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

NYC Marathon Training | Week 6 of 16

6 weeks down, 10 to go!

Last week started off with a rare Monday recovery run. I knew that the next couple of weeks are going to be tough at work with my entire front desk staff leaving for school and my new staff coming in were not through the onboarding process yet so I snuck in a run when I could. I had a few morning clients and was done by 1pm. Craig and I took a quick trip out to Home Depot, stopped at Osterville Fish on the way home then I was out the door for a little under 3 miles. My legs were tired. I was pretty pumped though because I had a zoom call later that night with Team Meb! Craig cooked up an awesome meal with tuna, rice, asparagus and a stuffed scallop while I chatted with my team. It was fun and very motivating listening to Meb’s stories about NYC and hearing questions from my teammates.

Did you know? Since the MEB Foundation was established, they have donated more than 70,000 pairs of shoes to children and communities around the world. How cool is that?

Tuesday was a long day at work… 5:45am-6:15pm. Yuck. I didn’t run but I did teach a class. Then I got Thai food take out on my way home.

Wednesday was a better day. I was home at a decent hour, ran 5 miles - felt amazing during it - then met my parents for a drink at Naukabout. I taught my two aerobics classes on Thursday morning, had to close up at work then was treated to a massage from Craig. I sure needed it.

It rained most of the day on Friday. I had a few instructors out so I taught a bonus HIIT class in the morning and kicked everyone’s butt - including my own! The weather cleared up so after closing up the Athletic Club I went out for 4 miles. I didn’t stop once - mostly because I didn’t get started until about 6:15pm and I wanted to get home to the pups. It initially felt a little cooler and the rain may have stopped but it was SO HUMID. I stupidly wore a sweatshirt. By the time I was done it was a totally different shade of blue. Soaked.

I taught classes Saturday morning, closed up at work and was ready for bed. Craig had other plans. We were on our way out to get ice cream but detoured out to Chatham to meet up with our NH friends Drew and Molly that happened to be on Cape for a few days. Even though I was tired, we had a blast. Such good people. By the time we got home at about 11pm I was totally exhausted and not looking forward to running 14 miles the next morning.

I was wide awake Sunday morning around my usual time even though we were up a lot later than normal. I packed up my running gear and made my way to Falmouth. It had been a few weeks since long running in Falmouth and I was looking forward to the route I had planned out. I was tired before I even started and sore from my Friday and Saturday classes.  Oh and it was 70 degrees with 98 percent humidity, a dew point of 70 with 4 mph winds. It was going to be a fun one.

About 2.5 miles in, I was dripping from every pore in my body. I actually took selfies along the way to watch the progression of sweat marks on my shirt. Pace wise I was cruising along, taking my time, trying to enjoy the run. I passed a lot of other runners and walkers out on the roads. I got to one of my beach stops with about 3.5 miles to go and realized I was almost out of water. That never happens. I called my mom and luckily she was on her way home from pickleball. She met me a half mile later with a bag of ice and a water bottle refill. It was so hard not to jump in her car for a ride home but I toughed it out and finished my second 14 miler of training.

It’s funny every marathon I’ve trained for, I’ve craved something different. My last marathon was cheeseburgers. One marathon was very specific - I wanted a scallop and bacon pizza from a place on Main Street Falmouth. This time around, all I want is a frozen drink after my long run. Must be a summer training thing. 

With that being said, after my run Craig and I went to the Poppy Raw Bar and of course I had to try their strawberry mudslide. I am on a mission to find the best mudslide on Cape Cod. Right now the Poppy Raw Bar is up there in my rankings behind The Port and the Beachcomber. We also slip oysters, littlenecks, a bowl of chowder, a stuffy and a crab cake. All delicious and a perfect post-run treat. We may have stopped at Naukabout on our way home too for a pina colada sloshie. Craig wanted to pick up his tips from the night before and one just happened to land in front of me. Oops!

Monday 8.21.23

2.65 miles (21:10)

Tuesday 8.22.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 8.23.23

5 miles (38:09)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 8.24.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 8.25.23

4 miles (31:19)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 8.26.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 8.27.23

14 miles (1:50:26)

This week’s mileage: 26 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 0 miles

Training totals: 141 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 of 16 Week 5 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 2 of 16

2 weeks down, 14 to go!

It was another good week of training. I took Monday off - no running, no classes - to let my body recover from Sunday’s long run.

I subbed a super steamy outdoor Hi Lo HIIT class for Dana then taught Low Impact Aerobics on Tuesday morning. In the afternoon, I headed out for 4 miles on tired legs but took it easy and only stopped once 2.25 miles in to take a pic of some pretty lilies. As I was driving home, Craig texted me to stop by Naukabout because their slushy machine was up and running and I needed to try their new hard seltzer “sloshies.” SO GOOD.

I was really sore waking up the next morning and that soreness continued the rest of the week. I ran almost the same 4 mile loop again after work on Wednesday - this time a lot more stops in the last 2 miles.

Friday was the hottest day of the summer. I waited until about 6pm to get in my run. Another 4 miler. This time I ran around the neighborhood but I didn’t stop once! This is the only 2nd time I’ve accomplished this since my surgery. Our new outdoor shower sure felt nice after this week of very sweaty running. On all these hot runs, I keep reminding myself how good fall running will feel if I can get through these summer months.

Sunday morning was GLORIOUS. 64 degrees, low humidity, slight breeze. Amazing. I headed to Falmouth for my 12 miler. I felt great for the most part. My usual hip pain started around the half way point. Then about mile 9 I started to get bored. Not tired or out of breath, just bored. I was ready to be done. I was already ready to go to Naukabout for another sloshie. Perfect post-run beverage. I made it back to my parents house and relaxed for a bit before going to Naukabout with Craig. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach and stopped for waffle cones at Somerset Creamery on the way home. Great day.

Monday 7.24.23

REST

Tuesday 7.25.23

4 miles (31:20)

Hi Lo HIIT

Low Impact Aerobics

Wednesday 7.26.23

4 miles (31:31)

30 min Mat CORE

Thursday 7.27.23

Low Impact Aerobics

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Friday 7.28.23

4 miles (32:16)

30 min Mat CORE

Saturday 7.29.23

Water Aerobics (from the deck)

Saturday Strength

Sunday 7.30.23

12 miles (1:34:23)

This week’s mileage: 24 miles

This week’s Reggie mileage: 0 miles

Training totals: 46 miles

ICYMI

Week 1 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