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.

@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.

Come along for the ride: follow me @thisismymarathonlife.

Water, duck.

1 Comment April 16, 2019 drworobec

Perhaps we’ll start today off with a little zoology reminder. As you may know, a duck’s outer feathers are waterproof due to an oily coating that the duck secretes. This oil repels water and forces the droplets to roll off the duck’s back rather than making the feathers wet and heavy. This fact has become the basis of a little piece of advice we’ve been giving to our kids when they overreact.

“Water, duck.”

It’s a reminder to keep your cool, let it roll off your back, don’t sweat the small stuff. My kids are now ten and seven, and big brother likes to push little sister’s buttons from time to time; her overreaction can be swift and massive, leading to a cascade of sibling fighting. After one such outburst over Lego or TV volume or who got to use the front door key, we sat the kids down and had the water/duck talk.

It sunk in. They got it. And now when those episodes happen, we just have to say “water, duck” and it serves as a very effective reminder to think big picture and take a deep breath. It’s always been my ultimate goal to raise children who are happy, however that happiness is defined or manifests for them. Part of the water/duck talk was to explain to them how focusing on small problems only robs you of joy, steals your energy, and creates a feeling of unhappiness.

This is advice that I try to heed myself too, and something that’s come in very handy over the past two weeks. You see, today is day twelve without internet at home, as our service provider tries to fix an unknown issue- we’ve had four technician service calls, hours on hold on the phone, and stretches of days waiting for the next available 8-5 repair window. It’s still not fixed and we’re frustrated. But…….. water, duck. If this is the worst problem in my life then I’m doing pretty well. I’ve got wi-fi at work, Starbucks wi-fi down the road, and I can create a hotspot from my phone when I need to be online at home. Problem solved, onto bigger fish to fry.

I’ve seen far too many grown adults grumble about someone kicking their seat on an airplane, let a cold restaurant meal ruin their night, or complain about loud backyard neighbourhood gatherings. Water, duck friends, just let it roll off your back.

Focus your energy on the good stuff.

Choose happy.