New York City Marathon - Week 5

"It ain't what you do, 

it's what you do tonight.

There ain't no shortcuts 

for doing something right."

~Usher

I survived Week 5.  Slap it on a t-shirt and I'll wear it every day this week.  Here's the thing about training for a marathon that sometimes gets overlooked because the weekly mileage and the race itself are the main focus...you still have a life when you're in the middle of training for this beast of an athletic endeavor.  You still have a husband and kids and work and a house to tend to.  And if you're me this week, you had a steady stream of orders to fill, a sleepover birthday party to throw for one very particular little girl (translation: better get it right!), and a husband who took Thursday and Friday off to cram in as much summer fun as humanly possible before the saddest weekend of the year (Labor Day) arrives.  Have I mentioned said husband of mine plays hard?  Mama's tired.  Here's how Week 5 went down.

MONDAY

5 miles with 1-2-3 ladder tempo + Burn Bootcamp style leg circuit

 This run was hard, but seeing this pregnancy test box made me realize things could be worse.

Med ball lunges in front of the peanut gallery..."This is a BUS, Tante!"

TUESDAY

Easy 7.5, a few with Karen

77 degrees + 99% humidity = total suck fest 

I got in almost 3 miles on my own, joined Karen for 3 more, and finished the rest on my own.  Sherwood Lakes looked really cool with the haze of the humidity.  Pea soup, I tell you.

WEDNESDAY

Speed work - 6 x 800s

I needed to do this workout on the treadmill.  I needed the a/c and I needed the screen to show me running around the track and giving me an end goal.  So that means I also needed to do it a little later in the morning so I could bring the kids to the rec center to play while I ran.  And whenever I put off a run until later in the morning, it reminds me of why I run early.  When I wait, this is what happens:

The sign I planned to drop in the mail on the way to the rec center needed another coat of white.  Tragic. 

I have a hate-hate relationship with packing tape.   

Finally got out of the house and my coffee spilled as I was peeling out of the driveway.  In Ryan's car.  Greeeeeeeat.  But we finally got there and I got my work done, leaving DNA anywhere it would fling.  Sorry, treadmill neighbors.

The rest of the day was spent gearing up for Camryn's birthday party.  We had a handful of girls come over for some backyard fun which was supposed to culminate in a camp out in a tent, but the heat + humidity + mosquitoes made us switch gears and put the tent up in the living room.  It was so buggy we didn't even bother with the s'mores, but luckily I made this giant one for them all to enjoy:

Between the party prep, the party, and staying up way past my bedtime with these party animals, I was glad Thursday was a rest day.  

THURSDAY
Rest (meaning ride bikes 3+ miles to the water park, walk about 4 miles + countless flights of stairs while we're there, bike 3+ miles home)

 Poor kid has no fun.

Some actual rest was involved.

FRIDAY
15 miles
5 easy miles
3 easy miles
30 minutes on elliptical

One of the greatest things about training for a marathon with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training is that I get to enjoy the luxury of having a coach.  And boy did I hit the jackpot with Coach Bob.  It gives me the warm fuzzies to know someone is looking out for me, my goals, and my health every mile of every run, and Friday was a prime example. 
 After he checked in to discuss my long run plans, we decided to cut the original 5 miles down to 3 since I'd be logging some serious miles walking around Busch Gardens on Friday. Long story short, all the weather talk was about how hot and humid it would be both Friday and Saturday, so I scrapped my plans for any running at all on Friday and hopped on the elliptical before making the trek up I-64 to Busch Gardens.  Getting a pat on the head in the form of an encouraging text from Coach Bob was all I needed to dump the doubt I had over "skipping" a run.  Remember the bazillion goals I have for this training cycle?  Being smart is one of them and swapping a hot and humid run for some elliptical work was probably the smartest thing I could've done this week.  Like I said, I still have to live my life while training for this marathon, and I couldn't miss out on fun with my kids at Busch Gardens because I was worried about a stinking run the next day.  

 Turkey and cheese on a giant pretzel bun.  Because carbs.

Beer.  Because carbs.

Got to rest my weary legs on the SkyRide across the park as the sun was setting and storms were rolling in.  I love this place.  My garmin logged 8 miles of steps there...good thing I refilled my water bottle 67 times.  

SATURDAY
15 miles

Ohhhhh, this run.  I was dreading it all week.  I know I can run 15 miles.  I did 14 strong miles last week and adding one more really isn't a big deal.  Only this week it was.  Once Ryan decided to take Thursday and Friday off work and pack in all that fun, I started to feel a bit stressed over this long run.  I immediately began thinking of how I could move it to a day where I wouldn't be running 15 miles the day of or the day after going to Busch Gardens, but there simply weren't enough mornings in the week to allow it.  Saturday had to be the day.  And I couldn't let my nerves get the best of me and ruin our fun at Busch Gardens either.  I knew I'd be walking a ton and it would be really hot and humid, so hydration was paramount.  And I couldn't cut the fun short because I had to get up early the next morning to run 15 miles in more heat and humidity...we didn't get home until after 10pm.  So when my alarm went off at 4:45am, I hit snooze.  Then I hit it again.  Then I got up, checked the radar to make sure all the thunderstorms had passed through, and started the process of dressing and fueling.  

The run felt better than I imagined it would after such a busy week, and being able to finish the last mile under 8 min/mile was a real confidence booster.  Not just for running, but for the training cycle as a whole...that strong long run reminded me that it will take a lot of work and planning, but as long as I remember where my priorities lie, the rest will fall into place.  I was able to be the wife and mom my family needed me to be this week and still manage to have a successful week of training.  My kids will remember riding roller coasters after dark and watching a great thunderstorm follow us home instead of leaving early because Mommy had to run in the morning.  

As for the rest of Saturday...

There was no epsom, but it was a salt bath of sorts.

SUNDAY

Rest (like actually kinda sorta rest)

I rest as much as Psimasly possible on Sundays.  This week, my rest was watching my girls shred at the East Coast Surfing Championship Super Grom event.  It's been a summer favorite of ours for the past few years, and it's bittersweet knowing this year was Brynn's last time participating since she'll be too old next year.  We've had a lot of crummy weather the past few weekends, so getting to hit the beach two days in a row was just the dose of Vitamin Sea we all needed. 

 It truly is amazing how an entire day of rest - especially one that includes some time in the ocean - can energize your body and soul for the week ahead.  I'm feeling ready to tackle my Monday tempo run and Week 6.  But first, we've gotta squeeze a few more drops out of this weekend and catch some lightning bugs.