Recovery Week | Training Begins Monday

I can’t believe it’s mid-July already and training for the New York City Marathon begins on MONDAY!

Catching you up since my last post…

Craig and I bought stand up paddle boards on and took them on their maiden voyage - about an hour and a half journey around Popponesset Island. My upper body was sore for 4 days after!!

 

A few days later my grandma passed away. That was really hard. She was the last of my 4 grandparents. I was feeling very guilty about not making it back for her funeral on 7/5 but I am very happy to have gotten a chance to see her and play Kings in a Corner with her in May.

 

I ran my first 8 miler on the Friday night of 4th of July weekend. Awful decision. I worked a full day and thought I’d go for 3-4 miles when I got home. It was hot and very humid but I felt good the first few miles so I extended my run to 6… then 8 miles… because why not! At the time they were said rain all day on Sunday so I thought I would get my long run out of the way. After 8 miles I was beat. Then I had to get up the next morning and teach the first pool class of the year followed by Saturday Strength. My legs were like Jello after the first few squats.

On Sunday I ran 10 miles! Yes, 10! All along I was hoping to run an 8 or a 10 before training officially started and I’m so happy I was able to run both.  The best part about this week’s 10 miler was how good I felt. First of all, I ran in the morning. Game changer. All these after work runs have been tough. Tired legs and HOT, HUMID weather. I ran some of my favorite long run roads in Falmouth. I even made it 4.25 miles before my first stop at the beach. Lately I feel like I’ve been taking 2-3 breaks on a 3 mile run! After the run, Craig and the pups joined me at my parents house for a refreshing dip in the pool and cheeseburgers on the grill made by my newly retired dad. 

This week is a recovery week and I am happy and becoming confident and very excited to start training on Monday!

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

I just ran 7 miles!

As I’m sitting here in my NormaTecs enjoying a cherry rhubarb jello dessert I made this week, I thought it would be time for an update because guess what… 

I just ran 7 miles! My first 7 of the year!

Since my last post, I was able to get Craig out for a 3 mile run with me and Reggie on Mother’s Day.

The following weekend, Craig and I went to Buffalo to hang out with Charlotte and the fam. The weekend entailed a lot of eating and drinking all of my western New York favorites but I did sneak in a short run on familiar roads around Pioneer Drive.

I’ve run 6 miles twice. The first was a solo run from work to South Cape Beach. The second was actually unplanned. I had Reggie with me and we were going to do our old favorite 5 mile loop. However plans changed about 1/2 mile from home when Reggie was attacked by ANOTHER off leash dog. This makes 5 total for her. Unacceptable, Mashpee dog owners!  Anyways, after that happened she was all worked up and pulled me an extra mile.

The following week I got a strange twinge in my ankle after teaching a HIIT class so I took a few days off and that led right into a visit from Melissa, Michael, Charlotte & baby Levon so I ended up taking a full 10 days off of running. Totally worth it.

This week was a great week and I finally feel like I am starting to get into a routine. I taught Low Impact Aerobics Tuesday & Thursday. 30 min Mat CORE class on Wednesday & Friday. Added a Saturday Strength class to the schedule which started today and I ran Tuesday (4), Wednesday (5), Friday (4) & Saturday (7). 

Today’s 7 miles was tough. It was also 75 degrees with 90 percent humidity. I walked a bunch but I’m proud of the fact that I got it done. Now I can continue to recover tonight and enjoy a day off tomorrow with Craig.

Looking ahead, I have 3 more weeks to build my base before training officially begins!

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

High Tides & Low Mileage

Ahh spring running. A sign of new life and good things to come.

One day the sky is blue and the sun in shining. The next six days you get grey, grey, mist, rain, fog and more grey.

One day you’re sweating running in shorts and a t-shirt. The next you leave your work pants on and have to search for your emergency fleece jacket that you keep in the trunk of your car.

One day your breathing is heavy and you struggle to catch your breath because you’re not acclimated to the quick change to running in warmer temperatures. The next you can’t breath as you constantly inhale the smell of fresh lilacs, newly laid down mulch, beach grass and tree pollen with every breath.

Gosh don’t you just love the springtime?

On another note… I’ve been running 3-5 miles about 3 times per week. I’m hoping to try 6 miles very soon. I still have a long way to go.

Right now the best part of my run is my mid-run beach walks along Popponesset or a water break stop at Naukabout Brewery.

I’ve been catching the beach a lot at high tide so the sea glass count is low. Soon the beach will be crowded at all hours of the day and I’ll miss the peace in having it all to myself.

I’m struggling to find a consistent running and workout schedule as I’ve had a lot of doctor’s appointments, a vet visit, haircut, retirement party and such lately which is throwing me off. Work is about to get crazy once Memorial Day hits but my work schedule will be pretty consistent so I should be able to settle into a routine and figure out what days will be run days, what days I’m teaching classes and what days I will workout on my own following a plan from my personal trainer Craig.

On a positive note, all good news from my 4 month post-op ultrasound.

On a Reggie note, she has also been struggling a bit with the warmer weather days. Today I had to drop her off at home after 2 miles and then continued on my own. I also had to return her new Ruffwear running harness/hydration pack because it just didn’t fit right on her long, skinny body. We will have to come up with another idea!

 

That’s about all I have to say for now. 177 days to go until the New York City 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

Motivation is Everywhere

A month has passed since I announced my registration for my sixth 26.2 and the excitement is still running high. Over the weekend I spent a nice afternoon with some of my old clients from Mashpee Fitness and one of them asked me why I haven’t been blogging about my training… so here’s an update, Beth:

Marathon training is typically 16 weeks. Training for New York City will officially begin July 17th. From now until then I will slowly be building mileage in hopes of getting up to 8-10 miles as a long run over the next 3 months.

The past few weeks I've been battling spring allergies along with a cold that sidelined be for a few days. At this time my long run is still 4 miles but I have started bring Reggie along again and I also ran 4 miles without stopping—which was a pretty big deal. I ordered Reggie a new Ruffwear running harness/hydration pack for when we start running longer miles together.

Soon after I registered my parents secured 2 hotel rooms in Midtown Manhattan as part of my birthday present this year. One less thing for me to stress about.

Also for my birthday, Craig surprised me with Nike Zoom Fly 5 carbon fiber running shoes. They feature the latest technology which are said to improve speed and efficiency. He knew one pair wouldn’t last until November so he bought two pairs—one for training and one for closer to race day. I can’t wait to start wearing them!

My new shoes inspired me to rewatch the Breaking 2 documentary on Disney+ with Craig. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. The documentary followed Eliud Kipchoge, Lelia Desisa and Zersenay Tadese’s attempt to break 2 hours in the marathon. Kipchoge came within 26 seconds (1 second per mile) while wearing Nike’s carbon fiber running shoes.

If hotel rooms and new shoes aren’t motivating enough, the Boston Marathon was sure to bring all the feels this week. Big shout out to my friend Elizabeth Trask. I blogged about her being at the mile 19 clock both years I ran Boston. This year was her turn to run and she raised over $18,000 for Tedy’s Team in honor of her late father. It was also marathon #50 as she completed her mission to run a marathon in every state. “50 for Billy” What a rock star!

Speaking of the Boston Marathon and running documentaries, I also recommend watching American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing on Netflix. I watched that over the weekend then started re-reading Meb Keflezighi’s book 26 Marathons: What I Learned about Faith, Identity, Running and Life from My Marathon Career. Anything to motivate! 

I’m looking forward to catching up with Meb’s brother Hawi next week. He’s a big part of why I chose to run the New York City Marathon with Team Meb. I am raising money for the MEB Foundation and super excited to already receive a few donations.

 

On a final note, I just got a surprise text from an old friend that shared many inspiring words with me throughout Boston training in 2019. So thankful to have people like her in my life.

Ok… that’s enough rambling for now. 200 days to go until the New York City 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

New York, here I come!

Hi! It’s me again. I know I said I was done running marathons - a few times actually - but six weeks on the couch after a major surgery can really change your perspective and make you think about what you still want to accomplish.

Let me catch you up. Since Boston 2019, I haven’t been running a whole lot. I was burnt out, COVID happened, Craig moved in, we adopted Reggie who later became my new running buddy, I quit my job of 11.5 years, started a new job, had an abdominal myomectomy in December 2022, was out of work and on the couch for six weeks which leads me to today…

My current long run is 4 miles. My heart rate is out of control. I have to walk up hills because I lose my breath. I’m heavier than I’ve even been and I’ve sadly been leaving Reggie at home because she’s way too fast for me right now. 

What I’m trying to say is… I have a lot of work to do in the next 8 months!

I had a thought while on the couch that I should sign up for a race so I have something to look forward to and motivate me. Craig thought I meant a half marathon. I did too, actually. Then the New York City Marathon crossed my mind. I always told myself if I had one more marathon left in me, I wanted to run New York. 

The lottery had just opened. I slept on it a few nights and couldn’t stop thinking about it so I applied. I knew that the chance of getting in as a first time lottery entrant was almost impossible but I figured if I got in, it would be fate.

There’s something so special about Frank Sinatra’s New York New York playing as 50,000 runners start their 26.2 mile journey crossing the Verrazano Bridge. Visiting all 5 boroughs. Running down First Avenue. Finishing in Central Park. Walking back to the hotel in the big post-race poncho with a finisher medal around my neck. I thought this would be the perfect comeback race.

Well, the lottery happened and I didn’t get in.

I started browsing through the list of charities and clicked on a few to see what they involved. I’ve never run a race for charity before and I always felt very strongly about not running a race for charity unless it was a cause that I really, truly felt connected to. When I got to the M’s and saw *MEB Foundation* I knew right away that this would be the one.

So why the MEB Foundation?

First of all, if you don’t know who Meb Keflezighi is, go ahead and google him. Maybe even buy one of his books. His story is pretty great. During my time with the Falmouth Road Race, I’ve had the opportunity to meet Meb many times. He has been a big inspiration to me throughout my running career. In fact, one of the first times I met him I was sitting with him at the post-race party and he asked me if I was a runner. I just finished high school and told him I retired. He pulled out an autograph card and signed it “Keep running! -Meb” and to this day it’s in a frame in my living room.

I also became friends with his brother/agent Hawi and he mentored me through grad school as I pursued a career in Sports Management. Why wouldn’t I want to run for the MEB Foundation to support my friend and one of the most influential athletes in this sport?

The MEB Foundation’s mission is to be a collaborator and leader in the areas of youth health, education and fitness. It supports programs and events that:

• Empower youth and their families to “Maintain Excellent Balance”
• Provide the tools and resources to lead healthy lifestyles
• Engage youth in academics, in and out of school hours
• Provide opportunities for youth to play and learn positive life skills through involvement in sports
• Engage entire communities in promoting youth health, education and fitness

Meb’s philosophy is “Run to Win” in which he says that winning doesn’t always mean getting first place but getting the best out of yourself. I love that. I know this journey is going to be really hard and a win for me in New York will be finishing with a smile on my face.

I’m honored for the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon with Team MEB. 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