Week 9: LDW Summertime Sadness
Week 9: August 26 - September 1, 2019
It was the week leading up to Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer (cue crying). I was ready for the temperature to cool down a little bit, but not for the end of my trips to the beach. With the long weekend coming up, I needed to make sure I kept myself accountable so that I wouldn’t slack off on my training. The solar season may have been cooling down, but the race season was about to heat up. It was increasingly important to stick with the plan:
Monday: 6 miles easy
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warmup, 4 x 1 mile @ MP-10 seconds pace w/ 400m jog, 1.5 mile cooldown
Wednesday: Rest/Crosstrain
Thursday: 1.5 mile warmup, 2 x 3 mile @ goal MP w/ 1 mile jog, 1.5 mile cooldown
Friday: 4 miles easy
Saturday: 8 miles easy
Sunday: 14 miles long
It was a beautiful day to the start of the week with the perfect humidity and 70 degrees for my late morning run on Monday. I got to sleep in due to a client cancelation, I ran fasted except for a cold brew, and stuck to the program plan. My 6 miles were technically at marathon pace, but my perceived effort felt really easy.
I was glad that the previous day’s effort felt easy because I needed to work on my speed on Tuesday. I ran to the East River track on a cooler morning and clocked in 9 miles. My speed miles ranged between 7 and 7:30 minutes, which is much faster than the 9 min/mile needed, and my jogging laps were more like marathon pace. Everything felt great and full of Chi, and I had a full runner’s high from all that movement of fresh air in my lungs.
Wednesday was supposed to be a rest or crosstrain day, but I didn’t have work until later so I decided to get up early and try to catch a sunrise for a longer speed run. I ran along the waterfront in Hoboken up to the Weehawken track, picked up the pace around that track a few times, and headed back. It was extremely humid out that day, so I was chugging that water for the 11 Chi-filled miles clocked. I could have added an extra half mile to the run, but I wanted an iced latte from my favorite little spot, Empire Coffee.
I had a really busy day full of clients on Thursday, so I only worked on my mobility at physical therapy. Even when I’m not running, I was still walking all over the place for several miles on my rest day.
I intended to run on Friday, but I wanted to get a little pump in before my beach weekend so I lifted instead. I also intended to wake up really early for a quick run before driving to Wildwood, but I needed the extra sleep. When I got down the shore, I only had a spiked seltzer on the beach and drank water the rest of the day. I told my friends at the shore house that I had to run 14 miles the next morning, so I had a “designated drinker” when we played 21 Cup Beer Pong in the garage. I would help shoot the ping pong balls, but if any landed in my cups someone else was going to drink the gross Bud Light. While most people stayed up until 2 in the morning playing, I passed out on my air mattress with earplugs and an eye mask and woke up before sunrise to run.
My alarm went off around 6 a.m. I slathered on sunscreen, went to the bathroom, filled up my Fuelbelt with Nuun and Clif Blocks, and headed out slowly. I was way too groggy to catch the sunrise along the beach and just accepted that I might not get the photo I was hoping for. The DOMS in my legs from the fast runs earlier in the week finally caught up to me, making my legs feel like lead with each step in the first mile. As I kept going, things started loosening up and I took my time enjoying the open space of the flat streets all the way to the end of Wildwood, and on the boardwalk on the way back. The boardwalk should have felt softer on my legs, but a lot of the wood needed to be replaced; every time my foot landed I never knew if I would fall through to the sand belowdecks. It was still too early for any of the attractions and carnival booths to be open, so the only people on there were other runners and beginner bicyclists that almost crashed into me multiple times. I didn’t eat enough the previous day since it was mostly traveling, making me low on energy. I took a Nuun block around mile 9 just to get that last push in the heat. I was so sweaty and couldn’t wait to treat myself to iced lattes and yogurt from the convenience store. By the time I got back, ate breakfast, stretched, showered, put more sunscreen on and my swimsuit, I was ready to spend the rest of the day at the beach and some of the party was still just waking up.
Week 9 started off speedy and strong physically, and it finished strong mentally. I ran 5 out of the 6 days and didn’t quit on my long run of the week, all on a long weekend where most would say, “fuck it.” I’m halfway through the program before the big day!
Waking up at dawn on a Sunday morning to run more than a half marathon on your own is so worth it for these peaceful views 🌅