The summer and fall edition of Race Pace Training Diaries follows Jess D, a Race Pace Runner, training for the 2014 New York City Marathon with the goal of becoming a faster runner and setting a new Personal Record. Learn more about Jess and her goals here.
Now that I am a little over half way through my training program for the New York City marathon, I thought it would be a good time to talk a little bit about how this marathon training cycle has been different than my previous ones. This will be my 3rd full marathon, but working with Jess to prepare for it has been awesome…so let me tell you a little bit more about my Fab Four!
1. Nutrition
You might have seen my Instagram post last week- nutrition is something that Jess and I zoomed right in on at the start of training. I kept a food journal for a week leading up to the kick-off of my program which provided Jess with a sampling of my eating habits. We were able to identify some key areas that needed improvement such as eating more greens, removing things like Quest bars loaded in sugar alcohols, relying on less fuel during long runs, using things like shakes to help recover from workouts and also at breakfast time to prime my system to be ready to take in other nutrients throughout the day.
I REALLY struggled with nutrition when I trained for my first marathon in 2012. I actually remember sending a frantic tweet along the lines of “Can’t stop eating. How do you battle #runger? Please HELP!”
This time around I feel in control and my body feels so much stronger and better.
2. All the miles
I’m running about double the mileage I did with previous training plans. And I’m loving every minute of it! I had never done shake out or recovery runs before working with Jess- and I am SO GLAD she introduced me to them because they really work folks! I no longer go into races or distance runs with stiff legs. And when I’m feeling sore the day after a hard workout, those recovery runs really do loosen you up!
I’ve been running about as much on a weekly basis with Jess as I did during “peak week” of my previous plans. Running all the miles make a big difference. I used to feel majorly fatigued after distance runs or like I wanted to face plant on the couch for the rest of the day. Not anymore! I’ve actually gone out and enjoyed the day and the weekend without feeling the least bit tired. Twenty miles doesn’t take a toll on this lady anymore ☺
3. Making smarter decisions
You might have read in my previous post that I was having some hamstring issues a few weeks back. The old me would have ignored this pain and continued on with daily workouts because I didn’t want to get off track. This wasn’t an option with Jess. She didn’t want me to attempt any more runs until the pain was gone because that pain could easily turn into an injury…and then I’d really be one unhappy Race Pace Runner ☹ I took a few days off, and when the time was right she started adding workouts back into my training log.
Sometimes we become creatures of habit and the thought of missing a run or workout makes us cringe. But Jess was right, a few missed days is MUCH better than an injured runner.
4. Support
I love running. Everything about it. And working with Jess I have felt supported in my running journey every step of the way. Late night questions, racing strategies, pacing suggestions- she’s been right there to help me out and support me. No more googling random running topics & mining the internet for answers, no more frantic tweets.
Have you been thinking about working with a running coach? These are just a few of the reasons why you should. Feel free to find me on Twitter and Instagram to chat it up some more!
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