I ran on my own this morning in BK because I have visitors in town and we had important business to get to. These ladies know how to get a lot done in a short period of time, and I am going to have a gorgeous apartment to show for it! Anyway, so I skipped the team run (sad, our last run before the marathon, and we were going to do the last 10 miles of the course) in favor of a couple loops of the park. I planned to do 3, but I only did two. I wasn't feeling it and decided it was not a good idea to push it. Next week is the week to do that. It was pretty chilly out, but the leaves were beautiful. I'm sure I made up the extra miles running around IKEA and moving furniture down six flights of stairs.
One week until NYC, and I'm excited. I'm still in a little bit of denial that it's actually here. After it's over, I'm going to rest. I joined an amazing yoga studio, so I will be making that my home for awhile.
Good luck to those running the Marine Corps Marathon in DC tomorrow!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A windy 8 miler
Yesterday was my first run since Hartford last Saturday. I didn't want to get up early, but I knew that it would be best to meet up with the group for inspiration. I knew they would push me to do the full 8. (I would find a way to shorten it if I ran on my own in Prospect Park). When I met up with them at 79th/5th, it was freezing and windy outside. I definitely did not have enough layers on. Note to self: time to pull out the hats and gloves for early morning runs. We aborted our plan to run along the East River in favor of two loops of the park, where there was more protection from the wind.
Overall, the 8 miles felt really good. We were all still on the high from our respective marathons the week before, and a lot of people were back after being away so it was nice to catch up on our race experiences. We were a little disorganized as a result, and I think our intervals may have been off, but we finished the 8 and went to have breakfast afterward. Eggs taste really good after a run!
Countdown to NYC starts now.
Overall, the 8 miles felt really good. We were all still on the high from our respective marathons the week before, and a lot of people were back after being away so it was nice to catch up on our race experiences. We were a little disorganized as a result, and I think our intervals may have been off, but we finished the 8 and went to have breakfast afterward. Eggs taste really good after a run!
Countdown to NYC starts now.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Race Report: Hartford Marathon 10/9/10
As I mentioned in a previous post, I was feeling extremely anxious about the Hartford race and even debating if I should switch to the half marathon. On the bus to Hartford, I was surrounded by ultra marathoners and Boston qualifiers, which made my aspirations for a 6 hour race seem inadequate. But then again, most people in the world have never attempted such a distance. I decided to put my doubts out of my head and tackle the full. Leslie picked me up at the Expo and we had an early dinner, then drove part of the course. I'd only been to Hartford very briefly before, so that helped a lot. Leslie somehow knew exactly what I needed in order to relax and prepare. When we got back to her house, a Sophie Kinsella book and a copy of "Born to Run" were on the nightstand, in case I couldn't sleep and needed distraction and/or motivation, she said. (L, for the record, you are the best host ever).
Saturday morning, I got up at 5am to prepare. We got to the start around 7:15am. L left a little before 8, and I was still in complete denial about what was about to happen. I was surrounded by people running the half, and I couldn't help but think that that might've been a better idea. But I couldn't spend any more time thinking about that. Time to focus on the task at hand.
The first few miles, the half and full courses were the same. I was a bit concerned that I would miss the turn for the full and/or I wouldn't find anyone else running at my pace, but I just kept up the intervals and tried to take it easy. Once the courses split off, there were some people running at my pace, but not many, so I was alone for long periods of time. It was sort of nice, actually. The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the quiet allowed me to focus on the scenery and my beeping watch. I saw Leslie at mile 6, which was great. (It's pretty clear from the picture she took how far back I am from the pack, but who cares, right? If I wasn't so slow, it might look like I was winning!)
The first 13.1 went by pretty fast (considering it took me three hours). I don't know what I thought about. Just took in the beautiful views of the river and met some of the inspiring runners around me. There was a guy running with Achilles who was completing his 111th marathon and a woman who was a member of the 50 marathons in 50 states club. Another guy took a wrong turn and ran a couple miles on the half course only to turn around and come back. He was also a member of the 50 marathons in 50 states club and told me I should consider joining because "we need more beautiful women in the club." Um, thank you, but no thank you. I already think I'm a little crazy for attempting Hartford a month before NYC. But I do appreciate the fact that you think I'm beautiful several miles into a marathon, when I'm sure I look anything but!
Saw L and R right at the halfway point (thanks, guys!), and another spectator very kindly jumped in with me for a bit. I didn't know her, but she was trying to get to her brother's house and the road was closed, so she decided to run with me. It was really sweet. I'll take any support I can get!
After the halfway mark, we were running on the right side of Main St, while runners passed us heading the other direction. On the one hand, it was pretty cool to see the leaders pass me (mile 25 for them) at the 2:30 mark, but it's a little discouraging knowing I had a lot more to go before reaching that point. For that reason, I really don't like out and back courses, but I put it out of my head and focused on my own race. Three cheers and big thank yous to the kind spectators who encouraged me to keep at it.
I kept my pace steady to the turnaround at mile 17. From that point, I started counting down the miles until I would meet Leslie again. I hit mile 18 around 12:30 (4:30 into my race) and had the cruel realization that the road was reopening to cars and the race organizers were taking down the mile markers. I knew that some of the roads were reopening, but with a course limit of 6 hours, I figured the mile markers would stay up until 2pm. Fail, Hartford, fail. It was quite frustrating not to know where I was, but thank goodness Leslie jumped in with me at mile 20. I was still feeling really good despite being a bit peeved at the city of Hartford for the lack of mileage marking. By mile 22, I was really getting antsy to finish. Miles 23-25 were in residential areas; complicated to navigate without any course markings. Without my support team (Leslie), I would've gotten lost and probably given up. We finally made it to the bridge back into downtown Hartford. Runners who had already finished urged us on. We had to go down some stairs near the science center (really, Hartford? Stairs at mile 26 of the marathon?)
Finally, we made it to within just a few blocks of Bushnell Park. L ran with me right to the end. I was able to kick the last 3/4 mile and run hard into the finish line. What a great feeling! Along the course, everyone thought I couldn't possibly feel good because I was running a 6 hour pace and taking walk breaks, but I felt awesome. It's proof that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. We just have to run our own races. The field in this race was fast, so by the time I reached the finish, I had it mostly to myself. Still, I finished exactly when I thought I would, at 6:04, and I still felt good, worlds better than I did four years ago. Now that I know 1/1 works, I'm out to prove that NYC in 2006 wasn't a fluke!
Saturday morning, I got up at 5am to prepare. We got to the start around 7:15am. L left a little before 8, and I was still in complete denial about what was about to happen. I was surrounded by people running the half, and I couldn't help but think that that might've been a better idea. But I couldn't spend any more time thinking about that. Time to focus on the task at hand.
The first few miles, the half and full courses were the same. I was a bit concerned that I would miss the turn for the full and/or I wouldn't find anyone else running at my pace, but I just kept up the intervals and tried to take it easy. Once the courses split off, there were some people running at my pace, but not many, so I was alone for long periods of time. It was sort of nice, actually. The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the quiet allowed me to focus on the scenery and my beeping watch. I saw Leslie at mile 6, which was great. (It's pretty clear from the picture she took how far back I am from the pack, but who cares, right? If I wasn't so slow, it might look like I was winning!)
The first 13.1 went by pretty fast (considering it took me three hours). I don't know what I thought about. Just took in the beautiful views of the river and met some of the inspiring runners around me. There was a guy running with Achilles who was completing his 111th marathon and a woman who was a member of the 50 marathons in 50 states club. Another guy took a wrong turn and ran a couple miles on the half course only to turn around and come back. He was also a member of the 50 marathons in 50 states club and told me I should consider joining because "we need more beautiful women in the club." Um, thank you, but no thank you. I already think I'm a little crazy for attempting Hartford a month before NYC. But I do appreciate the fact that you think I'm beautiful several miles into a marathon, when I'm sure I look anything but!
Saw L and R right at the halfway point (thanks, guys!), and another spectator very kindly jumped in with me for a bit. I didn't know her, but she was trying to get to her brother's house and the road was closed, so she decided to run with me. It was really sweet. I'll take any support I can get!
After the halfway mark, we were running on the right side of Main St, while runners passed us heading the other direction. On the one hand, it was pretty cool to see the leaders pass me (mile 25 for them) at the 2:30 mark, but it's a little discouraging knowing I had a lot more to go before reaching that point. For that reason, I really don't like out and back courses, but I put it out of my head and focused on my own race. Three cheers and big thank yous to the kind spectators who encouraged me to keep at it.
I kept my pace steady to the turnaround at mile 17. From that point, I started counting down the miles until I would meet Leslie again. I hit mile 18 around 12:30 (4:30 into my race) and had the cruel realization that the road was reopening to cars and the race organizers were taking down the mile markers. I knew that some of the roads were reopening, but with a course limit of 6 hours, I figured the mile markers would stay up until 2pm. Fail, Hartford, fail. It was quite frustrating not to know where I was, but thank goodness Leslie jumped in with me at mile 20. I was still feeling really good despite being a bit peeved at the city of Hartford for the lack of mileage marking. By mile 22, I was really getting antsy to finish. Miles 23-25 were in residential areas; complicated to navigate without any course markings. Without my support team (Leslie), I would've gotten lost and probably given up. We finally made it to the bridge back into downtown Hartford. Runners who had already finished urged us on. We had to go down some stairs near the science center (really, Hartford? Stairs at mile 26 of the marathon?)
Finally, we made it to within just a few blocks of Bushnell Park. L ran with me right to the end. I was able to kick the last 3/4 mile and run hard into the finish line. What a great feeling! Along the course, everyone thought I couldn't possibly feel good because I was running a 6 hour pace and taking walk breaks, but I felt awesome. It's proof that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. We just have to run our own races. The field in this race was fast, so by the time I reached the finish, I had it mostly to myself. Still, I finished exactly when I thought I would, at 6:04, and I still felt good, worlds better than I did four years ago. Now that I know 1/1 works, I'm out to prove that NYC in 2006 wasn't a fluke!
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Here comes Hartford..
I was feeling quite ill at the beginning of the week, and work has been crazy, so my mind has been all over the place. Monday morning, I was seriously considering not running this Saturday. By lunch time, I convinced myself that I would try to run the half instead if I wasn't feeling 100%. But now it's Wednesday and I'm so stressed out with work that I think I might NEED to run a marathon on Saturday, just to leave all this frustration out on the course. I'm not feeling 100% yet, so I don't think I'll know until the expo Friday night if I'll run the half or the full, but now I feel like I just want to get out there and do it. The range of emotions one feels before an event like this is just amazing. Is this just pre-run jitters?