30 days to NYC!
I’m really excited. Just 30 short days! That’s all π
I’m trying to pack two hard, long workouts (one of which has 16 miles at MP or faster… yikes) in before we fly out for vacation Friday morning. It’s crazy – trying to get tied up in work, last minute planning things, etc. Each workout is long enough and hard enough (and will be done…
Yeah!!! I was not excited for this workout, not going to lie. It’s one of the hardest of the cycle, both physically and mentally. 4x2miles at sub-marathon pace. Good thing I had recruited Pat (bike) and Craig (running) to help, and Craig had recruited Anders (running) to run part of it with us. What? 3…
Mileage is getting up there! Running at the cabin, putting some good miles on my YakTrax. Training update: This has been a great week. I was able to get all of my workouts in, which is the first week I’ve been able to do that – mostly due to motivational issues. I asked Craig to…
Remind me not to get behind in my blogging! Three weeks ago: Three weeks ago I went down to the farm to visit my parents while Nate was in WI for a nordic ski training camp. I always enjoy heading down there. Friday night Grandpa volunteered to babysit while grandma, great grandma, and I headed…
My 3rd “up tempo” workout last night. I decided to try a scaled down version of a the Jack Daniel’s workout of the week. It was supposed to be 5×5 minutes at tempo, which is around 6:05 pace (when I’m in shape), HR 188-193. So, I thought 3×5 of these at the perceived effort of…
The champions! Dundas had it’s first annual Doggie Dash 5k on Saturday, and Mesa and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity – her first 5k! The organizers of the race did a really great job with the event. They came with a pack of about 5-7 of their own or foster dogs so that people…
Good luck! I saw your post in the Brooks site. I never ran track or cross country in high school or college, I've always played volleyball and softball. I just started jogging around the age of 23 to stay in shape. I completed my 2nd TC Marathon on Sunday, I finished in 4:06. I had pains that I was afraid of turning into injuries, so I slowed up after mile 20 since I was running for a fundraising cause, not for a PR. How do you stay mentally strong during a marathon? My mind goes well before my body does. I'm always so afraid I'm going to hurt myself by pushing through painβ¦
Thanks! Congrats on TC! Are you from MN?
As for mental training – I just did a post on the start of my mental training for NYC :). I work with a sports psychologist. At first, I was weirded out by the idea… I don't have a problem! But it's been SO helpful in helping me to focus, race through pain, giving me positive coping thoughts that come to me easily during the race, etc. We talk through everything once and then he'll make a CD that I listen to for the 2 weeks prior to the race. If you want, I can send you his info – he is so good (and super cheap! He does it just because he loves running/endurance sports).
BUT – if it's true physical pain (an injury, something really tightens up), then I don't know if I'd recommend pushing through? If it's just that it starts to hurt, that's something completely trainable.
Hopefully there will be some good links in my latest post that people will share. I'm always looking for new ways to think about things and ways to push past the uncomfortable!
I too saw your post on the Brooks site and got the urge to run even more! After my marathon season this year, I will look into upping my distances and see what my coaches thing. (I don't have a "coach" but club coaches.)
Best of luck in NYC. I will be in the Blue village, but starting just a few people behind you.
Take care and run happy.
Yeah! Mileage has done wonders for me – it's all about consistency and staying injury free (have to be careful when you're increasing things). It's made my body not stress over the duration of the marathon – allowing me to push to see how fast I can finish it. There's also just a fun efficiency and strength that comes from mileage. Hard to explain (and it's a little hard when you're in the middle of a higher mileage block and feeling a little run down…) but promise it works!
Good luck in NYC!!!! Have you run it before? I'm just now starting to get nervous…
Enjoy your taper!