It's about to get real

These past few weeks after the Brooklyn Half can only be described as madness. While I don't have any races planned for the summer, marathon training has officially begun.  You may be wondering what have I been up to exactly. Shit is about to get real.

• Hitting those long runs every week - most recently a 12 miler (where a man named Camilo tried to kill me with his faster pace!). I did this same method last year - keeping that "Brooklyn base" going until marathon training begins. I believe it served me well and created some nice buffers in my training plan, so here we are rinse and repeat for 2024!
  
  
• Participated in Murph 2024 (CrossFit) - I've lost track on how many years I've done it now. It's truly one of my favorite events and such a great benchmark of personal fitness and mental grit. This year I clocked in at 01:06:59. The push-ups absolutely killed me! After the first 100, I was doing singles to get through the next 100 - it was a huge time suck! But the squats and the end cap runs felt great.
  
  
• Have really enjoyed lifting without 'fear' - as Brooklyn was getting closer and I was experiencing my usual nagging issues, I was definitely holding back. Eye on the prize, it wasn't worth any risks. The past few weeks I've been able to push a littler harder during CrossFit WODs. While I know it will be short lived as marathon training is about to ramp up, it was nice to feel a little stronger. There was a specific WOD that really sticks out in my head that was a mix of running sprints and one heavy lift. It was super short - under 10 minutes. I'm always last or close to last in my class, but this was the first time EVER that I was the first to finish. It combined two things I was good at in a digestible format which allowed me to shine. 
  
  
• Switched jobs - this is a pretty big one. Especially when it comes to my schedule. I will be in Manhattan 3 days a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays). This was my first week of commuting. While only 3 days, this is a huge change from fully remote. When it comes to my training schedule, it has a big impact since the city days are sequential. I have to completely rethink my schedule with lots of new constraints and considerations.
  
  

The first two problems are interrelated - which day for my long run and which day for CrossFit? CrossFit is dependent on a class schedule that I don't set. My current leaning is to do my long runs on Monday early mornings A) since I am home and not commuting B) because if I get zero exercise on my commuting days, at least they can be seen as recovery days from the long run.

That means I'll be aiming to do CrossFit on Fridays now - the other day I am home. For the summer that will be a 5:15am or 7am class since I still need to be home in time to help with the kids' routine. Once my youngest begins Kindergarten in September, I'll have a little more flexibility there. 

So what about my two short runs and one cycling day - where do those fit in? I haven't quite figured that out yet. Working out before the commute is not realistic. I'm already waking up at 5am to make the train. Working out after the commute feels dismal. Energy low and it's the only time I will briefly see my kids. Working out at the office is an option. There is a gym. And I'm located right on the Highline as well which is great for short runs. But I don't have a sense of how to manage that yet. Timing. Showers. Etiquette. Remember, my previous "office" experience was working for a fitness company. Different vibes. Of my 3 city days, do I just try to hit the middle day of Wednesday and stay a little later?

In summary, working out (and training) Monday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (and NOT Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) does not make any sense. But that's the only reality I can see right now.

Patience

Faith

Give it time

Give yourself grace

I know it will all work out. I always find a way. It just feels like puzzle right now and a bit of a whirlwind. Especially since these life changes happened so quickly and somewhat unexpectedly.

While my focus will be on marathon training these next few months, there are also some races in the fall that will play a role in the overall story:

• October 13 - Staten Island Half
• November 2 - Abbott Dash 5K
• November 3 - NYC Marathon (of course)
• December 7 - Ted Corbitt 15K

We leave for Italy this coming Saturday and will be traveling there the first two weeks of July. These will definitely be "step back" weeks for me, but I plan to stay as active as possible (to offset the gelato, pizza, and pasta of course). It's going to be brutally hot there and I won't have access to much equipment other than my feet and bodyweight. My goal is pretty simple - workout every other day. And try to get two 6 mile runs in while there (one for each week). Hoping Rob and I can find a groove to help each other achieve this goal like we did on our last London-Paris trip. Just replace the croissants with other carbs.