We’ve had a couple of cooler weeks now and it feels sooooo good.

Monday 8/28/17: Off.

Tuesday 8/29/17: 4 miles easy before work, plus heel dips.

Wednesday 8/30/17: Evening intervals: warmup, then 9×800 at marathon pace (between 9:45 and 10:00/mile), then cooldown. Just 30 seconds jog between intervals. I really enjoyed this workout.

Thursday 8/31/17: Off.

Friday 9/1/17: Practice run for Sunday’s (gulp!) duathlon. This was just a half day at work, so in the afternoon I took my bike, my duathlon gear, and my helpful husband to the park to do a dry run of all the transitions. Half-mile run, 2.6-mile bike, half-mile run, switching shoes between legs. This was also my first time using duathlon mode on my watch! Everything went smoothly, it was surprisingly fun, and I’m feeling much less nervous about Sunday.

Saturday 9/2/17: Semi-long run with running buddy F. We added a new leg through Industry City to an otherwise regular route down to Coney Island. 14 miles, avg 10:58/mile, final mile in 9:24. Soaked our legs in the ocean at the end, grabbed coffee at Dunkin Donuts, and hopped on the subway home.

Sunday 9/3/17: New York City Duathlon – my first-ever duathlon, and in the rain, no less! 2.2 miles run, 12 miles bike, 2.2 miles run. I had a blast. Race report coming soon, if I can figure out something more coherent than “This was really fun!” to say about it.

Totals: 30.4 miles running, 15 miles biking.

Total solar eclipse. This blew my mind.

An eclipse!

Monday 8/21/17: Both Grandma’s birthday AND a total solar eclipse, followed by a 3.5-mile recovery run. On hills. Of course.

Tuesday 8/22/17: Flying back to NY.

Wednesday 8/23/17: Evening tempo stuff: 1 mile warmup, 2 miles around 10:00/mile, minute jog, 1 mile around 9:20/mile, minute jog, 1 mile around 9:15/mile, 1 mile cooldown. Hard work but it felt good.

Thursday 8/24/17: Off because I was too lazy to get up and climb before work.

Friday 8/25/17: Easy 4 miles before work.

Saturday 8/26/17: Off.

Sunday 8/27/17: Serious long run! 18 miles, across the Manhattan Bridge and then up the Hudson River Greenway all the way to Harlem. Slightly slower than planned, but the initial pace felt very sustainable and I picked up the pace to 10:00/mile average for the final 2 miles. Average pace 11:27/mile.

Totals: 32 miles running and that’s all! 6 weeks until the marathon.

Over halfway.

Monday 8/14/17: Off. Tired but not feeling bad from yesterday’s long run.

Tuesday 8/15/17: Easy 3 miles in the morning. First run in my Brooks Revels – so far, so good. Heel dips after the run.

Wednesday 8/16/17: Al Goldstein 5k after work with one mile each of warmup and cooldown. I ran the race in 25:54, which made it my second fastest 5k ever!

Thursday 8/17/17: Morning climbing session! And foam rolling.

Friday 8/18/17: 3 miles before work. I had 5 on my schedule but really wasn’t feeling it, between the humidity (ack!) and a slightly sore right quad/groin. I’m not sure if climbing or the 5k is to blame for the soreness. Evening: flight to Portland for Grandma’s birthday and solar eclipse viewing weekend.

Saturday 8/19/17: Off, hanging out with the family and chasing toddler nephews.

Sunday 8/20/17: 13 mile long run on the hills outside Salem, Oregon. I love running out here. It’s hard; the first four miles of the route were uphill, and the first two on gravel, and I had 1,000+ feet elevation gain over 13 miles. But it’s gorgeous and the air is clean and dry and the views are like nothing else.

Totals: 24 miles running, 1.5 hours climbing.

Wow. Halfway there!

Monday 8/7/17: Easy recovery run after work in the cool rain. 2.5 miles.

Tuesday 8/8/17: Off.

Wednesday 8/9/17: Morning workout: 1 mile warmup, 7×1000 meters (with 45 seconds walking rest in between), 1 mile cooldown. This felt really good. I was supposed to run the 1000s around marathon pace (6:20/km) but my speed kept inching up with each one. I guess I should’ve stuck to the plan but I felt good and strong increasing the pace.

Thursday 8/10/17: Strength work at home (light yoga, myrtls, pushups) after work.

Friday 8/11/17: Morning run: 6 miles, 10:40 avg pace. Bought new shoes after work (Brooks Revel).

Saturday 8/12/17: Off. Possibly the laziest day of my life.

Sunday 8/13/17: The training plan had 12 miles scheduled but I switched it for next week’s 17 miles … and got through 16.2 total. It was rough and hot, and it didn’t help that my watch was spazzing out and not synched up to the GPS right. (So yeah, that 16.2 is a guess.) 11:30-11:45 avg/mile.

Totals: 32 miles running; my bike is sad and gathering dust in the corner.

PopTarts turned out to be a great gel replacement. Awkward to carry, but tasty and they sit well in my stomach.

Week 7! Mileage is inching up!

Monday 7/31/17: I meant to ride 15 miles or so this morning but didn’t get up early enough so … 3.4-mile bike ride. Sigh.

Tuesday 8/1/17: Morning run, significant humidity. 5 miles at 11:00 pace, plus heel dips at end.

Wednesday 8/2/17: Unexpected day off. The evening 5K was canceled due to thunderstorms in the forecast. The storms never happened but it was incredibly humid and I decided to not run at all.

Thursday 8/3/17: Morning run (initially planned for Wednesday evening). 7 miles with the middle miles faster, running by feel. It was nice to realize that even though this was hard, I felt strong through the whole thing. 10:45/mile average.

Friday 8/4/17: I woke up with a slight sore throat so I ran after work instead. 4-mile regular run, faster than it should have been but it was fun. 9:16/mile average.

Saturday 8/5/17: Morning foam rolling! This felt good and I need to focus on doing it more regularly. I got out for a few loops of the park on my bike in the afternoon.

Oh my gosh these waffles.

Sunday 8/6/17: Long run: 15 miles across the Manhattan Bridge then up the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River. The weather was incredible (high 60s at the start!) and overall this run felt really good. I spaced out and forgot to bring gels, but I stopped by a bodega in Chinatown and bought some PopTarts and they ended up being surprisingly good running fuel. I grew up on the things so I guess my stomach knows how to handle them. I felt some pain in my right foot during the last few miles and it has me thinking it might be time to buy new shoes – I wore my Hokas but they have (*checks Strava*) 321 miles on them. I’ve been alternating between the Hokas and a pair of Brooks Launch 3. I really love the Launch but they don’t have quite enough structure/support to use for long runs regularly. I want to check out the Brooks Revel (okay, because they LOOK COOL) to see if they might be an acceptable replacement for the Hokas. Anyway, good run, faster final mile, 11:08/mile average pace and ate some amazing waffles afterward.

Totals: 31 miles running, 13.5 miles biking, really hoping I have time to climb a little next week.

Week 6! Got all my mileage in just fine but cross-training was … nonexistent.

Monday 7/24/17: Rest day. Kitten learned how to sleep in my lap.

Tuesday 7/25/17: Morning loop of the park: 4 miles at 10:00 pace. Felt stiff from three days off, but had plenty of energy and the cooler weather was pleasant.

Wednesday 7/26/17: Morning run: 6 miles at 10:00 pace with a focus on hills. Incredibly cool, sunny day and everything felt great.

Thursday 7/27/17: Rest day.

Friday 7/28/17: 6-mile morning solo run. I wanted to just do an “as you feel” 6-miler, not checking my watch. I did that for the first 5 miles, thinking I was keeping the pace steady, but the humidity and heat were back and I didn’t have any oomph left at the end, so I just did the last mile as an easy cool-down. But when I got home and checked my miles splits, it was a nice progression: 10:20, 9:47, 9:43, 9:27, 9:18, then 10:32. So that’s fine. The last few days off cool weather (Wednesday especially) felt incredible, but I think we’re back to “real” New York summer now.

Saturday 7/29/17: Rest day, focusing on kitten socialization.

Sunday 7/30/17: Long solo run. Cool and sunny, but I struggled with hydration and fueling (not enough of either beforehand, and didn’t carry enough water or gels with me). At 11:05/mile, my average pace was totally fine, but I don’t like the way I did it (fading at the end and overall feeling like I worked too hard).

Totals: 30 miles running (yeah!) but no biking or climbing. I blame the kitten – I didn’t want to leave her home for longer stretches of time than absolutely necessary.

No-name kitten demonstrates perfect rest-day form.

This week was a scorcher! It also featured an unexpected kitten (!) and a missed long run (boo).

Monday 7/17/17: Ran the NYRR RUN 5k race in Prospect Park after work. We were late to the race (as in, heard the start horn in the distance when we were still shuffling across the park to the start) and started way at the back of the pack. This was frustrating because I ended up spending the entire race weaving – usually in a NYRR race, as long as I start in my proper corral, the first mile at most will be choked up and slow and then I can settle into a good pace, but this is the first time I’ve spent an entire race in that situation. The temperature was in the low 80s with super-high humidity, so between that and the weaving there was no PR in sight. Still, I ran 26:53 on my watch (8:28/mile), and I’m fine with that.

Tuesday 7/18/17: I had a bike fitting at Bicycle Habitat, which was really interesting! I got a recommendation for a new saddle that will fit my butt bones better (thanks to a machine that measured butt bones), talked about seat height, leg angles, posture, and all this good stuff, used a trainer for the first time, got the cleat on my right shoe adjusted so my foot angle is better, and more. Today was just bike miles, riding to the fitting, to work afterward, and to a bar after work.

Wednesday 7/19/17: Speaking of the bar after work last night: good reminder of why I’m trying to avoid weeknight and night-before-workout drinking. It was fun but … ugh. I moved my morning workout (5x1000m intervals) to the evening but even then, between the heat and some definite dehydration, I couldn’t get through the whole thing. I warmed up, ran two and a half of the 1000s, then just jogged for a total of about 5 miles. Eye-roll.

Thursday 7/20/17: Feeling better, though it’s still crazy hot. No running but I tried some of the Jasyoga reset videos for the first time: Foot Reset, Hip Reset, and Hip Flexor Reset. It felt good. There’s a one-month free trial code via their Instagram page.

Friday 7/21/17: Brooklyn continues to feel like a sauna. 6.5-mile run in the morning, 10:45 pace, stopping at basically every water fountain we passed. A little yoga after work.

Saturday 7/22/17: Rest day, mostly dealing with a stray kitten I found on the fire escape Friday night. Kitten care took precedence over bike miles.

Sunday 7/23/17: Not feeling very well (and not going into details because that would be TMI for a public blog!) and I bailed on the long run. Which I HATED doing, but I think was the right decision. Ugh. Extra sleep, and some quality kitten time.

Totals: 14.5 miles running, 5.5 miles biking. I’m definitely disappointed in the mileage situation, but it was a tough week in a lot of ways.

This week is a step-back week with only three (well, plus one optional) runs according to my training plan. I really appreciated the additional off day, but Wednesday’s workout and Sunday’s long run were still hard work.

Monday 7/10/17: I meant to climb before work but when I woke up, I wanted another hour and a half of sleep more than anything. Light yoga/strength work in the morning and some serious foam rolling at night.

Tuesday 7/11/17: Morning bike laps with the Women’s Cycling NYC group: 20 miles at 16.5mph. This felt good.

Wednesday 7/12/17: Humid evening workout in the park! 2.4-mile warmup, then 8×400 (2:08 working down to 1:57 but not all that steadily) with a minute or so rest between, then 1 mile aiming for marathon pace (9:02, a little too fast), then cooldown.

Thursday 7/13/17: Bailed on climbing again in favor of sleeping in. Evening foam rolling.

Friday 7/14/17: 5 mile morning run at 10:00 pace. Much cooler this morning but still humid. I found a berry patch at mile 4.8 and stopped to pick a bunch, then ran the last 0.2 with a big handful of berries so I could bring them home.

Saturday 7/15/17: 2 hours kayaking in Marine Park with a friend. This was fun! Quick evening swim at Coney Island before a beer-and-french-fry meetup on the boardwalk.

Sunday 7/16/17: 12 mile long run down to Coney Island with training buddy F. It was hot without much shade along the route and we were both a little tired, but I think we did a good job. Average pace 10:36, final mile 9:12 then shoes off and straight into the ocean to cool down.

Totals: 24 miles running, 20 miles biking, no climbing but 2 hours in a kayak.

And with that, Week 4 is done. One-quarter of the way to Portland!

I listened to the Runner’s World Show podcast for the first time this week (I always have big goals for listening to podcasts on the subway, but then I’m distracted by music). Episode 60 was really good. Key takeaway: Stress + rest = growth.

Monday 7/3/17: No work! Three hours bouldering in the morning, then some foam rolling, plus about 12 miscellaneous bike miles (to/from Costco, then to Brighton Beach), and a quick swim at Brighton Beach. Fun, fun day.

Tuesday 7/4/17: No work again! Morning 6-mile run with F. We were both feeling tired and I was pretty sore/stiff from yesterday’s climbing. Five strides at the end of the run and heel dips afterward.

Wednesday 7/5/17: Rest day. It feels weird to have a full rest day mid-week but I’m really appreciating it. Cheered and rang my cowbell enthusiastically at the Al Goldstein 5k race after work; light foam rolling before bed.

Approaching the TrackTown 5k finish line – at least I *look* a little bit like I know what I’m doing?

Thursday 7/6/17: I kept things relatively easy when I climbed in the morning, and did some light foam rolling. I left work early to get to the 5k road race at the start of the TrackTown Summer Series NYC meet on Randalls Island and, despite train delays (UGH) I made it in time to see some teammates, check my bag, and do a decent mile warm-up. I was feeling slightly intimidated by the race itself but also reasonably rested and prepared. Unfortunately I did NOT have the oomph I was hoping for, and my finish time (26:43 by my watch, avg 8:28/min) was nowhere near last month’s PR of 24:58. In retrospect, I don’t think I was quite as rested as I assumed I was; also, I ate a too-big lunch that still had me feeling heavy by the time the race started. Still, it was cool to be at Icahn stadium with teammates and a bunch of other local runners, and I had a blast watching the pros run after us. And there was beer.

Friday 7/7/17: Mostly a rest day: just foam rolling and 8 bike miles to and from Bunna Cafe for dinner. (YUM.)

Saturday 7/8/17: Noon run with some fellow club members to eat key lime pie in Red Hook. I’m not used to midday runs and it was hot and humid but 100% worth it for the pie prize at the end. 5.3 miles, 10:30ish/mile, heel dips afterward.

Sunday 7/9/17: Long run #3! We started at 7 am. It was sunny but less humid than it’s been lately, and there was nice shade and breeze for almost the entire run over the Manhattan Bridge, through Battery Park, and up the west side of Manhattan. This felt really good and I was happy to pick up the pace for the final two miles. 11 miles total, 11:00ish/mile average.

Totals: 27.5 miles running, 20 miles biking, 4.5 hours climbing. I slacked a little on the yoga and strength work at home – gotta fix that next week. This was my highest running mileage week in a while, but it didn’t feel draining.

The ocean is the best ice bath.

Monday 6/26/17: SERIOUS rest day. As in I slept in and didn’t even roll into work until around noon. That felt good.

Tuesday 6/27/17: Early morning run: 4.5 miles in the rain with 4 strides near the end. Heel dips, then strength routine at home.

Wednesday 6/28/17: Morning run: w/u, 6x800m, c/d. This was fun. I forgot intervals were fun. I like the 800m distance.

Thursday 6/29/17: Morning climbing: 1.5 hours on the bouldering walls with two good friends who are also in the early stages of their marathon training cycles. Discussions about how to balance running, cycling, climbing, and life ensued. Evening: a little yoga time and some foam rolling.

Friday 6/30/17: Morning run: 2 miles warmup, 1 mile time trial, then 1 mile cooldown. This was hard! But I ran the mile in 7:37 which is without a doubt the fastest mile I have ever run in my life. Heel dips after cooling down.

Saturday 7/1/17: 11 hours of sleep followed by a big breakfast and then a 40-mile bike ride from Brooklyn up through Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge, across to New Jersey, and then back. Whew! It was fun to be out on my bike on my own, and it let me get a better feel for what kind of pace is sustainable for me at longer distances. It seems like if I’m around 15 mph I can keep going for hours. Average for this ride was a little slower (13mph), mostly due to lots of start/stop traffic stuff (plus one crazy hill). Tailwind worked pretty well for nutrition on the ride but I was craving solid food by the end. Evening: foam rolling.

Sunday 7/2/17: Super-early 9 mile long run down to Coney Island with running buddy F. It was very humid even at 6 a.m., so this was hard. But it would’ve been harder alone. We kept a really steady 10:30 pace with a strong finish. Wading into the cold surf after the run was the best feeling.

Totals: 24 miles running, 40 miles biking, 1.5 hours rock climbing. And lots of sleep. So far, so  good.