By Pepper Parr
July 24th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Ashley Worobec, a Burlington based sports chiropractor, is training for the New York marathon on November 3rd; as she puts it “15 weeks from yesterday”.
Ashley is about four weeks into this training cycle. She is very much a half-marathoner and 10k runner and didn’t start a training plan with no fitness under her belt. “I was comfortably running 5-10km a few times per week before training “officially” kicked off mid-June.
Will Ashley Worobec go through a pair of running shoes while she trains?
“I run 4-5 times per week, with one long run per week that will gradually increase in length; this past weekend was 18km with a 37C humidex!
All the training data she needs is on her wrist.
“My longest training run will be in the 36-38km range, and a full marathon is 42.2km- the marathon is unique in this respect, as it’s the only race that athletes go into not having completed the full distance in training ahead of time- the reality is that the risk of injury just gets too high when you get up into those super long runs, so race-day adrenaline and sheer willpower will get me through the last few kms of the marathon.
The Naval Promenade along the edge of the lake in Spencer Smith Park is ground zero for much of her training – rain or shine
Ashley has run five full marathons in the past, including the Boston marathon in 2003. However, she I hasn’t run a full marathon since 2007, and “in that 12-year gap I’ve had two children and have a lot less free time now! I do all of my runs very early in the morning (5:30am meetups with my running group) and that’s how I make it work.”
A lot of people have been asking me how I train through the summer heat, and this is my advice:
1- focus on hydration the day before your run so that you’re hydrated heading into it.
2- bring water with you, or arrange to have access to water fountains along your route
3- start early to beat as much of the heat as you can
4- be mindful of your route and keep in mind that shaded areas, or areas along the lake (with a lake breeze!) are typically cooler
5- don’t worry about your pace per kilometer, just run by feel and listen to your body.
Ashley will be checking in with the Gazette every week. We will follow her on run day as well.
