NYCM 2012: Week 4 Recap & Goal Setting

Week four is in the books!

Total Weekly Mileage: 39 miles

Monday: 5 miles. It was a slow moving day as my legs were probably recovering from the 10 miler from the day before. The legs finally woke up during the last mile. Isn't that how it always goes?

Tuesday: Unexpected day off = no speed workout. My stomach hated me Monday night and Tuesday morning. I am beginning to have doubts regarding my "lactose intolerance" and think there is something else going on. Unfortunately that means I will now be looking for a GI specialist in DC. Fun.


Wednesday: 6 miles. I felt like a completely new person running! Perhaps it had to do with the fact that there was practically zero humidity! I swear, I felt like I was running back in Vermont!


Thursday: 6 miles. Decided to throw in a tempo run since I missed the speed on Tuesday. If I went by feeling alone, I would say that I was running faster than my desired marathon pace. However, when I got home and mapped out the route on mapmyrun.com I found that I was going much slower than I thought. In fact, it was actually spot on with my average mile pace for my marathon PR (7:44/mile). I should be happy with that, but I miss my old running routes with my mapped out mile markers that gave me a more "reliable" idea of my running time. I like to run 7:30/mile pace, but if I go off of mapmyrun.com then I'm not hitting that time during any of my runs.

Friday: 5.65 miles. This was one of those days that I questioned my rationale for deciding to actually run. I woke up early to get the run in before our building shut off the water (therefore tp ensure that I could get a shower). My mind wasn't awake, and neither were my legs. Things were shaky until the 20 minute mark when I tackled a giant half-mile hill. That woke me up! From that point on I was cruising.

Saturday: 8 miles. Felt wonderful and averaged a 7:54 pace. I love running through Rock Creek Park in DC; the bike path and trials remind me of Stowe, it's cooler than being on the roads, and I don't have to wait for traffic lights! The only problem comes when I head home and have a GIANT and STEEP hill to climb within the last mile.

Sunday: 8 miles: Took it easy today to get the miles in, averaging 8:08/mile. I got bored at one point and started counting how many people were also out running/walking/biking on the same route. Within a 14 minute period I came across 100 people. That was not the case this morning (Monday) when I ran on the same route and came across maybe 3 people in that same amount of time. It can be hard to take an "easy" running day when you see so many people. The competitive side of me wants to beat all of them. I have to remind myself that the actual race is November 4th, not any sooner. No need to compete with strangers at this point.

So what about those goals?

1. Continue with the running program: Almost. I missed one day of speed work. But I got in all of the miles I needed. 

2. Get in at least two days of core or strength training: Check! Monday and Sunday

3. Properly refuel after runs: Check! I found that I am loving (and now craving) orange juice after my runs. And chicken pot pie is pretty much the best post-run food I could have asked for. Please don't judge that I may have been eating it at 9:00am. 

When I worked as part of a Community Health Team we focused a lot on goal setting with patients. The key to goal setting is to be specific and to be confident that you can achieve the goal. 

For instance, you should not make a goal of "I want to lose weight". That is too broad. How much do you want to lose? By when? How will you do it? We had a patient that made a goal to "drink one gallon of water a day" in an effort to lose weight. Now that is specific!

Confidence is crucial. You should ask yourself, on a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you can achieve this goal (10 being the most confident). If you say 7 or below then you better rethink that goal of yours! You need to be an 8 or higher. You'll be more motivated to work toward that goal if you know it is within reach. 

I've failed on goals plenty of times since learning this style of goal setting because I fail to ask myself if my goal is specific enough and if I feel confident in it. Reflecting on last week's goals made me realize that they are too vague! So here goes some new goals

Next week's goals: 

1. Follow the marathon training program each day (except when sickness or injury arise - which I hope does not happen). 

2. Get in two core/strength training workouts that are 2-3 days apart from each other. 

Winner!

Apparently I was the winner of a Facebook contest for NYC Road Runners a few weeks ago. I shared the "I'm in to Finish 2012" Badge for the NYC Marathon and in doing so unknowingly entered a contest. I got an email a few weeks ago asking for my address so they could send me a hat and a gift certificate to their store. 

The hat came on Friday. I can't help but feel a little gangster wearing it. I also can't help but laugh because it is the last thing I wanted to put on since it was 92 degree out!

I am more excited about that gift certificate and hope it comes and was not accidentally left out of the package. That would be a bummer!

NYCM 2012: Week 3 Training Recap

Three weeks down, only fifteen more to go!

Total Miles for the Week: 39

This week's motto: Tired legs = good legs

I find myself repeating this throughout my runs. The legs are somewhat tired, but I know that this is because I'm not used to running 6 days a week. I also know that tired legs now will only mean better legs in the future. So I keep pushing. If I could do this before, I can surely do it again.

Monday: 4 miles. I was very tempted to take the day off of running, but managed to get my butt in gear in the afternoon and go for a 4 mile tempo run. I shouldn't have made it a tempo run but I couldn't resist. It happened. I got back home and did day 1 of my strength/core workout training. I did not properly refuel after the run, setting me up for some trouble on Tuesday.

Tuesday: 6.6 miles. A very slow, heavy-leg 10 minute warm up followed by intervals: 3 x 1600m (7:00) at 10k pace, with a 400m (2:00 minute) jog in between. This was followed by a 13 minute cool down back to the apartment. Thankfully the legs loosened up during the intervals. By the end I was very much looking for my rest day on Wednesday.

Thursday: 6 miles. I started off optimistic for the run. It was a cooler morning and I was coming off a rest day. The optimism met reality, and my run ended up being slower than planned. The legs were quite tired so I stuck to an average of 8:09/mile. Strength training just was not going to happen that day.

Friday: 7 miles. The legs were still tired and my unofficial average was 8:26/mile. I tired out a new route and after thinking I had made a wrong turn I wound up at the intersection I was looking for.

Saturday: 5.65 miles. I was in heaven today. It was drizzling out and it was 69 degrees! Apparently Tom and I are "not with the program" because we were the only ones wearing shorts and tank tops on the run. Everyone else had on capris and jackets. WHAT?! 69 is perfect running weather. My legs felt wonderful on the run and were shaking off that tired feeling! I came back to do a core workout.

Sunday: 10 miles. It was another cooler morning, making for better running weather. The (unofficial) average for the run was 8:05/mile which may be slower or faster than the actual splits. Tom met up with me for the last 20 minutes and we picked up the pace a little bit.

So what about my goals?

1. Keep up with the strength training program: Fail. I did one day. Thankfully I did end up doing at least one day other day of core. 
2. Follow the training program - no excuses: Check! That one is done!
3. Find and go running with a running group: Fail. I found a few groups, but didn't go running with them. They either go at 6:30 am (nooooo way!) or 7:00 at night. Hmm... one of these days I WILL go.
4. Properly refuel after runs: Check! I created a blueberry raspberry soy milk smoothie on Friday. Double check on Saturday when Tom and I made a blueberry pancake, scrambled egg, and bacon breakfast. It was a second breakfast for me, which I am totally all for. Sunday was a bagel and fruit salad.

Next Week's Goals:

1. Continue with the running program

2. Get in at least two days of core or strength training

3. Properly refuel after runs

A Need to Refuel

Yesterday was a hot one, reaching almost 100 degrees. In the morning I did a 3 x 1600m workout at 10k pace (as well as a warm-up and cool-down), and by the time I got home it was 91 degrees. Even Wilson wanted an escape from the heat!

Days like these bring on the leg sweat. It doesn't happen during the run. It always happens when as soon as I get inside. It's quite annoying, because even if my body is begging for me to sit down and relax, I can't. A seat on the floor would result in a puddle being left or me sticking to the floor, and a seat on the couch would only make me hotter, therefore prolonging the situation.

I couldn't help but get a little jealous of my 19 year old self yesterday. Six years ago I was training for cross country season. Each time I finished a run I would head to the freezer and pull out chocolate ice cream. I am quite confident that I had a chocolate milkshake after at least 60% of the workouts that summer. Talk about delicious refueling!

Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore. After yesterday's workout, I so badly wanted one. But there were two problems: 1) I can't really eat ice cream and 2) I think the ice cream would have melted before I could get it safely from the store into our apartment.

Instead, I made a piece of toast with peanut butter and chose a healthy option of fruit salad.

My 19 year old self would have been so disappointed.

Anyway, let's talk about refueling a little more.

I didn't know much about refueling after runs while I was in high school. It wasn't until UVM that I began to learn more. The biggest thing I took away was that you need to get something in you within 30 minutes of ending your workout. And that's pushing it. The sooner, the better.


Monday night I failed to refuel properly, and I paid for it yesterday with a slow warm up and very heavy legs.

Monday night: I ran in the evening for once and did a strength training workout. Instead of getting food in me, I took a shower, knowing that 1) it was almost dinner time and that I would be cooking up something soon and 2) Tom would be home very shortly and I didn't want to greet him with disgustingness.

We ended up going dinner and choose Noodles & Company (I was super excited!). Food was pushed back a little further, meaning I did not make the 30 minute time frame. I ordered the Japanese Pan Noodles, which I LOVED. However! This is where my post-workout refueling was also weak. I opted for no meat.

BAD IDEA!

Your body needs protein after a run. In fact, you usually need a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein (hence the reason why chocolate milk is always encouraged for athletes). It is so important for athletes to get in carbs. Our body breaks the carbs down into sugar to use during exercise. Muscles deplete their energy stores during a workout and can't wait to replenish them. In order to be ready for your next workout, it's crucial that you get food in you right away. Especially if you're doubling up on workouts each day.


And don't think that sports drinks like Gatorade will always do the trick.

I trained for my first marathon while studying abroad in Spain. I went to the store one day after a 20 miler to get Gatorade (yes they had it!) and was so disappointed when I turned over the bottle and saw that there were only 60 calories per serving and NO protein! Better yet, now they're coming out with low-sugar options? You can bet that the next time I had a long run I had a stash of chocolate milk waiting for me in my room. And I'll add another random fact in here - milk in Spain is NOT refrigerated, meaning I could pack chocolate milk in my suitcase and bring it with me to my marathon!

What it comes down to is you need to fuel before AND after you workout in order to feel your best and to make sure your body is prepared to work again. You do not need to eat an entire meal after a workout, but you need to give your body something to work off of.

Therefore, I am adding yet another goal to this week's training: make sure I properly refuel after runs! Thankfully, chocolate soy milk exists, so I will still be able to enjoy that chocolate deliciousness on these hot summer days.

What are your favorite post-run/workout fuel choices? Do you make it in the 30 minute time-frame?