Workout Recap and Weekly Goals: Race Cheering

Happy Monday!

I spent the weekend in New Jersey, helping friends carb load for Sunday's half-marathon then cheering bright and early on Sunday morning. It was so much fun to cheer so many people on!!

The start line

It also confirmed my decision not to run. There was no point this weekend where I wanted to run 13.1 miles. Plenty of times where I felt sad that I hadn't met my goal after all the training I've done since January. Plenty of times where I was honestly jealous of the killer PR success I saw on the race course, although that didn't stop me from also being crazy proud of those friends and screaming for them like a maniac.

But not once did I want to actually run a half marathon. So I know I did the right thing by not running.

Beth, Liz, Nicole and I rented a car and spent the night before the race at Nicole's parents' house in New Jersey. After meeting at the car rental place, we headed straight to the expo and start line, which were at the Monmouth Race Track. I was shocked by the rudeness of one of the jockeys there when we went to pick up bibs.

I mean really, how inappropriate, right? Yes, I'm 12, don't laugh at me.

After the expo, I got my first Jersey Shore experience. As in, we had lunch on the Jersey Shore. It was beautiful! I was kind of shocked, actually. Now I definitely want to spend a weekend or two there this summer.

After lunch, we picked up some necessities at Target. And by necessities, I mean I got the most amazing Star Trek tee and and one that had the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on it (AKA the government agency from the Avengers). Yes I will be wearing the Star Trek tee to the opening day showing of Star Trek Into Darkness that I will definitely be attending. Don't hate.

Jess also spent the night with us, taking a train out later in the day. After a dinner of pizza and prosecco (more for the non-runners than the runners, of course), we all headed to bed to try to sleep. And by that I mean I think I got about 3 hours altogether before it was go-time at 4 AM.

One of the downsides of a suburban race course is that a huge number of roads have to be shut down, meaning you have to get there extra early to avoid all the traffic. The start time was already 6:45, so that meant we left at 5:15 AM. Ouch.

Michelle, having a crazy amount of energy at 7 AM

Jess and I found Michelle, who'd taken the 5 AM train, then headed to the designated 5.5 mile meeting point where we eventually met up with Abby, Theodora, Leticia, Meggie, Jocelyn, and Kara. We then headed from 5.5 to mile 8 after all the runners we knew had passed (although we cheered for everyone, of course). The course was really curvy, which made it easier to get from point to point for spectators.

Since the course is so suburban, there didn't seem to be much crowd support, so it was great to see the smiles on runners' faces when they saw us cheering for them.

I hopped in for 2 miles with Liz at mile 8 because she needed a bit of a pick-me-up after a hard start. It was my first time running since the Nike Half, and things felt totally fine. In fact, after I left her at mile 10, I waited for Nicole and then jumped in for half a mile with her as well, before heading to the finish line.

Theodora, Leticia, Jen (who subbed-2 and majorly PR'd as a birthday present to herself), me, Jess, and Nicole
(photo source: Jen)

Yes, I wore a tutu and bright green sunglasses. I also wore the Star Trek tee over a long sleeved top, but it was pretty chilly so I had an extra top on for a lot of the morning.

I totally crashed after getting back to the city, but it was an awesome weekend with runner friends. I was so proud of so many people for absolutely kicking ass! Of the girls I stayed with, Beth PR'd like woah after an amazing training cycle. Nicole ran basically the same time as her previous PR after having been out of training for weeks due to injury. Liz kept going despite having some rough early miles -- she pushed through and finished hard (and had made her goal to have a fun training cycle so wasn't looking to PR anyway).

So, after that lengthy non-racing race recap, how were my workouts last week?


Workout Recap

Monday: Rest. (day after Nike Half)

Tuesday: Rest.

Wednesday: Physical therapy appointment including PT exercises.

Thursday: 60 minutes strength training with trainer. 5 minute, 0.5 mile warm-up run. Focused on core, glutes, hamstrings, and inner thighs. Felt nice and sore the next day -- not debilitatingly, just in that "I worked hard" way. It was great to sweat again.

Friday: 45 minute spin (Real Ride at Revolve with Steph Nieman). Fantastic class with a great playlist. Steph is a phenomenal instructor who really pushes you and it felt great on my slightly sore legs from Thursday's workout.

Saturday: 4 minute plank. Only including this because it's the longest I've ever done!

Sunday: 2.5 mile run. Hopped in with Liz and later with Nicole to give them an extra boost. First time running since the Nike DC Half and legs felt great!


Weekly Goals

This week, I'm doing lots of different strength workouts, and I'll run if/when I want to. I also want to get to at least one yoga class.

• 3 strength workouts
• 2 runs (?)
• 1-2 yoga classes
• 1 spin class (?)



What are your workout goals for this week? Have you ever cheered at a race? 

Revamping Training

After finishing the NYC Half, my honest thoughts were, "shit... I'm doing this again, twice, in April and May???" The race had just felt so hard. The idea of doing it again seemed crazy!

These space blankets make you feel so freaking hardcore, I can't lie.
I'm going to use these pictures a lot. You've been warned.

But of course, now that I'm a few days removed, I'm feeling much less satisfied with my 2:00:00 and much more eager to hop back into half-marathon training. I have a goal to crush! I'm going to use the Nike DC Women's Half as my last long training run then go for a PR at the Long Branch NJ Half-Marathon on May 5.

Despite my renewed enthusiasm for training, I can't quite start up again because my left hip flexor has been feeling tender and slightly painful. Womp womp.

As annoyed as I am with my body for not cooperating, I need to listen to it. So for now, I'm going to focus on what cross-training I can do without pain (trying the elliptical today or tomorrow), strength training, and of course yoga.

But I can still be thinking about training and what I want to do differently over the next 6 weeks, right?

More Strength Training
I generally got in two sessions a week, but one of them was often slightly lackluster. I want to aim for three if possible and make sure that I have at least two good strength workouts a week. I think this will make my legs and core stronger and will hopefully keep me from having two straight weeks of minor leg injuries like I had right at the end of training in March.

Strength training can be a Nike Training Club workout, a Refine Method or Uplift Studios class, a training session with Amanda, or a workout I put together for myself that is 30 minutes of straight work or 45 minutes with some cardio thrown in (see: any of the strength workouts on my workout page).

Much More Yoga
I really failed on the yoga front during NYC Half training. That's a mistake I don't want to repeat since I'm sure it contributed to some of the tight muscles that caused some pain. I also love yoga and relish that calm, centered feeling I get after a good class.

Now that my trainer, Amanda, is teaching close to my apartment, I'm going to have at least one class on my schedule every week. I'm going to try for two classes, but if I can't make a second class happen, then one class and one at-home practice using my yoga for runners flow or Tara Stiles's Relax download. I might even try to participate in Tara Stiles's month of yoga in April -- it seems like a cool idea!

Fewer Runs, Higher Quality
Some weeks I'd have up to six runs scheduled, following Hal Higdon's intermediate plan. While I think it worked out ok, I also think I might be slightly injury-prone, so I'm going to try to concentrate on 3-4 quality workouts a week. I'm thinking long run, tempo run, speed work, and an optional recovery run.

Those faster runs are also going to, hopefully, be with faster people. I've found that I can push myself a lot harder when I'm running with someone, so I think I'll be able to see greater speed improvements the more I run with speedy people!

Hey speedy friend! Please get better quickly so I can chase you through Central Park! 

Clearing out some of the "junk" miles on my calendar should make more room for strength training and yoga, and hopefully keep me injury free all training cycle this time. It was such a bummer to have a great training cycle right until the last three weeks!

Fuel More Intelligently
I'm going to make good eating a priority leading up to the NJ Half-Marathon on May 5. Obviously, there will always be fun nights of Mexican food or drinks out with friends. I'm not going to limit those since they happen once a week at most, typically.

But I am going to limit the other indulgences, like eating half a bag of tortilla chips because I just finished a long run or having a City Bakery chocolate chip cookie because I just finished a spin class (whyyyy is the UWS Flywheel right by City Bakery's UWS location???). I need to work on discerning "I deserve this!" from "my body needs this as fuel."

For example -- had soft serve fruit for dessert Tuesday night instead of dessert at the Thai place we ate. 

I've already been working on this by changing my breakfast from two pieces of toast with nut butter and a banana to one piece of toast (still the full banana, though!). The change doesn't seem to affect my hunger level going into lunch much so clearly I didn't need that extra piece of toast. I'm going to work on making similar changes and paying attention to what and why I'm eating things.


How do you change your training in between races? What are your training goals right now?