Week 6 has been a whirlwind of emotions: I’ve felt excited to race, disappointed when I couldn’t, frustrated by pain, and fitter than ever. What a rollercoaster. Despite the highs, I’m overall spooked — not only by the potential of injury, but also about where I am in training compared to others. I discuss all of it below, plus some odds n’ ends (per usual). Without further ado…
📋 Total miles: 42.4
Monday: 6.1 miles (recovery)
Tuesday: 8.8 miles (progression run)
Wednesday: 4.4 miles (easy + strides)
Thursday: 1.3 miles (shake-out, pulled out of a 5k race)
Friday: 6.7 miles (easy + short speedwork — 3, 2, 1 minutes with 90 secs jog recovery)
Saturday: 30 minute elliptical and so much rehab
Sunday: 15.1 miles (easy to steady)
👻 Boo, body
The beginning of the week was like any other. I was excited to test my fitness with another 5000m on the track on Thursday night, but on Thursday morning I woke up with some new hip pain. I went for a shakeout (an easy run to get the blood flowing) and I limped through it. I came home and tried to foam roll, stretch, and massage my way into feeling better, but my hip was stubbornly angry. Bill reminded me that I am training for the marathon, not the 5k — which was what I needed to call it. Instead of racing, I ended up having a wonderful dinner with friends and woke up the next day less sore and ready to run easy-ish.
Feeling confident after Friday’s run, I went to run on Saturday only to stop after 2 minutes. Something didn’t feel right. I hopped on the elliptical (ugh) and then went back to aggressively rehab-ing. Today I felt off for only a few steps, but once I was in rhythm, I was good to go. This is definitely something I will have to monitor closely.
🤳 Comparison, the thief of joy
You all know that I am running the NYC Marathon; so does Instagram. My Explore page is littered with runfluencers (yes, that’s a thing) training for fall marathons. Despite knowing that I should ignore them entirely, I find myself watching their Reels.
Before we talk about its impact on me, let me acquaint you with runfluencer culture. Runfluencers are people of all ages, shapes, and paces that share their training journey. (Meta moment: Am I now one of them? 🤔) While they all have their niches and unique flair, there is a predominant form factor that their Reels take that include the following elements:
Sharing the run-fit of the day (often throwing down individual articles of clothing in sequence so you know everything they used)
Pre-run fuel (you’ve seen one bagel with peanut butter and banana, you’ve seen it all)
Activation drills (lest you think that they’re irresponsible)
Video of their run, often with updates at each mile with their pace (gotta know if they sped up by 2 seconds)
Cool down and an inspirational takeaway (often while sipping on iced coffee)
I could send you 1M examples of these, but I love this parody of a perfect runfluencer video by Laura Green way more. I giggle every time.



In general, I try to limit my social media time, but when I’m on it, these videos suck me in. And I am beginning to recognize their detrimental effects.
Most notably, there is one runfluencer who is also training for the NYC Marathon and claims to have a slower goal time than me, but is posting workouts day-after-day that would be incredibly challenging for me to hit. Not only that, but her overall mileage started similar to mine, but has outstripped me quickly — she put up 60 miles this week to my 42.
If I pause for one moment and let my rational self take the wheel, I know that our training philosophies are different and I have chosen not to do super high volume or lots of speed work in this block. I also can recognize that I am a decade older than this person and I am not going to bounce back from a hard workout with such ease. (To add insult to injury, she sometimes hits good runs while hungover — the youth of it all…) Meanwhile, my reactive self in the back seat is both really excited that her training is going well for her and nervous that her workouts indicate that my goal is out of reach for me.
Beyond the addictiveness of the algorithm and the screen, I think I continue to watch these videos because, though parasocial, it makes training feel more communal. But when I truly think about what adds to my cup, it’s running with friends, pushing myself within my limits, and writing — and people’s reactions to — this blog. I’m going to consciously focus on those in the upcoming week.
⛽️ Fuel update
I think I am preferring the Spring Energy gels to the Maurtens. I tend to feel very hungry while running, so I like the heft of real food in my stomach. This said, I don’t think I timed liquids well with my Maurtens this week (gels, then water), so I want to give them another chance to be the star of a long run fueling plan before I rule them out.
Oh, and the maple syrup was disgusting.
🧳 Odds n’ ends
Loving: The World Track & Field Champs. It’s my absolute favorite sport to watch on TV, and I make it a full body experience. I am up and cheering at the television (as if they can hear me), and often am just as overcome with emotion as the athletes on the screen when they perform well. I cannot wait for Paris 2024.
Wearing: A thrifted sports bra. I got a hot tip that ThredUp has lots of gently used workout clothes. Since I have two favorite sports bras, I searched to see if either were available. To my delight, I was able to get my favorite Outdoor Voices one in a polka dot (a retired pattern) for $7. This was a potentially dangerous discovery.
Applying: Megababe Thigh Rescue. Hate the name (cheesy IMO), love the product. This has been saving me from chafing. I sometimes forget to apply before I head out the door, and I always regret it.


Thanks for your patience with the late send. I went from my long run to eating to a massage (tough, I know). For what it’s worth, I am still loving writing these; I’m so glad I made the decision to capture my thoughts every week. Thanks for everyone who reached out last week with ideas of what to cover and feedback on what’s been shared — that door is always open. So, too, is the opportunity to support my #CSforALL fundraiser.
Keep your fingers crossed for my hip, and see you next Sunday!
A whirlwind week indeed! Go you for riding out the storm---and capping the week with a fifteen-miler, to boot!
Re: Body. I'm sorry to hear about the tough outings Thursday and Saturday.
From my vantage point, your solid runs the day after both of these short-term disappointments indicate ready resilience from your body and prudent risk management from the C-suite (that's you). Encouraging reads on both brain and brawn.
Re: Comparison. You seem to have a healthy awareness and outlook on this. Three thoughts came to mind as I read this section, which I cordially invite you to dismiss if they do not serve you:
1. A passage from Ryan Hall's book, "Run the mile you're in": "I remember when I was a senior in high school with the goal of running a 3:55 mile and watching Alan Webb..., who was also a senior in high school, run a 3:53 mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Watching him run that fast should have inspired me to think, _Hey, his breakthrough can be my breakthrough!_ Instead, it had the opposite effect."
2. For me, during marathon training---especially the middle two phases---my body tends to feel worn-down and flat (lacking pop). When I join my usual crew for the weekly speed workout, runners I had been leading only a month ago now seem to be lapping me while doing star-jumps. My immediate reaction is, "Has my fitness fallen off a cliff?!" I have to remind myself (or hope a Bill-type reminds me) that different runners bring different fatigue levels into a workout; that my goal is a marathon many, many weeks in the future; that I am committing to a process that will prepare me, over time, for that goal. Trust the process.
3. If I were an aspiring runfluencer on MyFaceTaTok (or whatever Social Media is called these days), which approach would sell better: (1) Soft-pedaling my athletic history, low-balling my race target, then (seemingly) knocking each week and the goal race out of the park; or (2) setting an ambitious race target, sharing honestly about the ups and downs of real-life (not MyFaceTaTok) training, and lining up on race day knowing that my A goal---while in reach---will be a real challenge? Putting MyFaceTaTok aside for a moment (brb phone), which approach would be more gutsy and fulfilling?
(For the record, I don't mean to imply that runners on MyFaceTaTok necessarily take approach (1), or that everyone would find approach (2) fulfilling. We each make our own choices.)
Your posts are a weekly dose of candid insight, positive vibes, and whole-grain humor. Thank you.
Wait---athletes on TV can't hear me? (Santa Claus moment)
Thrifted clothes rock. Fingers crossed for your hip. Carry on!
i remember you swapping out shoes last week. my non-running self is wondering if that can throw the system out of alignment?