It’s been three weeks since NYCM, and I feel pretty much recovered. It’s been nice not having to run a certain amount of miles or do a specific workout in the mornings, and my anal self has actually managed to calm down a fair amount.
yay for impromptu dinners out with friends (paradise casserole from Candle Cafe)
I haven’t really had much of a plan in terms of running other than going with the flow and doing what I feel like without pushing it. After one week of pretty much no running post-race, I kind of missed it and was ready to slowly start back up. I’ve been freezing my gym membership each month since I don’t really go enough but want to have it as a back-up option, and decided to keep it for November in order to get some cross training in and give myself a little break from running every day. Confirmed: I still don’t like cross training much, but it has its purpose. Here’s a recap of the past two weeks:
Week of 11/11
- Monday: 6.5 miles easy
- Tuesday: 30 minutes on the spin bike, 30 minutes elliptical and some strength
- Wednesday: 7 miles easy
- Thursday: 8 miles easy with Betsy
- Friday: 30 minutes on the spin bike, 30 minute elliptical and strength
- Saturday: 10 miles somewhat easy – it was raining and I had to do laundry before going to work, so tried to speed through this one somewhat. It actually felt pretty good to get the legs moving a little quicker.
- Sunday: 7.25 miles easy
Total: 39 miles. Hmmm. I’ve noticed when I do have access to a gym, I take less rest days and usually decide to cross train instead of taking the day off. Partly because I feel like I need to make the $$ monthly fee worth it and partly because “meh, may as well…” Even though cross training works somewhat different muscle groups compared to running, I should probably be better at taking full days off. Big picture – I’d rather run better/faster, and rest and recovery should take priority over cross training sometimes.
Week of 11/18
- Monday: ~2-3 miles easy with my friend Meghan, a baby stroller and a toddler. Had the day off work so visited my buddy Meg outside of Philly and we took her (extremely adorable) daughter Amelia out with the jogging stroller. Meghan is ~5 months pregnant so I pushed the stroller for most of the run, which was quite hilly! We never get to run or race together, and I’m already lobbying for a fall post-baby race together
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- Tuesday: 8 miles with 3 @ tempo, strength (abs, arms)
- Wednesday: 7.75 miles easy, strength (abs, legs)
- Thursday: 8 miles with Betsy, strength (abs, arms)
- Friday: REST, stretching
- Saturday: 11 miles, strength (abs)
- Sunday: 8 miles, strength (legs, abs)
Total: 45 miles. Finally felt back to normal and started doing more strength stuff again. These runs also felt good, especially the mini tempo run on Tuesday, which I think I needed in order to remind my legs they can move a little quick (for me). I signed up for a 15K race in December so the tempo miles were around what I’d like to run for that race (~7:35-7:40).
I also signed up for a half marathon January and entered the lottery for the NYC Half in March. These races (and probably more) will hopefully lead up to a spring marathon in May. I know I needed a little break, but have to admit it feels good to have some races on the calendar to look forward to. One thing I missed during the summer training cycle is the lack of racing – I ran one 10 miler and that’s it. Racing is so fun and it’s a good way to measure fitness as training progresses, so I hope to do a lot of it this winter/spring.
cold weather = return of the tights
I don’t really have weekly mileage goals right now, but will probably keep it between 40-50 miles/week for the time being until I have a more concrete plan laid out.
What about you? Any winter/spring races on the calendar yet?