Monthly Archives: November 2014

Philadelphia Marathon Race Recap

I haven’t told many people this, but when I ran Eugene back in Spring 2013, I wasn’t very happy with my race. Of course I was glad I qualified for Boston, and I felt like a tool saying I was displeased with a 10+ minute PR, so I kept it to myself that I felt like I had a better race in me.

But ever since then, I’ve longed for a different kind of marathon; one that left me proud and satisfied that my execution, training, and heart were all acting in harmony for 26.2 miles. It’s a tall order, no doubt, but I refused to believe it wasn’t possible.

Going into Philadelphia, I felt incredibly calm and prepared, but not prepared in the same way I felt before Eugene. At that point in time, I knew I had a BQ in the bag, and because I was so confident in that goal, I let the disappointment of the secret A+ goal (sub 3:30) overrule the achievement of qualifying. With Philly, I was hesitant to make time goals – not so much for fear of being disappointed, but because I didn’t really know what I was capable of in the same way I used to be. I trained loosely for a goal pace, but that pace never felt very easy or like I could keep it up for a full marathon. So, when pressed for some tangible goals, this is what I decided:

“A” Goal: 3:3x on the clock. Of course I wanted to re-qualify for Boston, but because I was so unsure of how the race would go, I thought it would be more realistic to go for a time frame instead.

“B” Goal 3:4x on the clock. It wouldn’t be great, but it wouldn’t be too bad. Not to mention it would still be 20 minutes under my time from Boston this year.

“C” Goal: Faster than my Boston time (4:08). I wasn’t really concerned about beating that time, but you never really know with these things.

So those were my goals. A very wide range, but they gave me some room to work with and kept me from being too stressed about pace or splits.

But there was one thing I didn’t really tell anyone, and in hindsight I probably should have paid more attention to it; I had an incredibly good feeling about this race. I don’t know if it was the amount of visualization I did ahead of time (there was a lot), the solid training cycle, or just a gut feeling, but there was something telling me that something special could happen.

So as not to bore you with all the details leading up to race morning, let’s just kick things off right from the get go.

"Pre-race details" includes being paranoid that I walked too much the day before and this is how I looked for a lot of the night beforehand. Also, I'm wearing the same shirt as I wore for the race. Underpacked? Yea...

“Details” include being paranoid that I walked too much the day before and this is how I looked for a lot of the night beforehand. Also, I’m wearing the same shirt as I wore for the race. My Oiselle jersey was going to be too cold, and this was my only long-sleeve. Underpacked? Yea…

We woke up around 4:30 am on Sunday, and I was fairly pleased with my sleep the night before. After some breakfast, our pre-ordered cab arrived at 5:30 on the dot. We were only about 1.5 miles from the start, but I didn’t want to waste any energy walking there. We arrived, went through security, and checked our bag really quickly…too quickly. We had just over an hour until the race started, and it wasn’t exactly toasty in the waiting area. Note to self: the next time I choose a late-November marathon, buy more throwaway clothes! We were freeeeezing, and I started to panic I would shiver off all my extra tapered energy before the race even started. While standing in the port-a-potty lines, Adam and I were “that” couple holding each-other way too closely just for warmth purposes. And speaking of…my PRP seriously left something to be desired. WTF? Luckily, this didn’t cause any issues during the race 🙂

After a few times through the bathroom line, it was time to line up in our start corrals..the race was about the start! I proceeded to strip down, toss my throwaway fleece directly into some dude’s face (we all had a good laugh about it), and take some deep breaths. And just like that…off we went!

Very standard crowded race start. I didn’t want to do any weaving, but it quickly became clear that people didn’t exactly start in their assigned corral. So I wound my way around some folks, trying to stay as streamlined as possible, but oh baby did it feel good to just be running! The sun was rising, and we were running right toward the Philadelphia skyline – good stuff! My goal for the first few miles was to stay around 8:15-8:20 pace, so I tried to sneak some peaks down at my watch early on to get into this rhythm. I managed to get pretty comfortable right around there, and I tried to just relax, soak it all in, and enjoy the city. Miles 1-4 or so wound all through the downtown streets and they were pretty packed with cheering crowds. It was awesome! There was such great energy, and I was feeling really calm and collected.

I don’t remember a ton in those earlier miles, except that I kept trying to remind myself to stay smart and stay boring. I would shake my hands out by my sides and wiggle my jaw loose to keep out any tension, and generally I was just trying to run by feel and keep my breathing easy. I wanted to just stay in the moment and not get carried away with the miles to come or the emotion I knew I had invested in this race. There was plenty of time for that later on.

In the back of my head though, I knew that running a negative split meant that the second half would need to be run under an 8:00 pace. I tried to block that out, although there was definitely a lingering feeling that at some point soon, I was going to need to step it up.

Mile 1: 8:15

Mile 2: 8:17

Mile 3: 7:54

Mile 4: 8:03

Mile 5: 8:14

I took my first two Shot Blocks and grabbed my first water cup at the 5.5 mile aid station, and it was the perfect time to start gearing up for the “hill” portion of the race. The first major hill of the course came around during mile 7, and this was the first time I definitly noticed the training-at-altitude advantage I had; it was no problem! I cruised up, and despite having planned on that mile being a bit slower, it ended up being right on pace with the rest of the race. I was definitely thankful for all the stair climbing and trail hills I managed to include in my training at this point. I also tried to capitalize on the downhill that followed, which always gives my turnover a good boost. Miles 9 and 10 had another up and another down, more water and Shot Blocks, and although I felt a little energy drain on the uphill effort, I was able to recover quickly and get back in the zone.

Mile 6: 8:11

Mile 7: 7:59

Mile 8: 8:10

Mile 9: 7:44

Mile 10: 8:15

At this point, we were running along the river, heading back toward the city. I knew that once we got close to the halfway point, everyone running the half-marathon would peel off toward the finish line, so I tried to keep focus and not think about the fact that I’d still have an entire half to run (with many fewer people along for the ride.)

Mile 11: 7:34

Mile 12: 7:47

Mile 13: 8:02

I clocked the first half right around 1:46, which is exactly where I’d hoped to be in terms of first-half pacing.

No idea when this was taken, but this is the expression I had for the majority of the race.

There was actually something kind of magical about heading back out along with the other marathoners; a shared battle we were all ready to take on together. Things were also spread out enough at this point that I could keep step with some people around me, and I started to listen in to some of the conversations happening. I had my iPod with me and had actually planned on plugging in once we completed the first half, but it didn’t feel necessary yet – so I stayed tuned into the race around me. The second half of the course is essentially an enormous out and back, with a small out and back tagged on in the middle, which I thought might be a little tedious, but again – I was just trying to stay in the mile. Mile 14 went by, mile 15 went by, and I still wasn’t interested in my headphones. I continued to shake my hands out, take deep breaths, and continue on at the pace I was holding. I felt good; strong, controlled, and ready to let my heart and emotions play a bigger role.

Mile 14: 7:40

Mile 15: 7:51

Right around mile 16, a girl saddled up next to me and asked if she could hang onto my pace for a bit. Indeed, new friend! I’d overheard her talking to someone else earlier, so I knew she was after a BQ, and after I told her I’d run Boston this last spring, I think she trusted I knew what I was doing. Ha! But fake it til you make it, right? I could tell she felt strong and ready to race the rest of this thing, so I figured for however long this lasted – we could help one another out. I learned her name was Sadie, she was from New York, and this was her second marathon. She had some sass, and I loved it. Around mile 17 or so, we started to see the lead runners coming back on the other side of the road, which was super fun. We both cheered everyone on, and these miles seemed to go by pretty quick. My watch was decently behind the mile markers, but since she was doing manual mile lapping, she read off our splits whenever we hit one. We were averaging right around or right below 7:50 miles, which at this point was exactly on par with my negative splitting ambitions.

Mile 16: 7:57

Mile 17: 7:44

Mile 18: 8:01

Mile 19: 7:43

At one point, we saw a man on the other side of the road with a Central Park Track Club jersey on and Sadie yelled, “Way to go NYC!” She explained that he was part of a big Central Park running group, and I had to stop myself from saying, “Homegirl, I read hella running blogs and I know way too much about both that club and some of its members already.”

Around mile 19.5, we were getting close to the major turnaround and Sadie was clearly rearing to go. After she got a couple strides ahead of me and I noticed our pace was around 7:35s, I told her to go ahead. She’d definitely helped me out, and I wanted her to have the kickass finish I could tell she was after. Sadie, if you’re out there, I’m pretty sure you killed that BQ goal! Thanks for carrying me along.

We turned around right near mile 20, and I still felt great. I had grabbed some orange slices from a good samaritan a little while beforehand, and I could feel them kicking it. Time to finish this thing! It was a definite energy boost to be heading back toward the finish line as opposed to away from it. And although the crowds weren’t as thick as they were in the city, I was so impressed with the people that were out. Without my iPod I could hear all the times people yelled my name or “Go November Project!” which was so helpful. Speaking of, around mile 22 I ran by what had to have been the Philly NP cheering station. One guy (maybe the leader?) saw me and yelled, “NP DENVER! WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!” I wanted to accept/give so many hugs, but their high fives and cheers would have to suffice; I couldn’t stop now!

Mile 20: 7:53

Mile 21: 7:45

Mile 22: 8:00

I refused to do any mental math in my head in terms of finishing time, but I was certainly running at this point with the hope that something awesome could happen at the finish line. I kept reminding myself that I was in control; the was my race, my story, and I was the one in charge of the outcome. I’d told myself for 16 weeks that I was capable, and now was the time to bring all that visualization to life.

Maybe I was in more pain than I remember, according to this photo. Definitely getting a little harder…

So on I ran. I kept waiting for my pace to slow, for the wall that I knew all too well to smash right into me. But there was no wall, and although my legs were aching and my feet were killing me, I kept pushing. I continuously replayed over and over in my head the mantras I’d told myself all through my training, and I let those emotions I’d kept in check all week beforehand and throughout the first half of the race pour energy into my legs. I was writing this story, and I was going to make it a good one.

Mile 23: 7:52

Only a 5k to go. That was once around Green Lake in Seattle, right? I remember running that loop when I first started running again in February; it was the first time since being sick and injured that I kind of felt good again.

Mile 24: 7:52

Ugh, I’m .2 miles behind on my watch! So is that 2.2 miles to go? Or 2.4? I don’t know anymore. Keep running!

Mile 24.5: Are those gummy bears? Yes! Gummy bears! GIVE ME!

Mile 25: 7:56

Wait a minute, holy shit, I might be under 3:30. How long have I had these gummy bears in my mouth? I can’t swallow them, I can’t spit them out, I guess I’ll just carry them in my mouth.

Mile 25.5: Less than a mile. Make this happen, Robyn. This is the race you’ve been waiting for. This is yours. Go get it.

Mile 26: 8:07

We saw that mile marker flag this morning! It looks so much prettier now! There’s the finish line! Goooooo.

I was flying. Without even thinking about it, my finishing kick came from somewhere else; an energy source that was stored away just for this moment. I peaked down at my watch just in time to see that with enough gusto, my finishing time wouldn’t just be faster than Boston, wouldn’t just be a PR, but would be under 3:30.

Final .38 (clearly ran the tangents like a boss): 7:24 pace

With 50 yards to go, I spotted Adam in the crowd, waving and then motioning for me to finish the damn thing (he knew I was within seconds of that 3:30 mark). I strode and strode, realizing that the dream I didn’t even know was possible today was coming true, and I had made it come true.

I heard my name, raised my arms in the air, stopped my watch, and let out some sort of exclamatory yell.

Official time: 3:29:49. Booyah! I was elated, overwhelmed, and in a daze. Did that actually just happen? Who was that person running for the past 10 miles at a faster pace than they’ve run in almost a year? Holy shit, that was me! I did it!

The trudge back through the recovery area include a little eye mistiness, a lot of looking for my fiancee, and a quick realization that everything, literally everything, hurt. While I may have been able to block out the pain while running, it was quickly catching up with me.

At some point I got a bag of food and some water, and after calling Adam on a random cell phone, I finally was able to meet up with him – at which point it all came out; lots and lots of tears. Adam killed the half too, finishing in 1:54, way under what he expected for the day! So proud.

I’m still kind of processing the entire experience, and I still can’t really believe it. It was the race I’d been picturing ever since I started running marathons, the race that I visualized when I needed inspiration throughout the past year, and the race that kept me training and kept me pushing even when none of it felt worthwhile.

I have a lot of thoughts on the things that I felt I did well in terms of both preparation and race execution, but I’ll save that for another post. For now, I’ll just say thank you to all of you; your encouragement, your cheers, and your support over this past year in every capacity was in the front of my mind for all 26.2 miles. I feel unbelievably lucky to have a system of friends and family who without question have supported this crazy sport, and none of it would be possible (or fun) without you.

Now, when’s the next one??

Philadelphia Marathon Training Weeks #15 and (most of) #16

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It’s race week people! And I’m weirdly calm. I can feel some nerves creeping in a little, but generally I’m just feeling good; rested, ready and excited! I feel like I did (most) everything I could in terms of training and preparing for this race, and so now it’s just time to let it rip on Sunday.

I am still having a really hard time figuring out my goals and/or pace plan. I know where I could be on an incredible day, I know where I could be on an average day, and I know things could just get ugly, but there’s a very wide time range between those outcomes. I’m not going to sandbag myself at all, as I will certainly be racing and running as competitively as I can on Sunday, I just don’t really know what that will mean. I suppose I’m just going to try to run the best I can on that day, give my very best, and stay as mentally strong as I can.

My mantra for Sunday is to be smart in the first half and be brave in the second half (also known as: don’t be an idiot, then don’t be a wimp).

If I were to have ONE main goal, it’s to negative split the race. Out of my five marathons, the two that actually felt good were the ones I negative split. I have drilled this technique into my head over the past few months, and I’ve been running my long runs this way as well. Baring something terrible happening, I am determined to run the second half faster than the first. I’m less concerned about the “holding back” in the first part element of this equation so much as the pushing it after mile 13 element. Digging deep on tired legs is a scary thought, and it’s going to necessitate a great deal of mental focus and strength. I like to think I have these qualities, but the marathon is a merciless beast and has eaten me alive before. I’d be lying if I said the distance doesn’t scare me anymore since I’ve run it five times now. In fact, I’d say it scares me more because I’ve already faced it.

But here’s what I’ve been taught about fear: When things are important to us, there is always going to be an element of fear involved. When it comes to goals that we’ve been focusing on and working toward, this fear (namely the fear of failure) is even more pronounced. But when you want something more than you fear it, when you can channel those scared feelings into feelings of deep determination – you take control over fear, and consequently – you cannot fail.

There are some big goals that I want in regard to the marathon distance, and while it will take more than one race to achieve them, I intend to use Sunday as a step toward getting that much closer.

Here’s how the last two weeks of tapering have been:

Week #15 (aka: the week of the polar bomb)

This is the average amount of clothing I had to lay out before every day I ran last week.

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 7.5 miles + PM hot yoga

13 degrees outside and the first time I wore tights to run in this year. Thankfully Julia joined in on the fun, or else my bed probably would have won out.

Wednesday: November Project workout + run to/from (5.5 miles)

ONE DEGREE. Good thing I’ve got a weatherproof crew of badass people to inspire me to get outside. This workout was slow and easy stairs, and it was so special. To be out there in frigid cold, defying all natural instincts to hibernate, with some awesome people was an incredible thing and was one of my more memorable NP workouts.

Thursday: 75 minute yoga class

One of the best classes I’ve ever been to at my new studio. Good stuff!

Friday: November Project workout + run to/from (6 miles)

We ran up and down a gentle hill in the 9 degree weather. I took it easy, smiled a lot and probably shivered more.

Saturday: 12 miles

Last “long run” of the training cycle! It was snowing the whole time and I had a hard time seeing since snowflakes kept sticking to my eyelashes and not melting since it was so cold. It was beautiful, but this run seemed to take forever. My speed was fine, my legs felt fine, it just seemed to drag.

Sunday: 4 miles easy + hot yoga

Hottest hot yoga class I’ve ever been to. It was certainly cleansing and relaxing, but it was a little too hot for my preference.

Total= 35 miles

Week #16 (aka: this week, aka: RACE WEEK)

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 7 miles with Julia

Wednesday: 6 miles

I ran to November Project, sat out of the workout and took pictures, and still loved it as much as if I’d been participating. Really great to see my people, give some hugs, and get some good lucks before the race.

Thursday: yoga

Easy flow class this morning, it was lovely.

Friday (planned): 4 easy miles, shake out

Saturday (planned): rest

Sunday: yea…

You can add “binge watched Lost” to most days up there, as that’s been my chosen taper distraction technique. It’s really good for keeping me occupied, not so good for keeping my heart rate low.

Generally, I’m really happy with how things are feeling this week. I feel like I’ve balanced resting and continuing to move really well, and my body is feeling more and more ready every day. My legs, somehow, have felt great on every run this week – let’s hope that’s a sign of good things to come on Sunday! I’m trying a new technique of not doing the shake out the day before the race, and I’m excited for it. I always feel like my legs feel best after full rest days – so let’s hope this holds some truth. My guess is that we’ll be walking around Philly enough to get blood moving and to calm any nerves.

This is it! I’m really excited. Thank you all for your encouragement through this training cycle – it’s been a good one!

Here is tracking information, and my bib number is 2276.

Gah! Okay, time to buckle it in until Sunday. Booyah!

How November Project Brought Me Back to Life

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November Project is a grassroots, free fitness movement that started in Boston and is now in 16 cities across North America. The premise is simple: just show up, work hard, and hug harder. No frills, membership fees, registration, or gear needed. The idea is to bring a community of people together to push and encourage one another while getting fitter, faster, and happier along the way. In Denver, November Project takes place at 6:15 am twice a week: at the Capitol Building/Civic Center Park every Wednesday, and the location rotates every Friday.

I’ve always been the type of person who exaggerates for the sake of emphasis.

“This is easily the best cookie I’ve ever had.”

“I’ve never seen a better sunset in my life!”

“No one has EVER been more tired than I am right now.”

I’ve said all of those expressions, more than once, along with similar statements in the name of humor or stressing my point. Therefore, when I say something like, “November Project brought me back to life,” it would be understandable to assume that – once again – I was giving a light-hearted exaggeration.

But here’s the truth: without a sliver of doubt, or feeling that I’m being over-the-top, I can boldly say that since I started attending November Project in late April 2014, nothing has really been the same – all entirely for the better. And in both literal and figurative ways, it really has brought me back to life. Here’s my story of finding NP5280.

When we first moved to Denver at the beginning of March, a great deal of change had happened all at once. Adam and I quit our jobs, got engaged, moved to a new city, and started new jobs all within the span of a couple weeks. In hindsight, I should have anticipated that it wouldn’t be easy, but I will fully admit that I completely underestimated just how overwhelming and stressful it would all be.

In the moment, all I could think was, “These are all good things! Must stay pumped! Love it all! Do it all!” But the fact is that change, even good change, takes its toll. So, after a brief period of my health recuperating from my terrible Crohn’s Disease flare up last December, it’s no surprise that my symptoms returned in full force within a few short weeks after our move.

I was frustrated, to say the least; I was taking the best-of-the-best (and most expensive) medications, I was trying to train for the Boston Marathon and couldn’t go a mile without making a bathroom stop, and the last thing I needed while living in a new city was a reason to stay in bed.

Consequently, the start of living in Denver was spent trying to train amidst a lingering Crohn’s flare up (while acclimating to high altitude) , going to GI appointments, and using all other energy reserves to try and learn a new job. It was not, as you can imagine, the fairy-tale Colorado life I’d been picturing when we initially moved.

I managed to get myself in shape enough to make the Boston trip, and along the way I met Julia. We “knew” each other from the internet since we both ran for Oiselle, but our serendipitous official first meeting happened while we were both literally on the run. It was great to make contact with someone I knew would be in Boston, and seeing as we both had identical PRs in both the half and the full marathon, I was pretty convinced we’d get along well.

The two of us teamed up in Boston, so-to-speak, and she introduced me to another friend there from Denver, Dan. I learned the two of them knew each other from a workout group I’d vaguely heard about through the grapevine, called November Project. They encouraged me to come once we were back home, and while it definitely did not sound like my normal fitness preference, their enthusiasm was intriguing – and infectious.

With Julia, Dan, and a runner named Kara you probably haven’t heard of, the night before Boston. Fun fact: Julia and Dan’s friendship turned into romance right around this time.

So, after they both kicked my ass at Boston, I figured why not: these people are fit, fast, and obviously infatuated with this “November Project” thing, so I suppose I ought to check it out. Admittedly, though, I was intimidated. I was incredibly self-conscious about my fitness level at that point and gravely aware of how far off I was in terms of my normal speed and strength. Not to mention my stomach was still a wreck, I couldn’t run without needing a bathroom, and I wasn’t feeling great about leaving any comfort zones.

But, on April 29, I mustered up my courage and made my way to the Civic Center Park. When I arrived, I initially panicked that Julia wasn’t there yet and approached the group as slow as possible, trying to blend in and act like I knew exactly what I was doing. Almost immediately, a smiling face approached me and asked if I was Robyn, and before I could barely even say yes I was embraced in a huge hug.

“Well, she’s certainly friendly!” were my immediate thoughts.

A few minutes later, the group was called into a circle and we started to bounce up and down – which was a welcome relief from the cold.

Dan (the same Dan from Boston, who I hadn’t even realized was the leader of this whole deal) belted out, “GOOD MORNING!” to which everyone replied good morning back.

“Okay, this is fun…lots of upbeat people, I’m not the only one who likes the early mornings apparently.”

Dan: “Y’ALL GOOD?”

Group: “FUCK YEAH!”

Me: “Okay…I like this.”

We were then given directions for the workout. I didn’t really know it at the time, but it was “PR Clover Day,” which is a workout done once a month in which you count up the number of repetitions you can do of a running/stairs route within 35 minutes. Something else I didn’t know at the time: it’s the hardest workout they do.

Off we went. And within probably 4 minutes of starting, I was both horrified and giddy about what I had gotten myself into: this shit was hard. Like I mentioned previously, I was hesitant to work out “publically” since I was so down and out about my fitness decline, but I realized quickly that it didn’t really matter; everyone was going at their own pace, some faster, some slower, and it wasn’t really all that obvious who was doing what. So, I hoisted my still-Boston-sore-quads up and down the huge stairs, got high-fives from people I didn’t know, and felt my lungs burn in a way they hadn’t done in months.

At the end, I was completely winded and a-gasp at how these people did this every week. But in almost equal measure, I was hooked.

It was also the first time in 4 months that I was able to exercise without a bathroom break.

Very first NP workout. I’m in the blue + earwarmer in the second row. To my left is Julia, to my right is Kaitlin – the girl who first hugged me that day.

I went again the next week. And then the next week. Then I started going twice a week. The hugs continued, the “FUCK YEAH!”s continued, and the more I went…the more enthused I became. I noticed that every single day at work after an NP workout, I had more energy, I was happier, and I was more productive.

Clovers, my third-time around.

I met more people every time I went, and I began to immensely look forward to seeing people that I barely knew outside of 45 minutes twice a week. Not to mention I could feel myself getting fitter, stronger, and more confident in my body that had for so long been disappointing me.

The workouts were addictive, but it was the people – the atmosphere, the hugs, the energy – that kept me coming back for more. Julia described it best when I first started going: November Project is like taking a shot of endorphins right at the beginning of the day; the workouts are good and challenging, but the social aspect is what brings the whole thing to life.

Ice bucket challenge by NP5280.

And in hindsight, it was the social element that I needed more than anything else. As a distance runner, I naturally spent a lot of time by myself. I didn’t train with anyone, and generally I enjoyed spending my miles within my own head. However, when you pair this with the fact that, in general, I’m a very introverted (some would say antisocial) person, I wound up spending a lot of time alone. Which I always told myself was fine; I preferred staying in and living the literal translation of “the loneliness of the long distance runner.” What I didn’t realize, however, was just how isolated this left me. I may have told myself over and over that this was who I was, but in reality I was stuck on a comfort-zone island without any hope of someone finding me.

When I got so sick last December, those natural hermit tendencies turned into full-on hibernation. I could barely stand up long enough to put on makeup in the morning, let alone go and see anybody. When I finally started to get better, I spent so long just trying to dig myself out of my sickness ditch that my original running ditch didn’t feel so deep, relatively speaking.

But it was. And I didn’t know just how bad I needed something like November Project until it swept me up with its comfort-zone breaking, f-bomb dropping, literal and figurative all-consuming hug.

Now, almost 7 months after that first gut-busting day in April, I can’t imagine life without Wednesday and Friday mornings with November Project. They’ve become my community, my friends, and those 45 minutes twice a week are always the very best part of my day. Not to mention the weekend trips, the Friday night happy-hour runs, and the very best training partner I could ask for.

We all come from different backgrounds and have different goals, training, and motives. But that’s one of the things I love best; it doesn’t matter who you are or how in or out-of-shape you are – November Project is authentically all-inclusive.

In nine days, I’ll be running the Philadelphia Marathon, and I couldn’t feel more different than I did when I was getting ready to run Boston. The strength and speed improvement is certainly a factor, but more so – my mentality as an athlete has transformed immensely. Dan said it way better than I could:

“What used to be a ball of nerves before a race due to high personal expectations, and quiet reflection post-race, has now become a flurry of pride, passion, and enjoyment. Training used to be a burden: why and I doing this in 20-degree weather? What effect will skipping this run have on my performance? Now through the November Project community, the training part is fun & happens naturally, and the races are wild, joyful parties! There hasn’t been a day that I’ve run or trained alone, because I know that other NP tribesmates are out there doing the same.”

So, to Julia – thank you for bringing me into this community and inspiring me every day to dream bigger, run faster and just show up.

To Dan and Molly – your tribe has rocked my world, and the two of you keep me smiling and digging deeper every week.

And to November Project Denver – you are my family. Thank you for bringing me back to life.

Philadelphia Marathon Training Week #14

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Three-weeks of taper is a tricky thing. Initially, you’re psyched for some well-earned down time in which you’ll spend hours of blissful sleep/rest regenerating every muscle fiber just in time for race day. In reality, the first week of taper doesn’t really feel like tapering, the second week (where I’m currently at) is when you question if you’re doing too much or too little, and the third week is just mayhem.

For my first week of taper, I still had to run 50 miles based on the 20% reduction rule off of my peak mileage (65). That’s still a lot of running! I ran 5 days last week, some of which felt great, some of which weren’t so great.

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 9 miles + Core Power yoga

Solid run with Julia around Wash Park x2 and some sweaty yoga after work. Mmm.

Wednesday: November Project workout + run before/after (7 miles total)

So many humans! Biggest NP5280 group yet.

Thursday: Core Power yoga

Friday: November Project workout + run before/after (11 miles total)

Super fun workout last Friday. We did a running circuit with some steady inclines/declines in between strength moves. There was a gorgeous sunrise, and I felt strong and happy the entire time. Julia and I ran before and after too, for a total of 11 miles for the day.

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Proof of the glorious sky! I swear I don’t just go to NP because they take photos that I can conveniently use as a blogger.

Saturday: 7 miles easy

Sunday: 16 miles

A very stereotypical long run story: up too early, didn’t feel great for the first half, felt monumentally better for the second half. While I’d rather feel good for the entirety of my long runs (HA!), I’m glad that I seem to have a trend going of negative splitting my long runs in both pace and general attitude. One of my biggest hopes for Philly is to race, not just survive, the second half, so hopefully this is good practice.

Total= 50 miles

Generally, this week was fine. Nothing was groundbreaking, nothing was terrible; just doing to work and going through the motions. In terms of where I’m at now, I’ve dug a little mental ditch this week and need to get myself out of it. Things are just achy, and I’m questioning all training decisions by the minute (despite the fact that I’ve had it all planned out already). I’m really trying to just listen to my body, and I know more rest is better than less, but it’s all just kind of hard to gauge at this point. I’ve decided to not really abide by mileage targets anymore and just stay conservative.

I kind of can’t believe that the race is 10 days away. I kind of feel like I should take some time to internalize it a little more, because it doesn’t really seem to stay in the front of my brain. Maybe that’s a good thing, but I feel like after 14 weeks of this business, I should be getting a little more excited, nervous, something?! I’m certain to eat those words next week, but this taper just feels a little different than previous ones. I’m still trying to nail down some goals for the race, although I have a general framework of times that I think are possible, depending on the day.

I do know that I want to run a smart race. At my last goal marathon, Eugene, I hit the wall so hard I had a difficult time even enjoying the feeling of qualifying for Boston, and it was entirely my own fault. I know the distance will hurt no matter what, but I’d like to beef up my mental toughness a little more this time around.

More goal talk and taper talk to come, I’m sure. Thanks for sticking with me 🙂