We'll Miss You, Zelda

The running community lost a familiar face, as it was announced this week that Zelda, the Battery Park wild turkey, is feared dead.  

Though rather well-known among athletes who spent the early morning hours of their weekends hooking around the Southern tip of Manhattan by foot or bike, when few pedestrians and vehicles were around to disturb her, Zelda was nonetheless a surprise with every encounter.  "Did I just see a turkey?  In Battery Park?  It can't be.  But that was definitely a turkey."

Zelda appears to have met her maker in the least dignified of ways: she was hit by a car, then her remains were scooped into a sanitation department truck.  Not cool.

Legions of athletes will now have to find a new object over which they can spend miles analyzing "was that a hallucination?"  (I'm pretty sure I saw a flock of parakeets up by the Little Red Lighthouse a few weeks ago, so you might want to start there.)

We'll miss you, Zelda.

Updates from My Death Bed

Well this was not the race week I'd hoped for.

I stayed home sick yesterday, and dosed myself liberally with DayQuil, NyQuil, Zicam, Emergen-C, cough drops, honey, tea, and naps.  And soup.  So much soup.

I made roasted butternut squash soup from scratch on Monday night, roughly following this recipe.  It took nearly 3 hours, and made so much soup that I can't eat anything else for the month of October, But I am starting to feel better today, so maybe it was worth the effort. 

I'm back at work today because race registrations aren't free, but mostly I'm keeping my door closed and containing my germs.  If the carpet weren't so dirty from 2 years of me spilling every meal on the floor, I would consider napping in here this afternoon.

As for the rest of the week, my priority is rest and recovery, so I'm unlikely to run a final set of GMP miles, but I'm trying to remind myself that 10 days of shoddy tapering can't undo 3 months of hard work.  I am sorely tempted to peruse Running in the USA and see if I can line up a "B" race, should I not make a full recovery by Sunday, but I don't want to jinx myself either.  Please send your healthiest thoughts my way.

Monday Wrap Up: In Which I'm the Protagonist in "Contagion: 2"

Today is Monday, and 6 days from now, I'll race the Chicago Marathon.  In the past 6 days, I have suffered from:
- one migraine headache
- one non-migraine headache, which is an inconvenient side effect of the drugs I take for my migraines
- one bout of... severe intestinal distress (not Ebola)
- one misdiagnosed allergic reaction to fun and warmth and beaches and weddings and North Carolina
- two days and counting of my second cold of the season, about which I am a tremendous baby.

So, week two of the taper was not ideal.  But I'm trying to be optimistic, and figure I might as well get the migraines/poops/boogers out of my system now, so that in 6 days, I'll be good as new.  That's the goal, anyway.

Number of Miles Run Last Week: 16.  Since my first week of taper was 62 miles long, I figure taking the average of these two weeks should leave me in a prime position for racing.  Right?  Is that how this works?  

Number of Beers Consumed Last Week: 5.  If it turns out the crippling cold I've been suffering through since Sunday is as a result of drinking again, I'm going to be sorely disappointed.  

Types of Beers Consumed Last Week: All Bud Lights.  I figured that they're close enough to water that they wouldn't be a shock to the system after 5 weeks dry.  

(The cause for the drinks, by the way, was Abbe and Baker's wedding weekend, which was beautiful and very fun, and I highly recommend the beach in October when there isn't a hurricane, and also anyplace with biscuits, but I don't want to steal their thunder, so they can tell you about it when they get back from Tahiti.)

For the next week, the only intoxicant in my future will be DayQuil.  Please send your healthiest vibes my way.

Sunday Wrap Up: Weather Woes

The fall marathon season is tricky: spanning from (roughly) the third week of September to Thanksgiving (California International Marathon in the first week of December is the notable outlier), a fall marathon can offer a 55 degree day and perfect foliage. It can also offer an 85 degree day and unrelenting sun. Or a 30 degree day and icy asphalt at every water station.

The hope, of course, is the first of these scenarios, and I've been fortunate enough to experience conditions like that a couple of times (my first Wineglass, also my first BQ, is a favorite example). My preference among the remaining two scenarios would be a cold day; while my body is much more acclimated to heat than cold right now, coming off the summer, I find it easier (and way less demoralizing) to try to stay warm on the run than stay cool. My second Philadelphia marathon was pretty icy, and it poured chilly rain during the Smuttynose marathon, my PR race, so I speak from some experience here.

But if the weather Gods take it upon themselves to give us a scorcher of a day in Chicago, which they have done there before, at least this past weekend will have prepared me somewhat.




I'm normally a post-run sandwich kind of gal, but this frozen yogurt was among the highlights of my weekend.

After 2 days and 23 miles in 80 degrees, I'm quite ready for Fall and a real, live taper, thank you very much.

Number of Miles Run This Week: 62. Not exactly a traditional first week of taper, but I'm ready to really dial it back now. In fact, I'm coming to you live from the pedicure chair right now, so you know I'm ready to stop wrecking my feet for a few weeks (also ready to not wreck Abbe and Baker's wedding photos with my hooves next weekend.)

Number of Beers Consumed Last Week: 0. I've been dry for a month. I haven't lost any weight, nor slept any better, so this is some BS. To that end, I'll be getting off the wagon next weekend in conjunction with the aforementioned wedding of my nearest and dearest running buddies, because what's a celebration of love between athletes without the alcohol with which athletes are handsomely rewarded after their races? I'll try not to go crazy, because I've already been the bridesmaid who throws up once before (in my defense, Caroline and Chris are still going strong despite, or because of, my dance floor antics), but I expect there is a Fat Tire or two in my future.

Types of Beers Consumed Last Week: n/a. TG asked me to hold his beer during the Norte Dame - Syracuse game last night, and it was like handing me a puppy and asking me not to squeeze it and start talking in a baby voice. That is to say, it was difficult to resist.

Better Late Than Never

Today is Tuesday, September 23rd.  My next marathon is 19 days away.  This morning, I ran 21 miles.  Taper: you're doing it wrong.

The past couple weeks have been hectic and stressful: I was in LA for a week for work, followed by Maddy's memorial service, both of which were emotionally challenging and draining for different reasons.  I kept up with my running as best I could, squeezing in a mid-week 16 miler in two parts (10 miles in the morning, 6 miles in the evening - it sucked precisely as much as it sounds like it would) before I left, and hitting the treadmill at the Equinox in my hotel once I got to LA (same hotel as last year, same love affair with Equinox).  While the miles got done, the treadmill seems to exacerbate my hip pain, which I pretended was a random coincidence, and continued to hit the treadmill at my own gym once I was back in New York and struggling to wake up at hours conducive to exercising before work in the Eastern Time Zone.

After a tough (but pretty baller, if you ask me) set of 800s at the track last Friday, my 10th consecutive day of running, my hip was like "you can go right to hell," and I decided a rest day or two were in order.  Which meant, of course, that my long run was off the Saturday docket.  (Instead, I bought a bike for $25, so now mostly I want this marathon to be over so I can play with it).  Sunday was filled with family obligations (and cider donuts!), and so the weekend came and went and my last long run wasn't completed.  Which brings us to today, when I had the time (if waking up at 4am on Tuesday constitutes having the time) and inclination to just get it done.

And great news!  My hip feels a-okay after two days of rest, I feel much more satisfied with my training having completed my last long run, and the bacon, egg, and cheese I just ate was delicious.  While I know one run won't make or break me, especially having done this whole marathon thing one or two or 17 times before, I think the mental aspect of knocking out a 20+ miler and commencing the taper is an important and satisfying milestone.  Even if it happens two days too late.

Something else that is happening too late is the recap of last week... and the week before.

Number of Miles Run, 9/8 - 9/14: 49.  28 of those were on the treadmill - barf.  I also attended a SoulCycle class in Beverly Hills that week, and was shocked to discover that I was one of about 5 people in the 6am Thursday class.  In New York, you have to fight tooth and nail for a bike at 6am.  In Beverly Hills, I guess no one goes to work, so they don't have to exercise at the butt crack of dawn.  

Oh, I forgot I registered for Boston, too.  So there's that. 

Number of Beers Consumed, 9/8 - 9/14: 0.  Still on the wagon.

Types of Beers Consumed, 9/8 - 9/14: N/A.  It saddens me to travel and not sample local beers.  Good thing I'll be back in California in November.

Number of Miles Run, 9/15 - 9/21: 40.  Respectable, even without a long run.  I'm okay with it.

Number of Beers Consumed, 9/15 - 9/21: 0.

Types of Beers Consumed, 9/15 - 9/21: N/A.  But I had hot apple cider on Saturday, which is... not the same.

So, now I can officially say I'm tapering, which is pretty fun, except for the insatiable hunger, constant over-analysis of mysterious aches and pains, and random crying jags.  This week will be a less traditional than previous tapers, since today's run will keep my weekly mileage pretty high, but I'll really be dialing back intensity.  And wondering if there are people out there who follow training plans exactly as written and if so, what kinds of jobs and lives they might have that makes that even remotely possible.

Do you adhere strictly to your training plan?  I'm good about getting the workouts done, but seldom in the order or on the days they're prescribed.

Monday Wrap Up: The Nuanced Diet of the Distance Runner

Interested in a peek into my highly scientific approach to fueling as an endurance athlete?  Today is your lucky day!

Oops.

Never fear - this was actually just a measure of my pre-run intake, which consisted of a frosted strawberry Pop Tart.  I actually can't believe those have any protein in them at all.  In any event, I spent 23 miles yesterday thinking about what else I was going to eat, less because I am concerned with a well-rounded diet than because I was so, so bored on my run and wanted to have something to look forward to.  I went with a turkey-cheddar-alfalfa spout-green apple-honey mustard sandwich on a sesame seed bagel.  It was awesome.  I love sandwiches so much.

Number of Miles Run Last Week: 50.  I ran to the Little Red Lighthouse for the first time in my life.  I'll never do it again, because it felt like it took FOREVER and that damn GWB never seemed to be getting any closer.  On the plus side, the running path up there is nicely maintained and shady, and there was a water fountain at the end. 

Number of Beers Consumed Last Week: 0.  And so it begins...  If that pie chart above is any indication, though, I shouldn't have much trouble working carbohydrates into my diet despite the lack of beers for the next couple of weeks.

Types of Beers Consumed Last Week: n/a.

Off to LA on Wednesday morning.  Expect miles logged on the treadmill at the Equinox, where I fell in love (with the Equinox) last year, and a spin at SoulCycle in Brentwood, where I bear witness to how the other (fancy) half lives.

Tuesday Wrap Up: All The Miles

Last season, I felt like I was in over my head with respect to my training plan.  The mileage seemed too high for me to manage, especially with how much I travel both for work and personally.  In addition, six days a week of running was leaving me exhausted.  I spent much of my time stressed about how I was going to squeeze in runs, and which ones I was going to cut from my week.  Ultimately, I was satisfied with my marathon performance, but the training that lead to it was more fraught with anxiety than it was fun.

Given that, I went back and forth this season on what plan to use, consulting a few runners as well as my travel plans to identify whether or not there was another plan that might make me more comfortable.  Some people suggested I try two-a-days, instead of six days a week of running, but that struck me as even more difficult to schedule (and the laundry!). Ultimately, I went with the same Training Peaks Break 3:15 plan, less because it seemed like the right fit and more because I didn't find a suitable alternative.  For reasons completely unbeknownst to me, however, the plan has been great thus far.

I've just wrapped up two heavy volume weeks, and instead of feeling beat up, worn down, frustrated, and starving, I'm feeling confident, accomplished, and starving.  Some things never change, I guess.  I don't know that I can point to a specific change - my travel has been consistent, this season to last, and I've kept up a pretty robust social calendar.  Also I still have a job, which, you know, occupies a fair amount of my time.  But something I've really tried to do is a) make my runs a priority, and then b) not feel bad about it.  It's the second part that's the kicker for me.  It's hard for me to say "I can't do that with you, because I need to run;" my default instead is "I can do that with you, I'll just run super early/late/on a different day/while carrying Dorito in a backpack," because I don't want to inconvenience other people.  But then I'm left feeling pressed for time (something I hate), and the run becomes something to just grit through, as opposed to the focal point it should be, given my race day goals.  It's a work in progress, of course, but trying to keep in mind that it's okay to say no to things ahead of time, instead of saying yes and then feeling guilty and anxious trying to manage my time, has done wonders for my ability to maintain my training this season.  So far, anyway.  To be continued...

Number of Miles Run Last Week: 68.  That's a weekly mileage record for me, by plenty.  In fact, by Friday of last week, I'd run 77 miles in a 7-day span.  Damn.  Highlights included 9 miles on trails in the Adirondacks with my friend Jason, a run I wouldn't have done otherwise but am so glad I did, and knocking out my long run on Friday before work, which left the weekend free for this:

Okay, fine, neither of those is me, because I'm too scared to jump.  But I spectated.  And also did some of this:

Number of Beers Consumed Last Week: 8.  

Types of Beers Consumed Last Week: Bell's Oberon, Miller Lite, Labatt Blue Light (I mean...), Saranac IPA, Saranac Pale Ale, Saranac Adirondack Lager, Blue Moon.

I'll face another big mileage week this week, so here's hoping the good vibes continue.  Six weeks to go!