I ran most of the course of the NYRR Marathon Tune Up 18-Miler yesterday. And I boarded the struggle bus!
I’m still not sure why I didn’t sign up for the race, I’ve done it almost every year I’ve run the NYC Marathon and it’s always been a really good indictor of where I am in my training.
That said, I did run 18 miles in Central Park yesterday, I just didn’t do it as part of the race.
All Aboard the Struggle Bus!
Not surprisingly it was hot and humid and I was pouring buckets of sweat from the end of the first mile until almost an hour after I finished. It was one of those runs where, when I stopped to get water, I could almost not stop myself from drinking too much because it felt so good to have something relatively cold.
And wet.
And it just felt so good to stop.
Chicago Marathon Training Update
I’m still kind of irked at myself for the way my training has been going. I’ve been doing all of my weekday runs down by the Hudson River as it’s closer to my house and I can get my run in while not taking too much extra time to get back to work. The problem is that it’s flat. And I mean SUPER flat. And when I attend the Church of the Sunday Long Run in Central Park, this hills are KILLING me.
And at this point it’s too late for Chicago to start incorporating hills into my training. Luckily, the Chicago Marathon is super flat with really only one bump at the end of the race. And I can start to add hills to prepare for NYC and still make a difference in my training.
I’m not going to PR either race by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m counting this year as a come-back and will work on speed and consistency later.
I still have another two years before I need to BQ (by my original promise to myself), and I’m building a good base to do that.
But back to yesterday. I did it. I finished the 18 miles even though it was a struggle.
And I’m trying not to get down on myself for my times. Looking back on this race over the last five times I’ve run it, it’s hard not to though.
With three more weekends until Chicago, I’ve decided that I’m not going to taper.
I’ll run two 20s in a row. Is that the smartest move? No, but I’ve done it before for NYC and it’s worked out for me.
How’s your training going?
Yesterday was brutal. I’m not marathon training but I was in the Park and really admire all of you out there pushing it. Your Hudson River are my East River crunch time runs, I also need to get back to Mile High to deal with hills so I don’t hate them. Especially if I’m going to run the Lebow Half again.
Training cycle here has gone great for Chicago…just warm and humid…repeat. Have gotten in 2×19, a 20 and a 22. I am going to taper and hope your plan provides you with a great couple of LR’s that launch you into a great Chicago Marathon.