quick fact

You may not notice that your bum is sore from your first spin class until you take your second one.  Ow.

spin class

I just took my first spin class.  Yowza.  That was challenging and I am drenched.  Next time I'm wearing my heart rate monitor - I'm pretty sure I reached my max heart rate!  But it was an excellent guide for working with the trainer at home and I am certain I will go back.  

And no, despite the nice weather yesterday, I did not make it outside on the bike.  (Sorry Carlos.)  I slept in.   Again.  And then I worked both shows at AVENUE Q.  Which is why I took the spinning class today instead of a rest day.  Now I'm going to disassemble my bike from the trainer and take it and the pedals to the bike shop.  I need to buy a water holder and some tire tubes, investigate new tires and have them show me how to adjust the seat back and change the pedals.  

I should probably shower first.

Oh, and another important thing happened today - I reached 10% of my fundraising goal.  Thanks everyone!  Only $4405 more to go! (Or more if you guys are up to it ;)  Spread the trikimtri.com word!

Happy Holidays!

So the holidays got the better of me and I only managed to run once and swim once last week. But I made it to GTS this morning - along with only about 10 other people - and had a sluggish yet helpful run.  50 minutes total and almost 5 miles.  Definitely slow but I had a nice chat with Coach Jay who reassured me that the training schedule is plenty long and accounts for weeks like these where everyone falls a little short.  

I'm taking him at his word.  Now if I could just get outside on that bike!

another week without a bike ride

Foiled by the weather again!  No bike training session today.  They even cancelled the run session and the bike gear clinic!  So I'm struggling to get myself on the treadmill tonight so as not to waste yet another training day. Wish me luck.  Only 3 hours left in the day....

the kindness of strangers and a week without running

Okay, she's not really a stranger and I did run once, I just didn't get nike+ credit for it because I wore the wrong shoes.  I already explained the whole shoe thing, but I have gotten another generous offer of equipment and I missed running the NYRR Holiday 4 miler due to a little fever. (Not to mention also missing the injury prevention clinic Saturday morning after the race.  Foiled again.)

So last week I ran once, swam twice and hit the stairmaster once.  Not my ideal training week.  But I've moved on and did a run in the balmy weather yesterday and hit the pool today.

And as for the kindness of strangers, at the AEA Holiday Party Friday night, a biker and very generous staff member offered to loan me a trainer so I can ride my actual bike inside my apartment!  That is huge and I am incredibly grateful.  She's going to bring it over on Sunday and has promised not to judge me based on the state of my apartment. 

I'm missing tomorrow's GTS due to theatre tickets (Dividing the Estate) but am super excited at the possibility of a bike session on Saturday.  Let's hope the weather holds out!

wrong shoes

Tonight's GTS was a little wet and a lot hot.  What happened to winter?  But really, the most frustrating thing was that I wore the wrong shoes.  I accidentally wore an old pair.  A pair without insoles.  A pair without a lot of cushioning.  And most devastating - a pair without a nike+ sensor!!!  If you don't know, I'm obsessed with logging my miles using the nike+ system.  I have logged over 2000 miles since I first started using it (and no, there are not too many zeros :)

So when I started my sportband and it kept saying "walk" and never getting to the all important "0.00" I was cursing my inability to work the sportband in the dark.  What the heck was I doing wrong?!!!  And then I looked down at my feet.  There was no emergency tag - a tag supplied by TNT with all of your emergency information.  I had on old shoes.  There was no sensor for the sportband to sync with. Duh.

So I lost about 4 miles.  I still ran them, I just don't get credit for them.  I the cherish credit for all of my miles.  It keeps me going.  Oh, well.  Just add it to the infamous "9 miles of spring '08."  Long story....

2nd group training session

Tonight was the first weekday run GTS (Group Training Session).  It was appropriately cold for December and I was happy to only have to go to Columbus Circle (marathon training takes place on the upper east side.)  There are tons of coaches, whose names I am still learning, and there was a pretty big turnout.  We did a quick warmup to Bethesda Terrace and then Coach Scott went over more strength training exercises and split us into three groups - basic, intermediate and advanced.  I stuck with the intermediate group since the "8 minute miles for 5 miles" qualification for the advanced group is a little out of my speed bracket.  

And I'm pretty happy with how I did - I stuck close to Coach Scott at the front of the pack since he seems to talk and run at the same time - lots of tips and advice.  We did 3-10 minute out and backs (squats and the like in between) and cadence checks with a goal of over 45 strides per 30 seconds.  My three checks were 43, 45 and 44.  I thought, "Terrific, I'm pretty darn close!" but Coach Scott didn't seem entirely satisfied.  Something about keeping our feet on the ground too long.  I guess there is work to be done!  

Maggie has promised me a bike ride on Friday.  It would be my first.  Uh, yeah, I know....

swimming

I have a membership at the Manhattan Plaza Health Club and am happy that I do - because there's a pool!  Last night my training pal Maggie joined me for a solo swim workout laid out by the coaches.  Lesson number one - 6pm is crowded at the MPHC pool!  There are 4 lap lanes - one of them was taken up by a private lesson and the other 3 had 2 or more people already swimming.  I'll admit to not being able to figure out the speed labels for the lanes: Slow, Fast, Intermediate Slow, Intermediate Fast.  They aren't in that or any other obvious order so I can't quite decide if Intermediate Slow is faster than slow or vice versa.  Let's just say I usually pick the lane with the least people.  So we swam, dodging the super fast and carefully passing the super slow.  Over the course of 35 minutes in the water I'm pretty sure there were at least 5 different people rotating out of the lane I chose.  

The good news is I can already swim.  I was a lifeguard for several summers in my youth - indoors and out - and also taught swim lessons for little kids and adults.  And Maggie very kindly assured me that I am already ahead of many of the TNT tri participants in terms of my skill level in the water.  That made me feel good.  She also challenged me to choose the Advanced training sessions.  It's under consideration :)

It was a good workout and I can't wait for January when the Group Training Sessions at the pool start!

PS - If anyone finds a pair of purple flip flops - somebody stole Maggie's from the edge of the pool. Nothing is safe!

just to clarify....

No, I have not actually ridden the ACTUAL bike - but I got in my bike sessions on the stationary bike at the gym (the upright, not the reclining!).  It's coach sanctioned and completely allowed.  So there.

week one of training - done!

Week one of training is over and, according to the little calendar our TNT coaches gave us, that means there are 20 weeks left until the Wildflower Triathlon.  Now I know that sounds like a lot of time but consider this - I have not ridden the bike yet.  I would blame it on the weather but that is not really the case.  I have the helmet, I got the bike tuned up, I even got a great little bag for under the seat  and oh yeah, some padded tri shorts (thanks super sale at Jackrabbit!).  I've got the stuff and now I'm just waiting for the right time.  Soon.

As for my first Group Training Session (GTS) - those tri coaches kick butt!  We ran for about 40 minutes in a hilly section section of Riverside Park and did core and strength exercises on the wet grass between 10 minute sets.  Ramon only made us do planks and lunges on the asphalt once.  I fear these exercise breaks are a regular part of the tri training.  I'll let you know after Wednesday's run GTS.  

And I am proud to report that I followed the training calendar to a T!  2 run sessions, 2 swim sessions and 2 bike sessions.  Now if I could just start eating properly.....

I have a bike

Thanks to my friend Jason I now have a bike.  A beautiful Trek 800 bike that I took to the bike shop today.  They tuned it, cleaned it, and even added a kickstand!  I also am the proud owner of a helmet.  Now to get on the bike and ride it.... (I walked it to the bike shop.)  Baby steps.

The title has changed....

...and the goal is mostly the same - just a little bit expanded!  I'm doing it again.  I have signed up with TEAM IN TRAINING to train for an endurance event and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Not another marathon, but a TRIATHLON!!! I can't quite believe it myself.  I don't even own a bike! 

This time the fundraising goal is $4900 and I'll be traveling to Monterey, California to compete in the Wildflower Olympic Triathlon.  (And by "compete" I mean "attempt to finish without hurting myself.")  My pal Maggie will be competing in the Half Ironman distance of the same event.  She's one of many who inspired me to take this next step.  So visit my fundraising page if you get a chance (link on the right) and wish me luck.  I'll be posting more soon about the event, my training and why the heck I think I can do this!

And some more...

The whole paris team!Coach Ramon at the after party.  I'm still standing!
My roomie and training coach Eissa, my mentor Peter, and my running partner Teresa.
Peter and I.  I'm looking a little tired. :)
Coach Steve - he leads the best stretching sessions! 
Coach Christine.  
Christine, Paula, Teresa and I.  We did it!

I know, I know...

I'm just the worst (or is it best) procrastinator in the whole world.  Here are some official pics from the Paris Marathon folks.  I sucked it up and paid for the package.

before i forget...

I know - it's been a month since my last post.  Things have been crazy and I've definitely been having trouble getting back into a routine.  So, before I forget the race entirely let's try to finish up some thoughts.  

We hung out in the starting corral for quite some time.  The crowds were crazy and the ground was quickly littered with plastic ponchos, extra shirts, water bottles and energy packets (in France they look like little decorative frosting tubes!).  They played the Chariots of Fire theme a few times after the start gun and it took us a full 15 minutes to cross the start line.  It was quite a challenge to move forward in the crowd without stumbling over the debris.   Unlike the races I've done in NYC, once we crossed the starting line the crowd actually seemed to thin out and it was quite easy to move forward - no stumbling over walkers or slow-paced wide runners!

Once we got going, Paula and Christina branched off and Teresa and I decided to stick together as long as possible.  Teresa had never been to Paris before so I decided to keep our minds occupied by acting as tour guide.  I did pretty well pointing out the sights until we passed the Bastille and the Paris Opera (not the Phantom one, the other one).  Except for the elevated park, I hadn't actually ventured into those neighborhoods or the forest Vincennes.

There were water and fuel stations every 5K Orange sections, bananas, sugar cubes and dried apricots were on the menu.  Alright, who thought banana peels on the wet cobblestones were a good idea!  And we never did see PowerAde as promised.  I think we were too far back in the pack.  Luckily I had brought some Cliff Energy Powder so the water was all I needed.  My plan was to have a PowerGel every 4 miles and I stuck with it.   

Teresa's boyfriend Corey managed the Metro and caught up with us several times. There were coaches at the 5K mark as well cheering us on. It was surprising how many purple singlets there were out there - and lots of NYC fans!  And since our names were on our bibs, we got personal shout outs throughout the race.

photos

Still working on race day updates.  In the meantime, check out some more pics of my Ireland trip.

Ireland - The West

So race day started with a 4:30am wake up call - from the gang back at LEGALLY BLONDE!  They had just finished the show and didn't think I'd answer, but I'd been sleeping fitfully the whole night so the ring of the phone made me jump a little and I groggily answered.  I had set the alarm to get up at 5:30am to eat a Power Bar and a banana anyway so it wasn't a big deal.  I knew I needed to eat, but wanted to make sure there was time to digest before leaving the hotel.  So I ate and reset the alarm to get up with just enough tome to dress before heading down to the lobby to meet everyone.  Luckily my roommate Eissa (our lovely training captain) was there to wake me as I did that silly thing where you change the time instead of the alarm time!

I had painstakingly set everything out the night before:  jersey, sneakers with Nike + sensor and race chip attached, race number with safely pins, my sport watch, gloves, long sleeved base layer, sports bra, long sleeved throwaway shirt, light jacket, pants, socks, and fuel belt with all of the following: 7 power Gels (raspberry creme) camera, ID, metro card, a few Euros, a pack of electrolyte powder, a pre made bottle of said powder, my iPod nano with the Nike+ receiver, and a small bag of pretzels.  It takes a lot of stuff to run 26. 2 miles!

So we all met in the lobby of our hotel and spent a bit second guessing our wardrobe choices and making trips to the lobby bathroom and adjust our bibs, and pacing.  It seemed like forever before we hit the streets en masse.  And as we walked the block to the Champs Elysee it all became real.  There they were - thousands of runners!  It wasn't easy keeping up with Coach Ramon as he weaved through the crowd, heading for the end of the start corral.

We all had bibs with colors indicating our start corral based on our expected finish time.  We're not exactly sure how those times got determined because, for the most part, they were waaaaay off.  My color was green which was the 4 hour finish time group.  Now I'm optimistic, but not that optimistic.  Ramon wisely headed for the last corral and we headed in.  Man was it crowded!  And they were mostly male!  And there were crazy people.  I especially enjoyed the man in the tiger suit.  No tiger head, just the tiger body suit.  A stocky, hairy man in a tiger suit.

More to come....

The race

Ireland

Still composing race day thoughts.  In the meantime...

Finis!

So it's over.  It's Monday morning in Paris, I'm sore and I just woke from a 10 hour sleep.  I really can't believe it's over.  The run was incredible, and despite a nasty bit somewhere between mile 23 and mile 25 where my left knee decided it didn't want to play anymore, I finished in just under 5 hours.  4:59:02 to be exact.  Coach Ramon led us to the start line at 8am (that's his back in the pic).  And you can see the legs of the Arc de Triomphe behind my pals Theresa, Christine, Paula and me as we waited for the start gun (okay, you're going to have to wait for that one - the pic is not uploading!).  There were lots of cool things along the way.  Fun bands and cheerleaders (the gang in pink showed up twice) and two creepy tunnels.  I'll definitely write more later.  Off to enjoy my last day in Paris!  Thanks again to everyone for all the support!!!

Paris!

After a 2 hour delay at the airport, we're finally in Paris!  Yesterday was a blur as we checked into our hotel, went to the expo to pick up our race bibs, and tried desperately to get some much needed sleep.  The expo was lovely, as was the kindly gentleman who gave me my bib.  He kept speaking to me in French as if I understood.  I just kept nodding!

Trying hard to stay off my feet today after a fun group run to the base of the Eiffel Tower.  This time tomorrow I should be crossing the finish line!

before I go...

I thought I'd show you my attempt at taking a picture during this past Sunday's race.  I wore a new fuel belt with better pockets and was testing the idea of carrying my camera during the marathon. Seems like it might work.  The subject?  The damn cat on Cat Hill.

And then there is this - my TNT singlet.  I did a little arts and crafts last night and appliqued my name to the front and a patch to the back where I will list the names of the people who I am running in honor of or in memory of.  There are far more names on that list than I could have ever imagined.  So many of you have been affected by leukemia or lymphoma.  I am honored to have been able to fundraise for such a worthy cause.

omigosh

It's almost here!   Less than one week!  I fly out on Thursday night!  I have so much to do! Could I use any more exclamation points! :)

Well, this is the week.  The training is essentially over.  We had a Tuesday night practice about

pacing where I learned that I didn't quite have a handle on how to hold myself back and run really slow.  So, instead of running with the group for 6 miles on Saturday morning, I ran in the Scotland 10K on Sunday morning.  I wanted to challenge myself in a race situation.  10 minute miles, that was the goal.  And it worked, I ran really easy.  The second mile I thought I was still holding back, but found out it wasn't quite slow enough so I pulled it back.  The next 4 miles were pretty consistent pace wise and I stopped at every water station.  10:04/mile was my overall pace as reported by NYRR.  I can safely say I know what that pace feels like - even though I'll admit it pained me to let people pass me by!  But Ramon has assured us that by holding back in the first two thirds of the marathon, we will have the energy to power through the last third and actually increase our overall pace.  I trust him!

I ran my last pre-marathon workout with my pal Maggie on Wednesday between shows.  She has been a tremendous motivator.  She's training with Team in Training for a triathlon and I like to think of our Wednesday runs as a third GTS.  The oddest thing about this past Wednesday - the poor little seal from the previous Saturday was still on the dock.  Hope he's okay.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has donated.  At the Team in Training send off event on Thursday, I was awarded a plaque and some swag for being the second highest fundraiser on the team.  I (amazingly) raised over $11,500!!!! I really can't believe it.  You guys are the best.  You know I'm a sucker for causes and I've become attached to this one.  I am honored to have been able to help.

I'm going to try to check in one more time before I leave, and I have a plan to try to take some pics during the race!  Hopefully I'll be able to blog from Paris and keep everyone in the know!

2 weeks

Two weeks from right now I should have finished running my first marathon.  How cool is that.  Yesterday was my last long run before then, and it was only 12 miles!  Sounds crazy I know.  We ran up the west side along the Hudson River.  Starting at 72nd St. in Riverside Park we ran the 5 miles up to the GWB and back and then tacked on one mile south and back to reach 12.  On the southern part of our run we actually saw a seal on a little dock just north about 69th St.  He was very cute, but I can't help thinking how lost he must have been.  Poor thing.

20 miles

Today I ran 20 miles.  I took the matinee off and went with Team in Training to a trail along the Delaware & Raritan Canal in New Jersey.  It went pretty well.  The coaches had set up water stations at mile 4, 6 & 7.5.  When we got to mile 10 we turned around and went back. I had 5 Gus, a handful of pretzels, 4 fuel belt bottles of Gatorade, 4 fuel belt bottles of water and 1 regular bottle of water.  The quad behaved and I couldn't be happier.  Now I get to start tapering.  Woo hoo!  3 weeks to go!

P.S. Did you know there are such things as sponsored air guitar players?  Neither did I.  Things you learn while driving with teammates to New Jersey.

test #2

Tonight's GTS was test #2.  That's the workout where we run a mile as fast as we can 3 times in a row with some recovery time in between runs.  I'm still nursing the right quad so I didn't push as hard as I did the last time around, but I still showed a tiny bit of improvement.  8:00 for the first mile and 8:07 for the second.  We're not talking about the third one - they made us run up Cat Hill! Damn cat!  It was great to have most of my running crew there.  I'll miss them on Saturday when I go with the Paris gang to NJ to run 18-20 miles!

15K

Today was the Colon Cancer Challenge in Central Park.  9.3 miles.  I did pretty good.  On Coach Ramon's advice, I only ran the race and didn't add any extra mileage.  Some people had already run 7 or 8 miles this morning by the time the race started!  The weather was beautiful, if a bit windy, and even with the loss of an hour overnight I felt okay.  A 9:40/mile pace and a finish time under 1:30.  I'll take it.  Thanks for cooperating right quad.

4 weeks from today I will be running a marathon.  In Paris.  Eek!

better luck this time...

I am running a 15K (9miles) in Central Park tomorrow.  I have already attached the NYRR chip to my shoe.

update

Scenario #2 - the one where my ATM card fell out of my jacket pocket while running is the winner.  A very nice man from NYRR called to say it had been found.  He promised he would cut it up.

Diagnosis - muscle strain (quad, abductor)

Remedy - stretching, stretching, stretching

No hills for me tonight but I'm going to to GTS and try an easy run as recommended.  

oh my

Let's just say it wasn't my morning.

8:05am
Get on the subway to go to Coogan's Salsa Blues and Shamrock 5K up at 168th St.  This was good since the A train was running local today.

8:25am
Realize just before 155th Street that I have forgotten my NYRR chip. Uh oh. Get off at 155th St. and get back on the downtown train. Again, the A train was running local

8:46am
Text my running buddy Meryl that she should start without me, if I make it I will be late.

8:50am
Convince a cab dropping someone off outside my building to wait for me. "I'll be going to Washington Heights!" I yell at him.

8:56am
Head up the West Side Highway in said cab. I kind of can't believe he waited for me!

9:07am
168th St. Pay the $18.50 fare with debit card, tip with cash, get receipt. Get out of cab, peeling off sweatshirt and bag. Toss bag at luggage pile at appropriate bib number.

9:09am

Volunteers guide me around the starting line - the finishers are 5 minutes away.  I do not get to cross the start mat with my chip.  Unsure what this will mean for my time.

9:10am

Off and running.  There are about 5 other people in the same late boat as me.  I feel crazed but am happy to just be running.  A few minutes in I am actually passing people.  (About the time the finishers pass me as the course doubles back on itself.)

Mile 1

My right quad, the one that started seizing up toward the end of yesterday's long run, starts to tighten up again. Ugh.

Mile 1.5 - turnaround

Right quad is not having it.  I actually stop and stretch.  Manage to run another couple hundred yards and stop to stretch again.  All the people I managed to pass, are now starting to pass me.

The Next 1.6 Miles

I mostly walk.  Walk.  Ugh.  Every time I try to run, the quad refuses.  I do not want to do permanent damage and a finish time is no longer an issue, so I stretch, walk, stretch, walk - all the way to the finish line.  I am passed by speed walkers, mentors with unhappy middle school-aged runners and skipping fathers with their 7 year old daughters.  I am feeling pathetic.  I have even turned the nike+ off.  

Finish

I'm done.  I retrieve my bag (not hard, there are only about 2 dozen left in the entire pen.)

Grab an undeserved bagel and get back on the A train heading down town.

125th St.

Putting my sweatshirt back on, I notice that the zipper on the arm pocket of my running jacket is open.  This is where I usually keep my driver's license, ATM card and cash.  I pull out $10, my license and.......nothing else.  My ATM card, the one I used in the cab is gone.   I check my pouch (I'd brought my phone to the race) and find only my phone and my metrocard.  All pockets and my bag are checked again.  Nothing.  Nada.  Pretty sure I threw my card and the taxi receipt in the trash can as I threw away a Cliff Block bag right after I got out of the cab.  Or I put it in the arm pocket and it fell out when I took my running jacket off and tied it around my waist.

10:30am

Home at last.  Triple check all pockets and pouches.  The ATM card is officially gone.  I call and report is missing. Sometime today I'll have to figure out what things I have automatically deducted through that account since the number will change.  Total cash on hand? $11

And here's the kicker.  Seems that if you don't cross the starting mat at a race, your time is calculated from the start time of the race.   My finish time on my results reflects the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line.  49:43  Oh well.

Let's hope the day doesn't get any worse!

rain

I'll admit, it was incredibly tempting to skip practice tonight.  But I had promised myself that I would not miss another Tuesday night practice!  I argued with myself the whole way there - it was raining although not terribly cold (thank goodness!)  I only really started feeling good again in the last few days - that flu is nasty and holds on hard.  Was I being stupid?  Running in the rain?  And then, as I decided not to get on the first super packed 96th Street crosstown bus and wait for the next one, I started worrying.  One of my running buddies called to say that she wasn't go to make it.  Would anyone else be there?  And then, when the next bus came, it was super packed as well and I realized that 96th Street was actually closed and the bus was going to have to go up and around the top of Central Park.  It was about 6:15 - should have been fine.  Practice starts at 6:40.  But noooooo - the traffic was terrible and to make it worse, we got to East 106th Street and the bus turns to go east!  Nooooo!  I got off at 106th and Madison at 6:35pm.  Urban Athletics, our meeting place, is at 92nd and Madison!  

So I hoofed it downtown - wondering all the way if A.) anyone would still be there - and 2.) if anyone showed up in the first place!  Well, the answers were yes and yes.  So I dropped my bag, found my buddy, Amy, and we headed over to the park with our other running buddy Whitney. And then we ran hills in the rain.  102nd Street on the west side up to 105th and back.  In the rain.  Yuck.  Did I mention the rain?

But here's the kicker - middle of my third recovery I turn my right ankle on one of these:

Stupid prickly things.  Luckily, Amy catches me.  I sit out 1/2 a hill and do some ankle rolls.  It's fine now, but seriously?  Tripping on a prickly tree dropping? Just ridiculous.

So I did 5 1/2 hill repeats.  A little wussy for my intermediate status, but the whole run was about 5 miles and I felt pretty good considering how sore I have been since my 16 mile run.

And I can't wait for my first Wednesday run in more than 3 weeks!  Hopefully it won't be raining.  I can safely say I have experienced rain running and know how it would feel if, by some chance, it were to rain during the Paris Marathon.  I don't need to do it again.  Really.

16 miles

This morning I ran 16 miles.  All by myself.  And then I went to work and did two shows. I have one word for you - "Ow."  That is all.

fundraising

Well, the new fundraising goal has been reached - and exceeded.  I can't tell you how this makes me feel.  I didn't start this marathon endeavor with raising money for a worthy cause as my main impetus.  I started it because I wanted some training.  The fundraising was just a means to an end. But I couldn't be prouder of the fact that I have raised over $10,000!  $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  And I couldn't be more humbled by the generosity of the people in my life.

thank you thank you thank you

better pic!

So one of my running buddies, Meryl, took a fab pic of the GWB.  iPhone vs. camera phone? - no contest.

George Washington Bridge

Today I ran for the first time in a week and a half.  Our group training session involved running over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.  Here's a lousy cell phone pic from the New Jersey side.  It was pretty beautiful.  I was pretty pathetic. :(  8 miles instead of 16. Damned flu!

it's for real

Day 5 of the flu and I found this while going through the piles of paper overtaking my apartment.  It's in French.  It's official.  It's my registration for the Paris Marathon.  I'd better find a safe place to put it.  Where I can find it again. :)

foiled

sadly, i will not be running in tomorrow's Bronx 1/2 marathon.  I have been foiled by a nasty case of the flu that has kept me out of work for 3 days now.  I'm going stir crazy and couldn't be madder that I won't run tomorrow.  I was looking forward to really racing.  I'm thankful that I did the Manhattan 1/2 two weekends ago, but this was a real group training session with a race plan.  Oh, well.    

the one at which the coach implies i'm old

Hills #3.  That was last night's workout.  I'll admit I sort of forgot about the (damn) Cat even though we were running back and forth up Cat Hill to Cleopatra's Needle.  The theme was "cresting the hill."  Make your way up the hill at a particular effort level and then be able to maintain that effort level once you reach the flat portion of the course.  In other words, don't push so hard up the hill that you don't have any energy left when you get to the top.  At one point Coach Ramon yelled out as I was passing, "That's right, show the young one's how it's done!"  Considering my two main running buddies are 10 and 15 years younger than I am AND I think I'm actually a year older than Ramon, I heard, "You're old!"  Alright, it did make me run harder.

We were all a little crabby and very annoyed by the 2 (i think) other groups that were training on the hill at the same time. Except they were running in ENOURMOUS packs.  We would be trudging along down the hill during recovery and suddenly 50 or more people would swarm around us. 

Kind of like those car tests where they rush smoke around cars to demonstrate their streamlined designs.  Except it's not smoke, it's people with elbows and flailing feet pushing you into puddles. And let's not even talk about the trauma of trying to change direction as they kept heading south at 72nd St.   If I had tried to signal a turn with my arm, I could have knocked a couple out.  Hmmm - maybe next time. 

We ran for nearly an hour.  But then we had a great stretching session with Coach Steve.  He's my favorite stretch leader because he's thorough. He doesn't let you rush through it.  It's good.

On a side note - I'm only $1180 from my $10,000 goal with 8 1/2 weeks to go.  That's pretty darn good.  Thank you all.

milestones

There they are.  25 race bibs.  Since February 4, 2007 I have run in 25 races in 2 states.  24 in NYC and 1 in San Francisco.  26 races total if you include the Paris 10K.  That's one every two weeks average!

And here's the fun part:

This is my number from the 

San Francisco 5K on 

February 4, 2007.  

My finish time was 35:52.  

A 5K is 3.1 miles.

This is my number from

the New York Road Runners

Gridiron Classic, yesterday,

February 3, 2008, in

Central Park.

My finish time was 34:55.

It was a 4 mile race.                       

                                      

                                    

You read it right:  yesterday I ran a race that was .9 miles longer than my first race ever - and I ran it FASTER!  Woo hoo!  I think that's pretty cool.

Carry on.

long runs

Back to yesterday:

8am group training in Central Park started with the Paris group branching off and running on the outside of the park.  Great, in that I got to meet a lot more people training for Paris; sad, in that I didn't get to run with my pals Amy and Meryl.  Great, in that there was tons of new scenery (garden on the northeast end of the park anyone?); sad, in that we were forced to run reaaaally slow with Coach Ross (not the "with Coach Ross" part, but the "reaaaally slow" part.) It's all about forcing yourself to hold back in the first part of the race - save your energy so that you can pull it out at the end.  I get it, but boy is it hard.

We ran on the outside of the park so that we could experience a different surface - something closer to the cobblestones of some Paris streets.  I feel I have a little leg up on this one, as the 10K I ran in Paris in October took us over cobblestone quite a bit.  The pavers around the park were a little less "cobbly," shall we say.

So I finished the outer loop with the group,  then ran the inside lower 5 with a smaller group, and then the lower loop again by myself.  I finished 1/2 of the last mile forcing myself up and down  Cat Hill (damn cat) and managed to run into Amy and Meryl as we headed in.  14 miles total and I felt pretty good.

By the end of two shows, however, I was exhausted.  My muscles felt okay, but boy was I tired. So off to bed when I got home - only to get up at 7:30 today for the Gridiron Classic 4 mile race.

More on that tomorrow.  Important milestones in detail then. :)

saturday: 14 miles, 2 shows

must sleep.  more later

i forgot

my second favorite moment was when, as we approached mile 5, a truck sporting a bullhorn drove by commanding "runners move to your left, the leader is passing on the right!  runners move to your left, the leader is passing on the right!"  and then he did.  The course was 2+ loops of Central Park and while we were still working on our first loop, the ultimate winner was heading into the last 3 miles.  He finished the race in 1 hour, 8 minutes and 33 seconds.  Yowza!

manhattan 1/2 marathon

We're halfway there!  Today I ran my first "official" half marathon in Central Park.  30 degrees and cloudy.  My running buddy Amy and I hunkered down and just tried to run a consistently paced run.  (Note - I avoided the word "race")  We have a half marathon in the Bronx in two weeks so Coach Ramon advised us to treat this as just another long, EASY, run.  And we did GREAT!  We aimed for 10 minute miles and that's exactly what we did.  10:02min/mile to be exact.  13.1 miles in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 37 seconds.  Can't wait to see how different the Bronx race is.  

Thanks Amy for keeping me going!

My favorite moment?  The chuckles from the surrounding runners as I raised my fist and yelled "Damn cat!" at the cat statue on Cat Hill (the second time we had to run up it!)

connection to the cause/ first comment

So this morning I went to GTS at 8am but only ran 2.5 miles.  Tomorrow is the big Manhattan 1/2 Marathon.  13.1 miles.  2 + loops in Central Park.  8:30am.  I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  

But this morning was also a Team in Training event called Connection to the Cause.  We all met at an intermediate school auditorium on the west side and got to hear from 3 of our honored teammates.  These are people who actually suffer from leukemia or lymphona and are TRAINING ALONG WITH US to participate in marathons, 1/2 marathons, triathlons, century rides, etc.  They are in remission or even currently undergoing treatment.  Amazing.  It was inspirational to hear them speak and even more touching to hear several people in the audience stand up and speak about their connection  to the cause - a father lost to lymphoma, a brother passing away and leaving behind a 10 year old and a 4 year old and a family forever changed, a best friend recently diagnosed with leukemia.  I cried (you knew I would) and became even more determined to hit that $10,000 mark.  Only $1700 more to go.  One more check arrived today.  Thank you John.

And thanks to Carlos for posting my first comment - (he (you) might actually be the only person reading this so it was inevitable ;)

Cats. Hills. Hate 'em.

Okay, I don't really hate cats, but I am allergic to them. But I hate hills.  And I really hate Cat Hill on the East side of Central Park just above 72nd Street.  Well, tonight was the first night of hill training.  Up Cat Hill and then back down 7 times.  SEVEN TIMES.  The scary part is, Coach Steve says tonight was not the hardest hill training session.  Omigosh.

On a side note - I sent out yet another round of fundraising e-mails and the response has been great once again.  I really think $10,000 is not out of the realm of possibility.  We can do it!

Cold!

Yesterday morning was a GTS (group training session in Team in Training speak.)  My training buddies and I are up to 10 miles - so that's what we did!  10 miles in about an hour and 42 minutes.  Our head coach, Ramon, gave us pace runners for the first time, so we stuck pretty closely with one of the mentors running at a 10min/mile pace.  Well, until I got all discombobulated about which loops we had run and headed off in the wrong direction.  But we stuck together and finished strong with a little over 10 miles for the day.  (Subconsciously, I think I just wanted to avoid Cat Hill the last half of the run ;)

It was the farthest one my running partners had ever run.  Woo hoo!

And today - it's cold.  Really cold.  I initially intended to run my prescribed 5 miles inside on the treadmill, but I just couldn't do it before work.  I'm not feeling the treadmill at all these days.  Which meant I needed to run outside.  Between shows.  During the super short break.  Always a challenge.  I started with my running pants under my jeans and made a quick top change at intermission.  Rip off the jeans during the second courtroom at the calling desk, restore the sneaks during graduation, grab my gloves and speaker hat after the "see you at 6:30" announcement and I'm out the door. 4:23pm start - not bad.  Ran up 7th Ave. to the park and did two lower loops plus a bit before heading back down 6th Ave.  23 degrees on the CNN billboard.  My legs were a bit chilly and it took about ten minutes to warm up my lungs.  But I got in 5.27 miles and even survived the shower in the nasty ladies room backstage.

Did I mention I'm running a half marathon next Sunday? :)

mile repeats

Test #1.  It's cold again.  We start just south of 64th St. on the west side and run as fast as we can.  For one mile.  We recover for a little less than a mile.  And then we do it again.  And again.  The key is to run as fast as you can and still be able run that pace the second and third time.  I did okay.  8:08 on the first pass, 8:15 on the second and 7:57 on the third.  I honestly think I ran faster on the third one because by that point, there was no one else running around me!  It felt like I was all alone, in the dark, in the freezing cold, in Central Park.  run!!!!

saturday's race

So Saturday was the Fred Lebow Classic 5 mile race in Central Park sponsored by New York Road Runners.  The race was our prescribed Saturday group training session (GTS) and I ran it with my running buddy Amy.  Here are the race stats:  

Total finishers: men - 2344, women - 2065, total - 4409

Weather: 44 degrees, 53% humidity, Wind Calm

Total women in my age range (40-44): 219

Here are my stats:

Finish time: 44:43

Overall Place: 2278

Gender Place: 715

Age Place: 79

Pace/Mile: 8:56

AG Time: 42:52 (This is your time if everyone were the same age!)

AG Gender Place: 672

AG %: 56.4% (I don't know how to explain this one, but the higher the better!)

That's my second race with a pace under 9 minutes per mile.  Let's see if I can improve that even more!

rest days

I am learning about rest days.  I am forcing myself to take rest days.  Right now the designated rest day is Friday.  It feels weird.

Effort Levels 1 & 4 and Brother Jimmy's

So last night's practice was a toughie - effort intervals across the 102nd St. transverse.  What does that mean?  Well, effort level one is just a little easier than my normal - chat with a running buddy - easy breathing pace.  I initially thought that would be hard.  It's hard to go slow! I was wrong. Because effort level four is run as hard as you can to the point where you can't talk and your breathing is labored.  Our crazy Spanish coach used the words "pain" and "discomfort" several times.  And he meant it.  

So we intermediates ran 1/2 the transverse at level four, and then recovered at level one for the other half.  We did that about 6 or 7 times (I lost count after 3).  I'm not gonna lie - it was hard.  Slow was not an issue for those second halves.  I think I may have even walked for several yards a couple of times. I felt old and out of shape and slow and.... well, you get the point.  But afterwards?  I felt kind of good.  Surprisingly. 

So I joined my mentor, Peter, and several other teammates for some pulled pork and fried pickles at Brother Jimmy's on the east side.  It was fun and I met a lovely Irish woman who had run the NYC Marathon with Team in Training and actually qualified for the Boston Marathon this year.  NYC was her very first marathon and she ran it in under 4 hours!!!!  Now that's inspiration.

Saturday is a 5 mile race in Central Park.  I'm curious to see how I do.

The new year.

It's started with a bang and I'm amazed at how busy things are already. The training is going well and as I passed the twelve week countdown mark (this past Sunday) I started thinking about how far I've come.  The e-mail from the Kaiser Permanente 1/2 Marathon and 5K solidified everything.  That was my first race - a 5K in San Francisco.  I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to finish.  I had only recently run for a 25 minute period.  But I finished and finished proud.  And, as with most of my races, I headed off to work when it was over. The same will go for a 5 mile race this Saturday and my first official, run-with-other-people, 1/2 marathon in Manhattan at the end of the month. I can't wait.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year all!  I just ran the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park.  Fireworks, costumes, noisemakers and all.  Thanks to Ron and Val for letting me join them.

Four miles done in 2008!  

This first run of the year put me over the 1200 mile mark with my  nike+.  You read that right, since January 16, 2007 I have run 1200.8 miles.  Crazy!