I haven’t done a running recap in a few weeks – there hasn’t been much to say other than I’ve been running a lot and for the most part, it has been fine. Actually more like good or even great. I have a few races this month so am trying to keep them in mind when it comes to deciding what to do for workouts, in addition to nailing down some sort of spring marathon training plan. It would probably help if I had a spring race all picked out, but I’m being really indecisive about it (to anyone who has ever been shopping with me, this will not come as a surprise). I have the choices down to two, so I guess that’s a start?
New Jersey Marathon – April 27
Pros: proximity to NYC and public transportation accessible, flat course, good chance for decent weather, potential camaraderie (will hopefully know some people running?)
Cons: boring course (says most people I’ve asked), no crowd support, kind of soon
Buffalo Marathon – May 25
Pros: family in Buffalo = at least some kind of cheering squad, flat course, more training time
Cons: travel (stress and $$), weather may be iffy, I’ve tried to run this race twice and have become injured during training (bad luck? cursed?), not a lot of crowd support
Hopefully I’ll be able to decide at some point soon, but until then I’m probably just going to keep running, gradually increase mileage and long runs and decide workouts based on upcoming races. Here’s how last week went:
Week of 12/30:
Monday: 3 miles easy, 50 minutes yoga and stretching
Tuesday: 8.75 miles with 6x 1:30 hill repeats up Cat hill, strength (abs, arms)
I always like hill repeats when I don’t know what other workout to do – can’t really go wrong and they’re always beneficial towards building speed and strength. These kicked my butt in the best way possible.
Wednesday: 9.5 miles easy, strength (abs)
New Years Day! Had the day off and wanted to take advantage of having nowhere to be all day by running a good amount, but one too many cocktails and not enough sleep left me feeling less than awesome (probably like most other people on January 1). Totally worth it though, because NYE was enjoyed with great company and delicious sushi.
basically one of everything at Blue Ribbon Sushi
9.5 miles was all I could muster, but looking back I guess it’s not too shabby. I was pretty much useless on the couch for the rest of the day.
Thursday: 8.5 miles easy, strength (abs, arms)
Wanted to get a solid run in since NYC was forecast for a snowstorm overnight and didn’t know if a run on Friday could happen. This one felt good!
Friday: 7 miles easy, strength (abs)
Runner craziness and curiosity got the best of me, so even though it was about 5 degrees outside with about 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground, I headed to the park to see if I could get a few miles in. Central Park was actually plowed really well, so got in a decent run. This was probably the only run where everyone who passed by said “Good morning!” to each other. That’s definitely the short way of saying, “Good morning! We are all nuts, woohoo!”
Saturday: 8 miles easy, strength (legs, abs)
Usually long run day, but it was 10 degrees outside so moved the long run to Sunday when it would be at least a little warmer.
Sunday: 14 miles with ~3 miles at goal MP
Got up a little earlier than usual to get the run in before work at the running store, and even though it was only 28 degrees, there was no wind and it felt almost balmy compared to the past few days.
The marathon pace miles felt good – part of me thinks I should step it up a little bit and start running long runs a little faster, but whatever marathon I run is still a ways away and there is definitely time. (See also: procrastination).
Total: 58.75 miles. Didn’t really mean to run that much, but I also feel pretty good so let’s go with it.
Tell me - what are your spring racing/marathon plans? Ever run New Jersey or Buffalo? Thoughts?