NYC Marathon Training Week #2 Update

Delayed recap of week #2, fueled by a trip out of town and ongoing remodeling of my house which has essentially displaced us out of the main living level and into the bedrooms or out on the patio when we're home. I missed a run this week, partially on motivation factor, though worked out all 7 days (yes, I know, rest is my friend) and 9 in a row. Week #3's Monday rest day WAS taken for those who might read and think "over training". And believe it or not, I did get up for a 5:30am Pure Barre class (4:45 wake up!) which was worth it in exchange for the shenanigans of Thursday evening. I also kind of missed my "double days" this week (WEIRD). It's amazing what our bodies will do when we truly ask them to commit to the load and then also fuel them properly.

In summary:
Planned miles: 24
Completed miles: 17.8 plus 3 Pure Barre classes (3 hours total), 1 Body Pump class (1 hour) and a few short walks with my dogs (not documented in the mileage above)

Training highlight: Feeling like a total bad ass rocking out my 8 mile "long run" Friday after work (and before driving to Auburn) even though I was TIRED from Thursday's concert and my feet were still swollen from the heels/hours of standing and dancing. Mind over matter.

Non-training highlight: Thursday night Luke Bryan concert with my friend Nicole. 

Waiting for the main man to take the stage

Some people really push back against "bro country" but I enjoy his music and the imagery it evokes (and let's be honest, he's HOT--though I liked his music before I knew what he looked like!). His radio stuff is pretty good, but honestly like with most artists the more you explore their albums the more good stuff you find. He (and his opening acts) gave a lot of energy to the crowd and I'm hoping to make it back to a "Farm Tour" concert in Auburn this fall.

"Shut it Down" on piano (One of those "unreleased" songs I was referring to above)

Sorry for the blurry phone pic, I had brought my good camera (with the zoom) from home and then left it at work on my desk for the actual concert! Pissed. Oh well. Next time :)

Favorite gear this week: Without a doubt my smart phone. Internet radio (Pandora and Spotify both have uses in my world), You Tube and even my online Italian lessons got me through my running this week.

To Do Next Week: I still need to order some more socks and continue stocking up on new/retiring my old sports bras. I've got a coupon and I keep leaving it at home in the renovation chaos.

And the details:
Monday: Plan--OFF; Actual-- 1 hour Pure Barre, plus walking Roxy 1 mile.

Tuesday: Plan--5 miles "Regular Run"; Actual--4.8 miles, avg pace 9:48. Jemison Trail plus add on segment. I realized that left my GPS at home so I was running mostly by feel and just clocked a start and end time. Could have tried to estimate .2 but really, why? Close enough. Plus, felt great about a strong performance despite 90+% humidity. I was saved by tree cover and overcast skies.

Wednesday: Plan--5 miles run "As You Feel"; Actual--5 miles AYF. Met up with Amy for the Trak Shak run. Extremely small crowd because it has been monsooning 30 minutes before the start and we weren't sure if we would be totally rained out of our meet up. Light drizzle to begin but cleared up throughout the run. Felt good and kept easy, conversational effort. Walked Roxy when I got home (.6 miles)

Thursday: Plan--6 miles Intervals; Actual--1 hour Pure Barre at 5:30am! I ran this workout last Sunday and knew that with the concert Thursday night after work if I was going to do *anything* it would have to be super early before work. Not going to essentially "double" on runs within 12 hours (or run 4 days in a row), so I was happy to make an early PB class fit in here. Dare I say, the 4:45am wake up wasn't actually that bad but I was hungry ALL DAY and felt a little energy lag after lunch. On the half mile stretch to get out of my neighborhood I saw 5 runners (2 groups) and 4 walkers (2 groups). WTF?!?! I was really surprised to see that many people in a residential area out at 5:15am. 

Friday: Plan--OFF; Actual--8 miles "long run". Avg 10:33. I was headed out of town for the weekend to attend a memorial and knew that after driving late my motivation to get up and do 8 solo miles Saturday morning would be low--and then it would be hanging over my head Sunday. So even though I was exhausted from staying out until midnight and then working another full day--AND my feet were still sore/swollen from the heels I wore to the concert, I headed to the gym to just GET IT DONE.

I was fueled by the "post concert" high so to break up the time I listened to some LB on Spotify, watched a few funny videos on YouTube and listened to one of my online Italian lessons.

Mile 0-2.5: 10:40 pace, Mile 2.5-4.5: 10:31. Took a quick break for Gu and to towel off. Mile 4.5-6.5: pace varied between 10:00 and 10:40. Mile 6.5-8: 10:40 and gradually moved it up every couple minutes to finish the run at a solid 9:40.

Foam rolled for 15 minutes once I got to Auburn.
Saturday: Plan--"Flex Day"; Actual--1 hour Body Pump. Took the class at my aunt's gym. Had a little celebrity/athlete run-in here, but I'll be discreet ;) since it's a private club and also some place I'll be returning to in the fall when I'm in town for football games. My right knee/IT band continue to feel a little "tweaky" so came home and foam rolled for 15 minutes after class. Also walked my aunt's dog (Duke) .6 miles.

Sunday: Plan--8 miles "long" run; Actual--1 hour Pure Barre. Walk Roxy and Bali .6 miles. I probably could have/should have made up the 6 miles today but I was BEAT. We got back from Atlanta (from Auburn) close to midnight on Saturday. Then Sunday I had to drive back to Birmingham. Upon return, found my living room knee deep in renovations. I passed out for a short mid-afternoon nap and basically drug myself to Pure Barre at 5:30pm--and really that was mostly because I'm just trying to make the most of my (expensive) unlimited monthly membership!