overdue race report #1: dick meighan 5k

Finally gonna get started on these way, way overdue race reports! 🙂

So even though I’ve been a serious runner/racer since 2004, I had only run one turkey trot (aka race on Thanksgiving morning) once, in 2004.  I ran a 5-miler on Long Island with my uncle and 2 cousins.  Sadly there will never be another race I’ll run again with my uncle 😦  Unfortunately, I don’t remember too much about the race that year except it was very hilly.  I wish I could remember more.

me, uncle and cousin after race with our finisher medals

And for whatever reason every year after, I hadn’t raced on Turkey Day…most of the time I preferred to get my own Central Park done in the AM and then train it to wherever I’m going, or sleep in 😛

But this time around, I was sorta itching to race.  And I had heard that the Dick Meighan 5K, which was around 15-20 minutes away from my parents in NJ, was a good-albeit hilly-race.  And oh yeah, based on previous race results there was a good chance I’d place in my AG.  Wasn’t expecting a PR, given I was only 2 1/2 weeks out from NYC and that it would be hilly.

How hilly?

So the nite before I stayed over at the parentals, then awoke to a nice and chilly morning, and drove over to where the race was…taking note of where certain uphills/downhills would be.  Got my bib and a nice tech shirt, and then went to warm up on the first mile of the course…which was good as you can see, I would know not to blow it in the first half-mile so to say 🙂  Finished my warmup, did some strides, took care of business and went over to the start.  Looked like it was gonna be another free-for-all, so I positioned myself a few rows back from the front and just waited for the starting horn.

the start

And knowing that the first half-mile contained a big-ass hill, I let people pass me, ran hard but did hold back just a little bit.  The downhill at the half-mile point was very welcome, but in a way felt like after the big hill at mile 8 of the Staten Island half…like I needed 100-200 meters to recover and of course in a short race like a 5K, you don’t have that 🙂  But was pleased with my first mile-7:24.  I then made the time goal of the day to get under 23 minutes…

…which I could get as long as I avoid my usual mile 2 collapse in 5K’s.  Mile 2 was rolling hills, but nothing really horrible.  And as this was 7:23, I was able to hold on.  This was less of a net uphill mile than the previous, so maybe effort-wise was a little slower, but I don’t think by much.  And I had enough in the tank to pick up the pace for the last 1.1 and pass people in the process.  However, in my drive over, I did note one more big hill that would be in the last mile and sure enough with about .5-.6 miles to go, there it was.  I just killed it best I could, knowing I didn’t have long to go.  One more turn…and more climbing…however thankfully the last .1 was downhill into the school’s parking lot, then flat to the finish.  I was neck and neck with this other woman, but she outkicked me to the finish…arrrgh!!  Last 1.1 in 7:52 (7:09 pace.)

chick in black next to me had just outkicked me to the line. damn.

Wound up with 22:39, 7:18 pace…which given the terrain and still recovering from NYC (and minimal speedwork!), I was definitely happy with.  I mean, I outperformed a flat 5K I did 3 weeks after Chicago last year 🙂

So I didn’t know yet how I did in terms of placing, so I went for a cooldown and then went back to the school’s gym (where the refreshments/awards were), grabbed some hot cider and checked out the results.  FOURTH in my AG.  Arrgh.  Missed by half a second-to the chick who just outkicked me at the finish!  And the kicker is that if I were still 34, I would have placed!  It is what it is, I guess.  And actually, I most likely would not have been able to stay for the awards anyway, they started with the older age groups and it would have taken a while to get down to mine, and I had to leave fairly early as my parents wanted to get an early start on our trek to Long Island for Thanksgiving festivities and beat the traffic.  Before I left, I saw and chatted with Ari briefly-he was there with his daughter for her first 5K, which they both enjoyed a lot.  (And I love how she noticed the Yankee charm on my shoe and said “Daddy, look she’s a Yankee fan too!” 🙂 )

So I went home, got cleaned up, headed to LI with la familia, ate and drank more than enough to counteract the morning’s run, and checked the final results online…and I was bumped up to THIRD in my AG.  Whoa.  Apparently the chick who was originally 1st in the 35-39 AG was now 10 years younger, moving us all up a spot.  Was definitely happy about that!!  Though actually claiming my trophy…well it’s taken more work than the race itself!!  First my trophy was actually in the hands of the 1st place woman.  Then when she returned the trophy it was actually the 2nd place one she had, and the one ahead of me had the 3rd place one had no info for anyone to get in touch with her.  So all in all, I will have to accept the 2nd place trophy (which my dad did on my behalf, and I’ll finally get it in my hands next weekend!) and Sharpie it up to show how the real chips fell.  And if 2nd place chick finally decides she wants it back, well that’ll show her to outkick me next time 😛

And next year?  I’ll just have to come back and win my AG outright 🙂

not gone, just occupied

maybe not this kind of “occupied”…

But the last few weeks have been a busy few all the same.  Crazy at work (still been getting the running in though!) and well, haven’t had much time to put together a quality blog post.  (I don’t know how you peeps who blog every day do it!)  And it’s not that I have nothing to say, actually I do have quite a bit to write about, including but not limited to…

• 2 belated race reports (one including an AG award!)
• a Sparkly Soul headband review!
• other holiday odds and ends

Hope to catch up over the next few days!  In the meantime, hope you all are having a great holiday season!

1-1-11

yes maybe this post is a coupla days late but I really don’t care 😛

So another New Year’s Eve down.  And the first time that I’m actually living near Times Square.  And wanted no part of the madness there.  Funny thing, I remember back in college really wanting to do the Times Square thing for New Year’s…never happened and as far as I am concerned, it never will (unless I’m indoors and protected from the crowds.)  Thankfully, the craziness didn’t make it to my block…and I found as long as I stayed west of 8th avenue (well I did actually have to leave my apartment that day to do stuff!) I was fine.  If anything, you couldn’t even tell that only a coupla avenues east there was a mob scene.  8th ave was a little crowded, but not horrible.  And I only had to deal with it for one block just to get to the subway to head uptown.

So once again, I would be doing the Midnight Run in Central Park.  But of course, it was preceded by some pregaming at a fellow Flyer‘s apartment….some Flyers and FOF’s.  Good chill time.  And yes, I am wearing my obnoxious pink CEP socks.  And a black and pink running skirt.  And a black and hot pink running top.  And just for the hell of it, a tiara too.  And what did I bring to put in my (hot pink) water bottle for “hydration” during the run?  Pink champagne.  OK, maybe I’m taking this whole hot pink thing a little too far 😛

happy new year! can we run yet?

So the crew left for the park with around 20 minutes to midnight…after a few blocks, me and Bridges Runner decided we needed to pick it up if we wanted to get to the park before midnight.  Which we did with a couple of minutes to spare!  Of course it meant we were lined up pretty far back but it was cool since we got a pretty good view of the fireworks.  And no one was moving in front of us so we got to enjoy them for…I guess 10 minutes?  Finally the crowd in front of us started to move-I bet the officials were trying to get everyone out of there as soon as possible, as the winners would be by any minute!!  (We crossed over 12 minutes after midnight, and the winner finished in 18 minutes and change!)

So me and Bridges Runner were just taking it easy, she snapping photos on the run too (a la crazybandanahead)…we figured our only goal would be to finish this run before 1 AM (keeping in mind we didn’t start til 12:12!) 🙂  And it was a really nice night for running-the running skirt was good attire that nite!!  Can’t believe it was like 19 degrees last time I did this one a couple years ago…anyway, we had a good time, high-fiving spectators, sipping champagne out of the water bottle (that one was just me…lol.)  Coming into the finish, we heard “Eye of the Tiger” playing and sang along…and yes indeed we finished before 1 AM!!  And hopefully this will be the slowest 4 miler both of us will do all year 🙂  AND I get my first race credit for 2011-score!!  Fun night-didn’t get to bed til like 3 or 4 AM!  And thankfully, Times Square was quiet by the time I got back to midtown…

love the glamour of a cosmo with a twist under the blue light

…needless to say I slept in the next day.  But was too “warm” to stay inside and had to go do some awards gala dress shopping, so I chose walking over the subway today.  Walked by Bryant Park on the way crosstown and thought I’d see how long the wait would be to go ice skating…2 hours?  No way!!  (I definitely want to go skating before it closes for the season at the end of February…just a matter of finding when there will be no wait!)  But I decided to stop at the bar/lounge there and have a drink with a nice 2nd floor view of the park.  Then more walking and dress shopping which turned out to be a success!  You’ll just have to wait and see what I got 😉  As for Sunday, got to see the Jets win the last game of the regular season!  Bring on the playoffs…

So yeah…buh-bye 2010, I’m not sorry to see you go.  For quite a few reasons (running-related and non-running related), it was a tough year.  And no resolutions for 2011, as I don’t believe in them.  Or even saying I hope this happens and that happens…um no.  I remember 10 years ago saying all I wanted in 2001 was to “be happy in work, life and love.”  And wouldn’t you know it, 2001 turned out to be a shitstorm times infinity.  Learned my lesson!  We’ll see what this year brings…

Happy New Year!!

all I want for christmas are cep compression socks

Well, maybe not.  But I do know there are fans of CEP compression socks (aka the hot pink socks I wore during Chicago) who read my blog and want to make them aware of this promotion!

So I came across this promotion a coupla months back.  The details?

What do you do if I win? When you race in CEP Compression socks or sleeves, complete the form, send us a photo and tell us your experience in CEP we’ll send you a FREE pair of CEP socks of your choice. . . Yes, it’s that simple! Just complete the form and send us your photo of you racing in CEP at any of the races allowed in the drop down menu and get another pair on us.

How does it work? You must race in CEP compression socks or Sleeves during an approved marathon or triathlon, fill out the entry form below. Then email your photo to us racing in CEP. The socks have to be visible to win.

What do we send you? – Once we get your entry we will send the exact product you request when filling out the form Please allow 4 weeks to process.

So thanks to my fabulous paparazzi around the course, I did have a couple of high-res, non-marathonfoto pics of me in the socks.  I chose one taken with one mile to go, sent it in, and hoped for the best.

And kinda forgot about it til 1 week ago, when I had a UPS slip saying I had a package waiting for me-but I wasn’t expecting anything.  I picked the package, opened it up, and wouldn’t you know…

Nice surprise, indeed!!  A brand-spanking new pair of socks, this pair in the cool “progressive black” design.

And my legs were quite happy too.

So if you’re a fan of these socks and want another pair, can’t hurt to check this out, right?

And Merry XMas to all of you who celebrate it!!  As my holiday has been long over, I will be spending tonite being a glutton for punishment yet again amongst a bunch of Jewish singles.  And Chinese food with the parentals tomorrow.  Maybe a run around 5th Ave and the store displays/tree if I’m ambitious enough…?

the season of excess

oh hi again!!  damn, i’m not even keeping up with my previous “once-a-week” thang.  but the last coupla weeks have been the weeks of the holiday party and other assorted goodies (yet not much running)

To sum up the last coupla weeks:

at the work holiday party. damn, i really need a new pose.

playing bouncer at the Flyers holiday party. Apparently the most in-demand party there is.

and there were home-baked cookies by yours truly!! can u tell the color scheme I was going for?

ok, this has nothing to do with the last coupla weeks, but i just felt like posting a pic of my dog brother.

 So there being lotsa eating, drinking and socializing.  Which also equals hangovers, late nights, not waking up til the afternoon, lazy weekends on the couch.  I’ll actually be glad when January comes around and the party season has died down.  but don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun.  Work party was a good time, though this time around the CFO wasn’t even there, so a certain party tradition did not happen this year 😦  But what did suck?  Party on Wednesday, work on Thursday (couldn’t take off like I usually do since our group had a vendor take us out to lunch.)  Flyers party was a good time as usual, though some peeps were missed.  Throw in others here and there…then last nite I crashed the Flyers speedwork session (as UA is on hiatus this month) and partied at Rathbone’s afterwards (yum 2-for-1 Blue Moons…love their 2-for-tuesdays!)…sorta late night for a “school night” but still fun.  But man, I don’t know what worked harder yesterday, my legs or my lungs.  Short repeats on minimal running are not the best…neither was breathing in that cold, icy air.  Thinking tempo is better for the winter months…?

On the topic of running, no races on the horizon right now.  After that crappy job at the 10K, I figured a 15K PR would not be happening and decided to pass on that race.  (Turned out to be a good thing-as I didn’t leave a party the night before til after 3 AM!)  I had tossed my name in the ring for the NYC Half, but I got rejected…as did 90% of the tri-state area…

Needless to say, NYRR’s facebook page blew up, and rightfully so.  Did I know there would be a chance of being rejected?  Oh yeah.  Did I know I wouldn’t have a shot in hell of getting in?  Hells no.  i definitely think that NYRR did not handle this well.  Between pushing off the lottery to mid-December (and leaving many in danger of getting closed out of other spring halfs) to disclosing all this information after the fact…I do appreciate that they sort of “came clean” but it’s also “too little too late.”  (And yeah, the truth does hurt.  Meaning about how they’ve strayed so far from their “base,” local runners (no I don’t mean local elite.)  As a friend of mine said (very well, I may say): “NYRR needs to remember their Charter and that the club was formed First & Foremost to benefit runners in New York City; The club was NOT formed to host triathlons, pay rabbits for professional track meets in CA, or to donate money to professional clubs in Mammouth Lakes or Minnesota.”  (There’s a good post on Joe’s blog too.)

So next year will be interesting I guess.  Especially since now NYRR is offering a guaranteed entry to the 2012 NYC Half for those who complete 4 out of 5 borough halfs in 2011.  I feel they are just going to cause another problem to try and solve another.  (Oh and don’t even get me started about the $70 registration fee for the More Half-marathon-which is 2 loops of Central Park!)  First off, given that 2 of the 5 halfs are on Saturdays, if someone can’t race on Saturdays for work or religious reasons, or other reasons, they’re automatically out of it (same thing for Sundays too.)  Secondly, those who want to run the borough halfs just to run them (and not caring about NYC Half entry) may get screwed.  Brooklyn is already tough to get into, I see it selling out in record time this year. (you can bet i’m going to jump on registration once it opens!)  Not to mention how they are always changing around the dates of the borough halfs…

As for me, I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get in, but it’s not the end of the world (there’s always the Brooklyn Half I guess.)  I’ve only done the NYC Half once and it was a bad race for me, so I thought that like Brooklyn, this could be a good race to “get revenge” on.  Guess only way I will ever get to run it again will be to have a qualifying time under my belt-and please don’t tell me that it’s so easy and everyone should be able to do it.  Those qualifying standards are no joke, even having my best half-marathon ever I still came up 36 seconds short…

Anyways, back to work…man, they’re still expecting us to work?  Doesn’t everyone go away for the holidays? 🙂

testing, testing…is this thing still on?

Oh hi there!!  Yep, I have been MIA in blogland for the past 2 weeks…even better than my recent slackerdom of one post a week 😛  Between the holiday craziness at work (2-day workweek before Thanksgiving?  Still have to do 5 days worth of work since the show must go on, even on Thanksgiving when almost every office is closed!) and running blahs, just hadn’t had much to report.

Oh yeah, that thing…running.  I feel like I really haven’t had consistent mileage since Chicago.  It’s getting tougher with the colder weather, more darkness and people choosing to stay indoors.  (I actually made it to a Flyers group run in Central Park last nite-first one since moving to Midtown…and only 2 other people were there!)  Plus apparently speedwork is on hiatus in December.  I guess I understand the need for a break but part of me is like “well I already had my break in October…I want to keep going, build back up!”  And speaking of speedwork, the hill workouts I’ve had the last coupla weeks showed me that I have committed a serious training error the last few months-too many West Side Highway runs, not enough Central Park runs…hence I am not hill trained.  So even though the West Side Highway is closer to my place now (and has less crowded streets to run through to get there, unlike Central Park where I have to run up 8th or 9th ave…which can be a zoo at times) I’m gonna have to limit those runs and run more in Central Park.

And I hope this doesn’t hurt me too much in the Joe Kleinerman 10K on Sunday.  At the very least, we get Harlem Hill out of the way in mile 1, but Cat Hill in mile 5 may give me trouble.  We’ll see what happens, I’m really not expecting to PR, I’ll be happy to get under 50 minutes.  But I actually have a bottle of Blue Point Blueberry Ale in the fridge…maybe I should drink that Saturday nite.  As I did have that the nite before the Kleinerman 10K 2 years ago…and I didn’t have a bad race at all.  Still deciding on the attire as it looks to be chilly Sunday morning.  Shoes-it’s a toss-up between my Saucony Fastwitches or the Lunar Racers.  Yeah…don’t think I’ll be utilizing the Kinvaras on Sunday-sorry, Kinvara Mafia 😛  Even though they felt good on a regular easy run, I haven’t really loved them in speed workouts, therefore sorta iffy about using them in a race.  Maybe I should just use the Kinvaras on short, easier runs…?

That’s it for now…want to save material for other posts!!  But before I go, I just had to post this:

My dog brother’s first visit to my apartment!!  And he was incredibly well-behaved.  Amazing how much he has grown since you all saw him last about 6 months ago…but he’s still the cutest dog I’ve ever seen! 🙂

joy and pain

Joy and pain
Like sunshine and rain
Joy and pain
Like sunshine and rain

Yeah, couldn’t resist digging up some old-school lyrics (if u call the 80’s old-school…hehe.) But I just had the song in my head, as “joy and pain” seemed to sum up this past holiday weekend…thankfully much, much more joy than pain! 🙂  Oh yeah-I love long holiday weekends!!

Holiday weekend doesn’t mean I get out of doing a long run tho, and I had 15 on tap this weekend.  Thankfully, I had some great company, as me, Bridges Runner and Maria took on the GWB, the Palisades and the West Side Highway.  Fun?  Yes!!  Easy?  No 👿

view of NYC from the GWB

Now I think the last time I trekked over the GWB on foot was 3 years ago with the Flyers…but this Palisades Run had a bit of a twist.  Yep, instead of heading out and back on River Road, we hit some semi-hidden trails instead.  Well I guess they aren’t really secret, but I never would have known about them otherwise…I almost felt like we were entering a secret passageway or something when I saw the entrance to the trails by one of the stairs on the NJ side of the bridge.  The trails were nice and shady, which was very welcome, even with it being relatively early and not that warm yet.  But we definitely had to watch our footing…remember that.  The trails were mostly flattish with the exception of two places…one being a steep decline on uneven terrain…was almost slowing to a walk there.  Surprisingly enough I stayed vertical there…which I couldn’t say the same for a few minutes after-yep I lost my footing and went down.  (yet somehow a certain reflex in me stopped my Garmin right away.  Guess I’ve done this before.)  Thankfully nothing was broken-just had a pretty scraped right elbow which really looked worse than it actually felt.  And thankfully Maria was prepared with a little package full of baby wipe-type things for me to clean up a little with, until I got to some water fountains and could do a better job.

So once I sort of got my bearings, we continued on, to the toughest part of our run-the “cliff stairs” heading up to where the approach to the bridge was.  Let me say, my quads are still feeling those things today….that shit was tough!!  I thought I was in decent shape before, but I’m not too sure now.  (Oh, and the height of those steps does not cater to those with short stubby legs like mine.)  Never thought I’d be so glad to run across the the GWB again…and boy I welcomed the flat road of the West Side Highway!!  The rest of the run flew by, and next thing we knew we were in the 50s and 15 miles were done.  We definitely earned those burgers and beers at Chelsea Brewery!!  Nice day to sit outside and eat, drink, chill out and gab about stuff like if Lady Gaga’s song “Alejandro” really does sound like Ace of Base, the new iPhone, and various other things 🙂

But that wasn’t it for the day…after a well-deserved nap, and watching the Prefontaine Classic on TV (did anyone else think the NBC coverage SUCKED?  No mention of Chris Solinsky’s time in the 5000 or Andrew Wheating’s time in the mile?), headed to the Boat Basin…wanted to take advantage of the fact that people were out of town and that it wasn’t too crowded to sit out back (where there is a good view of the river and sunset) and sip some margaritas 🙂

Sunday was the 4th and would be yet another fun day!!  Started it off with a short run on the bridle path, then headed up to Da Bronx for my first Yankee game this year 😀  Saw some awesome plays like Brett Gardner’s inside the park home run, but some heartbreaking ones like 3 Yanks (including Nick Swisher twice!) getting thrown out at home.  (I swear the home plate umpire must have gotten dismissed from the World Cup or something…)  Just one of them coulda prevented the extra innings…as unfortunately Mo blew the save and I had to leave at the end of the 9th 😦  But as it turned out, the Yanks did win in the bottom of the 10th-doh, I missed the usual pie in the face after a walkoff win! 😛  But I had to get home, cleaned up, and back out the door for a get-together that included some very good food and drink, and then staking out a spot on the West Side Highway to watch the fireworks!!  The fireworks show was great, and it surprisingly was not crowded-I remember the couple of years I lived in Murray Hill and trekked to the FDR to watch the fireworks and it was packed-and took forever to get out!!

And today being a scorcher-thankfully a running rest day!!  But was perfect to sleep in, get some errands done, do some stretching, foam rolling, lifting and ab work in the air-conditioned NYSC, then partake in Cilantro‘s Monday nite $10 fajitas!!  (Not to mention a nice refreshing margarita…yum!!!)  Do I really have to go back to work tomorrow?

I leave you with a great pic of the fireworks from last nite (thx Bridges Runner!)  Happy 4th! 🙂

on a different track

So 2 weeks down in Chicago training.  I’ve been getting the miles in, but hasn’t been pretty as of late…

13 miles were on tap for my long run this weekend, and Saturday was the better of the 2 days to get it in.  Of course, I had to do it in the mid-afternoon heat, as I did not feel like setting the alarm…and this was after crashing early on Friday nite!!  Slept around 11 hours…hmmm think I needed to catch up on sleep or something?  Anyway not much to report except it was hot, I had to fight for the last coupla miles…only took a gel and water, should have taken Gatorade during the run too…know for next time!  That left me with 4 miles to finish off the week, which were done on the roads around my parents’ house in NJ on Sunday morning…and good god, it was awful-my slowest run in a long time.

So the fact that my legs seem to be stuck in “slow mode”…part of the reason why I decided to pass on the track meet at Icahn tonite.  Besides the fact that getting there from work may be cutting it kind of close, I just don’t feel capable of running a time-especially at a short race-that won’t leave me disappointed and embarrassed.  And my other option for a workout this week is tomorrow nite, at a “different track” indeed…East 6th Street.  I love that track, but I haven’t been there in over a year…so how could I pass up a chance to do a workout there? 🙂 

Oh and why did I have to do my run in NJ this Sunday?  Well was there visiting la familia for Father’s Day…and bonding a little bit with the newest member of my family:

(this pic was from mother’s day actually, but the only good one I had with my parents’ new doggie!)

Tell me this isn’t the cutest dog you have ever seen. 😀

Being in NJ this Father’s Day meant that, for the first time, I wasn’t either running in or spectating the Father’s Day 5-mile race in Central Park-the guyz’ points race (since us ladies had ours last week.) Sorry Flyer guys!! I wish I could have been there to cheer you all on. But I see you did great even without me!! yeah, I was cheering from afar 😉

holiday, celebrate…

If we took a holiday (oh yeah, oh yeah)
Took some time to celebrate (c’mon, let’s celebrate)
Just one day out of life (just one day!)
It would be, it would be so nice!

And the long Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer has come and gone.  (Well thanks to the wonder of carryover vacation days, I’ve extended mine another day…)  Though it wasn’t as jam-packed and memorable as last year’s, it was still quite lovely all the same.  Spent a lot of time outdoors…be it either running, lounging out in Central Park with friends, or just wandering the west side path…

As part of my long run Saturday (11 miles), I checked out the newly opened portion of the west side path that goes from around west 84th to 93rd.  Good to not have to detour through Riverside Park anymore, but warning-it is very narrow during that portion, best to go single file!!

Sunday consisted of a lonnggggg picnic in the park….good food, friends and drink (sangria in picnic-sized boxes rule!)  Then yesterday consisted of a run, brunch and some girl talk with TB who was back from Europe (but is gonna come home for good in a coupla months-much earlier than expected!!  yeah!) and lounging out on the west side path…and eventually taking advantage of one of the best Monday evening dinner deals-$10 fajitas at Cilantro!!  (plus happy-hour special margaritas!)

And though I raced on Memorial Day last year, I’m so glad I skipped it this year.  Besides other reasons, I heard reports that it was a rough day.  And besides, I’d rather look forward to and concentrate on having a good race at the Mini 10K.  I do have a time goal in mind…not sure if I want to say what it is just yet…

And on the topic of races, I could help but notice some of the recent dissention on NYRR’s Facebook page-specifically about the Brooklyn half and what it *didn’t* offer.  That NYRR should be ashamed of themselves for not giving out finisher’s medals, and that “seasoned runners don’t care about the medals but newbies do, and not getting a medal cheapens our effort” or something like that.  Hmmm, I seem to remember I didn’t receive a medal for my first half-marathon.  The Manhattan Half in 2004, anyone remember that one?  Late August, 2 loops of Central Park, hot as hell, not anyone’s first choice for a debut half-marathon (yeah I don’t know what I was thinking.)  But I finished, and just seeing my name in the results as a half-marathon finisher was good enough for me.  I agree with this comment someone else made: “You really think you wasted your time? You ran 13.1 miles. Do you really believe that your accomplishment is tarnished because you didn’t receive a medal?”  Hell, I’ve run almost 20 half-marathons and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I received a finishers medal for the race.  Guess it is what you make of it.  Stepping down off my soapbox now…

let’s play a love game, play a love game

it’s complicated and stupid
got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid
guess he wants to play, wants to play
a love game, a love game

(who knows, maybe Lady GaGa knows what she’s talking/singing about…)  I would be lying if I didn’t say I was happy that today is February 15th.  Meaning the most dreaded day of the year (and indeed complicated and stupid)  is behind me again…until next year.  And every year I say “next year will be different”…never is.   Of course, the everso lovely Facebook didn’t exactly help matters much, as the theme of the week was “change your profile picture to one of you and your significant other and tell how you got together.”  Or as one of my friends put it “Remind all your single friends how alone they are by showing us how happy and in love you all are in your profile pic…”  Yeah, thanks SO much, Facebook!!

I think I really started to hate Valentine’s Day back in 2001, when the Ex-Boyfriend emailed me on that day, and in the process was sorta bragging about how great things were for him-at a time where things were not going well for me. (like jeez, great timing…)  It takes a lot to make me cry at work…well congrats to him, he achieved that.  And I guess ever since then I’ve been reminded of that.  And for the record, I could care less about receiving actual gifts on February 14th.  Flowers eventually die.  Candy will just make me fat.  All I want is companionship…is that honestly too much to ask?  I know its hard to achieve…but can’t a girl believe?

So instead of sitting at home with a bottle of wine or going to some meet-market type Jewish singles event, I just went around the corner to my fave Mexican place and had a coupla margaritas while sitting at the bar and watching the Olympics.  Not exactly the ideal way to spend the evening, but I just didn’t feel like being alone at home.  And there was indeed a Jewish singles event that night but I really wasn’t up for it.  Oh, and I discovered that I really need to be banned from drunk texting and/or emailing on February 14th.  Think I need a breathalyzer for the CrackBerry…or something like Gmail’s “Mail Goggles” feature.  Anyway, sorry about that, “certain person.” 😉

Anyway, different topic…oh yeah, the Olympics.  Can’t say I am as emotionally invested in these games as I am for the Summer games, but still nice to watch.  And gotta love NBC and their spotty and/or tape-delayed coverage once again!  (Did they not learn anything from Beijing 2008?)  And poor Canada…between the techincal malfunction in the opening ceremonies and the not-so-winter-like weather…they’ve got their work cut out for them for the remainder of these games.

And speaking of winter weather, can Vancouver please take all the snow that we’re getting here in NY?  Seriously, they need it, we don’t want it-there, perfect solution.  I mean yeah, it was nice to have a shortened work day last Wednesday (our office closed early that day due to the weather) but enough is enough already…can you all tell that I’m not a winter person? 🙂

And thanks to everyone who voted in my poll and commented on my last post…I’m pretty sure I know what I am gonna do but I’ll just leave you all in suspense a little while longer 😛

maybe i’m getting too old for this

So since I’m sure everyone was dying to know (ha, not really) yes I did venture out on XMas Eve…guess it beat staying home and watching reruns of Jersey Shore 😛  If you were hoping for any juicy gossip, I’m sorry to disappoint…no running into peeps I knew like the Ex-Boyfriend’s frat brother or anything like that 🙂  So, knowing in advance which venue attracted the “younger” and “older” ends of the spectrum, I decided to go to the one “inbetween.”  Which was actually a good move…not too crowded, DJ playing 80s music, open vodka bar for the first hour.  Only talked to 2 guys that nite…first didn’t seem too into me, got a playa vibe from the second.  I don’t know, I just feel like I’ve really outgrown this scene…unless I know everybody at the shindig (e.g., the Flyer parties…or hell, even NYRR’s club night) I’m not great in this setting…better one on one, methinks.  Plus nursing a killer hangover is not how I wanted to spend my XMas day.  Maybe I just needed one more of these things just to get out of my system, but I think I might skip it next XMas Eve…ask me again in a year though 🙂  But really, who meets the love of their life at one of these “meet markets”…

So besides that, not really much to tell.  Except what was supposed to be a quiet work week did have to be disrupted by crazy person doing his crazy person thing on a project I’m doing for him.  It’s always something with this one!!

choose my xmas eve adventure

Or non-adventure. 🙂

OK, poll in the sidebar.  Need help deciding what to do XMas Eve.  Do I dare make an appearance at the Matzo Ball and drop $25 (plus cost of overpriced drinks) to check out the annual Jewish singles meat market or not?  Last time I made an appearance was 2 years ago…and it was interesting to say the least. 

But seriously, in a way it just seems more pointless than the Kleinerman 10K was for the NYAC womens team (those of you in the local running scene know will know what I mean by that 😛  not meant to be a shot at that team in any way tho!)…do I ever really have any luck at these things?  And do I need blog material that badly?  (ok maybe I do…)

So help me decide please 🙂

it knocks you down

Blame the weather.  Lately just been feeling knocked out, knocked down…thankfully not knocked up 😛  Or maybe it’s a bit of the holiday blues too.  I don’t know.  (And on that note, why does “blue” have to be associated with being sad?  Blue is a pretty color…my favorite color!!  The color of the sky!  The color of this blog!)

Well to catch up a little, I started with my new PT last week…thankfully this one is much more knowledgable than my previous one. (treats/has treated a lot of runners.)  This one pinpointed a lot of hip and core weakness…which is the bulk of what I am going to need to work on for now.  Thankfully, running is not on the banned list for now-but I gotta keep the distances relatively short (e.g., no double-digit runs) and make that the secondary focus.  I even asked if running a half in May would be possible and she actually thought March would be possible (though I still think March is too soon.)  So maybe there is a light at the end of this tunnel…I guess as long as I am a good little girl…

But I think what has me down is the “right now.”  It’s just so damn frustrating not being able to really run.  I mean yeah, I can do a few miles here and there…but I can’t do anything social.  No long runs, fun runs, group runs…and it’s got me feeling a bit lonely.  I even feel bad that I can’t even help out my own team since I don’t know when I’m going to be able to comfortably run the 6-mile loop on a regular basis.  But seriously…does everything social have to revolve around actually running?

Then…I think this weekend’s snowstorm was the last straw.  I’ve said it plenty of times before, I am not a winter person at all.  As much as heat, humidity and I don’t mix, I just find summer, the warmer temps, the longer days to be a saving grace.  Snow days just lost their novelty once I joined the working world and had to deal with “adult” responsibilities like a full-time job.  Can’t play in the snow, I’ll get sick and well, I can’t afford to get sick and miss work.  Not to mention how the subways cease to function when one snowflake falls.  And I don’t even want to hear that Central Park is a “winter wonderland” and that running there in the snow is “magical.”  When you’re really dependent on the reservoir being runnable and every snowstorm seems to knock it out of commission for weeks…you get what I’m saying.  (Not to mention the “resolution” peeps who will crowd the gym come January, meaning I’d be lucky to get any treadmill time.)

Which makes me wonder if it is time to make 2010 my escape from NYC.  I’ve said before I’m really not sure this city can actually be my home…I’ve given it 10-plus years.  And maybe this is something I should have done a long time ago.  I mean, just because this area is where my parents chose to make their home, does that mean the same has to go for me?  I’m not my parents.  I’m not a winter person, the job situation isn’t great here, and the dating scene is even worse.  So maybe a change in scenery and climate is what I need to really find a “home.”  Something to think about in the new year…

no MORE marathon

Now I’m not talking about myself there!  When I IM’ed a friend today and said to him “no more marathon next year-only the half” he interpreted it as I’m not doing a marathon, and only a half next year! 😛

But nope, I’m talking about what was the “More Marathon”…looks like in 2010 they are doing away with the marathon portion and only having the half-marathon!!  (And I guess also learning from last year’s mistake, they also warned about the caps way, way in advance!)  Given the declining numbers for the marathon, I’m not surprised they did away with it.

But did anyone notice the price for the half?  $60 for NYRR members, $65 for non-NYRR members?  For what will most likely be 2+ laps of Central Park…a course we can do later in the year (i.e., Grete’s) for $17?  I don’t get that!  I can understand the fee for the NYC Half, as city streets need to be closed down for the event…but for running in Central Park?  My guess is that this will be mostly out-of-towners…since racing in Central Park is a novelty for them!  After all, I have paid around that cost for halfs before…but those were “destination” ones-e.g., Philly, San Francisco, Vegas.  Oh, and this half will be on the same weekend it was last year.  Another chance at unseasonable heat and a “fun run”?  And will the new March date for the NYC Half mean a snowstorm?  It’s not like a race in March has never been turned into a fun run before…remember this one back in 2007?

Hmmm…speaking of halfs, looks like the one I am hoping to run next May will cost a pretty penny too.  But thats ok since it won’t be 2 loops of Central Park, hell it won’t even be in NYC! 🙂  Of course, that is contingent on the (sh)IT band getting better.  Yeah latest on that-not much to tell.  I decided to be brave and try the bridle path on Sunday, but the (sh)IT band was complaining by the end of the run.  Of course that may have been due to me spotting Creepy Stalker Guy and of course, I had to speed up 😛  (though I thought it’s slower speeds that aggrevate ITBS more?)  But did the rez on Tuesday…not bad.  Just kind of taking it day by day for now…wouldn’t say I’m out of the woods just yet.  Booked an appointment for next Wednesday with a new PT, one that was highly recommended by a couple of my teammates-just keeping my fingers crossed that the insurance thing works out!!  And that I can find some light at the end of this tunnel…

Office lesson learned this week, never, ever leave your computer unlocked.  Otherwise, the office smartass who has been known to hijack others email before will…well, hijack your email and send an all-staff email saying that this is the last day and that you’re leaving the company to pursue a music career…and some other smartass stuff.  Yes, this is a true story.  No, it wasn’t me whose email was hijacked, I know to keep my computer locked 🙂

And Happy Hanukkah…starts tomorrow nite!  Will celebrate it by partying, holiday-style with the Flyers…and maybe sitting on Santa’s lap (oh the irony!)  Hmmm…I think I’ve been a good girl this year…what should I ask Santa for? 😛 Well besides the obvious-a healthy right (sh)IT band!  And a BQ 🙂

running in heels

Yow.  My calves are actually sore right now, and surprisingly, not from running 3 loops of the reservoir yesterday.  Nah, I think it’s more due to dancing and being on my feet for so long on Thursday wearing a pair of high-heeled black Mary Janes for the office holiday party…

Yeah, the annual holiday party.  Is it me, or is there something totally unnatural about a holiday party when it’s like 60-something degrees out?  (Although it beats the hell outta previous years when it’s been raining or snowing, meaning getting a cab home was just torture!)  At any rate, winter-y clothes didn’t seem to be on the agenda, so I ignored the memo that black dresses with tights and boots were the attire du jour and instead decided to be different and wear a more colorful print dress by Pink Polka Dot (whenever those dresses/tops are available at the sample sale in my building, I always seem to snatch something up!)…hey if it’s good enough for K-Cav and Audrina its good enough for me 😛  Anyway, the fashion section of this post is now over.

So instead of the usual drinks (mmmmojitos!), dinner, DJ and dancing…well actually we did have all that, but there was a coupla twists.  One being that there was also a private comedy show for us…which I guess makes sense, considering the party venue was a comedy club.  Was kinda “take it or leave it”, though I (and others) found it funny that one of the comedians kept teasing the office troublemakers and ripping on others that well…couldn’t exactly answer what exactly we do at work.  i guess you had to be there to appreciate it.  Even though the dancing resumed after that, it kinda upset the “rhythm” of the party…and a certain party tradition almost didn’t happen.  But I guess others wouldn’t have that and told the DJ to call out the CFO…and yes, once again while bustin’ a move to “Baby Got Back”, he ripped his shirt off…5 years in a row and counting!!

Then the after party…oh wait, before that, another “extra” that got added was this psychic lady who did “rock readings.”  And according to her, I still can’t let go of a former boyfriend, and I’ll never be happy unless I do.  Tell me something I don’t know.  Glad I didn’t have to pay for this one.

So I was unsure about the after-party, I actually hadn’t gone to it in years but this year what the hell, why not.  Originally was gonna be here-but like 15 minutes after I got there I can’t remember why, but the consensus was to go elsewhere.  I think peeps were disappointed they didn’t get a chance to partake in the chocolate covered bacon that this place offered.  Then the “plan B” bar was too crowded…and I said “Why don’t we just go to the Monkey?”  And so we all did.  More drinking and dancing…and singing along to seemingly every song that came on, I most vividly remember all of us almost screaming along to “I Gotta Feeling.”  I called it a night around 1 AM, glad I wasn’t working Friday!

And thankfully not too too hung over, as I had to go visit the doc on Friday to get fitted for my new and (hopefully!) improved orthotics…and so I wait (I think about 2 weeks.)  And I guess keeping up with the same old same old for now.  Though I do feel like this whole “no running” thing is just killing my social life…yes, how sad, my social life is so tied into running.  But seriously, no one wants to do multiple loops of the reservoir-which is what I’m trying to stick with right now, since where I come from, thats the closest I can get to no hills.  Though I do hope to be able to run the 4-mile loop by New year’s eve, so I can actually partake in my somewhat annual “let me try and forget that I don’t have anyone to kiss at midnight” ritual.  (Though if I do get any better offers, I’m not object to accepting them.  I’m just not counting on it.)

And was it really 2 days ago that it was in the 60s…OMG it’s, like, snowing!!  Wonder if NYRR will turn tomorrow’s 10K into a “fun run”?  Well if they don’t, good luck to all those running!!  Still undecided on whether I will actually go out and cheer…that 8am race start is a little much for me.

Oh and for all of you CrackBerry owners…or those who have not drank the iPhone Kool-Aid-this blog (written by the bf of a former Flyer who moved to the left coast a few years ago) is for you!!  And iPhone owners, I don’t even want to hear that your precious iPhone has feelings 😛

fourteen on the fourth

OK, can someone please tell me how this long weekend went by so damn fast? And even moreso, how was it that the one month or so between holiday weekends (Memorial Day and then this weekend) went by so damn fast too? Does that mean that Labor Day will be right around the corner? I mean, I do have US Open tix for the week before Labor Day that I am looking forward to using but damn, don’t want to think about it just yet…

So-two weeks into MCM training and chalking up another strong week. I was very undecided about which day to do my long run on…decided to do it whenever the spirit moved me, or something like that 🙂 Which would be early Saturday afternoon…and how appropriate, doing fourteen miles on July fourth!! 🙂 But really, after a great Friday night which included a Brooklyn BBQ, lotsa sangria and some good times afterwards, I just felt good and ready to rock on Saturday. The route included some CP miles and some Queensboro Bridge action…I know there are a coupla bridges on the MCM course, so still want to practice that…has nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t want to do all 14 in Central Park. Nope, not at all!! Anyways, with the exception of the inevitable dodging of pedestrians, went well and pretty drama-free…and left me free to literally step outside my door and see the fireworks later. Well not really. But was only a few blocks away!! (not to mention a perfect excuse for a Boat Basin margarita!) Could possibly get used to this Hudson River thang…

So compared to the tranquility of Saturday morning, I awoke on Sunday with a little more angst, and I think that showed in my short Sunday run…forget I think, I knew when I saw Mr. Garmin say “4:00” at the first half-mile. Did try to call off the dogs then and there, but the run was still quicker than I wanted, especially for it being on the bridle path!! I mean, had I continued on for 21.2 miles at the same average pace for the 5 miles, I woulda had the BQ…hehe.

What’s done is done. The good thing is that the hopeful MP actually did not feel like I was struggling or hammering, especially it being on a slow surface. And especially it being this early in training! But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be careful. I’ll be running the Flyers “first Monday” downtown run tomorrow, but stick with the back group and make it a recovery effort.

Then, next Sunday is the first of the 2 organized Long Training Runs by NYRR. Yeah, I know it’s early but I guess sometimes you can’t do much about scheduling and just make the most of the situation. Which for me, means getting to sleep in another hour or so and running 14+ miles with lotsa runner support, paceleader minidresses singlets, water, Gatorade, gels, the whole nine yards. And even though long run pace for me has been falling in the 9-9:15 range lately, I decided to stick with the 9:30s this time again…partially to give my body a little bit of a break, but partially because I am paranoid the 9:00 group will wind up doing 8:45s…which I don’t wanna do, especially if I want to converse with the runners.

And once again, I cannot believe this weekend has ended so quickly…Sunday at least definitely not was a total wash, what with yet another Yankee win, an exciting Wimbledon final (which did not end the way I wanted it too, unfortunately…A-Rod, you’ll get em at the US Open!) and some, uh, quality time…yeah that’s what I’ll call it. 🙂 Man, next weekend cannot come soon enough…

and speaking of passing guys…

wow, another week has gone by and no posts…busy week for me. thank god for the holiday weekend…boy oh boy, do i need it.

but i couldn’t resist blogging about something amusing at this past week’s speed workout. i actually did wear my “some girls chase boys…” singlet again, hey what can i say, I like it 🙂 But wouldn’t I know it, this idiot guy shows up for the speed workout…who hates finishing behind women-even if they are legitimately faster. Always used to try and race me in workouts-and even in the Underwear Run too (which was supposed to be an easy, “fun run”, mind you.) And wouldn’t you know it, same thing happens this time…either sprinting to try and get ahead and then fading…or even cutting the course!! Lame. (And just distracting when I am trying to “run my own workout.”) No etiquette, I tell you!!

But as for me, I actually had a pretty good workout!! I guess the determination of not letting the idiot “beat” me…in addition to wanting to live up to the attitude that I showed on my singlet…wound up with a pretty fast workout (for me)…which won good feedback from the coach too 🙂 The observation was that I was working hard but still looking good doing it, keeping the form well…was encouraging for me (thx again JS!) After all, if I’m gonna get that BQ this fall, I’m gonna have to learn to push the envelope ever so often…

But between this workout and my recent 10K race-does this mean I need a guy to stay ahead of, to push me to run just a little harder when it counts? 🙂 Or maybe just a rabbit in general? I’ll be racing a 5K in NJ this Memorial Day, let’s see if that is gonna come into play yet again. Just gonna be a fun race, to see where I’m at with the Mini 10K being 2 weeks away-that one being the race where I’d love to post a good time. And no, I’m not freaking out about the weather for the Mini just yet 🙂

And happy holiday weekend…which for me will be filled with friends, baseball, running…and did I mention 3-day weekend??? Can’t get better than that (well unless it was a 4-day weekend. or more.)

merry xmas

to demonstrate my christmas cheer, i present to you the most disturbing looking (and sounding) santa ever (who resides on the ground floor of chelsea market) enjoy!!

Happy holidays to all my readers…

party girl

Tis the season…3 parties in 3 days (not to mention a holiday lunch on wednesday that wound up going til 4pm!) First one was last nite, the annual work party. Surprisingly, I drank much less than I did last year-I figured I’d leave that role to other people this year 🙂 As per tradition, the CFO ripped his shirt off near the end of the party (sorry…no pictures!! i know better 🙂 ) I decided to pass on the after-party…as I need to pace myself!! Was a good time-and I know a few of my colleagues thought so too, as indicated in their Facebook status updates this morning (especially those who are newer to the company and this is their first holiday party!)

Round 2 is tonite, the Flyers‘ holiday party…and I think I will be sticking to red wine tonite and not a lot of it…you know, because of that little 4-mile run tomorrow morning.

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More pictorial evidence from Sunday!!

Yay, NYRR finally got a picture of me actually running!! Not chatting, posing with teammates, hanging out in lasker pool, dancing or any other assorted goofy things. Pretty cool 🙂 Man…I’m all business here!!

My sole brightroom picture, and they just had to get me stopping my watch 😛

where i’m at

where am i at? well i’m here. for now :-p

yeah, i’ve been MIA for a week. lotsa craziness going on, not a lot of chances to blog. (and i know i’ve been bad about commenting too…but i’ve been reading!)

so turkey day weekend consisted of…
escaping the madness that is the Macy’s parade (only day that I curse living on the UWS)
fighting the crowds at Penn Station
NJ Transit doing its NJ Transit thing once again
dinner at the parentals…on the early side (we were done eating by 5!) and quieter than normal. long story, not going into it here…
hitting the shops on friday and saturday (for the record, I waited until later in the evening to brave the black friday sales)
a 6-mile (training) run through the streets of NJ…man, couldn’t believe how flat it was compared to central park!
sitting through the first half of the jets-broncos game and getting completely soaked in the process. you know the conditions were bad when my brother was OK with leaving at halftime!!

hectic week at work too…preparing for a client presentation tomorrow. and i took something else home to work on since it’s the kind of thing where i need less distractions…but the document is in PowerPoint 2007 and I have 2000 at home. And they don’t get along. Damn. In addition, our group head made me a little nervous earlier this week when she said she wanted to meet with us and didn’t say why…I guess the current state of the economy makes everyone nervous, I thought it was something big (not in a good way!) Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing to get nervous about.

And tonight in speedwork…I got to see where I’m at, running-wise. The last few weeks have just been easy-effort slogs, so it was tough to judge whether I was truly recovered or not. And I thought I was gonna feel crappy and need to hold back…but that was not the case, in fact I was actually able to do the workout faster than what JS told me to shoot for…and ran negative splits too!! Welcome change compared to 2 years ago at this time, nice boost of confidence going into my last 2 races of the year. Will the 10K and/or 4-mile PRs go down? We shall see…