as prestigious as it once was?

As everyone in the NYC running arena who has done their 9 qualifying NYRR races in 2005 (hell, seemingly *anyone* in the NYC running arena) knows, entry for the 2006 NYC marathon starts tomorrow. But for those who didn't get their 9 races in...

I was looking at the 2006 entry standards, and it looks they relaxed the qualifying times yet again!! Don't remember specifics about the other age groups...but for women under 40, the half qualifying time got relaxed from 1:34 to 1:37, and the marathon qualifying time got relaxed from 3:18 to 3:23. And apparently this is the 2nd year in a row that they relaxed the times-don't remember what the standards were in 2004 or earlier though.

Granted I am nowhere near running a 1:37 half right now (and I had my 9 races in, so it didn't affect me anyway.) But I know there are quite a few who probably didn't get their 9 in that did run a qualifying time and got "saved." Or those who had to cram their 9 in at the end of the year that now probably didn't have to. It's no coincidence that December races are *packed*...

But on the other hand...does this "cheapen" the prestige of qualifying for NYC? And with the time changes will most likely be more guaranteed entries...leading to less lottery spots open?

Curious to hear other thoughts on the topic.

And on the topic of NYRR...yay for Club Night on Thursday nite. I'll be there and I'm psyched for it. It'll be nice to mingle with the other clubs without everyone having to wear their team colors!! :-D

if the shoe fits...

i've said this before and i will say it again. running shoe shopping is probably the toughest type of shopping you can do. even tougher for me than swimsuit shopping, and i hate that too. i mean, i can avoid situations where i'd need a swimsuit, but i can't ever avoid needing a pair of running shoes. not just any pair of running shoes...*the* pair of running shoes. the kind that when you put them on, you say "ahhhhh" (as one of my teammates says)...your perfect match.

as mentioned in my comment from yesterday's post, i picked up a new pair of trainers yesterday. i was wondering if my problems were possibly shoe-related, and also with the rumors of the Asics 2110s not being as stable, wouldn't hurt to see if there are any other possiblities. so yesterday, i went to JackRabbit Sports' new Manhattan location by Union Square, wanting to take advantage of their gait analysis on the treadmill. As it looked like the 2100s that I had on were stable enough, we first tried out the 2110's...even though it looked those would have done the trick, they felt good, but not great. So I then tried the Mizuno Wave Nirvanas (will update link whenever Mizuno's website comes back up) which i actually liked better...apparently those have a higher heel which means my calf doesnt have to work as hard (which may help with the problem i had yesterday.) I like Mizunos, I actually used to wear the Wave Precision 5's back in the fall of 2004 and loved them-they helped me get 5 PR's. (of course hindsight says 1. shouldn't have used those for trainers and 2. they were actually the wrong shoe for me!) So I'll try the Nirvanas out once or twice and see how they go...

When that will be, I don't know. I didn't run today as my calves are still sore from yesterday and will probably take tomorrow off too. I don't want to do speedwork on Tuesday so that means I will probably have to take that day off as well.

Here's a picture of me from yesterday's race that one of my teammates took near Engineer's Gate...even though I'm not smiling here, I'm sorta liking the hair action there.

now playing: "miracle" ~ cascada

choked!!

yeah. don't know how else to describe this disaster of a race.

as i said yesterday, i wasn't expecting a PR, but I figured beating my 31:56 at the Race to Deliver was realistic. After all, back then I was only running 15 mpw at the most, my longest run at the time was 6 miles, and no speedwork. Now, i'm up to 25 mpw, my long run is up to 10, and i've been doing speedwork for the last few weeks. One would think this would mean a better time today, right? Sadly, was not meant to be.

I attempted to take pictures of the guys' race but was having issues with my teammate's camera that I borrowed-it was eating up batteries like crazy. Plus was just too damn cold standing around-my warm-up jog earlier had pretty much gotten canceled out. At around 9:10 I saw a teammate that was supposed to take over picture-taking duties from me and practically shoved the camera in his face, that's how much I desperately needed to warm up. But I was only really able to get in 10 minutes before I had to line up. Had barely enough time to drop off my baggage and go to the start-decided to be realistic and line up by the 8. The starting gun sounded, way too soon.

I began to regret lining up "honestly" as the first mile was pretty crowded. (as most who run NYRR races know, no one lines up in the right place.) First mile through the West Side Hills was 8:08-not too bad, that's always a tough mile for me. Figure next mile was a downhill and I can pick it up...but for whatever reason, it felt tougher. And my calves and shins were beginning to hurt, big time. That split was 8:29 and I knew I was in trouble. Big trouble. Mile 3 had Cat Hill and I can usually pick a few people off there, but today that didn't happen as I failed miserably in that mile-8:49. I was hurting big time, everyone and their mother was passing me but I tried to run the last mile hard...that was 8:05 (but I've been thinking that mile on this course is a little short.) So all in all, 33:31, 8:22 pace. Over a minute and a half off my goal.

I know what you're all gonna say, but I think this race was a total disappointment-especially since I don't know how and where the hell it all went wrong. Was it a mistake to have done the pictures before the race-as I didn't really have enough time to stretch and warm up as I would have liked? Was it just plain too cold? Should I have not done a spin class after work yesterday? Or something else? It's just so frustrating in so many ways. What's the point of training when you're not improving-and just getting slower? Once again, I'm feeling pretty damn lost.

On another note-thank you Derek-and any other Flyer guys, if any of you are reading this...for sticking around and cheering during the women's race. You don't know how badly I needed to see you guys...thanks again for your cheers and support.

watermelon martinis are my new poison

I don't think they've quite replaced apple martinis yet, but I had 3 pretty damn good watermelon martinis last nite. The Flyers had a nice lil happy hour, or "Thirsty Thursday" at Mercury Bar...and hey, if anyone needed to drink this week, it was me :)

This morning I felt like crap though. Thank gawd the office was quiet today. And I'm still downing water like crazy too. This all better pass before tomorrow morning. (though I have run some of my best races 2 days after drinking heavily...)

yep, tomorrow is the Snowflake 4-miler, the first club points race of the year. the guys race first, then the gals. i kinda like that setup, it makes the start a little less congested. plus i like taking pictures of the guys' race and cheering for them...and usually they'll return the favor for the ladies :) i am gonna try and attempt racing this one. i know i am not gonna get anywhere near my 4-mile PR (30:01) but I'd like to try and beat the 31:56 I did at the Race To Deliver last November. we'll see what happens...weather doesn't look too favorable for tomorrow though. just because the race has "snowflake" in the name...doesn't mean there actually have to be snowflakes during the race :)

curiosity kills the cat

so i'm surfing the web...and i browse my college's alumni website...where people post updates about how they are, where they are...

so i see the one update i didn't want to see. yep. the ex.

and he's married now. and everything is just going sooo perfect for him.

why? why? why did it have to be him that...everything he touches turns to gold?

meantime, i'm in a job i dont even know if i have a future in, and having absolutely no luck in the dating department? not fair. it's just not fair.

i don't still have feelings for the guy...actually it's the contrary. i feel like i wasted 2 1/2 years of my life now.

i won't lie. this hurts. big time.

tempo running

ok, nike gets their share of abuse, but i have to admit, i'm addicted to their tempo track shorts...i've picked up quite a few pairs already and it's not even close to being warm out (though some days can pass for shorts weather!)

on the topic of running apparel and the like, has anyone seen the new Asics Gel-Kinsei shoes? can someone please explain to me why they are worth $165? i don't get it.

got in a 6-mile loop (plus 1.5 to/from the park) with the flyers tonite that was thankfully not a tempo run!! :) was also thankfully warmer than this past saturday, where my "long" run got aborted after 8 miles (was thinking of 9.5-10) due to the fact that i could not feel some body parts by then due to the bitter cold-even when being completely covered up (for a change!) but tonite was fun. had some interesting convos about things including job rants and "goatf*ckers." i guess you had to be there :)

back to reality...i mean work tomorrow...

now playing: "unwritten" ~ natasha bedingfield

starbucks does it again

so, the lastest starbucks indulgence is the Marble Mocha Macchiato. and of course, i have to at least try it out. (white chocolate!! how can i resist!)

verdict? good as usual, but very, very sweet. i'm glad i only got a tall instead of my usual venti. and i dont think i'll be getting this one again. was the same reason i stopped getting the white chocolate mochas awhile back...too much sweetness (in addition to the calorie content, even with skim milk!) i prefer on a regular basis, to stick with the skim lattes with a little flavor-perfect combination there...little bit of sweetness with the coffee kick.

the dating gods must be angry

seriously, did i do something in a past life to deserve bad date after bad date without an end in sight?

so, the guy i mentioned in this post did call, and we made plans for Friday. as i have been disappointed by men more times than i care to count, i really didn't have the highest hopes for this one. saves being disappointed again, right? anyway...the recrap:

ok, so we were supposed to meet at a restaurant on the west side at 7...so i get there a coupla minutes before 7 because i am always unfashionably early. and i only live a coupla blocks away! he doesnt get there til after 7:10, citing work as an excuse. i let that slide.

so, we have drinks and dinner...he knocked back 2 mojitos way faster than i did. hmmmm, not sure what to make of that. but conversation was decent, dinner was good, and he suggested a "nightcap." i suggested going to another bar/lounge near my place that has nice couches and stuff to sit and talk (i've been there before with a group and thought it'd be a good date place!) so we do.

so he mentions how during dinner he wanted to kiss me and "can i kiss you now?" i said sure. and he does...not bad, but a little hard, i thought. so we're talking a little more and sitting pretty close to each other and we kiss some more...ok, now definitely a little too hard. i felt my lip was being bitten or sucked on or something (my bottom lip is actually still a little black and blue even now!) even when i asked for him to be a little more gentle...meh. what can i say, thats what i like. (and mind you, i have never gotten any complaints before in that department.) then:

him: "want to see if there's a movie on HBO or something?"
me: (innocently) "what do you mean?"
him: "we can hang out at my place and cuddle and watch a movie or something"
me: "i dont think so"
him: "or we can hang out on my balcony"
me: "again, i dont think so."

(maybe i said it a little nicer than that...but please. i think i've learned from enough mistakes to know if a guy wants you to go back to his place on the first date, hes just after one thing. and that movie doesnt get watched.)

so eventually we call it a night and he walks me to my place. we said something about possibly getting together next weekend. we'll see if that happens. and if so, what he suggests-if it's actually going out or just going to his place to "watch a movie." my friends don't think i should give him a second chance. nice and cute, but a little immature, i thought.

and if that's not enough, i logged into match.com yesterday and find the following message from a guy (again, taken verbatim):

"Can I run and chaser you around the city sexy jewish principesa... ?"

ew. and i get a "wink" from someone...i dont want to put the exact username here, but let's just say the username just screams "player."

i swear, i cannot catch a break, right?

talk talk talk talk talk

ok, now i'm convinced i did the right thing suspending my premium JDate membership for awhile.

the latest was one that contacted me via a "click" so i called him last nite. we spoke for 30 minutes. actually wait, let me clarify that. he spoke for about 28 minutes. i spoke for about 2 minutes. you get the idea. don't think i will be meeting this one in person.

is it too much to ask to meet/date a guy who can actually listen and let the girl get more than a word in edgewise? this wouldn't be the first time...so it's sorta getting old.

happy long weekend everyone! (i need this one big time...)

now playing: "little red corvette" ~ prince

gotta get through this

yay. another year, another valendoomsday almost over.

ok, it may not have been as bad as it could have been...but i still hate this so-called excuse for a "holiday" and what it stands for. (i won't even get into the crappy ones i have had as a single in 2001-2005.) for singles, it's a day to make them feel like crap that they have no one. for those in a relationship, it's nothing but pressure to get flowers/candy/presents/dinner/the whole nine yards. even when i did have a boyfriend on valendoomsday, it still wasn't smooth sailing.

so yeah. unfortunately work has consumed my life (actually pretty much one project that is one of those that has been cursed from the start) so much as of late that i think that was possibly worse than valendoomsday today. though I did wear black today and so did EB-we both said we were making a statement. haha. and i was quite annoyed that i just missed the crosstown bus at lunch because a couple of peeps carrying 2 huge gaudy things that passed for mega-rose bouquets just had to push in front of me and block me. yeah yeah i get the idea. (though in a bit of a humor break-i did ask MS if he got his wife nicer flowers than he got me for my b-day...lol)

so i decided to mourn this day with a combination of speedwork and wine. today was a 4-mile tempo run. engineer's gate to the west end of the 102nd street transverse was mile 1...then to west 83rd was mile 2...then turnaround and run back to engineer's gate. i think a lot of people were surprised about how much of a climb mile 2 was (little known fact-west 84th street is actually the highest point of elevation in central park.) no wonder i always seem to bomb that mile in races. anyway, the tempo run was done at an 8:20 pace...so i'm not too sure if that's good or not. assistant coach (same one i spoke to about a plan for queens...and who's opinion i definintely respect) says i pretty much need to toss my old times out the window. and he thinks that my "easy" runs should be at a 9-9:30 pace. i do think he's right. unfortunately, i think i'm still expected by others to run like i used to and do my "easy" runs at a sub-9 pace. tough to push back when you're running in a group and having to follow the pace others set or risk getting left behind. can't wait til there's more daylight and i can do more runs solo...as much as i like being social, it may be the best thing... (i reserve the sub-9 days for when i'm actually feeling good...)

so now, just finishing off a bottle of Yellow Tail pinot grigio (very good, i like as much as the chardonnay, if not more) and watching repeats of Survivor All-Stars on OLN (ugh, why am i putting myself through the torture of seeing that media whore Rupert again?)

and as a very wise teammate says, chocolate and other asssorted candy will be half-price tomorrow. just please remind me not to take part in any of that :) (i have a dress i need to fit into in a coupla weeks for NYRR's Club Night...)

now playing: "gotta get through this" ~ daniel bedingfield

snow days then and now

Was it really one weekend ago that it was 60+ degrees on Friday nite and I was wearing shorts for a 4-miler on Sunday? Boy can Mother Nature be cruel, dumping the Blizzard of '06 on us one week later. And a near-record-setting one at that too. yay.

It's amazing, my reactions to snow days now compared to 10+ years ago:

Then: "ooh, snow!! i hope school is canceled!!"
(exception to that being the winter of '94-when we had so many snow days that we were in danger of falling below the minimum number of school days. as a result, our february break got taken away and my high school graduation was pushed back a week.)

Now: "oh man, this is such a pain in the a$$. i'm sure the subways are gonna be all screwed up tomorrow. the office better be open tomorrow, i have a job that has to go live Monday nite and a bunch of other stuff due this week, and my clients are on the west coast so they don't care about the weather woes the Northeast is having."

i think snow days lost their novelty once i entered the working world.

anyway, at least it waited long enough so i could get a run in yesterday...10.3 miles...albeit slow. ugh. i don't know how i ever ran 1:43 and 1:47 half-marathons. hell, i don't know how i ran any half-marathon under 2 hours...

my original plan for last nite was to just watch the Olympics-I'm all about the figure skating!! (bummer to hear that Michelle Kwan had to withdraw...but she did the right thing...competing with an injury would have been bad news. sound familiar, anyone?) But a coupla friends dragged me invited me out to a Jewish 20/30-somethings "evening of music and story, munching and wine-sipping." OK, you had me at wine. And was in my neighborhood, so I couldn't cite the snow as an excuse. was very interesting, to say the least-especially for someone whose service attendance is only limited to high holy days. a little more tolerable when its in a more casual setting, i'm among people my age, and the music is provided by guitar and not by an organ. don't think i'll be convinced to attend friday services with my friends (I'm usually dead tired by the end of the week, especially lately-was at the office til 6:30 on Friday!) but was a nice change of pace. afterwards, was dessert, wine, and mingling. exchanged numbers with one nice, cute, athletic guy...hopefully he'll call and if he does, won't disappoint like so many others have lately...at this point, i'm just not getting my hopes up anymore...

today, pretty much snowed in. took the time to do some work, catch up on some emails and other stuff, watch a bunch of cutesy made-for-TV movies on ABC Family. and as usual, not looking forward to the workweek starting again...

now playing: "8th world wonder (remix)" ~ kimberley locke

from the jdate trash bin

was cleaning out the JDate inbox and came across this gem. Please everyone, make sure this is on your list of "what not to do when sending online dating messages."

From a "missed IM":

hello. why do u ignore me. i dont get it. im not your tpye?. what's the deal?. i look a lot better than my pic anyway. im good lookin dude.

OK, first off dood, I wasn't ignoring you, I didn't have a paid membership at the time-therefore, I couldn't have responded even if I wanted to. (looks like he sent a previous message that us freebie members would not have been able to access!)

Second...spell/grammar check. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

cutback

yeah, this is a cutback week for me. sadly, not by choice. work has been kicking my a$$ so much this week, that it looks like last nite was the only nite i was able to escape in time to make it out for a group run. and lately, AM runs have been out of the question, it's been a chore just to get out of bed by 7:30 am at the latest. is it me, or am i the only person in NYC that can't seem to survive on only 5-6 hours sleep per night? i'm sorry, but it's just not feasible for me to be in bed by 9-10 pm each night...how am i supposed to get everything that i need to get done, done? or maybe i really am getting old.

so between my workload and the predicted snow this weekend, looks like my total for the week will be 5.5 miles (yesterday's run.) blah.

sorry if i'm venting, but to quote what i've said elsewhere, if every single blog was filled with nothing but happy cute fluffy bunny posts, it'd be pretty boring, right? (and anyone that deliriously happy all the time is either lying, or on something.) But if happy cute fluffy bunny posts are what you want to see, check out CuteOverload.com (thanks to jbl for the link!)

well, at least there was one highlight this week...which was tuesday nite's "Chinese New Year" dinner that the Flyers have every year at Lili's. (got out of work too late to do speedwork, but an 8pm dinner was feasible...) Food was good (as usual,) company was good (as usual,) the amusing part was that a bunch of us were trying to re-create our table from last year-right down to the exact seats we sat in :) and our host was very generous with giving out shots of sake. it's like he knew i needed 'em or something.

2 other things i managed to get done this week-i changed my profile pic (how's this one compared to the old one-yay or nay?) and canceled my premium JDate membership. was getting nowhere with that one. maybe i'll try match.com next. certainly a little cheaper than JDate...

now playing: "lola's theme (extended vocal mix)" ~ shape:uk

game on

this has been one of those weekends where i wish it were a 3-day weekend...like i need another day just to recover.

friday nite was such a beautiful nite out, that i made the impulse decision to get my "long run" in after work...mission accomplished. 9 miles. but almost found myself locked out!! i brought the correct apartment key but the wrong front door key-lucky one of my neighbors was around :)

saturday i did my "good deed for the month" and helped out at a volunteer event that the Flyers do quarterly with the Central Park Conservancy-we usually do a volunteer event with them in the park once every "quarter" of the year. this one was mulching and raking leaves, so we all got a little dirty :) but had fun. and thank god the rain held off til the end. then last nite we celebrated a teammate's birthday over at Fusion, a pretty cool bar/lounge over in Hell's Kitchen. Had fun hanging out and chatting-and knocking back 3 very good mojitos while doing so :) didn't get home til 2, didn't fall asleep til 3, couldn't sleep in cuz...

this morning was the Gridiron Classic 4-miler...I wasn't planning on racing the thing, I just wanted an excuse to get in 4 miles today and listen to some good music. Besides, I don't think mojito-loading and 4 1/2 hours sleep make a good race :) nice day, yet another shorts day...i'm sorta liking this global warming thing this winter (though I will not be saying the same this summer, for sure!) i wound up running it in 34:20, an 8:35 pace...miles 1-3 were 8:44 each (i kid you not), topped off with an 8:08 final mile. then right afterwards, headed to our ex-president's place for the "transition" exec board meeting. and i was hoping to get in a nap before meeting friends to watch the Super Bowl, but somehow I don't see that happening.

as for the Super Bowl, I'm sorta indifferent as to who wins, as long as my numbers come up :)

now playing: "love at first sight" ~ kylie minogue

pretty as a picture

i think these may have been the best pics ever that brightroom nabbed of me...from i think mile 1 of the manhattan half. guess not "racing" makes for better photo ops.

and yes, i am being lame and waving to the camera...force of habit...since i always wave to the Flyer photographers...

how soon they forget...

yeah. my legs and lungs have completely forgotten what it feels like to do speedwork or something like that. last nite we did repeats of the top part of Cat Hill (from the cat statue to the top by the traffic light) but we were supposed to sprint those babies. mind you, my legs didn't even know how to sprint before i got injured, so you can imagine i wasn't doing much sprinting now. pushed as hard as i could, but didnt even feel like it was good enough. (and mind you, Cat Hill wasn't even my slowest mile on Saturday.) and i do appreciate the "good job" from my teammates and the coaches, but sometimes you just feel like shouting back "shut up, i'm not doing a good job, tell me what i'm doing wrong!" seriously...how are you supposed to improve if you don't know what you're doing wrong? constructive criticism and all that jazz.

in other assorted news and stories, FreshDirect seems to have provided some interesting suggestions for those of us who will be chugging a bottle of Yellow Tail chardonnay or some other wine by ourself on Valendoomsday. (link courtesy of Gawker and Gothamist.) i didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that, so i did neither.

finally, on top of this January being one of the mildest on record (not that there is anything wrong with that! nope, not at all!) my office has decided to follow suit. i am sitting next to the thermostat right now that currently reads 78 degrees. i need a cold drink.