The week & spring marathon plans

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Kelly

Hope everyone had a great long weekend!

This morning we were expecting freezing rain in the NYC area, so I swapped my run and swim plan around to avoid any slips or falls. I’m down with running in the rain, but if ice is involved I try to be extra cautious!

(nevermind that it wasn’t even raining when I woke up this morning… thanks, Chris Cimino.)

Anyways, I wasn’t sure how the legs would feel on Monday morning after three straight days of running (longest post-injury streak!), but was pleasantly surprised.

I ended up with a pretty decent progression run, finishing the last mile under marathon pace. Maybe it was the 16 degree temps that hurried me up, but I felt great out there and am hoping this is a good sign for speedwork improvements in the near future!

Now let’s talk about last week:

  • Monday: 40 minutes spin, 25 minutes elliptical, lifting
  • Tuesday: 7.35 miles easy
  • Wednesday: 2 miles w/u, 3 x 1 mile repeats @ goal HM pace, 1.5 miles c/d
  • Thursday: 10 minutes pool run, 43 minutes swimming (free, breast and backstroke), lifting
  • Friday: 6.5 miles easy
  • Saturday: 11.25 miles
  • Sunday: 5.85 miles very easy

Total: 38 miles. I’m really getting in to swimming as cross training lately – it feels really good to mix things up and I’m actually learning how to breathe appropriately in the water. I’m pretty happy with the week’s mileage, and am slowly building up my base before marathon training takes hold in a few weeks…

Oh yeah, the spring marathon
Before this whole quitting my job thing happened last week, I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to train for a spring marathon while trying to balance the first part of my dietetic internship and a full time job. But since I decided to change up life a bit so I can focus on the internship, a spring marathon is looking more and more doable.

So here’s the plan for now:

The Buffalo Marathon on May 27. It just happens to be the day before my birthday, which I’m not looking forward to it AT ALL. I guess I’m hoping a nice runner’s high will help get me through it or that running a marathon will at least make the last day of my 20′s seem longer (makes so much sense, I know).

Why Buffalo? Well, most of my family lives in Buffalo, so I’ll have a cheering squad and a free place to stay. And if I’m lucky, maybe they’ll feed me too. Now I just have to convince my Dad not to party too hard the night before the race (it’s his birthday) so he can be my official transportation. Yeah, I wish I were joking…

So that’s my goal race, although I’m hoping to race some shorter distances between now and the marathon as part of training. I still have yet to solidify a plan, but that’ll come in the next few weeks!

Question: What’s your goal race this spring? Ever run a race in your hometown?

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  • http://www.insightfulappetite.com sofia

    yeahhh for running a marathon on my birthday!! maybe this will be the year that i get back to racing, at least once. we’ll see.

  • http://amandarunsny.com/ AmandaRunsNY

    I really like that you are going to run a marathon on the day before you turn 30. It’s really poetic…I really want to do something like that next year for my 30th birthday. Also, what this way on your actual birthday you will have two things to celebrate so two times the fun!

    • Mealsformiles

      OMG DON’T SAY THE 3 WORD!! GAHHH. Kidding… ok not really :)

  • http://runningonsmores.wordpress.com/ Sarah

    Congrats on the awesome run! I’m running two half marathons this spring which I’m super excited about. I have ran a bunch of races in my hometown. I haven’t been back in a while though!

  • http://twitter.com/Nemtynakht Tracy M.

    You made the right choice by cross training! I fell on the black ice this morning. I’m fine – although I’m not sure how I didn’t break my elbow when I landed with most of my body weight on it.

    • Anonymous

      oh no! I’m glad you’re ok :)

  • RunTheLongRoad

    it was a bit icy this morning but over 20 degrees warmer than my run yesterday! no snow…i’ll take it.

    i’m so excited you are doing a spring marathon! you can’t beat doing a race in your hometown! nothing like sleeping in your own bed (or not a hotel bed) the night before. i think it takes a lot of the anxiety away. well, some of the anxiety!

  • http://angryrunner.wordpress.com/ AR

    Well, if he stays drunk all night he’ll hardly be the only drunk spectator.

    Tempted to join you….hm.

    • Anonymous

      haha don’t give him any ideas… and DO IT! It’s at least supposed to be fairly flat!

      • http://angryrunner.wordpress.com/ AR

        Heh – oops.

        Yea, I’ve run enough PARTS of the course to know it shouldn’t be too bad. I always want to run it and always end up getting drunk instead…could be a good year for it. ;)

  • http://katiessweatylife.wordpress.com/ Katie

    That is exciting about the Buffalo Marathon! I LOVE running marathons in OH so my fam can be in attendance! This is going to be a great race for you! I know it!
    Also, the x0s are not all that bad! In fact, my life has gotten so much better since I exited the 20s, for real! (I never believed it when people said that to me, but it’s true!)

    • Anonymous

      I remember you saying that when we ran together… I hope to have the same luck in my x0′s as you!

  • http://collegegirlontherun.wordpress.com/ Sarah

    That will be awesome to run with your family all there to see you! How exciting! I’m from New York, so someday I’ll have to run the NYC marathon in order to say that I’ve run a race in my hometown. Right now I’m training for the National Marathon in D.C., which is almost as good because a lot of my friends from school are planning on coming out to watch and cheer!

  • http://www.runforyourlifeblog.com/ Emilia @ Run for Your Life

    Yay for hometown marathons! ;)

    I’m running two (possibly three) half-marathons this spring. The last one is the Country Music Half in Nashville, which I ran as my second-ever 1/2 just before graduating from college in 2009. I ran it in 2:06 then, so my goal is to see how much faster I can do it this time around!

  • http://secondcityrandomness.wordpress.com/ Amy B @ Second City Randomness

    I think that’s a great way to send your 20′s off with a bang! I’m considering signing up for another half that is right before my birthday this summer. Waiting to see how the first one this year goes…

  • http://aliontherunblog.com/ Ali

    Your runs are getting fast, friend! I looked for you out there this morning but apparently I needed to be looking for you in the pool. Oops! I’m glad all the running is going well and you’re building mileage slowly, steadily and speedily. Let’s say, hypothetically, that I’m thinking about a spring marathon. Is there a chance I’d have an Upper East Side long running buddy? I can try to keep up, I promise.

    • Mealsformiles

      Obvi!! It’s a deal, although I think I’ll be the one keeping up with you!! :)

  • Anonymous

    I know this is going to sound like the furthest thing from a hometown marathon but I loved the Iceland Marathon partly for this reason. We had rented a real house and my family was there so for the moment it felt like my hometown..convenient and comfortable.

    I’d jump at the chance to do a real hometown marathon. I am personally all for them.

    I have a heard good things about the Buffalo Marathon too. I was actually contemplating the half last year…

    • Mealsformiles

      that sounds awesome! I guess any race with lots of family involved is the best kind!

  • http://twitter.com/traceyleffler Tracey Leffler

    My goal race this spring is Boston’s Run to Remember, also held May 27. It’s a half, but I am really looking forward to it.

  • http://anotherdumbadventure.wordpress.com/ Kimra

    I think a race is the perfect way to send out — I mean, celebrate — your 20s! Especially one with family and therefore a built-in cheering squad.

    I’m racing one more half in a couple of weeks, and then I’ll decide if I want to squeeze in another road race before I have to get serious about learning to ride my bike.

  • http://thenchangeit.com/ Kace

    I want to do the Broad Street 10 mile run in Philly, but it fills up sooooooo qucikly. I need to be diligent!

  • http://thethinksicanthink.wordpress.com/ Meggie

    GOAL SPRING RACE = ANY RUNNING RACE AT ALL

    Yep, have done a turkey trot in my hometown. It was fun! There is a good running community in my town.

  • http://twitter.com/carriebzyb Carrie Sandstrom

    I’m running the Fargo Marathon as my first one ever on May 18! It’s where a lot of my family is from and I’m super pumped and super ready to show them all what’s up!

  • http://twitter.com/carriebzyb Carrie Sandstrom

    I’m running my first marathon ever on May 18 in Fargo, ND where a lot of my family is from. I’m super pumped and super ready to show all my relatives what’s up!

  • http://betsyagogo.wordpress.com/ Betsy

    Every year I seriously consider doing the Cleveland Marathon, for the sole reason that it is my hometown, and I have a free place to stay/free food/free race support (my parents)/and my mom would probably pay for my flight, if I’m super nice. If I wasn’t still recovering, I’d probably run it this spring. I’m guessing next year, though!

    Yay great lakes hometowns!!

  • http://findingblissforme.wordpress.com/ Emily

    Wooo marathon!! It’s so exciting to run marathons on ‘home turf!!’

  • Anonymous

    yayyy, so exciting that you’ll be training for Buffalo! perhaps some of our long runs will coincide…i’ve never done a big race in my hometown, but the Steamtown marathon in Scranton is on my life to-do list :)

  • http://www.susanruns.com/ Susan- Nurse on the Run

    When I belonged to a gym and was injured, I swam a fair amount and really liked it! I told myself once I started running again that I would use swimming for cross training, but when the miles picked up I didn’t do that. But it definitely is an awesome, awesome workout! It’s crazy how tired I felt after swimming.

    Yayyy Buffalo! I’ve ran Chicago twice and it’s always fun looking for familiar faces in the crowd…it’s a huge race so the chances of seeing people are fairly slim, but it’s very distracting!

  • http://www.healthontherun.net Lauren

    Your marathon is ON my birthday!! I think that’s got to be a good sign. ;) Good luck with the training. I think it’s really exciting that you’re doing one in your hometown. I chose my first marathon simply because it meant that my entire family would be there.