will run for fashion

So remember that long run I was supposed to do last Sunday?  Yeah, that didn’t happen.  Let it be known that NyQuil is evil when you need to be somewhat productive the next day.  But again, given that I was really trying to get rid of that damn cold ASAP, a long run may not have done me any favors.  The one downside to winter training-seems like it takes longer to shake out illness than it does in warmer temps.

So I threw myself back into it this past week.  Coach T took a little mercy on me on Tuesday and had me do 600s as a “rust-buster” type workout instead of the 1000s that the others were doing.  Which was perfect, my lungs did not feel up to 1000s.  My original plan was to try and run before work as there was the annual Flyers Chinese New Year celebration, and given that it was the Year of the Dragon (my year!) I sorta had to go   The snooze button won out but I was still able to get my workout done, and me and my workout-mates made it to the festivities in time (well…maybe a little fashionably late!)

Happy Year of the Dragon! Words to live by...and others that I can hope are reality?

 

And then in the middle of the week, the word was out that a certain coveted jacket was available on the Adidas site.  And of course inquiring minds had wanted to know for a while…what will the colors be?  Will it be embroidered or not?  And the answer is…

Once again, a departure from the traditional Boston blue/yellow, but I’m really loving this color!   I can’t wait to get mine…though I know I won’t be able to wear it til the afternoon of April 16th…bad luck!!

So I guess making sure I will be able to wear said jacket was what got me out the door on a rainy Thursday evening for a tempo which I felt I came up short on, but all things considered, was just glad to get it in.  And even though I got a late start today due to not being able to tear myself away from the Australian Open final, still banged out 17 and change miles (including not 1, but 2 loops of the Harlem Hills.)  Though dear god, if I am as tired after 17 miles in 11 weeks as I was today, the Newton hills are gonna be a world of hurt.

Busy week this upcoming week with final preps for the Flyers awards gala Saturday.  I expect to see lots of Flyers (myself included!) out running long runs Saturday…if last year was any indication, a long run will definitely not happen on Sunday.  In fact, I predict Flyer attendance at the Gridron Classic will be quite low…

derailed by the cold

Despite what the title says, this is not a post about how the cold weather is interfering with my Boston training.

Actually, the first two weeks went pretty well, despite some cold snaps thrown in there…

The first week included sub-freezing temps the night of a V02max workout.  But I still showed up and got it done-yes, my times were slower than the summer and my lungs hated me afterwards, but I got through 4 x 800.

And last weekend brought another cold snap-though I planned for it strategically by doing my long run on Saturday-the warmer of the 2 days, not by much.  And of course I brilliantly planned my route along the West Side Hwy and the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges…perfect for a cold, windy day, right?  But actually it was fine, I was dressed for the conditions, my water bottle didn’t freeze, the music on my iPod kept me going through 15 and a half miles.  I bundled up even more on Sunday to knock out a short run-and witnessed some girl running in Central Park wearing a sweatshirt and shorts (not even running shorts, more like boxer-type shorts) and her legs were bright red…SMH…

I think this weather not making up its mind caught up with me this week, as the week got off to a decent start with an easy run Monday and a speed workout Tuesday but the latter half of it, a nasty cold knocked me down.  Meaning sick day from work on Thursday, no running since Tuesday.  Yeah, maybe one could argue i could have run through it, but I wanted to kick this thing out sooner rather than later…

Then I was signed up for today’s Manhattan Half-Marathon.  Not to race (I’m saving that effort for the NYC Half!) but to just use as a supported training run.  And wouldn’t you know it, the 2nd snow of the season (or really officially 1st?  As the previous snowstorm was in the fall?) once again messes with a NYRR race.  I did pick up my bib and shirt just in case yesterday-and boy were the NYRR offices mobbed!  And they ran out of small shirts right before I got mine!  (But honestly, I didn’t love it enough for the size to make a difference.)

Very early this morning (around 5 AM), NYRR did make the call to turn the half into an uncompetitive, unscored “fun run.”  I made the call to go back to sleep.  It was still snowing, I had a feeling Central Park wasn’t plowed yet, and it really was not worth jeopardizing my “A” race for a mid-January training run.  One more day of rest, and I can get my long run done and done tomorrow.

So week 3 of training will be a cutback week, not by choice.  Hopefully with 12 weeks to go, this won’t hurt me…too much?

 

2012 running goals, or something like that

So as I said in my 2011 year-in-review post, I’d address 2012 later.  Well, it’s later

So here’s what I got on the horizon so far this year…

• Boston Marathon (4/16/12)  Obviously this is the biggie as of now.  Time goals?  I don’t know as of now.  At the very least, I want to finish-yes, I want the jacket   I do want to enjoy the experience-and not be in misery for the  last 10K like I was in NYCM.  Ideally, I would run a respectable time, as I am in the need for marathon redemption   I do have to take into consideration that my training will be 3 weeks shorter, therefore a PR may not be realistic.  But if everything were to go right?  Obviously I would like to requalify…but would shoot for sub-3:40.  None of this 3:35 nonsense, that’s crazy talk!  I should have known better, the B.A.A. gives us upper submasters the extra 5 minutes for a reason.  I guess I’ll re-assess goals as we get closer to Patriots’ Day!
• NYC Half-Marathon (3/18/12)  After being a lottery loser last year, they actually let me in this year!  Yes I know what the price tag is, and it would cost just as much, if not more, to travel to a half.  For me, I felt it was worth it for several reasons.  It’s perfectly timed as a Boston tune-up.  Last time I ran it was the inaugural race in 2006, and I was not happy with my race at all.  I’d love to get redemption from that one!  This is also the last chance to run a NYCMQ half time under the “old” standards-1:37 or faster (not sure if I’d run NYC or not, but it’d be nice to get the qualifier just once.)  Not sure if I’ll be quite there just yet, but who knows what can happen in 2 months?  (or maybe I can run 1:37:51 to beat my 2006 time by 10 minutes…hehe.)  Finally, the course is changed a little bit, and I’m liking it!!  Start in the lower part of the park, counterclockwise loop in the park (if we have to do the full 6 thats the direction I prefer,) one less mile in the park, finish now near the Seaport.  Should be fun!!  (and will be amusing to see the St. Patrick’s Day drunks leaving the bars around the same time that I’m heading for the start.)
  

  the new course!

So those are the only 2 races definitely on the schedule as of now.  What else would I like to see happen this year?

• A 10K PR.  It should not be that my 10K splits in both Philly halfs I’ve raced (46:29 in 2009, 46:38 in 2011) are faster than my actual 10K PR (47:06, set in 2008.)  Maybe try for one in the Mini 10K in June?  The thing is that one is hit or miss in terms of weather. 
• Sub-7 minute pace short race?  (e.g., 3-miler, 5K, maybe 4-miler?)  I’d have to get back into the shape I was in last summer…then find a flat course in good weather.  Maybe sometime in the fall?

As for the fall-have no clue what I will be doing, race-wise.  Let’s see how the spring plays out…

 

something old, something new

Happy 2012, blog readers!!   Yes I know I’m slacking in blogging again.  Blame the post-holidays craziness at work…

So New Year’s 2011/2012 weekend came and went.  The theme for those few days is represented well by the title…seeing old friends, as well as new(er) as well.  The “old”?  Well not by age, but a Flyer friend who moved far north in 2010 (wow, I can’t say “last year” anymore) came to visit for a few days, and we caught up over a few beers at Ginger Man and a short Central Park run the following day.

Then Saturday, New Year’s Eve Day, brought a run to the Doughnut Plant.  (Much better writeup on Susan’s blog, here you’re getting the abbreviated version ) Over the Brooklyn Bridge, back over the Williamsburg…can you guess who coordinated this run, just from hearing a rough version of the route?   Anyway, it was a nice, chill run-good to see some I hadn’t seen in a long time, and meet new runners/bloggers!  And how great was it that it was shorts weather on December 31st?  Anyway, the Doughnut Plant is definitely as good as advertised-I was all over getting a gingerbread donut!!  And of course I had to have another, so I got another gingerbread and an oatmeal donut…oatmeal is healthy, right?

betcha can't spot me

So then I headed back home to midtown and snapped this pic from 44th and 8th…

you'd never guess that one block east lies total insanity.

 Then I got ready to escape midtown for the evening.  Unfortunately, previous plans for an old friend to spend New Year’s here got canceled at the last minute, thankfully I did have backup plans!  My speedwork buddy EA volunteered to let me escape to her place on the UES since we were both doing the Midnight Run.  Pizza, champagne, gossip, no drama-exactly what I needed.  (well unless you count our other friend who came over for a little bit after overdulging on pomegranate martinis.)  So we got to the park and just like the previous year, a pretty warm night-I actually felt a little overdressed with capris under my Team Sparkle skirt.  (guess I shoulda gone with booty shorts instead)?  Yep, my “costume” for the night was a “sparkly heartbreaker”-with sparkly skirt, sparkly headband and my “Heartbreakah” shirt I got in Boston last year.

So with about 15 minutes to go, tons of peeps were already lined up, but EA, ever the competitive chick, wanted to run fast which meant getting as far up as possible-we found a way to get up pretty close-could actually see the clock counting down   And before I knew it, was midnight and we were off and running…literally.

Yep, I actually felt decent enough to make this a semi-tempo effort (might as well, considering I missed both workouts the previous week )  And let the record show there was no champagne consumed during those 31 and change minutes   It was just a nice night, people were out cheering, and my legs just wanted to go.  And this was over 10 minutes faster than last year!  granted, this is not a “race” effort, but I just remember it feeling like a struggle last year, and it was nice to get 2012 off to a good start on the running front.

that ain't water in my bottle.

So then EA and I hung around a little but after the race, scoped out the festivities, finished the champagne in our respective water bottles…and then I headed back home to Ball Drop Central.

around 1:45 am on 1/1/12. still barricades and detours around times square!

So, one week into the New Year.  There’s already new shoes, new goals…and this week was the first real week of my Boston Marathon training!  I’ll be doing 15 weeks instead of 18 weeks as I’ve done in the past, to give myself a little more recovery after NYCM and to prevent burnout.  We’ll see how that plays out!