948km to NYC

1 Comment October 29, 2019 drworobec

I’m five days out from the NYC Marathon. As you can imagine, it’s on my mind a lot right now. My friend Michaela and I began tossing around the idea of running New York a few years ago, and after a couple of failed attempts (Then the Wheels Came Off) at meeting the qualification standard (the only way to guarantee that we would both be accepted into the race on the same year), I met the standard in Mississauga in May 2018.

This dream has been a long time coming.

Here’s what my physical journey has looked like since my training “officially” kicked off on June 20th, more than four months ago:

948km running
77 runs
13 one-on-one Pilates classes
11 hot yoga classes
10 Crossfit classes

I feel ready. I don’t feel the “fear” that I often feel about an upcoming race. I’m not scared of the challenge, I’m not afraid of the pain, I’m not worried about the event. I AM EXCITED. I am looking forward to soaking it all in and experiencing the famous roar of the 1 million spectators that line the route, the energy of Brooklyn, the deafening silence of the Queensboro Bridge, and the 5.5km of rolling hills in Central Park to finish.

If you want to follow along on Sunday morning, download the NYC Marathon app (iPhone or Android) and search “Ashley Worobec” in the athlete tracking section. If you allow push notifications, it will alert you at checkpoints along the course as I progress through 42.2km of NYC streets. My start time is 9:40am.

And above all, THANK YOU for your support thus far. It takes a village, and you’ve all been a part of my village.

Chasing Dreams and What-Ifs

Leave a comment October 1, 2019 drworobec

Let’s talk about lofty goals, shall we? I always love having a big, broad goal put out there in front of me to chase. I’m a stay-busy type, a dream-chaser, a go-getter, a keep-reaching-for-more sort of person.

Some might call it ambition, some might call it being anxious or restless, I just call it being me, and it’s what I’ve always done. As I get older, I’m able to find words for it and better able to find strategies to harness it, and today it takes the form of big bristol boards plastered on my bathroom walls and notebooks tucked into my purse.

Lately, I’ve been searching for some more carrots to chase, and if you follow me online, you’ll know that I’m currently in peak training mode for the New York City marathon, coming up on November 3rd.

Facebook: Dr. Ashley Worobec

Instagram: @ashburlington

Marathon training on Instagram: @thisismymarathonlife

I’ve been running with a great Oakville-based group for the past couple of years, and in them I’ve found other people who don’t think it’s crazy to get up before 5am to run, who also plan their weekends around their workouts, and who enjoy the well-earned fatigue that training brings. I’ve found my tribe and suddenly my crazy seems normal. When I joined them in November 2017, my goal was to run a half-marathon fast enough to qualify me for New York. I’d failed to meet the qualification standard twice on my own (once in spectacular fashion: “Then the Wheels Came Off“), and only six months after I began training with them, I qualified with my Mississauga half marathon result.

But I still identified myself as “only” a half-marathoner. I’d see their marathon training schedules, thankful for my shorter distances, and while I admired them from afar, I was content to plug away in my 10k/21k domain. But then June 2019 rolled around, and my own New York marathon training officially began. You see, NYC is a once-in-a-lifetime race for me, and I plan to run stride for stride with my dear friend Michaela. We aren’t chasing the clock, we’re just two working moms who love to run and want to prove to ourselves that we can do this. Somewhere along the way though, I’ve started to love the long stuff again. I’ve started to embrace the big mileage, the early bedtimes, the huge appetite. I’ve started to anticipate Sundays and watch NYC promo videos, I’m following marathoners on social media, and I’m researching race entries. Just this morning, I looked up my age group’s Boston qualifying time (BQ) (spoiler alert: it’s 3:40). WHO AM I?

So while I search for my next goal, thoughts of a BQ ruminate in my brain…..

Big dreams. Big goals. Just how I like it.

@thisismymarathonlife

2 Comments June 25, 2019 drworobec

As most of you know, I’m running in the New York City marathon on November 3rd.

It took me a few tries to qualify for this prestigious event (Then the Wheels Came Off), but I managed to meet the time standard last Spring at the Mississauga half marathon (Race Report and Reflection). This has allowed me to bypass the general lottery system that New York implements to meet the huge demand for their race, and I’m grateful for an automatic entry.

But I haven’t run a full marathon in 12 years.

Two kids, a husband, a business, and a very busy life, are going to make this training plan feel very different than it did for 27-year-old me. I turn 40 this year, and what better way to celebrate than to challenge my limits again and run in one of the biggest races in the world. I have several friends and training partners running in this race too, and I can’t wait to be side by side with my dear friend Michaela, who will be running in her first marathon (21.1kms of Friendship).

Are you interested in seeing what’s involved in marathon training?
Have you ever wondered how someone can run 42.2km?
Would you like to see how I balance it all?

Many of you have asked me questions like this over the years, so I started a shiny new Instagram account to show you exactly how I’m going about this. You’ll see my workouts, my paces, what I eat, when I go to bed, and how I recover. I’ll show you the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, and the highs and lows of the next 19 weeks.

It’s 131 days until I toe the line on Staten Island and cross that finish line in Central Park.