Surprise! I ran a race and I went to PT!

Lots of running & personal things have happened over the last couple of weeks. Such as a PDR (that's a "personal distance record" for those of you not in the know) of 14 miles, in the rain no less, a move up to Harlem, and some changes at work. So if I haven't seen you, answered your e-mails/texts, forgot to send you a wedding present, my deepest apologies. I'm getting around to it. Seriously, I just sent out a gift for a wedding that occurred in June. It's been a busy summer okay?! Sorry. Moving on...

Here's a quick update on some things that have happened.

I ran 14 miles! In the rain! And it was glorious!

You can't tell, but I was soaking wet. I loved it, because I love chafing in random (horrible) places.

Anand trying to be cool after 14 miles... and not succeeding.

And remember that hip pain I was having? Apparently it's a hip strain and tendonitis! Also glorious! Okay, no it's not. But I started physical therapy today, not because it's effecting my running, but because I have PTSD from previous injuries and wanted to be proactive. My PT seems to have a plan all set for me, so we'll see how that goes. If my hip pain doesn't improve with therapy, she wants to send me for an MRI or x-ray to rule out a stress fracture in my hip. If that occurs, you may have to talk me off the ledge.

On the form I had to fill out there was a question that asked, "What is you goal at the end of therapy?" And I wrote, "To get to the start line of the NYC Marathon healthy." I'm sure my PT thought that was so sweet, and didn't roll her eyes at all when she read it. But then she asked me to come to PT 3x/week, and then it was my turn to roll my eyes. My paycheck cannot support that. 

This is where I will spend my life savings for the next few weeks. 

And last but not least... I ran a race tonight! It was glorious (sort of)! I'll show some pictures for now and then post a race recap at some point.

JPP!!!! Missed the cutoff time to get an autograph from him. I may or may not have cried.

Autographed footballs. That's Eli Manning, Ronnie Lott, Tony Gonzalez, and Jim Brown. I did not win these. 

Boomer! Just throwing footballs around with the commoners.

No introduction needed. NYG Superbowl Champs!!!

I was so excited.

Anand had a PR, and thought he was Usain Bolt.

I injured myself. So Tebowing is sort of appropriate.

I'll do a recap of the race sometime soon. And once things get settled, I'll talk more about training, respond to e-mails, and send you a wedding present. 

Week 5: ING NYC Marathon Training

As much as I love to talk about myself & running until your eyes/ears bleed, you'll see some radio silence on here as Anand & I prepare to move. I know, I'm sad about this too. I love talking about myself. Anyway...

Here's a quick run down of Week 5 of NYC Marathon training:

Tuesday - Tempo Run, 6.5miles (1 mile warm-up, 3 loops of the Reservoir at 30-45sec faster than MGP, 1 mile cool down)

Wednesday - Cross Training 

Saturday - Group Long Run, 10.5miles on Summer Streets

Sunday - Recovery Run, 3 miles

Last week was a cut back week, which is exactly what I needed. I was dealing with an infected knee.

Oh you didn't want to see that? I don't care. This is my knee actually healing with antibiotics on board.

And I developed some fever and chills at the end of the week. I didn't feel well enough to squeeze in a 4th run, so I didn't. And I don't regret it. What I do regret is sleeping through the Olympics Thursday night. I was pretty upset the next day.

By Saturday morning though, I was extremely tired, but ready to tackle 10 miles for breakfast. I was mainly excited because our route took us down Summer Streets. I ran through it all last year, so I was really looking forward to it.

This 10 mile run was what I needed after last week's disaster. I had so much fun (I know that sounds psychotic to some of you), and didn't even need any music for the 10+ miles. Not having music is pretty rare for me, so you know I must have been having fun.

Stolen from Coach Emily. Part of our group in front of Grand Central!

I may not have run many miles last week, but my body and mind were very grateful.

This week, I'm heading into an all time mileage high for me. Coach Cane e-mailed us on Sunday with an opening line of, "No more Mr. Nice Coach." Fantastic. I'm already counting down the days till another cut back week.

Time for me to get some cross training in, in the form of packing boxes. Yay.

And if you're interested, this Saturday is the last day of Summer Streets. Park Avenue, from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge, will be closed for runners, walkers, and bikers. And there's tons of fun stuff to do on the 7 mile course. Check it out, and make NYC your gym!

Week 4 - ING NYC Marathon Training

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine

Pre was in the front of my mind this week. Probably because Anand and I watched Without Limits a couple of weeks ago, but also because I had a couple of difficult runs. Pre was all about putting on gutsy performances, and working hard, even through pain. Let's just say that I had to dig into my inner Pre to get through this week. 

This is how Week 4 turned out:

Tuesday- 5 miles, 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at MGP with striders, 1 mile cool down

Wednesday- Easy 3 miles

Thursday- Easy 3 miles (in lieu of a tempo workout)

Saturday- Long run, 12 miles

Sunday - 30 minutes of cross-training (in lieu of a recovery run)

This week I've been nursing a hip/groin "ache." I'm hesitant to call it an injury, since it doesn't bother me at all when I run, and it doesn't seem to change my stride. But I'm obviously trying to be very careful. I've been stretching, foam rolling, icing, and making some bargains with God. 

The first workout of the week was actually awesome. The weather was perfect, I was well rested, and hit all my paces exactly. It was one of those runs where everything falls magically into place -the kind of run that leaves you hungry for more.

And then my hip started bothering me. So I backed off the rest of the week, and followed Coach Cane's advice, and replaced a tempo workout with an easy run. I spent Friday evening in compression gear, eating multiple servings of gluten free pasta, & trying to psych myself up by watching Olympic track.

I know you wanted to see me in compression gear. Wild Friday night.

 Saturday morning I woke up pretty tired (I guess watching the Olympics every night till midnight didn't help the situation- Mistake #1), and with an upset stomach. This was not how I wanted to start a day where I had to run 12 miles. I pretty much can blame myself for the upset stomach though. On Friday, I ate a non-gluten free sandwich, because we ran out of groceries. And because finding a decent salad in the South Bronx is virtually impossible. Mistake #2.

When we finally made our way outside to head to Central Park, I was immediately sweating. Why the hell was it over 80 degrees and disgustingly humid at 06:30am?! I had considered bringing my handheld for some extra hydration, but decided against it, figuring I could just stop at every water fountain. Mistake #3.

By the time we got to Central Park, I was sweating like a beast. The coaches then gathered us up, and explained the the work out: 1 mile warm up to the Bridle Path, 6 loops of the Bridle Path (1.66 miles each), and 1 mile cool down back to 72nd Street. Can I just say that I HATE the bridle path. I always have. The dirt pathway is uneven at parts, with large rocks jutting out. Before the Brooklyn Half Marathon I actually pulled/strained my hamstring tripping over rocks. I don't care that the surface is softer, I HATE it. So knowing that I had to do 10 miles on it made my soul die a little.

Immediately into the run, I felt awful. It was so hot, my body was tight, and I already had to use a restroom. I pretty much had GI distress from the beginning to the end of my run. This was fabulous since I was already dehydrated from sweating so much. I would stop everytime we ran past a water fountain, but almost immediately my mouth would turn to cotton, and then I would have to use the restroom to get rid of more water (TMI?). And then when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I tripped on a rock and completely fell forward onto more large rocks. God bless the other people who stopped to make sure I was okay. (WARNING: graphic photo ahead.) I messed up both of my knees and my palms. This was on Mile 5. I still had 7 more miles to run... with blood dripping down my legs and hands. I'm pretty sure I almost started crying at that point. I was in pain in so many different ways, and my salty sweat was pouring into open wounds.





Just one of my bruises/abrasions. This was after it was "cleaned up" and not as gross. 



After a little pity party, I decided I needed to suck it up and be like Pre. So I ran/walked until I hit double digits, even with more bathroom breaks after falling. The coaches were encouraging, trying to help me clean off the blood and dirt as much as they could, telling me that now I would have battle wounds to remember the marathon by. Honestly, if they weren't there I probably would have just quit at mile 5.

At mile 10 though, I was very dehydrated and was experiencing cramps that made it impossible to run. So we decided to cut our run outside short and finish the last 2 miles in the air conditioned gym. I made myself an electrolyte drink and took a little break before I finished the last 2 miles at NYSC.



This is how I feel about this long run.



I can say with certainty, that this was the worst run I have EVER had. And while I want to completely push it out of my mind and move on, part of me wants to make sure I also remember it. These are the kinds of runs that I know will make me stronger. When I'm on mile 20 of the marathon, wanting to quit, I can always look back at this run and remember that I do have it in me to push though the pain.



Okay so maybe I won't "win." But getting to the Finish is enough for me.

On to Week 5... Bring it.

(FYI, one of my wounds got infected from running 7 miles with dirt in it. So now I'm on antibiotics. Awesome! Learn from me, and don't fall. Or just go home and clean your wounds if you do ;)