The Seventy Five Percent Club...

This morning I ran my final long run. Most of my usual weekend running group were missing because of races (Halloween Half Marathons and the Marine Corps Marathon); so that just left Jani and me to try and tackle 8 miles...

And now that my long run is done I can proceed with my plans for the rest of the weekend...

The Taper...

I am tapering, I promise. But, yesterday was the ZOOMA Amelia Island Half Marathon and I'm a ZOOMA Race Ambassador. So obviously I had to do it...

Unfortunately I wasn't able to travel up to north Florida for the race on Saturday morning because I spent all day Thursday and Friday course directing an advanced trauma nursing course...

So instead of being able to enjoy all the festivities of the event I ran the race virtually...

The Last Long Run...

This morning I ran 21 miles as my last really long run before the NY Marathon...

I ran the first 16 with my friends Mary and Will...

And then I ran the last 5 miles with Will (Will is also running NY). We decided to do loops (since it's so much easier to refuel that way) but because I don't pause my watch on the really long runs (or at least I try not to because I can't figure out how to turn off the auto save feature on Garmin) our two stops for refueling messed up my splits...

The Weekend...

Well I did my half marathon training run this morning...

I broke it up into two segments because I was running at different times with different friends. The first 5 miles were with Jani, and we started at 4:30am...

Then as we finished the 5 miles I joined Mary and Andy and ran 8.1 miles with them...

When You Have Less Than Thirty Days...

I woke up this morning and realized that I'm at the "less than thirty" point in my marathon training...

So, with that looming over my head (and Hurricane Matthew out of the way) I decided to go for a run...

It's been a while since I've been able to run at a sub-12 min/mile pace for five miles, especially since I included some "hill work" in this run...

It's not much of an elevation but this is the closest I'm able to get to hill work right now. Where I live is as flat as a pancake and the highway overpass near my house is the closest thing I have to a hill. 

Thirty Two...

While the rest of the city goes into panic mode and finishes all the gas at the local gas stations, I'm monitoring Hurricane Matthew primarily to figure out how many of my training runs will have to be rescheduled due to storm conditions...

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"Please let the weather be good. Please let the weather be good. Please let the weather be good"

It's not surprising that I'm still focused on running and marathon training because apparently that's all I talk about...

(and considering how often I mention Garmin I'm surprised they haven't made me a brand ambassador yet... 

even after I wrote them such a lovely letter).

In thirty two days I'll be running through the boroughs of New York City, taking in the sights and sounds of the Big Apple, and hoping that my training and the last several months of preparations will get me through the race injury free. 

Because... Bees (and let's talk about what's next)

So there are bees in Chicago in September. Not cute "honey nut cheerios" bees, more like "annoying, on the verge of stinging you" bees. They were EVERYWHERE. Well, everywhere outside including all along the 13.1 mile Chicago Half Marathon course. I'm going to post the full race recap in the next few days, but in the meantime I'll fill you in on some upcoming stuff...

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I have one more really long run and one more half marathon before the NY Marathon in November. The 20-23 miler was originally scheduled for next weekend, but it may have to change to this weekend (I'm still trying to figure out the logistics etc). 

If I could afford it, I would travel to a cooler state for this training run because I'm really over humidity right now. It was humid in Chicago for the race on Sunday (which did not help to control the bee situation); it was humid this morning when I ran; and it's been humid for the past four months. I think the last time I had ideal running weather was during the Miami half marathon in January. 

My upcoming half marathon (ZOOMA 1/2) scheduled for October will be run as a virtual race. I have a major work conflict that is going to prevent me from traveling but I'm being allowed to run it virtually (thankfully!) so I'm looking forward to that. 

Apart from those two major runs, the rest of my NY training (over the next 39 days) will consist of 10 mile long runs, 3-5 mile midweek runs, strength training, swimming, and waiting patiently to find out if I got into the 2017 London Marathon (I should know by October 18th!)

Once I know what the status is for the London Marathon I can start continue planning for next year. There are a couple of swimming events already scheduled (January & April), the Miami Marathon (January), and a Ragnar Relay (temporarily scheduled for May). 

2017 already looks like it's going to be a pretty busy year (I can't wait!)

How far ahead do you plan for races/events?

What does your 2017 running schedule look like?

Is anyone planning to run in the London Marathon next year?

9 miles + 11 miles...

I was thinking about the significance of today as I was driving home to type this blog post. Kai and I had just finished watching Sully (you should see it if you haven't already) and I was once again in awe of the miracle that occurred when that flight landed safely on the Hudson River. Today as we remember one of the saddest days in the country's history, most of which centered around New York, I was able to watch a movie that celebrated something amazing (which also centered around New York). I by no means mention the movie in an attempt to take away from the significance of today. September 11th 2001 will never be forgotten. We will always remember where we were when we heard or saw tragedy unfolding right before our eyes. We will never forget how we felt in that moment. This day will always remind us to never take any day for granted. To always tell the people we love that we love them. To thank those that risked their lives on that day, and those who continue to do so every day.

This morning's "9 + 11" run went well...

I'm Not Ready!

It's almost that time in the training plan... the big 20 MILE training run!!!

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Tomorrow will actually be the first of two 20 mile training runs scheduled for this training cycle. This one is going to be a "slow and steady ensure you get the time on your feet" 20 miles. The next one (set for some time in October) will hopefully be more of a "simulate race day" 20 miler.

But I'm not ready. Sure, I've been hydrating with only water this week (well except the two glasses of wine last night) and my diet has been "ok". I was doing really well and then there was a transient loss of judgment and I made some poor carbohydrate decisions (donuts... sigh). 

Then and Now...

This morning I ran 18 miles. It's the longest run I've done in a while and I have to say I feel pretty good about it (overall). It wasn't my fastest run and it isn't the farthest I've ever run, but it's still a pretty big accomplishment for this training cycle (especially since nothing is hurting me right now and I have NO BLISTERS!!!!)

I started to wonder how the run today compared with the 18 mile run I did when I was training for the Chicago Marathon last year, so I looked at a few differences in where I am in my training now (based on the run today) versus where I was then (back in July of 2015)...

Right away you can see that I reached these training milestones nearly a month apart. This year has been a busier race year and that's probably why I'm just hitting 18 miles now. Also, the Chicago Marathon is a month before the NY marathon (Oct vs. Nov) so it also makes sense that the training schedule and mileage progression is a month later this year. 

Another thing you will notice is that both runs took place along the beach (Ft. Lauderdale beach for today's run and Hollywood beach for last year's 18 miler) and, in my quest to avoid running in the sun, started around the same time.

A Very Busy Week Ahead...

This week will be pretty busy with travel...

And of course all the stuff that I need to do before I travel will be keeping me pretty busy as well. Thankfully the most important things have been taken care of: I have proper attire :)

Do you think I have enough shirts?

Begin Gradually...

I really intend to do blog posts more regularly than once a week. I really do. But this year has been crazy and the past several weeks months have been particularly hectic and busy. Some of the "busyness" have been welcomed distractions and so while it has kept me away from blogging it was the kind of distraction that I needed (and still need). The rest of the stuff has just been your typical work stuff.

But thankfully none of that has kept me from running. And more importantly none of that has kept me from completing my long runs. The ability to complete the long run mileage is not something that I take for granted. Like Henry (below) it's taken me a while to get to the point where I can complete a long run and still be able to walk after...

Did You Run Today?

This morning I did a 45 minute out and back run. It's been a while since I've run for time (normally I set distance goals) but I really think having a mix of timed and distance runs adds a nice variety to my training...

As the countdown to the NY marathon continues I find myself analyzing my training a lot. There are 16 training weeks left before New York...

Heroes, Hydration & Challenges...

As much as I agree that you have to find your own motivation to train, there are certain mornings when I'm only able to get through my long run because of my running buddies (aka my "running heroes"). Recently I've been doing my long runs on Saturdays with Dafney (who has been helping me with my pacing and endurance), but this morning I ran with other running heroes (Andy, Tabitha and Suzanne) for my Sunday long run.

The group was scheduled to do 11 miles but I ended up doing 9 miles with them and then ran on by myself for another 3 miles...