Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Had beautiful weather on Sunday for my long run. It was in the mid 40's and sunny. Also happened to catch the tail end of a 10 mile race in Prospect Park, so I was running my first few miles along w/the racers.....and being cheered on. Definitely made the run go faster. Ran for about 1 hr 25, got in a solid 9 miles. Sooo ready to stop by the end.

Tuesday's evening run was met w/pouring rain. Despite strongly considering not going, I didn't want to let a little water stop me. Workout was the same mile repeat workout from a few weeks ago. 1 mile at hard pace + 3 minute recovery x 4. I improved my mile pace by a whopping 45 seconds from the last time I did the same workout. Very pleased with that. However, by the 3rd mile, it was impossible to ignore how squishy, swashy and water-logged my socks and shoes had become (not to mention the torrent of water on my face). At my final mile, I noticed a curious white something on the knees of my leggings. I was trying to concentrate on reaching the finish and focusing on my form, but what was this bizarre white on my kneecaps? Why does it seem to be growing??? Is it the sheen of the water on my running pants? No....it's remnant laundry detergent sudding like crazy in the rain! Either that or my knees have gone rabid......

I brushed my knees clean and began the cool-down jog back to Columbus Circle, donned a dry sweatshirt, and made a B-line for the subway. Got home in a reasonable 45 minutes, but am pretty sure I scared at least 1 small child on the subway. Despite my winter jacket, I was unquestionably soaked from head to toe and squishing as I walked. Oh, and it was 36 degrees out. I temporarily forgot how sopping wet I was, tried to snag a seat, quickly remembered my soppy state, and promptly stood up only to leave a large wet mess on the seat! Woops. At the very least I got a few concerned glances from other subway riders. But no worries, I'm alive and pneumonia(/ rabies) free.

Downhill Running

1 month 'til race day! How time is flying.

This morning's workout sounded like it would be not so bad. The weather was warm (a balmy 45 degrees!), the sun was out, and we were running DOWNHILL. How hard can that be, right?

Turns out, pretty hard. Logically, everything that goes up must come down. Funny thing is, the opposite is also true. Everything that goes down, must come up. The downhill runs were for speed, the uphill was for recovery. Not a surprise that running up a hill does not ever really allow you to fully recover.

Thought I would be mega sore afterwords, but actually feeling good so far. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Going to do my long run (8 miles or 1 hour 25 minutes, whichever comes last) tomorrow. I've been doing long runs on the treadmill during the week but need to get myself on a weekend schedule so that I can run during daylight in Prospect Park.

Stepping Stones

This week has been a sore one.

Wanted to fit some cross-training into my week, and decided to go to Total Body Conditioning at the gym last Monday. I have been to this class before, although not for a while. The class involves weights, abs, and lots and lots of reps. Needless to say, my entire body was sore for the next 2 days.....although I guess I can't really whine about it since the name of the class should have been fair enough warning.

The unfortunate part was that Tuesday's training workout was (drum roll please.......) STAIRS! Great news for very sore hamstrings and quads. You know the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park? The very famous fountain that is in lots of movies, such as "Ransom" and "One Fine Day"?? Behind that is a large stone staircase. Said stone staircase was sight of this week's stair workout. Since I ran up, down, and around it 15 times, I know now it pretty well. Thankfully, I forgot all about my sore legs once I got warmed up and started running, and even better is the fact that I managed to complete this workout without spraining, twisting, breaking, or falling over anything. (major pats on the back for that).

Thursday did 7.5 miles on the treadmill. Instead of water, brought an apple juice sports drink concoction and definitely had more sustained energy than last weeks long run. Was tired at the end but could foresee going farther.

Saturday's morning run was at the same infamous site of last weekend's hill workout. Despite snow pummeling lower portions of the east coast, NYC really didn't get anything.

There is a nice hilly 1.44 mile northern loop of Central Park. Hilly, and VERY windy. The half-marathon will take place around Central Park, and then down the West Side Highway. Since the northern area of the park is the most difficult terrain of the race, our coach wanted us to get cozy and familiar with this portion. Fortunately or unfortunately (not really sure which), the subway was having some issues and I showed up pretty late. Only got in 2 loops--instead of 3---but was astounded at my lap times. When it's cold out, it's very hard to sense how fast you are going since your muscles feel like lead, but based on numbers it sure looks like I'm getting faster. Either that or mapmyrun.com (which tracks distances) is full of lies.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Splendid

A couple pieces of greatness:

1. 1 PURPLE long sleeve, super warm, light weight running top w/THUMB HOLES, 1 smartwool neck gator, and two pairs of $15 wool running socks later.....I am ready to take on whatever winter brings my way (and ready to be extra careful when checking the dryer for any runaway socks).

2. I learned that chocolate milk is a great recovery snack. Thumbs up to that.