I Do Have My Eye on the Prize!

Sep28

Well I am getting close to the finish line of both my marathon training and my quest to complete the 9+1 to get into the 2016 NYCM. Both have become equally important to me and I want them both. Yeah, I’m like that.

Yesterday, I had the Bronx 10 Miler which I actually thought would fit very nicely in my training plan, but do to a hiccup in my schedule did not. I still needed to do it though because it was race number 8 out of 9. In talking with my coach, it was decided that I would push back my l6 miles long run a day till Tuesday. This is an important run as 12 miles with any luck will be at my goal marathon pace of 9:50 to 10:05. So it was determined that I would do Bronx slow and steady. My mantra was to be, “This is not my goal race.” I was told to keep my eye on the prize.

Was I disjointed that I wouldn’t be racing Bronx. You bet. Did I want to race? Maybe a little:) But I knew what was important. I was going to keep my eye on the prize. I lined up with my friends, but told them all I would see them at the finish line. Dawn was planning to push it and I was so excited for her, but I knew that we wouldn’t be able to run it together and besides she didn’t need me. Initially I thought about starting in a slower coral, but I wanted to start with my friends. When the race started, I started slow and steady. I ran the first 3 miles around 10:15, but I really wasn’t paying attention to my watch. I even stopped to take a picture around mile 5. I was not pushing it or at least I didn’t think so. Then I ran into a woman and her husband that I’ve met at several races through a mutual friends. I decided to run with them. Slow and Steady. We literally were chatting the whole time. I wasn’t paying attention to the time. I just was running. Slow and Steady. Conversational pace.

We cross the finish line together.

We pause for pictures.

I even meet an online running friend from the group Runners United NYC. I recognized her from her beautiful hair and went up to her and asked if she was ConfidentCurls and introduced myself as Accidentally Running Mama. Yes, just like that! Then we take a picture together and until meeting her in person I did not realize how tall she was as I already knew how short I am. It amazing how inspiring people can be that you’ve never met in person and there are actually a few that I only know online that I can’t wait to meet in person at the Marine Corps Marathon!

Then I meet up with my Mom’s Run This Town Mama’s. Excited to hear how they all did and that Dawn ran the race that we all knew she could run. Yeah, Dawn!! That is until she tells me that I’m going to be in trouble. She points out that I did exactly what she knew I would do which was not do a slow jog. Then I look at my time and realize that she may be right. I get home and look at my splits and although VERY pretty were not on the agenda for the day.

They are pretty. Aren’t they? Dawn laughed because she pointed out that my coach has me so well trained I do negative splits without even trying. There may be some truth to that, but I also know that every run is not this pretty. The truth though is that my coach has trained me so well that I was running this race at a faster pace, but I felt good doing so. I, really, was chit chatting away. I did not feel out of breath. I did not feel like I needed to stop. I was just plugging away. Now, maybe I should have paid more attention to how fast I was plugging away, but I really didn’t feel like I was pushing myself. Although I will admit that when I was getting close to the end, I did take it up a notch. Yes, I am one of those people that no matter the race or the pace; I will give it all I’ve got at the end.

Can’t help myself.

Makes for nice picture though. Don’t you think?

So now today is a Rest Day.

I will respect the rest day. I will honor it and keep it holey. Ok, maybe not that far but pretty close. Seems like I’m starting out on the right foot anyway. Because I do know that the only way I will not be in trouble with my coach is if I nail tomorrows Long Run. Yes, I do know that I am a grown woman who can do what I want when I want. That being said, the reason that I have a coach is to listen to her guidance and the things she tells me. She really is much smarter and wiser than me in the ways of running. She didn’t accidentally start running.

So rest, relax, and carb load today.

Has this ever happened to you?

Do you have Running Friends that you’ve never met in person?

Pizza Pizza

Jul23

Last night one of the local towns had their annual 5K Pizza run. I ran it last year with my sister. I really had no business running it last year as it was only 4 days after completing the NJ State Sprint Tri. I remember it being hard and walking, but I wnted to run it with my sister.

This year it was different!

This year there was no summer Tri and I’ve been running pretty regularly to say the least. This year I was going to run it with some friends. The hot and humid weather also took the night off which apparently never happens for the Pizza Run! There were so many woman from my MRTT group that we hardly fit in the picture. Some I knew. Many I didn’t know as the group has exploded these last couple of months in an awesome way.

I’ve got to say that this really is an amazing group of women. It is true that everyone has a story to tell. All this month our group has been featuring Bio’s of different Mama’s who wanted to share. It is amazing the inspirational stories that so many of these women have from obstacles that they have overcame to their sparkling personalities that shine through. I’m honored to be a part of this group of BAMR’s!

As far as the Pizza Run went, I again had no plan or expectations. I knew that I was going to try and run a good race, but I really didn’t plan to push it. It was going to be a fun run with a freind. After the group picture, everyone went their ways to the start line. Genine and I bobbed and weaved to fairly close to the start. This is a decently sized race with almost 2000 people running. There are no starting corals and where you start is an important factor in how your race will go.

Gun goes off and we are off. As always it is very hard not to go off full blast especially in an event like this. We actually did but I realized it right away and tried to reign us in. That being said, we still were hauling it. I felt good and we were keeping a good pace. I’m not sure at what point, but Genine encouraged me to just go ahead. As much as I wanted to run with her, I also wanted to really push it and see where it took me.

As far as the actual run went, I was very happy with it. Yes, I pushed it a bit; but I felt good. I’m guessing all those cut-downs are paying off! I felt strong and confident in my faster paces.

I shaved off a few minutes from last years time of 30:45. Yeah!

Then after catching our breath, it was time for some pizza because they don’t call it a pizza run for nothing!

I’m using Genine’s pizza post race picture today because she takes a much better one than me!

Can’t wait for next year as this race is getting more and more fun!

Do you race for food?

Race Day Recap

Jun22

Yes, Sunday was Father’s Day. Yes, I had another race. That being said I didn’t realize it was Father’s Day when I signed up and my husband was fine with me racing again, so all was good. I will say that it feels good not to have another NYRR event on the calendar till September for the Bronx 10 miler and then October for the Staten Island Half. Then I’m done and will have my nine! That being said though, it’s not like I’m going to go into rest mode over the summer as Marathon training is starting but that is a discussion for another day.

Today is all about race day!

Going into this race I had no real plan. I had some ideas, but no plan. Part of the reason that I didn’t have a plan was because according to the forecast we were going to be experiencing major storms. The forecast was so dire that NYRR even pushed back the start time an hour the night before. That was nice for the extra sleep but bad because it meant a later return home. Although we really didn’t sleep much later as the clown car still left at 6:30ish.

I was prepared for the monsoon. Even cutting up a garbage bag the night before for a throw away poncho. Luckily, I did not need it but it is good to be prepared. I also decided not to wear my Hoka Ones as I didn’t want to ruin them. I fear this was a mistake because by mile 5 my left foot was screaming. I won’t make that mistake again. I also thought since this was going to be a wash out that I would just make it a fun run and not push it at all hence not needing the Hoka’s. Then a funny thing happened. The weather forecast was wrong. Not just a little wrong, but majorly wrong. We had some showers in the evening and barely a sprinkle when we arrived. Other than that, no raging storms. It ended up actually being VERY hot and humid. Very similar to last weeks Oakley temperatures.

We arrive at Citi-field and the horrors of the parking we heard about from last year thankfully did not happen. So we had some time to spare. We walked to the corral area meeting some other Mama’s along the way. For some reason, I don’t know if it was the daze of the morning or what; but it seems that we failed to get a group shot. I’m not sure how we let that happen. Boo us. Boo.

I will say that the Corrals this week were tight and moved up quickly on each other. Last week they had people checking to make sure that you were entering your correct corral. Not so much this week. I’m wondering if they had volunteers bail because of the “weather” as we seemed to be all mixed together and smooshed. I did not enjoy it, but I do think it helped me start strong as I’m not a big fan of the crowds like that.

Standing in the corral gave me the push I needed to get moving. I still had no plan as far as pacing, but just took off when I crossed the start line. My goal was to get a little space. I glanced at my watch here and there during the race, but for the most part kept a consistent pace during the entire race without really trying. Although it would have been much easier to do if it wasn’t for people strolling in the middle of the course, but that is for a different days discussion. There was also the dodging of the potholes and puddles. So according to my Garmin, I ran 6.35 not 6.2. I’m thinking that is from the weaving.

Mile 6 was my slowest because by that time my foot had really decided that although I was running in good shoes, that these shoes were not the shoes for me. Not enough cushioning. Not at all. I pushed through it though telling myself the faster that I got to the finish line, the faster I would be able to rest it. I will also say that the slow down wasn’t attributed to any other factor as I felt good otherwise. Hotter than Hell and drenched in sweat, but overall good. I even managed once I hit the six mile mark to sprint to the finish. There is something to be said for doing that. Try it sometime and you will see what I’m talking about. I can’t wait to see those race photos even if I don’t purchase them:)

I’m still waiting on NYRR to post the “official” time and give me my check for the 9 plus 1 and my third borough race. My “unofficial’ NYRR time is

1:00:48

If you notice, my Garmin time is only one second off. Not too shabby.

What did you run this weekend?

Monday Morning Race Recap

Jun15

Another Weekend.

Another Race.

At least that is how it seems of late.

Even causing my 8 year old son to question me saying , “Another one? How many races are you doing and haven’t you already done enough to get into the NYCM?”

I agree. It does seem like it’s been a lot, but really I’m only on number 6 with 7 this coming weekend. Then taking summer off. Ok not, off; but off from NYRR events. This will leave me 2 in the fall to do which will get me not only into the NYCM, but also the NYC Half Marathon. Yeah!

Back to this past weekends event – The Oakley New York Mini 10K.

I thought the mini was odd in the name, because how do you have a “mini” 10K. Wouldn’t that just be a 5K then? I thought maybe it was a mini because it was an all women’s race (although if you look at the finish stats for some reason it lists 3 men finishers). I was wrong though. It is called a mini because it the first one was ran in 1972 with just 78 runners compared to this last event with 7,784 finishers. In 70’s fashion, this event was actually called the “Crazylegs Mini Marathon” due to the fashionable miniskirt at the time. Well ok then. I guess it’s good that I ended up wearing a cute mini running skirt over my running pants. If only I knew that I was paying homage to the first event.

So back to the event at hand. This was fun on so many levels. First, it’s a race and they are always fun especially when running with friends. Then there was the fact that it was my one friends, Geniine’s, first time running a 10K and running in the city. She likes to say that I talked her into, but I disagree. I know her well enough to know that she is not going to do something she doesn’t want to do. (so there:). That being said, I did make it relatively easy for her (not taking into account the running) by securing her a place in the clown car and making sure that she was in on the bib pick-up.

I think that this may have been the very first race that I have ever done where I actually got a great night sleep the night before. I was tired and went to bed at 11:00 sleeping soundly till the 5:00 AM alarm. I think I like getting a good night sleep the night before. I’m sure it was fluke, but I’ll take it. Even though Genine wasn’t picking me up till 6:00 and I had all my running gear together the night before, I still like the time in the morning. It gives me a chance to have my coffee, wake up, and not feel like I’m rushed.

The Clown Car left Teri’s at 6:15 and we were good to go.

Once to the City, we took our pre-race photo and off to our corrals we went.

Dawn, Teri, and I were all starting in the same corral. My plan was to try to do the first 4 miles at a 9:50 pace and then see what I had for the last 2 miles. Dawn and I planned to stay together as long as possible, but we each knew that we would run what we needed to run. I will say that it was HOT, HUMID, and really yucky that morning. Those not running might say that it wasn’t so bad, but those actually running might disagree. Plus this was a hilly course. The hills were a slow grade, but they were there. As far as staying on pace, once again I had technical issues in that I didn’t clear my Garmin previous run. My bad. So the calculations were a little off, but I tried to stay on pace. I really was hoping to finish under an hour, but alas I didn’t. Still had a good time. Finishing in 1:01:17. I honestly don’t think it was the technical issues. I think it was the heat.

The race itself was nice. I took a prerace gel 15 minutes before which I think helped. I did like the course and I think it is fun to start on the street and not the park. We started on West 61rst street running till 81rst and then entering the park. This is the first race in a while that I’ve used music during and I’m conflicted on it. I think it might be best if I work on my playlist for this coming weekends 10K because my music was not matching what I needed to do. I might have been better off without it. Hmmmm. I also didn’t take any additional fuel during the race which I think was my mistake. I should have taken my second gel at the 5K mark, but I didn’t. Lesson learned. They did have spray stations but unfortunately due to my phone, I really didn’t utilize them to their full advantage. I smartly brought my own water bottle as I really hate the stop and go of using the water stations as it’s always hard to weave in and out with everyone else. I also didn’t run with my Fitletic Hyradtion belt but a smaller spibelt which I’m not used to on race day. That was the reason I couldn’t easily access my second gel. I was feeling drooping towards the end, but still managed to push it the last 400 meters with a pace of 7.29 according to my Garmin which I REALLY have a hard believing. Think it might be off.

Anyway….

Finished strong. Got my medal. Got my Flower and then got some much needed cold water and tried to catch my breath.

Teri finished first and found the perfect meeting spot high on the hill by a statue. Plus we got a nice breeze up there. Then as everyone finished literally within minutes of each other. We all met up for, of course, more pictures, race recaps and meeting up with the second MRTT Clown Car that came.

By the way, you can’t tell in this picture but Dawn’s tutu was adorable! It was a great way to spend the morning even if we didn’t get our cupcakes and the ice cream store was closed when we stopped. This is such an amazing group of women and I know that I would not be able to do the 9 plus 1 without them.

What did you do this weekend?

Race Recap Part 2

May19

So yesterday I told you all about the numbers.

Today lets talk about the fun stuff!

The actual run:)

Ok, not all of it was fun. I admit it. The getting up before the sun really, really sucks. I’m always worried about oversleeping, so I set backup alarms. Good thing too because I didn’t get moving till 4:00 and everyone was arriving at 4:30. It was my turn to drive the clown car, so there was no being late.

I have to say if you have to get up before the sun, at least do it with friends. One by one they arrived – Elaine, Teri, Dawn, and Mary. Then off to pick-up Karyn who was to be the co-pilot. I may have been the wheels but I had no clue as to where I was going. Luckily, Karyn works in Brooklyn and Elaine used to live there. I literally just went where I was told to go and when I got there I made Karyn park as I’m not that good at parallel parking. It’s really not required where I grew up. She thought I was kidding until I jumped out of the car and made her do it.

Since this wasn’t a normal out and back run, we had to decide if we should park at the start or park at the finish line. There was some back and forth as to which way to go. We decided to park at the start. Since parking appears to always be a concern in the city, we allowed for plenty of time to get there. We actually got through security and in our corrals before 6:30. Yes, we had to wait but waiting is better than stressing out if you will make it to the start on time. It wouldn’t have been such a long wait if we were in Corral 1, but Corral 2 didn’t start till 7:45 sot that added some time. Although both Karyn and Mary were in the first corral. That being said at least we had the backdrop the the Brooklyn Museum looking very prestigious even with a line of port-a-potties in front of it. I am by no means knocking them either as I was very happy to have them.

I will say that I was impressed with the security and ease of it at the start too. We had to go through medal detectors and only runners were allowed in the corral area. Then there were all of the police that you saw and even those that you didn’t. There were the ones on top of the Brooklyn Museum with binoculars. I liked it. I liked it a lot. If made me feel warm and fuzzy like we were being watched over especially with the sentencing for the Boston Marathon Bombing just taking place. I don’t dwell on the what could happens of this world, but it is good to know that those that should were prepared.

Then there was the actual race. As you know I’m not a city girl. My sister who used to live in NY and I visited all of once in all the years she lived there (in my defense my boys were much smaller) jokes about how often I visit the city now that she is in California. Although she does love that I am finally broadening my horizons as I am not as much as a traveler as her. Anywho, I have seen a lot of the city and I like it. I think what is nice is that I’m seeing more than the tourist destinations. There is something to be said about running through a city. It is kind of cool to be running down a road that on any given day would be hard to even cross.

Case in Point

What I love about going in with the women I go in with is that once the actual race starts, we all know we have to do the race we want to do. We all follow the motto, “your race, your pace.” Not to say that we haven’t run together, but this was not to be the case this day. We all had our own ideas of what we wanted to do. If you were here yesterday, you know what my plan was already. Then at the end even with 26,000 people we come back together.

I would do this race again. It was a fun race with a really nice course even if it did start raining at mile 4. At least it was a humid day so it did feel good even when it started really raining by mile 6. Although, I was worried about my phone as I thought we dodged the rain and didn’t properly protect my phone in a baggie. Luckily it then cleared up. I was happy that even in the rain I was able to maintain my pace too. .

I was also happy that I saved some energy at the end, because in a cruel twist you had to run up the ramp to get to the boardwalk which was very cool to finish on. The music was pumping and that helped too. When I was approaching the finish they started playing Salt N Pepper’s Push It. This song takes me back to my Ahem party days and I will admit that I was singing it as I was running at the end. How could you not?

Then off to collect my medal, rest some and then make our way back to the other side of Brooklyn to collect my car. As happy as I was to be at the start in the morning, I will say it did suck having to take the subway back. It did add at least an extra hour of travel time, but what are you going to do. Traveling in NY is supposed to be rough, so it lived up to it’s reputation.

Finally we made it to the car. After a Dunkin Donuts stop and another food stop.

I was sore at the end. Not the I can’t move sore, but the sore that does indicate you just ran a good race and pushed yourself. My quads were sore and my feet were somewhat sore. Atlhough, I did not have any pain while running. Yeah!!! I’m wondering if it was the pace or the shoes. I didn’t wear my inserts and I’m happy about that. Running a half is not the way to break them in! That being said my foot problems are not gone, but I got through the race!

Did you race this weekend?

Running By The Numbers – The Brooklyn Half

May18

Let’s start with the first number which is very impressive.

There were 26,482 finishers for the Airbnb Brooklyn Half. This is a record breaking US finish count for a 2015 Half Marathon. I am happy and honored to say that I am one of them. More women than men finished too with 18,759 women crossing the finish line.

Then there is my finish time which not as impressive, but a good time that I am very happy with.

Official Time 2:14:47

This is right where I wanted to be. I wanted to be at 2:15, so I can’t believe how on the mark that I was with this. Might have something to do with that I followed a plan this time. What was my plan you ask?

Go out at 10:20-30 for the first 10, start cutting down the last few miles a few seconds a mile.

I will say that in the beginning it was hard to follow the plan, but I reigned myself in. It wasn’t hard because I’m Speedy Gonzales. It was hard because I always go out too fast. It was hard because I was caught up in the excitement of the start of the race. It was hard because my ego took a little bit of a bruise allowing myself to be passed and needed to be seriously checked. It was easy though because I knew I had a plan that I needed to follow. I think I like having a plan now that I’ve experienced running with one.

As far as the ego even though I know I’m not competing against the other runners, it really is an ego killer being passed left and right by them. It’s human nature (or at least mine) to want to pass them and not be the one feeling like your left in the dust. That is UNTIL you remind yourself that you need to stick to pace and not theirs. I’ve heard race bystanders yell at other races and even yesterday the chant, “Your race, Your Pace.” I never gave it much thought till yesterday where I internalized and owned it. It made so much sense. This was my race and I needed to run it. I needed to allow myself to be passed. I was not competing with those passing me. I was challenging myself and in order to do that I had to follow my pace. It was a good pace too. And although I didn’t hit every mile goal I was pretty darn close.

10:16

10:18

10:09

10:20

10:39

10:24

10:03

10:22

10:10

10:25

This was right where I wanted to be. I was doing the math to keep me there and I used my Garmin to keep me on pace. If you know me too, you know that I hate math but it kept my mind occupied. Each mile I would mentally add my goal 10:20 to my time and try to hit the target. More often than not, I did. Although, I do need to adjust my setting for time display as it was only giving hours and minutes and not seconds which really is key in pacing. Then at mile 10, I took some Gatorade and allowed myself some freedom.

Mile 11 – 10:00

Mile 12 – 9:56

Mile 13 – 9:39

Then the .1 at 8:21 as I always like to sprint at the end if I can which I did since I controlled my pace!

I think because I kept a good pace that it helped with my feet too. I was able to run without the foot pain that has made me walk during races in the past. I think it is a combination of new shoes, new running plan, and just being a little smarter in my running lately (thanks to my running coach). Now this is not to say that after the race I was fine because I did have some heal pain and it’s not that my feet were not sore. They were and I did waddle a little on the walk to the car, but

Runable and livable..

Sex/
Age

Overall
Place

Gender
Place

Age
Place

Net
Time

5K
Split

10K
Split

15K
Split

20K
Split

Pace
per
Mile

AG
Time

AG
Gender
Place

F46

18,759

8672

422

2:14:47

0:31:40

1:04:47

1:36:58

2:08:15

10:17

2:04:26

6512

There is more to talk about as this really was a great event.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you a little more about the actual event and not just boring but important numbers:)

Do you follow a race plan?

PS – Don’t forget to vote

Runner’s World Cover Contest

Don’t follow the plan….. Have the Race You excpect

Apr21

I had a plan. I had a very good plan. I never followed it. Ok, I did follow it in the beginning. More to the point the closer I got to the Moore/Fitness Half Marathon, the plan fell to the wayside. I would like to say that it was due to lack of time. I can’t even say it was lack of dedication. Ok partly. I think mostly it was because the plan changed even if I didn’t fully admit to it. That being said, I DO NOT RECOMMEND not running AT ALL two weeks prior to a Half Marathon. Really. Just don’t do it. Really. I am paying the price for it today and I paid the price for it yesterday.

Here is the crux of the situation though. I’ve been dealing, ok not dealing but avoiding dealing with my feet, since Philly. With my upcoming schedule, I realized that it was time to get my head out of the sand and deal with it. If you were here yesterday, you read that I finally went to the Podiatrist and what the problems were. So maybe it was good that I took a little bit of a break.. All will be good as the Cortisone shot is already helping, I will do the stretches, and follow the plan. The doctor knows the plan does not including my stopping my running anytime soon. Back to the Race.

Besides not doing any type of training 2 weeks prior to the race, I made some other mistakes. First, I didn’t hydrate enough the days leading up to it. I normally will just drink extra water leading up to an event to avoid feeling dehydrated. I’m not sure if there is actually any physical benefit, but I know there is a mental one from me. Then there is the fact that I didn’t bank my sleep during the week either. I try to go to bed earlier leading up to the race too. This way if I don’t get a good night sleep the night before at least I’m not as bad. I went to bed 12:20 the night before and had my alarm set for 4:45. Not smart. I was tired.

When I came up with my goals for the year, I thought it would be cool to run a sub 2 half on my 46th Birthday. The closer I got though, the more I knew it was not happening for this race. I then embraced that this would be my fun Birthday Run. I have to say as far as day went, it was fun. I think I spent more time worrying about my outfit than the actual run. Ok, I know I did, but look how cute my outfit came out…..

You know it’s all about the outfit and the accessories. Don’t you like my crown?

Ok, probably not, but I will say that this outfit did help me during the race. Really!

The Clown Car as we like to refer to it was leaving town for NYC at 5:45. As early as it is, we are all still smiling. Due to caffeine, I didn’t realize how much my lack of sleep would effect me. It did. Still we had a good ride into the city and were all smiles at the starting line.

We met the cutest elderly woman at the starting line while she was walking to her corral. She was adorable. I just wish we had thought to take a picture with her. Although, I did find one of her crossing the finish line and getting her medal! Go Granny Go!! I hope that I have her spunk when I’m her age. She was talking about the bus ride and people thinking she must be crazy. I thought she was awesome!

Right, amazing! Did I forget to mention her crutches?

And, yes, she is wearing rocking legging, long sleeved shirt, and some type of purple skirt dare I say tutu.

I hope that I’m still moving like this with this type of attitude at her age!

We line up in our Corrals. The excitement of waitig for the race to start never gets old for me either. Off we go. Two of the ladies were planning to run together. My cohort was going to push it and I was just going to take it easy. I end up staying for the first lap of Central Park with the two. I will admit though that I did think they were planning to take it easier than they did, but it was good. We chatted when we could. Did double takes when we saw someone running with what appeared to be nothing under her tutu. (We ran past her). We just had a good time. After we hit mile 6 or so though, I told them to go without me. I knew that I probably could push it to stay with them and part of me wanted to. Luckily my brain won out this time.

Lap two was not as good as lap one. I realized that I dropped my Salted Carmel Caffeine Gu. I walked when I felt I needed to. I ran when I thought it was time to push a little. I will say that my Princess Birthday sash and tutu helped me run a better race. Really. No lies. It helped because there were times that I was going to start walking and someone would run by, tap me and say something like,

“Happy Birthday Princess”

“You’ve got this Princess”

“You can do this Princess.”

“You got this hill Princess”

Some of them I even trailed for a bit as Dawn will tell you that is what I like to do sometimes. I’m like a shadow. These women motivated me. These women may not realize it, but they really did help me get to the finish line in a better time than I would have if I was alone on the course. Standing out in a crowd of more than 7,000 other runners isn’t a bad thing.

My Official Finish Time is 2:20:23.

I’ll take it.

I know that this is a great time. I will admit that it is my worst time and I was slightly disappointing. Off by almost 15 minutes. When I said this to Dawn, she told me to shut hell up. She as often is right. This may not have been the race that I envisioned when I set my 2015 goals, but it was still a great race. There will be other races where I can chase the elusive 2:00:00, but there will only be one Birthday Run!

So cheers!

Prepare for Everything, Still have Nothing.

Apr7

Sometimes the best laid plans still fall short. You think you’ve got it all together only to realize that you haven’t got a clue. That was kind of how this weekends run started out. As I said to Dawn on the way there, ” Things always work out the way they are supposed to. Even if that’s not how you planned it.”

This past weekend was another 9 plus 1 run in the city. In the past, there have been a group of us who would drive in together. Usually, the driver is someone who is familiar with getting in and out of the city. Someone who knows the lay of the land if you will. But this weekend the clown car was unavailable which meant that my cohort in crime and I had to get there and back on our own. Now I am not afraid to drive anywhere solo. I’ve even driven my kids to Florida and back. I’m also contemplating taking them to Texas this summer. Doesn’t bother me at all. The difference is that this is usually on my schedule and usually there isn’t an event starting at a specific time such as was happening on Saturday. Still we were confident in our ability to get there and meet up with another Mama runner.

We knew that since it was an 8:00 AM start time that once again we would need to leave before the sun. All was set. Clothes laid out. Bag with Bib all packed. Garmin loaded with street near the entrance of the Park. We were good to go! Then I realize that the Garmin wants to take me a totally foreign way. When going into the City, I would normally take the tunnel, but for some reason my Garmin wanted to take me over one of the bridges. She kept leading me astray. I was getting annoyed with her and myself for not waiting till we got to the City to listen to her. Time was ticking. It was closer than we would have liked, but we did get there with a little bit of time to spare.

Besides the Garmin issue though, we realized that we did not have pins for our Bibs. I didn’t think to check the bag for them as they are usually there. I also thought that I had my handy dandy safety pin bracelet in my running bag. Nope, not this time as I needed it. Luckily I had a belt in my bag to use and Dawn did have one pin. Still it put a crinkle in things and added some unneeded stress.

Once we get to the streets close to the park entrance, it is time to find the perfect parking spot. Of course, it is a Saturday morning in NYC and there are no spots. We are running out of time to look for one, so we end up just pulling into a parking garage. Things to remember when parking your car in a garage for a race:

1. You do not have the luxury of going through your running bag to calmly get your sh*t together.

2. You do not have time to put your compression socks on.

3. You will forget your arm sleeves that you end up not needing but still.

4. You will also forget your hair band, but end up liking your hair down in your pictures anyway.

5. You will feel a little panicked and out of sorts literally jumping out of your car and not taking a moment

6. It all works out in the end.

7. You arrive at your corral with literally only a few minutes to spare. Giving you time to think about removing your throw away shirt.

Now one of the reasons that I wanted to do this run besides needing it for the 9 plus 1 is that it sounded like a fun event and it was. It was the kickoff to Scottish Week. There were bagpipers along the course, lots of people running in kilts, and just a gorgeous day. I, shockingly, was one of those people running in a kilt. Although mine was more of a tutu than an actual kilt. I wanted to be fun. I wanted to have fun. I wasn’t in it for a PR (personal record). I’ve actually only run one other 10K and that was when I was training very heavily for the Hat Trick. This was going to just be a race to get me a check mark and for some fun.

A funny thing happened along the way though.

The race started. It was packed. Packed. Packed. Packed. Dawn had decided that she was going to run with the other MRTT Mama and go for a potential PR. I had decided that I was just going to see how I felt and go with the flow. I’ve still been fighting these pesky foot issues and really haven’t been giving it my all. Race starts and we begin the bob and weave. We end up splitting up as we were in a huge field of other runners. Just keeping running. I just kept telling myself it was only 6 miles. A nice training run. I go out fairly strong. Experience a little foot discomfort, but nothing I haven’t felt before. Then one mile down. Then another. By mile three, I’m realizing that I’m making good time. By mile five, I realize that I could potentially PR which at this point I think would be cool. By mile six, I know I’m going to be close. I actually walked for a bit before someone with a Scottish accent, said something to me about keep going. So I ran some more. I finished.

Official Time 57:08

Previous 10K 57:19

Whew, that was close!

Then again, this wasn’t part of the plan, but it was a very nice bonus!

Moral of the story, sometimes you just have to roll with life. You can plan all you want. You can think you’ve got it all under your control, but the truth of the matter is that the best things in life happen when your not.

Finally,

Always tutu!

These Boots Were made for Walking

Nov26

Never having done a marathon before, I really did not know what to expect regarding how I would feel. Yes, I’ve read about post marathon recovery and saw the video of the walking dead after the NYC Marathon. But I still didn’t know how I would feel and I don’t think it’s something that you can fully explain to someone either.

I do know that by the end of the marathon, I was spent. To the point that while running the last mile, my sister ran onto the course and gave me a rose. I took it, but then gave it back to her telling her that I didn’t even have it in me to hold the rose. I really wasn’t lying either because at that point my sole focus was just to keep my legs moving which is harder than it sounds. The rose just felt too heavy, so I gave it back. I did take it to carry over the finish line (I think).

Of course, my legs just felt beyond tired at the end. Although in retrospect, I actually think that they hurt worse when Dawn and I did our 20 mile training run. They felt heavy and tired, but it really wasn’t till I stopped putting one foot in front of the other that the realization came that although I could move forward moving up and down stairs was not easy. I get it now. After all those miles of making your legs move forward, they forget that the muscles need to move other ways too. Luckily that is short term and honestly so worth the pain.

The process of training and running a marathon really is similar to childbirth in the fact that you prepare for the event for months. You go into it very excited and nervous. You don’t know fully what to expect (even if you’ve done it before). The pain starts off small and builds over the miles. By the end, you are just exhausted and want it over. Then when your cross the finish line, you realize it was all worth it and would probably do it again. You don’t forget the pain, but realize in the end it was worth it.

I was lucky too in that when it was all said and done, I limped away with only one blister, sore heels, one sore ankle, and of course legs of jello. Upon arriving home in the evening, I took care of the blister and soaked in an Epsom salt bath which felt amazing. Then off to bed where I don’t think I moved all night.

Then in the morning when I hobbled out of bed and rolled out my legs, I put these shoes on.

Monday

Tuesday

Now these might seem like odd post marathon shoes, but they worked for me. They took the pressure off my heel and supported my sore ankle. I wore them all day too! Maybe this isn’t for everyone, but this seems to work for me as I did something similar after long training runs. I actually did read something about wearing heels and that is why I first tried it. I like it. I really do.

What are your post marathon shoes?

Girls Gone Wild

Nov25

Let me just say that this title is probably slightly misleading.

Ok, not slightly.

Completely.

I know some Mom’s who plan “Girl’s Weekend” that involve Vegas or such.

Let me interject that I hate the term Girls Weekend as I am not a girl anymore, but a woman. I realize that Woman’s weekend doesn’t sound right, but come on. Can’t we come up with a better term? What would you call it?

As often, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

Girls Weekend.

I’ll be honest. I’m a bit of a homebody. Don’t feel sad that I don’t get out much. I like it that way. That being said, I haven’t been away from my family with friends since I think forever. This was my weekend. This was my kick up my heels. I did it alright too. I did it in style.

First there was the picking up of my wing man or wing lady in this case. (Yes, you Dawn). We also had an extra passenger. A friend of Dawn’s who was going the same way. So as with most things. The more the merrier! Once we were loaded up. Off we went to the city of Brotherly Love for our adventure. We follow the Garmin which takes us the scenic tour, but we still get there with time to spare.

Check into the hotel and off we go for some fun!

First stop……

The Expo!

Where you expecting something else?

We did a few loops. Made a few purchases and met by chance the rest of the MRTT Mama’s who were kicking up their heals in the same fashion. We parted ways with these Mama’s at the expo as they were going out to eat and we were planning to just grab something quick and eat at the hotel. The only snag here is when the city is booked to capacity picking up a quick dinner still turns into an hour wait. So while waiting we hit 7-elleven for some evening snacks. Probably not best to do while hungry.

Case in point and these are only mine.

I will say by the time we got back to the hotel to eat, I was beyond hungry! So hungry that when we met up with the other Mama’s in the lobby that I actually said, “I hate to be rude, but I’ve got to eat” and then proceeded to shove the food in as fast as I could. Carb loading at best. Big portion of pasta with some protien of chicken parm. Yum!

Then the party continued back in the room. This is where we got wild. Going through our clothes putting are final wardrobe into place.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Then off for as much sleep as can be had the night before your fist marathon.

I know.

CRAZY!

The next morning, I even woke up before my alarm at 4:45 AM.

That really is crazy!

Dress to be out in the cold for a while.

I am what appears to be the homeless person in the middle, but I will say that I was warm. Especially since I was in a later corral. The tip here is BEFORE donating old coats, sweatshirts, and such, think will this make a good throw away coat at a race. If so, put that in a separate pile. No one wants to start a race off cold and if you are not that vain and have a good sense of humor, you won’t mind looking like a homeless person.

Especially if by noon you can proudly say

“I just ran a Marathon today!”

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!

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