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")

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.

I really need to learn how to blog better so that people will read this blog

I want to write about so many things, like why I am a disaster runner at water stops or how it feels to eat a Toblerone at mile five of a half marathon when you have no fluid around to take it with (I'll spoil that one now: it feels bad) but I always want to reference other things I read or other people's blogs that I read but I have NO FREAKING CLUE how to do it. Like tagging and all that crap. I'm so addicted to the internet that maybe I should put "Learn to use blogger so that people in the online community may accidentally come across it and read out of shear boredom" on my "To Do" list (right now it consists of "Go to the International Center of Photography exhibit" and "Send package to Zoe" and "Buy shelving"...seriously? Is this what my life has turned into?).

In other news: I am going to Aruba on Friday. I actually spent 35 minutes looking to see if there were any races in Aruba but couldn't find anything. Probably because most normal people go to Aruba to relax, not tire themselves out from running in the 85 degree weather (yea, I said it. And what, Manhattan?). I will have to take a running hiatus and go scuba diving for three days (I know. KILLER.) and then my dad and I are supposed to go deep sea fishing and ATVing (no I did NOT just turn a noun into a verb). I am really excited to try kitesurfing although it's $275 so I may have to pass because getting my next level of scuba certification is already cleaning me out. All in all, I'm stoked for the week, stoked to be in warm weather and stoked that I have an actual marathon to look forward to (okay, maybe I haven't signed up for it yet, but I'm pretty much going to do it because I already told my friends in DC that I was coming down that weekend to do it. So I can't flake out now). And I may even have a running buddy, but I'm not going to say who it is until I figure out how to actually use this online application. What I lack in internet skills, I make up for in running skills.

Race Report: Bronx Half Marathon (or Holy Hills Batman)

So I signed up for the Bronx Half-Marathon yesterday, mostly because it was supposed to be 50 degrees on Sunday and I figured, since I hate running when it's cold outside, it was now or never to kickstart my long-runs for the supposed SunTrust DC Marathon in March. The race overall went pretty well. Unfortunately I was not ready for the surprise hills (I was under the impression this was a flat race) and I was also not ready for a surprise at about mile 10 (more about that in a minute).

I was exhausted when I woke up at 5:15 this morning, mostly because I had worked all day yesterday, then ran around doing errands, then babysitting until 11:15pm, not arriving home until past midnight. Which means I didn't get more than 5 hours of sleep last night. It was okay because I actually get so much adrenaline when I race that lack of sleep isn't generally an issue. I left my house around 6 after downing an English muffin with peanut butter and banana and a cup of coffee (my race-morning standard...sometimes I sub in toast for English muffin, but that's pretty much the only race ritual I have). I jumped on the subway with my backpack, which had some extra dry clothes for after the race, and a few other sundry items (Powerbars and Toblerone, obviously). It was actually the first time I had brought a bad with me to a race because all the other times I just shoved everything in my boobs and took off. However this was my first cold-weather run and I figured that I was supposed to be going to play football afterwards and that I would at least need something to change into so I didn't look like a Sea Monster in front of all the cute boys on my football team (okay there aren't that many but there are ALWAYS cute boys at the bar afterward). Anyway, I sat next to a kid on the platform who was wearing full Underarmour cold weather gear (I am an Underarmour FANATIC and I know cold weather gear when I see it) PLUS shorts and a zip up jacket over the top. He was in good shape and I was shocked that he had worn so much clothing. I wanted to tap him on the shoulder and say "Um, helloooo, have you ever run ever before in your life...like...ever? Because at the rate you're going you'll probably sweat half your face off because it is FIFTY DEGREES OUT AND THAT'S BASICALLY RUNNING SHORTS WEATHER". The best part is that I got through 30 minutes of my subway ride to the BX thinking about his ridiculous outfit. The other hour I covered by thinking about how I was excited to eat the mini-Toblerone's stashed in my running jacket pocket that my friend Felix had given me (because I love chocolate and think running is just an excuse to eat more of it than I already eat) and also about how nervous I was not to PR. This was my 3rd half marathon and the prospect of running an 8:46 pace after not structuring my workout seemed slim. Plus I had some crazy gassy feeling in my stomach that I couldn't shake (again, more about that later).

Pre-race was pretty uneventful: went to the bathroom, check my bag, got in line...but no race jitters. I was actually just excited to run outside since I haven't done it since the Webster Turkey Trot in November. I have been training on a treadmill and actually ran 16 miles on a treadmill one time (although I had to stop and pee a few times). I feel like running on a treadmill is way harder than running in real life because you can't listen to your body about slowing down or speeding up and you can't really tell how either feels while you're busy fumbling with the up/down arrow keys and also trying not to eat it on the moving belt. But I digress.

When the gun sounded (I never hear this supposed gun, I just wait until people in front of me start to move) I got excited and couldn't wait to start running. And since this was the first time I'd been blogging while racing, I noticed things about my running style more acutely than I did when I wasn't blogging and running. I will now list them because I find it easier to organize my thoughts in lists (I'm Type A, what can I say?):

1) I never race with an iPod (but I do train with one). Now I'm not some super snob-tastic-iPods-are-for-amateurs runner. In fact, I derive great pleasure from people who race with their iPods. They get all emotional and sometimes they sing outloud, which, for someone who relies solely on ambient noise for 2 hours, is extremely funny. One older, short, balding white man started to sing "Shady's back...back again" as he was running and I think I giggled so hard that he noticed I was laughing at him. He was huffing to hard to say anything but I immediately felt awful (but got over it like 5 seconds later). Anyway, I'm all about racers with iPods, but I prefer to just run and think. I think about why I am running, what I'm going to do later that afternoon, what I'm going to do later in the race, what type of drink I'm going to get at the next aid station, when I should use a gel, what treat breakfast I'm going to have my brother buy me (since he comes to most of my races...like 3 out of 6 of them...all the half-marathons actually now that I think about it). In fact, I actually do a lot of pace calculating ("how fast do I have to go to get THIS time or THAT time") during running because it comforts me (I know, I'm a nerd, but I like mental math because it gives me something to do).

2) I like to run on the painted lines on the road. I'm not sure why, but I actually almost feel like i'm going faster when I see that little yellow line whizzing by from under me. I do it when I train too. Come to think of it, I have no idea why I do this. Maybe so I can focus on something that never changes and so I have a frame of reference? (Wow, that's like a metaphor for LIFE).

3) I repeat the same line of the same song over and over again throughout the entire race. Again, one might ask "Why don't you just run with an iPod?" I would answer you by saying "I don't know." Maybe because I like to choose a song I think I know all the words to and then realize that I don't and just sing the part that I do...like a meditation mantra (read Eat, Pray, Love if you don't know what I'm talking about). This race I just kept singing "I'm not scared, of lions and tigers and bears. But I'm scared of loving you" from the song "Lions and Tigers and Bears" by Jazmine Sullivan. It's an awesome song and the lyrical jazz class I took last week did a combination to it. It talks about how a girl is so not afraid to do all these really death-defyingly things that are scary to most people but she is afraid to put herself out there to be loved by a boy. Kind of like me (if any boys currently loved me, which, with the exception of my immediately family, I don't think anyone does). Anyway, as I was running I noticed it was in 3/4 time (ONE two three ONE two three) and so I started running in a waltz pace for about a half mile.

The rest of the race I just thought about finishing because I felt really winded and uncomfortable, which usually goes away around mile 4 or 5. Around mile 10 my stomach was feeling a little better, but right as I crossed the 10 mile mark, I realized that the gassy feeling in my stomach was my *ahem* womanly friend rearing it's ugly head. In the middle of running 13 miles. I actually said the F word outload while I was running. Well you can imagine how uncomfortable I was for the next three miles and basically just told myself if nothing else, I needed to get to a restroom (conveniently located at the finish line) and take care of my little issue. Interestingly, I didn't even consider slowing to a walk to take care of it. LIke that thought did not cross my mind. Only that it was going to SUCK to run 3 more miles while bleeding (sorry guys, I wanted to actually be more graphic but I figure if I have any followers at all, I would scare them away with my highly desensitized description of my period). Good thing I was wearing all black.

After I got over that minor hiccup (which was actually horrible) I concentrated on finished sub 2-hours. I had run 1:55 at Staten Island, but that course is like a pancake minus the hill about halfway that makes you want to cry for your mother and three best friends. I was shooting for 1:52, but after mile 10 I had to slightly revise seeing as I was rapidly losing the very thing that was keeping me from keeling over and dying in the middle of the road. I ended up finishing in 1:58 with a per mile pace of 9:03, Not too shabby, but definitely not the greatest. Room for improvement, and I only hope DC is relatively flat (I've heard it is, and also that it's not the circus that the Marine Corps is so that should be fun).

And remember that hot (temperature wise, although he did have amazing blue eyes and the whitest, straightest teeth I've ever seen, and was mixed and had dimples and...*drool* sorry what was I saying?) guy that sat next to me on the platform at my stop then across from me on the L train and then on the 4 train up to the Bronx? Yea, I saw him after the race and upon realizing it's him said 'Hey, congrats, great race" and he smiled (slash melted my bones and I slithered to the floor) and said "hey thanks you too." Would it be creepy if I walked around my subway stop at all hours of the day just to see if I see him again? Did you say no? Oh, no, it WOULD be creepy? Shoot.

Overall, a decent race, GREAT weather, and I went and played AN AMAZING game of football right after I was done (2 completions AND I did a great job of putting pressure on the QB!). Even though we lost, we had a great time at the bar afterwards and I got to kick it with my teammates that I love SO MUCH. I hope we all sign-up together again next season.

Dealing with Jitters

I decided that, due to the 50 degree weather tomorrow, that I wanted to run the Bronx half-marathon tomorrow. I haven't signed up for it, but I'm hoping I can duck out of work for a half hour so I can go get registered. It's so funny to think about how now, after just a year of training and sporadic racing, that I could just sign up for a half-marathon...for fun. Six months ago I was agonizing over having to run the distance. I think I trained for 4 or 5 months for my first one in Rochester. Now, my training consisted of a few 3 - 4 mile runs, a quicker 6.5 mile tempo run, and a 10 mile long run on Wednesday, just to convince myself that I actually could cover the distance. I won't be as fast because I don't have as many miles logged for this one, but at least I can chalk it up to another race and good preparation for my marathon kickoff in March.

Another issue I've been struggling with is pre-race jitters. I always get them and it always takes me at least a mile or two for them to calm down and for me to actually focus and run hard. I don't know what it is. I get knots in my stomach, I have to pee, and my stomach clenches up right before the race begins. No matter if it's a 5k or a half-marathon, it happens and I don't know how to calm down. I think it stems from the fact that I've raced only 5 times in my life, and for each race, no matter the distance, my splits have been better than the previous race. Obviously, if I start running shorter races more often, my splits will fall, whereas my long race splits won't, so maybe I just need to get used to the fact that, the more I race, the better I'll get, but not necessarily in the form of faster splits. We'll see how tomorrow goes (although I still haven't even registered for this race tomorrow but we'll see how it goes.)

I am the worst Blogger ever

Okay so after a VERY long running and blogging hiatus, I've renewed my committment to running 30 marathons by the age of thirty (and if I'm luck ON my 30th birthday). I've been traveling a bunch lately, so I guess I can claim that for my delinquency. I went to Portland in December with my sister and her baby. Portland is like running Mecca, so when she suggested the trip to me, I was so excited to make a pilgrimage. Little did I know that Portland in December is rainy, unpredictable, and hilly (although I guess the hilly thing isn't actually seasonal). I got in a few runs which made me feel awesome that I had sprinted on the same roads as Kara Goucher and the Halls, but when the snow started falling I had to bow down to the weather gods and snuggle up inside my aunt's old Victorian house. After Portland, I went home for the holidays, then traveled to London (where I ran only once due to my inadequate knowledge of how to get around. I keep forgetting that not everywhere is New York City and that if you get lost, you're actually lost instead of in some vicinity of a street with a number on it). After London, I returned to Manhattan and, without any sort of racing plan or next race to look forward to, I stopped running all together.

I started running almost a year ago; started training for races 9 months ago. At that point I had been training for half-marathons, while running a few shorter races in the interim as "tempo runs". After reading a really great blog (AbsolutlyFit.blogspot.com), I was inspired not only to train more actively, but also to race more often. I'm running the Bronx half this Sunday and then the Al Gorden snowflake 5k on February 21 and then the Coogan 5k on March 1. I had originally hoped to run a marathon on March 21st, in Washington DC, and maybe I still will, depending on how my run on Sunday goes. I'm excited to start training and mostly racing again.

Okay, so now that I've caught you up, my Valentine's Day resolution (since it seems to be quite late for New Years' resoultions) is to be more diligent about my blogging.

Keep reading and I'll keep running.

Pre-Turkey Thoughts

This is why I can’t be a blogger. I don’t blog nearly enough for anyone who may actually be reading this to keep up with it. I didn’t run over the weekend, but ran yesterday, a slow seven miler on the treadmill, which, if you haven’t done much treadmill running, is equal to death. I was so bored that I started counting the seconds down after the start of every minute. I guess it’s all practice for all these “Marathon Mindgames” I’ve heard so much about.

Tomorrow I’m running a turkey trot in Rochester. If I wake up for it that is. One of the greatest frustrations I have with my brother is that he constantly underestimates how long it will take to get anywhere and then overcompensates by being a total ass about how it’s not his fault that he’s late – there was traffic, obviously. As if traffic is a foreign concept to him living in New York City. On Thanksgiving. Anyway, it is now 9pm (I’m saving this on the Mac before I post it) and we are still about 3 hours from our destination. Perfect. Just the kind of night’s sleep I was hoping for before running 4.4 miles.

Moving away from running just a bit (because in my first blog, I promised I’d divulge any fantastic gossip about my love that may take place), I am going to London in January. To see a boy. Okay, well not only to see a boy but the impetus of this sort of impromptu international trip was the fact that said boy offered my friend Alex and I free accommodations at his flat in London, whenever we wanted. Tickets were booked within days. Do I have to sleep with him? Probably. Do I care? Not in the least. There’s a good chance we’ll get a few meals out of it as well so I’m 100% in it to win it. I’ve slept with people for less.

Now the trick will be not to let anyone who would disapprove (and that’s everyone that I know) find out that I’m going to London for the reasons detailed above. We’ll see what happens.

Make you a deal. You keep reading, I’ll keep running