Epicurious Runner

VCM Update: 4 Days to go!

I’m running a marathon in 4 days! Sorry to have dropped off the face of the blogging planet, but sometimes it’s necessary. I’ve been focused on relaxing and mentally preparing for this race.

 1st – Manchester City  2nd – Rehoboth Beach

It will be my 3rd marathon and I couldn’t be happier with my bib number! 3 is my lucky number and 1 - 13 is my birthday! I will take it as a good sign.

My last few weeks of training have been very up and down. One day my leg will hurt, the next it’s perfectly fine. I’m not worried about it anymore, but it definitely caused me some stress and had me take extra time off from training.

My last few long runs went well overall, I did a really slow 22 miler, a decent paced 14 miler and an easy 8 over the last 3 weeks. I’m of course in full on taper mode and have been for the last 2 weeks and I’m actually enjoying it this time around instead of going crazy.

I want to feel this happy while running.

I, of course have some goals for the race, but they’ve somewhat changed since the beginning of training.

A GOAL: Have fun, run free, and fly as fast as you can on that day.

I want no pressure/stress going into this race. I like to think I have a strong mental state when it comes to races, but lately I’m not sure where that’s gone. It’s time to get it back this weekend!

B GOAL: PR or die trying.

Of course I would LOVE to PR this race! I’m still not sure what my race day plan is, but I’ve got a few potential options in my head. If a PR is not in the cards that day, see A GOAL.

There is no C goal because if I don’t PR, then I will revert my mental state to my A goal. K?

The course looks pretty amazing and the biggest hill is at mile 15 for about a 1/2 mile, I will be thinking of all the times I ran the Queensboro Bridge because it seems pretty similar and be happy that it’s not happening at mile 20.

They have a really great video of the course on their website and every day I picture myself running the course.

I’m finally excited for the race!!! For so long I felt disconnected, possibly even worried that I might not run. My leg was being an asshole and I wasn’t sure what the future held for it. Now that the weekend is almost here and I am definitely running, I am pumped and ready to go. Lets hope I don’t have any weird nausea issues like last time!

It’s going to be an amazing weekend with my husband! We are psyched to be spending it with Lauren and Evan. I can’t wait drink beer in Burlington and watch the new season of Arrested Development with them on Sunday night What a great way to celebrate running a marathon!

Hopefully I’m back to regularly scheduled blogging. Maybe I will actually have that Eugene Half recap for you before I run Vermont. Maybe.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” - Gail Devers

VCM Training Week 12

My body is tired this week!

Here is how week 12 went down:

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Cherry Blossom 10 mile race

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Easy 4 miles

Wednesday: Had 6 on the schedule, but got almost got caught in a crazy downpour/thunderstorm, so I cut it short and did 3 easy miles instead. I would normally make up those missed miles, but my body needs the break this week, so the miles were not missed. 

Thursday: 7 mile Steady State run. Splits: 9:06, 8:55, 8:00, 8:56, 8:50, 7:55, c/d 9:34

The formula for these runs, set up by  my coach, is 2 SS miles, followed by 1 mile at 1600 repeat pace. I did that  twice to total 6 miles and then added in a cool down mile.

Steady State Pace: 8:42-9:06 (moderate effort)

Mile Repeat Pace :  7:41-8:02 (hard effort)

I try to start off in the slower range and end in the faster range. In 2 weeks I will be taking out that c/d mile and adding in 2 more SS paced miles for a total of 8 miles. It’s going to be brutal, but I can already tell these types of runs are helping me. There is no break or rest, so basically you just have to power through, at least that’s what I tell myself.

Friday: Rest

Total: 24 miles

Clearly, an easy cut back week, but weirdly my body isn’t feeling like it was an easy week, I think all of my training is catching up to me. It was a low mileage week for sure, but I think the race on Sunday really kicked my butt, my quads are still recovering and this easy week was very much needed.

I have a 5k time trial next week that I am weirdly looking forward to! I wish I had an official race to run it at, though.

Good luck to all of the Boston Marathoners!!! 

 2 weeks until Eugene, 6 weeks until the Vermont Marathon!

Eugene Half Marathon Goals

It’s crazy to me to think about where I was at this point last year. I was was struggling and failing at running a half under 1:58, my previous PR. I tried 3 times with no avail before I threw in the towel and started marathon training.

Having said that, I can’t believe how much progress I’ve made over the past year. Only 1 year and I feel like a completely different runner. For many years I was a 9 minute miler, low 9s were my speed and high 9s were my easy runs, so to see this much progress in only 1 year is amazing to me. Last year, I was excited when my races contained all miles that began with a 9 and not seeing a 10:xx in there. This year, all my splits begin with an 8 and I am moving out of the 9 minute miler category (except for the marathon distance).

I have always felt that 7:xx minute miles were insanely fast and that it would take me a lot longer to get there. I don’t have any splits from a long run that have read that, but it doesn’t seem so impossible anymore. All of my speedwork miles begin with 7s and those are the days where my confidence is through the roof! Maybe next year I will be moving into the 7 minute miler category.

At the Philly Half, where I exceeded all expectations and pulled a giant PR out of nowhere! This was a magical day for me and a race I will always look back on with a huge smile.

I don’t think sub 1:50 is an unreasonable goal for the Eugene Half. Sure, it’s a bit ambitious, but it’s certainly possible, considering my training and my recent races.

I have big goals for Eugene, but in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t my BIG ‘A’ RACE. It’s an important race that will help me physically and mentally, though, and will no doubt prepare me for my goal race that is the Vermont Marathon.

There won’t be any real taper for this race, in fact, I will be running 22 miles the weekend before, but it will be a semi-easy week leading up to the weekend.

There’s obviously a chance I won’t make my goal, but I’ve always promised to myself to be extremely honest on this blog and to talk about my successes, as well as my failures. And since I have been thinking about this sub 1:50, there’s no reason not to share it with you all. It’s a big goal for sure, but it’s something I really want and I’m going to try as hard as I can to achieve it.

A goal: Sub 1:50 (< 8:23 avg. pace)

B goal: Sub 1:52:41, which is my PR (< 8:35 avg. pace)

C goal: Sub 1:55 (< 8:46 avg. pace)

VCM Training Week 11: Feeling Strong

If I didn’t feel it before, I definitely feel it now, I AM MARATHON TRAINING. I feel in shape, strong, and I’ve stopped caring about the cellulite on my legs. I’ve always been very self conscious about my legs, they are not the quintessential ‘runner legs’, but they’ve been getting me through this training session and I am very appreciative of that.

Old pic.

I’ve hit a turning point in my training where my mind and body are finally in sync and I’m starting to feel really good about VCM. Hopefully the taper won’t drive me as crazy as it did for NYC, but I guess we shall wait and see.

This was a tough, but awesome week of training. It started off with an amazing 20 mile run through Manhattan and ended with lots of strong speedwork.

Here’s how it went down:

Saturday - An amazing 20 miles!

Sunday - Rest

Monday – 5 miles easy (9:42 avg. pace)

Tuesday - 4 x 1600 (7:53, 7:46, 7:44, 7:39) 7 miles total

Wednesday – 5 miles super easy (10:00 avg. pace)

Thursday - 5 mile Steady State Run. This was the plan: 2 miles @ SS pace (8:42-9:06), 1 mile @ 1600 interval pace (7:41-8:02), 2 miles @ SS pace. Actual Splits: 9:06, 8:48, 7:57, 9:01, 8:46 (8:44 avg. pace).

I didn’t expect this to be as tough as it was. It was slightly puke inducing, although that might’ve been the Kind bar I ate prior, remind me not to eat those before a hard run! It felt good to power through it, though. I have 2 more Steady State runs on my plan and they only get longer, so hopefully I make it through them!

Friday – Rest

Total: 42 miles

Zero Cross Training

Clearly not my picture, but hopefully it will be just as beautiful as this!

This Sunday I am racing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler down in DC. I’m really excited, especially because it’s going to be a fun girls weekend with Beth, Jen, Kim, and Abby. It’s going to be a short weekend trip, but the weather is looking amazing, and I can’t wait to race in a tank and shorts!

Since my legs are definitely not fresh going into this race, I won’t be trying to reach my sub 1:22 goal I had talked about in the beginning of the year. The past 2 weeks have been full on hardcore marathon training and I am feeling it. Still, I’m going to race my little heart out and see what I can do! Wish me luck

Only 3 weeks till Eugene & 7 weeks till VCM!!!

Spring 20

Who finishes a 20 mile run and feels amazing after? This girl! I did my first 20 miler of the season this weekend and I couldn’t have asked for it go any better. After last week’s 18 mile debacle, I learned my lesson and knew to start out slow.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside, seriously THE BEST RUNNING DAY EVER. Okay, sorry, but seriously, I felt like I was smiling the whole time. I started out in Astoria, ran over the Queensboro bridge and then down the East River path around the perimeter of Manhattan and then ran east towards the park around 105th street and did my last 2 miles in Central Park.

A picture on the run was absolutely necessary.

I loved running down the East River, by the Statue of Liberty, and by the new Freedom Tower, it was an amazing NYC day and made me realize how much I really do love living here.

I averaged a 9:35 pace, which is what I averaged at Rehoboth Beach last December. My last mile was the fastest at 8:55 and I definitely felt like I could’ve kept going. What a great feeling!

My sister posted this on my Facebook wall over the weekend and it made me laugh a lot. It’s so true!

We sadly didn’t celebrate Easter, we hardly ever do. My family does back at home in NH, but for some reason we never make it home for Easter. We did receive a whole butt load of Cadbury Mini Eggs, though!

The rest of the weekend was mostly spent on the couch. My husband’s back is still hurting a lot, so he can’t really do much. We’re still trying to figure out how to go about fixing it!

This coming weekend is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler down in DC. I’m really excited, it will be a fun weekend with friends and hopefully this race will go a lot better than the NYC Half. It’s going to be a hell of a lot warmer, that’s for sure. A PR is almost guaranteed, unless something crazy happens, but I think I’ve got in the bag. I’m hoping for at least a sub 1:25 finish, but I think I can do even better than that.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter/Passover!

VCM Training Week 10 + Lots of Fun Mail

So, holy shit, only 8 weeks till the MARATHON! It’s coming up incredibly fast. I know there’s still a solid amount of time left, but I have so much going on between now and then, that I know it’s going to FLY by.

I got this lovely piece in the mail on Monday and of course had to wear it to the gym right away. It’s the new High 10 Shimmel from Oiselle. It has a built in/slightly padded bra, so no sports bra necessary. This is the XS and it fits great, I normally order a small in tops, but I am extra small chested, so I chose to size down. It felt great on my short run, it passed the sweat test, and it’s super cute to boot.

Saturday – 4 easy miles + upper body ST

Sunday – 17.8 miles (9:38 avg. pace) I started out way to fast on this run and basically bombed the last 3 miles. It also contained 1 queensboro bridge, 2 harlem hills, and lots of rolling hills through Central Park. It was a tough run for sure, but I survived, but not enough to get those last .2 miles in, heh.

Monday – 2 miles + 30 min lifting

Tuesday – 3 x 1600 (7:53, 7,46. 7:43) 6 miles total. Seriously loving that I can run miles that begin with a 7 now! These mile repeats are what give me confidence each week.

Wednesday – 4 easy miles (9:41 avg. pace)

Thursday – 7 mile Progression run (10:10. 9:30, 9:13, 9:02, 8:45, 8:27. 8:12)

Friday – Rest

Total: 40.8 miles

I’m very happy with how this week’s training went. I made sure to make running a priority this week, it’s been the only constant in my life recently and it’s literally keeping me sane. It’s been a great way to escape from all the stress in my life and not meeting my running goals would only add to it.

I am hoping the next 8 weeks will continue to be solid and steady like this, these are the weeks where it’s really going to count. Once Eugene hits, it’s Peak Week and then taper and I literally feel like Eugene is next week.

I got lots of good packages this week! I finally ordered the new Nuun flavors; Cherry Limeade, Lemonade, and Watermelon and they arrived to my work on Wednesday. I love them all, especially the lemonade! It legit tastes just like lemonade and is so refreshing.

And then! Yesterday, I received yet another package full of delicious Easter candy from Derek’s mom, she’ so sweet. Picture Cadbury mini eggs and lots of those Russell Stover Coconut nests. Have a good weekend, I am running my first 20 miler of the season tomorrow!

VCM Training: Weeks 8 – 9

Trying to catch up on blogging, so here are 2 weeks of training updates in a row.

These were 2 cutback/recovery weeks, which has been nice since I was traveling a bit and just trying to get my life back in order.

Week 8: March 9-15

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 10 miles (9:09 avg. pace) Ran through my old hometown in Goffstown, NH. It was a beautiful day and it brought back so many memories.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 2 x 1600 (7:40, 7:46) 6 miles total. I went too fast on the first mile, so then I was dying by the 2nd repeat.

Wednesday: Yep, another rest day.

Thursday: Easy 4 miles (9:30 avg. pace)

Friday: Easy 4 miles (9:36 avg. pace)

Total: 24 miles

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Week 9: March 16-22

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: NYC Half Marathon + 1 mile w/u  (8:47 avg. pace) 14.1 miles total

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Easy 4 miles (9:43 avg. pace)

Wednesday: Easy 4 miles (9:30 avg. pace)

Thursday: Easy 4 miles (9:25 avg. pace)

Friday: Rest

Total: 26.1 miles

So many freaking rest days! I mean, I’m not complaining, but I probably should’ve done some cross training or something. I don’t get those people who forget to rest or don’t want to rest, who are you, people?

Not much to say about this, but I’m definitely entering the second half of my training and it’s about to be stepped up a bit. My coach updated my schedule recently and I’m looking at a variety of different runs and some are new to me, including a couple of steady state runs. I’m mentally and physically ready, I think I do better with more mileage and more speed, so bring it on!

VCM Training Week 7: Life Happens

Last week was a rough week. My friend’s dad has been sick and after a long and hard battle, he passed away on Monday. There was no question whether or not Derek and I would be headed up for the services, so we left Wednesday night with a couple of other friends in our backseat and headed to Newport, NH to try and beat “the storm”.

Over the next few days, we cried, we drank, we ate, we laughed, we bonded, and I ran. It was an exhausting trip, to say the very least. I basically spent those few days pretending like I was in college again! It was nice to see so many friends, sad that it was under those circumstances, but I wanted to live a little over those few days, so I just went with the flow and had no regrets, even though I woke up hungover a few times. Also, sleeping on an air mattress for 4 nights didn’t do me any favors.

Also, we played this game called Left, Right, Center, it’s a dice game and it’s freaking awesome! All you need are these specific dice and each player needs 3 quarters. It’s a super simple game and I won twice! Now I have a zillion quarters to do my laundry.

We also had this cute pup to keep us company all weekend. Her name is Dolly.

Back to last week:

Saturday – 18 miles (9:24 avg. pace) This was THE BEST RUN EVER. Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic, but it was one of those magical days where everything just felt right! I ran with Theodora, Jen, Jocelyn, Jess, and Ashley, but not all at the same time. I also had 6 solo miles in there and I kept my pace pretty damn consistent the whole time. I ran the whole thing in Central Park, hills and all! This was my fastest training run ever, I probably could’ve PR’ed a marathon that day.

Sunday – 4 miles (10:02) Recovery run with my friend Megan. I brought her to run in Central Park for her first time! She’s signed up for a 10k there, so I figured she should get used to the hills before race day.

Monday – Revolve Real Ride. This was my first time at Revolve and it was great! I had bought a coupon off of Gilt City to use, so I cashed it in and got a good sweaty ride in here. The staff is super friendly and accommodating, I highly recommend!

Tuesday – 3 x 1600, (7:44, 7:43, 7:41) 6 total miles This was another awesome speedwork session! I ran my repeats faster this week than any other week, and I had awesome negative splits. This week’s work is giving me a boost of confidence for this coming Sunday’s NYC Half.

Wednesday – Rest (unplanned) I planned to get in an easy 5 miles, but was locked inside my apartment. How does that happen? I gave my keys to my friends because they were going to be taking care of our cat while we were gone, and then when I woke up Wednesday morning, my husband wasn’t home yet. He was still at work, so I was kind of stuck, since I didn’t want to leave my door unlocked and I wouldn’t have been able to get back into my building after I was done running. I was all dressed and ready to go too before I realized it.

The town sort of still looks like this. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere.

Thursday – 8 miles (9:18 avg. pace) I went out hoping to get at least 6 miles in. I ran through Newport, NH and I’m not super familiar with it, so I figured I would just wander and hopefully find some good roads to run on. Luckily there was a wide shoulder or sidewalk to run on during my whole route and it surprisingly turned into a really good run. I was overdressed, but the weather was great and it still hadn’t snowed yet, so the ground was nice and dry. I was also a little hungover, so it felt good to sweat it all out and get on with the day. I returned and impressed everyone with my mileage, haha.

Friday – Rest

Total: 36 miles, 1 cross training day

VCM Training: Week 6

Less than 12 weeks to go till Vermont City Marathon!!! This training cycle is flying by, it’s kind of scary. So far, this cycle isn’t taking over my life, which makes me very happy! Maybe my body is getting used to the distances and I am recovering faster? Either way, it’s nice to feel like I’m training, but not feel like training is my life.

I ran a FANTASTIC 18 miles this past weekend, but the way my schedule is set up, you will have to wait till next week to hear all about it.

Let’s recap this past week. Last weekend started with a run 4 mile race in Brooklyn, followed by lots of delicious food.

Saturday – 4 mile race (8:26 avg. pace) No PR, but ran without a watch, which was liberating, but I also was 13 seconds away from a PR, so maybe I would’ve pushed myself a bit more if I knew I was so close. Either way, it wasn’t an important race, so it doesn’t really matter. The company and the food were the real reasons I went!

Sunday – 16 miles (9:43 avg. pace) I ran with Carla through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. A good run overall. It was tough, and I was struggling the last few miles, but I got it done and pretty happy with the pace.

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 3 x 1600 (7:47, 7:46, 7:43) 6 miles total. These mile repeats were amazing! Seriously, I felt so awesome and good afterwards and even though they were tough, I felt strong enough to make it through all 3. This was the first time I did 3 sets of mile repeats at this pace.

Lululemon run club with Jen

Wednesday – 6 x 400, (Splits ranged from 1:38 – 1:52) 5.42 miles total. This was supposed to be an easy 5 miler, but I ended up meeting up with the Lululemon run group with Jen, Ashley, and Theodora and this is what they had on the schedule. I figured I might as well do the 400s and just take them a little easier than normal since I had just done speedwork the day prior. It was a fun group and it was nice to finally meet a few more Twitter/Blog friends.

I ordered some new Oiselle threads and got them in the mail on Thursday. I was so excited to wear them, so I wore my new violet long rogas on my Thursday night run. Like normal, they were insanely comfortable and felt like I was wearing nothing. I also got the new Poppy rogas and a Winona tank.

Thursday – 7 mile Tempo (8:57 avg. pace)  I met up with the Astoria run club and they always do a 10k on Thursdays, so I did a mile warmup on the track before we got started. The route for this is hilly as f**k. Seriously, you are never on any kind of flat ground. It’s a tough route, but I definitely pushed myself for my planned 4.5 miles of tempo pace. I didn’t actually make my prescribed paces, but it was a solid run that I felt great about afterwards. I plan on going to this every Thursday (if I can), so it will be interesting to see if I can actually start making my planned tempo paces on his hilly ass route.

Friday - Rest

Total: 38.42 miles

Cross training: 0

PS. The new Nuun flavors come out today! Cherry Limeade, Watermelon, and Lemonade. Yum, I can’t wait to  try them all. I will be placing my order at the end of the week for all three.

Double Run Brunch Weekend

This weekend consisted of running and eating, and that’s about it. I ran the Al Gordon Classic 4 mile race in Prospect Park on Saturday, it was my friend, Megan’s very first race and she killed it out there. I’m so proud of her! She’s already signed up for a 10k in April

I woke up at 5:30 am on Saturday morning to run a 4 mile race, seems crazy, right? Well, traveling from Queens to Brooklyn is ridiculously tedious and it takes an hour train ride, but luckily we got there around 7:30 and had some time to check our bags, find Leticia and head into the corrals. I decided to to run this race sans Garmin, which I never do, so I figured why not try it out on a 4 mile race.

The race flew by! I pushed myself and missed a PR by 13 seconds. Oh well, it was a great race anyway and the best part was the delicious brunch we had after. It was a long, cold walk to Tom’s Restaurant in Brooklyn, but it was well worth it. The food was delicious and pretty damn cheap.

Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and beef sausage

It was fun catching up with Amy, Carla, Leticia, Jenny, and Rebecca!

The rest of Saturday consisted of a nap, buying a new wireless router, and going out with my good friend,s Nick and Em to try some new Empire beers at Sunswick to kick off NYC beer week.

Due to a later start, I got 9 1/2 glorious hours of sleep going into Sunday. I met up with Carla at the Williamsburg Bridge at 10:30 so we could run long together. We intentionally picked a hilly ass route and I was really feeling it at the end. I was pretty happy with it, even though there were some really low moments. I did 16 miles and averaged a 9:43 pace.

Carla peaced out after 10 miles and those last 6 miles were filled with doubt, my pace slowed down a bunch, but I pushed through as much as I could. I did not want to give up. I’m trying to work on running my long runs a tiny bit faster than normal, but also still having some energy left at the end for maybe a few MGP miles.

Brunch on Sunday was more like lunch, since I didn’t get back from my run until 1:45, but I met up with my friends Em, and Megan and we went to Queens Comfort. Unfortunately we had to wait like 45 minutes to get seated and my stomach was ready to eat itself before I even got there. It was torture.

I downed 2 cups of their strong, dark coffee and demolished this Thick Cut Brioche Custard French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar Butter, and Maple Syrup. It was perfect. Except for that big glob of excess butter that came with it.

It’s also time to retire my current pair of running shoes. I’m onto a new pair of the same brand and model; Mizuno Wave Rider 15s, but this time I got another yellow pair.

Nice and bright!

Since my husband works night shift, I’ve been cooking dinner for one and most nights I make some sort of egg scramble, they are so quick and easy. Last night’s included 3 eggs, brussels sprouts and mushrooms, and then it was topped with sriracha sauce and avocado.