I guess the title of these posts will now become, “JC Marathon Training.” Because this week was the United Airlines NYC Half – and it’s officially in the past.
Despite the crumby weather, it was a great race and a fun time. I came up a little short of my goal, but I’ve got no regrets. Onward to Jersey City.
This week, I’m focused on rest and recovery. I’ll keep the mileage a little lower, skip the workout, and hope to bounce back fully next week. After this week, I’ve really only got two solid weekends before it’s time to taper.
That’ll leave time for a couple good long runs and one or two workouts. But that’s all based on the assumption that recovery goes well this week.
The Plan for the Week
I tapered down a bit and ran 60 miles last week, and I’ll stick with 60 miles this week. And aside from the race on Sunday, the miles will be easy. I’ll throw in some light strides on Thursday or Friday to stretch my legs, depending on how I’m feeling.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 14 miles (NYC Half Marathon!)
- Monday: 6 miles trails
- Tuesday: 6 miles trails AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Wednesday: 6 miles trails
- Thursday: 6 miles trails AM, 4.5 miles treadmill PM
- Friday: 8 miles easy with strides
- Saturday: 4.5 miles easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Race Day!
The early spring flew by, and I can’t believe it’s already race day. Due to some scheduling issues, I couldn’t stay in the city for the weekend, so I ended up driving in the morning of the race.
The logistics were much smoother than I expected. I drove in and parked downtown. It was a ghost town – no traffic, no problem parking. The only issue was the subway was a little full on the way to Brooklyn. I wouldn’t recommend trying to get on further south than Canal Street.
The weather was a bit crumby. The rain held off and it wasn’t too warm, but the fog was heavy and the humidity just clung to you the whole time. I warmed up pretty quickly throughout the race, and I was sweating by mile two or three. The fog killed the views from the bridge, too.
My goal was to finish in 1:25. It didn’t happen. I made it over the bridge and to the six mile mark just slightly behind schedule – but close enough that I could have hit the mark if I sped up. I had a couple good miles on the FDR Drive, but I faded over the final hills once we got into midtown.
You can read the full race report here.
After last year, I want to return to Brooklyn at some point. But I dislike the timing of that race – usually only a couple weeks after an April marathon. This one, on the other hand, is perfectly timed, and I’m sure I’ll be back here in the future. So I’ll get some revenge on those hills.
Monday: A Slow Slog On the Trails
Sunday was a long day. I woke up early, raced, and then had to go to a work event for the rest of the afternoon. When I got home in the early evening, I crashed hard. And when I woke up from that nap, my legs were stiff.
Monday morning, it wasn’t too bad, though. I left for my trail run, and my legs were stiff and slow to warm up. But I eased into things, and by the second half I felt pretty good. Overall time for six miles was just over an hour.
It was still pretty warm out, and I think this was the first day of the year that I had a tank top on (other than races). It also rained heavily overnight, so the trails were pretty muddy and my feet were soaked by the time I got home.
Tuesday: Recovery On Track
I started the day Tuesday morning with six miles on the trails.
I felt much better today than I did yesterday. My legs didn’t complain at all, and I felt light on my feet. My shoes were still a little damp from yesterday, and the temperature was back down in the 30’s, but otherwise it was a great run.
On the way back, I checked in on my pace and I doing ~9:10/mi on a flat section of trail. I finished up in just over 58 minutes – not fast, but not slow – with the later miles averaging ~9:20/mi.
For two days post-race, I think that’s a good sign.
In the evening, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy five miles. Forty five minutes and done.
Legs felt great. My heart rate drifted up a bit, but I didn’t have any issues with my breathing. It’s likely because it was warm and humid down in my basement.
Wednesday: An Easy Trail Run
The nice thing about recovery weeks is the mornings are short. Done in less than an hour.
I woke up and hit the trails fairly early. It was a bit chilly, but warmer than yesterday. Legs felt even better.
Finished up in 57 minutes. After the turn around, all three miles were under 9:20 – and the final mile was ~9:05.
Yup, recovery is on track. But must resist the urge to bounce back too quickly …
Thursday: More Doubles
This has been a nice, easy week with a lot of time on the trails. Thursday, I woke up and started with another six miles on the trails.
The first mile was a bit slow (> 11:00). Took a bit to loosen up. But the back half felt great. Eased down to ~9:15/mi for the last few.
Had a busy day of work, prepping for a conference over the weekend. But once that wound down, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy double.
I finished up Bad Batch the other day, so it’s time for a new show. I’m not caught up on What If on Disney Plus, so I fired up an episode of that.
My legs felt great. Afterwards, I took a few minutes to stretch and do some gentle yoga.
Friday: A Taste of Speed
After four days of slow, easy running, today was the time to test out the legs with a bit of speed. Instead of the trails, I ran down to the Reservoir for four laps.
The wind was back with a vengeance. When I turned the corner from my house onto the main street, I got hit with a huge gust of wind. It came and went throughout the morning, but I was glad I didn’t have to do a real workout.
Took the first lap easy, and legs felt good. Second lap, I eased into some light strides.
After the second lap, I stopped for some leg swings. The right hamstring still feels (mostly) good. It’s a tiny bit tight, but not like it was last month.
Third lap – more strides, slightly longer with each one. I wondered why my watch wasn’t beeping, and then I remembered that I had the auto-lap turned off from Sunday. The settings are different for Trail Running, so it’s been auto-lapping fine all week.
For the final lap, I wanted to test out some extended speed. So I set off at roughly half marathon pace effort. I didn’t look at my watch until the half mile mark, and at that point my average pace was ~6:33. Felt nice and comfortable. I turned the corner and ran into a headwind, but I still finished up the 5 minute segment at just over 6:30/mi average pace.
Jogged the rest of the way home. Great way to end the week. Legs feel good, speed is there. Recovery complete.
Saturday: A Quick, Easy Run
Friday night, I had to go out of town for a work conference. We had a big, late dinner and a couple beers. So my sleep wasn’t great, and I had to wake up early to get my run in before the conference started.
But once I had some coffee and woke up more fully, I felt fine. We’re in Princeton, so I planned on a quick, easy loop around the office park – just about 4.5 miles.
It was a little chilly – but on the right side of chilly. The sun was just coming, and the sky had a beautiful reddish color on the horizon. For a corporate office park, the area is beautiful, with plenty of woods and relatively little traffic.
The time flew by, and before I knew it I was done with the first four miles. The pace eased down to under 8:30/mi by the end. Felt nice and loose. Finished up with some strides.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
The goal this week was to take it easy, recover, and prepare to finish out this training block with Jersey City. And that was a success.
I started the week with the race at the NYC Half, and the next day, I felt pretty good. Over the course of the week, my legs felt great. And Thursday, I did a little stint around half marathon effort and everything felt good.
By way of contrast, I did not feel this good in the week after Fred Lebow. Maybe the hills in Central Park got to me. Or it was just a bad week. But recovery this week felt a lot better.
Next up, I’ve got a ten mile race with the team tomorrow – the Garden State Ten Miler. I’m going to approach it like a workout – start with a five or six mile warmup, take the race at around marathon pace, and cool down with a mile or two. Total of 16 or 17 miles on the day. If I feel good at the end, I might edge the pace down slightly in the last two to three miles.
Three weeks from tomorrow is the Jersey City Marathon. Hard to believe it’s almost here. So time to get comfortable at marathon pace.