Run Jen Run

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

NYC Marathon Training | Week 9 of 16

9 weeks down, 7 to go!

Another big week of training in the books as I get closer and closer to my goal. It was also a good fundraising week as my mom shared my fundraising link with all of her pickle ball friends. They helped get me to 36% - or $1,425 raised for the MEB Foundation!

I started the week off with a normal Monday with no running however this was the first week I’ve reintroduced my 30 min Foam Roll & Stretch class which took a summer hiatus. I’m really looking forward to having this on the schedule Monday mornings at least until the marathon.

Monday was also my parents anniversary. Craig and I met them out to dinner at a new Italian restaurant in Falmouth. On the ride home I got an email which included a personalized video from Meb to share with my followers on social media. So cool.

I taught aerobics in the morning on Tuesday then got out for a 4 mile run after I was done with clients. Guess what - it was still humid. And it was Craig’s birthday! I helped coordinate a little night out with some of Craig’s coworkers and we surprised him at the Pilot House for dinner and drinks.

On Wednesday I had a couple hour break from work before I had to go back to help a new employee close for the first time so I ran a slow 3 miler in the middle of the day. My legs were tired. It rained on Thursday so I brought aerobics indoors and cancelled pool class.

Friday was WINDY. Hurricane Lee was headed up the coast and supposed to hit through the night. I started my run from home at about 2:30 in the afternoon and was blown all over the place. My 7:27 pace was definitely wind aided.

We didn’t get as much rain - or even wind - as they were predicting on Saturday. I stayed up pretty late listening to the wind but I canceled pool class which allowed me to sleep in a little longer and enjoy my morning coffee at home with Craig. I had a great crew for Saturday Strength class and after working on payroll, I headed home to get caught up on some cleaning and laundry. That night Craig and I took a spontaneous trip up to New Bedford to go to his favorite Portuguese restaurant.

It was a long week of going out and getting to bed a little later than normal so I really didn’t want to set an alarm on Sunday morning. The good news was that it was cooler temps so I didn’t feel the pressure of needing to be done by a certain time. I was still up and out the door by about 8:20am. My parents were out of town for a few days so I decided to save travel time and just run from home. Craig helped me find a new road to help add 6 miles onto my normal 10 mile Cotuit run.

It was 62 degrees and sunny with 67% humidity at the start of my run. The weather was perfect. By the end it got to about 70 but I never felt that it was too warm. The new road I added on was nice - a quiet and windy road with lots of trees, shade and a few water views along the way.

When I got back on to Main Street, Craig was waiting for me with a water refill. As we were standing there chatting, up the road we saw an older man fall. We could tell he was struggling to get up so we went over and Craig helped his wife get him back on his feet. A biker also stopped to help and a woman from across the street offered to drive them home. We did our good deed for the day.

I continued on and saw Craig two more times. My goal was to get to Oregon Beach at 11 miles because I knew it was exactly 5 miles home from there. When I got to the beach my watch read 10.93 miles. Yes! I was feeling pretty good and it wasn’t until about a mile and a half from home - when I got to that hill I hate after crossing Route 28 - that I started to hurt. I rolled my ankle a few miles earlier and the uphill was causing pain. My right hip was also feeling very tight and it was getting harder to left that leg. When I got back into the neighborhood, Craig hopped on his bike and joined me for the final quarter mile.

The weather was so calm and perfect that after we got home, Craig I went back to Cotuit with the paddle boards. Craig thought I would be too tired to join but I couldn’t not take advantage of the day. We dropped in at Ropes beach and paddled into the wind about a mile to Sampsons, rested on the beach for a bit then padded pack with the wind at our backs. I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching football. Go Bills!

The next 4 weeks are going to be the toughest: 18, 14, 18, 20. If I can get through those 4 weeks, it will be taper time! Woo woo!

Monday 9.11.23

REST

Foam Roll & Stretch

Tuesday 9.12.23

4 miles (30:40)

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 9.13.23

3 miles (23:38)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 9.14.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Friday 9.15.23

5 miles (37:19)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 9.16.23

Saturday Strength

Sunday 9.17.23

16 miles (2:08:42)

2.02 mile SUP

This week’s mileage: 28 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 0 miles

Training totals: 225 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16 Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16 Week 6 of 16

Week 3 of 16 Week 7 of 16

Week 4 of 16 Week 8 of 16

Why I’m running the 2023 NYC Marathon

If you would like to support me and donate to the MEB Foundation, visit my fundraising page: https://www.givengain.com/ap/jen-skiba-raising-funds-for-meb-foundation

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

NYC Marathon Training | Week 8 of 16

8 weeks down, 8 to go!

It’s really hard to believe that I am halfway through NYC Marathon training! I just keep thinking back to the beginning of the year sitting on the couch dreaming of NYC and saying I had a lot of work to do in the next 8 MONTHS… now we are down to 8 WEEKS!

Monday was Labor Day and I worked all day but took my normal rest day from all physical activities which was nice after last week’s 16 miler.

On Tuesday I taught low impact aerobics in the morning, closed up work then headed out for an easy 3. My legs felt great but my mind wasn’t in it. When I got home I had a package in the mailbox from the MEB Foundation. In it was an autographed copy of Meb’s book 26 Marathons! What a surprise!

I had to open on Wednesday but was done for the day at noon! I was so happy to head home and get caught up on cleaning and laundry. I also ran 6 miles that afternoon - a nice, longer mid-week run. It was so hot and humid so I was trying to conserve energy and run easy but at times I felt like I was running in slow motion.

Thursday was double aerobics class day and the *feels like* temperature was 90+ degrees out on the pool deck. That continued into Friday. I opened in the morning again. It was hopefully my last opening shift for awhile with more new staff starting next week! On my way home from work I ran into my friend Matt at the grocery store. He was getting more water for the Zooma Half Marathon on Sunday morning in preparation of the predicted heat and humidity.

While I was out on my run later that evening, I had a thought that I should sign up for Matt’s race as I had 12-14 on the schedule this weekend anyways. By the way, that run was nasty. I was dripping from the start. But when I got home I texted Matt then signed up. I mean, why not? My last race was Boston 2019 so even though I would use the half as a training run, I thought it would be beneficial to go through the whole race morning routine and experience the pre-race jitters again.

I taught my 2 classes on Saturday morning, picked up my bib number, closed up at work then visited Craig at Naukabout for a Pina Colada sloshie. I was starting to question if running a half marathon the next morning would be a good idea with how humid it would going to be but I knew it would be better to have water out on the course and other runners around me than running alone. When I got home I laid out all my clothes and gear for race morning, drank lots of water and went to bed super early.

Sunday morning I was up before my alarm. I was definitely feeling nervous even though I knew it was a training run. The race started at 7:30 so I left the house around 6:20, got to the Old Silver Beach parking lot at about 6:40 and hung out for a little bit as I finished up my pre-run drink. I walked over to the Seacrest - where the race started and ended - and chatted with Matt for a little bit. I got in line for the bathrooms and by the time I was done there, the race was just about to start!

I made my way to the front of the line. I asked a girl at the start which direction we turned out of the parking lot because I hadn’t even really looked at the course map! The gun went off and we started running. Temperatures were in the low 70s. It was 100% humidity at the start and later learned 99% at the finish. The wind was pretty much non-existent. It was ew.

I tried to keep my pace around 8:00 however I kept looking down at my watch seeing 7:40 and 7:45. It’s so hard not to want to race and pick off other runners in front. It’s a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a few years. I saw my parents around mile 2. Mike from run club was directing runners soon after. Matt was at a turnaround somewhere. His wife Eilis was out on the course too. I saw my parents again around mile 5 and then 8. I stopped both times for a dry towel to wipe off my face. That was HUGE.

The course itself was nice. A little hilly. I found myself running alone almost the whole way with the exception of a few miles on the bike path where I started passing all the 10k walkers and runners. A girl came out of nowhere and sprinted by me at the finish. I ended up in 5th place. I guess that’s not bad for a training run.

My parents and Craig met me at the finish line. I sat on the curb for awhile and ate an orange before hopping on the front of one of our paddle boards while Craig paddled around Old Silver Beach as I relaxed.

That afternoon Craig and I adventured to Harwich. I’ve been dying to try a mudslide at Chapin’s Fish and Chips but of course we show up and they were closed for a private event. From there we went to the Ocean House Beach Bar. Our luck continued as their mudslide machine was turned off for the season so instead I sipped on a refreshing strawberry mojito with views of the ocean and Week 1 of NFL football games on the TV. We decided we would go to the Sand Bar for food but when we pulled into the parking lot at 4:05pm there was a sign out front with “closing at 4:00 today.” From there we went to the Port for dollar oysters - we had a dozen each - and I tried the peanut butter mudslide.

I don’t remember much about the drive home LOL other than it was down pouring and we were in Craig’s convertible. Craig dropped me off at home and went to Naukabout for a while. I was in bed asleep at 7:45pm.

Monday 9.4.23

REST

Tuesday 9.5.23

3 miles (23:30)

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 9.6.23

6 miles (47:30)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 9.7.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 9.8.23

4.08 miles (32:17)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 9.9.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 9.10.23

Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon 1:46:37

This week’s mileage: 26 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 0 miles

Training totals: 197 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16 Week 5 of 16

Week 2 of 16 Week 6 of 16

Week 3 of 16 Week 7 of 16

Week 4 of 16

If you would like to support me and donate to the MEB Foundation, visit my fundraising page: https://www.givengain.com/ap/jen-skiba-raising-funds-for-meb-foundation

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

NYC Marathon Training | Week 7 of 16

7 weeks down, 9 to go!

What a week! My highest mileage week so far (30 miles), longest long run (16 miles) and most hours worked per week all year (69.5 hours over 6 days)… I’m exhausted!

Monday started with a rest day - no running and no classes.

On Tuesday I had to open and close up the Athletic Club (5:45am-6pm) but I had a little help from Hannah - one of the banquet servers - so I was able to sneak out for a short run at noon. There was a chance of rain all day and man was it HUMID. One of my clients made my day by delivering me donuts from Duke’s Donuts in the Mashpee Commons. They were so good! I won’t tell you how many I had that day. Marathon training will make you do unexplainable things when it comes to food.

Wednesday was another open to close shift but I had Hannah there to help cover the front desk again. I had about an hour and a half of free time between clients and classes so I got out for 5 miles at 8am - again so humid - and showered quick before my class. That afternoon the food and beverage supervisor offered to close up allowing me to leave an hour early which was great because my cousin Austin was in town for a visit. I met up with him and my parents at Naukabout and we crushed it at Team Trivia!

Thursday was my third open to close shift in a row. Each day it got harder and harder getting up in the morning. By the time I got home at 6:15pm, I was ready for bed but Craig took me out to Somerset Creamery and we had ice cream for dinner. It was great.

My only employee left had Friday off from school so she opened for me in the morning. That was great but I still had a 7:30am client so I couldn’t exactly sleep in. I did however get in another mid-day run around 11am ish before she left and I had to cover the desk from 12-6pm. The weather was PERFECT. It felt like fall. The sun was out, the air was cooler and it was wonderful. My run felt surprisingly good for how much sleep I was lacking.

Saturday was my double class day and no running day. Nora worked the morning shift again while I closed. She also trained one of the new front desk employees I recently hired. With him starting, next week is looking a lot better for me. Another week after that we should be back to full staff. That night I got to watch a little Penn State football while Craig went out with some coworkers. There was no way I was getting off the couch to join them!

I didn’t set an alarm for Sunday morning so I got a little later start to my long run then usual. I had 16 on the schedule so I went to Falmouth to get it done. It was about 72 degrees, lower humidity and windy but not a cloud in the sky.

My run wasn’t too eventful - which I guess is a good thing. I thought if my mom was back from pickle ball in time that she might meet me on her bike around 7 miles to join me for the rest of my run. When I got to that spot there was no sign of Linda so I kept on running. I texted to say that I’d be hitting the beach parking lot at both mile 10 and about mile 12.5 so that would be a good place to meet me for a water break. I didn’t see her at 10 but she was there on my way back! She had ice and a water refill and stopped to chat for a little bit.

Overall I was feeling pretty good. Around mile 9 I turned a corner to run along the beach and the wind was in my face almost bringing me to a standstill. On the way back (11.5 is) the wind was at my back, there was no shade and omg that sun felt warm. I felt like I was starting to melt.

After I passed my mom I turned onto Maravista which I used to love running until recently when they updated the sidewalks and now it’s like running mini hills the entire way. That next mile really took a lot out of me. Lucky for me my mom was waiting at the end of the street for another quick break and 2 miles to go. I stopped at the light waiting to cross Route 28 and stood next to a man smoking a cigarette. I laughed a little at the differences in our choices for the morning.

After the run, I was very slow moving. I sat on my parents back deck for awhile before sitting on my own back deck with coffee and Craig. I finally hopped in the shower and we made a move. Sandwiches from Dean’s in North Falmouth, a Dunkin’ refresher and some boat time with Pete, Meg & fam. On the way home we stopped for another waffle cone - I mean we basically passed Somerset Creamery so we couldn’t not stop!