Run Jen Run: NYC Marathon Training

13 weeks down, 3 to go!

It’s my favorite part of marathon training - taper time! The hard work is done. Time to recover and get ready for race day.

I received a few more donations this week which brought me up to 66% of my fundraising goal for the MEB Foundation. Getting close! If you haven’t donated already, doing so not only gets me to the start line in New York City but also helps give youth the opportunity to succeed in the areas of health, education and fitness.

Here’s the link to my fundraising page: https://www.givengain.com/project/jen-skiba-raising-funds-for-meb-foundation

It was also an exciting week because bib numbers and start line waves/corrals were assigned! I am number 18824. Woo woo!

Ok back to training… Monday was a holiday. I was originally planning a day off from work so I cancelled Foam Roll and Stretch but ended up booking a couple clients and headed in for the morning.

On Tuesday I taught low impact aerobics then ran 5 after work. It was a lot warmer than I thought but I felt good. I had an appointment at CVS for my flu shot and even though I gave myself plenty of time, I still hurried along. The worst part was when I got there I found out they didn’t have any left. I was so annoyed. Thanks for the notification.

I had to open on Wednesday morning and it was nice to not feel crappy from a vaccination. I got home and took Reggie out with the intentions of running 5 miles. We ended up going for 6 but then as we were running up the driveway I remembered I left a poop bag at the corner. Bonus mile for Jen!

Thursday started with a really fun aerobics class but then the day dragged on. I felt more tired than I did the day before when I opened! My run sucked. My legs felt heavy. My mind wasn’t in it. I even had a little mid-run beach walk but found ZERO pieces of sea glass. Lame. Then I stopped at one point during the last mile to walk up a hill and forgot to stop by watch. Oh well. I was happy when it was over.

Friday was another weird day. I woke up to some bad news about a friend then felt a little off the rest of the day. I had an ocular migraine which caused a headache and nausea then some new neck pain which also didn’t help. I closed at work and took the afternoon off from running. I had to rest up for Saturday’s long run!

You read that right - Saturday was long run day this week! Not only was the weather looking better on Saturday but on Sunday Craig and I had tickets to Oysterfest in Wellfleet!

I woke up Saturday morning feeling a little nervous but ready to get my longest training run over with. I got ready, packed everything up and was on my way to Falmouth.

My dad joined me on his bike. The weather was PERFECT. Temperatures in the low 50s, sunny with a slight breeze. At one point I even told my dad if the weather was like this on race day, I would be one happy runner.

I wish I had more to say about the run but it wasn’t that eventful. I didn’t feel all that bad. A little tired the last couple of miles, but that’s expected. I had no ankle pain. My dad stayed upright on his bike. We each found only 1 piece of sea glass. I didn’t even feel very sore after. The biggest news was that I got it done. 20 miles. 36 miles total on the week.

I stopped for Starbucks and Duke’s Donuts on the way home then housed 2 double glazed donuts in the parking lot. Later that day, Craig and I took a drive to Turk’s Seafood in Mattapoisett and I crushed delicious scallops, tuna tacos and a lobster sushi bomb.

Sunday was a good day. Craig and I got to sleep in then met up with Pete, Meg and the girls for Oysterfest. The Bills played Sunday night but I barely made it to halftime. I was exhausted. What a weekend! So happy to say it’s time to taper… 3 weeks to go!!