Lisa's Running Journal

NYC Marathon 2011 - Race Report

2011-11-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, I've completely neglected this site, haven't I?

There wasn't much happening on the running front, save several races and training for Marathon #4, which happened this past weekend. Hometown turf, both a blessing and curse. I didn't get that new PB I was hoping for, but I'm trying not to be too bummed about it. I sort of knew it was out of reach by mile 2, but that's how these things go.

What's different between training for this one versus the previous three, was that I had a group of people to train with including the husband. Four new-to-marathon-training folks to talk shop with. People in my immediate circle that I was able to share this experience with. That was fun. It was encouraging to see people go through the challenge of finding time to put in the miles, checking gear, nutrition and so forth. Anyway. The race report.

Went to bed around 10:30pm and woke up at 5:45am. C was already up. We downed some bananas and english muffins with peanut butter, and headed out the door by 6:15. At the subway station, we bumped into several more runners. This one guy asked us where we got our bags from, and after talking to him, we all realized that he didn't attend the expo to get his bib! Told him that his best bet at this point is to see if he can head to the runners village and hope to heaven that someone decided to bring it along for him to pick up. (Most of the NYRR races gave you the option of picking your race number the day of... For his sake, we hope he was able to!)

After taking a nice and easy ferry ride to Staten Island, we were packed into shuttle buses and hauled off to Fort Wadsworth to meet up with E, W and J. Luckily for us, we were all in the green wave, so we got a chance to hang out before the race. I downed some more water, nibbled on a bagel, and awaited our 10:40am start time. We actually got to see Amanda McGrory set a new course record in wheelchairs before we started our heat.

Then finally, after the first two waves, the canon went off one final time, and off all of us went. Maybe it was my nerves, but for whatever reason, I had an overactive bladder that morning. And even though I made a last trip to the porto potties right before entering the corral, I had to make another pit stop. Around the 2 mile mark, I made a not-so-good decision to wait on line at the first stalls I saw. That seriously took about 10 minutes. I debated whether to just get off the line or what, but I figured I would be in better shape if I didn't have to think about it later on. Saw C go by with several more people in line ahead of me.

Pleasantly surprised by E, W and P, who snapped this pic right after mile 2.

After the pit stop, I tried not to speed up, but managed to catch up to C around the 4th mile. Saw some friends around Bay Ridge, which I didn't expect, but it was a nice surprise. Saw a second friend near Park Slope, and yelled back that we miss him. (He was one of the original friends who was supposed to run with us.)

From then on, it felt good. Really good. Too good. I felt so good that I didn't check myself to slow it down. Coasted until the halfway mark. It was one thing when I ran NYC the first time, not knowing really what the areas were like. This time, I was running in my actual home territory, in my actual neighborhood of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and I got caught up in the atmosphere. And by the time I realized it, it was too late.

After seeing a third friend with a sign in LIC, the second half came at me hard. At the 25K mark, I started struggling. I downed some pretzels before ascending the Qboro Bridge, but it wasn't enough salt. It was cold, and the wind picked up. I cursed myself for leaving the neck warmer and gloves in the bag. Somewhere on the bridge I felt my left hamstring and quad seize up, and I speed walked most of the way. I think everyone around me must have felt the same. No one said a word. It was all quiet footsteps and heavy breathing, (which was a big difference from the shouting and cheering at the Verrazzano).

Once I turned into 1st Ave, I felt a sense of relief... and dizziness. I tried to figure out why I was lightheaded, but then chalked it up to the fact that I didn't have enough electrolytes. Miles 16-18 were small rolling hills, which made me even more lightheaded. I seriously thought I was going to faint. My mind was all over the place.

Suddenly near the end of Mile 18, I saw some familiar faces. My mom, sis, brother and his fiance were there cheering. They had signs. I knew they would be there, but I was just so glad to have their support at that moment. And my mom brought me bananas! I stopped to give her a hug, refuel, and went on my way to tackle the Bronx after that mental boost.

Hugs and bananas!

Reaching the Bronx is physical challenge. But once you're in the Bronx, you know that's when the race really begins. That last 10k... The amount of sheer will and focus to move one foot in front of the other when your body is telling you to stop... If there's one thing I enjoy the most about putting myself through these grueling races, is the ability to achieve an extraordinary amount of mental toughness. For those hours, nothing matters but moving forward.

Heading along side the park on 5th Avenue was a blur. I had my head down most of the way and just zoned in on a slow shuffle. Past another friend. I tried to wave but I think it was a sad little hand gesture. I was hoping to catch GP, my old training buddy at the turn, but I didn't see her at all.

The last turn into the park was exciting though. My sis was there again with her sign at mile 24, and that gave me another burst of energy. You know the part in the movie, Monsters, where the kids screamed and all that energy gets bottled up to use? I felt like that with her screaming. I seriously don't think I've ever increased speed at the last leg.

Central Park was familiar territory. The end was near and I can feel it. Those park hills didn't bother me because I knew them well, and ran as many tangents as I could.

Last turn out of the park and onto 59th St was amazing with crowds on both sides, and Columbus Circle straight ahead. Along the way I had a lot of NYPD call my name, but near the last entrance, I heard a familiar voice, and saw my sis' cop friend. He didn't know it at the time, but that little encouragement gave me enough of a kick to catch and pass this guy with a chicken suit, (whom I've been trying to chase since Mile 16). Then I saw that 800m to go sign, I gathered what was left in the tank just hightailed it to the finish.

Okay. So I didn't get a PB on home turf like I wanted to. And from here on out, I am not going to look at any race time calculators because that just sets me up for disappointment. But in some ways, this was the best marathon ever, even if it was my second worse time. So many people I knew came out to show support. All the signs. The messages and texts. And best of all, four more people joined the ranks of being a marathoner, people who, two years ago on a drunken night out, decided they wanted to try running 26.2, and actually did it! I'm so proud!

At the finish, with C, W, and J. (E was already home by this time!)

My splits:

New PB!

2010-12-11T11:47:00.003-05:00

I think 2010 goes down as the year that I made the most improvement in my running. I just ran the Jingle Bell 4M at Prospect Park and came in just under 3 minutes faster than my fastest time, which was way back in 2006. I'm so psyched! Man, I wish I had a timing watch, I was flying that last mile out! Yay me!

And this completes my racing for the year. Time to put in my application for NYC 2011. WOOHOO!

Sore all over

2010-11-11T13:07:00.002-05:00

Wow. I'm scared to fall off the wagon of fitness now. Two days back on P90X and I'm sore all over. Since it's going into fall/winter, I'll be lowering my running mileage again until I can figure out what the heck to wear. I looked into running jackets, but let's face it, my funds are really limited at this point and if I have to choose between winter boots and a running jacket, I'll have to go with the boots first. *sigh*

Anyway, switching it up to P90X Classic, which has plyometrics and kempo. Plyo is okay, but I have to really be careful because all that jumping takes a toll on my knees. Tony Horton says think like a cat and land softly, but in this case, I think I channel my dearly departed Max, who is as clumsy as they come. Today is Yoga, but I think I'll go out for a run instead. It's rather nice out.

2010-11-07T13:58:00.003-05:00

Don't downplay my achievement just because it doesn't match up to your expectations. You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through. And until you've done 26.2 miles yourself, you have no right to judge.

MCM Splits

2010-11-05T18:27:00.004-04:00

Logging for my own purposes:

Distance Time Pace

5K 36:24 11:42

10K 37:49 12:16

15K 38:09 12:16

20K 42:03 13:32

25K 42:35 13:42

30K 45:13 14:33

35K 45:08 14:31

40K 46:54 15:05

Marathon #4: Chicago or SF?

2010-11-05T08:20:00.002-04:00

I met up with GP and AM yesterday, and it was nice since I haven't seen either of them in months. GP actually ran the Nike Women's Marathon a couple weeks ago, so now she is one up on me. She said she ran it without training, something I'd never be able to do. I find that kinda insane, but GP is one tough woman.

We got to talking about running, and AM will be starting the C25K soon, so it's exciting. She's thinking of enlisting in a half marathon come next year, and GP thought we should all decide to run in San Francisco since they love it. I'm entertaining the idea, but if I have to limit my marathons to 1, (possibly 2 a year if I continue doing NYC), I may consider Chicago over SF only because it's a lot closer, and a lot cheaper. I am in no financial condition to be flying all over the place to run since business has slowed down tremendously. But we'll see.

I may just return for MCM also. It's a beautiful course and I would like to run it again under better circumstances. Down in DC, Chris mentioned that he would've signed up for the 10k had he known there was one, so that may play into what happens next year. It'll be interesting to see how running two marathons so close to each other will affect my time and body.

I'm pretty much fully recovered from Sunday, but I may take a short break from running since it's getting colder here. People love to run in this weather but it's just a tad on the cold side for me. I'll have to look into better running gear which, of course costs money, and I'm hesitant at the moment. Currently, nothing fits right anymore, and all my long running pants fall off.

I also plan to resume the P90x plan, classics this time. After this weekend since I plan to head out and participate in the NYC marathon as a spectator! Thinking of a good sign to make!

Marine Corps Marathon - Race Report

2010-11-02T08:51:00.003-04:00

I stated back in July on the Runners World forum that I'd like to come in at 5:55:55, and my official time was 5:54:06.

But I'll say that, out of the three marathons I ran, this was by far the most challenging. It wasn't because the MCM course was any harder, but that the day before didn't turned out as planned, which completely affected race day. I didn't hit my A goal, but I did hit my B goal.

My C goal as always, was to just finish. My B goal was 5:45-5:55. My A goal was to come in around 5:30-5:40 had all the stars aligned. Well, the stars didn't really align that day, so my A goal will have to wait until next time.

DC Arrival

On Saturday, Chris and I headed to DC on bus. The bus was late arriving to the depot, which caused a mass of confusion and chaos. Our noon departing bus didn't end up leaving NY until closer to 1pm. For the entire ride down, there was no air in the bus. It was hot and dry. I made a fatal mistake of not bringing a larger water bottle, and by the first hour into the long ride down, I was out of water. I knew that was going to be trouble. We pulled into DC Chinatown close to 6pm and was greeted with throngs of people from the John Stewart rally. There were groups of people with signs and costumes all over. Walked over to the expo, which was about 4 blocks away, and tried desperately to find water after picking up my racing packet. I got to these water fountains only to realize that they weren't working. I couldn't believe it! I was parched. The only liquids around were free tea samples from some vendors, so I picked one up and drank. It wasn't ideal at all because of the sugar content, but it was at least something.

After leaving the expo, we decided to head back to Chinatown to eat, which proved to be another bad idea. Every single place we stopped at was packed thanks to all the rally goers. So at this point, I was already dehydrated, and now I'm getting tired from walking from restaurant to restaurant. We decided to just head back to the hotel and find something close. I knew there were restaurants in Crystal City where we were staying, and I became adamant (read: bitchy) about checking in. Of course, when we got down to the metro station, it was jammed pack, again with the rally goers. Then we realized that the yellow line, which was the most direct line to our hotel, was delayed. We waited for about 20 minutes, until Chris figured out that we could take the orange line 2 stops, then transfer to the blue line which also headed to Crystal City, so we did that.

Let's just say that at this point I was not happy with all that was going wrong and just wanted to get to the room, drop off all my stuff, put my feet up, guzzle water and eat something. By the time we finally made it to the hotel, it was already 8:30. We decided to just opt for room service, which arrived at about 9:15. I also asked for toast and PB (for morning) and a banana (for the crucial mile 16 marker), but they didn't have any fresh fruit. I downed as much water as I could and ate as quickly as possible, and proceeded to lay out all my stuff for a 5:00 am wake up. Forced myself to bed at 10:30, but could not get a decent night's sleep. I kept waking up every hour, and when I did fall asleep, I dreamt I woke up late and couldn't race. It seemed like everything that could've happened to jeopardize the race, did happen. But I was already here. And I was determined to get to the starting line and to cross the finish line.

Race Day

At 5, the alarm went off, and I got up, got dressed and ate the toast and PB . Headed out the door at 6 and just followed the stream of people to the shuttle buses. (That's one thing I love about big races. You can always just follow the crowd.)

Got to the runner's village around 7am. Did a quick search for the Runner's World forum training buddies, but couldn't find them, so I just headed in and made my way to the porto potties in case. At 7:40 I made my way to the very back of the 5:30-5:59 corral and waited til I heard the gun went off to discard my sweats. It seemed like a long time before I got to the starting line, but once I did I got rid of my bunny ears, because they were distracting. (So much for racing in costume!)

Miles 1-10 were easy. A gentleman decided he liked my pace and ran alongside me for several miles. I just nodded and we ran side by side until I lost him on the mile 8 hill. I thought I might have taken that hill too fast, but I blew through it and it felt good. I kept trying to check myself to slow, but I was comfortable and ran behind a guy with a Sponge Bob costume who seemed to be training his friend. They were at a good pace for me so I just followed them.

Chris met me at mile 10, waved, snapped a few pics and said he'd see me again at 16. I yelled out to him that I need salt. I mistook his shrug for not having anything and just kept going. (Found out later that he actually had pretzels, drats!) A very nice gentleman overheard my request, and he held up a bag of salt and asked if anyone needed any salt, so I ran over to him and took some and thanked him.

The wind seemed to have started kicking up and mile 11-12 had us along the Potomac. Then suddenly I felt the telltale signs of an oncoming muscle spasm, and had to slow down a bit to shake it off. I saw the 5:30 pace group and decided to try and keep up with them for a while, but eventually I let them go and lost them around the halfway point. I thought to myself, if the cramps came this early, it's not going to bode well for the rest of the race, but kept testing my speed to see how much I can take before cramping. Sadly, it wasn't much. Somewhere around mile 15 I noticed a lady on the sidelines giving out pretzels, so I ran over and asked if I could have one. She gave me a bag with pretzels and swedish fish, said take it and keep going, and it was the best on course snack I had ever. I thanked her profusely and downed a handful, which seemed to have helped with the lack of salt. Saw Chris again at mile 16 and passed him the bag and said hold it for me for later.

Mile 17-18 proved challenging even though it was right on the mall. My left quad started seizing up a lot, and it was something I've never encountered before. I stopped off to the side and rubbed some sample pack of something menthol and that helped a bit, but I was a bit irritated to find out that the medical tents only had vaseline.

At about mile 19 they had sports beans, so I took some even though I was hating the taste of it. It forced me to stop thinking about when the heck I was going to this "bridge" that everyone is telling us to "beat." That "bridge" came at mile 20, and that's when I knew the last 20 miles is going to be nothing compared to the next 10k.

To be honest, I don't remember much of the last leg, only that by this time, I used whatever energy I had left to put one foot in front of the other. I brushed aside all thoughts of disappointment of not having reached my A goal and just focused on finishing. It was not easy. Actually, it was downright hard to not get ahead of myself because I still had several miles to go at this point.

My left quad was still seizing up, my toes were cramping up. I passed the 40K mark and was vaguely aware that I may still have a chance to beat 6 hours. Mile 23 I spotted Chris again, and just waved him off. I felt bad that I couldn't talk, but the remote possibility of coming in with a PB was in my head, and it took every ounce in me not to stop and reach for a beer like a lot of other people did.

At mile 24 or so I passed a medical tent and again there was no menthol, but by this time I could feel the finish and played a counting game, 300 steps of running, 100 steps of walking. I did that until I reached the start area at mile 26. Started hearing the faint sounds of music and the announcer, and just kept on going until I saw the final uphill and pushed through.

When I crossed the finish line at 6:19 and change, I couldn't have been more disappointed. But the toll of having such a bad day before, mixed in with the relief that I did it despite all the race day challenges, set me on this wave of emotion. I just broke down as soon as I crossed that finish line.

And the finish! To be staring up at the beautiful Iwo Jima statue up close, just put things into perspective. My 17 week journey through training, the 6 hour trek through 26.2 miles, is nothing compared to the Marines who fought there. And yet, here are these men and women in uniform, encouraging US to finish, congratulating US and putting medals around OUR necks. We should be doing that, not the other way around.

Anyway, I didn't find out until later that night that I actually have a new PR. So it's sort of a bittersweet one because I knew it could've turned out better. But all in all, I'm glad I ran this one. And I dedicated it to all my family and friends who put on a uniform. I may be back again next year!

Taper Madness

2010-10-27T14:48:00.002-04:00

4 days out and I'm going crazy. I always have this habit of letting my emotions build up until I burst, and my feelings about this race is no exception.

Several days ago I had a melt down because I was going through my wedding pics from our simple ceremony in City Hall and I was disappointed that my brother didn't bother to dress up, (about the one thing I had asked everyone to do). I texted my sister, and she conceded that, on that particular day, everyone was in their own world, and apologized that she always took me for granted. Of course, I was just throwing myself a pity party, spurred on half by the effects of my hormones getting out of whack. I get extremely moody right before my period, and do silly things like, cry during sentimental commercials and stuff. I know, pitiful. (And thank goodness I'm getting it right before I go!)

Poor Chris had to sit through this entire episode, and got annoyed with me, (rightfully so). But then he contacted a photographer who was looking for couples to photograph for a portfolio redo, and on Wednesday we're meeting up with her for a free shoot. How sweet is that? (Our nightmare/dream of buying our first home pretty much left us financially and emotionally drained that we squashed all hopes of us ever going through the process of getting engagement pics, wedding planning, etc., so this was a really awesome reprieve.)

I think the tapering intensifies all that's going on, because there's no real training to focus on except for what's ahead. And then all those doubts surface, and everything becomes a trigger, and things that didn't bother me much starts to become this bubble that rises to the surface. It's like I'm antsy, excited, nervous, annoyed, jumpy, and happy all at the same time. Kinda like that horse on the race tracks inside the starting box, waiting for the gates to open, except that waiting period is two weeks.

I'm trying to write up a list of what to bring, and so far I have this:

MCM confirmation number
hotel confirmation number
sneakers
shirt
socks
hat
pouch
Gu
water bottle
Body Glide
tylenol
chocolate
charger
tape

I know I'm missing something but I don't know what yet.

21 Mile Salute!

2010-10-12T13:39:00.002-04:00

First off, I'd like to say that Nike + GPS sucks. I did a 21 mile LR this past Saturday and it only recorded about 3.2. Don't ask me how it happened.

But, BUT! I RAN 21 MILES! I am excited and amazed! I feel like whatever issues I need to work out, has worked itself out. No more cramps. Obviously that was lack of proper intake of carbs. No more toe pains. New shoes broken in.

I just have to say that training for a marathon is tough, but the sense of accomplishment is by far the best thing. For this particular LSD I wasn't entirely prepared, but I sort of knew I'd regret it. The night before, I ate nachos and a grilled chicken sandwich. My running body was telling me to go for pizza, but my fat mind was craving, well, fat. Fat won out that night, but man, did I suffer the first 6 miles. Running body said, "told you so" the next day on the road.

Anyway, I aimed for 22, but I didn't get far enough uptown. Went from home to 100th Street, and crossed over to the FDR and back down. I got up to the Randall's Island bridge and contemplated on running into Queens, but since I didn't plot out the route, I figured it was best if I just stuck to the out and back.

Besides the first 6 miles where I felt sluggish from all that fat intake, the rest of the run was pretty good. I didn't know what my pace was, but I know it was pretty much the same as I always run. I gave myself a break and walked across the Manhattan Bridge during the last leg, but even so, it took about 5 hours total to get home, with stops at the bridge to take pics, doubling back at 59th Street to find a way back onto 1st Ave, and all that walking. I hope I don't walk as much during the race itself, but even so, I'm on course to at least match my 6 hour time.

And now to endure the taper madness!

New Half-Marathon PB!

2010-10-03T13:25:00.002-04:00

You don't know how excited I am! Yesterday, I ran the Grete's Great Gallop 13.1 in Central Park and I broke my 3 year old half marathon record. Not broke; shattered! I came in 8:17 faster than my previous time! Didn't even know that was possible!

Yesterday, woke up at about 6am and had a piece of toast with peanut butter. Since the race wasn't until 9am, I knew I had time to digest. Left the house about 7am and got to the park at about 8am to pick up my number. Got there in time to hear the 1.7 run start, and just stayed at the tents to hang out until about 8:40. Dropped off my jacket at baggage and headed to the corrals. The air was nice and crisp, and at the start I started up my Nike+GPS to measure against the official time. I knew by my last LR that the times and distances were off, so I wanted to see how off it was.

Sure enough, the Nike+ pegged me doing 1 mile before I came upon the official mile marker. Figured I'd keep it on so it can sort of "announce" to me when the official miles were coming up. I knew the app also pegged me running a lot faster than I do, possibly by about 30 seconds per mile, but I used that as a gauge for my own speed and tried to keep it steady throughout.

I think it was a combination of things that made me do well this time out. First of all, I've done a lot more strength training than previous training schedules. Second, I was completely conscious of my speed and effort. For the first 10k, I basically kept myself at an RPE of 4, easy enough to hold the pace and not need to stop. I did though, for a cup of gatorade at Mile 4, not because I felt like I needed to, but I just wanted to give myself a few seconds to make sure. I knew my legs were going faster, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to burn out early, so I took about 30 seconds to down the gatorade and take a few steps. Sure enough, my legs told me they were fine. I was having conversations with myself the entire race. "How do you feel?" "I feel fine." "Seems to be going faster today, right?" "I think so. Maybe I should slow down." "Maybe try holding it at this pace and see what happens." "Okay, sounds good." I kid you not, I was talking to myself in my head.

Because I knew the course well, I knew which parts to let go and fly and which parts to hold back. I was able to work the hills without stopping much, and the several times I took a few seconds to walk, I felt like my legs didn't want to. So I just kept at it. The entire time I was just starting to become amazed. Am I really running faster? Maybe I'm just thinking I'm running faster.

The second major thing I realized was that I switched my Gu for Gatorade. Since my stomach could handle both without issues, I knew the either or wouldn't negatively affect me, although, the only adjustment I'd need to keep in mind is that because I've been using Gu and water, my bladder had to adjust to the Gatorade. Upon completing the first loop, I made a pit stop, something I almost never do at races. As soon as I relieved myself, I was back at it. I took in another Gu and headed out for the final loop.

When I reached the second Harlem Hill pass, I decided to let myself fly downhill. Normally, I'd be really tired afterwards, but my legs felt really light. And even when I reached the end where the road curved for an uphill, I was able to push through the entire way without stopping. At some point between my iphone died, so I switched my focus to the tops of the trees and the fresh air. At the 9th mile marker, I saw the time, and that's when I realized that, I may be able to reach a new record. After doing a quick calculation, I realized it was within reach, so I just pushed myself more and ran an RPE of 5-6, 5 for uphills and 6 for flat stretches. My lungs felt good. My legs felt good. And most importantly, my MIND felt good. I kept going and going and didn't think of anything else. I made one more water stop along the way, took a few more seconds and realized I didn't want to so I pushed. Mile 11-12 I didn't do anything but push. I pushed hard. I started feeling my glutes. I started feeling my hamstrings. But I didn't stop because I was amazed, and the possibility of reaching a PB gave me a big jolt. The last mile was rough and challenging. The turns coming into Columbus Circle were just challenging. Lots of people to watch out for. Horses. Bikes. Pedestrians. I tried to block all of them out and just focused on each step. Then I heard the announcer and the music. And then I caught a glimpse of the 13 mile marker. And I pushed some more. By the time I reached the finish I was full on sprinting trying to keep up with another female runner who pushed hard to the finish. I was silently grateful that she was there. And when I crossed the finish line I was in shock! The clock time was a full minute than my adjusted net time so I knew I got a new record. But it wasn't until I got to my parent's place that I realized just HOW much I beat my old time by.

So, now I'm running on amazement, and am hoping that the next few weeks of training goes well. I don't want to jinx myself but if this half marathon was any indication, I will be in for a great marathon come the end of the month!

My first 20 this year

2010-09-27T11:32:00.003-04:00

I was finally, FINALLY able to throw down a 20 miler. FINALLY! You don't know how psyched I am, although I must say that I did a really stupid thing in the middle of training, which caused me to pay for it horrendously later on.

I finally got an iphone 4, so I downloaded Nike + GPS to track my run. Before that, I usually go to geodistance.com and map out a route with a certain distance in mind. For yesterday it was 20 so I chose an out and back course that took me from home to the NYRR headquarters on 89th Street.

I was supposed to run my LR on Saturday, but I woke up late, and by the time I was about to head out the door it was already close to 80. Deciding it was better just to wait until Sunday and forgo the Continental Fifth Ave Mile race. (By the way, you know you're in marathon training mode when you skip a 1 mile race in favor of a 20 mile run!)

So the first 10 miles were routine and uneventful. I chose to run across the Manhattan Bridge and up the FDR in favor of softer ground heading up the east side rather than the west, which is partially laid out in marble some type of harder stone. At least up the east side it was more asphalt and concrete. By the time I got up to the 80s, I realized that the races would still be going on since it was all in different heats. Chris was planning to run this for one of his qualifying races, so I decided that since I had my Nike + telling me how many miles I have, I can skip the pre-planned route and headed down to Fifth Ave to see if I can catch him in his heat.

Well, by the time I got there, the whole excitement of race day got to me. And wouldn't you know it, there was a women's heat getting ready to go. I made the decision to slip into the race and see if I can run a fast mile, and rationed with myself that it would be part of my long run anyway, and since I already paid for this race, I should just go through with it, even though I didn't have my number or chip.

Now let me just say that, the switch from a slow 20 mile pace to a 1 mile sprint was the most excruciating thing I could've done, and I realize in hindsight that I could have seriously injured myself. (Thank goodness I didn't!) It was stupid and wreck-less. And now I'm laughing in pain because I was stupid and wreck-less. I pulled about a 9:20 despite being all the way in the back. However, I wasn't timed so I can't really be sure. But since I already have put in about 11 miles before the race, I was secretly happy with the result, and knew that if I had fresh legs, I probably would've smoked my 8:51 PB. I crossed the finish line with my legs locked up. It was the weirdest finish ever! I felt like Frankenstein hobbling in. (Gonna have to look at the race day lost and found photos later.)

Anyway, I grabbed an apple and ate half, took a cup of water, and stood around for a few minutes until I bumped into a friend who informed me that the men's heat were already done. So much for watching Chris. I continued on back to 1st Avenue to head downtown. Chris called me to say he was in Chinatown and to meet him, so I said okay and headed back towards the FDR to finish the rest of the run.

I walked pretty much the entire mile 13 because I decided I needed a banana to calm this cramping. Then when I got to 14th Street, my calves were hurting. It felt like stone. It was the most intense pain I've felt in a long time, and I know it was because they were just tired. At that point I found a water fountain and refilled my bottle, and then found a bench to stretch the muscles out. I was beyond frustrated that this would happen every time I ran to this distance. It was always around the 16th or so mile.

So after some stretching and the 5 minute pity party I threw myself, I got up and started walking. When I got to 17 I started shuffling slowly, and tried to speed up again after the threat of cramping disappeared. Once I reached mile 18 I was psyched again, knowing I only had 2 more miles. I called Chris and him to meet me at home, since I was already close to Chinatown and crossing the bridge back to Brooklyn would give me the distance.

Once I got to the bridge I was excited. My legs were still feeling like stone, but mentally I felt great. Somewhere in the middle of the bridge my phone died, so the Nike + recorded only 19.2. I knew once I got off the bridge, according to Nike I would still have another 1.5 before I reached home, and since I killed myself with the race, I decided it would be okay just to speed walk the rest of the way home. Had the Nike+ kept going, it would've pegged probably pegged me between 21-22. But because geodistance's distance is shorter, I'll estimate the entire run to be between 20-21. Either way, I was happy that I got that in.

Knowing I can physically do 20 miles is the thing I need to keep in mind these next few weeks. Next week I have a HM and a 10k race, and the week after is another 20, which, if all goes well, I can try to add in another 2 miles. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

We all know the last 10k is where the marathon really begins, and I need to get ready for that!

16.6 out of 20

2010-09-11T15:48:00.004-04:00

As a New Yorker, I will carry the sights, sounds and smells of 9/11 with me until I die. The saddest thing isn't when the towers fell. Yes, that was tragic and traumatic, but for me personally, the heartbreak was having to witness throughout the following weeks and months, the signs and posters that were plastered everywhere, all searching for loved ones, each with a face and name and last seen. People tell you never to forget, but personally I would just like to move on...

A couple of pics from my run today:

WFC. From where I'm standing, there used to be a bridge that crossed over to one of the towers. I used to use that all the time to get to the waterfront. Not a very clear photo, but you can see the outlines of the pools near the middle of the image.

The NYPD Memorial

Probably could've done a lot more, but I don't think I hydrated properly. My calves and toes were threatening to cramp up after heading into Central Park. Also, I was running into a head wind the entire West Side so that wore me out a bit.

16.5 Miles

2010-09-04T20:20:00.003-04:00

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be running. Thanks to Hurricane Earl, the hot and humid weather of the last few days were a distant memory.

I left the house at about 7:30am and ran across the Manhattan Bridge, through Chinatown, up the FDR Drive, into the Upper East Side, across to Central Park, down Fifth Avenue, and then into the park for the last 10K loop. By the time I got to Columbus Circle, my calves were threatening to seize up. I only managed 16.5, 1.5 shy of the 18 mile goal, but I'll take it. The last 1.5 wasn't possible because I pretty much tried to run 3x what I did at last week's long run, which was a gamble. My legs were lead, so I quit while I was ahead. Plus I ran out of water and Gu, and the planned 1.5 lead me out of the park and into Chelsea. I just called it a day and headed to the train station and headed home.

Wore new sneakers, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. Not bad. It's not as much bottom cushioning as the Adidas Gigarides, but they are a lot lighter. It got the job done, and I like that it held the top of my foot snug. I also liked that I can feel the air flow in the toe box.

Even though I didn't pull in 18, I feel pretty confident right about now since I feel like I'm on track. Training wise, I've run probably a little less than what I would like, but my body feels strong and my legs feel good. I'd like to believe that all that core work from the P90X is actually helping out with the mechanics. If I keep it up, I may just be able to (don't laugh) sub 6. I have a stated goal of 5:55, but I keep visioning 5:45. We'll see.

I am also running with a LOT less than the last two training phases. Gone is the huge fanny pack that I used, and the water bottle, which was somewhat of a mental blanket. Chris got this little pouch for his runs, and I was able to fit in 4 Gu gels, a phone a key and several bills. I managed to run without water until I got to the FDR, where there were several water fountains along the way. I made it up to the 50s before heading into a store and grabbing a water bottle, and that lasted for the second half. I also carried the new ipod shuffle, and that played a great mix of music that pushed me. Every time I wanted to slow down, a great song would come on and propel me forward. I know a lot of purists would balk at the music thing, but it works for me.

At this point the one thing I feel like I need to work on is taking in the Gu earlier during the later part of the run, and not let myself feel the energy drain. I forgot to check at what point I started getting hungry, but I'm going to study the map and see if I can get Chris to make sure he has something for me at around that time. As slow as I am, I'm not going to count on the course having anything. Ooh I'm excited now!

For the record

2010-08-31T16:20:00.003-04:00

I just want to officially acknowledge some of my recent physical achievements:

I stuck with a workout program for longer than 2 weeks. (Currently on Week 7 of P90x)
I lost somewhere in the vicinity of 20-22lbs since winter
I can do a regular pull up from standing
I can do a wide arm pull up from standing
I can do 20 regular push ups without stopping

Halfway there

2010-08-28T12:32:00.004-04:00

I can't believe there's only 8 more weeks left. Starting to get nervous. I took off 2 LRs thanks to the vacation, which was much needed quality time with the husband, who was beginning to feel like I'm neglecting him again. There's always the need to find a balance between the business, running, working out, and everything else that seems to be time suckers. Given I'm only one person, I have to pick and choose my battles wisely, so my training falls behind a bit in order to maintain a happy marriage. Thankfully next year when he begins his training for NYC he'll know exactly what it will take to just get to the starting line.

Today, I did a crappy 6 miler. I was aiming for 15. The schedule had me pegged at 11, but I was hoping to make up for lost time. It did not happen due to several reasons. I had a crappy dinner: Yesterday I had dinner with my husband and his uncle and grandfather in Chinatown. With several weeks of eating as cleanly and as meat-free as possible at home, the dinner at a local restaurant did me in.

After not seeing them for a month, it was inevitable to have a meal with them, which always means eating out. Gramps decided he wanted Shanghai-nese, which usually means heavy and laden with sauces. And the three of them are huge meat eaters, so even when I suggested fish and veggies, the fish came out fried, and the veggies came out heavily sauced. I just have to suck it up sometimes. Most of the time I can get away with it if we met up on a Thursday, giving me Friday to get rid of that stuff from my system. But this Thursday they were busy so it got moved to yesterday. Running with all that in my system was just tough.

The second thing that did me in was the fact that I was overzealous in my strength training yesterday. My P90x schedule had me doing legs and back and abs, which I did just fine. But I ended up expending a lot of energy, and my legs felt like lead this morning as I hit the inclines.

Ah well. Tomorrow is the husband's championship game, and I promised to watch him play. (This has been a quest since before we met, so it's very important to him.) Anyway, if I can find a trail in the park he's at I'll try to log some miles in. Otherwise, depending on how I feel later on today, I may just head back out and see if I can pull another 7 miles out of me.

Progress

2010-07-24T11:29:00.004-04:00

This week has been fairly good in terms of working out. I got a good amount of workouts done, and even woke up for morning runs. I was supposed to do about 11 miles today, but only made it to 6.5. Yesterday I did a legs and back work out, so my legs and glutes were already pretty tired from that. Not to mention I woke up late, and decided not to eat something in favor of going out before it got too unbearable.

But the 6.5 wasn't bad. The usual amount of hills in Prospect Park, combined with the humidity hugging the road made for a slow run, but I think yesterday's routine actually helped push me through without issue. It felt good to be out there. My legs felt good. My knees, which were acting up yesterday, were pain free after today's run. It's been a while but I'm beginning to get that runner's high again, and I can feel myself looking forward to hitting the road. You gotta love the transformative powers of training.

Anyway, I stepped on the scale today and I'm officially down 19lbs! I know it's not really the number I should pay attention to, but it's nice to keep track. All my clothing just fits better now, so I'm really happy. The combination of the DVDs and running is really beginning to show!

Central Park Conservancy 4M

2010-07-18T18:43:00.002-04:00

The 4M race in Central Park was brutal. By all accounts, it's going to be a hot and muggy summer. Boy was it humid! Somehow I muddled through the race. But by the last mile I was definitely having a hard time breathing. It was weird because I've never felt such a tightness in my chest like that before. Of course, there was a heat advisory, so I took it slow. Other than that, it was just a normal race, my 7th of the year. August will be training only, and I'll resume the races again in September when the weather isn't so crazy!

I've been keeping up with P90x as much as I could. It's weird to be feeling sore everyday, kinda like the new normal. The husband bought me a new resistance band, but he bought one that has the equivalent of 20lb weights. I told him he was nuts. He said he thought I would get a better workout with it. That's when I had to explain to him that I'm not looking to bulk up here... But my biceps are looking good, and my triceps are beginning to develop definition. I'm maintaining my normal weight, and I definitely FEEL stronger. All my pants feel looser too, so this is a good thing! I took some "before" pics so I can see where I need to work on. But overall, it's already having some positive results. The only thing I need to watch out for is the yoga. As weird as it sounds, it's been the most tough on my knees.

Starting Tuesday, I'll be waking up for 6am runs... I'm sooo not a morning person, so we'll see how it goes!

Softball, P90x and Running

2010-06-30T10:07:00.003-04:00

I'm supposed to start training this week, but softball has taken a front seat. (Just for this week, we're heading to the playoffs.) My body is completely sore from playing 2nd base and then switching over to catching. Just as well. It's totally working my quads and glutes, and I've noticed that regular batting and fielding practices, even, has helped with my racing, particularly when running uphill. (Must be all that squatting.)

I'm also working out to P90x, modified. I'm definitely not in good enough shape to "bring it" as those hard bodies in the DVD. But I do push myself enough to get sweaty and sore. And I have noticed a slight difference in my arms. (Or maybe that's from swinging the bat and throwing??) Either way, I'm down 13lbs from winter, and am maintaining so it's all good. Almost gone is the jiggly pudge in the middle, and I actually feel ab muscles underneath! (Oh, and for what it's worth, the 15 minute Ab Ripper from the P90x series is the hardest 15 minutes ever!)

I ran a race the AHA Wall Street 3M last Thursday, and it was brutal. The difference between this race and other sanctioned NYRR races is that, there are a lot of non-regular runners at this one. Also, I really dislike the fact that it's not corralled. I'm normally a back-of-the-pack runner anyway, but there were walkers that started with the runners, and they started all the way at the beginning. The first 5 minutes was a traffic jam nightmare. Add to that the twists and turns of Downtown Manhattan, people still getting off work and walking right into the course, delivery bikes, it wasn't a pretty sight. (Am I being a running snob??) It was also fairly hot and muggy, so I didn't break any records. But all in all, it was a good effort, and I have 6 races under my belt for the year. Only 3 more races and 1 volunteer for NYC 2011.

Next race up is 7/17, Central Park Conservancy 4M.

Day 1 P90x

2010-06-14T11:01:00.003-04:00

I finally got my workout DVDs this weekend and decided to get going. Of course, after all the reading I did about how it's a very extreme workout, and all the advice I received about it (thanks Susan!), I knew I would have to be careful about doing too much too fast. So I popped in one of the DVDs that worked on core muscles to gauge what it's going to be like. The hour went by fast, and I broke a sweat not long after getting into it. I think as long as I modify it enough to preserve my knees, I should be okay. My abs are still burning as I type!

Japan Day 4M, P90x and Vegetarianism

2010-06-06T12:53:00.003-04:00

I haven't written one of these in ages!

Anyway, I ran the Japan Day 4M at Central Park today. Boy, was I unprepared for the humidity. By the time Chris and I left the house at 6am it was already 72 degrees and muggy. It must have hovered around 80 by the start of the race. We got to the park, got our numbers and headed over to the starting line, where we went into my corral rather than his. Normally we'd just head to the back since we're slow pokes, but this time people ushered us forward since they wanted to fill in the gap.

When the gun went off, I just naturally drifted with everyone around me. I felt I started off fast, and I was right. My 1 and 2 miles hovered around the 11 minute mile mark, which was fast for me! By mile 3 I got overheated and felt twinges in my hamstrings, so I eased up a bit. For some reason mile 3 was the hard mile. I kept chugging along the twists and turns. Thankfully most of the race was downhill and, there was a flat stretch towards the end, but it was still a bit of a struggle to keep focused. I think mantras work well for me. I kept repeating certain phrases to push myself and negative thoughts out.

Running has never come easy for me, and I always felt like I wasn't built for it, (particularly now that I'm a few years older and a few pounds heavier!) When I let it go, I ballooned up to my heaviest, about 20 pounds over what I felt comfortable, and had to put myself on a diet. I did a 3 month stint with Nutrisystem and lost about a dozen of that back, and now I'm back under the threshold. Right now I'm probably 5 from my 'natural' weight, and about 15 from my 'glamour' weight.

A buddy of mine recently posted a pic of himself after 90 days on P90x, and he is insanely ripped now, so I'm wondering if I need that sort of disciplined workout. The prospect of spending 1 to 1.5 hours a day on exercising is daunting, but this may be the type of thing I need to do, spend every waking moment scheduled with some sort of activity or goal in mind in order to get back into it.

Again, this type of stuff just doesn't come easy for me. But I think it's time to rethink where I am, and take stock of how I want to look and feel as I head towards the next phase of my life. I've also been thinking about switching slowly to becoming a vegetarian, and have started to cut out fatty foods, additives and have moved to organic whenever possible. I suppose this is what you'd call a lifestyle change. I guess I'm just tired of seeing my friends' Facebook wall posts filled with photos of food as if that's the only interesting thing there, and miss the support I used to feel when I knew more runners. Whatever it is I'm going through right now, it's making me take stock. Weird, but perhaps this is the sort of thing that becomes a turning point.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. Next race is an easy 3 Miles down on Wall Street. Should be fun!

Hello Stranger

2010-06-02T23:52:00.003-04:00

It's been such a long time since I even logged into this site. A shame, really, since I don't really have much to report in terms of running. I flat out stopped running for a while as things my life got a bit of an upheaval.

Got laid off in December, and am now doing my stationery designing full time. It's been rather tough trying not to stress out over income, especially now that I have little savings and a big mortgage. But things have been going better than I expected. At least in terms of getting business. (Did I ever tell you that wedding-related services are somewhat recession proof? Thank goodness for that!) I've been trying to organize my life, and have been blind trashing things in boxes that I don't ever open. It's cathartic. Too many things weighing down my mind and physical space. Right now my business takes precedence over everything else, and I'm purging old items to make room for my inventory. I feel so much better mentally when I see a clean work space.

Back to running. I've been doing races. Short 4 milers, just enough to hold onto the feeling of achievement I used to get from doing it. But I know soon I will have to do more. I feel the need to do more. Not to mention I signed up for Marine Corps last year and bailed. This time I booked a hotel in Crystal City, as well as an extra day since I plan to drag that husband of mine with me.

Oh yea, since last post, I got married, too! We did the City Hall thing. Took pictures, and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge after. It was a quintessential New York style, low-key ceremony. Hopefully, next year we will have enough funds to do a reception.

Anyway, that's really about it. Next race is on Sunday, another 4 miler. Slow and steady to get my qualifications in for NYC 2011. That's a big one my friends and I are planning to run together in.

Go Grace and Angie!

2009-10-25T08:32:00.001-04:00

Two people running MCM today that I will be tracking. Grace, my training partner of two marathons, and Angie, my childhood friend. Go Grace! Go Angie!

THe Hardest Thing

2009-09-08T09:29:00.003-04:00

I have to be completely honest with myself. I'm just not prepared to run MCM. I want to do it well for my brothers and for myself, but given the timing of this whole year, I feel like it would've been cheating if I ran it not being fully prepared.

I know I'm always full of excuses, but given the mental and physical exhaustion of moving and having everything thrown this way non-stop, I feel like not running is just the best. Besides having to acclimate to this new environment, I've been full steam ahead with this month-long business venture with 6 other artists and the amount of preparation is just tiring.

I emailed Grace, my marathon partner to see what she thinks. She has been extremely busy as well, and the last time I spoke with her, the job situation wasn't looking too well.

Maybe this just wasn't in the cards this time out. Good thing is that we have until the end of the month to decide whether or not to postpone. If she's been training and wants me to be there for her support I'd definitely go and cheer her on.

Sometimes deciding not to run a race is a lot harder than deciding to run one.

2009-08-04T08:10:00.002-04:00

I haven't done much running to warrant an update since I've been so busy with work and the apartment. We finally closed last week (after months of delays)! Always wondered why the process took so long, but it was apparent as soon as we met the coop attorney. What a piece of work she is. (Her attitude reminded me of why I didn't become a lawyer in the first place.) Glad that is over and done with, and now the fun part of moving. C and I will need to purge this current place of all the stuff we've accumulated over the past several years. We're downsizing in actual square footage, but the layout is one that works so much better for us, and the neighborhood works better for us. Anyway, regarding running... there's not much I've done. I've been a bit lazy. But that will change once I settle into the new place!

2009-07-05T19:30:00.002-04:00

I'm a little perturbed about having to pay $130 for Runner's World to receive access The Loop forum. I suppose if I had the money I'd sign up, but for now, especially with the apartment closing days away, I don't think it will be wise to drop that type of cash on an online training group support. Especially since I already have a good circle in which to draw inspiration and motivation from. Don't you think?

Marathon Training Begins... Again!

2009-06-29T21:30:00.007-04:00

Five years ago, if you were to tell me I'd attempt marathon #3 I'd tell you you were crazy. But here I am, mentally ready for MCM in October. I did a couple of loops in Prospect Park this weekend, a little over 7 miles worth of hills, which I absolutely love! (Did I tell you getting mentally prepared is like a battle worse than actually getting physically prepared.)

Anyway, I got an email from Nike that they're going to replace my wacky SportsBand. Yay!

2009-06-11T09:26:00.002-04:00

I really don't have much of an update. This month has been racked by illness, stress and work. The side business has been picking up, and with the pressure of trying to keep my full time and getting the housing situation under control, I haven't been too active in the running department. The past couple weeks I've had a really nasty cold, which seems to be coming back a lot due to the stress. It's always a really bad cough, and lots of fluids in my lungs. Sometimes I can't believe the amounts of stuff that comes out. It's gross. I tell you, I don't normally get sick more than once a year, and this year I've already gotten sick twice.

In any case, the housing situation is still in limbo. We're desperately trying to get the financing down before this entire deal falls apart. Our first mortgage broker wasn't able to get us insurance, so now we're trying with a different lender who has been able to do that for another couple. We have until the end of next week.

That's pretty much it for now.

Wall Street AHA 5K Recap

2009-05-20T00:12:00.004-04:00

Short race yesterday. It was the Wall Street American Heart Association 5K down in the Financial District. After picking up the race number and running some errands, I got to the vicinity at 6pm. (It was an evening race.) Found a public restroom and changed into my running gear, then headed over to the Battery Park City Marina to drop off my bags. (I had to buy some last minute supplies, so that was a bit of a pain to lug.)

At 6:30pm I headed over to the start, which was several blocks away on Murray Street. The walkers started on a perpendicular block. At 6:45pm someone blasts the horn and then we were off. Of course, being all the way at the 11+ area it took several minutes to reach the start, and for some reason they decided to let loose the walkers right before we finished crossing, which caused a slight traffic jam that I had to weave away from.

From the very beginning I told myself to follow someone with the same pace. I found that someone, a blonde lady wearing a black running skirt and fanny pack, and just kept behind her, and not let up until the end. She was pushing at a comfortable pace, and I managed to keep up all the while dodging the various bodies both on the street and crossing.

For those who have never done this race, it's a short one, but it's a bit tough being that it runs through the narrow hilly streets of Lower Manhattan with lots of twists and turns. Because it's on the streets and not completely blocked off, I had to avoid people and bikes, and stopped short while people crossed right in front of me. That was a bit annoying but that's the race.

After the first mile we had to run into a very strong headwind since it was right by the water. The blonde lady slowed down to take some water at the halfway point, and I followed suit. She walked for for about 5 seconds to take in the water and I did the same. Then she took off, and I did the same, not letting her out of my sight.

By the time we got to Battery Park, she was out in front by a dozen or so people, but I kept at it and just chanted in my head and turned up the speed dial (as much as I could anyway). Finally we made a couple more turns and headed right onto the promenade at Battery Park City, and knowing the finish line was right at the end of the walkway, I just pushed and fly pass the running skirt lady, who by this time had considerably slowed. I saw the giant time and sailed through the finish strong, proud that I didn't slow down at any point.

Official Time: 34:19
About 1:08 off my 2004 PB, but 7 seconds faster than my last 5k in Feb!

2009-05-14T08:20:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been inundated by stuff needed to get done. Yesterday Chris and I handed in the board package for our coop interview, so it's a relief on our end. It's been so stressful dealing with our mortgage broker who didn't understand our need to get things done as soon as possible. He was going to take another week to get the paper work into us (we filled out all our stuff at the end of March!), which would've meant we missed the June interview date deadline, making the earliest possible date of our moving in July. Our lawyer said just document the entire process because if the board has issues with the financial portion of the application, we can defer to that since we tried our best to get everything done on time.

Anyway, training officially started for the MCM, but because I've been so busy (I know, what a cop out), I haven't really run. Tuesday I have the Wall Street 5K, and will try to get a long run in this Saturday. Sunday I have a craft fair to sell at. We're right in the thick of wedding season and I'm getting hit with a lot of huge orders, and a lot of last minute orders. The week after is a friend's wedding, and then the week after that a huge 2-day fair. So as you can see, running hasn't been at the top of my list even though I think about running every day. (I just can't seem to get away.) Today I need to head into Newark (2 hour commute one way) to get stuff done for the real job, then head back in as soon as possible to get some orders out.

So that's really been it. I've been stuck on the computer getting inquiries answered, getting surveys sent out at work, designing and printing orders, and just stuck. I just need to get to June 10 (our closing date) without incident!

2009-04-29T11:05:00.003-04:00

I'm getting old and creaky and I hate it. On Monday I had a softball game with my co-ed team. (The women's team never called me back. So much for the "non-competitive, fun league".)

We did fairly well, but lost in the last inning due to a poor decision by the team head. Not sure why he intentionally walked someone when there were 2 outs and people on 1st and 2nd base. (I guess he thought it would be easier for the defense to pick any base for that last out.) But the third guy came up and hit a blooper in between third base and left, and brought home the guy on third. We lost 14-13.

I did decent considering I haven't played in years. Went 1 for 3 with 2 ground outs, and a single to left. Played catcher for 4 out of the 6 innings without my shin guards, (and boy was I missing those)! By the end of the evening, I had a giant softball sized bruise on my right thigh and one on my left shin. (Our pitcher got tired in the 4th inning and started walking people and throwing wild pitches.) My right knee was all scraped up from kneeling on the dirt.

I have to admit though, it was a fun game. Despite our losing I think a lot of the guys respected me because I could actually field and play. (You know how a lot of guys are when it comes to sports.) They noticed that I had my own bat and cleats, and engaged me in game talk. After the game we all went out for a beer at a nearby tavern in Chinatown, and got to know one another a little bit more. (Most of us found the team from Craigslist.)

Anyway, having not really recovered from Sunday's "quarter" marathon, I think the game proved a bit too much physical activity in too short of a time frame. Not sure how I did it but I pulled my back and felt like I pinched a nerve between my shoulder blades. It was quite painful to turn my head yesterday and I had to lean forward a bit to ease the pressure. Today it's a little bit better. Chris returned from his trip to Philly last night, and he helped me roll a massager on my back to "tenderize" me. I think one more day and I'll be back to normal.

This upcoming weekend Grace and I will tackle the Central Park loop again to prepare for the Mother's Day 10M (#6). I have a huge selling event the day before, so hopefully I won't be standing all day. Other than that I am signed up for the Wall Street AHA 5K, which is fun. The course starts near the WTC, and ends in Battery Park. This was one of the first races I've ever done by myself (back in 2006 I think) and it was the one that made the most impression on me, seeing all those bodies bob up and down on the street made me want to do races even more.

In other non-sports related news, Chris and I are meeting up in the village to check out a venue for a reception. (We're planning on a March wedding, around the time of our anniversary. So just FYI, in case I start going on about that type of stuff here, you'll know why!)

2009-04-27T16:04:00.003-04:00

Just as I suspected. Yesterday's temperature topped out at 92. By the time I was done with the course, it was already mid 80s.

I have this nagging pain in the back of my left shoulder blade that I can't seem to stretch out. It hurts when I turn my head sideways. Feel like I pulled something. Hopefully tonight's softball game will take care of the stiffness.

More Half Marathon Race Report

2009-04-26T13:21:00.002-04:00

I was supposed to run a half today, but the weather and NYRR had other plans. Woke up at 4:30am and picked up the cell phone right before the alarm went off and proceeded to get up get dressed and make a quick PB toast and coffee. Left the house at 5:40am and actually got to Lexington and 63rd at 7:00am so I made it to Central Park in great time even though the F train wasn't running and I had to switch trains again.

When I got to Park Ave, I just had to follow the women. One thing I love about running in Central Park is that I can always just head to the general area and follow the crowd. In any case, I made it to the baggage area and learned that the full marathon had been canceled due to the heat warning, and the half was on only as a fun run. A lot of women were pissed. I was already resigned to the fact that today wasn't a day to play around especially with my lack of proper preparation in this type of weather. (I ran out of GU.)

Yesterday's heat advisory was bad, and one of the volunteers announced that there was a heat related death at the Country Music Marathon and 9 people taken to the hospital. Due to the field, they didn't want to take any chances today.

So now it seemed like almost all of the full runners decided to do the half along with those who registered. And because it wasn't going to be a timed event, everyone just crammed themselves wherever they fit in the corrals, runners, joggers, walkers, everyone. Right before the start, they asked the walkers to do one loop, and that if anyone can't run the two loops in under 3 hours to remove themselves from the course. Because I am right at that borderline, I made the decision that if I lagged today, I'll only do what I can do rather risk doing anything stupid. I had a goal of making 10 miles and that would be good enough for me. The horn went off about 5 minutes late and I didn't get to actually pass the start until about 10 minutes after 8 (giving me 2:50 to finish the course).

From the first mile, I could tell it was going to be bad. Beforehand, I made the bad decision of adding salt into my water bottle that already had the Heed powder in. It made the water unbearable so I just swished the liquid in my mouth whenever I felt thirsty. I kept my eye on these two ladies that had pink and white balloons with 2:45 written on it, but they kept slowing down as well, so I kept picking out teams that I felt I could keep up with. (Team Aquaphor and then Team Aussie Wedding.) I identified a familiar runner (this Asian woman who had about the same build and pace as me) and kept her within sights also. She had a slow and easy stride that I remember, and since she was always within the same pace in previous races, I just minded her.

However, by Mile 3, I felt like it was pointless to dodge and weave to keep up. I was wasting energy. The field didn't feel like there were a lot of people there, but for some reason it just seemed harder to maneuver. Besides the slight breeze coming through every so often, the condition was quickly becoming unfavorable. I must have seen an ambulance race through at every mile. The course went clockwise, so I ran up the gradual slopes of Harlem Hill and let the steep downhill pull me through. At the bottom of the hill, one of the volunteers had a hose and sprayed it in the air in an arc for the runners to run under. That helped a little, as I prepared for the winding slope to the East side heading towards the Museum Mile. But I felt the unmistakable beginnings of a blister developing (already!) on my left arch, and a painful rub on my right toe. It was not going to end well.

I think because of my lack of proper hydrating, preparation, and just plain foul conditions (not to mention today there were a lot of smokers around and the fresh smell of horse poop from the carriages) I just couldn't manage. By the end of the first loop, I was done. Crossed the finish line at about 1:53 for the 7.4 miles I did. I didn't think I'd be able to make the next 6 miles in about an hour so I just called it a day.

Unofficially speaking it's my first DNF, but because of the heat warning, it still qualifies as part of my 9+1 for this year. So while I'm not exactly happy with my outcome, I was satisfied that I got credit for at least trying.

Next up, Mother's Day 10M. I should fair better then!

Good Luck Petra!

2009-04-24T16:31:00.005-04:00

Cell phone pic of Kathrine Switzer (Knew I shoulda brought my camera out today!)

My own signed copy of her book.

Good luck to Petra, running in the London Marathon this weekend! Woo hoo!

**edit**
I went to the More Marathon + Half Marathon Expo today to pick up my stuff, and I was so honored to meet Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon. I think many women who run owe her a big 'thank you' for being such a pioneer for women's distance running. I talked to her for a good 5 minutes and she was such a nice and warm person. I almost cried when I got to hug her! She is such an icon! I mean, who can forget the images of her being violently assaulted for trying to run? Dedicating Sunday's race to her!

Run for the Parks Race Report

2009-04-05T19:08:00.003-04:00

Short and sweet race report. It was a short 4 miler. I finished about 1 minute of my PR. Woke up at 4:15am to make it to Central Park by 7:00am to pick up my number only to find out that I didn't even register! Good thing I was able to do it right then and there. It was such a nice running day. Perfect weather, breezy and sunny. Bumped into Grace there around the first mile. Said hi to her and she took off (as always).

My time: 46:11 (11:32 pace). Decent.

MCM Here I Come!

2009-04-01T12:59:00.004-04:00

No, this is not an April Fool's joke. I did sign up for the MCM!

Rusty Tryout

2009-03-25T22:29:00.003-04:00

So I tried out for the softball league this afternoon. It was nearby so I was able to take a 10 minute train ride out to the park. To be honest I was a bit nervous. I haven't played in years, and even when I did I always had to sit out a couple of games.

In any case, I reached the park and met up with about 35-40 women. Some were standing around, (which I took for the newbies), and some warming up and chatting, (which I took for the more experienced). I registered, paid my fee and got a number 70 pinned to my back.

I scanned the crowd, and was about to approach someone to warm up with when this female came up to me and asked if I wanted to toss the ball a bit. I accepted.

About 10 minutes later the VP of the league called us all in and told us the routine. We all lined up according to our numbers and took turns fielding second base, then short stop, then outfield, and then took turns batting. Since there were a lot of people that showed up, they had to shorten the plays per person to make sure everyone gets evaluated before sundown. (It was quite nice to be outside.)

In total the tryout lasted an hour, and I got a total of 5 fielding plays, 1 play at second, a couple at short stop and a couple outfield. I think my strongest was at short stop. I can still gun a ball to first with relative accuracy. But at outfield, I don't think I was quite warmed up. I dropped a fly ball and didn't hit home as hard as I wanted to. Can't blame it on Chris' glove, which was what I used. I think I was thinking too much. (It's quite intimidating to have 40 people watching your every move.)

After that it was a couple swings at the bat. I was able to make contact with 1 out of 2 pitches. (The sun was going down and there were people behind me on line.)

All in all, it was a good experience. I spoke with someone about what happens next, and apparently there's a blind draft into the teams (if you're good enough to get in), a batting clinic in mid-April and then games. As for schedules, it might be tough since the games are on weekends. (I tried out thinking it was on weekend evenings, but they might have changed the schedule.)

In any case, we'll see. I was apprehensive at first, but I'm glad I got out there. If for nothing else, it was a good little time out to get some physical activity in today.

Softball as Cross-Training?

2009-03-24T11:58:00.003-04:00

I've been missing softball lately, a lot. After watching the World Baseball Classics, (and needing a different way of losing some of this stress weight) I've been contemplating returning to the fields. Last time I played in a league was about 3 years ago. I played catcher and outfield, and our team actually made it to the championships. Of course, after I moved from Lower Manhattan to Astoria, it was hard to travel from work, then home, then to the fields, so I stopped playing for the league.

Fast forward to now, I'm living in Brooklyn, and I have a BF that manages a men's softball team (and have done so for the past 5-6 years). He's out every Saturday during Spring and Summer playing, and I miss the camaraderie of being on a team. Don't get me wrong, I love the solitude of running, and being able to focus inward, but there's definitely something about swinging the bat and hearing the crack of the ball as it sails over the pitcher... (Okay, I don't do that often either, but hey, I still like the sound!)

So I wonder if softball can constitute as cross-training? More importantly, I wonder if it can fit in my schedule, which at this point, consists of a major move some time in April/May (we got approved for a loan!), the 9+1 races and training for it, the MCM and NYCM (if I register/get accepted), and my various business events? Tough, tough, tough.

Sorry, I'm just rambling. Back to running, I've also been thinking about 2-a-days. But after yesterday's run I'm not sure if my knees can handle it. So we'll see..

NYRR 800 Race Report

2009-03-14T21:24:00.003-04:00

This was the first time I ran the NYRR 8000, about 4.9 miles. It was a rather enjoyable race despite my feeling less than 100%. Let's face it; sometimes as a female, there are just days where it's not fun to do any type of physical activity. Today was such a day. A tiny part of me thought about forgoing this race, but the thought was squashed immediately.

I went to bed at 10:30pm to get a full night's sleep but my mind just wandered all over the place, from work to freelance to the home contract. I tried to focus just on the course and eventually fell asleep much later than anticipated, and woke up several times throughout the night. My final wake up time was about 4:18am. I had my alarm set for 5:00am so I just got up, got dressed and left the house by 6:00am to head to the NYRR headquarters to pick up my number.

The trains were running faster than normal, so I got to 89th Street by 7:10am. The race didn't start until 8:30am at 102nd Street so I walked over and to get my free t-shirt and get situated. The baggage area was staged in a park of Central Park that is used as a dog park. I sat on a rock in the hill and just watched the dogs run for a while. There was this cute beagle that just wanted to play with all the other dogs. Makes me want to get one!

I got pretty cold just sitting there, so after a while I just got up and jogged around a bit until I heard the race director call people to the corrals. Since I woke up so early I was pretty tired, but what sort of affected my performance was that I didn't eat enough on the way over. I got hungry by the time I got to the start. However, it was only 5 miles, so it wasn't that bad. I knew I was going to get an apple and a bagel at the end.

The race started off good enough. The course started on a slow rolling hill and bypassed the infamous Harlem Hill. I was glad I didn't have to face that today. I took quick walk breaks at the water stations and kept my usual pace. What I didn't remember was that we still had Cat Hill, which wasn't as steep as Harlem Hill, but it was a steady climb back up to the 80s. With 1 mile left, I started to push the pace a bit and kept my focus on the top of the trees. I got to the finish line in a full sprint.

Official time: 58:40 (11:48 pace). A little slower than my 11:16 5k pace from last race, but a bit faster than the last 5 mile I did at 11:51. All in all, a decent showing. I think had it been a 5 miler I would've definitely PRed!

Fartleks are fun

2009-03-12T17:05:00.003-04:00

I did my own version of fartleks today, mainly to relieve some work-related stress. Thank goodness the end of the week is near, but even so, I know I just need to get through these next two critical weeks in the quarter. Upcoming meetings on the 19th and 26th, after which I plan to take a couple days off to decompress.

I wasn't too happy when I stepped on the scale this morning. I was shocked, like SHOCKED at the numbers. And not in a good way. There's so much weighing on my mind that I'm sprouting a heck of a lot of new white hairs, and feeling very uncomfortable all around. (Apparently all that weighing on my mind is now weighing on my midsection!) Thankfully I caught a break around 3pm and just emailed my boss that I needed to step out for an hour before heading back to the looming deadline.

It was quite breezy, but at 45 degrees it wasn't all too bad as long as I stayed in the sunlight. Ocean Parkway is a good place to run (as long as you watch out for the careless drivers who blind turn into the side streets). I ran in fits and sprinted and bounded and basically varied my speed throughout the entire run. It was quite amusing and brought back memories of how, when as a kid I used to run just for the heck of it. I did wish Spring would come sooner. I miss seeing green.

All in all it was probably over 3.5, but I stopped the Sportband at 3.25 for a nice looking number. Plus I only had an hour to head back before the phone calls and emails started up again. So far so good. I can sneak in some freelance (and blog time!) before I hear back from the company.

Saturday I have the NYRR 8000m in Central Park and next week the Colon Cancer 15k. After that it's the More Half Marathon in April and by then I will have already done half of my 9+1 to qualify for NYC 2010!

Anyway, now that I'm de-stressed, it's time to get back to work! (blah!)

Running for my brothers

2009-03-07T18:46:00.005-05:00

The Marine Corps Marathon... This one has been on my mind for a while. My friend Kevin ran it last year and my running buddy Grace (who trained with me for NYC 2007 and WDW 2009) is planning on it. Not sure what my hesitation is, but I have to do this one.

Just read Marathon Chris' MCM race report. Her incredible dedication to the Marines at the very last part gave me the conviction that I need to do this for my brothers. Both my younger brother and brother-in-law are Marines. Both served a 4 year tour and have gone through stuff that I can't even imagine in my lifetime.

I will be signing up for registration opens. For these men.

My brother Peter.

My brother-in-law Eddie.

50k?

2009-03-06T13:22:00.003-05:00

Has anyone ever done a 50k? I'm kinda intrigued of the distance. It's a tad over 31 miles, so in reality, I wonder if the training would be the same as that for a marathon... hmm... I'm not thinking of doing it anytime soon, but this is definitely something interesting to keep on the back burner when I get more disciplined in running.

Other things I would like to experience is perhaps a triathlon and maybe even an Iron Woman. It's on the "list" but definitely in the far, far future since I need to lose like... 25lbs and gain some more endurance... But mainly I need discipline, and the time to settle into a new routine.

Not to give myself any excuses, but it's been a bit crazy dealing with the whole home buying process. My current rental apartment is literally falling apart month by month, and because the landlords want to renovate the entire house, they're sort of dragging their feet on fixing anything. Hopefully once we move everything will just fall into place. I know there is a park near our new apartment which I'll be excited to run in. Yesterday I took a bad fall right onto my knee cap. (Did I mention this rental has really crappy linoleum floors that never stay clean?) There was a spot of water that I couldn't see and BAM! fell right onto my left knee. It's been a while since I cried out from pain. Can't wait to move!

Wish me luck!

2009-02-26T14:25:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention that I registered for the NYC Marathon lottery on Saturday. Looking forward to running this one again.

Been really contemplating the Marine Corps Marathon this year. I might be able to fit that into my schedule.... Has anyone done this one?

Al Gordon Snowflake 5K Recap

2009-02-21T12:33:00.003-05:00

Just came back from the Al Gordon Snowflake 5K. It was a nice run. I convinced several other people and Chris to run and they all had a great time. This is the group that decided to run the NYC Marathon in 2011 (a collective decision swayed by the imbibing of alcohol during someone's birthday dinner). They figured it was a nice way to slowly get used to the running experience. So it was 6 of us with 4 total newbies. Everyone enjoyed themselves, so that was good.

As for my own race, I was about 1:15 off my 2004 PR but it was one of my faster short runs in a while. The last time I did a 5K was about 3 years ago, so I was pretty happy with the results. I knew the Prospect Park course fairly well from the training, and I knew that the finish would be where the Brooklyn Grand Prix finish line would be. As for elevation it wasn't bad. I tackled the first large hill fairly quickly and let gravity pull me through the downhills. The last couple turns going uphill was a push, but it was rather painless. Too bad there aren't more races in Brooklyn or else I'd be all over those.

Afterward we stopped at the famous Tom's Diner for a celebratory brunch (where we pretty much undid all the positive effects of the run).

So that's #2 out of 9 for the year. Peace of cake!

That lady in the light pink saw my sweatshirt and was like, "hey nice sweatshirt." Then showed me her Donald Duck Half Marathon sweatshirt. She PRed in that race so I gave her a high five.

2009-02-18T00:14:00.002-05:00

The next time someone decides to cough open-mouthed, next to me in the train, I will get up to move. Should've listened to Chris. People are disgusting, and now I'm sick... Bleh...

2009-02-13T16:55:00.002-05:00

I'm officially "in contract!" New home, here we come!

Funny of the Day

2009-02-05T15:08:00.003-05:00

Click to watch

2009-02-04T19:11:00.003-05:00

I thought today would be the perfect day to test out the Yak Trax today since it snowed yesterday... Snow doesn't really stick here. I ran about 5K late in the afternoon and it was okay. Feels a bit funny since I feel like I have clown shoes on. It did its job along icy and snowy patches so I'm satisfied. But let me just say that the sound it makes on sidewalks is as pleasant as the sound of teeth grinding.

Two issues I need to resolve:
How to dress for running in the winter! (I should really know this but I don't.)
How to calibrate my Sportband so I can see the correct mileage. The half marathon uploaded this time around, but it's reading 11.72 miles rather than 13.1.

January Recap

2009-02-03T17:02:00.004-05:00

I have to say this is by far the most active January I've had like... ever!

I ran a marathon in 70 degree weather.
I ran a half marathon in 18 degree weather.

I think these photos are really funny next to each other:

February might be interesting. I have a qualifier in Brooklyn, so only a 20 minute train ride to QR #2. The personal life thing may take hold (we're definitely putting a bid on a new home and it's wedding season), but in all I'm going to get back out there and ramp it up for more.

So far I have registered for 4 more races:

Feb: Al Gordon Snowflake 4M (They renamed the December 4M to Ted Corbitt)
Mar: NYR 8000M
Mar: NYC Colon Cancer Challenge 15K (There was a 4M option but I want to push myself)
Apr: More/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon

That means 5 qualifiers down even before Spring. Yea, baby!

On a related note, there's this person in one of my circles who has been indirectly trying to compete with me, and I think it's really funny. Will tell you more next time.

Manhattan Grand Prix Race Report

2009-01-28T00:30:00.004-05:00

I ran the Manhattan Grand Prix this past Sunday. It was hard. First of all, I don't do well in such cold weather. The temperature registered at 15º at the start, and by the end only warmed up to 18º. (Don't even get me started with the wind chill factor.)

I woke up at 4:30am to get ready. Got about 4-5 layers on and got my gear to go. Realized I forgot to get any bread for toast, so I had to make do without eating anything. Downed a glass of orange juice to wake me up. That would come back to haunt me later.

Made my way out the door at 5:30. The race started at 8:00am, but since I didn't have any time prior to pick up my race pack, I had to head to Road Runners to pick it up before heading to the start. And because it was Sunday, I knew I had to get out earlier in case there was any train trouble. Thankfully I left at that time because due to the track work and weekend schedules, I had to take 4 trains to get to the start!

By the time I got to Central Park it was about 7:30am. Just in time to check my bag and head to the start. I was a bit nervous since I haven't done any hills in a long time, and Central Park is notorious for it's Harlem Hill. As usual, I started all the way in the back. It was so cold, that the layers I intended to take off stayed on. No way I would've been able to run with what I was wearing underneath!

The first 3 miles were fine. I was running along at my usual slow pace and warmed up somewhat. Then mile 4. Harlem Hill. For those that have never run Central Park, let me tell you about Harlem Hill. After a flat and straight path up the east side of Manhattan, the course slowly curves in then down into a twisty snake of a path. It flattens out for about 100 yards or so before another snake-like turn, this time curving upwards. The elevation difference between the start and finish is about 100ft. And while running it in the summertime is not so unbearable, running it in the wintertime was utterly painful. (Did I mention I haven't done hills in a while?)

That took a lot out of me. Somewhere around mile 5 I took my first water and a gel for good measure. When I passed by the water table and picked up a cup, I tried to drink and realized that the water was frozen over on top! I had to use a knuckle to knock a hole in the middle. This would repeat the rest of the water stops I stopped at. I found it a bit amusing.

Mile 6 was probably my fastest mile. I might have broken my 10k PR, which I was a bit psyched about. (I clocked in at 1:18ish) Only thing is there's no way to tell since the time allowance for the back of the pack. Everyone's time started with the clock.

Around mile 7 I realized I was starting to get cold. As much as I ran already, I couldn't warm up. Even with gloves my hands were really cold. I kept my hands in a closed fist almost all the way, and the insides of my wrists were starting to feel cramped up. I was starting to feel drained. Earlier that morning I made the decision not to take my fuel belt and to rely on the water stations for water. And of course, being as slow as I was, it became a race to get to the stations before they broke down. This happened at mile 8 when I was hoping to take in another gel. By the time I reached them there was no water available. I took half a gel without water, but I knew it was too little too late. The only thing I hoped for at this point was that the next water station would be open so I can at least get some liquids. Thankfully, after the down loop on Harlem Hill mid-mile 9, there was one lone water table left and I took another frozen cup, this time just running with it until past mile 10 near the reservoir.

By the time I reached mile 11 I was all out freezing. My legs felt like bricks as I willed them to move forward. Let me just say that from that point on, it was a physical battle to make it to the finish. Mentally I was fine. I knew this course fairly well. But between the biting cold and now wind, my whole body was threatening to seize up. I didn't wear my knee brace and my right knee started hurting with each step. I was aware that I was one of the very few left because the orange cones that marked the race course disappeared. There were a lot of people out. Mile 12 was a welcomed sight as I passed the start line for the second time. I knew the end was near. Mile 13 I couldn't feel my legs and my entire body was just heavy. My back was hurting also and I wasn't sure why. But once I made that final turn into the finish I was relieved more than anything else. I found my way to the bagels and scarfed it down. (Isn't it funny how stuff tastes soooo good after a race?)

Running in such cold weather is humbling. It really made me think twice about doing it again. I thought I was prepared with all the layers I had on, but even with a technical base layer, a dri-fit over that, a wind layer, and a sweatshirt (!) and two bottom layers (!) I was not prepared. Then add on the fact that I started running without eating, I knew I was going to have a hard time.

I ran with my Sportband, but for some reason I can't upload it to my Nike page, so I can't analyze what I did. After writing to the Road Runners to inquire about my score, they added it into the official results. 3:02:04, about 2 minutes off my last half and 17 off my best, but hey, I'll take it for what it's worth.

1 Down, 8 to Go

2009-01-26T15:35:00.002-05:00

Ran the Manhattan Grand Prix 13.1 yesterday. In 18 degree weather. It was @!&^#$&! brutal. My official score isn't really listed since I surpassed the 3 hour mark. I'm a bit miffed about that as the times aren't staggered. It took me about 5 minutes to make it to the start line, so I know I was under 3:00, but I digress. Happy to get #1 out of the way. Race report to come shortly!

2009-01-19T18:51:00.002-05:00

I just purchased the Yak Trax Pro, so now I have absolutely no excuse to get out and run in the snow!

Walt Disney World Marathon 2009 Race Report

2009-01-14T10:44:00.004-05:00

I completed another marathon. It wasn't my best performance, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that I learned a lot from this experience and had a lot of fun along the way. And I was amazed at the mental toughness it takes to run in a place far from home, away from anything familiar. But now I can say I am a marathoner.

Pre-Marathon
Grace and I took a Saturday morning flight out from NYC and got into Orlando around noon. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter resort, which was a nice little resort by a river. After an early check-in. We scoped out the cafeteria, then headed to the World Wide Sports Complex where the Expo was being held. All the buses and directions were clearly labeled so we had no trouble finding which way to go. Once there, we got our goodies, and did a little shopping for gear. I bought a cute sweatshirt knowing that the one I wore on the flight would be given up at the starting line.

After several hours of checking things out, we were famished and decided to head back to the resort to grab an early dinner. When we got back to the room however, I realized I had lost my timing chip! We ransacked the room to no avail, and made our way back to the sports complex in a slight panic. Worse comes to worse, I'd run the race without being timed, I thought. In any case, some nice random stranger must have found it and returned it to the runner's relations booth. (Thank you!) It wasn't a good way to start, but disaster was avoided. That little scare combined with the travel wore us out.

At the resort, we both grabbed some jambalaya and beignets, fed ourselves, convinced the guy behind the bakery counter to sell us 4 bagels (which they wanted to save for some reason) and headed back to the room to hang out and prepare for the morning. We were in bed later than I wanted, but being wired from the day, we finally hit the sack at 9:30pm.

Race Day!
Grace's alarm clock woke us up at 2:15am. I felt awake enough to do a light stretch, got dressed and made some coffee. By 3:15 we were out the door and to the cafeteria again. I had a bagel with peanut butter, and sipped water. 3:45am one of the marathon bus pulls up and along with others we boarded and was transported to the staging area.

Once we arrived it was a bit overwhelming to see. The staging area was this large parking lot behind Epcot. Thousands of runners all in the same area. Thousands more lining up for the thousands of porta-potties. Some band was playing. Grace and I just kind of wandered until we found the bag drop-off area. It was pretty all surreal considering it was still in the middle of the night. We ended up at the A-C bag check area by 4:15am, but I wasn't able to find anyone to say hello to, so we sat and just hung out until about 5:20 where we got on for the last potty break.

At about 5:40 we started to make our way to the starting line. It was just funny to see so many guys and girls running for the bushes to make a last pee stop. Even stranger is how everyone was just accepting it as fact. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

By the time we arrived to the corrals, everything was a bit hectic. Someone was singing the national anthem. We heard Mickey and Goofy and the race organizers, but we couldn't find the right corrals. I think by the time we got trapped, we were at H. (On a related note, it seemed that there were a heck of a lot of tall people racing.) Finally the guns were off and fireworks exploded from the top of the start line. And we were off! (Okay, being all the way in the back it took about 10-12 minutes to actually reach the start line...)

The first 6 miles were good. I stopped once at the World's Showcase to take a photo with Mulan. It was a constant pace that took us from the highway to through and around Epcot Center. The night air was cool and humid. Between mile 6-7, we were back on the highway. There is a highway loop that we pass, and a lot of people starts walking here. I mean, a lot of people. I thought about weaving my way through, but decided not to since it will only drain my energy. I opted to walk until the roads opened up a bit more. Somewhere between spotting Mr. Incredible and listening to a band play the Rocky theme, I had to make a pee break. That took a few minutes since there were only two along that route.

By the time mile 7 came, the sun was partially out. I saw the roads more clear and I was able to see everyone around me. About 2 hours in I passed mile 8. The sun was starting to warm up the air, drying out the humidity. All was well heading into Magic Kingdom. To be honest, that was the only part of the race I really thought about. I did well mentally and physically from 9-12. I stopped like crazy to take photos with characters. (Hey, what's the point if I didn't get to enjoy myself?)

There were a lot of spectators leading into the Magic Kingdom, and just seeing the Cinderella castle open up in the sky in front of me was the one image I wanted to keep. Someone had a sign that read "Remember this feeling forever." I started tearing up because here I am, halfway to another accomplishing yet another goal. And after all that self-doubting I am doing it and am being rewarded with such a beautiful sight. I stopped to take a photo of the castle. A volunteer asked me if I'd like a photo and I said yes. Everyone was so nice that I smiled all the way.

A little after mile 13, I felt a bit stiff in my left ankle, then a twinge in my left calf. And then my hip. I had to slow down a bit to stretch out, but it wasn't going away. Soon the right calf started threatening to cramp as well, so I did what I could to keep moving, but I wasn't going fast at all at this point. From mile 14-16, the only thing I focused on was keep moving fast enough that I don't lock up, and slow enough that I don't cramp. I was determined to finish no matter what. And kept conscious enough to keep going and just kept my eyes out for the aid stations. I remember passing by at least two aid stations that ran out of biofreeze. None of the aid stations had salt, (which I thought I brought but wasn't in my fuel belt). One of the stations ran out of water. I was not happy at this point.

After slow cruising, I felt better at about Mile 16. I found 3 mini salt packets in my shorts pockets and washed it down with water. The course goes back into one of the parks (the harder miles were in the back lots and remote roads). The road brings us to Animal Kingdom. Some employees were out with animals cheering the runners on. Another turn and we're suddenly into the park. I see this giant tree on top of a hill. There is more eye candy and I pick up my pace as there's more stuff to see. The paths itself were a bit bumpy. Not exactly hilly, but slightly uneven. Stopped a couple more times as there were more characters hanging out. From there the course makes its way back to a parking lot then past the entrance. Another character. It was Mickey. I HAD to stop for a photo!

Mile 19-20 was a bit difficult. The sun was out in full force. It was getting a bit too warm. My left ankle was still stiff. Amazingly enough, my knees didn't really bother me at all. I had one knee brace on and had switched it between knees earlier in the race. Those parts were fine. This time I was dealing with some really tight calf muscles and ankles. Somewhere along mile 20 I passed some photo truck. I remember smiling and waving at them. I think I slowed down at that point since I wanted to catch a small break before the last 10k. That was a mental distraction probably for the worse. I lost focus a bit. That and the Beatles look-alike band playing. I sort of gotten sucked into a moment of self doubt. But someone called my name and waved. (I still have no idea who it was, but thanks! It got me out of that mini funk.)

Mile 20-21 was a skinny U-turn. There was another aid station in between and I grabbed some biofreeze and slathered my calves. I probably sat down for a minute to get that stuff on. Then off. At the U-turn point, an announcer called out my name. I waved. Someone else was announced. They were from Brooklyn. I turned around and high-fived her and her companion. They started walking. I started slow running.

Mile 21-22 were all roads. Some overpasses that people take as hills. They were nothing to me since Central Park is fresh in my memory banks. The course moves to the Hollywood Studios back lot, and a couple of more employees clap for the runners. Then we turn into the actual studios, through what looked like a costume sewing area, then onto the actual park and around the giant Mickey Sorcerer's hat. Miles 22-26 were mentally easy as we made our way through the park and back out to Epcot via the boardwalk. I had a little mantra going here that helped, and it had a lot to do with cakes and pies. 10k left. No problem. Easy as cake... Chocolate mousse cake. Black forest cake... 5 miles left. No worries. Easy as pie. Key lime pie. Banana creme pie. 4 miles easy peasy... I did a Forrest Gump thing with pies and cakes until I realized it was mile 25.

That's when I started looking for the round ball of Epcot. It kept coming closer. People were now excitedly cheering. 1 mile to go! You're almost there! Right around the corner! The course went around the world showcase at Epcot. I made a mental note to revisit the next day. At mile 26 a choir was set up. I took a photo and can't believe I took over 7 hours to run this course. But I was happy. I was at the end. Someone volunteered to take my photo and I let them.

Then suddenly, the finish WAS right around the corner! I got a glimpse of it. It's RIGHT THERE! The announcer guy tells us near the finish line to hurry up so we can make the official time book. I ran the rest of the way with a big smile on my face. Goofy was at the finish and I high fived him as I cross the finish line.

Again, I was overcome with emotion. It was tough for all the right reasons, (under-trained, unfamiliar territory, stressing out the day before), but it was so much fun for all the right reasons. The combination of relief and validation swept me to tears. Someone asked if I was alright and I smiled back a yes. The girls passing out the medals congratulated me and I thanked them. I took a Mylar blanket even though I was really hot. I flew it behind me like the Olympics runners with their national flags. I made my way to the bag check and sat down and turned off my sports band. Then called Grace and waited for her to get out of the massage tent. (She finished an hour ahead of me.) I took my time to stretch out and for the rest of the day, I was happy to surround myself with the thought that I can actually do something if I put my mind to it. I was happy that I decided to challenge myself at Disney. Mission Marathon #2: Accomplished!

Official Time: 6:59:11
(better than I thought!)

Marathon #2 DONE!

2009-01-11T14:48:00.001-05:00

I did it! Details to follow. So pooped and hungry!

2009-01-10T19:14:00.002-05:00

Grace and I landed safe and sound. Got our numbers and chips. Avoided disaster! Ate dinner. Will now hang out at the resorts for a few before turning in. *whew!*

2009-01-09T09:16:00.001-05:00

I can't find my lucky socks!!

edit: *whew!* found 'em! Now it's ON!!

Run/Walk it

2009-01-05T23:24:00.002-05:00

After much fretting on being under-trained for Sunday, I started looking into run/walk methods and tested out the possibility. Turns out it's not that bad, only it might be a bit weird for me to start off like that. But if it means feeling weird will get me to the finish line, then that's what I'm going to do. (I did 5 miles at 2:1 and I don't feel sore at all like I normally do at this distance.)

2009-01-05T09:50:00.003-05:00

Suddenly I feel nervous about this upcoming weekend. It's my first ever marathon outside of my comfort zone...

New Year, New Attitude

2009-01-01T19:06:00.005-05:00

New Year's resolution: to qualify for the 2010 NYC Marathon.

Just registered for my second race of 2009. (T -10 days for Walt Disney World Marathon)

Jan 25: Manhattan Half Marathon (Race 1 for 2010 qualifier)

I only need two words to describe my running life this year...

2008-12-30T17:20:00.002-05:00

Sophomore slump.

Got overly ambitious and have paid the price. Mileage was waaay down. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. I sucked this year.

But, on a good note, out of the two races I've managed to eek out, I PRed in one of em. So that's something to be proud of. :)

Anyway, mentally preparing for the challenge that is called WDW. (After my birthday, of course!)

Happy New Year everyone!

I am Bib # 15574

2008-12-23T16:54:00.003-05:00

Got confirmation of my bib # finally. (Okay, it was available for a while, I just didn't get a chance until now to find out!)

You guys can track me here:
http://www.doitsports.com/results/MSG-signup.tcl?sub_event_id=4447

If you decide to, give me a mantra to remember. Gonna need it in the later miles!

Mother Nature

2008-12-20T10:35:00.002-05:00

The snow and freezing rain and slush just fell and fell. There's a partial power outage in my house. Thank goodness it's toward the back of the house and now where my computer is. At least I have internet and TV.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to today's race. I guess this is why Marathons happen in November around here...

Hammer Nutrition, anyone?

2008-12-18T18:04:00.006-05:00

I have a very stable routine for my long runs, which work well for me. But now I wonder if I need to switch it up a bit. Normally I stick to chocolate Gu gels and orange flavored Gatorade, and it works just fine. But I've been reading up on high fructose corn syrup, which is in both products.

Recently I learned about Hammer Nutrition and I'm wondering if I should switch. From what I've tasted so far, it is a lot more palatable, particularly the Orange-Vanilla flavored Perpeteum. It doesn't leave that nasty film in my mouth, which I suspect causes me to ingest more water than I should during the runs. But it does make me feel my head (I don't know how to actually explain the feeling other than that).

I recall about mile 19 last year when I got really light-headed, and I'm wondering if that's from either drinking way too much water (I think I stopped at almost every station), or if it's from the electrolytes situation. I had Chris pass me salty pretzels at that point, which helped my stomach, but this time around I am totally on my own. So even though it's a flatter course, it will be psychologically more difficult.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Does anyone know the difference between the Perpeteum and Sustained Energy? From what I can tell the Sustained Energy has more minerals, but that's about it.

The Running Bucket List

2008-12-16T18:56:00.002-05:00

To anonymous: sorry dude. Not running is not an option. Come hell or high water I'm going to Disney World. Thanks for providing me with more motivation.

In other news, I will be doing the Hot Chocolate 15K on Saturday. Figure I'll tack on the extra mileage after the race since it's easier than running before it. (Central Park is crazy crowded on running days.)

By the way, I have a running bucket list. I always thought just doing NYC would be enough. But so far after reading race reports and stuff, I think I've come up with a good list (not in any order):

• Chicago
• Las Vegas
• Great Wall
• Marine Corps
• Boston (if I ever qualify)

Those are just some that come to mind. I'd need to read more about some others. Any other suggestions?

You can call me the slacker

2008-12-02T22:34:00.002-05:00

I can feel the stress weighing on my shoulders. No, I haven't been running, so I haven't anything new to report. When I signed up for Disney, I never would've imagined how utterly unrealistic it was for me to add training into my schedule at this time of year. This past weekend was the first weekend I've had off in over a month, and I spent it at home getting ready for the holiday show. Been preparing non-stop for this Saturday's big event, working on several freelance projects, working on work, and doing everything else. So much so that I've been getting into stupid tiffs with Chris because I've been neglecting everything else on the homefront.

I feel like several parts of my life are converging and I'm just sooo tired... If I can get through these next two weekends without burning out I'll be happy. Home hunting has been put on hold. I lost about 60% of my life savings so far, so that adds some stress. I need to move out and get myself a serious studio space to tackle the business side of things, but that won't happen until Spring of next year. It's challenging...

On the running front I have a scheduled 20 miler on Sunday. I might be stupid for trying to attempt that distance after not training, but I don't have much of a choice considering how many more days I have until Disney. And I don't want to give up. Even if I have to walk a lot I'll do it. Or else I'm screwed.

Any and all words of encouragement are welcomed.

2008-11-02T09:14:00.004-05:00

I am a sentimental fool. I cried when the opening coverage of the NYC Marathon came on air. (Chris doesn't understand why I was crying, and I guess it's a bit hard to explain.) Will be tracking a few people who is running today. Good luck to all. I hope to be out there next year.

My own long run with Grace yesterday took us to cross a part of the marathon route.

4th Avenue around 68th Street, about the 5k mark on the course

Slight downhill to Owl's Head Park, a bit past mile 5 for us

We mapped out a course that gave us great visuals

Grace takes a quick stretch with downtown Manhattan in the backdrop

Our next visual marker is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Iconic for the start of today's big race

And this is about as close as it gets for us this year

Second to last visual marker before the end. (You can see the Coney Island parachute jump under the sign.)

Grand total for yesterday: 12 miles through 9 different neighborhoods

2008-10-21T10:30:00.002-04:00

I think this past weekend proved how insane it's going to be training during the holidays. I had to postpone my long run until Monday. Thank goodness my workload from the full-time is very light this week.

Back to the run. I aimed for somewhere between 7-9 miles (a combination of the Runner's World rookie plan and the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1), and ended up doing a little over 7. I forgot my second Gu and sorta faded a bit at the end. But on the good side, it was still a good run. My legs felt good, and the new Adidas were wonderful. So much better than the Nike, which made my left foot hurt. I caught a tiny blister for not using Body Glide, but it wasn't anything major. The only thing is that my right hamstring is still nagging me. It's not really hurting, just a constant twinge during the middle of the run to let me know I need to be aware.

From home I headed down to the boardwalks of Coney Island, and double backed when I reached the end of Brighton Beach. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outdoors, sunny enough for me to think about getting a pair of sunglasses. (Suggestions, anyone?) On the way back I practiced longer strides and did a combination of slow-then-fast runs back home to see if I can work on those fast-twitch muscle fibers. (Of course, my version of fast is probably everyone's version of a jog! hahaha!) In all, it was a good run. My knees feel great after warming them up, and my ankles are feeling stronger just from having better sneakers. Today is supposed to be a 4 miler, but I'm switching off to cross train since I'm supposed to meet Grace tomorrow for an after work 6 miler.

2008-10-14T18:10:00.002-04:00

Struggling a bit, Susan, that's all. I feel over-extended. Happy that I'll be attempting #2 in January, but the fact that the heart of the training takes place right when I hit the busiest time of the year... is a bit daunting. I've been meeting up with Grace as usual, and as usual we cover about a mile or so together before I eat her dust. Last weekend's long run fell a bit short. I think I twinged my hamstring trying to correct my stride uphill. That sucked. I think I have shin splints, too. The top of my right calf just hurts. This weekend's long run I'll be wearing the new Microbounce sneakers I bought. (I couldn't find my beloved Gigarides, and this looks like the next generation.)

In other news, Chris and I got the Wii Fit, and it's a whole lotta fun. It doesn't take place of my strength training, but it's fun enough to supplement with the yoga. Genius product, I tell ya.

I'm also getting a bit depressed because all the NYC Marathon ads are out in full force around the city. Is this withdrawal??

2008-10-12T13:24:00.002-04:00

Congratulations, Charlie, Maddy, Petra, and everyone else running Chicago today! You're a real champ! Looking forward to the post race reports!

2008-09-27T18:10:00.006-04:00

So this is my last weekend of silly indulgences before I focus in and begin serious training. (Moon cake, anyone?) A little bit of a late start, but life sometimes get in the way. It's been a bit rough to concentrate since right now I'm sort of living in a messy bubble I call my apartment. I don't want to think about how much work I will have gotten done over the next few months. Holiday season is approaching and I'm starting to feel the brunt of some last minute orders for brides, and several clients have asked for help. From here on out it will be a flurry of activity, not only for my little side business, but for... my other little side businesses. One day I will quit the full time and concentrate fully on what I'm doing now. But for now it's insanity to try to keep a healthy balance. Of course, the thing that suffers the most is the orderliness of this place I lay my head. That and training. But soon, the dishes will be done, and the recyclables taken out. Soon it will be cold and miserable, and I will be on the road counting down the days and racking up the mileage like most of you. Speaking of running, it's amazing to see how toe nails grow back in. I got some fresh gear so I'm ready for the training. I have Disney marked on my map and look forward to X-ing out each workout on my schedule. I look forward to breaking the 6 hour mark and setting a new PB. Damn right, that record is going to fall!

I'm Going to Disney World!!!

2008-09-02T15:31:00.001-04:00

August = Water Sports

2008-08-21T12:39:00.007-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been hella busy this summer. As soon as July was done, I took a vacation with C to St.Thomas and St.John for some much needed R&R. It was the best vacation ever! We took lessons on how to scuba dive (too bad no pics), kayaked, hiked, and snorkeled on a nature preserve, and generally spent our days in the water.

Kayaking in Cas Cay, St. Thomas

After kayaking 1/2 mile, then hiking 1/2 mile, we went snorkeling in the middle of this lagoon.

Since it was a protected reserve, the fishes were friendly and everywhere!

Spent part of our vacation in St. John. This is Trunk Bay, the best beach ever!

Then last weekend we took a white water rafting trip and I had such a fun time even though I fell in and got towed along by the raft. (I still have bruises from my thigh down to my ankles from being dragged on those rocks.) Oh! And one of my toe nails FINALLY fell off. That leaves the two big toe nails, and the left one is very close to separating. (I'll just put it out there: Nike sneakers suck!)

Class II/III rapids on the Lehigh in Jim Thorpe, PA

Now I'm back and it feels like work on all angles is picking up once again. The stationery business is going well, and the event planning business is picking up as well. Not to mention the slew of shows I have on my calendar. Let's hope I have enough time to manage all of this, (especially since I have something called a full-time job).

On a more personal note, I've been getting pretty anxious to buy my first home. Living in NYC the past couple of years I couldn't even afford to look, but now the prices are coming down to a level where I can actually look in decent areas and not be confined to a tiny space. And I can look in areas where there is actually some sort of life! Right now I live across the street from a school, and working from home presents its challenges since I have to tolerate a schoolyard full of screaming kids in the morning, noon and after school. And just when you think summer will be more quiet, they start construction so I hear jack hammers and dump trucks all day!

So as you can see, this post wasn't about running at all... because I haven't been running. I do feel somewhat guilty, but to be honest, I've been so busy planning an exit strategy that I've just about neglected everything else... But hey, I had a great and active August despite not hitting the pavement, and all that swimming help make up for it!

Hope you guys are all doing well!

Gross Toes Post (Beware!)

2008-07-31T17:41:00.007-04:00

By a quick show of hands, (er comments), how may of you have had toe nails fall off from running??

I have, not 1, not 2, but 3 in danger of falling off now. My two big toes, and my right index toe pretty much oozed water from underneath my nail bed. How weird is that?? I was wondering why my toes were feeling so much pressure, and thought I was imaging that they were a different shape. They throbbed for the past several days, but I just attributed it to Sunday's race in new sneakers. Then today when went I went to cut my toe nails, about a cap full of liquid came out from underneath each digit. It's not puss-like or anything. Just semi-clear liquid tinged with blood. And it didn't really hurt. I'd take pics but... I don't wanna gross you guys out, so here's some from the Half!

The "almost there" face.

Can you see me crying here??

Glad I finished!

NYC Half Marathon Race Report

2008-07-27T19:05:00.003-04:00

I pretty much got less than 4 hours sleep, so I was at an energy deficit when I got up this morning. We planned a BBQ the day before. (Chris didn't realize that I had this race the next day when he planned this a month ago.) Our guests left a little after midnight, and thanks to a mosquito that sneaked into our room, I got up at 3:30am, half an hour before my alarm clock.

Toasted an English muffin with a little peanut butter and downed it with a glass of water, then headed out the door at 5:00am. I packed light today, forgoing the bag that came with the racing packet. I didn't want to deal with pick up afterwards so I just took my fuel belt, a bottled water (couldn't find my regular one), and my Nike Sportsband.

It's always amusing to see other runners on a train with non-runners. The non-runners were totally intrigued that the trains were completely packed at 6am on a Sunday. It was like rush hour. The runners just check one another out to see who is wearing what, what their numbers are, and pretty much accompany one another in silence until 86th Street, where most got off. I, along with another group, got off at 96th. The corral system put the slower runners a bit more uptown.

When we got out of the train station it was raining lightly, but it cleared up a bit by the time I got to the corrals. About 6:50am, all the runners slowly moved up and kept moving up until 7am when the gun went off. With over 10,000 runners, it took about 10 minutes before I got to the start line.

The first 3 miles were routine with the exception of it being really humid thanks to the rain. There was a slight cool breeze that helped. The route went clockwise in Central Park, so Mile 4 with Harlem Hill wasn't that bad. I notice a lot of people who zealously sped ahead earlier were now walking, and I silently thanked my training experience because I was able to hit the hill at a steady pace. But early on I felt the presence of an impending cramp that is nagging at my right calf. I didn't try to push too much because the last thing I want is a cramp that stops me from finishing.

Mile 5 I hit my usual stride and felt fully warmed up save the threatening calf twinge. The early morning became overcast so it was bearable. Mile 6 closed the loop and put us back at the start line, and Mile 7 worked its way out of the park into the Carnegie Hall area where I felt the electricity of Times Square open up in front of me and that's always a sight. Somewhere around Mile 8 some volunteers were passing out soaked sponges and I grabbed a couple to cool down my arms and head.

Mile 9 snaked its way from Times Square and headed west to the West Side Highway where the last stretch of the race was. I kept fueled pretty well with Gatorade throughout so I didn't feel too fatigued, but at this point my legs were beginning to feel a bit heavy and that nagging twinge would not go away. My new sneakers and socks didn't feel too good and there were some pressure around my big toes. A tiny blister was beginning to form on my left pinky toe. Mile 9 was one of my least favorite miles. The traffic on the running side is blocked off, but traffic is open heading in the opposite direction and there's always large vans and buses idling because of the traffic jam, causing large plumes of exhaust. I inch as far away as possible without falling off the center of the route. At this point I'm a bit too tired to veer carelessly but I didn't want to smell car pollution.

Turning into the West Side Highway, there was a Samba band dancing and a lady was passing out salt packets so I took one and dumped its contents onto the top of my left hand where my sweat held it in place until I licked it off. Knowing that the hardest part of my race is in front of me, I consciously focused on slow and steady and tried to pick off runners one by one. Those that passed me, I tried to draft off of them. There was a strong head wind along the highway.

Heading into Mile 10 I was fine... that is, until I read this sign that read, "You Inspire." Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the culmination of a very long summer. Reading that affected me big time and I struggled to keep from crying. From there the next two miles was about trying to keep my composure. I felt myself unraveling. It was not unlike last year at Mile 23 when suddenly I felt spent and began crying. It's not something I can make sense out of, but the emotionality of it all certainly drained the rest of my physical energy.

At Mile 11 I put my ipod back on hoping to catch some inspiration song I can focus on to block out what I was feeling, and it helped. Coming into Mile 12 I knew I was really close, so I took off the earphones and focused on passing the runner that's directly in front of me. There were a lot of single runners that I passed at that point, as well as a few that passed me.

The World Trade Center site is next to me, and just like that the 800m to go sign appears. With 400m I burned whatever I had left in the tank to finish strong and cross the finish line 30 seconds over my 3 hour goal. As soon as I crossed the cramp came on and I scooted over to the side to stretch it out. Then went to get my medal, get my chip taken off, and headed into Battery Place in search of an apple and soft ground. Just as I finished off my snack the skies opened up and poured, but of course, I was in no hurry to get up.

Eventually I made my way home, took a shower and took a much deserved nap! Overall I think I did well. I didn't lose too much from being so busy, and at least my time is still consistent. I'm rethinking these sneakers though, because now I have three bruised toes. Also, the Sportsband is waay off. It only registered me running 9.5 miles. Anyway, Grace didn't sneak in a run with me this year, but we talked about Disney in January, so we'll see what happens!

Nike Shox Review

2008-07-14T13:13:00.003-04:00

So I tested out my Nike Shox on Saturday and it is okay. I think it needs a bit more arch support, particularly with my left foot. It's definitely not as comfortable as my Adidas Gigarides, which I absolutely love. I think I'm going to get another pair of it just as a back up. Maybe I just need to put some more miles on it.

The Sport Band is pretty cool. I did a couple of test runs to Coney Island and back, and other than forgetting to press start and pause a couple of times, it's not bad. Very light and comfortable to wear even on humid days with lots of wrist sweat. The Nike homepage is okay, but a bit cumbersome I think. Check out my Nike+Mini:

Today is a strength training day so I don't plan on running, although, if the weather stays this nice and cool in the afternoon, I think I'll head out for a short one.

Regarding Marathons:

I like cooler weather runs and don't do well with humidity. I thought about the Disney one but it's mainly for the Mickey medal and not the warm weather/humidity factors. My friend Grace mentioned San Francisco, and that sounds interesting. But how much more/different do I have to train to go somewhere for a different race? And how do I factor in the traveling? NYM was my very first experience, and since it's in my hometown there was no real traveling involved. We've also considered Hawaii for obvious reasons, but again, the threat of hitting that humid wall makes me think twice.

Some Updates

2008-07-12T09:02:00.004-04:00

I've been working at capacity for the past few months and July has already been fully booked thanks to all the September weddings. Thank goodness the full-time isn't really busy during the summer months.

I started a strength training regime. It's been kicking my butt so far.

Trying to consciously eat more fruits as well. I made some pancakes with fresh blueberries yesterday.

My Nike+ finally came in and after a little finagling got the Sports Band set up. Just waiting to digest a bit of the peanut butter toast I had this morning before I test it out.

Question: Since I won't be running in this year's NYM, I'm contemplating on doing other marathons (preferably in the Jan/Feb 09 time frame). What other marathons would you recommend as a must try?

2008-06-23T22:06:00.004-04:00

You know, I think I may be setting myself up for failure for planning too much. After reading that inspiring story in Runner's World, I think I will have to own up to it and accept that life is what it is. I'm still waiting for my new sneakers to come in so I will be psyched when it does. Other than that, it's what I can, when I can. No more. No less. (Who knows, I may live a happier existence!) Anyway...

In other news, I absolutely love tofu. It's something I can eat pretty much in all forms. It has to do with my upbringing. I practically grew up on it. Fried, baked, steamed, sauteed, stuffed. I also happen to love breakfast. However, eating eggs everyday is not really an option since both my parents have high cholesterol. So I found a recipe that replaces eggs with tofu, and the result - tofu scramble!

No real recipe here. Just some crumble up some firm tofu, heat up in a skillet with some oil, tumeric, cayenne pepper, a bit of parsley, sliced mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. It's actually quite good!

2008-06-14T11:35:00.005-04:00

What a bummer. I tried to apply to run the marathon for charity and was turned down by the American Cancer Society. So then I tried to look for another charity, and found Team in Training, but I will have to commit to raising $7500 in order to run. How am I supposed to do that?? And if I don't raise that amount I'm obligated to contribute that much out of my own pocket!...

This is the point I kick myself in the rear for not finishing that ONE RACE I had left last year to guarantee myself an entry!

I guess I won't be running in the marathon this year. :(((

2008-06-12T20:06:00.004-04:00

So scratching off the first 5 weeks of this training schedule, I did the required 4 miles yesterday. Good news? I did it. Bad news? I did something. My knees hurt. Not the usual hurt, but a "clicking-while-walking-up-and-down-the-stairs" hurt. My left knee isn't too bad. But my right knee. There's this sharp pain inside in the middle of my knee cap... Chris is telling me I need to get knee braces...

I think my old sneakers are kaput, causing this misalignment or something. So I splurged on a brand new pair of custom colored kicks:

And while I was there, I splurged on another gadget:

I wasn't going to buy the Sports Band, but I figured since I was in the market for a watch that kept my pace, that this is the way to go. To be honest, I got this because I have no idea how to read those watches, and this seems idiot proof!

Today was supposed to be a 40 minute tempo run, but I'll hold off until tomorrow to give my knees a breather.

2008-06-11T14:08:00.002-04:00

Haha, I'm so screwed! For some reason I thought the half was far, far away.... I just counted and realized that I only have 6 weeks to get ready for it!

SO... my realistic goal is to finish under 3 hours! WoOt!

Activities this week

2008-06-06T09:30:00.002-04:00

V and I actually did about 6 miles on Monday, and another 4 on Tuesday, so all in all not a bad week. I think the scale the other day was a fluke. That ballooned number was due in part to Sunday's wedding indulgence. I'm back down to "normal" overweight now. (ha!)

Good news: I got into the Nike Half-Marathon.

Bad news: I didn't get chosen for the Marathon. (Missed my guaranteed entry by one race last year.)

I know I can still run via charities. The problem is there are so many charities I want to run for, but I can only pick one.

Planning to rest today and do a long run tomorrow, head back up to Prospect Park and reintroduce myself to hills. I sort of miss them!

2008-06-02T15:40:00.002-04:00

I stepped on the scale just now... and I am HORRIFIED! ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED! I can't believe how much I've let myself go. I've broken a new record, and it's not one to that I'm proud of.

*sigh*

I've officially become a fat person...

Meeting up with V today so do 5 around the shore...

I'm still alive... barely!

2008-05-29T01:40:00.003-04:00

I know... I'm so ashamed. I can't keep up!

Been incredibly busy with the stationery stuff. Getting my feet wet selling at outdoor markets, and have been preparing for the next one, which is Saturday... I (snuck away from "work" today and) sent out two wedding invitation orders, with two more in queue that needs to be printed and packaged, and about six in various stages of communicating with the clients...

I also have two small businesses queued in various stages of branding design for them. (I've been slacking on the communications there...) And another one that is asking me to take on redesigning their entire store...

Work is a killer at the moment. Deadlines and more deadlines...

On top of that I've been sick for the past several weeks. It's gotten so bad one week that I couldn't sleep at all. Kept waking up in the middle of the night hacking and wheezing. Boy was I miserable. Now the poor boyfriend is sick hacking his lungs out. I'm telling you, this is one aggressive bug.

Oh yeah, and we're trying to take advantage of the down market, and have been searching for some real estate. (Of course, even with this economy, finding affordable housing in NYC is like searching for a needle in a haystack!)

Grace and I totally skipped out on the Brooklyn Half. We both contemplated doing it, but 13.1 miles isn't something you can just decide to do. At least not for me. As guilty as I felt, I knew I made the right decision. There will always be another one.

I do look forward to running again. The weather has been getting nice and warm. I need to buy new sneakers. In fact, I'll do that first thing so I can motivate my now 20lbs heavier ass! hahaha! (<-- that was a pity laugh.) At least I got in over 5 miles of walking on Monday, and a couple of miles today...

So how have you guys been?

New Personal Best!!!

2008-03-30T13:10:00.003-04:00

Distance: 10K
Weather: 37º
Humidity: 25%
Wind: 8mph

I am so psyched!!! I did the Scotland 10K today and I broke my own personal best by 1:05!!!

I was a bit trepidacous being that this was my first official race of the year. (And really it was my first long run since my schedule was pretty nuts.) I had some doubts as to how well I could do, and I figured I'll go slow and push if I felt like I had it. Grace and I met up at the bag check and jogged our way to the starting line. But once the race started, I fell into a nice groove. It was a bit chilly and I was glad to be wearing two base layers under the wind jacket.

As usuall Grace tried to keep my pace but she has a thing for hills and blasted off after the first mile. I chugged along and popped in my new ipod shuffle, (a motivation gift from Chris to start running again).

The course was one entire loop around Central Park, a loop that I knew well. We went clockwise, so Harlem Hill was downhill. After warming into my stride for the first two miles I felt really good and decided to pay attention to the tree tops and little else. The upbeat music I selected helped as well. At mile 3 downed a Gu, and that buoyed me all the way to mile 5 where I forced myself to go faster on the downhills and not slow down on the uphills.

At that point I told myself to go faster if I can and sped up until I rounded the last curve. The finish line coincidentally was placed where the NYM finish line was, so that helped. I had Paula Radcliffe on my mind as I hauled as fast as I could manage. When I saw the time at mile 6, I thought there would be a slight chance that I'd break my record so I left it all on the course and hauled butt to the finish.

Came home just now to see what my time was I am estatic! My new 10K PB is now 1:14:48. Man I am sooo happy! What a great first race of the year!

New Requirements for NYC Marathon

2008-03-04T16:36:00.002-05:00

Wow, they changed the marathon requirements. So now, instead of just doing the pre-requisite 9 races to get guaranteed entry, you must volunteer for a race as well. Actually, it's a good thing! I always appreciated the people who passed out water, lined us up, etc.

2008-03-01T14:38:00.002-05:00

I did some strength training today, a much needed thing. My knees feel weird. Maybe it's all the inaction and then recent activity...

5lb weights are my friend (I have to keep telling myself that.) Succumbed to a DVD purchase. Heck if I'm going to make use of staying at home, I might as well get some fresh moves. Plus I won't feel so self-conscious as I would in a gym class so it's $12.95 well-spent!

On the freelance end, I have 3 wedding invitation orders to complete. Hopefully I'll get one out by Monday. I think I've come to accept that working from home means more work, just less traveling.

Okay, time for a healthy lunch!

2008-02-29T23:07:00.003-05:00

I braved the freezing cold today and ran 2.6 miles. Not too shabby. Only thing I need to do is make sure I'm fully warmed up before really pounding the pavement. Otherwise that winter air is pretty bad for the knees. Still feeling the effects right now.

Peter is right. My work won't crumble if I take some time out for myself. And I felt a lot better after afterwards. I think the silent motivation working its way back in, especially after listening to the Extra Mile Podcast, and realizing I'm not alone when it comes to getting motivated and going a little insane during the winter months. So, after sending in the latest report to the editor for revision I snuck away from the computer, and took to my usual path and did 5 second sprints in between jogging.

Sometime next month I'll see about getting a heart monitor/pacer thing. You know what's been bothering me? That 59 seconds on my finisher's certificate. Hmm... I may have a new goal this year: Under 6 hours.

What did I do on this extra day?

2008-02-27T18:24:00.001-05:00

I'm keeping a food journal to see if I'm eating right. It's interesting to see how many little things just add up. Note to self. Cut bagels in half from now on, until I start running regularly again. Those things are killers!

New Territory

2008-02-25T10:55:00.005-05:00

I didn't make any real resolutions this year. Let's face it; after last years seemingly impossible one accomplished, everything else is too small... Or so I thought.

I'm currently in new territory here, folks. What happens after reaching such a high that's buoyed me for the past few months? I came crashing back down. I hit a low. A real low. Along with the self-congratulatory indulgences came the reality of the situation at hand. I completely stopped exercising. I took my allowances of chocolate and eating carbs way too far. And all that wonderful weight that left me came back with a vengeance. I hopped on the scale today and cringed. My weight is now heavier than pre-marathon training. I've developed this donut in the middle from being at the desk the entire day. And what I didn't even realize is that I've lost out on two hours of traveling time. Commuting time that gets me walking to the train station blocks away, then blocks again when I transfer to make my way midtown. Rush hour helped me maintain my weight. But now that my office is literally steps from my bed. I'm feeling a bit lost. Yep, new territory indeed.

Today I went on the step machine for 15 minutes before I went to the "office." I'm going to break for a few more 15 throughout the day. Manageable chunks that I can handle in between the work day. Yesterday I did chair dips and for my triceps, and today I did planks. I'm also going to run to the post office later, and take a scenic route home so I can get in at least a couple miles.

I thought making the transition to working at home would be a lot easier than this. Now I realize I have to make it work for my body as much as I can.

Oh, and by the way, I'm going to make it official. I will be running in this year's marathon.

2008-02-22T09:43:00.002-05:00

"Spirit of the Marathon" was amazing! Four of us went t see it and I was completely choked up throughout. It was such a wonderful documentary on the trials of training and pushing through. Brought back so many memories for me, and reminded me of all the nuances of training. The roar of the crowds at the race, the signs, and the finish. The finish. I bawled because I remember bawling my eyes out when I crossed the line.

It was also nice to be able to see it with Grace, especially since we trained together so we knew. It's so true like someone said in the movie, you start off with one and you think that's it, but then you start thinking, what if I trained harder, what if... And then you begin to think about other ones. So I need to rebuild a base since it's been a while, but come March after my show Grace and I will try to get back into it!

2008-02-21T17:25:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty excited. Tonight I get to check out "Spirit of the Marathon" encore. Tried to catch it when it first came out but it was sold out by the time I tried to get tickets. Should be fun.

Grace, who was my training partner over the summer, will be there as well. I can't believe I haven't seen her since the day of the marathon! Anyway, I think this will get both of our butts into gear, as we have fallen into the work and winter slump over the past few months.

She asked me if I was planning on doing it this year, and I told her I am. I missed out on my qualifying 9 for a guaranteed placement, but I still have the lottery, and if all else fails, I'll join a charity.

So... What is my goal for this year? Getting rid of the 59 seconds from last year's time to hit 6:00:00 (or dare I even think 5:59:59?!) That's right, baby!

2008-02-19T16:40:00.004-05:00

Wow, thanks all! (If only you can see the sheepish grin that's on my face. I'm rather embarrassed at that little burst of pitifulness there...)

You guys are so right. I did needed the rest. And I do need to get back into gear...

So, I signed up for two races:
March 30 - 10K Scotland Run
April 26 - Brooklyn Grand Prix (Half)

I figure it will be the motivation I need to jump start my legs again!

2008-02-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

I feel like I should close this blog. I haven't been running. So I shouldn't have a running journal. Maybe it's the cold. Or maybe I'm just so damn lazy that I can't seem to get out of the house. I don't think it helps now that I'll be working from home most days. Man, I need some serious motivation.

Short Run

2008-01-27T01:10:00.000-05:00

Short run today. 2.5 miles in a cold, cold day. I haven't run since the big one, so I had to slowly get back into it. Not bad. Not good, but not bad. :)

2008-01-13T14:32:00.001-05:00

Anyone going to watch Spirit of the Marathon?
Watching the preview made me tear up just now.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

Okay so... I'm a little late. But hey, it was also my birthday so I have the right to be hung over. Hope you guys celebrated and had yourself a little bubbly. You deserve it for working so hard in 2007!

Time to start fresh. Fresh legs, fresh new attitude!

I ran yesterday.... to the post office 2/3 mile away... hahahaha... Hey, it's been a while.

Happy 2008!

What was the turning point?

2007-12-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

This morning I took a quick break from work and walked to the post office to get some stuff mailed out. On the way out, I saw these two guys using the steps of the post office to do some stretching before they continued their run. It was below freezing today with the wind chill factored in. Their cheeks were flushed red. But their laughter was unmistakable. I was instantly jealous.

Then I realized that I consciously decided to take a little break from running. After all, I just spent a good part of last week in bed nursing what was a really nasty cold, which no doubt was caused by the high intensity work load I get about this time of year. (The past two weeks of crisis management at work didn't help much either.)

I can't believe how much I actually miss it. I remember last week as I listened to my first running podcast, listening to Marathon Chris and how she deals with being a mother, flying to different states to work AND still find time to run.. AND podcasting while she's running! It made me think about my own turning point. Suffice it to say that I can't even put myself anywhere near the level of MC, but still, we all have that defining moment we can recall.

I think mine came around 2005 during the first Nike Run Hit Wonder race. At the time it was for pure bragging rights. A few of my friends did it and I place 19 seconds behind my friend John. (He's tall and skinny and younger than me.) But it didn't stop there. From a partial friendly competition, it fell away to a test of self-determination. I signed up for Road Runners that year and started entering races.

Running shorter races was one thing. But training for endurance became something much more. I waged inner battles with my conscience. I told myself I hated running and recalled the days in HS when I skipped out on the runs and just did the field events. But somehow, the other part of me asked what if. What if? What if I ran those nine races to qualify for the NYCM? What if I actually decided to do it? The what ifs turned me on. As this year wore on it was more about battling my inner demons. I was in competition with myself and no one else.

The problem with completing the marathon now, is that, I'm actually at a lost for what I'm going to do for a New Year's resolution. For the past five, it's been steady steps toward this goal. And now that I'm done. I feel like... What next?

Okay, I think I babbled on long enough. I think once the wind dies down and all that ice melts from the pavement, I'm going to strap on my running shoes and go for a quick run. It's time to get back into familiar territory!

2007-12-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. I must admit, December is the worst time for me in terms of the amount of work I have. On top of this little stationery venture AND some freelancing on the side, I'm pretty tired by the time I get to bed. Not to mention I've been fighting a bug for the past week, and it pretty much took over these past couple of days.

I also feel guilty as it has been well over a month now since my last run. I signed up for several races after the marathon but I just haven't had the time and energy to make it. I felt bad because GP text messaged me AT one of the races we were supposed to do together. And I completely forgot about it!!!

What makes it interesting though, is that I have not made my requirements for a guaranteed entry for next year's marathon. Part of a conscious decision to make myself do it for charity. But I WILL run next year, and it will be for a good cause and not just for myself.

So that's really about it. I've been MIA and will probably lay low until January. Do I itch to run? Yes. But I'm waiting for some good sales so I can get a brand new pair of running shoes! (Lame excuse, I know!)

2007-11-21T13:10:00.001-05:00

OMG OMG OMG!! I WANT TO RUN THIS!!!

http://www.great-wall-marathon.com

More Marathon Pics

2007-11-12T12:36:00.001-05:00

The aerial view of the start...

I believe this was somewhere right before Queens...

Because I still had energy to wave...

Last stretch before the park, no more gear, just me...

Check out the look of determination...

Oh right, raise my hands at the finish...

Finally!...

It's official!

I ponied up the $45 to get a print of that last photo. Gonna make myself a shadow box with the racing number, medal and chip (which I decided to keep as a souvenir). Funny I saw someone on the train this morning who still had it attached to her shoe.

Tagged by Peter to do a meme

2007-11-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

What the heck is a meme?? Anywho... I got tagged by Peter. You want random and weird facts? No problem, I got plenty!

Here are the Rules:
• Link to your tagger, and post these rules on your blog.
• Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
• Tag 5 people at the end of your post by their names and links to their blogs.
• Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

My Random facts:

I sell stationery when not slaving away in the corporate world. Want to see my designs? Go to my stationery shop here.
I'm an internet junkie. I probably have a home page on every social network there is.
I am a professional gift wrapper during the holidays. I've gift wrapped for celebrities and companies alike. I've been on shows and have done gift wraps for photo shoots, movies, television shows, magazines and catalogs. Wanna see? (Haven't been updated in ages!) Click here.
If I could survive on coffee and chocolate I would. To me it's like two of nature's most perfect foods.
I am a cat whisperer. There is no cat I can't handle. Could be the fact that I was born year of the tiger.

Random and weird enough for ya?

You know, this weekend is the first weekend where I won't have a long run. Next race is on the 18th and it's only 4 miles so no real need to prepare. Wow. Did I just say that?! hehehe...

Let's see. I tag the following people:

Susan- http://irunformylife.blogspot.com/
Morsey - http://morseyruns.blogspot.com/
(Whoa, what's your name Road Warrior??) http://www.phillytolaonfoot.com/
Shirley - http://humbletriathlete.blogspot.com/
Maddy - http://thirteen-point-one.blogspot.com/
Charlie I'd tag you but Peter already did the honors!

Can't wait to read all your facts!