NJ Marathon Training W3
Not the best week of running.
Another big week of running is in the books — 35 miles completed, some of those miles were better then others.
Look every week is not going to be roses, while some of my runs this week truly sucked, I always try to find the positive. My bad week of running was full of very cold mornings and a few dreadmill sessions but I am looking back on it with some inspiration. These bad runs, that I will detail more in the daily rundown, were run at what was my good pace a year or so ago. That means that if my bad runs were once my good runs then todays good runs are truly great.
I chalk the ups and down of this week to a few things. It was truly the first frigid days here in New York — wind chill below 0. This is the third week of my training block — I am 90 miles into the year. Finally I am not getting the appropriate sleep — rest and recovery is tantamount to success.
Week Execution Goal
Still in that base building phase. This week is about ensuring that even on tired legs I can still put in the hard work.
I think I achieved the goal because even when the miles sucked I pushed through and finished faster then I would of in the past.
Monday
New York City was in a deep freeze with real feel temperature hovering around -10º Fahrenheit — so running outside was not really an option.
In the morning I went to a strength class with the team and felt really good about it. I felt great going through the exercises surround by my friends. Since it was a holiday and most of us did not have work we went to brunch.
A few hours after brunch I went to the gym for a treadmill session and grunted my way through three terrible miles. In my journal I wrote,
“Ran a shitty 3 on the DREADMILL. My feet hurt and I just couldn’t get it together”
I know lots of people run on treadmills but I just can’t. My pace always sucks on them and it’s just painful. So going forward, rain, sleet, snow or freezing temps won’t keep me off the streets or I will rearrange the week to avoid it. I know we say training in everything, race in anything. But most races would of been cancelled if the weather was like it was on Monday.
Intensity Score: 3/10 | Mileage: 3 | Run on Strava
Tuesday
Another cold day but I took my run outside because yesterday was miserable. On the schedule was a on/off run, 45-minute broken up 3-minutes @ 8:50/mile and 2-minutes @ 9:30/mile. For some reason I couldn’t keep it together on the off intervals and did some walking but I got through 6-miles. It did not feel good but I was happy to at least finish the workout. My paces during the on portions were pretty good.
Intensity Score: 6/10 | Mileage: 6 | Run on Strava
Wednesday
Summer in the city! The temperature was over 20º F so running was back to enjoyable. I think the bad runs piling up played a role in this decent run. On the schedule 4 easy miles along the West Side Highway.
Had a little calf pain and the wind made it a little harder. The pace was pretty easy but felt a little hard.
Intensity Score: 6/10 | Mileage: 4 | Run on Strava
Thursday
Thursday is one of my favorite days of the week because I get to workout with the team. It makes running easier with friends by your side.
Since this week’s log has been weather focused, I should tell you that it was 50º F and pouring rain. A year ago, if I had shown up for this workout I would of trotted through it but resigned to the fact that it would be a crap workout because of the weather.
Today was different though I jumped out of the gate, leading the group out on the warm up. I was still nervous for the workout because of the shit I’ve dealt with all week but I put together I great session.
On the menu, 1-mile warm up and cool down in between 45 minute at half marathon pace. I crushed it, through heavy rain, Greg joined me on the back half of the main set and I was running hard while holding a conversation. Averaged 8:38/mile for the session.
Intensity Score: 8/10 | Mileage: 7| Run on Strava
Friday
Usually Friday is a rest and recovery day for me. This week however, I decided that I would do my long run because we were going to be busy on Saturday.
So around 6:00 AM I left my apartment and headed towards Manhattan for 12-miles. Overall it felt like a crappy run, a few miles here and there felt good but most of it just sucked.
My pace averaged to 10:00/mile which is slow. But I keep going back to the fact that a year ago I would of considered this a GREAT run. So maybe things are looking up.
Intensity Score: 6/10 | Mileage: 11.5 | Run on Strava
Saturday
Took a much needed day off, spent the day mostly on the couch relaxing watching movies and playing board games.
Sunday
I hosted a fundraiser at Mile High Run Club for the American Cancer Society, so that I can run the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.
Don’t be confused it was a shitty treadmill session on a beautiful day. Regardless, I was so grateful to be surrounded by my friends and wife on treadmills running for a great cause. This is my second time raising money for ACS and could not be happier to make miles about more then just me.
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported me. If you want to donate header over to www.runREUBENrun.com.
Intensity Score: 8/10 | Mileage: 4 | Run on Strava
Weekly Summary
It was undoubtedly a hard week but I still ran more than 35 miles and feel pretty good about my long term progress. In the back of my mind I am keeping a quote from Parker Stinson,
“Sometime you get worse before you get better.”
This is one of the truest things I’ve read about running because in training you have to break yourself down to come back stronger.
Weekly Mileage: 35.1 miles — 6 runs — 2 Strength — 0 Yoga — 1 Foam Rolling
