dancing with what?

Crazy week ’round these parts.  Anyone feel sometimes that the Thankgiving weekend is sometimes more than a curse than a blessing-trying to cram things in before Wednesday?  Or in my case, Tuesday as I need that Wednesday off to decompress a little before family overload.

So a late nite at the office Tuesday meant rest day for me, which was fine as I got to watch probably the most shocking elimination of this season on Dancing With the Stars, if not all seasons!!  More shocking than Audrina’s boot, and Rick’s…take a look as Brandy gets “Joanna’d” (look at season 9 to see what I mean)

Actually, some of the still images say it better.

Jennifer is pissed. Derek is like "WTF?"

Kyle's trying to hide his expression, but doesn't look happy. Lacey's halfheartedly clapping.

Carrie Ann and Len aren't happy with what went down. Bruno begs Brandy to come back anyway next week and freestyle for him.

So why was this shocking, you ask? Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this picture? (Literally.)

Can anyone tell me who doesn’t still belong in the competition?  Thought you could   I’m going with the judges’ choice and not America’s choice on this one

Oh and just to throw something remotely running-related in here (because seriously, who doesn’t love checking out new running clothes?):

All Chicago Marathon apparel is on sale on the Nike website!!  I was waiting for this to happen and I couldn’t resist picking up a coupla things as the race was a good one (I was afraid to get more than 1 shirt at the expo!)  So I got the blue cold-weather top on the left and the white short-sleeve in the middle.  I wanted to get the hot pink cold-weather top but they were all out in my size.  So I got a non-Chicago hot pink top (on the right) on sale at Urban instead

Back to the grind!  Talk to all you bloggy peeps again in another week

way overdue NYCM weekend re-crap

Hi there!!  Guess who’s blogging for the first time this week!!  Yep meeeee.

So summing up 4 crazy days into one bloggy post?  Doing a little copy/paste behavior from a post I wrote elsewhere…with some editing to suit my blog’s own unique personality, of course

So without further ado, I give you memories and more of the New York City Marathon 2010 weekend:

Thursday:

Listening to an inspirational speech by Matt Long at the Flyers’ party at Sambuca. And as our  Mr. President said, it was a blessing in disguise that our original speaker, Olympian Blake Russell had to withdraw from NYC due to injury and therefore would not be speaking at our pasta dinner. You don’t have to be an Olympian to captivate a room like Matt did. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house afterwards.

Inspiration over, the food and company were great, as usual.  This is the 5th year in a row we’ve had our pasta party at Sambuca and it’s always worth it.  Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Tony’s in Times Square raised their prices too much a few years back

Oh and of course I had to partake in a couple glasses of “antioxidents” (aka red wine.)  would you expect anything less?

Friday:

Hit up the expo.  It was smaller than it had been in previous years (and definitely smaller than Chicago!) but still I felt like a kid in a candy store while there    I did get that Nike NYC shirt that I mentioned previously, then I hit up the Sugoi booth to say hi to the UA peeps I knew who were working and also to pick up a mostly white pair of compression socks since I can’t wear the pink ones with the orange Kinvaras   Funny thing was that when I was paying for them there was surprise that I wasn’t buying anything pink   (Blue-like the color of my blog-is actually my favorite color!  But somehow pink keeps following me this year…)

Saturday:

Decided to run in the park to see the park all done up and soak up the marathon atmosphere. I brought my camera with me to take some pictures of the mile markers and the finish line. It brought back memories of my race in 2008.  (And I even wore my race shirt from 2008!)

mile 24 by the Met

the view from mile 26. can't even see the finish line from here!

a couple of nice peeps took a picture of me by the finish line!

Sunday:

The big day!  I watched the start on TV, then headed uptown to the PowerGel station…yep, once again the Flyers were running the show here.  And as always, is the best seat in the house when you’re not running the thing!   I was sorta indifferent as to what flavor to give out, so I was assigned to Raspberry Cream and given a hot pink shirt.  Is anyone surprised that the color seems to keep following me?
 

me and Runner26 in our pretty pink shirts

 While waiting for the elites to pass by, I tried unsuccessfully to track a couple of my friends that were running. As it turned out, the Athlete Tracker, once again, would be overloaded.  Couldn’t believe that they were charging for text messaging tracking this year!!  And as I heard from others, didn’t work (hope people got their money back!)   I thought I was beating the system by utilizing the free race day tracker, and was even more excited that this year there was a mobile-friendly version.  Not the case!!

trying (unsuccessfully!) to find the whereabouts of my running friends

It was getting to be about that time!!  The headlights. The female elites. Shalane Flanagan was in the thick of the lead pack, and as it turned out she would go on to finish second in her debut marathon!!  (but I’m glad she didn’t beat Kara’s debut marathon record )

Then the male elites sped by. Meb and Ritz were a little off the lead pack. But no Haile?  Thanks to Flyer SH having the NYCM iPhone app (which looked to be the only thing that worked!) first it appeared that Haile was a mile behind the lead pack.  But then as the “miles to go” were not updating for him, it appeared that he had dropped out at mile 16, and as we’d find out later, would announce his retirement from the sport as well. Wow, now that was a shocker!  (I will say-I never thought it was a done deal that he was gonna win this.  Especially with a stacked field and a tough course like NYC.)

Not too long after, teammates and friends passed by the PowerBar Gel zone. First Flyer I saw was SJ, who would go to break 3 hours in is first marathon by the absolute skin of his teeth-and I thought Lam cut it close in Chicago!  Speaking of Lam, he passed by not once, but twice to hi-five peeps!!  I was able to see Bridges Runner run by and was she passed she shouted to me “wave 2″…I kinda suspected that when I wasn’t seeing any 5K splits for her (when the tracker was actually working) that may have been the case-as I heard the same thing happened to a lot of peeps last year.  Another teammate of mine and her husband ran by-they had actually gotten married in the NYCM 10 years ago and they were renewing their vows this year-complete with a “runaway bride” dress   Unfortunately I missed seeing Crazy Bandanahead run by while dressed up as Gumby!!   Yeah, I had to leave the PowerGel station a little earlier than normal, as I was gonna be helping another teammate out!!

me and BK on the willis ave bridge-note no red carpet

I would be experiencing a part of the course in a way I never had before. When my teammate BK passed by mile 18, I jumped in with her…she was hoping to break 4 hours and I was determined to help her break 4 hours. She was hard at work, but we had some fun too, shouting at Flyer PD as we saw him playing the bagpipes on the new, improved Willis Ave Bridge, singing along to whatever music was being played, mugging for the Brightroom cameras. I did find that part of the course-especially 5th avenue to be super-crowded, moreso than I ever experienced.  If BK didn’t get under 4, it would have been no fault of her own, as she was running very strong, but the crowds, oh the crowds…especially on 5th avenue when the spectators significantly narrowed the running lane (time for some more crowd control there?)  We entered the park…hmmm that 5th avenue hill didn’t feel so bad. Maybe because I didn’t run 20+ miles beforehand.   I ran with BK up until the turn onto Central Park South, and told her to GO GET IT!  She PR’ed with a 4:01, and I’m positive she would have been under 4 had the course not been so crowded. Felt very good to help out a teammate like that!

I watched the action at the bottom of the park for a while before meeting up with my good friend TB, who was making a rare appearance from CT.  We hung out at my pad for a bit to watch some of the TV coverage and just to warm up a little-once we stopped running (TB was running with a friend as well) it was damn cold!  Great for the runners, not so much for the spectators. (Especially since I had to figure out what to wear, as whatever I wore would have to go from spectating to running.)  We met up with another friend who ran NYC and had a drink with him, then we headed to the Flyers’ post-party at The Parlour. And was it a good time? I’ll let the pictures tell that story!

TB and me-yes i was actually wearing my chi-town medal

not a party without dancing

It was definitely a great weekend (was still recovering on Monday, hehe!)  Despite choosing Chicago for my fall marathon this year, I actually didn’t feel much sadness at not having run New York (though I will admit being somewhat jealous of the great weather you guys had while I struggled through the inferno on 10-10-10.)  I guess that’s because even if you’re not running it, you’re still part of the party — the whole city is, really. It’s a celebration of all things running!

And I hate to be traitorous to NYC…but I am not sure I want to run NYCM again.  I’ll most likely have guaranteed entry for 2011, but not sure if I’m taking advantage of it.  It’s just gotten way too crowded to run a decent time, and from what I heard about the start logistics, not exactly the best way to get your day off to a good start if you’re running for time.  Yeah I know plenty of you say I can just “run it for fun” but you all know I have no clue how to do that   While NYCM will always hold a special place in my heart, I do believe that Chicago was a better race experience for me-despite the “code red” weather and climbing a fence into my corral   Never once did I feel the course was too crowded, the start/finish logistics were pretty simple, and there was beer at the end

But thats all a discussion for another day.  For today, I say congrats to everyone who ran on Sunday, and to the fans/friends/family/supporters who were there for the runners!

shoe porn

(prediction-spam comments will go through the roof after this post.)

Ahhhhh nothing like a brand new, snazzy pair of new shoes.  Aren’t they beautiful?  Such a guilty pleasure sometimes…umm all the time

So I guess I was gonna join the Saucony Kinvara bandwagon eventually.  Though I didn’t think that was the case back in June, when I tried them on and wasn’t crazy about them.  But over the past few months I have heard more rave reviews about them and last weekend when I stopped by the downtown Urban Athletics store after the race I decided to give these a second chance, and for whatever reason, they felt better.  Maybe the orange version is a better fit than the originals (which I have read may be the case), or maybe the legs felt better trying these on in cooler weather instead of after a hot humid run.  Either way, I liked em, and took them on their maiden voyage this past week and passed with flying colors (no pun intended.)  Looking forward to integrating them into some speedier workouts in the next few weeks, in addition to whenever I race again.  (And my next pair will definitely be these hot pink ones…hehe!)

Speaking of racing, thanks for all the comments on my last post-I’m glad to know that I’m not alone and that there are others who have been/are in the same boat as me   In terms of the last few weeks, I have trying to build back up…I have done 2 speed workouts, but as the workouts catered more towards those tapering for NYC, it was tempo and not really anything that would benefit shorter races.  It’s possible my legs have also been in long distance mode for so long that they don’t know how to do anything but distance, speed-wise…

And speaking of long distance (again, love all the transitions, hehe!) I actually got another email back from the B.A.A. which looks like a form email that they’ve sent to anyone with an inquiry about 2012:

Thank you for your email and your questions regarding the 2012 Boston Marathon. Following the unprecedented interest for the 2011 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. has begun a full review of entry procedures. While it will take some time to consider our options, please be assured that the B.A.A. is giving the comments and questions that we have recently received full consideration. We are currently working on the qualifying and entry procedure for the 2012 Boston Marathon. We feel confident we will be able to announce our plans by the beginning of the new year. Feel free to contact us again at that time or refer to our web site a www.bostonmarathon.org for further details.

So. That’s where that’s at, hoping that they are true to their word about when the 2012 guidelines will be announced so that I could salvage a spring marathon if need be.  And actually, a plan just may be in the works but I will not divulge any details now…very beginning stages.

And speaking of marathons, it’s NYC Marathon weekend!!  The city will be one big party celebrating all things running    As for me, I plan to hit up the expo after work today since even though the expo has had better years, its such a candy store for a runner.  (And plus, I need to get compression sox that coordinate better with the Kinvaras.  The hot pink ones just won’t do.)  So of course, will be dropping money on stuff I probably don’t need but really really want   And I’m sure my neighborhood is gonna be filled with the out-of-towners with their UPS bags (as I’m within walking distance of both the Javits Center and the NYC Public Library.)  Tomorrow, I plan to run in Central Park so I can see the finish line and some of the mile markers up

Race day?  Once again, will be at the PowerGel station with the Flyers (exact flavor TBD.)  I hope to see a lot of you bloggers and other readers out there!!  Gimme a shout so I know to look for you!!

And best of luck to all on Sunday!!  Trust your training…you got this…now go get it!

too little? too soon?

yeah, once again it looks like i’ve become a once-a-week blogger.  blame the post-Chicago downtime…just seems like there isn’t much to report.

I did trek to the Hobe this past Saturday to run a Halloween-themed 5K.  That didn’t go too well but there were some…uh…interesting costumes.

This was my favorite:

And gotta love that Batman is on the lead bike.

This one, however, I (and others from what I overhead) had a little issue with…(sorry!)

Now I will say, I do appreciate the creativity. However, this may not have been the appropriate place to be wearing a costume that included golf clubs and taking them out/swinging them on the run. Yes, I know it was Halloween and people just wanted to have fun, but the fact that the race organizers were giving out age group awards (and I believe money to the overall winners as well?) meant that quite a few people were going to be racing this seriously.  I passed them by around the halfway point and I’d be lying if I said I was not relieved.  Knowing my luck, I would have gotten hit by one of their clubs…

And as for my race…

Wasn’t my best.  I was hoping for a decent performance, given that it was the first time in lord knows how long that it hasn’t been 70 degrees or more and humid for a race.   Mile 1 was definitely slower than I wanted.  I had a feeling mile 2 was short, as I NEVER speed up in mile 2 of a 5K.  Refused to look at my watch for the remainder…took a split at mile 3 (yay for the marker being there) but didn’t look at the watch…but saw the race clock in the 23′s…meh.  And the heart rate info shows that I was nowhere near where I should be for a 5K (average in the high 160s or the 170s, max in the 180s)

Wasn’t in a festive mood afterwards, but stuck around to watch the awards (one UA guy was third overall, another placed in his age group) then headed back into the city and stopped by the downtown UA store, where I helped give out candy to the kids who were trick or treating in the World Financial Center for a little bit

As for my race, I don’t know.  Not sure whether to chalk it up to not being recovered from the marathon yet.  As others who ran the same marathon I did were already back at it and running well (and even PRing!)  Not to mention all those running both Chicago and NYC…I can’t even fathom that.  Or those who run other long races a week or 2 after their marathon.  Am I the slowest recover-er on earth?  What’s normal when it comes to marathon recovery?  Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a PR, but I thought I could improve on the 22:48 that I ran at the end of the summer, if not match it.

And it almost makes me afraid to race…like I don’t want any more disappointment.