The Lowdown

I literally sighed before I started writing this.  I feel like so much has been happening, but it's all been the same boring stuff and I just didn't feel like writing about it.  So, to recap, I've still been watching what I eat and trying to work out more than I was before.  Last week was a bit of a slip-up, but that was mostly due to work factors beyond my control than anything else and this week I'm back on the bandwagon.  See? 

That's a screen shot of my Daily Burn calendar listing my exercise calories (calories out) and eating calories (calories in).  I've still been losing weight and I've got less than 10 pounds to go now until I reach my "goal weight".  It seems to be a slow, but steady, process, but I'm thrilled to see the scale keep going in the right direction.

So, if you look closely at Monday, February 7, you'll see that I only burned 36 calories.  That's because I've started something new!  A Hundred Push-Up plan!  Which is crazy to me.  In the initial test, I did 10 push-ups.  Drew estimated that I'd be able to get 4 and when I got to 6, he announced that he was officially surprised.  I kind-of wanted to die after those first 10 and it made me think that there is no way that I'll be able to do 100 all in one sitting.  However, I know that every time I've ever followed a plan, I've made it to the finish line, so I'm hoping that this will be just like that.  I even downloaded the fancy iPhone app to record my progress.  Yesterday I did 35 push-ups (in 5 sets), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get there.

I also found out on Monday that I got a spot to the NYC Half-Marathon on March 20!  Which is soon, but I'm not too worried.  Somehow all these races seem a lot less daunting now that I've done them once already.  I've figured out a fairly loose training plan that will ensure that I get my long runs in and I'll sort-of wing the rest of it.  I'm not an injury-prone runner, so I don't forsee any issues with upping my mileage although now I can really see a new pair of shoes in my future.

Last Saturday Drew and I did a challenge that his trainer, Billy, gave to him.  It was to run one mile on the treadmill at an incline of 10.  Which doesn't sound too hard until you're actually doing it.  Drew finished his mile in about 10:30 and I finished mine in 12:57.  I did a mix of jogging and walking because I knew that there was no way I'd ever be able to run the whole thing and stay on the treadmill, so I alternated back and forth.  I was a sweaty disaster by the time I finished.  I'm hopeful that the next time I try it that I can get a little bit faster.

I've also been going to Pilates on Thursdays with Nicole.  I decided this morning that it's getting easier and harder at the same time.  Harder in the sense that I feel like Nicole keeps pushing me to do more difficult exercises, but easier because I'm getting the hang of things now.  I'm also 100% sure that the Pilates that I've been doing helped me with my push-up quest.  So, in that regard, I don't imagine giving up on Pilates any time soon!

I know I've been a bad blogger recently.  I'm struggling with the monotony of going to the gym all the time.  I either need to toughen up and get outside or the weather needs to get better.  Or maybe both would be ideal.  I just haven't felt like writing about going to the gym.  I think it's boring.  Mostly because it seems like when I'm outside, I notice something interesting to mention or have a conversation with a stranger.  I've realized that no one talks at the gym.  Ever.  It's a world of headphones, which is sort-of sad, in a way.  The weather is looking up for weekend, so I'm hoping that means that I can get outside again!

Switching Rest Days

Normally I like to take my rest days on Mondays, but this week it worked out better for me to switch and take Sunday as a rest day and work out on Monday.  (In truth, that means that it worked out best for me to stay out late Saturday night, brunch on Sunday and then be lazy the rest of the day Sunday!  But it was a really fun weekend!).  Of course, I had to make-up for some of that over-indulgence at some point and today seemed like the perfect day. 

I ended up going to the gym after work tonight.  Normally I'd leave work, walk to the gym by our apartment and then go home, but today was so cold that I opted to go to the gym in our work building and then take the subway home so I didn't freeze while walking home.  Turns out that Monday nights are quite popular at the work gym around 6 pm.  Noted for future reference. 

I ended up starting out on the only available cardio machine ... the stair mill.  Hey, works fine for me!  I love that thing!  I spent a sweaty 30 minutes on the stair mill on Level 11.  Truly, the only reason I bumped it up to Level 11 (from Level 10) is that I've been annoyed that I couldn't get over 3 miles in my 30 minutes of stair climbing.  I wanted to see how far I could get if I bumped it up one level.  Turns out that gets you to 3.2 miles.  Whoo hoo!  Maybe after a few more tries at Level 11, I'll have to bump it up some more...

After the 30 minutes on the stair mill, I walked around trying to find something else that was open, which wasn't easy.  I actually started stretching thinking that I might have to just give up and go home when a treadmill opened up.  I checked to make sure that no one else was waiting for it and I hopped on and got going.  By that point, though, I wasn't 100% into it and was thinking that I might cut it a bit short.  Especially since right after that a very long line formed of people waiting for the treadmill and I felt bad that I was on it and they were all waiting. 

I ended up doing 2.5 miles, which was really 2.0 miles running and 0.5 miles walking.  I have to tell you that I felt like people were staring me down with death rays when I was walking and doing the cool down, but since I hadn't exceeded the 30 minute time limit, I tried not to let it bother me too much (or any more than it already was). 

I couldn't believe how crowded the gym still was at 7:30ish on a Monday night.  Must still be a lot of January joiners.  Which I'm glad to see them at the gym, but maybe I'd be more glad if they didn't come all at once?  

Stair Mill
Time: 30:48
Distance: 3.20 miles
Calories: 275

Running
Time: 27:56
Distance: 2.50 miles
Calories: 251

One-Legged Jumping Super Star!

This morning I went to the gymnasium with Drew.  We had a lot of stuff to get accomplished today, so we got to the gym pretty much right when they opened at 8.  I started off on the Elliptical as a warm-up.  After that, we went to the weight room and did some weight lifting. 

I wanted to try to redeem myself after last week when I dropped the bar on the bench press and my trusty spotter saved the day.  I think I definitely did that today.  I even managed to go up 5 pounds from last week.  The 1.5 reps is because I did the first one all on my own and then Drew said that he thought I could get one more.  I brought the bar about half-way down and realized that there was no way, so I pushed it back up on my own, so it was really only half a rep.  Anything is better than dropping the bar, right? 


Bench press
10 @ 65 lbs
5 @ 75 lbs
1.5 @ 90 lbs

Butterfly
10 @ 60 lbs
6 @ 60 lbs
8 @ 70 lbs

Stand up shoulder presses
3 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs per arm

Arm curls
3 x 10 @ 12.5 lbs per arm

Jumps
10 x 3 (short box)

I actually did the jumps while alternating the arm curls.  It was a really good way to keep my heart rate up.  However, as I've mentioned before, I'm really NOT a good jumper.  Or, more specifically, I'm not a good two-legged jumper.  As Drew said, "You're a one-legged jumping super star!".  Which is sort-of true.  I'm just missing some sort of balance or something that makes me able to be good at jumping with two legs, but I gave it my best effort!

After that I finished up with a run on the treadmill.  Between the frigid temperatures and the snow we keep getting here, it seems almost impossible to run outdoors (at least to me).  My hat is off to those of you who are doing it!  I decided that in the spirit of keeping up with this speedy 5K plan, I should do some pick-ups during today's run.

I ran the first half-mile at 5.4 (11 minute pace) and then bumped it up to 7.5 (8 minute pace) for the next 0.25 miles.  I then went back to my slower pace to recover.  I ended up doing a total of 4 pick-ups throughout the run.  Two of them were at 7.5 (8 minute pace) and two were at 8.5 (7 minute pace).  All four pick-ups were for 0.25 miles.  It wasn't always easy, but I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging in there!  I ended up doing the 3.1 miles in 29:20 and then walked for another minute to cool down. 

I know I need to get some longer runs in, too, but the thought of doing them on the treadmill is slightly daunting/boring/annoying, so I'm holding out for better weather...


Elliptical
Time: 33:59
Distance: 2.80 miles
Calories: 269

Weight Lifting
Time: 26:43
Calories: 148

Running
Time: 30:58
Distance: 3.20 miles
Calories: 307

Running To The Dentist

This morning I had a dentist appointment at 7:30.  Which normally would be a little early for my taste, but when I scheduled the appointment, I forgot that I didn't have to work today.  Which meant that it was really early for my taste!  But, I went anyway.  I figured I'd combine my workout for the day with the dentist appointment. 

So, I literally ran to and from the dentist's office.  It's just about a mile and a half each way, so even though there was a 30 minute break in the middle there, it seemed like it was better than nothing!  I was worried that people would give me funny looks for being there all decked out in cold weather running gear, but no one seemed to really notice or say anything.  Since it's such a short distance, I wasn't sweaty or anything sitting in the dentist's chair, so I guess it wasn't the weirdest thing I've ever done. 

Mostly, I was glad to have it done with so that I could go see The Kings Speech with Nicole this afternoon! 

Running
Time: 27:40
Distance: ~3.00 miles
Pace: 9:13/mile

Baseline 5K

So, Friday I ended up taking as a rest day.  I know I've mentioned it a million times, but I really don't like to get up in the morning.  So, I slept in instead.  And Drew and I had dinner plans after work, so I skipped working out then, too.  Which brings me to this morning! 

Drew had left for the gym earlier than me, so I just went and did some running on the treadmill.  I thought I would try to do some other stuff, but when I got to the gym, I wasn't all that into it and wanted to go home rather than hang around the gym all day long.

I decided to run a 5K on the treadmill and just see what my base time would be without any real effort on my part.  Basically, I wanted it to be an "easy" run.  As opposed to whatever my "speedy" time will be for this race in March.  I thought it would be good just to have some sort of baseline when starting out to see what I'm working with. 

I started out running at 5.6 MPH and just kept bumping it up little by little as time went on.  I ended up sprinting to the finish, but that seemed pretty realistic to me.  I finished in 30:49 (or 9:56/mile pace).  I feel good about that.  Especially since I compared this to the last time I ran this 5K course and ran at a 9:48/mile pace.  And it's a fairly hilly 5K course! 

I really think I've got a good start and I can only go down from here.  I'm going to have to start incorporating more speed work into my routine, but I'm okay with that.  I also keep having some calf soreness in my left calf, so I'm really wondering if it's time for a new pair of shoes.  I'm going to give these that I've got now a couple more tries, but it seems rather suspicious to me.

I ended up cooling down and running one more mile around a 10:20 pace before heading home.  And as far as being hardcore?  I weighed myself yesterday and there is no change.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit disappointed by that, but I'm just going to keep on going.  No change is better than going in the wrong direction!

Running
Time: 41:09
Distance: 4.10 miles
Pace: 10:02/mile
Calories: 365

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%)

Merry Christmas To Me!

On Monday I had the first part of my Christmas present to myself.  My friend Nicole became a Certified Pilates Instructor last year.  I took lots of other pilates classes with her when she was going through her certification.  I was really nervous to start again since I've been neglecting my core so well during marathon training.  However, I had really enjoyed pilates when I did it before, so I'm starting up again.  For now, I'm doing 5 classes, but I have a sneaking suspicion that will turn into more!

When I got there and Nicole asked if there was anything specific I wanted to work on, I just laughed and said my stomach since it hasn't been doing much work.  I figured that it wouldn't be a problem.  I mean, after only like three or four exercises, I was already shaking.  It was really nice to be back and I'm glad that I signed up for classes with Nicole.  Having one-on-one attention is nice so that she can make sure I'm keeping my form up while doing all the exercises! 


Tuesday Laura and I had made plans to meet in the morning before work, except that it didn't work out and we ended up not meeting.  So, I headed to the gym after work instead.  I started coming down with a bit of a cold and I knew that it probably wasn't going to be my best effort ever.  Plus, the small gym by our house was pretty much jam-packed. 


I got the very last treadmill available and the whole time I was running there was a bit of a line forming, so I felt like I really had to adhere to the 30-minute time limit that our gym has.  So, I ran three miles in just over 30 minutes and called that good.  I followed it up with 15 minutes on the stair mill, something I haven't done in a while.  Boy oh boy, did I forget how sweaty that machine is! 


After all that, I spent a lot of time stretching.  I know that I need to be doing this every time and there's no time like the present to start.  My legs were a little tired from pilates on Monday and some of the stretches that Nicole had me do then, so I figured that more stretching was probably a good thing. 


Today I'm taking a rest day.  From work and working out.  I woke up feeling even more congested and with a sorer throat than earlier this week, so I knew that if I wanted to feel better sooner, resting would be the best thing for me.  I'm flying for the next three weekend and that never helps me feel any better, so I thought this would be the best opportunity.  I've been planted on the couch sleeping and drinking lots of fluids and taking lots of Vitamin-C to try to nip this cold in the bud! 


Running
Time: 31:27
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:28/mile

Stair Mill
Time: 15:00
Distance: 1.25 miles
Pace: 12:00/mile

The Best Treadmill

This morning I knew I needed to get a decently long run in. That didn't mean that I wanted to do it. Drew had to pester me repeatedly to get up and all I wanted to do was press snooze. I'm not sure how I feel about running in the cold and dark in the mornings on the weekend, so I opted to go to the gym instead.

Our regular gym by our apartment is under renovation, so  I went to the 24-hour gym fir the first time in quite a while. It's pretty small and they only have one of the best kind of treadmills, so I was lucky to grab that before it got really busy.

I ran 3.00 miles before I had to take a quick bathroom break.

I was really excited about the treadmills at this gym because instead of having a 60-minute limit like usual, they had a 97-minute limit. 97 seems like a really random number, but whatever it was, I was glad for the extension.

I ran the first 3 miles at 5.6 speed, which felt easy and relaxing. After re-starting, I ran the next 4.4 miles at the same 5.6 speed. I had a Gu around mile 5, just like how I've been training.  After that, Drew left the gym and I wanted to finish up and get home myself, so I decided to bump up the speed.

At first I thought I'd just do some intervals, so I bumped it up to 8.0. Funny thing was that it felt relatively easy. So I ran at 8.0 for the next mile and a half. Which was a longer interval than I had been planning on. And then I bumped it up to 9.0 for most of the rest of the run. I finished the last quarter mile at 10.0. I pretty much felt awesome after that and walked for a few minutes to cool-down before heading home.

It also made me realize that although I don't have a lot of races planned for 2011 yet, it doesn't mean that I can't start thinking about what my race goals should be.

So, with that said, I'm still planning on this marathon in January. After that, I think I want to focus on running a speedy 5K. There is a NYRR 5K (it might actually be the only one) in March. I did the race last year too, and it is a bit hilly, so I think "speedy" is something that is yet to be determined, but that's my next race goal.

It seems pretty reasonable to me to think that if I can run comfortably at a 7:30/minute pace or faster after running 7 miles already, this should be something I can achieve.  Although it's probably also a good reminder that a good warm-up is really important. 

I have to say that it's sort-of nice to have something else to look forward to. I do much better when I've got goals or races to train for.

Running
Time: 31:59
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:39/mile

Time: 64:54
Distance: 7.00 miles
Pace: 9:16/mile

Too Much T.V.

Apparently watching TV at the gym isn't my strong suit.  Last night after work I headed to the gym to get a couple quick miles in.  Except that instead of just listening to my iPod as usual, I just happened to end up at a treadmill where ESPN was playing on the TV.  I was happily running along going nowhere watching the ticker scroll by with all sorts of interesting sports news when all of a sudden ... I had to get off or risk barfing.  It pretty much came out of nowhere, but all of a sudden, I felt really sick to my stomach.

I started walking for a minute to see if I could start running again, but it just wasn't in the cards.  I only really had 45 minutes at the gym and wanted to use them wisely, so I went to check out the other cardio equipment.  I thought maybe I'd do the elliptical, but they were all taken so instead I did the Arc trainer for all of 15 minutes.  I still wasn't feeling that great, so I ended up using my last 10 minutes for stretching.  Which is probably something I need to do more of anyway.

I was really bummed that I wasn't feeling so hot, especially because Drew and I had tickets to the Knicks/Raptors game last night, which ended up being a really exciting game!  After eating some pretzels and drinking lots of soda, I finally was coming around and feeling back to normal.

All of that was probably a big sign that I need to get out of the gym and back outside!  Even though it was 24 degrees outside this morning (with the windchill, felt like 13), I got up and went for a run.  I finally got to test out my new Garmin, which was exciting.  Although it did take a while for the satellites to find me.  Or me to find the satellites.  I'm not sure which way it works.  Finally, after telling the Garmin that I was not indoors or hundreds of miles away from my last location, it started working!

It started working at just about the perfect moment, too ... right as I was walking into Central Park (I started walking instead of running in the hopes that the satellites would find me more easily if I was moving slower).  I decided to run on the Bridle Path for a number of reasons.  First, because this marathon I'm signed up for is partially on a bridle path, so I thought I should get used to it.  Second, because I've never been sure how far it is since Gmap Pedometer is lacking the Bridle Path route in Central Park. 

The funniest thing about today?  Turns out I've been properly guessing the miles all along.  Who needs this fancy technology?  Either way, I think I liked the watch.  I still need to upload the software to my computer and see all the fancy stuff it can tell me, but I liked it.  I had set it to auto-lap after each mile, so it was nice to have that beep at me.  I did notice, however, that it's not so great at auto-pausing when you're totally stopped.  It takes it a while to catch up to the fact that you're stopped.  Which isn't a problem unless you're running on streets (like from the Park to my apartment) and you get caught at a lot of lights.  I'm wondering if I change the auto pause from stopped to a very slow pace if it'll catch on more quickly? 

Either way, I've got a lot of tinkering around to do still before I can really say what I think.  For now, I'm glad I have it and I'll leave it at that!  The one very basic thing that I've forgotten the last two times I ran outside is my Road ID.  I'm wondering if I shouldn't just strap it to my shoe so that I can't forget it!  Something about not having it on my wrist makes me more nervous when I'm running.  But I never remember until I'm already far enough away from home that I can't just go back and grab it. 

Wednesday Gymnasium
Running: 2.0 miles in 21:30 (10:45/mile)
Arc Trainer: 15 minutes

Thursday Central Park Running
Time: 56:09+5:00 = 1:01:09
Distance: 5.06 + 0.50 = 5.56 miles
Pace: 10:59/mile

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

They Don't Make A Tennis-Ball-Head Size

Since this second marathon is only 6 weeks away, I don't really know how to prepare for it.  I'm sure that some people think it's awfully soon after my first marathon, but I'm really just doing this for fun.  There is a good chance that this marathon could be on a snow-covered path.  As far as the path, part of it is bridle path and hard packed and the other half is single-track and more technical.  Should be a good mix, I think. 

As far as having a "plan", my plan is to do the last 6 weeks of the first marathon training plan that I used.  Which is basically three build weeks followed by three taper weeks.  I figure if it worked the first time around, why mess with success?  

I've been on the fence for a while now about whether or not I need/want a Garmin.  And tonight I'm biting the bullet and buying one.  I'm assuming that this marathon course won't have mile markers, so I think that I'd like to know how it's going during the race.  Technically, it's a Christmas present from my mom, I'm just getting it for myself early!  So, let's hope the quick Amazon shipping will get here soon!  I'm really looking forward to seeing how I like it and I'll be sure to report back. 

Tonight I headed to the gym after work.  I had forgotten my own headphones at home, so I asked Drew if I could borrow his.  He was gracious enough to say yes.  He can't use the iPod headphones because they fall out of his ears.  I never really understood that.  He has the other kind of headphones.  You know, the ones with those little rubbery things on the end? 

Well, my ears are quite happy with the iPod headphones.  Those little rubbery ones?  Not so much.  In fact, I wanted to quit running after 0.10 miles today because I was so annoyed with those headphones.  I also knew I'd never make it on the treadmill staring at a white wall at the gym (really, there should at least be a mirror) without the headphones.  That meant that I spent 55+ minutes pressing the headphones back into my ears.

Let me be the first person to tell you that pressing headphones into your ears for more than 50 minutes is not fun.  And starts to make your ears hurt.  I really wanted to quit, but I also knew that I wanted to run 5 miles today.  If I wasn't so gosh-darn stubborn, I would have given up earlier, but I toughed it out.  It wasn't really all that fun, but when is the treadmill ever that fun?  It sure was sweaty, too.  I've got to get back to running outside! 

I met Drew when I was done at the gym to return his "defective" headphones.  He said that the problem was that they don't make a tennis-ball-head-size headphone.  It's true.  I have a child-sized head.  It's really small.  I have a lot of issues with hats.  But who knew it translated to my ears, too?  Either way, I'm glad that the free iPod headphones work marvelously.  I'm going to have to remember not to leave home without them. 

Running
Time: 55:05
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 11:01/mile

Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

This post could have easily alternatively been titled "I Only Heard 'Eye Of The Tiger' Once".


I really have to start this with Friday night.  I had packed my bag for Philly on Friday night so that I wouldn't be running around forgetting something on Saturday morning.  I had a dream that night that I forgot to put my wetsuit and my bike helmet in the bag.  When I woke up on Saturday morning I was relieved to realize that I hadn't forgotten to pack anything.  I wasn't going to be swimming or biking before this marathon!

Saturday morning Drew and I took the train down to Philadelphia and got in around 10:30.  We took a cab to the hotel and dropped off our bags.  The room wasn't ready and they told us we should check back later in the afternoon.  We then walked over to the Convention Center to the Expo where I picked up my race number and stood in a ridiculously long line to buy a new running hat with the Philly marathon logo on it.

After that we went next door to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch.  We did some walking around before heading back to the hotel around 3, where we were told that our original room wasn't ready, but we were being upgraded to a room on the 12th floor (original room was on the 5th floor).  I'm not sure it was a huge upgrade, but I was glad to have a room.  We also found out that the hotel offered late check-out at 3 PM for a fee of $35, which I was ecstatic to find out.  It meant that I'd be able to take a shower after the race on Sunday!

We had an early dinner at Olive Garden (go ahead and judge if you must, but I dare you to say that you don't think the salad is good...).  That was nice because it meant that I was in bed and asleep by 10.  I woke up once, at 2:37, but fell right back asleep until my alarm went off at 5:15.  I also found out in the morning that there was some sort of party going on on our floor around 2:30, so I'm sure that was what woke me up.  It was the most restful sleep I think I've ever had before a big race like this.  And probably just further proof that I really wasn't all that nervous about the race.

I got up when my alarm went off at 5:15 and started getting dressed and getting ready.  I was really excited to see that at 5:15 it was 41 degrees, so it was well above freezing!  I ate two Clif bars as my pre-race breakfast.  I wasn't all that hungry, so getting it all choked down wasn't as easy as it sounds.  I also had some water to chase it down.  I was all ready to go and left the hotel at 6.  I got into the elevator with another woman who was running the marathon and we walked to the race start together.  It was nice to have someone to chat with on the way there.  It was her 8th marathon, 2nd time at Philly, and she said that it was a great race.

I made my way to the port-a-potty line and had to wait in line for a while (which I had anticipated).  And then when I got to take my turn, there was no toilet paper (another thing I'd anticipated).  I'd just like to suggest that perhaps they could plan for this?  I mean, it's not like 20,000 people just showed up randomly to use the bathrooms!  After that I made my way over to my corral, which wasn't clearly marked or anything.  I think that organization and information on this race weren't that high.

I had only been standing in my corral for about a minute or two before I heard someone yell "Amy!".  I looked around because I knew that Meggan was going to be in my corral and I thought it was her.  But then the person yelled my last name and I turned around and it was Laura!  She had come down from New York to cheer for me!  We talked for a few minutes and she told me that she was planning on seeing me again at Miles 6.5, 14 and 25.  It was really nice to know where to look for her!

Finally, it was 7:00 and the Elite athletes were off and running.  And I thought the rest of us would be soon, too.  I had taken off my sweatpants at 6:55 and took off my fleece when the Elites started running.  That was a mistake.  Because what wasn't in the informational e-mail that they sent out was that this was a wave start and it took my corral 25 minutes to cross the start line.  Luckily, I had kept my hat, gloves and hand-warmers, so I wasn't freezing, but I was definitely cooling off waiting for us to get to the front! 

And then it was our turn!  Within the first quarter mile, I could just tell that it was going to be a good day for a run, and I was ecstatic about that prospect.  After about a half-mile, I took off my hat and gloves.  I put everything inside my hat and carried it until I saw Drew around Mile 1.5.  I threw it to him and I think it ended up working out well since he was able to use the hand-warmers throughout the rest of the day.  I guess he didn't want to wear the Hello Kitty hat.  Which was too bad since I only wore it running for a very short time and got a lot of compliments on it.  Maybe it's a good thing to hold onto?

I crossed Mile 2 at 21:05.  In my race plan I wanted to cross Mile 2 no sooner than 21:00, so I laughed that it was only 5 seconds after that.  Either way, everything was going according to the plan.  Also around Mile 2 was when I ran into what I'll call "Loudest Runner Ever Girl".  It was insane.  I mean, I'm running with at least 50 other people in a nearby vicinity and she was the only person I could hear clip-clopping along.  Of course, she was listening to an iPod, so she couldn't tell how loud she was.  I decided that I couldn't take it so I'd either have to speed up or slow down.  I chose the former.  I was not going to make it listening to her run for another 24 miles. 

I followed my strategy of taking water at all the water stops and walking through them so that I didn't spill water on myself.  It was working out really well and lots of other people were stopping as well at the early stations, so I didn't feel out of place.  At Mile 5, I had my first Gu just as planned.  I saw Drew again shortly after that around Mile 5.5 and then Laura was there at Mile 6.5!  (I should really give Laura credit as Drew got the top picture and Laura the bottom one.  It's obvious who was the better photographer). 

 

It was nice to know that I'd be seeing them again later on, too.  I continued on my way and it was pretty uneventful until Mile 8.  That was when someone must have stepped on a full Gu packet because I heard the noise of it exploding and then felt it all over my right leg.  One thing you don't really want is a packet of Gu running down your leg.  I can tell you that.  Luckily, there happened to be a discarded t-shirt on the side of the road shortly after that, so I wiped it off as quickly and as best I could and continued on.

I had made my own marathon pace bracelet.  I had done it for a 5 hour marathon and it was nice to see that as the miles passed by, I was slowly gaining on the times posted on the bracelet.  It went from one minute to two minutes and kept growing from there.  I felt really comfortable running and knew it was a pace where I could really sustain it in the long run.  I'm also glad that I didn't go any lower on the pace bracelet that I wrote down because it was my ultimate goal to finish in less than 5 hours and I never really felt any pressure to make up time since I had so much leeway.  

Miles 11 to 13 were a bit hard for me.  Not physically, but we were running directly into the sun and I wasn't wearing sunglasses or a hat.  I felt like I was squinting and so I tried running in the shadiest parts whenever possible.  If I had to re-do this exact race again, knowing what I know now, I think I would have done two things differently: (1) worn a cheap pair of sunglasses and thrown them away at the half-marathon point and (2) picked up a pair of the Philly marathon gloves I saw (I saw at least 5 complete pairs, but just didn't feel like stopping to pick them up).  I really just wanted them as a memento because they looked so nice.  Not because I actually wanted to be wearing gloves. 

Just before reaching the point where the half-marathon split from the full marathon, I heard someone cheering for me (louder than the other cheering I had heard) and I looked and saw that it was Krista!  I knew she would be there somewhere and I was so glad that I got to see her!  It was a nice extra boost!  I saw her husband running later on and cheered for him.  He probably thought I was crazy, but I felt like I had to do it!  I saw Drew again after the half-marathon point.  I was shocked to discover that I beat my previous stand-alone half-marathon time by at least a minute and a half (real results unknown thanks to ridiculous split times from Active.com).  I also had a much easier half-marathon in Philadelphia than I did in Atlanta.  Guess all that extra running paid off!

I saw Laura again somewhere between 14 and 15 and then headed off for a long stretch of running.  The second half of the marathon course is a mostly out-and-back course that takes the runners out to the town of Manayunk.  It was pretty quiet on the run out there.  Once the half-marathoners left the course, you're sort-of left wondering where everyone went.  It was pretty much right then that I decided that my next marathon will either be a marathon only event or one where the half-marathoners split from the full marathoners a lot sooner.

I had kept going with my strategy of taking Gu every 5 miles and had them at Miles 10 and 15 as planned.  I still kept having water at every aid station along the way.  They were handing out Gu packets just before Mile 10 and I saw that the flavor was Vanilla Bean (my preferred flavor) and I grabbed one and tucked it into my pocket just in case.  I also cut my finger on this same free Gu packet around Mile 18, so in the end, I'm not sure it was worth the trouble.  Especially since I didn't need it!

It was probably because of this cut on my thumb (actually under my thumb nail) that I noticed that my hands were really swollen.  I couldn't even move the ring I had on my right ring finger, which is normally easy to move around.  I was sure that this meant I didn't have enough salt, but my hands didn't hurt, they just looked like clown hands.  I guess I know what they'll look like if I get really fat.

I thought it would be until I got back to Mile 25 that I would see anyone that I knew again, but it turned out I got really lucky and saw Katie at Mile 20!  She had told me that she had made a neon-yellow sign that said "Go Runners - Kick Asphalt".  Knowing in advance what the sign was going to say made it really easy to spot her!  Believe me, I had just spent the last 20 miles looking for that sign!  We exchanged high-fives and I continued on my way back out of Manayunk and into Philadelphia. 


To my marathon brain, my swollen hands meant that I should eat more Gu.  To my Monday post-marathon brain that actually bothered to look at the nutritional stats on Gu, I realize that there is very little sodium in a Gu packet.  So, even though I ended up having all 6 Gu packets that I had originally brought with me, I don't know that it did my hands any favors.  Somewhere around Mile 21 there was a guy handing out soft pretzels.  I decided to take one, not to eat, but to lick the salt off.  Boy oh boy was that tasty.  I felt a little bad wasting the pretzel, but I did get what I wanted out of it.

When I passed the mile marker at Mile 20, I just felt like screaming to everyone, "this is further than I've ever run before".  And, truthfully, I wanted to scream that after every single step.  I was so excited that I was that far along in the race and that I was still running and feeling great!  

Somewhere on the way back into Philadelphia, another girl came up to me and asked what pace I was running.  I told her I didn't really know, but something faster than a 5 hour marathon.  She said that she had been behind me for the entire race and that I had been amazingly consistent in my running (which was awesome to hear).  She said that she thought she was on pace for a 4:35:00 marathon.  I hope she made it.  She ran ahead of me at the next aid station when I stopped for water.  Either way, it was nice to think I was being consistent from mile to mile. 

It wasn't long after this that I heard "Eye of the Tiger" for the very first time.  Frankly, I had expected to hear it all the time.  I was actually a little bit disappointed that I only heard it the one time!  Don't worry, though, I totally sang along to myself even after I couldn't hear it anymore.  As a total aside, I've loved this song since I first heard it in after-school care when I was about 8.  If I had known then that it'd be played during my first marathon, I'd never have believed it to be true. 

When I saw Laura again at Mile 25, she got up and ran with me for a minute or so.  She said I was looking great.  I still felt really good, which was encouraging.  I was actually shocked by the number of walkers out there on the course.  And, truthfully, I was really glad that I wasn't one of them.  I never ever felt like I wanted to stop and walk (other than at an aid station) and I never had to convince myself to start running again after drinking my water.  It was what I wanted to do.

I saw Drew one last time at Mile 26-ish before I crossed the finish line.  I definitely tried to pick it up toward the end for the finish.  I finished the race with the exact same look on my face as I had when I started - a smile.  It was awesome.  I loved, loved, loved the marathon.  I want to do another one.  I'd sign up today (provided it was a few weeks away). 

Things I learned:
1.  Having my name on my shirt made a big difference in the amount of cheers I got, even though everyone had their names on their bibs.  I would 100% recommend this and do it again myself.
2.  For my next marathon, I'll only run 3 days a week.  Keeping the same rough mileage, but fewer days running.  And also maybe mix in some cross-training in there.  It would have been nice to feel like I had to do some biking instead of feeling like it was an optional rest day.
3.  I loved it.  I know I'm not fast, but I think something about these longer distances I'm just suited for.  I finished running and immediately thought that I can't wait to do another one.
4.  I want my next marathon to be a marathon only so I can experience that without feeling the loss of the half-marathoners. 
5.  I trusted my training and it carried me to the finish line.  I am so proud of myself to have finished my first marathon well ahead of my goal time.  It was better than my wildest expectations.

I ended up seeing people I knew a total of 9 times throughout the race, which was awesome.  Couldn't have asked for anything better.  Even though it probably would have been more fun for Laura and Drew to hang out together and cheer for me that way, it was a lot more fun for me to know that it would be two separate events.

My post-marathon legs were slow.  After getting my medal and mylar blanket (which was a lot warmer than I would have ever given it credit for), Drew and I made our way back to the hotel.  The curbs were definitely the biggest challenge for me on the walk home.  When I finally stopped moving and was standing still, my legs felt like they had just gotten off a treadmill and I should keep my forward motion. 

Moving from a standing to a seated position seems to be the hardest thing for me (both after the marathon and today, Monday).  I could feel my quads getting tired somewhere around Mile 23, so I'm not surprised that they're taking the brunt of this the day after.  I'm quite proud that I actually walked to work today, instead of taking the subway, but I think it's good for my legs to keep them moving whenever possible.

The best part about it?  I think I'm now 100% officially a runner!

Running
Time: 4:41:28
Distance: 26.20 miles
Pace: 10:44/mile
Calories: 2689
Maximum HR: 188
Average HR: 173

Splits
10K: 1:06:26
Half-Marathon: 2:46:59
30K (18.6 Miles): 3:46:10

These split times cannot be correct.  At least the last two must take into account the 25 minute difference between when I crossed the start line and the total clock time.  I mean, I don't think I really ran the last 7.6 miles of the race in 55 minutes (which would be 7 minute miles).  I'm beyond disappointed that I don't actually know my half-marathon time because I'd really love to know how much I slowed down for the second half. 

What To Look For

OK, so I'm done running now!  Well, until Sunday, that is.  Then I've got the longest run of my life ahead of me!  This morning it was 41 degrees and I wore shorts and a thicker long-sleeved shirt.  I was a little bit cool at first, but I warmed up really quickly.  That makes me think that my outfit for the race will be just perfect.  I just ran to the Park, did a quick run around the Lower Loop, and headed home.  I didn't even bother wearing a watch.  Just running to shake out the legs and any nervous energy I might have. 

A couple people have asked what I'll be wearing so that they can try and look for me, so I thought I'd post some pictures.  Before the race, in the corral, I'll look something like this: 

Yes, that is a Hello Kitty hat.  The clothes that are collected at the start are donated to the Bethesda Project and I'm hoping that it'll make it's way to a little girl and make her day!  I also thought that it could be a conversation starter in the corral (OK, really, Drew said that, but I'm hoping he's right).  Either way, it's actually pretty nice with fleece-lined ear flaps! 

As far as the actual race goes, I'm hoping to be looking something like this (smile and all!):

Except I'll have a lot of Gu stuffed in my side pockets, which does nothing for the hips!  And I'll have a bib on too.  I've heard that they have your names on them, but I figured wearing a shirt with my name on it would be more clear and hopefully more people will cheer for me.  I'm thinking that I might need the encouragement (especially towards the end). 

I'm also including the information for runner tracking.  You can click here to sign-up if you feel like stalking me while I run.  My bib number and information is listed below (which I think you need to get the updates!). 

We leave for Philadelphia early tomorrow morning.  I'm excited to get there and pick up my number and just have everything all set!  Hopefully I'll see some of you there!

Running
Distance: 2.90 miles

Are You Excited?

That seems to be the question of the day.  Everyone keeps asking me if I'm excited for this marathon.  The quick answer is no.  I think I'd be worried about my sanity if I was jumping up and down with excitement at the prospect of putting my body through the most physically taxing thing I've asked to do so far.  The thing I'm most excited for is that in 5 days the waiting will be over! 

Of course, on the flip side, I am excited to see what I'm capable of and how my training works out in the end.  I know I've put in the miles, but was it enough to get me to the finish line in the time that I want?  I'm hoping that the answer to that question is yes.

The funny thing about this marathon is that I'm not really nervous.  Maybe it's the difference between triathlon and just running races, but I'm really not nervous about this.  I know I'll get to the end one way or another and something about the fact that there aren't three sports involved makes it a lot easier to somehow just instinctively know that. 

I decided this morning that there wasn't any point in getting up early to go running.  If this week is about resting up, I might as well sleep in and go running after work since I'd be up then no matter what.  So, I went running after work. I didn't wear a watch tonight.  I just wanted to go for a nice relaxing run. 

That's not exactly how it went.  It had sprinkled right before I left so there were a lot of wet (slippery) leaves on the road in the Park, which made me nervous that I'd slip and fall.  I also seem to be having some sort of phantom knee pain.  I know it's fake and that it's a taper pain, but it's annoying nonetheless. But, I made it home safe and sound and without any lingering knee issues, so it probably did me some good to get out there and shake out my legs! 


Running
Distance: 4.20 miles

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

Forgetting

I find it really interesting that it's taken all this time during marathon training for two things to happen:
1.  To go for a run with Drew
2.  To realize that running is hard

Those two things may or may not be related.  And to be totally fair, the last time I did run with Drew was in August and technically I was marathon training, but those were the early days!  I'm actually not even sure I was officially signed up the last time we went running together.

So, the two of us went for a 4 mile run last night, which was Drew's idea.  I have a good 3-mile loop in the Park, plus running back and forth from our apartment makes it right around 4 miles.  Drew works out a lot, but he doesn't actually run all that often from what I understand (I don't actually know.  To be honest, I don't love the gym, as you may have gathered, and that is where he likes to do the vast majority of his working out). 

We started out running from our apartment to the Park and then off on my little route.  There were a couple times where Drew asked if he was running too fast for me, but I felt like we were going along at a pretty decent pace.  I must have sighed one times too many because he kept asking if I was okay, which I really appreciated, but also sort-of made me feel like I was a bad runner.  I have to tell you, this is not a feeling that you really want to have leading up to a marathon. 

However, it really seemed like the tides turned when we were getting closer to finishing the Park portion of our run. I could tell that Drew was definitely getting tired (and maybe tired isn't the right word, but just tired of running).  The funny thing to me was that I was just starting to feel warmed up and like I could actually pick up the pace by a good bit and he was slowing down.  Then, of course, I started asking him if he was okay.  I realize now that it might have made him feel like a bad runner.  Oops.

It's taken me all this time to realize that running is hard work.  I don't consider myself a runner.  I don't even really consider myself particularly good at running (there will be an upcoming post on these things).  It just really made me take a step back and realize that running even one mile is a lot.  Running four miles is really a lot.  Especially when you don't do it that often.

I am really glad that Drew suggested running last night.  I had a great time.  I mostly wanted to go running because I got a new tank for running that I'm going to use in Philly (stay tuned) and I wanted to test it out prior to the race.  I'm glad to say that it works amazingly well and I fully plan on wearing it.  The weather was 52 when we were running last night and I wore shorts, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and the new tank and was just about perfect.  I didn't even wear a watch, because at this point there isn't anything I can do to help my marathon training.  All those miles are in the bag.  Now I'm just running to keep myself from going crazy waiting for race day!

Running
Distance: 4.20 miles

It's Like You're Missing A Digit

This morning I was telling Drew that I had a 4 mile run on tap and that this weekend's run is only 8 miles.  He said that it sort-of sounds like I'm missing a digit in all the runs for this week.  I have to say that I agree.  Running only 4 miles seems like it should be a piece of cake.

Except it wasn't.  I ran at lunch again on the treadmill and I sort-of hated it.  Which made me question the whole marathon thing.  I have to say that I really really wish that this tapering stuff didn't make you a crazy person.  So far I haven't had any phantom aches and pains (thank goodness), but I'm left questioning whether or not I can actually complete a marathon, which isn't the best feeling.

I know that it's all silly and I'll get to the finish line one way or another, but I can't help questioning things when I'm running on the treadmill.  I will say that I wasn't able to use my favorite type of treadmill at the gym today and somehow felt all thrown off as a result of that.  Normally I take a photo of my final stats so I can remember my time, but today's treadmill didn't want to show you your final stats.  So I don't even really remember my final time.  I think it was 43-something, but I'm unsure on the something.

The other reason I don't think that today's run was so great is that I've actually been running pretty quickly (for me, at least during marathon training) on the last couple runs, and today's was slower.  I've got to remember that is okay and more likely my marathon pace and I absolutely cannot go out too fast during the marathon!  On my remaining runs this week, I'm going to try to remember that and run accordingly.

Also, I found out my bib number and corral for the marathon today.  Of course, I had to look it up on active.com myself (they haven't sent out an informational e-mail to race participants yet), but it makes it all more real!

Running
Time: ~43:30
Distance: 4.00 miles
Pace: 10:52/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

A Fake PR

I was really going to get up this morning and go running.  Really.  Except I didn't.  So I brought stuff to run at work during my lunch instead.  The funniest part?  I actually got to work earlier than usual so that I could take a slightly longer lunch if needed.  Why I couldn't get up early to go running instead of getting to work early is beyond me.  Sometimes these things just don't make sense. 

When I started running, I sort-of had it in my head that I'd do 4 or 5 miles and then go back to work.  Except I started running and something about that hour-long treadmill limit was just taunting me today, so I figured I should go ahead and see if I could do a 10K in less than an hour.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I thought I would be able to do it. 

I started out running at 5.8 (10:20 pace) and held that for about 2 miles.  Then I just kept bumping up the pace from there.  Of course, I had to finish with a bit of a sprint and I kept getting really nervous that I had somehow not sped up early enough for it to come in under an hour, but somehow, I did it!  

Basically, I shattered my two previous standalone 10K times.  I shaved 1:15 off my last time of 1:01:11!  Except that I don't really think that this counts as a PR because it was on the treadmill and not in a race.  Doesn't mean that I'm not happy about it all the same, though! 

Truthfully, maybe wasn't the best idea to run this speedy 10K today, but it's done and I'm actually really happy about it.  Of course, on the flip side, all I could think about today while I was running was that I will have to run 20 miles and then a 10K in order to complete the marathon. Which seems crazy.  And really made me doubt my decision to sign up for this race at all.  I think tapering has already started to get to me and make me a little bit loopy. 

The other big news is that I signed up for the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge.  You can click on the button on the right side of my blog for more info -- and think about signing up yourself!  The more the merrier!  It starts on November 20 and runs through January 7, so it's 7 weeks of keeping yourself active through the holiday season.  I'm actually pretty excited about it.  I think it'll be what I need to not give up entirely on working out after the marathon.

However, I have to say that I feel like I'm cheating a little bit with this whole challenge.  I mean, it starts the day before my marathon.  Which gives me an early lead on the competition!  Living in NYC also means that I walk at least two miles every day (walking to and from work).  All those points sort-of seem easy to me, but I'm sure that there will be a lot of stiff competition, so I'm really eager to see how things pan out after 7 weeks.  Just because I have an easy go of it on Day 2 of the challenge, doesn't mean I'm a guaranteed winner!  (I also cannot believe that I just typed that running a marathon would be "an easy go".  Tapering really must have made me loopy!)

Running
Time: 59:56
Distance: 6.20 miles
Pace: 9:39/mile

I'm Being A Wimp

It got cold here in New York.  And I don't like it.  I'm really being a big wimp about it and don't want to go running outside in the cold.  It's just the idea of putting on so many clothes, going running, getting hot, coming home all just seems like too much effort.  And extra laundry.  I know that I have to get over this ... quickly.  I mean, I'm running a marathon outdoors in two and a half weeks and I'm pretty sure it's not going to get any warmer. 

So, in the spirit of being a wimp, I didn't get up this morning and go running outside.  Instead I packed a bag to go running at lunch at the gym.  Totally wimpy, I know.  I'm not overly proud of it, but I have to say that I'm glad I at least went running instead of skipping it all together, which was what I actually wanted to do. 

I started out running at 5.8 pace for a mile, then 5.9 pace for a mile, then 6.0 pace for a mile and then I played around with the speed, getting up to 8.0 at the end for the next 0.75 miles.  I decided to use the last 0.25 miles to try to cool down a bit, so I walked at a 4.0 pace. 

Really, I think the lesson from today is that not all runs have to be a big deal, but I'm really glad that I didn't wimp out and skip it entirely.  And I really am going to get out there and brave the cold ... maybe even tomorrow! 

Running
Time: 41:07
Distance: 4.00 miles
Pace: 10:16/mile