Week 3 – Road to Carmel Marathon

Total Mileage – 26.82

Run 9 – 12-28-20 – Today was an easy run with strides at the end. I had never done strides before I started training with Javier and Xplora. The idea is that you do a 5k pace for 30 sec, followed by a trot. In this case to the end the run.

I started with a slight dull ache in the inside section of my left knee. That never really went away. I will blame it on me wearing shorts in 35 degree weather and never warming up. My body though felt real heavy. It’s amazing how Saturday, my natural easy pace came out as a 9:09 pace and today, I barely broke 10! But my legs felt like two lead weights holding me down. As I ran, I really wondered, how in the world I would be able to do strides at the end. How when my body felt so bogged down would I be able to speed up to sub 5k pace.

The body is an amazing thing though, because I was able to push and in that push also went the dull knee ache like it was never there. Oddly that first 30 second push, I had to slow myself down. Let’s see how the rest of week goes. I’m hiking as well this afternoon. So my legs will be extra mush at the end of the day.

Run 10 – 12/30/20 – 800m 5k Pace X6 – Today was going to be a hard day. 5K pace which is sub 7:10, and repeating that 6 times after having warmed up for nearly 2 miles.

I told myself, just do it in the gym. It forces you to keep the pace. You set the speed on the treadmill and just stay there, don’t dare slow down. When I got to Blink Fitness, there was a line to get in, by the time I parked and walked to the entrance the line had already grown. I said FUCK it, and left. That was a sign. It was about 30 degrees not terribly cold and I had told myself that I would try Van Cortlandt Track. So, I went back home to grab my sweater, hat and gloves and off to the track.

The track turned out to be sort of like packed dirt for like half and asphalt the other half. The packed dirt I am guessing is easier on the knees. Do note though that there were patches of mud that should be avoided so going after some heavy rain or a big thaw is not a good idea. I also had the great idea again of running in shorts. Way too cold for that.

The 2 mile warm up was not bad, but, the pushing to 5k for such extended periods of time HURT. Like the first one was fine, the second a little harder. The third time around, it was a struggle to keep the pace. By the 4th round, I doubted I could keep that pace for the whole 1/2 mile. It was a struggle to push. Like David Goggins says in Can’t Hurt Me, when you feel like you can’t go any further, you’ve only gone 40%. You have another 60% if you push. Well, I pushed, and while I felt like I could not do anything more, like I could not push not an iota more. I still did and I finished! It’s a mind vs body fight. My mind is telling me that I can’t, but my body knows best, it’s not giving me signs of anything. Just pick a point and push to that point! Check, rinse, repeat!

The cool down felt amazing, except it was freezing like literally freezing and my gloved hands hurt from the cold. Yet, I was done! Workouts like that help push you to do better! They push you to know that what you thought impossible before you laced up your shoes is possible and look! You just did it!

Run 11 – 1/1/21 – New Year’s Easy Run – The day started, not quite hungover, but not quite right either. It was a long night waiting to say adieu to 2020. I knew I had to run, so getting up and dusted off was a must. A quick easy pace 50 minutes.

I will say running on no sleep is never fun, the body does not react the same way, with the same preciseness. I opted to stay as close to a 10 minute pace as possible. Ended with 9:44 with a nice loop around the neighborhood. Even better, there were many people out and about, so I was not alone.

It’s always nice to see people running. Not sure why seeing other people run makes me happy but it does!

Nothing specific. A slight dull discomfort in the same place. Left outer knee this time. Last time was inner. I did roll it out the moment I got home and that felt painful yet wonderful. Let’s kick 2021’s butt. I did 695.1 miles in 2020, Let’s break 800 in 2021. Life is nothing but goals and I am planning to do 2 marathons and a Triathlon so, why the fuck not!

Run 12 – 1/2/21 – Long Run 95 Minutes – I think the shoelaces in my new sneakers were too tight. After the last easy run, I got a really bad pain like if I was wearing the wrong shoes. I walked and lived it with for the whole time and the beginning of the run. I had to unlace my shoes and re-lace them, to loosen them up. After almost 10 miles for the long run I can say that it worked.

Today, I ran the first couple of miles with my girlfriend in the city. She was hoping to do 4 miles to my 10, so we started off in west Harlem and ran down to the North Western side of Central Park on 110th Street. I don’t know if you have run Central Park, but the hill on 110th on the west side is the worst hill in the entire Park. A full loop of the park is 6 miles. The Upper loop is like 1.4 miles, but like I said it is the hilliest part of the park. I wound up doing the hill on 110th TWICE. I went into the Park with Martha, did the hell of an upper loop, she exited, and I continued to loop the entirety of the park.

One thing I will say about running in the park, it is never boring. You always have something to see, always have something to distract your mind as you tug away at the miles. The worst thing to do though which I did as I was traversing the southern most part of the park is look at the street signs. The miles don’t pass when you are seeing. 6601 – 6602 – 6300 – 6301- 6302 – 6400. DON’T DO that. Instead, let your eyes wonder. Do some people watching, do some scenery gazing. As you are running south on the west side of the park, partake of the skyline over the park. It’s a sight to see, how a metropolis and such a huge park coexist. As you head north on the east side of the park try not to think of the end. Try not to think I just have to get to 110th, that’s how you start looking at street signs. NYRR has a training series that does 12 and 18 miles in the park in preparation for the Marathon. The 12 mile run is 2 loops and the 18 mile is 3 loops. So, yesterday I just told myself. It’s just 1 loop, and it’s almost over. Run Roddy Run!

As I exited the park on 110th I had a decision to make. Retrace my steps back to my girlfriends house on the east side of Morning Side Park or take the West side and go for the loop. Sorry, I will choose the loop every time, but the elevation was murder! It was just as high as the highest point in Central Park, with the exception that before getting there you brought it back down to 0 ft before climbing back up. In other words, a terrible idea to end a long run.

I was in pain the whole run. The left knee is starting to be of concern. It’s not pain, but discomfort. Yet, I have been running with discomfort for two years now. It just moves around. I’m really taking advantage of my day off today (Sunday) and relishing that this coming week is an easy week consisting of all easy runs ending with a 105 minute long run.

Lastly, I decided that my backup to NYC Marathon being cancelled this fall will be the Savannah Marathon in Georgia on Nov 6 or San Antonio in Dec. A backup plan against COVID.

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