A step at a time

It's only been 3 days, but I've been sticking to the personal goal.

Yesterday, for the first time in a really long time, I woke up early as I used to, went to the gym and worked out my chest muscles and then hopped on the treadmill for an easy 1 mile run.

Here's the weekly plan for April:

Sunday: 3-mile outdoor run day
Monday: Lift, chest, 1 mile run
Tuesday: Lift, legs, 1 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minutes cross training cardio
Thursday: Lift, back, 1 mile run
Friday: Lift, legs, 1 mile run
Saturday: Rest

Next month I hope to increase my daily runs to 2 miles a day, and then in June I want to be at 20 miles per week. Hopefully this time I'll avoid injury because it will have been a long, gradual build up of mileage.

So today I did a leg workout and then I did an easy paced 1 mile run on the treadmill.

Not bad. Hope I stay injury-free and that I keep up with the schedule.

Starting Over

Today I'm starting over.

I had to end training last year for the 2006 New York marathon because I developed a stress fracture, which only worsened during my climb and descent of Mt. Kilimanjaro last August.

But today I hope to begin building my base in time to start a training program for this year's marathon.

Sometimes I can feel a little tenderness in my right foot, where I'd developed the stress fracture last year, and sometimes I think I might be developing a new stress fracture in my left tibia. Let's keep my fingers crossed that it's merely a shin splint or something else.

I'd planned to run in the gym because it's so cold out, but it's Easter Sunday and so the gym was closed. I started out doing some yoga, but I realized that if I'm going to be serious about training, I need to be serious about running even when it seems inconvenient. So I put on a few extra layers, and I ran my favorite path, the bridle path from Columbus Circle to the reservoir and back. I took my time, and it didn't hurt. I tried running with more hip action, to engage the hamstrings and hips where I think I may have been using them less post-ACL surgery. Hopefully that will take pressure off of my tibias and foot bones.

The Bridle Path

Since starting this blog, I ran my requisite 3-mile run outside for the first time, and I ran it on my favorite 3-mile route along the bridle path.

It's called the "bridle path" because it's unpaved dirt pathways where the equestrians in New York City - yes, the City - can and do ride their million dollar pure breed horses.

I love it because it's easy on the knees and affords cool shade and sweet floral scents in the warm months. I start on the pavement at Columbus Circle and make my way north on the west side, following the path in front of Tavern on the Green. I follow it all the way to the reservoir where, conveniently, there's a water fountain. One way it's approximately 1.55 miles, and at that halfway point I can hydrate. So I take the path back again the way I came, and I usually can run it slightly faster than going out.

Today I ran it in a little over 28 minutes, so I was running at about a 9:00 pace. That felt fast; I can't believe that when I was in college and had to run 3 miles for PE 100 (affectionately known as "Run 100"), I ran 3 miles in 24 minutes! And the crazy thing is I feel like I'm in such better shape now! Of course, I do weigh about 10 pounds heavier now, too...

Give me the bad news first

It was only a mile more than last week, but today's 14 miles were brutal.

The conditions were ideal - it was a balmy 67 degrees when I started, and there were bits of rain here and there that felt like a refreshing Evian face spritz for the whole body.

I'd mapped out my course beforehand: 1 lap of the 6-mile loop, 1 lap of the 5-mile loop (bound on the north by the 102nd street traverse), 1 lap of the reservoir, and 1 lap of the 1.7-mile loop (bound on the north by the 72nd street traverse). I like the bad news first: give me the hardest and longest lap first so that everything thereafter feels easier.

Again, I made myself walk every 8th minute, and I can only imagine how much worse it would've been had I not done this. I ran exactly 14 miles in 2 h 41 min, for an average pace 11:32 min/mi. Not too bad considering that I walked 1/9 of the time!

Sunday must be most marathon trainers' long-run day. There were a lot of Fuel Belts out.

I didn't see too many characters out today. I saw the military guy - the big dude who is at every NYRR race, shirtless, with his army hat and cheers everyone on - and he said hi to me. I also saw the older glamorous woman who walks and wears the black veil across her mouth and nose. Speaking of walking, there was one race in the Park today - a racewalk that looked pretty intense.

One lesson that came to mind as I ran today's hard run - you can't judge the runners around you. In the Park, where there are tons of people running at the same time, it's so easy to judge whether or not you're better or worse, faster or slower. I was plugging along pretty slowly and didn't pass too many people, while I found myself moving out of people's way more often. There's no way to tell what another runner is doing - whether she's doing a long or short run, whether she's experienced or not, whether or not she's training for anything. So you have to run your own race plan or training run without paying attention to the next guy.

I think that's what this year's marathon is going to be for me. Chicago last year was all about crossing the finish line any way I could, even if it meant that I crawled across the finish. This year I want to finish on my terms - to execute a race plan I intended. If I walk during the New York marathon, I hope it'll be because I planned to - like in these long training runs - and not because I can't bring myself to keep running, as in Chicago.

Sunshine in the Rain

I missed the ideal temperature window to run this morning, and by the time I geared myself up to do the run, it had begun raining. It was about 1:30 by the time I was able to get out there.

I reached a PR for 7 miles today. On Wednesday it took me 1 h 13 min to run 6.7 miles, and today it took me 1 h 5 min to run 7.0 miles. I did a counterclockwise loop of the 5-mile loop (bounded on the north by the 102nd street traverse), with a back and forth on the traverse to add 0.3 miles, followed by the 1.7-mile loop (bounded on the north by the 72nd street traverse). I had a chocolate PowerBar gel at about 45 minutes.

Today's run felt good - there was spring to my step, and my joints didn't hurt at all. I felt faster. Maybe the new shoes really are magic!

It's amazing how truly small yet large the running community is in New York. There's this African-American man in, maybe, his 40's who's clearly a professional runner. He waves to me when I run by. I've seen him on the bridle path and on the 6-mile loop, and he always does a salute to me. It's pretty cool. I felt legit - a part of the running community.

Day of Rest

Today is a scheduled "rest" day. I did Celestine's Yoga II class, and then because I kinda wimped out on yesterday's workout (only 2 miles instead of 3, and no strength training), I hit the stairs in my apartment building. Besides, I need to break in my Lowa mountaineering boots for Mt. Kilimanjaro - can you believe I leave in less than a week?! I only did the 50 flights once up and once down, though; didn't want to take too much wind out of my sails for this weekend.

Magic Shoes

My new Asics GT-2110's just got in from Activa, and I couldn't wait to try them out. Broke them in on the treadmill. 2 miles.