Work is ramping up, and the Brooklyn Half is also approaching! This means I’ve been very busy this past week:
Monday, May 6
Easy 5 mile run with the Whippets! Having a scheduled run after work is so helpful for me, because it means I’m more likely to show up and do the work. I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures during the run, because the view was beautiful, and the weather was perfect!
tuesday, may 7
I anticipated that this would be a rest day, and I was correct. I left my apartment before 7am for a long work day outside of the city, and returned home a bit before 9pm. Although I didn’t run, I ended up walking over 6.5 miles and moved a lot of heavy equipment, so I definitely wasn’t sedentary…and I had an allergy attack, because I’m a former indoor child and am allergic to everything.
wednesday, may 8
After yesterday’s intensity (between the hours/intensity and my allergies making me feel drowsy), I needed a real rest day. We commemorated Yom Hazikaron (honoring Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks) at work, and then in the evening, we had our work Yom Haatzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) party! And afterwards, me and some friends (shout out to Jordan, one of my best readers, and Danielle, who didn’t know I had a blog!) went back to my sublet, where my roommate threw an intense Yom Haatzmaut house party. Fun!
thursday, may 9
No work today! I woke up to the smell of Arak Limonada in the living room, which was not ideal. After a low-key morning checking work emails/responding to calls–and a bahn mi and coffee (the real heroes, let’s be honest), I came back to life.
I also made the important decision to purchase some new running gear: wireless headphones and cleaning supplies for my hydration pack. The headphones should arrive on Monday, which means I’ll have time to test them out before the half marathon next Saturday!
friday, may 10
After work today, I went to the NYRR Run Center, dropped my bag in one of their lockers (Not only is this super convenient, but they have locks!) and went for a 5.5 mile run in Central Park. Man, I really did forget how tough the hills in Central Park can be! And I want to run the NYC Marathon again, which is a pretty hilly race! Not sure about my logic there…
saturday, may 11
Today I woke up at 6:30am…and managed to not roll over and go back to sleep! I wanted to run 10-12 miles, and knew that I would have more fun AND get it done way earlier if I joined the Whippets long run. And I was right! (The perfect weather certainly didn’t hurt, either!) We left Columbus Circle at 8:30am and ran down FDR Drive on the East River, went briefly into Chinatown, and crossed the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. I left my small group once we got to Williamsburg, where I completed the last 1.5 miles on my own. In total, I ran 12 miles in 1:59. This puts me on pace for a 2:10 half marathon (assuming I do a good job of running the tangents)…I’m hoping that adrenaline from race day excitement + more fueling (during long runs I drink water and take energy gels, but the race will also have Gatorade, which I haven’t taken during training in awhile, but really helps) will help bring the time down a bit. I expect to run a 2+ hour marathon, but I’d like my final time to be closer to 2:05 than 2:10, if possible. Considering I ran a 2:14 at the Tel Aviv Half Marathon, this is a nice improvement!
If my run isn’t on Strava…did I really run? Also, I love the pictures/shapes that my long runs create!
Victory is miiiiiiiine!
After my run, I saw my friends Dahlia and Paul, and their baby, Abby! She was super fun and smiley, and rolls over like a champ.
I was able to video chat with Lior a bit from Central Park before he went to sleep, and then I headed home. I was very tired (early wake up + morning run always does this to me), so I went to bed before 9pm, because I could!
sunday, may 12
I woke up to another grey day, plus rain. Fun! This has been a chilly May so far. I don’t mind the weather, because once summer arrives, it will be hot and humid, and I don’t really enjoy living in an armpit. (Also my sublet room doesn’t have an A/C installed, so it’s nice that I haven’t needed it.) Anyway, I ran 5.6 miles in the rain, and took a hot shower immediately after finishing. I then saw Kesem, my ex-work wife and one of her coworkers, and we saw Pokemon: Detective Pikachu! I enjoyed the movie because I was obsessed with Pokemon growing up (and Pokemon Go the summer of 2016…), but if it wasn’t for the nostalgia factor, the movie wouldn’t have wowed me.
total distance: 35.2 miles
Although I do wish I’d gotten one additional run in (even though I needed those rest days), I think that this was a successful week! I’m most proud of my 12 mile long run–the longest I’ve managed this training cycle. I’m also pleased that I was able to spend a lot of quality time with friends who I’ve missed since moving to Israel.