Recommendations Needed!

I desperately need some new running tunes because I”m bored of my ipod!  I listen to lots of cheesy pop music (Michael Jackson, Madonna, anything 80’s, Beyonce, Brit Brit, Rihanna, etc) some old alternative music (Weezer, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins,), and the occasional semi-cool song.

Basically, anything upbeat and motivating – any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I know her!

I was looking at an ad for the Nike Human Race today and realized that a girl from my high school cross country team is featured in the ad!  She ran in college for Cornell and, from what I hear, she now runs for Nike.  How cool is that?!

On our high school cross country team, she was the girl that went to states.  She was a great teammate though, always very supportive and encouraging of us slow pokes.  She’s one of the reasons I fell in love with running actually.  I realized how supportive the sport was and how you’re racing against yourself more than other people.  At races, she would finish far ahead of most of the team, but go back out on the course to run the last half mile with our last runner or stand at the tape cheering until every last one of us had finished.  I had never been on a team where the best athlete was so encouraging of the least talented athletes and never showed frustration with our, shall I say, lack of talent.  Even though she was clearly the star and we all knew it, she was no diva and the coach didn’t put her on a pedestal.  I loved that cross country team and that’s a huge part of why I run today and love running so much.

I remember before my first cross-country meet, my good friend and I were really, really nervous, but she told us not to worry, that we’d never come in last because there are always really slow runners out there.  Naturally, I came in 3rd to last and my friend came in 2nd to last.  And boy were we psyched that we finished without walking!!  The race course was on another high school’s campus and featured two huge hills that the students had aptly named The Dominator and The Masturbator.  Ahhh high school memories.  Those were some tough hills though.

Race Report: Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff

What a fun, quick race!  Even though I generally prefer longer distances, this race was a fun way to start off my Sunday!  I initially went into this race hoping to run sub 8 minute miles, but not sure if I would be able to due to yesterday’s long run.  So, I changed my goal pace to 8:15 and just hope to have fun.

Before the race:

I woke up at 7:20 and got ready, waking up O in the process.  He sleeps too much anyway   I grabbed a banana to eat on the walk and stopped for some deli coffee.  It was great to be able to walk to the race and not worry about getting there late!  I was in the corrals by 8:20, where I chatted with an older man who’s running the NYC Marathon next weekend.  I love the spontaneous connections you make while waiting in the corrals; moments like that remind me of how great the running community truly is.  This race is also a great way to feel part of the NYC Marathon excitement even if you’re not running it.

I think I started one corral back from where I really should have started.  For some reason they had my pace as 8:12, but I knew I could run faster than that and wanted to be in the corral ahead of where I was.  Corral placement is especially significant in Central Park races because you inevitably spend the first 2-3 miles dodging other runners and having your pace set by those around you.  There are just too many people in too narrow a space to go at your own pace at the outset.  Usually by mile 3, the crowd thins a little and you can move around easier (although you never have enough room and always have to dodge elbows and feet a little bit!).  However, I respected the corral colors and didn’t move up because I figured that 15-20 seconds off my pace wouldn’t be a huge deal.

Mile 1:

Felt great!  Even though the race started up hill, my legs felt really strong and not tight after yesterdays 13 mile jaunt.  The course was crowded, but I felt as though I was keeping up a decent pace.  When I hit the one mile mark, I had no idea how fast I had run the mile in because I didn’t notice the time when I crossed the start.  Based on my finish time, I think it took me about 8:30.

Mile 2:

The course was still pretty crowded and I felt slightly boxed in.  This mile was featured a lot of up hills and was pretty tough.  However, during this mile I easily passed a woman huffing and puffing across the transverse but wearing a red number, meaning that she was place in the first corral.  This frustrates me greatly, and I’m sure it frustrates faster runners to a greater degree!  Considering how crowded Central Park races are, I think it’s really important to be honest with yourself about your pace.  The corral you start in really dictates your pace for quite a while, so having to dodge slower runners when you have correctly paced yourself is super frustrating.  I ran this mile in about 8 minutes, but I knew I could have gone faster without the crowds.

Mile 3:

Ooh mile 3 is a tough one!  There’s a hill on the east side that I usually run down because I run the park counter clockwise.  Hitting that uphill clockwise is tough, but since I’m a decent hill runner I can also use it to pass some people.  I started to feel the race here, and my 13 miles from yesterday.  I was surrounded by a few people who kept trying to get their pictures taken by the photographers, meaning that they were darting from side to side of the course.  I almost went flying over them a couple of times and may have muttered a few choice words at them.  This mile was run in about 8 minutes too.

Mile 4:

Two miles left, hell yeah!  This mile had a nice big downhill and I was able to pass some people, including the darters.  I finally felt like the course opened up here and I wasn’t boxed in by people.  But, I was definitely breathing hard at this point and kept reminding myself that it was only 2 miles to the end and I could keep it up.  I picked out a girl I wanted to pass and used her as motivation to keep my pace up.  This was my fastest mile at this point and I ran it in about 7:45.

Mile 5:

At this point, I knew I was almost there and I knew the course wasn’t too hilly.  I pushed it and was able to pass more people, even though I was breathing really hard and my lungs were hurting.  I finished the final mile in 7:45, feeling like my lungs were on fire.

Final Time: 39:46

Pace: 7:57

Age/Gender Place: 84 out of 753 (wow!  pretty good!)

Overall Place: 1312 out of 5334

Even though I had fun (ignoring lingering memories of my burning lungs…), it just proved to me that I desperately need to start doing speed work again!  I am not getting any faster and the only reason I was able to sustain a decent pace is because my legs are so strong from marathon training.  Ugh speed work is not my favorite, but I’m going to have to suck it up.  Maybe I’ll wait until after Philly though….

Also, I completed my 9th run for 9+1!!!  All I have to do is volunteer at one race and I’m guaranteed a place in the 2010 NYC Marathon!!!  Holla!

Plodding Along

My brother brought my attention to this article from the NY Times: Plodders Have A Place, But Is It In A Marathon.

I highly recommend reading it as I found it very interesting.  It compares racing vs. “participating” in a marathon.  Some runners feel that participants who mostly walk or plod along very slow (11 minute+ miles) take away from a certain mystique that completing a marathon has.  They feel that running a marathon should give you a sense of pride, but allowing participtants to take over 6 hours lowers the bar and takes away from the specialness of being a marathoner.  The article also discusses the fact that many for marathon organizers, the law of diminishing returns kicks in if they let the course stay open for too long.  Does the cost of keeping the course open for 7+ hours make sense for the number of people who are actually going to finish in that time?  For many races, especially smaller ones, it doesn’t.

I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, I do understand the complaints of serious runners, especially those who began running marathons years ago before it was such a popular sport.  It was an elite accomplishment back then, and they would like it to remain that way.  However, having come of running age during a time when runners come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds.  I’m used to seeing walkers at races and really have no problem with them as long as they place themselves in the proper corral.

In addition, only 500,000 people actually complete marathons each year, so I think we’re still in a pretty elite crowd

Today I ran 13 nearly pain free miles!  My regimen of stretching, foam rolling, and ibuprofen has really helped loosen up my IT band and it only started to bug me at mile 11.  The weather turned crappy again and the rain helped keep my mind off my IT band and on my other forms of suffering.

Tomorrow I’m running the NYC Marathon Kick-off, a 5 mile race in Central Park.  This race starts at 8:30 about 10 blocks from my apartment, so I know I’ll be on time and start at the gun!!  It’s been too long since this has happened.  This is my last race to run for the 9+1, and now I only have to volunteer at one race to be guaranteed a spot in the 2010 NYC Marathon!  So excited for this!!

Have a great night everyone!

Off topic….

This post isn’t running related, but I just had such a great day at work.  The students actually discussed the book we’re reading on their own, with no prompting from me!  It was a passionate, heated debate and they used VOCAB words!  Amazing!

Honestly, it’s pretty adorable when the kids use vocab words in normal conversation.  They’ll be using their ridiculous slang and suddenly bust out with petulant or gregarious or heinous.  It’s great.

Going long

I managed to run 20 miles yesterday in 3.5 hours!!  This time included two potty stops,walking to eat goo, and a stop to buy water, so I’m guessing I maintained 10 minute miles the whole way.  After two days off due to weather, my legs felt strong and the miles weren’t too hard.  My hip had a dull ache for much of the run, but nothing too intense until the last mile or two. (Side note: I always think the last mile or two of any run is difficult, no matter if I’m running 20 miles or 6!)  I will admit that my hip started to bother me alot during the last couple of miles, but my mind was taken off of that pain by suffering caused by freezing cold wind off the Hudson River.  Why is it so damn cold already?!  However, despite that pain, today my hip doesn’t really hurt very much at all – it feels a little tight, but not sore.  I feel as though all of the stretching and rolling I’ve been doing has been working (knock on wood) and my hip is slowly starting to feel better.

One thing that did happen on my run was a bad tummy reaction to the goo I ate.  This paragraph is about to delve into the world of TMI, so feel free to skip ahead.  I usually eat the PowerBar Vanilla gels, but I bought a couple of chocolate ones because they have caffeine and I am a caffeine addict.  I noticed during the Staten Island Half that my stomach didn’t love the goo I ate, but didn’t think too much of it.  The yesterday, within 5 minutes of eating the goo, I had to make an emergency pitstop because I thought I was going to puke.  I didn’t think there would be that much difference between the different types of goos, but apparently there is.  I really hope my stomach isn’t rejecting all goo, just the chocolate ones.  I’m going to switch back to vanilla flavor for my next long run and see how my stomach does with that.  Has anyone else had a bad reaction to chocolate PowerBar goos before? I really hope I don’t have to figure out a new fuel source before the marathon!

Speaking of the marathon, I can’t believe I have only one more really long training run before the marathon!  Yay!!!  This training period seemed much shorter and less exhausting than for the NJ marathon.  I’ve trained for a shorter period and I think I was fitter starting out, so the training has seemed less difficult.  Another strange thing is that I haven’t gained any weight so far during training.  I weighed myself this morning and I’m at my usual weight – this is so strange for me because I always put on 5+ pounds while training.  I like to say its all the muscle I’ve gained, but I think it’s honestly just the side effects of carb loading and increased ice cream consumption.  I’m happy about this but it’s also unusual….I guess I still have about 5 weeks to gain that weight so maybe I shouldn’t say anything too soon…..

Ok back to doing work.  Lesson planning, grading, and all that jazz.

It’s fall in New York

Yes there are the obvious signs that autumn is upon us.  Leaves changing colors, pumpkins (and pumpkin-flavored goodness) everywhere, Halloween costumes in stores windows, and people are bundled up outside.

But, to me, there are two real signs that the seasons are changing in NYC.

1. I saw the Central Park raccoon this evening. I swear this raccoon is about 40 lbs and 3 feet tall.  It is a monster raccoon and not nearly scared enough of human beings.  I saw him a few times last year and he scared the bejeesus out of me.  I only see him in the fall and winter at dusk, never in other seasons.  Tonight I nearly busted a knee cap screeching to a halt so that he could saunter across my path, oblivious to my absolute terror (I fear wild animals who are partially domesticated by city life).

2. It is 97 degrees in my apartment. For those of you who don’t live in NYC, let me explain.  In most apartment buildings you don’t pay for your heat, but you also don’t control when it is turned on and how high it is turned on – building management and/or the super controls this.  I’ve heard the reason for this is that back 100+years ago, buildings use to crank up the heat in the winter to force tenants to open their windows and air out their apartments so people wouldn’t be breathing in germ-infested air.  This was especially important in poorer neighborhoods where people lived in close quarters and diseases spread like wild fire.

It is no longer so important now that we have modern medicine and don’t live in tenements.  I used my a/c all winter last year to beat the heat.  (I had to do that even though I slept in shorts and a tank top under only a thin sheet). It’s too damn hot in here!!!

Race Report: Staten Island Half Marathon

The Good:

I PR’ed!  I finished the race in 1:50:51, inching my way ever closer to breaking the 1:50 mark.  About halfway through the race I realized that this would definitely happen if I ever ran a half with fresh, non-training legs.  I was really surprised about this PR and you’ll read why below.

Also, with this race, I completed the 2009 Half Marathon Grand Prix, running a half in each borough.  I’m so proud of myself for this accomplishment and will definitely try to do it again next year since it’s such fun.

The Bad:

Once again, the race started without me.  We wasted no time getting off the ferry and checking our bags, but the potty lines were ridiculous and I was waiting for 10+ minutes, which caused me to miss the starting gun.  I feel as though NYRR is not considering the timing of public transportation that well when planning their races.  An extra 15 minutes would have made all the difference in the world.  And I was definitely not the only frustrated runner in this position.

I also didn’t appreciate being screamed at by volunteers who kept telling me to hurry up off the bathroom line (which I couldn’t change!) or the starting line would close.  Why would the start close 10 minutes after the gun if the course is open for 3 hours?  That makes no sense.

Finally, my legs were really tired and tight when I started.  I think the yoga made my legs feel worse since they’re so unused to stretching!!  I started the race feeling blah and unmotivated, and that feeling kept growing and getting worse throughout the whole race.

The Ugly:

I like the Staten Island course except for the big hill at mile 7.  I was able to power up that hill and pass a bunch of people, but for some reason after that I couldn’t recover my pace and I just watched my mile times get slower and slower and slower until I was running 9 minute miles.  I ate a gel at mile 8, expecting this to help re-energize me, but instead it made me feel nauseous.  As I watched my miles get slower, I felt increasingly demoralized, tired, and thought my goal of breaking 1:50 was completely out of my grasp.  I began to think about just slowing down alot for the second half of the race.  I started to slow down and then remembered a post I had read the other week by Flo of Girl in Motion.  She talked about setting goals, not reaching them, and feeling bad.  But then realizing that even though you didn’t reach your goal, you’re only off your goal pace by a few measly seconds, and really – why does that matter so much?  As Flo wrote, “Crazy how a couple minutes spread out over the span of over 3 hours can make such a difference to the mind.”  And I realized that I was stressing and getting upset about running slightly slower than usual instead of enjoying the race and being proud of what I could accomplish.  So I tried to drop my bad attitude and pick my pace back up and run the best I could.  I did well and ran pretty fast for the last few miles but I was pretty sure I hadn’t broken 1:50 or set a PR (shows what I know!  despite all the negativity, I still did!).

At the end of the race I was SPENT, physically and emotionally.  I haven’t had a run take such a mental toll on me in a while.  I usually enjoy races for the atmosphere, but the whole day just felt off to me, starting with my exhausted legs.  After I crossed the finish line, I was overcome with the feeling of wanting to cry.  I tried to call O and whine, but wasn’t able to get in touch with him.  So I just watched the other runners finish and tried to perk myself up.

Last week was a hard week for me in terms of my training.  I felt like I was fighting off a cold, my left hip bothered me, I felt constantly exhausted, and I was insatiable!  I hate the feeling of being constantly hungry, and last week I could not fill up for the life of me.  I feel like I’ve lost weight, which isn’t necessarily bad, but that’s never happened to me during training (I usually gain a few pounds due to gaining muscle & eating more).  I’m hoping to pull it together this week and get my marathon mojo back!  Where did my excitement go??

Finally, I want to tell y’all about my gym trip today. I went to foam roll my left hip and thigh, which left it feeling better than it has all week.  I’m ordering a foam roller online tonight and doing this every night until the marathon.  And now the good/bad/ugly of my gym trip!

Good:

A trainer at the gym asked me if I was a professional athlete!  Um, pro athletes probably don’t have chubby thighs and pumpkin ice cream guts, but thanks!

Bad:

He asked me how long my marathon was going to be.

Ugly:

The trainer was very surprised to find out that the Philadelphia marathon is 26 miles, just like the marathon in New York!

Have a great night everyone!

Waiting for the 1

And figuring out how to blog from my iPhone. Holla!!

On my way to Staten Island for the half. Love taking the ferry!

Who needs shoes?!

Anyone who is interested in running news has surely heard the buzz about barefoot running.  The book Born to Run is about the Tarahumara Indians who are able to run nearly barefoot for very long distances and rarely suffer injuries.  There has also been more and more articles about this phenomenon.  Last week, I saw my first barefoot runner in Central Park.  He looked like a total hippie – big beard, bushy hair, filthy feet.  I was shocked that anyone would be willing to run barefoot in the middle of NYC!  I’m no germophobe, but that just seems like a great way to get a tapeworm or syphilis or something worse.  I can understand doing it on the beach or some grassy knoll, but Manhattan?  No thanks!

Then, I read this article in the NY Times about running barefoot in the park.  Am I missing out on something amazing and life changing?  I find it ironic that I’m suddenly seeing people running barefoot while I continue to further pad my feet and try to change my gait…maybe I should be subtracting instead of adding more padding?  Who knows!

In terms of my orthotics, I find they’re perfectly comfortable but I haven’t worn them on a long run yet.  I’ll see how they feel tomorrow at the Staten Island half.  My hip feels ok, but not great.  I do think the orthotics help, but I  think I may need to cut down on  my mileage or take a few more rest days to prevent injuring myself further.

In that spirit, today was an active rest day.  No running, but I did some core yoga from YogaDownload.com and the yoga for hips from Yoga is Yummy.  The hip yoga was amaaaaaazing and really made my hip feel so much better, so I am going to try to incorporate that into my last month of training.  I think that combining stretching and more rest will really help me out.

Finally, here are some interesting running articles:

The Fleeting Benefits of Marathon Running – my brother sent this to me.  Apparently running a marathon doesn’t make you an athlete for life and might make you fat if you’re a lady.

Marathon Streakers: 33 and Counting – these two guys have run the NYC marathon 33 years in a row!  Amazing!  I hope I’m still running marathons in 33 years!!

Good luck to everyone running a marathon this weekend – you all rock!!