marathon splits

I never posted my splits, so here they are:

mile1- 12
mile2 12:45
mile3- 12:26
mile4- 11:49
mile5/6 24:02
mile7- 11:56
mile8- 12:20
mile 9- 12:19
mile10- 12
mile11- 11:57
mile 12- 11:20
mile 13/14 24:08
mile15-12:59
mile16-12:14
mile17-13:07
mile18-12:58
mile19-12:11
mile20-13
mile21-12:36
mile22-12:44
mile23-13:45
mile24-12:25
mile25-11:20
mile26-10:48
mile26-26.2-1.31

finish line- brightroom pics

I mean they're priceless. I didn't get any with my eyes open of just me... and my teeth are strangely not that white... weird.

I MEAN THIS SAYS IT ALL

Shirts

I got shirts made from CustomInk.com. They came out amazing. Then a guy there wrote me an email asking to donate to my cause. It's these sorts of things that make inspire me to keep inspiring others- honestly.

Go to customink.com Theyre fantastic!!

RR- My first marathon

Well. I did it! I ran my first marathon. My official time is 5:23:23... this is a bit off from my 5:05-5:10 goal but I am OK with it.

so here's how the weekend went:

BEFORE THE RACE:
Friday was a very stressful day at work. Instead of leaving at 2 pm I didn't get home until almost 8 pm. I was extremely upset and discombogulated because I hadn't really packed and wanted to go to dinner with matt and co. I ended up staying in to do my Ipod and get organized and really, to decompress. Sat I woke up with a cold sore on my lip. How depressing. I get them from extreme stress and from sunburns so it was a huge let down to get one... if not only because they exhaust me and the meds for them, also dehydrate me. Sat the TNT bus was late and we finally got down to Long Branch around 130 pm. Nicole and I pulled a fast one and were the first to check in, top floor room, very pretty views of the finish/start line. My mom met us in the hotel lobby and we headed to the expo to pick up our race numbers. The Expo was absolutely nothing to write home about especially after the wonder that is the NYC expo. This Expo actually seemed to cater to the half marathoners, which makes sense since only 1726 people completed the marathon itself. (There were another 8000 or so relayers and halfers). My mom and I went to have a quiet lunch and then to drive the race course again. It was nice the day of to know where we were going and what to expect. Like, really nice.

At about 4:45/5 pm on Saturday Nicole and I went up to the room to decorate our singlets. I had JEN and ROCKSTAR on the front/back and she had NICOLE and BRING IT!. We went down to the pasta dinner (the food was excellent, I must say, and I was nervous!!!) and it was amazing to see all the coaches etc cheering us on as we walked into the ballroom. I almost burst into tears. It's amazing to think that the 350 persons in team in training running the NJ Shore Marathon raised over $678k!!! It was emotional all around to think of all I had given up in terms of weekends, running, squeezing in runs before dinners, money spent on gels, sneakers, massages etc.... The inspiration speaker was this Triatholon guy who currently was in remission and was running the full marathon that weekend... his story was very emotional as he described how he ran home from each chemo appointment. As in, after sitting there for hours with chemicals dripping through his bloodstream, he found the energy to zip up his jacket and lace his sneakers and run the few miles home. Like, talk about inspiration!!!

After dinner we headed up to the room to get really organized and figure out what we were wearing. The forecast was all doom and gloom. 50 and rainy basically the whole time. I didn't fall asleep until about 11 but slept amazingly through 5:45 am and at 6 am heard the race announcement start! HOW EXCITING!!!

SUNDAY: RACE DAY
At 6:15 I was still running the hallways (literally) trying to decide which shoes to wear. I had brought 3 pairs with me but had narrowed the field to 2 pairs by this am... I finally decided on the shoes which sometimes give me some knee pain over the ones which made my right shin really tight... I said a mini prayer that it was the right choice and moved on.

My mom was in the hotel lobby at 6 am! She's a bit crazy and wanted to make sure she had parking and knew what was going on. The energy in the hotel lobby was amazing. We didn't come down until about 6:45 but it was packed and fun. She brought us extra tissues, ponchos and other things to keep us dry as the start was delayed about 30 min all in all!!!

MILES 1-8
We finally crossed the start line at about 8:03... so all of my pacing charts for my family were way off... There was a very very slight drizzle as we headed off... Nicole and I were both a bit nervous but seeing Ramon at mile 1 on his bike with a microphone yelling obscenities put us at ease... we ran through a residential neighborhood relatively soon after the start (mile 1.5-2ish perhaps) and people had music blasting and were out even in the early hours making some noise. We hit the first water stop and took a cup per Ramon's instructions. The lines at the port a potties were already 10 people deep so we were very thankful we made the last minute decision at 7:50 to pee again. VERY SMART!!! At about mile 4 we saw Jill and Aly (with their hats and coffees!how cute!!) which was a huge pick me up.... turning down Long Branch Ave right by the hotel there was a huge crowd... loads of cheering and my aunt and uncle which was nice!! My aunt and uncle somehow drove their van right on the side street so they were hanging out sitting in the back of it, resting until they saw us on a wide and flat street... My aunt had water and Gatorade for us which was nice-- we were at mile 5.5 at this point, and I took a sip of the water (in retrospect I must have been severely dehydrated... ) Right after we saw them we headed up into the more ghetto working part of Long Branch, and I ate an orange.. so much for nothing new on race day! As we headed down 2nd ave I started to feel a little loopy, a little dizzy and overall not so great. I couldn't tell if I was dizzy or if I just wasn't used to such flat open stretches where you can see really far (and perhaps think you should be seeing further bc it is so flat)... we hit South Lake Drive over our 5 hr pace for mile 8 and I really started to feel ill. I took gels at 45 min but I think I was dehydrated vs. not having enough sugars/etc. We passed my mom and brother (Eric was the WORLDS best cheerleader, really loud, yelling- THAT'S MY SISTER, SHES MY HERO, I almost burst into tears yet again).... Miles 8-11 are basically a double loop and at mile 11 you pass over the same bridge as you did in mile 8 (my mom and brother were hanging out at that interpass)...

MILES 11-13.1
Miles 8-11 did me well and I started to feel a little better. At mile 10 I took another gel and started to feel a bit more normal. At this point we hadn't taken any sort of walking break (which for us was unusual)... Mile 11 and more cheering from my mom and bro helped a bit... Miles 11-13 were basically a straight stretch up Ocean Blvd and then Ocean Ave into Pier Village and the half marathon mark. My knee started flaming fire ball practice, alternating with the arch in my right foot... fabulous and just in time. We FINALLY saw Felix and Matt at mile 11.5-12 (in their defense they were on the phone with Jill and Aly and missed us 2x before they finally saw us... they used Larry the Lighthouse as a marker- damn him!!!!) and that was a huge pick me up for me... It started to rain a bit more at this point and I really felt shitty... better than the dizzy mile 8 but worse than I would feel on the second loop. At mile 13 we saw Ramon (Godsend coach) and he walked us through the second loop-- keep hydrating, its still early, distract yourself for the next 5 miles- you can do this... He really helped and I felt a bit better turning my head to watch the Ocean as he recommended and not paying attention to the 7,000 finishing half marathoners!!!

MILES 13.1-17
This section of the race was very up and down for me. The second loop was desolate compared to the elbow throwing in the first few miles... While the original bands were gone the residential neighborhood still had music blaring and a few outrageous Marathon parties that helped a bit. At about mile 14.5 there was a water stop with high school cuties yelling 'chafing, Vaseline, water, Gatorade) which always makes me chuckle. I am pretty sure I took a gel here, but can't confirm. I did take 1300 mg of Tylenol 8 hour release. I was really struggling with feeling full and still a bit dizzy. At this point we were almost on 3 hours... I don't really know why the 12 min mile pace felt so damned hard! but it did. The rain also really started... we hit a bridge at about mile 15-15.5 and stopped to stretch. I popped my hip flexor on the left side and it was amazing!!! Coming over the bridge there was absolutely no one in front of us or behind, so I'm pretty sure we got some amazing Bright room shots... I might also mention that people were yelling our names by far more than others... I think our iron on letters were a huge hit! Even in the pouring rain my amazing friends Jill and Aly were there and had found balloons. They were joined by Matt and Felix and all of them were sooo nice to see at that point. Felix ran along side me and gave me some Gatorade which seemed to help a bit. More notably I said to them as I ran by "if I ever say I'm doing this again, remind me of this moment' It was my lowest low of the race.

MILES 17-21
In this section... it was all rain. Real rain. And wind... OMG wind. I saw my Aunt Diana and Uncle John again right on Cooper on the opposite side of Ocean Palace... grabbed some water... shortly after we saw some more TnTers which REALLY helped. TnT is absolutely amazing. Have I said this enough??? I felt like I finally hit my stride. Once we turned onto Broadway (mile 17.25ish) it's like something clicked. There was a huge line of half marathoners waiting for a bus to go back to what I assumed was the parking area.... It was me and Nicole and 2 men who were walking up the "hill" and this huuuuuge long line (I'm talking easily hundreds of people) who had just run the half... all of whom were staring at us... staring at us running in the pouring effing miserable weather!!! I started clapping and when I got little response I yelled "COME ON YOU JSUT RAN THIS ONCE... WE'RE RUNNING IT TWICE CHEER US ON!" the crowd erupted and it was like a fire was lit under my soggy dragging ass. I mean, the entire crowd was clapping and yelling our names (again with the iron on letters!!!) It was AWESOME. We grabbed some oranges and water and moved on. We ran into Phil again, which helped Nicole and turned onto the long stretch that is 2nd ave... Once we passed Monmouth Medical we ran into my cousins!!! More water for me. And then, a crucial moment, we ran into the Brooklyn Coach. I don't know his name, I only know that he wears a beret and has a long narrow beard, like really long. He looks really cool, and for lack of better descriptive, really Brooklyn. He asked us... when did you guys last have a gel... I told him 10 min ago to get him off our back, but by this time it was prob about 3:55 in and we hadn't had a gel in a good 55 min. Usually I'm all over this, but Sunday I was very much off my game... Right after we passed him we hit a water station, and i took a gel. BK coach saved my marathon. He is brilliant! (I was happy to send a shout out thank you at mile 25 when we passed him again!) I felt GOOD. Like GOOD. Unfortunately Nic hit the beginning of a long wall for her... We ran into Peter (another coach) at about 19.5 and talked with him about 1/4 of a mile... he told me I looked strong, which I definitely felt despite the awful conditions... We turned at Surf Taco and all I remember thinking is, I can do this!!! We hit my mom at mile 21. With her was my brother (still yelling his inspiration which I later found out was the talk of many TnT coaches!!!) Felix, Jill, Aly, Matt and two other TnT coaches! I felt amazing, like ready to rock, amazing! Nicole took about 4 minutes to stretch (I think IT band was shitty) and meanwhile I talked to Felicia, my mom, kissed Matt and did a pirouette. I honestly was ready to race.

Miles 21-24
At this point in the race, it was desolate... You turn onto South Lake back down around to Elberon Ave and then come up and around the Elberon train station before heading up an empty stretch of Ocean Blvd until you come back up to the bridge. My mom and I had planned for them to leave and head to the finish, but boy did I regret that once we hit mile 24. Miles 21-23 almost killed us. Nicole was not doing so well and I was trying to talk her through it but didn't know if I was annoying the shit out of her or helping.... We both took gels at 22 which I think helped her (I took a half) but we did have to stop a bit for her to stretch (i actually kept running up and down the block because I was scared to stop!!) I had a feeling that there was only so much energy left in me and was scared I would run out unless we just went for it... I never hit a wall.. Unless you count miles 11-17 a wall... i think it was dehydration from all the allergy/cold sore meds. Once we rounded mile 23 right by the water, I was ready to run... like 3 miles, puh lease, 2 reservoir laps, we can do that in our sleep, drunk, or blindfolded, I didn't get any laughs from Nicole. I was worried. At mile 24 I told her to put on her Ipod. I didn't know what else I could do... I couldn't keep expending all my energy talking and trying to get her going... I knew there was only a finite bit left in me!! We threw on our ipods (ironically mine was covered in red gunk which I later attributed to the Tylenol 8 hr I took at mile 14). My first song was Infinity and it's a fast pace trance song, helped a ton.

Maryellen joined us at mile 24.... to run us in. TnT is amazing. Mary Ellen is my mentor and she ran over 15 miles on Sunday to run her mentees into the finish line and to see us all. She was really phenom.

Miles 24-26
I felt amazing. Like AMAZING. Overall from miles 18-26 you wouldn't have thought that I had been running 4 hours. I felt better in these last 8 miles than I did the first 18. I guess that in and of itself is a major accomplishment. Right? I am happy I didn't hit a wall the way I did in my 21 and 20 milers in practice. Mile 24 felt long.... Ironically we picked up the pace from our easy (yet hard) 11:20-12:30 pacing depending on what we were feeling to a cool 10:45... If that wasn't good enough we actually ran the last mile in a 10:15- really? Who speeds up at the end??? By that much??? Ramon was right, those pacing bands are for the birds!! I saw Jess and Co at mile 25.25-25.5ish and threw them my race belt (my number was on my leg) I felt like everything was heavy and wet and I just wanted everything off me. Ironically even though the belt weighed less than a lb- it helped. I would've taken off my soaking wet jersey had it not been for the finish line picture. Felicia joined us at mile 25.25-25.5 I can't remember if we were past my family wet, I did take a water from Steph and that really helped clear my head... my stupid ear problems were on and off the whole time, esp in the middle miles... and my stomach Gremlin popped up a lot in round 1... I actually have a bruise under my rib cage where I kept pressing in!!!

Felicia was awesome... she talked us through it, told us we were rockstars (a duh) and told us we had 4/10ths of a mile to go. They kept asking us how we felt (Nic was ipod'd out and I had taken mine off already bc it was annoying) and I just kept saying FINE. Felicia asked if I was sure and i wanted to yell UHM YES, I AM EXHAUSTED BUT I'M FINE FOR a 5 MIN RUN, LEAVE ME ALONE, all I managed was a glare. We made it over Pier Village and saw Ramon. Tears almost came-- it was the fucking end!! F-I-N-A-L-L-Y. My finite energy source was drawing thin, we kept speeding up (i think we crossed the finish at a 9:30 'sprint' which was about 3 min faster than our average pace) and I just wanted to be out of the rain. All I really remember was Nicole and I shouting G-L-A-M, O-R-O-U-S and Ramon asking me if she was singing. When I said yes, he asked if she had been doing it for long... if only Ramon had seen the role reversal at mile 21!!! I said no and he gave me a high five on the fact that we were about to be marathoners... We crossed the finish line singing.... "we flying first class, up in the sky, we flying first class, living the life...." and I could here my friends and family cheering me on.... what an amazing feeling



After
After I crossed the finish line (ps. was STILL raining) I got a medal (don't remember this) and went into the tent for juice. They had minestrone soup so I drank that but felt super claustrophobic so left the tent. My aunt gave me a blanket (no mylars at this event) and Matt was my umbrella holders as everyone posed for pics with me. I was proud yes, but cold and a bit overwhelmed. Like HOLY SHIT I JUST RAN A MARATHON overwhelmed. I went up and showered after talking to the fam (I was shaking by the time I got into the shower) and met them for a yummy lunch at McCloones. Then we drove home. And I rested. My legs were dead.

Things I learned:

• Pace bands are for the birds- you never know what you're going to feel on race day. Case in point. My best miles were 18-25.5??
• Rain still sucks. Wind, even more so
• Family and friends and crowds cheering you on can get you through A LOT
• Porta potty breaks 10 seconds before the start- pay off!!
• Drink water at every station- you might be dehydrated like me
• Running a marathon has higher highs and lowers lows than you can imagine, even if you did 3 over 20 mile runs, its just not the same
• I love running and I'm def addicted
• Your first marathon should be done with TnT. Hands down. They were amazing/life saving/the best ever!! honestly!

in 24 hrs it will almost be over

in 24 hours we will be at our 13.5-14 mile marker... i was going to write "if all goes well", but hey, let's believe in the Secret for just one day (don't tell anyone!!) and try to attract positive energy.

I woke up with a cold sore this am. I give them to myself from stress and being overwhelmed. ALthough I am slightly overwhelmed with the idea of running a marathon I really was more anxious about my family and friends and them not being wet or bored or having a bad experience. That and work but that's for another blog. I think I caught it early enough where it won't be an issue. I slept like a Queen last night thanks to Benadryl which was key on a Friday before the race. If I must b e honest, I don't feel nervous about tomorrow. More so just about the weather. Hope that the rain holds up or sticks to a drizzle.

I'm just about to leave to go meet the other TnT'ers at their office and take the bus down to Long Branch.

Let's rock this.

48 hours

The countdown has begun.

It's here.

48 hours and I will be 2.5 hours into my first marathon. It's most liekly going to rain. That is OK. Just means the Scotland 10-K was better prep than I realized. I am OK with rain.

I'm really excited. I think that my legs will cooperate. I ran yesterday on the traedmill (boy do i hate the treadmill-- it's just too easy to stop!!) for 26 min... my shin was cramping so I stopped after 26- why push to 30 there was no point. I ran 10 min at 12 for a warmup, 10 min at 11 for marathon pace (but its actually faster than) and then 6 min at 9:30 for a pick up. It felt comfortable lung and breathing wise so that is the most obviousl progress from when I started. I used to have serious breathing problems running at 9:30. Eventually I hope to be able to run a 10K in 59 min. That's my summer goal I think. We'll make more goals as time passes...

So yeah, trying to leave early today in order to pack and get organized.

Excition!!

taper is in my head

my last long run was april 4th. it was 20 miles. april 17th i ran 11.5 miles and it felt good. since then only a few short runs, but a lot of workouts.

nerves.

I hate taper

It's official. I am a cow. A long distance running cow. But a cow nonetheless. Carbs from bagels, pizza, gatorade and cereal are doign this to me. Apparently it's how taper 'madness' goes.

It blows.

Tonight a 30 min run is allowed! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

taper taper taper

Did 12 min on the elliptical on a light setting and 9 min on the upright bike at the gym last night. And I stretched on the technogym machine that I've come to love so much. At least I'm not breaking my gym habit!! AND i finally found pics of these machines...

Only ate about 53% carbs yesterday even though I'm trying hard to get to the requisite 65-70% range... I know a lot of people will laugh at me, but it's really hard. Esp when I've never been a huge carber.

Last night I got what I'll call a gentle massage and did nothing else. Watched Biggest Loser- my favorite show- and it just has the best msg. We all make so many excuses. And yes, some are necessary, I mean they are on a ranch only exercising and resting, but we're only shorting ourselves of a healthier future. Idk. Disagree if you must, but it's just how I feel.

Tonight since I'm not allowed to exercise because of said taper, I will get a mani/pedi and have dinner w a friend. It's funny how my calories are totally in chk and I'm still itching to work out.

Next 'run' is allowed Thursday but most likely I will do spin bike or elliptical combo... not worth injuring the shins/knee etc before Sunday.

Ramon said no yoga, no massages, no weights, no exercise and concentrate on spending time off your feet. Seriously? This is practically bed rest. I know it's extreme so that we do most of it, but still.

taper part deux

28 minutes at the gym. all i did was stretch on the technogym posterior and anterior stretching machines, 2 sets of 10 lunges on each side and pigeon pose for 4 min on each side.

taper is boring. bagels and cupcakes make fat on me if i keep this up!!

the wkd

Friday was my last run before the marathon. I decided early on that I wouldnt run until the day of- worked for me when I took 2 weeks off during Puerto Rico and had a stellar 21 mile run after that rest.

Friday I left work as usual around 530 and headed out for what was meant to be a 6-8 mile run. I wasn't in the mood at all, but that wasn't a problem. I wore my Asics which originally gave me the knee issue (imho anyway) and as soon as I hit the loop I was convinced they were the devil. My shins were killing me on both legs. I ran up to the reservoir, stretched big time, and only made it around once before decidign it was best to stop and take the bus home.

I felt defeated.

I mean it's the end. It's crunch time. It's wahtever you want to call it, but what it's not is time to be hurting and be tired and be injured. I almost burst into tears on the bust but tried to remember that I have to trust the training and that all I can do at this point is rest up and do my very best.

This weekend I did my leg rehab at the gym on Saturday am (my fave is am wkd workouts) and did take it easier than I would normally- which was clutch for me. Equinox also has this amazing stretching machine (2 actually). One is for your hamstrings and one is for your quads. AMAZING. I tried to find a picture but the returns for "amazing stretch machine" from google were pretty amusing, and way off point. I'll look tonight at what brand they are. Sunday I did intermediate yoga down the shore and got my butt kicked. Headstands are hard! I tweaked my back, but I should be OK by this weekend. Goes to show what taper really means!

Drove most of the race course in Long Branch and explored the hotel. I'm feeling a lot better (read: less anxious) so that is nice. It's flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. YES!

Thursday thinking its Friday

well I woke up today thinking it was Friday. Nope, still Thursday. The good news is that I've been sleeping pretty good. 2 nights of solid, my-arm-is-asleep-oh-wow-its-only-2-am sleep. Awesome.

Last night I ran 4 miles on the treadmill... I kinda wanted to run more but had dinner plans. Was for the best. I haven't run on a treadmill in a really long time. It actually was not so fun. I like outside way more. I ran mile 1 at a 12 min pace, mile 2 at an 11 min pace, mile 3 at a 10 min pace and just to spice it up ran 4 alternating between 9 and 9:30. A 9 min pace really is way too fast for me. I was comfortable all the way through 2.75... my 10 min pace definitely needs improving.

This is OK for now since we're looking to run a steady 11:30 for the marathon. If I do end up running say NYC in the fall I want to move up to a 10:45/11 pace... which I know isn't much, but let's face it, it is. Even at an 11 min pace we're looking at a 4:48 and at 10:45 pace we're looking at a 4:41 pace. This sounds years better than my expected 5:05/5:10/5:15 finish.

Have I talked about my marathon goals? Well if I have please bear with me. If I have not here goes:

So you're supposed to have 3 goals. Drop dead, Solid amazing and OMG EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. My drop dead goal is 5:30. I think that 12:30 min miles is totally reasonable for a drop dead goal. My solid amazing goal is 5:15 this is 12 min miles. 12 is very do-able and I'm comfortable we can accomplish that. My OMG EVERYTHING IS PERFEFCT Goal is a bit more complicated. I seriously believe that since it's a flat course we can run in 5:01 which is 11:30 miles.... I would say anything under 5:05 which is 11:38 min per mile... I think given potential bathroom breaks (hoping for none), stretches and slowdown at the end that we can accomplish this as well. So we'll see.

The synopsis. Hoping for 5:05, aiming for less than 5:15 will not cry until 5:30.

Over and out.

Drinks tonight w some other TNT'ers who ran Rome. Looking for some advice!

Wednesday Hump Day

Today is blah. Yesterday was send off for the NJ Marathon.

I got my singlet. It was too small. Now I have a XXLarge. Uhm yeah, tearing that tag off AND getting the sides taken in. Yes, I'm getting my singlet tailored. so what?

I also already have all my gels. And a pile of stuff I need to see if I take. Uhm yeah, uber prepared.

What else. Tapering is boring. Tonight I'm going to run 3-4 miles at the gym. Quite frankly it requires less clothes than running outside. So I'm convinced.

Girls dinner at a sushi restaurant. Yay for lower cal options! I hate when we go French or something and everything has cheese or something icky.

Tomorrow I am meeting some TnTers who ran the Rome marathon a few weeks back to get some tips. It's totally going to suck to be at a bar and happy hour and not drink, but oh well. I hope to gain some in person insight as to what to avoid etc.

blogging at the gym?

uhm yeah...the fact that i stopped while at the gym to blog should say it all.

taper sucks.

not pushing myself, sucks.

45 min weight lifting and stretching used to be a huge indulge in a milkshake type event. post marathon training: seems lame.

interesting.

Synopsis of the Wkd- 2 weeks out and counting!!

Last Friday I went to the doctor after falling over in my boss' office on Wednesday. As in I was standing, wait 1 sec, not standing. After 2 hours and a slew of tests and waiting, the verdict was in. Swollen sinus cavity putting pressure on my inner ear causing my balance to be way off. Phew. Another discovery: my resting heart rate (per my EKG) was 48. That's pretty low meaning my heart is really efficient these days! Apparently the normal adult range is 60-68 (source: http://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/2008/07/15/your-resting-heart-rate-is-telling-you-more-than-you-think/) Athlete range is 35-50. I AM AN ATHLETE!!

I am not quite sure why this is so exciting to me, but it is. I guess it has to do with wanting to be in good cardiovascular health when a lot of people in my family are and were not. My dad died of a heart attack. A lot pf people have either had one or has mild heart disease (does that exist)... high blood pressure, etc etc etc. I just want to be athletic, thin and healthy, always.

Friday I ran my last long run... 11:45 miles... at a pretty fast pace too, i did think it to be fast at the time and it was.... sub 11 min miles (fast for me). Saturday was too gorgeous to work out but I did spend a lot of time on my feet. Yesterday a quick 30 minute run. Tonight- arms and abs class and rehab for knee. Tomorrow perhaps yoga in the am bc we have race packet pick up in the pm. Wednesday I have girls dinner... we'll see what else pans out.

I am thinking more and more about what our finish time will be for the NJ Marathon. I saw that Tanya (another TNTer) who ran Roma finished in 5:44! Awesome! I think that's about where we will end up... but am nervous to find out.

On another note my QL on my left side has been very tired/sore/achey. Brandt did a number on it between Thursday and SUnday so we shall see how it pans out. This is a busy week but I've got to fit in some light workouts!!

pics from the scotland run

it was a soggy mess, but hey we ran strong.

a random assortment of thoughts

yesterday i almost passed out at the gym. yes, i was so dizzy after 35/40 min of squats, lunges, abducters, adducters, one legged squats etc that i almost passed out after sitting in pigeon for 4 min on each side. legitimately was holding onto the railing, almost told the girl next to me in the locker room that i felt sick and to hold my hand, really sick. i drank a $5 juice from equinox and hobbled home, heart still racing. i spent another $8 on pizza (are we really in a recession with these prices)( was nice thin crust margerita though) and went to bed by 10:30 after a long hot shower and some 18 kids in counting (what a weird yet addicting show). 5 am I woke up with extreme stomach cramping AKA hunger pains! what in the hell! I consumed 1950 yesterday (and yes, I track my calories and have for 3 yrs now, deal with it) 50% carbs 30% fat and 20% protein. Salt was pretty good (2500 mg) and fiber was right on target at 35 g. I ate a piece of leftoever Bobka and went back to bed, but really?

today i am a total hungry hippo, eating peanut butter from the jar et al. I ordered a burger for lunch. i'm totally pigging out today- perhaps that will not only make me feel a bit better but also move the scale a bit. there has been no downward motion as of late.

tonight i am getting a massage. i miss them. brandt is no longer allowed on vacation.

tomorrow i want to run 10-12 miles int he pm... keep saturday all to myself. leave work at 5 and just run. i need to feel free- i feel very trapped lately.

ordered my marathon shirts. love them.

16 days and counting. i am beyond pumped.

Last Tuesday was the last time I posted- where does the time go?

Thursday I ran from work 52 and 5th up to Urban Athletics, bought new shoes and ran back with my old ones in tow. I also picked up my 10K race shirt from NYRR. Talk about errands on the go.

My new shoes are NIKE. I have all together given up on ASICS and blame them entirely for my patella tendinitis. UGH. Friday I worked out at the gym for about 45 min before Matt woke up and then we hung out, I did errands and Friday night we went to dinner w his parents and to see Matthew Broderick's new play- the Philanthropist. While his acting is phenomenal I would skip this play as it's only real acheivement was to tire me out.

Saturday was the Scotland Homecoming 10K. Nic and I ran a 1:07:57 in the pouring rain. Given where we are in our distance training, the weather, our moods and again, how tired our bodies were, I'll take the time. Overall we ran a perfect race. Our splits were phenomenal- 11:20,11:10,11:10, 11:10,10:20, 9:50, 1:57--- Esp given that the course was counterclockwise. I was happy- we totally did not slow down on any hills and given my knees this is a feat in and of itself.

That pm I was beat. Call it the biting cold, or being soaking wet for an hour after we finished- but I slept on and off from 1-530 until i had to get ready for dinner with matt's parents again.

Sunday- Easter was fun with the fam, but both Matt and I are sick and we both obviously need to be watching TV in bed.

This week who knows. Resting!

25 days out!

I can not believe there are only 25 days left. WHAT happened to this year! How has training flown by? It was really cold this am when I was waiting for the bus so I got that instinctive bundle-up-its-winter feeling again. But its not! It's really not. It's almost summer. It's almost Hamptons house time. It's almost BBQ and beer pong time :)

I suppose the real reason that this all feels so fast is that I have only been running 1x a week. My patella tendon seems to be hanging in there now that it's relatively stabilized with this . It seems to be working hard at its little job of helping my knee because everything seems to be hanging tough. So, therefore I am back to 3 day a week running... obviously lighter and shorter distances but I intend to sub out tonights usual run with spin class (second time, thank you very much), Thursday I intend to run up to the reservoir, around 2x and back down. That should be about miles. On Saturday I'm running the Scotland run. That was the first run I ever ran last March 30th. The real reason I signed up was to honor my ex bf Alex who was running the Atlanta marathon that day. 10k seemed so long. I remember thinking 'if he can run a marathon, I can run 6 miles' I had never run that distance before. I had never contemplated running that distance before. I went in blind. I overdressed. I ran the race in a terrible 1:10:17 and I was really proud and really fought for that time. I remember being so out of breathe and so proud that I finished. I remember falling into a nap when I got home that pm. 10k sounded like a crap load of a run. It was my first time up Harlem Hill. Amazing what a year can do. Eric ran with me... he wanted to run the half marathon last October, but in typical little brother styel, didn't train and didn't run. Now here I am runing a marathon after a dedicated 5 months, and he probably wouldnt be able to beat his 10k time. It's a little sad to me, but I suppose it goes to show what hard work can accomplish.

Tonight, spin. Part deux.

yet another 20 miler

this Saturday marked the last long run of the season. 20 miles exactly on a blustery Saturday where the wind gusts definitely topped 40 mph. A lazy 20 miles because we stopped often and with a vengeance. To be able to describe 20 miles as lazy is amazing. What a journey it has been. very up and down-- and more down than up... but as it comes to an end I can't imagine what life would have been like without it.

i don't really have a plan for the next 4 weeks. my knee is currently stabilized in a open center patella stabilizer brace and feels good. no massage yesterday means my legs feel very centered and strong. if you ignored my knee i'd say i was 100% which is nice

i do still get very tired after my long runs, but that is to be expected, right?

today weights
tomorrow spin
wed short run
thurs weights
fri yoga
sat race
sun weigts/rest

i need to add more running- so 3x a week for the rest of the time but no long runs.