I have finally gotten around to re-capping each day of our trip to NYC. If you're interested, the posts are here:
Day 1 - The awesome Expo and Top of the Rock
The Swag - Because I know you wanna see it!
Day 3 (Since Day 2 was the marathon and you've already read about that!) - 9/11 Memorial and Brooklyn
Day 4 - Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, endless meanderings and the Guggenheim
Day 5 - Central Park
Showing posts with label NYC Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC Marathon. Show all posts
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
NYC - Day 5
I was so sad to reach the final day of our trip, but I was also excited about seeing the kids!
One of the things we didn’t get to see that was on my list was Highline Park. We thought this might be a good thing to check out in the morning before our flight. However, we decided to save it for the next trip and head to Central Park. Joseph had never seen the “Imagine” mosaic in Strawberry Fields, and well, Central Park just seemed like a very NYC thing to do. Originally, I wanted to squeeze in a run through Central Park before we left, but to be honest, Central Park is kinda hilly and my quads weren’t quite up to that yet. So we walked. And walked. And walked. The Hubby was getting a little grumpy and wanted some coffee, so thanks to his Starbucks iphone app, we found the nearest location and headed over.
Next, it was time to head back to the apartment, gather our luggage and go to the airport. But, I had one more thing to do - the day before, we realized that we had access to the roof of our apartment building. I wanted to see the view up there before we left.
Before heading to LaGuardia, we stopped at the corner pizza shop again for one last slice of NY-style pizza (complete with a paper plate) . Ah, our trip to the Big Apple had come full circle back to where our trip had first begun. I love NYC – I love the noise, the massive amounts of people, the history, the food – I love it all. Once again NYC was a great host and we had an amazing time. We’ll be back…maybe not for the marathon, but WE WILL BE BACK!
One of the things we didn’t get to see that was on my list was Highline Park. We thought this might be a good thing to check out in the morning before our flight. However, we decided to save it for the next trip and head to Central Park. Joseph had never seen the “Imagine” mosaic in Strawberry Fields, and well, Central Park just seemed like a very NYC thing to do. Originally, I wanted to squeeze in a run through Central Park before we left, but to be honest, Central Park is kinda hilly and my quads weren’t quite up to that yet. So we walked. And walked. And walked. The Hubby was getting a little grumpy and wanted some coffee, so thanks to his Starbucks iphone app, we found the nearest location and headed over.
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| Here's my favorite picture from Central Park |
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| A view of The Dakota apartments where John Lennon lived. Yes, I am a Beatles fan! |
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| Imagine...Love this! |
Next, it was time to head back to the apartment, gather our luggage and go to the airport. But, I had one more thing to do - the day before, we realized that we had access to the roof of our apartment building. I wanted to see the view up there before we left.
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| One of the views from the roof of our apartment building |
Before heading to LaGuardia, we stopped at the corner pizza shop again for one last slice of NY-style pizza (complete with a paper plate) . Ah, our trip to the Big Apple had come full circle back to where our trip had first begun. I love NYC – I love the noise, the massive amounts of people, the history, the food – I love it all. Once again NYC was a great host and we had an amazing time. We’ll be back…maybe not for the marathon, but WE WILL BE BACK!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
The NYC Swag
I just had to post this...
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| This is the swag from the Expo...pretty good, huh? |
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| And the finisher's swag! (I bought the shirt, it's not a freebie) |
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| And, the BLING! |
NYC - Day 4
The Sister in law and brother in law were leaving this morning. :-( The hubby and I had tickets to see The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island…very touristy outings, but hey, we’re tourists, right? Besides, neither of us had seen either up close.
I have to say, I am so happy we decided to see both – I loved learning all about what went into building the Statue of Liberty and the fundraising campaign that went into the US being able to build the base for Lady Liberty. Plus, the views of Manhattan were amazing from this vantage point, too. Ellis Island was incredibly interesting. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like to come to the US from another country, not knowing the language and in some cases, not knowing anyone here. The stories about families being reunited (or in some cases not, due to health issues) were touching.
After our tours, we decided to walk around a bit and visit TriBeCa and some other areas. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to try to catch a show that evening or check out one of the museums. In the couple of times I’ve been to NYC, I’ve never been to any of the museums. We decided to wander around a little more, grab some lunch and then check out the Guggenheim. The Gugg is a smaller than say, the Museum of Natural History, so we figured it be a good one to see by the time we ate lunch and check out some other places, it would be getting late. We ate lunch at a place in SoHo called Divas. I was also on a mission to find at least one of the cupcakes places on my list, so we headed to the West Village and went to Sweet Revenge. At the recommendation of the not so friendly girl at the counter, I chose a Pumpkin Spice cupcake. It was divine! Sweet Revenge is on a slightly edgier street and the location used to be a record shop (you know, as in vinyl). And, we happened upon Molly’s cupcakes right around the corner, so naturally, we had to stop there as well. Molly’s was a super cute shop, with super cute cupcakes in a wide array of flavors, so I chose a mini-Kaluha cupcake and the Ron-Bennington. Both were yummy, but I still think Sweet Revenge had the better cupcake – moist cake, delicious icing and just amazing flavor on both. Yum!
After getting our cupcakes, we headed back to the apartment to drop them off and headed to the Guggenheim. I’ll admit, I wanted to go to the Gugg just as much for the architecture as I did for the art. I enjoyed seeing the Kandinsky exhibit and the Pop Objects and Icons exhibit, but the Maurizio Cattelan exhibit was just a bit odd for my taste. Once we finished at the Gugg, we headed back to the apartment to freshen up for dinner…and hold onto your hats, we had MEXICAN for dinner. We swore we’d never eat Mexican food or Barbeque in NYC. (If you’re from Texas, you understand.) But we went between steak and Mexican and somehow, Mexican won…maybe it was the reviewer’s promise of a great margarita? Dinner was not quite Tex-Mex like we’re used to, but it was really good. And the margarita’s…well, they were delicious! It was the perfect way to end the day. Well that, and a little more shopping for the kiddos.
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| Yes, I am acting like a tourist and taking pictures on the subway. |
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| Starbucks in hand...that's how I roll. |
I have to say, I am so happy we decided to see both – I loved learning all about what went into building the Statue of Liberty and the fundraising campaign that went into the US being able to build the base for Lady Liberty. Plus, the views of Manhattan were amazing from this vantage point, too. Ellis Island was incredibly interesting. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like to come to the US from another country, not knowing the language and in some cases, not knowing anyone here. The stories about families being reunited (or in some cases not, due to health issues) were touching.
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| I think this is my favorite picture of the Statue of Liberty..I can certainly see why she's called "Liberty Enlightening the World". |
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| I was amazed at how beautiful the building on Ellis Island was. |
After our tours, we decided to walk around a bit and visit TriBeCa and some other areas. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to try to catch a show that evening or check out one of the museums. In the couple of times I’ve been to NYC, I’ve never been to any of the museums. We decided to wander around a little more, grab some lunch and then check out the Guggenheim. The Gugg is a smaller than say, the Museum of Natural History, so we figured it be a good one to see by the time we ate lunch and check out some other places, it would be getting late. We ate lunch at a place in SoHo called Divas. I was also on a mission to find at least one of the cupcakes places on my list, so we headed to the West Village and went to Sweet Revenge. At the recommendation of the not so friendly girl at the counter, I chose a Pumpkin Spice cupcake. It was divine! Sweet Revenge is on a slightly edgier street and the location used to be a record shop (you know, as in vinyl). And, we happened upon Molly’s cupcakes right around the corner, so naturally, we had to stop there as well. Molly’s was a super cute shop, with super cute cupcakes in a wide array of flavors, so I chose a mini-Kaluha cupcake and the Ron-Bennington. Both were yummy, but I still think Sweet Revenge had the better cupcake – moist cake, delicious icing and just amazing flavor on both. Yum!
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| This is "The Sphere". It was once sitting between the Twin Towers, but after the 9/11 attacks it was salvaged and now sits in Battery Park. |
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| This is Occupy Wall Street. It's not as big as it looks on TV. I will say nothing else on this topic. |
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| Strolling around TriBeCa..too bad we didn't run into Bobby DeNiro! |
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| Heavenly cupcakes from Sweet Revenge in the West Village! |
After getting our cupcakes, we headed back to the apartment to drop them off and headed to the Guggenheim. I’ll admit, I wanted to go to the Gugg just as much for the architecture as I did for the art. I enjoyed seeing the Kandinsky exhibit and the Pop Objects and Icons exhibit, but the Maurizio Cattelan exhibit was just a bit odd for my taste. Once we finished at the Gugg, we headed back to the apartment to freshen up for dinner…and hold onto your hats, we had MEXICAN for dinner. We swore we’d never eat Mexican food or Barbeque in NYC. (If you’re from Texas, you understand.) But we went between steak and Mexican and somehow, Mexican won…maybe it was the reviewer’s promise of a great margarita? Dinner was not quite Tex-Mex like we’re used to, but it was really good. And the margarita’s…well, they were delicious! It was the perfect way to end the day. Well that, and a little more shopping for the kiddos.
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| The Guggenheim |
Friday, November 18, 2011
NYC - Day 3
I am skipping day 2, because you’ve already read about my race day. I will say that after the race I was nauseous for a little while, but eventually felt good enough to go out to dinner. We went to this amazing little Italian place right down the street from our apartment, then followed up dinner with drinks at another local place.
On day 3 (Monday), I felt pretty darn good. Sure I was sore, but once I started moving, I was fine. The worst part was going down the subway stairs. Up was fine, down was HELL. We had 10 am tickets for the 9/11 Memorial, so I woke up around 6 am and headed over to Central Park where the NYCM finisher’s gear was being sold. While waiting to get into the tent, I ran into Vincent, our French friend we met before the race. He had finished in 4:30-something and was feeling great. It was great swapping war stories about the race. Finally, we were allowed to go into the tent….OMG, there was some great stuff and I had a hard time deciding what to buy! I ended up getting the short sleeve official finisher’s tech shirt, a long sleeve finisher’s tee (to wear with jeans) and a sweatshirt (great for after an OWS before the weather warms up), and a NYCM baseball cap for the Hubby. Lots of folks were wearing their medals, so when I got back to the apartment, I made sure to put mine on.
Next, we headed to the 9/11 Memorial. Among all the hustle and bustle of the financial district, the mood for those of us waiting to enter was rather somber. We arrived about 30 minutes early and were allowed in only after going through all kinds of security and ticket checks. The memorial is beautiful. As you’ve seen on TV, there is water cascading down into the ground and the mist from the water caught the morning sunlight just right, making it even more gorgeous. In the shallow pools of water, you can see the reflection of the buildings surrounding the memorial. There are two of these waterfalls, each one sitting in the footprint of where each of the twin towers stood. We walked slowly around each one, reading the names, recognizing a few of them from interviews we’ve seen over the years. The most moving thing to me was seeing a woman’s name etched on the stone followed by “and her unborn child”. Ugh, it still tugs at my heart, as there were many of these. The story about how these names are arranged is amazing and touching. Another amazing thing was seeing the one and only tree that survived the 9/11 attacks…it is now planted among the trees on the memorial grounds and has an amazing survival story as well.
After seeing the Memorial, we went to see this FDNY Memorial Wall near “FDNY Ten House”. FDNY Ten House is directly across from the WTC site and this station was among the first responders on 9/11. FDNY Ten House lost 6 fire fighters on that day. Afterwards, we walked over to the 9/11 Memorial Visitors center and saw some items on display and bought a few souvenirs – since my Brother-in-Law is a firefighter and the Hubby is a police officer, they wanted to take back a few things to their peeps back home.
Well, nothing can bring you out of a somber state like NY-style pizza and we wanted the real deal, so we headed to Brooklyn! We got a little turned around after our subway ride, but eventually found Grimaldi’s. There was a wait, but it was well worth it. Now, we do have a Grimaldi’s not far from our house in TX, but the ambiance at the Brooklyn location just oozes NY and we loved it! After stuffing ourselves eating lunch, we headed over to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Company and indulged in dessert. Yeah, this isn’t something I’d normally do, but hell, I just ran 26.2 freaking miles the day before! (See I can justify any dessert!) We took our ice cream over to the East River, where there’s a great park and just admired the view of Manhattan. Then, we trekked over the Brooklyn Bridge to get back to Manhattan…hey, gotta work off some of that pizza and ice cream! Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge has been on my “to-do list” since our trip there in 2003. And, it was one of the highlights of my trip! The views from the bridge are amazing and you can just feel the history of this mammoth structure. I loved it.
Next, we were supposed to go see a live taping of David Letterman, but we got a little carried away in Brooklyn that we missed it. Doh! Instead, we walked over to SoHo and Chinatown…to me, part of enjoying NYC is just walking the streets and soaking it all in.
Later, the Hubby and I headed to Times Square to meet up with my Jersey friend, Jenn and her awesome hubby and adorable daughter for dinner. This is going to sound weird, but I met Jenn on-line on a mommy-type discussion board way back when I was pregnant with the Kiddo. Jenn and I have been “friends” for all these years, but we had never met in person. Until now. It was so awesome finally getting to meet! After dinner, we did a little shopping at the Disney Store for the kiddos and called it a day. It was an incredible day!
On day 3 (Monday), I felt pretty darn good. Sure I was sore, but once I started moving, I was fine. The worst part was going down the subway stairs. Up was fine, down was HELL. We had 10 am tickets for the 9/11 Memorial, so I woke up around 6 am and headed over to Central Park where the NYCM finisher’s gear was being sold. While waiting to get into the tent, I ran into Vincent, our French friend we met before the race. He had finished in 4:30-something and was feeling great. It was great swapping war stories about the race. Finally, we were allowed to go into the tent….OMG, there was some great stuff and I had a hard time deciding what to buy! I ended up getting the short sleeve official finisher’s tech shirt, a long sleeve finisher’s tee (to wear with jeans) and a sweatshirt (great for after an OWS before the weather warms up), and a NYCM baseball cap for the Hubby. Lots of folks were wearing their medals, so when I got back to the apartment, I made sure to put mine on.
Next, we headed to the 9/11 Memorial. Among all the hustle and bustle of the financial district, the mood for those of us waiting to enter was rather somber. We arrived about 30 minutes early and were allowed in only after going through all kinds of security and ticket checks. The memorial is beautiful. As you’ve seen on TV, there is water cascading down into the ground and the mist from the water caught the morning sunlight just right, making it even more gorgeous. In the shallow pools of water, you can see the reflection of the buildings surrounding the memorial. There are two of these waterfalls, each one sitting in the footprint of where each of the twin towers stood. We walked slowly around each one, reading the names, recognizing a few of them from interviews we’ve seen over the years. The most moving thing to me was seeing a woman’s name etched on the stone followed by “and her unborn child”. Ugh, it still tugs at my heart, as there were many of these. The story about how these names are arranged is amazing and touching. Another amazing thing was seeing the one and only tree that survived the 9/11 attacks…it is now planted among the trees on the memorial grounds and has an amazing survival story as well.
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| The names of the 1st responders...and the names go on and on and on... |
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| The Memorial...I love the mist and the way the surrounding buildings reflect in the pools of water. |
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| The "and her unborn child". So sad. |
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| The little tree that could. This pear tree was originally in the WTC plaza before. After the 9/11 attacks in was planted in a park in the Bronx and finally ended up back in the WTC plaza. |
After seeing the Memorial, we went to see this FDNY Memorial Wall near “FDNY Ten House”. FDNY Ten House is directly across from the WTC site and this station was among the first responders on 9/11. FDNY Ten House lost 6 fire fighters on that day. Afterwards, we walked over to the 9/11 Memorial Visitors center and saw some items on display and bought a few souvenirs – since my Brother-in-Law is a firefighter and the Hubby is a police officer, they wanted to take back a few things to their peeps back home.
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| The bronze NYFD memorial |
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| A picture of each of the Firefighters who died on 9/11. |
Well, nothing can bring you out of a somber state like NY-style pizza and we wanted the real deal, so we headed to Brooklyn! We got a little turned around after our subway ride, but eventually found Grimaldi’s. There was a wait, but it was well worth it. Now, we do have a Grimaldi’s not far from our house in TX, but the ambiance at the Brooklyn location just oozes NY and we loved it! After stuffing ourselves eating lunch, we headed over to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Company and indulged in dessert. Yeah, this isn’t something I’d normally do, but hell, I just ran 26.2 freaking miles the day before! (See I can justify any dessert!) We took our ice cream over to the East River, where there’s a great park and just admired the view of Manhattan. Then, we trekked over the Brooklyn Bridge to get back to Manhattan…hey, gotta work off some of that pizza and ice cream! Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge has been on my “to-do list” since our trip there in 2003. And, it was one of the highlights of my trip! The views from the bridge are amazing and you can just feel the history of this mammoth structure. I loved it.
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| Me and my sister-in-law on the subway headed to Brooklyn |
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| Grimaldi's, yum!!! |
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| The awesomeness that is the Brooklyn Bridge! |
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| Me and the Hubs near the East River |
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| My coffee ice cream. Nom, nom, nom! |
Next, we were supposed to go see a live taping of David Letterman, but we got a little carried away in Brooklyn that we missed it. Doh! Instead, we walked over to SoHo and Chinatown…to me, part of enjoying NYC is just walking the streets and soaking it all in.
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| The streets of SoHo |
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| Chinatown...where women walk up and whisper, "Prada, Dolce & Gabbana handbag?" |
Later, the Hubby and I headed to Times Square to meet up with my Jersey friend, Jenn and her awesome hubby and adorable daughter for dinner. This is going to sound weird, but I met Jenn on-line on a mommy-type discussion board way back when I was pregnant with the Kiddo. Jenn and I have been “friends” for all these years, but we had never met in person. Until now. It was so awesome finally getting to meet! After dinner, we did a little shopping at the Disney Store for the kiddos and called it a day. It was an incredible day!
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| Times Square...overstimulation for the eyes and ears! |
Thursday, November 17, 2011
NYC - Day 1
I was really nervous about flying in the day before the marathon. What if the flight was delayed? What if there was horrible weather? What if I didn’t get to pick up my packet? Fortunately, everything went smoothly and our flight into LaGuardia was about 15 minutes early!
We gathered our luggage..at this point, I didn’t care if it arrived, I had all my race gear stuffed into my carry-on, and we grabbed a cab and arrived at our apartment in record time. It was lunchtime and we were both starving, so we had time to grab a slice of pizza before heading over to the expo.
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| This is our little apartment in Grammercy Park...it was fun and different to stay here rather than in a hotel. We loved it! |
Some pictures from the Expo...
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| Welcome! So Exciting! |
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| Love this! |
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| Meeting Marshall Ulrich...I also met his wife. They were both awesome! |
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| Meeting Dean Karnarzes (aka Karno)! I wish I would have thought up some good questions for him about his crazy long ultras! |
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| Me with Liz Robbins...I probably scared her the way I went on and on about her book. Here I think she is telling me not to worry about the hills Central Park, but I still did. |
We spent about an hour and a half (and a lot of money) checking out the expo, then headed over to Rockefeller Center to meet up with my Sister-in-Law and Brother-in-Law and head to tthe "Top of the Rock". The “Top of the Rock” is an observation deck, sorta like going to the top of the Empire State Building, but you have a better view of Central Park and you have a view of the Empire State Building. The views were amazing and we took a ton of pics. The history behind the Rockefeller is interesting as well, and I am a sucker for this historical stuff!
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| Me and the Hubs at the "Top of the Rock" |
Once we were done ooohhhing and aaahhhing over the views, I connected with my Woodlands Fit peep, RunnerC, and we met for dinner. No carb loading for us! RunnerC swears by hamburgers the day before a race, so we headed over to Le Parker Meridian for burgers behind the secret curtain. My nephew ate there and swears they are the best burgers ever, so we figured we'd try it. He was right, they burgers were good…maybe not awesomely spectacular, but very good. We wanted to try the burgers at The Shake Shack too, but never had a chance.
After dinner, the hubby, SIL and BIL wanted to check out Little Italy. I am always up for a cannoli, so we hopped on the subway and headed there. I probably walked a little more than I should have, but it was all good. As it approached 9 pm, I decided to call it a night. (Technically, with the time change, it was really 8 pm.) I went back to the apartment to get everything ready for the next day (and checkout all the swag from the Expo), while the rest of the gang went to a neighborhood restaurant (with large TVs) to watch football. I stressed about what time to set my alarm clock for, because of the time change and eventually just decided to stop stressing and go to bed took me awhile to really get to sleep, but I finally did….I woke up about 40 times to go to the bathroom. Not sure what that was about, maybe nerves? Before I knew it, it was time to wake up!!!
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| The Empire State Building all lit up with the ING NYC Marathon colors! I love how the entire city of NY gets into this event! |
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Random thoughts from the NYCM...
Just a few things I forgot to add to the race report (as if it wasn't long enough)!
Like a lot of other races I've run, spectators hold up some pretty funny signs. I had seen some of these before, but they still made me smile. Here are some I saw during the race (may favs are at the bottom):
My favorites:
That's it for now. I will post some re-caps and pictures of our time in NYC next week!
So, what funny signs have you seen at races? Weird costumes? Anything else?Thursday, November 10, 2011
NYC Marathon
Well, it's done and I am super happy with the results! I FINALLY became a member of the sub-5 club. For some you folks out there, a sub 5 is nothing...but for a mid to back of the pack runner like me, it's a big accomplishment.
I'll be honest, before the broken toe incident I had some pretty lofty goals for NYC. But since I didn't start my training again until July, and I decided run fewer days in order to train for one more triathlon, I had to adjust those goals a bit. Not to mention that the hill training I intended to add to my workouts just didn't happen thanks to my work schedule...well, life happens and you adjust. But, I knew that I had been training consistently, I did my speedwork like a good girl and all of my long runs were under an 11:30 pace (slightly). Given some decent racing conditions, I knew I was capable of having one hell of a PR. Given decent racing conditions and no weird muscle joint isssues (you just never know), I was pretty sure I could pull off 26.2 in under 5 hours. Although I'll admit - those bridges and hills did scare me a bit. I did have some bridges and a few "hills" during my long runs, but nothing like NYC.
And I did it! My time was 4:57:52...that's a 23 minute marathon PR for me! Can I get a WHOOT?????
I'll be honest, before the broken toe incident I had some pretty lofty goals for NYC. But since I didn't start my training again until July, and I decided run fewer days in order to train for one more triathlon, I had to adjust those goals a bit. Not to mention that the hill training I intended to add to my workouts just didn't happen thanks to my work schedule...well, life happens and you adjust. But, I knew that I had been training consistently, I did my speedwork like a good girl and all of my long runs were under an 11:30 pace (slightly). Given some decent racing conditions, I knew I was capable of having one hell of a PR. Given decent racing conditions and no weird muscle joint isssues (you just never know), I was pretty sure I could pull off 26.2 in under 5 hours. Although I'll admit - those bridges and hills did scare me a bit. I did have some bridges and a few "hills" during my long runs, but nothing like NYC.
And I did it! My time was 4:57:52...that's a 23 minute marathon PR for me! Can I get a WHOOT?????
Sorry for the blurry and tiny pic, but I didn't feel like typing all of this out. So, as you can see I did slow a little toward the end. Normally, I'd rather speed up, but to be honest there wasn't much left in the tank and those "hills" in Central Park kicked my ass. (see? That's what I get for no hill training!)
I will post a full race report in the next day or so. Sorry for the delay, but we just returned from NYC last night. All I will say is that I loved every minute of every mile. LOVED IT! Well, okay maybe not so much for that gradual incline in Central Park...I HATED that. :-)
Friday, November 04, 2011
Let the obsessing begin!!!
O.M.G.
I am ready to get to NYC, have a great race and then have some fun! I imagine focusing at work today will be a bit of a challenge...lucky for me, I have plenty to do that will give me no other option than to focus!
Here's today's NYC inspired tune from my all time favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's...
Flying
So me and my bright ideas....I decided that we'd leave for NYC on Saturday instead of Friday. Why, you ask? Because when I ran NYC in 2003, we arrived on Friday. It was me and the hubby, plus one of my best friends and her hubby. The guys whined the entire time on Friday and Saturday, because my BFF and I were both running on Sunday and we didn't want to walk a lot (which you do in NYC even when you're trying not to) and we couldn't go out and drink with them on Friday or Saturday night. So, I thought I'd avoid the whining and fly in on Saturday. Well, now I am worried about having issues with our flight and not having time to get to the expo and pick up my race packet. I've been talking to Continental for the past week, checking to see if I can change my flight without using all of my one pass miles or paying a big fee, but I've decided to stick to my original plans and fly on Saturday. I am sure everything will work out!
Nutrition
The NYC marathon is a little different - instead of starting at 7 am or 7:30 am, it begins at 9:40 and my wave begins at 10:40 am. (I think in 2003, the start time was even later, like 11 am). So, I take a bus to Staten Island at 6:00 am and then hang out for HOURS. I am trying to figure out what to eat early in the morning. And, then I can just eat my usual Pop-Tarts about an hour before. I *think* I might eat a bagel thin with PB before leaving our apartment.
The Apartment
My sister-in-law and her husband are meeting us in NYC. She found a pretty good deal on an apartment in NYC using homeaway.com, so we decided we'd share the apartment and save a little money. We had a perfectly good hotel book prior to finding the apartment. Well, would you know it? I read an article on-line earlier this week that talked all about these illegal apartments and apartment rental scams...so now I am worried that we will get to NYC and not really have a place to stay!
The Sickies
I have not been going to bed as early as I normally do and as a result, I have felt a little run down this week. I swear I obsess about every little thing! Why does my throat feel a little scratchy? Why does my ear ache a little? Why am I sneezing so much today? Am I getting sick? To make matters worse, the kiddo started complaining that her stomach felt funny last night before bedtime. Sure enough, at 2 am she woke up and called me to her room and said she didn't feel good. I had just enough time to take her temperature (which was 101.3), before she ran to the bathroom to throw up. After the initial concern, I thought "oh God, please don't let this be contagious, and please don't let anyone else get sick!!!". Luckily, she seems to be doing a bit better today - she still has a temperature, but no stomach issues. The bad news is that she is going to miss her very 1st "All A Honor Roll" breakfast at school this morning. :-(
So anyway, that is what I am obsessing about. I know that everything will work out just fine and I'll have a great race and a fun time in NYC....I just can't wait to get there!!! Oh, and we managed to get tix to see David Letterman! I am really excited, since last time we were there his girlfriend went into labor and Paul Schaffer had to host.
Do you obsess before a race? What do you obsess about? How do you control these crazy obsessions?
I am ready to get to NYC, have a great race and then have some fun! I imagine focusing at work today will be a bit of a challenge...lucky for me, I have plenty to do that will give me no other option than to focus!
Here's today's NYC inspired tune from my all time favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's...
Here's what I'm obsessing about:
Weather
Weather
Okay, I haven't been obsessing that much, but I checked the weather today....guess what? It looks pretty darn perfect!
Flying
So me and my bright ideas....I decided that we'd leave for NYC on Saturday instead of Friday. Why, you ask? Because when I ran NYC in 2003, we arrived on Friday. It was me and the hubby, plus one of my best friends and her hubby. The guys whined the entire time on Friday and Saturday, because my BFF and I were both running on Sunday and we didn't want to walk a lot (which you do in NYC even when you're trying not to) and we couldn't go out and drink with them on Friday or Saturday night. So, I thought I'd avoid the whining and fly in on Saturday. Well, now I am worried about having issues with our flight and not having time to get to the expo and pick up my race packet. I've been talking to Continental for the past week, checking to see if I can change my flight without using all of my one pass miles or paying a big fee, but I've decided to stick to my original plans and fly on Saturday. I am sure everything will work out!
Nutrition
The NYC marathon is a little different - instead of starting at 7 am or 7:30 am, it begins at 9:40 and my wave begins at 10:40 am. (I think in 2003, the start time was even later, like 11 am). So, I take a bus to Staten Island at 6:00 am and then hang out for HOURS. I am trying to figure out what to eat early in the morning. And, then I can just eat my usual Pop-Tarts about an hour before. I *think* I might eat a bagel thin with PB before leaving our apartment.
The Apartment
My sister-in-law and her husband are meeting us in NYC. She found a pretty good deal on an apartment in NYC using homeaway.com, so we decided we'd share the apartment and save a little money. We had a perfectly good hotel book prior to finding the apartment. Well, would you know it? I read an article on-line earlier this week that talked all about these illegal apartments and apartment rental scams...so now I am worried that we will get to NYC and not really have a place to stay!
The Sickies
I have not been going to bed as early as I normally do and as a result, I have felt a little run down this week. I swear I obsess about every little thing! Why does my throat feel a little scratchy? Why does my ear ache a little? Why am I sneezing so much today? Am I getting sick? To make matters worse, the kiddo started complaining that her stomach felt funny last night before bedtime. Sure enough, at 2 am she woke up and called me to her room and said she didn't feel good. I had just enough time to take her temperature (which was 101.3), before she ran to the bathroom to throw up. After the initial concern, I thought "oh God, please don't let this be contagious, and please don't let anyone else get sick!!!". Luckily, she seems to be doing a bit better today - she still has a temperature, but no stomach issues. The bad news is that she is going to miss her very 1st "All A Honor Roll" breakfast at school this morning. :-(
So anyway, that is what I am obsessing about. I know that everything will work out just fine and I'll have a great race and a fun time in NYC....I just can't wait to get there!!! Oh, and we managed to get tix to see David Letterman! I am really excited, since last time we were there his girlfriend went into labor and Paul Schaffer had to host.
Do you obsess before a race? What do you obsess about? How do you control these crazy obsessions?
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
New York State of Mind
Quickie update to my workouts since my last post:
Wednesday, 10/26 – 4.5-miles
I woke up too early and had time for some extra mileage before meeting my friend at stupid-thirty.
Thursday, 10/27 – 3 miles
Friday, 10/28 – Rest
Saturday, 10/29 – 6 miles
Last "long run" before NYC! I had a great run with my WF peeps and enjoyed girl talk over coffee afterwards.
Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! We carved pumpkins and went to a couple of Halloween parties with the kids, then took them out trick or treating on Monday – fun times!
Holy cow, just a few more days ‘til NYC!!!
In honor of the upcoming trip to NYC, I give you NYC-inspired music:
There are things people don’t tell you when you are training for a marathon. Things I had forgotten since running my last marathon FIVE YEARS AGO!
Phantom Pains
Things like phantom pains. In fact, I even blogged about it here before I ran Chicago in 2006. Yep, last week I did P90X Ab Ripper X and the very next day I started to notice hip pain at the top of my right hip. It wasn’t excrutiating, but it was annoying. It was so strange, because I've done this workout hundreds of times and never had any issues (other than sore abs!). When I ran my 6-miler on Saturday, I noticed the pain afterwards and it got more intense as the day went on. Finally, I took an Aleve and that seemed to help. I still feel it today, along with some unusual aches in my lower back on the same side.
Phantom pains?
Who knows? But what I have noticed that during race week of any big race is that I tend to feel unusual aches and pains. I don’t know if these feelings are amplified because of the anticipation, stress, or adrenaline..or if it’s just paranoia. Whatever. I am taking Aleve and will try not to think about it too much. Needless to say, I will not be doing any moreP90X until after NYC!
Weather Obsession
Another thing that I had forgotten was the obsession with the weather. I am being much better about it this time around, though. I’ve decided that I’ve made it through this hot as hell summer (including a 20-miler in less than ideal conditions), so I can pretty much handle whatever Mother Nature throws at me on race day. Although, I was a little freaked out to see snow in NYC over the weekend. Whatever. I have only looked at the forecast 2x in the past week, when normally I would be checking it daily. Here’s the deal – I will bring an outfit for effing cold weather and one for warmer weather. End of story. Right now, it looks like the temps will be in the low 40’s in the morning and the mid-50’s by noon with increasing cloud cover throughout the day…I’m thinking running skirt and short sleeves will be perfect.
Taper Madness
One other thing I forgot about is the taper madness. One of two things tend to happen to me during taper – I either lose motivation and don’t wanna run –or- I feel like such a slug for only running about 10 miles during the week and running single digit runs on Saturday. This year, I am feeling like a slug, especially since I axed the ab workouts. Thankfully, I only have a few more days of feeling like a slug.
I am a total type A personality - I have created a checklist for packing, a list of cupcake places to check out (with addresses, phone numbers and recommended flavors to try), I have a couple of groupons for restaurants to try, tickets for the Met, MoMa and the Guggenheim and a list of other things to see this time around. :-) Can't wait!!!!
Wednesday, 10/26 – 4.5-miles
I woke up too early and had time for some extra mileage before meeting my friend at stupid-thirty.
Thursday, 10/27 – 3 miles
Friday, 10/28 – Rest
Saturday, 10/29 – 6 miles
Last "long run" before NYC! I had a great run with my WF peeps and enjoyed girl talk over coffee afterwards.
Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! We carved pumpkins and went to a couple of Halloween parties with the kids, then took them out trick or treating on Monday – fun times!
Holy cow, just a few more days ‘til NYC!!!
In honor of the upcoming trip to NYC, I give you NYC-inspired music:
There are things people don’t tell you when you are training for a marathon. Things I had forgotten since running my last marathon FIVE YEARS AGO!
Phantom Pains
Things like phantom pains. In fact, I even blogged about it here before I ran Chicago in 2006. Yep, last week I did P90X Ab Ripper X and the very next day I started to notice hip pain at the top of my right hip. It wasn’t excrutiating, but it was annoying. It was so strange, because I've done this workout hundreds of times and never had any issues (other than sore abs!). When I ran my 6-miler on Saturday, I noticed the pain afterwards and it got more intense as the day went on. Finally, I took an Aleve and that seemed to help. I still feel it today, along with some unusual aches in my lower back on the same side.
Phantom pains?
Who knows? But what I have noticed that during race week of any big race is that I tend to feel unusual aches and pains. I don’t know if these feelings are amplified because of the anticipation, stress, or adrenaline..or if it’s just paranoia. Whatever. I am taking Aleve and will try not to think about it too much. Needless to say, I will not be doing any moreP90X until after NYC!
Weather Obsession
Another thing that I had forgotten was the obsession with the weather. I am being much better about it this time around, though. I’ve decided that I’ve made it through this hot as hell summer (including a 20-miler in less than ideal conditions), so I can pretty much handle whatever Mother Nature throws at me on race day. Although, I was a little freaked out to see snow in NYC over the weekend. Whatever. I have only looked at the forecast 2x in the past week, when normally I would be checking it daily. Here’s the deal – I will bring an outfit for effing cold weather and one for warmer weather. End of story. Right now, it looks like the temps will be in the low 40’s in the morning and the mid-50’s by noon with increasing cloud cover throughout the day…I’m thinking running skirt and short sleeves will be perfect.
Taper Madness
One other thing I forgot about is the taper madness. One of two things tend to happen to me during taper – I either lose motivation and don’t wanna run –or- I feel like such a slug for only running about 10 miles during the week and running single digit runs on Saturday. This year, I am feeling like a slug, especially since I axed the ab workouts. Thankfully, I only have a few more days of feeling like a slug.
I am a total type A personality - I have created a checklist for packing, a list of cupcake places to check out (with addresses, phone numbers and recommended flavors to try), I have a couple of groupons for restaurants to try, tickets for the Met, MoMa and the Guggenheim and a list of other things to see this time around. :-) Can't wait!!!!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A little of this, a little of that
Yahoo, it’s taper time! Here’s a quickie summary of my workouts since my last post:
Friday, 10/21 – Swim
Just a quick 1,200 yd swim. At this point, nothing I do on Friday is going to help my swim on Sunday, but I did want to get in the pool one more time anyway.
Saturday, 10/22 – Run, 10 miles
Okay, so I only had 8 on the schedule for Saturday, but because I missed last week’s 14-miler, I felt the need for one more double digit run. I ran 2 miles before meeting up with WF for their 8 miler. We took this one at an easy pace (10:58) and just decided to enjoy the lower mileage.
Sunday, 10/23 – Oktoberfest Tri (relay – swim leg) & Ab Ripper X
As I mentioned a few days ago, I decided to do the swim leg of a triathlon relay – not because I love to swim or because I rock the swim, but because I suck at the swim and need the practice. Once again, this was a humbling experience. I decided at the last minute to wear my wetsuit, since I didn’t have to worry about my transition time (in a relay, you only have to exit the water, run to transition and pass the timing chip to the person biking). I’ll do a race report later, but let me just day that I did not have the experience that I had at Bridgeland! I also managed to fit in Ab Ripper X later in the day. It felt great to work the core again!
Monday, 10/25 – Run,3 miles 2 miles
I don’t know what was wrong with me on Monday, but I felt tired and run down. Even my muscles were sore – legs, abs, even my arms and I had a sore throat. Maybe just a case of the Mondays? Or maybe I was feeling run down…since I’ve had the back and neck issues, I have had a hard time getting comfy at night and I am not sleeping as well as usual. I dunno, but I cut the run short and took an Emergen-C, just in case.
Tuesday, 10/25 – Rest
Well, except for Ab Ripper X. :-)
In other news...
Last week was a bit wilder than usual – and I am not just talking about losing our family pet and the ongoing visits to the chiropractor. I don’t usually blog about work, but this news was pretty huge and took us all by surprise - the company I work for announced last week that it was being sold. And, the portion of the company that I work for is going to be sold to a 3rd party so that the buyer can pay off debt from purchasing the company. So, the future is uncertain and things will be interesting to say the least!
On another note, this is my 3rd week of my attempt at getting back to clean(er) eating and things are going great! I am really working on eating less sugar and processed foods, and I am actually down 7 lbs! I will blog more about that later….
Less than 2 weeks until NYC!!! My sister-in-law and I are nailing down our agenda for the trip…if we left it up to the guys, we might end up sitting in our apartment watching TV the entire time we’re there. Or, in a bar watching sports. :-) More on what’s in the works coming soon!
Friday, 10/21 – Swim
Just a quick 1,200 yd swim. At this point, nothing I do on Friday is going to help my swim on Sunday, but I did want to get in the pool one more time anyway.
Saturday, 10/22 – Run, 10 miles
Okay, so I only had 8 on the schedule for Saturday, but because I missed last week’s 14-miler, I felt the need for one more double digit run. I ran 2 miles before meeting up with WF for their 8 miler. We took this one at an easy pace (10:58) and just decided to enjoy the lower mileage.
Sunday, 10/23 – Oktoberfest Tri (relay – swim leg) & Ab Ripper X
As I mentioned a few days ago, I decided to do the swim leg of a triathlon relay – not because I love to swim or because I rock the swim, but because I suck at the swim and need the practice. Once again, this was a humbling experience. I decided at the last minute to wear my wetsuit, since I didn’t have to worry about my transition time (in a relay, you only have to exit the water, run to transition and pass the timing chip to the person biking). I’ll do a race report later, but let me just day that I did not have the experience that I had at Bridgeland! I also managed to fit in Ab Ripper X later in the day. It felt great to work the core again!
Monday, 10/25 – Run,
I don’t know what was wrong with me on Monday, but I felt tired and run down. Even my muscles were sore – legs, abs, even my arms and I had a sore throat. Maybe just a case of the Mondays? Or maybe I was feeling run down…since I’ve had the back and neck issues, I have had a hard time getting comfy at night and I am not sleeping as well as usual. I dunno, but I cut the run short and took an Emergen-C, just in case.
Tuesday, 10/25 – Rest
Well, except for Ab Ripper X. :-)
In other news...
Last week was a bit wilder than usual – and I am not just talking about losing our family pet and the ongoing visits to the chiropractor. I don’t usually blog about work, but this news was pretty huge and took us all by surprise - the company I work for announced last week that it was being sold. And, the portion of the company that I work for is going to be sold to a 3rd party so that the buyer can pay off debt from purchasing the company. So, the future is uncertain and things will be interesting to say the least!
On another note, this is my 3rd week of my attempt at getting back to clean(er) eating and things are going great! I am really working on eating less sugar and processed foods, and I am actually down 7 lbs! I will blog more about that later….
Less than 2 weeks until NYC!!! My sister-in-law and I are nailing down our agenda for the trip…if we left it up to the guys, we might end up sitting in our apartment watching TV the entire time we’re there. Or, in a bar watching sports. :-) More on what’s in the works coming soon!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
This week so far...
First of all, I just want to say thanks for all the kind words regarding our loss of Jake. I appreciate it!
Here's what's been going on in my world this week:
Monday, 10/17 – 6 miles & a swim
Still warm and muggy, but not as bad as summer, so no complaints from me. This is my 1st run since last Monday, thanks to the neck/shoulder issues. I was really determined to run my scheduled 14 on Saturday, but was persuaded to follow doctor’s orders and not run until Monday. I’d rather miss a long run to recover from this mess, than make it worse and be out another week. Technically, I think the doctor wanted me to wait until after my appointment to run. Details, details. It was much cooler in the morning, so that’s when I headed out for my run. Sorry, doc! I managed to get in 6 miles (10:30 pace), because I was taking a vacation day – yay me!
Also, for some unknown reason, I signed up to do the swim portion of a tri relay on Saturday. (STUPID!) Because of this, I thought it might be a good idea to get back in the pool (DUH!). I had every intention of getting into the pool last week, but the neck/shoulder thing prevented me from this (because it does help to be able to move your arms and head while swimming). Actually, I know why I volunteered for this…it’s because I hate the swim. And, because a certain coach once told me that the only way to overcome my swim issues is to get back out there and race. So, I didn’t want to risk falling off my bike or tweaking an ankle during a 5k race, so I decided to follow the coach’s advice and get more experience racing the swim via this relay. Lord help me!
Tuesday, 10/18 – rest day
“Rest from what?”, you might be asking. I was asking myself the same thing after not running for an entire week. But, I knew I’d rather run on Wednesday and Thursday when the weather was supposed to be much cooler, so Tuesday was my rest day.
Wednesday, 10/19 – 5 miles and swim
Okay, so Wednesday is normally my mid-week-short-long-run day. That was true until 4 weeks ago when I began traveling for work. Then last week, well, it was the freaking neck/shoulder thing. So this has been where I’ve cut my mileage during the week– I usually run 5-6 in the morning and then 2-4 (depending on the schedule) in the evening. I know this is not ideal, but seriously people, who has time to do 7 – 10 miles midweek and work and have quality time with their family? Once again, for the 5th week in a row, I ended up only doing the morning portion of my runs do to other priorities...I have this pesky swim coming up and for that I needed some more practice. My morning run was done at a 10:15 pace, my after work swim – 1200 yds
Thursday, 10/20 – 3 miles
Okay, okay this was supposed to be 4 miles, but the darn snooze button got the best of me! And, since I had overslept, I had to haul booty – 9:32 pace thankyouverymuch cool weather!
I am a bit bummed that, due to the shoulder/neck issues, I have not been able to do my usual strength training. No P90X (i.e. push ups, chin ups, weights, abs, etc.). I am hoping that at the very least, I will be back to at least doing Ab Ripper X between now and the marathon.
Now I need to decide what to do this weekend. I feel guilty about missing my 14-miler on Saturday, but I think I will stick to my planned 10 this week and 8 next week. Only 16 days 'til NYC!!!
Here's what's been going on in my world this week:
Monday, 10/17 – 6 miles & a swim
Still warm and muggy, but not as bad as summer, so no complaints from me. This is my 1st run since last Monday, thanks to the neck/shoulder issues. I was really determined to run my scheduled 14 on Saturday, but was persuaded to follow doctor’s orders and not run until Monday. I’d rather miss a long run to recover from this mess, than make it worse and be out another week. Technically, I think the doctor wanted me to wait until after my appointment to run. Details, details. It was much cooler in the morning, so that’s when I headed out for my run. Sorry, doc! I managed to get in 6 miles (10:30 pace), because I was taking a vacation day – yay me!
Also, for some unknown reason, I signed up to do the swim portion of a tri relay on Saturday. (STUPID!) Because of this, I thought it might be a good idea to get back in the pool (DUH!). I had every intention of getting into the pool last week, but the neck/shoulder thing prevented me from this (because it does help to be able to move your arms and head while swimming). Actually, I know why I volunteered for this…it’s because I hate the swim. And, because a certain coach once told me that the only way to overcome my swim issues is to get back out there and race. So, I didn’t want to risk falling off my bike or tweaking an ankle during a 5k race, so I decided to follow the coach’s advice and get more experience racing the swim via this relay. Lord help me!
Tuesday, 10/18 – rest day
“Rest from what?”, you might be asking. I was asking myself the same thing after not running for an entire week. But, I knew I’d rather run on Wednesday and Thursday when the weather was supposed to be much cooler, so Tuesday was my rest day.
Wednesday, 10/19 – 5 miles and swim
Okay, so Wednesday is normally my mid-week-short-long-run day. That was true until 4 weeks ago when I began traveling for work. Then last week, well, it was the freaking neck/shoulder thing. So this has been where I’ve cut my mileage during the week– I usually run 5-6 in the morning and then 2-4 (depending on the schedule) in the evening. I know this is not ideal, but seriously people, who has time to do 7 – 10 miles midweek and work and have quality time with their family? Once again, for the 5th week in a row, I ended up only doing the morning portion of my runs do to other priorities...I have this pesky swim coming up and for that I needed some more practice. My morning run was done at a 10:15 pace, my after work swim – 1200 yds
Thursday, 10/20 – 3 miles
Okay, okay this was supposed to be 4 miles, but the darn snooze button got the best of me! And, since I had overslept, I had to haul booty – 9:32 pace thankyouverymuch cool weather!
I am a bit bummed that, due to the shoulder/neck issues, I have not been able to do my usual strength training. No P90X (i.e. push ups, chin ups, weights, abs, etc.). I am hoping that at the very least, I will be back to at least doing Ab Ripper X between now and the marathon.
Now I need to decide what to do this weekend. I feel guilty about missing my 14-miler on Saturday, but I think I will stick to my planned 10 this week and 8 next week. Only 16 days 'til NYC!!!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Long Run Update
Well, I survived my 18 and 20 miler. Both were runs that I wasn’t sure would even happen…why, you ask? Allow me to explain….
I woke up the morning of my 18-miler feeling good. I went to the kitchen to put my pop tarts in the toaster and made a pit-stop in the bathroom. TMI, I know, but as I was sitting there I started to notice what my Grandma would call a “crick” in my neck. Then, a few seconds later, the muscles in my shoulders began to tighten and the pain I felt was excruciating. Seriously, I wasn’t sure if I could get up. After a minute or two, the tightening began to subside, but my neck and shoulders were still sore. I could barely get dressed and turning my head from side to side was near impossible. But, being the busy runner mom that I am, I went ahead and met up with some friends for a 6 mile “pre-run” before meeting with Woodlands Fit for 12 more miles. I knew if I didn’t fit the run in then, I might never find another time. Somehow, someway, I made it through all 18-miles without any back or neck pain. In fact, after making it home, I told the Hubby that the run almost seemed too easy. I felt great!!! (Well, other than the neck issues.)
My 20-miler was actually supposed to be 2 weeks after the 18-miler, followed by a 12 miler and then followed by a 22-miler. But, I have some running peeps who decided to delay their 20-miler by one week and run 10 miles before running the local “10 for Texas” 10-mile race. The idea was that running the last 10 miles with the crowds, the cheering and water stops would be more fun than running 20-miles on our own. The thought of changing up my training schedule made me nervous…I really wanted a 2nd 20+mile run. If nothing else, having two 20-milers would be a good confidence builder. But, I decided to run with my friends.
Wouldn’t you know it, on the date of my originally planned 20-miler, we had amazing 58-degree temps and zero humidity. However, on the date of the 10 for Texas, the temps were in the 70s and humid as heck! Figures.
The reason this run almost didn’t happen? Tummy issues. (TMI again) Seriously, I spent more time in the bathroom before the run than I did getting dressed. I debated taking Imodium, but decided against it since I’ve never used it before a run before. Fortunately, by the time I made it to our designated meeting place and made one more stop in the Market Street bathroom, I felt better. Not 100%, but better. The 1st 10-miles felt pretty good. My stomach felt off, but it didn’t get any worse with my Bee Stingers or Gatorade. Then, we had just enough time to freshen up a bit – change shirts, cool off with icy cold wash cloths, etc. – before we headed to the start of the 10 for Texas.
The race went well, although I was definitely not racing. I have PRed two years in a row, so that did make it a little hard to not want to go faster…not that I could at that point! I’ll admit, the warm temps really got to me and at mile 16 or 16.5-ish, I really started to feel it. Instead of walking for a minute at each mile, I began to take a quick walk break every ½ mile. I did this until a little after mile 18, when I got my 2nd wind and could run more. I even charged up the bridge at mile 19. Honestly, I think I was just happy to be almost done! I finished at a pace of 11:24…not fast by any means, but actually 1 second faster than my goal pace. Given the conditions that morning, I will take it! And, the best part is that my legs felt great afterwards! I know I could have run another 6.2, but of course I didn’t want to. J
So compared to the training for my last marathon 5 years ago, I feel stronger both physically and mentally. The me 5 years ago would have been a pansy and walked the bridge at the end of the race or beaten myself up about those few extra walk breaks. This year, I feel like my recovery is faster as well. It’s a great feeling!
I woke up the morning of my 18-miler feeling good. I went to the kitchen to put my pop tarts in the toaster and made a pit-stop in the bathroom. TMI, I know, but as I was sitting there I started to notice what my Grandma would call a “crick” in my neck. Then, a few seconds later, the muscles in my shoulders began to tighten and the pain I felt was excruciating. Seriously, I wasn’t sure if I could get up. After a minute or two, the tightening began to subside, but my neck and shoulders were still sore. I could barely get dressed and turning my head from side to side was near impossible. But, being the busy runner mom that I am, I went ahead and met up with some friends for a 6 mile “pre-run” before meeting with Woodlands Fit for 12 more miles. I knew if I didn’t fit the run in then, I might never find another time. Somehow, someway, I made it through all 18-miles without any back or neck pain. In fact, after making it home, I told the Hubby that the run almost seemed too easy. I felt great!!! (Well, other than the neck issues.)
My 20-miler was actually supposed to be 2 weeks after the 18-miler, followed by a 12 miler and then followed by a 22-miler. But, I have some running peeps who decided to delay their 20-miler by one week and run 10 miles before running the local “10 for Texas” 10-mile race. The idea was that running the last 10 miles with the crowds, the cheering and water stops would be more fun than running 20-miles on our own. The thought of changing up my training schedule made me nervous…I really wanted a 2nd 20+mile run. If nothing else, having two 20-milers would be a good confidence builder. But, I decided to run with my friends.
Wouldn’t you know it, on the date of my originally planned 20-miler, we had amazing 58-degree temps and zero humidity. However, on the date of the 10 for Texas, the temps were in the 70s and humid as heck! Figures.
The reason this run almost didn’t happen? Tummy issues. (TMI again) Seriously, I spent more time in the bathroom before the run than I did getting dressed. I debated taking Imodium, but decided against it since I’ve never used it before a run before. Fortunately, by the time I made it to our designated meeting place and made one more stop in the Market Street bathroom, I felt better. Not 100%, but better. The 1st 10-miles felt pretty good. My stomach felt off, but it didn’t get any worse with my Bee Stingers or Gatorade. Then, we had just enough time to freshen up a bit – change shirts, cool off with icy cold wash cloths, etc. – before we headed to the start of the 10 for Texas.
The race went well, although I was definitely not racing. I have PRed two years in a row, so that did make it a little hard to not want to go faster…not that I could at that point! I’ll admit, the warm temps really got to me and at mile 16 or 16.5-ish, I really started to feel it. Instead of walking for a minute at each mile, I began to take a quick walk break every ½ mile. I did this until a little after mile 18, when I got my 2nd wind and could run more. I even charged up the bridge at mile 19. Honestly, I think I was just happy to be almost done! I finished at a pace of 11:24…not fast by any means, but actually 1 second faster than my goal pace. Given the conditions that morning, I will take it! And, the best part is that my legs felt great afterwards! I know I could have run another 6.2, but of course I didn’t want to. J
So compared to the training for my last marathon 5 years ago, I feel stronger both physically and mentally. The me 5 years ago would have been a pansy and walked the bridge at the end of the race or beaten myself up about those few extra walk breaks. This year, I feel like my recovery is faster as well. It’s a great feeling!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Long Run Re-Cap
So here’s a re-cap of my long runs in recent weeks…I figure it would take too long to update you on every little workout that occurred over the past month!
August 13 - 12-miler –
This was a typical summer morning in Houston – you know, 80 degrees with a “feels like” temp of 90 at 5 am. To make matters worse, I had a bit of a sinus infection and had taken a Zyrtec the night before. This is the 1st time I’d ever taken Zyrtec. The group I am running with was only scheduled for 7 miles, so I ran a 5-mile out and back before meeting up with them.
By the time I finished the 5-miler, I felt a bit spacey. I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or the Zyrtec. I debated about whether I should stop or go ahead with the next 7 miles. After grabbing some water and a Gu, I decided to keep going.
This was the most difficult 12-miler ever. I was okay for the 1st few miles, but after that, I walked way too much. I was fortunate enough to run into a couple of people from the group doing 4/1s, so I stayed with them the rest of the way. Just barely. My pace was a very pathetic 12:01. Ugh.
August 13 - 12-miler –
This was a typical summer morning in Houston – you know, 80 degrees with a “feels like” temp of 90 at 5 am. To make matters worse, I had a bit of a sinus infection and had taken a Zyrtec the night before. This is the 1st time I’d ever taken Zyrtec. The group I am running with was only scheduled for 7 miles, so I ran a 5-mile out and back before meeting up with them.
By the time I finished the 5-miler, I felt a bit spacey. I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or the Zyrtec. I debated about whether I should stop or go ahead with the next 7 miles. After grabbing some water and a Gu, I decided to keep going.
This was the most difficult 12-miler ever. I was okay for the 1st few miles, but after that, I walked way too much. I was fortunate enough to run into a couple of people from the group doing 4/1s, so I stayed with them the rest of the way. Just barely. My pace was a very pathetic 12:01. Ugh.
August 20 – 14-miler –
Somehow I lucked out on this run – the temps were hovering around 77 and the humidity wasn’t quite as bad as usual. I was worried about whether or not I could finish 14 miles after that disaster of 12-miler the week before. This week, the kiddos were attending a birthday party at 9:30 am (CRAZY!), so I ended up running in my neighborhood to save time.
I ran the 1st 7 miles in one big loop around my neighborhood going in and out of the different sections. I stopped at my house, where I put a cooler in the driveway with cold water, Gatorade, endurolytes, etc. Trust me, with a 3 year old and a 6 year old, I didn’t want to go into the house…then, I might never make it back out!
My 2nd 7 miles were pretty non-eventful. I think mentally, I felt strong until about mile 13 when I was just ready for the run to be over. My pace wasn’t great, but much better than the previous week at 11:45.
September 3 – 16-miler
Once again, we had too much to on the agenda for Saturday, so I ran in my neighborhood again. The previous week was a cut-back week, so I was well rested and ready for 16-miles. I lucked out again with the weather – it was slightly cooler, the humidity was low and it was windy. Normally, I don’t like a headwind, but it felt great every time I turned a corner and was hit by the wind.
The original plan was to come back to my house at 6-miles, 12-miles and then finish with the final 4-miles…for some reason, it’s easier for me to head out on that last stretch knowing I have fewer miles that the previous two loops. But, it was cooler and I didn’t drink as much as usual, so I managed 8 miles for my 1st loop. At home, Ire-filled my hand-held bottle at my house and headed out again. It was getting a bit warmer since the sun was now up and I ran out of water on my 2nd loop…luckily, I was only a mile away from a water fountain where I could re-fill my bottle.
My legs did start to feel fatigued toward the end of the run, but overall I felt really good! And much to my surprise, my pace was better than the previous 2 long runs – 11:28. It’s amazing what a little cooler weather will do. Once I stopped running, I really felt it in my legs! I ended up having a big glass of ice cold chocolate milk and had an ice bath. I made sure to stay active the rest of the day so that I didn’t have time for everything to stiffen up…this is easy to do with my two small kids!
Last weekend was another cut-back week, so only 10 miles on the schedule – the weather was a good 10-degrees cooler and it felt great. My pace was a sub-11 minute pace (just barely). And, I was able to run with my regular running group, which was a nice change. In fact, I met a woman who lives near me and who is crazy enough to get up at stupid thirty and run with me! We ran together at stupid-thirty this morning.
This weekend I have 18-miles to look forward to (NOT)! The warmer temps and humidity are back in full force, so it’s going to be interesting. Gotta remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!
So what are you doing this weekend? What mileage are you running? Tell me!
Monday, April 11, 2011
SURPRISE!
I like (most) surprises. Most as in - surprise flowers - yes, surprise visit from the inlaws - no, surprise cupcakes - yes, surprise car repairs - no. Friday, I received a pretty good suprise.
I don't think I've officially announced this, but I am running the NYC Marathon in November. Last year, I decided to enter the lotto for the race and in June. Much to my surprise, I was selected! However, after being laid off for 2 1/2 months and just starting a new job, I didn't feel like I was in the best position to 1) spend lots of time training, 2) ask for days off from work and 3) spend a lot on money on a trip. So I deferred. This year, I WILL be running! Back when I ran this race in 2003, I had the most awesome time and I promised myself I would be running again to celebrate my 40th birthday...that birthday will be in January (yikes!).
Last week, I went out to the NYC Marathon website to check out some information and noticed that the 2010 shirts and gear were still posted. Nothing was out there for 2011. So...imagine my surprise when I received this in the mail:
At first, I thought the Hubby had ordered it as a surprise (I did the same thing for him with an Austin shirt). But no, he admitted that he hadn't even given the race much thought with our Disney vacation just a week away. So, I don't know if everyone who is already in received one...or if I have a little marathon gift elf out there or what. I mean, the lotto for NYC hasn't even taken place yet. So to the NYC Marathon (or my marathon gift elf) I send a big THANK YOU! I love it!!!!!!
Now to start planning the trip!!!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
NYC Marathon
Today is NYC Marathon day! In just a short time, the runners will be beginning their 26.2 mile trek by heading over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. There will be live coverage here and later, NBC will have a hour long re-cap at 3 pm. Don't miss it!
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Mommies Rule!
Okay, as if it wasn't exciting enough to watch Ryan Hall win the US Men's Olympic Trials yesterday, watching today's NYC Marathon was awesome! It was extremely close in both the Men and Women's races. And, the top two women's finishers, Paula Radcliffe and Gete Wami, are both moms! In fact, Radcliffe just had a baby in January! Amazing!
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