The training plan since Monday has been to rest after three straight 50-mile weeks, each capped off by 20-milers. It doesn’t mean I’m not running – just that I’m dialing back my long run Sunday and will probably run around 42 miles instead of 50 in total. After Sunday I’ll restart my upward climb to a 30 mile long run and a 70 mile week at the peak of training.
So far I’ve felt good building back to levels I hadn’t been at since Spring 2020. It definitely helps to maintain a solid base mileage to grow from – I’m never really starting from scratch. In this case, my first week of training included a 15 mile run. Back when I started, the first week of marathon training might mean a 6 mile run. The sport definitely builds on itself.
The 20 miles last Sunday were a great encapsulation of why I love running in New York City. It can be easy to complain about stoplights, and people, and trash, but only in a gigantic city like this one can you span so many different neighborhoods in one afternoon. I ran from DUMBO, in Brooklyn, to Forest Hills, in Queens. On the way I passed three cemeteries – Mt. Olivet, St. John, Middle Village – and added two new bridges to my belt – Metropolitan Avenue and Grand Street. On the Metropolitan Avenue bridge I stopped to check out the Colossal Media headquarters, which has to be one of the coolest buildings in the city:
Anyway, all that’s to say that long runs in New York are on a whole other level, particularly if you like to explore new places. And the run itself this past Sunday went exactly as I’d hoped, at a comfortable 8:36 pace that kept my legs and lungs feeling fresh throughout.
What changed from the week before, when my thighs felt like they’d “been hit repeatedly by a crowbar?” For one thing, I was much better hydrated. Not only was the weather a bit cooler, but I made sure to drink a full bottle of water right when I woke up, which gave me enough time to absorb it (and pee it out) before heading out for my run. That’s critical when you’re going farther than 13ish miles, particularly as it gets hotter heading into the summer.
But more important than that was what I did after the run. I did not lay down on the couch and “rest” (avoid this like the plague!). Instead I walked to the grocery store, and then walked to get lunch with Anne. A round trip distance of roughly four miles, which may seem like the last thing you should do after running 20, but in reality one of the best recovery practices I know. Because letting your legs get stiff is how you get that crowbar feeling walking down the stairs the following morning. Ouch!
My instinct has always been to treat running as more art than science. To feel as though my performance arrives mystically out of nowhere. But the truth is that running is very much a science. You need to build up your mileage responsibly, or it will be painful. You need to stay hydrated. You need to sleep well. You need to eat well.
Do those things, and the runs that follow will be good ones. Ignore those things and the runs will be bad ones. It really has been that simple for me.
Here’s an example from this week. I ate and slept well. I drank a coffee each morning and made sure to walk around the apartment a bit to wake up before heading out. And the runs reflected that:
I’ve got some serious running coming up through the end of May and the month of June, and I’ll need to be particularly diligent about these things if I’m going to make it through uninjured and strong enough for a 100 mile run in July. Hot weather does not make for optimal running conditions, even when you’ve been doing everything right.
That’s it for this week. Get out and run these next few days!