Week 14: One Month Out
Week 14: September 30 - October 6, 2019
Coming off of the Bronx 10M, I knew this next week was going to be challenging to navigate between clients, another race less than a week apart, and having to volunteer to get my +1 credit to qualify for NYCM in 2020. The planned mileage volume was slightly less than the previous week at 55.5 miles, but still significant enough that I would need to strategize properly for success in my 10k and get some rest at the one-month-out marker. The outlined plan was as follows:
Monday: 6 miles easy
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warmup, 3 x 2 miles @ MP-10 seconds pace w/ 0.5 mile jog, 1.5 mile cooldown
Wednesday: Rest/Crosstrain
Thursday: 12 miles medium-long
Friday: 6 miles easy
Saturday: 8 miles easy (Grete’s Great Gallop 10k Race Day)
Sunday: 1.5 mile warmup, 10 miles @ marathon pace, 1.5 mile cooldown
I passed out early Sunday night and got to “sleep in” a little bit on Monday, giving me 10 full hours of amazing recovery rest. My easy pace at 8:35 for 6.5 miles around Hoboken felt too easy and I could have gone for a few more miles at that pace, but I had to hold back since I needed the energy later in the week.
I was back on the East River Park track on Tuesday for some speed work, and it should have been a speedy workout, but many factors came into play for why this felt like complete crap. I had clients in the morning and early afternoon, so I was starving by the time late lunch rolled around and I ended up eating a heavy poke bowl. When I started my workout close to 4pm, I don’t think my food was fully digested so I felt heavy and bloated, I didn’t drink enough water throughout the day, and working out later in the day is exhausting in itself. It was way too hot out, and my pace was very slow with high effort, so I only clocked in 4.5 miles before I called it quits for the day. It was a dud, and I still had to work that night.
I felt so out of it on Wednesday and Thursday that I didn’t log in any miles, but did mobility work as best as I could.
I purposely took off on Friday to fit in a long run since I didn’t think I would have time on Sunday. I promised myself that I would return to the Palisades Park Conservancy once more before Marathon Day for hills practice and different scenery, and although I was beyond exhausted and Aunt Flo was in full swing, I was going to shoot for those 16+ miles. I naturally woke up early, but poured my Costa Rica brew in a cup and took what I like to call a “coffee nap”; you drink the caffeinated Beverage From the Gods, immediately go back to sleep, then wake up naturally more alert and refreshed in sync with the caffeine hit to the bloodstream. I ate some brownies and a banana before the run (PMS chocolate cravings), then took an Uber to Palisades to log some miles.
I took a trail route for part of the run, which then joined to the paved road I was familiar with, and took my sweet time jogging up and down the undulating hills. A few dedicated bicyclists/triathletes passed by and we said hello as we passed, which gave me more accountability to keep going. The last hill up to Fort Lee was such a climb and I struggled a little bit, feeling “the wall” creep up to me. I knew I just had less than a mile to go before hopping on the nearest bus stop home, but like seeing a mirage of water in the desert, a bagel shop seemed to appear out of nowhere and my body abruptly stopped moving. I took it as a sign that I should eat. I had a hard time focusing enough to order a bagel and iced coffee, and when I had those goodies and chocolate milk in hand, I sat outside taking my time consuming the much-needed calories even though my stomach wasn’t ready to digest yet. I was glad that my exhaustion didn’t stop me from putting in the work, and I was able to relax for the rest of the day and go to bed early that Friday night in preparation for the race.
I was all set for Grete’s Great Gallop, which took place on a Saturday instead of Sunday in Central Park, and felt pretty speedy considering the serious mileage from the previous day. I’ll go into more detail about it in the next Race Recap.
On Sunday morning, I had to travel all the way up to the last stop on the 1 train at Van Cortlandt Park for my volunteer credit to participate in the marathon in 2021 (in case I enjoyed the 26.2 distance enough to do it again). We were all there way earlier than those participating in a cross country meet and mostly standing around in the cold, but it was good to talk to people who had already run NYCM before and getting some pointers one month out before the big day. I did my duty of holding up a sign for the little kids running and headed back home. As predicted, I was too tired to run so I considered it a full rest day.
One of the many steep hills I climbed for a 15+ mile training run at Palisades Park Conservancy. 🏃♀️