NYCM Training: Week 2…and My Brown Belt!

Hey, all! As promised, here’s a recap of my second week of New York City Marathon training. I mean, technically, I’m at the end of week 3 now…but better late than never right?!

Mon., July 20: Taekwondo class

Tue., July 21: 3 miles

Wed., July 22: Downtown Westfield 5K and Pizza Extravaganza (recap here!)

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Running + pizza = OH YES

Thur., July 23: 5 miles

Fri., July 24: Taekwondo class and graduation

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Sat., July 26: Rest

Sun., July 27: 7 miles

Total weekly mileage: 18 miles

I feel as though I’m settling into my new routine of running 4 days a week again. I’m not saying it’s easy, especially since the temperatures have been heating up here and running in 85 or 90+ degrees makes me absolutely miserable…but I do feel like my body is “remembering” how to run and I’m adjusting to the mileage pretty quickly.

Hot messes.

Hot messes.

Last weekend’s long run was another tough one, though; we didn’t start early enough (what a surprise), so by the time we were done, it was pretty warm. It’s taking us a long time to finish our long runs because we’re constantly stopping to guzzle water/Powerade, take a quick walk break or stretch, etc. Plus, of course, our pace is nowhere near what it “should” be because the heat/humidity is TOTALLY cramping our style.

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This dog follows me around everywhere, what can I say? lol

But Todd and I’ve both decided to take our time and ease into this training program. We both fell off the running wagon for a while after the New Jersey Marathon in April, and don’t want to risk injury/burnout by trying to do too much too soon — especially in this heat! In fact, he rearranged our training plan so we have one extra week of building our base in the beginning, and that’s why our first three long runs have progressed slowly, from 6 miles to 7 miles to this weekend’s 8 miles.

7 miles done...then it's time for the puppy's walk. :)

7 miles done…then it’s time for the puppy’s walk. :)

My continued struggle, of course, is balancing running with Taekwondo. Last Friday, I was promoted to brown belt, and the form we had to learn was killer. Now I’m performing all kinds of jumps and consecutive kicks and low stances that I’ve never done before, and quite frankly, my legs are pretty furious at me already.

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But I’m just one belt away from beginning the quite rigorous process of testing for my black belt — which is a HUUUUUGE deal for me — so I won’t let myself lose momentum now. I’m an advanced student now and my classes are held later in the evenings, so I can actually make at least 2-3 classes per week. So you figure at least 4 days of running per week plus 2-3 karate classes, and you might just ask WHY THE HELL I DO THIS TO MYSELF. I’m trying to take at least one rest day per week, but I know that’s not going to be enough as I start ramping up the mileage. And when I attempt to run AND take a karate class in the same day, well, let’s just say it doesn’t feel so good, haha.

The moral of the story is that I am madly in love with both running and Taekwondo. I hate that my chosen forms of physical fitness both happen to be so hard on the legs, but that’s just the way it is. I promised myself that I would be better about listening to my body this time around, so if and when it becomes physically impossible for me to train for the marathon AND focus on karate then I know I will have to pull back on the Taekwondo a bit.

At the end of the day, the New York City Marathon is my utmost priority. How could it not be?!

Can. Not. Wait.

Can. Not. Wait.

But, for now, I guess I should make best friends with that bleepin’ foam roller, huh?

Is there another activity that you balance with running?

 Do you feel you give your body enough “rest” while training for a half/full?

Comments

  1. Congrats on the brown belt!

  2. CONGRATS on your brown belt! That’s so exciting that you’re now just one belt away from black. You are so freakin kickass!

    I love that you and Todd are easing into marathon training. I did the same thing after having taken some time off from vigorous running. My coach reminded me that there will be PLENTY of weeks of hard running and high mileage, so easing in at the beginning is not a problem at all – and to enjoy all of those easy runs! :)

    • Thanks, Kristina — appreciate that! I can’t believe it either!

      Thanks for the perspective — I am DEFINITELY enjoying these “easy” runs now, haha. :)

  3. awesome job on the brown belt! I am also SO OVER the heat and I am starting to get worried about Dumbo coming up-you know it is always SO hot!

    • Thanks, Juliana! You’ll be great! It was CRAZY hot both times I ran Dumbo, but I still had a blast. You’ll be great!

  4. Congrats on your brown belt! What a great accomplishment!

  5. Congrats on your brown belt! I think it’s so incredible that you balance your love of running with another sport that you love. It’s good cross training right? ; )

  6. Congrats on the the brown belt! That’s awesome! And I completely get the struggle between your 2 loves…it’s so hard for me to balance CrossFit and running but fortunately, one helps the other! …you know, when it doesn’t exhaust you to the point of immobility lol

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