Week 16: It’s My Birthday and I’ll Cry If I Want To
Week 16: October 14 - October 20, 2019
I found it fitting that my birthday on the 16th happened to fall on the 16th week of training. I hoped it would give me good luck as the taper started. After some of the other workouts required in my training, this week’s workouts seemed too easy:
Monday: 6 miles easy
Tuesday: 1.5 mile warmup, 2 x 3 mile @ MP-10 seconds pace w/ 1 mile jog, 1.5 mile cooldown
Wednesday: Rest/Crosstrain (MY BIRTHDAY)
Thursday: 12 miles medium-long
Friday: 6 miles easy
Saturday: 8 miles easy
Sunday: 1.5 mile warmup, 10 miles @ goal MP, 1.5 mile cooldown
Monday was really strange for me. I had some clients in the early morning, so I couldn’t run until the afternoon. I planned to do the 6 easy miles around Hoboken because my legs felt pretty good and wanted to move, but for some reason my stomach was not happy with me, so I had to cut the run short and only completed 3 miles. I think I was just anxious since I was fine a few hours later when I went out to dinner for more birthday celebrations.
On Tuesday, I ran my speed workout around Central Park and then south to my gym in the East Village. Why waste a metrocard swipe when your own legs can take you to work? Because I wasn’t on the track, it was hard to keep track when I was supposed to go faster and when I was supposed to jog, so I used my best judgement. Eleven miles were prescribed, but I clocked in 12. My gait felt extremely off and messed with my knees and feet toward the end of the run, so I knew I would have to foam roll and stretch a little more than usual.
Wednesday rolled around and I was not in a great mental state; I wasn’t excited for my 31st birthday at all. I was in crisis mode; anything and everything that I was holding onto in my mind reared its ugly head, and my migraine from the pouring rain outside did not help. I was tired all the time because I threw myself into working with my clients while also trying to successfully train for this once-in-a-lifetime event. I was trying so hard to balance seeing friends and family and still have time for myself. What hit me really hard on that rainy day was the fact that the one person I wasn’t going to get a “happy birthday” call or text from was my deceased brother. I spent my rest day crying a bit, then having my PT adjust my back and hip alignment. I really didn’t want to see anyone that day, but my awesome client left me a mini cake at the gym and I had to go back into the city for my evening rockstars. I passed out from exhaustion that night.
After a much-needed good night of sleep, I ate my birthday cake for breakfast before my 12-miler on Thursday. Yes, the trainer ate cake for breakfast. I didn’t pack a breakfast for the day, so all that extra sugar from the frosting would be my carbohydrate supply. Mentally, I needed a different route to follow and wanted more bridge work, so I ran along the East River, crossed the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, jogged along random streets in TriBeCa and Chinatown, crossed back over to the East River, then back to Bowery. It was so windy out that the bridges scared me more than usual, but at least there were far less tourists in my way. I even passed others wearing new 2019 NYCM swag on the Brooklyn Bridge, and we did the “nod of respect” to acknowledge each other’s efforts in our training schedule.
Friday was supposed to be an easy 6 miles, but I traded days and went for the 8 miles to make my weekend a little more doable. I ran around the tip of Manhattan and managed to go faster than marathon pace with ease. I felt great Chi in my run for about a third of the time, where my legs worked like wheels, my elbows pushed back, and I lifted up my heels. It was a great start to the weekend.
I was busy seeing family on Saturday, so I added 2 extra miles to my Sunday tempo 13-miler. I ran all the way up to North Bergen’s duck pond and back and averaged an 8:46 pace for the 15.1 on the hilly route. It was somewhat of a “dry run” to see how I need to fuel up before my 10:20 a.m. start time on Marathon Day, since all summer I was running at dawn. Based on this performance, I should feel pretty good starting late in the morning.
What started as a crappy week turned itself around. Feelings are temporary, so I didn’t let those intrusive thoughts drag me down as I got closer and closer to toeing the line. I only had two more weeks and one more small race to go!
This run was actually my first time crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot! It was WAY too windy to be up there!