it must have been the skirt!

(aka my Scotland Run 10K report.)

Or could it have been the shoes…or the socks…or something else?

OK, so I signed up for this one since it was a club points race and really did not know what to expect.  I have never run well on this particular 10k course (there is a great description of the race course in Joe’s race report)…my best time being 49:29 in the 2005 Healthy Kidney 10K.  In terms of Central Park 10K courses, I prefer either the Kleinerman course (my 10k PR) or the Mini 10K course (my 2nd-best 10k time.)  So I figured the best way to approach it is use it as an excuse to play dress-up (rocked the plaid running skirt and matching knee-high compression socks to sorta go with the Scotland theme…in addition to the red Flyer singlet) and have fun, while seeing where I was at.

So my first confession-I am a bad Jew, I “broke” Passover last nite   Indulged in pasta…and oatmeal this morning…I had to carbo-load for a 10K race right, otherwise I’d be bonking halfway up Harlem Hill.  (But knowing I lasted longer than quite a few others I know, I don’t feel so bad )

Ran a mile warmup to the start…beautiful morning!!  When I got to bag check, I saw speedy Flyer AP (who would go on to be our first scorer for both the open and masters men’s teams-awesome!) and we chatted for a few…and compared shoes as he was wearing the same ones I was.  Decided to go with the Adidas Tempos for this one, and was quite happy with my decision

So around 9:40ish, was time to head to the corrals…yellow this time for me, not surprising for a points race.  (And as soon as they dropped the barriers between the corrals, it actually was a little bit of a free-for-all, as I saw people with high bib numbers, even those with 5 digits, sneaking in.  Really needs to be policed better…)  Flyer JJ was there with me and we chatted a little waiting for the start…he being 2 weeks away from Boston, was intending to run this race at marathon pace…sub-8 pace.  So I said that my goal for the day would be to either stay with him or ahead of him.  (Well as long as he ran that pace and not too too much faster )  So after listening to bagpipe music from some band called Whiskey something, the usual announcements, and the national anthem, we were off…and was quite crowded just to cross the start!!  We’d start walking…then running…then come to a stop…then start jogging again.  But finally we did cross the start

Mile 1 (7:38)- Up that gradual uphill on the west side of the park.  Kept JJ in my sights the entire time…but honestly, as I really have no concept of race pace right now, I wasn’t sure if I was going at 7:5x pace, or was it faster?  Well that question was answered at the mile split and the first thing I thought was “I still feel pretty good.”

Mile 2 (7:33)-And knowing mile 2 was a net downhill…even better place to make up some time.  And in this mile I passed a certain someone in a highlighter singlet…hehe.  Additional goal, stay ahead of him!  And I was still keeping JJ in sight…sometimes he’d go ahead, sometimes I would, either way I was still running well.

Mile 3 (7:42)-Enter the hills.  The first Harlem Hill sucked (and I was getting passed there), but I took advantage of the downhill reward afterwards.  I never slow for water in 10ks, but I did so today…though the temp was a cool 50, it was very sunny and I felt it.  Flyer DG was running and cheering in the other direction…was good to see!  There was no 5k mat for this race, but I looked at Mr. Garmin at the 5K point (the marking was on the ground) and saw about 23:45…mile 4 makes it tough to negative split but either way barring a disaster, I had under 50 minutes in the bag…now the question is will it start with a 49, 48 or even 47?

Mile 4 (8:18)-Yuck.  This mile, between the last Harlem Hill and the gradual incline to east 90th, is always, always a slog and I always, always, lose time here.  I lose JJ for good in this mile (he’d go on to finish about 30 secs ahead of me)…just forget about that, concentrate on my race, run my own race.  I wasn’t really getting passed in this mile, which was a good sign.  Saw Flyer GW at Engineer’s Gate…was good to see him, there wasn’t a lot of Flyer support on the course for this one (however, this was a holiday weekend, the half-marathon in Queens was the same morning, and I think there were also some tri/bike things going on.)

Mile 5 (7:32)-The worst is now over, just bring it in.  This is a perfect time to start picking up the pace a little…as this mile is mostly flat, followed by Cat Hill downhill.  Just kept moving on up, picking off those who started out too fast (my teammate DT being one of them…he was lined up near me and JJ and really took off at the beginning!)  RG from Urban Athetics passed me before Cat Hill and we exchanged “good jobs”…but I figured I’d also try and keep him in my sights too.  Whatever you have to do to keep you motivated and running hard in the later, tired miles, right?

Mile 6 (7:38)-Almost done.  Time to run balls out (or in my case, tits out…hahaha.)  I saw Flyer JB who had passed by me in the early miles and I passed him back just south of 72nd…he said he went out too fast and was done for, and said several things to try and motivate me (I just remember something that had to do with Braveheart?  But who’s mind is working perfectly after 40 minutes of hard runing?)  I was definitely tiring-this being the longest distance race I’ve done since my injury, but still hung in there.

Last .2 mile (1:33)-Quick look at my watch said that I have a possibility of 47:xx…but it was gonna be very close!!  I thought back to the last .2 mile of the 2009 Mini 10K and how great that was…not sure I had another 1:30 in me, but I had to gun it all the same.  As I approached the finish, I did hear the announcers calling my name, which was a very nice boost and really helped me finish up strong!!

And I did make sub-48 with a few seconds to spare!  47:54, 7:43 pace…a huge course PR.  And as I found out later-I actually scored for the women’s open team in a points race (for the 2nd time ever)…was the 4th Flyer female today (guess most of the speedy women decided not to show up today? )

So past the finish, exchanged “congrats” and “good job” with Flyers and peeps from other teams (there was one woman from UA who had been running nearby in miles 3-5…turns out we were sorta using each other as rabbits…anyway, when she finished not too far behind me, I said “good job.”  No matter what the team, I make it a point to congratulate the other runner…hey we’re all in this together, right?)  Got interviewed briefly for the NYRR video-I make an appearance 4:51 into the video! (I think the outfit got a bit of attention…definitely got a lot of compliments/comments on it!)  Found a nice-sized group of my teammates and chatted and exchanged race stories, listened to the band play for a little bit, then me and a few others went out for celebratory margaritas (oh, and some food too)…perfect day to sit outside sipping those babies!

So I’m definitely pleased with this one, especially since I really haven’t been “training.”  Even though my weekly mileage is now in the 20s, I haven’t been doing any speedwork yet, but looked like I didn’t lose all that I got from last year’s training.  And the best part-didn’t feel the IT Band at all…it almost felt like last spring/summer.  (But it still got an icing when I got home.)  So things just may be on track, so to speak…but that does also mean keeping up cross-training/strength work…if that’s what helped me rehab this thing, gotta keep that up so it stays far, far away…right?

And I think I found my new perfect racing shoe!!   And if it really was the skirt…am I gonna have to wear it for all races now? :-O

cherry bomb

Fun times in Brooklyn today!! The Cherry Tree relay was everything I expected. And then some more. Especially in the hill department.

My team? The Gossip Girls!! My teammates? Uptown Girl and her TRD teammate AU. We all just wanted to have fun and run our best, whatever it was. So definitely my kind of team to be on Hell, I even wore one of my running skirts over my tights because I thought it sorta fit with the theme

The trip out to Brooklyn was much easier than expected and even kind of scenic, with the Q going over the Manhattan bridge. We then decided what our team order was going to be…considering all 3 of us were pretty evenly matched, it really didn’t matter what the order was. But I volunteered to be anchor-for a couple of reasons. First off, I wouldn’t have to worry about transitioning at the end of my leg, the finish line calling my name can make me kick it in and finish strong. Second-I figured that since I didn’t get to run my anchor leg at Need for Speed last year, I wanted to do it today

We got to Prospect Park with enough time to spare and headed across the park to where the start line and the relay area were. Once we got to the relay area, we heard the announcement that the race would be starting in 10 minutes…then all of a sudden they announced it would be starting in 2 minutes!! oops!! AU headed to the start to kick things off for our team…we didn’t even hear a starting horn or anything, just an announcement “oh yeah, the race started x minutes ago.” Uptown Girl and I ran around a little bit to warm up and then headed back to the relay exchange area to wait. And to cheer-I saw lotsa Flyers who were running the 10-miler. Around 25 minutes into the race, AU handed off the slap bracelet (yep, the relay baton was one of those old-school slap bracelets! i love it!) to Uptown Girl who then ran our second leg. I jogged around a little more to stay warm (it wasnt crazy cold, but there was a very light rain-okay when running, not when standing around) and kept watching the runners. I saw Uptown Girl running strong and approaching the transition area so I got in position-handoff was done and I was off and running!!

As for my run-I think a picture is worth a thousand words.

So of course, I felt good at the beginning. I tried to seek out 10-milers and pick them off Was happy to see a mile 1 split of 7:17…wheeee!!! Of course I didn’t even realize how much downhill that mile was. (FYI-I used the autosplits on Mr. Garmin since the mile markers were all for the 10-mile runners and may not be totally accurate for the relay.) Happiness was short-lived with the evil hill in mile 2 (the one that is mile 11 of the Brooklyn Half)…dear god that was like mountain climbing. And my 8:09 split showed it-was a bit disappointed at that, I thought hill or no hill, it should have been under 8. And the hill just kept going in mile 3 for another half-mile…til there was finally some downhill relief. 7:41 for mile 3 was a little better, but just wanted to be done. Finally, I could see the relay area…meaning the turn to the finish line!! I heard some very welcome cheering, and I kicked hard to the finish. Around 25:40 for me, 1:16:48 for our team (12th out of 27 female teams!)

I caught up with some other Flyers, including fellow bloggers jb24 and Laminator, who both had great 10-mile races!! A bunch of us went to brunch at this great place in Park Slope that had a great breakfast buffet…yummy fresh waffles and unlimited Bellinis? Me likey A long, leisurely brunch was followed by a subway ride back to Manhattan and a much-needed nap.

I’m definitely up for doing this race next year-and Flyers…if you are reading, I strongly encourage you to consider doing the relay next year-it really is a lot of fun. Besides, I’d rather save my 10-mile attempt for when I don’t have to do the evil Prospect Park hill times 3. As for my performance…not my best, not my worst. I wanted to know where I was at, and I found out that I have my work cut out for me if I want to have a decent race at Cherry Blossom.

And dear god-do I need hill training.

dress rehearsal? literally.

Thank god for 18 weeks of training…plenty of time to make mistakes, and learn from them. And swear to not do the same thing on marathon day. And for me today-that would be running attire.

Today was the NYCM Tune-Up 18 miler. Unlike 2 years ago, I resolved to really, really hold back and not race this thing. And for the most part, that was the case. My plan was to run 2 miles beforehand, making this 20 for the day.

Attire was the red Flyer singlet (with 93% humidity, you can bet the white one would not be a smart choice today!) and my red and black RunningSkirt-was a dress rehearsal to see if I could possibly wear it in the marathon. But during my 2-mile warmup, I noticed the skirt kept slipping down and it was getting annoying…like the waistband was stretched out or something. I didn’t really have time to go home and change, so I took the 2 bottom safety pins off of my bib and tried to fix it. Seemed to do the trick…but little did I know, it was only a quick fix…

So when I got to the start, I looked for Runner26, as we planned to run together for a little bit. Didn’t see her…so I went to the corrals to line up-actually went a corral back and the person policing the corrals said that “you can move up if you want.” I said that was OK, as I was not racing this thing. I then saw Runner26 and actually, I was lined up in the corral she was supposed to be in, so it was all good. The conditions were crappy and humid, but that just solidified our plan to be conservative and just have fun…

…which we did!! The first few miles were pretty easy, we saw other Flyers we knew, including DG, who joined us in mile 4…and commented on the fact that my skirt was again slipping down :-p Yeah, I kept having to pull it up. And it was getting annoying. So annoying, in fact, that I went a little ahead of Runner26 and DG in mile 5 up Cat Hill, and they waved me on ahead (I knew they’d be fine running together)…I just wanted to finish this as quick as possible without it turning into a race effort. So I just flipped on the iPod and settled into my normal long run pace. The legs were fine, I slowed for gel/water/Gatorade when I needed it, but my god, the damn skirt was annoying…my arms were tired of always having to pull it up, and I felt bad for anyone running behind me. On the other hand, maybe it prevented me from running too fast

With 4 miles to go, I was so ready for this to be over. So I picked it up to around 9 minute pace for the last 4, with a strong last mile. Finished in 2:47:41-9:18 pace…which is exactly where my long run pace should be so mission accomplished Forget 2 weeks ago, now I have never been so glad to be done with a 20-miler in my life!!

The tale of the splits:

Honestly-if the only bad part of this run was a “wardrobe malfunction” and not the legs or feeling like bonking, I’ll take it. And was proud of myself to have shown restraint this time

So 2 more weeks to go before it’s taper time!! My 2 heaviest mileage weeks…includes 15 miles next weekend, my last 20-miler the weekend after, and lotsa weekday mileage and having to fit it in with the Jewish holidays (at least Yom Kippur is not before a long run this year!)

And as for marathon day attire-I’ve decided I will repeat my outfit from the Philly Distance Run…hey-if it ain’t broke…

Also on the topic of marathons-can’t believe the WR went down again!! Unreal…

spot the flyer

or actually, spot the Flygirl…hehe

yes, the impossible has happened, NYRR has actually gotten a picture of me running :-p

And does anyone look familiar here…like 6 pictures down?

the mid-season report card

As of today, I’m halfway done with NYCM training…9 weeks down, 9 to go!! And since they evaluate during the All-Star break in baseball, makes sense for me to do the same, right?

So honestly…compared to 2 years ago, this first half of training has been surprisingly drama-free!! 2 good races that basically told me that I was on track. No injuries-thank god. If my only complaint was running in heat and humidity, I’ll take it. Only regret was that I really had to do a lot of runs solo. I’d like companionship if possible, but for the most part, if I tried to run with a group, I’d be struggling to keep up-at the expense of my own training. Kinda sucks, but what are you gonna do.

One thing that I had this time that I didn’t 2 years ago was, of course, Mr. Garmin And he has proved to be quite helpful so far…especially his accompanying heart rate monitor. Yes, I think that has really made a positive change to how I train-really has helped me keep easy runs easy, and determine what my correct tempo zone is…and the fact that my hopeful marathon pace falls in the easy zone is encouraging But I think the result of that is that the training hasn’t really tired me out yet…I’ve done three 40-mile weeks so far and felt fine. Back in 2006, 40-mile weeks just wiped me out. I have kept up the cross-training twice a week too…so far so good.

So…9 more weeks to go!! Which includes six more weeks of hard work-including three 20-milers (thankfully, none on consecutive weekends this year!), a half-marathon, and lotsa marathon pace work. Unfortunately I am getting to the point in my training where I feel like eating everything in sight…which for me, is not a good thing. I’m really gonna have to try and keep that in check-and the end of September is gonna be tough between the Jewish holidays (read: mom’s good cooking) and my b-day (read: cupcakes in abundance)…if I can get through that unscathed, I will be happy. (though if I could still lose a few pounds between now and 11/2, I wouldn’t cry or anything.)

As for the Philly Distance Run…I’m gonna kinda sorta use that as my predictor-weather permitting (if it’s a hot day, of course I am gonna adjust.) Whatever time I wind up with if I’m able to race it all-out, I will add 10 minutes to whatever the McMillan calculator predicts…figure that’s the safest bet. So to be on track for sub-3:50…that pretty much means running sub-8 pace for the half which I think, in the right conditions I can do. Of course, I’d love to run under 1:43 and get rid of that old half-marathon PR. And my Broad Street time predicts 1:42:55 for a half…so hey, who knows, it may be possible. (My highest mileage week for Broad Street was 27 mpw-just for reference sake…)

Marathon pace!! As mentioned before, I will need to make sure 8:45s feel like a cakewalk by November 2nd. I do plan to do some tempo runs that have some MP miles, and try and end some longer runs with some MP miles…I will be doing the 18-mile tune-up and Grete’s Great Gallop as training runs…and use the multiple loops to work on pacing (first slow, next pick it up a little, final loop at MP.) But I am really gonna have to work on keeping things in check for the first loop…no doing 8:50 pace like I did in the Tune-Up in 2006.

So there you have it-I got my work cut out for me for the next 6 weeks…then I can relax a little before the big day!

And I kept up the dress-rehearsing this weekend…my long run was 18-and-change miles that included 3 boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) and 3 bridges (Williamsburg, Pulaski, Queensboro)…my point was to try and hit the last 2 bridges with mileage on my legs to sorta mimic the marathon. And boy the Queensboro Bridge felt tough this time…legs were definitely tired. Then again, I did do the run in the afternoon…so the heat of the day didn’t exactly help matters But still, I hope I do not feel like that on 11/2…

And I wore my new RunningSkirt for this run and it felt pretty good…I don’t think I’ve ever worn a skirt for this long a run before. I am seriously considering wearing a skirt in the marathon…we shall see

terrific tuesday tidbits

First tidbit is that this is my 500th blog post!! Yep, 500 posts in less than 3 years. And 6 1/2 months to get from 400 to 500 posts. Yes, I do need a life.

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As always, I get a SkirtSports discount code when I really don’t need to buy any more skirts. (but maybe I should try the running dress…do I really need it though?) I’m amused at the fact that it’s a 23% discount…here’s their explanation:

Why 23? Here are a few good-as-gold Olympic reasons…
The number of seconds it would take Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt to run 1 mile.
The combined ages of China’s women’s gymnastics team members.
The number of times President Bush actually thought about slapping Misty May-Treanor on her bikinied butt instead of the small of her back.
The number of hurdles Lori “Lolo” Jones could knock down and still look smokin’ HOT doing it.
The number of Olympics Dara Torres will compete in before she finally gets tired.
The number of Olympic gold medals Michael Phelps will win in London 2012.

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Season 4 of The Hills is underway and hasn’t disappointed yet! (The season started at the perfect time…now I have something to occupy my TV time on Monday nights again!) Happy to see all the drama is back. Anyone who is just starting to watch and needs a refresher of the previous 3 seasons…here is one, courtesy of my brother (who I think missed his calling as a celebrity blogger…)

“LC is mad at Audrina because Audrina was mad at Lo for making her hang out less with her, after LC was mad at Heidi, so she spent more time with Audrina after she moved in, but then spent less time with Audrina after Lo moved it because Audrina and Lo don’t get along well, and now Audrina is talking to Heidi because she’s mad at LC, even though she doesn’t like Spencer, who doesn’t like LC, even though LC is friend’s with Spencer’s sister, making Spencer and Heidi mad at Spencer’s sister for being friends with LC, even if Spencer’s sister used to not like LC because LC didn’t like Spencer, and Spencer is mad at Brody because Brody is friends with LC, but LC is still mad that Brody won’t settle down with her, and because Brody hooked up with Jen Bunny, thus making LC mad at Jen Bunny, so Jen Bunny be-friended Heidi, but then didn’t like Heidi because she told lies about LC….”

Trash TV. Gotta love it.

this ain’t no running town

So, any of the long run options with the Flyers this morning were way too early for my liking (as yours truly needed to sleep off more than her share of appletinis and vodka tonics…) But, I figured since this was the last weekend of the Summer Streets…running to City Hall and back would be just perfect for my long run, and all I have to do is be done (at least with the streets) by 1 pm…easy enough, right?

Well, that’s how it started off…but as I turned onto Park Avenue from 72nd street (and saw Johnny running the other direction!)…I noticed that things seemed a little different from 2 weeks ago, and it became more evident the further south I ran. Maybe it was the later hour…but it looked like a lot more cross-streets were open to traffic, and there were a lot more bikes out. And it’s weird…but as a runner, I kinda felt like I was in the minority…the bikers had the designated “fast lane”, the walkers the designated “slow lane”…where’s a runner to go?

It got worse once I got all the way to the end, and then added on an out-and-back over the Brooklyn Bridge to get my hill work in Again, there was a bike lane, and the pedestrian lane was filled with people walking 4-5 abreast…I swear, I never had to yell out “on your left” or “on your right” so much. And I got yelled at for being in the bike lane…well sorry, but where was I supposed to go-instead of yelling at me, yell at the walkers for taking up the entire lane, so I don’t have to edge into the bike lane!

Couldn’t believe I was saying this, but I was actually relieved when I wound up back at the park. Maybe the “Summer Streets” novelty wore off…but I felt today, NYC was a biker and walker-friendly city…but runner-friendly? No way…we were like the forgotten group or something. (Yeah, I coulda dragged myself out of bed and joined NYRR at 7:30 downtown…but again, I needed beauty sleep ) But whatever, it was what it was…14.7 more miles under my belt. Had to GMap this one, as Mr. Garmin freaked out yet again near Grand Central…saw the distance move backwards more than once!!

In other news, I got my free skirt in the mail today!! Not only did I get this cute pink skirt, but they threw in a free tank top (which says on the back “you’ve been passed by a skirt!”) too!! Thanks again to the ladies at RunningSkirts.com-this was definitely a nice treat!

And tonite will be the USA’s last chance for a track and field medal…the men’s marathon!! Go Ryan, Ritz and Brian!! (though I know Ryan is the best medal hope!)

the excitement is mounting…

Thank god I’m taking a summer day tomorrow, I’d never be able to concentrate otherwise.

First off…all the Olympics action had kept me up late at night (yum…male swimmers and male gymnasts…) leaving me a bit sleep-deprived this week. And to compliment what Uptown Girl said…just wait until track and field starts!! I’m gonna need some uber-strong coffee next week Little bummed that the women’s 10K will be in the wee hours tomorrow nite, but I guess that’s what DVR is for. (And yeah, I’ll probably find out the results beforehand, but I won’t post spoilers until the event actually airs.) Then the women’s marathon on Saturday prime time!! Though I’m sorta looking forward more to the men’s marathon-that one is a little more personal to me, as I saw some of those guys qualify in my own backyard!! And that is just the tip of the iceberg!
(And to all the Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte fans…you’re welcome for the link to that pic There’s an even better one in the August 18th issue of US Weekly but I can’t find it online!)

Then I know I sound like a broken record, but excited for Team Champs on Saturday!! The weather is looking to be as good as it was last year…unfortunately I wasn’t able to capitalize on it then, but I’d like to think I’m in better shape now and can get revenge on last year’s race. Goals…I have an idea but don’t want to say. All I know is-I’m going for it. Only way to know where I’m at!!

And to top it all off-I just found out that I won a free running skirt from RunningSkirts.com!!! Thanks to being a “fan” of their Facebook page and wearing one of their skirts in my profile picture-which was this one from Need for Speed. Hey-who doesn’t love free running apparel? A girl can never have too many running skirts…

Now if you excuse me, I gotta try and work for the next few hours

(Also-can anyone else believe it’s been 5 years since the infamous blackout??)

the need for speed relay…i mean "fun run", report

yeah, there is meaning to that title. you’ll see later.

Third time doing the Need for Speed Relay, second time with Flyer Team Black!! Yeah, we all liked each other so much we actually wanted to spend another day in a van together. Unfortunately, DM had to drop at the last minute due to other commitments…but we gained 2 new members, including the Laminator!! (actually…this team was almost half bloggers!! as you will see…)

I was nervous about the weather forecast, especially considering my choke job at the Mini the day before. All I could do was prep-hydrate, consume as many salty foods/snacks/drinks as possible…and just plan to take things easy and conservative. Actually-as I had the last leg, I was most nervous that there wouldn’t be any water left by the end…so I planned to carry a sports bottle of Gatorade with me.

So, as our team’s start time was in the last heat-8:45 am-didn’t mean as early a wake-up call than in the past and we hit the road around 7:15 am…making it up to Bear Mountain in plenty of time. We then met up with the Flyer Red team, who had the same start time as us (the Flyer White team and the Flyer Diamonds team had earlier start times) and just chatted, took pics, pre-gamed. Soon, it was getting close to 8:45 and time for our runners to be at the start-DG for us, PD for Flyer Red. They made several last announcements…including possible course evacuation plans in case of severe weather conditions (remember this…comes into play later.) All vans had to be out of the area before the runners were off, but RB (aka Dr. Evil) decided that he couldn’t wait til the next exchange area for a bathroom break. The announcer decided to take advantage of that and embarass him :-p

This time…I’ll give a leg-by-leg description of the day of Team Black…

Leg 1-While DG was running, our plan was to stop near the midway point of the leg to cheer and offer water if he needed it. Saw PD, who looked like he was working hard. A vehicle came by and said there was only one other runner on the course…it was DG, who looked like he wasn’t doing well-he was walking, and followed by the sweep ambulance. We gave him water, sprayed him with a water spray bottle that we had, and told him to just take it easy. It was a little unsettling, seeing DG followed by the ambulance, but on the other hand…at least he’s being watched. We then drove to the exchange area and walked to the hand-off point…on the way, we saw the Red team, and PD said he had to walk a few times…man, the heat was knocking the strong down, and it was still early!! We waited for DG to come in…saw the girl who was just ahead of him on the course, saw the sweeper ambulance…and boy, was I worried-thankfully a race official said DG was fine, was just walking and needed some Gatorade and shortly we saw him, running into the transition area and handing off to RB. He said it was a tough time, but also admitted to going out too fast in the beginning…well that just solidified my plan to be conservative!!

Leg 2-on the way to this leg, I texted Runner26, who ran this leg for the Diamonds team, to make sure she was OK, and she replied back that it was tough, hot but she felt fine. Her team was leaving the exchange area just as we got there, and we saw the Red team waiting for their runner. However-we found out some not-so-good news…as apparently there were route marker arrows on the trail switched and/or moved and so people were getting lost. The Hellgate team, who had been leading after leg 1, had their leg 2 runner get so lost that they had race volunteers looking for him…that’s how bad it had gotten. We were looking up into the woods for RB to come down the hill to the finish…but RB ran to the finish from the other direction-apparently he made a wrong turn near the end! He handed off to the Laminator, who then was running the longest leg of the relay-9.3 miles!

Leg 3-we picked up another passenger on the way to the next exchange area!! We offered to give a ride to Matt from Hellgate since the remainder of his teammates were staying behind to make sure their leg 2 runner made it OK. All 4 Flyer teams were at the next exchange area waiting for their leg 3 runners, so we all gabbed and tried to stay out of the sun. But we were hearing runners were getting lost on this leg too…man, does it ever end??? We saw JM and JS come in for the White and Diamonds teams, respectively. However-this caused concern as team Red’s runner, SS, had passed them both during the leg and he had not come in yet. And considering he’s a very fast runner…even if he was taking it easy and just going at training pace, it was still too long a time for him to be running 9.3 miles-and we let the officials know of the concerns. And then we saw a Flyer singlet and a red bandana…it was Crazy Ban…oops, sorry, it was our Laminator!! :-p He had gotten lost too-added approximately a mile, but was glad to have made it in one piece. A few minutes later, SS did make it in…he was thankfully OK, but did get lost and added a sh*tload of miles on because of that.

Leg 4-this was actually a pretty drama-free leg. jb24 did a great job running the 2.9 miles and then handed off to GW.

Leg 5-we passed all 4 Flyer runners on the way to the next exchange area and honked and cheered for them…unfortunately we had to do a U-turn as we missed the turnoff onto the Saw Mill River Parkway!! When we got to the exchange area, we saw Matt from Hellgate again-we offered to give him another ride as his teammates were MIA (as it turned out, they were tending to a fallen runner!) GW made it in and described feeling chilled-like I did during the Mini…and that he would not have made it if another Flyer hadn’t offered him some of her water. Man…the conditions were no joke today.

Leg 6-another low-drama leg for the most part…no getting lost getting to the next exchange area, and TH did well running this leg, with little complaint except the usual “it was HOT!”

Leg 7-this was my leg the last 2 years, but this time I decided to let someone else have a chance at it, this year it would be our Cap’n SW. 2 legs to go til I’m up. I started to prep…stretching, dousing myself with water…I was actually a little nervous not just because of the heat, but we were the 2nd Flyer team-and I know Team White’s runner who was running leg 9 is much faster than me and I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of it if she passed me. But I had to do what I had to do…and finish upright. Anyway, SW finished and handed off to Johnny (and I think SW was very happy that i did give her this leg!)

Leg 8 to the end…the real drama:

I was psyched, but quite nervous to run my leg. I was excited to cross the finish line for my team, but apprehensive about the heat, knowing I don’t handle it too well! Fortunately, there was a bit of cloud cover and it had cooled a tiny bit (probably only 90 as opposed to 92 degrees.) Being that Johnny was gonna kick butt on his short leg, we knew I wouldn’t have much time to prep-so my teammates dropped me off by the exchange area and then went to park the van. After a couple of minutes-I heard something that in the back of my mind, I thought could happen (think back to before the start!) but hoping wouldn’t…
“Attention-due to severe thunderstorms coming into the area-we have to shut the course down and stop the relay!”
Meaning-those who were already on leg 9 could finish, but for every other team-they had to finish the leg they were on and call it a day. Unfortunately, this meant Team Black’s day was over after leg 8 and I would not get to run my leg. I was PISSED!! After all this, I don’t even get to run? (plus…a good friend of mine was supposed to run this leg 2 years ago but due to circumstances beyond his control, couldn’t…so I wanted to run this leg “for” him ) A lot of others were none too happy either-”They let us run around in 95 degree heat all day, and now they’re shutting things down because of a little rain?” I’ve run 2 half-marathons in the rain!! Hell-I’d WELCOME rain at this point to cool things down!! Thank god-my teammates were very supportive. GW gave me a consoling hug-he just knew how upset I was and that was honestly what I needed at that moment. My team did ask me if I still wanted to run my leg “unofficially”, but knowing that the Flyer Red team was going to be the only Flyer team to finish-I did want to support them at the finish line. So to the finish we went…and we were passing runners…some still “officially” running, some not…so my teammates encouraged me to at least run part of my leg and still cross the finish line. So run it I did-ran what turned out to be the last 3 miles of the 5.7 mile final leg. Make no mistake-it was hot-but i just took it easy and played it smart. By that time, I was just wearing a sports bra and my running skirt w/ no singlet but it was not making much of a difference, temp-wise. But it actually wasn’t so bad, i was thinking “I’m sure i could have done the whole 5.7 if need be!” I still couldn’t believe we missed the cutoff by a matter of minutes…yeah, i guess you can say i was running on pissed-off energy. The finish line did come, sooner than I thought…turned the final corner, heard music, applause, my great teammates cheering as I crossed the finish line with a smile. Yes-I crossed the finish line of the first annual “Need For Speed Fun Run!” I kinda felt like those who crossed the finish line at Chicago ’07 after it was made into a “fun run”…hey, we wouldn’t be Team Black without bending the rules at least once!! And didn’t do half-bad, time-wise…Mr. Garmin said about 3 miles in 27:19.

At the after-party, I just went straight for the beer….didn’t even feel like eating. We were allowed 2 large cups of beer and i downed em both. And the announcement was made that the real reason why the race was shut down was heat-related…too many people going to the hospital due to severe dehydration….apparently local authorities told the race organizers to shut things down. Just like Chicago i guess…and honestly, why didn’t they say that from the beginning? i would have completely understood-it’s nice to try your hardest for the team, but at the end of the day-you just want everyone safe and sound, and thankfully all 4 Flyer teams were…which was the most important thing. After the first coupla legs, i think the only thing on anyone’s mind was finishing in one piece.

So-after all is said and done, it was still a very memorable day…one that really showed the true definition of teamwork-within the team and outside of it. And it was a fun day with the team…including some “team Black moments.” And I was able to “liveblog” the race from my Treo!! I posted periodic updates on the Flyers’ message board…gotta love technology!! As for the race organization…I don’t blame them for their decision to stop the relay early, as it probably saved lives in the end…however, being that we missed the cutoff by a matter of minutes…if only the trails were better marked and less people getting lost…if only they decided with the conditions being treacherous, to make the start earlier…we could have made it in time for me to run the last leg, to cross the finish line officially for my team. Or that could have prevented other complications from happening (such as the one that needed medical assistance in leg 5.)

But-as I said before-most important thing was that everyone was OK in the end. And would I do this relay again? I think I would-I think this year was an anomaly with the weather and hopefully this is a learning experience!!

in with the new

found 2 heads ups in my inbox today!!

First off, SkirtSports has a new spring line…complete with updated MarathonGirls, GymGirls and RollerGirls in addition to other new stuff (including the UptownGirl…tee hee.) Though I’m actually not too crazy about the RollerGirl update…like the Classic version better. The other 2 look good though…but must wait til they go on sale

And The Hills’ next season will be back on TV on March 24th. Thank God, I was going through withdrawal, I had to resort to Gawker’s catty commentary on Heidi’s so-called music career for some laughs.

can a girl have too many running skirts?

oh, damn you SkirtSports. is it not enough that I have spent way too much money over the last couple of weeks on both running and non-running stuff, and gave into the temptation of your end-of-October sale…but your new limited edition holiday GymGirl skirt is calling my name…telling me it will look soooo cute with my long-sleeve black Flyers shirt….

and on top of all that, I am sorta intrigued by the new determination skirt by atalanta….this skirt/capris combo doesn’t look half-bad…at least I like this one better than SkirtSports’ attempt at a cold-weather skirt (does help that the colors are a little more flattering)

I need skirt intervention. Or something.

halloween costuming-need advice!!

OK, gonna do the Halloween thing next Wednesday…and trying to think of a costume-definitely NOT repeating my costume from 2 years ago…

Anyways, talking to my colleague, and was thinking of wearing one of my running skirts and she was like-”just pin on a number and you can be a runner-easy and cheap idea for a costume.”

And you know what? She’s right.

So…I am coming to you, my readers, to help me complete my outfit. I was thinking running skirt (most likely one of the ones from runningskirts.com)…maybe with thigh-high socks? What kind of top? Anything else that comes to mind? (And before any of you men say it-no jogbra.*)

*EDIT-what I meant there was don’t tell me to wear just a jogbra. And inspired by the smartass comments I have received so far…don’t tell me to go topless either :-p

and now, for the running fashion portion…

it’s crazy, with fall fashions out in the stores now and I buy more running clothes than street clothes. I guess that shows where my priorities are

But I tried out an awesome new find yesterday…I was quite annoyed during a long run last weekend when my trusty RaceReady shorts (the ones I wore in the marathon, no less!) kept riding up and chafing the hell outta me.

While doing some shopping, I noted another style of RaceReady shorts that I hadn’t really seen/considered before…I tried them out and wouldn’t you know it, no chafing, no riding up!! (And they actually don’t look half bad on me either…I usually try to shy away from tight shorts like those.)

And I’m about to test out a new running skirt…stay tuned, I will be writing my own running skirt roundup shortly

skirtsports may have missed the boat with this one

Don’t get me wrong, I love all my SkirtSports running skirts…as I’m sure you all know

However, I’m not too crazy about their attempt at a winter running skirt…

I dunno, I just think all pink on the bottom is not the most flattering thing (even though there is an all-black version)…and I’m not too crazy about the pants style either

The coordinating top is pretty nice though…don’t think it’s worth the price though!!

she runs san francisco

The title is quite fitting-took it from the slogan on a tank top that I got at the Running Divas booth at the expo…

Anyway, I will start this race report off by the numbers…

1:49:21, 8:20 pace

Splits:
mile 1-8:01
mile 2-8:37
mile 3-8:47
miles 4-5.9-24:19 (8:23 avg)
mile 5.9-6.9-8:07
mile 6.9-7.9-7:43
mile 7.9-8.9-8:22
miles 8.9-10.9-16:40 (8:20 avg)
mile 10.9-11.9-8:45
mile 11.9-12.9-8:13
mile 12.9-13.1-1:47 (8:31 avg)

And now the report:

The day started for me around 4:30 am…thank god I was still on New York time and I got to sleep early the night before!! And learning from some other bloggers’ reports on the road, I made sure to bring bagels and PB with me, not knowing if I could find them so early in the morning. I then went outside to do a weather check…

…OK, I broke a cardinal rule of “nothing new on race day.” I wore my new Flyers fitted top (however, I have 2 other tanks of the same style, so I knew it’d be no problem…however, it seemed a little too chilly to wear the running skirt I wanted (as the material was a little too thin) so I chose my brand-new black RollerGirl skirt. However, as it turned out, the ensemble could not have worked better.

Around 6:15, I met up with my Flyer teammate JM at a nearby Starbucks and got my caffeine fix before waiting for our other 3 teammates. After a few minutes, teammates MD, NH and UH showed up and we all started walking to where the buses were that would take us to the start line in Golden Gate Park. I have to say, the whole process went smoothly. There wasn’t much of a wait for the buses, and once we got on, the seats were relatively comfortable, there was a restroom on the bus (obviously these guys took a cue from the Flyers when it came to traveling in style!)

We arrived to the start area in plenty of time, though the restroom lines were quite long. Was ok, we all just chatted, made other final race preps, tried to stay warm (the weather was cool, misty and cloudy…which I knew would make for absolutely perfect race weather!!) took camera-phone pics…finally, checked our stuff and headed for the start. Both halfs and the full marathon had wave starts-we all started in the 2nd wave, which would be 5 minutes after the first. The start had very little fanfare…didnt even hear a starting horn, all of a sudden, there were people moving forward and its like “oh crap, we’re actually starting!!”

The first mile was a combination of adrenaline, a slightly downhill start, and “SexyBack” on the iPod. I was warned about the hills, and sure enough, the next coupla miles humbled me a bit.

Despite the hills, Golden Gate Park is a very pretty place to run…actually reminded me a little bit more of running Prospect Park in the Brooklyn Half (as opposed to my home base, Central Park.)

One very minor complaint about the half-starting with mile 3.9 for the half, we didn’t have our own mile markers…we had to share with the full (they had regular mile markers, ours were on the .9 mile.) As you can see above, it sorta messed my split capturing up a bit, but it was a little tougher to calculate pace…which might have been a good thing, I could just concentrate on enjoying the race and obsessing less about pace.

Anyway, after about 6 miles of hills in the park, I was ready to get out onto the streets…as nice as the park was, the streets were the best way to see the city!! Mile 7 went through Haight-Ashbury, which was actually my favorite part of the race…was the most lively and festive part to me. And oh yeah, some more favorable terrain. The next mile had an uber-steep downhill…I was so waiting for my quads to rebel, but everything seemed to be working fine still!! Was really enjoying this course.

The next few miles were a little more industrial (not to mention the last killer hill in mile 9…man, I thought we had enough already!!) Even though I had taken in gel, sports drink, etc…I did feel myself fading quite a bit in the late miles…could have been as a result of poor pacing. I felt, in a way, like I did in NYC when trying for sub-4…except this case, I had a shot at sub-1:50, which I wasn’t sure was possible with the terrain of the course. Once I spotted AT&T Park (where I was gonna go later in the day!), I knew there was only a little over a mile to go and tried as hard as I could to step it up. The final stretch, along the Embarcadero, with views of the water, was very nice and the cheering crowds at the end helped motivate me to a strong finish. Yeah!!

Afterwards, got my medal, finisher picture, food and drink (they were much more generous with the drink than the food) and went to claim my bag (this needs work for next year too-not a lot of rhyme or reason when the bags were lined up.)

Great race!! This confirms 2 things I suspected…

1-The half really is my best distance-it’s the one that when I’m trying, I’m the most consistent with. (And was thrilled with this time, given the tough terrain…makes me wonder what I’m capable of with a little less hills)

2-I’m really burned out on racing in Central Park, and a change in scenery was very necessary to get the fire back.

I would definitely do this race again in the future. I would love to do the second half again…or maybe try out the tougher first half? That 5:30 start time is a little tough to swallow though…

changed the name, ain’t the same

believe me, I do respect the fact that the sponsors are quite helpful in making these races happen. But the name change from the “Dash and Splash” to the Naples-New York Park to Park 10K…I dunno, kinda changed the tone a little bit (and I think some people did not catch the pool party afterwards.)

So morning of, still warm but not as bad as the last coupla races I did. I know I didn’t have my “A” game on that day, between only 4 hours sleep and quite a few drinks the night before…

My splits:

8:07 (some idiot crossed the road right in front of me)
8:10 (through the west side hills)
8:00 (down the west side)
8:23 (around the bottom of the park…slowed for water here, it was getting hot!)
8:21 (Trakmaniak was taking pics at the bottom of Cat Hill)
7:56 (another teammate was taking pics by Engineers Gate, but got another back view of me)
1:37 (sprinting to the end, someone saw my clenched fists and told me to open them up…dunno if that helped, but thanks!)

Final time-50:34, 8:09 pace.

You know, I wonder if 10ks are really my distance anymore…I used to like them, but this race I had 2 thoughts: “I wish this was a 5K” (so I can blast it and get it over with) and “I wish this was a half-marathon” (so I can slow down a little!) This definitely wasn’t my best race effort, but if I can maintain this pace for an upcoming half I’d be happy…

The pool part afterwards was quite low-key…only 3 other Flyers besides me showed up, and none of the guys-so looks like a certain pic couldn’t be re-created. Was actually fine with me, as I just wanted to take a quick dip, lay out in the sun to dry off, then head to Urban Athletics to pick up my new fitted Flyers top…don’t it look nice?

And as you can tell from the pictures, I tried out my new MarathonGirl COOLair skirt…worked like a charm!! Was very comfortable, felt like wearing nothing…and a certain shot that our photographer got put my mind at ease, it wasnt too revealing in the back. (And as one of my male teammates who passed me in mile 4 said “I probably would have posted a time that was faster by a minute or so had you not lined up ahead of me…” thanks )

My next Central Park race will be next month’s (thankfully non-crowded) Club Champs…where I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of you bloggers In the meantime, San Francisco, here I come!!

this may give the naked shorts a run for their money

My new MarathonGirl COOLair skirt came in the mail yesterday… (i got this color)

This looks like another one that feels like wearing nothing (and given the ever-so-slightly sheer fabric…may look like wearing nothing too!!) Instead of the silky fabric of the others…this is more of a light, stretchy CoolMax. I think this one will be perfect for those hot and humid days…now I know what I’ll be wearing for Club Champs

On that note, here’s another skirt pic for ya (wearing the “black and smooch” GymGirl.) This one taken last night on the West Side Highway path, as our Monday night downtown group had our inaugural “First Monday” run-to-beer night. After 8 1/2 miles for most (I bailed a little after 5 miles) we re-hydrated at Old Town Bar and Grill. It was fun, little reminiscent of the old run-to-beer Wednesday nights…

Happy 4th (and happy Canada Day to those who celebrate )-doesn’t it seem weird to have the holiday in the middle of the week? Not really a holiday weekend. It’s ok, the upcoming non-holiday weekend is shaping up to be a fun one.

23 days to vacation!!

finally, a running skirt pic

OK, it’s not exactly an action pic…and it catches me stopping my watch…but this is the closest I have to a running pic in the skirt so far…

missing: that extra gear

This past Sunday’s WABC Fight Against Prostate Cancer 5-miler…my 5-mile PR was here 3 years ago, once again, I didn’t even come close. Oh, I can blame a lot of things. The heat, the crowd, tired legs…but reality is, I just wasn’t able to kick it into that extra gear.

Mile-by-mile breakdown…

8:01 (another clusterfuck start…I was lined up by the 6 minute marker and even then I was still passing people who had less business than I did lining up that close)
7:58 (they finally got that mile marker right…haha. Saw a Flyers cheering contingent on the transverse.)
8:33 (sneaky incline mile. Saw Trakmaniak taking pics but he missed me.)
8:07 (damn it’s getting hot…)
8:05 (I still hate that hill at the finish…no matter how many times I run up it!)

Overall 40:44, 8:08 pace.

To explain-I’m really not upset about this race. And before anyone says it-I know I am lucky to be able to race (especially since too many people I know are on the DL.) But I look back at my races from 2004 and compare them to now…I mean, if I was able to average 7:45s for 5 miles in 75 degree weather, why can’t I do that again? Looks like my racing style has changed…I used to go out quite aggressive at the start, now I’m a little more conservative. Not sure if being injured forced that change, or something else…but seriously, I feel like I am missing that little something extra, to kick it into that extra gear on race day. And it seems like all the speedwork in the world isn’t gonna bring it back…

Or-I really, really think I’m burnt out on racing in Central Park. How many times have we done park loops? Not surprising, my best race experience so far this year was the Wall Street Run. Coincidence? I think not…

Well racing-wise…looks like I am only gonna frequent Central Park for the Dash and Splash (I can’t ever think of it as anything else, and yes that is me in the picture on the front of NYRR’s website)-only for pool access afterwards-will be a game day decision as to whether or not I race it…and the Club Champs…that one is a must-do for me. Do have a coupla halfs on the tentative schedule…both outside of Central Park, thankfully.

In another note-I wore my MarathonGirl skirt for the first time in a race, and it won’t be the last time. It felt much more comfortable than I thought it would!! I think I may need to get another in that style or similar…I liked not having to mess with shorts! (yes guys-I’ll post an action pic if Brightroom got one…unfortunately a certain someone missed me in the crowd :-p )

sampling the goods

3 easy miles today, and got to use a couple of my recent purchases…

• Started the new white/purple pair of the Cumuluses into the rotation. Love that bouncy new-shoe feel. Here’s a question I’m throwing out to the crowd. What’s the minimum amount of mileage you’d recommend on a pair of shoes that I’d be running the marathon in? (obviously, it’s a model that I’ve worn before, and I will be doing at least one long run in them.)
• My new MarathonGirl skirt. I actually like running in this one better than the GymGirl! Was afraid of chafing, but applying BodyGlide beforehand took care of that Was actually very comfortable, nothing too revealing…what a difference proper sizing makes. And comes with a pocket on the side to keep keys/ID/money. (For those in the NYC area who don’t want to buy online, they sell the skirts now at the Running Company in the Time Warner Center-but limited selection, I only saw the Marathon Girl skirts in Black and Blue Hawaii.)
• oh and speaking of goods, 72nd street between Columbus and Amsterdam can be so deliciously tempting. Buttercup Bake Shop (best.cupcakes.ever.) on the north side of the street. Cold Stone Creamery on the south side of the street. Yum. And simultaneously, yikes!!

34 miles on tap for this week. the build-up continues…

now playing: “you give me something (full intention mix)” ~ jamiroquai