Summer of 2019 – Week 1
I’m back! I got back into the running habit this week after the 2019 Cleveland Marathon by completing 11 miles on Sunday and 7 miles “easy” on Tuesday and Thursday. But then… I entered a half marathon on Saturday!
Training Schedule
June 2nd – June 8th
Sunday: Easy Run. 11 miles
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Easy Run. 7 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Easy Run. 7 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 2019 Lawyers Have Heart 10K.
Total: ~31 Miles
Notes. Essentially, I took two weeks days off after the 2019 Cleveland Marathon. This week, my goal was to ease my way back into running regularly. But, I made a huge deviation to my plan on Saturday and ran the Maryland Half Marathon rather than Lawyers Have Heart 10K.
Workouts
Easy Run. 11 miles [Log Details].
In the two weeks after the 2019 Cleveland Marathon, I ran 22 miles total. This would be my first long-ish run since then.
From my house in the southern part of Arlington, Virginia, I ran north and uphill to the Clarendon area. I hadn’t paid close attention to local events and was surprised when I saw road closures ahead. As I approached the turn to the main road heading to Rosslyn, I realized the activity was for Armed Forces Cycling Classic.
My pace dropped below 8:00/mile on the downhill motivated in part by listening to “Old Town Road“, which I downloaded this week after seeing a viral video of kids dancing to the song.
On the Mount Vernon Trail, my pace slowed a little but not much. Now that my legs were warmed up, I could assess their condition. My knees were a bit sore but the muscles felt fully rested. On occasion, I stopped to take pictures and catch my breath. I’d carried my small Nathan handheld so I could stay hydrated during the heat but the water fountains at Roosevelt Island and Crystal City were both working!
Overall pace=8:22.
Easy Run. 7 miles [Log Details].
Tuesday morning was a lovely spring day – the temperature was barely 50 degrees. I wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of my neighborhood instead of the din my usual 7 mile course along Interstate 395, so I quickly plotted out a route before leaving the house. I ran down to the W&OD Trail and headed west and uphill to the Bluemont Junction Trail. I expected the incline would feel arduous but my Garmin showed low-8:00 pace. Along the way, my head was filled with so many things I needed to accomplish on the day. My pace was so fast because I was running angry! The got off the trail in Ballston and ran south and downhill on Glebe Road before heading home.
Two days later but after a rest day, I would run the same route but in reverse. In the warmer weather, I ran about 20 seconds/mile slower.
Overall pace=8:09.
Maryland Half Marathon. [Log Details]
I woke up thinking I would run the Lawyers Have Heart 10K but I wanted to run long and somewhat hard this weekend anyway so I decided to run this race, which I knew absolutely nothing about, instead.
Studying the course in the car before the race, I realized it was very hilly. I started the race strong but the terrain forced me to dial back the pace early. Between Mile 8 and Mile 9, I finally allowed myself to run hard. I finished feeling tired but not completely spent. My time was good enough for 6th woman overall and 1st in my 10-year age group!
Time=1:45:56. Overall pace=8:06.
Health
Injuries. Post-marathon, my hips and knee have been achy but they’re slowly healing.
Weight. Until now, tipping 130 pounds after a marathon was a sign it was time to start working out again. This week, I got above 135 pounds, which is the heaviest I’ve been since college.
Weather
The spring-like weather continued, which made returning to running thoroughly enjoyable. On Sunday, it was just under 70 degrees when I started my run. On Tuesday, it was barely 50 degrees!
But by Thursday, the humidity soared to 80%!
Routes
Trails. “Arlington to Study Ways to Close the W&OD Gap Near East Falls Church,” ArlNow. As a runner, I don’t find this area hard to negotiate but I could understand if neighbors are concerned about safety. I frequently see cycling cruise through the crossing.
(My Guide to Washington D.C. Area Running Routes)
Clothing
Tops – Singlets. Brooks Hot Shot Short Sleeve Shirt. This is the only item I bought at the 2019 Cleveland Marathon expo. (Modeled to the left). The fabric is soft mesh. The back is cut out and creates and additional cooling effect. The only downside is the sleeve are capped and a little boxy.
Gear
StrideBox. My June delivery arrived this week. I’m interested in trying the Ener-C Sport Electrolyte Drink and the Elite Ops Energy Strips.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. ”Episode 195: The News Cycle (Lindsay Crouse),” Pace the Nation. An informative and balanced discussion on the issue of pay reductions for pregnant female athletes. I don’t think it hurts the debate to acknowledge that some sponsors have been working with their athletes, so I thought Deena Kastor was treated a bit unfairly on Twitter. But, putting pregnancy in the contract specifically makes sense.
Music. “Old Town Road,” by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus. I saw viral video and had to check out the song that inspired the level of pure joy in these kids.
(My Songs of the Week” on Spotify)
Motivation.
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”raised” width=”800px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”4″ border_color=”#f11d9a” rounded_corners=”false” outside_shadow=”false”] Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles. – Alex Karras [/dropshadowbox]
Thinking back on the 2019 Cleveland Marathon and how miserable the conditions were, I feel unstoppable knowing I finished that race.
Racing Schedule
Future races. Looking ahead, I decided it wouldn’t make sense to make the 2019 New York City Marathon my goal race for the fall because I’m doing a fair amount of traveling this summer. I’m going to do a summer training regime that will focus on speed-work and start training for a January marathon in September.
Next race: 2019 Firecracker 5K on July 4th. (My Complete Racing Schedule.)
(My Racing Schedule)
