Week 18: The Final Stretch
Week 18: October 28 - November 3, 2019
I made it to Week 18; the finale of the Hansons First Marathon program and prep week for the biggest party in the streets of the five boroughs of New York City. I held in so many emotions that I felt like a helium balloon about to burst at the slightest graze of a pin. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, talk about it out loud, shut up to save energy, to be calm, or to be completely amped up. What kept me sane and on track was that I still had some mileage left on the plan, which allowed me to shake off the crazy. The last 54.2 miles of the plan (half of which would occur on Sunday) were as follows:
Monday: 4 miles easy
Tuesday: 6 miles easy
Wednesday: 1.5 mile warmup, 8 mile easy w/ 3 x 2 minute @ MP w/ 2 minute jog, 1.5 mile cooldown
Thursday: Rest/Crosstrain
Friday: 4 miles easy
Saturday: 30 minute easy shakeout
Sunday: 26.2 miles (MARATHON RACE DAY)
It was rainy outside on Monday, so I did some light lifting and mobility work instead of the 4 easy miles. I kept getting paranoid about stepping on wet leaves and breaking an ankle so close to the race.
The rain continued on Tuesday, but luckily only a misty drizzle, so I went out for just under 7 miles at an easy pace along the East River between clients on a very busy training day. The 8:30 average pace is exactly what I would love to maintain for the full 26.2 on Sunday, so I internalized the feeling of the run to know what is required of me within a few days.
I worked late Tuesday night and didn’t get home until about 9:30. I was starting to get more and more nervous about NYCM, and I was up at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning for more clients, so needless to say I didn’t get enough sleep that night. It was a weird day where I had super early morning clients and then not again until evening, so I went home to eat a healthy meal of salmon and rice before heading out on my long run in the afternoon to the duck pond and back. I slightly misjudged the distance so I accidentally ran a little more than a half marathon when it should have been 11.5 miles. The 9:06 pace felt like minimal effort and it was right on par with where I need to be. After I was done, I had to immediately eat and get ready to head back into the city for work, as if I wasn’t already exhausted enough.
Thursday was a rest day from running, but I found that I was on my feet a bit because of morning clients and then my exciting trip to the New York City Marathon Expo at the Javits Center. It was grossly misty outside, so I had my raincoat and rainboots on while exploring the convention center. It was here that I had to pick up my bib and tech long-sleeved shirt that said “marathoner” on the back. As I stepped up to the counter in my number range, I was still in disbelief that I was actually signed up for this event and would be running it within days. Thankfully, my name attached to my number existed, and it was real. I put on that marathon shirt and had strangers take a picture of me next to the photo ops. I took as many free goodies from each station that I could hold with two hands. I watched the course lecture to take in as much advice as possible from the pros who have done this race so many times before. I scoured the sponsored booths to see if I needed to buy additional fuel for the day. One thing I was glad I did ahead of time was purchase my sweatshirts and jackets a few weeks before because I felt overwhelmed seeing hundreds more merchandise out on display. I was tempted to get more, but I had gone way over budget already. I trained one more client for the day and brought all this extra stuff home with me.
I was sore on Friday, so I made that a real rest day and made sure I foam rolled every muscle that existed on my body. Doing so allowed me to have fresh legs on Saturday for my “shakeout” run. The intention of the shakeout is to literally shake out the nervous energy and get your legs ready for the next day. I went nice and easy for four miles around Hoboken, including one hill so I could internalize the feeling of the bridge inclines. After the run, bath, and eating a little more pasta than usual, I felt restless for the rest of the day, like I should be doing something else to prepare. I set everything I needed out on the floor, made sure I knew where my family and friends would see me on the course, and tried to meditate. I just wanted to start running right then and there, why should I have to wait “one more sleep”?
Finally, Marathon Sunday arrived. I made it through 18 weeks of consistent training, I studied so many books on running a marathon, I ate more carbohydrates than I ever have in my life (and managed to lose weight doing so), I learned so much about my body’s cycles and its wants and needs during a challenging time, and changed my mindset about what I’m truly capable of physically and psychologically.
We were born to run; I just had to unleash the beast! Check out the play-by-play in the long-awaited race recap for the New York City Marathon, otherwise known as the Best Day Ever.
Having fun at the BioFreeze station at the NYCM Expo!
Obligatory flex with my new swag and race bib 💪
All the inspirational signage at the expo brought chills down my spine! This was my kind of convention!