LONG MAY THEY RUN

Something happened on Sunday that I wasn’t expecting .. I ran 15.3 miles almost completely pain free. I went into the weekend thinking that my long run would be somewhere between 12-14 miles .. but hearing that my brother and our friend Ben (who are also training for the Cox marathon) ran 16 miles on Saturday made me that much more determined. So I upped my mileage goal for the next day while also telling myself that I’m still injured and it’s okay to stop whenever I need to. 

But the run ended up being really great! I did two 7.5 mile loops making sure my house was at the center so I could stop in real quick for some water and a GU (the only time I stopped running). The most challenging part was making this a tempo run and keeping the pace around 9:00 or 9:15 rather than my marathon goal pace of around 8:45. A big part of reducing knee pain for me is running with a cadence of around 180 steps per minute.. so that requires shortening my stride. Of course this can be accomplished at any pace, but I’ve gotten used to keeping up with that cadence while running at a pace around 8:30. Slowing down was tough .. I’d think I was doing a good job and then look down at the garmin and be running at 8:40. Whoops. 

But thinking about my pace so much kept my mind off my knee and I hardly noticed pain until about mile 8 and it was very mild after that. I couldn’t believe it! I had zero expectations that this would happen so soon. Needless to say I am now that much more confident that my knee will be healed enough to run a marathon in less than 3 months. 

Only other set back to Sundays run was that I was definitely dehydrated.. I wasn’t expecting to run such a long distance so didn’t properly plan for it earlier in the week. I could really feel the dehydration in the last few miles. And then I drank a smoothie too soon after the run ended which was a horrible idea cause it made me puke. Oh the joys of long distance running! 

Monday my knee felt surprisingly good so I ended up going to kick boxing at the gym and then an hour of yin yoga which was very much needed since my muscles were feeling super tight. 

And today I get to try a new procedure at physical therapy .. dry needling. It’s a PT’s version of acupuncture. Supposedly it helps loosen tight muscles up almost immediately. Don’t know why I’m nervous about a few small needles in my quad when I’m covered in tattoos .. but we’ll see how this goes. 

Whyyyy would they make a Margarita flavor?? Thought it was citrus. Very, very wrong. 

Whyyyy would they make a Margarita flavor?? Thought it was citrus. Very, very wrong. 

Completed 7.5 miles yesterday afternoon. Decided to try taping my knee at a different angle and it was somewhat revolutionary - no pain until mile 5! And very mild after that. Makes me hopeful that I’ll actually be able to get through the 26.2 miles I’m supposed to run in less than 80 days! 

Had to skip out on Flex (strength training) class at the gym last night cause of a stomach ache. Get them from time to time when I’m running lots of miles and not drinking enough water. I try to drink at least 60oz a day but it’s tough! 

Hoping to do at least another 7.5 miles after physical therapy this afternoon. That’ll put me at about 20 miles so far this week and I was hoping to do at least 30 .. so a 10 miler on Sunday will be no problem. Will most likely shoot for between 12-14. 

Oh and had the best ending to spin class when the instructor put on a remix of this Whitney song that was aaaaamazing and everyone sang along. So good. 

So excited about these CEP compression socks that just arrived! Hoping it’ll help with the calf soreness I’ve been dealing with lately.  Did a great 4 mile run yesterday. Kept an average pace around 8:20. Got really into it when this song came on.  Can’t wait til spin class this evening. Wednesday nights are always so good cause of that class. Nothing like being able to just pedal really hard, sweat a lot, and zone out to cool top 40 jams in a dimly lit room for an hour. 

So excited about these CEP compression socks that just arrived! Hoping it’ll help with the calf soreness I’ve been dealing with lately. 

Did a great 4 mile run yesterday. Kept an average pace around 8:20. Got really into it when this song came on. 

Can’t wait til spin class this evening. Wednesday nights are always so good cause of that class. Nothing like being able to just pedal really hard, sweat a lot, and zone out to cool top 40 jams in a dimly lit room for an hour. 

Daily fresh juice .. today was orange, carrot, apple, celery, cucumber, ginger. 

Daily fresh juice .. today was orange, carrot, apple, celery, cucumber, ginger. 

Came across this date shake via Ashley and am so excited to start incorporating it into my day. Will make a perfect late afternoon/pre evening cross training snack. 

Came across this date shake via Ashley and am so excited to start incorporating it into my day. Will make a perfect late afternoon/pre evening cross training snack. 

Morning routine .. trying to get in 30 minutes of stretching/foam rolling every morning and evening. Usually add in some yoga & ab work since I’m laying on the mat anyways. —- Mondays are somewhat of a rest day .. no running but strength training & yoga at the gym instead. But my knee was feeling a lot better than usual (for the day after a long run) following physical therapy today so I decided to go to kick boxing at the gym .. a class I’ve been taking every Monday night for years but had to stop when my knee started acting up about a month ago. It’s always one of the best workouts of the week and the instructor is so intense & awesome. This class followed by yin yoga is one of my favorite things. 

Morning routine .. trying to get in 30 minutes of stretching/foam rolling every morning and evening. Usually add in some yoga & ab work since I’m laying on the mat anyways.

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Mondays are somewhat of a rest day .. no running but strength training & yoga at the gym instead. But my knee was feeling a lot better than usual (for the day after a long run) following physical therapy today so I decided to go to kick boxing at the gym .. a class I’ve been taking every Monday night for years but had to stop when my knee started acting up about a month ago. It’s always one of the best workouts of the week and the instructor is so intense & awesome. This class followed by yin yoga is one of my favorite things. 

James Clarke, winner of the Brooklyn Marathon in 1909. 

James Clarke, winner of the Brooklyn Marathon in 1909. 

So. I’m currently training for a marathon - the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island on May 6th. I’m also running 2 half marathons before then - the New Bedford Half on March 18th (which is cool cause we can go to the whaling museum afterward!) and the More Magazine Women’s Half on April 15th in NYC (I did this race last year and it was so great .. I’ve been waiting all year to run it again).  For the most part I’ve really enjoyed all the training so far.. except for my ongoing knee injury. Saw a doctor in early January who diagnosed me with patella (kneecap) maltracking and said not to run for a month. Thank goodness for my physical therapist that I started seeing soon after .. she had me running again within a week.  I’m working hard to heal & strengthen my knee .. but it’s going to take time. For now I still experience a good amount of pain on any run over 3 miles, but it’s bearable. I try not to focus on what training would be like if my knee wasn’t an issue…  So with all that said .. this week was somewhat of a recovery week. These weeks are not only important in training for the marathon, but also for my knee. So my Sunday long run was only 9.5 miles this afternoon. It was damn cold & windy, but a great run overall. My legs felt strong and I was able to keep a pace under 8:45 for the entire distance.  This run was soon followed by a delicious dim sum brunch date at Meyers & Chang & a chilly walk around the South End with Aaron. Now I will spend the evening icing my knee, eating a homemade oreo from Flour, and attempting to make a new running playlist. 

So. I’m currently training for a marathon - the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island on May 6th. I’m also running 2 half marathons before then - the New Bedford Half on March 18th (which is cool cause we can go to the whaling museum afterward!) and the More Magazine Women’s Half on April 15th in NYC (I did this race last year and it was so great .. I’ve been waiting all year to run it again). 

For the most part I’ve really enjoyed all the training so far.. except for my ongoing knee injury. Saw a doctor in early January who diagnosed me with patella (kneecap) maltracking and said not to run for a month. Thank goodness for my physical therapist that I started seeing soon after .. she had me running again within a week. 

I’m working hard to heal & strengthen my knee .. but it’s going to take time. For now I still experience a good amount of pain on any run over 3 miles, but it’s bearable. I try not to focus on what training would be like if my knee wasn’t an issue… 

So with all that said .. this week was somewhat of a recovery week. These weeks are not only important in training for the marathon, but also for my knee. So my Sunday long run was only 9.5 miles this afternoon. It was damn cold & windy, but a great run overall. My legs felt strong and I was able to keep a pace under 8:45 for the entire distance. 

This run was soon followed by a delicious dim sum brunch date at Meyers & Chang & a chilly walk around the South End with Aaron. Now I will spend the evening icing my knee, eating a homemade oreo from Flour, and attempting to make a new running playlist. 

A place for me to ramble on about running, marathon training, cross training, etc since it’s what is currently dominating my life. Also a place to post old athletic photos since those are a personal favorite as well. Enjoy!

A place for me to ramble on about running, marathon training, cross training, etc since it’s what is currently dominating my life. Also a place to post old athletic photos since those are a personal favorite as well. Enjoy!