NYCM 2011: the good, the not-so-good, the ugly

Well I guess this will be the official New York City Marathon report.  Figure after a week or so of thinking things over, I might as well have stuff in writing, so maybe I won’t make the same mistakes again…

So I will start this off by the numbers:

Mile	Split Time	Mile	Split Time
1	8:47.24	15	8:43.63
2	7:30.04	16	8:31.88
3	8:14.00	17	8:27.13
4	8:15.08	18	8:25.93
5	7:57.00	19	8:42.48
6	8:03.23	20	9:08.05
7	8:07.63	21	10:37.85
8	8:23.78	22	9:43.07
9	8:18.85	23	10:11.45
10	7:58.28	24	10:25.60
11	8:25.70	25	15:25.37
12	8:13.28	26	10:01.75
13	8:21.43	26.2	2:02.81
14	8:28.04	Summary	3:55:30.58

And now, the words behind the numbers.

So again, even though daylight savings time gifted us with an extra hour of sleep, I still found myself awake way before my alarm.  Again, fine with me, more time to do the race day routine and not feel rushed.  Eat, have coffee, listen to music, stretch, get dressed, make sure I don’t forget anything.  And begin the 3-leg journey to get to Staten Island early enough to prevent any MTA or SI Ferry fails.  And within minutes of me getting to the Times Square station, there was a 1 train, which got to South Ferry with no problems.  Leg 1 complete.  Even though I was supposed to be on the 6:15 ferry and I knew I was a little early, I heard announcements that those of us who wanted to get on an earlier ferry could.  So why not.  Turned out to be the 5:45 ferry!  whoa.  Again, just listened to music and zoned out for this 2nd leg of the trip (except when someone pointed out the sunrise to me.)   Then onto leg 3-shuttle bus to Fort Wadsworth.  Then once there, walking into the Fort while showing our bibs to the security peeps, lest we get thrown out…

So inside, past security, in search of the Local Competitive area.  Actually not as tough to find as I thought it was, thanks to the nifty map NYRR gave us-just had to cross a little grassy area in the “open zone.”  And according to a couple of my friends, I actually got caught on camera by the news reporting live from Fort Wadsworth!  I apparently didn’t look like I knew I was on camera…annnnnd I was wearing my glamorous “throwaway” outfit.  Classy. 🙂

Anyway, I got past “security” and found a place in the local competitive area to just chill out.  I was the first Flyer there, but I was shortly joined by my teammate JD and one of my speedwork buddies, KL, where we all just chatted and chilled out til it was time to check our bags.  By then, the “Snuggie Posse” of AK, NPT and JS was there (their throwaway gear was Snuggies!) as well as other Flyers…Lam, DC, CM, EF, SJ and more!  To be honest-hanging with these people was the best thing about being in the LCS.  The food/drink/coffee offered was the same as it would have been elsewhere, the lines for the bathrooms eventually did get long, but having my friends and training partners around was actually a calming influence  (unfortunately it seemed like no one else would have really been in wave 2 if I wound up having to stay there.)  And I didn’t feel intimidated at all..I was owning it (my low bib #), I knew I belonged there.

So at around 8:50, we were given the green light to head out onto the bridge.  I could see the green start runners in their corrals, waiting to be unleashed…they were after we made our way onto the bridge and some of the people with 3xxx and 5xxx bibs got mixed in with us…which personally I was OK with.  I knew I still had a decent starting position (I could actually see the start line from where I was) and my intention was to line up at the back of the corral anyway.  I got separated from KL and the Snuggie Posse, but I found myself lined up with DC, DK, ML and MH (who scored points in my book for wearing Yankee temporary tattoos, in addition to running another great race!)  And again, they were good people to have around me while waiting for the start, especially DC who was taking pictures and giving me “run happy” (a la Brooks) vibes 🙂  We heard the introduction of the pro men and knew it wasn’t much longer.  The National Anthem.  Mary Wittenberg’s annual speech (“New York City awaits you…”)  The cannon.  New York, New York.  It was time.

Staten Island/Verrazano Bridge/first 5k

So the focus here-staying in control.  If others pass me on the bridge…let them go.  Tried to block everyone else out.  And as it turned out, the first 2 miles wound up averaging right on pace, so mission accomplished.  And actually, I didn’t mind being on the lower level of the bridge at all!  (And please let me be known..the supposed “golden showers”?  Total urban legend.)  However, the part of the green course I really didn’t like?  The part between the bridge and when we joined up with everyone else on 4th Ave…seemed like that part was lacking in crowd support, unlike that part of the orange and blue starts.

Brooklyn!

4th Ave and time to lock in.  Once again, I loved the support and cheering crowds here…sorry Manhattan, but I think this may have replaced you as my favorite borough in the race! 🙂  I was just along for the ride, having fun…and I guess some of my splits may have shown I was having a little too much fun?  But this part of the course felt sorta flat/downhill so that may be why.

By then, was still cool but very sunny and I kinda regretted keeping my arm warmers on.  I took my first gel right on schedule at the 10K point, but found myself having more water than Gatorade along the way…seemed more “refreshing.”

So then the mile 8 merge happened and slowed us up a little bit.  So much for the wave starts eliminating that congestion (thank you, “honor system”!)…anyways, just cruised along Lafayette Ave in Fort Greene.  Unlike previous years, I was actually looking forward to the Williamsburg portion of the course.  Why?  In a way, it sorta felt like “home” for me.  First was seeing Coach T cheering along with EK and KS in mile 10.  I realized that in previous marathons, the coach had never been out there on race day…so in a way, this meant a lot.  Afterwards, Coach T told me that I “looked like I was cruising…that I so had it, was right on pace.”  At the time, definitely true!  Then northern Williamsburg and Bedford Avenue, especially the part through McCarren Park was a “homecoming” of sorts…how many times have I walked along that street from the L train to the track?  Definitely familiar territory.  Turned onto the usually festive Manhattan Ave (oh the irony…Manhattan in Brooklyn…hehe)…a right turn, then a left on McGuinness…just like in the 3 bridges run.  And here was the Pulaski Bridge and the halfway point-1:47:34.  Hmmm a little slow for sub-3:35, but maybe I can run a more even 2nd half than in the past?  But at least you can’t say I went out too fast 🙂

Queens

Not to knock all you Queens bees (hey, I was born in Queens!) but in the past, Queens just felt like a “filler” borough…not really eventful (well except for the idiot knocking me down in 2006)  And I guess it was the same this time around.  I remembered seeing Celia somewhere in mile 14 waiting for her friend to run with but that was about it.  And as a matter of fact, I did start to feel a little bit of a fade.  I told myself to try and keep it together, knock out the bridge, Manhattan will make it all better.  So yeah, the bridge was actually a little bit of relief for me, knowing that once this was done, the worst would be behind me.  I knew I would lose some time on the incline, just wanted for once to get that mile under 9 minutes (which I did.)  Our Denver-ite Flyer TB passed me on the uphill…I knew his “taking it easy” would eventually catch up to my racing this thing (though he claimed otherwise beforehand…think there may have been beers at the after-party riding on it?)  Anyway, unlike the 3 Bridges run, the incline on the Queensboro didn’t feel like it increased in length and tried to pick it up on the downhill, but tried to be careful to not trash my quads in the process…still 10 miles to go!!

First Avenue

Always the part I look forward to most…but today it didn’t seem the same.  Compared to 4th Ave in Brooklyn, the crowds here seemed kind of…subdued?  I dunno.  I couldn’t seem to pick up my pace…looks like 3:35 may be out, but keep it around 8:30s and I can still get a sub-3:40 BQ.  8:30s…I can do that.  And I was able to for a coupla miles.  Oh was it great to see the Flyers at the PowerGel station at mile 18.  And my parents around 103rd with their signs (one sign said “Next stop…Boston!”, the other one along with the lettering had paw prints on it for my dog brother…that made me smile at least 🙂 ) 

But after that, upper 1st Ave had more fading…not sure what was going on.  On top of that, my stomach was bugging me a little.  I had taken all my gels on schedule, and these were gels I have used many, many times in training (tangerine PowerGel) that I knew it shouldn’t give me any issues so needless to say it was a little puzzling.  I saw LG right before the Willis Ave Bridge, he had a bottle of water for me which was much needed.  “Keep it up.  You look strong,” he said to me.  Oh if only you knew how I was really feeling…looks are deceiving…

The Bronx

And as always, PD was making his appearance in a kilt and bagpipes on the Willis Avenue Bridge.  That was the bright spot of this borough for me.  (and I didn’t even spot Yankee Stadium this time…damn.)

During Mile 21, I had to do the unthinkable and make a port-a-potty stop.  I’ve never had to do this in a marathon before, but I just hoped that taking care of “business” then and there would just help me gut out the last 5 or so miles.  Well losing a minute or so in that mile lost the BQ for me…down but not out.  Maybe if I can pull it together I can still PR.  I force-fed myself my last gel-just to hopefully give myself some energy-as we left the Bronx and hoped for the best…

Manhattan-5th Ave to the finish line

I had really lucked out in my first marathon.  If there was a wall, I never felt it.  But here today, in the marathon I was best trained for, I was experiencing the wall.  The gel I force-fed myself did absolutely nothing.  I was afraid to take anymore of the too-sweet Gatorade as I didn’t want it upsetting my stomach any more.  I just took water where I could and just kept moving forward.  NPT passed me around Marcus Garvey Park and said “come on, hang in there, you got this”…oh how I wish I could have stuck with her.  But it wasn’t happening.  So the “just PR” turned into “maybe get under 3:50?”  The 5th ave hill slayed me as always.  My parents were just past the mile 23 marker and as they said later, knew something wasn’t right because I wasn’t smiling like I usually would be at that point.  I just wanted to get to the park and finish this thing.

But I began to feel sick again after I entered the park.  I had to ask a couple of times where a porta-potty was, as I had to go AGAIN. :-\  As there was nothing, I was forced to make an emergency stop at the Boathouse, and thank god there was an empty stall.  But even after getting that done, it disrupted my rhythm, as I found it hard to start running again…I’d start up then slow to a walk.  And I was still feeling somewhat nauseous.  All the spectators yelling my name did nothing…and those yelling “almost there”…oh you know how I felt about that.  A mile and a half to the finish still felt like an eternity.

Anyway, with a million sets of goals out the window, I wanted to still salvage one-finish under 4 hours.  I looked at my watch and did some quick math, and made a deal with myself.  Run/walk it to 25, then run it in to the end.  Making the right turn onto Central Park South was a huge relief.  Even though the mile split was slow, the crowds did make it feel like it went by faster…and I heard a certain Katy Perry song that I really liked, but honestly I didn’t feel like a firework right then and there 😛  The half-mile to go sign was in sight and that brought relief, that I was gonna make it under 4.  I saw Flyer CN around there…she had passed me while I was walking but she was struggling here too…we tried to get each other through this last bit and it helped me to see a friendly face.

Milke 26 came and went, and then there was the evil Tavern hill and then the finish line was in sight…but for the first time, I sorta felt numb while finishing this one.  I mean yeah, I had a smile on my face, arms up in celebration for the cameras, but this just seemed…anticlimactic.  Anyway, another one was in the books and thankfully kept up my perfect record of sub-4’s with a 3:55:30.

After the finish line

Got my medal…and I will admit, I love the quote that is on the back of the medal-a quote from Grete Waitz “In New York, everyone wins.”  I had seen that at the expo and that was part of what kept me going in the late, painful miles…I wanted that medal!!  Got the heat sheet, food and drink bag, finisher photo…I immediately tore into the Gatorade recovery beverage but I still felt awful.  Everything was cramping, I still felt nauseous…and I was just being told to keep moving.  I saw a med tent, with a sign saying “last med tent before 77th street exit” (which was where I had to go to get my bag.)  I was supposed to meet my parents and grab a bite with them but I knew I needed some kind of help…I was in bad shape.  So I hit the med tent-where I got the cramps in my legs and one of my shoulders massaged out.  They also gave me chicken soup, a salt packet, and some regular Gatorade (not the sickly-sweet stuff that was on the course)…I was definitely dehydrated and in need of electrolytes. 

Finally I was feeling well enough to get up and go (and according to the medics, had some color back…I looked pale and sick before they treated me.)  Unfortunately, by the time I got to my bag and was able to get in touch with the ‘rents, they had already left…kinda sucked but understandable considering I couldn’t get in touch and explain the delay.  So was just me, replenishing with a Shake Shack burger and fries and cleaning up to head out to the Flyers’ post-party at The Parlour.  (oh and while showering, I noticed a “don’t do anything new on race day” mistake.  The HRM that came with the new Mr. Garmin?  I hadn’t used it on a long enough run and it chafed the hell out of me.  Plus it was giving me wacky readings all day…max HR of 233?  I don’t think so!)

As for the post-party, was a good time.  Hey, misery loves company, right? 🙂  It did help seeing my teammates and friends…unlike the MCM disaster where I had to drown my sorrows by myself afterwards!  Anyway, the emotions amongst my teammates about their races were varied…happiness, disappointment, indifference, acceptance, looking to get revenge in the next race…just to name a few.  But nothing Blue Moons can’t fix I guess 😛

As for my race?  I think the word that sums it up is “inconclusive.”  Meaning I’m not sure what was the cause-or causes-of it going wrong.  Maybe the 3:35 goal was too ambitious, should have just gone for 3:40?  (As I did not go out too fast for a 3:35 goal.)  Something nutrition-related?  Was the Gatorade on the course mixed in a way that was making me feel sick?  And I had been feeling a hint of a cold the day before and even that morning, maybe that affected me?

Well whatever it is, got 5 months to figure it out.  Hoping for redemption on April 16th…

NYCM 2011: a disaster

Well obviously I didn’t get my goal, or anywhere close to it.  3:55:30.  Thankfully still got under 4 and didn’t get a personal worst, but definitely was not the race I trained for or wanted by a long shot.

Short story-after running the first half right on pace, it all went to hell in the 2nd half.  Maybe my 3:35 goal was too ambitious.  In addition, dealt with nutritional issues that caused 2 unplanned pit stops, lotsa cramping and nausea and even a med tent visit post finish.

Not sure if I am gonna post a full report…still trying to process it all.  Admittedly, it’s quite disappointing for me.  Even dealing with 80 degrees in Chicago last year was better than this…

I’ll let the splits tell the story for now, as ugly as they are. (FYI-the “pace/mile” column is cumulative time, not per mile.  I only wish I was still hitting sub-9’s late in the going…)

week 10 wrap-up

I sorta held onto this weekly wrap-up for a day…as there were other things on my mind, as well as others yesterday…

i can't believe it's been 10 years.

 

the freedom tower on friday nite, lit up in red/white/blue

 ********************************************************************************************************************

Closed out the week with 13 miles, last 8 at MP…

Mile	Time	Distance	Pace
1	8:24	1.00	8:24
2	8:03	1.00	8:03
3	8:00	1.00	8:00
4	7:51	1.00	7:51
5	8:12	1.00	8:12
6	7:54	1.00	7:54
7	8:08	1.00	8:08
8	7:48	1.00	7:48
8.14	1:06	0.14	7:51
Summary	1:05:26	8.14	8:02

And for whatever reason, I didn’t feel as good about this one as my last MP run…i thought this should have felt easier, given it was a little cooler and much less humid.  But whatever, I hit the pace overall so I guess I can’t complain.

Onward…

marathon match

So yesterday was the annual trek out to Flushing Meadows for some tennis goodness at the US Open.  Thankfully, weather-wise, we looked to be getting a perfect day!  I tackled my hill repeats in the morning, then hit the LIRR to get out to Queenz.  I definitely recommend taking the LIRR to get to the Open-at least on the way there.  As the 7 train just sits in the station at Times Square and stops everywhere (or so it seems)…it was worth the $5 to get a quick ride out there.

As for the matches on tap-unfortunately the players me and the bro wanted to see the most (Novak Djokovic for me, Caroline Wozniacki for him) both had the night session.  But Roger Federer would be playing at Ashe around 1-ish, and even though I’m not really a Federer fan, I figure I have to actually see him play once.  So to kill some time, we did some shopping (love that Foursquare special with Amex-sync your Amex card and get a $10 statement rebate with a purchase of $20 or more!), hit up the “Food Village,” and indulged in a Honey Deuce-the signature cocktail of the Open.  Yeah, was a little pricey, but got to keep the glass, and it did come highly recommended by a coupla friends of mine…

refreshing! and love the melon ball "tennis ball" garnish 🙂

Me and the bro then took our Honey Deuces to Ashe stadium to wait for the match to begin.

We wound up staying for 2 sets of the Federer match…he took it in 3 sets.  Honestly, the match didn’t seem really exciting…the opponent really seemed overmatched, and it just seemed too easy for Federer.  (or maybe I’m a little biased because like I said, I’m not as much a fan of Federer as I am of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal…those 2 seem to have a little more of a spark.)  Plus, we wanted to get over to Louis Armstrong Stadium, as we had a feeling with the coupla matches coming up it would be packed.

And it was in the 2nd set of the Gael Monfils-Juan Carlos Ferrero match.  We had to go all the way to the other side of the stadium to find 2 seats together.  But it was worth it-boy was this match exciting!!  Tiebreakers and deuces up the wazoo.  Plus Monfils is a very entertaining player…I don’t know if I’d go as far as my brother who says Monfils is his new favorite, but he was so fun to watch-very animated and “acrobatic” as I heard someone else call him.  I thought Monfils could take it in the 4th set, as he won sets 2 and 3 and I felt he had the momentum.  But he was tiring, as my brother observed “his legs are gone…only using the upper body…he’s just gassed.”  And I was sorta reminded of last year, when I was watching the Federer-Djokovic semifinal in Madison Square Park with Lam and others, and Lam mentioned once the match hit 3 hours that “it was like a marathon” and I said “well maybe for you :)”  Now this match was truly a marathon-it went nearly 5 hours!  (hell for some, it would be an ultramarathon…lol)  No one deserved to lose this one, but Ferrero took it in the 5th set.

We stayed to watch the first set of Mardy Fish’s match-he seemed to be rolling over his opponent with the same ease as Federer had rolled over his, so it wasn’t as exciting to watch…or maybe we were just spoiled by the previous match!  But I will say, Mardy Fish does have some rowdy fans (apparently known as “The Fishheads”)…had some funny cheers which included “Go Fish!” (like the card game, get it?) and “Fish Time!”…I guess you had to be there to see/hear it 😛

After checking out a coupla minutes of one of the doubles matches at one of the smaller courts, we then decided to “bounce” and hit the 7 train to head home…til next year!!

 

shoe porn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

madison square memories

So I think the little setup of the US Open viewings at Madison Square Park was absolutely genius…good location by both east and west side subways, a park that doesn’t get mobbed like Bryant Park does…just pull up a patch of grass (or a bleacher seat if you are lucky) and sit on a free seat cushion (or 2 or 3) and you’re set for a match or 2 🙂  And for me, I felt it was like coming full circle of sorts…9 years ago when I first moved into the city and lived on East 33rd, I used to be able to walk to work and cutting through Madison Square Park was a shortcut I’d take every day…so being there brought back memories…some good, some not-so-good (as I will go into later…)

Anyways, in order to spend a lazy Saturday lounging in Madison Square Park and watching the mens’ semifinals meant that I had to make sure I got my run done in the morning and any other chores done.  Well perfect, as the Fitness 4-miler was that morning and since it was a points race and I wasn’t racing, I should be good and cheer 🙂  I got to see the winner of the men’s race break the tape, then I ran north, opposite the race so I could cheer on the guys…Flyers, UA, or whoever else…as they approached the last stretch of the race.  The Flyer were led by our master blaster AP…with Lam hot on his heels!!  I’ll let Lam tell the rest of his story as it’s a good one 😉  I spotted the rest of the Flyer scoring men…MH, SJ and Cap’n DG.  (And don’t our men look fine?  Our scorers-minus DG caught on film-he got caught in the local gallery instead!)  Across 102nd, down the east side, seeing several peeps and a certain ObsceneCam™ in passing and stopped briefly at 72nd to catch the start of the women’s race.  Once they passed I headed west near the finish line…ran into Lam and AP and we watched the ladies come in.  Our women ran great…looked like there were a lot of PR’s in the house!!  I briefly regretted my choice of the 20K race instead of this one…it seemed like conditions were better for this one and maybe I would have had a race result I would have been happier with?  Nothing I can do about it at this point.  Anyways, headed home to get cleaned up…

…and head to da park for some semifinal fun!!  The Nadal match was 2 sets in by the time I got there, and he easily took the 3rd.  Ahh gotta love it, 1st semifinal + straight sets=more rest for Nadal.  And of course, I was hoping the Novak Djokovic-Roger Federer match would go 5 sets so whoever won would be less rested…but that fact aside, I had a feeling that a meeting of the #2 and #3 seeds would go 5 sets!!  I was hoping for a Djokovic win…I’m actually not a big Federer fan (anyone think Federer looks like Mr. Big from SATC, by the way?)  He is what I felt Shalane Flanagan was to women’s distance running for awhile…and I liked it when she got beat in a race…maybe I like to root for the “underdog” in a way?  It was sorta like that when Pete Sampras dominated tennis…

So anyways, it was an exciting match!!  The sets that Federer took (1st and 3rd) were long drawn out battles-both were 7-5.  The sets that Djokovic took (2nd and 4th)-he broke Federer early and just ran with it (6-1 and 6-2, respectively)  As Lam said several times-“once Federer gets broken, its all over”…or something to that effect.  And also when the match time hit 3 hours that “this was like a marathon”  (maybe for you kid…its a 20-miler for me, lol!)  And then came the 4-5 point in the match…when Federer had an opportunity to break and take the match with 2 match points-both squandered!!  But next game, it was Djokovic who broke it open so to say…and took the match with a 7-5 last set!!

I felt Djokovic’s reaction was very memorable…

That “OMG, did I really do this?  Did I really beat the great Roger Federer?” reaction.  I wish I could find a better picture that captured the moments right after the win…or actually video does the job (around 1 minute in)

So unfortunately today’s final got rained out…hope I can DVR it tomorrow as it’s during working hours…and I really think this will be an exciting final.  Though I’m pulling for Nadal, I wouldn’t be disappointed with a Djokovic win either.

Back to running!  Today was long run day and I definitely wanted to beat said rain.  My coworkers were actually participating in the Race for the Cure…walking it.  A couple were actually surprised I wasn’t doing it, but I had to get a long run in…with Chicago 4 weeks away, now’s not the time to be skipping long runs!  And the reason why I wanted to run long today instead of yesterday was to give myself another day between long runs (since the 20K was on Monday, and not on a weekend)  Maybe I could have run that and front-loaded and add on afterwards to get myself to 16 miles…but knowing my coworkers I had a feeling that would not have been able to happen, or happen easily.  Anyways, I came up with a good route to escape the madness…bridle paths to keep me off the park drives, then over to the west side highway and downtown, out and back over the Brooklyn Bridge.  And it was cool enough for me to wear arm warmers!!  (Actually I may not have needed them, but with 4 long runs left til Chi-town, I wanted to try them out on a long run to make sure they’d be OK to wear during the race.  And they were good!)  So 16 miles done, sans drama (no biker collisions or anything like that) and beat the rain!  One long run closer to taper time!!

And to bring back what I said earlier…about Madison Square Park and memories…kinda ties into the 9th anniversary of 9/11.  9 years ago that day, I remember walking to work (early!  I think I actually got to the office a little after 8 AM!) and walking through Madison Square Park, right that moment, thinking that weather-wise and everything else, seemed like it was a perfect day.  Of course at that moment I never would have known the exact opposite would be the case.  9 years later that same day, in Madison Square Park again, thinking about what a perfect day it was…great weather, running, friends and tennis.  Except for the memories of that day 9 years ago.

9/11/2001.  I still remember.

(many thanks to Bridges Runner for this fabulous photo!)

open for business

This was a t-shirt at the Nike booth at the US Open…I didn’t buy the shirt, but I couldn’t resist getting a picture of it!!

Thankfully Hurricane Earl spared NYC of any damage to Friday’s tennis schedule.  My brother and I were prepared if the weather got bad which thankfully did not happen.  There was rain which suspended play for 20 minutes at the most!  So we got to see some pretty good tennis…first off Elena Dementieva-Daniela Hantuchova, where Hantuchova coulda had the first set, but then seemed to suffer a mental collapse which cost her not just the first set, but the match as well.  We passed on the Kim Clijsters match in favor of visiting the “Food Village ” and other assorted stores and attractions…and yes, that included getting another pic taken.  This year no beers or big tennis balls, but I guess a trophy would have to do. 🙂

So next was Armstrong stadium to catch the beginning of the John Isner match (Kevin-I was actually looking around there to see if you were there 🙂 )  We stayed there until we got word that the Andy Murray match was gonna start up, so back to Ashe we went.  (My brother thought that since the Clijsters match was so quick that there would be a match moved to Ashe before the Murray one, but I had a feeling with the weather forecast being what it was, they would want to get all matches in ASAP.)  So we saw Andy Murray take the first 2 sets (though it looked like he was struggling a little in the first set!) and then decided to go back to Armstrong and see the rest of the Isner match (I was following along with that one on the CrackBerry-and as the third set went to tiebreak, the scoreboard on the CrackBerry said 79 to 67.  Meaning that the tiebreak was won 9 to 7…though with Isner, you never know!)  Anyways, by the time we got to the other stadium, Murray had taken the 3rd set 6-0 and we saw Isner close it out in the 4th set.

So next we decided to try and catch some doubles action on the number courts…first was the Melanie Oudin match which she lost in straight sets (we blame her doubles partner) then the end of the Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Meghann Shaughnessy-Caroline Wozniacki/Daniela Hantuchova…moreso to see what crazy outfit Britney-I mean Bethanie-would be wearing…she was rocking the hot pink and knee-high socks (compression socks?)  And actually, in the other doubles match it looked like 3 of the 4 women had the same purple top!  We called it a day after that one and hit the 7 train back to Manhattan.

And today I got wind of the Open being shown on a big screen in Madison Square Park so I popped by there to watch the end of the Nadal match 🙂 and part of the Murray match 😦  And thanks to the power of social media, I knew at least one pal would be there too 😉  Hmmm maybe I will have to make a return visit next weekend!

And in between all the tennis?  Some R & R…including, but not limited to margaritas at the Boat Basin, the heat wave finally breaking…and oh yeah, a pre-race mani/pedi (well moreso because my nails were a mess from the move.)

Fingers on the right, toes on the left.  I seem to like my toes in blue shades, this one is called Lapis of Luxury (by Essie.)  And for the last few months before races, I’ve been doing up my fingers in OPI‘s Lincoln Park after Dark…a la Kara Goucher in NYCM 2008 (not quite black nails, but close enough.)  It’s a thing.

So tonite was just chilling and eating pasta and early to bed, as I have a mad early train to New Haven tomorrow…eek!!  Alarm, don’t fail me pleasssseeee…

And some more Open pics for your enjoyment 🙂

john isner in a non-marathon match 🙂

andy murray!

the us open on the big screen at madison square park

my foursquare check-in made the big screen!

my pic at the amex booth at madison square park…

…and an action shot at the same booth

happy 90210 day!

Well as today is 9/02/10, I’m very happy to see throughout facebook and trending topics on Yahoo, that “90210 Day” is alive and well.  Hell, even local bars are getting into the action (gotta love the drink specials: “Drink specials include The Donna, a (what else) virgin pina colada; The Dylan, with Jägermeister; and The David Silver, Patron on the rocks.”)  Ahhh nothing on TV today (not even the “remake” of sorts) can come close to the goodness that was BH90210…you just can’t write stuff like this anymore!!

Anyone remember “Donna Martin Graduates”?

Or when that skank Emily Valentine slipped drugs into Brando’s drink?

And definitely can’t forget the infamous party wehen Jim and Cindy were away and Brandon totalled Mondale (awesome recrap of this episode here!)

So yeah-will be another 100 years before this day is upon us again, so enjoy!

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And in other news, still getting settled into the new pad.  Still need to work my way through boxes of clothes to unpack (it’s tough with the US Open on at night and the TV being in the living room!  distractions, distractions) but started to make some progress yesterday.  And surprisingly, even though I’m sorta between the same avenues as I was when I lived on the UWS, the West Side Highway path seems so much closer!!  (Maybe because it’s due to the absence of Riverside Park now?)  So I did a few recovery miles on the nice flat path last nite…was hot during the day but the evening was tolerable and there was a gorgeous sunset along the Hudson River.  Even though I run this path so much-it just seemed different last nite.  (wonder if it’s the change in direction and location?  As I ran north to the 80s and turned around.  Whereas when I do the downtown run with the Flyers, we go south from 14th street all the way to the bottom and back.) And made me look forward to more sunset runs along this route.

And yesterday was my first day back at work after the move and I am loving my shortened commute!!  Especially having many more choices of trains.  Before?  Had to either wait for a C train, or take a B to Columbus Circle and transfer to an A or C.  Now-I got the A, C and E at my disposal 🙂

Short workweek for me…taking tomorrow off to head to the US Open-as long as the damn hurricane doesn’t make tomorrow a washout!!

back on the grid

Finally got reconnected today!!  Though almost didn’t happen, as Time Warner, for whatever reason, still had my old phone # on my account (even though I asked 2 weeks ago for it to be changed) and the technician called that number and when there was no answer decided “ok, guess i don’t have to show up”  Or so I found out when I called TWC with 10 minutes to go in the scheduled time window and needless to say I gave them a piece of my mind.  Whatever, it got hooked up…2 days without TV was tolerable (though I am glad to have it back in time to watch Nadal’s first round match!) but I’m glad to have functioning Internet without having to look for an unsecured wireless network to connect to!

Anyways, even though I do still have some unpacking to do, I am definitely getting settled into the new pad, and let me just tell you…compared to my old place, I feel like I’m living in a palace now.  What a difference one extra room makes-not to mention a much bigger kitchen!  This is definitely worth not being within stumbling distance of Central Park 🙂  Funny thing-both my old super and old across-the-hall neighbor both commented to me that I “won’t be right by the park anymore”  Hmmm guess I’ve been spotted a lot in my running clothes. 🙂

And thankfully the running routine wasn’t too disrupted with the move.  Saturday I got 20 miles in during the LTR…I’m not gonna go into too much detail except same shite, different day.  I’m on pace, others aren’t, guess who has to deal with the consequences.  As I had to do some pre-move stuff that afternoon, I wore my compression socks all afternoon to hopefully aid with recovery (and I did on the actual moving day too!)  Sunday was my last run being within stumbling distance from the park and was a slow 4 and change on the bridle path, before finishing up packing and waiting for the movers (who were actually early!)  The move thankfully went smoothly, now it’s just a matter of finding a place for everything (especially my clothes-and this was with tossing quite a bit before the move too!)

Today was tempo nite with UA, and I decided to test the waters with regards to how far it is to run from here to there…about 2.8 miles.  Good to know if I need to pad my mileage, but I may need to think of other alternatives on speedwork days.  Anyway, tonite was 2 tempo Harlem Hill loops (1.4 miles)  Though we were told we can have some leeway with the suggested times due to the conditions…anyways, my suggested time was 10:38 and I ran 10:45 (7:38 pace) for the 1st loop and surprise surprise, 10:38 (7:33 pace) for the second!!  I definitely earned my recovery brew…

If you like fruity beers, this is strongly recommended. And check out what I used to drink it in! 🙂

Anyway, back to work, back to reality tomorrow. Thankfully the commute will be a little shorter than it was before! 🙂

two steps forward, one step back

It never fails, right?  When you’re packing up for a move and you feel like you’re making progress, you come across something you didn’t even remember that you had, and of course you have to pause and check everything out…and play the keep/toss game.

So what were these blasts from the past that came up while I was in the midst of throwing stuff into boxes last nite?  (well not really “throwing stuff” but u know what I mean.)  Can you believe it, old apartment documents from my first place in Murray Hill-we’re talking 9 years ago.  Including back-and-forth emails between me and my then soon-to-be roommate all excited about moving in and what we were gonna do with the place…and also not knowing how much things were gonna change in only a matter of weeks.

And sorta on that topic, I also came across previous years’ versions of the Zagat restaurant/bar guides…as well as a coupla Time Out New York versions too.  From as far back as 2000!  Why did I keep them all this time?  Nostalgia sake, I guess…reading about past favorite haunts of mine that are no longer around…and also the pre-9/11 places too…

And of course, pictures.  We’re talking actual hardcopy photos, back in the day when they had those things called 35mm disposable cameras and every single place that developed them would give you free doubles.  And yeah, of course I had to wade through them too.  Some warranted a trip to the trash can, others brought back good memories, others brought back bad, others I was just indifferent to.

So yeah, I’m not sure what’s gonna be tougher this week, packing up the rest of my place (I haven’t even tackled my clothes closet yet!) or getting in all my mileage.  It’s gonna be tight, but it may be doable…I at least have a coupla fun things going on to break it up.  Thursday will be my last race as an Upper West Sider…a 5k race which you may remember last year wasn’t exactly 5K, but was still fun all the same 😉   And once again, I’m pretty much “training through it” so I don’t expect anything great.  Saturday is the next Long Training run and another 20…yep dontcha just love how I scheduled my move around my training and long runs? 😉  Though moving the day after running a 20 will be…uh…interesting!  Though I will be taking it easy in the LTR.

And last week’s long run?  16 miles down Summer Streets to the end, a little bit up, over to the east, around the bottom, up the west side.  Yeah I know I was annoyed by it last week but this was the last weekend so I could deal for one more day…one less long run I have to do in the park.  And I was actually able to sneak three MP miles in near the end-8:10, 8:22, 8:10 (that 2nd one could have been faster-I had to slow a little by chelsea piers…people crowding the sidewalks.)  So not bad, especially considering my legs sorta fell asleep around mile 11…guess the PowerGel boost woke them up.  This weekend, I’m keeping the pace consistent, as the LTR is not the place to take off in the last few miles.  (And I think my legs will be happier for it.)

 And on the topic of gel boosts (love how each paragraph of this post seems to transition into the next)-anyone else disappointed that Luna Moons were discontinued (which was I guess the LunaBar version of Clif Blok Shots)?  While I usually use gels for a long run and during the race, the Blueberry Luna Moons were my pre-race “go-to.”  Just like running shoes for me I guess…always getting discontinued 🙂

Wow, a lot for one post.  I guess that’s what happens when you have to spend more time prepping for a move than blogging 🙂

state of confusion

From part of my Saturday long run on the Summer Streets:

Yep, Mr. Garmin was a pretty confused fella around the Grand Central viscinity, and thats not even all of it.  (He seemed confused around 72nd street and around City Hall Park too.)  And it seemed like there were a lot of confused people in the streets…primarily the bikers who decided to move into the pedestrian lane?  You all know my fear of bikers, now I was even more terrified!  I know it was partially my fault for hitting the snooze button one too many times…but still! 🙂  Anyways, approximately 8 miles of my long run were in the streets…then took it to the park and over to the west side highway for the remainder.  And even though I intended to do 18-19, actually wound up with 20 (I guess I wanted to do a little bit more just in case Mr. Garmin shortchanged me with the distance on Summer Streets.)  Was fine, except I think I needed to take 3 gels instead of 2…and the weather was beautiful!!  Gotta love looking like you were at the beach instead of running 😛

And on the topic of long runs, guess thats where I am confused too.  I was told that I am doing my long runs too slow and that I need to run them at marathon pace and thats why I’m struggling to hit 3:40.  (though had the DNF not happened last year, I probably would have gotten it…but at this point I’ll never know!)  To be honest, this summer it’s been a struggle just to get the miles in, let alone running the long runs faster.  And even though the weather was nice on Saturday, I don’t think I could have held 8:15-8:20’s for 20 miles…my legs were tired from some quality workouts this past week!  And just judging from past experience…

• In 2006, I ran the 18-mile tune-up at an 8:48 pace…so I guess you can say I “raced” it.  Although I felt good that day, my legs were trashed for days afterwards-I couldn’t do any speedwork, and all my runs were slogs.  And as it turned out, my actual MP on race day was 9:06…
• And in said marathon (NYC 2006), which was my first-I didn’t hit the wall at all, even though I hadn’t gone beyond 20 miles in training.  Only lost 2 minutes and change in the 2nd half (which apparently for the NYC course, is an even split.)  Mile 26 was one of my fastest miles of the race!
• When I ran my marathon PR in NYC 2008-I had an initial goal time of 3:50, with 3:45 as a “stretch goal.”  Most of my long runs were in the 9-9:30 pace range, only one long run was at MP-13.1 at Grete’s…which actually was sorta unplanned.  And obviously, I got my goal as I ran 3:44.  Once again, only lost 2 minutes and change in the 2nd half-and mile 26 was my 3rd fastest mile of the race (only miles 2 and 3 were faster-and I believe both of them included the downhill ramp on the Verazzano!)
• As for last year…well can’t really talk about it, marathon-wise.  But you know, I didn’t do a single training run at 7:27 pace-so how the heck was I able to hold it for 13.1 miles?

So I’ve been sorta going by the rule to do long runs 60-90 secs slower than MP, as the point is to build endurance, time on your feet.  And I thought that paid off in both marathons I finished as I felt strong at the end and not like I was gonna bonk.  Any MP work I did was in shorter runs.  I didn’t want my legs to get so trashed from doing long runs too fast that I couldn’t do any quality workouts during the week.   But am I going about everything all wrong?  And with 8 weeks left to go, 5 long runs til taper time (well actually 4, as one of them will be the 20K race), is there time to fix things if need be?  Hence me being so confused…

make my move

Well as I hinted about in my previous post…there just may be good news on the apartment front…but didn’t want to say anything til it was official.

Well as of this morning, it’s official.  At the end of this month, I will no longer be an Upper West Sider…but a Midtowner!!  (west, of course…you all know the west side is the best side!)  Yeah even though I did like the UWS and the proximity to the park, I saw a place in the West 40s that I really liked and didn’t want to waste any time in putting in an app…didn’t want to lose this one like I lost the place on west 91st!

I’ll admit, I am a little sad to be leaving the UWS…but I’m really getting excited about my new ‘hood.  Bars and restaurants galore (ohh boy once I’m done with Chicago and not on the wagon…) and really I’m not *that* far from CP.  Less than a mile to Columbus Circle, and hey not a bad way to pad mileage, right?  Plus I’m still near the West Side Hwy.  And near almost every single subway (well the west side ones at least)-including EXPRESS trains!!  And within walking distance of Bryant Park.  And…oh I’m sure I can go on and on but I’ll stop here.  And I gotta love this-the landlords are a family-owned company from the town next to where I grow up, and one of them is friends with one of my brother’s friends…small world, right?  But besides that, they just seem genuinely nice and helpful-huge difference from my current and previous place.

So now that I got that out of the way, the real tough and tedious part begins…packing and moving.  (I have a feeling I will be doing a LOT of cleaning house…I’m sure I accumulated so much stuff over 7 years that I probably don’t even need anymore.)  But I’me sorta arranging my moving date so that it doesn’t interfere with training, especially my long runs…ya know, because I can 🙂  And since I know I will be situated before Labor Day weekend, I went ahead and registered for the New Haven 20K!  (and I will be so close to Grand Central-score!)

So hopefully having this little piece of stress taken care of will help me have a good race tomorrow?  Hope so…and I’m sure I’ll see a lot of you there! 🙂

the hardest kind of shopping

Nope not swimsuit shopping.  Not even running shoe shopping, which I had said at one point I dreaded more than swimsuit shopping (and I do dread swimsuit shopping.)

Nope, it’s apartment shopping.  I’ve got 1 month left to find something and honestly I didn’t remember it being this hard 7 and 9 years ago.  In fact, as I noted a few years back, I was able to find places pretty quickly.  (And looks like I also said I wouldn’t give up a place within stumbling distance of the park if I didn’t have to…but circumstances happened where I have to.)  And it’s not like I have a boyfriend I can move in with in case I don’t find a place in time.  (ah yes, just another thing to add to the why-it-sucks-being-single-in-NYC list!)  Plain and simple if I don’t find something new by the end of the month…needless to say I’m getting a bit nervous.  I did see a place a coupla weeks back on the UWS that I loved, however due to miscommunication among the landlord and brokers, apparently it was snatched up before I could apply for it.  Back to the drawing board…

And of course speedwork is a good stress relief.  Last nite the coaches decided to go easier on us after giving us some tough stuff the last coupla weeks-just a plain and simple workout of 20 x 100m to focus more on form than speed…

Interval	Time	Distance	Pace
1	0:22.65	0.05	6:59
2	0:22.27	0.06	6:30
3	0:23.00	0.06	6:34
4	0:21.97	0.06	5:55
5	0:21.95	0.06	5:55
6	0:22.72	0.06	6:12
7	0:21.72	0.06	6:07
8	0:22.15	0.06	6:24
9	0:21.92	0.06	6:02
10	0:22.27	0.06	6:05
11	0:22.04	0.06	6:13
12	0:20.85	0.06	5:51
13	0:22.37	0.06	6:12
14	0:21.79	0.06	6:09
15	0:20.79	0.06	5:41
16	0:21.00	0.06	6:01
17	0:20.55	0.06	5:55
18	0:21.01	0.06	5:56
19	0:20.30	0.06	5:39
20	0:20.00	0.06	5:40

Though we weren’t supposed to worry about the time, and I really didn’t look at it til afterwards (well moreso to make sure I did 20 as I lost count!)  but was pleased with the consistency and the effort, as I wasn’t going all-out (like in last Thursday’s workout).  Wore the Lunar Racers again and they still worked like a charm!  And I didn’t feel beat-up, which was also the point-to set ourselves up to have a good long run this weekend.  And considering my first 20 is this weekend, I’ll need all the prep work I can get…

ch-ch-changes

Yeah, I’ve been sorta MIA on the WWW for the last few days.  Why you ask?  Well I haven’t had computer access since Friday-except at the office, and that little thing called work has kept me too busy to blog and/or comment on blogs.  Hell, even with the CrackBerry, I’ve found it hard to keep up with things on Facebook…I’m sure I’m behind in my birthday greetings and other congrats.

Drama, you ask?  Well maybe.  Something that happened in the last few days (not going into it here-if you know me “off the blog” you can ask) has spearheaded an unexpected upcoming change-an apartment move.  Even though I love my neighborhood, it’s definitely time to move on from my apartment at the very least, for several reasons.  Though if I can find another place on the UWS, I wouldn’t cry or anything 🙂  So this is gonna be something to keep me quite busy for the next month or 2.  Here’s hoping it is a little easier and less stressful than when I was looking 7 years ago at this time…

As for running/Chi-town training…it’s still happening.  Not feeling too confident though.  My original plan for my long run this weekend was to do 10 miles before the NYRR Dash and Splash 10K (which I did actually sign up for to get pool access afterwards…plus its just the right thing to do) but due to a certain turn of events, a long run Saturday just wasn’t happening (though a short one did.)  I did get my 16 in on Sunday…but it was a struggle.  Was partially my fault for not getting out the door until 10 am, even though I had the alarm set.  But even with gels, gatorade, water (i did have my fuel belt on) I didn’t feel strong at all.  Starting with mile 9, I almost wanted to call it quits every mile, and my last few miles were over 10 minutes each so I was really hurting 😦   Was just a bad run-so bad that I was seriously considering adjusting my goals for Chicago.

And hopefully tonite’s 5K action will still go on as planned.  Whether it rains or not, I’m still running.  But knowing how flooded Hoboken streets get, methinks there may be a course “modification” or 2.  That’s ok…nothing wrong with running another short “5K” … 😛

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…

just a quickie

get your minds all outta the gutter…hehe.

but seriously, just a quickie post to say thanks to everyone for the comments on my last 2 posts…I have more to say (not a surprise) but not now. Cuz well, it’s not my time, it’s their day now.

Good luck, NYCMers!!! I’ll be at mile 18 waiting to throw PowerGel at you all 🙂

on the rebound

Despite what this post title may hint at, no this is not a dating post.  I have not broken up with anyone recently nor am i looking for a fling to tide me over.  (I don’t know about you, but dating on the rebound just never seems to work for me.  Or at least it hasn’t in the past.)

So actually, this post is about running (duh) and marathon training (double duh.)  As I had mentioned before, this past Sunday was the 3 boros/bridges 20-mile run that the Flyers and Urban Athletics put on, and would be my second 20-miler of this training cycle.  And after a crappy week, I wasn’t sure how this would go.  Especially since I would be leading the 9:30 pace group…oh the pressure!!

So bright and early on Sunday, everyone and their mother gathered at the uptown UA store (no I’m not exaggerating, it really was a huge turnout.)  And guess who’s group looked to be the largest…well lookie lookie here, it was mine.  Ahhh…more pressure!!  But thankfully I had Uptown Girl, and the other half of the “dynamic duo” TB in my group, and it was really good to have them there.

So we headed into the park, and then across 72nd…where we had to dodge several obstacles better known as the Race For the Cure.  Thank god we would not be in the park when the thick of it was going on!!  Then over to the west side path, where we got to enjoy running by famous landmarks such as The Frying Pan and the Standard Hotel-the latter being recently famous for exhibitionists showing off for voyeurs on the High Line…written up here, complete with quotes from my coworkers (sigh…so proud!!)  OK, getting off the topic again…

So on this run, I was testing out version 2.0 of the “naked shorts” (speaking of exhibitionists), otherwise known as the 42K shorts by Sugoi.  Faithful blog readers probably remember reading about and seeing the pictures from when I first road tested version 1.0 of the “naked shorts”…felt like wearing nothing and with the wind, looked like wearing nothing!!  Hence their name.  But at UA a few weeks ago I saw they had version 2.0 there and I couldn’t resist…tried out once and worked so far…decided to try them out on this 20-miler to see if maybe they would work in the marathon.  But a few miles in, I reached towards one of my pockets…to find nothing there, looks like one of my gels had fallen out!!  I still had 2 left (one in the other shorts pocket, the other in the back pocket of my running top)…will that be enough?  Guess I will have to space them out a little more and hope for the best…hopefully I can hold out til the 1st water stop at mile 8 and the downtown UA store.  Oh, and on the way there, there were 3 people who insisted on running way ahead of the group…we just let them go and as a result, they missed where the rest of us turned when we ran along the water instead of on the bike path…hey, that’s their problem, not mine.  Oh and we had to get back onto the bike path at the same spot where I got hit…thankfully without incident, and we made it to the first water stop without incident too…

So at mile 8, took my first gel…and oh yeah, the day before, mini-crisis when I only had 2 gels left, needing 3 for my run.  And it seemed like almost everywhere on the UWS was out of PowerGel, and even if they did have it, they didn’t have my current go-to flavor, tangerine.  So as a last resort, I bought a double latte flavored gel…it has double caffeine just like the tangerine does, and it’s probably the only flavor available that was least likely to make me feel sick.  And unfortunately, the gel that fell out of my pocket was a tangerine one.  So I had to choke down the double latte one…and boy, I really, really had to force it down.  I love lattes, but that don’t translate to gels.  But it’s done, now just hope it can last me 7 or 8 more miles…and away our group went, to head over to the next borough…

And remember when I mentioned a few people trying to run ahead?  Well a couple of them told me they were gonna take off by themselves, but one guy stayed with us, but still kept running ahead and “pulling” the group.  And I was none too happy, especially since I’m trying to lead, call out directions…for example, we had to make a right from Chambers onto Centre Street to get to the approach for the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian path, but having to run ahead, he crossed Centre Street, thank god others had enough sense to not follow him and listen to me when I said to turn right.  So I had to nicely remind group to follow the leader…I mean really… (to sorta quote a certain someone) they didn’t ask me to be leader because of my good looks…it was because I was good!!  Or at the very least, I could follow directions and know what I was doing 🙂  So we took on the bridge, being careful…holy zoo, and it was still relatively early!!  Made it to the other side without colliding with any bikers, bladers, strollers, etc…found the right route off the bridge (to the left, to the left!) and down the stairs.

OK-being that this was the first part of the run that I wasn’t 100% familiar with my surroundings, I actually had to refer to the map after we got off the bridge to give us direction-but once we found it, was smooth sailing up to the 11 1/2 mile mark and the 2nd water stop.  BC was there with the ObsceneCam™ taking picture after picture, and NS was lounging in a chair, wearing a J-E-T-S shirt and obviously looking forward to that afternoon’s game 🙂  And after a few minutes we were off again…to run through Williamburg and Greenpoint (and having to follow the other golden rule of this run-do NOT cross the BQE!)  And actually, on the stretch along Kent Avenue, Flyer RS caught up to us…apparently he had just gotten back from a vacation about an hour ago and wanted to try and still catch up to our run and he did…crazy!!  But knowing him, I wasn’t surprised 🙂  The group got a little strung out here…so I had to whistle and yell to let the peeps in front of me know to make the right turn onto Eagle St.  And yep, that same guy was the culprit, and he tried to lead everyone on the Pulaski Bridge…but he was like half-walking/half-running (guess not so good at hills?) and since we were all running single file, it looked like people were getting restless, so I made my move to the front and led everyone into Queens…

I could tell people were getting tired here, and thankfully I was still feeling good (especially thankfully since I had to ration my gels!) so I had no problems giving pep talks, being encouraging…ya know, like a good leader should be 🙂  The next water stop was near the Queensboro Bridge, and I think everyone was thankful to see it (myself included!)  A few minutes here, then we set off for the last few miles!!  OK, so we were at 11th St…and we had to turn onto 23rd St to get to the bridge, but then all of a sudden we see 21st St…hmmm how did that happen? 🙂  Anyways, the sooner we get to the bridge, the sooner we get to Manhattan…so was all good here. Up the incline, down the other side…BC was snapping pics again with the ObsceneCam™ as we ran down the off-ramp.  Oh and once again, I had to yell at the same guy what direction we needed to go in after exiting the bridge.  I give up…

Along 60th we go…and here I was like Little Miss Encouraging or something “2 miles left!!  We got this.  Only a mile to the park, you know you’re home free!”  Or if anyone was dreading Cat Hill “Just think, you will be running this downhill in the marathon!”  And indeed, once we hit the park it was smooth sailing….before we knew it, we were exiting the park at Engineers gate, making the left turn onto Madison Ave and were back where we started!!  20-and-change miles-DONE!!

And as you can see from the looks of mine, Runner26 and Uptown Girl’s faces…we were glad to be done!!  And I got a lot of thanks and compliments from the people in my group…really made me feel good 🙂  And of course I told them they rocked too-it sure helps to have a great group to lead and I did (well for the most part…there was an exception, as you all know…hehe.  Always one of those in every group I guess!!)  Oh, and Liz Robbins was at the store signing copies of her famous book…I actually already had a signed copy, but I said hi to her and thanked her for including me in a Times article she wrote about out-of-town fall marathons…always cool seeing your name in print 🙂  Didn’t stick around too much longer and then me, Runner26 and HM headed west…and if we weren’t tired enough from the 20, we had to run for the M96 bus!!  But we made it, and made it back on the better side of town…then shower, iced latte (“recovery” drink) and watching some tennis action for me 🙂  (the chilled glass of Riesling would wait til later…)

So what does “rebounding” have to do with this?  Glad you asked…I guess after a week of crappy runs, this one was a total 180, or a “rebound” if you will.  (And capped off a 54-mile week…wowza, how’d I do that??)  Fun run, felt good the entire time, even in the last few miles.  And found out that I can indeed do a 20-miler with only 2 gels-though if possible I would like to avoid that.  meaning that if I do wear the “naked shorts” in the marathon, I may not be able to utilize those pockets and use the back pocket on my top instead, like last year…anyway I am tangenting again here.  Even though both 20-milers went well, I’m still not convinced it will translate to a minute plus per mile faster for 26.2…hopefully I will find out next weekend!!

Special thanks to GW and Crazy bandanahead for setting up the run-nice work, guys! 🙂

hey jealousy

I don’t know what the hell is up with me this week.  Maybe it’s the rainy weather.  Maybe it’s being in the midst of my highest mileage week to date and I’m tired.  Maybe it was the hangover from too many apple martinis at the Flyers 20th Anniversary party Thursday nite (which I’ll get to in another post.)  Maybe it’s spending yesterday at a vendor doing such frustrating, mindless work and having to keep saying to my self “thank god I still have a job, thank god I still have a job…”  And maybe yesterday in general…in addition to what the day itself meant, but the memories…of that day really bringing out the worst in some people.  (long story…not going into it here.)

But I’m feeling that emotion, that one I love to hate.  Or is it that?  As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m really starting to doubt my training, I feel like I have not been running well lately.  Especially when I hear about how great everyone else’s training is going while I’m just slogging out slow miles.  Or those who have their groups to push them to do better or even just for reassurance and moral support whereas I’m really going through this alone for the next 6 weeks.  (again, something else I don’t want to go into, but it obviously is bothering me.)  When does this all pay off?  When will I ever feel comfortable leading-or running in-the 9 minute or 8:30 pace group instead of 9:30?  Is what I’m doing really all that impressive?

Hmmm…maybe it’s not jealousy that I feel.  I mean, jealousy includes hatred, dislike, right?  And I really can’t-and really don’t-hate my friends because their training is going well, or because they’ve BQed and I haven’t.  No maybe what it is, is just frustration and insecurity.  That I feel like I can work my ass off, but I’m just average, I’ll never be as impressive as someone who does the same and can run a sub-3 marathon or the like.  It’s exhausting feeling like I have to try twice, three times…hell, ten times as hard.  And maybe my mileage isn’t as impressive as those who are training with 60-70 miles a week or more, but hey these 50+ mile weeks are uncharted territory for me this year, and I’m still afraid if I go higher, I run the risk of injury and overtraining-knowing myself.

I don’t know.  I am really feeling like I don’t know if my training is on track or not.  I’m trying to not stress out about next week’s half but the reality is I desperately need the reassurance.  Yeah I ran a couple of halfway decent short races, but a 5K and 5-miler do not a good marathon time make (who did I hear that from before?)  I know October 25th is the ultimate goal, but I wanna know sooner rather than later if I am going to need to adjust my goals at all.

Do like the training.  Do not like the mental mind games it causes.

hello, motivation

I think I figured out what I need to do to get me out the door on those chilly nights instead of staying home-try on my dress for the Flyers awards gala. Got a little over 2 weeks to make sure it still fits, so gotta stay on track… (I guess that’s what I get for buying the dress right around NYCM time…you get what I’m saying 🙂 )

So winter has hit with a vengence here in NYC. I don’t remember it being this cold in a very long time. Cold enough that I have to use my supplemental electric heater-which I don’t think I have used since 2005!! So despite that, did I get back on track this week? Well…kinda sorta so far.

Monday-5 1/2 miles
Tues-yoga class with 2.2 dreadmill miles beforehand. The last 2 minutes were at 8:34 pace, which is basically MP for me-man, how did I ever maintain that for 26.2?
Wed-couldn’t run in the evening due to a prior engagement…I did set the alarm for the AM but just couldn’t do it…too damn cold (this was the beginning of the current cold snap)
Thurs-5 miles tonite. Was 18 degrees (just like Midnight Run night!) but since I had the right attire on, wasn’t so bad. Though my hands were freezing for the first mile even though I had gloves on…maybe time to replace them. And a trick for an extra bottom layer? A running skirt-the kind with shorts instead of spankies. Provides the extra layering where I need it most-it actually worked!!

I was hoping to take a spin class tomorrow morning, but considering it’s supposed to be single digits at 6 am, I am not sure that will be happening. (why venture outside if I don’t have to…even I have my limits…) I guess just make sure I get in a shorter run on Saturday and a longish run on Sunday. There, I have it written down 🙂

And in non-running news…today’s plane crash on the Hudson River-wow, that was a miracle if there ever was one. Unbelievable.

1st ave has grown some hills

and today was the final dress rehearsal for the big day!! the “last 10 miler” with the Flyers (and some very cool non-Flyer pals too-JS, PM and DN 🙂 ) Unlike 2 years ago when we had it the week before the marathon, I was preferring to run it 2 weeks before, as it was advised that running it the week before is not the best way to get a best performance on the big day. And apparently quite a few agreed with me-so Flyers assistant Coach J was nice enough to organize the “lite” version of the Last 10 Miler-meaning no baggage car, no water stop-or as I called it, “the badass version” 🙂 (Seriously-I did an 18-miler through 3 boroughs without needing a baggage car and a water stop!)

So anyway, this morning getting up thankfully wasn’t too painful after not getting home til 1 am last nite after a post-Chicago Marathon celebration party (and I was good-cut myself off at 2 glasses of wine!! That’s it til after the marathon!) Did decide to cab it to 59th and 1st, as public transportation to that corner was not kind to the UWS’ers. I met everyone under the 59th Street Bridge, ready to go…

And off we went. Even though I intended to take it easy, our first mile was a little fast-probably due to the 8-8:30 types pulling us along, so we just had to let those guys go. Much better!! Was fun re-living 1st avenue from 2 years ago…though there was something that I forgot. I must have been high on something during the marathon-cuz dear god, I did not remember 1st Ave being that hilly (and that included the Willis Ave Bridge!!)

I think some of us forgot how to maneuver the Bronx, thank god Coach J was there after we stepped down from the Willis Ave Bridge to re-iterate the directions. Once we had that, it was easy to get from there to the Madison Ave Bridge (yay for Yankee Stadium view)…then 5th…then just a countdown to the park…then the last 2.2 miles of the route!! And me and a coupla others felt good enough to pick it up to 8:30ish for the last mile. As we entered the park, I was trying to “coach” my Flyer friend DM a little bit…“come on, you’re chasing down 4 hours!! you’ve got it-just get up that hill!” 🙂 And finally, we saw Coach J, acting as the “finish line” :-p We waited for the last 2 runners to get in, then went home (I think everyone just wanted to get out of the cold-it was perfect running weather, but not perfect weather to be standing around in wet clothes!)

So, averaged 9-flat pace for this run and felt pretty good-my legs didnt really like all the stopping and starting, but then again that will not be happening on marathon day 🙂 But was sooo glad to have had this refresher course, otherwise 1st Avenue may have taken me by surprise on race day-just in case whatever got slipped into my Gatorade 2 years ago doesnt get slipped in there again :-p

2 weeks!! I can’t believe it…of course that means the 15-day forecast is up…predicting rain for now 😦 but I’m not putting too much confidence in that, I know how often it will change…

And in non-marathon/running news, Shake Shack has finally opened on the UWS!! This could be dangerous…must…resist….til after the marathon…