With just five weeks to go until race day, we are now heading into our peak weeks of training before we start tapering back down to get our batteries fully recharged before our big event. This is both an exciting and grueling few weeks because while we’ve been steadily building up our bodies to be able to handle the load, no matter how disciplined we’ve been with our training, we are still doing long runs of 18 and 20-miles in addition to all our other usual training. GREAT stuff all around.

These are also the weeks when we focus on putting it all together in earnest, working intently on our mental game, fueling our bodies well, and trying to get as much rest as possible.

I’ve said this numerous times before, but endurance events are 85-90% mental. If you skimp on training your mind in addition to your legs, lungs and heart, you will do yourself a great disservice. Long runs offer us perfect opportunities to work on steeling ourselves to the challenges and discomfort that come with this sport. How will you respond when fatigue hits hard? What will you do to keep moving forward when your feet are telling you they have other ideas? What kind of discipline and focus will you have to remember to fuel and hydrate like clockwork so you feel your best? What mental techniques will you use to help you reach your goals when the going gets tough?

For me it’s mantras, counting steps, visualizing, singing, focusing on what feels strong, not letting my mind wander too far so that I don’t space out my nutrition, and most of all it’s about swimming in gratitude. It’s celebrating the fact that I GET TO DO THIS and be part of this remarkable moment.

Never underestimate the power of gratitude. It has a way of wrapping itself around your pain and reminding you of how lucky you are that you get to experience this incredible journey–the one you so boldly signed up for so long ago, and trained your heart out to get to where you are. So many other people will never know the beauty of this adventure, so be in the moment and appreciate it all, especially during the hardest moments.

Here’s a peek at my Week #15 training schedule (Sept 25-Oct 1):

• Mon 9/25: Run 6 miles (w/ 2.5 mile pick-up effort in the middle), strength 45 min. (Kim Miller Fitness legs/glutes)
• Tues 9/26: Spin class 55 min EZ (15 miles), mobility work 25 min
• Wed 9/27: Run 6 miles, undulating hills
• Thur 9/28: Active recovery day–yoga, core, & foot exercises 35 min, walk with Jeffrey
• Fri 9/29: Run 5 miles with 4x80m strides, core and mobility work 25 min.
• Sat 9/30: Run 18 miles
• Sun 10/1: Rest & recovery day, yoga, walks

Monday morning, short on time, I set out directly from my house instead of driving somewhere scenic, and knocked out a 6-mile run on nothing but concrete and asphalt. It wasn’t the most exciting route, but it was good mental practice for running through the streets of NYC. In the middle of the run I pushed the pace for 2.5 miles.

Tuesday was another fun outdoor spin class at the gym with Kristine. I intentionally took it easy and used this workout to simply flush out my legs from Monday’s run in preparation for Wednesday’s run. I came across a quote somewhere the other day that said something like, “The sign of a maturity in a runner is knowing when to reign it in, and also having the discipline to do it.” I’m definitely a work-in-progress in that department, but today was a win.

Wednesday I felt strong after taking it easy on Tuesday, and knocked out 6 miles of rolling hills in the early morning. Repetez, s’il vous plait: “I like hills, I eat them up. I like hills, I never give up.” Mantras aren’t just for race day! 🙂

Thursday was an active recovery day after yesterday’s hills, and in preparation for Friday’s 5-miler and Saturday’s 18-miler.

Friday morning was a steady 5-mile maintenance run, topped off with 4-5 strides at the end. I countered our gray weather with cheery color, fiery tunes, and thoughts drifting to race day.

Visualization is a powerful training tool I lean on often for endurance events. For NYC, I begin by imagining myself at the starting line on Staten Island, swimming in gratitude, feeling all the feels, then taking off, light on my feet, soaking up the experience, smiling, running strong and steady, turning the crowd’s energy into my own, remembering to fuel and hydrate as I cruise through each borough, powering over the “forever long and quiet” Queensboro Bridge, and then being lifted off the ground by the indescribable energy reverberating from throngs of spectators as we turn onto 1st Avenue; making it all the way up to the top of the course at mile 21 then turning left and heading back down 5th Avenue into Harlem, knowing this is where it gets especially real; thinking about how I will focus on the parts of my body that feel strong, then count steps to stay focused, remind myself of tall posture and good form; then finally, oh finally, turning into Central Park where there last two miles will feel like forever, but knowing my mental toughness will help me find another gear to get across the finish line, all the while savoring every second and appreciating all that has gone into getting to this moment.

Saturday was an 18-mile dry run for race day, starting with carbo loading the night before, trying out shorts I plan to wear, practicing my fueling and hydration, testing out the shoes I’m hoping will work, and working on my mental game. This ended up being a great learning day, for which I’m eternally grateful, because some things did not work well for me. Traditional carbo loading did not feel good on my run so I will adjust that to a lighter pre-race meal and start with small carb meals/snacks earlier throughout the day. The shorts I had to planned to wear on race day continually felt like they were going to fall off (which Becca and I laughed about hysterically. Thankfully I discovered this during our quick warm-up loop not far from my car, and had also thrown in a back-up pair of shorts in my car so I was able to remedy the annoying problem before knocking out the other 17 miles.

Sunday is a whole lot of aaaaah (ie-rest, recovery, and reset) after yesterday’s long run. The deeper we get into training, the more important this day feels in order to be ready to knock out another run on Monday. Today is all about good food, nice walks, and friends and family.

Things I’m Loving Right Now

Training for a marathon takes a lot of time, as we well know. Finding time to make gourmet meals to replenish our bodies isn’t always easy, even with good planning, so I thought I would share a few ideas here that I have leaned on recently when there aren’t enough hours in the day (or energy in the body).

Trader Joe’s Harvest Chili: It’s made with black beans, butternut squash, cauliflower & sweet potatoes simmered with pumpkin puree & chili spices. I love the taste, heartiness, and ease of heating and serving. It has 5g of protein and fiber per cup, as well as 410mg of potassium and 50 mg of calcium.

Leftover mash-up: I’m the queen of throwing something together from leftovers, adding in a few fresh items to spice it up. This mash-up included fresh broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms and red onions sauteed in garlic olive oil for a few minutes, and then tossed over leftover plain pasta. For extra flavor and protein (5g), I threw in a chopped up Trader Joe’s Quinoa Cowboy veggie burger with black beans & roasted corn.

Lentils: This is one of my all-time favorite meals, especially because my husband makes this killer dish with sauteed bell peppers, onions, celery and mushrooms, topped with avocado and micro greens. Served with a couple of slices of fresh sourdough bread, and a glass of kombucha, your tummy will be doing a happy dance.

Here are a few snaps of other kinds of meals we often enjoy at our house…lots of salads, stir fry concoctions, veggie sammies, bowls, wraps, and taco’y type meals…along with pasta, and the occasional salmon dinner, and rare turkey burger. Being mostly plant-based means adding in protein whenever and however possible during training (at least I feel like I need to). I add lots of nuts and seeds, eggs, beans, and grains. I also lean on oat milk, oat yogurt, collagen in my coffee, and protein powder in fruit smoothies. I’m always looking for new ideas. What are your Go Tos?

Team for Kids Update: I’m beyond excited to announce that together, we have raised $3,050 for this fabulous nonprofit, which creates free running programs for kids across the nation!! I’m so grateful for all of your support an enthusiasm! THANK YOU for helping make a difference in the lives of young people!

Congratulations to Matthew Tague for winning a $30 gift card to Blue Owl restaurant in today’s today. Thank you again for supporting TFK and my marathon run! I hope you enjoy a nice meal on and some live music on me.

As always, thanks for following along on this journey back to New York. These next few weeks are our biggest training weeks. Your extra good thoughts are so appreciated as we push ourselves to hit all our workouts, stay healthy and strong, and get ourselves to that magical starting line.

xo
Becky

PS: If you’ve missed any of my previous NYC Marathon training posts, you can click here to check them out:

Kicking off 20 Weeks until the NYC Marathon

Week #2 NYC Marathon Training: Patience & Grace

Week #3 NYC Marathon Training: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Week #4-11 NYC Marathon Training: The Good, the Bad & the Evolving

Week #12 NYC Marathon Training: Showing Up

Week #13 NYC Marathon Training: Staying the Course

Week #14 NYC Marathon Training: Honing the Details