It’s been 9 days now since my last run. Monday, 10/13, my buddy Michelle and I decided to spend Columbus Day in Central Park doing our longest run before the marathon…a whopping 20 miles!
We set the entire day aside to run…well at least I did I think Michelle had grand plans of studying afterwards (she’s in graduate school earning a Ph.D. – bless her courageous heart!).
W arrived in CP around 10:30 and finished our run around 4:30…an entire 6 hours of running…but all those hills and the jogging stroller slowed us down and then there’s no water stands and stinky outhouses along the course so we had to take detours, so that’s more extra time. Then counting the walk from the train station to the park and from the park to the diner afterwards was about another 2 miles so in all we ran at least 22 miles and then some. So we’re in tip top shape for the marathon now.
I came home that night and E-man sneezed non-stop for one whole hour. I was so impressed with him he didn’t fuss one time while we were running except to eat and then he was fine again…he just hung out in the jogging stroller all day. Good thing I’m getting this in now…’cause I doubt he will be this patient for long. He’s becoming more and more energetic every day. He now stands up in his crib…and less than a week after he figured that out, he’s now trying to climb out. Poor baby just got stuck between the rods trying to climb out.
Oh and he does the cutest thing now. His daddy picked out this little entertainment center for him and it has a little walker thing attached to it that’s supposed to swivel around the entertainment center (I was ready to get him a jumper). But he loves it. I was worried because it’s not made of the highest quality. The two sides of the plastic stand had to be screwed together and the seam is too big so the walker part can’t move around the entertainment center w/out getting stuck on the seam. I was like no way he’s going to be able to move this, but his daddy had faith in him. “Look at the way he grabs onto you,” he’d say, “My son is strong!”
So the other day he’s in the little walker part, and he starts walking across the room, dragging the table behind him. Now my boy thinks outside the box, and yeah he’s strong!
But anyway he was sneezing and sneezing and has had the sniffles and a little cough all week so I’ve been keeping him inside and only taking him out for short walks to get some fresh air because he and I both go stir crazy if we’re cooped up in here for too long…speaking of stir crazy…he’s kind of loosing it right now so I’m off to put him to bed.
The big run is almost year. Yay! I can’t wait for it to be here and can’t wait for it to be over.
Oh you know what before I go, I’ve got to mention one more thing. I read this story today http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&tsp=1. It’s about Arien O'Connell, who ran the San Francisco Nike marathon this month and even though she had the fastest time, they didn’t acknowledge her as the winner because she wasn’t running with the elite runners…such a crock of dung. So let’s give a shout out to Arien. You are the true winner and you are our hero! Please fight those stuck up bureaucrats and get what’s yours for all our sakes.
Whoever they gave the stolen first prize too, come on you know better. Arien O’Connell, you and Al Gore should get together and fight this, not just for your sakes…but for everyone…for the right of every individual in this great democracy! Stand up and protect our rights!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Half of the Marathon Completed
I’m at that point in the marathon training where I’m just done…I just want it to be over…and my buddy Michelle who’s been training with me most of the time is also at that point, so we decided to do a half marathon with New York Road Runners to get some extra support.
We started out pretty slow, running together, doing a 13-14 minute mile, but I wanted to see how far I could push myself today…not such a good idea when you are only running on the weekends and you’re so close to the big event because let’s face it I am risking injury…but I was up for some fun.
At around mile five, I ran into this really cool couple from New Jersey who are also training for the NYC marathon. They were doing this run/walk thing and as I’ve said before, I always wanted to try it. I believed it would give me more energy in the long run…literally! ;-) I also believed I would be able to run faster because I’m not just running and running and running until I can’t run any more but rather I’m running with purpose for 3-10 minutes and then getting a walk break where I get to recover and start all over again with renewed energy.
This couple was doing a run for 3 minutes and then walking for 1 minute and it worked great! I ran with them for about 5 miles…so much fun! It makes it much more interesting when you get to take walk breaks…it breaks up the monotony of running long distance. So yes it is everything I expected and more and I’m sold. I’m doing this for the marathon. In fact I think I will do the exact same time I did with this couple…run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute.
You know another thing that I love so much about running marathons and half marathons, is you get to meet new people all the time. That’s what makes it so interesting. Just when you’re feeling down and like you’ve just had enough you run into some other runners and learn something new, exchange stories and have renewed energy.
And speaking of learning, I learned a lot from this couple. They told me they learned from their coach that there’s three kinds of running paces when it comes to running marathons: 1) commuter pace, 2) warm up pace, 3) all in pace…show what you’re made of ;-)
For the commuter pace, you are running a pace that you could maintain all day. For warm up pace, you pick it up a bit, but just a bit, your still not running as fast as you can. Then for the all you got pace, that’s exactly what you do, give it all you got…go as fast as you can…we’re not talking race speed though, because you want to keep it up for a few miles. Their goal was to run commuter pace the first sixteen miles, then warm up pace for about 4 miles and then run the last 10k giving it all they got.
I do something a little similar to that but not quite. I always knew your were supposed to start out slow. Like when I did the half, I started off with my buddy Michelle because I knew we would keep a slow pace (and we’re good company for each other!). Then I did the 2nd 5 miles with this couple running at a moderate pace, picking it up a little. Then I took off at about mile 10 with my buddy Roxanne who does about an 11 minute mile.
Roxanne was always faster than me, but after I had the baby and took a break from running and she continued to run she became MUCH faster than me. I always bust my butt running with her. I ran with Roxanne for about a mile, and quickly lost my breath and had to spend the next two miles recovering.
At the finish line, I did what I love to do best. When I see that finish line in the distance I start sprinting. I mean I pick up my feet and swing those hands and run that last dash like a Kenyan to the finish line. I always feel like superwoman in that last moment. I love it!
In all it took me 2 hours, 45 minute to run the half marathon. Not the fastest race I ever did. But much better than the half marathon I did in July which took me 3 hours and 7 minutes.
What’s more important is how I felt AFTERWARDS this time compared to in July. I felt great and was able to walk back, catch up to my buddy Michelle, run back with her to the finish line (about another mile) and then walk an additional mile back to the train station. Whereas after the half in July I sat there on a stump when I crossed the finish line and waited for Rock to come pick me up and I was in PAIN and EXHAUSTED!
Also it was really hot in July whereas it was pretty cool today. But it rained for both races. Ah and as for making comparisons, this entire race took place in Central Park (lots of hills) whereas the ½ in July took place the first half in Central Park and the 2nd half on the very flat but also desolate-except-for-lots-of-cars-and-exhaust-West-Side-Highway.
But most of all I know what really killed me last time versus this time (well besides the fact that I had done 0 training for the half whereas I did a bit of training for this one). I started out with my buddy Roxanne who is much faster than me and was feeling half dead after only a mile in July whereas this time I started out with my buddy Michelle who is a bit slower than me and that was the way to go!
Note to self. Run long runs with someone a bit slower. Run short, speed runs with someone a bit faster. But at the end of the day, it’s all up to me. Me, myself and I will be running the NYC marathon come November 2. Any support or company I have will be nice, but they will not be able to run for me. My two feet will stomp out every step of those 26.2 miles throughout NYC. I’m looking forward to it.
And then comes ELECTION DAY! If you haven’t registered to vote yet, stop reading this blog and go register! Time for Change! God bless!
Oh one more thing (for those of you who have already registered to vote). Yeah, my hubby stayed home with E-man today so I wasn’t pushing the jogging stroller. It felt so nice to not have anything to push…now I see how all that training with the jogging stroller has come in handy and made me into super-woman.
And E-man and his daddy had fun hanging out together, eating real food and doing guy stuff. Oh and you know what else, I smelled that food in his diaper the next day…that’s for sure…that was one stinky diaper. But all worth it. And E-man loved the carrots…at least the part of it that went in his mouth and not all over his face, on his shirt and on his sheets…lol!
We started out pretty slow, running together, doing a 13-14 minute mile, but I wanted to see how far I could push myself today…not such a good idea when you are only running on the weekends and you’re so close to the big event because let’s face it I am risking injury…but I was up for some fun.
At around mile five, I ran into this really cool couple from New Jersey who are also training for the NYC marathon. They were doing this run/walk thing and as I’ve said before, I always wanted to try it. I believed it would give me more energy in the long run…literally! ;-) I also believed I would be able to run faster because I’m not just running and running and running until I can’t run any more but rather I’m running with purpose for 3-10 minutes and then getting a walk break where I get to recover and start all over again with renewed energy.
This couple was doing a run for 3 minutes and then walking for 1 minute and it worked great! I ran with them for about 5 miles…so much fun! It makes it much more interesting when you get to take walk breaks…it breaks up the monotony of running long distance. So yes it is everything I expected and more and I’m sold. I’m doing this for the marathon. In fact I think I will do the exact same time I did with this couple…run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute.
You know another thing that I love so much about running marathons and half marathons, is you get to meet new people all the time. That’s what makes it so interesting. Just when you’re feeling down and like you’ve just had enough you run into some other runners and learn something new, exchange stories and have renewed energy.
And speaking of learning, I learned a lot from this couple. They told me they learned from their coach that there’s three kinds of running paces when it comes to running marathons: 1) commuter pace, 2) warm up pace, 3) all in pace…show what you’re made of ;-)
For the commuter pace, you are running a pace that you could maintain all day. For warm up pace, you pick it up a bit, but just a bit, your still not running as fast as you can. Then for the all you got pace, that’s exactly what you do, give it all you got…go as fast as you can…we’re not talking race speed though, because you want to keep it up for a few miles. Their goal was to run commuter pace the first sixteen miles, then warm up pace for about 4 miles and then run the last 10k giving it all they got.
I do something a little similar to that but not quite. I always knew your were supposed to start out slow. Like when I did the half, I started off with my buddy Michelle because I knew we would keep a slow pace (and we’re good company for each other!). Then I did the 2nd 5 miles with this couple running at a moderate pace, picking it up a little. Then I took off at about mile 10 with my buddy Roxanne who does about an 11 minute mile.
Roxanne was always faster than me, but after I had the baby and took a break from running and she continued to run she became MUCH faster than me. I always bust my butt running with her. I ran with Roxanne for about a mile, and quickly lost my breath and had to spend the next two miles recovering.
At the finish line, I did what I love to do best. When I see that finish line in the distance I start sprinting. I mean I pick up my feet and swing those hands and run that last dash like a Kenyan to the finish line. I always feel like superwoman in that last moment. I love it!
In all it took me 2 hours, 45 minute to run the half marathon. Not the fastest race I ever did. But much better than the half marathon I did in July which took me 3 hours and 7 minutes.
What’s more important is how I felt AFTERWARDS this time compared to in July. I felt great and was able to walk back, catch up to my buddy Michelle, run back with her to the finish line (about another mile) and then walk an additional mile back to the train station. Whereas after the half in July I sat there on a stump when I crossed the finish line and waited for Rock to come pick me up and I was in PAIN and EXHAUSTED!
Also it was really hot in July whereas it was pretty cool today. But it rained for both races. Ah and as for making comparisons, this entire race took place in Central Park (lots of hills) whereas the ½ in July took place the first half in Central Park and the 2nd half on the very flat but also desolate-except-for-lots-of-cars-and-exhaust-West-Side-Highway.
But most of all I know what really killed me last time versus this time (well besides the fact that I had done 0 training for the half whereas I did a bit of training for this one). I started out with my buddy Roxanne who is much faster than me and was feeling half dead after only a mile in July whereas this time I started out with my buddy Michelle who is a bit slower than me and that was the way to go!
Note to self. Run long runs with someone a bit slower. Run short, speed runs with someone a bit faster. But at the end of the day, it’s all up to me. Me, myself and I will be running the NYC marathon come November 2. Any support or company I have will be nice, but they will not be able to run for me. My two feet will stomp out every step of those 26.2 miles throughout NYC. I’m looking forward to it.
And then comes ELECTION DAY! If you haven’t registered to vote yet, stop reading this blog and go register! Time for Change! God bless!
Oh one more thing (for those of you who have already registered to vote). Yeah, my hubby stayed home with E-man today so I wasn’t pushing the jogging stroller. It felt so nice to not have anything to push…now I see how all that training with the jogging stroller has come in handy and made me into super-woman.
And E-man and his daddy had fun hanging out together, eating real food and doing guy stuff. Oh and you know what else, I smelled that food in his diaper the next day…that’s for sure…that was one stinky diaper. But all worth it. And E-man loved the carrots…at least the part of it that went in his mouth and not all over his face, on his shirt and on his sheets…lol!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nap Time
Well it’s been tough going for the last couple weeks because my running buddy Michelle has been MIA. But I’m strong! That’s what I keep telling myself and it’s what got me through 17 miles this Monday.
Actually I had a lot of fun running on Monday, 9/29. Now Let me say first, I do not at all recommend being a weekend runner. In fact I speak very strongly against this. However it’s a lot of what I’ve been doing. Last weekend I ran 13 miles on Saturday and 5 miles on Sunday and then nothing all week. In my defense it was freaking pouring all week and while I have no problem running in the rain, I do have a problem bringing my baby who already has the sniffles out there in the rain.
It rained all weekend to, so come Monday it was the first nice day and whether I felt like it or not (I did NOT) I had to get out there and do my long run. So I made it to the park by noon and did a loop, slow but steady. Then…ah this is the worst part of pushing a jogging stroller and not having a running buddy. When it comes to bathroom breaks, I have to find a bathroom in the park that is wheelchair/stroller accessible. And there is only one that I know of. So I had to run/walk/struggle/backtrack 2 miles getting ready to pee my pants to the one bathroom. Then E’man had fallen asleep but the noise of the loud toilets flushing woke him up (poor baby!). So after that I decided to take him on a fun little detour.
We stopped at the central park carousel. It was only $2 and it was so much fun. He just loved it. He just kept looking all around an you know the really cute thing. Before that he never even noticed the horses going by. But after that every time a horse rode by he pointed at it and laughed. It was just adorable. I only wish I had taken some pictures. But some moments, you just can’t stop to take a picture…you just go with it and I will always have that adorable, sweet picture in my mind.
So then on and on I continued running around and around the park. I set out to do 18, but what stopped me at 17 was it was getting dark and E-man was starting to loose it. I mean come on he hung out in the jogging stroller all day while I ran 17 miles like such a sweet, patient little guy…I think he earned the right to start fussing after 17 miles.
You know he’s been kind of fussy lately but today he went to sleep around 10:30 and he’s still sleeping and it’s almost 2pm. I can’t believe it. I was headed out the door to stop in at the office and then go for a 6 mile run in the park, but he’s fast asleep. I can’t believe it. He must have been tired. And if my baby wants sleep, he gets sleep, because believe me, he earned it. He’s the first child of a mama that’s struggling to get about three different businesses off the ground, running marathons and doing so much. He’s really such a sweet, patient boy. I am so lucky!
Actually I had a lot of fun running on Monday, 9/29. Now Let me say first, I do not at all recommend being a weekend runner. In fact I speak very strongly against this. However it’s a lot of what I’ve been doing. Last weekend I ran 13 miles on Saturday and 5 miles on Sunday and then nothing all week. In my defense it was freaking pouring all week and while I have no problem running in the rain, I do have a problem bringing my baby who already has the sniffles out there in the rain.
It rained all weekend to, so come Monday it was the first nice day and whether I felt like it or not (I did NOT) I had to get out there and do my long run. So I made it to the park by noon and did a loop, slow but steady. Then…ah this is the worst part of pushing a jogging stroller and not having a running buddy. When it comes to bathroom breaks, I have to find a bathroom in the park that is wheelchair/stroller accessible. And there is only one that I know of. So I had to run/walk/struggle/backtrack 2 miles getting ready to pee my pants to the one bathroom. Then E’man had fallen asleep but the noise of the loud toilets flushing woke him up (poor baby!). So after that I decided to take him on a fun little detour.
We stopped at the central park carousel. It was only $2 and it was so much fun. He just loved it. He just kept looking all around an you know the really cute thing. Before that he never even noticed the horses going by. But after that every time a horse rode by he pointed at it and laughed. It was just adorable. I only wish I had taken some pictures. But some moments, you just can’t stop to take a picture…you just go with it and I will always have that adorable, sweet picture in my mind.
So then on and on I continued running around and around the park. I set out to do 18, but what stopped me at 17 was it was getting dark and E-man was starting to loose it. I mean come on he hung out in the jogging stroller all day while I ran 17 miles like such a sweet, patient little guy…I think he earned the right to start fussing after 17 miles.
You know he’s been kind of fussy lately but today he went to sleep around 10:30 and he’s still sleeping and it’s almost 2pm. I can’t believe it. I was headed out the door to stop in at the office and then go for a 6 mile run in the park, but he’s fast asleep. I can’t believe it. He must have been tired. And if my baby wants sleep, he gets sleep, because believe me, he earned it. He’s the first child of a mama that’s struggling to get about three different businesses off the ground, running marathons and doing so much. He’s really such a sweet, patient boy. I am so lucky!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Why Not to Eat a Fish Sandwich Before a Run
Today I was starving before my run because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I'd been running around all day filing my tax return because this is the last day to file with an extension and doing all sorts of other things and before I knew it was time to run and yeah, I was starving.
So we’re driving down Manhattan because my BD agreed to drop us off at the park to run and I’m getting hungrier and hungrier and sick to my stomach because I always get car sick especially when I’m hungry and finally we decide to stop at One Fish Two Fish and order fried catfish sandwiches. By this time I felt like I was digesting my stomach. I ate a bag of Doritos while I waited for the sandwich then I ordered a side of coleslaw with my fish sandwich and a side of fries with my BD's fish sandwich and I ate both sides as well as the fish sandwich. Feeling good and full now.
I started out running in Central Park and it was surprisingly hot for the middle of September. 10 degrees above the normal…as the weather man on NY 1 put it. High 80’s, humid and no breeze, took so long getting to the park in traffic and then of course slowed down even more eating the fish sandwich so my running buddy Michelle not only started but just about finished without me. So I’m jogging along after running all my errands and eating my fish sandwich and I’m pushing the jogging stroller and it’s hot and humid and my usual company isn’t there to help motivate me.
That fish sandwich sat right there on my stomach, bearing down with each step…not fun at all.
I intended to run a 6 mile loop of the park but then I ran into Michelle running back so I ran back with her. That equaled about a mile. Then I ran back to the train station and ran up every hill twice. That added another two miles to my run, generously estimating. But I’ll never eat a fish sandwich right before I run again. It’s bad enough running on a weekday in the evening after a crazy day. Don’t need a fried fish sandwich to weigh me down even more. But I’ll say that was one good fish sandwich! ;-)
I'll tell you another thing...pushing a jogging stroller you get a lot of support. Even the fast runners who pass me up are like, "it's hard enough for me to haul myself without hauling a jogging stroller on top of it" and I'm like yeah! But every run I find someone to out-do me. Like today there was a stout guy running with a jogging stroller stuffed with two kids each looked like they weighed half as much as him.
But you know what, for the first time in my life, I'm finally toning my arms. I never could get the arms toned, because I'm scared of the water so I don't swim, I don't care for pushing weights - I find it very boring...I know a runner should do some weight training...and any kind of sport that requires the arms also requires hand-eye coordination, something that I sadly lack. But I've finally found the thing. Running and pushing a jogging stroller up hill. Yay! It's tonight my whole body, not just my legs for once! ;-)
So we’re driving down Manhattan because my BD agreed to drop us off at the park to run and I’m getting hungrier and hungrier and sick to my stomach because I always get car sick especially when I’m hungry and finally we decide to stop at One Fish Two Fish and order fried catfish sandwiches. By this time I felt like I was digesting my stomach. I ate a bag of Doritos while I waited for the sandwich then I ordered a side of coleslaw with my fish sandwich and a side of fries with my BD's fish sandwich and I ate both sides as well as the fish sandwich. Feeling good and full now.
I started out running in Central Park and it was surprisingly hot for the middle of September. 10 degrees above the normal…as the weather man on NY 1 put it. High 80’s, humid and no breeze, took so long getting to the park in traffic and then of course slowed down even more eating the fish sandwich so my running buddy Michelle not only started but just about finished without me. So I’m jogging along after running all my errands and eating my fish sandwich and I’m pushing the jogging stroller and it’s hot and humid and my usual company isn’t there to help motivate me.
That fish sandwich sat right there on my stomach, bearing down with each step…not fun at all.
I intended to run a 6 mile loop of the park but then I ran into Michelle running back so I ran back with her. That equaled about a mile. Then I ran back to the train station and ran up every hill twice. That added another two miles to my run, generously estimating. But I’ll never eat a fish sandwich right before I run again. It’s bad enough running on a weekday in the evening after a crazy day. Don’t need a fried fish sandwich to weigh me down even more. But I’ll say that was one good fish sandwich! ;-)
I'll tell you another thing...pushing a jogging stroller you get a lot of support. Even the fast runners who pass me up are like, "it's hard enough for me to haul myself without hauling a jogging stroller on top of it" and I'm like yeah! But every run I find someone to out-do me. Like today there was a stout guy running with a jogging stroller stuffed with two kids each looked like they weighed half as much as him.
But you know what, for the first time in my life, I'm finally toning my arms. I never could get the arms toned, because I'm scared of the water so I don't swim, I don't care for pushing weights - I find it very boring...I know a runner should do some weight training...and any kind of sport that requires the arms also requires hand-eye coordination, something that I sadly lack. But I've finally found the thing. Running and pushing a jogging stroller up hill. Yay! It's tonight my whole body, not just my legs for once! ;-)
Recipe for The Perfect Long Run
Wow…yesterday was just a fantastic run! I planned to just run a 10 miles ez since I hadn’t run all week and then leave my friend Michelle to do the other 4 by herself. But after running into our old MIA Elys, and being told that the “TNT beginning runners were doing 18” we decided to push it a little and do 15. And I was so surprised at myself. I didn’t have any aches and pains, was a little tired that last 5 mile loop but finished strong.
And E-man was back to his old charming self. I’m telling you he was looking so handsome yesterday in his new outfit. Brown denim shorts and a striped orange, brown and cream shirt…these are like his perfect colors I mean he just looked adorable. He was a charming little guy, cried when he wanted to nurse, laughed when he was full and kept on strolling, even fell asleep twice!
So I’ve been thinking what made it work so well today and I decided to make a note of all the things I believe contributed to this wonderful run, both on the day of the run and the day before. Ok so here goes, 1) two servings of lentil soup and a side of meatballs for dinner the night before, 2) stayed dehydrated the day before, drank a high electrolyte drink throughout the day, 3) afternoon sex the day before, 4) took it pretty easy the day before and had a good night sleep, 5) didn’t get up early in the morning, in fact slept in and didn’t even get out to the park ‘till after 11am, 6) ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast with another glass of high-electrolyte drink, 7) ate one of my special bars about 20 min before we started running (for more info, go to http://anna.iLoveSuccess.net), 8) snacked on lemon-lime gu (no caffeine!!! – that was very important for me and E-man) about every 30-45 minutes, 9) stayed hydrated!, 10) had another of my special bars 3 hours into the run, 10) ran/walked.
OK this is how I did the run/walk. I walked up all the hills. I ran the rest of the way. Saved me a lot of energy and was able to spurt the last two miles when E-man started showing signs of fussiness.
So that’s my 10 ingredients to a perfect run. Oh I forgot one thing. The weather. It was supposed to rain but it never did. Instead it was overcast and very humid all day but it wasn’t too hot and it was even a little breezy.
I don’t have any crazy train stories today. Would you believe the F train actually worked going there and back. I couldn’t believe it! It was running local. But it was running. And coming back when I was exhausted, these two young guys both got up and offered me their seat. I can’t complain…it was like I was in an alternate universe today where young New Yorkers are kind and thoughtful.
Oh and after the run, the eggs and pancakes just couldn’t get the job done. Had to go with something more substantial. Went to the same diner and had a big juicy burger called the Hunter (because the diner is by Hunter college, although it took me a minute to realize…I thought it was named the hunter like this is what hunters eat after they’ve been out kicking ass hunting all day). Anyway it has peppers, mushrooms, sautéed onions, mozzarella cheese and fries on the side. And they were some good fries too. And of course the tomato juice. I got home around 6, went to bed by 7 and slept until 9:00 the next morning.
This is my schedule for the rest of the season…I changed it up a little after running into our professional running buddy Elys: Mon and Wed: hill training and speed running mixed with a short EZ run, Thu run 4-5 miles EZ, Sun, Tue, Sat off. Maybe do some stretching or something like that. Sat, 9/20: 13 miles. Sat, 9/27: 18 miles. Sat, 10/4: 13 miles. Mon, 10/13 (Columbus Day?): 20 miles. Sun, 10/19: 12 miles. Sat or Sun, 10/25 or 10/26: 5 miles EZ. Sun, 11/2: ING NYC Marathon! ;-)
And E-man was back to his old charming self. I’m telling you he was looking so handsome yesterday in his new outfit. Brown denim shorts and a striped orange, brown and cream shirt…these are like his perfect colors I mean he just looked adorable. He was a charming little guy, cried when he wanted to nurse, laughed when he was full and kept on strolling, even fell asleep twice!
So I’ve been thinking what made it work so well today and I decided to make a note of all the things I believe contributed to this wonderful run, both on the day of the run and the day before. Ok so here goes, 1) two servings of lentil soup and a side of meatballs for dinner the night before, 2) stayed dehydrated the day before, drank a high electrolyte drink throughout the day, 3) afternoon sex the day before, 4) took it pretty easy the day before and had a good night sleep, 5) didn’t get up early in the morning, in fact slept in and didn’t even get out to the park ‘till after 11am, 6) ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast with another glass of high-electrolyte drink, 7) ate one of my special bars about 20 min before we started running (for more info, go to http://anna.iLoveSuccess.net), 8) snacked on lemon-lime gu (no caffeine!!! – that was very important for me and E-man) about every 30-45 minutes, 9) stayed hydrated!, 10) had another of my special bars 3 hours into the run, 10) ran/walked.
OK this is how I did the run/walk. I walked up all the hills. I ran the rest of the way. Saved me a lot of energy and was able to spurt the last two miles when E-man started showing signs of fussiness.
So that’s my 10 ingredients to a perfect run. Oh I forgot one thing. The weather. It was supposed to rain but it never did. Instead it was overcast and very humid all day but it wasn’t too hot and it was even a little breezy.
I don’t have any crazy train stories today. Would you believe the F train actually worked going there and back. I couldn’t believe it! It was running local. But it was running. And coming back when I was exhausted, these two young guys both got up and offered me their seat. I can’t complain…it was like I was in an alternate universe today where young New Yorkers are kind and thoughtful.
Oh and after the run, the eggs and pancakes just couldn’t get the job done. Had to go with something more substantial. Went to the same diner and had a big juicy burger called the Hunter (because the diner is by Hunter college, although it took me a minute to realize…I thought it was named the hunter like this is what hunters eat after they’ve been out kicking ass hunting all day). Anyway it has peppers, mushrooms, sautéed onions, mozzarella cheese and fries on the side. And they were some good fries too. And of course the tomato juice. I got home around 6, went to bed by 7 and slept until 9:00 the next morning.
This is my schedule for the rest of the season…I changed it up a little after running into our professional running buddy Elys: Mon and Wed: hill training and speed running mixed with a short EZ run, Thu run 4-5 miles EZ, Sun, Tue, Sat off. Maybe do some stretching or something like that. Sat, 9/20: 13 miles. Sat, 9/27: 18 miles. Sat, 10/4: 13 miles. Mon, 10/13 (Columbus Day?): 20 miles. Sun, 10/19: 12 miles. Sat or Sun, 10/25 or 10/26: 5 miles EZ. Sun, 11/2: ING NYC Marathon! ;-)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Not Sure About this Marathon Thing
Today had me rethinking this whole marathon thing. Michelle and I planned to meet in the park a little later since it’s getting nice and cool and don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to beat the heat. We planned to meet at 8:30 but I didn’t make it out there ‘till 9:30. When we started training I was always the one sitting in the park waiting, but the last two times she’s been sitting there all perky and ready to conquer the world, just waiting for me.
We got off to a nice start. Did a five mile loop, skipping the big ugly monstrous hill up at the top of the park, but running all the smaller ones nice and solid. We were both feeling good. Then turned out Michelle had to leave early right after we had started the four mile loop and I was all ready to go too. But after she left I was like why I don’t have to go…so I’m feeling like Super Woman and all and I’m like I’m gona run these fourteen miles. The next seven miles went great…I did a loop then started another loop…matter of fact I decided since I was by myself I was finally going to try that run/walk thing. I had a nice little thing going. I walked up the hills and ran the rest of the way. Actually it seemed to be saving me a lot of energy. I was like, “I’m gona finish this strong!”
Well right around mile 12, E-man just lost it. Usually he starts crying, I feed him, he’s happy and I put him back in the stroller and keep running. But not this time, I fed him and put him back in that stroller and he looked at me like, “You’ve gota be kidding! Not the stroller again!” and just started whaling. I mean he was crying with tears and everything…I just felt horrible. But I had nowhere to go but on because at this point I was stuck at the top of the loop far from any train or anything…at least from any train that was going to Queens. I was ready to sit down and start crying myself. I would have called my BD to come get us right then and there but he was in Europe at the moment working so I picked up my baby and I carried him the last two miles. Those were the two most back-breaking miles. He was trying to be okay but he really just wanted out of the park, out of the heat and in his crib or to go crawling or whatever. He was better when I carried him but still a little fussy.
By then, my back was killing me, I was starving, I was exhausted, I’m holding my at-least-18-lb-baby and pushing the jogging stroller with the other hand. That was some workout. I barely dragged us to the diner next to the train station and sat down with a big sigh of relief and ordered a plate of eggs and bacon with French fries and toast, a grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle and coleslaw, a glass of tomato juice and a chocolate milkshake. The waiter looked at me and said, “So you want the tomato juice AND the milkshake!?”
I ran/walked a total of 14 miles, but with all the hills and with carrying E-man the last two miles and all, it was more like doing 18-20…that was some workout. But it got me to thinking, I’m all about pushing myself to the limit and all, but I can’t push my baby. And the problem is my BD would be happy to watch him, but I’m still breastfeeding. So I don’t know if this marathon thing is gona happen or not at this point, I really don’t. I just can’t put my baby through that, it’s so not fare to him. I just don’t know. It’s been one crazy week. I haven’t ran all week and it’s Thursday now. My BD has agreed to take us back to the track tomorrow. And then it’s supposed to rain all weekend except for Saturday afternoon so we’ll see about getting a long run in then. I guess I’ll just run ‘till E-man starts fussing or ‘till I can’t run anymore. And do a small loop that’s close to the train so I’m not stuck out in the boondocks when one of us looses it next time. We’ll see. I could sure use some motivation at this point. I just don’t know. I’ll keep you posted.
We got off to a nice start. Did a five mile loop, skipping the big ugly monstrous hill up at the top of the park, but running all the smaller ones nice and solid. We were both feeling good. Then turned out Michelle had to leave early right after we had started the four mile loop and I was all ready to go too. But after she left I was like why I don’t have to go…so I’m feeling like Super Woman and all and I’m like I’m gona run these fourteen miles. The next seven miles went great…I did a loop then started another loop…matter of fact I decided since I was by myself I was finally going to try that run/walk thing. I had a nice little thing going. I walked up the hills and ran the rest of the way. Actually it seemed to be saving me a lot of energy. I was like, “I’m gona finish this strong!”
Well right around mile 12, E-man just lost it. Usually he starts crying, I feed him, he’s happy and I put him back in the stroller and keep running. But not this time, I fed him and put him back in that stroller and he looked at me like, “You’ve gota be kidding! Not the stroller again!” and just started whaling. I mean he was crying with tears and everything…I just felt horrible. But I had nowhere to go but on because at this point I was stuck at the top of the loop far from any train or anything…at least from any train that was going to Queens. I was ready to sit down and start crying myself. I would have called my BD to come get us right then and there but he was in Europe at the moment working so I picked up my baby and I carried him the last two miles. Those were the two most back-breaking miles. He was trying to be okay but he really just wanted out of the park, out of the heat and in his crib or to go crawling or whatever. He was better when I carried him but still a little fussy.
By then, my back was killing me, I was starving, I was exhausted, I’m holding my at-least-18-lb-baby and pushing the jogging stroller with the other hand. That was some workout. I barely dragged us to the diner next to the train station and sat down with a big sigh of relief and ordered a plate of eggs and bacon with French fries and toast, a grilled cheese sandwich with a pickle and coleslaw, a glass of tomato juice and a chocolate milkshake. The waiter looked at me and said, “So you want the tomato juice AND the milkshake!?”
I ran/walked a total of 14 miles, but with all the hills and with carrying E-man the last two miles and all, it was more like doing 18-20…that was some workout. But it got me to thinking, I’m all about pushing myself to the limit and all, but I can’t push my baby. And the problem is my BD would be happy to watch him, but I’m still breastfeeding. So I don’t know if this marathon thing is gona happen or not at this point, I really don’t. I just can’t put my baby through that, it’s so not fare to him. I just don’t know. It’s been one crazy week. I haven’t ran all week and it’s Thursday now. My BD has agreed to take us back to the track tomorrow. And then it’s supposed to rain all weekend except for Saturday afternoon so we’ll see about getting a long run in then. I guess I’ll just run ‘till E-man starts fussing or ‘till I can’t run anymore. And do a small loop that’s close to the train so I’m not stuck out in the boondocks when one of us looses it next time. We’ll see. I could sure use some motivation at this point. I just don’t know. I’ll keep you posted.
Track Training
This week I did some track workouts. After not running on the weekend…a mixture of excuses…E-man was sleeping through the night but I guess at six months he’s going through a growth spurt and all of the sudden he wants to get up every two-four hours and eat again.
So after a sleepless night, Michelle calls me up and says, “Hey you know it’s raining outside.” And I’m like oh cool no run today, can’t take my baby out in that. But by the time I did get up the rain had cleared up and I started feeling guilty.
So Sunday I got my BD to take me to the track and he watched E-man while I ran around the track, 2-3 times moderately fast, 1 time walking recovery…repeated 3 or 4 times. Ended up running somewhere between 3 and 4 miles.
Went so great my BD decided to join me on the track the next day. There were a surprising amount of people on the track for a Monday…I guess because it was Labor Day and all. I pushed the jogging stroller for the first half of the run then he took E-man for the remainder. It’s nice to have a break from pushing the jogging stroller sometimes but I almost feel naked or something…like an extension of me is missing.
My BD had watched this guy the day before so we decided to copy him. We ran the long half of the track as fast as we possibly could like we were running for dear life, then walked the loop at the end, then raced the other long half, and then walked the end again, repeating ‘till we were exhausted. Did the same distance as yesterday – about 2-3 miles.
Tuesday took off. Wednesday met Michelle in Central Park. We decided we are really going to make September count since it is our last month to really get the hard core training in. At least the second half of October we should be taking it easy before the marathon.
We had a good run in Central Park on Wednesday. We ran up and down a hill that’s about a quarter of a mile long two times. Then we ran a four mile loop. Then we ran up and down the hill another two times. It was pretty cool. Looking forward to a good fourteen mile run on Saturday.
So after a sleepless night, Michelle calls me up and says, “Hey you know it’s raining outside.” And I’m like oh cool no run today, can’t take my baby out in that. But by the time I did get up the rain had cleared up and I started feeling guilty.
So Sunday I got my BD to take me to the track and he watched E-man while I ran around the track, 2-3 times moderately fast, 1 time walking recovery…repeated 3 or 4 times. Ended up running somewhere between 3 and 4 miles.
Went so great my BD decided to join me on the track the next day. There were a surprising amount of people on the track for a Monday…I guess because it was Labor Day and all. I pushed the jogging stroller for the first half of the run then he took E-man for the remainder. It’s nice to have a break from pushing the jogging stroller sometimes but I almost feel naked or something…like an extension of me is missing.
My BD had watched this guy the day before so we decided to copy him. We ran the long half of the track as fast as we possibly could like we were running for dear life, then walked the loop at the end, then raced the other long half, and then walked the end again, repeating ‘till we were exhausted. Did the same distance as yesterday – about 2-3 miles.
Tuesday took off. Wednesday met Michelle in Central Park. We decided we are really going to make September count since it is our last month to really get the hard core training in. At least the second half of October we should be taking it easy before the marathon.
We had a good run in Central Park on Wednesday. We ran up and down a hill that’s about a quarter of a mile long two times. Then we ran a four mile loop. Then we ran up and down the hill another two times. It was pretty cool. Looking forward to a good fourteen mile run on Saturday.
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