half marathon training

Training Turning Point

/ Jess / 9 Comments

This weekend I was really looking forward to my long run. The week was super stressful and I didn’t get to run as much as I wanted, so I couldn’t wait to pound it out on the pavement. But because I was a little rusty, I went into it with no expectations. I just aimed for the usual super-hilly ~7 mile loop around town for one last solid long run before race day.

So after a good 9 hours of sleep, I set out later Saturday morning in 65-ish degrees and immediately attacked the first hill at mile .5 with a vengeance. As a result, mile 1 clicked by at 10:30 – waaay too fast.

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(I may or may not have been singing along to music at this point)

After mile 2 went a little better at 11:30, I reached the big downhill next to my old middle school – normally I scream down this hill to pick up some speed, but this time I felt like taking a detour so I went up the hill into the school parking lot, did a lap around my old alma mater, and ran down the hill connecting the middle school to the high school, retracing the steps I used to take every day in gym class when we’d march down to the HS track.

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In a moment of perfect timing, Just a Girl came on my ipod, giving me vivid flashbacks to those days 20 years ago when me and my friends would spend our lunch periods doodling “Mrs. Gavin Rossdale” on our bookcovers and leaving notes in our lockers for each other… Ah, 8th grade. I miss you so much.

Once I sailed down the hill and around the high school, I rejoined my usual route and maintained a slower pace for the rest of the run. At mile 4, the mile-long, flat, sunny stretch across town is usually where I start to fall apart, but once I got to the end and turned back around for the final 3 miles back to my car, I felt good. I took a Gu, sipped on water and walked a bit, then attacked mile 5 as ready as ever.

My legs felt strong, calves weren’t tight, knees were relatively happy – this was just the confidence boosting run I needed! I was feeling so good that by the time I neared the street I’d run back up to get to my car, I decided to keep going for the extra ~3 mile loop around the bottom of town and make it an even 10 miles!

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At that point I was averaging about 12:10/mile, and told myself to try to stay there for the last three unexpected miles. I had pushed pretty hard at the beginning of this run, and worried a little that I might fall apart in the final miles, but I kept it together better than expected! At the end of mile 7 I stopped for a good 2-3 minutes to stretch everything – since I hadn’t planned on the extra mileage I felt a little tight – but once I started up again I plodded along at a solid 12:15/pace for mile 8 and most of 9! Not until the end of the final mile did I feel the fatigue in my lower legs, which I’m noticing is creeping up later and later in my runs. So once I hit mile 10, I was so happy to see an awesome pace of 12:19/mile!

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This run was a turning point: I ran more double-digit runs this training cycle than ever before, and I’m feeling more confident in the 10+ range than I have for previous races.

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I also realized that this will be half marathon Lucky #7 in Atlantic City, so I’m taking it as an omen and picked up these fun little socks that I may have to incorporate into my day-of outfit (or if not, at least wear them at the expo the day before)!

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So when it comes to long runs, that’s all she wrote! I’m excited to ease out of full-on training mode this week and into pre-race mode for Sunday. I’ve started stalking the weather and have already begin obsessing over what my race day outfit will be. In short – I can’t wait!

How about you, is your training going well? Did anyone race this weekend? Tell me all about it!

Treadmill Musings

/ Jess / 8 Comments

My long run last weekend was a perfect example of how running is – at times – more of a mental sport than a physical one.

As the weekend approached, I found myself inexplicably dreading having to run around my town. Is there such a thing as being allergic to a route? And Hurricane Joaquin was barreling towards us, bringing with him much cooler temps and torrential downpours. I convinced myself it just couldn’t be done. So I decided to take to the treadmill instead and felt a little better… Then I thought of something to turn it around. After doing both of that week’s training runs on the treadmill, I discovered something mind-blowing: I never connected MPH and my average pace on the treadmill before.

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I know. I’m just as shocked as you are. How could I be so stupid? As soon as I jumped on any treadmill, I would immediately jump up to 5.8MPH, and wondered why I needed so many walk breaks. That’s GOT to be a good pace, I would tell myself – 6PMH is a nice round number and like 10/mile, right? 5.7 is so much slower, it should be easy!

What the hell was I thinking? I have no idea. But once I realized that and managed to pace myself to a perfect 5 miles in 57:28 (for an 11:27/mile pace) that week, I knew I was on to something. I was excited: How low could I get my mile time if I paced myself properly? Would it be completely effortless? Would I need as many walk breaks? Needless to say, when I hit the mill on Sunday I had high hopes.

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I packed up my fuel (two peanut butter & chocolate Gu’s, a bottle of grape Cocogo, and a big bottle of water) and hit the corner treadmill at the Y. I started at a 12:00/mile pace – a little faster than my race goal pace, but I figured I could back off if it got too uncomfortable – and rocked through the first 4.5 miles relatively easily. I took a few water walk breaks at each mile just like I normally would in a race, a Gu at mile 4, sipped on Cocogo throughout, and clocked in at 56:30 for 4.5 miles (or 12:33/mile, not bad considering my walk breaks and quarter mile walking warm up!)

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Miles 4.5-9

Since the treadmills at our gym stop after an hour, I hit the start button again and plugged away at a 12:00 pace once more, feeling OK. At around mile 7, this song came on and renewed my love of South Park, and I took a Gu at mile 8. Unfortunately, at around mile 8.5, I ran out of water and Cocogo, and the wheels fell off the wagon when I developed nasty paste-mouth. I plodded along and finished the second set of 4.5 miles in 57:44, or 12:49/mile.

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Miles 9-12

I know you’re probably thinking, “Why didn’t you just go to the water fountain, Jess?” Honestly, I’ve got a germ-phobia about those things. Especially now that everyone around me seems to be sneezing and coughing, and the YMCA is home to tons of cold-carrying kiddos that I’ve seen slobbering all over that fountain. And I’mma be real here: after two hours on that machine, if I got off it for a drink, I wasn’t going back on willingly.

Instead of being a normal human and getting a drink despite my germ fears, I told myself 3 miles wouldn’t be THAT hard. I do 3 miles a day, no problem. Let’s get it done – pump up the pace! Instead of maintaining a slow and steady goal pace, I cranked it up to 10:30/mile for the first mile to “get it over with”, like an idiot. And the only thing that did was shred my legs, making those last 2 miles pure agony.

My joints suddenly ached, my calves were getting tight, and the insides of my knees – yes, knees – started chafing from brushing up against each other with each step. I just wanted it to be over. But instead of pushing any harder and risking injury, I made the smart decision to walk those last two miles. The final tally on those 3 miles was 42:48, or 14:16/mile (OUCH).

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It killed me to do that, because I love finishing strong. But in those last few miles I looked for learning opportunities. I reasoned that if I hadn’t burned myself out pushing to a 10:30 pace after my legs were fried from 8 miles, I’d still be feeling relatively strong in those final miles on race day. With a good warm up to trim some time off the first mile, smart pacing and my usual walk/stretch/fuel breaks every mile, maintaining that 12:30 pace might not be too hard. Instead of being disheartened at the end of this run, I was hopeful! Where some might see a failed ending, I see self-growth. Too often we beat ourselves up about a “bad” run – I decided to take the high road on this one, and I can’t wait to see how it pays off come race day!

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How about you? We’re in the thick of marathon/race season now, I hope everyone’s training is going well, and if you’re just running for fun, enjoy the change of seasons!

Walk For Wishes 5K + a Long Run

/ Jess / 6 Comments

In addition to the Pope being in the NYC area this past weekend, I decided to head up that way as well, for the Make A Wish Foundation’s Walk for Wishes 5K!

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I first ran this race last year and really enjoyed it – although I was sick with a little head cold, the scenery and the cause made it a really enjoyable event, and I looked forward to seeing my friend Nichole who manages the whole event, too!

We headed up to the park and were immediately impressed with the gigantic planes and fully-armored helicopters hovering around the perimeter of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty – have you ever seen an Osprey in action? That thing made the ground shake with every pass, I felt like I was in the Hunger Games!

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Anyway, it was a little chilly when we arrived at the park so I finally got to wear my brand spankin new One More Tri race jacket! It warmed up enough at the start to just race in my tank and shorts, but I had fun repping my awesome new accomplishment 🙂

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We hung out while the rest of the runners arrived at the park, along with big groups of folks preparing to do the walk portion of the event. That’s my favorite part: seeing all of the families and groups of friends in matching t-shirts walking their dogs, pushing strollers & wheelchairs, all banding together to raise money and honor the Wish Kids… it’s a really inspirational thing!

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After about a half hour, I made my way to the start where there were only about 100 or so other people, a good 1/4 of whom were a busload of teenaged girls who looked to be a track team or dance squad or something. They arrived late and all ran for the start giggling and pushing each other, and all of us older runners parted to make room for them – “Faster runners in the front!” we kept shouting, laughing. They all shook their heads, suddenly shy, but we kept egging them on to cut us slower folks in line so they didn’t have to trample us after we started. Once we did start, we made the right choice – they were FAST!

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Once the gun went off we headed out of the park and around the little lake, onto the waterfront walkway path that would take us alllll the way down past the Statue of Liberty and back. I made my way slowly and steadily through the first quarter mile going by feel with the crowd. When I finally checked my Garmin at the half mile I turned out to be running at a 10:30 pace – sweet!

I can’t lie: no matter how many times I see these faster times on my watch, I keep thinking I’m going to snap out of it one day and go back to thirteen and fourteen minute miles. Is that weird? I’m working hard, training right, and I know that the progress I’m seeing is deserved, but I’m just so not used to seeing 10’s that I feel like it’s a fluke! Anyone else experience this??

Anyway, I made it through the first mile at just over 10:35ish, and started seeing the super speedy people heading back to the finish. I decided to have fun and clapped and cheered for every person as they passed – why not, right? Not too long after that, I neared the 1.6 mile turnaround and grabbed a bottle of water at the table – even with the nice waterfront breeze, that sun was pretty freakin’ warm!

I walked 2-3 times to sip my water through mile 2.5, and saw a good number of people still making their way to the turnaround. But once I hit 2.5, I looked at my watch and realized that I had slowed my pace to around 10:50 with my walk breaks – that was still one of my best 5k times ever!

Since I only had a little more than a half mile to go, I figured why not drop the hammer a little early to see just how good I could do? So I chucked my half empty water bottle to free my hands and took off. Just as I came down the hill to the finish, Nichole jumped out and started screaming for me, which gave me the perfect boost I needed to sprint right through the finish line and nail my 2nd best time ever – 34:21!!

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I was shredded! My lungs burned, my quads were fried, even my abs were tender. Mike came and found me, and I told him about my new almost PR and he was so thrilled – I’ve been trying to get close to those old pre-surgery PR’s for months now, and I’m finally almost there!

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Once I recovered with some Cocogo, we hung out for a little while longer at the pre-walk party, cheered on the 5K winners, I picked up my participant ribbon (I still LOVE that I get a ribbon instead of a medal, it’s so unique and fun!), and we headed home – because I had made the ridiculous decision to go home and tack 7 more miles on to my morning so that I could finish my long run a day early! The thought of having to go to bed early and wake up early AGAIN the next day for my long run made me so annoyed – so why not just do it all today? Who cared that I just pushed my body to the limit? I’d be fine!!

Oh how silly we runners can be.

Once we got home I changed into a dry sports bra and new t-shirt, packed up my Nathan and headed out to my favorite 7 mile loop, took off from where I parked, and promptly convinced myself I had a stress fracture in the first quarter mile.

See, because they’re thinner than my every day running socks, I have a tendency to lace my shoes too tight when I’m wearing compression socks, which then causes a sharp pain in the top of my foot – only my right foot, too! And this was my first time racing in my trusty Pro Compressions, so of course I had laced up tightly. Add an hour of driving and cooling off to the mix, you get a swollen post-race foot in a too-tight sneaker. This is not the first time this has happened to me!!

I sat down on the curb as soon as I felt that pain, took off my shoe, unlaced it entirely and re-laced it loosely, massaged the hell out of my foot, and wouldn’t you know it when I started back up again the pain was gone! It still feels as good as new now, a few days later. Lesson learned: DON’T tie your laces too tight.

Miles 1-5 went by relatively easily, but once I hit mile 5.5 (or rather, 8.6ish) I hit the wall. My hips locked up, my feet were screaming, everything was swollen (you should have seen the line my socks left around my calves!!) – I wanted to be DONE. I briefly got disheartened, but reminded myself that I’d raced the hell out of a 5K earlier in the day so I essentially did double the work already. Besides, my average pace was still on fire, even despite a lot more walk breaks than I’d care to admit to.

I shuffled along on that last mile, walked where I needed to, and thought about the finish line of my next race: the Atlantic City Half Marathon. I envisioned it there at the end of the boardwalk, pictured myself heading towards it strong and full of power – definitely not broken and hurting like I was at that moment! It was all I needed to get to the “finish” of my long run, and with a new unofficial 10 mile PR to boot!

IMG_2243Yes, that’s more than a minute UNDER all my previous 10 milers.

Once I was done, I was more than drained – I felt hollow. I dragged my salty carcass back to my car, drove home, laid down in the shower while Mike ordered sushi, came out and devoured my lunch, then slept for 2 hours. I was BEAT. But – Sunday morning I got to sleep in for the first time in like 2 months! Totally worth it. 😉

A New Family Member, Training Update, and MEB!

/ Jess / 20 Comments

First, I want to apologize for being absent so long! Things at work are really heating up, and I’m in the thick of training for both my second sprint triathlon this weekend and my next half marathon on 10/18. And on top of all that, just this past Monday, we finally pulled the trigger and brought in the newest member of the family: Sammy!

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We first met Sammy a year or so ago, and after sporadic visits for a year, he started showing up every day about a month ago, for a few hours each morning and every night, sitting on our lawn every night waiting for us to come out again in the morning. Once he started showing up with flea bites and chewed up ears, we finally took him to the vet, got him checked out and cleaned up and he’s currently sleeping on the couch next to me! He’s the most loving, sweet-hearted kitty we’ve ever met – he needs to be touching someone to fall asleep, and is my little shadow when I get ready for work in the morning. We’re smitten with this kitten! So on top of the double weekday workouts, 2+ hour runs on the weekends, and crazy work schedule, I also have this new creature to help take care of every day (along with balancing the love for our other cat Lucy who was living here first, and family and friends too)! So needless to say, by 10PM each day I have just about enough time to brush my teeth before falling into bed, so the blog was the first thing to be neglected. My apologies!

While Mr. Sammy sleeps next to me though, I’ll give you the highlights: everything is great! My long runs are right on pace at 12:15-12:45 per mile, and my shorter runs are stable at 11:30/mile too. I’m up to 10 miles in my long runs, and the best part? I hit a new one-mile PR in the NYRR Fifth Avenue Mile last weekend with an unbelievable 8:51!! I almost died when I saw the number on the clock, seriously. I promise I’ll post a full recap soon, but here’s a teaser:

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MEB!

He was right there at the finish when I crossed and he greeted me with a huge smile and hearty congratulations. BRB, squealing and fangirl-ing all over the place again just looking at the pic…

OK, I’m back. I’ve got a big weekend ahead with the Seaside Semper Five 5K on Saturday and the One More Tri triathlon on Sunday! It’ll be my first back-to-back race weekend, and I’m going into it with absolutely zero expectations, just looking forward to swimming, biking, and running with a big smile for two fantastic causes: the Marine Corps and the NJ Special Olympics! I’m only $74 away from my One More Tri fundraising goal, so if you’re so inclined you can make a donation here! Every little bit helps, even $5 or $10 – why not consider skipping one pumpkin spice latte and putting that cash towards the inspirational athletes of the Special Olympics? It’s less calories anyway 😉

OK, so that’s my quick update – I hope you all are doing well and your training is going smoothly! We’re in the thick of training and racing season now, so stay strong and trust your training – you’re all rockstars for getting out there and getting it done! Tell me how it’s going in the comments, I want to hear it all!

My First Creeper

/ Jess / 34 Comments

After a great day on Saturday celebrating our anniversary in NYC with dinner and The Book of Mormon (holy crap was it funny!), I set out Sunday morning for my 8 mile run. Because I was drained from Saturday’s adventures, I missed my running club’s group run at 7am and instead decided to log the miles in my hilly hometown. After dragging ass down to the boat docks I used to work at in college, I greeted the sunrise and took off.

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This training cycle, I’m aiming to keep my long runs at around 1:00-1:30 slower than my race goal pace to save my legs for speedwork during the week, so I plodded along for the first few miles at 12:15/mile. The breeze was gorgeous, the roads were empty, the town was so peaceful! By mile 3.5 I had looped back to the waterfront where I used the blissfully clean bathrooms and set off in another direction.

IMG_0506The only thing better than a clean bathroom? A PINK bathroom.

For the last 4 miles, I took a more hilly route through my best friend’s old development. After years of exploring the area with her, I know those twisty roads like the back of my hand & I love the peaceful, Edward-Scissorhands-y vibe the rows of houses give me – plus, the folks there REALLY love their lawns, so the abundance of sprinklers makes summer running a joy.

IMG_0509Exhibit A: a joyful runner

But those hills were hard, and I fought through miles 4 and 5. By 5.7, the tightness in my hips was too much. All I could think of was sitting on the curb for a hot minute to stretch and gather my strength for the final 3. And once I sat, it was glorious.

Until HE pulled up: my first creeper.

He spotted me as he turned onto the street in front of me and started yelling out his window at me. “I just have to say, I know you’re busy, but you’re a beautiful woman!” I thought that’d be it so I just smiled and nodded in thanks and looked down at my watch as I continued to stretch. But he wasn’t moving. “You’re doing your thing, you look so peaceful and zen-like! You look so content and happy, you remind me of that movie, you know the one where the men are making their way to the end of the tunnel and they see the woman at the end and all they’re thinking of is one of three things: dying, sleeping, or having sex.” At this point I started laughing uncomfortably – he was more than your average encouraging passerby. I fiddled with my watch some more and ignored him but he kept going. I only caught snippets as other cars tried to get around him, honking at him. For a good 2-3 minutes he continued. “You’re like the warrior woman, dressed like that with her gun holster, at the end of the movie – she’s in pain, she wants it to be over, she knows the Illuminati are trying to kill her…” [editor’s note: “Illuminati”?!?!]

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At that point I nodded and did the “OK, yeah, thanks…” bit and stood up so he’d leave, but he kept going! “What does your husband think of you doing this? Does he support you?” I should have ignored him but instead I engaged him (I know, stupid Jess) and just said, “Yes, he does. He loves it.”

I don’t think he expected that – maybe he was waiting for me to say I didn’t have a husband? – because he paused, then said, “Well you tell him – you tenacious, beautiful, woman – that he should take you out for a wonderful dinner tonight, to Red Lobster, and that you drink all the wine you want, and then he needs to take you home and perform to your satisfaction, or someone else will.”

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WHAT?! Because I didn’t know what else to do, I just kind of laughed incredulously and turned my back and walked away. That’s when he got the hint and wished me a good day and drove away.

I won’t lie – it shook me up. I’ve been running for 5 years now, and this is the first time I’ve been legitimately disturbed by a creeper. I know I wasn’t in physical danger – he was in a car 20+ feet away from me – but it really rattled me. It was one of those situations where you don’t realize how creepy it is until you’re already IN it and can’t get out.

Once I watched him turn the corner in the opposite direction I was headed (and made a mental note of his car’s make/model/license plate/bumper stickers so I could spot him again if needed), I immediately took off at a full sprint out of that development and didn’t look back. Those final 2 miles were faster than planned, but all I wanted to do was go home and not go outside again.

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I’ve never sweat from my knees before those last 2 miles.

My final tally was 8.1 miles with an average page of 12:59 (thanks to the fact that I forgot to stop my watch during the harassment). My knees felt great, my lungs were burning from the final push to get back to the car, and my quads were fried from the hills. Overall, it was a good run, but once it was over, I started feeling all of the things.

I seriously doubt if I want to go back into that development even though it’s one of my favorite places to run! I’m even feeling guilty – did he go from zero to pervert in one sentence because I smiled and didn’t ignore him and walk away? And if he didn’t leave me alone even when cars were stopped behind him and honking at him to move, what’s to say he wouldn’t have followed me if I ignored him? I’m always smiling and love the friendly waves and “Keep up the good work!”‘s from random strangers I pass while I run. Do I just shut it down and avoid everyone now?

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I know I’m probably over-reacting. It wasn’t a guy chasing me or trying to attack me physically. I’m fine, and will live to run (albeit guardedly) another day. But this situation opened my eyes to the other, less apparent threats that I could face. As female runners we’re taught the obvious when it comes to protecting ourselves: go for the eyes if you’re attacked, never leave your phone at home, carry mace, etc. That’s all good for physical attacks, and I pray that none of us will ever have to put that knowledge to practice. But what about the random creepers that just don’t know when to quit?

What do you think – have you ever faced a creepy situation on a run? What did you do?

Come Walk (and Run!) for Wishes with Me!

/ Jess / 1 Comment

Last year, I ran the Make A Wish Foundation’s 5K Walk for Wishes and had a great time (despite a little head cold). This year I’m all set to return to Liberty State Park on Saturday, September 26th where I’ll run the race again in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation!

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The race really is a dream for runners of all abilities: the completely flat, super fast course runs entirely along the path at Liberty State Park, with views of the NYC skyline and the Status of Liberty pretty much the entire way. It’s a joint event with the Walk for Wishes kicking off after the race, which is super-inspiring, because once you’re done sweating it out, you get to see all the amazing wish kids and their families supporting each other as they set off on their walk along the waterfront.

So if you’re not doing anything on the 26th, why not come out and race with me? I’m always looking for someone to chat with at the back of the pack – and I may even tack on my long run after the race is over, so I could use some company 😉

Don’t miss out: Register here!

Preparing For Marathon Mania (When You’re Not a Marathon Runner)

/ Jess / 9 Comments

I don’t know about you, but every fall, I find myself getting swept up in marathon madness. It seems like everyone and their mothers are training for and running marathons, while me and my bum knees are sitting over here like “I’m running 13 miles, wheeee!”

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I know, a half marathon is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a huge accomplishment, and I take it 100% seriously. Hell, it’s the longest distance I can [barely] manage, of course it’s awesome! But when you see those troopers out there clocking runs of 15, 18, 20+ miles, sometimes it’s hard not to feel all the (running-related) things.

Take me for example: having tried and failed training for a full marathon a few years back, I have a love/hate relationship with the marathon. As I scroll through my feeds and chat with full-running-friends, I flip flop almost hourly between runner envy (damn I wish my knees and my brain could let me run that far!) and runner schadenfreude (pfft, you won’t catch me running 20+ miles, that’s more than 5 hours!). But I know better than to say “never”, because I said that after my first 5K 4 years ago even though everyone told me I’d get hooked, and look at me now, with a blog about running and everything!

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Anywho, suffice it to say that the fall racing season is always filled with lots of conflicting emotions for me. So this year, I’m doing a few things to curb the marathon mania before it hits me.

First, I’m loading up my calendar with lots of other races to get my fix while not putting my poor joints on overload. As of today, I’ve got shorter distance races on 9/6, 9/13, 9/19, 9/26, and 10/31, a triathlon on 9/20, and a half marathon 10/18, with more in the works in October. So believe me when I say it: I’ll be running plenty.

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(you have NO IDEA how long I’ve been waiting to use this guy in a post. FINALLY!)

Secondly, I’m fully embracing the triathlon for the first time during marathon season. I’m competing in another triathlon on September 20th, which is taking up a lot of my training time but also gives me a new “mania” outlet. It’s a new (to me) sport and I’m fully in love with it! I’m not kidding. I still really love running and it’ll always be my favorite, but getting to switch it up with biking and swimming AND competing in those three things at the same time? It’s awesome.

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Lastly, I’ve set an unofficial goal for the last few months of 2015 to run 14 miles in one go. My motivation is simple: I need to prove to myself that I won’t turn into a pumpkin – or my knees won’t turn into jelly – once I break the magical 13.1 spell. So once I finish my goal race on 10/18 in Atlantic City, I aim to keep up with running long every other weekend just to see what I’m capable of. Who knows, with all the extra cross training thanks to my newfound love of the triathlon, I may surprise myself!

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How do you cope with marathon mania? Do you have envy like me or are you 100% sure you’re only half crazy? And those of you who ARE running those fall marathons: how is your training going? Sound off in the comments!

Catching Up – and a Giveaway Winner!

/ Jess / 7 Comments

Hello and Happy Wednesday guys – how’s everyone doing?? It’s been a hot minute since I last posted, so how about we take a little trip down memory lane and recap the past few weeks!

After the Jersey Girl Tri, I was riding high on the post-race endorphins and immediately wanted to put my training to use with another tri, soon. After flip flopping between a few other events like Iron Girl in Sandy Hook, I stumbled across One More Tri in Asbury Park this September.

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This event is pretty much the perfect combination: it’s in Asbury Park, one of my favorite places on earth, it’s a fundraising event for the Special Olympics, which is very near and dear to my heart, and it’s a unified triathlon event, where Special Olympics athletes and members of the community compete side-by-side! That just brings it to a whole other level. I get goosebumps just thinking about it – I used to love volunteering at events like this back in high school and college, but getting to actually participate in these sports with these inspirational folks? What an honor! I can’t wait. Click here to learn more – or make a donation towards my fundraising efforts, if you’re so inclined!

Once I signed up for that, I realized I had to come up with a new training plan that will prepare me both for the tri and the Atlantic City Half Marathon in October! I took to the interwebs and found my favorite 6-week triathlon training plan once again, then layered my usual half marathon training plan on top of it. BOY was that a mess. After some tinkering (and taking into consideration the other shorter races I’ve got planned in September and October), I finally came up with a plan that works. I was SO excited to take it on! I hit the first week hard, nailing every single workout, and I was feeling good in time for my first long run of training.

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It was a little harder than I expected because of the heat and hills I took on, but I was so pumped to keep it up and tackle week 2! Aaaaand then I got sick.

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::sad trombone music::

Last week I was knocked out by a nasty sinus infection and bronchitis that prevented me from breathing or hearing or basically using my head properly for a good 5 days. I finally started feeling human again on Sunday in time for a quick weekend getaway with my friend and her daughters, and now I’m easing back in to training once again with renewed excitement. Kind of. I mean, my lungs are still filled with gunk and it’s like 100 degrees out, but dammit I’ve got races to crush this fall, and I’m not going to let anything get in my way!

Which brings us to today, and another exciting announcement – the winner of my Freekeh Foods Giveaway! Drumroll please…. Congratulations to Jamie Harrings, you’re a winner!

winner

Check your email for details on how to claim your prize – and thank you to all who entered, too! Have a great day everyone 🙂

TGIF!

/ Jess / Leave a comment

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for all of the post-triathlon love – you guys are the best 🙂 Things are going nice and smooth here – I’m now training for both another triathlon (yes, another one!) and a half marathon, so my calendar is quickly filling up with double workouts and smaller fall races too. There’s so much to look forward to in the coming months and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

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Don’t Forget to Have Fun

/ Jess / 1 Comment

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how hard it is to balance things out without feeling like I’m stuck in an endlessly repeating loop.

giphyKind of like my friend the gray rat there..

In the past when a big race loomed on the horizon, I would get so focused on The Plan (with a capital P) that by week 10 I felt like a zombie. I’d spend most of the last few weeks wishing the monotony was over, plodding through each workout while repeating the faithful mantra “trust your training”.

duhFat lot of good that did me through endless treadmill miles.

I went from being excited to dreading those workouts, and if we’re being honest here, that kind of defeats the purpose of running, right?

So once my big spring races were done back in April, I scaled back my weekly mileage and looked for other ways to get my fitness kicks. And wouldn’t you know it, my running endurance has improved overall a result!

obvs I maintained a lower base mileage per week, kept my long runs to 5-6 miles on the weekend, and found that I looked forward to weekends because I could fit even more fitness-y type fun things in my day! On days when my knees and my heart just didn’t feel like running, I started doing stuff like yoga and walking (who knew?!). I biked more, both down the park on my trusty two wheeler and on my DeskCycle at the office.

IMG_5516Seriously, 18 miles while working? A few times a week? Hello, leg muscles!

As a result, the past few runs and smaller races I’ve done in May and June have been immensely better than my training runs and races in March and April. I go out strong and don’t waver after 10 minutes like I used to. My pace is consistently improving, even if by a few seconds. I feel stronger, more confident, and less anxious about race day in general. I’m also a few lbs lighter, which never hurts! Hell – yesterday I caught myself jogging up the spiral staircase at my office – I’ve never done that in the 2+ years I’ve been here!

hyperApologies to my coworkers for my new found energy.

I’ve got a 10K race coming up this Saturday and while I haven’t actually used a Plan with a capital P to prep for this race, I’m 100% fine with that. I’m trusting my training, even though it doesn’t fit into a rigid schedule and add up to a certain amount of miles per week. Sure, I’ll probably feel like dying halfway up those Central Park hills, but I look forward to it! Instead of “trusting my training”, this go-round I’m “embracing the journey” and look forward to smiling through all 6.2 miles.

How about you – have you ever just thrown “The Plan” out the window and gone for it? How did your race turn out? Want to race up the spiral staircase with me? 🙂