Things I have learned from last weekend’s marathon:
#1 As a runner, thinking about running 8 miles is not mentally excruciating. Thinking about running 8 miles after you have already run 18 miles is apparently worthy of a short, 10-second-sob-while-running-fest. I would not recommend it, as crying while running makes it extremely hard to do either.
#2 I think two PowerBar energy gels while marathoning is my limit. Three makes me feel like I’ve had one too many pieces of cheesecake.
#3 I may have the ability to run while sleeping. I do not remember mile 23 at all. Like no recollection whatsoever. I did however feel surprisingly well-rested at the end of this particular marathon. Once I figure out how to hone this skill, I will be attempting to bottle, package, and sell it to all of you.
#4 A trophy is a trophy and second place is not the first loser when trophies are involved. Nevermind that there were only 18 people in my age group.
#5 Write your name on your race jersey. I did not do this. Alternately, see if you can have a catchy race number. I lucked out with 89, which people seemed to enjoy yelling even after I had already passed them.
All in all, the race went well: perfect weather, flat route, excellent volunteers, not to mention it was so small that I won second place in my age group and cut 13 minutes off my marathon time from May! Unfortunately, no rest for the weary: up next is Nike Women on October 18th!
2 down, 28 to go! I'll try to publish a more detailed race report, though I have so many post-its all over my room with blog ideas that maybe I should work on writing those.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
And now for some light humor...
Things I wish I had thought of
Meanwhile, I skipped my long run to go to the US Open last night. Though I froze my tush off, I got to watch Venus Williams battle through the FIRST ROUND for THREE HOURS. Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of good tennis going on (it was basically Venus effing up, and then getting points back, and then effing up again). And then, at 11:00, when she FINALLY won, Andy Roddick came on and soundly trounced Bjorn Phau(who is a serious hottie. Like I'm willing to give up my super crush on Michael Phelps for a little known half-German half-Indo tennis phenom. Yum.). Which, in terms of running, means I now have to perform my 18 mile long run this evening after work. Which wouldn't be a big deal except for one of the girls I work with called out and now I have to stay until 6, which means I won't finish my long run until 9. AND not only that, but now I'm a day behind in my training schedule which means I don't get a day off this week until Sunday. Oh well, I don't have too many evening plans this week, so I'll just have to bite it and move on.
Wah wah wah, okay I'm done with complaining for today. Not much is happening in the way of running. My Aruban friends are coming this weekend for a beach tennis tournament. Not all that exciting, except I get to hang out and be their fan club for a few days on the beach, and probably get some good running done down there. Oh, did I mention I have friends from Aruba? It comes in handy come November, let me tell you. They are in town all weekend though, through Wednesday, so I guess this weekend will be my taper week (read: heavy drinking week) before the September 13th Marathon. It's a better excuse to taper than I've had in a while!
Meanwhile, I skipped my long run to go to the US Open last night. Though I froze my tush off, I got to watch Venus Williams battle through the FIRST ROUND for THREE HOURS. Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of good tennis going on (it was basically Venus effing up, and then getting points back, and then effing up again). And then, at 11:00, when she FINALLY won, Andy Roddick came on and soundly trounced Bjorn Phau(who is a serious hottie. Like I'm willing to give up my super crush on Michael Phelps for a little known half-German half-Indo tennis phenom. Yum.). Which, in terms of running, means I now have to perform my 18 mile long run this evening after work. Which wouldn't be a big deal except for one of the girls I work with called out and now I have to stay until 6, which means I won't finish my long run until 9. AND not only that, but now I'm a day behind in my training schedule which means I don't get a day off this week until Sunday. Oh well, I don't have too many evening plans this week, so I'll just have to bite it and move on.
Wah wah wah, okay I'm done with complaining for today. Not much is happening in the way of running. My Aruban friends are coming this weekend for a beach tennis tournament. Not all that exciting, except I get to hang out and be their fan club for a few days on the beach, and probably get some good running done down there. Oh, did I mention I have friends from Aruba? It comes in handy come November, let me tell you. They are in town all weekend though, through Wednesday, so I guess this weekend will be my taper week (read: heavy drinking week) before the September 13th Marathon. It's a better excuse to taper than I've had in a while!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Run Guilt
Since I've been training for these upcoming marathons in the fall, I've been really really trying to stick to my running schedule. With the exception of the first couple weeks, I have hit my mileage (and then some) for the past two weeks. However, this summer I also made a promise to myself that, in order to maintain friendships I have often been lax about keeping up with, I would never skip out on plans to get a workout in. Now I know that goes against the principle tenet of marathon running - if you don't put the work in, you won't get the results - but I thought that by sticking to this goal, I would get my workouts done in the morning, leaving my summer evenings free to play.
Well, last night, I had dinner and drinks plans with a friend of mine. It was supposed to be an all-night, ragetastic, 1am girlfest. Instead, I bowed out of drinks afterward, claiming exhaustion, but really wanting to get to the gym to do my favorite Ashtanga yoga class and makeup for a three mile run I skipped on Tuesday.
Does this make me a bad person? I feel guilty explaining my athletic obsession to other people, so I have to lie about it. Also, I feel like, she just broke up with her boyfriend and she was looking for an excuse to get her mind off of it, and all I could offer was a burger and a beer and a hug. Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have stayed out and skipped my workout?
Well, last night, I had dinner and drinks plans with a friend of mine. It was supposed to be an all-night, ragetastic, 1am girlfest. Instead, I bowed out of drinks afterward, claiming exhaustion, but really wanting to get to the gym to do my favorite Ashtanga yoga class and makeup for a three mile run I skipped on Tuesday.
Does this make me a bad person? I feel guilty explaining my athletic obsession to other people, so I have to lie about it. Also, I feel like, she just broke up with her boyfriend and she was looking for an excuse to get her mind off of it, and all I could offer was a burger and a beer and a hug. Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have stayed out and skipped my workout?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Mile re-whats?
I've been following Bart Yasso's Marathon Training plan. So after a steady buildup of mileage on both hills and flat terrain, today's workout consisted of Mile Repeats. Now I've read about the infamous mile repeats in books and I can't say the feedback is favorable. But I thought I'd do a little speedwork in Central Park since the weather was nice.
Thanks to Cherie, I found the Great Hill Track to do some measured mile repeats (although I'm pretty sure the track is less than a quarter mile or else I was SERIOUSLY kicking butt on these miles). It felt good to run fast (at first) because I generally don't push my body on my runs - I hold out until I feel pretty comfortable and then I'll kick up a hill or down a hill and try to pass people as part of a little mental competition that keeps me running (ex. "If I can outrun that hottie ahead of me in the blue shorts, he's clearly not a hardcore athlete like me"). The track workout was tough, although it seemed pretty short. Maybe it's because, as I'm increasing my weekly mileage, individual miles seem shorter and much more manageable. At any rate, I think I kept pace (I'm still not exactly sure how long that track is, but it's close enough...we'll call it a wash) and it made me feel good to breathe hard and sweat a lot.
One thing I will say is that I used to do speed work on a treadmill. While it is definitely easier to calculate your mileage and your pace (all you have to do is hit the little buttons!), treadmill running is absolutely snore-tastic. Like I used to be able to run 12 miles on a treadmill in the winter (I know. I effing know.) but now I can barely run for 12 minutes. I remembered that today in the park as I wound up the little path to the Great Hill track at 106th street, right below the behemoth that is Harlem Hill. The foliage along the CP loop up there is so thick that I had no idea that there were even paved trails up there. They're so easy to miss! I finally emerged at the top of the path and it was like a secret society that only runners and small children with kites knew about. It was awesome...like discovering a secret garden (plus, there were bathrooms, and if there is anything that I love more than running it's knowing exactly where the next bathroom is on a particularly long run). As I ran (sans iPod today) I looked up and to the left and to the right and down at my feet. I was running in one of the greatest cities in the world, a city that most people spend all of their lifetime trying to get to or visiting or wishing they could visit, and I was in near silence in the center of it. It was sort of a spiritual moment and, though I'm not a spiritual person (although have been more since I started running so much) I kind of acknowledged the magnitude of the city in which I was running and the sheer smallness of my being in comparison. I was running. In a park. With birds. And trees. End scene. Sometimes, life needs to be boiled down to two word sentences so that you can figure out what the heck you're actually doing with it.
I finished my repeats and jogged on down to 79th street to have some yummy Thai food with my friend Anita. At the beginning of the summer, I swore to myself that I'd never let running get in the way of seeing my friends. I've held pretty strict to that rule and even if I have to miss workouts, I'll always make them up later. Good thing my friends are so flexible and willing to eat around my running schedule (one day I'll become a morning runner...one day). All in all, a good day, despite the inertia at work. In fact, whenever I get a hard run in it's always a good day. Looks like I'll have a lot of good days coming up, since my next marathon is just three weeks away!
Thanks to Cherie, I found the Great Hill Track to do some measured mile repeats (although I'm pretty sure the track is less than a quarter mile or else I was SERIOUSLY kicking butt on these miles). It felt good to run fast (at first) because I generally don't push my body on my runs - I hold out until I feel pretty comfortable and then I'll kick up a hill or down a hill and try to pass people as part of a little mental competition that keeps me running (ex. "If I can outrun that hottie ahead of me in the blue shorts, he's clearly not a hardcore athlete like me"). The track workout was tough, although it seemed pretty short. Maybe it's because, as I'm increasing my weekly mileage, individual miles seem shorter and much more manageable. At any rate, I think I kept pace (I'm still not exactly sure how long that track is, but it's close enough...we'll call it a wash) and it made me feel good to breathe hard and sweat a lot.
One thing I will say is that I used to do speed work on a treadmill. While it is definitely easier to calculate your mileage and your pace (all you have to do is hit the little buttons!), treadmill running is absolutely snore-tastic. Like I used to be able to run 12 miles on a treadmill in the winter (I know. I effing know.) but now I can barely run for 12 minutes. I remembered that today in the park as I wound up the little path to the Great Hill track at 106th street, right below the behemoth that is Harlem Hill. The foliage along the CP loop up there is so thick that I had no idea that there were even paved trails up there. They're so easy to miss! I finally emerged at the top of the path and it was like a secret society that only runners and small children with kites knew about. It was awesome...like discovering a secret garden (plus, there were bathrooms, and if there is anything that I love more than running it's knowing exactly where the next bathroom is on a particularly long run). As I ran (sans iPod today) I looked up and to the left and to the right and down at my feet. I was running in one of the greatest cities in the world, a city that most people spend all of their lifetime trying to get to or visiting or wishing they could visit, and I was in near silence in the center of it. It was sort of a spiritual moment and, though I'm not a spiritual person (although have been more since I started running so much) I kind of acknowledged the magnitude of the city in which I was running and the sheer smallness of my being in comparison. I was running. In a park. With birds. And trees. End scene. Sometimes, life needs to be boiled down to two word sentences so that you can figure out what the heck you're actually doing with it.
I finished my repeats and jogged on down to 79th street to have some yummy Thai food with my friend Anita. At the beginning of the summer, I swore to myself that I'd never let running get in the way of seeing my friends. I've held pretty strict to that rule and even if I have to miss workouts, I'll always make them up later. Good thing my friends are so flexible and willing to eat around my running schedule (one day I'll become a morning runner...one day). All in all, a good day, despite the inertia at work. In fact, whenever I get a hard run in it's always a good day. Looks like I'll have a lot of good days coming up, since my next marathon is just three weeks away!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Percy Sutton Harlem 5K
This past weekend I was supposed to be golfing in Hilton Head South Carolina. When that fell through, I was supposed to be lounging on the beach in Atlantic City. Instead, I was waking up at 6am on Saturday to drag my butt up to Harlem to run the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K. Nevermind that I hadn't raced since May 3rd (the New Jersey Marathon). I hadn't raced in so long that I missed the change over to the new disposable chip timers that NYRR has instituted. While they seem more efficient, I'm not sure if the effect is "greener" or not. I mean, on one hand you aren't wasting that little plastic bag and the red ties, but on the other it seems like there is the electronic waste from the chip timer.
I was staying at my brother's place in Queens, so I did not have access to my standard coffee, toast, peanut butter, banana breakfast. I foraged through some drawers and found an old box of Maple and Brown sugar Instant Oatmeal. I could do worse. I wolfed it down, grabbed my race stuff and headed out the door. I made it in time to do a quick half-mile warm up (actually, I was late and ran from the 125th street stop to the starting line at 135tb street...sounds better the first way though, right?). It was unbelievably muggy and I was still battling a nagging cough from a few weeks ago. Needless to say, inhaling in 98% humidity with a slight drag of mucus (ew. I know.) in your lungs feels similar to what I can only imagine inhaling paint feels like. Now do that while running. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
It was a smaller race, around 2,000 people, so I didn't feel like I was tripping over anyone to get into my run zone. There were some pretty steep hills on the way up, and I clocked my first mile at around 7:59. Good, but not great, since I was already inhaling Benjamin Moore and my first mile is generally the fastest (because I go out fast and then have to pull back toward the end). However, I didn't take into account the fact that BECAUSE the first mile was largely uphill, a good amount on the back half was downhill. I really didn't think I was going anywhere near fast (because I wasn't calculating my mile splits, only my overall time) and didn't expect a very fast finish. That was, until I got to the 3rd mile marker and the clock read around 24 minutes. I was shocked. I was about 30 seconds from the gun time, which meant that at my current pace, I was definitely under 8 minute miles. That has never happened to me. I crossed the finish at 24:07, averaging 7:46 minute miles.
I'm still on a runner's high about this. After running races for 6 months from Spring 2008 - Winter 2008/2009, I happily watched my times drop dramatically. But all my spring races I paced around the same: 8:15 minute miles, 8:00 minute miles, 8:30 minute miles. I just wanted to elusive "sub-8 minute mile". I ran the New Jersey marathon, took some time off, traveled a bunch, and effectively stopped racing. But my marathon training has effectively put me in better shape -- upping my mileage, combining hill and speed work, doing longer and longer runs. The result has been shaving FOURTEEN SECONDS off my 5K pace.
I'm running a marathon in 3 weeks and I am hoping to run it sub-4 hours. Until the Percy Sutton 5K, I thought it would be tight, but now I'm way more optimistic. Who would have thought that such a terrible weekend for making plans would turn into one of my best racing weekends ever?!
I was staying at my brother's place in Queens, so I did not have access to my standard coffee, toast, peanut butter, banana breakfast. I foraged through some drawers and found an old box of Maple and Brown sugar Instant Oatmeal. I could do worse. I wolfed it down, grabbed my race stuff and headed out the door. I made it in time to do a quick half-mile warm up (actually, I was late and ran from the 125th street stop to the starting line at 135tb street...sounds better the first way though, right?). It was unbelievably muggy and I was still battling a nagging cough from a few weeks ago. Needless to say, inhaling in 98% humidity with a slight drag of mucus (ew. I know.) in your lungs feels similar to what I can only imagine inhaling paint feels like. Now do that while running. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
It was a smaller race, around 2,000 people, so I didn't feel like I was tripping over anyone to get into my run zone. There were some pretty steep hills on the way up, and I clocked my first mile at around 7:59. Good, but not great, since I was already inhaling Benjamin Moore and my first mile is generally the fastest (because I go out fast and then have to pull back toward the end). However, I didn't take into account the fact that BECAUSE the first mile was largely uphill, a good amount on the back half was downhill. I really didn't think I was going anywhere near fast (because I wasn't calculating my mile splits, only my overall time) and didn't expect a very fast finish. That was, until I got to the 3rd mile marker and the clock read around 24 minutes. I was shocked. I was about 30 seconds from the gun time, which meant that at my current pace, I was definitely under 8 minute miles. That has never happened to me. I crossed the finish at 24:07, averaging 7:46 minute miles.
I'm still on a runner's high about this. After running races for 6 months from Spring 2008 - Winter 2008/2009, I happily watched my times drop dramatically. But all my spring races I paced around the same: 8:15 minute miles, 8:00 minute miles, 8:30 minute miles. I just wanted to elusive "sub-8 minute mile". I ran the New Jersey marathon, took some time off, traveled a bunch, and effectively stopped racing. But my marathon training has effectively put me in better shape -- upping my mileage, combining hill and speed work, doing longer and longer runs. The result has been shaving FOURTEEN SECONDS off my 5K pace.
I'm running a marathon in 3 weeks and I am hoping to run it sub-4 hours. Until the Percy Sutton 5K, I thought it would be tight, but now I'm way more optimistic. Who would have thought that such a terrible weekend for making plans would turn into one of my best racing weekends ever?!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Alter Conditioning
This weekend I spent not one but two days at the beach. No, I haven't come into millions of dollars and bought a house in the Hamptons, nor did any of my friends who have Jersey shore houses invite me out. I have simply discovered one of New York City's most obvious hidden treasures in the world: Rockaway Beach.
Now, everytime I've told someone that I'm going out to Rockaway Beach (even though I've only gone out 3 times so far this summer), they give me a look of shock and horror. Like "Seriously? You're swimming in the Rockaways?" I even had one guy ask me if I had stepped on any syringes. No. I did not step on any syringes in the Rockaways, and neither did any one of the small children running around playing in the water. It's actually a very nice beach and if you take 10 minutes and walk down away from where the subway lets out, it's quiet, not crowded and chock full of...
That's right. Surfers.
As much as I love running, I've kind of detoured into surfing. I sort of fell into it last summer, took a few lessons at the Jersey shore and LOVED it. Since then, I made no progress on the surf front until I went to Aruba in February. There, I met some SERIOUS surfers who, living on a Caribbean island surfed daily. They totally pushed me to start surfing back in New York, so last week I headed down to the fabled surf beach on the Rockaways and signed myself up for a lesson.
And fell in love. Not with a surfer dude (although I'm not ruling it out) but with the sport. I grew up on Lake Ontario, so I've loved the water ever since I was little. However, as I've gotten older, it's less and less fun to just go out and swim around in the water, especially by yourself. Surfing allows me to spend two hours in the water without even noticing that two hours has gone by. It's amazing.
So what has all this surfing done to my running? Well....nothing really except that I haven't been running. I really need to figure out some sort of balancing act between surfing on the weekends and running during the week because by the time I get home from the beach I can't handle staying awake for more than 2 or 3 hours. So, even though I have a marathon in a little over 2 months and I haven't run more than 6 miles since my marathon the first weekend in May, I still think I can do it. Anyway, at least I can chalk up my surfing experiences as "cross-training" and hopefully this won't turn into a surf blog (because right now all I'd have to post is "Today, I got up, rode a wave...then I fell")
Now, everytime I've told someone that I'm going out to Rockaway Beach (even though I've only gone out 3 times so far this summer), they give me a look of shock and horror. Like "Seriously? You're swimming in the Rockaways?" I even had one guy ask me if I had stepped on any syringes. No. I did not step on any syringes in the Rockaways, and neither did any one of the small children running around playing in the water. It's actually a very nice beach and if you take 10 minutes and walk down away from where the subway lets out, it's quiet, not crowded and chock full of...
That's right. Surfers.
As much as I love running, I've kind of detoured into surfing. I sort of fell into it last summer, took a few lessons at the Jersey shore and LOVED it. Since then, I made no progress on the surf front until I went to Aruba in February. There, I met some SERIOUS surfers who, living on a Caribbean island surfed daily. They totally pushed me to start surfing back in New York, so last week I headed down to the fabled surf beach on the Rockaways and signed myself up for a lesson.
And fell in love. Not with a surfer dude (although I'm not ruling it out) but with the sport. I grew up on Lake Ontario, so I've loved the water ever since I was little. However, as I've gotten older, it's less and less fun to just go out and swim around in the water, especially by yourself. Surfing allows me to spend two hours in the water without even noticing that two hours has gone by. It's amazing.
So what has all this surfing done to my running? Well....nothing really except that I haven't been running. I really need to figure out some sort of balancing act between surfing on the weekends and running during the week because by the time I get home from the beach I can't handle staying awake for more than 2 or 3 hours. So, even though I have a marathon in a little over 2 months and I haven't run more than 6 miles since my marathon the first weekend in May, I still think I can do it. Anyway, at least I can chalk up my surfing experiences as "cross-training" and hopefully this won't turn into a surf blog (because right now all I'd have to post is "Today, I got up, rode a wave...then I fell")
Friday, June 26, 2009
Fall Marathon Planning
I am running the Nike Women's Marathon on October 18th. That will be my second marathon of the year (my first was New Jersey in May, which took me 4 hours 10 minutes and 53 seconds to complete...of which it rained 4 hours 9 minutes and 53 seconds) and I have to say, I'm not as excited about the prospect of running 4 MORE marathons before next May. Now, I'm not as hardcore like Laura (but, yes, I am jealous of her marathon confidence...seriously? A marathon on consecutive weekends?!), but I would really like to run a faster marathon. Preferably sub-4 hours. I don't know if the hills of San Francisco are conducive to running a faster marathon but maybe if I train harder and actually did some hill work, speedwork, and long runs (instead of doing one 18 mile run 3 weeks before the marathon and deciding that was enough).
In other news, yes I did the New Jersey Marathon on May 3rd. It was amazing and I almost cried as I crossed the finish line but I was running so fast that it kind of hindered my ability to breathe so I immediately stopped (crying, not running). My hips had started hurting around mile 18 but after mile 21 I just kind of got used to the stiffness in my lower body. The funniest part was, I was running for 4 hours, in the pouring rain, and the second I crossed the finish line and stopped running, I could barely stand up let alone walk. I basically had to limp to the hotel to get my clothes, and couldn't even change into dry clothes without sitting on the bathroom floor (gross I know).
Meanwhile, among running faster, I also need to be a friendlier marathoner. I had started running with the 4:15 pace group, but it felt too slow for me, so after a few warmup miles I took off ahead of them at a more comfortable pace. I was kind of drafting this girl in shorts (although when you're running at an 8:30 pace I don't know if it's considered drafting. More like "plodding behind"). We ended up running side by side starting at mile 5, though we didn't start talking until after the 13th mile, where all the half marathoners peeled off to the finish and left us lonely marathoners to run it out for another 13 miles (note to others considering running a double loop marathon: when 85% of the field finishes when you're only halfway, it sort of kills your morale.) We chatted a little bit, and I'm not going to lie, I mostly run solo, but it was actually nice to have someone to run with for a couple hours. Anyway, Sarah had some knee issues around Mile 19 so she slowed to a walk and while I wanted to stay with her, I wanted to finish as fast as possible, so I waved goodbye and finished the next 7 miles by myself.
All in all, it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do another one. The fans were amazing and, despite the rain, we had people sitting outside their houses banging drums, highfiving and cheering us the whole time. I think for Nike Women, I'm going to start with the 4:00 pace group and see if I can keep it there. I'm also thinking about running the MVP Healthcare Marathon in Rochester (where I'm from), but it's a month before Nike Women and I don't know if I can recover in time (since after my last marathon I took a week off and then contracted pneumonia. Nice.). I ran the half last year and the course is a bit hilly, but the fans are great, the post race food is amazing, and it runs through my hometown so it would probably be really fun. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Sidenote: I promise to be a better blogger. Promise promise promise.
In other news, yes I did the New Jersey Marathon on May 3rd. It was amazing and I almost cried as I crossed the finish line but I was running so fast that it kind of hindered my ability to breathe so I immediately stopped (crying, not running). My hips had started hurting around mile 18 but after mile 21 I just kind of got used to the stiffness in my lower body. The funniest part was, I was running for 4 hours, in the pouring rain, and the second I crossed the finish line and stopped running, I could barely stand up let alone walk. I basically had to limp to the hotel to get my clothes, and couldn't even change into dry clothes without sitting on the bathroom floor (gross I know).
Meanwhile, among running faster, I also need to be a friendlier marathoner. I had started running with the 4:15 pace group, but it felt too slow for me, so after a few warmup miles I took off ahead of them at a more comfortable pace. I was kind of drafting this girl in shorts (although when you're running at an 8:30 pace I don't know if it's considered drafting. More like "plodding behind"). We ended up running side by side starting at mile 5, though we didn't start talking until after the 13th mile, where all the half marathoners peeled off to the finish and left us lonely marathoners to run it out for another 13 miles (note to others considering running a double loop marathon: when 85% of the field finishes when you're only halfway, it sort of kills your morale.) We chatted a little bit, and I'm not going to lie, I mostly run solo, but it was actually nice to have someone to run with for a couple hours. Anyway, Sarah had some knee issues around Mile 19 so she slowed to a walk and while I wanted to stay with her, I wanted to finish as fast as possible, so I waved goodbye and finished the next 7 miles by myself.
All in all, it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do another one. The fans were amazing and, despite the rain, we had people sitting outside their houses banging drums, highfiving and cheering us the whole time. I think for Nike Women, I'm going to start with the 4:00 pace group and see if I can keep it there. I'm also thinking about running the MVP Healthcare Marathon in Rochester (where I'm from), but it's a month before Nike Women and I don't know if I can recover in time (since after my last marathon I took a week off and then contracted pneumonia. Nice.). I ran the half last year and the course is a bit hilly, but the fans are great, the post race food is amazing, and it runs through my hometown so it would probably be really fun. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Sidenote: I promise to be a better blogger. Promise promise promise.
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