NYC Marathon Training | Week 5 of 16

5 weeks down, 11 to go!

I can’t believe how fast these weeks are flying by. Monday was a normal rest day. On Tuesday I taught Low Impact Aerobics in the morning then ran 4 miles after work.

Wednesday was a busy day at work which included a middle of the day trip to the doctor’s office for my annual physical. I was in and out of my appointment in 14 minutes flat. My doctor called me a dream patient because I’m apparently I’m pretty low maintenance compared to his other patients. He’s actually a dream doctor as he apologized for being 2 minutes late for our appointment once. Anyways, my bloodwork was good and he’s sending me for another bone density scan since it’s been more than 5 years since my last one. I went back to work for the final kids “Summer Athlete Training” of the summer before running 4 miles. I didn’t stop once! I felt great! Wednesday was also NYC Marathon selection day and I had to log on to the NYRR website and choose my transportation to Staten Island (a 5:30am bus from Midtown Manhattan eek!), bag check preferences and number pickup day/time.

Thursday was class day so I didn’t run. Craig ended up working a lot later than expected and I went to bed super early because Friday morning I had to go in and open the Athletic Club at 5:45am. If you didn’t know, I’m not a morning person. The good thing is I only worked until about 1pm. Later that day I ran just under 4 miles with Reggie. We stopped at Naukabout for a water break and to see Craig. It was a little too humid for her but we slowed down and walked a few times, especially on the way home from the brewery. I would like to start taking Reggie with me more once the weather starts cooling down. Her pace on this run showed she’s not quite ready.

Saturday is my other big class day and then I had to work the closing shift on the desk from 12-6pm which left my long run for Sunday again. I had 12 miles on the schedule. It was Falmouth Road Race weekend so I avoided Falmouth and stuck to my other long run roads in Cotuit. I got out the door a little after 8am. It was 70 degrees and sunny with the humidity at 60 percent. Perfect. At the end it was 75 degrees and sunny but the humid had dropped to 55 percent. Even better!

The run itself went well. I was waiting to cross the road just past Lowell Park in Cotuit when I stopped my watch and then next thing I knew I heard it buzz. I looked down and saw “run discarded” on the screen. I was so annoyed. I got this watch about a year ago and I love the look but I hate the touch screen features. My shirt or something will touch it when on pause and my run has either ended or been deleted. So for the next couple of miles I was trying to figure out if I’d run 2 miles or 2.5 miles or more. At first I was thinking 2 but then I decided it had to been about 2.5 miles. That meant 9.5 miles to go on my newly started run.

I looped around by the water and eventually made it to the end of Main Street Cotuit. I stopped at the beach - found 2 pieces of sea glass - and then Craig appeared. He was out on his motorcycle and planned it out perfectly this week. After our little beach walk, I had about 5 miles to go. I told him I was good then we split up. I was 2 miles from home when I started to hit my wall this week. It was also when I passed 4 college aged girls that started cheering for me as I passed. “Looking good!” “Keep going!” “You got this!” Thanks girls! Needed that.

I crossed 28 back into Mashpee and lost my steam going up the dreaded hill which leads me home. The last mile and a half was a struggle. As I was recovering and hydrating at home I mapped out the first part of the run to where I stopped my watch and found out it was more like 2.85 miles - which was 0.35 more than I thought. Woo woo!

Later that day Craig and I grabbed sandwiches and stopped by Scorton Creek for lunch then ended up on Sandy Neck Beach with friends and a few doodles for some sun, sunset and a fire. I was exhausted and fell asleep a few times in my beach chair. Marathon training is a lot harder than I remember but overall a great day.

 

Monday 8.14.23

REST

Tuesday 8.15.23

4 miles (31:10)

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 8.16.23

4 miles (30:36)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 8.17.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 8.18.23

3.75 miles with Reggie (31:10)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 8.19.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 8.29.23

12 miles (1:25:00)

This week’s mileage: 24 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 4 miles

Training totals: 115 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16

Week 2 of 16

Week 3 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

NYC Marathon Training | Week 4 of 16

4 weeks down, 12 to go!

This week was a little easier week of training. After 3 weeks of building, I got to back off a little. Monday was a normal Monday - no running and no classes. Instead I baked! First two zucchini breads of the year with zucchini from the garden.

On Tuesday I ran from home. The pups were home alone for a long time during an intense thunderstorm and tornado watch so I figured I’d stop home and check on them before sneaking in a short 3 miler. Another 3 miles on Wednesday - this time around New Seabury.

If all goes well on Tuesday and Wednesdays, I try to take Thursdays off from running as I teach both low impact aerobics and a water aerobics class on Thursday mornings. Two back to back aerobics classes is enough cardio for one day!

I set out for 4 miles on Friday afternoon. I was super relaxed but my Garmin splits were showing that I was running pretty fast too. I felt like I could run forever and I actually thought something was going on with my GPS so I ran an extra 0.25 miles just in case.

Sunday morning we woke up to more thunderstorms and heavy downpours. They were supposed to last until about 11am. Craig and I laid in bed from about 7am until 8:30am just listening to the rain and snuggling with the pups. Once we got out of bed, Craig made eggs and toast for breakfast while we relaxed some more and enjoyed our morning coffee. I was a little worried about when I’d get to run but I was also thankful it was only a 10 miler on the schedule for this week. 

Finally around 10:30am the rain seemed to slow down. It was now or wait until late afternoon/early evening. I was antsy and knew Craig probably wanted to do something later if it got nice out so I changed up and headed out the door about 10:50am. When I started it was about 70 degrees, cloudy with 90% humidity. About a mile into my run the sun started to come out. I usually make fun of the dummies that run in the middle of the day during the summer months but I stuck to some pretty shady roads while keeping it pretty relaxed. I stayed on roads close to home which was pretty boring. I didn’t really pass any other walkers or runners. I didn’t make any stops at the beach for a quick seagrass hunting session. Actually I didn’t have any water views at all - unless you count beautiful Santuit Pond. LOL. I ended my run about 12:15pm. By then it was 78 degrees, full sun and 80% humidity.

After the run, Craig and I stopped by Naukabout for a sloshie before heading over to meet up with Pete, Meg and the girls for a little boating fun and a Chart Room sunset.

Monday 8.7.23

REST

Tuesday 8.8.23

3 miles (24:44)

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 8.9.23

3 miles (23:56)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 8.10.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 8.11.23

4.25 miles (32:17)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 8.12.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 8.13.23

10 miles (1:19:05)

This week’s mileage: 20 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 0 miles

Training totals: 91 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16

Week 2 of 16

Week 3 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

NYC Marathon Training | Week 3 of 16

3 weeks down, 13 to go!

Another Monday off - no running, no classes. On Tuesday there was a Run Club reunion at the Lanes with all my old running friends. I feel kind of silly writing this but I got a little nervous about running with other people - I don’t feel like I’m the same runner since my surgery - so I decided to run on my own after work and just meet up with them post-run for a drink. I hadn’t seen any of them since about the summer of 2019 so it was great to catch up.

I would normally run on Wednesday but I decided to switch my run day to Thursday this week because there was a Naukabout staff outing at the Pilot House. I was happy I got to tag along with Craig for a mudslide and crab cake sandwich. Yum!

I thought Thursday’s run would be tough because in the morning I taught aerobics and water aerobics back to back so I set out with the goal of 3-5 miles. I told my front desk staff that I would be gone for 30-45 minutes. His response was “what is that… like 3.5 miles?” Before I could even answer he quickly added “wait, is that disrespectful?” I laughed but it also made me feel good that I’m still running at a decent pace even though I’m stopping a lot and don’t quite feel like myself out there. Right away as I started running I felt great and light on my feet. Almost effortless. I got in my 5 miles with only 1 stop at the half way turnaround point and was very happy.

It was a little cooler on Friday afternoon so I brought Reggie for my 3 miler. Craig was working so I thought we’d run to Naukabout to give Reggie a break and some water before heading home. Just as we were walking up the road to the parking lot I saw Craig backing out. Lunch break. Reggie definitely needed a break so I told him to drive her home and I finished up on my own. I felt like I was flying on my way back. I guess I was trying to get home so I could see Craig for a few minutes.

At the beginning of the week I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep building this week or drop back down for my long run. I didn’t really map out a traditional 16-week training plan as I wanted to take it week by week to see how my body was responding to training and work, etc. and I knew I wanted to be a lot less aggressive this time around. For example, only one 20 miler vs. two which I always used to plan for.

On Sunday morning Craig encouraged me to run in Falmouth again and even when I started running I didn’t know how long I’d be gone. The plan was an out and back. Head to the water and run along the coast. I knew it was exactly 7 miles to Surf Drive Beach. It was another beautiful Sunday morning. Much warmer than last week. The sun was shining bright but there was a slight breeze and low humidity which certainly helped. At about 5.5 miles I made the decision to run the 7 miles to Surf Drive Beach. I was feeling relaxed and enjoying my time on the roads. I felt good until I hit mile 11... 3 miles from my parents house. The exact same spot as the week before. I thought about calling my mom to see if she was home from pickle ball yet and would hop on her bike and meet me for my final miles. I also knew Craig was out on his motorcycle and I was just hoping he would appear ASAP. He found me with about 3/4 miles to go which gave me a little boost until the end.

It’s hard to believe that I ran 14 miles. For me there’s something about the first 14 in a training plan that makes you really feel like you’re marathon training. There’s also something special about telling people you ran 14 miles when they ask how far you went over the weekend. More than a half marathon. More than half way to the full marathon. I’ve come a long way since spending 6 weeks on the couch at the beginning of the year.

Next week I’m going to back off a little before the build - 10, 12, 14, 16 is the plan for long runs over the next 4 weeks.

Monday 7.31.23

REST

Tuesday 8.1.23

3 miles (23:24)

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 8.2.23

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 8.3.23

5 miles (38:48)

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 8.4.23

3 miles (23:40)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 8.5.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 8.6.23

14 miles (1:49:53)

This week’s mileage: 25 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 1.5 miles

Training totals: 71 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16

Week 2 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