Being Hardcore

I might not have been keeping you perfectly up-to-date on my workouts, but I can assure you that they're getting done and I'm actually glad to be back at it.  I'm sticking with my plan of working out 6 days a week and having one rest day.  I've also been working on keeping my eating in check, which is a little bit easier when you're not on an extended vacation at Drew's mom and dad's house where they keep feeding you delicious food all the time! 

I've decided to try to keep up my new (and slightly improved) eating habits until April.  My goal between now and then is to lose 15 pounds.  Or, technically, 12, since I think I'm already down 3.  In April we're going to San Francisco and going to the Giants opening day and then on to wine country for 5 days and I want to be able to do wine tastings and eat yummy vacation food without worrying about anything else! 

I'm eating probably 85-90% of what I was eating a week ago, but this time I'm counting calories (using Daily Burn).  I've used a couple of Basal Metabolic Calculators to figure out that my BMR is probably somewhere around 1475 calories a day, so my calorie goal is to eat more than that and is somewhere in the 1500-1700 range each day.  I've successfully done this for the past 4 days and I have no reason to think that today would be any different.  I don't feel like I've denied myself anything, I just don't need to eat as often as I was when I was training for a marathon and I got sort-of used to the extra food! 

The good news for me is that I eat pretty well no matter what.  Now I'll just be a bit more tempted to cook at home (which, if you saw our counter space, you'd wonder how anything was possible) and have leftovers for lunch than I will to go grab something at the myriad of options within a 2 minute range from my desk.  But, that will be good for my wallet as well! 

Drew and I have called what we're doing (because he's in on this, too) until April "being hardcore".  This involves me actually getting up and going to the gym, which is a huge change of pace for me over the last month or so.  I think I'm doing pretty well so far.  Here's the quick breakdowns of all the workouts:

Saturday, January 8
Drew and I went to our "old" gym.  It's the one I was used to going to and it has a pool, which is nice, since not all gyms in NYC have one.  However, it's been undergoing renovations for the past couple months, so we haven't been going there (or, really, I should say that Drew hasn't been going there).  I wanted to go and see how everything looked.  It seems like they're still about a month away from being completely done, but it's looking pretty nice so far.  Of course, I should mention that the equipment hasn't changed and Drew managed to break a treadmill while we were there, so it looks fancier, but I'm not entirely sure it is fancier. 

I started out on the elliptical to warm-up before heading to the treadmill.  I only did two miles on the treadmill before going to do some weight-lifting.  I feel like these gym workouts are a little scattered because I don't do any one thing for very long, but if this is what it's going to take to get me to keep going, so be it.  I finished up the weight lifting with some ab work before going back to the treadmill for another round of cardio.  I was going to try to do some intervals on the treadmill the second time around, but after the first one, I felt really pukey.  I could have lived through that if I hadn't gotten a big side stitch.  I took that as a sign that I should ease back into this whole thing and so I spent 15 minutes doing some stretching and more ab work.  All in all, a pretty good workout for the first day of being "hardcore". 

Sunday, January 9
In my original plan, I had wanted to run three days a week, so I figured I might as well start now!  I've got this Speedy 5K plan in my head for March and I thought that I'd try to incorporate a little speed work into my run today since it hadn't worked out so well the day before.  I put on lots of warm clothes and a hat and gloves and my new Garmin and headed out the door to the Westside Path.

Wow.  It's cold out there in January.  Luckily, it didn't take me too long to warm-up.  I ran two miles down to Chelsea Piers and then turned around and headed back home.  I figured that my muscles were probably warmer now so I could try to run a faster mile for mile three.  And I totally did!  It was pretty hard, though.  I also think I need to change some of the settings on my Garmin because right now I have the auto pause feature for when I'm totally stopped.  I had to stop a couple times today to blow my nose and I noticed that each time, it took at least 10 seconds to register that I'd stopped.  I can't really blame it, I'll just change some setting and then I'll feel better about my times not being skewed by nose blowing or stopping for a traffic light.  But, I can include these fancy mile splits for the very first time:

Mile 1:         10:17
Mile 2:         10:28
Mile 3:           9:36
Mile 4:         11:02
Mile 4-4.10:  1:14

Monday, January 10
Rest day!  Mondays are going to be my "normal" rest day, so I figured I should just go ahead and get into the routine early! 

Tuesday, January 11
This morning I managed to get up and out of bed, even though Drew said "you could just go after work", but I wanted to make sure my workout was done and over with.  My left calf muscle has been a little sore, which I'm sure is the result of running too fast (oops).  That meant that I wouldn't be doing any running today.  Instead, I did 30 minutes on the stair mill and 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Not a riveting workout, but a workout nonetheless.  And I feel great about it.  Mostly I felt great that I'm still sticking with it.  It's a lot easier to get up and go to the gym at 9 or 10 on the weekend than it is before 6 on a weekday! 

Tomorrow it will likely have to be after work unless we end up with another huge snow accumulation in NYC tonight/tomorrow morning.  I am planning on a dentist appointment at 8 am before work and since the gym doesn't open until 6 and there should be a lot of snow on the ground, which would make working out outdoors dangerous, I think I'll stick with the after work option! 

Saturday
Elliptical: 15:25 / 1.25 miles / 145 calories / 179 max HR (84%) / 172 avg HR (81%)
Running (Treadmill): 20:49 / 2.00 miles / 200 calories / 198 max HR (93%) / 180 avg HR (85%)
Weight Lifting: 22:24 / 155 calories / 166 max HR (78%) / 143 avg HR (67%)
Running (Treadmill) 2: 10:00 / 1.00 mile / 93 calories / 181 max HR (85%) / 172 avg HR (81%)

Sunday
Running: 42:37 / 10:23 pace / 481 calories / 192 max HR / 173 avg HR

Tuesday
Stair Mill: 30:48 / 2.53 miles / 245 calories / 166 max HR (78%) / 155 avg HR (73%)
Elliptical: 31:40 / 2.75 miles / 270 calories / 172 max HR (81%) / 162 avg HR (76%)

Randoms

I feel like I've got plenty to blog about, but I just haven't had the time to do it. 

1.  Friday I ran 3.50 miles at the gym at lunch.  I wanted to run more, but I didn't feel like running more.  So I just did what I felt like.  I did the 5K portion in under 30 minutes, which I was happy about and then walked the remainder as a cool-down. 

2.  Saturday I worked all day and then went to a holiday party.  Fun, but exhausting.

3.  Sunday I went for my long run.  I used my new Camelbak.  Turns out that there is only one way to use a Camelbak and get water to come out of the straw.  I didn't have it that way for the first half of the run, which was perplexing at the time.  The second half was much more enjoyable with all the water I could ever want!

4.  I liked the Camelbak.  I'm reserving final judgment for later since I really liked the Fuel Belt at first and now you'd have to pay me to want to wear it (although I'm sure I will wear it again, I just don't want to do it right now).  So far, I didn't notice any bouncing around or anything, but I'm also sure that because I was so bundled up from the weather that I might feel differently about it in the summer.

5.  There are very few people out running now.  It's like a society of hard-core people out there running and biking.  Actually, I think the bikers are totally crazy.  They must be freezing on their bikes.  Running is cold enough. 

6. My Garmin arrived on Monday.  I was thinking that I would go for a run with it this morning and try it out, but that didn't happen.  I'm going to go ahead and hope that happens tomorrow.  Getting out of a warm bed to run in 30 degree weather with wind isn't all that appealing, to be totally honest. 

In short, "training" for this second marathon is going just about the same as the first.  Doing most of the running, but skipping some too.  Best part?  I'm not nearly as worried about it this time around as I was the first time.  However, I do think I need to keep getting myself outside and acclimated to this cold weather running. 


Treadmill Running
Time: 29:48 (5K)
Distance: 3.10 miles + 0.40 miles walking
Pace: 9:36/mile for the 5K

Running
Time: 2:40:42
Distance: 14.20 miles
Pace: 11:19/mile

It Says 8, But...

The workout for this weekend was supposed to be an 8 mile run, but I really wanted to run further south and run to the end of the island.  The last time I ran that far south, it was dark and I wanted to check out the nice looking park there in the day time.  And, truthfully, I also wanted to check out the Irish Hunger Memorial that's there as well.  I've run past it several times before always thinking, "hey, I should check that out" and decided that Saturday was the day to actually do it. 

I wore tri shorts, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and the tank that I'm planning on wearing over another shirt for the marathon.  Basically, I wore one version of my marathon outfit.  The weather was about 52 and sunny and at first when I started running, I was worried that I'd be too hot, but as soon as I got into the shade, I was grateful to have the extra layer of the tank on! 

The run was great.  I was feeling like I wanted to be running a marathon and was bummed I still have to wait one more week.  I had a couple of failed drinking fountain breaks (some of the fountains are shut off for winter, I guess?) but otherwise my strategy of Gu + drinking fountains is still working out great.  That's definitely my strategy for the actual marathon, too. 

As I ran south, I kept a look out for the Memorial, but must have run past it without paying attention.  (The truth is that it's further north that I remembered it being).  So, on my way back home, I kept looking for it.  When I got there, I paused my watch and went for a walk around the monument and then up the path to the top.  It's nice.  I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't in the middle of a run, but it is a very nice little spot in this city and I'm glad that I stopped.  Definitely worth the break.  Of course, my legs weren't so happy to have to start running again after the break. 

I made it back home in time to eat a delicious breakfast (made by Drew) before tackling lots and lots of chores for the day.  Including a trip to Goodwill.  I needed to buy some throw-away clothes for the start of the marathon and ended up finding a pair of sweatpants and a hat for $8.  I already have an old fleece that I can wear and throw away at the start, so I think I'm all set now. 

Sunday I didn't workout, but I did go and get a deep-tissue massage.  It definitely wasn't all that relaxing, but it did feel nice.  Nice in the foam-roller way, but probably good for my muscles no matter what.  The woman did tell me that I should work on stretching (something I used to be really good at) after running.  I've gotten pretty lax since starting marathon training.  I'm going to try to work on that over the winter.  

This week I've got a couple of short runs on tap and I'm going to eat all the carbs I could want in preparation for the big day!  I can't believe it's almost here!

Running
Time: 1:53:42
Distance: 11.0 miles
Pace: 10:20/mile

NYC Marathon Weekend Recap

Sunday morning Laura and I got up bright and early, fueled up with bagel breakfast sandwiches and headed out to spectate the NYC Marathon.  We started in Brooklyn around Mile 7.5.  We were able to see the pros run by, which is pretty amazing.  I don't think I could run that fast for 50 feet, even if I tried really really hard.  I don't understand how they can do that for 26.2 miles.

I also made some signs and this is the one that I held up at Mile 7.5:

After seeing several of our friends run past us, we headed to the Upper East Side to watch at around Mile 23.  We were able to see a lot of the same people that we had seen in Brooklyn.  I have to say that we had a much easier way to get from one point to the other (the subway versus foot!).  I had made a second sign to have at Mile 23:

I got a lot of comments and points and laughs at my sign, which was really fun!  I really did my best to cheer for lots of the runners that went by.  Obviously, people who had their names on their shirts were easiest to cheer for and it made me realize that I really want to have my name on my shirt for my marathon.  I'm going to work on that.  If anyone has any idea where to buy iron-on letters in NYC, please comment!!

I also made a rule about cheering.  If you're wearing headphones, I'm not going to cheer for you.  It's a waste of my breath.  I know that some people think that they can't get through running without them and I know that a lot of people were hurting at Mile 23 (saw several people in tears), but I still wanted to cheer for people who I thought would have a better chance of hearing me!

After cheering for about 5 hours, I headed home.  It was getting cold standing out there (although it was probably the perfect day for running) and I also needed to get my own run in.  I decided to avoid all the craziness of the Park and headed over to the Westside Path.  I ran south and used my same drinking fountain and Gu plan that I'm hoping to implement during the marathon.

My run ended up being 12.8 miles, but I took the first Gu around Mile 3 because I was feeling hungry.  Then I took the second one around Mile 8.  I think it worked out perfectly because I ended up having a really nice run.  I don't know if it was because of the cooler temperatures or if I was inspired by the Marathon runners or what, but it was just a really nice run.  Although since the time changed, it was dark really early, which I wasn't a huge fan of!

I have to say that watching the Marathon made me both excited and nervous.  I'm excited to be doing it myself.  Seeing people crying made me really hope that I don't look like that at Mile 23.  Mostly I'm just excited to prove to myself that I'm capable of doing this!

Running
Time: 2:14:24
Distance: 12.80 miles
Pace: 10:30/mile

Wishing For A Marathon

Sunday morning I defied all the odds and woke up really early and set out for my long run for the week.  I had mapped out a 15 mile long route to do and then I would do a 5 mile race in Central Park.  I figured getting cups of water at the end of the route was probably a good plan.  I also knew that it would be best for me to finish the day with the race since I didn't think I'd really want to run too much after that. 

The race started at 8:30, which meant that because I'm not the speediest runner, I wanted to get out the door around 5:30 in order to make sure I wouldn't feel too pressured to get to the race on time.  I actually ended up starting a bit late, which of course made me nervous, but it worked out perfectly in the end.

The first part of my run was from our apartment to the Westside Path and then South to the bottom of the island.  It was totally dark and pretty lonely out there while I was running.  I saw about as many people as you could count on one hand that were exercising.  There were some people who hadn't quite made it home from their Halloween celebrations, though!  Really, the only company I had were the 4 rats I saw out and about.  I learned that if you stomp your feet, they run away.  That seems like a really important thing to know. 

I have to say that normally when I run south I run to Chambers Street and then head back.  Today I went further south and ran along the esplanade in Battery Park City.  I'm not sure that was the right call since it was dark and I wasn't 100% sure where I was going or where to turn around, but it ended up being okay.  I was a little bit nervous there since there were some Parks Department people patrolling the area, which made me wonder if it's a high crime area?  I wouldn't have thought so, but the patrolling didn't do anything to make me feel more confident. 

I knew that this run was pretty much the make it or break it day when it came down to nutrition for the marathon.  I decided that I would do what I'm planning on doing for the marathon, which is to have water only and then take a Gu a miles 5, 10, 15 and 20.  I skipped the last one, but had the 5, 10 and 15 mile Gus and I have to say that it worked perfectly.  I pretty much stopped at every drinking fountain I saw and it worked out great. 

The truth is that the whole run was great.  The first 15 miles were awesome.  I was sort-of wondering if part of that was due to the fact that it was dark and a little bit chilly and I knew I had to be done by a certain time for the race?  Whatever it was, it was great.  I ended up timing it almost perfectly because I snuck into my corral for the race at 8:28, for a race that was supposed to start at 8:30.  I will say that NYRR is pretty darn good about starting on time, but they were running just a couple minutes late on Sunday.  Which meant that I didn't cross the start line until 8:40.  When I started running again, I wasn't overly enthused, but I pretty much just told myself to run to the next cup of water. 

I got water at all the aid stations and walked for a few steps to drink my water instead of have it splash down the front of my shirt.  That's pretty much my marathon plan as well.  I knew that I was doing a pretty good job pacing myself in the race.  I started out a bit slow and really, really picked it up towards the end.  It was great to know that I could still have a tiny bit of a kick left after 20 miles! 

All in all, I just kept thinking that I was wishing the marathon had been on Sunday instead of in three weeks.  Although I think I'm ready to scale back on the running, I'm also now paranoid that maybe I peaked too early and wasted all my efforts in getting ready for the marathon. 

Running #1
Time: 2:38:39
Distance: 15.00 miles
Pace: 10:34/mile

Running #2 (Poland Spring Marathon Kick-Off Race)
Time: 52:22
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 10:28/mile

The Giants Win The Pennant! Weekend Recap

Friday night we stayed up late to watch the Texas Rangers beat the Yankees to clinch their spot to the World Series.  I'm not really sure I had a really big opinion one way or the other, but Drew has season tickets to the Yankees, so it would have been fun to go to another World Series game in New York this fall.  The biggest reason I actually stayed up to watch the end of the game was that because Texas won, it meant that Saturday's Giants/Phillies game was moved from a 4 pm start to an 8 pm start. Which meant that we had to try to rearrange all of our travel plans and find a hotel at 11:45 the night before.

Because ... we went to Game 6 of the NLCS and watched the Giants beat the Phillies!  Which was totally awesome!  I think that it would have been a little bit more fun if we had been in San Francisco instead of Philladelphia, because a few people were not the nicest to us when we were wearing our Giants gear, but for the most part, the fans were pretty nice.

Anyway, this is a workout blog, not a baseball blog, but my whole point in the baseball business was to tell you that (1) I'm really excited for the World Series now and (2) watching baseball games until very late at night and then getting up at 5:45 am to take a train back to NYC makes you a little bit tired.  I ended up falling back asleep for a while once we got home from Philly.  In the whole 16 hours I was in Philadelphia, I just kept looking around and wondering "will I be running on this exact street again in a month?".  Sort-of a crazy thought.

Obviously, because of the baseball game on Saturday, I planned my long run for Sunday.  I had planned out a 21 mile route and I was convinced that I would make it this time.  It involved another run across the George Washington Bridge that was a bit of a disaster the last time I attempted it.  This run also ended up being a bit of a disaster and not at all the 21 miles I was expecting, but I finished.  I think I learned some things.  Those two facts are really all I can hope for at this point.

I decided not to take my Fuel Belt with me.  I've just hated it too much the last couple times and I didn't want anything to interfere with my run.  I decided to take two Gu packets and $20 and rely on drinking fountains.  I'd also have money if I needed to buy anything.  Everything was going along really well until one of the drinking fountains I was counting on wasn't working.  Which meant that I wasn't going to make it across the bridge and back without that drinking fountain.

My only choice at that point was to turn around and go back the way I'd come from.  I decided when I got back to Fairway that I'd stop in and buy myself a Gatorade.  Which was $99 + tax.  I can't tell you how annoying it was to carry around $18.92.  Well, really, it was the $0.92 in change that was annoying jingling in my tri-short pocket the whole way home!

By the time I got the Gatorade, I was pretty thirsty.  I tried not to gulp it all at once, but I think I drank it in about 5 gulps (it was 20 ounces total).  The Gatorade plus Gu that I'd had earlier did not turn out to be such a winning stomach combo.  The second I realized that, I was about a mile from the nearest bathroom.  And I physically could not run without something devastatingly embarrassing happening.  While I might be able to permit myself to have some sort of accident during a race, I just can't allow it to happen while on a training run.  Which is how I found myself walking painfully slowly to the nearest bathroom a mile away. 

After making it there successfully, the rest of the run was quite nice.  So, now I'm left wondering what to do about the marathon.  Gatorade or Gu?  The combination of the two doesn't seem to work.  Or maybe it really was the Gu again ... I've only had luck with it twice, and those were both much shorter runs than today.  I've got one last long run planned for this coming weekend and I'm hoping to try Gu (with no Gatorade) again and see what the results are.  If it doesn't work so well, I'm going to scrap the Gu entirely for the actual race.  But I'm hoping it was just the combination of the two. 

This is what my schedule looks like for the next month.  Crazy that I have 87 miles to go until the marathon itself ... which gives me the total of 113.2.  Also, these runs during the week seem really short now. 

I've also realized that if I do all of those miles above, I'll end up right where I predicted I would at the end of my marathon training mileage wise.  Which is sort-of a nice feeling.  And more motivation to make sure I get all the miles in and not skimp out.  The weather this week is supposed to be a bit above normal, so it should make for some really nice running conditions.  All the more reason to get out there and keep going! 

Running
Time: 3:35:00
Distance: 18.00 miles
Pace: 11:56/mile

I'm totally fine with this pace.  Throwing in the horrible walking mile plus some drinking fountain breaks and slow running to begin with, I'm not really worried.

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. 

Same Temperature, But Colder

Normally when I'm a bad blogger, it means I've also been a bad exerciser.  Not so today!  I'm actually doing really well with my mileage so far this week.  Funny how that works when you actually stick to the plan.  I keep looking back on my past weeks and feeling down on myself about lots of missed miles.  But, let's get to the actual workouts...

Yesterday I was supposed to run 8 miles, but I wasn't quite sure I'd have enough time for that.  The past few mornings have involved some version of the following events:

1.  Alarm goes off
2.  I press snooze
3.  Alarm goes off
4.  I press snooze
5.  Drew wakes up and says, "You should get up!"
6.  Alarm goes off
7.  I press snooze
8.  Drew pokes me and says "You need to go running!"
9.  Alarm goes off
10. I press snooze

So, you know, I've been waiting until the last possible second to get out of bed and actually get some miles in before work.  Hoping to do a better job on that next week, but in truth, I'm just bad at waking up.

Yesterday it was 50 when I was leaving and I threw on a long-sleeved shirt and capris.  I wasn't really sure that I needed to be wearing capris, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might want to wear them for the marathon, so I figured I should get in some practice runs.  I headed to the Westside Path and had a nice run down and up the island. 

The big news from yesterday is that I ate a Gu.  And it didn't even give me any stomach issues like it has in the past.  I had a free Gu from the swag from my Central Park Biathlon and wanted to try it on a shorter run so that if I did have any issues, I wouldn't be ruining a long run.  The flavor I had was Vanilla Bean and I wasn't sure how it would taste.  Tasted kind of like frosting and as soon as I ate the first bit, I wasn't really sure I wanted to be eating frosting while running.  But then my tummy seemed okay with it, so maybe I actually do want to be eating frosting while running? 

I'm hoping to give this another shot on this weekend's "long run", which is actually a step-back week, so long is only 13!  I'm hopeful that the added calories will help me feel better (and maybe less thirsty?) at the end of these runs.

Today was also 50 and since I was a bit warm yesterday, I wore a slightly thinner long-sleeved shirt and capris again.  Except that the wind today was a bit crazy and I was really glad to have on as many clothes as I did, especially while starting running and waiting to warm up!  This morning I decided to go to the Park and was thinking I'd do the same run I did on Wednesday.

Except that when I got to the Reservoir, I realized that I haven't run on the Bridle Path in quite some time, so I decided to do a loop around there and then head back home.  It rained like crazy last night and the puddles on the path were pretty huge.  I felt like I added on an additional half mile just running back and forth around all the puddles! 

When I was running today, I was thinking about marathon and those missed miles that I have.  I can't go back and redo those weeks and I certainly don't think I can try to make up for them.  So, I just decided that I'm going to try to take a new outlook on the situation and say that every mile I run from now on will make the marathon a tiny bit easier.  We'll see how long this lasts. 

Thursday Running, Westside Path
Time: 1:15:00
Distance: 7.10 miles
Pace: 10:35/mile

Friday Running, Central Park
Time: 54:40
Distance: 5.10 miles
Pace: 10:48/mile

I can't believe how close to the end I'm getting of the Wardrobe Challenge.  I know that being busy with work and running have really helped time fly by. 

Wednesday night (Day 24), I went out after work to the Ingrid Michaelson concert and felt obligated to take a photo to show you my after-work outfit.  Purple long-sleeved shirt, black v-neck sweater, jeans, silver circle earrings and gray Converse:

Thursday, Day 25: Gray skirt, green turtleneck, gray tights, green and silver earrings.  Worn with black flats (my right pinky toe is sore and the flats were the most comfortable shoes).

Friday, Day 26: Black pants, blue sweater, diamond earrings and two gold bangle bracelets.  Worn with the high-heeled mary janes, of course!

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! 

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!

Finally, 15 Miles

This morning I set out to do what I failed to do last week, run 15 miles.  I recently read a guest post on Katie's blog where the person said that they always try to smile during the last mile of their long runs, because it's further than they've ever gone before.  I definitely tried to keep that in mind today when setting out. 

The funny thing is that my last mile was sort-of my first mile.  I did the same route as my 14-mile run, but I tacked another mile on at the beginning since I didn't want to run any further north than I had before because there are some monster hills that direction, so I ran south to 39th Street before heading north on the Westside Path.  I definitely tried to keep smiling during the last/first mile!

I had a pretty uneventful run.  I wore my Fuel Belt and took three bottles of Gatorade and one of water since I knew I could refill the water if necessary.  I also took something that's not new to me, but new to me running ... jelly beans!  I actually have a bit of a jelly bean "problem".  I love them.  They used to sell these really awesome jelly beans at Grand Central Market, but they don't anymore, which made me go into a bit of a withdrawal.  Turns out that Drew was able to find them in small over-priced bags at Cucina, but I'll take it even if it is over-priced for jelly beans! 

I know that a lot of people use those Sport Beans, but I figured that my regular jelly beans couldn't really be that different than those fancy Sport ones.  The first time I tried eating the jelly beans today, I ate three of them.  Shortly after that, my stomach felt a little rocky.  I had a mental battle with myself where I reminded my stomach that I eat these all the time ... mostly by the fistful if I'm being totally honest and that there really shouldn't be any issues!  Interestingly enough, after that, everything was totally fine! 

I ended up eating 8 jelly beans over the whole course of the run.  I liked them.  I'm not sure if they really did anything in helping me finish, but it was something fun to think about having along the way, so I think they did help in that way.  I ended up feeling pretty thirsty today.  But not for Gatorade, which I had in abundance.  I was more interested in having water, so I did stop twice to refill and have more water.  I sort-of wonder if the slightly cooler temperature today (62) meant that my body just wasn't losing as many electrolytes?  I don't really know how all that stuff works. 

So, the other thing of note today that I actually debated about writing about because I don't want to name names.  I decided that I won't name names, but there was a large team of people out training today on the Westside Path for the marathon.  I was running north when they were running south.  Basically, they were trying to run me off the running path and push me into the bike path, because apparently they don't know how to interpret those little stick figures on the pathway.  As someone who is part of a large group that runs together, I know that we are always told (and sometimes scolded) to watch out for others and to respect the rules of the road, which we do. I really don't appreciate that other groups don't do the same. 

All in all, I'm really happy with this run.  Nothing special, which is probably the point of these long runs.  I definitely am glad to think that I am well over half-way there with this run today.  Not that I think I'm quite ready yet, but I feel like I'm on my way! 

Running
Time: 2:46:19
Distance: 15.25 miles
Pace: 10:54/mile

Labor Day Weekend Recap

I've realized over the past few days that marathon training has now taken a turn and gotten more interesting.  Mainly because my work schedule isn't going to be quite as 9:30 to 5:30 as it usually is.  I'll be working more overtime, including weekends, which can put a wrinkle into training.  This Saturday I had to work, so I knew that it would be in my best interest to push my long run to Sunday.

So, Sunday I woke up not so bright and early, which was fine since the weather here is much more comfortable now!  I had decided not to run loops in the Park, but instead would head to the Westside Path for my run.  I discovered that running from our apartment to the base of the George Washington Bridge and back is exactly 14 miles.  I've realized that running as far away from home and then having to run back seems to work out pretty well for me so far.

I took along my Fuel Belt (three bottles Gatorade / one water) and two mini Luna bars and set off on my trek.  I had barely started running when a guy came up to me and said, "Hey!  Same pace!"  I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this at first.  We started chatting a little bit and it turned out that he was only running to 90th Street, so we ran together for just under 2 miles.

I wasn't sure I liked it at first, running with this guy Todd, but it actually turned out okay.  It was clear that he was hitting on me a little bit, but that was not the worst thing in the world.  Especially when you're running, sweaty, and wearing a Fuel Belt!  I think because I didn't know him, it was almost easier to run at my own pace, especially since he had started off the whole thing by saying that we were running at the same pace.  I probably sped up a little bit, but it ended up being totally fine.

We parted ways on the Upper West Side and I continued on with my run.  After that, I decided that I would start taking a drink of Gatorade every 10 minutes and see how that worked out.  It worked pretty well for the next hour.  Somewhere around the 1:30:00 mark, I started to get more thirsty.  I then decided that I'd take a drink of water every 5 minutes, so I'd be alternating Gatorade and water every 5 minutes.

I got to the turn-around point at 1:12:22, which I was really happy with and meant that I was running faster than 11-minute-miles, which seemed good.  I stopped running at the turn-around point and took a two-minute (timed) walking break.  I tried to eat one of the mini Luna bars that I had brought with me, but the first bite made me feel gaggy and the second bite even worse.  I quickly ditched the idea of forcing it down and then just testing to see how far I can get on Gatorade and water alone.

I was actually really lucky because not long after the turn-around, Drew had agreed to meet me and run the last 4.5 miles back home with me.  Right after we met, I ended up filling up my water bottles to keep up with my drinking every five minutes strategy.  I actually felt bad while running with Drew because I was drinking so frequently, but he wasn't at all.  I figure if he had been dying he either could have asked me for a drink or we could have stopped at a drinking fountain.

I sort-of wanted to stop at one point after running for about 2 hours.  It was the first time that my right knee actually hurt.  Mostly it's felt tired up to now on my long runs, but there was definitely something that was a little bit sharper this time around.  Luckily, it didn't last long.  Maybe I just landed a step or two funny, because about 3 minutes later, it felt back to normal. 

As soon as we finished up running on the Path, but still had to run on some city streets to get home, Drew said that I picked up the pace a bit.  I definitely had a time goal in mind for this run and I knew I couldn't beat my over-all half-marathon time, I thought I could have a faster pace than my half-marathon had been and I needed to push myself a little bit at the end to ensure that happened!

Turns out that my goal of 2:30:00 for 14 miles was totally realistic as I beat it by just over two minutes!  (Ha!  Soooo close!).  No matter what, I'm really happy with that time.  I only took one planned walking break, unlike the half-marathon where I took several unplanned walking breaks.  I thought that today was a lot easier than that race had been.  I don't know why.  Probably because even though I had a time goal, it wasn't a race and no one would ever know.

My legs were pretty tired after running these 14 miles, but we did get out and do some walking around for the rest of Sunday, so I think that probably helped.  I wore my compression sleeves Sunday evening and night and woke up feeling like I had regular legs on Monday.

I had been debating back and forth whether or not I should go running today or not.  Because of my upcoming weekend schedule, I don't think I'll be running 15 miles this weekend.  Which leaves sometime this week.  I figured if I didn't run Monday or Tuesday, then I'd have fresher legs to tackle 15 on Wednesday.  Then I could just try to make up the other miles after that.  And if I don't quite get to 30 miles this coming week, I don't quite get to 30 miles this coming week.  I'm trying to not overly stress about the totals and just worry most about long runs!

Running
Time: 2:27:58
Distance: 14.00 miles
Pace: 10:34/mile
Calories: 1488
Maximum HR: 191 (90%)
Average HR: 178 (84%)

It's Still Summer

Well, we're back in New York now (from vacation in Michigan). And I'll fully admit that marathon training hit a bit of a hitch this week. Meaning it was non-existent until now. I think it'll be mostly okay though, since this was a step-back week anyway. Although I'm not really stepping back. Oh well.

Of course, I waited a bit too long today to hit the streets for my run. Something about not having to get up for any particular thing means that I really like to sleep in. I think I'm more of a night owl naturally and while I can get up early, it's not my natural sleeping rhythm. Of course, I knew that getting out and actually running today would be a big step in the right direction, unlike yesterday, where I just sat around all morning and then had a picnic lunch with Drew in Central Park!

Even though the computer says that it's only 77 degrees out, it's still really sunny and frankly, quite hot! I decided to run along the Westside Path before I realized the sun situation and there isn't a lot of shade or relief from the sun. I did find lots of drinking fountains I didn't know about before, mainly because I tended to run on the road part where it's really for bikes instead of the pedestrian part for runners and walkers. Turns out that the drinking fountains are "freeze-proof", which means that you have to hold down the button for a while before anything comes out. I hope that means that they're on in the winter too?

I definitely had to do some walking today. I'm not especially proud of that fact, but I was determined to go the distance I had mapped out ahead of time and if walking was going to get me to the end, so be it. I'm trying not to get too down on myself about the walking. I'm chalking it up to the heat and being slightly under prepared.

I had to buy myself a Gatorade on the way home. I'm not sure what I was thinking and why I didn't take my Fuel Belt along with me now that I've spent money and invested in it. The whole time I was carrying the Gatorade in one hand and running, I was thinking how dumb it was to (a) carry something like that and (b) spend $3 on Gatorade.

This week's total for miles is 21. So that means that after today, I still have 12.6 to go. Saturday we're doing this fun/crazy NYC Scavenger Hunt, so that will involve a lot of walking. I'm planning on another long run on Sunday, but I don't think I'll do all 12.6 remaining. I just can't do every mile every week. That's just not how my life seems to work. I'm just trying my best to make sure I do the "long runs" each week and if I come up short on some of the shorter runs, so be it. This marathon training is a process and it's my first time, so it's all on a huge learning curve.

Running
Time: 1:34:02
Distance: 8.40 miles
Pace: 11:11/mile

The Dorky Runner

Yesterday afternoon I went to Jack Rabbit and bought myself a Fuel Belt. It looks like this:

I wore it running this morning and liked it. I didn't love it for the first part, but I think I got used to it and sort-of forgot it was there by the end of my long. I was definitely glad I had it with me. The one I got has 4 8-ounce bottles. You can buy bigger, 10-ounce, bottles, but I figured I'd test this out first and see how I liked it before I invested any more money.

I had read some reviews on Amazon about it the bottles in front being a problem and people were hitting their hands on them. I didn't have that problem at all. My main issue is that I wore the belt around my hips (since I can't stand having anything around my natural waist) and because the bottles hit against my hips, over time, the belt slid up slightly. It wasn't a big deal. I just pushed it back down a few times over the course of my run and kept going.

I actually really liked having the bottles in the front. I thought it was a lot easier to get to them than the ones in the back, so I ended up drinking the ones in the front first and then switching and putting the empty ones in the back. I'm sure that's all wrong, but it worked for me, so I'm just going to go with it. The other complaint I read in reviews was that the bottles leaked a little bit. I didn't have that problem at all, but I did notice that the condensation from the bottles dripped down my leg and made me wonder if it was starting to rain.

I liked having it in general. I definitely felt like a dorky runner. The only good thing? All the other dorky runners say HI to you! Well, that's not true. The other Fuel Belt people were very friendly. The Nathan people were semi-friendly. Everyone else was a typical self-absorbed New Yorker. (I was one of these people as of yesterday, so I don't think I'm being mean here).

For my long run this morning, I wanted it to go better than the last 12 mile run I attempted. I decided that in order to get that last 12-mile run out of my head, I should have a change of scenery and skip going to the Park and instead run on the Westside Path. I ended up leaving the apartment shortly after 6 this morning, so it was pretty quiet on the Western Front. (sorry, I couldn't help myself).

The last couple long runs, I've run South and I've liked that a lot. Running North on this path isn't that easy. I mean, it's fairly flat, so that's easy. However, it turns out that you have almost no markers to let you know where you are on the grid that is NYC. At one point, I was so distressed that I was only at 125th Street, only to look up and see that 132nd Street was the next street sign (turns out that 125th Street goes diagonally for a while there on the far West side, which is why it's possible to run the fastest 7 blocks ever).

I knew that I needed to get to somewhere around 165th Street for it to end up being 12 miles today. After I realized that I'd never really know when I was actually at 165th Street, I decided to just run for 70 minutes heading North and then turn around. At the turn around, I took a
3 minute walking and eating break and ate the mini Clif bar I had brought with me (stuck in my Fuel Belt pocket!).

And then it was back to running. I realized when I got almost home, this run was pretty mindless. I didn't really think of anything interesting - or anything at all, really. The only thing of note was that on my way North, I saw a dead rat in the pathway. When I came back South, it wasn't there. I have no idea what would have happened to it, since I can't imagine who would have wanted to touch it! I hope a dog didn't get it. Ick.

I guess that it's good that 12 miles ended up being pretty mindless. I'm still going with my slow and steady approach to these long runs and it's working out beautifully! We're off to Michigan tomorrow morning and Thursday will be spent flying and driving up North. That means a rest day in my books! Friday and Saturday it should be easy to finish up the 6.9 miles that I've got left for this week! Sunday will be another rest day before starting up again next week.

I'll fill you in on all the workouts when I get back to civilization next week! I'm hoping they'll include some good open water swimming too!

Running
Time: 2:16:44
Distance: 12.40 miles
Pace: 11:01/mile
Calories: 1195
Maximum HR: 175 (83%)
Average HR: 163 (77%)

Summer Streets Run

Yesterday, thanks to Lisa's post yesterday, I was able to find out about the Summer Streets "Fun Run" with NYRR. Looking at the website, it was a little unclear as to whether it was a 4.5 or 5.0 mile run (since both distances were listed), but I knew that I wanted to try to get about 9-10 miles today, so I figured I'd run to the Fun Run and then do the Fun Run.

I asked Drew if he'd want to do part of the Fun Run with me and he said that he didn't think his knee would be up to doing the whole thing, he'd meet me for part of it. We agreed to meet at 23rd Street and he'd run with me from there to the finish.


But, first, I should say that I started out really slowly. I was less concerned about time and more concerned about my heart rate staying low. I left the apartment around 5:40 and I pretty much had the Westside Path all to myself. I ran south, from our apartment to Canal Street. The blocks just kept ticking by.

I would sing a little bit to myself to make sure I was keeping everything conversational. Once I got to Canal Street, I could hardly believe I was there already. That was the weirdest part of my run. Normally, Canal Street is jammed with tourists and hordes of people. Not at 6:30 in the morning! Every shop has the metal gate rolled down. The only people out are police officers (which I actually found interesting as I wonder if they're there to deter illegal activities). It was so bizarre that I couldn't really place myself on the street as I used to seeing certain shops when I go down there.

I got to the Starting Line (which should be considered a very loose term) about 15 minutes early. I got my T-Shirt, which I decided to wear over the tri top that I was wearing, and I stretched and sat down for a few minutes. Just a couple of minutes before 7:00, everyone moved to the Starting Line. A woman with a (poorly functioning) megaphone said that we should watch out for cross traffic on major intersections and then blew a whistle and we were off.

I still just kept concentrating on keeping it slow and steady. I knew Drew would wait for me even if I was a minute or two late and finishing this run happy was the most important thing to me. While I was sitting down before the start of the Fun Run, I realized that I was starving. I figured I'd just try to make it with the water they were offering on the course, but I was kicking myself for not bringing any thing to eat with me.

Luckily, this whole Summer Streets thing came and saved me. Well, so did Drew. Right after we met, he noticed that there was a Clif booth giving away Clif bars. He asked if we should go look and I decided that yes, we should! I ate a mini Clif bar right away while we were running and kept the other one in my pocket in case of emergencies. I have to say, that Clif bar tasted amazing. Yum!

Running up Park Avenue and around the Met Life Building was really weird, but also fun. They had Dumpster Pools set-up near Pershing Square that I'd really like to test out next weekend if at all possible! Drew and I ran all the way up to the "Finish Line" (which was really a piece of cardboard propped on an orange cone declaring it as such). I grabbed another cup of water and got really mad at the lady at the beginning of the Fun Run who had promised "bagels and fruit". Much to my disappointment, pretzels and bananas were what was on offer. I can't eat bananas and I didn't feel like pretzels.

Since we were now at 72nd and Park, Drew asked what we should do about getting home. I said that we should walk into Central Park and then we could start running again. I was getting a bit tired by this point, but my legs still felt pretty good. Once we got into the Park, we ran home the shortest way possible and then stopped at Starbucks on the way home for a refreshing coffee treat!

I'm happy to have done 9.95 miles today, pain free, and still happy at the end. I have definitely moved one step closer to being in the "yes" column. I really just want to see how my legs feel in the morning, but I think it's almost a guarantee that I'll be signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon based on today's run!

Run #1 (Home to Fun Run Start)
Time: 50:14
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 10:55/mile
Calories: 456
Maximum HR: 181 (85%)
Average HR: 167 (79%)

Run #2 (Fun Run)
Time: 48:23
Distance: 4.45 miles
Pace: 10:52/mile
Calories: 482
Maximum HR: 189 (89%)
Average HR: 177 (83%)

Run #3 (Run Home)
Time: 9:39
Distance: 0.90 miles
Pace: 10:42/mile
Calories: 93
Maximum HR: 186 (88%)
Average HR: 176 (83%)

An Early Ride, A Late Ride and A Challenge

This morning I was the alternate Watchdog for the Terrier brick workout. About two weeks ago, they had sent out an e-mail saying that they needed someone to volunteer to watchdog this week and I wrote back saying that since I was the alternate, I was planning on being there anyway. So, I woke up at 4:30, ate, pumped up my bike tires, and headed to the Park.

Except it turned out that they didn't need me. Both of the original people who were assigned showed up and one of the original people had brought a friend. I figured that meant I could go ahead and leave since I was just the alternate, so that's what I did. I actually called Drew as well since we had talked about riding bikes after I was done with my Watchdog duties, I thought I'd see if he wanted to bike earlier. He was working on some work stuff when I called, so I ended up just going back home, which was fine with me. I was a little annoyed that I got up so early to ride 3 miles, but it was fine. We ended up watching some TV and falling back to sleep on the couch for a couple of hours before heading to work.

Since neither of us got a workout in today, we thought that maybe we should do something after work. I suggested that we go for a ride on the Westside Path since we didn't go biking this morning. It was my first time riding up the new and improved portion of the Path (so you don't have to actually enter Riverside Park anymore). It might have actually been just as crowded as the Park part was and going this way means you miss a hill, but it was nice to ride on that newly paved path!

Somewhere along the way, we passed a guy with a hard plastic cast over his left leg, who had a bike helmet, but it was just attached to the front handlebars. He didn't think he needed it on his head, I guess. This cast guy apparently was not happy that we passed him, because for the next few miles, we played cat and mouse with him. Every time we passed him, he'd speed up and pass us back. It was all pretty ridiculous if you asked me. Finally, we ended up making a silly little three-some of Drew, crazy cast guy and me bringing up the back. I actually was a little afraid a couple of times that he'd brake suddenly and I'd go flying, but it ended up being fine.

I almost had a heart attack going up the big hill by the bridge. I made it up to the top just as some other girl was getting on her bike and she sort-of darted out and almost blocked the whole path. My heart was already beating pretty fast from the effort of climbing up the hill and when she darted out, I just got really startled, which didn't help any. Shortly after that, we decided to just turn around and head home and not go the extra mile or so to the end of the path.

I spent a lot of time biking behind Drew and at some point I became convinced he was wearing my socks. Not that it's a big deal, I just thought it was funny. When I mentioned it to him, he looked down at his feet and rode his bike off the edge of the Path into the grass. It's not that big of a deal, it's probably about an inch drop, but in that split second where he was swerving and weaving, I thought for sure he'd wipe out. Luckily, he's a pretty good biker and was able to get back on the Path without any bumps or bruises. I felt pretty bad about making him lose his concentration.

I tend to do a lot of thinking on the bike. Today I realized that I'm not too worried about my own biking abilities or biking in a straight line or all that, but I am concerned about everyone else. I guess it's not unlike driving a car. I know I'm a decent driver, but everyone else on the road is crazy. And there were definitely some crazy bikers out there today!

The other thing I thought about on the bike today was doing an Ab Challenge. I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. To be honest, I think I gained a couple of pounds when I broke my arm and while I know you can't spot treat pounds or fat, I figured that doing some ab work would help me overall with swimming, biking and running. I also really liked doing Pilates with Nicole last year, but it's not really an expense I can afford right now to have private lessons, so I figured I could do some things by myself.

So, since I had been thinking about this for a while, I knew that I wanted to make the Challenge realistic. I didn't want to start it and then not be able to finish it for various reasons, so I thought that I should challenge myself to do 15 minutes of core work every day for two weeks. And on the bike, I realized, what am I really waiting for? If I'm going to do this for two weeks, I don't need to start on a Sunday. I can start tonight!

So, when we got home, we made dinner and then I (with Drew's help) pumped up my Swiss ball, got out my $2.00 Swiss ball exercise book that I got at TJMaxx and started reading. I actually really like the book. There are lots of exercises and they fully explain them all with beginner, intermediate and advanced variations. Then, at the back of the book, there are little workout plans. Not a bad value for $2.99. For two weeks of workouts, that's only $0.21 per workout! Hard to beat that!

These are the exercises I did with the ball tonight:

Sitting Balance - sit, lift one foot off the floor for a count of 5
Abdominals - sit, lean back slightly, hold for count of 5, roll back to seated
Toe Taps - sit, tap toes on one foot 10 times
Back Extensions - sit, roll forward on ball, rock back and forth for count of ten (ball on lower back)
Hip Circles - sit, swivel each way 5 times
Hamstring Stretch
Gluteal Stretch
Cat Stretch (like yoga, hands on ball)
The Swan - lie on ball, push pelvis into ball and lift head slightly
Bottom Toner (intermediate) - lie on ball, lift both legs while clenching butt!
Basic Crunches - lie on floor, legs on ball

This ball thing reminds me a lot of pilates and how you keep your own stomach muscles clenched while doing other exercises. I really enjoyed it and think that this could be a good challenge for me. I think that I spent about 20 minutes doing these exercises and I did them all while watching TV! I asked Drew if he wanted to join the challenge and he said that he didn't really want to but he thought he could probably benefit from some more core exercises. But, then he didn't do anything, so when I've got a 6 pack in 14 days (ha ha!) he can just be jealous!

Biking
Time: 1:11:30
Distance: 14.85 miles
Pace: 12.46 MPH

Total biking for the day: 17.86 miles

Half Of A Brick

This morning Drew got up to do a brick and asked if I wanted to run along with him for the running part after he dropped his bike off at home. I was nervous that I'd be running to slow for him and holding him back, but I agreed to go along with him.

He got home from his bike ride up the Westside Path, changed shoes and we headed out. I took keys along with me, but he didn't bring any with him. We had planned on running south on the Westside Path together. I figured we'd run to 23rd Street and then turn around and run home, which would be about a 4 mile run.

We started out okay. Or at least I started out okay. I kept asking Drew if we were going too slow, but he said that it was fine with him. I think that since I know he can run so much faster than I can, I always feel like I'm holding him back. Even though sometimes I don't think that he minds.

After we had been running for just a few minutes, I noticed that my calf was still bothering me from yesterday's barefoot expedition. It wasn't that bad. More like an annoying muscle cramp. Enough to say ouch, but not enough to make me stop. I pushed through until we decided to turn around at 26th Street.

At that point, I told Drew that I had to walk for a minute and would he please take the keys and run home by himself? I just really felt like there was too much pressure on me and I didn't want to push myself too hard or hurt my left calf any more than I already had. I mean, yesterday's run of 5+ miles was the longest I'd been running since the triathlon!

Drew really tried to stick around telling me that it wasn't a big deal if I had to walk a little bit, he wasn't in a big hurry, but mentally I just needed him to not be there. I felt too bad about holding him back. So, he ran off and I walked for another little bit and then I managed to run most of the rest of the way home. I knew that since we had cut 3 blocks off our planned run, we'd come in somewhere under 4 miles. My goal since I had been walking some already was to try to get home in less than 40 minutes.

Even though I had to take another quick walking break (I should mention that all my walking was done at my fast walking pace, not regular walking), I managed to make it home in under 38 minutes. I was thrilled at that! Even better? Drew was waiting on our front stoop for me! My leg still felt tight the rest of the way home, but I'm thinking that resting for a day or two might be all it needs. It doesn't feel like anything serious.

We went inside and had a nice recovery breakfast of waffles, strawberries and turkey bacon. I mean, I think those are recovery foods. Maybe I've got that wrong? Especially since I ended up taking a nap and foiling my big weekend plan! Which was to go swimming with Terrier again. But when I woke up from my nap, I really hadn't had much to eat today and even less to drink and I just didn't think that getting up and going swimming was in my best interest. There's always next time.

Running
Time: 37:44
Distance: 3.70 miles
Pace: 10:11/mile
Calories: 394
Maximum HR: 194
Average HR: 179