Plogging crew by the Prospect Park lake.

I went on my first plogging run today! Plogging is an activity that started in Sweden, a combination of jogging and picking up trash. It’s a nice complement to regular runs because a whole lot of squatting, twisting, and stretching is involved. It feels especially good for me right now when I need to just do a lot of easy running. My goal for all runs for at least the next month is to keep my heart rate below 144; during today’s run it averaged 137. Perfect.

My buddy Alex started the Plogging NYC Meetup group a while ago, and they’ve plogged in all five boroughs already. I got involved when he asked me a while ago to help lead today’s run in Prospect Park since I’m familiar with the trails. I love introducing people to the trails and was excited to plog, so that was an easy yes. We did a reconnaissance run a few weeks ago to figure out a 4-mile route, and the actual group run was this morning. The weather was good, the ploggers were enthusiastic . . . and we finished the run at Smorgasburg, a huge open-air food fair. It was fun.

Plogging isn’t going to solve the problem of plastic/trash dumping alone, but it feels good to do and does make a difference on the local level. A lot of people in the park stopped to talk to us, ask us what we were doing, and say thank you. That felt good.

If you’re interested in trying this out, you can get connected via Meetup, Instagram, or Facebook.

It’s time for a quick review of 2017 plus some goals for 2018.

2017: I ran 1,106 miles total. That’s almost exactly what I ran last year and NOT very close to my goal of 1,500 miles. Oh well (*shrugs*). Mileage peaked in August as I was preparing for the Portland marathon and again in December as I got seriously into Bear Mountain training.

I ran 21 races in 2017, and I hope to never run that many races in a single year again! It was just too much, but a lot of it was chasing the NYRR 9+1 qualifier to get into the New York City marathon for 2018. My favorite race was the Breakneck Point trail half marathon. I raced my first duathlon and got a big kick out of that. I trained for and ran the Portland marathon, and even though I wasn’t thrilled with how I did I loved having so much of my family involved either as spectators or as first-time marathoners.

2018: I want to run trails, hike, and go rock climbing. I have my eye on five races this year (I’m actually registered for three of them already) and I really want to keep it limited to these: two trail ultras, two road half marathons, and the NYC marathon. I’m really enjoying the current training approach (4-5 runs weekly, 3 weeks on, 1 week off) that I’m following for Bear Mountain so I’d like to keep something similar going as I prepare for all of this year’s races.

I have a handful of wonderful running buddies, including my husband, and I want to keep spending time (and miles) with them. I need to stay focused on nutrition as I’m getting close to completely vegetarian. Sleep and recovery time continue to be hugely important.

I think that’s about it. Happy (belated) 2018, everyone!

Trail, bare trees, and the Hudson River.

If you take the subway to 175th Street in Washington Heights (northern Manhattan), cross the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, and take a right, you’re all of a sudden in the woods, running on dirt trails along the Palisades cliffs and spotting deer, hawks, and other runners and hikers. It’s great! I did 9.5 miles out at the Palisades last weekend and it was just lovely.

The trails aren’t quite as technical and the elevation doesn’t change as much as it will in the 50k on Bear Mountain, but it’s still a good workout and a nice change from running park trails. There’s no water available in the winter (and only a single water fountain I’m aware of in summer) so you need to carry whatever you need. There are two main trails – the Long Path along the cliff tops, and the Shore Path down by the edge of the river. I almost always stick to the Long Path, running an out-and-back, but I suppose going back and forth between the two on the handful of connector trails would give some good elevation gain. Maybe next time.

Looking north along the Hudson River.

For a few years now I’ve had my eye on Rainshadow Running’s Gorge Waterfalls 50k in Oregon as a race that I really want to run as my first 50k. I entered the lottery for the spring 2017 race but didn’t get picked. Now the spring 2018 race has, sadly, been canceled due to the terrible fire this summer. But I’m in a spot right now where I feel like I have the time and energy to train for a 50k. So? Plan B: the North Face Endurance Challenge Series 50k on Bear Mountain, New York, May 5, 2018. I’ve registered and this is my first week of training.

Logistics: This will (duh) be my first race longer than a marathon. 50k = approximately 31 miles, so around 5 miles longer if all goes as planned. The elevation gain will likely be around 4,500 feet across the 31 miles. To put that in context, the Breakneck Point half marathon I ran this spring had about 4,500 feet of elevation gain across 13 miles. I’m not saying Bear Mountain won’t be hard, but the climbing won’t be as fricking insane as it was at Breakneck. Race start time is 7 a.m. and a ten-hour cutoff means I’ll need to finish by 5 p.m. All during daylight; no headlamp needed. I would love to average 12- or 13-minute miles, but even 15-minute miles on average would keep me well under the cutoff.

Training: For a training plan, I’m using the “first 50k” plan from Krissy Moehl’s Running Your First Ultra. The book itself is a little sparse and could’ve used some editorial work, but the plan seems very solid, built on four-week cycles of three weeks of increasing workload then one week of recovery, with weekly totals that aren’t daunting except for two or three weeks near the end. It’s a 24-week plan so it will be the longest I’ve ever trained for a specific event. I’m going to include as much strength work as I can and also focus on quality daily nutrition (vegetarian always, vegan when possible) and getting tons of sleep. I’m lucky that there are trails right here in Prospect Park that I can use for mid-week runs and speed/hillwork. I’m hoping to get out of town most weekends, by train or bus, to run on Bear Mountain itself or around the Cold Spring/Beacon area.

I don’t really want to post a weekly training log but maybe I’ll post one for every four-week cycle. And hopefully I’ll post about some of the trails I get out to run on, outside the city. Plus general ramblings about gear, nutrition, and general preparation. Here I go!

I haven’t been posting here regularly since last summer/fall when I was training for the Steamtown Marathon. But here I am, 16 weeks out from the Portland Marathon, so I’ll start doing weekly training logs again!

This will be my third marathon. Here are some random thoughts and intentions for this training cycle:

• I’m using NYRR’s Virtual Trainer program this time.
• I’ll have much more free time on weekends this go-round, so hopefully less stress about squeezing in long runs.
• 4 runs per week, plus a goal of 2 rock climbing sessions, 2 bike sessions, and light yoga/strength work.
• I’ve been meat-free, other than occasional fish, for a year and a half now, and I want to stay focused on eating healthy while training (no, cutting out meat doesn’t automatically make your diet healthy!)
• Weekday morning runs have been working really well for me (thanks to an awesome running buddy) so I’ll continue with that.
• In the interest of getting up early (see above), no alcohol on weeknights, unless I’m out with friends.
• I hope I can knock at least a half hour off my previous marathon time, bringing it down from just under 5 hours to around 4 and a half.

My husband, my dad, and a friend are also all running Portland – first marathon for all of them. This is going to be an awesome adventure!