MCM Week 2: Red, White, and BBQs

Sunrise at Sandy Hook

After a full week of activity, I was supposed to get back to my regularly scheduled programming. But, as is the case with late night concerts and a national holiday, I knew not to expect everything to go to plan. Luckily it’s still early on in the training program and I’m used to the current volume of activity, but things like lack of sleep and nutritious food could make the difference between a good week of training and a bad one.

Here's the plan breakout for Week 2:

·       Sunday – 6 miles Easy

·       Monday – 6 miles Easy

·       Tuesday – 6 miles Easy

·       Wednesday – Cross-train

·       Thursday – 7.5 miles Tempo: 1.5 mile WU, 6 x 800m @ MP w/ 400m jog, 1.5 mile CD

·       Friday – 4 miles Easy

·       Saturday – 4 miles Easy

What actually happened:

·       Sunday – 6 miles Easy

·       Monday – 6 miles Easy

·       Tuesday – Heavy Lifts, 4 miles Easy

·       Wednesday – Heavy Lifts

·       Thursday – 6 miles Tempo: 1.5 mile WU, 10 x 400m @ 5k-10k pace w/ 400m jog

·       Friday – (July 4th) 4 miles Tempo

·       Saturday – 5.10 miles Easy

I didn’t get to sleep until about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, so even with sleeping in “late” (still very early according to colleagues) I was tired. I wanted to move, but did not want to run in the swampy humidity. I told myself to just put the sneakers on and take as long as I needed to run the 6 miles on the plan. I wasn’t sure where I’d have the most shade at that hour of the morning since I run at sunrise, so I headed down the road to the Henry Hudson/Bayshore Trail. I wasn’t going to bother with hills today, so it felt nice to run on gravel for some sections along the bay. I didn’t play any music to focus solely on running with light ground contact and easy nasal breathing, even though I felt stuffy from all the NYC pollution just a few hours before. What I thought would be a slow run was a decent aerobic pace, but as soon as I got home I knew I wanted to stay put and not go anywhere. I was right; after eating lunch, I fell asleep on the couch for almost 3 hours. I definitely needed the rest even for this shorter distance. As long as I get my normal amount of sleep before my long run days, I won’t need to nap every time. If I do, at least I can snooze under a beach umbrella after the hard work is done.

There was a poor air quality alert on Monday, which gave me a headache. I took my time on my run along the local streets and over the bridge to Sandy Hook. There was a haze in the air, which made the sun look blurry to the naked eye, so I snapped a sunrise photo. I thought it would be a bad run, but I felt strong toward the end. I was glad I got the 6 miles in early because my commute to work took an extra half hour. I’d rather get the work done at sunrise than feel stressed about not working out because of traffic.

On Tuesday I got a few heavy deadlifts and bench presses in before running with my client. We had to run around our office’s neighborhood instead of taking the bike trail to the soccer field because there were guys working on fixing the entrance to the trail. I was glad for the change in direction; it was so sticky outside from the pre-storm humidity. I forgot to put on sunscreen and bug repellent spray and I knew I would look like a Florida windshield after running through those wetlands. It was not the day to tolerate gnat freckles and mosquito bites. We crossed each other’s paths as we ran up and down the small hills in the cul-de-sac of $2M+ homes. Because he only does 5k to collect data for himself (he’s a numbers man) and slower than me, I usually get between 4-5 miles within the session. In the upcoming weeks I am going to need to start ahead of him when the tempo runs increase in volume.

I debated on swimming or lifting for my cross-training and decided to lift because I wouldn’t have access to a barbell later in the week to do back squats and work on accessory muscles. The gym was way more crowded than usual for a Wednesday and it was definitely because Independence Day was coming up. I had to walk on the treadmill while waiting for the squat rack. I worked on my Turkish Getups and overhead presses with the kettlebell to mobilize my joints for the next day’s speedy workout.

Aside from some really wacky dreams, I had a restful enough sleep that on Thursday morning the “body battery” feature on my Garmin read 99%, meaning I had a full charge of energy for the day. I wanted to start my workout right upon waking up, but my digestive system wasn’t agreeing with the previous day’s meals. The added stress of knowing I’d be pushing myself at race pace replicated my pre-race bathroom stops. If you ever used a portapotty at a marathon, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I didn’t want to head to a track when I didn’t know about bathroom availability until I was in the clear.

Anyway, I drove to the nearest high school track about 10 minutes away and got started on my 1.5 mile warmup. In past marathon training cycles, my nearest tracks to me were 1-2 miles away and accessible by sidewalks, but where I was heading had a few dangerous curved roads that didn’t have wide enough shoulders, so I wasn’t going to jog to the track for my warmup. I relied on memory from last night instead of double-checking what my workout was supposed to entail, so I accidentally ran 12 x 400m at (what I was aiming to be) my 10k pace with 400m jog between reps instead of 6 x 800m at marathon pace. For those not familiar with speed workouts, this meant that I pushed myself really hard for 1 lap around the track, then jogged for 12 bouts instead of an easier pace for 2 laps then 1 lap jog. I’m no Olympic sprinter, but it felt like I was putting in that kind of effort on my speed laps. I went out way too hard on the first few rounds, so my later recovery jog laps involved some walking to catch my breath. At my last 400m I felt really bad abdominal cramps and didn’t bother with the 1.5 mile cooldown. If I paced myself better and did the correct Rx workout, this would not have felt so tough. Additionally, I was breaking in new sneakers and my feet weren’t happy for the last 2 laps. Rookie mistakes all around for this tempo interval run on the track. At least I got out there and showed the aloof high school football players what REAL conditioning looked like. Some of the players on the team doing conditioning drills on the field had no spatial awareness (without helmets) and almost got tackled by a woman old enough to be their mother. Mark’s response when I told him about them that evening: “Boys are really dumb in high school.” I laughed because I knew boys were dumb at that age, but I meant more from a sports perspective how if they can’t see their opponent in their peripheral vision, they’re going to lose a lot of football games. The soccer/basketball/lacrosse player in me always keeps her head on the swivel.

Friday was the Fourth of July and we had plans to go to the lake and visit family. The planned mileage was 4 miles, and I did just that on the flat Henry Hudson Trail. I put on the USA-themed capri length leggings that I wore for my first marathon for the holiday and didn’t care about the stares I got from passersby from BENNYs. I fully intended to take it really slow as a recovery run and paced properly on the 2 miles out, but on the way back, it sounded like a woman was trying to catch up to me to pass and was breathing way too hard. The heavy breathing was both distracting and it put me into race mode, so I opened my stride and sped up for the 2 miles heading home. I never bothered to look behind me because I just wanted to get away from the noise and be done with my run, so I couldn’t tell how close my “competitor” was. As soon as my watch hit the 4 miles, I stopped abruptly for my cooldown walk. It turned out that the “woman” behind me was a middle-aged man that had a weird wheezing high-pitched breathing pattern that I normally hear on women younger than me. He said, “great workout, I couldn’t keep up!” as he kept running toward town. I thanked him as I caught my breath and continued my recovery walk home. I didn’t want to push myself, but I was glad I did before Independence Day festivities.

I had a good amount of food for the holiday, but my sleep was disrupted after just one glass of sangria. It’s amazing how in college and my 20s I could have several mixed drinks, dance the night away, and still wake up and hit the treadmill like nothing happened. In my mid-30s just one adult beverage per week bloats me and depending on the time of day messes up my sleep cycle, so I limit my alcohol intake in general. Sometimes I’ll go weeks without it if I’m close to race day. It is quite literally a poison to the body and manifests itself that way these days. I had a slow start to the morning, but I really wanted to waterski so we got out on the boat before my run. It was the first time my 9 and 8-year-old niece and nephew were learning to ski, so I helped teach them the basics. After a few tries, the timid and frustrated frowns from my niece turned into the biggest smiles when she got up and was able to hold on for more than a few seconds. She was officially waterskiing a few years younger than when I got up and I was so happy to create this memory with her. When it was my turn, I skied for about 20 minutes straight before my hands turned numb (my record is 60 minutes). I haven’t skied in 2 years and could feel what accessory muscles I needed to strengthen in the gym to keep my knees and back happy. It’s a core, grip strength, and leg workout on the water!

When we returned to the dock to swap the skis for the giant watertube (more like a giant couch that hurts every time you go over a bump), I got off the boat to go for my late run. We went to the rail trail in Byram so I could do 4 miles and add any additional mileage to make up for earlier in the week. I was aiming for 6 miles, but at almost my halfway point to turn around, there was a sign saying emergency repairs were being done on that section of the trail, so I turned around early. I didn’t bother trying to tack it on at the end with a quick out and back since I was tired and had a party later on that day. I couldn’t wait to feast on smoked barbeque for my Sunday long run.

I clocked in about 32 miles for the week plus lifting and waterskiing, so despite my exhaustion and cramping from having XX chromosomes, the numbers show it was a good week of training.