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NYC Marathon Race Report

The few days before the marathon I was retardedly nervous. Well maybe not retardedly but i was worried about everything.

Went to bed around 1145 on Saturday night knowing it was really 1045. Woke up at 6 and was out the door by 630. Scarfed down an egg white sammy at the deli and Nicole picked me up in a cab, which we took down to the ferry. It was really windy when we got there but I had enough layers to melt anything so I was actually sweaty. We caught a 7:50 ferry (dont ask) but didnt get to the staging area untli 9. There was a lot of congestion overall. The one thing that stuck with me was that the port a pottys and the buses which took us from the ferry to the staging area were from all over- CT, NJ, NY. Was very interesting and caught my eye.

I hated the crowds but loved the energy. Sitting on NY avenue (we were assigned 2 different corrals so decided to spend the time not in the corrals) on my sleeping bag and trash bags, we started w the gu, the rearranging of the belt (for me) and the no rub stuff on the toes. At arond 9:40 they closed wave 2 corral (well I guess maybe a bit later) and we saw the first of the runners take off, what a scene for everyoen to stop and cheer them on- the looming Verrazzano in the left background... I dropped off my bag witht he race truck after a teary eyed goodbye to nicole. I couldnt believe i was going to do this on my own.

I was Orange, Wave #3 Corral C but didn't get anywhere near C. We were jammed in like sausages. The one good thing about this jamming was that I hit up the porta potty about 2 min before I crossed the start which was a god send. i didn't stop once during the race, I can't believe it!!! I certainly thought I would have to given that I took a gatorade and a water almost every single mile. I ironically ran with my water bottle until mile 21- this was supposed to be through mile 3 only to prevent my ear from going out. The bottle was actually a godsend bc my ear did go out (on mile 14) so I did end up needing it.

Highlights:
-I rocked the beginning
-I had a blast
-Every picture taken has me with a smile
-I dont hurt 48 hrs later
-I met some cool people
-I tried my strategy, failed but didnt freak out
-I saw my bf and friends in multiple places and that all worked out
-I finished strong (10 min miles) and really believe you can do anything
-Everyone screamed YOU CAN DO THIS JEN- was amazing!! !
- My shirt came out awesome

Lowlights:
-My ear blowing out quite a bit, mile 8, mile 14, mile 19
-Feeling like bumpkiss at the end, and not remembering (now looking back) miles 24-26.2 in any sort of detail, i was so in the zone!!
-The after finish line mess.

What else... I learned I am pretty good now at eating, drinking and salting. I couldnt believe that miles 1-8 went so quickly- mainly 1-6. Miles 1 and 2 on the Qboro wre pretty terrible. I ran WAY too fast and really was freezing. I had ditched my fleece and my pants but did have a long sleeve, arm warmers and tank on. I did have a fleece hat on but still, was soooo windy and cold. m1 was 10.27 m2 was 10.14

m3 10.46- 5k was 33:38 which was right on pace for me... 10:50 pace... I started running with some guy from colorado, wish I knew how he finished... it was his first race...

m4 11.17- Enjoyed the sights, thought I might have to pee but didnt. Tried to slow it down a bit but obviously can only run 10:45 or 11:15 nothing in between.

m5 10.42- Started my lookout for Brandt- didn't recognize the neighborhood so was really scanning crowds, sights etc. Was quite overcast still so I remember thinking it was cool that we were divided by a divider and that people were dancing and having a blast as spectators already.

m6 10.47- 10k time was 1:07:22 which is pretty great for me.... I remember thinking wow this was a fast 10k (meaning time felt fast). I ran for a little while with a daughter (5th marathon) and dad (first marathon) who were cop counting. They were at 100 when I left them.... moving on....

m7 10.39- I knew I was going to see Matt and Felix so I think I unknowingly sped up... Was flat and fast here and the crowds were so awesome.

m8 11.11- i believe its uphill here and i almost blew my ear out (my ear has this issue where my sinuses get swollen and then i get a blocked eardrum- not fun while running. I know I walked a bit here... hence the slower mile I'd imagine.

m9 11.37- see above. I think clinton hill was where all the townhouses were- was awesome, walked through the water stop... knew i needed to pick it up.

m10 11.02 williamsburg. loads of name calling, someone had donuts, loads of 'hipsters and champagne. right on pace.

m11 12.09- slow mile. no idea.

m12 11.24- greenpoint. no idea.
m13 11.21- remember hitting the half marathon marker at 2:26:12 which is pretty standard for me...

m14 11.43- saw my mom. walkd a bit, talked a bit... ear blew out AGAIN.

m15 12.57- queensboro. came around the corner and thought 'hot damn thats a hill' chkd out the pedestrian side and noted that the grade was completely different. sneaky sneaky- so much for practice! my ear was shitty at this point so i decided to walk the hill and clear out the ear, paid off big time.

m16 12.16- walked a bit of this mile, also walked the water stop. was amazed that first ave wasnt quite a roar.... or perhaps just a dull one... i did wave my hands a few time and people picked it up a bit. its amazing to have people cheer for you. i loved it. Saw matt and felix right at mile 17 and stopped for a second.

m17 11.12- pretty great pace given the timing and the hills.

m18 11.35- trying to pick it up but couldnt.

m19 11.11 saw rina here, felt awesome. thought i could pick it up a bit more heading into the bronx. had my ipod on.

m20 11.45- this mile sucked. the ground was uneven, walked through the water stop. i didnt like the bronx at all.

m21 11.43- saw matt and felix. starting to get tired.

m22 11.24- trying to keep on pace but couldnt hold on... this mile is 122st through 103 street... knew the hill would kill me.

m23 11.39- kept my head down, couldnt move the legs any faster. threw fuel belt at mom at 23.5. was REALLY cold.

m24 12.07- ha! laughable. effort level was 150% stopped for walk for a bit.

m25 12.06- i knew this mile would suck. couldnt hack it. walked a bit.

m26. 11.27- knew i had to pick up my legs to finish in under 5 hrs... the mental struggle was quite intense.

m0.2 2.07- ran my ass off. knew i had seconds to spare and this was no laughing matter.

I need to write a race report. But here are my splits etc.
WHAT A GREAT RACE!

clock time 0:33:38 1:07:22 1:42:14 2:18:08 2:56:03 3:31:33 4:07:29 4:44:34 4:59:46
clock splits 0:33:38 0:33:44 0:34:52 0:35:54 0:37:55 0:35:30 0:35:56 0:37:05 0:15:12
km 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 42.2
pace 0:10:50 0:10:51 0:11:13 0:11:33 0:12:12 0:11:26 0:11:34 0:11:56 0:11:07
miles 3.1 6.2 9.3 12.4 15.5 18.6 21.7 24.9 26.2

today

tuesday. 5 days left. forecast is OK (yay!) and no rain (for now!)
feeling a lot less nervous than yesterday but not 100% sure on why.

slept really well last night so perhaps that is part of it.

tonight: 3 m run and an hour of yoga.

not sure what the rest of the week will hold. plan to run the last 2 miles of the race fri and maybe the expo thurs? i'll get up early thurs am to run 3 miles at MP?

we shall see!

getting excited!

the last month

the last month was tough. we traveled from sept 30-oct 11 and i was sick from the 29th until right about now. not feeling 100% but feeling way better than i did even last week so i need to focus on that i suppose.

running was going great until the trip. ironically the trip wouldve been fine for running and working out except that whole sickness thing ;)

i cant believe the marathon is this weekend. i feel like i havent done enough, havent practiced enough, didnt get fast enough, wont feel enough ok to do what i need to do.

reality is im not nervous about the 26 miles. im nervous about the time. I really want to run a 4:45 . Thats 10:45 pace which really just isnt plausible. I think I'll end up just under 5 and be disapointed. So I guess I need to decide what is more important? Last night I ran 5 at 10 pace and was fine. But 5x5 is not even a marathon yet, and can I keep up that pace? for that long?

My lungs havent fully recovered which isnt helping the situation but I'm wondering how much is pyscho sematic. I am thinking some of it might be. It's like I want to preface things that I might fail, that I might suck, so that if I do it will be OK. I need to set myself up for success and be happy when I do reach it.

4:45 here I come. I will rest. I will hydrate. I have trained. I will do well, right?!!?

Where have I been?

where have i been? yikes! havent blogged since the 8th!!?
Well on the 9th (wed) I ran 3.27 m at a 12:33 pace. YIKES. :) i did 4 1000s with walks in between.

I had to take doctor mandated time off that wkd so I ran 6.5 miles that week! RUUUU ROOOOOW.
the wk of the 14-20th I ran 25 miles as such:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Tempo 15 min (total 3.59m)
Wednesday: 15.56m (10:37 pace)
Thursday: off
Friday: 3 m at 10:30 pace

We spent Fri- SUn in philadelphia for a wedding. I had a blast :)

Last night I ran 10m at 10:37 pace. Was great. Am pretty proud of me.

Tonight- 1000s repeats. Gross. I am getting tired of them.

Long Runs

Well long runs seem to take over the days preceeding and postceding (is that a word) their arrival...

On saturday I ran 20 miles. On the reservoir in Bricktown NJ. Was a very nice reservoir... I wouldnt suggest running more than 8 miles though... 20 was a bit much and I attracted a lot of attention from the locals. Most people walk around the reservoir so I'm sure my sweaty red faced panting self was quite a sight. I left gatorade and gels and water under a bench and no one touched it, oh I love the burbs. I did 12 rotations of 1.6m-- well actually I did 11 roations of 1.6 (17.6 miles) then 1.25 miles then 1.25 again.. so 20.1 :) My longest run of the season. This week I need to kick it up a notch in terms of runs so I need to focus and rest and be running centric. Ironically I don't feel like I am not running centric but I know I need to concentrate and focus and sleep and be well, you know?

Hmm what else. I'm just in high 20s in terms of mileage... For NJ i was all over the place in terms of milegage and working out because of my knee... my knee is holding up but is not spectacular... need to keep it up!!! 7 more weeks!!! equiv of march in NJ time!!!

60 days

there are 60 days give or take until nyc. gulp.
last night i attempted a tempo run and failed. i ran about 10 min to warm up (1130-1119 pace) and then started my tempo. i made it about 6 min and my shins were not ok.. so i switched to hills... 4 min at 4 incline (is that even a hill?) and then 2 min recovery (flat) all at 1119 pace..... rinse and repeat 3x. then i did a few min at tempo, then a short cool down.

then an hour of yoga.

since when did 2 hrs of working out a day become normal? i slept not so great so im a tad tired today but thats ok.

tonight, 30 min jog and then gym for legs.
thurs: dustbowl (can they spice it up? its getting old?!)
fri: recovery run or rest, idk
sat: 5 mile recovery run or rest, idk
sun: 20 miles. gulp.

last week until now

I ran 18 miles on the treadmill last Friday. Treadmill. You heard me right. At an 11 min pace. Which is goal pace. Which is awesome. At a 0.5 to 1 incline (which ok isnt realistic but whatever, there werent any fans cheering me on either so whatever).

Then I went to ATL and havent run since. This needs to be a big week. Tonight: 30 min tempo, yoga. Tomorrow easy run and weights, Thursday practice and massage. Friday- early am run (maybe) and home to mama. Sat or Sun, more running.

First run in a week...

So i took a week off. There I said it. I felt like I couldnt run. Even starting out today, I felt heavy. LIke I need to shed 5 lbs. Or 10.

I ran 30 minutes which is a make up of yesterdays 5 mile run. Ha. And no, I didn't run 5 miles. I just did what fit.

Last night I was upset so I cleaned and organized and straightened. It's my OCD and outlet.

Tonight, is more running. Today's running that is. 3 1000s at 5:15 its going to be tough sans dustbowl. Then a pedicure. Then dinner. Then Britney.

YUM.

bust

No surfing, no tennis, no exercise from Thurs-Sunday. I can't even explain how guilty I feel/felt about it. Moving on though. My body is rested, I have a busy week in terms of both workouts and plans so I need to get it out of my head and move on.

The plan is to run 5 miles tonight, run 1000s repeats tomorrow, a 5k on Thursday, and a long run Sunday. Sat is off and Sun is a 5 mile run, we shall see :)

Monday, Tuesday rest, Wednesday work it!!

My gym routine was quite intense. My knee has been tight, my hips and inner thighs weak... so one day a week I'm going to kick it into high gear... So here it was:
set 1- 3 set- stepups with reverse lunge and twist w medicine ball (8 reps each leg), hip flexor strengtheners (12 each side), y squats (12 reps)

set 2-3 sets- simple back lunge 5 reps each leg, dumbell squat with high double pull (12 reps, 10 lb weights each hand)

set 3- 2 sets- hop and squat- 12 hops, dumbell crosspunch- 12 times each side- 10 lbs, knee back and forths with 4kg ball

set 4- 3 sets- side squats on bosu ball 12 total, single leg squat w single arm dumbell shoulder press (8 reps each side, 10 lbs), squats on bosu ball (10 reps)

set 5- 3 sets- hip adducters- 70 lbs 15 reps, hip aBductors 70 lbs 15 reps, prisoner squats (12 reps)

set 6- 3 sets- skull crushers- 15 lb bar (15 reps) , glute bridge (8 each side), tricep push backs (15 reps)

I'm thinking about not running too too much this week. We're goign out East so we'll be swimming, surfing, playing tennis. I'll try and stay active but I'm not going to stress. I will run 16 miles on Sat or Sunday depending, and 4 miles at least 2 other days which is way more than enough in so far as I'm concerned. I'm just pissed still about the race!!!

NYC Half was a complete let down

So yes, it was hot. So yes, I had mini food poisoning on Friday. So yes, my back was a mess on Saturday. So yes, not ideal.

Regardless I thought I could pull it off.

It was hot as hell. Humid as hell. I woke up at 520, got ready, did my biz, ate some total (my usual) and took a cab up to 97th and 5th. Check in/baggage was a breeze and I was in my corral by 6:25. Terrible. We didnt take off until about 7:16 which was ridiculously late and I was hungry. The first water stop- no water or gatorade. I had my fuel belt thankfully. Second water stop- no water or gatorade..> I kept chugging along; third water stop- no water nor Gatorade!!! Come on NYRR!!!!

I thought I could hack my time if I could make it out of the park, but I just couldn't, it was like there was no energy store from which to draw... I took a salt tablet at mile 6... I was starting to feel not right. By 7th avenue I had full blown goosebumps and felt terrible. I drank most of the diluted Gatorade my mom had to me at mile 9... but was disappointed, knew unless I could pick it up I wouldn't be breaking any records.

Down the West Side Hwy was even worse, my ear blew out and I couldn't hack it, I walked a bunch. Usually I can avoid my watch for a while, yesterday even 45 seconds I was back looking at it. Terrible.

Finished in 2:26. 5k was a 33:20 and the 10k was 1:08 so not too too terrible but fell off wildly.

Was NOT ok at the end. Ate more salt, took 2 glasses of Gatorade and sat for a few min before feeling OK enough to walk to the baggage claim. People were dropping like flies so I was happy that didn't happen. But still, sucked.

I was in tears yesterday pm. It's like my body has a mind of its own, cooperates when it wants... etc. My legs weren't even tired!!! I wanted to go to the gym after the run, that's how 'easy' it was. (except for the almost dying part). I had a heat rash all on my face and neck so that's also indicative of heat exhaustion.

I'm not as upset after crying on Matt's shoulder, but I'm still not happy. It always feels like the more I put in the less I get back. I had SUCH good runs on Wed and Thurs I was so pumped. To fall flat on your face is the worst!!

Anyway onward and upwards I suppose. I need to think about what my running goals really are... because to be honest, I'm not quite sure anymore.

it just keeps getting better

so last night i ran in the park... i was all up in arms about what i should do since i had to pick up my half marathon shirt and swag bag (thats an exageration because readlly its the shirt, a bag of popcorn (wtf?) and some chapstick). I'm ok with the race being so expensive, i mean, they shut down the city, BUT come on, a little something would be nice.

Anywho, I ran from my office up to the Drive and 72nd street, I wanted to run my 15 min tempo run but wasnt going to run with the group. I ran a 10:30 pace for the warmup mile but it didnt feel tough at all. I ran the lower loop clockwise in prep for sunday and ran the following 550s: 2:59, 2:54, 3:03, 3:09, and 2:53.. the 3:03 and 3:09 were on the uphills (however slight) so i am OK with that. I need to work on consistency for sure... still was a 8:25-9:09 pace. My cool down was from 72nd street to 89th street (to pick junk) and was at a 10:30 pace... which for up cat hill without stopping wasnt too bad at all. i was pretty happy with both myself and how i felt when it was over.

what else, d tag... thats an interestign developement. i hope i do it right for sunday. paula ratcliffe is running sun, also interesting and very exciting. the park shuold be fun. my mom and felix and matt will be along the course in their team tshirts i made for the marathon, also fun.

that's all i've got folks. carbs and rest until then!!!

SOOO Proud

I really am just so proud of myself. After a weekend of being slightly under the weather and then having a fever Tuesday at work after sleeping 11 hours on Monday night, I skipped Tuesdays workout and was feeling quite down about it yesterday. The skies looked they they were giong to open up any second but since weather.com begged to differ (showed 15% chance of rain) i prayed they were right (for once) and headed out around 6 pm for a 5 m (maximo!!! dijo danny) run in Central Park. Sunday's half will start on 5th and 97th and do a clockwise loop before heading down 7th ave. I wanted to mimic the hardest part of the course (for me at least) the west drive up through the east 90s.

The night was humid, the barometric pressure high, storms were brewing. I ran from my office on 52nd and 5th up to 5th and the park, darted left and went into the park on center drive. I stopped here to stretch. I was running in my Nikes and I'm not convinced they are the right shoe... With 7 pairs in my closet bought in 2009 you'd think one pair would be!!! But I digress... I struggled through the first 20 minutes of the run, it's been quite a while since I ran clockwise in the park- perhaps the Scotland 10k.... and that was in April. That's the last I can remember at least. The rolling hills in the 80s and 90s were tough but fine. Harlem Hill didnt break my breathing rythym (in fact I think at the top was the first time I breathed through my mouth)... part 2 of HH was tough, I always find that the length of the incline is tough for me.... Harlem HIll repeats are in my future fo suh.... after I hit 100 on the east side it's not paved. Actually, this is really annoying, it felt as if the earth was grabbing my foot each time they individually hit the ground, perhaps it was lactic acid, but still. Felt tough. I stopped at engineers gate, to get water and because I was late and took a cab back to work before a dinner date.

I ran 5.1m in 51:30. Fast for me. For sure. Gives me much confidence for Sunday and my 2:10 goal. If I can run CP in 10:30 splits I can pick up the rest going flat to BPC.... 9:30 will be fine (can you IMAGINE?? THis is me, Ms. Slowpoke saying this?) I am a speed drill convert. Thank you Urban Athletics. Bring on the Sunday.

Wed,Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun

The last half of the week was pretty heavy in terms of running. I ran Wed, Thurs, Sat and Sun. WOW. Who knew I'd be able to run 5 days a week (also ran Tuesday). Wednesday was a 3 mile at 11 min pace but i only made is 2.5m before my shins were just too tight to continue. I did a bunch of cross training and called it a night.

Thursday we were back at the dustbowl. Work had really taken a toll on me and emotionally I was drained, I thought the workotu would follow the path that work had, however, the opposite was true. I ran 1000s w the group and ran 7:45, 7:43 and 7:29 (4:50, 4:51 and 4:41)pace in the 3 1000s respectively. I was super impressed and really happy with these. The week prior I had run 5:03, 5:05 and 5:10 on the very same track. perhaps I wasnt pushing myself? Or was it that I was so uncomfortable on Thursday I didnt care if I was physically uncomfortable?

Friday was terrible. Let's leave it at that.

Saturday I woke up after not a ton of sleep (unrelated to the terribleness that was Friday) I took a cab just over to the other side of the queensboro bridge. (Imagine telling that to a cabbie- Queens please, just over the Queensboro bridge!) I ran over the Qboro bridge (huge non event, but perhaps at mile 15 its terrible? idk the hill on 5th ave at 23 is WAY worse), onto 1st avenue, up to 96th street (started having some shady characters and I wasnt in the mood) then west on 96th street until I hit the park, through the dustbowl onto the Loop. I was looking to running to 110th street and then up 5th ave, but I thought I needed to pee so I was going to run to the Great Hill and once I ran Harlem Hill I didn't feel like turning around and thought perhaps the half was counterclockwise (which i discerned was false just into the run since tons of people were talking about it) and continued onto the 86th street transverse, crossed the park and then ran down the Loop to 72nd, over to Park and down Park because it was summer streets. I finished at a respectable 1hr 53 min (10.5m) which was OK. It was tough though.

Sunday I ran a measly 2.5 m. Wasnt in the mood, was humid, had stomach issues. I dont know.

The half is Sunday, I'm looking fwd to taking it easy this week. We shall see.

The last 10

I am nervous about the last 10 miles of the marathon. I'm actually hoping we dont go to the Hampies this wkd so I can run them. I have an obsession with knowing what to expect. I dislike the unknown. I really think knowing where the NJ Shore Marathon went (we drove the course 3x) really helped me the day of. Is it a control thing? I'm not sure. But I want to know what to expect.

My ex drew this map out of the course since I didn't know it. Feel free to use it and share it.

Tonight 150s and 200s

a great long run.

great wkd. friday i was a bit sick- sore throat. matt is really sick, on antibiotics etc.
sat i woke up at 545 and ran and ran and ran.. 2:54min and 15.55 miles. great job me. i felt awesome after. was perfect weather. i did the long training run in central park but since i was up early decided to run up to 102nd street. i didnt realize it was almost 5 miles and since i run much slower at the beginning of a run, i didnt get there until 7:23... but lo and behold the 11 min pace group was just lining up so i joined them. I was really proud of myself. I ran Harlem Hill and the rolling west side hills without getting out of breath and at an 1115-1130 overall pace. More importantly I felt really strong. Like just calm and collected.

The route was: 23rd and park up to 102 and central park. One counterclockwise loop up to 102 and then back down to 23rd street from the 102 transverse. I had just plain Total cereal for bfast and then a mango Gu before leaving. Then I had 4 shot blocks (margarita of course) at 90th street on the West side (1:00 in) and then gatorage at 2 hours and then 3 more shot blocks at like 2:45 just for kicks. Then I had a huge thing of water before going to breakfast. At breakfast I had a real latte, and a tartine with ricotta and figs. At lunch I had bread w butter and some sushi oh and a glass of wine. For snack I had a peach and a oreo pack and then dinner was more wine, an appetizer of apricots and arugula w olive oil and vinegar and sea brim with vegetables. dessert was Grom which was awesome. Not too bad for a busy day of running!

This wkd as a whole my mom and i did a lot of resting, eating, etc sat and sunday. Sun we went to yoga and i got a massage later on in the day. eating was fine. fri was a heavy carb day and i didnt log. i didnt log all wkd though... which is fine bc i did make good choices (fish and veggies for dinner vs homemade pasta) so im happy with that. my workout on sat burned about 1900 calories so imagine. I have some wiggle room!!!

tonight: 4 miles at 11 min pace, arms, abs
tomorrow: sprints. 8x 150meters, 6x 200meters
wed: off! YES! yoga!!
thurs: tempo run or more sprints (gross)
fri: 4 mile recovery run
sat: off! YES!
sunday: 10 mile run (well thats what im pushing for, i dont want to run more w a half marathon coming up next wkd!!)

I'm nervous for the half. I really want to do well. i think I've solidified what I eat the night before though, so that's a positive.

Can it be true??

Am I (GASP!) getting faster?

Yesterdays workout was excellent!!!
2 mile warmup
VO2Max workout which meant 1000m sprints in 5 min.

First lap: 4:50 was tough
Second lap: 5:03 more where I should be
Third lap: 5:!5- had a stitch so majorly slowed down.

Overall I was happy with the workout. Thats fast for me!

not so bad

So the last 4 days weren't so bad. Thurs I managed to finish my 1000s with a bit of decency. I was pretty proud to be running at a 8:34 pace. I needed to be at 8:15-8:20 but its OK i tried!!!

Friday and Saturday were off days.

Sunday I went for a 10-12 miler in East Hampton. Ended up with quite a few hills but a 11.65 m course in 2 hrs and 8 minutes with just a few walk breaks.

Not too shabby.