Marathon Training Week 3 - "Getting There"

I think this is the week that I have finally gotten into the grove of my training program. The attitude for this training weeks is - GETTING THERE

Monday (5.5 miles):

I did a nice 5.5 mile in and out run across the Manhattan Bridge. For some reason of all the bridges (Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, 59th Street Bridge, and Robert Kennedy Bridge) that crosses the East River, the Manhattan Bridge is my favorite.  I do not know exactly why? Maybe because you get nice scenic, iconic views of Manhattan and Brooklyn with a bit of an incline challenge. Random, the East River technically is not a river in the pure sense, it's actually a tidal strait because it changes directions throughout the day.

 The run was pretty fun and it did not feel too intense, because I forgot my Fitbit for the day. There was a different mental aspect for this run, because I ran after work. Normally, I like to run early in the morning, so I can get it out of the way for the day (plus, I never know when I will be invited to a random Happy Hour after work). I'm trying to run at different times of the day, so I can get use to variety.

 

Tuesday:

I finally made it back to one of my favorite Zumba class. I think that I added a couple of blisters to my feet, because I went out a little too hard. I will say that it was nice returning to this class after a 4 week hiatus. Also, I was kind of happy that I still remembered many of a dance moves and sequences.

Wednesday:

Absolutely nothing. I've been having a rough time at work. When I get anxious, I do not sleep, so I got absolutely no sleep from Tuesday to Wednesday. However, I did enjoy a BK Whopper Jr. ;)

Thursday (7 miles):

Speed work!!! One of my training goals was to get more involved in the running community. The Brooklyn section of the FRNY has a Fun Run on Tuesdays and interval training runs on Thursdays in Prospect Park. This workout was nice and tough.

 

A one mile warm up, followed by six intervals of 800 m hard sprints followed by 800 m cool downs. I was a little disappointed that I had to walk for a portion of some of the cool downs. Perhaps, went too fast during the "sprints". Going back to my high school track days, I remember hating 800 m runs because the distance is like long-distance (for track runners) and a sprint. From this training, I realized that my running speed as gone to shit. I kind of knew this from my other runs but there is nothing like speed work to tell you that you have gotten slower :(

There were only 5 of us, counting the coach, and the folks were pretty nice. I was a little disappointed that the coach mentioned doing track work in the Gowanus/Red Hook section of Brooklyn. It's hard enough for me to get to Prospect Park after work but Gowanus/Red Hook may be a "no go" for me. It will be such a pain to get back to Bed-Stuy after the workout. But, we shall see how this plays out in the future.

Since the training is near Prospect Park, I visited the nearest Crunch Fitness and did a good 40 minutes worth of static stretches.

Oh random me: I went to Chipotle for dinner and received a BOGO free coupon. Yea!!!

Friday:

Not a darn thing. I believe that I was super tired and a bit annoyed with life in general. Of if you are in the Chinatown area and want to visit a nice rooftop bar, The Crown at Hotel 50 Bowery is pretty nice. Drinks are a little pricey (typical for most roof-top bars in the city) but the city views at night are AMAZING.

Saturday (7 miles, supposed to be 8 miles):

First real long run . . . for me, since last year. I had planned to run first thing in the morning (to avoid the heat) but I could not get myself up. Ok no problem, because I saw that it was supposed to rain around noon, thus cooling down the city. I grabbed my stuff and headed to the gym. I like starting my long runs at a Crunch Fitness, so I can return, stretch, and take a shower. Yup, no rain in sight . . . until I finished my run. This run was a real struggle because I overheated a couple (no, a bunch) of times during the run and I had to walk :(. Also, I made the mistake of running through Chinatown. Never again!!! Because of the heat, the smell was extremely horrible. I still can taste the outdoor fish markets in my mouth. YUCK. Once I got to the East River, the run was a little more tolerable, because of the shade that the overpass of the FDR provided.

 

This run is the reason for the theme, "getting there". I'm basically trying to regain my endurance and speed. It's gong to be a tough climb but I will get there . . . eventually.

Although I did not deserve it, I treated myself to a couple of tacos from El Luchador (South Street Seaport) after the run. After stretching and cleaning up at the gym, I was really craving a frozen drink. That craving led me to Dallas BBQ in Downtown Brooklyn, which is probably the worse place you can go if you are trying to watch what you eat. I swear, I do not think that restaurant has anything healthy on it's menu . . . Oh wait, I think the water is healthy. I tried on of those Frose drinks, because they were featured on the cover of Time Out NY last week and it seemed like a good idea.

Goals for the upcoming training week.

I had two goals but I have forgotten the other one.

Incorporate this training plan:

  • Mondays: Recovery run
  • Tuesday: Weight lifting and/ Zumba or FRNY Brooklyn Fun Run, if I skip Monday's run
  • Wednesday: Weight lifting/ static stretching stretching or Zumba, if Tuesday's Zumba is skipped
  • Thursday: FRNY Brooklyn Interval training. I may have to do this one alone because the coach was talking about training at a track in Gowanus, Brooklyn and ain't nobody got time for that.
  • Friday: Probably nothing . . . does happy hour count as a workout?
  • Saturday: Long run and static stretching
  • Sunday: Weight lifting and static stretching, if I'm not too pooped from the long run. I feel that as the long run distances increase, Sunday workouts will be skipped.

I'm Back!!!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have really gotten into Zumba style fitness after my back injury last year. I have been religious in going to Zumba, taught by LaShawn, at Crunch Fitness (Fort Greene location, Tuesdays); but for some reason, I have missed four weeks of her class. Vacationing in Spain was one excuse. 

I finally got that playlist:

Anyway, I finally made it back and I realized that really missed her class, because the dance moves are really energetic and the music is amazing. I was surprised that I did not forget the dance moves during my hiatus. The music is so amazing that I have been trying to find some of the songs to incorporate into my running playlists. I guess that I could have asked the instructor, but she is bombarded with the other Zumba participants after class. Maybe, I did not want to seem "uncool" or "square" because I did not know the more popular songs. Interestingly enough, the answer was under my nose or in my Entertainment folder on my iPhone. The answer was Shazam!!! I cannot believe that I could have used this app to find songs from her playlist ages ago! Also, Shazam has an auto feature where one can just leave it on and it will automatically detect the songs for you. Of course, the detected songs are  the ones that you can buy from iTunes.

The play list was very good and I have added "Pass at Me", "Bouje", and "Sal a Bailar" to my normal playlist. If it is not obvious, I kind of have a thing for latin music (I'm still trying to get used to Reggaeton though). Unfortunately, not all of the songs in the class were "Shazamable", especially the one I really wanted. 

Cardio Work

Regarding the cardio aspect, I think that I had other things on my mind during class, because I did not kill it like I normal do

Fitbit Stats

Fitbit Stats

In this particular class, I usually have a 1:1 ratio of time spent in my cardio and peak aerobic zones. I guess that I was  not "Zumba'ing" as hard as I thought I was. Again, I probably was thinking about some other personal issues, so I was not as focused as I normally am. 

Oh well, there's always another day to Zumba. 

Week 2 Marathon Training

Total miles: 17

This training week was really tough. Due to non running-related things, I just was not feeling the activity of running. It seems like when something is going well in one aspect of your life then 2-3 things go to crap in other aspects.

Training Runs:

For the most part my training runs for the week were kind of blah. I guess that this section will become more interesting as I increase my distance. 

I did a nice 5.5 miler run, which was supposed to be 7 miles, on Friday night. It was an interesting run because I rarely run at night. Running is one of those things that I have to get out of the way in the morning, because I just do not care by 6, 7, 8 pm. As a matter of fact, I started this run around 10pm . . . because I just did not care.  I realize that I cannot do training runs on weekend evenings, because I get a severe case of FoMo. I was so jealous seeing everyone out and about having a good time without a care in the world.

Some pics from my night run

Based on my training runs during the past week, I am somewhat disappointed that I do have the speed/endurance that I once had. Last year, anything over a 8:45 min/mile pace was horrible run for me. During one of my runs, I had to stop and walk a few times . . . although that could have been due to the intense humidity during the week. At this rate, I do not think that I will meet my goal of running the NYC Marathon in 3:45. Maybe, my pace and endurance will improve once I start interval training runs and running races. NYRR Brooklyn R-U-N 5K, NYRR R-U-N 5K, and NYRR Team Championships (5M) are a few races that I have coming up over the summer that may activate my competitive spirit again.

Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run (5M):

I had the opportunity to volunteer for this race, which was tough for me. The volunteering part was not tough; it was being on a train from Brooklyn at 5am to arrive to 102nd street in Manhattan by 6:30am. Ouch!

Unfortunately, it rained and rained HARD during the setup and the race, and I was so greatful that NYRR provided ponchos for the volunteers. Interestingly, the sun came out as if it had never rained about half-way into the race (*LAME). 

 I served as an Ambassador, so I answered runners' questions (i.e. location of baggage check, bib pickup, start, etc.) and surveyed runners about their race experience.

Soap Box Time:

Many people who volunteered did so to meet their "+1" requirement of the NYRR's 9+1 for guaranteed entry into NYC Marathon for 2018. I, as well as other runners, know that the volunteers are very important for the success or the races. The thing is many people only volunteer just for their +1, so it is not like some folks are volunteering for the sake of volunteering - they are doing it to enter the marathon. Yes, I have been guilty of doing this. But, I am going to change that by getting more involved within the running community. Going forward, I am going try my hardest to volunteer for a race once a month. Maybe, I will sign up to be a Volunteer Leader for a future NYRR 5 Borough race, but let's start with the small stuff first.

Upcoming Goals for the Week: 

  1. Start interval training and hill work. 
  2. Become more educated about proper nutrition for running.
  3. Incorporate body weight training after my shorter runs. 

 

Week 1 of Marathon Training 

 

Total miles this week: 13 (Hey, you gotta start somewhere)

This week can be summed up with one word – “REGRET”

I am not going to start this post with a whole “woe is me” story. But, I kind of struggled this week with my training plan. I did the training runs, but they were kind of tough. Running targets different muscles that I have ignored during my off season. After my first run (3 miles), the front of both of my quads were so sore. There was quite a bit of soreness walking up and down stairs.

So, I regret not doing more during my off season. Perhaps, I should have ran 1-2 times a week, just to keep those muscles (specific to running) active. It’s too late for the should’ve s, could’ve s, you just have to keep pushing on with what you got and learn from your mistakes.

Next phase of training

According to MY ASICS training app, I will begin Phase 2 of my training program, “Getting faster”.

Hopefully, next week’s training update will be a little more cheerful.

Getting some new kicks

With my raggedy feet, I have been known to run a pair of shoes in the ground. My Soucy running shoes that have lasted two years are no exception.

 

The new shoes are New Balance M880’s (a product review to come shortly). I visited the Super Runners Shop in downtown Brooklyn to pick up some new kicks.


While looking a the various colorful and shiny shoes, I had to laugh a little bit because the sales rep pretty much said that my type of running shoe is very outdated. She also told me that the shoemakers soles/cushion like my previous running shoes anymore. I have a feeling that shoemakers want to make running shoes look less like running shoes and more like shoes a person can wear everyday (IMO). After trying on so 8 pairs of shoes, I finally settled on the ones pictured above.

Once I find a brand of shoe that I like, I tend to stick with it because my feet are very … special (aka a hot mess).

The sad part about this picture is that I just had a pedicure three weeks ago. I need a very wide shoe, because I have a random bump that pushes out on my right foot. The bump has caused some concern with my physician but I have had it longer than I can remember. Plus, it does not cause any pain, so my physician recommended that I let it be until it causes pain.

Overall at the Super Runners Store, the process of selecting the shoes was pretty straightforward and the sales rep was very helpful and knowledgeable. I did not like the fact that the store did not have a treadmill for trying out the shoes before purchasing them. Ever running store that I have visited in the past had treadmills, so you can try out the shoes in a real situation and so you can observe your running gait and how & where your feet land. *I will be sure to note this issue in my yelp review.* As we all know, running shoes are not cheap, and a person wants to make sure that he/she is buying the best product. So far, I am wearing the shoes around town and I have not had any issues. Hopefully, I will not have any issues while running.

Upcoming Goals:

Since training for a marathon is about improving yourself, I will end my weekly training reports with 1-2 training goals that I will incorporate for the upcoming week and through my training plan.

  1. Begin logging my food to match my nutritional goals.
  2. Start fixing up my music playlists, tailored for specific runs (e.g. long runs, tempo runs, intervals, hills, etc.).