Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 4. Running with Luna

It is this face that gets me out the door each and every day. It is this face that keeps me on pace (excepting squirrel fartleks and olfactory explorations). 

For most of my running career I have been a solo runner, maintaining a run streak for the past 2641 days by waking before the sun and heading out the door, flashlight in hand. But on May 31, 2000 I brought home this 8 year old husky shepherd mix from our local shelter. She has been my running partner pretty much every day since (minus the few weeks after she leaped over the open tool box slicing a tendon). Both of her dominant breeds (husky and shepherd) are on Runner's World's list of best running dogs and rightly so. Both breeds are active working dogs. We jumped right in the day after I brought her home (she did not need much in the way of training) and have been partners ever since. There was a near miss the other day when we came upon a porcupine neighbor, but she has made training that much more enjoyable, if not interesting. Do you run with your dog? Post a picture below!

Road to the TCS NYC Marathon: 2. Taking it Easy and the Dreaded Ice bath

I have the coach. I have the PT. I have three new pair of colorful Hoka One One Rincon lined up and set to go. I have a hotel room booked and will arrange a sick day. Now the training begins. The marathon is not just a race; it is a way of life for four months. I have not run 26.2 miles since November 2019, and I believe my longest long run has hovered around 15 miles (Vegan Power 25k Virtual). In a previous post I wrote about asking for help, a huge step for me as I never want to admit that I even need help. Self -sufficiency has been a point of pride for many years. After all, I am the woman who went years without calling in sick, going to the dentist, and have self diagnosed more running injuries than I would like to admit. Yet here I am with the coach, and the PT. Asking for help. 

The goal this year is to run relatively pain free. Yes it will hurt, it is a 26 mile race, but I would like it to hurt the way it is supposed to (tired and sore muscles) and not because of my litany of running- related overuse injuries that have been following me for the past ten years. So I am cross training, strength training, eating strictly vegan food, sleeping, and the hardest of all, icing. And you know what? The injuries are subsiding because I am...wait for it...gasp...taking it easy. My coach recommended that I run not for distance but for time on feet, adding 15 minutes per week to my long run and possibly topping off at 15 miles. This will be marathon # 11 for me and my body knows what to do. Well, my tendons are a bit behind, but my muscles can run the distance. So now it is about taking it easy, listening to my body, getting rest and fueling my body with nutrients. 

In the next few weeks I am hoping to get my GoPro up and running, to test it out so that on that morning this November when I line up at the Verranzzano - Narrows Bridge, I can record the experience and post it here. For now though I will put my feet in a bath of ice, ignore the discomfort, and know that my body will thank me for it.