me nycm
Nov 4 2019
Training: I Ran a Marathon

Wow, what a fun thing to say. I had an incredible weekend at the New York City Marathon. It wasn’t just the race but the entire weekend in general.  I obviously have a lot to say about the New York City Marathon, which will deserve its own race recap.  My goal was to start and finish healthy. It wasn’t to run X time, but I wanted to start and finish healthy.

Monday: Easy 30 minutes
Tuesday: Easy 45 minutes
Wednesday: 10 miles with a fast finish
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy 2 miles with New Balance
Saturday: Easy 3 miles
Sunday: New York City Marathon 3:27.19

Thoughts:

Most of the week was dedicated to the New York City Marathon. I had so much fun just relaxing in the city.  I even got to meet both Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson.

New York City Marathon (3:27.19)

After being on my feet most of the weekend, I could tell my legs didn’t “feel good.”  Sure, I could have skipped all of the fun activities, but my goal was to start and finish healthy, plus have fun. It was a weekend to celebrate my ability to run and health. Is PRing fun? Of course, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen and it wasn’t a secret goal of mine.

My goal was to do it more as a long run and the race itself went by fast. I took it out “easy” and ran up the Verazzano Bridge in 7:40.  That second mile is downhill and I ran a 6:53 at the same effort (maybe I should do a downhill marathon JK). The rest of the miles clicked by and I averaged between 7:25-7:40 depending on terrain. I did stop to use the bathroom at mile 5. Up the Queensboro Bridge, I ran an 8:15, then most of my miles afterward were between 7:45-8:15 with my final few at 8:15-8:30.

I crossed in 3:17.19, which I’m proud of. It was an extremely short buildup for this and just six weeks ago; I didn’t think I would be able to run. While it’s my slowest marathon, I’m equally as proud as any other marathon I’ve run. Now I’m looking forward to getting back into shorter races and getting my speed back.

Posts from the Week:

New Balance 890v7 Shoe Review

October Training Recap

The Anatomy of a Running Shoe

Pennypacker Park Cross Country Open 5k (21:00)

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport.

Questions for you:

Have you run the New York City Marathon?

Have you met someone famous?

Hollie 2 Comments
me running
Oct 14 2019
NYCM Training: Increasing Mileage and Racing

As New York City Marathon looms closer and closer, I feel less and less prepared. My only goal is to start and finish healthy, something I couldn’t do for Big Cottonwood. I’m at peace with that decision, although I do wish my hamstring felt better than it does. Running doesn’t make it worse, actually walking and sitting is the worst. It doesn’t hurt or alter my stride, but it’s noticeable when I run faster than about 6:40 pace. Anyway, running is going as well as it could right now.

Monday Easy 50 minutes
Tuesday: Easy 50 minutes
Wednesday: 10 miles averaging 8:06 fast finish
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Heros to Hero 5k 20:30
Sunday: Gritty 5k 20:45 (total mileage 15)

Thoughts:

As you can see, it was a busy week. I got in miles. While traditionally, this should be “peak week” for NYCM, it won’t be for me. I’m hoping to sneak in one more week of bigger training for the New York City Marathon. I want to do a 20 miler beforehand because I want to know how my hamstring will respond to that.  It’s getting better but I do find I’m on the edge of pushing it, but not pushing it too far too set me back. I don’t want any surprises running 26.2 miles.

I don’t think I’m going to do any “traditional” speed work before NYCM because I’m already increasing mileage and with races, I think that’s enough.

I didn’t have the time to swim last week (because I chose to sleep).

Heroes to Hero 5k: 20:30

This is one of my favorite 5ks in the area. It’s flat, fast, and fun. The weather was ideal, but my legs just didn’t feel good. It wasn’t my hamstring but general soreness of upping my mileage. I could have stopped at mile 1 and not felt guilty about it, but it was a point to point course. I’ve come to terms with where I’m at fitness-wise right now.

Gritty 5k: 20:45

If it were most other 5ks, I wouldn’t have run two in a single week. The Gritty 5k was billed as a “fun run” with all proceeds going to charity. They didn’t do awards for winning, just best dressed. If you are any sort of Gritty fan, I highly recommend it. Even if you’re not, I highly recommend it. Which is fine. It was a lot of fun and my legs didn’t feel as bad the second race (weird right)? I felt like I could have run another few miles.

Posts from the Week:

New Balance 1500v5 Shoe Review

Cow Run 10 Miler 1:15.00

Hiking Franklin Parker Preserve

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. 

Questions for you:

How was your week of training?

Is anyone else doing NYCM? 

Hollie 2 Comments
running
Oct 8 2018
Training: 400s and Half Marathons

Another Week of Training is done.

This week, went better than last week which gave me more confidence. Many people have said: “you’re in shape” and while I am in shape, I’m not in PRing shape, and there is a difference.  In perfect weather, I could probably run a 1:25 half marathon right now, but my PR is 1:22.  A fast time, but I’m not at the peak of my fitness.  That doesn’t matter much as I haven’t had perfect weather for any long race so far…heck I haven’t even had “good” weather.

Monday: Easy 30 minutes/Hike 4 miles
Tuesday: Easy 60 minutes
Wednesday: 12X400s averaging 5:58 pace (total mileage 10)
Thursday: Easy 70 minutes with Alexis
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Easy 60 minutes
Sunday: Crawlin Crab Half Marathon (1:30.02) + 7 miles for 20 miles
Total: 55isb miles

Thoughts:

As I mentioned, I don’t feel at the height or peak of my fitness and I’m okay with that. My goal for the marathon is to start and finish healthy and I have to keep that in mind. I told a few friends, I would rather be undertrained than over. Overtrained is what burned me out and probably hurt both marathons last time.

This tweet made me feel, a little better. That’s how I feel now,.  I don’t feel ready to run or race a marathon.  I hope the next 3 weeks will fine-tune training and get me there.

My easy runs were untimed and easy, and it was nice to get some miles in with my coworker and friend Alexis.

Wednesday: 12x400s (averaging 5:58 pace) with 400 jog in between

I was actually surprised I was moving this fast because I didn’t feel like it when running. I said on Instagram, but I’ve felt strong but not sharp.  I’m hoping to get more speed on my legs during my marathon training. I’ve felt my best, running-wise when I raced my fastest 5k in 2016.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoeZeq6F01o/

Crawlin Crab Half Marathon: 1:30.02

Last year, at Crawlin Crab, it was about the same conditions.  I ended up tanking around mile 9, and shuffling home.  This year, the goal was not to do that and I didn’t.  I ran a consistent race ranging in pace from 6:44-6:58.  It was mid to high 70s, humid, and the course has zero shade or breeze.  The day was tough but I made the best of it. I would have loved to get an actual base of where I am fitness wise, but, you must race for the day and who knows…NYCM could be the same conditions.

Next Week:

I’ll continue running and racing and see how it goes from there. My next, and last half, is tentatively the Atlantic City half marathon on October 21st. I hope the weather will be decent, not even perfect, just not extremely hot and humid. I am confident, I’ll be able to finish the marathon but I don’t feel as fit as when I was running last fall into the Spring.

Posts from the Week:
Vital Proteins Gelatin
New Balance 1400 Shoe Review
September Training:
The Dragon Run (19:28)

Questions for you:
How do you recover from training?
Would you rather run in extreme cold or heat?

Hollie 3 Comments
me back of the head running
Oct 1 2018
NYCM Training: 5ks and Long Runs

I won’t say last week was “the worst” because had I did have both quality runs and races.  However, not everything went as planned and I did have to miss a workout.  Last week, I found myself burning the candle at too many ends. On Wednesday, I was too exhausted and my legs hurt to do very much. Running would have been dumb, and it would have been the time I got injured.

Monday: Easy 30 minutes/ 4-mile hike
Tuesday: Easy 60 minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Easy 20 minutes
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Dragon Run (19:28) Total miles: 9
Sunday: 20 miles with 10 at 6:57 pace
Total: 48

Thoughts:

My easy runs were all easy.  I went hiking on Monday and had a short run.  I felt good on Monday, but Tuesday felt incredibly hard.  I didn’t sleep well into Wednesday, and when I woke up, I knew a workout was not happening.  I also knew if I wanted to run the Dragon Run and a long run over the weekend, it wouldn’t be wise to “make it up.”  So I took off.  I usually take Thursdays entirely off because they are a hectic day fbut I squeezed in about 20 minutes of running.

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Starting my day with a walk above the tree line.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on

Am I completely satisfied with the week?  No but I got what I could in.  It felt as though I “announced” I’m running a marathon and my body fell apart. I am nervous that maybe I’m not cut out for the distance, but once I get a few more weeks of training in, I know I’ll feel more confident.

The Dragon Run: 19:28

For my fitness level, I executed the race perfectly. I ran a 6:20, 6:17, 6:05, race and passed three females in the last .5 to win.  This is my third year running, and also my slowest.  It is, however, my first year winning.  You never know who will show up. It was a good confidence booster for my fitness.

Sunday Long Run:

The 20 miler felt good. I’ve been slowly increasing my long runs, and the 10 miles in between felt solid.

I did feel extremely fatigued at the end.  I know one component I’ve missed in any marathon training cycle is speed work so I’ve been working hard to get it in.

The 10 miles was slightly faster (1 second per mile) than the Air Force half I did a few weeks ago. That gives me confidence that I am in better shape than the 1:31.  Mentally I know that, but it’s a confidence booster after this week.

Another thing I do need to do is sort out nutrition more for the marathon. For both marathons, I ate a full breakfast then took 4 gels during the race.  I didn’t feel as though I bonked and went from 7 minute to 9-minute pace. I also have never felt like I could just “keep running” or on top of the world. I’ve felt tired and like running 26.3 miles is out of the question.

Next week, I’ll be running the Crawlin Crab in Hampton, VA.  Last year, it was one of the hottest and most humid races I’ve ever done.  The goal will be to see where I’m at fitness-wise.  I’m not going to taper for the race but use it more as an extended workout.

Posts from the Week:

On Cloudace Shoe Review

NYCM Training Thoughts

Book It 5k Race Recap

Questions for you:

How do you get over training hiccups?

What was your best workout last week? 

Hollie 1 Comments
me running
Sep 26 2018
NYCM Training Thoughts

In 2013, I blogged about my training cycle for my first marathon, NYCM.  My first of two, and my best.  In the last two weeks, I’ve read every post I’ve written about the cycle.  Blogging is helpful that way that you can see exactly what you were thinking on some random Wednesday in September.

me running

After scouring old blog posts, I’ve concluded I’m a different runner and racer since then. First, I don’t run “as much” mileage as a few years ago.  Before NYCM the first time, I lived in Virginia, then Texas, and then moved to NJ just before the marathon (yes, all in 20 weeks LOL).

While spending most of the training cycle in Texas, I didn’t have a lot to do, was still relatively new to running, and ended up peaking at 100 miles.  Yes, a 100-mile week.  Just reading that now exhausts me!  With only 5 weeks to go, I can tell you a 100-mile week will not happen.  Realistically, I don’t know if it ever will again.

I’ve learned doing more speed work, races, and fewer miles has kept me healthier and just happier with running.  Running less miles, I have time to live my life without dedicating it to running.  Maybe I’ll never run my fastest that way, but running your fastest is useless if you are injured on race day.

Anyway, as I mentioned on Thursday, my only goal is to start and finish the marathon happy. I haven’t run a marathon in 3.5 years, and I’m not an expert or pro. I’m still a newbie in the distance.  While I don’t have a coach, working in run specialty I’m able to get advice from several knowledgeable people.

This training cycle I do know I’ll be doing a few different things:

  • Racing more: Back then, I just logged mileage in Texas and yes I “ran all of the miles,” my body was just stale and forgot how to run fast.  In the 20 weeks, I only ran 2 or 3 races.  In the next several weeks, I’ll be running 5ks most weekends.
  • Fewer miles: I might peak at 70ish.  Last week, I ran about 60.  70 isn’t a magic number, and I won’t feel bad if my highest mileage never gets there.
  • More Cross-Training/Core: I have more free time in the next 2 months (not because my husband is gone, but because my outside responsibilities have decreased as well…). Instead of being busy many mornings before work, it’s been cut down 2-3 mornings per week. I still plan to cross train (right now I’m enjoying hiking) once a week as well as taking a rest day once per week.  I’ve mentioned my core routine before, but I like the Nike Training Club App on cell phones. You can choose 15-60 minute workouts.

Two Key Races:

10/6 Crawlin’ Crab Half Marathon in Hampton, VA  I ran this last year, and it was hot. I’m hoping it won’t be as hot, but in any case, it will be good to see my family in Virginia and friends.

Crawlin Crab half marathon hampton

10/21 Atlantic City Half Marathon: I like the AC half marathon race series, and I believe they do a good job. I think this will provide me with a better idea of time goals. I know I won’t be in 1:22 half marathon shape by then, but I would like to see where I’m at to make better goals for New York.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m not a seasoned marathoner and just thinking about the next 5 weeks both exhausts and excites me. I’ve run close to 50 half marathons and 2 marathons (neither of which I think are anywhere in my top 10 best races).  I am nervous but excited. I have been excited to run a marathon in a long time, which is why I haven’t.

Questions for you:

Have you run New York?  Did you like it?

Do you run your best with more or less miles? 

Hollie 10 Comments
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