and just like that, it’s taper time again

Yeah, was it really only a few months ago that I was tapering for some other race?  Where does the time even go?  I guess I have the mild winter to thank, as I was afraid it would drag on forever, hasn’t really been the case.

So since I was lagging in talking about training, here are the last few weeks in summary form:

• 2/20-2/26: ok week, ended with my first 20 miler of the cycle.  Pretty much averaged 9 on the dot for that one
• 2/27-3/4: sort of a crap week.  My Monday run the day after my 20 was a disaster, as my legs were dragging and therefore got dropped by the group I was running with not even one mile in.  I even had to cut my run short and stop after 3 miles.  Had an encouraging tempo workout a few days later, but the 16-mile long run didn’t go well.  Felt slow the entire time, had to make a pit stop after 12 miles, and really struggled for the last 2 miles.  Was seriously questioning after this one if I really deserved to run Boston…
• 3/5-3/11: Ok track workout, struggled on some repetitions later in the week.  My second 20-miler was this weekend…maybe not ideal timing with the NYC Half the week after, but I had to get it in.  I just purposely held back a lot with the pace and I think it went OK
• 3/12-3/18: NYC Half week!  Read all about it
• 3/19-3/25: Highest mileage week, last 20-miler.  I braved the Palisades for that run, figuring I needed the hill training.  I had run it twice before-in 2006 and 2007 but this would be the first time with the Garmin.  And I’m telling you, having the info is very interesting.  Though I pretty much averaged around 9:30-9:40 for the run, the mile with the crazy evil hill took me 11 minutes-and no, I wasn’t walking.  It was a nice run though-even though I had to do it solo (due to having to get an early start and of course, being too damn slow) I didn’t need the iPod once.  Though damn, my quads and butt were still feeling this a day or 2 later…

This week?  Cutting down the long run, still keeping the speed for now to try and keep things sharp.

And I got this nice little treat in the mail last weekend!

It’s when you get the official documents and the bib number, it starts to feel real

And I really like my bib #-17764.  Number one, two lucky 7′s, 6+4=perfect 10!   As for corral placement, I made it into wave 2, but the last corral.  (And no, I am not complaining about being in wave 2…unlike this lovely occurrence. )  I actually like this placement-I think I’m better off being at the back of wave 2 instead of the front of wave 3.  I’ve been warned about how overzealous Boston newbies go out too fast in the beginning, and I figure having others in front of me will sort of prevent that.  Also, this isn’t like NYCM with their stupid “honor system” that lets 5 hour marathoners into wave 1-this is seeding by actual time, so there most likely will be other 3:40-3:43 types around me.

17 days to go!  Only a few more days before the weather obsessions can begin again!

race day approaches!!

Less than 24 hours to go.  In fact, if all goes according to plan, this time tomorrow I will be well into the last 10K of the race…

So the 1st half of the week just wrapping up things at the office for the next few days…and being told by co-workers that I should try and “win” on Sunday so that I could buy our department so we don’t have to work anymore.  LOL.

Then starts what I feel is the best 4-day weekend of the year!!  Starting off on Thursday at the expo…and getting my bib #…thats when it starts to feel real!!

And yes, I know I mentioned a month or so ago that I had gotten assigned originally to wave 2 blue…but thanks to my Philly Half time, I got the NYCM version of the “judges save” and re-assigned to the Local Competitive Start!!  I’m definitely excited about this experience.  I don’t even mind being in green on the lower level…I’ve been orange once and blue once, might as well come full circle no?   In terms of race day, I know I will really have to rein it in at the start-there are definitely gonna be faster peeps around me, I’m just gonna have to let them go and not get too caught up…run my own race!!

And whether the number is low or high, I always like looking for meaning in my race #’s.  And I’m really liking this one!!  744=7+44=the numbers of Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson-2 Yankee greats!!  How can that not bring me luck?

As for the expo, was pretty status quo for NYC.  Didn’t stop me from indulging in some running-related loot…hey, the expo is a candy store for runners.  Most excited about my new Sparkly Soul headbands-I wore a thin silver one on my last run yesterday and the thick hot pink one will be running with me tomorrow-definitely will be reviews to come   One notable abscence at the expo was Nike-now that was big!  I usually get my post-race shirt at the Nike booth…yep, that’s a superstition of mine.  I have to get a shirt that I plan to wear to a post-race party.  Only time I didn’t was MCM…and you know what happened there   Anyway, this time around Saucony or Asics will represent my post-race attire.

Thursday nite was the Flyers’ pasta party!  Change of pace for the venue this year, instead of Sambuca on the UWS where it had been been for the past 5 years-it was at a midtown venue this time-Trattoria Dopo Teatro.  Gotta love that it was within walking distance.  Though I never minded taking the subway to the UWS.  Anyway, once again, food and company were great, and we were treated to a great and inspirational presentation by Bart Yasso!!  He autographed a copy of his book for me (which I’m really looking forward to reading, if his presentation was only a sneak preview!)

"never limit where running can take you"

Yesterday was my last run before the big day…did the last 2.2 miles of the course, and even brought my camera to capture things like the mile markers, route banners, finish line.  Then got my pre-race mani/pedi-Watermelon for the fingers, Borrowed and Blue for the toes, both by Essie.  That’s what I’ve been wearing since the summer for races…and if it ain’t broke   Today is just carbo-loading, chilling, staying off the feet.

As for tomorrow…honestly, I’ve never been this calm before a marathon.  Coach T has truly been a miracle worker with me this year!  And even though the poll results says otherwise…I’m gonna go for 3:35 tomorrow.  I’ll know early enough if it’s gonna be doable or not (I’ve had pretty good judgement of that in the past!) and can adjust but as of right now, that’s the plan.  Thankfully the weather gods are smiling on us again!

So thanks to everyone who’s read along and supported me the last 4 months and more…and that’s all she wrote til I cross the finish line at Tavern on the Green tomorrow!!  Good luck to everyone else running tomorrow!!

see you tomorrow!

my taper madness list, 2011 edition

So last time I poked fun at taper madness was the last time I ran NYCM, 3 years ago…

And the last coupla days, I came up with my laundry list of Things to Freak Out About During the Last Week of the Taper.

1. The weather for Sunday.  Duh.
2. Making sure I don’t catch whatever illness is going around at the office.  Or wherever else, for that matter.
3. Avoiding any and all soccer balls during my last workout at the track (just did some 200s tonite to get some turnover going without it being too much)
4. Idiot bikers who don’t obey red lights and come close to hitting me
5. The Occupy Wall Street peeps possibly “occupying” the marathon
6. Injuring myself from running into idiots in Chelsea Market who have to stop short and take pictures of the disturbing Halloween displays
7. Injuring myself from running into idiots in Time Square while walking to the subway
8. MTA fails on race day
9. Oh and last but not least…the weather!

And yep, I think the Weather Channel was sick of my hitting refresh yesterday, as they decided to give me the forecast in Spanish!

¡Dios mío!

OK back to taper madness!

week 17 wrap-up

ahhhhhhh!!!!! it’s now race week!!!  when did this happen???

So of course, taper week 2 is not without being packed with excitement…yeah if you can call it that.

So track was 8 x 400…no more 1000′s or 1200′s, just short stuff from there on in.  I hit my usual 1:35-1:36 with a 1:34 thrown in there….so while the workout was status quo, of course drama has to come from the loose soccer balls, which one unfortunately nabbed me in the shin-thank God I had my compression sox on!!

Wednesday I knew I had to get my recovery run done in the AM, as between an all-company meeting and the annual celebration of Oktoberfest at work, I knew it was gonna be a wasted day, no pun intended, and that no workout was gonna happen after work.  Sure enough, after sampling all 4 of the CFO’s varieties of home brew I hit the bar afterwards with some other colleagues…yep that was a late nite.

Thursday nite was cold and very rainy.  Cold I can deal with…but no need to be a weather hero so close to game time.  So I bailed on that nite’s workout in favor of some much-needed rest.

As for the weekend…did anyone imagine that it would snow in October?  Yeah, when I saw the forecast a coupla days out I didn’t believe it.  I mean, I didn’t see a low of 32 degrees or lower anywhere.  Boy we were in for a surprise on Saturday!!  My original plan to do a short run including the 5th Ave hill was scrapped in favor of the dreadmill and a yoga class.  On the topic of the dreadmill, I’m finding I actually don’t mind the Woodway brand too much…there’s usually 1 or 2 at the NYSC locations, so if I absolutely have to resort to the dreadmill, I hit up one of those!

So as Central Park was closed for part of yesterday, I hit up the West Side path for my last long run-8 miles with 7 @ MP.  The conditions on the path, post-snowstorm were pretty good.  It wasn’t too cold (I was actually wearing shorts!) though it was pretty windy-the big downside to running along the water, as it meant running into headwinds…and I’m sure you can tell which were the headwind miles.

Running into the wind, those first coupla miles were slower than I wanted.  And even though overall I hit the time, of course I couldn’t help but panic that if it is windy on Sunday, then I am screwed…

Oh yeah how does that weather look?  I know there’s time for it to change, but…

Actually-a little warmer than I would like (ideal for me would be in the 40′s) but compared to this past weekend-I’ll take it!!

week 16 wrap-up

One week of taper down.  2 to go.

Sunday was the “last 10 miles” run.  Which was good, I needed to revisit 5th Avenue.  And given that the portion in the Bronx changed since I ran the race last, would be a good idea to check that out as well and make mental notes.

So no need to take a cab this time, I was supposed to get in 12-14 miles so running to the meetup spot from midtown was a perfect warmup.  A big crowd was assembled, not quite the 500 from last week but still a decent size.  We separated into pace groups…I was 9 minutes…duh   And set off.

Once again, I tried to make notes of hills (one i specifically seemed to take note of was up to 86th)…hmmm not as bad as I remembered though.  Almost made a wrong turn in Da Bronx at that 3 way intersection but got back on track   There’s gonna be a coupla really quick turns around 140th….tangents, anyone?

The first mile was right on the money at 8:57, but afterwards I noticed others were starting to push the pace a bit and I was falling behind.  Was barely hanging in there, thank god for the intersections to regroup.  Even when we got back to Manhattan, I didn’t want to push it, as I had to save something for 5th Avenue.  And unfortunately, that was where I really got dropped.  So frustrating.  I had to do under 8:40 at that point and yet I couldn’t stick with everyone.  (remember, this was supposed to be the 9:00 group…)  At that point it was just like “get to the park, and get this done without embarrassing myself further.”

And overall was definitely quicker than I wanted, the 10 turned out to average 8:39 pace.  So much for just doing 9′s and cruising through it.  But the frustrating part was not being able to stick with the group when they were going faster, especially since most were people I should be able to stick with in workouts or races, if not finish ahead of.  The only way I could have stuck with them was if I turned it into a race effort, as is I was at the very edge of my comfort zone.  How will I ever run a faster pace in 2 weeks if I can’t do it now?  Thankfully Coach T was amongst those waiting for everyone at the finish, as I definitely had to vent…

I really hope this run was just a fluke, but who knows?  One more chance to run MP next weekend and I really hope I nail it.  And hope the legs get with the program next time I have to run 5th Avenue…

And the 15-day forecast for November 6th is out.  Let the weather obsessions begin!

week 15 wrap-up

3 weeks to go! And you know what that means…

Hey on the topic, might as well throw in some MC Hammer for your listening pleasure…

Getting back to business.  Yep, this was not an easy week at all.  Even 2 days later, I was still feeling my race, but me and my compression socks sucked it up through a set of 4×1000′s.  There was an option to add on another 800 at the end, but Coach T said for me it wasn’t optional.  meaning he was saving me from myself and cutting me off after the 1000′s.

I was supposed to hit 4:10′s…got there eventually

Interval	Time	Pace
1000m	4:11.64	6:44.98
1000m	4:11.10	6:44.11
1000m	4:12.32	6:46.07
1000m	4:10.82	6:43.66

Thursday was hills, then Sunday was the last 20-miler-the “3 Bridges Run Redux.”  Once again, I’d be leading the “niners.”  Difference this time was a much earlier wake-up call!!  As this run brought around 500 people, it had to be split up into multiple waves as opposed to the 3 waves of 2 weeks ago.  What does that mean for me?  The 9 minute group would be departing for run at 6:45.  AM.  Yes you read that right.  The sun was barely up when we left.  But hey, it means we’d get back earlier to shop at JackRabbit (the run meeting place), right?   (and definitely was fortuitous that this run left from the west side JR!  meaning no transfers, no MTA fails!)

So anyway, we were blessed with another nice day, albeit a little windy, especially in the early miles on the West Side Highway.  Mental note-if it’s windy on race day, draft off of someone taller   I was the sole leader for the group this time around, though pretty much everyone stuck together and a couple others helped me at times.  Another great group to work with!  The pacing went well as usual-only miles that were slower were the headwind and bridge miles, and not by much.  In fact, at the water station at the 10.5 mile point in Brooklyn, Flyer PN who was manning the station with his wife said that my group was within a minute or 2 of the expected arrival time.  whoa.  how good is that?   We hit a bit of traffic in the park, as there was some huge walk going on that was taking up almost the entire 72nd street transverse and the east drive.  Found a clearing and crossed in order to hit the Great Lawn and get over to the west side and back to where we started…though we did have to do a little bit extra around the block to get exactly to 20 miles!   But we were DONE!!

And the splits:

Mile 2 had the major headwind…and I’m sure you can tell where the bridges were   But all in all, not bad.

Sooo afterwards I did some shopping…yep I had quite a bit of $$ to spend at JR, since I got gift cards for pacing both 3 Bridges runs and my baby brother got me a gift card for my B-day too.  I’ll eventually reveal what I got, but I will say that Mr. Garmin took FOREVER to get a signal before the run.  He must have known it would be his last outing or something   (and it was a good thing my group was one of the first to finish-no lines!!  By the time the later groups finished, the lines were insane!)  And I hit up 16 Handles because of course, it’s never too early for 16 Handles.  Even at 11 AM.  Especially after running 20 miles

Thankfully not really sore today…compression socks FTW!!  I think the hot pink CEP’s are gonna be part of the marathon outfit again   Did get a much-needed massage today for good measure!!  And for the next 3 weeks?  It’s all about staying uninjured and hoping to not catch whatever is going around in my office.  Let the taper madness begin!

go away, taper monster

Always some unwelcome creature around during the taper, particularly the last week.  For some it’s a cute little worm.  For me it’s a monster.  Or so it seems.

Cut mileage?  Don’t have to ask me twice.  Cut back on the booze?  Doesn’t hurt at all, especially considering I felt like crap the day after my birthday.  Time spent not running means I don’t have to resort to the DVR for Dancing With the Stars?  oh yeah.  (Anyone think that The Situation is going to be this season’s version of Kate Gosselin?)

But what the monster does is make me read forums and Facebook pages and other discussion about the weather on 10-10-10 and how it’s warmer than ideal.  And seeing things like “you’re screwed if it’s warm, might as well pick another marathon now if you’re going for a time goal” or “well the weather forecast changed 3 days out in 2007 and 2008…it got hotter” doesn’t exactly make me feel much better.

I guess I wouldn’t be so stressed out about it if it weren’t for the fact that I do get affected by the heat, moreso than others it seems.  And there’s evidence to back that up-as recently as the New Haven 20K and of course I can’t forget my infamous choke job at the 2008 Mini 10K.  Not to mention in both the 2006 and 2008 NYC Marathons, I went with a sleeveless top and shorts and felt comfortable while a lot of others had long sleeves and/or tights on.

History is not on my side, but I wonder if there is any hope of rewriting the history books on Sunday.  As I know there are a lot of you out there who do race well in the heat-is there anything else I could do to salvage my race besides the obvious (e.g.,  staying hydrated)?

212 to 312…homestretch time!!

Less than a week.  It’s awwwn.  This post title is inspired by the free beer we will get after the race (Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale.)  I didn’t get any free beer after last year so I need to finish in enough time to get it this year!!

This weekend brought probably the best running weather in months to the Tri-State Area.  Almost a shame that I am tapering and can’t take full advantage of it, but it is what it is.  Though I agree with Lam’s thinking: “Anyone know of a way to bag this weather and bring it to Chicago next weekend?”  So Saturday brought Grete’s Great Gallop half (and the uber-short Norway Run)…and even though this was a club points race, figured it wouldn’t be the best idea for me to run it, even as a long run.  As for the shorter race, even though it could be an easy qualifier (and I already have 8 so far this year!)…still not worth it.  So I decided to run a few miles in the park and play the cheerleader role once again.  Since it was actually short-sleeve weather, I decided to wear my Flyer shirt with the “Fall Four” on the back as it had Chicago on it.  (of course, it also has that evil marathon that shall not be named.)

The back view:

And the front view:

So 4 miles done, a little cheering, a little chatting with friends near the finish festival.  It seemed that for a points race, that attendance was a little down, but I know there were several factors going on: marathons this weekend, an organized 20-miler the next day, people tapering for marathons next weekend, a big tri (half-ironman, i think) on Long Island this weekend.  Even though I’m on a team, my belief is that you can’t let NYRR determine what your goal races for the year should be…anyways, nothing I haven’t already said before    Later that nite was a pre-long run carbo-loading session/pre-Chitown pre-game dinner type thing with Bridges Runner…and actually on her side of the East River.  I so love living in midtown and having so many more subway options and just being in the center of everything

This morning was the Flyers’ annual 3 Bridges 20-mile run.  If you remember correctly, I was a paceleader for this run both in 2008 and 2009.  However, the timing of the run didn’t mesh with my schedule this year, being one week before Chi-town (and the 2nd one being the week after!)  However, I did want to take advantage of part of the route.  So my plan was to meet up with the group around Chelsea Piers, and then run with them til the Queens side of the Pulaski Bridge, to give me 9-10 miles.  So I kinda did some mental math to figure out when peeps my pace would be passing by Chelsea Piers (around the 5 mile point)…seemed that I was kinda early, thank god I could wait inside as it was quite chilly!!  Finally I saw one group go by (the 8:30s) so I waited around for a group more my pace.  Finally a group that I thought was the 9:30s came by and I hopped in as I saw a few of my friends (who did confirm that they did get off to a late start.)  Actually this group was the 10s, as they left ahead of the 9:30s since that group wasn’t ready to go on time…but honestly it was ok with me, I’d rather socialize and no reason to push the pace so close to the game   The run actually went by really quickly, before I knew it I was in Queens, 9 1/2 miles down.  I said goodbye and hit the 7 train-was back in midtown in no time!!  Definitely worked out well for me…much better than schlepping up to the UES early in the morning (as the run started at 7 am.)  Earned the right to spend the day being lazy and watching the Jets (yay!) and the Yanks (bring on the postseason!)

And in taper madness news, I think I need to stay away from the Chicago Marathon forum on the RunnersWorld site.  Not only is there a weather watch thread, but also a thread where people are discussing how warm it needs to be before one would decide not to run the race.  Arrghh…are peeps already predicting this will be a repeat of 2007??  Of course, like a trainwreck I will still look at it…

So on tap for this week-a coupla short runs (possibly having to dreadmill it, boo) and keeping the taper madness contained.  Then off to Chi-town on Friday…

t-minus 9 days and counting

Yikes.  The countdown to race day is now in the single digits.  And I will actually be in Chicago exactly one week from now.  When did this happen?

So taper week #2 almost comes to a close.  Unlike Lam (don’t worry Lam-we can definitely agree to disagree! ) I’m actually not minding the taper too much.  The way I see it, my legs worked hard for 3 1/2 months and need this time to bounce back in time for race day…as was shown this summer, racing on tired legs does not lead to optimal race performances!

And one last week of speedy workouts.  Thankfully cutting mileage means that there is no need to pad my mileage before/after workouts!!  Tuesday-thankfully the predicted tornado didn’t show up, so that meant lower loops at MP/tempo were on…

	Time	Distance	Pace
MP loop 1	14:14	1.73	8:13
MP loop 2	13:52	1.72	8:03
tempo loop	13:21	1.73	7:42

I was happy with the MP loops, the tempo loop felt a little sluggish but I wasn’t too worried about that (especially conisdering the humidity that nite!)  Coach DC even said during the second MP loop that I could just do the 3rd at MP if I wanted…decided to play it by ear.  My group was going a little fast but I let them go…told DC that I wanted to stick to my own pace, that “my marathon pace is not their marathon pace” (they were probably doing sub-8s, if not a little faster)  Just like race day…especially in the early miles, run my own race-not someone else’s!!

Wednesday I learned maybe it was not the best thing that I was slacking on the yoga front…as my flexibility had definitely lessened.  Unfortunately during the month of August, when I was dealing with moving stuff, something had to give…and it couldn’t be running!!  And then September was just a jam-packed month, dealing with peak mileage…but my body definitely appreciated some good stretching.  And I was able to sorta multitask-instead of taking the subway uptown, just ran up there instead!!  Once again, luckily the forecasted rain held off…

Thursday was to be my last hard workout, and given that the forecast was saying 90-100% chance of rain, I thought I’d have to be doing it on the dreadmill indoors.  But somehow that chance of rain lessened to 10-20% (with the higher percentages not til I’d be home lounging on the couch)…so to Urban I went, to do some 600m intervals…

Interval	Time	Distance	Pace
1	2:30	0.37	6:43
2	2:31	0.38	6:40
3	2:34	0.38	6:41
4	2:28	0.38	6:33

My group was supposed to do between 4 and 6 of them, but I cut myself off at 4-that was really all I felt I needed.  Was just glad to get it in before any rain…though once again the humidity was killer-I probably looked like I was caught in a rainstorm after the workout!  And afterwards I succumbed (sp?) to the lure of a nicely chilled glass of Riesling…so much for limiting my alcohol consumption!!  (though I only did have one glass.  And that was the first drink i have had since Sunday-as a matter of fact, I passed on drinks after the workout Tuesday nite because I needed rest and wasn’t in the mood to drink.)

So that’s it-the hard work is done…nothing but easy stuff til 10-10-10… (and I’m not obsessing about the weather yet.  Too soon!)

F34 day

Well I guess you could tell from my Chi-town confirmation ticket that I was gonna be aging up between then and race day. Well that happened this past weekend, Sunday to be exact!! (and on a sort of related note-congrats to Kara Goucher on the birth of her baby son this past Saturday!! Was sorta hoping she’d hold out one more day so he could share my bday…but i’m sure it was Sept 26th somewhere right? )

So it was a nice bday weekend, started off with 13 miles and change on Saturday morning.  Due to a lot of scheduling conflicts, the Flyers had to have their famed “Bridges and Arches Run” in September instead of in June/July.  I wasn’t able to do the full run (as I had to head to Devachan for my bday/pre-marathon haircut!) but I decided to frontload (btw-whoever that was on the 102nd street transverse who said to me “love your blog”-thank you! ), do 5 miles of the run and then run home.  And that worked out pretty well, except my legs felt like crap for the last mile and I knew it was a familiar fueling issue.  Ya see, it was unseasonably hot this past Saturday and I didn’t take any sports drink…my body needed the electrolytes.  Felt much better after downing a glass of chocolate milk (for recovery) and a glass of Gatorade too.  No time to waste though, had to hurry off to my haircut, then bday dinner with la familia!!

 So for the second year in a row, the Fifth Avenue Mile was on my bday (only cuz they moved it from Saturday to Sunday this year )  After a short run, I got to watch some great races-partially thanks to the streaming video on a JumboTron near the finish.  And I got to watch fellow blogger Kevin in an epic battle for the 40-49 age group…I’ll refrain from the rest as I’m sure he wants to tell the story   But it was good to finally meet him after his race, after months of commenting on each others blogs   Saw some Flyers and other friends and chatted to kill time til the pro races.  While watching the local elite races on the JumboTron it looked like there was some kind of tape delay…we could see the finish line clock from our vantage point and we’d see the runners at the half-mile point and think that the time on the clock was too slow!  And as for the pro races, the women’s race was awesome…I was really hoping Erin Donohue would have won but damn…so close!!  The men’s race proved to be exciting too-however I had to hit the subway as soon as I saw the winner hit the tape, as I had to get home and cleaned up for the rest of the day!

And it was…a Sunday Funday at the Boat Basin!!  (nope, not the Boat House!!  wrong side of town…hehe.)  Friends, fun and yummy beverages

bday girl rocking the hot pink and one of many strawberry-flavored beverages

Was a good time, though I definitely was paying for it Monday morning…another year older, none the wise I guess!!  But that will be the last time really tying one on til the afternoon of 10-10-10!  And as for that-no real taper madness yet except trying to escape this cold that everyone in my office seems to have.  I’ve stocked up on Emergen-C, Zicam and Halls Vitamin C drops.  (OK, guess that counts as taper madness!)

As for the weather?  Actually not worrying about it yet.  For one thing, it’s a few days too early.  And as last year showed…even when it’s the most perfect weather, doesn’t mean it will be my day.  Though something amusing in the “shit my dad says” category-my dad saying that “the weather will definitely be cool in Chicago around that time.”  There is concrete evidence to the contrary, known as the 2007 Chicago “Fun Run”, not to mention the 2008 race!  (But hey, he also couldn’t seem to grasp why “The Situation” is called The Situation, despite several attempts on mine and my brother’s part to explain it.)

OK, back to tapering!

“beat your bib”

so this was a fun little game that I saw people playing on the Runner’s World forums (in both the NYCM and Chicago Marathon forums)…figured I’d play too

Pretty much check out what your bib number ran in previous years.

So here goes.  Bib #4927 ran the following…

2009-48-year old Canadian woman ran 4:18:52…after hitting 2:04:25 at the half.  (ok, I think I can beat that one.)

2008-50-year old Canadian man ran 4:04:17…went through the half in 1:48:44 and looks like the heat got to him (2 years in a row that a Canadian had my number?  funny.)

2007-wow not only did the 32-year old French guy finish the infamous “Fun Run”, but pretty damn fast-2:54:29!  Don’t think I will be beating that one.  (my only question-how come this guy didn’t have a lower bib #?)

2006-now we’re back in the good old USA…and this 31-year old woman seemed to run a very similar race to my 2008 NYCM!  3:44:34, after going through the half in 1:50:42.  (I ran 3:44:14, and my half split was 1:50:43!  freaky.)

2005-a 27-year old woman ran 3:34:11, hit halfway in 1:41:18 (I wouldn’t mind beating that, though go out a little slower in the first half.)

2004-either no one ran with my number, or didn’t finish.

2003-very similar to 2005… 22-year old woman (looks like an Illinois local!) ran 3:38:01, hit halfway in 1:40:57…last 10K took almost an hour (ouch.)

2002 and 2001-again, no one.  guess it’s time to stop playing

 OK, that was fun!!  Hey I need something to occupy my time while tapering, right?  Couldn’t attend my speed workout this week (though it was probably a good thing to let the legs rest for a week) and the 15-day forecast isn’t up at AccuWeather yet so I can’t obsess about the weather just yet

Thankfully this weekend there looks to be lots occupying my time…and a good chunk of it not even running-related

marathon trumps yankees

Ah, baseball postseason and fall marathon season.  Why must you clash?  Yeah, considering I didn’t have the Yanks to watch in last year’s postseason, I’d be glued to the TV nonstop this time.  Not so…not only did I crash during Friday night’s ALCS Game 1, but I did the same thing during Saturday’s Game 2….now to be fair, it was an extra-innings “marathon” that went into the wee hours of the morning, and I had a run the next morning.  And I was told by a certain someone afterwards that I woulda gotten a scolding had I stayed up for the game…hehe. 

And I did get a mini-lecture of sorts on Sunday from Runner26 for showing up to the ‘last 10 miler” in the cold, rainy weather (well maybe it wasn’t really a “lecture”, but thought I’d throw the teacher reference in.)  OK, maybe running outside was not the smartest thing that day, but I didn’t wanna do 8 miles on the dreadmill and I was honestly OK once we were moving…and I didn’t plan to be standing around in the cold in wet clothes when done with the run-made a beeline to Starbucks, then home for a hot shower and some quality time with the Snuggie.  Anyways, run was good, me and Runner26 ran together for the most part (I cut out after 8 miles) and Lam even joined us for a bit.  Was fun, though we got semi-lost in the Bronx trying to figure out the new course…and wound up running more of the old course.  Didn’t matter so much for me…

And yesterday the game started at 4:15 and of course I was working (though still following along via the Internet)…and by the time I got home and saw an inning or 2 it looked like it was gonna go into extra innings yet again!!  But I had plans to hit the gym to do a yoga class and foam roll the sh*t out of the (sh)IT Band™.  Once again, gotta prioritize and the priority is whats gonna make me feel better on marathon day, right?  And besides-NYSC had the game on all the TVs in the gym anyways…but all the good that did, as the Yanks dropped one to the Halos…

So Game 4 is going on right now and I am watching but multitasking…eating pasta, blogging, doing laundry…plus flipping to Dancing With the Stars during commercial breaks since I wanna see who gets eliminated tonite…I know The Hills and The City will get rerun a million times so I can live without seeing those 2 shows tonite.  But if this one goes into extra innings…sorry pinstripers, I do need to get my beauty sleep

And can it just be race day already?  I’m very antsy and nervous   But thank god, one more day of work and I’m free for a few days…then I can really concentrate on obsessing!!!

pop-ups

No I’m not referring to those annoying things you see when browsing the web that sometimes those gadgets in your browser can’t block.  Or that show on VH1 that would tell everything you ever wanted to know, or didn’t want to know, about your favorite 80′s nostalgia videos.  Or what happens to male runners (or other male athletes, or hell males in general!) when they get, uh, happy and excited, especially if they are wearing tight shorts or pants…hehehehehehehe

I tried to combat taper madness with retail therapy today and was pleasantly surprised that one of my favorite clothing stores, The Limited, which unfortunately I can only shop at online or when I am in NJ visiting the fam, had a temporary “pop-up” store in Soho through today.  And the retail mission was successful as once again, I got my dress for the next Flyers awards gala well in advance   That was easy!  Now the real tough part will be making sure it will still fit in 3 months!!

So it’s Saturday nite and I’m blogging.  I know I desperately need a life.  Well I’m not drinking right now, so I’ll need another 9 days before I can get that back.  Plus I just want to chill and watch the Yanks hopefully clip the Angels’ wings for a 2nd night in a row   (well…even though I crashed before the end of the game last nite.)  Plus I have my last “long run” on tap early tomorrow.  The Flyers are running their annual “last 10 miler” and I plan to join them for 8 of those miles.  Here’s hoping the weather isn’t too too bad…

Oh yeah and an update on that other thang.  Had my first PT session on Thursday, and the therapist’s assessment was that I was actually still pretty strong and just needed some fine-tuning in the hip area to take the pressure off the (sh)IT Band™.  So had 1 session so far, will have 3 next week, and have some “homework” exercises to do at least once a day if not more (I’ve been doing twice daily…can’t hurt, right?)  Seems like that, plus tapering has been helping.  I even threw an MP mile into my run last nite (7:50?  eek.  On that note, who are the 2 wiseguys who think I am gonna break 3:30?) and for that mile, I totally forgot that there were even any hip or (sh)IT Band™ issues.  As per usual, no probs when I’m running MP…guess that means I will need to run marathon pace for 26.2 miles then!!  hehe…OK that was bad!  But hey, I haven’t totally lost my sense of humor during this taper!!

taper madness continues

OK, so did give in and check out the weather forecast.  It looks perfect for now…thank god one thing is going right!!

So yesterday I go to my sports doc to get my (sh)IT Band™ checked out.  Turns out it’s not really so much a knee problem than it is a hip flexor problem that was putting stress on the (sh)IT Band™…not as much overuse as it is bad biomechanics (?)  Surprised since I thought my right side was my stronger side (both my previous injuries were in the left leg)…but in yoga classes when we do poses like pigeon and lotus that stretch out the hips, I do feel it more on the right than left, so it does make sense that there is something there.

So the doc sent me home with some anti-inflammatories to take down the pain and a prescription for PT-getting in 2-3, preferably 4 sessions before the marathon…yes, he said this is fixable and I can still run the marathon.  And my first session was supposed to be today, but the receptionist wrote it in their book for tomorrow instead of today.  And of course taper madness me flips out, I mean I can’t leave work early 2 days in a row!!  So unfortunately I have to go mad early like before work tomorrow…but it’s just like I want this thing starting to be taken care of already!  Not much time left…

On top of all this, I feel fat from the reduced mileage and from the eating more/carbo-loading.  Especially since I was bad today and had to indulge in the warm chocolate souffle for dessert when out to lunch for coworker’s b-day (and it wasnt even as good as it had been previous times!)  I did resist the wine though, even though try having a bottle of sauvignon blanc sitting right in front of you, taunting you!!  Sigh.  I really need to work out tonight.  I feel like I’m having a Kelly Taylor moment or something.

the last dozen

So yesterday marked the last double-digit run til the big day…which was actually a repeat of the NYF Bridges Run that we did last month!!  But no need for me to do the full 20 so the perfect solution…meet up with the group at the downtown Urban Athletics store (which was the first water stop anyways) and run the last 12 miles!  And so I did.

Was well carbo-loaded thanks to a belated b-day dinner the nite before…and was nice and relaxed thanks to some, well, “relaxing” that nite too   So Sunday morning, go through usual pre-run routine, calculate what time the 9:30s will get to UA…leave myself enough time to get there.  Or so I thought.  Even though almost every single subway line had weekend service changes, thankfully the changes to the C would work for me…still stopped up by me, but went express from 59th to Canal St.  Perfect-best of both worlds there…uh, no.  We’re stopped for a few minutes just before 42nd st…”door problems” on a train in the station.  And finally we’re moving again…til the train stops again just before 14th st…this time “mechanical problems” on a train in the station.  It’s always something!!  We finally did get moving and made it down to Chambers St without any more “stops” but still left me freaking out about whether or not I will make it in time.  As always, gotta love the MTA…

And also gotta love that I have no sense of where the hell I am when I’m downtown (yeah, I seem to have this problem south of 14th St)…so I get out of the subway and not sure which way to go…I eventually figure it out but then I am afraid I am cutting it really close.  Well turned out no need to worry…only the 8′s and 8:30s were there so I was in time.  And soon the 9′s came along…which at first I was pondering joining them but they said they were going faster than 9′s so NEXT!!  Finally, my 9:30 peeps arrived…waited a few minutes for them to utilize the water stop, then we were off!

So yeah, familiar route, done it before…was really a pretty drama-free run.  Unlike last time, I didn’t have to consult the maps when we got to Brooklyn   And there was no losing PowerGels, no ObsceneCam™ taking pictures…thankfully no crazy bikers threatening to knock me down   And before I knew it, we were making the turn onto Madison Ave to finish up at the uptown Urban Athletics store.  A dozen miles, the last double-digit run-done!!  Stayed around to chat some people up   then me and Runner26, as per usual took the M96 back to the west side…during that time we chatted about lotsa things…like all of you   Then usual SBux, shower, nap, ice…not so usual (ok maybe usual) being lazy and watching the baseball playoffs…was very entertaining-from the Red Sox game to the Yanks advancing…yep thats why the Yanks are the Yanks!!  Bring on the Angels…though I beg for no 10PM game starts when they are on the west coast!!

On another note, thankfully my cold has been kicked, but keeping with the “shit must hit the fan during the taper” theme, my IT band-or as I will refer to it going forward…my (sh)IT Band™  has been acting up and the mileage reduction did not seem to be helping-though I was stretching, icing and rolling the hell outta it as well.  So I took today off from running in favor of some yoga, foam rolling and more stretching…and I’ll get the (sh)IT Band™ checked out tomorrow so I can sleep better at night.  I am still optimistic-albeit cautiously-that I will be able to run in 2 weeks (encouraging thing is I feel absolutely nothing when I run at MP as opposed to slower speeds)…I’ll be damned if 4 months of hard work is for nothing.  So you see, this is why I’m not freaking out yet about the weather forecast, even though it is up…   First off, it’s way too early…not to mention I got more important things on my mind.  Keep your fingers crossed…

Congrats to everyone who ran and raced this past weekend…from mile to marathon!!

fragile girl

Wow, it’s been a few days…been busy busy busy!!  But thats ok, any posts would have been about taper madness…which I can just combine all into one post here!

Forget about last week, i think i am gonna have to handle myself with kid gloves from now until October 25th.  Seemingly everything that is supposed to be aching and/or going wrong during training decides to show up for the taper.

Like when running Monday nite downtown…my calves decided to cramp up…possibly due to dehydration?  My legs felt so fragile at that point, that one wrong move would put them out of commission…stopped and stretched and took it easy…and winced at any sign of bikes.  needless to say, I was glad when we finished the run and made it to White Horse Tavern where we had our burgers…and glasses of water!  Yeah, I am going to attempt yet again to detox during this taper.  So far so good-especially because…

….on top of it all, nursing a cold!!  arrrggghhh.  I took a sick day yesterday and would have loved to have taken one Wednesday, if it weren’t for the fact that I had meetings I couldn’t miss and a project that had to get done that day.  sigh.  one day off is better than nothing, right?  And lesson learned-never, ever joke about swine flu in a facebook status.  Anyways, I haven’t run since Tuesday…Wednesday was a planned day off to do some much-needed yoga but skipped yesterday’s run…and most likely will skip today to kick this thing.  Should I worry?  Or listen to my teammate who said “This is what’s called forced taper – and you’ll be better for it on race day!”

And because I must get in my reality TV fix to keep my mind off of other things….quote of the week from my brother regarding The City: “proof the city is completely staged and fake…how on earth would a dude selling counterfeit bags on Canal St have a mike on him???”  He has a point…

And glad to see the Yanks back where they belong-in the postseason.  Game 2 is tonite…GO Yanks!!  In a way, it feels like 1998…the year they were so dominant.  And I kinda look back at that year wistfully…when my life made some sort of sense and wanting to be that innocent college graduate again….