KBrunsDisney

It's Here! Race Morning

2011-11-06T05:58:00.002-05:00

I'm heading out the door in 3 minutes to catch my bus to the runner's village in Staten Island. The ING New York City Marathon is this today. I cannot believe how time flies. I'm well (enough) and going to run. Wish me luck!

KB

Mountains and Molehills

2011-11-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

A "Welcome" Sight. ;)

It's the Eve of the Eve of the Marathon... and I've got a cold. I think this year is the year that I test the theory that it's better to be under trained than over trained. Anywho, I'm listening to the fireworks for the marathon and feeling stir crazy. Despite everything, I'm excited for Sunday. It'll be a beautiful and hopefully I'll have the presence of mind to enjoy. To everyone who's running this weekend, Good Luck!

xoxo

Gone for a Run...

2011-09-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

20 miles! Hoping to find my groove along the way. ;)

Hurricane-a-coming!

2011-08-27T14:40:00.000-04:00

Good news: I got my run done this morning.
Bad new: Irene is on her way.

Say a little prayer for the East Coast.

12 Weeks Left...

2011-08-14T19:24:00.000-04:00

I can go the distance... I think.

Until the ING New York City Marathon. But it's really 8 weeks if you think about the tape. I did all of my runs this week and even managed to squeeze in some strength training. I'm feeling a bit more positive than I was last week so we'll see if things improve more this week. If I manage to power through these next 12 weeks at least I'll know that I've mentally prepared for the marathon. :) Wish me luck.

Running Funk

2011-08-06T19:52:00.000-04:00

"It's been awhile" is an understatement but I don't know what else to say. 2011 is just not 2010. Last year things seemed a lot easier. I was running and I was getting better. This year has been a struggle and I'm feeling discouraged. I have all these lofty goals (well one really, Boston) and instead of inching towards them, I feel like I'm falling further away. I have 13 weeks to turn this around in time for the marathon.

Step one - consistency. I haven't been consistent with my strength training or with the time of day that I do my runs. Nor has my eating been consistent. This year, I'll be attending 5 weddings, I'll start a new job, and I'll celebrate more routine life milestones, birthdays etc. And every time you celebrate you (or at least I) think, "it's a special occasion, I should indulge." It gets to be a problem when there's a special occasion twice a week. So, back to keeping track and only letting good things in.

Step two - reconnect. I don't want this to feel like work. Running is this thing we love, right. It isn't always easy, but it shouldn't always be difficult either. I think I let myself become disconnected from the running world (you guys) and it's making me forget why I love running and why I choose to run. So I'm back. I'm back to journaling my running life and reading about yours. I'm betting it will be just the thing to help me break through.

TTFN,
KB

Sad Face - R.I.P.

2011-04-20T07:15:00.000-04:00

Grete Waitz - Running Legend

October 1, 1953 – April 19, 2011

Holy Crap! There's a Tinker Bell Half Marathon!

2011-04-19T20:53:00.004-04:00

Must buy ticket to California. Stat.

Big Things Happened in Boston Today

2011-04-18T20:19:00.001-04:00

The 115th running of the Boston Marathon is one for the record books. An American woman came in Second. Ryan Hall beat the American course record. And Geoffrey Mutai set an (unofficial) world record 2:03:02. Ah-Mazing.
Congratulations to all the runners! You're an inspiration!

Has a Promo Ever Made You Cry?

2011-04-14T22:07:00.002-04:00

I watch a lot of TV. I don't generally talk about it here, but the promo for next week's Parenthood finale got to me and I felt the need to share.

I love Parenthood. It's one of my favorite shows. Which, I suppose is weird because I'm no where near having kids yet. But the show is so well written and well acted and I actual care about the characters, that the fact that I am in the in between of parent and child doesn't matter. Plus, Lauren Graham is in it. I have loved her ever since Gilmore Girls (I even forgave her the last 2 seasons). Tuesday's episode was awesome and next week is going to have me boo hooing like a mad woman.

And Now Your Daily Dose of Awesome

2011-04-11T23:16:00.003-04:00

Awesome.

Gridiron Run Race Report

2011-04-06T23:02:00.000-04:00

What makes me sad is that I don't really remember this race. I know that it was 4 miles in Central Park. I know my finish time, 31:47. And I know that when we had to vote for who we were rooting for, I picked... not Green Bay. (Sorry, but I was a Cowboys fan growing up.) I do remember that it was freaking cold outside and that several people ran with Cheese heads. And that I was really happy with my time considering my troubles in Miami. Sigh. This will just have to be a lesson for me to write things down while they are still fresh. For example, this weekend is the Scotland Run 10K which promises to be one to remember. Anyone got a kilt I can borrow? ;)

I MISSED MARCH!

2011-04-03T22:52:00.001-04:00

In all my bloggy years (ok, so there've only been 2, but still) I have never completely missed a month. But we're in April and the last time I blogged was February (early February even) when I promised a race report the next day. I feel like one of those abandoners who say that they're going out for a pack of cigarettes and then never return. But I shall atone. I have some major catching up to do so I'm going to have a blogapaloza of a week.

Topics are:

Gridiron (4M) Race Report
Colon Cancer Challenge (15K) Race Report
More Women's Half Marathon Race Report
Disneyland!
Australia!!! (I'll let you know right now, it was awesome)
My Quest to Seize the Day.

And in honor of that last point, I give you "KB loses her damn mind" or "KB goes skydiving". Enjoy! See you tomorrow. (No, seriously, I promise. ;) )

(And yep, that's me. I chopped off all of my hair. Will explain later. For now, enjoy the look of sheer terror on my face ;) ).

Deep Breath!

2011-02-05T19:31:00.002-05:00

Because we have A LOT of catching up to do. [NOTE: I wrote that sentence 3 weeks ago. Yikes!]

The WDW 1/2 Marathon 2011
The WDW Marathon 2011
Walt Disney World
My Quest for Maniac Status/ the ING Miami Marathon
General Health
Life

Whew! That's a ton of stuff, so let's get to it shall we? :)

The WDW Half Marathon went really well. You all know I've been having IT band issues ever since the NYC Marathon. I had my last physical therapy session on Wednesday and flew to Orlando on Thursday.
They moved up the start time this year (5:30 a.m.!) so I had to be out the door by 3:30 to make sure that I made the last shuttle to the start area. But I made it. Apparently there was some drama with getting people to the start line - the shuttle buses completely skipped Saratoga Springs so many of the runners there had to wait over an hour before transport came for them. And then they had to race to the start line. I went to the race retreat, stretched and then headed to the corrals. And I was feeling pretty good. A bit nervous because I didn't train as well this year as I did last year, but I figured as long as my right IT band behaved, I should be ok.

I love seeing the characters at the start.

Most of the race went by in a blur. I remember feeling a bit tired and deconditioned but being ok with my pace. I remember passing characters and debating whether to stopped. I figured I'd stop to more during the full and take all the pictures I wanted (and boy did I ever). And around mile 11 it dawned on me that I was feeling pretty good, I had managed to shake off the cobwebs, and I still had gas in the tank, so I should finish strong. The last two miles were my fasted. I crossed the line in 1:46:44. An official P.R. :) (Technically, I ran the first half of the NYC marathon faster, but 1) that shows that I took the first half waaaaaay too fast and 2) I never look a gift P.R. in the mouth ;) ).

After I crossed the finish line, I collected my medal, got it engraved on site (how cool is that?) and headed home for an ice bath.

This is Ted. He thought that I had a very natural gait during the half marathon. Thanks Ted. If you only knew.

Minnie Mouse nails! Gotta love it!

I might have also stopped for a quick 10 minute massage.

One down, one to go!

The next morning was more of the same. I got up, got dressed and raced to make the shuttle. I was a little tight from the half, but not too much. I debated whether to try and really run the full. I knew that I was very undertrained and that my IT band could mutiny at any moment. I knew that I could have just as much fun really enjoying the course and taking everything in. And I knew that it would probably be better for me in the long run, if I tried to take it easy. BUT, I'm so freaking competitive. I try to relegate my competitiveness to competitions with myself (otherwise I would have no friends) but sometimes that can backfire and lead you to do things like consider racing a marathon when all signs point to fun run. (See also my Miami recap below).

But, the cosmos made the decision for me. After the first mini loop (the first five miles are a small loop out of Epcot and then back through one half of the world showcase before passing the start line again) I realized how tired I was. So I told myself that I would run to the Magic Kingdom and then after that, I would stop and take a picture with every character that I knew and loved - a grand total of 21 character pics. I also walked all of the water stops and use the potty at the Animal Kingdom. Almost as a way to hold me to my promise my water bottle containing my super important accelerade broke right outside of Cinderella's castle. I threw my arms in the air for a picture and it flew right out of my hands and broke n the street. Alrighty then, definitely a fun run. Brace yourself, there are a million pictures ahead!

This might be my favorite picture

Oh, it's a jolly holiday with Maaaaryyyyyy!

Alright, who can tell me who these people are?

Twitterpated!

Awesome!

There was another girl there that gets the hardcore award. She had serious chaffing and you could see blood all down her capris, but she pressed on. Awesome.

What does it say about me that my favorite Disney Prince is a beast?

Holy Cow, I'm almost done!

Yep, I'm done!

And I did it! 4:24:42

When it was over, I couldn't really believe it. I had been worrying about whether I could even make it to the start line for so long that when I reached the finish, it seemed almost too good to be true. Also too good to be true, was the fact that nothing really hurt after. And then I got to hang in Disney World and Universal Studios!

Loves it.

My fav Princess and me. Well, it's really a tie between Belle and Ariel.

At the Cinderella dinner, half the restaurant sang happy birthday to me which was one of the sweetest/ most embarrassing things ever.

Sugar and Disney. Does it get any better than this?

Fantasmic in Hollywood Studios is hands down my favorite show at Disney World.

No trip to Disney World is complete without a Safari ride in the Animal Kingdom.

What can I say about Universal Studios? I love Disney World. Obvi. I'm a Disney Fanatic. So I enjoyed Universal Studios, they have some really good rides, but I'd still take Disney World over Universal Studios any day of the week. So what is the one thing that stood out in my mind after my visit to Universal Studios? See below...

SERIOUSLY! Are they kidding with this! Besides how incredibly tactless this is, why have it in the middle of the pathway right in front of the line for the ride? This gave me major lols and sadface.

Not that Universal is all bad. We had fun. And I love the new Harry Potter villiage.

You may remember my slight obsession with the Marathon Maniacs. You might also remember that to join I would have to run either 2 marathons in 16 days or 3 in 90. And I decided to go the 3 in 90 route. The NYC marathon was on November 7, so I had until today to get two more in. I finished Goofy and last weekend I headed back south for the ING Miami Marathon.

The expo was really fun. I met Barefoot Ted, who gave me some pointers on surviving a winter while running outside. I won a cute mesh bag from the Nissan people. And I strengthened my resolve to run the Diva half marathon this year if only for the medal.

Crazy Nissan peeps. :)

Little did I know...

Seriously, how cool is this medal?

I don't think I watched this season of the biggest loser, but he looks great.

I should have known that this was not going to be an easy race. I haven't run consistently in weeks. I think I ran all of 8 miles in the 2 weeks before the race. That's right 2 four milers in the freezing slush bowl that New York has turned into. Plus I hadn't booked my flight to Miami until the last minute. Then the night before the race, I couldn't sleep and by the time I did start to doze off, I was awoken by club music nearby. Then at 12:48 a.m. I was awoken by a car alarm that went off for 20 straight minutes. Needless to say, my 4 am wake up time was rough.

I had to take a taxi to the shuttle to the start area. Then we had to walk 3 blocks to baggage. By the time I had dropped off my bag, it was 15 minutes until the start. I booked it to the corrals and tried to stretch before the gun went off.

But I was still in pretty good spirits. And the first 10K of the race went well. Then... it started. BOTH knees felt a bit twingy. Eventually, my right side eased up and felt better. My left... did not. For the next few miles the pain increased until mile 8 when I pulled over to stretched. Then I tried to keep running. By mile12, I pulled over again to stretch and met another girl from New York whose, IT band was also bothering her. She had had a cortisone shot and was surprised by the pain. We walked a mile or so together and tried to stretch. She started to feel better so I watch her run on as I contemplated how long it would take me to run the next 13.1 miles 4+ hours as it turns out. I think the hardest part was not turning off at the halfway point into the finishing chute for the half marathon. But all I could think of was finishing the full. I didn't fly down to Miami by myself to come this close to finishing and give up. I spent 5:54:22 on the course. I saw people begin to breakdown the course. I saw hundreds of finishers heading home. And all the while I was still walking, then walk-limping, then limping toward the finish line. It was one of the hardest things that I've ever done. But I finished!

Before.

and After

I don't know if it takes more effort and determination to complete a PR or a PW. At first I felt ashamed or sad that I couldn't will myself to get over it and run the rest of the way, but I realized that there aren't a lot of people who would walk over 14 miles on a bum leg. So I'm proud of myself, although I won't ever do anything so crazy again. ;) It's back to basics for me. Strength training, regular weekly runs, and better nutrition. It was totally worth it though because now, it's official, I'm a ...

Whew! So that was my January. How about you guys? I have to say that I'm looking forward to establishing a routine again. It starts tomorrow with the Gridiron Run 4 miler in Central Park for the Superbowl. I know what you're thinking... "um should I really be running on a bum LEFT IT band?" I cleared it with my PT and hopefully, tomorrow will be the beginning of my rebuild. My base has taken a big hit, and I'm looking forward to getting back into a groove.

Until tomorrow! KB :)

A Work In Progress

2011-01-02T22:27:00.000-05:00

Hi All,
I hope your New Year is beginning on the right foot. I've made a million resolutions. Hopefully a few of them will stick. One resolution of mine is to do more creative things. So, to that end (and to get in the mood for my trip to Disney in a few days(!), I present "A Work In Progress."

Mileage Grand Total!

2010-12-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

1102.33!

Happy New Year!

Thunder and Lightning and Snow

2010-12-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

I didn't go out today. Took a winter's nap instead. It's really coming down outside. But it's beautiful. I love the first snow.

Internal Debate

2010-12-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

It's the beginning of what looks to be a blizzard in NYC. I haven't run. I'm scheduled to run 16 (which seems a bit much for a taper especially with a temperamental knee). I don't want to skip it, but I also don't want to do anything foolish.

Thoughts?

Thursday Cannot Get Here Quick Enough

2010-12-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

Hey Peeps,

I hope ya'll had a great Thanksgiving :). I spent mine with my extended family and the newest addition. Isn't she the cutest?

It's been awhile. I was hoping to return all triumphant by kicking this knee issue to the curb, but alas it persists. Kind of. I nixed my 6 mile run on Wednesday opting instead to take a full rest day. Last weekend I cut my 12 miler to 10 and had to stop and stretch about halfway because I thought I felt the first stirrings of an issue. Today I cut my 16 miles by more than half and only ran 7. It wasn't like I was in pain per se, but I felt my knee begin to twinge and I didn't want to risk it. Part of me wonders if I could have pushed through and been fine. Most of me didn't want to try my luck and spend a week in Disney World injured and unable to even attempt Goofy. More and more it looks like I will not be pr'ing the race (I know. . . duh) but dear God let this issue resolve itself so that I can at least finish strong.

Thursday I (finally) have an appointment for physical therapy. I know that it will give me some peace of mind; hopefully enough peace of mind that I can attempt 20 next weekend without second guessing my body every step of the way. I might move the whole run to a treadmill. (I never thought I'd volunteer to run on a treadmill instead of outside barring a blizzard.) Paranoia is the killer of great training plans :(.

Last Tuesday: 3
Last Wednesday: 6
Thanksgiving: 3
Last Saturday: 6
Last Sunday: 10

Tuesday: 4
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 6
Sunday: 7

On the bright side . . . I did it! I hit my goal of 1010 miles for the year! And I have a few weeks to spare. I wasn't sure that I could make it when I signed up, but this is pretty cool now that I have. How about 1011 in 2011? ;)

I'm a wuss

2010-11-21T15:38:00.001-05:00

Hey Peeps! I'm back in the groove (I think). Thank you all so much for your well wishing with the marathon. I love the support I get from the bloggy world :). Turkey day is less than a week away which means that the holiday season is upon us AND that the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend is closer than ever. And, of course, I'm starting to get nervous.

Last Thursday: 2 miles
Last Sunday: 7 6 miles

Tuesday: 2 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 14 0 miles

Training Sad Face.

Last Sunday I was supposed to run 7. That's what I had in my mind when I set out. And I was tired, but I expected that. I've been battling a cold and going out on Saturday night did not help matters. But whatevs, so I knew when I started and everything felt harder than usual and I felt really tired that this was to be expected. What I did not expect was the crazy knee pain that snuck up and then walloped me at 5.4 miles. At that instant, I decided to scrap the last mile and just finish out 6. It sucked. I could feel myself favoring my left leg as I tried not to anger my right knee. And even during the walk home, it was still pissed off at me.

The good news, I suppose, is that this isn't really a knee issue. It's an IT band, weak leg muscle issue. This was made fairly clear when I got my post race massage (a few days late according to Hal Haigdon's Week Zero plan, but always welcome). There are a lot of knots in there and walking wasn't painful afterward. So I need to rebuild. I've got P90X legs and back workouts which I know will get those thighs of mine in great shape. But I've got to make sure I stretch and use the foam roller and eat well and not push too hard even though I have a pretty intense training schedule planned. It's better for me to nip this issue in the bud now, than risk seriously hurting myself. Fingers crossed.

I finally made a training schedule from now until the Miami Marathon. It's pretty intense, but I think manageable. That is, if I actually go out and get my runs in. I went to the doctor on Friday and there is nothing wrong with my knee (thank God). But I do have a wee bit of tendonitis that is causing my knee paid. I didn't have pain during my runs this week. I've been trying to run just under the pain, but today, I wrote down 14 and had mentally revised it to 10, but still didn't get out. It's an hour before sundown so I'm officially scrapping this run. I feel like a wuss. I will do my yoga, but I wish I had sucked it up and gone out for ten. Part of me is paranoid that my knee will start hurting and doesn't want to risk doing serious damage. The other part of me wonders how I'm going to work myself up to running 39.3 miles in two days if I'm too chicken to go out for ten.

Ah well, this is a new week. No excuses. And hopefully no pain.

ING and Me: The Mother of All Race Reports

2010-11-13T21:54:00.003-05:00

It's the RECAP!!! I don't even know where to begin. It's been almost a full week since I ran my first ING New York City Marathon ever! It feels like yesterday. It feels like a week ago. It feels like an age ago. I'll never forget it, and I've almost totally forgotten it (the pain at least ;) ). Here's how it went :)

WAKE UP!

I had to wake up hella early on Sunday morning. All I can say is thank God for daylight savings time otherwise my 4:30 a.m. wake-up call would have been really rough. I set 2 alarms just in case my clock didn't change over or there was some fluke malfunction or any of the million other calamities I had imagined happened. Then I literally popped out of bed. I'm not entirely convinced that I slept. I think my body was just on pause until the time came to get dressed and get out.

My assigned transportation to the starting area/runner's village was the NY public library on 5th ave and 42nd street so I took the train to Bryant park and walked over.

Fellow runner/Playboy afficionado

I had heard horror stories about it taking forever to get on a bus and how bad the traffic would be crossing over to Staten Island, but luckily none of that was the case, probably because we were there sooo early.

Everything was well organized.

And the volunteers were troupers

I thought that I was wearing pretty much everything I needed to stay warm: my running capris and sweatpants, running singlet, arm warmers, gloves, a long sleeved running shirt, sweatshirt, headband/hat and a coat. If anything while we were in Manhattan I was too warm...

We arrived in Staten Island at the same time as the sun ;)

But then we arrived in Staten Island and it was at least 15 degrees cooler. I really wanted to explore all of the villages and I wanted to find my friends who were running, but it was so cold that I settled for finding one of the tents in the Blue bib village and trying to get some rest. That said, I did try to find one of the Dunkin Donuts reps who were passing out fleece hats. I never did, but a really nice Italian man gave me his. :)

I love this view of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Each bib color had its own designated village. I was Blue.

Brr!

Thank God I found a small spot in one of the tents. There were so many people camped outside I'm not sure how they managed the cold. (As it was, it took 6 miles before I could fully feel my feet).

I tried to rest a bit before it was time to head to my corral because we had nearly 4 hours to kill before our start time. Instead I chatted with some of my neighbors who were really cool. One woman was an ultra marathoner. She said something that really stuck with me, especially at mile 23 when I thought it would never end. "Forgive yourself for walking when you need to." Ok, fair enough, I thought, but I ain't walking. P.S. I toooootally walked during the last 3 miles, but after what my body has done for me, I can't complain. I think that I still needed to hear it though.

Start Spreadin' the Newwwwws!

"Urinating on the bridge is unpleasant and dangerous."

I damn near died when I heard that over the loud speakers as I was waiting for the porta potty. The first 2 miles of the race is on the Verrazano Narrows bridge. The Blue bibs run on the upper deck Brooklyn bound side, the Orange bibs run on the upper deck Staten Island bound side while the poor Green bibs run on the lower deck. Bad enough that they don't get quite the amazing views as those on the upper deck, but if they're unlucky then just might get peed on. Still it was hilarious that we had to be told over the loud speakers (in several different) languages not to pee on our fellow runner.

After what seemed like forever, Wave 1 was off and running and we were being called to our corrals for Wave 2. I liked how each village had separate access to their color's corral. I didn't see the Orange runners until we were running across the bridge.

Not sure if the human wall separating the corrals was necessary...

As we walked toward the starting line on the bridge everything happened so fast. First we stripped down to essentials, then we heard a beautiful operatic rendition of America the Beautiful and then the cannon went off and Frank was spreadin' the news!

Heading to the start line!

The volunteers on the busses yelled for us to toss our extra clothing to them.

Anything that was discarded on the bridge itself couldn't be donated or recycled so almost everyone stripped here.

Just me and 5000 of my closest friends.

It's strange that this is the pose for my before picture. It's almost like I knew my arm warmers would chafe the living daylights out of my armpits.

"Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment."

I can't describe how amazing this was. I almost feel like it didn't really happen, like it was some sort of dream.

Brooklyn Baby!

(miles 2ish-13.1)

I had a plan. I did. I promise. I was going to go out steady. I was going to settle into my rhythm within the first 3 miles, and then I was going to let things flow. I was going to will myself over the bridges without stopping and then that one pesky mile uphill on 5th ave and the rest would take care of itself. LOL. I can only laugh at myself.

There are at least 2 reasons why I went out way (way waaay) too fast. First, it was sooo beautiful and we had been penned up for so long that I really didn't notice that I was beyond pushing my pace. I had heard from one of my bosses that when he ran the marathon he didn't notice how fast he was going until he saw the clock at the top of the bridge. I generally don't look at clocks while I run. I just let my body do what it feels like doing. Which probably explains why I didn't realize how fast I was going until we crossed from Brooklyn into Queens.

The second reason why I went out so fast is because I literally could not feel my feet. They were sooooo cold. It took nearly 6 miles before I regained full sensation and I think I was running fast to try and convince myself that they would eventually warm up. It was so bad that at one point I asked another runner if there was something on my shoe. Nope, that weird thing I'm running on, just my feet.

Brooklyn was amazing. The crowds were there from the moment we came off the bridge. They were yelling, they had signs, they were awesome. I cannot tell you have many high fives I gave to how many kids. I distinctly remember at least 6 strangers cheering for me specifically (You MUST wear your name somewhere on your shirt. It's the best idea ever). "Get it Kiki!" "Go Kiki!" "Looking good Kiki!" I was running with my ipod, but hearing my name would snap me to attention and I'd realize all over again that this is not just a training run. This is the New York City marathon. And I'm running it. And these complete strangers are yelling for me. And maybe I'll actually finish this thing.

And every so often a familiar face would yell my name. I have the best friends and family. They came out and chased me down and supported me and were there and I cannot thank them enough.

"Hurry We're Cold" might be my favorite :)

Happy to see a familiar face. :)

Anywho, after I thawed out, I began to notice the inclines. They were not kidding when they said that this was a hilly race. There was one part of Brooklyn just after the 8 mile mark that was a steady incline through a gorgeous tree-lined neighborhood. Then it turned into a glorious steady decline through a gorgeous tree-lined neighborhood. Fair enough. All I have to worry about now are the bridges.

Pulaski, Queens, the dreaded 59th Street bridge

After Brooklyn, I started thinking in terms of bridges. The Pulaski bridge connects Brooklyn and Queens. The climb was steep, but not too bad. I was starting to feel the folly of my crazy fast first 1/2. (I think I was averaging sub 8 minute miles. I barely run that fast in short races. Loco!). But now we were in Queens and I could check one borough off my list. We only spent about a mile and a half in Queens before heading over the bridge into Manhattan.

All I can remember about the Queens portion was thinking about the Queensboro bridge (aka the 59th St bridge). I knew it would be long (over a mile). I knew it would hurt (because unlike most bridges that have an equal length incline and decline, the Queensboro bridge inclines for what seems like forever and then has a sharp decline). And then, there it was. Just like in my dreams/nightmares. I put my head down and started the long trek. After I crossed the 15 mile mark I started to reach for my gu. I was taking a gu (chocolate outrage, yummy) every five miles. But by now my hand were numb. I had taken off my gloves somewhere in Brooklyn because my hands were sweating. So now I reached back to grab my gloves and put them back on, but my hand were so numb that I ended up dropping my water bottle and have to run after it. It took my a quarter mile to wrestle back into my gloves. By then, I was coming off the bridge and around the ramp to the humongous, boisterous and welcoming crowd on first avenue.

1st Avenue!

Again, I'm at a loss of words. Imagine the best block party you've ever been to plus a huge tailgating party and maybe mardi gras and then you have an approximation of the crowds on 1st Avenue. It was sensory overload. I had just finished putting on my gloves, I look up and I'm surrounded. People are cheering and waving and holding signs and it feels like both sides of the street are going to converge. I've cheered on 1st Avenue before so I know that the crowds are massive and jubilant, but nothing could have prepared me for what it's like on the other side. It's like everyone is cheering for you and only you. I tried to distinguish my friends' faces from the crowds, but with everyone smiling at you and waving and cheering, they could've all been my friends. I needed that. I needed that energy, because after my glove debacle I was sure that I was going to hit the wall hard and early. I tucked my head down and kept running and just felt the crowds energy and knew that they were there and that carried me to the next bridge. To the Bronx. And probably to the finish line.

The Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue Bridges

This bridge wasn't quite the punishment that the 59th St bridge was, but I was none too happy about the incline. Just keep going, I kept telling myself. The bridge marks our entry into the Bronx and the 20th mile. Nothing was feeling good at that point, but I knew I had enough energy that I didn't have to walk right now. The cruel joke however is that right at the 20th mile when people are starting to hit the wall, there's not just the Willis Avenue bridge into the Bronx, but you end the mile climbing the Madison Avenue bridge out of the Bronx and back into Manhattan. Luckily, the Madison Avenue bridge was not as steep as the other bridges. And once you were over the bridge you knew that you are done with bridges and there's less than a 10k left in the race.

Manhattan Again ;)

I was sooo close to keeping it together. I pushed myself over the 5 bridges. I took my gu. I drank my accelerade, and I kept making small promises to myself. What ultimately tripped me up was a promise I couldn't keep. I knew that there was a mile of tough incline of 5th ave. It had taken on mythic proportions. So when we hit 5th avenue, I promised myself that this tough incline would be over in a mile. Trouble was, that it. never. ended. Instead of easing off, it got steeper. We run from Harlem all the way down 5th avenue before entering the park at 90th st. That's about 3 miles total and almost all of those 3 miles were on a slight incline. The last of the 3 was on a definite incline. For some reason at this point I had also convinced myself that we would enter the park at 96th street. Not sure why. When 96th came and went and we were still trudging up 5th avenue I hit my breaking point. There was a water station and I stopped. I took a cup of gatorade and chugged it while I walked. Then I took a cup of water and did the same.

Please God, get me off 5th Avenue!

When we finally (FINALLY) turned into Central Park, I started to run again. And my right knee was none too thrilled. After a few minutes it settled again. I will say that I appreciated going down Cat Hill, but then the rolling hills of Central park seemed endless and I stopped to walk until someone cheered for me and I picked it up again. You're so close, I thought, just finish this. You can finish this.

So close and yet...

And then...

Central Park South

I've run up and down Central Park South before, but this is the first time that I noticed that it was a mountain. The Time Warner Center gleamed in the distance like a beacon. This is it, it's practically the end. I felt like Dorothy trying to make it to the Emerald City. Unfortunately, Central Park South was like my poppy field. I wanted to get there, I needed to get there, but so sleepy.

Will I ever reach the finish?

Have you ever seen Run Fat Boy Run? There's a moment when he's staring at the wall and the crowd of people around him just disappear. I knew that there were thousands of people around me. I could vaguely hear them cheering, but I couldn't see them. I was trying to break through. I was way too close to totally fall apart. So I grimaced, and I ran, then I walked, then I ran, then I kept promising myself I would walk again, but I was way too close now and finally, gloriously... I crossed the finish. I did. I did it. And it was the best feeling ever. 3:48:26. It's a time that I didn't bother dreaming of in January. I achieved a goal that I thought too lofty for my bucket list. A smile I didn't know I had energy for was plastered on my face and I did one of those choke crying things that only happens when you're exhausted.

Praise be! It's the finish line!

I'd do it again. I will do it again. Next up Disney World for Goofy. Then Miami. And then on November 6, 2011 I'll see you in the Runners' Village at Ft. Wadsworth. Maybe we can share a blanket. :)

I Finished!!!

2010-11-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

Race Report Soon :)

ING and Me: Taper Taper Taper

2010-11-05T22:57:00.003-04:00

"Taper! Taper! Taper!" That's what the man who sat in front of me on my flight back from Texas said as we were deplaning after landing in New York. As of tomorrow after my 2 mile run, my taper will be over. Then I'll be in race prep mode. I'll be finalizing my baggage, setting multiple alarms and trying to figure out how to fall asleep at 9pm so that I can get up at 4:30a.m well rested. All I can say about that 4:30 wake up call, is thank God for daylight savings time (Don't forget to turn your clocks back on Saturday night!)

As it is right now, I'm on my couch listening to Alicia Keys and Jay Z sing about my city and making my "last 6.2" playlist. (Any suggestions?). My bib is pinned to my shirt, my D-tag is attached to my KSOs and I've charged my watch and my camera battery.

So why am I here? Well, I'm nervous and anxious and excited and because of the taper, I can't run off my anxiety (I'll do that Sunday), so instead I'm here which is my next best outlet. After this, I'm off the grid 'til Sunday post marathon. Hopefully, I'll be wearing my medal and smiling. I can't wait. I can't believe it's here finally.

I totally forgot to tell you about the best part of the Expo... they changed my number. I am now in the second wave, 10:10 a.m. start time. I can follow the pace group I want to now. And have I mentioned lately how awesome the weather is supposed to be on Sunday?

Anywho, I'm trying to listen to the advice. Tonight is my big sleep night. I need at least 8 quality hours. Tomorrow I have to make sure I've got everything packed and everything planned. There's a lot of good advice out there, so for now, I leave you will a collection of some of the best.

ING and Me: Training Week 18

2010-11-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

It's the LAST WEEK!!! And I'm posting a bit prematurely, considering I have 2 miles to run tomorrow. My last training run for the the ING New York City Marathon and then SUNDAY!!!!

Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 2 miles
Saturday: 2 miles?

Total Mileage: 5 miles now, 7 after Saturday, way more after Sunday ;)
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 2?

Week's lesson: It ain't over yet :)

It rained the entire time I was in Texas. I ate like crap (it really is almost impossible to eat well while traveling, especially if you have to work 16 hours and the cafeteria closes at 4pm sigh),

So I was up an out in the ran in the streets of downtown Dallas for my 2 Texas runs (How strange that my training basically began and ended in Texas?). And even though I didn't get nearly enough sleep and I ate M&Ms and cookies (love Tiffany's Treats!) for lunch and dinner and had no luck with the take out options, at least I stayed hydrated.

And now I'm home and it's for real. The marathon is in 1 day 10 hours and change. ARRRRGH!!! It's sooooo CLOSE! I can't wait! Ok breathe, breathe.

I went to the Expo on Thursday, spent WAAAYYY too much money, and I may er, sort of kinda registered for the ING Miami Marathon in January. It's a sickness, but if I finish it and Goofy, I can join the Maniacs.

Anywho, the Expo was huge and crowded and hectic and full of energy and crazy. I've been to a few big races, WDW marathon, the NYC half marathon, even the More Women's, but the NYC marathon Expo was like a meeting of the Union. My favorite scene was the welcome signs in several different languages with interpreters who spoke the respective language sitting in front for any questions. Plus the shopping was pretty good too. So I leave you with scenes from the expo.

Rainy Day at the Javits Center

So.

Much.

Shopping.

Awesome.

Too many reasons. Reason #1 Why not?

How great would that look in my living room?

This guy is clearly partial to Brooklyn...

But I'm all about the Finish line baby!

Not sure why.

This was right as day one of the Expo was ending and the interpreters were packing it up.

I'll see you at Ft. Wadsworth! (Staten Island)

Hmm, I think there's going to be a marathon soon

2010-10-31T16:50:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd share what I see just about every day now. You cannot step foot in the city without seeing something about the marathon. I love it!

One of the banners in columbus circle. They go up every year and signal that marathon season is upon us.

The other banner.

The view of Central Park South from Columbus Circle. We'll run up this street towards Columbus Circle before heading into the park for the last .2 and the finish line. I hope someone will be holding a box of tissues, because I think I'll need them.

Next week the Empire State Building will glow orange for all the finishers! (This week, I think it was for the Knicks ;) )

ING and Me: Training Week 17

2010-10-31T16:44:00.001-04:00

Whoa. This time next week... I'll be done. Done running. Finished with the ING New York City Marathon (at least until next year). I'm freaking out a little. I cannot believe that it is less than a week away! Ok, well, here's how it went this week.

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 8 miles

Total Mileage: 19 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 11

Week's lesson: Perspective

You might have noticed, lately, that I've sort of, kind of been fixated on this whole marathon thing. A little. Sorta. I freely admit it to be true. I am a woman obsessed. But my obsession is probably not getting me anywhere. For instance, I fretted this week at how low my weekly mileage is. I fretted about whether and what kind of magnesium supplement I should take. Then I fretted about the magnesium making me sleepy. I fretted about not strength training. Then I fretted about training too much. When I found out that work is sending me to TEXAS tomorrow, I damn near had a conniption. But has that been helpful. Not so much. AND I've been analyzing time again. Seeing where and how hard people hit the wall. Trying to figure out what magic can be performed to never even have to think of the wall. But all such thoughts do is leave me feeling crazed. But don't worry, this insanity cannot go on forever. I have 6 days and change left until the race. 6 Days. SIX DAYS! Yipes!

I read a lot of running blogs and (probably unintentionally) this week there were so many posts about keeping things in perspective. You may have heard of the whole brouhaha about registration for the Boston Marathon filling in just 8 hours last week. Craziness, I know. And I really feel bad for those who worked their tails off to qualify only to be shut out. That said, turns out that a lot of people were taking out their frustrations on the charity runners. Poor form. Anywho, I was reading Katye's thoughts on the matter HERE, and she says it better than I could. Then I read about a runner who had recently lost her father. Bottom line, this marathon is really important to me. My running in general, is really important to me. But it's not the only thing. And I don't want to make it another thing that stresses me, when it is currently the one thing that I can count on to help me gain perspective.

Plus (knock on wood), I have nothing to worry about. All my runs went well. I've planned my fueling. I've even planned my outfit. The only thing that I need to do right now is remember to charge my watch prepare my accelerade, pack my gu, wear throw away sweats, pack a post race outfit, charge my camera and extra batteries, empty my memory card, hmm oh and what's that? That's right. And CHILL OUT! If only there was some crazy holiday or something or other to distract me.

Happy Halloween!

I really love New York sometimes.

Just awesome.

Hands down the best couples costume I've ever heard of: Andy Warhol and his Pop Art Marilyn Monroe!

ING and Me: Training Week 16

2010-10-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

16 weeks down, 2 more to go! ... and the paranoia has set in...

Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Saturday: 12 miles

Total Mileage: 26 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 5

Week's lesson: Think Happy Thoughts

This week was good. In fact, if it were any other week I wouldn't have anything much to say. I finally took my shoes back off on Thursday and got in a few barefoot miles. I had kinda missed it. My other runs went well too.

Ok, then where's the paranoia? Well... after my long run yesterday, I walked home (fine), stretched (fine), and took a shower (fine). Then as I started to get ready to meet my friends in Central Park, my left foot started to hurt. It was a familiar pain, kind of like when my peroneus was crazy tight. And surprise surprise, my calves are tight. The solution of course, stretch it out and stop stressing. If only I were that simple. Nope, I went the stress out route. I spent most of yesterday paranoid and doing a weird hobble thing to avoid putting any pressure on my foot. I took advil. I iced my foot. I heated my calves. I stretched. I envisioned the worst. I hoped for the best. I wondered how fast I could hobble in a race. I wondered why the nice men in white coats were coming after me. Sigh

This morning I woke up and didn't want to get out of bed. Not because I was feeling tired or lazy, but because I didn't want to take a first step and realize that my foot still hurts. (I'm a lunatic.) Don't worry, I got out of bed with no pain and now, 2 advil, 1 round of yoga and a massage later, my calves are still tight, but the insanity is beginning to subside. :)

The cure though is crossing a certain finish line on November 7th. :)

ING and Me: Training Week 14 & 15

2010-10-16T17:37:00.001-04:00

Taper Time!!!!

Hey Kids, How've y'all been? I've had kind of a crazy 2 weeks. I've been a bit unsettled lately, but then today, miraculously, I've gotten my grove back!

WEEK 14 / 15

Tuesday: 5 miles/ 5 miles

Wednesday: 8 miles/ 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles/ 5 miles
Saturday: 12 miles/ 20 miles (The Big One!)

Total Mileage: 30 miles/ 35Miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 10/0 (sad face)

Week 14 lesson: Even when the rest of my life is a bit off kilter, my running can improve

Week 15 lesson: I can sooo do this!

Ugh, so what hasn't been off for me these past two weeks? Well, I've just be tired and I don't know why. And with the fatigue came some major crankiness. Plus work has been getting busier and despite my best laid plans, I haven't done any consistent strength training for weeks. I keep trying to get on track and then something happens. I wake up too late to do it in the morning and then I'm needed at the office so I can't do it at night and I get home tired and oversleep. Rinse, repeat. AND I've gained 5 pounds! Sure, that's not much, but I notice it and I think it makes me slower than I should be AND who gains weight while training for a marathon! AND despite all my declarations to the contrary, my 19 mile run left me a little deflated. I kept visualizing having a great first half only to crash and burn after hitting THE WALL (Dun, Dun, DUUUUN!). Then I discovered that when the tempt dips below 60ish degrees it's more difficult for me to run barefoot because my feet are so cold that they feel every little thing tens times more than usual.

Anywho, enough whinging. I found solace in my runs the past couple of weeks and despite the falling temperatures, I do still enjoy running barefoot and I think it's really been helping me. My 12 mile run last week was great and even though I've been tired and preoccupied, my weekday runs have gone fairly well. And that 19 mile run only spurred me to get my act together and figure out my race fueling situation.

So today, a.k.a the 20 mile training run that did not involve a blizzard or a treadmill. I used today as a dry run for the marathon. (Please God, let November 7 be as perfect for running and life as today was/is). I ran three full counterclockwise loops in Central Park and then walked home. I wore my marathon outfit (well the top at least and the same kind of arm warmers and headband and running capris), I carried what I plan to carry with me (camera (yeah, I know), gu, and accelerade (kind of like gatorade, but with protein and carbs)). I even (unintentionally) got about the same amount of sleep as I'll get on the day (I went to bed crazy late), I had pasta the night before, and I didn't start running until 11:00. I'm in the third wave, btw, which won't start until 10:40.

I ate a gu every 4-5 miles, I drank the accelerade (which tasted like lemon-flavored power, but seems to work) whenever I was thirsty and there was no water fountain handy, and I stopped for water at 3 different water fountains in Central Park that I knew would work. I hit my stride and even the third time up the Harlem Hills didn't kill me. I didn't hit the wall. I didn't even see the wall. If today was the real thing, I would've made it all the way :). And that thought made me sooo happy. Halfway through the second loop, I thought "I am killing this run!" I am never that positive about any of my runs. And I was right. I ran 20 miles in less time than I ran 19 miles two weeks ago! Sure only by 12 seconds, but that's pretty freaking awesome!

Not sand, salt, from my sweat... yep, gotta replace those electrolytes!

Afterwards everything, except my right knee, felt great. My right knee was not a happy camper, so I stretched in the park and by the time I reached home, it was back to normal. My arms, were a different story because I lugged two 10 lb bags of ice for my ice bath. 10 minute ice bath and a post run smoothie and I am all ready to taper(!) and hopefully kill it on November 7th!

Smoothies make everything better

Ice baths on the other hand are a special kind of hell.

One Month Left!!!

2010-10-07T08:25:00.000-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!

kk, no more goofing off! I'll save that for January ;)

ING and Me: Training Week 12 & 13

2010-10-04T00:15:00.017-04:00

Opps. I had every intention of checking in last week and then totally crapped out. But it's ok because week 12 and week 13 mirrored on another in a lot of ways. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

WEEK 12 / 13

Tuesday: 5 miles/ 5 miles

Wednesday: 8 miles/ 5 miles
Thursday: 5 miles/ 5 miles
Saturday: 13 miles/ 19 miles

Sunday: 1 miles (5th Avenue Mile!)/ 3.1 Miles (Mud Run!)

Total Mileage: 32 miles/37.1 Miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 10/ 15

Week 12 lesson: The bad runs may be more valuable than the good runs (or something)/ Don't Stop... and carry your own water!

Week 12 and 13 were parallel training weeks. The weekday runs were pretty good. I've been upping my barefooting and it's starting to pay off. Usually my first run during the week I am very aware that I'm running barefoot, but by Thursday it feels better. I did a little strength training last week that left me sore for three days. I'm talking can't bend over without pain kinda soreness. Sigh. In any case after my weekday runs I had a long run on Saturday followed by a race on Sunday. And each week my long run left me a little deflated and my race lifted me back up. So here's how it went down.

Week 12: 13 miler

13 miles should have been cake right? I'm not really because it is still Thirteen Miles, but compared to 18 or 19, not too bad right? Right? WRONG? I went out on Saturday and nothing felt right. I just felt heavy and tired and out of it. And this was within the first mile. By mile 2 I was considering taking a flatter route than central park. Mile 3 I was deciding whether to give up, go home, and try again later. The only thing that kept me from stopping was thinking that this would be good brain training. Oh what's that brain, everything hurts and the idea of running totally sucks right now? Suck it up and keep it moving." And that kind of worked. Kinda, at least I got through it.

Fifth Avenue Mile

I love the 5th Avenue mile! There something about just running balls out for a mile that makes everything in life better. It's cathartic. It's fun. It's fast. And when it's all over you watch other people do it and marvel at their form and speed. It's the best. And this year I bested my pace from last year. 1 mile 6:18! My and my vibrams AND I was totally NOT heel striking! Glorious! Then I watched the other runners and talked to some really cool sister runners (who are all three crazy fast and running the NYC marathon to qualify for Boston... AGAIN) and remembered why I love this sport.

Don't worry, it only looks like I'm dying.

See? :)

Week 13: 19 miler

This run did not start out painfully at all. It was actually a really good run for the first 10 miles. I had decided against running Central Park because I was going to run the Down and Dirty 10K the next morning (I eventually switched to the 5K in an effort to stop the madness). Instead I decided to run the length of Manhattan - All the way up to the GW bridge and all the way down to and across the Brooklyn Bridge. "Ah," as they say, "the best laid plans..."

I made it to the GW bridge just fine. But somewhere between 34th and Chelsea Piers, I lost a lot of the wind from my sails. It was great running weather. After a week of practically non-stop raining, it was sunny and cool. The only problem was that I was thirsty and I didn't finish eating breakfast that morning because I didn't have much of an appetite. (If this sounds familiar, I know, I know),

But I had been drinking during the run. I stopped at water fountains along the way. But then, then cosmos decided to play a little rough. For four miles SIX straight water fountains were out of order. SIX. SIX! SERIOUSLY! And I was desperate. These were not just water fountains along the running path. I stopped at a playground and TWO dog parks in search of water. I hoped over landscaped partitions. I, I, I ... can't even talk about it. Six water fountains in a row. And by then I was pissed. All the nice zen feelings that I usually get at the beginning of a run that generally sustain me to the end... GONE by the 5th failed attempt at procuring water I was cursing like a sailor. Out loud. And scaring the good people of New York.

I spent so much time looking for water that I missed my turn to the Brooklyn Bridge and ended up in Battery Park. Then I ran through Wall Street trying to figure out which way to go. By that time there was no point because I had less than 2 miles left. So I started to head home. And that's when (I think) I hit the wall (again). I could barely move. My hamstring were sending rapid fire messages to my brain. "This isn't fun anymore." "We're tightening up." "So how about we stop now?" "No seriously. Stop." And that's when I had to chant to myself "Don't Stop." "Don't Stop." "It's only a couple more miles. " "Now just one more." In some ways it wasn't as bad as last time (I didn't want to pass out or vomit). But in other ways it was worse (My body was really insistent and it was all I could do to stay upright. At one point I tripped over my own two feet. I know I know. Again. But at least it wasn't as dramatic as last time.)

Again the lesson seems to be: Eat something and drink water you silly silly woman! Cool. Will do.

Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run 5K

I switched from the 10K to the 5K for two reasons. After running 19 yesterday, it seemed like I was tempting fate by attempting 6 miles of trail running, military obstacles, and mud/water crossings today. Second, I had to get home and changed to meet a friend by noon. The race was in Pelham park in the Bronx and 10K started at 9:30 while the 5K was at 8:00. It took 2 hours to get home. A bus then a train then a bus then a train. I sh*t you not.

So a 5k it was. And I am sooooooo glad I did it. When I got up at 5:30 this morning, I really debated scrapping the whole idea. It was so far away and so cold and I could have done with some more sleep. I even flipped a coin to decide whether to go or stay. The coin said stay, but ultimately, I really wanted to do it, so I did.

It was awesome! I hardly ever (never really except for that one time) run without my ipod. My ipod would have been dead and gone had I even tried. Between the cargo climbs, low crawl, water crossing and TWO mud pits, that poor thing would have been lost, mangled or drowned. So I ran with to the sound of breathing. I don't think I've ever been so aware of my breathing and the breathing of others around me. I could hear when I was tired or struggling, I could hear when I hit my stride, It was calming. I felt focused in a different way than normal. This was particularly so during the trail running portion in the woods, we were completely shaded, there wasn't much room on the trail for to run more than two people across and all the roots and twigs and rocks and pebbles made me pay more attention than I do running barefoot on the paved pathways of my park.

I loved the trail and the mud and the cargo climb and the military hurdles and even the water crossing in Long Island Sound (how said that it was warmer in the water than out?). It was so much fun that I can almost forgive the horrible freezing outdoor "shower" and the location. Plus I got home tonight and checked my time 29:59 and found out that I placed second in my age group. Me. SERIOUSLY! Write this downs kids, cuz it ain't happening again. I think all the super speedy people ran the 10K, but whatevs man, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. It was awesome. I love it.

Here's mud in your eye.... er my eye.

The "Showers"

Don't you feel so clean right now?

I just hope that this frustrating training/awesome race pattern holds until the marathon. Sure I could wish away any frustration, but that seems a bit much to ask. Instead if the marathon is as fun and fulfilling as these last few races have been, I'll be one happy girl!
xoxo

ING and Me: Training Week 11

2010-09-20T20:26:00.000-04:00

Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Sunday: 18 miles

Total Mileage: 36 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 10

Week's lesson: Just keep running

This week training was hard. I don't know why. My weekday runs were fine. I got more blisters on Wednesday, but it's cool. Saturday night I went to an awesome bday party for my friend F. (Happy Birthday!) She turned the big 3-0 and celebrated in style. I wished I could have stayed longer, but I signed up for the ING New York City Marathon Tune-Up. That's right 18 miles at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Crazytalk. I switched back into my green Bikila 5 fingers to see if I had learned to stop heel striking in them (and because I felt sure that they wouldn't give me blisters... they didn't). But even though it was a beautiful morning and I felt pretty much in the zone for the run and nothing was really bothering me (except my right knee which was a bit twingy), I wasn't pleased with my performance. I think in an effort to conserve energy, I went out way too slow and instead of making up for it at the end, I maintained the same pace I would have had even had I started out faster. I'm probably just being silly. Or getting nervous. I have a goal. It's a pretty big one, but I'm getting anxious about coming short even though I think I can do well no matter what.

Whatever. I shouldn't psych myself out now. Instead I'll just keep running.

Wow.

2010-09-20T20:01:00.000-04:00

ING and Me: Training Week 10

2010-09-12T20:29:00.001-04:00

EW Blisters! Hello cross-dressing feet! Woo Hoo for NYRR commercials! YAY Fashion's Night Out!

Marathon or no, a girl's gotta look good. ;)

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 17 miles

Total Mileage: 33 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 8

Week's lesson: Shiz just got REAL.

Hey Kids. 10 weeks down. Not to bad.

There really is something to this barefoot thing. It's getting easier to go out sans footwear for my 4 milers. On Thursday I strapped my cadence monitor to my road id to see if I was really taking more steps while barefoot. And I totally was. For the first time ever, my average cadence was 92. It's usually 86-87. And I think that I'm really starting to adopt a forefoot strike. I've noticed that I seem to be using my toes more. After Thursday's run, I look at the bottom of my left foot and there is a medium sized blister on the bottom of my middle toe. Strangeness. Random. But whatevs, it didn't really bother me.

Then there's the lovely specimen of blisterness that I got during yesterday's 17 miler.

I got a boo boo. :(

I knew that I had a blister coming because I could feel the burning sensation on my toes before I was even 3 miles into it. (My right foot had a matching albeit smaller blister.) What's weird is that otherwise, it was a really good run. Even though I had been putting it off for most of the day, when I finally got out, I felt energized and fresh. My legs didn't protest at all for the two times up the Harlem hills and the third time up Cat hill. Don't get me wrong, I was seriously pooped, but my legs never felt like they were gonna fall off. Now if only I could last for 26 miles.

My pace was also pretty good, although I was getting steadily slower (I went out way too fast). Aside from the killer blood blister from hell, it was a perfect run.

I can't even get mad at my feet because I switched shoes on them. I had it in my mind that I was going to switch to Vibrams classics because they are even lighter than the Bikila's and therefore would maybe make me more aware of heel striking. But after I bought them, I realized that I wanted something to cover the top of my feet, especially as it gets colder. So I started looking at the KSOs. But they were a bit tight on the toes. So I finally settled for men's KSO's. I wore them for Wednesday's 8 and Saturday's 17 which was probably a bit much mileagewise for brand new shoes. I do remember getting a couple of blisters my first time out in the Bikilas (but that was without socks). Hopefully, the blisters are behind me now.

Also on Thursday, I got up at 4:30 to make a 5:30 call time for a commercial for the marathon. NYRR had put an open casting call on the website and bing bang boom(!), I'm an extra in a commercial. Coolness. What I find ironic is that all the extras were runners and all the actors (who were portraying runners the day after the marathon) were nonrunners. Still, I really enjoyed feeling like a thespian (and getting to partake in craft services ;) ) even for only a day.

Action!

Another truly New York event? Fashion's Night Out was on friday. It's supposed to be about the clothes and don't get me wrong the shopping in NYC is glorious, but really it was about the free booze, noshes, and live entertainment. I got to eat cupcakes, play ping pong (seriously) and watch the seriously stylish et boozed up and dance in some of NYC's poshest stores. I also fell in love with a coat. But that's a story for another day.

Hmm, did I not mention the hot models that were everywhere? Between Fashion's Night Out and Fashion week, NYC just got 3000% hotter.

I'll take four of those. Thanks.

Live music at Burberry.

Overall, good times. Here's hoping for a blisterfree 18 this weekend! Cheers to you! Hope you're doing well.

ING and Me: Training Week 9

2010-09-07T23:57:00.003-04:00

It's exactly two months away!

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 11 miles

Total Mileage: 26 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 8

Week's lesson: Just keep on keeping on

Training for this marathon seems to be a series of fits and spurts. I'll be really good about my workouts and nutrition for a little while and just before it becomes routine, I fall off the wagon. But I do think that I'm slowly moving toward my goal so if it has to be in a halting instead of a smooth progression, so be it.

I'm revving up for another spurt. I've missed strength training this week and I've been eating horribly, but sometime on Friday night, I hit my grossness quota and have been better about it. Plus I've been riding my bike more which seems to make me want to eat better. Go figure.

I think there's something to this barefoot running thing. I do feel it (boy do I feel it) while I heel strike because that's just when a nice sharp pebble gets me in my heel. Luckily, I seem to be heel striking less. I take the small blister that started to form on my forefoot as confirmation that it's getting used.

My new "routine" hopefully will be to run my shorter runs (this week the 4 milers) barefoot and use my fivefingers for my longer runs. Hopefully that will help me maintain good running form even in my five fingers.

Other than my barefoot runs, this week was fairly nondescript. I was really lazy on Saturday and didn't get out for my 11 miles until the evening. But it was beautiful. Despite all the hand wringing over Earl, he didn't bother the city at all. Labor Day weekend was stunning. And with the exception of some serious wind, my Saturday run was perfect.

I'm a little sad to see Summer 2010 end. At least this summer I think I took part in a lot of what the city has to offer.

Plus, now it's officially marathon season. :) T-2 months and I'll be at the start (and finish fingers crossed) line.

This is what a pack rat's bike looks like for a simple day at the beach.

Bye Summer 2010!

Hello NYC marathon!

ING and Me: Training Week 8

2010-08-28T20:31:00.001-04:00

70 DAYS LEFT

Say what?! How can this be? The marathon seems ages away but I've only got 70 days left to go from 15 to 26 POINTfreakingTWO miles. Oh boy. Here's the rundown.

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 15 miles

Total Mileage: 30 miles
Total Miles Run Barefoot: 4

Week's lesson: There's always something that could be improved.

From Sunday until Wednesday New York has been a chilly dreary rainy place to be. Every day the rain continued at its stead pace. And then Thursday came and it was glorious. I don't remember the last time I saw such a pretty day. Then Friday topped Thursday and today (Saturday) is stunning. Too bad I spent most of the day sleeping or praying for my 15 miler to be over.

There's nothing much to report about Tuesday's run. Cogsworth and my left calve have been acting up, but I started taking a warm bath before my run to loosen things up. I think that's how I got through Wednesday's 7. On Wednesday I also happened to look at the bottom of my 5 fingers and this is what I saw.

I'm sorry, but how on earth have I managed to continue heel-striking in my vibrams? So I posted that question on birthdayshoes.com and someone answered and shared a video on proper running form/technique.

So then I was inspired to find out how I really want to run. So I went out on Thursday with my vibrams in my hand. I intended to run barefoot until I could "feel" how I was meant to land. Then I would put on my shoes and keep going. After a while, it didn't hurt too bad so I decided to finish out the first mile barefoot. I ended up running the entire 4 miles with my shoes in my hand. And it was fun. Not so fun was one part where the terrain consisted of not so well ground gravel. I sould feel every little point. But I was feeling it in my forefoot. Only occasionally I would catch my heel striking with a punishing jolt of pain from whatever it is that decided to jam itself into my heel. All this time I thought that I was supposed to land on my toes evenly, but its more like me landing on the outside of my foot with my pinky and fourth toe hitting the ground just before my other toes. Strange. But good to know. It was a good run.

Today's run... not so much. I went out last night with friends and didn't get to bed until close to 3 a.m. We had a really lovely dinner. I had trout (good) with french fries (not-so-good) and peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert (not-so-good but soooo goood. This is on top of all the chocolate that they forced fed me at work. Ok not so much force fed as had available and offered. B*stards!

Anywho, I woke up close to 10 and didn't get out until 11. I will say that I did everything right for this run. I used a heating pad on my calves to loosen them up, then I stretched and after my run I stretched again and took an honest-to-God ice bath. Then I crashed. Oh but the run was hard. I could tell from the first mile that it was going to be an off day. I felt every single incline and keeping my pace felt so much harder than it did before.

After I finished one lap around the park I seriously considered scrapping the other lap and finishing my run somewhere flatter. But I knew that wasn't really going to make things easier and I shouldn't crap out just because I don't feel like having a hard run. I can't imagine that in the actual race I could skip the 59th street bridge and take an easier way to 1st avenue just 'cause I didn't feel like running another incline.

So I did my second lap (waaaaaay slower than my first) and I thanked God that it was over and made my way home. And that's when I damn near ate the pavement. My toe caught something and I pitched forward towards some startled pedestrians. Both my arms made a huge arc to break my fall as my face came within a foot of the ground, but by some miracle my other leg landed in front and instead of falling on my knees and face I pushed up and kept running.

Still, 2 hard laps in Central Park + nearly kissing the pavement/ public humiliation = not so great run. Although, one highlight was seeing two barefoot runners out. One girl was running barefoot and her feet were so pretty. She had her nails painted and everything. My feet are not that cute. Plus I saw another girl out in vibrams. Times they sure are achangin'.

I hope to redeem myself next week. And I think I'm going to do more short runs barefoot. It's a process.

Hasta. :)

ING and Me: Training Week 7

2010-08-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

7 weeks in! Can you believe it?! The marathon is only 76 days away. So now that we've established that I'm in the thick of it, here's an update. I would like to dub this post: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ;)"

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Saturday: 14 miles

Total Mileage: 29 miles

Week's lesson: It's all about perspective

This week, I wanted to get a groove going. And I did pretty decently. I have not missed a single strength training workout. And if I do yoga today then I'm officially back on the horse. That said, I've struggled to get everything in. I was particularly stressed about adding a mile to each of my weekday runs. I've not yet mastered getting to bed on time. I should head to bed before 11. That's soooooo early. Even when I'm home, it's hard for me to go to sleep that soon after finishing at work. Then suddenly when I am in bed, my mind wanders on nonsense before I finally fall asleep. Hopefully, this week I can get my sleeping pattern down.

The weird sleeping is also screwing with my appetite. I've stopped eating complete crap (for the most part) and I haven't been drinking, but on Friday, I had a doosey of a day. My family was meeting in Coney Island for dinner after work and I had to be up at 5:45 to make sure that I finished my run and get to a 9:00 appointment. Coney Island is just about as far as you can get from my apartment. But I went, and we were late for dinner (I told you it was a family trait) and I was so hungry all day that I overdid it. I ate my normal breakfast, an entire box of cereal (again), biscotti, nuts, my normal lunch, a huge smoothie, 3 blow pops (to help me stay awake on the train... yeah, not the best excuse), french fries, french fries (no, I did not accidentally type that twice. I had spicy AND regular fries), and chicken roti. On the nearly 2 hour trek back home that night I was uncomfortably full. Then I went to bed at 1ish.

So I wasn't too surprised when my body mutinied 2 hours later. I was crazy dehydrated and nauseated to the point that sipping on water almost triggered my upchuck reflex. Clearly, after being pretty decent about my eating, by body had some stern words for me. When I finally got to sleep, my alarm went off not 2 hours later. Then I hit the snooze for an hour before finally getting up.

So then I had to decided, get up and run... or not. 14 miles after the debacle the previous night or go back to sleep and try to fit it in after my appointment and before a birthday party later that day (which I missed. I literally missed the boat)?

I got up an ran. And I'm glad I did. All because of Pooh. I've been reading the Tao of Pooh on the train. Of the little bit I've read thus far, what resonated most with me was the story of the three men and the vinegar. Vinegar was life and all three men tasted it. Two found it sour or bitter, but the third, the Taoist found it sweet. So all the sourness of life can be seen as an opportunity, something like that. Just go with me, I was sleep deprived and dehydrated. :).

So out I went to run the run that would prove that I can successfully run two laps in the hills of Central Park even after a rough night. That's a pretty sweet thing to say. I ran it. It was beautiful. There was another bike race going on and lots of other runners out even though it was 7:00 on a Saturday morning. My stomach was fine, it didn't bother me at all. And I didn't have to stop for water as much as I had anticipated. And... I was fast! Less than 2 hours for 14 miles! That means I could probably run a half marathon in under 2, which is totally one of my goals.

The only thing that gives me pause about my run, is Cogsworth. I didn't stretch before my run and I only stretched a little afterwards. Cogsworth has been feeling a bit tight, so I'm icing him. And I'll do yoga today :). Hopefully Cogsworth will start behaving.

Hope you guys are doing well. Happy Sunday.

ING and Me: Training Week 6

2010-08-14T22:51:00.000-04:00

I must be getting old. When I was younger, days seemed interminable, and it took forever before the weekend arrived. Now I swear it was just New Years. How is it the middle of August already? Yikes. This week was a lot better than last week. Perhaps it's because this was a step back week. Or maybe it's because I haven't done any strength training or yoga etc, but am trying to not beat myself up about it. Or, most likely, it's because I've been back on the healthy wagon for a week now and my body and mind are the better for it.

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: 6 miles

Thursday: 3 miles

Saturday: 9 miles

Total Mileage: 21 miles

Week's lesson: Hills are not the enemy

It's still really busy at work, so I don't really remember my weekday runs. It's strange that by 5 o'clock my morning run seems like it happened days ago. Ah well.

This week on Tuesday night, I left work earlier than usual and came home to cook all the food in my fridge that seemed on the verge of rotting. Then I started bringing that food with me to the office for lunch. And I bought some better snacks to bring with me. Suddenly, I feel like I'm fueling my body again instead of just pacifying it with calories. This has helped take the edge of the stress I feel when I don't get enough sleep. But even that's looking up. I think (knock on wood) that next week, I'll get a full 8 (probably 7) hours of sleep and still get my running and strength training etc done. Yay! :)

It also turns out that there's a bit of a running culture at my office. One of my bosses and I had a long talk about his experience with the NYC marathon. He's another speedy one. NYC was his first marathon and he was aiming for a BQ. He talked about how everyone is so excited that they take the Verrazano bridge way too fast. (He did the first 2 miles in under 11 mins). He also talked about how he managed to stop his calves for spasming after mile 22. Apparently you're supposed to changed your stride. If you were taking long steps, you shorten them and vice versa. But mainly he told me that I needed to make sure to get my hill work in. Whoops. I've never done a dedicated hill workout, but usually I try not to avoid the hills in my runs. That is until about a two weeks ago when the sleep deprived induced funk took over. So Saturday, I sought to rectify the situation by doing my long run in the hills of Central park.

And boy was I feeling it! I cannot believe how quickly my body adapted to flatter running surfaces. I felt every incline and I had to do a lot of self talk to get up those hills. At one point I was sure I was going backwards. Then as I was at the base of the Harlem hills about to go up, I see a girl reach the bottom. I moved over so she could run by, but nope that wasn't her plan. Instead she turned around and started booking it up the hill. "No way" I thought. "She can't be doing hill repeats on the Harlem hills". Actually, yes she can and yes she was. As I trudged up and prayed for it to be over, she reached the top then promptly turned around and started back down. I wonder how many times she did that. No matter she is my hero. And when I'm about to crap out at the thought of working my way up a hill, I'll think of her. Because no one incline can be more grueling than doing hill repeats on the hills of Harlem.

That's it for me. How have you guys been? It's training season, are you working the hills too? Good luck to all. And as for me...
Week 7, Bring it. ;)

ING and Me: Training Week 5

2010-08-14T22:30:00.000-04:00

Hey Kids,

It's been awhile no? I'm a full week behind in my training recaps, but never fear, I'm still alive and kicking (kinda) and haven't been totally derailed (kinda). But I must say, I'm very happy to have training week 5 behind me.

Tuesday: 3 miles... then 3 more

Wednesday: 6 miles

Thursday: 3 miles

Saturday: 12 miles

Total Mileage: 27 miles

Week's lesson: Sleep is a beautiful thing.

In a nutshell, week 5 was the week that I was lucky to stick to the running part of my training schedule. This is to say that I didn't do, yoga, strength training, or any cross training all week. But, inexplicably, I did an extra run on Tuesday. Week 5 was also the week were I didn't get to sleep. I've mentioned that I started a new job, I think. In any case, I'm at the stage where I'm no longer brand new, but I haven't found my groove yet. Everyone keeps saying and I agree, that I won't fell totally normal and adjusted for the first 6 months. That just happens to coincide with marathon season. Sigh.

It was busy at work, exacerbated by the fact that I'm dealing with a new learning curve, so I wasn't getting home until late. Plus because I wanted to make sure I got all my runs in, I've been getting up early before to do them. This all equals about 5ish or fewer hours of sleep a night. And that equals, one unhappy camper.

Despite being so busy, I made a friend at the office who also runs and does capoeira and other cool stuff, who suggested that we run during lunch on Tuesday. Now, having had to work through a few of my lunches, I didn't want to risk missing my training run by putting it off. Then lo and behold, I do my normal run in the morning and at lunch time we're both able to take a break. So I tacked another 3 mile or so (I didn't have my watch) to my daily mileage. It was a nice run. I've never run during my lunch break. It did leave me feeling a little more energized for the next couple of hours. Plus we ran past the UN which was cool.

Saturday's run. Sigh. 12 miles. So much pain. And not even because of the running although I was really sore. I think it was a combination of the fatigue and the horrible horrible horrible eating (an entire family sized box of honeyed bunches of oats (with almonds) during an afternoon at my desk + gummy worms by the container + a bag of godiva chocolate caramels (they were on sale) +things I've surely blocked) AND Flo. I wanted to die. But at least I finished.

On Sunday I got a massage. I cannot tell you how much I was looking forward to it. I had been so tense all week that my neck started spasming. Fun times. ;). It was there that the masseuse told me that I need to breathe (well duh). But no really, I need to cool out and chill and let things flow. Fair enough. I'll work on that.

I think this week trained my brain more than my body. I'm proud of myself for pushing through instead of giving up and lying on my couch (I miss my couch). It dawned on my that in less than 3 months I've gotta run this thing and I better get my shiz together by then. Things are looking up. I just got to take it one day at a time.

I hope you all are well and finding balance.

ING and Me: Training Week 4

2010-08-01T21:39:00.000-04:00

Hey Kids! Another week has gone by. We're all older, are we any wiser? This week I tried to wise up and get into my training groove. It's a month down! It's 1/4 of the way through training! It's only 3 calendar months until the marathon! Gee whiz! Can I say that I'm totally into my groove? Not yet, I'm still working on a work/life balance and I'm 1 day behind on my non-running schedule. Am I as delinquent as I have been? Nope. Here's the rundown (hehe).

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: 6 miles (crack butt of dawn give or take an hour or so)

Thursday: 3 miles (+ strength training)

Saturday: 11 miles

Total Mileage: 23 miles

Week's lesson: Some early morning runs are almost magical. Don't shirk the strength training unless you want to suffer the consequences later. Sugar is the devil.

I got back on the healthy living bandwagon on Monday. And boy oh boy does it whomp. I went through the crankiness and inexplicable fatigue that I went through the last time I came down from a sugar bender. Never again. Then again, I always say that. ;)

It was so nice outside on Tuesday morning when I went out for my run. After Monday's sugar withdrawal, I think I'm finally over the hump. It was positively cool outside and my body wasn't protesting the early morning movement. Bliss. So I added .45 miles on the end and then got ready for work.

Wednesday's 6 was also pretty good. It was another lovely morning, but I was up way earlier than I'd like. I've been going to the office earlier than usual and because of my new get your rear in gear healthy eating initiative, I decided to prepare both my lunch and dinner for work. So I got up, ran 6 miles, dashed back inside, skipped my stretch (I know I know), showered and grilled some salmon and prepared some lentils and veggies. Then booked it. I was exhausted by 5. I don't know how mothers do this for themselves and their families. I could barely do it for myself.

On Thursday I got back into my strength training. I ran my 3 then game inside and changed into fresh workout clothes and prepared to do my ab and back workout. I have been using the same workout dvds for most of this year and while I can't say that it's ever been easy, I managed to get to the point where I could get through them without cursing life too much. Until Thursday, that is. 1 week ONE WEEK of negligent strength training and I've good to seed. I struggled like it was the first time. And that's when one of the universal truths that I never want to think about made itself known (again). You can't rest on your laurels and expect things to stay the same. If only.

On Saturday the running gods gave me a gift. If you leave anywhere near NYC, you know that yesterday was one of the kind of days that you dream about. One of those days where New York looks exactly like it does in the movies (the rom coms not the thrillers ;) ). It was a gorgeous day.   Cloudless and cool with a slight breeze. The sun was bright, but not too bright and warm without scorching. It was just one of those days that makes you feel blessed to be alive.

I can also say with conviction that it was an equally stellar day in Connecticut. And I know this because I spent most of yesterday in CT. I was there for baby G's first birthday party. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baby G!) That was the reason why on a Saturday morning, I, KB-nightowl-extraordinaire, was outside and running by 6:00 a.m. Now, I know that's not insanely early for some, but I was definitely one of the first people out that morning.

I ran the first few miles (out of the 11) on the more trafficked streets of NYC. The sun had only just risen and I didn't want to go to the park when so few people were out. So at one point I ran along 5 avenue looking into store windows. Gap is having a sale btw, Bergdorffs is not. ;) Then as I saw more runners headed towards the park, I did too. And it was magical. Just as I entered the park a huge pack of cyclists whizzed by me. They looked like skittles (it always comes back to sweets with me). Then a motorcycle followed.   It was then that I realized that there was a bike race going on and for 6 miles every 10 minutes or so a pack of cyclists would whiz by with motorcycles leading and trailing them. It was entertaining to see the lead back spread out and become less dense and the miles ticked by. Then I saw the Shakespeare in the park line. I maintain that the line for tickets is as much a NYC summer event as seeing the play itself. I got home just in time to stretch (aren't you proud?) and shower and change before my friend C pick me up to head to CT for the par-tay.

Today, Sunday, I was supposed to do yoga, but I'll do it tomorrow before work. I may not be totally back on the horse yet, but I'm getting there. I hope all your training/running/living is going well and as planned. Until we meet again. :)

Good Morning

2010-07-31T07:45:00.000-04:00

It is now 7:45 on Saturday morning and I have finished my 11 mile run. :) I wanted to document this because it may never happen again.

Yay!!!

2010-07-29T23:14:00.000-04:00

The medal I liked won! Now all I have to do is finish the marathon... :)

ING and Me: Training Week 3

2010-07-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

Time seems to be flying. How is is nearly August already. That's practically fall and fall is practically November (just go with me on that one) and November is the marathon! So, am I on track? Eh... here we go.

Tuesday: 3 m
Wednesday: 5m
Thursday: 3 m (back in NYC)
Saturday: 6 m (step back week)
Total Mileage: 19 m
Week's Lesson: Traveling doesn't mess up your schedule, giving yourself an excuse does.

Tuesday: 3 miles in the Texas heat is nothing to sneeze at. As per usual I went out a bit late (around 10 a.m.) which is when the sun is at it's strongest. But the run itself wasn't too bad. There was a lot of shade for the first mile and I was running into the wind so I didn't notice the heat too much. Mile 2 sucked. I made a turn and there was no shade and no wind. Brutal. The last mile of any run is always my favorite because you can always run for 10 more minutes. Plus the majority of that mile was downhill.

Wednesday: 5 miles back in the TX heat but not as bad as Tuesday. I went out earlier and there was a slight breeze which is always welcome. Plus, I always amuse myself during my Texas runs by imagining what people in their cars are thinking when they slow down to gape at me.

Thursday: 3 miles back in the good old NYC. I was practically cool outside. I went out in the evening after having flown home that afternoon. 3 miles just to clear my head and shake some of the travel weariness off. It was lovely. But then I skipped my strength training.

In fact this was the beginning of my strength/cross training bad behavior. It started with me thinking, "Oh I've had a long day and what's the harm". Well now it's been about a week of non-existent strength training and I need to get back in gear. I'm working on it.

Saturday: Hot and miserable. The humidity that I had missed in TX came out full force. I felt bad for people running the Queens half that morning as I went out to tackle my 6 miles. The best thing that I can say about that run is that I'm glad that it's over. I kept trying to imagine that it was the last six miles of NYC and that powering through it now would mean that if I felt this way in November it would be less of a hurdle. It kinda worked... kinda. :)

This week is a big week. New job. New schedule. Improved training? (Today is Tuesday, so I can say that I still haven't gotten back on my strength training schedule, but it has been two days of decent eating. Baby steps)

See you on the flip side! Hope you're all well.

ING and Me: Training Week 1, er 2

2010-07-19T13:52:00.003-04:00

"Are you practicing for the marathon?" Why yes, yes I am.

It's week one baby (kinda)! ~~One~~ two down, 16 to go!

And how did this week go? Not too bad I think. I did all my runs, but missed yoga. I had a good race on Saturday, but have still been eating like crap (we're talking BAD: cookies, candy, popsicles, frozen drinks, french fries. All the things you would reach for if you were told you only had hours to live).

Exhibit A

Oh and there's the little issue of my inability to count. Yeah there are definitely only 16 weeks left until the marathon. I counted. 4 times, just to be sure. So I should have done the week one schedule last week. I don't feel too guilty because the difference was a 9 mile long run instead of an 8 miler and I had already done an extra run this week as a sort of penance. In any case, here's the rundown.

Runs: 5
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: (Race) 4 miles (extra run)
Sunday: 8 miles (treadmill)
Total Mileage: 23 (but feel free to check since we've established that I can't count ;) )
Week's lesson: Write your training schedule down on an actual calendar and then you might start it on time. ;)

This week has been pretty eventful. I started my Hal Higdon's marathon schedule for Novice 2. I started packing my office up because I start a new job in a week (yikes). There was the Philharmonic in Central Park. We had an office function at the Central Park Zoo. And I flew home to see the parentals and my brother (on a flight that was 3 times delayed and didn't land in Dallas until 3 in the morning). It's been over 100 degrees here which is why I was treadmill bound for yesterday's run. I don't mess with TX (tehe).

The Philharmonic in Central Park

Complete with post concert fireworks

Tuesday's run was the first time in a while that I've gone out for a three miler and I wasn't quite sure what kind of pace to adopt. It was really warm and humid (shocker) but not as bad as usual so I decided to push the pace a bit. I finished an was walking home and a guy with a backpack stopped and asked if I was practicing for the marathon. Yeppers buddy, I am. Even if I am a week late ;).

All the other runs went pretty well. I even managed to eek out 8 miles on the treadmill without pulling out my hair. Independence Day was playing on the TV and while I would be all about watching it at home on my couch, it couldn't hold my attention while I was running. I do think that treadmill is beneficial for developing your focus. Hopefully it'll get easier for me to focus without staring at the clock the more I do it.

Saturday's run was the CPC Run for Central Park and was my last summer race. And it was a doosey.

Race Rant
I was a sleepy girl. I had dinner with my friend J and afterward stayed up doing nonsense (like cleaning) instead of going to sleep.

Race Rave
Once again it was so hot and humid that the officials told us to take it easy and not try to go out and beat any records. As per usual that advice when in one ear and out the other because this has been the magical summer of the PR and because I haven't done a 4 mile race since Mother's Day, so I wouldn't have to be crazy fast to beat it. So I was aiming to beat it just a little, so that I can remember this summer forever as the miracle running summer. Well that plan was shot to crap by a certain person I know who runs crazy fast (like nearly 1 and 1/2 minutes faster per mile than me) decided that he was going to have a fun run and run with me. Needless to say his "fun run" was my "balls out" praying for it to be over. And despite the really bad eating and lack of sleep, he pushed me to my fastest four miler ever (31:34) and my fastest pace ever (7:53). And the summer of PR ends in tact, which is the best rave ever.

The NY Harriers Team: way too fast for me. Every last one of them were in the first corral.

Nevertheless, I'm happy with where I'm at :)

Next week: I'm pressing on with week 3. It should be fine because it's a step back week (6 mile long run) and next week's long run is only 11 miles. I ran 10 miles a couple of weeks ago so I don't think that I'm jumping in too deep. Wish me luck and I hope all of your running plans are running (hehe) smoothly.

Catch UP #3: Miscellaneous Life Stuff

2010-07-12T15:53:00.003-04:00

Sometimes life gets in the way of... life. LOL. I've been living in the city for 3 summers now. Every summer I look at the long list of all things NY to do and promise myself that I'll do them all (or at least a significant number of them). Then, I only do one or two or none at all. Well this summer I've done my level best to put a stop to that and to really enjoy what NY has to offer. And it is a lot.

Shakespeare in the Park

What's not to love right? Central Park. Shakespeare. Al Pacino. Free Tickets. This year the Public Theater chose to put on Shakespeare's The Winters Tale and The Merchant of Venice (with Al Pacino). And I did something that I always thought would be interesting. I waited in line. Because the tickets are free people line up before distribution in the hope of attaining a pair before they are all gone. I tried to get tickets for The Winter's Tale first and reached the line at 11:00 a.m. (tickets are distributed at 1:00 p.m.) The line wasn't too long which was unusual and likely to the the fact that there was a limited distribution that day (it was opening night) and so not that many people tried their luck. As it was they ran out of tickets right before me (bummer) but I got a standby voucher for any tickets that became available right before the show which meant waiting for another hour and a half before the show began. But I got a ticket and can tell you that The Winter's Tale was/is really really good. A total must see even if Al Pacino isn't in it.

While waiting in line for The Winter's Tale I heard that if you weren't in line by 6:30 a.m. (yep, that's right, not a typo) for The Merchant of Venice then you didn't stand a chance. So last Friday I set my alarm for 4:30 and got up before the sun. As I gathered my things I really considered not leaving until after sunrise because it was just me going and who wants to be alone on Central Park West in the middle of the night? Riiiiiiight. When I got to the line (which lines up on CPW until 6 when the park opens and Public Theater people walk the line inside) it was already 4 city blocks long. I saw air mattresses (complete with pillows and sheets) and people sleeping on cardboard and chairs and towels and even a tent. This was 5:00 a.m. But it was a really cool experience. I thought that waiting 8 hours for tickets would feel interminable, but it went by totally fast (I can now say that I slept in Central Park because I totally took a two hour nap from 6-8). I spent most of the time talking to the girl ahead of me in line. And it rained a couple of times and I made myself a little fort with my picnic blanket. And the guy behind and his 5 year old son were so cute playing together that time kinda flew. Plus The Merchant of Venice was a really excellent show. A little depressing for one of the "happy" plays, but Al Pacino was ah-mazing as was the rest of the cast (who, it so happens, were doing double duty because they are the same cast from The Winter's Tale).

The Early Birds

Seriously?

Security dude leading us in at 6:00 a.m.

The Line

Yep

mmm Hmm

My Rain Tent

A Real Tent

Coney Island

It was me, my Runner's World and the sand on the Fourth of July. Lovely. Until I was met with this sign after I came home sweaty and covered in sand.

Fail.

Bryant Park Films

I missed the showing of Rodger's and Hammerstein's Carousel because it was sooooooo humid and had been threatening to thunder and lightening and pour that I couldn't imagine sitting outside for a musical for 3 hours.
So I reconciled myself to go see the French Connection the following week. It was a really good movie. I'm a total wuss and I hadn't looked up the plot which is probably good because I would have chickened out. I cannot handle violence. And this movie isn't that violent, but just violent enough to have me at the edge of my seat. And it was fun to be in the communal atmosphere. I'm definitely going to try to make it for Monty Python when it shows.

Riverside Park Films

The Neverending Sto-o-ryyyyyy la da da, la da da, la da da. I haven't seen this movie in YEARS (even though I own it). It reminds me of summer day camp when I was a kid and I totally forgot how good it is. When I watch movies like this I remember how much imagination kids have. Awesome.

They totally wanted to watch too.

The World Cup

And of course the World Cup which granted is not a NY thing, but watching the games (especially the final) with a huge group of Spainards is an experience that is hard to describe. I've been to several of the Spain games with my friend S who is Spanish and all her Spanish friends and I have to say, that they party and enjoy sports better than we do.

Awesome

One Spainard proud that her boys brought it home.

I'm sure that there's more, but my memory fails. :) This week the Philharmonic is playing in Central Park, and by gum I will be there. ;)

I hope that you all are taking advantage of your summer and sampling everything that life has to offer. I know NJoy is ;). Save some Disney for me!

Catch UP #2: Dash and Splash

2010-07-12T15:53:00.001-04:00

Saturday (the 10th) was the Dash and Splash. You may remember that last year I was supposed to run the Dash ~~and Splash~~ (nee Park to Park) but couldn't because of my cuboid. Well this year I rectified the situation and ran it in the heat and humidity that we New Yorker know and ~~love~~ tolerate ;).

Race Rant
Hot and Humid. My serious lack of mental preparation. My even worse eating habits of late. The past few weeks I have been pretty lax on the healthy eating front. I've been doing a lot of stuff outside in the world and going for dinners and generally living life, but was not being diligent about what went into my mouth. I rekindled my love affair with cookies and my runs have paid for it.

Last Thursday in particular was pretty bad. I had been up really late with a friend the night before and it was hot and humid (shocker) when I went out. Normally, I push through the kind of sluggishness that I feel when I run after not making the best food choices but that run was different. My stomach hated me and I couldn't tell if I was nauseated or really really needed to use the bathroom. After the first mile I was convinced that if I didn't stop and sort things out I would throw up (never an option) or pass out. So I stopped and headed for a nearby bathroom. Thank goodness too because my stomach really started to rebel at that point. I was fine after that point but clearly sleep deprivation, poor diet, and heat and humidity are not the ingredients of a good run.

Nevertheless, those were the ingredients for Saturday's run too (except for the poor diet. After Thursday I got back on the healthier eating kick and was only derailed during the World Cup final, but that's another post). On Friday I did something very NY and waited in line for Shakespeare in the park tickets. the show was great but I was up for 22 hours. It was so hot and humid on Saturday morning that the race officials urged people not to push too hard and to have more of a tempo run. And they reminded us of all the misting stations along the course and had set up extra water stations.

On top of all that, I hadn't planned to run this race. The NYC marathon is 18 weeks away (holy cow!) So I was planning to lay off racing until the Fifth Avenue Mile in September. I only registered for the Dash and Splash on Thursday at the urging of a friend and was feeling a bit nervous about it. It's not like I haven't run a 10k before, but I wanted to run really well. This summer has been a bit of a miracle. Every race I've managed to run just a little bit faster than the last. Given all the above issues, I really didn't think that I could best my last 10K and I didn't want to tarnish my summer record. Don't worry, I realize how ridiculous I sound. It's this kind of thinking that turns perfectionists into procrastinators and I often have to struggle against it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Race Rave
So I ran the Dash and then Splashed in the Lasker pool (awesome) and then came home and crashed.
The race started and ended near the pool which is near the northeast corner of the park. That meant that we got the hard part over with early. Within the first mile we were in the heart of the Harlem Hills. Then the middle chunk of the race was a lot of downhill action before more moderate hills for the last couple of miles. I got water at about half of the water stops and ran through all of the misting stations except for one because my 5 fingers were getting squishy and at the end I stood under the hose. It was glorious. And definitely worth it. Also worth it. My time (50:15), a PR by almost 3 minutes(!) and something that wouldn't have happened if I had let my perfectionism get in the way.

Catch UP #1: Achilles 5 miler

2010-07-12T15:53:00.000-04:00

June 27 was the Achilles Hope and Possibility 5 miler and it was a doosey. Prince freakin' Harry ran that race with us before heading to governor's island for a polo match and standing this close to one of my friends. I ran the race with my friend T of T&S parents to baby G. That is such a running family in the making. We watched the kids races afterward and S was very happy to learn that G can start his racing career at the ripe age of 2.

Race Rant
I couldn't get a good picture of the Prince. S got one though and I'll totally post it when she sends it to me. Other than that it was a very hot and humid day, but that's not exactly unusual for NYC in the summertime.

Race Rave
Despite the heat and humidity, it was slightly overcast during the run which always makes the heat a little easier to bear. This time we covered the same five miles as in the Father's day race, but backwards. I definitely think that this was the easier direction because the last mile almost entirely downhill or flat. And that helps account for my time which was (40:08!!!!) I think I'm getting spoiled this summer. I think everyone's running improves fairly steadily in the beginning and then after that improvement comes in fits and spurts. I may be in the middle of one such spurt. Not that I'm complaining. I just hope that it lasts until ING NYC ;).

It's always nice to do a race with friends (if only for the tasty brunch that nearly always follows).

Watching the kids races made me wish for twin girls again. (Darn you Parent Trap!)

How cute are they!?

The other highlight of the post race activities has to be the electric slide. That's right, you read correctly, the electric slide. The played (and danced) the electric slide and I was tickled pink (I think that's the first time I've ever found that phrase applicable).

Oh boy...

2010-07-12T10:11:00.000-04:00

Hey peeps, It's been awhile now hasn't it? Gracious 3 weeks! Yikes! So we're gonna play catch up. Instead of hitting you with one humongozoid post (trust me it would be the war and peace of posts) I'm gonna divide it into smaller chunks.

Missed you guys out in the running/blogging world. How have you been?

A Twofer!

2010-06-21T20:00:00.002-04:00

Hey Peeps,

This was a race-heavy week. And for that reason you're getting two race recaps in one post. How lucky are you?

First up: The JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge. Third time's a charm. I've signed up for the corporate challenge ever year and ever year, I've had to flake. Except for this year. So how was it . . . ?

RACE RANT

Crowds. Crowds. Crowds. This race is packed. I wish that there was a better word for it because "packed" doesn't convey how ridiculously crowded it was. It was like Times Square on New Year's eve and everyone was wearing their company's colors. Then to make matters worse, we were expected to line ourselves up by pace (except for the super speedy who had little stickers on their bibs that allowed them to go straight to the front). Two girls from the office and I had agreed to run together and we lined up in the 8-9 minute mile group. Apparently walkers lined up in the 8-9 minute mile group as well. They also lined up in the 7 and 6 minute mile groups. Which is why, for the entire race, we were darting in, out, and around walkers galore. It was kind of funny actually. Run two steps, dart left, dart right, hop on the sidewalk, sprint, hop down, dart left, quick stop, dart right. Repeat. I wish I were joking. The race was only 3.5 miles but my garmin read 3.65 by the end. That's a whole tenth of a mile and change spent weaving in and out of the crowd. It all reminded me of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather flying haphazardly around Maleficent's castle because they were freaked out by all the gargoyles.

RACE RAVE

Beforehand in what I'd like to dub the corporate village

Notwithstanding the crowds the race was really fun. It was nice to see how many runners there are at the office and I discovered something about running with other people. It can really push you. There were several times during the race when I thought "holy cow are we really still running this fast?" The answer was "yeah, we are". We each took turns out front and despite having to dodge lots of people and the water hoses (I wasn't hot enough to risk the blisters) we finished really fast 28:29 for my cohorts and 28:33 for me. That's like 8:10 miles. I was pretty shocked. And beat. The crazy person in me thought that it would be a good idea to run my regular 5 miles that morning, do yoga, and then run the race later that day. Riiiiiiiiight.

Still it's a fun race and I would definitely do it again next year.

Next up: NYRR's Annual Race Against Prostate Cancer.

This five mile race is one of my favorites. I ran it last year and I think it's a great cause. My dad is a survivor so it has extra meaning.

RACE RANT

Humid. Humid. Humid. Hot.
So humid, humid, humid and hot that they passed out flyers on dealing with race day heat with our race bibs.

Add to the weather the fact that I did not prep properly for this race. The race was bright and early (8:00 a.m.) on Sunday morning. Saturday was a really long day. REALLY LONG. As in I was up at 4:30 a.m. long. Why was I up so early? Because my body decided to mutiny and despite my best efforts with a heating pad and promises of chocolate, it was not having it. It was pretty bad. I felt so nauseated that I spent 10 minutes cradling my trashcan and praying that I wouldn't throw up. (Vomit makes me cry. Yeah good luck to me when I have kids).

Speaking of kids, my cousin's baby shower was also on Saturday and I didn't get home from it until 1:00 a.m. Yes, you read that right. I knew it would be like that. Our family shindigs always start late (the original invitation said 3:00 p.m. but I didn't get there until 7:00 and we didn't eat until 9:00) and end late (there were still people there when I left). The food there was tasty and plentiful. It was half barbecue and half regular caribbean dishes. And cake. I woke up still full.

So by the time I left for the starting line, I was pretty exhausted and my body and I were on only slightly better terms.

RACE RAVE

Don't think from my rant that I didn't have a good time. I had a really great time at this race. I even (inexplicably) managed to PR! (41:45). Maybe it was the heat or my fatigue, but for the majority of the race I felt like I was going really slow. I didn't want to push it too hard and then fade or get heatstroke or something. I even slowed to take water twice along the way. I'm thinking that this PR is directly related to the Corporate Challenge. If not for S and E (the two girls I ran with) pushing me on Thursday, I would've felt Sunday's pace more.

Other than the heat, everything felt pretty good. I stretched well before the race (I ran into one of my friends who works at my physical therapists office so I couldn't shirk my stretching responsibilities.)

In any case I'm running along and out of nowhere a man goes flying past. This was a little bit after the first mile. I always imagine in situations like these that he was supposed to be in the first or second corral and was running late (no pun intended. That's a lie, I totally intended it) and had to start in the back. But what made this particular speedy runner stick out in my mind were his shoes. Yep, he was in a pair of Five Fingers (KSOs I think). I wanted to take a picture, but by the time I thought to reach for my camera he was gone. It made me smile though especially after seeing nothing but regular running shoes while I was in the starting corral.

My view of the sea of running shoes in the starting corral

Other things that made me smile: The Joggler

Awesome, there are no words.

My race number and corral for the Father's Day race is the exactly the same as it was for this year's Mother's Day race. What are the odds?

After the race, they had free prostate screenings which I think is a really good idea. Good on ya NYRR. ;)

Perhaps my favoritestested thing ever was the kids races. These tykes were adorable and so excited to be running. It made me wish I were a kid again.

On top of all that goodness. I made a new friend (Hey E!). She and I hung out post race and chatted with one of the New York Harriers. They seem to be a really good running group and they have weekly tempo, speed and long runs. And they are fast. I told E that I felt like I needed to work up to joining them. Or perhaps the lesson from the Corporate Challenge is for me to just bite the bullet and do it now. I might improve even faster if I have other people to push me. Plus, I've been talking about starting speed workouts and tempo runs for awhile and I still haven't brought myself to do it yet. Maybe the moral of this week's races is that I need a running group to help me advance.

They run AND they sing.

Lastly, this year's race shirt was really cute. Usually my race t-shirts (unless they're technical shirts) end up languishing away in a drawer because the fit isn't always great. Not this time. This time I took my scissors to my shirt and actually wore it. Yay progress. I'm going to see what else I can do with my race shirts so that they actually get used.

Well, that's all for me. I hope you guys had a great last weekend of Spring. Hello FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

So Much!

2010-06-16T22:04:00.001-04:00

Hey Peeps! It's been forever (and a day) hasn't it? So let's play catch up. I apologize now because this post is gonna be looooooong.

First in all things cool, this year we get to vote vote for which Mickey medal we would like to receive. All three options are pretty cool. Medal 3 look most like the one from this year except it's got color while this year's medal is solid like Medal 2. I know my favorite. And I think I know Njoy's favorite (have you changed your mind since you gave me the heads up?), but I won't bias you all by saying which one it is. Vote(!) and I'll see you at the finish line (God willing).

Also on the awesome train is Disney's "Marathon Monday". Unlike NYRR's Marathon Monday which is the first day to sign up for the lottery for next year's marathon, Disney's Marathon Monday is an actual celebration with free tickets to your park of choice. In a word. Ah-mazing. Done. Sold. (Ok so that was three words.)

Next up is the New York Mini 10K race recap. The race was so perfect that I can't even really do a proper rant, but here we go anyway.

Race Rant
Ummmm . . . er. More Central Park 10Ks should start off on Central park west. But this one did. So, I guess I'm back to . . . ummmm. . .

Race Rave
So MUCH! The biggest rave is that Saturday's race served as a mini reunion. I haven't seen my friends T&S and baby G all year(!) but S registered for the race just so we would see each other (so sweet) and a good time was had by all. This was S's first road race since giving birth which means that there's another running mom on the loose.

Speaking of running moms: Kara Groucher AND PAULA RADCLIFF(!!!) were both present and both pregnant. In fact they're due on the same day (how freaking cool is that?) Paula ran pregnant and all adding to the reasons why I love her. She, of course was 2 or 3 miles into the race by the time I reached the starting line, but I did manage to get a pic of Kara. Please let me look like that any stage of my life much less while in the midst of my second trimester.

While waiting in the corrals S and I made a couple of quick friends (Hi Amanda!). I love runners.

The race itself was really good. It was the perfect temperature (60s) and slightly overcast with a light breeze. Perfect. Plus the steady incline on Central Park West was a lot easier on the legs that the rolling hills of Central Park. When we entered the park it was in the middle of one such hill. Then we had the best downhill ever. That's when I noticed something. My posture on the downhills was totally different than before. Usually, I open up my stride and push my speed. This time though (almost involuntarily) my stride shortened and I was taking a lot of quick baby steps down the hill.

This was my first race in my five fingers and my first run in them longer than 5 miles. Being aware of that, I really wanted to cut myself some slack and not push too hard. But then, I felt so GOOD. I hit the starting line and for the first race since the More half, I took off and nothing rebelled. My achilles, my soleus, everything felt good. So I road out that good feeling thinking that around mile 3 or 4 I would get tired like I did during Healthy Kidney. But the sensation never came and by the time I seriously considered pulling back a bit and riding the rest out, I was all of 800 yards away from the finish. PR baby! 53:08.

I think the Vibrams are a keeper and I might actually be ok training for ING NYC in them. I didn't run on Sunday even though I was really tempted. I think Jason Robillard author of "The Barefoot Running Book" would have been proud. I finished his book which is a pretty quick read, and here's what I've got to say. . . .

KB Book Review: The Barefoot Running Book

This book is straight forward and really helpful. I read it all the way through, but it works best as a guide or reference. It lays out several stages for transitioning to barefoot or minimalist running and discusses what types of exercises and drills will help you progress. Reading it is helping me to temper my actions, e.g. I haven't attempted a back to back run (yet) or done more than 16 miles in a week.

The one piece of advise that I haven't followed is the run literally barefoot before running in minimalist shoes rule. I would and I have walked along a portion of a bike path completely barefoot, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to run totally sans shoes. Perhaps I haven't developed a thick enough skin (no pun intended) to withstand the strange looks that I'm sure to get. Or perhaps (more likely), it's because I live in New York and even our cleanest trails aren't that clean. Case in point, I went out for five yesterday and there was a dead rat in the path. Gross. I nearly jumped out of my skin. And it isn't the first time.

That said, I'm tempted to try it and see just how far my skin would let me go. It does make me wonder if true barefoot running women forgo getting pedicures which could be counter productive when one is trying to toughen up one's feet. Ok, sorry, weird tangent. The bottom line is that the book is helpful and it has at the very least gotten me thinking about how to properly transition which is the first step towards injury prevention.

But wait there's more! I've had a running heavy week and I'm realizing how much of my life is touched by running. Yesterday at work I got an email from my friend M who is an awesome runner and was 10th at the More half. You remember? Yeah, so she emails me to let me know how her first marathon in 9 years went. I gotta say, it went pretty well. She won. She WON. SHE WON! How cool is that!!! I don't understand how my friend are so amazing.

M's victory reminded me of another amazing 3:10 marathoner, Jeff Le.

Believe it or not (you so won't believe it). This man went from nearly 300 lbs to a 160 lb Boston qualifier in a year and a half. Crazy talk. There really aren't any words for it, but you can read about it on RunnersWorld here.

It is incredible what running can do for the body. With all the health benefits, stronger heart and lungs, stronger bones, healthier blood, etc., losing weight seems like icing.

Which brings me to my next bit of news. I made a major run to Goodwill today.

I usually make a Goodwill run twice a year when I'm moving between my spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes. And every year, I usually have quite a bit of stuff to take. But this year was a record setting year. Why? Because the majority of the clothes that I gave away today, I gave away because they no longer fit. My clothes don't fit. And not in the usual way that my clothes don't fit forcing me to give up on them. They're too big. I was flabbergasted. I didn't really see it happen. I still only sometimes see the difference. But either I lost weight or someone slipped me Alice's "Drink me" potion and I'm shrinking.

I've been filling the bags with clothes for the past 2 months as I would go to put something on and then realize that it no longer fit (or in some cases never fit. I gave away several never worn dresses that I was keeping around until they fit but missed that window). I finally took it to Goodwill after a long internal struggle. I didn't notice myself shrinking out of my clothes so what if the reverse occurs and I've given away all of my clothes? Ultimately, unlike a diet, this running this isn't just a temporary part of my life. It's supposed to be forever so the reverse shouldn't happen. Plus planning for failure is a bit depressing.

And if I give away my clothes, then I have no alternative but to shop to replace them. :)

ENTER the DVF sample sale! Just one of the many reasons why I LOVE New York. I managed to snag a couple of dresses for something like a zillion % off (seriously, I went to the DVF website and one of them currently retails for $425 which is way more (almost double) than what I paid.

Whew! So that's about it. You guys still with me? I promise smaller bites next time.
Tomorrow's the J.P. Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Central Park. It should be good times to run with work people.

Ok, enough about me. How've y'all been?

P.S. Toy Story 3 on Friday!!!

It's Raining

2010-06-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

Why does that matter? Because I've just gotten out of the shower from my run. Talk about perfect timing right? All day (all weekend actually), we've been under the threat of bad weather. Now you know that I don't mind running in the rain. Sometimes it's really fun to run in the rain. But not so much when there is the threat of thunder and lightning and a tornado warning in effect (wtw (what the what?) I thought I left tornado warnings behind in TX). Anywho. I went out today for a quick 5 miler which marks my third run this week in my five fingers. I've cut my mileage way back. One 2 mile run on a treadmill during physical therapy and two five milers outside. I think that I'm taking to them pretty well. I got my barefoot running book in the mail yesterday so I'm reading it over and trying to implement some of the suggestions. Hopefully everything pays off in a few months when I'm crossing the finish line at ING NYC... and Dallas... and Disney. :)

It's National Running Day!!!

2010-06-02T00:08:00.000-04:00

It's June 2! Get out there and keep it moving!

Versatile Blogger: Well Now I'm Blushing :)

2010-06-01T16:21:00.004-04:00

Nicole, NJoy, running chick extraordinaire, tagged me in the Versatile Blogger chain. I kind of love her. Anywho, I'm supposed to share 7 random things and tag 7 bloggers. So here we go!

7 Random Things

1. I have a crazy movie collection. So crazy that I keep a list of all my DVDs. The list is 6 pages long and alphabetized by genre. There are a lot of Disney movies and musicals on the list because most of my alltimefavortestmoviesEVER(!) are musicals or Disney movies.

2. My Senior thesis in college is called Disney and the Legacy of Rodgers and Hammerstein: A Stylistic Comparison of The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast. True story.

3. I hate loathe and despise cheese. I am not lactose intolerant, but sometimes I say that I am so that I can avoid getting the dumbfounded and scandalized look that you're probably giving your computer right now. ;) And don't worry that I'm a complete wacko, I do love chocolate. LOVE.

4. I am an official member of the Half Fanatics. Granted, I barely eeked in on the lowest rung, but I think the group is awesome and I look forward to working my way up.

5. I am possibly the most stubborn person ever. I'm not proud of it, but I recognize it to be true. Case in point, the Tinkerbell/Cogsworth drama of the past couple months. I really really want to heal and be 100% for marathon training, but I'm having a really hard time taking it easy. Every time I see someone running, I feel like I should be running too, especially because I'm so behind on my 1010 miles in 2010 goal. But that's not doing me any favors. On Saturday I went out for 10 miles and had to stop after 8 because Tinkerbell was NOT HAVING IT! We're talking random stabbing pain that I haven't felt ever. It cut through even my pigheadedness and I walked the rest of the way home... barefoot.

6. Nicole is totally right that my left soleus needs a name. Marlin. This might be most aptly named body part yet. My soleus like Marlin is crazy uptight and if he could just relax, his son wouldn't have run away and he would realize that being stuck with a crazy one-track-minded broad who nags him to just keep running swimming was actually a good thing and things would be righteous dude... Or something.

7. I've decided to take up barefoot (minimalist) running. I've been reading a lot of articles and blogs and the like which cause me to give this barefoot thing a try. I've heard that barefoot or minimalist running is better for you and your running and given the issues with Marlin since the More Half and Tinkerbell's reappearance on the naughty list this weekend, I'm willing to try anything. I went to Paragon sports a couple of weekends ago to get some Vibram 5 fingers. I ended up picking the Bikilas which are running specific (and oh so stylish ;) ). I wore them around my apartment and around NYC for a several days (you may imagine the looks I got). Then I took it out for a run. I had gone four miles before a blister developing under my right big toe made me stop. It felt good though all through the run. I've read that you should run completely barefoot at first and let your skin tell you when you've had enough because your skin will start bothering you before you can do any serious damage to your underused muscles or tendons during the transition. Anywho, the next day my calves were hella sore. Which is (apparently) a good thing (soreness not pain) because I'm waking up dormant muscles. On Thursday I went out for 7 in my regular running shoes (with orthodics) which was fine... then Saturday in my regular shoes, well you know, Tinkerbell, pain, sad face. So I think I'm going to make a complete transition to the 5 fingers and cut my mileage way back. Assuming that I can fight my stubborn need to keep my mileage up. (See #5).

7 Bodacious Bloggers

Njoy (Obvi).
Jason - a barefoot runner whose blog I'm using as my training guide. Plus he just wrote a book on barefoot running that I'll read and review here.
http://runningintothesun.blogspot.com/ - Just because I like it.
Zoe - ditto
Laura - she's beyond inspiring. She is on the cusp of being the youngest person to run a marathon in all 50 states. Awesomenessnessness. Seriously, there are no words
Kathryn - Gotta love another Goofy runner
Karen - Because one day I'd like to be half as hardcore as her

And a BONUS Random!

8. I cannot wait for Toy Story 3. There, I said it. Are you really that surprised?

Cogsworth and Me

2010-05-21T19:04:00.000-04:00

He looks sooo innocent doesn't he?

Hey Kids,
Today has been another crazy beautiful day in NYC and I'm feeling guilty. I didn't run today. I did run yesterday and it was lovely, but today, I've done bubkis. Which is probably a good thing.

So you know Cogsworth right? Yeah my (not-so-faithful-pain-in-the-butt-every-so-often) left achilles. Anywho, you might remember that he's be cranky pants ever since the More half. Which is not really his fault but my soleus' fault for being so unbelievably tight. It's been getting better, and I may have been becoming complacent because the pain is starting to worsen again. To the point that yesterday when I started my run I audibly said "ow" and winced/limped through the first 1/2 mile before everything felt good again.

It was then that I decided that I needed a massage (and more physical therapy, but it's easier to get an appointment with your masseuse than your physical therapist. go figure.). And just like last time that soleus is TIGHT. I mean so tight that the masseuse was coaching me to breathe through it like lamaze. So here I am. I haven't run. I am supposed to run tomorrow (and I probably will), but I'm gonna keep it easy. I need to nip all niggling problems in the bud now before my official marathon training starts.

I've just got to learn to let go and calm down. One missed workout is not going to kill me. And even a week (gasp!) of missed workouts will not kill me. Heck all this rest might even make me stronger. We'll see.

The Biggest Loser... Scratch that, the Fastest Loser

2010-05-18T21:28:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sitting on my couch watching the biggest loser and Daris just finished the Biggest Loser Marathon in 4:02. This is a man who was over 300 lbs just 5 months ago. Incredible. And proof that some people are just meant to be runners. I'm in awe.

We have a new date

2010-05-17T17:12:00.002-04:00

Hey kids, the Disney Princess Half Marathon date for 2011 has been announced and it's earlier than usual. Get those slippers ready for Feb. 27, 2011.

The Spare Race

2010-05-15T15:02:00.004-04:00

Hey hey kids,
As you may have heard (because I've been shouting it from the rooftops and my voice tends to carry) I have finished my 9+1 requirements for ING NYC 2011 (Yay!). But nevertheless, I was up at 7 this morning to make it to the park in time for the Heathy Kidney 10K. Now, now, hold your applause, I'm not that hardcore. Had road runners not decided to give double credit for the Run for Haiti, today would have been my 9th race. In any case, it was/is a lovely day and it was a lovely race. Let's get to it.

Race Rant
So this race consisted of a lap and change of Central Park. Only it was a lap the hard way. Don't get me wrong, Central Park and all its lovely hills are no, er, walk in the park (hehe), but going clockwise feels like you are consistently heading uphill. The counterclockwise direction (which is the way we ran for the More half this year) is nasty because of the one mega Harlem hill, but in general it is "easier".

I did my best to power up the hills and earn my downhills, which worked well for the first half of the race. By the 4th mile, I was spent and even the slight hills were taking a serious toll. I think it's because I've been laying off of the hills during my weekly runs so as not to piss off Cogsworth. I need to get back on it though before my next 10K.

Race Rave
It was truly lovely today and despite having to adopt the Dori method during the last half of the race ("Just keep running, Just keep ruuunning, Just keep running"), I enjoyed it. Plus just when it was starting to feel really tough, I saw my friend M just out for her morning run. (She is an ah-mazing runner btw, at the More Half she finished 10th. Yeah, out of over 6,000 women. Who are these people that I call my friends?!). I don't know why seeing someone you know gives such a mental boost, but I was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The upshot is, I finished, and I finished faster than any other 10K I've ever done (which, granted was not too difficult considering that I've only done one other 10K, the Healthy Kidney 2009). 55:32!

The best part of the entire race was the post race festivities. They had a costumed kidney for us to take pictures with and henna tattoos and your name written in arabic (the United Arab Emirates is the major sponsor) and awesome raffle prizes (none of which I won, but they were still pretty amazing).

I figured I'd start with the Kidney even though I didn't see him until the end of the race. How cool is that though?

This is just to give you an idea of how many of us there were out there. This was my corral. And somewhere waaaaaaay up there was the starting line.

This is behind my corral. On a one loop course we were half a mile away from the finish line and there were people even further back and out of frame. Craziness.

This is one of the coolest things. Each square on this quilt was made by a kidney donor in honor of someone who lost their battle with kidney disease. It was really touching.

This is the Arabic name/henna area.

This is my name in Arabic. I may start writing my name this way because it's a lot shorter in Arabic than English. ;)

Pretty. :)

And a little music for ambiance (she's playing zills, how cool is that!).

This is the winner holding a $20,000 bonus check because he set a course record by running the race in 27:42 which is right about when I hit the 5K point. Yikes!

I'm not registered for another race until mid June and I'm looking forward to some weekends sleeping in. Hope you guys are enjoying your Saturdays. TTFN!

A Quickie

2010-05-14T20:58:00.003-04:00

Hey Peeps, What's doin'?

I've been remiss in keeping up on here. I remember the good old days when I'd finish a run and plop on my couch and blog about it. Then I discovered that stretching is a good idea too. ;) Anywho, just wanted to check in for a quickie update.

Marathon Maniac is acting up again. I went out for 8 last Saturday and it stopped after the first mile. I had to reset it during the second mile before it acted normal again. AH!

Happy Belated Mother's Day(!) to all the mamas out there. I spent the day with my Grandmother and my aunts because my mommy's in TX. It was good times.

Also on Mother's Day was the RBaby 4 miler. And so without further ado... (ADOOOOO!)

Race Rant

Wind! That's all. :)

Race Rave

PR! No seriously, I can't believe it. Cogsworth had been pretty upset with me. Still is a little actually, but at my massage last week I discovered that it was my soleus muscle that was pissing off my gastrocnemius which in turn pissed off Cogsworth. (I love that my massage therapist is a total jock that can tell me all this stuff). Then she worked on loosening up my soleus which was so tight that I nearly cried as she worked on it. I haven't felt a muscle that tight since my pre-Disney peroneus drama. After that and some particular care while stretching, Cogsworth and I are doing much better although it's still not completely resolved. Anygeezthatwasreallytechnical, Cogsworth was soooo good on Sunday. The first mile he was tight but he was waaaay better for the rest of the race. And the last mile which is mostly downhill, I was four seconds shy of my fastest mile ever (which was at the Fifth Avenue Mile race last year)! Sure my PR (34:20) is only 30 secs or so faster than my previous PR, but I takes what what I can dude.

Also awesome was the post race complimentary massages that was totally worth waiting for 45 mins in the very cool shade for. Plus the ladies in line with me were nothing short of fabulous. So all good things here.

How sad is it that I don't know how to rotate this pic?

I love the starting corrals.

Tomorrow is the Healthy Kidney 10K and I promise not to take a week to post.

TTFN

Oh WAIT!!! I totally forgot the best part about RBaby. It was my ninth qualifying race. And because I already volunteered I am all kinds of IN for ING NYC 2011!!!!!!!! (Now all I have to do is survive ING NYC 2010 ;) )

How you feeling? HOT HOT HOT!

2010-05-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

Hey Kids,
Have you ever wonder if you're being heard? I know for a fact that I am. How do I know it? Because on Sunday I stupidly went out for a run in the middle of the afternoon on a cloudless humid and hot (nearly 90) day for a 10 mile run without water. After 4.5 miles I had to stop and walk. I have this thing about not walking no matter what, but then I had a moment of wisdom. Better to eat my ego than suffer heat stroke. So I stopped and walked. I that's when I noticed that I was drenched in sweat. No joke. I looked like I jumped into a pool. I walked nearly half a mile before finding a water fountain and a bathroom. Now (somewhat) hydrated, I started running again. Kinda, it was more of a determined trot. I stopped again after a couple miles at a concession stand and got ice. The reason why I know that I'm heard is because from 5 miles on I was just praying for a little wind. And the wind came. It was a warm breeze, but anything was welcome. Still around mile 8, I prayed for it to be just a little cooler. Lo and behold the sun went behind the one cloud that seemed to magically appear and the direction of the wind changed so that it was blowing cool air from the river. Awesome.

So I got through my run. And I've learned (again) to run with water and to let my body get accustomed to the heat.

In other news. I ran 6 yesterday and Cogsworth started acting up. I should have foreseen this because I've had a knot at the back of my calf since More and I kept putting off getting a massage. I'm treating Cogsworth better now, and I'm getting a massage in the morning. Hopefully, he'll cool out.

Until later.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!

And the WINNER IS....

2010-04-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

"The time has come," the Walrus said... to name a winner in my Goody Bag Giveaway.

Thanks to everyone for entering. I think that this was a great way to meet new running chicks.

So Welcome(!) to the newbies, Hi(!) to the oldbies (is that even a word? It should be.) And CONGRATS again to Nicole. Email me lady with your address and I'll send you your goodies!

Hasta!
KB

Charlotte is that you?

2010-04-26T20:39:00.002-04:00

Hey Peeps,
Ah where to begin? Sunday was the More/Fitness Magazine's Women's Half Marathon (and if you haven't entered the giveaway yet, get on it!) and I think it went pretty well. Actually, it went very well. But the best way to summarize, I think, is with my rants and raves. So let's get it on!

Race Rant
Hmm... Well, it was raining for one. But we all knew that was going to happen. Rain had been forecast for over a week even though Saturday was always supposed to be beautiful (and it was). The rain did cause one minor dilemma. Baggage. Baggage claim was outside. Which isn't unusual for a race that is entirely in Central park. But with the rain and almost everyone showing up in rain jackets, it would have been nice to have a place to keep it dry for after the race. Ah well.

And on top of the rain was 46 degree temperatures that never quite made it to 50. 46 degrees isn't that bad while you're running. In fact it's a pretty decent temp. But when you're standing around and it's raining... it sucks. Because there were so many runners we had to get to the corrals really early. So imagine thousands of women dressed only so warmly standing in line at the start in the rain for what seemed like forever. One woman I was standing near said that what concerned her was the possibility of hypothermia while we all stood around waiting for the start. Crikey, I hadn't thought of that.

On my second lap of the park when I was having an internal debate about whether to push it or not and putting pressure on myself to have a really good race despite the rain and crowds and the fact that I haven't run ore than 10 miles in a month, I saw a few people on the grass at the side of the road. One of the runners was flat on her back and not moving and two people were with her and waiting for the paras to arrive. Instant perspective. I hope she's ok. My friend D was ahead of me and said that the girl had fallen. This isn't exactly a rant, but it was still sucky to see a fellow runner girl go down.

Last thing, Hope, er, well not Hope anymore actually. So remember how Hope pooped out on my during the Colon Cancer 15K? Oh, well, she did. And I packed her off to Garmin. On Wednesday, they sent me a brand new watch which I have named Marathon Maniac. So More was Maniac's and my second run together and all seemed well... that is until I crossed the finish line, looked down and say that Maniac froze at 6 miles and was refusing to respond. ARRRRRGH! I've updated the firmware so hopefully this was an isolated incident, but sheesh.

Race Rave
Ok enough B&Ming (*itching and moaning). The 1/2 was actually a very good race for me. Here are the highlights:

I actually woke up on time and left on time. Trust, if you knew me better you'd understand that this is practically a miracle.
The race consisted of two counter-clockwise laps around Central Park (the opposite direction as last year and some say the "easier" direction).
Kristen Davis officiated looking every bit as adorable as Charlotte York.

So Kristen counts us down and the sea of women bursts forth. Kinda. It was a bit crowded.

This awesome man was doing a military-looking power walk in the opposite direction while barking encouragement. The first time I saw him was right as we were heading into the Harlem hills (read: hell). It put a smile on my face and distracted me for a little bit. Then there he was again(!) just as I finished my first lap. And a third time(!) in the middle of the Harlem Hills round two. Each time gave me a boost and it was incredible to me that someone would power walk laps around the park just to cheer us on... in the rain. (Oh did I mention that it was raining? ;) ) I only wish that I had had the presence of mind to take his picture.
Great crowd support at miles 6-7 and 12-13. I hadn't expected that many people to come out, but it wasn't much smaller than last year's crowd (when it was 90+ degrees and sunny). They also gave me a boost.
I ran (almost literally) into my friend D as I was trudging up the Harlem Hill for the second time. I was staring so intently at the ground and praying for it to be over that I didn't notice her until she said my name. Then I screamed. We hugged. Good times.
At mile 6 I notice a small cluster of women following another woman holding a stick with 3 balloons on it. It tood me awhile to realize that this was a pace group. I kinda ran along side them for awhile debating whether to ask what pace this group was at. I never look down at my watch because I don't want to get too focused on my speed while I'm running. But today I really wanted to pr because my best half thus far was at Disney world when I wasn't giving my all because I didn't want to screw up the full the next day. Finally I suck it up and ask one of the girls what pace group this was. 9:55. Cool! Ok, I thought, maybe I'll just stick with them and then I know I'll pr. I ultimately decided to pass the group. I figured that for the second lap I could continue at my current pace and as I tire and slow down, the 9:55 group will catch up to be. Hopefully by the time that happens I'll only have a couple of miles left and I can push myself to stay with them and pr. That way I wouldn't run the risk of staying with them now only to run out of juice later. And if I didn't run out of juice at all how cool would that be. So that was my plan.
I didn't run out of juice! PR Baby 2:04:21!
Even though my socks were wet even before the start, no blisters!

This is the face of a happy girl.

I've pr'd 3 races in a row, so I don't know how long this streak will last. My legs felt like jelly for the last couple of miles but it was worth it. I will say that I'm looking forward to a race-free/wedding filled weekend (Congrats L&B) this weekend. I'm going to take it easy and thank my body for not crapping out on me.

How were your weekends? Hopefully less rainy but just as fun.

Gimme MORE! (or Baby's First Giveaway)

2010-04-23T18:03:00.000-04:00

Hey Peeps,
As you know, I've been covering a lot of the ah-mazing giveaways going on right now. Click here for Njoy's Lush giveaway and here for Tall Mom's giveaway which are still going. And all this giving-of-things makes me want to partake in the sharing. (It is caring after all.) And what better way than with a giveaway tied to the More Women's Half Marathon which I am running this week. I love race expos because they always have the cutest stuff that you never knew you always wanted. And this time was no exception, well except this time I'm sharing. ;)

So without further ado I present KB's expo goodybag giveaway (yeah, I know, the name needs work).

Up for grabs this time is a cute purple tech shirt (sz medium), an exercise/food journal, 2 spf lip balms (one fancy, one functional), pomegranate moisturizer with spf, necklace with runner girl charms, shoelace bling, body tech water bottle, lululemon (love them) headband, fitness magazines, and a cute drawstring bag to hold it all. Whew! No wonder I spent 2 hours at the expo.

My faves are the charms and the shoelace bling. The shoelace bling actually threads onto your laces so they won't fall off and you can change the picture in the heart! How cute are these!

Be a follower and leave a comment
Spread the link love on your blog and leave a comment
Tell me what you love about race expos
Tell me whether you think women only races are fair? What about the boys?

I'll pick a winner at random on Friday April 30. Good Luck!
KB

And Another!

2010-04-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

It's giveaway madness out there I tell ya! Mel over at Tall Mom is giving away a gift certificate to the cutest running themed store ever. It's so cute that I've already bought this shirt. I love me some Dr. Seuss.

That said, I wouldn't mind having any of these either. ;) "Fast Girls Have Good Times" Awesome.

What are you waiting for? Have you entered yet? Click Here!

P.S. All this giveaway goodness makes me feel guilty for not having one of my own. The More Women's Expo starts tomorrow so maybe I'll snag something awesome and have my very first giveaway. Stay tuned!.

Good Clean Fun!

2010-04-21T09:15:00.001-04:00

Hey Peeps,
There's another giveaway that will get you all lathered up... in a good way ;). Njoy is at it again. This time with Lush bath products. I can tell you from personal experience that Lush rocks! Head on over and enter!

She's at it Again!

2010-04-19T16:52:00.001-04:00

Our favorite Divalicious Running Matriarch is having another giveaway. This time she's giving away a GoLite HydroClutch.

And I want it! But to be nice (and up my chances ;) ) I'll tell you how to enter.
Click here and good luck!

Run For the Parks and Kicking it UP a Notch

2010-04-18T23:05:00.001-04:00

Hey all,
This week was a pretty good week. We had a formal at work and I actually fit into my purple dress. This dress has taken on almost mythic proportions. I wore it for a formal during school and loved it since then. Then roughly 2 years ago I took it out of my closet and tried to put it on. The kindest way to put it is no go. I couldn't even start to move the zipper and when I pulled it tight there were at least 5 inches of skin that apparently did not use to be there. So you can imagine how happy I was to get into it (even if I did have to negotiate the zipper for awhile ;) ). There's something to this running thing. Now if I ever make it into a bikini you won't have to check my blog to find out. I'll hirer a sky writer and have it written in all caps. :)

This week I think I'm hitting my stride. I've been averaging 22 miles/week for the past few weeks and it's not feeling like a burden. Hopefully this means that I'll reach my 1000 mile goal despite Tinkerbell's worst efforts. This week was also the Run for the Parks 4m. So without further ado... rant & rave

RACE RANT
Once again, this isn't much of a rant but here goes. This morning's race started at 8:00 a.m. That's right 8:00 in the morning on Sunday. Isn't that sacrilege? To make matters worse. Our formal was Saturday night AND it was my good friend N's 30 birthday party also on Saturday night. So I had to go to one do, rush home, change, head back out then come home to sleep for 4ish hours before I had to get ready for the race on a chilly Sunday morning. Then I ran with last night's huge dinner (steak, bread, 3 desserts and who knows what else) still sloshing in my tummy. I know, I know, my life is soooo hard. ;)

When it's this pretty outside, it's hard to complain.

RACE RAVE
Despite the above, I had really high hopes for this race. Yes, I would be tired and a heavy dinner the night before probably wasn't the best idea, but I pr'd last week and I really wanted to maintain that pace so to prove that it wasn't a fluke. Something I read in Runner's World stuck with me. In the article Flying Solo, Marc Parent talks about running five miles on his own for the first time. It is his third time running that distance and he had this to say about ability:

You do anything twice and you can claim ability, but only at the level of a stunt. Rather than saying I run five, I had to state more accurately, I can run five. . . . The five-mile experiment has to be repeatable over time and under a variety of circumstances before you can assert its validity.

Granted, I'm not talking about calling myself a 5 miler, but about holding myself out as someone who can run at a particular pace. When I went to pick up my race number this week my bib had my old personal best on it. I asked when it would be updated because I never really paid much attention to it and my bibs always seemed to reflect the accurate pace. The guy I talked to said that sometimes there's a bit of a delay and that he'd be happy to update it for me. I agreed even though I felt really nit picky. In any case, changing my pace changed my corral placement by two corrals. Now I was really nervous. My PB pace is 8:59. I was placed in this corral because of a one second margin... a one second margin that I had accomplished only once. According to Marc, I probably cannot even hold myself out as a runner at that pace until I do it another 2 times at least.

This is all to say that I put a bit of pressure on myself today to earn my spot. I felt like a bit of a poser heading to my corral so I stayed to the back of it and when the race officials took down the barriers between corrals, I hung back so that people in the corral behind me would mix around me. That made me much more comfortable.

Then the gun went off and I took off... and finished the 4 miles in 34:51 (8:42/mile!). Totally spent, but really happy, because it's a new pr and if I can do it one more time then it isn't just a stunt. :)

Confession is good for the Sole (see what I did there? ;) )
So the Flying Solo article got me thinking about more than just my PR. According to Marc, he isn't a real five-miler until he's completed the feat more than twice. Does that apply to everything? Am I a stunt marathoner until my third? My life goal is to finish as many as I can; to run so many that it becomes routine and to really test my limits. I've done 1 marathon thus far and it was amazing. It was also all of 3 months ago although it feels like a lifetime. I have ING NYC in November and back to Disney next January. So in theory (and if all goes according to plan) I'd be a full fledged marathoner by January 2011.

Ok, so what's my confession? I want to be a marathon maniac by then as well. At a minimum I can either, run 2 marathons in 16 days or 3 marathons in 90 days. Because I've already got 2 scheduled for November and January all I need is another for December. I've done some poking around and I could do the White Rock Marathon in Dallas and visit the parental units for a weekend or I can do the Las Vegas marathon and have a wholesome time in the city of sin. What say you? What marathon should I do in December? Should I do a marathon in December? Do you agree with Marc's opinion on running ability? So many questions!

Hasta,
KB