Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal

[SarahDisney]

Race Suspense: Should I Run The Central Park Half Marathon Next Sunday?​

Pros:
- My (now former) coworker is running it, so I'd get to see him
- This was my first half two years ago and I made some big mistakes, so this would be a nice chance at a do-over (although I'd do it as a training run, so likely not a new race PR or anything)
- This is a decent chance to see if I'm starting to get used to the Central Park hills (which I avoid mostly, but do occasionally run when I'm short on time)

Cons:
- Central Park Hills
- $80 for a training run that I could do any day and an okay medal is not the best financial decision
- We're likely hosting a meal at our apartment that weekend (not sure if we're doing Friday night dinner or Shabbos lunch), so I may not be super well rested

Thoughts? I'm kinda leaning towards spectating instead of running, but I dunno. I've been cutting a lot of runs short lately and this would force me to do some longer runs.

 

[PCFriar80]

Race Suspense: Should I Run The Central Park Half Marathon Next Sunday?​

Pros:
- My (now former) coworker is running it, so I'd get to see him
- This was my first half two years ago and I made some big mistakes, so this would be a nice chance at a do-over (although I'd do it as a training run, so likely not a new race PR or anything)
- This is a decent chance to see if I'm starting to get used to the Central Park hills (which I avoid mostly, but do occasionally run when I'm short on time)

Cons:
- Central Park Hills
- $80 for a training run that I could do any day and an okay medal is not the best financial decision
- We're likely hosting a meal at our apartment that weekend (not sure if we're doing Friday night dinner or Shabbos lunch), so I may not be super well rested

Thoughts? I'm kinda leaning towards spectating instead of running, but I dunno. I've been cutting a lot of runs short lately and this would force me to do some longer runs.

I vote for spectate. I looked at the long range forecast and the Northeast weather doesn't look good for next weekend. Run the Central Park hills when the weather is nicer and save yourself for the weekend hosting of the meal!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I think I'd also spectate. If it's not race that you really WANT to do, it's not worth the $ in my opinion

 

[Jules76126]

I would not run it if I wasn't feeling it. $80 is quite a bit to plop down if you are not feeling it.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

- Central Park Hills

Unless those hills will be very important in a future goal race, I say spectate.

- $80 for a training run that I could do any day and an okay medal is not the best financial decision

While running is not exclusively about the medals, a medal design I didn't like for an easily accessible all the time race or course would sway me against it. I waited for the Star Wars Virtual Half medal to make sure I liked it before registering for that very reason.

- We're likely hosting a meal at our apartment that weekend (not sure if we're doing Friday night dinner or Shabbos lunch), so I may not be super well rested

I ran the Giant Race not well rested and I think that played a major factor in my race day experience being pretty miserable until I made it to the ballpark to finish on the field.

If you're not feeling excited for a race you're not registered for, then I would spectate it. The last year has taught me a lot about how vital mental preparation is for a race. If your mind isn't in it, your body will quickly follow suit.

 

[SarahDisney]

I vote for spectate. I looked at the long range forecast and the Northeast weather doesn't look good for next weekend. Run the Central Park hills when the weather is nicer and save yourself for the weekend hosting of the meal!

Ah. Weather. I keep forgetting to check that. Good call. Thanks!

I think I'd also spectate. If it's not race that you really WANT to do, it's not worth the $ in my opinion

Good point. I have better things to spend the money on (in fact ... I spent more than that on clothing this week).

I would not run it if I wasn't feeling it. $80 is quite a bit to plop down if you are not feeling it.

Thanks for the input. It's definitely not a cheap race, and I don't think I'd get enough enjoyment to feel like it was worth the money.

Unless those hills will be very important in a future goal race, I say spectate.

I think one or more of those hills will be part of my next race (I gotta look at the course map again), but not all of them, so it may not be worth it right now.

While running is not exclusively about the medals, a medal design I didn't like for an easily accessible all the time race or course would sway me against it. I waited for the Star Wars Virtual Half medal to make sure I liked it before registering for that very reason.

Is running not exclusively about the medals? I thought it was...

I ran the Giant Race not well rested and I think that played a major factor in my race day experience being pretty miserable until I made it to the ballpark to finish on the field.

Yeah, I get that. I'm not usually great at sleeping before races, but I can usually feel a difference between when I'm somewhat not well rested and very not well rested.

If you're not feeling excited for a race you're not registered for, then I would spectate it. The last year has taught me a lot about how vital mental preparation is for a race. If your mind isn't in it, your body will quickly follow suit.

Good point. I could easily see myself "giving up" before I even start the race because I'm not that into it.

 

[KSellers88]

I agree with the consensus to skip this one.

 

[SarahDisney]

So ... it seems that I didn't have to drive myself crazy doing 9+1 last year. I could have just done the lottery and I probably would have gotten in. I have mad lottery luck.


Honestly, not sure how I feel about it. I wasn't sure I wanted to get in. The timing wasn't great in the first place, and in light of recent events (more in the weekly recap, coming up at some point today or tomorrow), it's even worse. But we'll see. Deferral and transfer are always options if I decide it's just not gonna happen.

 

[SarahDisney]

Week In Review: February 11th - February 17th​

Monday:

Yoga - Did a class at Y7 Studio with my friend. I had the same problem as I have with Zumba - I can’t remember instructions or directions or sequences (I occasionally run into that problem with barre3 too). But it was okay. I’m not rushing to go back. My friend, who does yoga more regularly than I do, said it was a little slow for her. Also, I don’t mind the idea of hot yoga, but my friend said that the temperature of the studio is about how her husband likes their apartment to be - and he’s from South Florida. So … it kinda felt like 4th of July at Disney. Not my preferred workout temperature. But I survived.
Was scheduled for a barre3 class at 6:30pm but cancelled because I didn’t think I wanted to stay at work that late. Honestly, I probably should have either gone to that or run home from work with my friend (although I probably would have cheated and taken the subway to her office, which is about a mile and a half or so from me)

Tuesday:
Run - 2.62 miles, 33:22 minutes, 12:44 min/mi pace. Didn’t want to be out for too long due to threat of snow (although had it been snowing when I went out, I still would have tried to run about 2 miles). It didn’t snow. But this was a decent run.
barre3 - Had a bad day at work, so I was glad I had signed up for a 5:15 barre3 so that I could leave early (also, it was my third to last day, so who cares?). Very empty room, which is rare for a Dino class. Overall pretty decent (and unlike my last Dino class, I was able to put work behind me).

Wednesday:
Rest day. Set an early alarm to run, but I was tired so I went back to sleep. Was scheduled for barre3 after work, but decided to cancel because I went to town on the sample sale at work and I had a lot of stuff to carry home. Shortly after I cancelled I realized that I had forgotten to bring workout clothing … so I couldn’t have gone to barre3 anyway.

Thursday:
Run - 3.05 miles, 41:43 minutes, 13:41 min/mi pace. Really no idea why it was so slow, but whatever. Had originally wanted to do something more like 5 miles (plan was to run down to my coworker on 45th, although I wouldn’t have actually seen him because he gets up late, but I would have told him that I ran down to him), but I didn’t get out early enough.
Was scheduled for a barre3 class, but I forgot to bring workout clothes to work. Considered going back down after I got home for the 7:45 class, but decided against it.
Last day of work! It was tough, but I got through it. I did over-chocolate a bit, though. And so ends another chapter of my life. (For more on why it was my last day of work and why that’s a good thing, you can read the blog post I wrote about it)

Friday:
Was originally planning to do a tempo run because I hadn’t yet this week, but I slept in instead. Headed out to Queens early to help my mom out.

Saturday:
We had a get together at the house (in memory of my grandmother, who passed 12 years ago this week) after the early prayer service that my dad attends, so I was up early to help my mom with setup. Didn't make it to services because I stayed home to help clean up. Did get an afternoon nap, though, so I got some sleep.

Sunday:
Run - 2.85 treadmill miles, 35:00 minutes, 12:17 min/mi pace. Was originally planning to do 4-4.5 (honestly, probably on the treadmill just because it was there), but I slept in and just wanted to get done.

Upcoming:
One of the good things about not working full-time is that it gives me more flexibility in my schedule. Here's what I have on tap for this week:
Monday - 4.5 miles @ Easy/LR
Tuesday - 10K Tempo Run (4x7.5min 10K pace w/ 0.5 mi RI)
Wednesday - No run, probably barre3
Thursday - Long Run! - 10-13.1 miles at Easy/LR
Friday - 3.1 miles at Easy/LR - OPTIONAL!, maybe barre3 (will depend on what I did Thursday and home I'm feeling)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 4 miles at EC
Also ... I broke my H&M sunglasses (the sunglasses I'm wearing in older race pictures) and lost a pair of Knockarounds, so ... trying to decide if I want to get another pair of sunglasses and what I want. I still have one pair of Knockarounds (clear/moonshine) left.

​

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Sounds like a busy but good week! I would not like hot yoga... Disney on July 4th is not my ideal temperature

Sounds like you're going through a big career transition- sending good vibes that all goes well!

 

[SarahDisney]

Sounds like a busy but good week! I would not like hot yoga... Disney on July 4th is not my ideal temperature

I was definitely not a fan of that temperature. At yoga or at Disney.

Sounds like you're going through a big career transition- sending good vibes that all goes well!

Thank you!

 

[SarahDisney]

So ... with my registration for Broad Street, I signed up for this free RunCoach customized training plan. I just set it up, and so far ... hard no. I didn't like the questions it asked me, I don't like the fact that I have to do the same number of runs every week (which I haven't done in about 3 years) or that I can't run and cross train on the same day. Tomorrow it has me doing 4-5 miles at Threshold pace (because I set Thursday as my speed day) ... sorry, I'm still doing my 10-13.1 easy. I'm interested to see how this thing adjust once it starts pulling my data from Garmin.

If I wind up liking how this thing adjusts, I may use the plan from there for Broad Street. More likely I'm gonna have Coach work on something for me ... once I figure out what my goal is. But I still have a month or so left on the current training cycle, so this can all wait.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So ... with my registration for Broad Street, I signed up for this free RunCoach customized training plan. I just set it up, and so far ... hard no. I didn't like the questions it asked me, I don't like the fact that I have to do the same number of runs every week (which I haven't done in about 3 years) or that I can't run and cross train on the same day. Tomorrow it has me doing 4-5 miles at Threshold pace (because I set Thursday as my speed day) ... sorry, I'm still doing my 10-13.1 easy. I'm interested to see how this thing adjust once it starts pulling my data from Garmin.

If I wind up liking how this thing adjusts, I may use the plan from there for Broad Street. More likely I'm gonna have Coach work on something for me ... once I figure out what my goal is. But I still have a month or so left on the current training cycle, so this can all wait.

I'll be interested to hear your experience with it. An adaptive online plan based on what has actually occurred seems like a potentially great model. I guess it depends on what the "rules" are that dictates how it adapts.

 

[SarahDisney]

I'll be interested to hear your experience with it. An adaptive online plan based on what has actually occurred seems like a potentially great model. I guess it depends on what the "rules" are that dictates how it adapts.

I will keep you posted! I feel like the next month is a good time to test it because I will pretty much not be using their plan much, since I already have a plan that goes through March 17th (although I may use their plan to help guide me in making the schedule for each week, but we'll see if I can fit it into the existing plan). So I'm interested to see if it adjusts based on what I do or if it just adjusts paces or if it basically ignores me. We shall see.

 

[SarahDisney]

Week In Review: February 18th - February 24th​

Monday:
Run - 4.50 miles, 54:52 minutes, 12:12 min/mi pace. Came back from Queens around 11:15-11:30ish and felt like running, so I did. Had originally only planned 4 miles for this one, but I changed my course mid-run and ended up with 4.5, so I figured I'd just do 0.5 less on Sunday.

Tuesday:
Run - 5.89 miles, 1:18:10 hours, 13:16 min/mi pace. Includes ~3 mi of 10K Tempo Pace. The 0.5 mi rest intervals are what slowed the pace down so much - they felt long, but I understood why they were needed. 10K pace was a little slow, especially on the back half (where the wind was coming straight at me), but I’m still happy with this run.

Wednesday:
barre3 - Instructor was Jenna. I think she was one of my early instructors, but I haven’t had her in a bit. She’s wonderful. I really loved the class. And … I used 4lb weights for the first time. I went for the last class before their lunch break (12:15-1:15) and it was just a nice mid-day break.

Thursday:
Run - 13.11 miles, 2:52:22 hours, 13:09 min/mi pace. 49% of weekly duration (a little high, but whatever). Wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to go because this was going to be my longest run since the marathon. I woke up with stomach pain, so I really didn’t think I’d make it past 10. But I was feeling okay at 5 miles, so I decided to wait until 5.5 to turn around … then 6 … then 6.5 (actually turned around at like 6.4 miles or something). Started to feel not great a little after 9 and really struggled after 11.3ish, but that may also have been when I got back to the poorly shoveled path. Overall, an okay run, but I think some additional training before the NYC half could be beneficial .

Friday:
Was signed up for barre3, but cancelled because I had laundry to do. Just ended up having a meh day, so honestly, I probably should have gone.

Saturday:
Rest Day!

Sunday:
Run - 3.55 miles, 44:35 minutes, 12:34 min/mi pace. I was hoping to do 4 mi continuous and this was 3.5 of mostly intervals, but it’s fine. Sometimes you just have a “meh” run. Not a big deal.
Also spectated the Central Park Half Marathon. It was fun, but I wasn’t properly dressed. Also … I probably should have just run the race. Whatever.
I also feel pretty crappy about not just going down to Florida for Princess. Not doing it this year means I have to do it next year, and that just puts a lot of pressure on me, especially because I don’t know what my life will look like next February. Ugh.


Upcoming:
Actual plan calls for 16 total miles for the week, with Sunday’s long run being 4 miles.
RunCoach plan calls for 4 easy miles Tuesday, 4-5 speed miles Thursday, and 6-7 miles long run on Sunday.
I don’t know that I like either of those. Here’s what I’m thinking:
Monday - barre3
Tuesday - 3 mi EC
Wednesday - 4 mi Easy/LR, maybe barre3
Thursday - HM Tempo - 6 mi WU + 2x1.33 mi w/0.5 mi RI + 6 mi CD (total ~4.5 mi)
Friday - barre3
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 4.5 mi Easy (will decide if I want to do EC or Easy/LR morning of), barre3
So, it’s a little different than either plan. Sunday’s long run is increased a drop from the DopeyBadger plan and decreased from the RunCoach plan (which I’m fine with). Mid-week miles go from 12 on the DB plan and 8-9 on the RC plan to 11.5. Two barre3 classes, with me potentially adding a third one on Wednesday if I feel like it.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Good running week!

I also feel pretty crappy about not just going down to Florida for Princess. Not doing it this year means I have to do it next year, and that just puts a lot of pressure on me, especially because I don’t know what my life will look like next February. Ugh.

You don't HAVE to do anything Running, especially at Disney, should be all fun, no pressure!

 

[SarahDisney]

Good running week!

You don't HAVE to do anything Running, especially at Disney, should be all fun, no pressure!

Fair point. I did not express that well.
What I meant is ... if I'm going to run Princess, which I want to, next year is my last opportunity, since I'm planning on retiring from distance within the next 12-14 months (I was supposed to retire from distance on November 4th, 2019 ... but I still really want to do Princess, so I'm willing to postpone it a few months).

 

[SarahDisney]

Life Win: It's Monday and both of my Shabbos meals for this week are taken care of already!
(It was easy. Friday night I'm going to a dinner at my synagogue because the scholar in residence is a guy who writes Harry Potter themed religious books. Saturday lunch we're hosting. So ... easy. But still a win!)

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What I meant is ... if I'm going to run Princess, which I want to, next year is my last opportunity, since I'm planning on retiring from distance within the next 12-14 months (I was supposed to retire from distance on November 4th, 2019 ... but I still really want to do Princess, so I'm willing to postpone it a few months).

I understand that. My first half marathon was difficult enough to where I did not fall in love with distance running. I decided that I could tolerate two more half marathons because that meant I would earn the Coast to Coast medal, get a trip to Disney World out of it, and then I could retire from distance running. And then I went and actually had fun at a long distance race.

I understand your choices on timing too. Part of why I chose marathon weekend this year was the hiatus of runDisney on the west coast meant no conflict for the Star Wars races at Disneyland.

 

[SarahDisney]

I understand that. My first half marathon was difficult enough to where I did not fall in love with distance running. I decided that I could tolerate two more half marathons because that meant I would earn the Coast to Coast medal, get a trip to Disney World out of it, and then I could retire from distance running. And then I went and actually had fun at a long distance race.

I'm kinda the opposite. I had a miserable first half, but I still loved the idea of running more. It's just recently that I started to have a problem with distance (and it's more the training than the races themselves), so I feel like it's the right time for me to retire.

At the end of the day ... running should be fun, and if it's not, it may be time to stop.