MCM Week 9: Meet Me Halfway

This summer’s training cycle already felt really long, but in reality, I was only halfway through. I felt like the race was too soon and not soon enough at the same time. I was entering into 50+ mile weeks from here on out.

Here's the plan breakout for Week 9:

·       Sunday – 14 miles Long

·       Monday – 6 miles Easy

·       Tuesday – 8 miles Strength: 1.5 miles WU, 4x1 mile @ MP-10 seconds w/ 400m jog, 1.5 miles CD

·       Wednesday – Cross-train

·       Thursday – 10 miles Tempo: 1.5 miles WU, 2x3 miles @ MP w/ 1 mile jog, 1.5 miles CD

·       Friday – 4 miles Easy

·       Saturday – 8 miles Easy

What actually happened:

·       Sunday – 14 miles Long (Highlands to Long Branch)

·       Monday – Heavy Lifting

·       Tuesday – 8 miles Strength: 1.5 miles WU, 4x1 mile @ MP-10 seconds w/ 400m jog, 1.5 miles CD

·       Wednesday – 6 miles Easy

·       Thursday – Heavy Lifting

·       Friday – 10 miles Tempo

·       Saturday – 4.5 miles Easy, Beach Yoga

Perfectly posed deer on Sandy Hook

I started my long run on Sunday later than planned. I wanted to start when it was dark out to be a little bit cooler and with the hopes of not needing to put so much sunscreen on. My stomach was in knots and I was anxiously pacing around our apartment. I had my hydration vest packed with 3 frozen water bottles, electrolytes, and Honey Stingers and still felt like I was missing something. Mark assured me that I could run as long as my body let me today and that wherever I stopped, he would pick me up. I hit the pavement around 7:30am; 2 hours later than I wanted. I went excruciatingly slow over the bridge to Long Branch and back for 14 miles. I couldn’t go faster even if I tried in this heat, so I felt alright enough when I got back to spend the afternoon wading in a pool. My posture felt a little off, and it was affecting my breathing patterns. I made a mental note to work more on strength training this week.

I could have run on Monday, but I decided to do some heavy lifting to recover aerobically. I also wanted to give my skin a break from the sun and sweat just a little bit less while continuing to hydrate from my long run.

I find that if I run the day after heavy deadlifts, I am much faster. I had a speedy 8 mile tempo run on the bike trail at work and hoped to continue the rest of the day with that energy. I felt really good after, but a few hours later, I needed to take a few quick walks outside when I felt anxious. It was almost as if these physical feelings happened at rest; my runs seemed to block these symptoms when in motion. Unfortunately, I can’t go for a run every time I feel this way, but I allow myself to move however I can in that moment, even if it means literally shaking it off. Another migraine came on later that day with the air pressure changes, so I had to suffer through that as well.

On Wednesday, I ran 6 miles at dawn before driving to work. I needed to change it up a bit, and even though it was very overcast and there was no sunrise, I was glad to move my legs first thing in the morning instead of sitting in the car for an hour and a half. There was a coastal storm that was affecting my head and heightened my anxiety because it would be catastrophic if it made landfall. The signs on Sandy Hook read that the beaches were closed because the water was unsafe to swim in due to rip currents. I wanted to eventually attend a group ocean swim this summer, but week after week the tides decided to be too strong.

I was working from home Thursday, so I went to my more local YMCA (still 20 minutes away from me). This gym is much smaller, so I’m always limited in what I can do if it’s crowded. This location also doesn’t have any windows or natural sunlight, so I always try to get in and out in less than an hour to get the day back. I looked at my calendar when I got back to plan out a few races before the big one, and signed up for the No Limits Café Half and the Jersey Shore Half. These were going to be close enough to the marathon to practice my pacing and fueling, and far enough on the schedule to recover after a hard effort.

I did my 10-miler tempo on Friday to Sandy Hook and back, and I was quite drained. It was so hot out. I struggled to focus on anything that day and couldn’t relax. I had only switched things around again because I wanted a shorter run before Beach Yoga, but I wondered if I overdid it. Even at yoga, I struggled to fully relax and be present. I focused on my breathing and let my thoughts pass by like the waves behind me.

I had anxious moments every day of this training week, but I still persevered. I was about 8 miles shy of the weekly goal, but I had to listen to my body. All the hard work in the heat was going to pay off once we reached fall. I usually don’t want summer to end, but I was ready for cooler temps.