As I mentioned in my first Run blog post, I usually stop running completely for a few weeks in May and June after my race season ends. My mileage stats below from 2025 are proof of that! I just have zero motivation when all future races are so far off. Luckily, I managed to avoid that this year as I started training for New York.

There is one other event that almost always throws off my training and that is vacation! I try to plan post-travel recovery time into my training schedule, but I usually come home so exhausted that I just can’t drag myself out of bed early enough to run for several days. Especially after a trip like the one Laura and I took over Memorial Day weekend. We spent four VERY long days walking around Disneyland while loving every minute of it! Could I break the cycle this time around?!

My first misstep took place before the trip even started!  I only had two short runs planned that week. But then we went to not one, but two special previews for updated rides at Walt Disney World after work that week. Needless to say, the two runs and four miles I had planned turned into one run and only two miles. It was slow and uneventful, but at least I got it done.

We flew home from California on Wednesday so I had only planned one short midweek run, plus an eight mile long run over the weekend. Thursday came and went with no running. So did Friday. It was looking like the vacation may have won this battle. If I wanted to get both runs in, I would have to wake up early both Saturday and Sunday. That did not sound appealing whatsoever! I also didn’t want to jump right into that long run without a shakeout run first, so I decided I would just have suck it up and forego sleeping in on my days off.

I must have felt really good when I woke up Saturday, because somehow I turned into an over achiever that morning! I got an early start so instead of just running two miles, I decided to makeup one of the miles I skipped pre-vacation. And on top of that, I decided to do some hill training again! I ran the big loop around the middle school by my house and came to what I consider the biggest hill in my neighborhood. I ran up the hill and walked back down, ran up the hill again and walked back down.

This will likely sound like nothing to most runners, but I am slow and usually only run 30 seconds at a time with 30-60 second walking intervals in between. It was just over a tenth of a mile up that hill which took me over a minute each time. So not only was I more than doubling my usual running interval, I was doing it on an incline! I was totally gassed each time I crested the top of the hill, but I was determined to keep going. I ended up running up that hill seven times!! By that point, I was close to the three mile mark so I walked off the rest on my way home.

I was totally dreading this run but ended up being really proud that I pushed myself to that uncomfortable level! I was not happy when I looked at my Garmin stats though. It showed that I only had 64 feet of elevation gain! There is no way that is right! Strava said it was 112 feet, but I feel like I need to check the elevation on my Compass app because that still seems low!

One run down, one to go. I did all the prep Saturday night as I normally do before a long run. This would be my first time using my new hydration vest, so I tried that on and learned right away that I really didn’t like the bladder that came with this vest. My old one just filled from the top and was easy to seal shut. This one had a cap on the side making it awkward to fill and very easy to spill the water. And yes, I spilled it! Then there’s the hose. Again, the old one just snapped on and off. This one is attached. It can be removed, but removal leaves a hole where it belongs that cannot be plugged. That resulted in water spilling all over the counter again! So I ended up filling the bladder and putting the whole thing in the freezer with the hose attached. I really didn’t want to freeze the hose, but I didn’t see any other option. Maybe there is a secret to how this bladder works, but I think it’s just a very poor design!

Everything was ready to go. I went to bed a little later than I wanted, but not terribly late. Did I wake up and get my run done? Nope!! The post vacation slump won again! I was really disappointed in myself. I was struggling with this all day. The idea of running later in the evening had crossed my mind a couple times, but I didn’t expect I would actually do it. I ran in the evenings occasionally in the early part of my running journey, but for some reason I just stopped doing it. Or found excuses to not do it. The recent times I have run in the evenings have been miserable. It’s either too hot or my stomach is unsettled or breathing feels more difficult. So I just don’t do it for the most part.

Well, five o’clock rolled around after a day of sulking. I took the dog out and it actually felt quite nice outside. I was shocked! The weather said it was 90 degrees, but it definitely did not feel that hot. I debated if I should go running or not for a few minutes and decided to just do it. My morning run was going to be in the town of Celebration where I have an eight mile route that I really love. I decided at this point that I should just stay close to home in case this run was miserable and I wanted to bail.

So I headed out to get started. After the first mile, I tried sipping water from that previously frozen hose in this new hydration vest. Nothing came out! I stopped at a bench and took the vest off to figure out what was wrong with it. Was there ice stuck in the hose, blocking the water? Did I attach everything correctly after disassembling it last night? Of course, I spilled a lot of water once again trying to figure this out. I was at a loss. The weather felt so nice that I decided to just keep going. I did call Laura though and asked her to fill a water jug that I typically use for shorter distances. So I made a stop at home at mile 4, ditched the vest and headed back out.  

Aside from the vest issue, I just couldn’t believe how well this run was going! I did use a longer, 60-second walking interval so I was moving slower, but it felt great!! The weather held up too. It was cloudy and breezy the entire time and the humidity seemed pretty low. I finished this eight mile evening run on a high! I finally conquered that post-vacation running slump! That was the perfect way to finish off my first month of training for the TCS New York City Marathon! Only five more months go!

PS – Laura figured out how to use the bladder. She is smarter than hose. I clearly am not!

Stay tuned for more training updates as I am a month behind at this point! More coming soon.