Perfect Timing.

I hope everyone in Sandy’s path is hunkered down and ready to ride out the storm. We are safe and sound here in Philly as the storm heads, well, directly toward us.

No big deal.

It literally takes a hurricane to force me to slow down.  

Me, yesterday, completely wiped.

Some forced relaxation is just what the doctor ordered – especially one week (!!!) before the marathon. Finally! It’s marathon week.

Last week I didn’t sleep over 6 hours any night, which I know defeats the purpose of the taper. But being able to stay home today, catch up on some stuff, nap, and just zone out in front of the TV is like a gift from the marathon gods. So here’s what my taper is looking like:

Sun 10/21:	12 Miles (Last LSR 8:30's) + Yoga (PM)
Mon 10/22:	Yoga (Easy)
Tues 10/23:	5 Miles, Treadmill Hills
Wed 10/24:	5 Miles, Strenth Training
Thurs 10/25:	45 Min Elliptical + Yoga (PM)
Fri 10/26:	5 Miles, Treadmill Intervals + Yoga
Sat 10/27:	Yoga
Sun 10/28:	6 Miles (w/ 10 min Intervals) + Yoga
Mon 10/29:	Yoga (SANDY)
Tues 10/30:	5 Miles (easy) + Yoga
Wed 10/31:	40 Min Elliptical + Yoga
Thurs 11/1:	5 Miles (easy) + Yoga
Fri 11/2:	40 Min Elliptical
Sat 11/3:	3 Miles (easy) + Stretch!
Sun 11/4:	26.2!

I am getting so excited for the marathon. Last week I was pretty nervous because I knew I wasn’t getting the rest I needed and was on the verge of a cold all week. But thanks to Sandy and an impromptu day at home, I’m feeling back to normal and am ready for a smart race-prep week.

So what have I been up to that’s keeping me so busy? Well, on top of work, NaturaStride, and marathon training... a couple other exciting things:

Girls on the Run!

Girls on the Run is finally coming to Philadelphia in the Spring of 2013. If you’re unfamiliar with the program, Girls on the Run is a youth development program for pre-teen girls which combines training for a 5K with a curriculum that encourages self-respect and healthy lifestyles taught by volunteer GOTR coaches. I am the Council Director for Philadelphia County and have been leading the steering committee over the past 6 months dedicated to bringing this inspiring program to our city. I had no idea how much work was involved with establishing a non-profit, but am so glad we have taken on the challenge. We have a great group of women dedicated to bringing this program to the girls of Philadelphia. I can’t even imagine how rewarding it will be once we have girls running in the spring.

Anyways, last week, a few of us flew down to GOTR International’s headquarters down in Charlotte, NC for new council training. It was so fun to be surrounded with other women from all over the country (Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Indiana) that share the same mission as we do. I learned so much, had some much needed girl-bonding time, and truly didn’t want to leave!  To learn more about Girls on the Run International, please visit their website here, or check out Girls on the Run Philadelphia’s facebook page here.

Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training!

You may or may not have noticed how I’m doing a ridiculous amount of yoga these days. It’s all for good reason: I’m in the process of obtaining my Registered Yoga Teacher 200-Hour certification. Becoming certified has been something I’ve been interested in for awhile now, and when the opportunity presented itself at a power yoga studio I love, I decided to seize the opportunity. (“If not now… when?”) I would love to teach a Vinyasa-style hot yoga class geared toward runners. However, the program has been much more than simply learning yoga postures. I have learned so much about human anatomy (LOVE!), meditation, breathing exercises, self-awareness, etc. We have also been learning about the history of yoga, the chakras, and other eastern mind/body theories, which I find incredibly interesting. If you have ever thought about yoga teacher training – definitely look into it, even if you aren’t interested in necessarily teaching classes in the future. It’s a great opportunity to learn the fundamentals of yoga theories, posture alignment, self-reflection, etc.

As part of the training, we are required to practice 6 times per week, which seemed a bit overwhelming at first. However, all this yoga in tandem with marathon training is what I think is getting me to the starting line.

Anyways, that’s it! Now we’re all caught up. My week is pretty open, and I’m ready to take care of myself, rest, eat well, and just take it easy. And begin working in some extra carbs:

(This is the best way to eat a cupcake – in a bowl with a little almond milk poured on top. Heaven.)

I’ll be sure to check in later this week with marathon weekend plans!

Q: If Sandy is heading toward you, what are you doing to pass the time? Any race-week advice?

“The opinions expressed here are solely my opinions and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Girls on the Run® International."

Enter the Taper.

Well hello! Yes this blog post is coming to you at 11 PM on a Friday night. The social calendar has throttled back a bit with all this marathon training. On top of that, life/work/etc is incredibly busy. I am a bit overwhelmed, but truly can’t complain. All good things. (exhale!)

Hey, I never debriefed from my 20 miler last weekend! Yes – I did it! It was long. But really, not so bad. Strangely, the second 10 miles were WAY better than the first 10. My left knee was bothering me a bit at between miles 6-10 ish, but then the pain went away. The goal was to keep it just under 9’s. I’ve been obsessively googling reading that marathon training long run pace should be about 30-45 seconds slower than marathon pace. So the goal was to keep this around 8:50’s. Here’s how it went down:

Split	Pace
1	8:51
2	8:38
3	8:45
4	8:50
5	8:46
6	9:12
7	8:56
8	8:27
9	8:52
10	8:52
11	9:02
12	8:36
13	8:44
14	8:48
15	8:48
16	8:39
17	8:48
18	8:52
19	8:50
20	8:58
Total:	2:56:31
Avg Pace:	8:49 min/mi

All in all, I was pretty happy with the run. I think I’m there. I may actually make it to the starting line of the NYC Marathon.

Post-run beer at Pub + Kitchen! 

Even though the run went well, recovery..? Not so much. I was *hurting* the few days following that long run. In hindsight, even though I stretched a bunch and ate a ton of protein post-run, I probably should have taken an ice shower (we don’t have a tub), foam rolled, and spent the day in compression socks. Note to self. Major circulation issues. Saturday night, after my run, I actually woke up in the middle of the night because my hamstrings were aching. Luckily, on Monday, I had a sports massage at Phila Massages. My sports masseuse gave me a bit of an education about muscle soreness. He explained to me in a way I could understand that my hamstrings were swollen mainly due to blood just “sitting” in that area. The swollen area heightens the sensations in our nerves, resulting in the ache. He pointed out that his sports massage would focus on “pushing” the blood toward the heart. He did say however, that he could tell from my conditioning that it was nothing to be too concerned with. My training was paying off and that I was ready. He explained in unconditioned runners, he’ll often see “knots” in the muscles which could be due to a muscle pull or strain.

Anyways. Felt back to normal by Tuesday. I have to say, I’m glad those long runs are over with and I’m heading into my taper. Here’s how this week’s runs tallied up:

Sat 10/13: 20!

Sun 10/14: OFF

Mon 10/15: 5-Miles Shake-out

Tues 10/16: 45 min Elliptical + Strength Training (AM), Power Yoga (PM)

Wed 10/17: 7-miles, tempo

Thurs 10/18: 45 min Elliptical

Fri 10/19: 6 mile Treadmill Hill + Interval workout, Strength, Yoga

Well I’m gonna go finish this glass of chardonnay and call it a night. But I have to ask…

Q: Any advice on how to maximize this taper? Best practices?!