whatever it takes

Even though I had a race a few days back, still no rest for the weary when you are in marathon training mode. Read: no rest day for me on Friday, still had to get some miles in...and even better so, in the morning before work!! I don't know how, but I made it happen...

Then this weekend begins the 20-mile long runs for me. In the past, I made sure that my 20s were on weekends that had either organized long runs (e.g., Bridges Run, LTR #2, Palisades) or long NYRR races (i.e., the 18-mile Tune-Up.) Back in 2006, it meant having to do two 20-milers on back-to-back weekends...which in hindsight, was not a smart move but hey I guess I had to make that mistake to learn from it, right? I will have support for 20-milers #2 and #3, but was unsure what to do for #1. Thankfully, Flyers JM and DG organized a long run up the west side to the GWB and back for this past Saturday. Just add some miles in the park and that will get me to 20-perfect.

Yeah perfect except some idiot guy named Danny was threatening to make this past weekend a washout, Saturday especially. So what can I do? Two options-keep the 20 on Saturday and run in the rain but with company, or wait til Sunday and run it solo. I decided companionship was more important...you know, whatever it takes, I need to get these long runs in, especially the 20-milers. And it doesn't hurt to be prepared in case of inclement weather on race day.

So that is what I did. I prepped well on Friday nite...carbo-loaded with some pasta and relaxed with some great company ;-) and watched the Yankee game-YAY for another walkoff win!! And hey, they got their game done in the rain, theres no reason I can't run in it. And I did get up Saturday morning and tell myself I was gonna do it. Unfortunately I slept a little later than originally planned, meaning I would have to do the extra 5-6 miles after the main part of the run instead of before but I'll deal with that when it happens. Eat, drink, get dressed, apply lotsa bodyglide, put on the Flyers running cap, fill up the fuel belt (catching raindrops in my mouth doesn't quite cut it in terms of hydration!) and get out the door and run the mile or so to 72nd.

And thankfully, there were quite a few others who decided to brave the elements with me and get their long run in. We actually had a very nice group going of Flyers old and new. The conditions may have been crappy, but the run actually went by pretty quickly and went well. I was feeling strong and steady the entire time, never once felt under-fueled or under-hydrated (gelled every 5 miles and took water when I needed it) and it was nice to find a new route to do long runs on (whenever I run on the west side path, I usually run towards downtown-never have run up in the direction of the GWB before.)

Back at 72nd, main part of run done, 6 miles to go, thankfully JM was doing more mileage, so off we went...around the bottom of the park, up the west side, through the hills, and during that time the rain picked up even more...thankfully we were almost done!! We parted ways at 102nd street where I cut off to run back to the west side. Thanks JM, for pulling me along that far...I got a little over a mile to go...at that point, this was nothing, and I actually felt good enough to pick up the pace a tiny bit-if anything, just to be done quicker!! :) Before I knew it, 20 miles were down and I was walking to Starbucks for a venti skim caramel macchiatto (recovery drink!) 20 miles-done and done!!! And here is how it went...



Pretty consistent, right? And I actually felt like I could have done another mile or 2...or another 10K! :) I'm taking it as a good sign, especially considering my first 20-miler last year was a bit of a struggle. And with my short recovery run today-my weekly mileage climbed from the masters category to the veterans for the first time ever-let's see if anyone gets that ;-) But it will be back in the masters this week...

And thanks again to my teammates who organized or showed up to the run Saturday-definitely made the wake-up call worth it!! :)

my sub-20 5K 2.81-mile race report :)

So really, I didn't have high expectations for myself at last nite's Sunset & Suds 5K, running performance-wise. It was really meant to be a kinda sorta "fun run" for me. Something fun to break up the monotony of seemingly endless miles, wanted to support the local teams (Urban Athletics and the NY Harriers) who were putting this inaugural race on...UWS location was always nice (Riverside Park), free tech-T (a pretty nice one too *and* they still had it in XS when I got mine) and yeah did I mention free beer afterwards? :)

So thankfully I was able to escape work at 5 and got home, threw on the racing outfit and the "fast" shoes, ate a little something (once again, powered by blueberries...LOL) and hydrated (not with beer!), stretched a little, then headed out the door...was a little over a mile to where the start was, perfect-there's a nice warmup!! Went through the usual pre-race motions...got my bib, tech shirt, warmed up and stretched a little more...saw that we had a pretty nice Flyer contingent representing...including but not limited to Runner26, JM, JA, MF, LO, PD, JH. The usual "good lucks" and soon it was time to line up...looked like it was another free-for all but in a race of only 250 people couldn't be that bad. Before we knew it, the starting horn sounded-and it totally took me by surprise!! OK...guess I have to race now :)

So unfortunately, I think I fell back into my old 5K habits and took the first mile too fast (or maybe the Hoboken 5K was actually a fluke and this is just what I do? :) )...partially at the beginning when I was, against better judgement, speeding up to try and dodge others...then during this mile I was also trying to keep LO and some Harriers in my sights...maybe they'd be good to pace off of. Mile 1 was an out-and-back that took us past the finish line (how cruel! :-P But thats where there were the most people cheering, including Flyer JB)...when I hit the mile marker, I think I actually said out loud "oh my God!"-I was at 6:51. Starting off a race with the fastest mile I have ever run in a race (not including the 5th Ave Mile) may not have been the best thing...but let's see how this plays out. Maybe, just maybe I can actually keep this up...

Mile 2 included a turnaround and then a little hill...I didn't feel like I lost a lot of momentum here, but I was getting passed by quite a few runners, and my quads were also paying for that fast start...yeah was fading a little but I just decided to push through it. Someone was calling out what the cumulative race time was-didn't need to know that, thats why I stopped looking at my watch inbetween miles :) And again we ran by the finish line!! Talk about mind games in this mile! But I actually didn't do too too bad here...7:19, and I was actually expecting something in the 7:30s-7:40s. But still it being almost 30 secs slower than my first mile...yep, did go out too fast, all I can do now to keep from crashing and burning...

So now comes "just go for it" time, less than 10 minutes of running left. One more turnaround, then a straight shot to the finish line. In a way, this out and back was sorta good as there is a little familiarity and you kinda sorta know how far it is to go. There was a Harrier that was sorta my rabbit...tried to keep her in my sights and try and pick off a few other runners...which I did. The mile 3 marker was in my sight...wow, that was quick!! LG was standing by the mile 3 marker and was shouting encouragement to me to finish strong...I took a split at mile 3 but didn't bother to look at my watch, just wanted to focus on the finish. But as I got closer I noted the finish clock...which was still in the 19s...oh no way!! I knew what this meant...but didn't want to dwell on it in the moment, just finish the best I can...hey, it'd be cool to have a finish time under 20, regardless of distance!! And I did-19:56, according to my watch. (results have me at 19:58-though I did start my watch at the starting horn.)

And after consulting Mr. Garmin for the details...he said that "mile 3" was actually .71 mile-yeah, like I actually ran a 5:09 mile!! So that was a 7:16 pace...ok, didn't crash and burn further in that mile!! I did have a strong finish though-37 seconds for the last .1 (6:27 pace?) So all in all, I ran 2.81 miles...estimated 7:06 pace. So pretty good considering I was training through this and had tired legs, right? :)

So yeah, everyone afterwards knew the course was short...and most of us were all just laughing about it. Runner26 even noted that "no one seems pissed at all, they're just laughing." Well at that point, nothing sounded better than free beer. So me, Runner26, MF and LO headed to the downstairs level of the Hudson Beach Cafe, where the post-party was...and got on the line for beer-yes, that was a very popular commodity :) Drank and chitchatted for a little bit...then me and Runner26 got on line for seconds but just as we got near the front they said they ran out (but guess they still had one or two more somewhere, because I did wind up getting one.) So since we'd be paying for any further drinkage, we headed upstairs, where we saw a few other Flyers...they were about to leave, but I stayed and had a beer and hung out with LG for a little bit...talking about our race and other stuff. After my third beer for the evening was done, that was it for this chick-I still had running to do in the AM!! :)

So all in all, I think it was a good night. First off, I do want to say that UA and NYH did a great job with this race. When there is an inaugural event like this one was, there's bound to be a learning curve of sorts...and you just roll with the punches. I really liked the feel of this race...like a local club points race without the competitive attitude and i'd definitely be in for running next year! :) As for the race performance-very pleased. I don't care that it may have been a PR if the course had been accurate. A 5K PR is not the goal, but running a good half, then a good marathon, is. And it's reassuring to know that I can still run fast, even with fatigued legs and no taper...again, another good sign that training is on track.

And hey-it all made for a good race report/blog post! :)

sweets...not so sweet?

So someone in my division is leaving the company, and yesterday we get an email that they are ordering in dessert today to "celebrate" his departure...or something like that. And instead of thinking "yay! sweets!", i'm thinking "i'm running a 5K tonite. I don't really want to indulge. Not to mention that i am in the midst of marathon training. How can I refuse eating without seeming rude?"

And it's not just today, but it is something that has come up in the past and that I had wanted to blog about but for whatever reason, hadn't. During marathon training...and even when I'm not...I feel like I have to pick and choose my indulgences. And sometimes it's tough in group situations, like work lunches and birthdays. I'll occasionally indulge when there is something I really love on the dessert menu, but most of the time I'm happy to just get fruit sorbet (which I do like) and avoid the guilty feeling. But I still get the comments because I don't share it and I don't want a taste of what others ordered. Or I get comments that it's borderline rude to not partake in whatever cake or dessert someone brought in for someone else's b-day...even when it's something I'm not crazy about. Why do I get criticized for wanting to take care of myself?

And September is a tough month for this, between the jewish holidays and my b-day and others this month...but it's not just now, I feel like I struggle with this year-round (e.g., if I'm worried that i can't fit into my dress for the awards party because I'm not marathon training and therefore "slacking off"), that I can't afford to treat myself. And that's when the mental demons come in. "I'm not thin enough. I look so fat next to my skinny teammates, i want this picture taken off the Flyers website. Those people say that I don't have to worry about what I eat because I run? They don't know, I don't have their speedy metabolisms..." and so on.

And isn't running supposed to be a "healthy" lifestyle of sorts? Who knows. I will admit, I do deal with my body image issues better now than I did 10 or so years ago (i think the fact that I was comfortable enough to do the Underwear Run was a step in that direction), but I don't think this is something that will ever completely go away...

Moving on-yeah I mentioned a 5K tonite-really only doing for fun and for the post-race party. I'm sorta training through it as I am not tapered. In the 7-day period between last Wednesday and this Tuesday, I ran 54 miles! Needless to say, yesterday was a running rest day. But nevertheless, my only goal is to just not completely embarass myself with my time. And hopefully finish in the top half of the women (small race and I think a lot of the fast local women will be out.) And finish before they run out of post-race beer. (I budgeted this as my "indulgence" for the day :-P )

"somebody's got a case of the mondays"

Ahhh Office Space. One of those movies that just speaks to us peeps in cubicle life. C'mon, you can't say that you were never lectured about your TPS reports at least once in your lifetime :)

And of course, another unforgettable line from the movie is "Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays." Yeah, don't we all. But it seemed like yesterday's case of the Mondays was worse than normal. Yeah imagine having a great weekend, then walking in to the office, checking your email to find a little controversy on a project you're working on, and the email chain begins on Friday nite after you leave the office (mind you, I didn't leave at 5 on the dot) But even better, someone else's misunderstanding is being interpreted as me screwing up. Talk about "guilty til proven innocent", huh. (Which brings to mind another line from the movie..."So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it." ) Thankfully, the issue got resolved and my semi-good name was cleared. Still doesn't mean I have to like it...or think it was a nice way to start off the week...

And what does having a case of the Mondays have to do with running? Glad you asked...well I decided to join the downtown crew after work for their usual 6 and frontloaded with a couple of miles on the West Side highway path. Went up north a little bit then turned around...and just as I turned around, a biker ran right into me. Guess it was partially my fault, I didn't see him as he was behind me and I guess I turned around without much warning. And thankfully I was OK (Mr. Garmin took a little bit of a hit, but I put him back together) but it was still scary, especially considering how a biker led to a certain injury a year and a half ago. Thankfully, the 6 miles with the Flyer crew was without incident...

So I plan on hitting the Central Park bridle path for a few miles tonite, and I totally expect that I will be knocked down somehow. Either by a biker, a loose dog, or my own klutziness. All I ask of you is if you see me down for the count later, please help me up. Thanks in advance :)

Now back to those TPS reports...

ohhh...we're halfway there...

...ohhhh, living on a prayer...hehe, I guess I may have Bon Jovi on the brain or something? ;-)

Anyway, all musical joking aside, yeah I am officially at the halfway point of my training for MCM...9 weeks down, 9 to go!! Where *did* this summer go...

And if the race results in the 1st half of training were any indication...well things appear right on track...no pun intended ;-) Again, no injuries and if the only semi-obstacle was the weather...which I have learned to, uh, weather :-P and not really complain about, well things have gone pretty damn good. Learning how to take certain risks and even more importantly, recover appropriately from them...trust myself a little bit more when it comes to hard days...maybe, just maybe, that will get me those 3 minutes and 15 seconds...

As for the next 9 weeks...well the final 3 weeks will be the taper, so that means really 6 weeks of really hard work (though I know the taper doesn't mean slacking off!) My first 20-miler will be next weekend...one weekend earlier than originally planned, but I did have to rejigger things in order to fit in the half and not have two 20-milers on back-to-back weekends...taking away some learning from 2006 :) And honestly, I do feel more than ready to tackle a 20-miler. Bring it on...

As for the Philly Distance Run-yeah I do kinda have a time in mind there...something that 3 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed have been possible...now as long as things go well, it could be possible (and yes kids, I will have another "guess my race time" poll :) ) But I do think that at least improving on last year's 1:42 is definitely doable. besides that, no other racing on the agenda besides a 5K later this week which again, I will be "training through"-read: no taper unlike the week before Club Champs. Just for fun, to keep things interesting and for the after-party :) And also the Ocean to Sound relay...which I most likely will be taking at around marathon pace, as it's the week before the half and the day before another 20-miler...

On the topic of marathon pace, maybe there will not be a ton of MP work, but it will be sprinkled in here and there and everywhere ;-) But really, the priority is getting in the mileage, balancing the hard days with the easy days, and just enjoying it, which I really have so far :)

And as for taking the good with the bad...well Friday's short run...well honestly, the conditions affected me to the point where it was the slowest I've gone in a very long time. Whatever, it was early (before work), I was under-fueled, tired, it was humid out, etc etc etc...just chalk it up as recovery. I had 15 on tap for Saturday, and I decided once again to pass on the NYF run in Van Cortlandt park on Sunday and just do my own thing again as I'm supposedly antisocial and don't want to run with my teammates...but the reality was, I wanted to get it out of the way earlier, and I wanted to run the Summer Streets again as this was the last weekend!! And I definitely had some fortune as I had great company for the bulk of my run, as LG ran the last 10 miles of my run with me...heading uptown and back downtown via the city streets. Seemed like everyone I knew was out that morning...saw quite a few peeps from my own club and others in passing :) And yeah once again the conditions sucked, but those miles just seemed to fly by...guess time flies when you are having fun, as it really was a great run ;-) Very good sign, very encouraging...maybe I actually am acclimating? Glad I was smart and decided to take my fuel belt with gatorade in it...I didn't have enough last week and I think I paid for it at the end as I felt really shaky. Plus, there were fountains all over the place where I could refill. Who says that only wusses use fuel belts...in these conditions, you need all the hydration you can get...why chance things?

And it was a lovely, relaxing rest of the day which included some Yankee game watching, some track and field, a little bit of this, a little bit of that ;-)...ok, maybe the day tired me out more than I thought. I was lazy and slept late on Sunday, meaning I would have to do my run in the afternoon. And once again, the conditions were hot and humid, but the 5.5 miles felt surprisingly quick and effortless, especially with the miles on my legs from the previous day. Maybe it was the music I was listening to giving me a boost, maybe it was being rested, sleep-wise, maybe it was just a good day, but again I'm taking it :)

And on the topic of track and field-was anyone else following the World Track & Field Champs? Thank god for Versus reshowing it at night so I didn't have to just depend on reading the rants on the LetsRun.com message boards and see things go down for themselves. Though don't get me wrong, those message boards are entertaining! :) But I feel like these championships are going to be mainly known for the following 3 things:

1. The "Usain Bolt Show"
2. The "gender-bender" situation in the women's 800m
3. The US teams in the 4 x 100 relays...didn't they learn anything from Beijing? (well the mens at least. the women's situation-was just a stroke of bad fortune.)

Discuss! :)

after the storm...

I know we've had our share of storms this summer, but this latest one was a doozy...

So Tuesday nite. Perfect nite to sip some drinks at the Frying Pan right by the Hudson River...next best thing to being on a boat...oh wait a minute, we were on a boat of sorts :) Not to mention celebrating a certain someone's "prime" birthday ;-) But then we saw the bolts of lightning. And heard the thunder. And why we didn't leave right then and there, I don't know...oh yeah, someone thought this would just be a "heat storm" and there would be no rain. Uh, famous last words, as the skies opened up like crazy. First things first, let's get the hell away from the water!! Ducked for cover under an awning in front of a school and just tried to wait it out...which took about 15 minutes. And not surprisingly, no cabs were stopping so once it stopped raining, we just subwayed it home (wow, the subways were actually running?) Rumor has it the b-day girl enjoyed this so much she was singing and dancing...or was that the sangria talking? Let me tell you, I didn't have a lot to drink but I sure sobered up quickly once the rains came...

But even though I didn't know it at the time, i was lucky I was not uptown, as the UWS got hit majorly hard by the storm-especially Central Park. North of the reservoir, the park drives and bridle paths were just littered by fallen trees and tree branches...I was shocked to read about it and when I saw it with my own eyes yesterday...couldn't believe my eyes.


The tree by the fountain at 93rd st and the west drive...where we've all stopped for water quite a bit, where I've used as a start/finish point for West Side Hills repeats...


The Great Hill track, a popular speedwork place for many...

And yeah, that almost caused our crew to resort to a "plan B location" for speed yesterday but thankfully not the case. Just had to go shorter (length of repeats, that is) and sweeter...yeah it was sweet, as despite the humidity and fighting a cold, I felt I really nailed the workout. Of course I had a good rabbit-thanks so much, Moz! With the halfway point of MCM training approaching, the confidence is still there...

On the topic of lightning bolts...or Usain Bolts...the World Champs 200m today...wow. Just wow. He makes it look too damn easy.

the "other side"

So back in 2004, racing was still sorta fresh and new for me, and yes even Central Park races felt like a novelty. I remember standing on the sidelines of...I think one of those crazy-crowded Nike races, the Run Hit Wonder? And cheering for my teammates (those that I could actually spot, was one of those races where everyone had to wear the same shirt!) and felt a little envy, wishing I was running-and I do remember a bystander asking me "why aren't *you* running the race?" Ouch :-P Unfortunately, that desire to race did cause me to deal with 3 years worth of injury/overtraining bullshit.

5 years later, 5 years wiser. You'll probably notice from how much fewer race reports I write now than I did in years past, that I pick and choose my battles. And there are plenty of days when I feel it is more beneficial-to me and to others-for me to be on the "other side," to not be toeing the line, whether it's cheering, volunteering, or both!

Yesterday's NYC Half-Marathon was one of those times. Even though it's such a popular event...I ran the inaugural race back in 2006 and was actually a little underwhelmed, and decided once is enough. Plus, half-marathons in August...little risky if you want to run a good time. yeah I know, heat training, but hey I did that a day earlier with my 18-mile run that started at 8 am and ended in an inferno-AND I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg :-P And besides, the Flyers were going to be (wo)manning the water station down by Canal Street (just before mile 12)...I was planning on being out to cheer anyways, so why not?

Ummm...guess I forgot having to be awake at an ungodly hour. And having to leave my apartment to run downtown at an ungodly hour too. Something just seemed so surreal about it. Was cool running along the West Side Highway once I got to 42nd Street, as I could see the race setup. Made it to Canal Street right on time and dug right in....helping mix Gatorade, filling up the cups, etc...it was a hot day and we wanted to make sure our table was all set by the time the runners came by...no slacking on our part :-P We made it happen...teamwork, baby teamwork!!

So now it was time to wait for the runners to start passing by. We had a DJ right by our station who was playing some good music, so it was fun dancing on tables...lol just kidding about the tables, but there was dancing (pics to come), ringing the cowbell, cheering for the elites as they passed...and we could tell right then and there from the looks of the runners, to the clock saying that no course records were gonna be falling...was gonna be a tough day out there. So we just handed out Gatorade and water like it was our job...oh yeah, guess it was our job for the day :) The front of the pack...very few stopped/slowed by the table, if any. But then the best of the rest started running by and once they started...it just did not stop. I just kept handing out cup after cup after cup of Gatorade with a smile for all the runners. And of course, cheered for Flyers and other friends that I saw run by.

By 9 am, two hours after the start...I was honestly a little scared at what I saw, the west side highway looked like a death march. Even though I got email notifications of a couple of runners that I was tracking, that they had finished, I still couldn't rest easily until I actually got a message from them, so I knew they were OK. As for the race still going on, it was all we can do to keep the Gatorade cups coming fast enough to keep up with the flow of runners at that point. But even though the conditions were trying, quite a few of the runners still seemed in good spirits (and small world-one runner who stopped by our table is a blog reader of mine!). Not surprisingly though, there were still plenty who were reduced to a walk. At that point, we were just hoping to not run out of anything...finally, the coordinators got radioed that the last runners had passed by mile 11 and we knew we'd be fine. Finally around 10:30, it was called a day...I headed to Urban Athletics to check out their post-race party ;-) and had some much, much, much needed cold beers (many thanks to UA!) Yeah, I was a bit dehydrated...I was more concerned about the runners getting their fluids, that I, myself was standing in the sun for about 4 hours without much to drink. And helped toast some great races that others ran ;-)

Wow!! What a day. But it was a rewarding one for me. Yeah, it was a scorcher but I really had a great time volunteering...really made me feel good to know I was helping out the runners, and they were all so appreciative. And after looking at the times...well I saw a lot of peeps ran some great races, some even racking up some hardware (congrats LG!)...awesome, awesome efforts especially given the conditions. And you'll all be inspiring me for my own half-marathon effort next month...yep, signed up for the Philly Distance Run!! This race was good to me last year, can it be again...?

And one more week to go before I hit the halfway point in my marathon training! Time sure flies...

no air

Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air...
Can't live, can't breathe with no air...

(ahhh...another product of American Idol. not to mention Chris Brown during his pre-gf-beater era...)

Summer in NYC has arrived once again with a vengeance. I swear, the beginning of this week, there was literally no air in Central Park...definitely made those runs a leisurely pace...not by choice. Which is good, as I did have to recover from not only Saturday's race, but my long run too...

...yeah my long run on Sunday. I got through it, but it definitely was not pretty. First off, I slept a little later than I wanted to...I was quite a bit hungover from one too many sangrias and a Blue Moon on Saturday nite...celebrated my race a little too much, I guess ;-) And just like last month's LTR, I was feeling the effects of it quite a bit. Only saving grace was that it was cloudy and relatively cool. But about 10 miles in, I took a spill on the bridle path...luckily for me I didn't get scraped up too bad and I was right by a water fountain to wash it off. But it was only a matter of time til that would happen :) But I was able to finish it off without any more damage...14 and change in the books.

BTW, I started writing this post on Wednesday and am now just getting to finish it up. Talk about finally coming up for air!!

And what else this week...oh yeah, I was gonna do some tempo stuff on Wednesday morning before work, but the snooze button won out. Which meant I would have to take my off day then instead of today...which honestly I think was probably better and sorta glad I listened to my body (or in this case, ignored the alarm.) Wednesday nite was spent with the team tipping back some yummy pints of beer (2 pints of my favorite blueberry ale, followed by a pint of an apricot wheat beer-which I actually think I liked better!)

And thankfully I didn't ignore the alarm Thursday morning...as I had happy hour plans with work after work, it meant I could only get my workout done in the morning. Off to the Great Hill track I went, with the intention of doing 3 x 5 laps at tempo (just over a mile) Guess I shoulda had my coffee before I ran because my mind was foggy-I was a little confused and thought it was 3 laps to a mile...oops!! Thanksfully I remembered it during the 2nd and salvaged the workout...so it changed to 1 x 3 laps, 2 x 5 laps at tempo topped off with another 2 laps fast...paces for all were 7:51 (legs still waking up a little), 7:32, 7:35, 7:03. Not bad considering I also had to contend with someone mowing the grass in the center and occasionally dipping into the running lane...and today's recovery 5 (done late in the morning-yay for summer days!) felt just nice :)

This weekend is shaping up to be a hectic one (very little coming up for air, i'm sure!)...besides helping celebrate a few birthdays (still can't believe my baby brother is now 30!! damn i am old) yeah lotsa running on the agenda. 18 on tap for tomorrow, and a friend and I plan to take advantage of Summer Streets for the bulk of it. Then Sunday, I will be volunteering at a water station at the NYC Half...downtown, around mile 12. And I have to get there mad early, and I know the subways wont be too dependable...so why the heck not run down there from the UWS? Would give me 5 miles, if not more...so yeah, thats what I'm going to do. For those of you running-good luck, run smart, run strong-hope you all have great races (yeah, especially you ;-) )

save the best for last

It took 5 years-but the last of my "submasters PRs", the 5-miler...has finally fallen. And boy did it ever!!

OK, so I think you all know the background of the NYRR Club Team Championships, I don't need to repeat...so I'll get right down to business. As always-there were goals for this race. Which were...

Main "I'd be happy" goal-Finally beat my PR of 37:51
Stretch goal-under a 7:30 pace...so 37:30 or better. Based on my recent 5K, this could be doable...
Uber secret super stretch goal-Under 37 minutes. Challenging-but stranger things have happened...

So if you all remember, I was silently (or not) freaking out about not having "fresh" legs for this race, as I just felt tired during all my runs. But still hoping for some sort of miracle on Saturday morning...and you could tell I was taking this race seriously, as I decided to pass on a get-together a teammate was having in favor of resting the legs, watching the Yankee game (at least up til the 12th inning...needed my beauty sleep!) and detoxing.

Saturday morning...and as much as I may have cursed the later start, I can't complain about an extra hour of sleep. Usual pre-race preps, step outside to be greeted by a beautiful morning, jog a little bit to the park...stopped around 93rd street as the men's race was passing by at that time and I did not want to cheer and run at the same time. Everyone passed by in a matter of minutes since it was only about a half-mile in so the runners were still bunched closely together at that point. My cheering was a little subdued as I wanted to save my energy for the race, but still felt seeing a friendly face at that point can't hurt. (And I felt like it was a good karma thing or something like that :) ) I then flipped on the iPod and continued warming up...of course with some good music to get myself psyched up to race (I think "She Wolf" by Shakira is now my new favorite pre-race song!) and the legs did feel a bit better...maybe there is something to this "mini-taper" thing. Warmup done, check my bag, scout out the location of the Flyers post-race picnic, wait is that the men's leaders coming by? Wow this race just seems to get quicker and quicker each year...it would be a good 5 minutes or so before we saw the first Flyer, so me and a few other Flyer ladies just watched and waited...sure enough, JD runs by as the first of the Flyer contingent...with Laminator and Crazy Bandana-head not too far behind...jb24 looked like he was having a great race too!! Again, my cheering was more subdued than normal...I was actually more acting as "lookout" and "identify that Flyer" for the other ladies, so they could cheer by name and not "go Flyer" :) It's 9:35 and I need to get myself in the zone...sorry guys but I know you understand! A little more warming up, a little more stretching, then time to hit the corrals and just wait for the start. Deep breaths...kill those nerves, get ready to run!! The starting horn sounds...do the legs remember what to do...?

Mile 1 (7:25)-Well an advantage to being a corral back was that I wouldn't get sucked out too fast by the more-stacked field-especially since this mile is the west side hills which you all know how much I love :) I decided for at least the first half-mile, just to try and fall in with teammates and other peeps that I see are around my pace at races and not zigzag back and forth to try and move up...it worked :) By the end of mile 1, things were a little more spread out. Up that last hill at west 86th...saw LG with his UA teammates just as I passed a CPTC woman (yay) and saw the mile 1 marker, and I liked what I saw ;-)

Mile 2 (7:14)-Was relieved that I started off well, now time to hit that lovely downhill :) However, a sidestitch snuck up on me...dammit, this is early, why couldn't it wait til the last mile like it usually does? What should have been an easy mile with the downhill was suddenly made tough. Under no circumstances would I walk through this...I kept running hard and breathing deep...and just hoped it would go away. It did by the end of this mile and I was happy with the mile time, but still couldn't help but wonder what could have been. And there was one point in this mile where I was really flying solo...like i was running by myself with a group a little bit in front of me and a group a little bit in back of me...weird!!

Mile 3 (7:27)-I really had to work in this mile to not let things slip. Hot, unshaded, least crowd support...just tried to maintain-both speed and position, and not get passed. If I do pass a runner or 2 in this mile that would be great...but this is not the time to make my move...especially with the last big hill on the course not too far away. Seemed to work-I didn't lose too much time on this mile.

Mile 4 (7:44)-Well even before we hit the hill, we had to face another obstacle...a truck near the running lane by 72nd street. Could have been a collision of sorts but that was thankfully avoided...unfortunately the one downside to a 10 am race start...more traffic. So time to face the hill. Don't kill myself...again, maintain, maintain, maintain. Focus on form. Work the hill. Pass that Running Diva I see walking. Pass by the cat, not much further to go...oh look, I'm at the top of the hill...and I'm gonna pass by another woman in orange :) As well as others. Thank god, the worst is over. My mile split...not bad, but still a tiny bit slower than I would have liked...guess I still need to work on hills...

Mile 5 (6:59)-So with a mile to go, I wanted to avoid an error I thought I made last year. After 4 miles last year, I looked at my watch...and no one is great at math after around a half-hour of hard running, so I thought that a PR was out at that point and maybe didn't try as hard in the last mile as I should have. I did look at my watch after mile 4 this time (wow that was very close to my 4-mile PR! Come to think of it, I set a 3-mile PR too :-P ) but tried to refrain from doing the math. And in fact, only time I looked at my watch at all during the race was when I hit the split button at the mile markers-didn't look at it anytime else...less pacing, more racing!!

Back to the present!! Now's the time to give it everything...I passed by Engineer's Gate, where LG was cheering again and he said to me that "now's the time to run hard" or something to that effect :) And that's just what I am gonna do!! I kept the last mile of my recent 5K in mind-that I am capable of a good closing mile when it counts, and it doesn't hurt to, well, hurt a little :) Before I knew it, I had passed the reservoir and now's the time for all the cheering sections to start. Unlike previous years, there were no smiles...just focus and game face for this chick!! I did hear the assorted cheers, I did hear Bandana-head telling me to "dig deep" but the faces and names were just a blur to me. My lungs were burning by this point but I couldn't let up now. Just around the time of the final turn...was just me and this one other chick...she'd surge...then I would...turned for home and it was a sprint finish from there...gave it all I had to try and beat her to the line but I was just nipped (though I got her by a second on chip time!) And did the announcer announce a New York Flyer finish...not sure, was again so focused on my finish that I would have totally missed it!! But once I looked at my watch after crossing the line, I so liked what I saw!! I was hoping to run a sub-7 mile in a race...well moreso a sub-7 final mile!! Just made it by a second, but still it was!! And...even better...

All 3 goals achieved for the day!! Final time was 36:49, 7:21 pace...I had surpassed my old 2004 PR by over a minute!! Breaking a PR and doing it in style... :) And from what I heard, quite a few other teammates had great days too!!

And time to celebrate...the rest of the day consisting of, in no particular order...picnic, pictures, good friends and other special peeps, iced coffee, a beach in downtown Manhattan, sangria, perfect weather, awesome day...

And oh yeah...I had to check to see what marathon time this predicts...3:36! As far as I'm concerned, training is right on track...and it's still relatively early too!! But performance-wise, I feel this was my best race ever...yep, even better than the half last year, as here I had to deal with warmer weather and lotsa hills!!

And to everyone who cheered today-thank you, thank you, thank you!! As always-you helped me more than you know...even if I couldn't acknowledge it at the time :)

And what's next for me? Possibly a half-marathon on the horizon next month...and yeah, I just may have a rough time goal in my mind there...but besides that, just plugging away towards a certain goal on October 25th... ;-)

"please do not fret"

Sometimes I curse the invention of the "reply all" button-mainly when it is abused and I walk away from my desk for 5 minutes to return and see 15 new messages from the same damn conversation to catch up on. (Do I really need to know that one of my colleagues has a 10-foot pole...OK, guess you have to see the email exchange to appreciate the humor :-P) But sometimes it can be a source of entertainment. Like this one exchange between two people in my group which grew a little heated and the one who had the final word told the other one "please do not fret." (either that was the final word or "reply all" got changed to "reply" after that message) Anyways, don't ask me why, but me and my fellow (now ex) group-mate just kept laughing about it...became one of our running inside jokes or something. :-)

So why am I thinking about that? Well, because no less than 2 people have told me in the last coupla days not to "fret" about Saturday's race...and you guys know who you are ;-) I look back at last year at this time and remember just feeling excited and optimistic about the race. I'm still excited about the race, don't get me wrong, but I still feel like a bundle of nerves or something about every little thing. I'm in the yellow corral this time? But I was red last year for this race...damn, I've been demoted. :-P Easy 4 on the bridle path today, felt a little better than Tuesday but I still feel like I will need a miracle to feel good on Saturday morning. And can't forget the 10 AM start in the summer heat! Or maybe I just also have other stuff on my mind thats bugging me that may not necessarily have to do with running...

I don't even know why I'm nervous, it's not like this is marathon day! But I guess there's nothing I can do at this point but rest up tomorrow (thank god for a summer Friday!) and just hope that once the starting horn sounds, that the legs will just know what to do...

But to end this post on a good note-8th inning and the Yanks have a 9-run lead on the Sawx...gotta love that!! (of course now that I said it I just jinxed them.)

adjust, adjust, adjust...

With one month to go in the "unofficial" summer season...like it or not, the weather has finally arrived. Which is great for sitting outside and finally wearing those cute summer dresses but in terms of running...

Not surprisingly, it's made runs more sluggish. And yeah, I know to adjust for the conditions. Still doesn't mean I have to like it :-P Like tonite, for example. I chose to pass on speedwork tomorrow, being afraid of getting too caught up with a group. Plus, figured today...that would mean an extra day of recovery before Saturday. I planned on doing the same thing I did during the week before the Mini 10K-5 miles with quarter-mile pickups at race pace, easy inbetween. When I did this workout 2 months ago, the legs felt pretty good...tonite, not so much. Don't know if it was the heat, or the legs being tired from the marathon training mileage, or something else...but I wasn't too happy with the times for the effort. And in fact, I wound up only doing 4 pickups instead of the planned 5...no need to push myself any harder.

What's done is done. I got 3 days for the legs to bounce back, and I really hope they do. And to top it all off, the race is an hour later this year. Yeah, it's nice to sleep another hour but...a 10 am race start in the summer heat? Come on...NYRR, what were you thinking? I'm not freaking out about the weather just yet, but you all do have to admit a 10 am start in the summer is less than ideal. Well...I was able to deal with the heat for my recent 5K. And hopefully all those cheering guys around the course will make me forget about it :) But yeah...may need to adjust my goals...may not be a PR kind of a day. Just play it by ear I guess...

ltr, minus the hangover

Unlike 3 weeks ago-this 2nd edition of the 2009 NYRR Long Training Runs (aka LTR) was thankfully hangover-free. Amazing how much easier it makes things. Maybe there is something to not getting wasted the night before a long run...oh yeah and crashing early too. As I said in a text message on Friday nite "It's Friday nite, not even 10 pm and I'm lying down half-asleep...what's wrong with this picture." I think partially the week of craziness, drama and morning runs catching up with me...plus an early wake-up call the next morning...

...5 am, wake up, do all my normal long-run prep, find my white quasi-see-through pace leader singlet. Not to mention having to safety-pin Mr. Garmin to my wrist, as the strap broke and I cannot be without him for an LTR, in case the people positioning the mile markers were drunk or hungover instead of me. Left a little earlier than I normally would, as I wanted to front-load with 2 miles to get me to 18 for the day, and I timed it all perfectly-got there just in time to check in, check my bag, find the rest of the 9:30 pace leaders so that we could all divide and conquer. We split up the 9:30s into 3 smaller groups, and I led the 1st group with my "dynamic duo teammate" TB and Flyer CG. We waited...for the 7's, 7:30s, 8's, etc...to leave, finally it was our turn.

Started out easy, but at around the half-mile point, our co-leaders thought we were going too fast...I said not to worry since that was due to the downhill and we'd make up for it on the uphill and sure enough we did. This being the 6th year I've helped pace these LTRs...I know it's more about even effort than making sure every mile is the same...its tough to have identical splits in Central Park!! Anyways, this was a very nice group that we got to lead, but it was a big group!! It was tougher than normal staying in the rec lane. I think either the 9:30s should have been 4 groups instead of 3...but we did the best we could, considering it's tougher to get pace leaders with the LTRs being earlier in the year. Or maybe an extra half-lane like they do for the races could help...hmmm something to think about. Anyway, the actual run part was pretty drama-free...get the miles in, yell at the cat every time we pass Cat Hill, refuel and regroup on 102nd street, start again...

With 11 miles down, CG was done, leaving the group in the dynamic duo's hands for another 5, when we would then be done and any 20 milers would wait for the group behind us to come in and merge with them. Weather wasn't so bad compared to during the week, though my shirt was soaked by then...and yeah, there were a few "wet t-shirt contest" jokes. This last 5 miles...though the legs felt fine, the stomach was not doing well-like I would have taken a break during the loop if I wouldn't lose the group, but I felt I just had to suck it up as I was almost done and hit the portopotties once I hit the transverse. Which I did, but then I had to think about what happened. I ate and drank all my usuals the night before and in the morning. Only thing I did different was that I've been trying out a different gel flavor-tangerine flavor PowerGel which has double caffeine...and wonder if that had anything to do with it, since the plain flavor gels I normally use don't have caffeine?

Well, at least it's something that can be figured out in the next 12 weeks. And the fact that my legs felt decent after 18, and could have gone another 2 miles was a good thing. But glad I didn't-no reason to be doing 20 now, and I should walk away from my runs feeling like I can do more, right? :)

A short run today ended the week...was debating whether to dreadmill it or wait for a break in the thunder and downpours and just run outside. The latter choice won, and the rain actually felt nice. So that brought me to 45 and change for the week...bring on my cutback week, bring on Club Champs!! I'm ready for you... :)