MY FIRST MARATHON!!!

Steph and I decided to head to Delaware on Friday afternoon so we could have a carby dinner in Rehoboth and get to bed at a decent time. I got to meet the lovely Theodora and Laura, both of whom I've heard about/read about in Steph and Fiona's blogs. Always happy to make new runner friends, and these two (who are now part of my 5 readers) are both hilarious!
My survival kit for the trip down (the trip-home kit included a lot more junk food!):

Rehoboth was looking very festive

Theodora introduced us to two more runner friends, Ericka and Lindsey and we all loaded up on pasta for dinner:

I think we all managed to sleep pretty well. I thought I might be too nervous, but I was a) not nervous and b) completely exhausted. When we woke up in the morning, I did not want to eat because I was still full but they made me (thank you, I knew I needed the fuel!).  Note: ww bread, banana slices, and Nutella is the breakfast of champions. 

I was so excited to wear my bright yellow shirt, pink compression calf sleeves, and sparkly headband! I loaded my SPIbelt and sports bra (BAD, BAD idea) with gels and we headed off to the start. 

Picture right after our last minute bathroom stop:

I lost my sparkly headband :(

I decided to start a bit apart from my running buddies because I wanted to run my own race, whether that meant faster or slower than them...first marathon and all, I didn't want to be influenced by anyone else. I didn't wear my Garmin, but did wear a watch with a timer and my goal was to keep every mile right around 9 minutes for the first half, then step it up a bit until 18 or 20, then a bit more, then give everything I had for 24-finish...but no idea if this is a feasible plan. Can one actually run hard after 24 miles? We'll see. Also, the goal I told people was "I just want to sub-4" but secretly I hoped I could beat that 22-mile run prediction of under 3:50. 

Internal monologue for the next ~4 hours:

*1: shit, I have to pee. No you don't, you JUST went. Shut up.

*2: ugh, can't wait til I'm at 6, I know I'll feel better then

*3: my hamstrings really hurt

*5-6: ok, finally settling in and feeling good about this. Maybe going too fast

*8-10: slow the f&*k down, you will not keep this pace the whole time! This is where the half-marathoners turn around, they are jerks.

*11-13: I can't slow down! You have to, just let people pass you (I let a couple wearing red pass me and then tried to keep them within 50 feet of me)

*14-15: omg, why is there this hill here? I love hills but this one sucks. And running down it hurts even more, shitshitshit my shins hurt! Dammit, the guy in red stopped to pee by the trail so now he's behind me. I wish I could pee on the trail.

*16-18: red guy caught up to red girl so I'm following them again. My hamstrings and one calf/achilles hurt. Stop whining, this is not supposed to be easy. Ok, now we're counting down miles. 8.2 to go

*18-22: to paraphrase the NY Times, how is my pacing? Will there be more hills? Am I going to hit that "wall" soon? WHY AM I DOING THIS???? (actually, I'm kind of loving it) And I left the red couple in the dust

*23: watch says 3:20. Holy hell, I can beat my secret goal if nothing falls apart. *mental prep for the hardest 1/2-hour I've ever experienced

*24: cruising through a picturesque, misty field, mostly alone, it feels nice. I'm glad there is a cooling mist...lots of people are walking here, I want to grab them and drag them with me. Dammit, where is the 25 marker?

*25: lots of walkers, and I'm passing plenty of runners at this point...they call out that I'm doing great, being really encouraging, it feels really nice (I do it back!). But seriously you guys, where is 26???

*26: there it is, and the finish line is just around the bend, and there are lots of cheering spectators and ohmygod this is happening

*26.2 in 3:48:09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One reason small races are amazing because you get to hear your name as you're approaching the finish line. I grabbed a bottle of water, my medal, a Mylar blanket, and walked around in circles for a bit. Then I stood at the finish line to cheer for people and look for my friends. One little girl, about 4 years old, jumped in and crossed the finish line with her dad...so cute! Another point for small races:

*Begin somewhat personal reflection: Watching all these people cross the finish line, some like it was nothing, some nearly collapsing, some cheering and shouting...at some point, it really sank in...last spring/summer, I hoped for under 4:15...sometime in late summer I started thinking I could do it in 4 hours but then I got hurt. Part of me feels like I don't know how I beat my secret goal, since I didn't follow any training schedule that well. But I also know that I give my body the breaks it needs, and when I am running, I push myself and make the miles count. This year had its ups (mostly ups!) but some pretty difficult downs too, and even though that's in the past, this accomplishment was something I really, really wanted. So yeah, I got emotional standing there, and there may have been a minute of some teary eyes (the good kind, I was really proud of myself) but then a guy Gangnam'ed across the finish line and I snapped back to the moment. end personal shit*

Ericka, Lindsey, Me, Steph, Theodora

I waited for the rest of my new friends (actually, Lindsey had finished in under 3:30, and Theodora had dropped to the half so they were already in the finish tent). I saw Steph, Laura, and Ericka cross the finish line (right around 4:13) and we all went into the tent. There was mac 'n cheese and pulled pork but I couldn't eat. I finished my water and took a Sprite for the sugar. I went into the physical therapy tent for some stretching, where they were worried because my lips were blue and I was visibly shaking. One of the therapists laid her fleece jacket over me and brought something to keep my head warm while I was getting worked on. I was pretty unhappy at this point, soooo unbelievably cold, nauseated, and kind of light headed. Full disclosure...I did throw up. Guess I know I gave it everything, huh?

After a shower and a nap while the other girls showered, we were on the road. First stop:

We got Arby's for real(ish?) food, and had a lot of snacks in our car. When we got back to Manhattan, I jumped in a cab and went directly to Brooklyn for the annual holiday dinner I have with my oldest NY friends. Luckily they're like family, so rolling in in flip flops, sweats, and a hoodie was acceptable. Oh, and I wore my medal all day :)

Turkey Trot and marathon prep

The cancellation of the NYC marathon was national news, so no point in writing about that little drama. I strongly disagreed that it should be held, and decided about 6 hours prior to the cancellation that I was going to defer to 2013, and spend that Sunday volunteering in some way instead. I followed NYC Marathon of Relief on Facebook, and ended up heading out to Staten Island on Sunday with hundreds of other runners. It was a really interesting day: I met some wonderful people, said hi to Amby Burfoot, felt really productive helping out, but at the same time it was pretty emotionally difficult to meet nice people and families who had lost so much. I've been there twice now, and would like to go more because help will be needed for awhile, but there are apparently some concerns about dust and air quality right now so I'm holding off. It was really beautiful to see so many runners come and help out.

Staten Island Ferry Terminal, pretty much all runners:

When NY was cancelled, a lot of people chose races the following weekend...Fiona went to Richmond, other friends went to Harrisburg, and I heard that Indianapolis opened more spots to NY runners. When I'd debated deferring NYCM, Steph had mentioned she wanted to run Rehoboth Beach on December 8th. I decided to join her there, since it would give me time to make up for my injured time off. 

I still didn't train all that well, mostly focused on my long runs and couple of short, fast runs (more on that in a moment). I sucked at doing tempos-when I did them, they were great, but I just rarely did. My peak long run, 22 miles, went incredibly well. I felt strong, not too exhausted in the last few, and I ran them at an average of 8:40. I entered that into some run calculator to see what my marathon time would be if I kept that up. 3:49:something. I hardly dared to hope, especially since I have no clue what those next 4.2 miles feel like! I did feel confident about my ability to sub-4 though. 

I decided to stay in NY for Thanksgiving this year, for various reasons...money, school work, just generally wanting to relax. Last year in Iceland was unreal but I hoped to get in some good quality time with friends and get a lot done. Thanksgiving morning, I ran the Prospect Park turkey trot with a friend. I thought it was a 5K but luckily realized the day before that it was 5 miles. No big deal, just glad I caught that before the middle of the race! I slept at Hanna's, and then we ran to the start to get some extra distance in. That was my first small race, where I started right at the start line-it was great, no one in my way! I chose to not wear my Garmin, and the mile markers were easy to miss, so I really didn't know how I was doing. I knew it was hard, but had no idea if that was because I was going fast, or because I was tired/out of shape (what??)/hungover...

Turns out it was hard because I was FAST (for me)!!! I finished in 38:03, 7:36 minute miles. I was really excited for that. Then I went home, made an amazing dinner and dessert from scratch, and dragged it to the UWS for a friend, and he and I just watched movies and ate a lot. All in all, an awesome Thanksgiving day. 

Apparently, I HAVE to look at the camera button when taking a picture with my phone:

Back at it

Two weeks out:

So I basically had to take almost two months off of running...building up to peak week and everything! I ran once or twice several weeks in, but was in awful pain again so I kept taking time off. All the while, I was going to physical therapy twice a week. It was really tough to listen to my friends talk about their training runs, I even hated hearing complaints about 18+ mile runs when I just desperately wanted to be able to run a few miles! I started to get very nervous that I wouldn't even be able to run this marathon, and it would have such a letdown after working so hard in 2011 to qualify, and keeping myself in good running shape during the early part of 2012 so that I would be ready to jump right into training.

PT was tough. Painful, frustrating, and resulted in tears a few times when he told me I may need to consider not running this marathon so I could have time to heal. I don't care that "there are other races" as some people have said to me. I qualified for this one and I was damned well going to do it. And therapy hurts like hell-I can't count how many times I instinctively almost punched or kicked my therapist when he found a trigger spot in my legs. The pain was in my ankle/shin/calf but was also affecting my feet a lot. Foot and leg rubs sound nice and all, but these were incredibly painful (especially the feet!) and often it was all I could do to not cry...and sometimes I failed at that! This gym/clinic is full of athletes, several from professional NY teams, and Phil (my therapist) reassured me that he'd made grown men cry, so I didn't feel so lame! Still, I think I've thrown around worse language in that clinic than most of those guys!

Things have come together over the last couple of weeks. After all that time off, my physical therapist let me start running a few miles at a time and as everything felt mostly good, he let me put on miles pretty quickly. Whenever I've had little twinges here or there, he works them out. I haven't done anything above 18 miles in over a month, my two longest runs have been 13 and 14 miles. But I've been working on running strong (fast, not too fast) while my legs hurt, and strength training. The consensus among Phil, several runner friends, and some runner-journalists is that 18 miles is enough of a long run pre-marathon, that I'm a strong runner, in great shape, and have the ability to pull this thing off while having missed literally half of the training schedule. So I'm a guinea pig for this method-we'll see what happens on 11/4!!!

18 miles x 2 and Injury :(

Well I haven't had the best month ever. The first weekend in August I was in Indiana for my sister's wedding. I managed to get 5 miles on some trails one morning, and then did an 18 mile run. Coordinating a long run in the country is pretty difficult. First, I couldn't just run from my mom's because I'd have to go a mile on a state highway with speeding trucks. So, instead I drove the mile and used the car as my home base. I left at 8:30 am because it was HOT there-also dry and very little shade in the cornfields!

The other complication was water. I'm so used to running in the city, where there are drinking fountains in the park and near the river, or I can run into a deli to grab a bottle. Also, it's relatively easy to use a bathroom once you know where they are (Hudson River Park, Staten Island Ferry building, coffee shops...). It was pointed out to me that I probably could have just hidden in some bushes on the side of the road since I was passed by maybe 10 cars in the nearly 3 hours that I ran, but I didn't even think of it!

So I decided to do the run in 6 mile segments, running out 3 and back, each time in a different direction. The first two went pretty well, though I was very relieved to get back to the car to have a gel pack, and drink some cold water or Gatorade. Let me tell you, it was hard to start that last leg. I really felt like I was dragging, it was so hot by that point and I started having mirages of shady spots up ahead! But I made it through and headed back to my mom's house to hang out with cousins who were in town. Unfortunately, I was so brain dead after the run that I could barely speak to them even though I hadn't seen them in years. Boo.

Then, two weekends ago I planned another long run + food with friends. Six of us met up and various points on the west side and downtown, and then we all headed up Summer Streets together. Basically, we ran up Lafayette and Park Avenue to 72nd St, and then to Central Park for various-length endings (mine was 4 more miles). THEN we finally headed to our reward: Levain Bakery. I had a chocolate chip cookie with PB chips which I could not finish-it was so dense and heavy! I also ordered a raisin sticky roll which I took home and ate later that day.   YUM!


Ok, but then the bad stuff...my shin started to really hurt the following day and it just got worse over the next few days. I couldn't walk for more than a few minutes without pain, much less run! I didn't run all week and went to my sports doctor the following Monday (yesterday!). She ordered x-rays and sent me to physical therapy. So I'm back there AGAIN 2-3 days a week for now. My therapist thinks it's a tendon around my ankle (shin actually feels much better, the pain and swelling are localized around my ankle now). I'm getting the x-rays tomorrow and once we see those he'll let me know what I need to do to take care of it and when I can try to run again. So. Crossing my fingers that marathon day will not be a grieving process for me!!! 

Very Long Runs

Ok, I've been slacking on posting here...I've started the "very long runs" which to me are anything above a half-marathon distance. Each long run progression is now longer than I've ever run before. And it's going well!
First of all, I'm done with my track practices-but that doesn't mean I won't keep doing speed work. I saved all of our workouts, and I'm going to do them on my own. I really loved being on the track at night so I think I'll try to do that each week or every other. I know these workouts aren't necessary for marathon training, but I plan on doing tempo runs too. I'm debating whether to do the 5th Ave Mile this year-I really want to because I feel like I might be able to do it in 6 minutes (6:33 last year, with no speed training) but the damn thing is $30. That annoys me, on principle.
Two weekends ago I did 15 miles in Mattituck (North Fork). It was mostly flat but there were a couple of streets with long inclines (not steep though). It was really nice to run out there, it's so pretty but I admit I did get bored by the 12th or 13th mile...I was pretty much like "ok, ready to be done running now." I wasn't hurting or very tired, just bored. I had a gel pack with me, but I did run out of water and had to run up to the main road which is pretty much a highway, and run for a couple of miles there until I got to a gas station. I was actually happy for the breeze I got from passing cars, even though I knew it was dirty air.
Last week I wasn't feeling too well-my only midweek run was on Tuesday night in Central Park. I did a loop of the park, plus an additional loop in Harlem (because I like to kick my ass on hills). I did push myself on the hills but I felt pretty terrible that day and probably walked at least a mile of the 7 total that I did.

My weekend workouts were great. 18 miles on Saturday and spin class plus strength on Sunday!
*side note: It seems early for 18 but my marathon training has me increasing this way: 15, 13, 15, 13, 18, 13, 18, 13, 20, 13 etc, up to two 22-mile runs, the last one a month before the marathon. It's different, but I like it.
I met Stephanie at Chelsea Piers and we ran down the river, past the Staten Island Ferry and South St Seaport, over the BK Bridge, back over Manhattan Bridge, up to the Williamsburg Bridge, through W'burg and Greenpoint, over Pulaski and through LIC to the Queensboro Bridge. When we got over that bridge, I had two miles left to run, so I just took a meandering route home. 18 miles including 5 bridges (two of which are pretty substantial) made for a very satisfying run.
It was incredibly muggy and uncomfortable when we got started. I'm not sure if we just got used to it or if it just cooled off/dried out over the course of our run, but I did feel a lot better toward the end. I also didn't feel well in general when we started, just really heavy. I took two gel packs and was very happy for both. We made lots of water stops and poured bottles of cold water over our heads and necks! All-in-all a good training day!
And then I took an ice bath:

Around and around the track...

Thursday track workout! I had some stuff to deal with on Wednesday night/Thursday morning so I did the workout at night. I kind of love being on the track at night, with a view of the East River bridges and boats going by. The track isn't very busy at that time but there are enough people there that it still feels safe. Still, it is dark and whenever someone comes through the creaky old turnstile, it makes this scary-movie, old door swinging open noise that you can hear across the track.

Workout: 12x400, with 200 meter recovery. Goal is 5K pace. For me, that means I shoot for between 1:45 and 1:50 per lap (1:45=7:00 mile). I tried to keep it in that range for most of the workout, and then pick it up during the final third, and going as hard as I could on the final lap.

1: 1:39
2: 1:45
3: 1:42
4: 1:46
5: 1:45
6: 1:44
7: 1:45
8: 1:49
9: 1:41
10: 1:36
11: 1:39
12: 1:26

Next up: 15 miles tomorrow, on the North Fork! 

Weird evening run and exciting race registration!

I just blew off studying and went for a 10 mile run this evening, once the temperature dropped below 90 degrees. I really needed to clear my head, but should probably get a grip on this whole "train for a marathon while working on my master's" thing.

Whatever. The NYC marathon is 3.5 months away and today I registered for something else I'm really excited about-Big Sur!!! Unfortunately, it's only 21 miles because the full distance sold out really quickly. I notice on Fiona's Twitter feed this morning that she had registered for the marathon, and got excited because I've been wanting to do it and just wanted someone else to train/travel/have fun in CA with. So by the time I realized, the marathon was sold out and it was hella-expensive to sign up as a charity runner. So I did the next best thing and registered for the 21 mile run. I'm so excited for a few days out there (more days, as I'm already planning to go to SF in October), and hope to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! My first (only) time skydiving was over Monterey Bay, landing on the beach so who knows? Maybe I'll go again to celebrate!