NYC Week One

Yes, the sticker chart is back!

I'm mostly following Hal Higdon's Novice II plan. I picked it for several reasons: I don't have a strong enough fitness base to start with more volume and I don't feel like being particularly ambitious. Instead, I want to focus on being CONSISTENT and getting in those four runs a week. I think that's what I need right now, especially given how busy the next month is going to be with packing and moving.

So, to recap the first week of the 18 week cycle:

Monday: 3M easy. Which, sadly, was hard. My hip was feeling off and that caused all of me to tense up. I felt like I was trying so hard not to throw off my gait that I was...throwing off my gait and couldn't relax into the run at all. And I did some unwise snacking before the run, too, so I felt a bit barfy. Good job on that one, Joyce. Anyway. Done.

Tuesday: Off. Which meant that I did a Jasyoga video to try and speed recovery. I was feeling a bit stiff from yesterday (which is seriously worrying, given that I'm usually the queen of fast recovery), so I wanted to do something really light to get the blood circulating. I opted for Erin's "Full Body Recovery" video, which was a new one for me and different because she has you use the wall as a prop the whole time. Nice.

Wednesday: 3M easy. This was supposed to be 5, but I swapped with with Thursday's run, because I was running (ha ha) late for the start of the England/Japan semifinal at the Women's World Cup. Happily, the rights restrictions didn't kick in until after the anthems, so I at least got to listen to those. I'm not going to lie, it was a little emotional. I wanted England to win so much and it was so cool to hear all the BBC commentators say things like "this is the furthest that England has gone in the World Cup since 1990," because it means that in their minds, at least, they weren't differentiating between the men & women's games. Anyway, it wasn't to be, but at least my hurry to get home meant that I ran pretty quickly!

Thursday: 5M easy. Nothing too crazy, just a nice evening run through the neighborhood. Honestly, I don't really remember much about it.

Saturday: 8M easy. First long run of marathon training! Did this at Saddle Brook Park, because I had an errand to run nearby, but also because I think it's one of the best places to do long runs anywhere nearby. (New Jersey seriously sucks at nice long running trails.) I thought the weather was lovely when I went out: it was overcast and rainy, which kept it cool and refreshing and kept the Fourth of July frolickers at bay. It was hilarious that at one point, I ran under a bridge, where a ton of other trail users were sheltering. But, being a hardy Seattle runner, I had my hat and that didn't bother me. My pace was nothing special, but I was very happy to speed up for the last half mile and do a nice strong finish. For nutrition - I had a bottle of cherry limeade nuun (excellent) and a Skratch chew every two miles (pomegranate - didn't love the flavor, but liked the texture). Post run, found a yoga mat in my trunk and was able to continue my yoga stretch routine, with the help of a nice nearby tree. And, for the win, I didn't have any cramping in my legs, despite what happened in my last two longish runs!

I would also note that I wore my lovely Switzer Skirt Sports skirt for this run, because I decided that I would be patriotic by expressing my freedom to run, in public, wherever and whenever I wanted, wearing whatever I want.

Things that worked well this week: After doing the Jasyoga video on Tuesday, I actually did the same stretches after every run. I think it made a huge difference. On some advice from my trainer, I started taking a magnesium supplement with breakfast before my long run. I have no idea whether it made a difference, but since I didn't cramp up, I don't think it hurt. Actually doing my long run on Saturday morning (I'm usually a Sunday afternoon long runner): it made such a difference to feel like I had the rest of the weekend to enjoy and relax.