As many athletes know, training doesn't always go as planned, but if I've learned nothing else it is to stay positive and always believe in your abilities.
I started out training in Maine, running along the beach, swimming in the ocean, fueling with lobster. Thankfully, some of my stress started to slip away as I relaxed in the sun with my mom. Then it was off to Montreal with a dear friend for a few days of carb-loading on delicious French pastries (oh, yes and it was all gluten free) and a little gluttonous shopping. I had a blast, melting away more stress. If only my stomach wanted to agree with all the sugar I consumed.
After Montreal, I headed to Vermont to visit with my family. But mostly to see Barley, my baby boy, who has been vacationing with my mom, enjoying the countryside and playtime with his "cousins", while his "mommy" puts her life back together. It was heaven to be reunited with him, I miss him dearly!
I always look forward to running at home, but I was starting to feel sluggish again and my legs were swollen and heavy after my Montreal binge. I was highly unmotivated, but I pushed through, trying to enjoy my favorite route past the cow farm, across the covered bridge, and through the fresh country air. It just wasn't the same though. I finished in a frustrated state as I was unable to hit my target tempo pace, feeling defeated by my symptoms. I did, however, enjoy some TRX in the front yard with Barley. I have to say it's so much nicer to hang the TRX outside on a tree compared to inside on a door.
After a few days at home, I headed to Maryland, just outside of DC to visit a friend and her family. The plan was to stay for a week, but my stomach and symptoms continued to worsen, preventing me from training and causing me to feel miserable, so I left early and went to a naturopath. Given my symptoms and history, we thought maybe I had an overgrowth of yeast in my GI system, so I was put on a no dairy, no sugar (not even healthy sugar alternatives), very limited fruits, low carbs, and gluten free diet. Wow, this really dampened my training for a week or so as my body adjusted. If I was sluggish before, now I had even less energy and struggled to consume enough calories to manage 70+ mile weeks, as well as to figure out what to eat while running. I made Zenberry Green Raw Energy Balls, but they melted into a blob of brown goo on the run. I tried to make my own "gummies", but the calorie content was too low, and my stomach couldn't handle the amount I would need to consume to make any impact on my performance. I ended up using applesauce on the go packs, which were technically not allowed on my diet, but I figured it was the least harmful of all my options. It worked out fine and I gradually adjusted to running on a low-carb diet.
When back in NYC, I began coaching with Jack Rabbit for the NYC Marathon. From the beginning, I loved it. Coaching has given my training a whole new perspective over the last few weeks. I have been forced to incorporate long slow runs, and double long runs. I have been forced to be energetic and cheerful on days when I had no desire to run or move from my bed, for that matter. Most of all though, it has allowed me to share my knowledge and inspire others, which is in and of itself motivated me.
After a couple of weeks of adjusting to the increased mileage and new diet, I was lucky to have the opportunity to head back out of the city. This time to New Palz with my coach and his family for some running on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and one-on-one bike skill sessions. I had a great time! Got in some good training and even some relaxing. After strictly following my diet for almost a month, I was starting to feel like myself again.
If only these feelings could last forever. My motivation over the remaining month and a half of training waxed and waned. I struggled to hit my pace goals on the track, which again, frustrated me. I struggled to run my marathon pace runs without stopping, meaning more frustration. My coach wasn't quite satisfied with my 16 mile marathon pace run because I stopped too long, which dampened my confidence. I knew I could do better, but I wasn't mentally in the game, my drive was weakened. So, I made it a point, with 1 month to go, to push hard and increase my confidence, and prove that I had a chance at accomplishing my goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon. The following week I ran 22 miles on Saturday and then followed my coaches plan for the 18 Mile Tune-Up in Central Park the next day. I was to start out 40-45 seconds slower than marathon pace and then increase my pace for each lap by 15-20 seconds, without stopping. I ran it beautifully, never feeling tired despite the mileage the day before, and never stopping. I actually started the run thinking, "there is no way I am going to pick up the pace, my legs are dead", but as I warmed up, I did. In the middle of the run when I realized how nasty my new all natural gels were, I stayed calm about the lack of nutrition for the remaining miles. Towards the finish, when I just wanted to be done, I used another runner to drive me home. My determination was back and my confidence was boosted.
Then, last week, I was fortunate enough to get the good news from my naturopath that I could add back a lot off foods to my diet, just in time for carb-loading. This doesn't mean that I am in the clear yet though, just that the test results found no yeast (which thrives on sugars and carbs), but instead an overgrowth of some bacteria and a parasite. So after the race, I will begin treatment and work on healing my stomach. Until then, though, I am trying to keep it happy while still refilling my glycogen stores on things I haven't been able to enjoy in quite some time. I have tapered down in mileage as well as cross training activities. I completed my final longish run on Sunday, running the Bronx 10-Miler. It was an act of pure determination as I started out in the first corral and forced myself to remain at my training pace while runners passed me throughout the race. It was a great learning experience, a great run, and great motivation for the big day as my desire to race was heightened.
Most importantly, after a bit of contemplation, my coach gave me the green light and a plan to attempt my sub-3 goal. This Sunday will be my first time running a marathon with an actual plan. I usually just wing it and hold on for dear life at the end. I know that in order to accomplish this goal I will have to work hard, taking even 90 seconds (my PR is currently a 3:01:25) off your marathon time at this level can be challenging, something that takes some people multiple attempts. If I don't manage a sub-3, I would feel better knowing that I ran smartly, following my coach's well crafted plan, than that I threw away the race and 3 months of training by winging it. And the plan, you are asking, is the 10-10-10 approach. Run the first 10 mile 3-5 seconds slower than marathon goal pace, the next 10 miles at marathon goal pace, and then pick it up and race the final 10k. It's a fine line, but I am staying positive and visualizing success on race day! I CAN DO THIS!
I started this round of marathon training about 12 weeks ago, at the height of a plaguing stomach issue and just after losing my job. Needless to say, I was under a high amount of stress and not able to draw on my usual impenetrable training focus. I had a goal, but no desire to put in the work, I was feeling sluggish with swollen legs...and just plain yucky. My solution was to psych myself out by hyping up the traveling I had planned and looking forward to various running adventures.
I started out training in Maine, running along the beach, swimming in the ocean, fueling with lobster. Thankfully, some of my stress started to slip away as I relaxed in the sun with my mom. Then it was off to Montreal with a dear friend for a few days of carb-loading on delicious French pastries (oh, yes and it was all gluten free) and a little gluttonous shopping. I had a blast, melting away more stress. If only my stomach wanted to agree with all the sugar I consumed.After Montreal, I headed to Vermont to visit with my family. But mostly to see Barley, my baby boy, who has been vacationing with my mom, enjoying the countryside and playtime with his "cousins", while his "mommy" puts her life back together. It was heaven to be reunited with him, I miss him dearly!I always look forward to running at home, but I was starting to feel sluggish again and my legs were swollen and heavy after my Montreal binge. I was highly unmotivated, but I pushed through, trying to enjoy my favorite route past the cow farm, across the covered bridge, and through the fresh country air. It just wasn't the same though. I finished in a frustrated state as I was unable to hit my target tempo pace, feeling defeated by my symptoms. I did, however, enjoy some TRX in the front yard with Barley. I have to say it's so much nicer to hang the TRX outside on a tree compared to inside on a door.
After a few days at home, I headed to Maryland, just outside of DC to visit a friend and her family. The plan was to stay for a week, but my stomach and symptoms continued to worsen, preventing me from training and causing me to feel miserable, so I left early and went to a naturopath. Given my symptoms and history, we thought maybe I had an overgrowth of yeast in my GI system, so I was put on a no dairy, no sugar (not even healthy sugar alternatives), very limited fruits, low carbs, and gluten free diet. Wow, this really dampened my training for a week or so as my body adjusted. If I was sluggish before, now I had even less energy and struggled to consume enough calories to manage 70+ mile weeks, as well as to figure out what to eat while running. I made Zenberry Green Raw Energy Balls, but they melted into a blob of brown goo on the run. I tried to make my own "gummies", but the calorie content was too low, and my stomach couldn't handle the amount I would need to consume to make any impact on my performance. I ended up using applesauce on the go packs, which were technically not allowed on my diet, but I figured it was the least harmful of all my options. It worked out fine and I gradually adjusted to running on a low-carb diet.When back in NYC, I began coaching with Jack Rabbit for the NYC Marathon. From the beginning, I loved it. Coaching has given my training a whole new perspective over the last few weeks. I have been forced to incorporate long slow runs, and double long runs. I have been forced to be energetic and cheerful on days when I had no desire to run or move from my bed, for that matter. Most of all though, it has allowed me to share my knowledge and inspire others, which is in and of itself motivated me.
After a couple of weeks of adjusting to the increased mileage and new diet, I was lucky to have the opportunity to head back out of the city. This time to New Palz with my coach and his family for some running on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and one-on-one bike skill sessions. I had a great time! Got in some good training and even some relaxing. After strictly following my diet for almost a month, I was starting to feel like myself again.If only these feelings could last forever. My motivation over the remaining month and a half of training waxed and waned. I struggled to hit my pace goals on the track, which again, frustrated me. I struggled to run my marathon pace runs without stopping, meaning more frustration. My coach wasn't quite satisfied with my 16 mile marathon pace run because I stopped too long, which dampened my confidence. I knew I could do better, but I wasn't mentally in the game, my drive was weakened. So, I made it a point, with 1 month to go, to push hard and increase my confidence, and prove that I had a chance at accomplishing my goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon. The following week I ran 22 miles on Saturday and then followed my coaches plan for the 18 Mile Tune-Up in Central Park the next day. I was to start out 40-45 seconds slower than marathon pace and then increase my pace for each lap by 15-20 seconds, without stopping. I ran it beautifully, never feeling tired despite the mileage the day before, and never stopping. I actually started the run thinking, "there is no way I am going to pick up the pace, my legs are dead", but as I warmed up, I did. In the middle of the run when I realized how nasty my new all natural gels were, I stayed calm about the lack of nutrition for the remaining miles. Towards the finish, when I just wanted to be done, I used another runner to drive me home. My determination was back and my confidence was boosted.
Then, last week, I was fortunate enough to get the good news from my naturopath that I could add back a lot off foods to my diet, just in time for carb-loading. This doesn't mean that I am in the clear yet though, just that the test results found no yeast (which thrives on sugars and carbs), but instead an overgrowth of some bacteria and a parasite. So after the race, I will begin treatment and work on healing my stomach. Until then, though, I am trying to keep it happy while still refilling my glycogen stores on things I haven't been able to enjoy in quite some time. I have tapered down in mileage as well as cross training activities. I completed my final longish run on Sunday, running the Bronx 10-Miler. It was an act of pure determination as I started out in the first corral and forced myself to remain at my training pace while runners passed me throughout the race. It was a great learning experience, a great run, and great motivation for the big day as my desire to race was heightened.
Most importantly, after a bit of contemplation, my coach gave me the green light and a plan to attempt my sub-3 goal. This Sunday will be my first time running a marathon with an actual plan. I usually just wing it and hold on for dear life at the end. I know that in order to accomplish this goal I will have to work hard, taking even 90 seconds (my PR is currently a 3:01:25) off your marathon time at this level can be challenging, something that takes some people multiple attempts. If I don't manage a sub-3, I would feel better knowing that I ran smartly, following my coach's well crafted plan, than that I threw away the race and 3 months of training by winging it. And the plan, you are asking, is the 10-10-10 approach. Run the first 10 mile 3-5 seconds slower than marathon goal pace, the next 10 miles at marathon goal pace, and then pick it up and race the final 10k. It's a fine line, but I am staying positive and visualizing success on race day! I CAN DO THIS!
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