Bridges Runner

December 19th, 2009

2010 - Gunning for you!

12/19/09 07:11 pm

With a nice snowstorm halting activities tonight, it's time to think about what 2010 brings. Yes, it will be a celebration towards the big 3-0 but what does that entail? Oh, running wise, INSANITY. Insanity I tell you! So what are those crazy goals to ring in the big 3-0?

1. Boston Marathon 2010 - April 19, 2010. I'll be there! Awww yeah!!
2. NYC Marathon 2010 - Qualified. Sign up in February. November 7, 2010
3. Philadelphia Sprint Triathlon 2010 - signed up. June 26, 2010
4. Philadelphia Distance Run (sorry I won't refer to it as that new name) - September 19, 2010
5. Empire State Building Run-up - sent in the application, find out if application accepted in early January - Feb 2, 2010

AND THE MOST CRAZY THING OF ALL....

6. PIKES PEAK MARATHON! Sign up is in March and I have a friend out in Colorado. It'll be my 3-0 birthday weekend and oh what other way to celebrate other than run up and down a mountain? Ok, don't answer that:)

Sprinkle in some other NYRR halves and whatever else may come. And you have a pretty busy running year.

Goals time wise?

Sub 1:40 half. Very doable. But need to make it happen.
Sub 3:40 full. Duh.
New 4 mile PR (28:51 currently)

Obviously, with a rigorous schedule, I will need to be careful with my training. I'm planning to follow a similar plan to this year which is be smart and cross train. I plan to limit running to 4x a week (max 5x certain weeks). And most important, keep it fun. Without that, this crazy schedule can't become reality. So help me realize my dreams and follow my adventures over 2010.

2009, you've been fun but 2010 - I'm coming for you!

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: Lady Antebellum - Baby, It's Cold Outside
Tags:
goals, running, triathlon

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December 5th, 2009

Meet you at the park...

12/5/09 02:09 pm

This past week I had the pleasure of attending not one, but two tweet-ups! And as it should be, running was the occasion.

Tuesday night I literally ran out of work to join the run. I met up with a few others that needed to stash their stuff at the local NYSC. I got my speed work in literally sprinting from the subway to the NYSC to the lockers. It probably was pretty clear how flustered I was at that point.

We met up with the others at Bethesda Fountain. @pigtailsflying @runanskyrun @SpeedySasquatch @NYCe @agaliza @lady_southpaw @bklynrunner @sclevine @MikeJOConnor. It was nice to put names to a face:)

My friend AU wanted to run so I invited her. Unfortunately she wanted to make it a tempo run and off we went. I felt bad because I wanted to run with everyone. So let me apologize for that - I was annoyed but believe me next time I'll be there on my own accord. I have no clue what pace I ran because once again I didn't run with a watch (has been a habit lately). I'm pretty certain by the end we were well under 8s. Oh well, it was gorgeous and yet another time to feel blessed living here.

Wednesday morning was tweet-up #2 of the week with @pigtailsflying @worldrunner @carlablumenthal. It was a gorgeous morning and unusually warm for early December. It was fun to play tour guide and share my amazing views on a bridges run over the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. I even threw in my Ace: the promenade! It still isn't old to me. The morning run is exciting to me: you can feel the energy of the city waking up. A great group of ladies and I hope to run this winter with them. For one, it will keep me from becoming lazy!

Finally - I need a new name for my blog now that I am no longer an Uptown Girl. Currently accepting nominations and will put this up for a vote but of course I have the final vote;-) Democracy to a point, people! So far I've had: Boston Bound Girl, Borough Babe, Bridges Runner...

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Cars - Just What I Needed
Tags:
running, tweet up

December 2nd, 2009

Where the heck did 2009 go?

12/2/09 05:18 am

Yesterday I was sitting at work and I overheard CNN playing in the kitchen and one of the reporters was saying "and next month starts a new decade." Woah. Seriously? When did that happen? Where was I? It's just kind of crazy to think back at what the last 10 years have been like for me from so many perspectives. In 10 years: I went to a big university where I got to major in something I love, moved to NYC (despite claiming "it's a great place to visit but I'll never live there"), became a working gal, moved up the working ladder, became a runner, and most recently, a homeowner. I've been in NYC long enough now to see people move here and leave, friends come and go, etc. HOLY CRAP. Slow down here.

So where am I going with all this? I like to think that the past decade has been a time that I've learned so much about me. I finally had time to do things MY way and understand what I want. It's a tricky avenue to follow and I feel pretty darn lucky to have the avenues given to me to figure it all out. I've learned mentally I'm capable of way more than I thought. If you would have told me 10 years ago I'd be a marathon runner, I'd have given you a look of death. Pretty funny how things turn out. Ultimately, I feel like mentally I'm as tough as they come. Once there is something in my mind, consider it done. I do not know the word "quit." It just doesn't exist in my world.

Running has been such an amazing stabilizer in my life. It's helped me identify with so much in the world. I've met so many amazing people, not to mention being fortunate enough to run with my dad in a few races! Like the real world, you meet people that you hope are a part of your life forever and those, well that fade away. You have your great days, good days and the days that make you want to go after it all the more. I stand behind that last part. If it were easy, anyone would do it. I run because I want it. What is it? Changes daily. Ask me while we're running:)

I'm a happier person now. In so many ways that I can't just write the words to do it justice.

I've learned I'm a very black and white person (mmm black and white cookies). But seriously, it helps to know that's who I am. I like that I know where I stand on issues. I hate wishy washy. Guess that's why I'm an engineer!

I've learned that sometimes it isn't your day. Learn from it and move on. It's not worth dwelling over something you can't control. It's fine to analyze but not fine to replay it over like a movie.

I've learned to smile more. It goes a long way.

Don't focus on numbers all the time. Yes, I just told you I'm a black and white person. And I still stand by that. However, sometimes just enjoy the moment. Happiness can come in so many boxes.

Find your passion. Oh, this one is A BIG ONE. I can't believe how many people I've met that don't have something that burns in them. Whether it's running, work, or some other hobby. Life is about finding things to make you happy and work for you. What is YOUR passion?

I've learned that having various types of people in your life helps you develop who you are. At work, I was extremely fortunate to have an amazing mentor for the first 5 years. He taught me not just the technical aspects, but how to make it in this world. It's almost as though he saw me walk in the door and saw something I didn't. I can only hope that I can give back half of what he gave me. I still talk to him all the time. Running wise, I've met some pretty awesome people. Just your down to earth people. You see them at their best and worst. What more can you ask?

Over the next month I think I'm going to reflect a bit back on the past but also focus on the road ahead. It's an exciting one. 2010 proves to be a stepping stone for me as an athlete but hopefully in the other avenues of my life. I'm pretty excited about it and who am I to turn down a new journey:)

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Presidents of The Usa - Peaches
Tags:
nyc, running

October 15th, 2009

Slow and steady...

10/15/09 06:34 am

The last "long" run has come and gone. That consisted of another pre-sunrise arrival to the Staten Island Ferry to head over to Staten Island to jog out 13.1 miles.

Thank goodness I live in Brooklyn now as my trip necessitated only a short subway ride across the east river - *hint* the subways were a mess. Anyway, I'm pretty certain we surprised a few people waiting for the ferry at 7AM. Probably two weeks a year do you see as many people in the ferry terminal on a lazy Sunday morning. The ferry ride was pretty and the weather was absolutely ideal. However, the key to my day was keeping things in control as this was just a long run for me, not a race. So hard when you're feeling good.

I brought my trusted ipod shuffle to accompany me for the 13.1 miles. I've never done Staten Island so this was a new venture for me. No clue on the course which makes it more exciting. I used the sing test to tell me if I was running too hard. If I couldn't sing a full line of a song while running, too fast. I did not want this to be a fast race at all - if anything looking for 1:55-2:00 so somewhere around a 9min mile. As you can see below, with the exception of one mile which was a pretty nasty hill, things were a little faster.

The race itself was not so interesting. The scenery with the exception of the parts by the water was pretty ugly. I did get some fun brightroom shots that they hopefully caught - including one that I jumped in front of the camera. Hope he caught it! The ipod gave me the needed support today to maintain focus for where I'm going. I never felt out of control and that was the main purpose of this race. That and race #8 of the year to qualify for NYCM next year:) Along the race route I ran into DM, PM, AH and NYCe (via twitter). I think there were a few others that recognized me but who knows:) I also ran into experiri (twitter) at the baggage check area. My legs felt fine post-race. However, not so fine after the 6-7 extra miles of walking after the race - stupid subways!!!

-----------
Last night I was meeting up with a friend TC for a Nike event. They usually have a run before the event so I figured I'd go check it out. Plan? I figured if it ended up being a faster paced run I'd do the shorter one to be ready for a week from Sunday. It's not close enough to not put one more tempo effort in. Out we go through midtown to get to the park and immediately the pacer takes off and we're zig-zagging through Central Park. I have no clue where the heck we're going and just manage to follow the blinking light he has on his shirt. He had said we'd do 4 miles since everyone else was but immediately we broke off from most of the group as the pace was well..*ahem* a bit quick. Let's just say the first mile was probably a 9:15 or so to get to the park. The pace got quicker as we continued on the run and I also realized this was not a four mile run. Like a woman in full taper mode, I started venting to TC that this was a taper and I don't want to get hurt because of some stupid run..blah blah blah. LOL - runners are so funny when it comes to preparing for race day. Quickly I realized, hey dummy, you can talk and just consider it one last quality workout.

That it was as we whizzed around the trails, the Great Lawn, Reservoir, and finally down the west side back to City Sports in Midtown. Total mileage was around 6.5 miles and pace came to around 8:23 (including a last mile in 7:20). Hmmm I like that pace:) I commented to TC that the last part of a run is like a horse going back to the barn - they take off!

So that's it kids. Off to Penn State today for recruiting for my company so no time to train today but hopefully I'll squeeze in a workout at the hotel tomorrow morning before the interviews.

Now the key is to stay healthy and stay away from doing anything stupid. Can I just put my body in a bubble til Oct 25?

Bring it on MCM. 10 days and counting til DC becomes my playground...

Current Mood: excited
Tags:
race, running

October 9th, 2009

Blackjack

10/9/09 06:51 am

Last weekend was my last 20 spot. I had decided to run Gretes Great Gallop to get another race in toward

s my auto entry into NYCM 2010 so where to get those extra 7?? I began using the wonders of gmap pedometer and it began obvious it made no sense to make it 7 miles since I'd be taking a subway one stop. So instead, like any normal person, I ran 8 miles from home to the start of the race. The night before I had made a special trip to the UWS to drop off my stuff at a local gym for post race shower:) Yeah, because runners do that - we make special hour trips to just drop off clean clothes:)

It was a sultry, sticky morning. Very reminiscent of Steamtown 2007 except not quite as hot. Good, let mother nature get it out of her system now! I left Brooklyn around 7:20am for a 9:00am race. This would give me ample time to head uptown. As I started my run, I noticed the stares of "is she lost" and "why is she wearing a bib number on the Brooklyn Bridge?" I just tuned into my shuffle and logged the mileage. Headed over the bridge to the west side highway and *poof* all of a sudden I was at 72nd street! It was crazy - I felt like I had just left Brooklyn?! Awesome.

I arrived to the start and got some water/gatorade and found nyflygirl in the corral. She had frontloaded as well and was using this as a way to get the miles in. My plan? Stick to no faster than 1:50 half. I had just ran a 1:40 half two weeks ago and no need to push the envelope here. Plus, I had electric lemonades awaiting me at Boat Basin post-race. Woohoo!

The race? I plugged into my shuffle and let my legs do the work. As I passed the start, I gave Grete Weitz a high five and off I went. My plan was to stay around 8:45s and maybe sprinkle a few 8:20s in for good measure. Nothing crazy. My times were all over the place but it's fine. I'm pretty happy that my SLOWEST mile was a 9:00 mile in which I literally stopped, walked a couple seconds to drink and then started running again. That was at the bottom of Harlem Hill before that horrible mile up to 90th street. Worst mile stretch of the course! As you can see below, I knew when the electric lemonades were close:) Oh, I also learned these shorts are done - they kept falling down! eek!

Overall, solid effort. Looking at the time, it's about what I ran for the second half of MCM in 2005. Things are getting eerie here! :)

Up next? Staten Island as a final "long run" before the big day. So close, I can almost taste it:)

Boat Basin? Let's just say good times had by all with many laughs and games of charades:-p Next time, you should come:)

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Richard Durand - No Way Home
Tags:
marathon, race, running

September 28th, 2009

Did someone say Moooo? Cow Harbor 10K

9/28/09 05:01 pm

Another week, more work completed. Right now the key is to stay HEALTHY. Exactly 4 weeks to go. It's amazing what a change just the last 4 weeks have made in my faith in what will occur on October 25. I'm feeling pretty darn positive and excited. Much more so than last year. So that brings us to yesterday and race #3 of 6 in 7 weeks: Cow Harbor 10K. The plan? Since I had raced Philly last weekend, it was a chance to hone up on my marathon pace. Racing this was not going to do much for me and the fact remains I had a long run left as well as legs to keep in shape. So the plan? 8:15ish pace and feel good about it. As you can see from the course profile, it's not a PR course anyway.

Saturday morning started, well, before it really was morning. I awoke at the unpleasant hour of 5AM to my alarm trying to figure out why that noise was occurring! Ha. Fortunately I had placed everything out the night before so there wasn't much to do besides get changed, grab my stuff and head out. I picked up the ZipCar at a location right around the corner. This became incident #1 of the day. As I got to the garage, I started looking around and couldn't find the car!! I had allotted extra time to find the car, etc but it was a bit embarrassing too! Finally, I called the help line and gave them the information but there were no free cars available so I had to find this one. As I was on hold for them to find the person before me, I finally found it! It was tucked in a corner which made it more like where's waldo. Oy.

I drove up to the UES to pick up the crew. There were 6 of us but one guy had his own car since he had to head out right away after the race for a family function. The drive out was uneventful and thankfully one of my teammates, AH, had picked up our numbers. One sign that clues you that I was not racing: I went with the short sleeve shirt! You'll be hard pressed to find me short sleeving it until it's basically 40s. Anyway, bus shuttle to the start. You could tell we were not in NYC anymore as the running crowd was much different. Let's just say not your elite pack:) I'm not being an elitest, just saying.

So KP was not racing and I told her that I was planning to run 8:15s with the hard PDR behind me and gearing up for the big one in 26+ days. It was nice they had wave starts a minute apart to break up the corrals. There also was a cow shooting off the start gun! Hehe!

Anyway, off we went right into our comfortable 8:15s. People passed us as we probably signed up for a true racing corral but stuck right to our pace. Mile 1 was a net downhill which I find to hurt the quads a lot! Mile 2 brought you the hill that is Cat Hill on steroids! It was only a third of a mile but one of those kick you in the a** hills that makes it like you are walking instead of running:-p I knew there was a hill but didn't know where it was so after we got up it I turned to KP and said "well if that's all they got, I'm good to go for the rest of the race." She laughed:)

The scenery was gorgeous as we ran by the water and through little residential roads. People were out of their houses cheering and passing out water. It truly gave a sense of American spirit. It was this town's NYC Marathon:) I smiled at the people cheering and even threw out a few high fives. It was nice to not all out race as I feel like I really got to enjoy the full atmosphere. As we approached mile 5, a guy goes to us "watch out for the next hill, it's deceiving." KP and I were confused as I we passed mile 5 and went up a little blip that was a hill? Oh well. As we got up the "blip", there was a sign that said "it's all downhill from here." Literally, it was. We were doing 7:30s and didn't even recognize it because of the severity of the downhill. We were chatting and able to give an interview to the cameraman riding alongside. As we approached the finish line, the announcer got our names which was cool! Finish time? 51:24 - good for 8:17 pace. Perfect. Just what the doctor ordered today.

The finish area was awesome! They had so much food from smartfood to pirate's booty to beer to chocolate chip cookies! :

) YAY! Found my teammates and many had set HUGE PRs. Woohoo!

After the race we headed back to AH's parents house for a BBQ of yummy food: burgers, hot dogs, salad, fruit salad, baked beans - you name it! Finally, it was time to head home. I got into the car and tried to turn on the engine. The lights and radio came on but no engine! Uh oh. So guys being guys, tried to use jumper cables. No dice. At this point people were panicing so I called ZipCar. First thing to try? Use the zip card to lock and unlock the car again and see if that works? Sure enough, I do that and at the same point the guys were configuring the jumper cables the car turns on! Whew. So, yes, there is tight security in the zip cars:)

Part 2 of the weekend brought a 16 miler. My legs were definitely feeling beat from a week of workouts and no days off since pre-PDR. AU and I decided to wait til the afternoon to give more recovery time AND more important - SLEEP! My first weekend day of sleep in who knows how long. I lounged around watching football and napping til around 4. AMAZING. :)

So off I headed to the UES which ended up being a trip and a half because the trains were local. Ugh:( I was so glad to have AU to run with because I did not feel like running. Not at all. But having someone to get you through it is all the world. So off we set in the humid air and all.

The run was peaceful as the sun set on another day. The west side path was free of wandering pedestrians, crazy cyclists, etc. It was just right. Mid run the shirt came off because it was so hot and the mugginess of the air. The legs once again fell into a rhythm and things felt good. Mid-run I told AU we should hit the west side path to save the legs rather than doing a lap of the park and then Morningside park. Ouch. We headed down the westside and I said she could count on me to properly get the right distance. I used time - not mileage and figured out how far we had to go downtown. Sure enough - picture perfect. 16.2 miles total. The average pace was 8:51 which considering this was an LSD I'm quite pleased. Things seem to continue to fall into place.

Today I'm taking the day off as it's Yom Kippur. I'm recharging the batteries for the final push to October 25. I'm getting super excited and nervous at the same time. It's a good thing - it reminds me of the excitement I felt for my first couple of marathons. Something that you just can't explain.

Keep on runnin'. And smiling. Big things await.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Richard Durand - Always The Sun
Tags:
marathon, race, running

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September 21st, 2009

Game, set....

9/21/09 07:11 am

As you can tell, my confidence has grown in the past month as has the strength in my running. Some have stated that marathon training makes you slower and the like. Well, if you came across this to read that the statement is true then please move along. I have just taken that statement in the past month and smashed into the pavement somewhere by the Art Museum in Philly. Today marked the first time I have taken down a PR in about 3 years!!! I forgot how good it feels to reap the benefits of hard work.

Anyway, this weekend I headed to Philly for the holiday. It just so happened the Philadelphia Distance Run coincided with the holiday. Perfect! I've run this race 4 times before and it's such a treat. My dad's friend has run every single race since it started and at the 30th anniversary made them VIPs. This meant he got 4 VIP passes to share with friends. Lucky for me my dad is good friends with him and I get to reap the benefits! Benefits include hanging in the same area as the elites pre-race (hello Ryan hall and Catherine the Great!), easy access to portapotties (including a sink to wash your hands) and an awesome spread of food post-race!

Before we get to the race, nyflygirl came down and got to enjoy the perks as well. We picked her up on Saturday and headed down to Philly to pick up our numbers at the Convention Center. One thing I am VERY disappointed about with the race is how overly corporate it has gotten. They actually CHARGED money to track runners this year. Ridiculous. It's one thing to force every runner to schlep to pick up their number but now you won't even let people know where their friends and family members are without shelling out more money? PLEASE! </rant> Anyway, the expo was pretty "eh" which made the wallets happy. Plus eye on the prize! My number was interesting, just take a look at those first three digits;)

Saturday night was spent carboloading up Rosh Hashanah style:) Chicken soup, turkey, meatballs, eggplant, greenbeans, mashed potatos:) So delicious and made me super ready for Sunday.

Sunday and 5am the alarm cries out on my phone. I had taken everything out the night before (old school TRD singlet, red shorts and Elixirs) so all I had to do was throw everything on. At 5am, you can't think about doing much else. I head downstairs and my dad tells me he hasn't heard movement from nyflygirl's room! I head in and sure enough, lights out and fast asleep until I flick the light on. I've never seen anyone dart out of bed at 5:15 as fast as she did! It was very cartoon like. 10 minutes later we were spreading White Chocolate Wonderful Peanutbutter from PB&Co on H&H Bagels. Out the door we go to meet my dad's friends to head down to the race! We get to the parking lot and my dad, being dad, sees his friend and sets the car next to him and parks. One itty-bitty issue. It was an isle, not a parking spot! Ha.

Upon arrival in Philly, we head to the start area and the VIP check-in. I saw Ryan Hall, Josh Cox, Catherine, etc. It was AMAZING! I had a guy that holds the AMERICAN record for so many distances right there. So cool! Anyway, now that I'm over my gushing of awesome runners, pre-race consisted of some tunes to get the head ready for the race. I had a very good vibe for this race which again is something I've lacked the past few years. Pre-game tunes consisted of playlists from now and 2005. I'm not superstitious:)

Around 7:20 we parted ways with my dad and his friends to get to the start. It was a gigantic clusterf***. Sure, they had seeded corrals and waves but it seemed that, unlike the NYRR, no one was really checking. Plus, 5 minutes before the start people were POURING into the corral to the point you could hardly move. I like that the NYRR says: you're late? To the back you go! These people know better as they've run more than a fair share of races. Tsk.

Nyflygirl and I were in the 3rd corral and you could tell we were both focused for this. As the time got closer, there wasn't a lot of talking but focusing going on. We both had our own race plans which is the way it should be. I knew what I wanted for my A plan which was a sub 1:40. I knew it would be tough but figured what the hell? I have 5 weeks to go. Plenty of time to give it a go today.

The wave start was fantastic as as the horn went I was able to get a quick release and immediately hit my stride. I knew within the first quarter mile on the Parkway it was going to be my day. A perfect day: sunny with temps in the low 50s to start the race. I forgot what it felt like to have perfect racing conditions (thanks, flygirl - remember this for the 25th). Immediately flygirl pulled way ahead and I had a feeling she was going to have an amazing day! As for me, my legs settled right into pacemaster zone. They just clicked and it didn't feel like all out effort but not easy. Just a good pace to fall into for 13.1.

As we hit the streets of Center City, I continued to just cruise. I was in the zone. People around me didn't matter. I just ran to my own drum and continued to cruise as some would speed up and some slowed down, I maintained. As we hit close to mile 5, I saw my dad and just said "I'm going to go for it!" I hadn't told him what my goals were but he knew what I was after. I could tell by the thumbs up and huge smile on his face. He's used to me not all out racing and giving it all I've got - especially the past few years. Again, I must say it felt so damn good to let it fly.

Onto the west drive we headed for the loop which I've become so familiar with. I LOVE this part of the race. I can totally just cruise and there's no turns to slow you down. I always seem to negative split this race because of this portion. No exception today. Around mile 10, I ran into a Front Runner that was doing her first PDR. I was hoping she'd latch on and we'd be able to use eachother to race towards the elusive 1:40. No dice so I just continued rolling along. As we hit the boathouses, my legs were feeling like toast and I could not wait to see that finishline. As that feeling hit, I reminded myself that this is what will happen 5 weeks from today. It's going to hurt but you're going to want it more. Keep at it. I knew sub-1:40 wasn't going to happen unless I ran a sub 7 mile but I knew I was due for a HUGE new shiny PR. Nothing to get upset about. As I hit the Parkway and the hairsharp 180 degree turn for the finish I saw my dad again and gave every ounce of energy pretending it was October 25. Crossing the finish line it felt amazing - 1:40:39!!! Holy crap. I didn't just tear up my PR, I took it and pounded it into the pavement in Philly. What an amazing day and amazing feeling to run well again. Two consecutive races, two amazing efforts.

As I met up with nyflygirl, I was so curious to hear how she did. I KNEW she kicked major a**. Sure enough, she did with a 1:37. Wowzers. You go girl! As she enjoyed a few beers, I went for a mimosa and cookie. YAY we earned that and then some.

Now, take a look at my splits:

Looking at them, it looks like I lost my 1:40 pretty early with the 7:45s. But ya know, it's ok. My "A" goal was to PR. "B" goal was sub 1:45. "C" goal was sub 1:47. Happy! Now it's time to focus on getting to the "match" portion of the training. It's so close and now is the time to keep things together and stay healthy. I'm really pumped from this performance and now know what I am capable of. The plan is to keep doing whatever it is I'm doing because it seems to be working just fine!

Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Music: 3 Doors Down - Be Like That
Tags:
pdr, race, running

September 13th, 2009

Ramp it up

9/13/09 10:13 pm

Without any intention, this week turned into a high octane, intense training week. One of my best ever I think in fact. Since Monday, I've run 6 of 7 days (Friday was a complete off day). It's funny before this week I had no idea where my training was and felt like a rebel without a clue:-p I was running and biking but where was I going? Had I improved? Did I get my legs back or was I due for another 3:50 'thon and disappointment. I know I know that's a great time but I'm not satisfied with that anymore. I want more. This week may have proved I'm ready to step it up.

Monday: I was up in the Berkshires in Connecticut. I pumped out a 5 mile run at about a 9:15 pace. At first glance that sounds "eh." But consider the elevation? Almost 1300 ft. Decent run.
Tuesday: My friend AU wanted to do a tempo run and asked if I wanted to join. I figured why not? I had taken the day off from work and it always feels good to get a quality run in. Result? 10.5 miles at an 8:20 clip. Including hills up by morningside park. Sweet.
Wednesday: Nike speed with 5 x 1000m on the track. I knew I needed to be careful with the intensity of the night before. Result? 8 min pace with ease - felt really good. Last one? 7:35 pace. Hmm something's happening here.
Thursday: Met up with friends at Niketown to meet Kara Goucher. She is AMAZING. Totally down to earth and loves NYC. Who wouldn't:) Anyway, that ended up being close to a 4 mile run at an 8:40 clip. My legs were tired but still felt ok.
Friday: Rainy and OFF.
Saturday: Race day. 4 miler in Central Park. Quite honestly I had no idea what to expect. My legs could give me an 8 min mile race or surprise me. First, I got a red corral number since it was an all female race. This gave me extra juice to give it a go. Then Kara Goucher showed up to wish us well. Hey, if miss 4:55 min/mile interval girl is there, I can't half ass this! As the horn blazed, I just said "to hell with it" and raced. Off I went and managed to pull my second fastest 4 mile run EVER. Holy crap! This after the week I had already? What would happen on rested legs? 29:32 result/7:23 pace. Quite pleased.
Sunday: 20 miles. This was a true test on dead legs. I think it was great practice for race day. Those last couple

of miles really reminded me of what the last miles of the marathon feel like. I could feel the end of a 50+ mile week. Tired but I could sense the reward at the end. It's one of those feelings that keeps me running. Knowing that the finish line is an amazing feeling everytime. The run was terrific as I joined the NY Flyers for their 20 mile bridges run which took us down the west side highway, over the Brooklyn Bridge, through Brooklyn, Pulaski Bridge and Queens. Overall just a 9:25 pace but it didn't feel awful. Sure it was tough - it is 20 miles for crying out loud - but right now besides exhaustion I'm not sore. Not at all. The picture to the right is me coming off the Queensboro almost 18 miles in. Looking pretty good!

What now? I'm taking a bit of a down week to prepare for the Philly Distance Run (Ryan Hall is running it!) next weekend. My goal? I want to have a solid race. Sub 1:45 would be great. If I can sub 1:45 and feel decent it makes that magical number come October 25th seem not so invincible.

I'm excited. Things are starting to come together and I think the missing link from the past couple years - speed - is back in the equation. Six weeks to go and hopefully it will continue to build towards the elusive goal. Bring it! Time to get to that finish line...

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside
Tags:
marathon, running

April 19th, 2009

Jumping back in

4/19/09 08:58 am

Holy smokes! I just looked and the last time I wrote here? Over a month ago?! Where the heck does time go? I've been super busy with preparing for the big move. As I mentioned, I am in the process of buying a place over in Brooklyn! That's right - I'm moving to that far off land of Brooklyn:-p I'm super excited and now wait for my board interview then the check writing exercise also known as the closing;) So it looks like sometime in mid/end of May I'll be a homeowner! Woohoo!

Running wise. I signed up for marathon #6. I'm heading back to the scene of my best marathon: Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. October 25. I'm finally getting back into the running thing as I've just been swamped at work and dealing with the apartment stuff. I also was burnt out from last fall. But now it's time to go back in and get focused. I don't think a time needs to be mentioned on where I'd like to be as I cross the finish line;-)

I ran a couple of races in the past few weeks: Mudders&Grunters and Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I didn't race either. My time for Cherry Blossom was a respectable 8:19 pace. I never felt like I was hurting and had someone come up to me at the end and say "Great race, thanks for pacing me." See, even when I don't mean to I'm a pacemaster!

I've got the Brooklyn Half coming up on May 30th! Hopefully it'll be a real short commute to Prospect Park;-)

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Kenny Hayes - Daybreaker
Tags:
apartment, race, running

March 7th, 2009

A new world ahead?

3/7/09 10:18 pm

So yes, as mentioned in the comments, I did run a half in January. The half? Personal worst but personal best as far as vacationing in South Beach:) Considering I had exactly one long run before the run and had averaged an awesome 10 miles a week. I'm pretty impressed:-p

Running has definitely taken a back seat with the impending events to come in the next few months. As mentioned in the last post, I'm in the middle of the housing search. Things have heated up to say the least and I'm still in love with the neighborhood I found a couple weeks ago. I'm visiting a few places a second time tomorrow with an agent. Is this real?!

I find myself wondering how it's possible to be where I am but hey, we have one life to live. Go for it.

I'm not ready to reveal to the world the possible new 'hood due to my superstitions about everything. I would hate for something to happen to cause this to not happen. However, let me just say, I will have to change the name of my blog if I choose this destination;-)

Current Mood: busy
Tags:
house hunting, running

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November 23rd, 2008

3:48:48

11/23/08 09:39 pm

Just figured I'd post since some of you may wonder how today went. I'm satisfied with the effort today but don't worry, I'm not done knocking on that 3:40:00 door. Just for now - I'll be back in 2009.

Oh and I've decided, if you're not into extreme weather running, give me a shout out before signing up for a race. I have a feeling now that I've covered extreme heat and cold that rain may be in the forecast next time...

Current Mood: okay
Tags:
marathon, race, running

October 1st, 2008

Post marathon blues?

10/1/08 07:34 am

I think not.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are confirmed as a registrant for the 2009 ING Miami Marathon or Half-Marathon!

Nothing wrong with a trip to Miami at the end of January:)

Chicago Weather:

Sunday, Oct 12

High: 56 °F RealFeel®: 49 °F

Mostly cloudy and colder

Sunday Night, Oct 12

Low: 44 °F RealFeel®: 37 °F

Mainly clo

This would be a beautiful thing!

Current Mood: anxious
Tags:
running

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September 28th, 2008

PDR 2008 and coming to the end of training

9/28/08 12:35 pm

Wow I've been a bad blogger. Things have been pretty busy around here but here we go. Last weekend I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run strictly as a marathon tune up. Unlike 2 years ago, there would be no attempt at shattering the PR today. One cool aspect of this race is my dad's friend has run the race every year since it's beginnings (31st year in a row!). As such, he gets VIP treatment for himself and friends. We were able to hang out in the area with the elites before the race and have our own personal baggage check! Sweet! I ran into nyflygirl at the corrals and AH was there too. I told nyflygirl that she should finish way ahead of me today;-) I was looking to run 1:45-1:47. The national anthem started and all of a sudden it was like "wait, those aren't the words."

Whoops! Finally we were off.

Immediately, within the first mile, my stomach started to give me issues. I just thought it was nerves or something and just needed to run it out. By mile 4 I was still feeling pretty uncomfortable but continued to ignnore it. As we got to the Park Drive I started to look for a pit stop as I knew there was no way I could finish this half without stopping. It was that BAD. Finally just passed the 10K point I made my pit stop for 2.5 minutes or so. I felt a bit better and knew I'd be able to finish the race. Given the stopping, etc I made my new goal sub 1:50.

I started back up and ran a very controlled 8:10-8:15 pace. Final time: 1:49:21 with the pit stop. Not too shabby. The photo is from the Ben Franklin Parkway - just another walk in the park home;) I've started to utilize the hat again as a repellent from sweat in the eyes. I'm thinking that will happen for the marathon too. Yellow cap anyone? ;-p

Since the last time I've also finished up two more 20 milers and a 55 mile week. One twenty miler is shown on the left. We ran from Columbus Circle, around the tip of Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge to Prospect Park, a lap of Prospect Park before heading back and ending on the LES. As usual, a training season would not be complete with me wiping out somewhere. I managed to wipe out on a sidewalk in Brooklyn and now sport a lovely wound on my left knee (good job by the photographer not to get that knee in the photo!). It was nasty humid with essentially 100% humidity as when we got to the tip of Manhattan you could not see Brooklyn! It was eerie as a cruise ship was coming in it looked like it was coming from nowhere out of the fog. Surreal. Finished that run in a shade under 3 hours.

Yesterday, for my final long run I joined a group for the bridges run. The first four miles I realized it was definitely going faster than I needed to be at. I was running closer to MP then LSD pace! I dropped back a group and feel great today. Ran another solid 7 today.

Two weeks to go. Unbelievable. So far the weather is good but we all know what happened last year in Scranton and Chicago (both turned into Steamtown Marathons literally!).

Sunday, Oct 12

High: 53 °F RealFeel®: 49 °F

Mostly sunny

Sunday Night, Oct 12

Low: 42 °F RealFeel®: 34 °F

Clear to partly cloudy

Current Mood: complacent
Current Music: Mariah Carey - I Still Believe
Tags:
marathon, race, running

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August 28th, 2008

Tempo me Wednesday

8/28/08 07:39 am

With the big day coming sooner than later, I've fallen into a bit of a lull the past couple weeks. More from outside factors than me but it's kept me from some of my runs. It may be a blessing in disguise as I feel fresh and ready to dive back into training for the last month and a half. I look at last night as day 1 as official back into training mode. Just take a look...

This is the time I kept my watch on. My route: I ran from Midtown down to the 14th street area to meet a friend. Once he joined me we ended up doing 7.29 miles of tempo at 7:56 pace! I felt pretty good and it was just what the Dr. ordered to get me back into the swing of things. Overall I put in a little over 12 and that's after 15 on Sunday which felt like poo. It's amazing how you can feel a zillion times better depending on the day!

Current Mood: excited
Tags:
marathon, running

August 2nd, 2008

Pace skills for sale!

8/2/08 09:58 pm

Today marked my first 20 miler of the season. With the urging of flygirl, I signed up as a pacer for the Long Training Run in the park. As it had been all week, the humidity was 70-80% and temps near 80. Gross. However, Mr. Sun stayed in his clouds!

I volunteered to lead the 9 min/mile group and was placed in the third tier of them. It actually worked out for the best as later I found out how the earlier groups became rabbits. How good am I? Try 8:59 pace for 20. Not bad, right? I felt really good and I'll be curious to check out my official stats on my computer (I'm in Philly right now). I wore my heart rate monitor and I have a feeling it never rose too high as I was able to maintain conversations the entire time.

Why are my pace skills for sale? I was asked by at least 5 people if I would be at the LTR in September as well! Who knew? I had promised that I would be able to get them to the finish line safely and those that did 20, we would be as fast as our slowest person. I'm really glad I had a good run as it erases last week's 13.1 crappy run.

With tomorrow's run I'll have put in 54 miles this week - crazy.

Oh, I think I can announce the true reason I was exhausted for the half. I was actually up in Providence, RI taking a certification exam for my job. I'm happy to announce that I've passed the exam and now have fun letters after my name (RCDD®:)

Current Mood: accomplished
Tags:
exam, rcdd, running

July 21st, 2008

The big 5-0!

7/21/08 07:51 am

This past week I reached 50 MILES for the first time ever in my running career! Crazy, right? How did I do it? 11.25 miles on Tuesday, 3.75 miles on Wed morning, 11 miles Thursday, 18 on Saturday and another 7 last night. How do I feel? I actually feel good and healthy! Definitely want to eat a house all the time now. LOL. I was with LS and MS for my big milestone.

Funny part is I think LS was more excited about it then I was;-)

The 18 on Saturday certainly was a war of attrition. It was brutal! I started at 6:30am knowing that later in the day 95 degrees loomed! You know how you start to run and you can tell it's not going to be a good one? That was this one. Not good when it's 18 on the plate. I actually felt pretty awful for the last 6-7 miles and that's with taking 2 gus. Fortunately with the help of the group run I had a couple of great friends drag me through the last portion of the run. I could tell how bad it got since my ankles/lower legs were caked in dirt which means I had issues picking up the legs.

Yesterday I volunteered for the NYC Triathlon! What an amazing experience. I was by the Swim/Bike Transition. It was pretty amazing to watch people run along the west side path in BARE FEET to head out for a 25 mile bike ride. It made me realize I never want to swim in the Hudson, EVER! First, every person coming out was b**ching about the jellyfish whether they swam through a sea of them or got stung! Yuck. Second, some came out with a lovely Hudson River mustache. Yikes! Although one of my friends suggested perhaps you get a facial from the oils in there? Kind of like a mud bath? Hmm, not sure how much I buy of that! Anyway, I was in charge of making sure no one crossed over into the bike lane and vice versa. After everyone left from the yellow transition, I filled Accelerade cups like it was my job (well, it was for the morning!). I tried it again and I'm still not a fan! Congrats to all that raced yesterday. Looked for Josh out there but didn't see him - sounds like he was going too fast for me to see him!

This week marks a reduction of mileage to somewhat prepare for the 1/2 on Sunday morning. I'm looking to get a good run in - and look at it as a preparation for October. I'll keep an eye on the forecast but I'd love to shoot for 1:45. We'll see how I feel as the week goes on.

Current Mood: content
Tags:
running

July 12th, 2008

Wet T-shirt contest

7/12/08 05:59 pm

Whoops, it's been a while again! That's what happens in the summer with a hectic schedule including a marathon schedule which is ramping up big time these days. Last week brought a 45 mile week and this week another one. And next week? My FIRST 50 mile week! It was supposed to be the following week but with the NYC half and a hectic work week I'd rather save my low 37 mile week for that;-)

Anyway, this week I found myself down at the E 6th track for a tempo based workout. I was scheduled for a 9 mile run with 4 miles at half marathon pace. Perfect! I wanted to shoot for 7:30 pace to keep it to a pace that wouldn't kill my legs but tough enough to push a bit. See below and I'd say I succeeded! Good to see the pacemaker is still in shape;-)

800m	3:45	7:30min/mile
800m	3:42	7:24min/mile
800m	3:45	7:30min/mile
800m	3:45	7:30min/mile
400m	1:50	7:20min/mile
400m	1:48	7:12min/mile
400m	1:47	7:08min/mile
200m	:53	7:07min/mile
200m	:47	6:19min/mile

The last 400 and 200s were spent running through horizontal wind blown rain. That's an experience to say the least or as Coach Sponge says, a "sprinkle." It was fun but by the last 200m my feet felt like huge concrete blocks with the water. White t-shirts would not be a good idea for a workout like this:) I never went anywhere near my maximum effort for this workout which is extremely encouraging. I'm thinking the next time to try closer to 7:15 pace and see how that feels.

And in this week's "I never win anything" column, I actually did win something besides a running lottery! A couple weeks ago my work was holding a raffle for Red Sox/Yankees tickets on July 6. Since it was the holiday weekend, the tickets needed to be used by someone and why not:) So, as we were having a get together to celebrate the office move in a couple weeks, a name was pulled out of a hat and what do you know? It was me! What an experience and even though the Red Sox lost (sorry, NY. You will never get my support for your sports teams!), I had a great time. I forgot to mention this came after a 15.5 mile run that day. Whew.

I also found out yet another reason why to be weary about bridges. I was driving back from NJ and using a GPS device. I had thought it was smart and having us go around traffic. However, I'm not sure how going over the Verazzano and getting home via Brooklyn is fast:-p I got a good kick out of it and hey I got to drive part of the NYC Marathon course. Damn, that bridge is steep!! I also saw the waterfalls by the Brooklyn Bridge.

And in this week's odd occurrence in NYC: I went to dinner with a couple of friends at a local diner. After finishing (which included finding a bug in my salad! yuck!), 3 women in mini skirts were walking around handing out free cocktails. I have no idea. I'm just saying...

Coming up tomorrow? 17 miles on the agenda ending at Grimaldis in Brooklyn. Mmmm....
91 days to go. Who's counting?

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Cat Stevens - Wild World
Tags:
running

June 29th, 2008

Best in show

6/29/08 02:16 pm

Training like a mad woman I got peer pressured (not really;-)) to run the race yesterday. A 5 miler run by the Front Runners New York running club as part of their celebration of Gay Pride week. In an attempt to show our "pride," LS, MS and I dressed in the colors of the rainbow. Well, at least we attempted to. I looked more like a commercial for McDonalds or perhaps a sampling of ketchup and mustard? You be the judge.

So the race. With between 6 and 7 put in Friday afternoon and another run for Sunday, I knew this was not going to be an all out racing attempt for me. The conditions were less than optimal (and that's being nice!). It says it was 80 with 67% humidity at race start but I'd be willing to say it was warmer. I ran to the start at the 102nd transverse and was dripping in sweat by then. Yikes! LS and MS met me by baggage and we all started together. I figured this would be good so I wouldn't be tempted to race. Plus, our fun colors went together!

So the race was pretty uneventful. I never dipped into 7 min/mile pace and stopped for water whenever possible. Fortunately, there were several people out there with hoses which was a touch of heaven. The finish had ice pops waiting for us! I think they should have this at every event:)

Final time: 41:29 (8:17 pace) - Considering I had run the day before and a tough speed workout on

Wednesday, not too shabby! It was right where I wanted to be - I figured somewhere around 8-8:30 pace.
We stayed around to wait to see if we would win the raffle for free airfare. While none of us won that, it turns out the TRD women finished third in the race! That meant $100 for the team!! YAY! Had I not come out to run, we may not have won 3rd. Pretty darn exciting!

So this morning I woke up hoping to get my 14 miler in but I should have thought better knowing the tough workouts I had put in since last Sunday in hot/humid weather (trail half Sunday, speed work on Wed, and a race (even if it wasnt all out) on Sat). My body caught up with me and my right quad cramped up badly after just a few miles:0( Rather than risk making anything worse, I stopped and came home to rest it. October is my goal, not getting miles in for the sake of miles. I still managed 33 miles this week and did I learn anything? Yeah, the body is not invincible. Tomorrow is another day:-D

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: U2 - New Year's Day
Tags:
race, running

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June 16th, 2008

Take that, Reebok!

6/16/08 09:33 pm

So I'm sure everyone remembers those silly "Run Easy" ads Reebok had last year. Well, it appears Pearl Izumi has a response: Run Easy is an Oxymoron. I first saw the ad in The Running Times. I like it. It's geared towards more serious runners. Notice, I'm not knocking anyone but just saying that by advertising in that

kind of magazine you're drawing more serious runners than the go out and exercise type. I like it.

Anyway, week 1 of marathon training is in the books with just over 33 miles. It proved to be super challenging with 100+ degree heat at the beginning of the week and super humid conditions by Sunday. I feel good so far and I'm looking forward to 8 in the morning as long as mother nature plays nice! The rest of the week plays out with a 10 spot on Thursday most likely and my long run being a trail half marathon up in West Chester on Sunday.

Here's my response to the questions posted on nyflygirl's blog:

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?

Hmm, 1998? Non-existant. I didn't run in high school. I was a band geek and stuck to softball and basketball. I played catcher if you can believe that! One memorable play? I blocked the plate with one of the biggest girls in the league barreling down the line. I held onto the ball and she was out. I was too...

2. What is your best and worst race experience?

Best- I would say either the Marine Corps Marathon in 2005 with my dad or the Philly Distance Run in 2006. The Philly Distance Run because I was probably in the best condition in my life to this point and just ran a great race given the horrendously humid and hot conditions. MCM is easy - my dad and I ran it together!

Worst- the Mini or Coogans 2006. The Mini 2005 and 2007 - ugh. Reason enough for me not to sign up this year!

3. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?

Best-Listen to your body. It knows when to say "no."
Worst-usually it's more of the issue of not taking the advice;-)

4. Why do you run?

I run to keep my sanity. I run to keep from getting fat by sitting in front of a computer and sitting at meetings daily (you think I'm joking?:-p). I run to eat. I run to be happy.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.

I came oh-so-close to moving out of New York winter of 2004. After the NYC Marathon my training partner got pregnant and I felt very alone. I also was dealing with the post marathon blues and didn't know very many people. My first roommate was getting ready to move out of the city. It was a very tough time for me and thanks to finding other crazy runners at TRD, here I am 3 1/2 years later still kicking and running strong!

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Tiësto - Tiesto`s club life podcast 63
Tags:
running

June 8th, 2008

18 weeks

6/8/08 05:26 pm

Just 18 weeks til I give 26.2 a run for its money again. 18 short weeks which will contain runs of joy, pain, and everything in between. We shall see where it leads but one can only hope mother nature is a bit more cooperative than this weekend. 94 yesterday, 95 today. See the graph below and you'll see the fun times NYC is having right now:

Seeing that the weather was less than ideal for racing, I "wussed" out of the mini 10k (aka race from hell) this year and did 5.25 miles with the team instead. I forgot how rough it is to run in the three terrible "H's": Hazy, Hot and Humid (actually very similar conditions to last October 7). It just zaps any energy you have and my face turns the color of a lobster. No, not from sunburn but from the rigorous activity. Not to worry though, no heatwave will stop me! I stayed to watch the women running the 10K. Saw a bunch of TRD teammates as well as flygirl (haha, yes I was smart to stay out of this one and cheer!) and 'chelle (looked way too happy given the weather!). The times showed the weather as the elite women were even off their usual speedy selves. Crazy to think a 32:30 10K is "off" pace...

Today I headed up to Rockefeller State Park with 3 others for a longish run. Talk about survival of the fittest. This was one tough run as within a mile it just felt really hard. Yes, it's hilly and hard to run there but worse than usual. The max ascent was 300 feet! That definitely gets the heart pumping. In total I got 7.99 miles in which is right on the money. We also saw pheasants, turtles, vultures and pigs while running the trails.

Total mileage: 34.7 miles for the week. I'm ready for the Pfitzinger plan to begin. Week 1 calls for 32 miles. I think I'm going to wait til Tuesday morning to start and go for x-training tomorrow...my body needs a break from this heat!

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: DJ Tiesto - DJ Tiesto - Live at Club Space 08-18-2002
Tags:
running