Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Training 2020 – Part Three
Three years ago my winter goal was to never drop below 35 miles per week, and I hit it. It was easier then, with kids’ ski racing keeping us constantly on the move.
Week 8
Finally a 35 mile week
3 years ago my winter goal was to never dip below 35 miles of weekly running (and I hit it). It was easier then though. The kids had ski racing 5 days a week so we were driving them all over creation for training and races. If I was not planning to ski I would run. If I skied and then still had time before they were ready I would run. It made it really simple to rack up the miles.
However this week was 35 and it felt great! After our trip it was nice to get back into a regular running week. I appreciated every opportunity to get out there.
The long run
Every week there is a highlight and this week this was mine. I had a lot of baking to do for Emoticakes and I was behind on my school work on Saturday. I had signed up for a wedding expo event on Sunday so I knew I had to fit my long run in on Saturday. In addition to this, my sister Lisa was visiting and Scott and I were up for watching the last regular season Cornell hockey game at 7 on Saturday night.
So to make this all work I did school work until 9:30 on Friday eve, woke up and baked from 5-9:30 on Saturday morning and then enjoyed breakfast. I hemmed Elizabeth’s dress for her chorus after that and then went over to my dad’s house to visit with Lisa and with him a little before 11. Xander had to work at 12 so we stayed until 11:30 and then Scott took him to work. I made it out the door a bit before 12 after enjoying a clementine.
It was 22 degrees when I headed out while listening to NPR One on my phone. I was tired and was kind of nervous about this run. The last time I tried to run near lunch I ended up really depleted. However, today the roads were dry and I had a late breakfast so I really knew I should be fine. It was windy and cold so I made a deal with myself that I’d do my 3 mile loop near my house 4 times and then tack on an extra mile to hit 13.1ish. The plan called for 15 but I haven’t hit anything over 9 yet, so I felt 13.1 was good enough.
Best laid plans
And after doing the one mile “baby loop” of the 3 miler I realized I was not really in the mood for multiple loops. I decided to do a longer loop that I do frequently in the clockwise direction. That meant I’d have a decent hill at mile 6 and change. I settled in and enjoyed NPR One for all of this loop. After finishing the 7.5 mile first loop I ran inside the house, got a drink, had a bio break and grabbed another clementine. I told Elizabeth (who had been waiting for me for lunch) that she should probably dine solo. I did an out and back route for this and switched to a Tim Ferriss podcast. This podcast was with magician Richard Turner.
Discipline breeds discipline
A few minutes into the podcast it started really snowing and I found myself thinking that I might be tired of listening to words and would need to switch to music. However, my hands were cold and I decided I’d wait another a bit since I had just started part 2 of my run. In that wait period I really got into the podcast. I was starting to get tired around mile 10 just as he shared the quote, “discipline breeds discipline” and used a marathon analogy. He said, “So you can’t run a marathon. Don’t. Walk from your house down two houses and back. The next day, walk a 3rd house. Then, run the distance. Soon your partner will be saying, Does it always have to be a marathon?” I laughed out loud as he said that. I still remember my first time training to do a half marathon with Scott. I remember stomping home after a mere two houses of running saying that I couldn’t do it. I remember Scott saying, “all the neighbors are going to see you” and my response, “I don’t care.” It took me a long time to find my groove with running, but he is right in any area that discipline breeds discipline.
You are so dedicated
As I rounded mile 11 on Main Street a woman on the street smiled at me and said, “you are so dedicated.” That was a nice pick me up for the last 2 miles of my run. I completed my 13.1 and then headed home for a mid-afternoon lunch. Scott was still running and I knew he had followed the plan and gone out for 15. I made him a big salad like mine and put out some crackers and hummus. All of us would dine separately today. The run lifted my mood. I had finished all my baking, I had enough school work done so that I could get the rest completed tomorrow, I had seen my dad and sister. I knew I could enjoy the hockey game now.
Other training highlights
On Sunday the wedding event ran from 1-4 with set up at 12:30. Yoga starts at 4 and it is literally down the road. It is a totally not legit excuse to leave something early, but I continued a habit I started long ago of double booking myself. I really wanted to go to yoga and I really saw nothing wrong with leaving just a smidge early from the event. So, I told the organizers that I was going to scoot out just a bit before the end and made sure my set up was easy to take down. At 3:40 Scott popped in to help me get everything and we headed to yoga.
In my haste that day I had forgotten to throw in casual clothes and shoes for after the event to wear home from hot yoga. There was no way I’d be putting on my nice clothes again after class or the shoes that were already giving me blisters. So I went outside in my sopping wet yoga gear, shoeless to join Scott in the car. He nabbed a picture of this because he thought it was so funny.
Looking ahead to next week
Next week is light on miles. I threw a rest day in on MITHACAL milers day because I have an appointment that requires that I do a double drive to Ithaca. I typically try to avoid that so I must have thought it was a good time for a rest day. I’ll swap that and do the rest day on Friday. We’re leaving right as soon as school ends to go up and get a family Whiteface ski day Saturday. It is only a 25 mile week so it should feel pretty low. However, in 2 weeks it is time for the first 20 mile run which will be a challenge!!
And then there’s Xander
I have to mention that he ran his LONGEST run ever this week. His plan called for 14 miles. He went out on Sunday morning for this. We hoped to see him before having to leave for the wedding expo and it was looking tight. Scott was checking Find iPhone and he said, “he’s at the base of Rabbit” and then a bit later, “he’s at the top of Rabbit.” The top of Rabbit puts him less than a mile away from home and we had about 5 minutes until we had to leave so we’d get to see him. We made him an entire box of mac & cheese and went outside to clap as he came into the driveway. As he entered he said, “well I overshot that and got 14.8” So Xander almost completed a 15 miler!! His training for his first marathon is going well. As we pulled out, Elizabeth was coming home so we gave her a heads up that her brother was probably exhausted. She shared later that it took him FOREVER to get his appetite back but once he did he enjoyed his mac & cheese.
Week 9
The week
Monday - Les Mills on Demand BodyPump 111
Tuesday - MITHACAL Milers
Wednesday - 6 mile outdoor run
Thursday - 4 mile outdoor run
Friday - travel day to Whiteface - REST
Saturday - ski Whiteface (18.7 miles downhill)
Sunday - 3 mile Taughannock rim trail hike, 10 miles Black Diamond Trail run
A pretty good training week
A great mid week run!
There were several highlights of this week. The first was my really amazing 6 mile outdoor run after school on Wednesday. I left the house in shorts, a tank top, gloves and an ear band. It was sunny and I thought it was warm. It was decidedly NOT warm. About 1/2 mile in I realized I’d be cold, but I was too lazy to turn around. A chilly run in shorts it was!! I also had intentions of doing 4-5 miles but decided to do the Falls/Rabbit loop which would bring me in at 6 miles. I’ve struggled on this loop a lot over the last two years, needing to constantly negotiate with myself to run up Rabbit. This run was my 2nd in a row that I just ran up it - no need to negotiate. I came home happy as a lark and sat in the foyer asking Elizabeth to take my shoes off for me. My hands were FREEZING.
Whiteface family ski day
The 2nd highlight was our family ski trip to Whiteface. We brought the kids back to the hotel we’d gone to as a couple just a week or so prior. We planned to arrive by 7:30 and enjoy dinner in the really delicious hotel restaurant and then get up and ski Whiteface the next morning. Our drive was good - we listened to some of Michelle Obama’s book as we drove (highly recommend) and we listened to Elizabeth’s Les Mills Barre music (also very good!) Soon we were there and ready for our 7:45 pm dinner. What a difference the group makes. When Scott and I went we dined on a really nice meal but as a family we went with burgers (and beer for Scott and me). It was casual, filling and delicious. Though, I had trouble falling asleep eating SO much right before bed. We had talked about sitting in their super cool lounge and reading but it was almost 9 when we finished dinner. We were exhausted and all just fell asleep. The next day we got first tracks at Whiteface and enjoyed a full family day of skiing and driving home. We completed our day with a couples’ trip to Garrett’s Brewing. This is our new favorite place to hang out, making for the perfect end to a day of skiing.
Long run with Teressa
On Sunday we woke up 2 hours late because of the time change. Typically I spend my time between 5 am and 7 am grading or baking and I lost those two hours. A bit after 8, my friend Lynn texted about running. We had casually talked about biking because the high temp for the day was going to be around 60. My bike is buried in our shed so I knew this was unlikely for me, but told her I’d love to run. However, Lynn is a morning runner and Elizabeth was flying out to Oregon for spring break in the afternoon. I wanted to be home when she was around and I had a lot of baking and grading to do.
I replied to the text explaining my day. I told Lynn and Teressa and Christina I was going to run later and asked if anyone was up for an afternoon run instead of an am run. I set up shop at the kitchen table working on grading and submitting progress report grades. Elizabeth and I had breakfast together and she headed off to the gym. We agreed to hike the rim trail at 11. I thought, “I’ll definitely be ready by 11!” She arrived back from the gym at 10:50 and laughed that I was still in pajamas grading. I was ALMOST done so I finished up and then quickly got ready. We had a lovely but slightly chilly hike.
Soon I came home and jumped into a few hours of baking. Christina had texted back by this point that she was enjoying her ski day at Greek Peak as an adaptive ski coach. Lynn had already run. Teressa was up for a run. We agreed to meet at 3. I said goodbye to Scott and Elizabeth as they headed to the airport around 1:30. I was baking at a pretty quick clip as Xander came in to chat. We talked a bit and then he headed downstairs to do SAT prep, music practice and homework. Realizing I wasn’t going to be ready by 3, I texted Teressa to see if 3:30 would work. It would! Great.
I met Teressa at the top of the trail and we headed out. It was warm enough for shorts, a tank top and gloves by this point. We settled into a comfortable rhythm right away. I haven’t run with Teressa in a long while. It was nice to catch up and to run together. Soon we were 5 miles in. As we chatted about upcoming things she shared that she hasn’t run longer than 6 miles. One of the things I love about running with T is that she’s willing to give anything a go. In her mind it was totally ok to tackle 10 out of the blue. She’s been running - just not quite that distance. Our run was good and at a better pace that I’d have expected for how exhausted I was and how little training she had on her feet. We had a 9:26 overall pace for our BDT run.
I headed home and finished the last of my baking. Of course I saved all the hard stuff for last. I was making the Cornell bear mascot and 24 cow cupcake toppers into the evening. I always underestimate how long things will take!! Working on that.
Final thoughts for the week
This week was good. I hit most of the workouts. Things didn’t feel too taxing or overwhelming. The long run was good. I’m worried for next week when the long run jumps to 16 and we have to run 8 the day before. My schedule will probably require that I switch up the order on this, but I haven’t decided yet. All in all things are going well for 9 weeks in. Now I’m just hoping late spring events don’t end up cancelled for coronavirus!!
Week 10
As I write this midway into training week 11 training the marathon is still on. I’m worried they will have to cancel and my training will need titles!! I’ve gotten to run several marathons so if it is cancelled I’ll be mostly sad for my son. We worked so hard to find a marathon that would accept a 16 year old and he’s doing SO great with his training. However if it happens, I have talked with friends and I think we’ll try to hold our own and get some people out cheering for us on their porches, stash some water and maybe even have a water stop or two. For now, I’m going to think positively! Note that this post is as much about regular live with the Covid-19 situation as it is about running.
Last week’s training was excellent actually. Here’s my summary:
Monday: Rim trail hike with Scott (3 mile hike)
Tuesday: MITHACAL Milers (5 miles)
Wednesday: BodyPump and Les Mills on Demand RPM
Thursday: 4 mile run
Friday: 8 mile Black Diamond Trail run and Les Mills on Demand BodyPump
Saturday: 16 mile run
Sunday: Les Mills on Demand The Trip and Hot Yoga
A week of lasts
As MITHACAL Milers kicked off we learned that it would be our last indoor week and basically the last week. That was ok because I had planned on it ending anyway. Later in the week as things unfolded about COVID-19 though, things became sadder.
On Thursday we had a special training meeting at school to prepare for possible school closure. We were thinking a week out and planning a training day for the 23rd. As the session got going, the school officials changed it to the 19th. A day before an already planned faculty conference day. That felt soon but doable. On Friday after school we held another small planning meeting where we all realized we’d be delivering online training on Tuesday the 17th. As I left school on Friday I got most of the things I’d need from my classroom in case school didn’t happen Monday. I knew the superintendent was planning to make a call about school around 4 pm as they were awaiting info from the health department. As I walked in the door at 4 ready to go for an 8 mile run Scott asked me if I wanted to run the Black Diamond Trail. It was a nice warmish day but CRAZY windy. The trail offered some wind blocking so I was game. We headed out. I had a blissful 8 mile run. Toward the end of the run I saw my neighbor. She was out for a walk and she had received the phone call that we were remaining open, they were offering a relatives only showing of the musical that Xander is in the pit for and sports were still on. I relaxed and thought, “we can do this” as I drove home with Scott.
A couple of hours later I was decorating a cheesecake for Emoticakes and my friend Gail texted, “All county schools closed from Monday through April 13th!” Oh my goodness. I didn’t see that length of time coming. I wondered if we’d be allowed back in. Of course I threw myself into the car and went to school to get the rest of what I needed. This included math materials for all my Math 8 students. I grabbed the spiral bound BOCES printed books we keep in the classroom as well as worksheets I had printed ahead of time and a small warm-up book. After 6 trips and an hour or so I was ready. We went to pick up Xander from rehearsal. It was a sad sad night of lasts. No show. No opportunity for Xander to really enjoy performing on his sax. He got his things and we headed home. Thankfully Elizabeth was due home from her spring break trip to see my sister in Oregon tomorrow morning. She got out (and back) just in time. Unknowingly we had just had our last day of school for awhile. Thankfully we ended with Pi Day and we’d all celebrated - not just the Math 8 students for whom the topic made sense, but I had thrown in review time for Algebra kids so they could partake. We’d enjoyed ice-cream on cones and conical, spherical and cylindrical foods.
The 16 miler
Saturday morning I headed into Ithaca to deliver the cheesecake and to buy a case of wine. We are out of wine and Scott had called the liquor store to have them put together a case. I grabbed that and then headed to the base of the Black Diamond Trail for my 16 mile run. It was cold - 30 degrees. This felt shocking after the prior day’s 50 degree weather.
I put in a Tim Ferriss podcast - an interview with Jack Kornfield about COVID-19. It was good. It was full of helpful information but it definitely made me sad. My 8 miles up the trail were somber and slow feeling. At mile 8 as I neared the top of the trail I turned around and headed downhill. I switched the music to Les Mills BodyPump and later to Les Mills Barre and things felt really upbeat. I enjoyed my downhill run for most of the trail and then as I neared the bottom I started to tire. 16 miles is a long way. I was cold and tired and ready to be done. However, I felt proud of myself!! It is nice to be training, even if I know there’s a realistic shot that the race won’t happen.
The last dinner out
Saturday night Scott and I were both tired from our run! I had taught a cake class that afternoon and was really just not up for making dinner. Something in the back of my head told me we were running out of opportunities to eat out as well. We headed to Atlas as a family to enjoy a nice family dinner. We ran into friends and neighbors and chatted awhile and then enjoyed their famous totchos, some beer and an entree. It was a fun way to end a 16 mile run day. That is one thing about marathon training that is great fun. Food tastes SO amazing on long run days.
The last coffee, yoga and pizza and beer
When Sunday rolled around the state had reduced restaurants to half capacity for seating. We learned this when we went to the coffee shop. We enjoyed a coffee while chatting with some regulars. Later in the day we decided we’d stick with our normal Sunday routine and go to hot yoga at Pure Sweat in Ithaca. We had an AMAZING yoga class and left planning to go to Denise’s morning class during the week. Hey why not now that we have some more time, right? I no longer have to be to work at 7:30. Then we headed over to Liquid State after a brief stop at Franco’s pizza to pick up pizza. Scott and I enjoyed a lovely date evening. As we were sitting there a staff member posted signs on the doors saying, “Closing at 7 pm tonight. Sorry for any inconvenience.” When we returned our glasses I asked him if it was just for tonight or if they thought they’d be closing forever (dramatic .. I don’t actually mean forever but for the near future). He and the fellow bartender both said they were deciding that night. They shared that it had been crazy the night before. People were so crammed in and all over each other. They said it was just outrageous. The very next day restaurants were ordered to close by 8 pm. I’m SO glad we had 2 last dates!!
Week 11
And just like that every day is another new normal. When I went away to college I had a really hard time adjusting. Every night I would go to bed pretty sad and just beat up from the day. Luckily I would get good rest, but then in the morning I had that brief moment when I would forget I was at college and I would feel so happy and normal. And then I’d remember where I was.
This is how I feel now as each new day of the coronavirus unfolds. I’ve been teaching middle school Math online for a mere 3 days and the tone has shifted so much already. As this all happens I’m so incredibly grateful that I can run and so thankful that Xander wanted to do a marathon in the first place. Scott and I wouldn’t have decided this was the spring to marathon train again. This is all Xander!!
The rim trail streak
One thing that has impacted training this week and will continue to do so is my new streak with Elizabeth. We hiked the rim trail at Taughannock Falls State park (just down the road from our house) a couple of days this week. On our 2nd or 3rd day we realized it was something we both looked forward to. “We should make this a streak” I said. She agreed. We decided it would give us something to be excited about. I’ve often said that the mere existence of this trail and the easy accessibility to my house is what enables me to be positive about most things. The trail brings calm, joy, peace, time for introspection, connection with friends and more to me.
But, for training it means I’ll be adding a minimum of 21 miles of trail hiking to my weekly mileage. And, I have several friends that I like to hike with as well so some days I will need to plan on two hikes. There’s also Xander and Scott hikes to consider!! On Saturday I hiked in the morning with Elizabeth and then hit the trail in the afternoon with Scott. I decided to skip the 6 mile run scheduled for that day!!
Cancelled
I knew it was coming, but it was still hard to accept when we got an email Friday evening from the race directors of Mountains 2 Beach Marathon. Cancelled. They had no choice given the circumstances. We talked briefly and decided we’d definitely still run our own marathon. I had already talked to a few friends about setting up cheer stations and water stops for us. We hatched the idea of running from Tburg to Viva and ending with takeout on the Commons. It isn’t the ideal first marathon for Xander but it will suffice. One thing it does do is put Green Lakes 50K back on the table for a first organized race. Scott and I both love this race and we know Xander would too. So that’s definitely a possibility. The Rochester marathon clashes with the beginning of cross country season, so it is probably out, but it is a maybe possibility. It depends on how much Xander wants to focus on short vs long distance. Whatever happens in the future, we’ll plan to enjoy our family marathon. Note: it will be Scott, Xander and me. Elizabeth was going to do the half but she is not interested in this version. She’ll be our driver and supporter instead. Note: for the remaining weeks of training I’ll title my posts either Dawson family marathon or Xander’s first marathon. I’m deciding.
My 20 miler
Xander works at Finger Lakes Running Company in Ithaca. This has been an up and down week of wondering what will happen to them. Will they be forced to close as a non-essential business as new rules roll out with coronavirus? Will they manage to stay open? Will Xander have any more shifts in the short term? Will they be able to reboot when this is all over? We’ve known the owner Ian Golden for along while and just felt so sad this week as we worried for him and his store. Elizabeth and I spent a lot of time talking about his influence to the area on each of our daily hikes.
Sunday Xander was scheduled to work. Then, they ordered that all non-essential businesses must close Sunday at 8 pm. Ian posted a heart felt video that just made us ache for him. He wrote to Xander to ask if it was ok if he (Ian) took Xander’s Sunday shift. “Of course” We settled into a somber mood at breakfast discussing the situation and shared Ian’s video with people on Facebook. We planned to go down that day to buy new shoes.
However, this change in plans also changed my 20 miler plan. I had planned to drop Xander off at work at 11 and then run 10 miles back to Tburg on the Black Diamond trail and some roads and turn around and run back. I started considering doing loops around home and put a text out to friends to see who wanted to join me for different bits. One friend wanted to know what time which prompted me to look at the weather. It was 17 degrees. The temp wasn’t really going to rise til late morning. I decided I’d need to wait til near 11 anyway.
Scott thought he’d go earlier and do loops. Xander had done his long run the day before. And then, Ian texted Xander to ask if he wanted to come in and work the register. He realized the store might be busy and he could use the help. Xander was happy to help. That put me back to my original plan.
I packed my hydration pack (I haven’t been running with any water lately but it felt like I should for 20 miles) and got ready. Xander and I drove down and I started my run promptly at 11. Teressa said she’d join me when I got to the top of the trail. She’s up for about 10 miles right now, so I figured I would have company for 5 miles since she’d have to turn around to get back to her car. I was pleasantly surprised when she said her husband was in Ithaca doing errands and would pick her up. Yay! I would have company for my last 10 miles.
This run was good. It was challenging but I felt strong and positive. Teressa was a great sport when I slowed down quite a bit for the last 2 miles. After we finished I bought new shoes from Finger Lakes Running Company along with a shirt I’ve wanted for awhile. I am attaching my splits here. I feel pretty proud of them.
Thoughts for next week
We are onto the back of the training plan! There are only 9 weeks until Memorial Day weekend. During those 9 weeks so much will change. The weather will improve, maybe the state of the country will improve, and the chance to see people outside will improve. Being stuck in my house isn’t too awful with 3 other people in there with me and students to connect with virtually every day. But, my dad is 79. We lost my mom 8 weeks ago and he is so incredibly lonely. His world was just starting to open up and now it is contracted and can barely even include us. I’m hoping that the warm weather lets me get out for a walk with him most days as we keep our 6 foot distance from each other. I’m hoping we all still get to go outside and run. I’m hoping the rim trail stays open. There’s so much to hope for. For now I’ll start this next week with gratitude that all that is on my training plan for today is yoga and CX (and my hike with Elizabeth .. that I didn’t skip after my 20 miler yesterday). That is something else I’m proud of!