30 Days and 10 Items of Clothing

Unbelievably, today is the last day of the Wardrobe Challenge!  I can't believe how quickly 30 days went by. Especially since it's just over 30 days to the Philadelphia Marathon (eek!).  

Saturday evening, Day 27: I had said in the very beginning that I was giving myself one bye outfit when Drew's parents and sister were visiting us this weekend.  I imagined, however, that we'd be going out to dinner and I'd want to wear something new.  However, we ended up going out with Drew's dad to a sports bar and watching the Giants game, so I used my bye to wear a black turtleneck and Giants t-shirt that were not part of my 10 items.  I wore the same jeans as usual, though!  As a totally unrelated side note, it was the right call since the Giants won the game! 

Sunday, Day 28: Wore jeans, black v-neck sweater, gold necklace that Drew got for me in Germany and Dansko mary-jane clogs.

Monday, Day 29: Long-sleeved purple shirt, black pants, and a gold necklace I've had since I was a kid.  I think it might have actually been a hand-me-down from my mom, but I'm not sure. 

Tuesday, Day 30: Black mini-skirt, black v-neck sweater with gray t-shirt underneath.  Worn with black tights and black mary-jane heels.  No jewelry other than diamond earrings.  This was a new outfit though, so I'm glad I had one on the very last day! 

I have to tell you, I loved this challenge.  It really made me think about my (clothing) spending habits and I really don't need as much as I think I do.  It was fun to think up new combinations, although I frequently had to look back at this very blog to make sure that I wasn't wearing the same thing too close together!  It also really made me realize that with simple clothes, you can really dress them up or down with accessories and shoes.  And that no one really notices what you're wearing ... at least not as much as you think they are. 

I will also come clean and tell you that I did buying something during the course of the Challenge.  I bought new running shoes (which I actually didn't need, but they were on sale for $15 less than I normally pay, so it seemed wrong not to buy them at the time).  Tonight I also bought tights on my way home.  Which was good, because while I was walking around the store looking at tights, I noticed in one of the mirrors that my current (one) pair of plain black tights was now threadbare in the knees.  So, they went promptly in the trash when I got home. 

I think that I would 100% do this again.  It'd be fun to do in a different season, like summer perhaps?  Especially since I think there is a bigger disparity between my work and casual clothes in the summer.  I also did some window shopping while Drew's family was here and it really makes you think twice about buying something when you put it in the Challenge framework.  I think that's the biggest part that I'll take away from this ... would I really want to wear this item for 30 days straight? 

If any of you give this a shot, let me know!  I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

So That's A 40-MPH Gust

Today I was planning on a 13 mile run.  I walked to the Westside Path and started running north.  My plan was to run to the base of the George Washington Bridge and back to where I started, which would be just about exactly 13 miles.  It was cooler than it has been, but extremely windy.

I have to say that it just seemed like everything was going against me today.  Including the wind.  It was so strong a couple of times that it physically moved me along.  I also almost lost my hat.  It blew off my head and I had to run after it and track it down.  I had to tighten it as much as it could go (which I was surprised was possible since I already had it at just about the tightest setting).  I also realized that maybe it's not the best idea for me personally to run 4 days in a row and expect good results on the longest run of the 4.

Also, I hated my Fuel Belt today.  I don't know what the issue was, but it was horrible.  The real issue was that it was hurting my stomach and making me feel crampy.  I tried to run holding it in my hand.  I seriously considered trying to stash it on the side of the path and then just not caring if I had to buy a new one.  Then I thought if I was going to do that, I might as well just throw it away.  Which I also seriously considered.  More than once.  I finally ended up with it right under the bottom of my sports bra, which was the only place where I could tolerate having it on.  I'm sure it made me look even more awesome than I already looked in my tri short / compression sleeve combo that I had going on! 


I really didn't eat or drink anything along the way.  I'm wondering if that's a direct result of the cooler weather and just not feeling as thirsty as usual?  I also decided, because of the misery of this run, that I would just cut it short and try not to care about it.  After some walking and a stern talking to myself (which I did out loud in case you're curious), I told myself that I had to run from where I was (at 125th Street) back home.  Without stopping, except for street lights once I left the Path.  And, somehow, that pep talk managed to get me home.

About the only good thing I can say about the run is that even though I hated it and even though I was slow (even slower than I usually am) the pace is still exactly what I'd need to maintain in order to have a 5-hour marathon.  Which might also sound slow to a lot of you speedsters out there, but that's really my goal and it's good to know that I can have a mini melt-down and still maintain the necessary pace.

Running
Time: 2:01:24
Distance: 10.60 miles
Pace: 11:27/mile

Can't believe how close to the end of the Wardrobe Challenge things are getting!

Friday night, Day 26: Blue sweater (worn earlier in the day), jeans, gold bangles and Dansko mary-jane clogs.  You'd think I have an affinity for mary janes or something! 

Saturday, Day 27: Jeans, long-sleeved purple shirt with black short-sleeved sweater.  Worn with diamond earrings and Dansko mary-jane clogs. 

Jingle Jangle Morning

This morning was a chilly one here in the Big Apple.  I'm thinking that Fall might finally be here to stay, which is a bit of a bummer.  Even though the summer was brutally hot, I really prefer that to fall and winter.  Oh well.  I dragged myself out of bed this morning to go running.  In truth, I actually got up yesterday, put on running clothes and then got back into bed wearing all my running clothes, including socks and hat and went back to bed for another hour and a half.  So, I guess that just proves that getting dressed isn't half the battle.  Getting yourself out the door is! 

I managed to get out the door today, so that seems like a good first step.  I think I'll still be okay in the miles department.  I was always sort-of planning on having a step-back week this week since Drew's parents and sister will be visiting starting tomorrow.  On tap for today was 5 miles.  I don't really have a good 5-mile route.  Which is funny because there is a really good 5 mile route in the Park, but I've been including the mileage running to and from the Park and I can't quite get it to work out perfectly yet.

So, I ran to the Park and was wearing shorts and a long-sleeved shirt.  I had been thinking of wearing a thin one, but when I realized that it was still pretty chilly, I decided on a thicker one that had a back pocket.  I stuck my keys in there and they jingled along the whole time I was running.  Which, I'm going to be honest, was sort-of annoying.  And immediately this song got stuck in my head.  While I really like the song, I could only think of the phrase "in the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you".  It's a lot better when you can think of more words to repeat, I think. 


There was actually a second jingle jangle incident this morning.  I'm running down the west side of the road in the Park and I hear someone ringing and ringing a bike bell.  I didn't really think anything of it because I was in the running lane.  But, a guy comes up behind me on his bike and yells, "HEY!" and then proceeds to keep riding in the running lane.  I know I'm a pretty big stickler on the rules and while that is the bike lane when cars are allowed in the Park, in the early morning and at night when there are no cars, it's for pedestrians!  Of course, I felt obligated to yell after the biker and tell him the rules, which only makes me look crazy, I think. 

I decided not to run all the way home since I knew that I'd already gone well over 5 miles and it was getting late and I don't do well with pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks, so I just walked home from the Park.  Worked out pretty well overall, though!


Running
Time: 59:01
Distance: 5.65 miles
Pace: 10:26/mile

Still enjoying the Wardrobe Challenge.  Pretty sure that both Monday and Tuesday's outfits are new ones (combos not yet worn), which seems impressive to me this late in the game. 

Monday, Day 22: Black short-sleeved sweater, gray skirt.  Worn with black flats (although I did bring heels to work, I never changed).  I also wore the new necklace Drew got me in Germany, but again didn't take a close-up. 

Tuesday, Day 23: Gray t-shirt and black pants.  I wasn't actually planning on wearing this shirt again so soon, but I forgot that it was flu-shot day at work and it seemed best to be wearing short-sleeves.  Only accessory today were glasses.  And I'm standing in the other direction because Drew made fun of me recently for always having the same pose, so I switched it up!

Wednesday, Day 24: Purple long-sleeved shirt and black mini skirt.  Worn with black fishnet stockings.  I was going to wear different tights, but when I put them on they had a hole the size of my fist, which didn't seem ideal, so these got second prize.  And, although they're not pictured, I am wearing my elephant hair earrings.  I also brought the black v-neck sweater to wear over this as a "jacket" to work.  I'm going out later and didn't actually want to have a jacket, so that's the reason for the layers. 

The Almost 23 Mile Weekend Recap

Saturday I knew I had to get a long run.  A really good long run.  And my longest long run yet.  I had mapped out what I thought would be the perfect 19 mile run.  It would take me across the George Washington Bridge, just into New Jersey, and then back home.  I've been biking across the bridge several times, but never running and I figured that it couldn't be that hard to figure out how to get there.

So, I did my usual run up the Westside Path and when I got to the base of the bridge, instead of turning around and heading home, I kept going up the hills to the pedestrian bridge at 181st Street.  The first hill wasn't so bad.  The second hill, I made it up and practically doubled over trying to catch my breath.  Holy cow.  That's a steep climb.  The only thing that made me feel good about this is the biker I was chasing up the hill, I caught on the second hill and the second hill the biker walked and I ran up!  So, at least I've got that going for me. 

After I got across the pedestrian bridge and was at the corner of 181st Street and Riverside Drive and I made a fatal error.  I headed south right away towards the bridge, which was a really big mistake.  I basically ended up getting lost and running along the side of the entrance to the freeway not on any sort of sidewalk, but under the bridge and under the road (sort-of) and all I can say is that I was scared. 

I eventually saw a staircase that should have taken me where I wanted to go, so I started up the stairs and took a spill up the stairs.  I wasn't too worried about this until I realized that I fell into a bunch of drug paraphernalia, which wasn't ideal.  I made my way up the rest of the stairs only to discover that there was a wall at the top, which I couldn't get over.  So, I made my way back down the stairs.  I decided to turn off my watch because obviously I wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't running and in fact I was blinking back tears.

Finally, I made my way back to the sidewalks and regular roads, started my watch and started running again, and couldn't decide if I should just go home and be okay with a shorter run or if I should make my way back to the bridge and do the original run plus a little extra.  I was bound and determined to figure out this whole bridge thing, so I made my way across the bridge and back.

Holy cow, it's windy on the bridge.  But the views are pretty awesome.  It was almost worth getting lost to see it.  It reminded me of the first time I rode my bike up the bridge and got lost getting there.  I would have thought that on foot (since I theoretically knew where I was going) it would have been a lot harder to get lost.  Not so much.  So, here's a word to the wise:  if you're running on the Westside Path and get to the 181st Street pedestrian bridge, head East for a couple blocks before you head South.  Your run will be much more enjoyable! 

After getting back to New York from my very brief visit to New Jersey, I made my way back to the Westside Path, now that I had a much better idea of where I was going.  And then I ran home.  I had a pretty good nutrition plan for this run and it worked really well up to a point.  Starting at around 35 minutes, I had a sip of Gatorade every 10 minutes.  At one hour and two hours I ate 4 jelly beans each time followed by some water.  I had my third set of jelly beans at 2:45:00 because it just seemed like a good time. 

After that, I was pretty much parched.  So, I'm still not doing something quite right because at some point on all these long runs, I basically feel like I cannot drink enough.  The only problem?  I have no idea what to do about it. 

After about 3:15:00, I had pretty much had it.  I was tired of running and tired of having my Fuel Belt around my hips and just wanted to be done.  It was at this point where I think I hit my mental wall and I'm not really convinced that I came out ahead on this one.  I just kept thinking that if I was tired now, how would I ever finish a marathon?  I would still have so many miles left to go.  So, I just did the best I could getting home.  I definitely took several (quick) walking breaks.  I would mostly count to 5 or 10 in my head while walking and then start running again.  I also took my Fuel Belt off and wore it around my neck/shoulder.  I got a lot of funny looks, but I didn't care.

When I got home, I just laid down on the ground for a while, before figuring out that my 19 mile run was a 19.75 mile run (plus a little extra not counted for getting lost).  I've never felt so discouraged after a long run.  The funny thing is that I actually did pretty well on the pacing.  I think the problem really was getting lost.  If I had just made it to the bridge and done the run as planned, I think (I hope) I would have felt a lot better in the end.  The good news is that I've still got a couple more long runs to go before the race!

Today I needed to put that discouragement behind me.  I was on-call at work from 12 to 4, but ended up not having to go in, so at 4:00 I changed into running clothes and headed out for a really short 3-mile run.  I went to the Park, where I knew I couldn't get lost and where I've done this 3 mile run on several occasions.  It seemed almost fool-proof.  Plus, there were so many people to look at, it couldn't be boring!  On my walk to the Park, one of the bike rental guys looked at me and said, "Running is overrated, you know."  On some days, I couldn't agree more!

I also decided not to wear my watch or any other gadget.  Of course, I had to look at the big CNN clock at Columbus Circle on the way into the Park and the way out of the Park and it turns out that I ran the 3 miles in 31 minutes.  I'll take it.  The most important thing was that I enjoyed the run and my legs felt good, so I must have still had something in them yesterday, too.  Makes me feel a lot better overall. 

Saturday Running
Time: 3:34:20
Distance: 19.75 miles
Pace: 10:51/mile

Sunday Running

Time: 31:00
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:20/mile

Wardrobe Challenge is still ongoing! 

Friday, Day 19: Black pants and black short-sleeved sweater with glasses and a necklace from a sidewalk guy in Barcelona.  Oh, and Drew says hello!

Saturday, Day 20: Jeans, gray short-sleeved t-shirt paired with silver headband and silver bangles.  Wore gray Converse with this outfit.

Sunday, Day 21: I have to confess, I've been cheating a little bit.  Drew is a huge San Francisco Giants fan (as a result of being a huge Will Clark fan as a kid) and the Giants are currently in the playoffs.  I've been wearing various Giants gear, but up until today, it was all pretty much in the "pajama" category since until now, the games pretty much started at 10 pm.  But, today's game started at 4:30 and so I'm wearing a Will Clark t-shirt with jeans.  However, I did not wear this out of the house, so it's borderline debatable that it's a real outfit and if the Giants weren't playing, I probably wouldn't have really gotten dressed at all today, but I felt I needed to come clean on my cheating: 

The Breakdown

In the last 72 Hours I have spent my time as follows:

35.5 Hours At Work
3 Hours Commuting to and from work
3 Hours Getting Ready For Work
22 Hours Sleeping

2.2 Hours Running
3 Hours Watching TV


That left me with 3.30 hours that I've somehow wasted not blogging, so I apologize for not getting this up sooner!  I'll just do a quick run down of the past three days and then hopefully we can get back to regular around here.

Monday was my usual rest day and of course the whole Marie Claire article discussion.  Tuesday morning was awfully dreary and I didn't feel like getting up, but knew I couldn't let last week's bad running schedule follow me into this week.  Enter the lunch-time run!  This is only possible because there is a branch of the gym that I belong to in the lobby of my work building.  I did a quick change, hopped on the treadmill, pounded out my 5 miles, and was back to work in just over an hour.  I was embarrassingly red-faced when I got back to my desk, but I got the run in and that was the most important thing!

Wednesday was another lazy day in the running department.  Thinking more and more that I might not be cut out for running 4 times a week and that 3 seems to be working well.  I might want to kick myself in the face about that come November 21, but I think that I'm doing okay overall.  I had lunch plans for Wednesday, so I couldn't squeeze in another lunch time run and working from 9:30 to 9:30 doesn't leave you a lot of other free time to hit the gym if you don't go before work.

This morning, I got back in the game.  I'll admit that it took every ounce of willpower to actually get up and out of bed.  And even once I did that, I still got back in bed to eat my pre-workout breakfast before hitting the road.  But, eventually, I did in fact hit the road.  I ran down the Westside Path, which was actually really nice.  I've never really run there on a weekday morning before and I was worried that it would be a bit desolate, but there were a lot of people out there.

The most exciting things I saw?  A cruise ship being pulled into dock by some tug boats and a rainbow.  Apparently this rainbow was more exciting than I gave it credit for because I noticed it and forgot about it 5 minutes later.  About 20 minutes after that, a guy came up next to me on his bicycle and told me I should look at the rainbow.  Which I did, again.  I mean, it was nice, but it wasn't a double rainbow or anything. 

I definitely felt like I was pushing myself more than usual today and it showed in the numbers when I got home, so that was nice to see that it wasn't a mis-perception.  Actually, both my runs so far this week have been faster than usual.  Maybe it's that I was trying to get them over with faster?  I am, however, looking forward to a nice long and slow run this weekend! 

Tuesday Running (Treadmill)
Time: 50:33
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 10:06/mile

Thursday Running
Time: 1:23:26
Distance: 8.40 miles
Pace: 9:55/mile

Wardrobe Challenge has still been going along just fine. 
Tuesday, Day 16: Blue sweater, black pants, belt and silver and black earrings worn with high-heeled black mary janes (these seem to be the default shoe of this challenge!). 

Wednesday, Day 17: Black v-neck sweater, gray skirt, black suede boots and worn with my new necklace that Drew got me from Germany (which I didn't take a close-up of).  Just means I'll have to wear it again!

Thursday, Day 18: Gray shirt, black mini-skirt, tights and black flats.  Worn with three silver bangles and silver earrings.  The bangles are from my grandma and the earrings are just cheapies.  I was actually planning on wearing pants today, but I seemed to have tweaked my knee (this actually isn't running related, I noticed it yesterday evening and think I must have been sitting oddly at work) and thought I should wear flats instead of heels, so mini-skirt it was! 

Half-Way There

I'm now at the half-way point of the Wardrobe Challenge, and I thought I'd write down some of my thoughts about this whole experiment so far.  At the start, I found myself wishing that the weather was a bit cooler.  There was really only one day where I was wishing I had one more short-sleeved shirt.  However, it now seems like the weather has turned and it will stay a bit cooler, so I'm excited to do some other combos I thought of with layers. 

I've found myself unsubscribing from a lot of "junk shopping" e-mails that I get.  I figure if I don't know that some store is having a sale, I'll be less likely to go to that store's website and I'll certainly be less likely to browse and buy something.  I actually don't do a whole lot of shopping in stores, I tend to shop on the internet, so this was a way to cut out some of the temptation.  It was also something that I had wanted to do for quite a while, but this experiment was really the push that I needed to actually take the time to unsubscribe.

I actually don't mind it as far as wearing only 10 items of clothing.  I love the fact that I'm wearing more of my jewelry.  I have a lot of it and it's nice to show it off.  The big negative for me is the increase in laundry.  Maybe if we had laundry in our actual apartment, I wouldn't mind quite as much, but we have it in the basement and something about dragging stuff down there feels like more work.  Before, I used to wait until I was running low on clean underwear or Drew was running low on clean gym clothes before I would do laundry, but now it's a weekly affair. 



There is really only one thing I've realized that I actually need to buy once this is over and that is plain black tights.  I only have one pair right now and I'll never make it through the winter like that.  Other than that, I think I could happily get through the winter with what I've already got.  

Today's outfit, Day 15: Black mini-skirt, purple long-sleeved shirt with black patterned tights.  Jewelry is an amethyst necklace that was my mom's, which she gave to me and a signet ring that was my great-grandmother's but was passed down to me from my grandma.   Shoes are black mary-jane heels.  And there's a message for Drew!  (He's away in D.C. again.  He doesn't normally travel this much). 

Central Park Biathlon

Yesterday I did nothing except work.  Not overly happy about this, but I can't go back in time and get up earlier and go running before work, so I'm over it.  I always knew that this time would be rough with work and I can't stretch myself too thin otherwise I'll never make it through with my sanity in check, so I'm doing the best I can for now.

Today Drew and I had signed up for the 26th Annual Central Park Biathlon.  Just to be clear, I did not ski or shoot.  I would have classified what I did as a duathlon, consisting of running and biking, but I didn't title this race, and I think it's a bit confusing.  Unfortunately, I ended up having to do the race by myself since Drew had to be on a plane to D.C. this morning and couldn't do the race as well.

This morning was a bit cooler than it has been recently, so I wore tri shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and my Terrier bike vest to keep myself warm on the bike.  As soon as I got on my bike to ride to the Park, I felt pretty cold, but knew I'd warm up as time went on.  I got to the race site and racked my bike and then went to check in.  Funnily enough, the person checking me was Krista!  Both her and her husband were volunteering at the race. I only got to say a quick hello since there were other people waiting to get their race numbers also.

I put my number on my bike and on my race belt and still had plenty of time to kill before the race started, so I decided to go for a quick warm-up run.  I decided that I'd run for 8 minutes out and then run back.  It actually worked out perfectly, because right when I got back, the race director had just started giving out instructions about the race and the race course.  He also mentioned that if anyone was seen using headphones, they'd be disqualified.  This fact was also in the official rules listed on the website.

As we were lining up for the start, I saw my friend Lisa.  We chatted for a couple minutes before the gun went off.  It was definitely nice to see a friendly face.  The race started pretty much on time, which was nice.  The running course was from the Central Park Boathouse up to 96th Street and back again.  Pretty uneventful.

Of course, I ended up seeing two people wearing headphones.  Both people only had one earbud in their ears, but I don't really think that makes a difference.  I told both people that they were breaking the rules and if they didn't take them out, they would be disqualified.  Even if that meant that I had to tell an official myself.  Maybe that's mean of me, but it was in the rules and the race director had told us about 10 minutes before that it was against the rules.  I don't think I was out of line.  Especially since everyone else was following the rules.  I don't think they should get a free pass.

I had told Drew yesterday that my only goal was to finish this race in under two hours.  Even with my normal slow pace, that was more than doable, so I wasn't in any sort of rush on the run.  I was a little bit warm with the biking vest on while I was running, but I knew it'd be good to have on the bike.

When I got back to transition, I changed shoes and grabbed my bike and headed out.  The course was to do two loops of the Park.  I have to say, I would have been happier only doing one loop, but of course I did both.  During the first loop, I had a near accident with a guy walking his dogs.  I actually was a bit upset with both the guy (for not looking) and the volunteer who was standing next to him (for not saying anything).  I know the volunteers have a hard job, but it was really close call!

The second loop wasn't quite as eventful.  I was really glad the whole time that I was wearing the biking vest.  Every time there was a big gust of wind, it was really nice to have on.  There was a girl in front of me on a mountain bike and was wearing tennis shoes.  I was bound and determined not to let her beat me in on the bike.  Even though I only came in about 1 second before her, somehow that made me feel better.  When I went into the second transition, I took off my bike vest for the second run. 

When I was on the bike, I noticed that the run course was a bit longer than a mile.  I even came home and checked Gmap Pedometer, and it also says that the run course was long, so I actually feel pretty awesome about my run times now.  It turned out to be a good thing because as I was finishing, Lisa and her other Asphalt Green teammates were cheering for me, but they had mixed emotions about cheering for someone wearing Terrier gear, which I wasn't wearing when they were cheering for me!  I have to say that it was really, really nice to have someone cheering for me at the finish!

After the race, I chatted with Lisa for a few minutes, grabbed half a bagel and an orange slice and headed home.  I had to work again today, which was probably the only reason that I actually got dressed in real clothes today!  Otherwise I would have been quite content to stay in pajamas.  I also had been thinking that perhaps I would be able to get a few more running miles in before heading to work, but it wasn't in the cards for today.  All I can say is that tomorrow is a new week and I'm going to start fresh then. 

Running (pre-race)
Time: 15:54
Distance: 1.60 miles
Pace: 9:56/mile
Calories: 138
Maximum HR: 175 (83%)
Average HR: 163 (77%)

Biathlon
Run 1: 21:30
T1: 1:10
Bike: 51:05
T2: 2:26
Run 2: 21:34
Total Time:1:36:31
Calories: 894
Maximum HR: 191 (90%)
Average HR:170 (80%)

I measured the runs as 2.25 miles each and the bike as 12.18 miles.  That gives me a total of 6.10 miles running for the day. 


Saturday, Day 13: Wore jeans,  black v-neck sweater and gray Converse.  We thought that the cat needed a redeeming photo after her alien eyes from before, so she's making an appearance again.  Not that you can see it, but I started out wearing a silver necklace and ended up changing it in the evening for dinner to a new one.  I'll be wearing the new one again, so will take a photo later.

Sunday, Day 14: Wore jeans and green turtleneck with gray Converse.  Jewelry consists of pearl stud earrings from my grandma.  My grandma didn't have pierced ears, so I actually had the earrings changed from clip-ons to studs.

Heavy Rain / Wind

I had this really great plan for this morning.  But I woke up to this weather forecast on my telephone: 

Right.  That looks bad.  It wasn't even so much the rain, it was the 30+ MPH winds that had me worried. But, I couldn't afford to skip another day of running this week, so I got up and dressed and went back to the gym.  Which I had pretty much vowed never to do again.  But, I sucked it up and got on a treadmill and started running.

I have a speed issue on the treadmill.  Meaning that I think I need to run really fast on them.  But, the truth is, I don't. I just need to run.  So, I set the treadmill at 5.5 (which is a 10:54 mile) and started running.  And running and running and running some more.  It was totally mindless.  The TV on the treadmill next to me was stuck in the on position and it was also stuck on ESPN, so I watched more of the Ryder Cup's rain delay from this morning than I ever would have otherwise and I obsessively watched the ESPN ticker to see if any new sports information would show up. 

Even though this wasn't my plan for today, I'm glad that I just got up and did some running.  I know I'll end up coming up short this week in the running department, so it was good to get any miles under my belt.  However, I don't understand how the treadmill told me that I was running a 10:54 minute mile and when I add up the times (the treadmill times out after an hour), I end up with an 11:01/mile pace.  Not that it's a big difference in the long run, but it's still perplexing. 


My current plan for the weekend is to go running again tomorrow morning before work, do the duathlon on Sunday (4 miles running) and see where I end up.  If I have to work on Sunday after the race , that'll be all I can do.  If not, I might consider adding some more onto that duathlon, but it's sort of a wait and see thing at this point. 

Running
Time: 1:10:36
Distance: 6.40 miles
Pace: 11:01/mile
Calories: 722 (according to treadmill)

Because of the rain, went with a skirt today.  Day 12 outfit: Gray skirt and green turtleneck, pearl earrings and black suede shoes.  The earrings are actually the bridesmaid gift from my friend Ann's wedding and the shoes were not worn outside in that monsoon that we're having today!  They were carried in my bag to work for safekeeping!  (But, obviously, I couldn't be bothered to put them on for the photo...sorry!)

23 Miles From The Goal

Well, all I've got today is a bunch of excuses.  Drew came back from Germany last night and I didn't go running this morning.  I don't even really think the two things are related, but it was raining and I wanted to stay in bed.  So, I didn't go running.  That's two days in a row now.  And I'm getting very very close to a crazy and ridiculous time at work, so that's not going to be helping matters any.

My September running total for the month was 108.3 miles in 19:02:00 for an average pace of 10:32/mile.  I was feeling awesome and warm and fuzzy about that until I realized that in the month of September, I was supposed to have run 132 miles.  Which means I fell a whopping 23.70 miles short.  The funny thing is that despite that fact making me upset, I actually still feel totally confident about completing the marathon.  Does that make me crazy? 

Wardrobe Challenge, Day 11:
Truthfully, I had trouble remembering what I've already worn this week, so I had to peek back at my blog to check.  I wore black mini-skirt and blue sweater.  Topped it off with tights and a black headband with a bow.  Diamond stud earrings.  I normally wear these earrings every single day, so I think I've really liked (and I know Drew really has) how this challenge has forced me to shake it up a bit! 

After we took this one, Drew asked if the cat should be in the photo, too.  I agreed and this is what we got:

I cut Drew's head off and our cat appears to be crazy-eyed.  In self-defense, however, I'd like to say that I had to set the self-timer with the cat in my arms and at least I actually got her to look at the camera, so even though it's not the best, it's actually a very funny family portrait! 

Germany Is 6 Hours Away

I can't even really explain why Drew was awake when he was, but since he was still in Germany yesterday, we ended up spending what was my evening and his sleeping time talking on GChat.  Except that I stayed up way way way too late as a result and when my alarm went off this morning, I cursed it and went back to bed. 

Which means no running today.  Oops.  I've been trying to be better about this whole bedtime thing, but sometimes I just suck at it.  I'm accepting that and moving on.  It's not like I don't have work and a 18 mile run and a duathlon hanging over my head for the weekend.  I'm sure I can fit everything in!  (ha ha ha).

Anyway, on to today's outfit.  Day 10 - all black.  Truthfully, if I thought it would have been okay, I would have chosen all black items to wear with a pair of jeans thrown in the mix.  But then I thought it'd be harder to see that I was actually changing my clothes on the internet, so I didn't.  But I normally wear a lot more black than I've been representing in this challenge! 

Wearing black pants, black short-sleeved sweater and gold necklace and earrings from Drew.  I think these are some of my favorite earrings from him.  He really likes dangly earrings and I really love post earrings, so these are a good combo of both.  Topped it off with black mary jane heels. 

It Could Be Raining

This week is looking like rain, rain, and more rain here in the Big Apple.  I have to say, rain is my least favorite weather.  I think I didn't have this bad attitude until I moved to New York and had to walk to work.  But there's just something about being wet all day long as a result of it that makes me a bit surly.  It's also why I tend to wear skirts when it's raining (so my pants don't get all wet).  I might complain about the cold, but it just doesn't seem like as big of a deal to me as rain. 

Which is why it was crazy that I excitedly woke up at 5:18 this morning to get dressed and go running in the pouring rain.  I will say, however, that I did drag my feet a tiny bit while getting ready to head outside.  Not because I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to be standing around waiting for the workout to start.  I pretty much wanted to get there and just go to the back of the line and if I missed a stride or two, it wouldn't be the end of the world! 

That's exactly what happened.  I arrived just a minute or two late, but I think I only missed one (at the most two) strides, so I still got a decent warm-up and didn't have to stand around in the rain.  There was a very small group of Terriers this morning (not surprising), but the majority of the people who were there are part of the specific marathon program, so even though I'm not part of that group, I guess it shows that marathoners are probably the only people crazy enough to get up and out there! 

Because we were such a small group today, Spencer had us all do the marathon plan workout instead of having just a few of us do the regular Terrier workout.  The "beginner" marathon workout today was 4 x 1000 meters.  I have to say I wasn't overly enthused about this, but I know the speed work stuff is good for me and it's a nice change from "regular" running, so the only thing to do was start running.

I ended up doing the intervals with another girl on the team and it was actually really nice to have someone there at my same pace.  We chatted a little bit, but mostly it was nice because it gave me a reason not to drop my pace.  I felt like I had to keep going and I definitely pushed myself a bit harder than I would have if I'd been doing it on my own. 

The rain definitely let up as time went on and of course by the time I was heading home, it had stopped completely.  I don't mind.  I figure there could be rain the day of the marathon, so I might as well get out there and practice a little bit.  After getting home I promptly took my orthotics out of my shoes and stuffed newspaper in my shoes so that they'd dry out quickly.  I'm hopeful they'll be all ready for tomorrow morning! 

Running (Run There / Strides / Run to the S)
Time: 24:11
Distance: 2.50 miles
Pace: 9:40/mile

Running (4 x 1000 meters)
Time: 21:00
Distance: 2.50 miles
Pace: 8:24/mile

Total Distance: 5.00 miles

So, since the threat of rain is still out there, although it wasn't actually raining on my way to work today, I wore the grey skirt and purple shirt.  With purple heels.  Yup.  That's right.  I actually think it works okay, too.  Which might mean that after only 9 days of this challenge, I'm off my rocker a bit?  

They really don't look all that purple though, so it's probably not quite as bad as you were imagining in your head! 

I'm also wearing my elephant hair earrings.  Drew got them for me in Namibia. The left one is what they look like from the front, but I took a picture of the back so that you could see it better.  I have a matching necklace, but that just didn't work with the neckline of the shirt today. 

Rainy Start To The Week

This morning I had to get up and at 'em earlier than I normally would on a Monday since I had an appointment with my eye doctor.  Glad to report that my eyes are mostly okay, but when he was taking some photos of my eyes, he said that I seem to be under a lot of stress and I should try to do some sort of daily aerobic activity as a stress reliever.  When I replied that I was training for a marathon, so I'm not sure what else I should be doing, he agreed that was probably enough in the activity department.  Good to know that your eye blood vessels are capable of showing your stress level, though. 

I finally got around to wearing my last item of clothing today, the black v-neck sweater.  I paired it with the black mini skirt and some patterned tights.  I also wore some gold and silver earrings.  Of course, since it's raining here today, I wore my rain boots and carried my colorful umbrella with me.  I switched into black mary jane heels at work.  The kitty tried to get in the photo this morning too, but she sort-of missed getting her head in the photo.  Just her ears! 

The Length Of The Isle Of Manhattan

I took yesterday off from running to spend with Drew.  He left for Germany yesterday evening and I decided that instead of spending 3 hours running on Saturday, I'd wait until he left and do it today.  We spent the day running errands.  I wore the purple long-sleeved shirt and black mini-skirt.  I was going to wear jeans and the shirt, but it was pretty warm here and I knew that I'd be way too hot if I wore long-sleeves and jeans.  I dressed it down by wearing my "smiley-faced shoes".

That meant that today was the day for the longest long run yet.  I don't really think that going from 15 to 17 was 100% my idea of a good time.  I felt like there should be a more natural 15-16-17 progression.  But, nevertheless, I mapped out a route that would take me exactly 17 miles and not a tad more.

I pretty much ran up and down the entire Westside Path today (or a good portion of the length of the island).  I ran from my apartment north first.  I hated the bikers on the way north.  Maybe someone out there actually reads this blog and read my rant from last week about the runners on the Westside Path, because I felt like they were much better today. The bikers, however, left something to be desired.

All the south-bound bikers apparently felt like running in the pedestrian portion of the Path.  I guess that perhaps they just didn't understand what those little pictures of bikers and walkers on the ground actually meant. Finally, I decided to just start yelling at people so that maybe they'd understand that they were riding on the wrong portion.  I probably looked like a crazy person, but I just wish people would pay attention to the signs!  There aren't even words!  It's just little pictures!

It was much better on the way back south because I figure the bikers won't run me over if we're both going the same way.  I'm not 100% sure I'm right on that one, but I haven't been proven wrong yet.  When I got back to where I'd normally turn off and go home, I knew I had quite a way to go, still.  I actually didn't wan't to turn off and go home, so I took that as a good sign and just kept on my way.

The rest of the run was pretty good.  I ate 12 jelly beans along the way.  I wore my Fuel Belt and took two bottles of Gatorade and two of water.  I was really thirsty for water again today, instead of Gatorade.  I felt like a Camel.  I had to stop a couple of times and fill up my bottles with water at drinking fountains.  I'm a little nervous about this.  I don't know if I'm feeling that thirsty what I should be doing.  And how will I ever have enough fluids during the actual marathon? 

At some point, I couldn't get the Death Cab for Cutie Marching Bands of Manhattan song out of my head and I spent at least an hour trying to remember if they said width or length of the Isle of Manhattan.  I was pretty sure it was length, but that seems like such a long arm span, I didn't possibly think it could be correct.  It also seemed like a very appropriate song to have stuck in my head today.  I guess the good thing about running for three hours is that you have a lot of time to think about funny things like that. 

I wore tri shorts, which seem to be better for these longer runs. I also wore a long-sleeved running shirt.  I was able to push the sleeves up just past my elbows.  It might have looked a little funny, but I didn't have any arm chafing today, so it worked out just perfectly.  All in all, today was a good run.  It was two miles longer than I've ever run before, which is so surprising to me that I just did it.  And it wasn't the biggest deal in the whole world. I'm also now at over 100 miles for the month, which feels just awesome! 

Running
Time: 3:06:54
Distance: 17.00 miles
Pace: 10:59/mile

Saturday, Day 6: purple long-sleeved shirt, black mini-skirt and smiley faced shoes (which are really Jack Purcell Converse shoes)

Sunday, Day 7: Blue sweater, jeans with no accessories or jewelry.  Wore white & blue shoes (and definitely thought about the fact that I was wearing white shoes after Labor Day).  I definitely only got dressed today in order to go to dinner with Laura!

I Think There Are Hills In Philly

This morning I really didn't feel like getting out of bed and going for a run, but Drew thought that it was a bad idea for me to stay in bed and kept pestering me, so finally I got up and at 'em.  I'm actually really glad he did, though, because I seem to have gotten past my bad run and back onto the good run track.

I figured I should probably do some of those hill repeats that I skipped out on Wednesday.  I mean, it looks like there are hills in Philadelphia, see:

I have to say that I'm pretty glad that the second half of the race looks relatively flat.  I'm not sure why they want to kill our legs right from the get-go, though!  

So, today, I ran from our apartment to Cat Hill and then did 6 Cat Hill repeats (each up and down is 0.50 miles), so it was 3 miles in total of hills.  Oddly enough, I didn't even hate it.  Although, it's funny because for the first 4, I was feeling great.  By the 5th one, I could tell I was tired and I was so glad that time wasn't permitting me to do any more than 6 today! 

My favorite part of doing these hill repeats is to see how many times I can pass walkers going up or down the hill while I'm running.  Silly, I know, but I'll take whatever motivates me at this point.  I know I need to throw in some more hill workouts in the upcoming weeks, but I'm glad I got this one under my belt.  After the hill repeats, I ran home and after begging Drew to make a smoothie immediately, I hopped in the shower.

Normally the smoothie wouldn't be such a big deal, but in an effort to get in the longest run possible today, I skipped eating anything before going running.  I know a lot of people out there don't eat before these shorter runs, but I tend to wake up hungry and while I felt okay during my run today, I think I would have felt better with a bite or two of something in my tummy.  To each his own, right?  I just know that being slightly more fueled makes me feel better. 

Running
Time: 1:02:20
Distance: 6.00 miles
Pace: 10:23/mile

Today's Wardrobe Challenge is a repeat of the shirt I wore on Wednesday.  But I only wore it for about 2 hours to go to the dentist, so I don't really think it was dirty.  Although I plan on doing laundry this weekend, so don't worry too much about my cleanliness.  Drew's in the pictures again.  He made us take some funny ones and I couldn't figure out how to not cut his head off ...

I'm wearing the gray short-sleeved skirt and gray skirt.  Today's jewelry was picked by Drew:

Those earrings are actually the first jewelry that Drew gave me and the bracelet is an Elephant Hair bracelet from his parents.  (Although, it's not real hair, but I do have some earrings that are, I'll try to wear them soon).  Today's shoes are really two pairs.  Flats that I actually wore to work and then the heels are the shoes I'm wearing at work.  Complicated business when you walk a mile to and from work each day! 

Good, Good, Bad

I keep feeling like I'm on some sort of weird cycle where I have a couple of really good runs, then a bad run, and then I just feel like if I'm only running 3 miles (like yesterday) I have no business trying to complete a marathon.  Oh, maybe now is a good time to say that this post is going to be a downer.

So, in the spirit of having bad runs, I decided that I'd skip today's run.  At least for this morning.  Depending on how this evening goes work-wise, I guess there is still a chance.  I've also got 17 miles looming over my head for this weekend, so that's something to look forward to as well.  I'm a little stumped on a possible route for that run as I don't really want to do laps in the Park but I'm also reaching the end of my tolerance for doing the same Westside Path run all the time, too.  I think I just need a week off before I resume my regularly scheduled Westside Path long run.  This is definitely one time where I wish I didn't live in NYC and had some more running options.

Today and tomorrow are warm ones in NY.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer than today, so I'm saving a skirt for tomorrow. Luckily, I'll be able to wear short-sleeves both days.  Here's Day #4:

Black pants, black short-sleeved sweater and I finally got my jewelry act together and am wearing a gold and silver necklace (and I even took out my normal diamond earrings!).  I rolled up my pants and wore flats to work, but rolled the pants down and changed into my "work shoes" once I got here.  They're a pair of sling-backs that have been living under my desk since 2003, if you can believe that.

Well, I Ran Further Than Them

This morning I wasn't feeling 100%, so I decided to take the day off work.  I did end up going for a run, but it wasn't anything close to the 8 miles I was supposed to be doing.  I have to say that part of the issue was that it's warmer in NYC today than it has been in the past few days and since I'm stuck wearing these long-sleeved shirts, that didn't help matters any.  Nor did the fact that I went later than I normally would.

When I was running around the Lower Loop, I heard a lot of loud cheering.  I noticed that there were tents set-up on Dead Road along the Mall, but I wasn't sure what was going on.  I decided that I would do one loop and then cut across and maybe do some hill repeats.  As I was cutting across on 72nd Street, I decided that I would check out these tents.

It turned out that it was Regis and Kelly doing their show in the Park.  They were having a High-Heel-A-Thon, so I decided to stay and check it out.  While I was waiting, I saw Tim Gunn doing some interviews for the show.  I have to say, I was more excited to see him than to see Regis, Kelly or Kristin Chenowith.  The High-Heel-A-Thon was a 150 yard dash.  The winner was really really fast and actually dove to the finish.  Here's a video if you want to watch.  It was pretty fun, but it was all over in seconds! 

After the race, I headed home and skipped the hill repeats.  Even though my run wasn't as planned (and apparently, I am a sissy since I didn't even run 4 miles), it was still a better than nothing effort.  I've actually been wondering if I would be happier running 3 days a week instead of 4, but I'm not making any decisions yet. 

Running
Time: 30:23
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:07/mile

As far as the Wardrobe Challenge goes, I spent the better part of the day in my workout clothes, while resting on the couch, so I figured I should take a photo:

I did end up showering and getting dressed since I had a dentist appointment this afternoon.  I wore jeans, gray t-shirt and gray Converse to the dentist (shoes not pictured):

I'm a little worried about the Challenge because the next few days are supposed to be pretty warm, but I think I'll end up being okay.  I'm really glad that I chose two short-sleeved shirts! 

Even Sissies Can Do 4

This morning I managed to set my alarm for 5:05 PM instead of 5:05 AM.  Even though Drew had a conference call that he took from bed at 5:00, he didn't talk a whole lot, so I manged to sleep until he hung up around 5:30.  We both got up and Drew headed off to the gym and I went out for a run.  I was a little late to meet the Terriers, but I was fine skipping the fartlek workout they had planned!  

As we were walking out the door, Drew asked how far I had to go today.  I told it was just 4 miles.  His response?  "Even sissies can do 4".  With that in mind, I started my watch and set off on my run!  (However, I'd like to note that he did not go running with me).  I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt today because I keep having some arm chafing issues wearing short-sleeved shirts.  This chafing isn't an issue on these shorter runs, but Saturday's 15 miles sort-of did my arms in and I'm trying to let them heal.  The only thing I like about this arm chafing is that it must mean that I'm actually moving my arms like I'm supposed to be doing!

It is a little bit funny to be outside for such a short amount of time.  I definitely saw a bunch of my teammates out there running and I have to say that it looked like they were working a lot harder than I was.  I didn't really see them until I got down to the Lower Loop of the Park and once I saw them, I just kept telling myself over and over, "run like Spencer is watching" because I know I concentrate on my form more when he's around. 

I happened to be reading Caitlin's blog about her marathon training and she mentioned that she didn't hit 30 mile weeks when she was training in January until very close the the marathon.  I am so intrigued by this because I've already had two 30+ mile weeks, with six more to come (including this week).  I think it's good to know that she finished her marathon with her plan, so I'm hopeful I'll have the same result with even more miles under my belt! 

Running
Time: 44:18
Distance: 4.15 miles
Pace: 10:40/mile

And, here's today's outfit (Day 2):

I asked Drew if he wanted to be in the photo too, and he said yes.  He said if he'd known, he would have dressed up a bit more.  I'm wearing the black mini skirt, green turtleneck, black tights, black high-heeled Mary Janes and a belt.  I'll admit, once I had been thinking about doing this challenge, I went out and bought the belt.  But it was only $10.  And I'll definitely wear it after the challenge.  Technically, I didn't break any challenge rules of buying things, but I probably went against the spirit.  Today's jewelry: same diamond earrings as yesterday.  I'll work on that later this week, I promise!

Basic To Start

Wardrobe Challenge: Day 1

Went with a pretty boring and basic outfit to start.  I don't want to wear all my accessories in one fell swoop.  Wore black pants, blue sweater, and black patent leather heels.  I haven't worn these shoes in quite a while (I actually don't know that I wore them at all in the past year) and they sort-of sound like the right heel is about to break off, but they survived today!  The only other accessory was my diamond earrings.  Gotta jazz it up a bit tomorrow, I guess!

Also, I'm noticing that perhaps I should work on my self-timer photography skills.  Good thing is that there are 29 more days to go, so it can only go up from here!