MCM Week 15: The Life of a Runner Girl

I made it through an excruciatingly hot summer, waking up before dawn to save my skin a few UV rays from running outside, and I was almost to my peak week of training. Fifty-five miles is a lot to fit into a busy work week, and yet work itself felt more exhausting than physically exerting myself for hours on lactic acid-filled legs. When The Life of a Showgirl came out, I related to the cover art of Taylor soaking in a bath after an exhausting performance after the week I’ve had.

Here's the plan breakout for Week 15:

• Sunday – 13 miles Tempo: 1.5 miles WU, 10 miles @ MP, 1.5 miles CD

• Monday – 6 miles Easy

• Tuesday – 7.5 miles Speed: 1.5 miles WU, 6 x 800m @ 10k pace w/ 400m jog, 1.5 miles CD

• Wednesday – Crosstrain

• Thursday – 12.5 miles Tempo: 1.5 miles WU, 3 miles MP, 2 miles MP, 3 miles MP w/ 0.5 mile jog, 1.5 miles CD

• Friday – 6 miles Easy

• Saturday – 10 miles Easy

What actually happened:

• Sunday – 8 miles Easy (Sandy Hook)

• Monday – 6.2 miles Easy (Sandy Hook)

• Tuesday – 8 miles Tempo (Bedminster)

• Wednesday – Heavy Lifting

• Thursday – 8 miles Tempo (Sandy Hook)

• Friday – 10 miles Easy (HHT)

• Saturday – 3 miles Easy (Sandy Hook), Beach Yoga

After what I considered a successful half marathon at the No Limits Café race, I felt fresh enough on Sunday to run. I had swapped Saturday and Sunday’s run due to the race, so I took an easy 8 miles to the Lifesaving Station at Sandy Hook and back. Despite it being the end of September, we still didn’t have fall weather yet. The run itself felt fine, but with the heat I felt a bit tired and foggy-brained a few hours later. I was also a bit restless and didn’t want to spend my recovery time on screens, so we went to an apple orchard for frozen cider slushies to cool down and picked up our favorite apple variety: Jonagold.

My body wanted to run as soon as I woke up on Monday morning, so I caught I nice Sandy Hook sunrise on an easy 10k. It put me in such a good mood, and I wanted to spend all day running, but alas I had to go to work. Thankfully it was a very calm Monday, so I was able to focus on adding quality points on an upcoming Running Q+A that I was hosting later that week. I host these calls quarterly to help our members either start their running journey or assist them in preparing for competition. A few of the questions submitted were about training for a marathon, so I was excited to be able to share tips while I was currently in that training block.

Sandy Hook sunrise; the best thing about early morning runs!

What good mood I was in on Monday dissipated Tuesday morning on my commute to work. I woke up again with the immediate need to run, but because I had my running client that morning I had to drive straight to the office. As I’ve mentioned many times, Tuesday always has the worst traffic, so it immediately stressed me out. I started my portion of the run later than expected, and I couldn’t mentally get myself in a zone to run it at a speedy pace. I had a busy client day ahead of me, and I knew if I pushed myself on speed, I wouldn’t have enough time to recover before having to be “on” for my next client. Going at an easy pace allowed me to try to calm down after the traffic while still getting the mileage volume. When I got back in my office, my client messaged saying he was just heading out for his run, which was right when our scheduled hour together ended. I was so glad I didn’t wait around for him. The rest of the day was stressful with clients on edge about the government shutdown and their personal lives, so it was the complete opposite of the previous day. Some days it’s really tough to balance everyone’s energy, but even though I was exhausted by the end of the day, at least I got my own workout done.

Wednesdays on my training plan are usually reserved for lifting or resting, but my body wanted to run again. I did a strength workout as planned but didn’t go as heavy as I was capable of. I didn’t want to be too exhausted before my call, so I took it easy on the workout. I felt slightly anxious on the quick drive between the gym and my office, but I chalked it up to just nerves. I felt normal for the two hours in the morning before the call until about 40 minutes before, I had a full on anxiety attack. I physically had trouble speaking enough to ask my manager to go on my computer to reschedule the call that over 100 people were expected to attend. I always get a little bit of performance nerves and excitement, but this was the same extreme anxiety I kept having for nearly a month. I forgot that I had medication with me until later in the day, but I hadn’t tried it out yet and I wasn’t sure how I would react to it. All I knew was that I had trouble speaking due to “air hunger” so there was no way I could present anything that day. It was not a matter of “just stepping up to the plate” or “getting over it”. As frustrated as I was with my body, I’m just glad I am in a work environment that is understanding. The only thing that made me uneasy then was that I’d hope this didn’t happen again in a week.

The past few days really affected me. I woke up around 3 a.m. on Thursday and couldn’t go back to sleep at first because of a giant headache. I rarely take anything for headaches, but the pain was enough for a middle of the night ibuprofen to help me go back to sleep for another hour. I was supposed to run a 12-mile tempo, but between starting late on a warm morning, my lack of energy, and making sure I get back to my computer for a busy WFH day, I cut it down to 8 miles plus a mile walk home. I tested out my new CVG mermaid leggings and a tank from Amazon combo with my new hydration belt to see if they would work together for a race. It was a good thing I tried it out because the shirt/hydro belt combo didn’t work on this shorter easy run as it rode up my waist too much, making the bottles bounce around and needing frequent adjustments. I would need to wear a different top for marathon day.

My stress levels were still too high after the recovery walk, so I put my legs on the wall and focused on my breathing to stifle any potential residual anxiety. Thankfully my work day was calm, so I could recharge a bit by stretching. Sunday’s Jersey Shore Half was up in the air due to the government shutdown, but I remained hopeful.

Some mornings I get a bit of sensory overload; music can sound too loud, certain smells (like meat) cooking first thing in the morning feel overwhelming. It’s been this way for many years, and I tried to get out on my run before Mark started preparing his ground beef meal for lunch, but my digestive system wasn’t ready. As soon as I was good to go, I darted out there for my 10-miler on the Henry Hudson Trail. The new Taylor Swift album was just released, so I listened to it on the first half of my run. She said on an interview a month ago that all the songs were “bangers” so I had to be the judge. I had mixed feelings on my first listen, but at least it was something different for my ADHD brain to focus on. After the run, I found myself having a late morning coffee and doomscrolling too much, and anxiety triggered after hearing about the murder of 2 teenage girls from a stalking classmate. I’m sure I was going to have an attack regardless of what was going on in the news, but it was enough that I decided to try the medication to see if it would help. Within about a half hour, it felt like the tightness in my stomach and anxious “noise” turned the volume down enough to function for the remainder of the day, but I still felt that exhaustion. It was good to know that if my body was stuck in this loop that there is a temporary way out. I knew that through time (possibly after the marathon itself), my brain would get out of this feedback loop. Later that afternoon, a post on Instagram confirmed that the Jersey Shore Half Marathon was on for Sunday. I don’t know what strings they pulled with the National Park Service, but I was good to go in 2 days.

On Saturday I did a 3-mile shakeout run before the last Beach Yoga of the season. I felt good about the upcoming race, but I didn’t sleep well at all because the outdoor restaurant across the street from us was hosting a wedding with loud music. I’ve run half marathons (and full ones) on barely any sleep before, so I wasn’t worried about my energy. The humidity was expected to be rough though.

I ran almost 12 miles less than what was planned and it still felt like I went overboard. It’s amazing how much energy others can affect your own performance, so it was a reminder to put myself first if I need a breather. Although the week was rough, I was still excited for the upcoming Jersey Shore Half.