Week 2: Go farther, go together

Building my own marathon training team

The Golden Gate Bridge was being swallowed by a cloud monster, which feels appropriate because my shoes are the On Cloudmonster. (📷: Anna H)

Yesterday I learned that there are fewer than 100 days left until the NYC Marathon. I’m sure it will fly by — but if runs stay this fun, I’m not sure I want it to. I had a strong Week 2, particularly because I recruited several friends to run with me. I love when running turns social; it reminds me of being on a team. Given the ample company, I would normally label this my perfect week, but my sleep let me down. It’s a bummer (although my way-too-early wake-ups are made more palatable by live Women’s World Cup soccer).

This week I’m sharing reflections on running with others, my sleep and my tense relationship with the gadgets that track it, and — once again — rounding the week out with some odds n’ ends.

📋 Total miles: 38.6

• Monday: 7.0 miles (easy)

• Tuesday: 5.2 miles (2 sets of 4, 3, 2, 1 min with 60 sec jog rest, warm up + cool down)

• Wednesday: 4.4 miles (easy)

• Thursday: 5.9 miles (20 min easy, 25 min progressive tempo)

• Friday: Rest

• Saturday: 10.6 miles (easy)

• Sunday: 5.3 miles (3 x 10 min continuous hills)

A week of "us-ies": Monday with Allison, Tuesday with Anna, Wednesday with Mishika, Thursday with Ben, and Saturday again with Anna.

🎵 I get by with a little help from my friends

I’ve gotten used to running solo, but miles are definitely more fun with friends. My first 5 runs this week had company. On Monday, I ran with my ultra-loving friend Allison who was in need of a recovery run and was pleasantly surprised by how aligned I felt about slow-ish miles. On Tuesday, I did an interval workout with Anna, which forced me to be conscious of pace and to run smart. On Wednesday, I ran easy with my neighbor Mishika, who is also doing the NYC Marathon. We talked about our training thus far, including how she’s making space for strength training and where we can overlap. On Thursday, I did a progressive tempo with Ben that ended around 6:30/mile, a pace I would have been hard pressed to run on my own. On Saturday, I had a blast with Anna running along Crissy Field and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

My streak broke today when I did a hill workout that I didn’t want to subject anyone to. Kindness comes in many forms…

Running and team have always been closely linked in my mind. For that reason, I know why having a partner on my runs is such a boost. I’m ending this week with gratitude for the people who made each run easier, more stimulating, and more joyful.

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💤 To tech or not to tech?

In an uncharacteristic twist, this week my sleep has been hot trash — like high resting heart rate, multiple mid-night wake ups, and it’s-pre-dawn-but-my-eyes-are-wide-open awfulness. I’m not a fan. I usually bank at least 8.5 hours of restful shut eye without much effort. I’m not sure of the culprit. Stress? Fighting off a cold? Bad luck? During the day, I actually feel ok, which leads me to wonder whether it’s helpful to know that my sleep has been off. If I was going by feel alone, I might not notice. 

Back in college, I used to very gently roll over to grab my watch upon waking up. I’d start a timer for 30 seconds and count my heart beats by pressing my fingers into my neck. I multiplied by 2 and recorded the number in a journal. It wasn’t the most scientific, but it gave me enough of a window into my recovery. These days, I monitor my sleep through my Eight Sleep and my Apple Watch. Together, they provide metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, and time in each sleep cycle phase, and while the numbers don’t align 100%, they are always directionally consistent. In contrast to counting my own pulse, this data set gives me a full picture of how restful my sleep was. Heck, it even assesses how ready it thinks I am to take on the day.

But is all this tech-driven knowledge power? I am in a constant struggle with my relationship with gadgets. In this case, I can’t decide if these insights are helping me to be smarter about training or if they’re upending my intuition. To reinforce the latter, I take a moment to establish how I am feeling before I look at either app, but I’m definitely swayed by what’s in the report. On the other hand, I know I take advantage when I am feeling tired and the data confirms it; it’s an out that allows me to be gentler with myself, and I didn’t let any sub-par run bother me this week.

Here’s to hoping that next week is better on the sleep front, but the cards are not stacked in my favor. I am traveling to Pittsburgh (I’m not always the best with time zone changes) for my sister’s wedding (yay!) which will include lots of late nights (says the person whose typical bedtime is 8:30). That said, if there were ever a reason to be extra tired, this is the best one.

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🧳 Odds n’ ends

Struggling with: I was given a seemingly simple foot strengthening exercise by my awesome PT/chiro — and it’s so tough. The exercise asks me to keep the joint under my big toe and pinky toe, as well as my heel, firmly planted to the ground. With this triangle intact, I then need to lift only my toes off the ground. Do you remember Hermoine barking “Up!” to her broom in the first Harry Potter movie? Well that was me to my toes. The first time I tried I literally recruited all the mental will I have to pick them up. It’s getting better, but is still humbling.

Snacking on: I’m in my frozen protein waffles era. I go from 0 to 60 hungry during training, so I need something fast and filling. Right now that snack is a waffle with cream cheese, but it will likely shift in a few weeks (as all best fixation snacks do).

Wearing: Much like wearing the same socks on every run, I almost always wear a Ciele WNSBTShirt. They’re boxy, feel like cotton but built for performance, hold up forever (Ciele guarantees their shirts will last for “1 Million Miles”, which I will never make good on), and often feature stripes.

Inspired by: Last Sunday (after I sent out Week 1’s post) my friend Andrew completed his first ever marathon. It’s a huge accomplishment. In a fun twist, my house is on the marathon route right at Mile 24, so I was able to give him a hug at one of the toughest moments.

A waffle + cream cheese hits the spot, and marathons are better with friends (📷: Cheryl J)

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With that, Week 2 is done and dusted. Thanks to everyone who reached out with feedback on last week’s blog (swoon), left a like/comment (yes, please!), and/or shared this Substack. And, of course, I’d be honored if you joined my virtual team by donating $26 ($1/mile) to my CSforAll fundraiser.

Onto the next!