I want.  I’m looking forward to doing fun runs with my friends with lots of conversation and catching up and being able to have a normal nightlife where I don’t have to be worried about what I am drinking and how early I have to be up the following morning.

Don’t get me wrong though, I am definitely looking forward to this marathon.  26.2 miles.  I mean, really — if you had told me last year that I would be gearing up for a 26.2 mile run this November, I would have laughed my ass off.  Seriously.  I actually used to make fun of my old roommate for going to the gym every now and then.  Now, I go more than she does (and she makes fun of me, of course).  It is really amazing what I have discovered I can make my body do, with a little bit of effort and discipline.  And spandex.

More after the jump…

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Goal last week: 25 miles (3 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

Actual mileage: 25 miles (3 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

Goal this week: 27 miles (5 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

And, we’re back!  After a bit of a stumble on my training program, I jumped right back into it and I am feeling better about my progress.  Related to the topic of motivation that I discussed last week – I find myself in a period that I call “The Grind.”  The Grind is that point where your training program really pulls a lot of your attention from your normal life.  Up until the last few weeks, I could have pretty much eaten whatever I wanted, stayed up late, and drank as much as I wanted.  These days, I have to be more careful with my schedule and what I put in my body.  And it is a grind.

In general, I always have my long runs on Saturday morning.  As I get up around 20 miles, that means I will be out there running for over three hours.  If I get up late, that means I don’t get done until even later, and there goes my entire Saturday.  So that means I have to go to bed pretty early on Friday, to wake up around 7am on Saturdays, after getting 7 hours of sleep.  I generally need to keep hydrating myself throughout the week, but on Friday especially.  So I am drinking water constantly, avoiding coffee and all alcohol — and spending a lot of time in the bathroom.  Naturally.  I also add a bit more carbohydrates into my diet on Fridays and also have to make sure that I have my almond butter and whole wheat bread for Saturday’s breakfast and that I am stocked up on my running fuel.  Throughout the week I now have to map out my workouts much more rigidly.  I can’t strength train too close to my long run anymore and I schedule a day of rest for each week.

My schedule looks like this:

Monday – Strength training (IntenSati)

Tuesday – Short/easy run

Wednesday – Strength training (BarSculpt) and/or short/easy run

Thursday – Strength training (IntenSati)

Friday – Day of rest

Saturday – Long run

Sunday – Strength training (Pilates) and sometimes short/easy run

As you can see, this means I’m supposed to work out 6 days a week.  But please remember this is in a perfect world.  Sometimes I miss things.  In the past, when I would miss things I could just switch a strength training workout for a run, but these days I really have to respect my long run.  There is nothing worse than having to drag already exhausted legs for 20 miles.  While I am proud to be this far along in my training, I definitely miss the freedom of being able to do whatever I want in the gym.  I also miss having time to devote to my other interests.  It sucks.  But anything that’s worth doing is hard to do.  If just anyone could run 26.2 miles, it wouldn’t be as awesome an achievement.  So I keep reminding myself that every time I might feel a little bored.  It’s only 9 more weeks until I run this thing.  I’m placing my nose firmly to the grindstone and grinding this one out…

My long run was pretty uneventful, except for the moderate winds that made it even harder.  Over the weekend, NYC braced for a tropical storm but all we got was a lot of humidity and wind.  Hurricane Earl was a no-show!

Tip #7 Stay hydrated by using a really really big bottle of water
This might be a Los Angeles thing I have brought with me to New York, but I am very very rarely without a bottle of water in close reach.  If you don’t see it on me, it’s probably in my purse and it’s usually a gigantic bottle.  My car in LA used to be an empty water bottle graveyard.  I find that however much water I surround myself is how much I can drink.  If I have a cup of water, I can just drink that and be satisfied.  Or I can have a 1.5L bottle and take it down in less than an hour.  So when you are trying to drink more water, buy the biggest bottle you can find and just keep it on your desk.  Be like those fish that grow to fit their tanks.  Grow to fit your new, larger water bottle.  Once you finish one off, fill it up again, and on and on…  I favor the 1.5L smartwater – not really sure why – but I usually make an effort to finish one whole bottle before lunch and another one before I leave.  On Fridays, I try to finish three.

Goal last week: 25 miles (5 miles, 17 miles, 3 miles tempo)

Actual mileage:  22 miles (3 miles, 19 miles)

Goal this week: 25 miles (3 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

This week was challenging for me.  Due to a business trip, I was out of town for a few days and for some reason I was unable to get back on track with my program after being taken out of it.  So I didn’t get in my second run in for the week, I missed my cross training and just felt kind of put out and loser-ish about the whole thing.  Compounding my slight funk about the week is the fact that summer is drawing to a close and opportunities to enjoy drinks al fresco or a stroll along Fifth Avenue are evaporating, so time spent after work in a gym or even running outside is not as fun as it was a few weeks ago.

As with anything that takes a lot of hard work, motivation during a training program can lag at times and it can strike at any moment.  I could try to blame it on the beautiful summer, but when I was training for the Miami half, I tried to blame it on the horrible winter (side note, I will take running in the heat any time over running in the cold — even though running in the snow does makes you seem like a badass to non-runners).  It takes work to pull yourself out of these doldrums, but you have to do it!

My long run was an adventure.  I started out intending to do 17 miles, but when I got to my turnaround point at 125th, I felt so good that I decided to keep going — so I went to 158th and did two extra miles.  Doing an out and back can be tricky.  When I get to the point where I am going to add mileage, I’m in the midpoint of my run — so of course I feel great and ready to keep on going.  Fast forward to the last two miles of my run, during which I am proud to say I did not slow down or stop, were extremely difficult.  My body was tired and the internal whining (When on earth are we going to stop?) was exceptionally loud but I kept at it.  I reminded myself that building endurance was an uphill battle and the tiredness I was feeling would make my body even stronger for the next run.

Tip #6:  Stay motivated, stay focused and forgive yourself.
When you stumble a bit with your program (and you will have a few) you have to forgive yourself.  Don’t focus on the fact that you missed a run, or 5 runs, or had a bad run, or didn’t pay attention to what you ate or how much water you drink.  Whatever.  Just keep it moving and tell yourself the next day is a new day.  Focusing on what you’ve messed up on is a slippery slope.  Just bypass all that by completely forgiving yourself and renewing your commitment the following day.

Tip #6.5: When all else fails, trick yourself into running.
Trying to make yourself get up and run in the morning?  Go to sleep with your sports bra on.  You won’t want to wake up and then take it off after doing absolutely nothing.  Not sure how well this works for men, though…

Happy running!

Goal last week: 24 miles (4 miles, 16 miles, 4 miles)

Actual mileage: 25 miles (5 miles, 17 miles, 3 mile tempo)

Goal this week: 25 miles (5 miles, 17 miles, 3 miles tempo)

I feel really strong coming off this last week.  Instead of running 4 miles easy, twice, I changed it up slightly and did a slightly longer easy run and added a tempo run.  Admittedly, I have been ignoring any interval or hill or tempo training thus far.  Now that I am only 11 weeks out, I don’t think I can keep that up.  So, I started visiting Equinox Wall Street for my evening runs.  It is super close to my house and always seems to be empty after work (I guess all the bankers go at lunch or before work).  I highly recommend it, if you are already a member!

For my 3 mile tempo run, I pushed the pace an additional .5 mph faster than my easy pace — just under a 9 minute mile.  My body was immediately skeptical.  Cue the internal dialogue:

I’m not really sure that I can do this…

Sure you can, we can just try for a few minutes.

I think I might be hurt.

Really?  Well, my legs don’t hurt…my knees are okay…my ankles are fine…

Okay fine, I’m not hurt, but maybe I might be tired.  It’s hard for me to breathe!

Yeah, you’re exercising!  Come on, just a little while longer.  Let’s just get to 2 miles and then we can slow down.

Okay, that was 2 miles.  Are we slowing down now?

You totally just did 2 miles, you can do one little mile more.  I know you can!

Okay, fine.  Also, I hate you.

I always have conversations with myself when I am running, and they have definitely changed over time.  In the beginning, they were a lot like the one above, where one half of me would be whining and the other half would be a super cheerleader.  Now, for the most part, I can let my mind wander and I mull over all sorts of things when I run — I’ve worked out lots of problems that way!  As I beginner, I can remember being skeptical when hearing from more experienced runners that the time they spent running was a great opportunity to just think, but now I’m a believer.  I think for all beginners, definitely work on finding that inner cheerleader and focus on what she’s saying.  She will pull you through.

Now, let’s talk about this ridiculous long run I had.  I meant to do 16 miles, but due to a (typical) math error, I did 17!  I ran from Ground Zero to 125th and back.  For those unfamiliar with how faaaaaaar this is, here’s a map.  I started out with a good friend, who stayed with me for my first 3 miles and then turned around, as she only wanted to do 6 miles.  No worries, I thought, I’ve got my iPod.  Which then refused to work.  I was already 3 miles out and I didn’t want to turn around, so I decided to tough it and I ran the entire thing unplugged.  I have to admit, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Instead of having my music to sing along with, I got to hear birds and people and the river and…everything!  Also, without the music, I had a wonderful sense of internal quiet, which made my thoughts even more clear, even more vivid.  I’m actually debating if I will listen to music for the marathon now!

Tip #5: Get a mantra
For beginners, an easy way to ignore all those nagging thoughts that get stirred up when you run is to adopt a mantra.  Around the time I started running, I read an article about a woman who swam the English Channel in her 50s.  She said she owed her success to a little mantra she picked up from the film Finding Nemo. Her mantra was Dory’s “just keep swimming” song.

When the going gets tough, I still remind myself to just keep swimming.  Even though I am actually running.  You get the point.

Goal last week: 22 miles (4 miles, 15 miles, 3 miles)

Actual mileage:   19 miles total (4 miles, 15 miles)

Goal this week: 24 miles (4 miles, 16 miles, 4 miles)

I had a minor setback this week, and didn’t get out for my third run of the week, booo!  Whatever.  A setback is just temporary and this is a new week, people!  I have to admit, my long run was tough.  I just couldn’t get it started for some reason.  I had a hellacious side stitch for miles 1 – 4, and while it got better after mile 5, it threatened me throughout the entire run.  Side stitches are the.worst.ever.  No one can agree on their exact cause, or the best way to get rid of them, but we can all agree that when they arrive on the scene NO ONE wants to keep running.  All you can think about is how on earth you are going to get rid of the stabbing pain in your side.

My long run was pretty enjoyable, leaving aside my battle with the side stitch.  I ran from home in lower Manhattan all the way to the 100s on the west side, and back.  I didn’t even time it because I didn’t want to be frustrated with how long it took me; instead I focused on simply staying on my feet for 15 miles.  I put some new music on the iPod, stashed 3 Cliff Shots in my strategic pockets, and brought along a bottle of water.  The weather was exceptionally compliant (always a plus!), and I got to run along the newly opened part of the Westside Greenway, which is in the 80s.

I might have even experienced a bit of a “runner’s high” near the end of the run– but I can’t be sure.  Maybe I was just delirious from exhaustion…

Tip #4: Stitch be gone!
I have a few techniques that I use when I have a side stitch, but it’s honestly a crapshoot.  Sometimes nothing works and you just have to tough it out..or stop running for a bit.  First, while you are running, try to modify yourself.  Are you leaning to one side?  Are you hunched over?  Is your stride lazy?  Or maybe is it overlong?  Are you breathing too shallowly?  Are you running too fast?  Are you doing some kind of combination of all of those things?  Try to stand up a little straighter and take more regulated breaths.  Sometimes this will be all you need to do.  Didn’t work?  Second, while you’re still running, try applying direct and upwards pressure to the stitch with your fingers and breathe as deeply as you can manage.  Still didn’t work?  This is when I stop running to try to address the problem.  I link my thumbs and reach up with my hands above my head, to stretch out my abs and take a deep breath.  Then, in one continuous motion, I force the air from my lungs using my diaphragm and swiftly bring down my arms (so, deep breath in/arms up and then strong exhale/swing arms down).  In most cases, this works for me after I do it a few times.  For especially bad stitches, I will actually vocalize the exhale to make it more intense – sounds kind of like I’m loudly sighing.  If I still can’t shake it, it might be time to walk home and try again tomorrow.

Tip #4.5:  DON’T eat a heavy meal immediately before a run, but DO eat before you run.
Of course, another frequent contributor to side stitches is too much eating or drinking too close to your workout.  Personally, I try not to eat anything for at least one hour before I run.  (Yes, this means you have to wake up even earlier for your pre-run meals) (Stop whining) (I mean it!)

Eating a small meal prior to my run was something that I had to get used to, but it definitely makes a difference – especially for a long run.  When I have fuel in my system that I can quickly tap into, I feel much better.  Just don’t overdo it!  Not the time for a proper English breakfast.  Instead, try to pair a whole grain with a bit of protein.  My favorite pre-run meal is a slice of whole wheat bread (or half a whole wheat bagel) with raw almond butter and a big glass of water.  MaraNatha makes a great raw almond butter, with nothing funky in it.  No salt, no sugar, no coloring, no preservatives, no egg protein – just almonds.  And when you think about it, isn’t that all you need in a nut butter, really?  You can find all sorts of MaraNatha products at Whole Foods.

Happy running!