Gosh where do I begin..I've been in NYC since August 11th and I cannot believe 26 days has already gone by! Time really does fly and although I've had great experiences with my racing here and had a ton of fun with my sister and my mom when she was here, I'm definitely ready to go home (in case I haven't made that clear enough the past two weeks, LOL). Training this past week went well. I turned a really unmotivated and down attitude into a pretty positive and tough one to get through my hardest week of training thus far. My mileage hit about 82 and I ran my hardest workout I've done in a very very long time, yesterday. I did it on the treadmill and it hurt so much more than I expected! I was actually nervous for it and afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, but I got through it without falling off the back of the treadmill, lol. I warmed up 3 miles, did 5 miles at 5:42 pace and then cooled down. Phew it was HARD. This morning I told myself to just run my 17 mile long run relaxed and pick it up at the end if I felt strong. I guess running along the Hudson River made me feel good and excited because I averaged 6:47's for the whole run, with some miles quicker and a few just a little slower, yet all well under 7 minute pace :) I did my core and strength work later in the day, took a great ice bath and my body is feeling good and ready for my complete day off tomorrow!
Two things that have really helped me stay injury free all this time away from home without any massages or treatment from my physical therapists: my foam roller from Triple Sports and my ice baths! I got one of the grid foam rollers made by Trigger Point at Triple Sports and I really like it! I have typically used a regular foam roller but the grid ones seem to work better :) Taking ice baths each week help so much too!
I'm proud of myself for many things I've done while I've been in NYC. Some of them are:
1- I did my core routine 3-4 times per week. I brought my exercise ball and pump, strength band, ankle weights etc. and I used them and stuck with my routine! It takes about 70 minutes to do so I'm so happy I stayed dedicated and got it done!
2- I made sure I stretched well after every run and core session, just like I do at home. I didn't rush through it to go do other things.
3- I slept a decent amount every night and never had any major "partying" nights or staying up super late.
4- I trained through having a sickness and managed to eat well and take care of myself to prevent it from getting any worse.
5- Although I had extremely hard days and didn't want to do certain hard workouts, I did all of them and accomplished every goal of each workout.
6- I stayed under my budget while I was here...no extra shopping or spending money on things I didn't need, haha :)
Anyway, tomorrow is time to go back to AZ and I can't wait to get there and get back in my regular routine for the next 9 weeks until the marathon! I'll start sub-teaching again each week and work super hard to get as fit as I possibly can. Time to focus and keep my eye on the prize.....
Quote for today: "Try not to do too many things at once. Know what you want, the number one thing today and tomorrow. Persevere and get it done."- George Allen
Glad you enjoyed your stay in NYC, Sally. I know what you mean about being nervous and afraid about not being able to do the hard workout. You did a great job on that tempo run. Sometimes I feel the same way too when I have a hard workout coming up, but somehow I find the strength to do it and then I feel a tremendous sense of achievement. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gabriel! I appreciate the support. Good luck with all your training and racing :)
ReplyDeleteSally