Touchy

So, the marathon is on Sunday. I am not the only person who knows this. People keep asking me how I feel, if I'm "ready," if I think I'll finish. I always respond with something generic to these questions, but what I really want to do is scream. I mean, the people who send nice notes to wish me luck and tell me I'll be great are super nice, it's the "are you ready?" question that sends me over the edge.

"I don't know, OKAY?! I don't freaking know!!! I don't know if I'm ready, I guess we'll all find out on Sunday, WON'T WE?! I don't know if I'll finish - I freaking want to, and I trained to, but maybe I'll die instead. NEXT TIME YOU ARE NEARING MY DESK, JUST KEEP WALKING OKAY?!"

I can't even describe what I'm feeling right now as nervous excitement. I am sort of angry - at myself - for signing on to do something so challenging and then being so PUBLIC about it. I had to raise money, so I had to be public, but what I really want to do right now is sit in a dark corner by myself with my bundle of nerves. NOTHING TO SEE HERE PEOPLE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT ALL WENT WHEN I AM FINISHED, UNLESS I DON'T FINISH IN WHICH CASE YOU MUST PRETEND YOU NEVER KNEW I WAS DOING THIS, OKAY?

The Marathon is This Sunday, People!!

Dimitri and I watched a YouTube clip of someone driving the course last night, and I actually cried little tears of fear!

My fundraising goal has been met and surpassed. I've completed the standard marathon training schedule and run 20 miles without stopping. I've trained for 6 months. I've woken up at the crack of dawn every Saturday to run in the cold, the heat, the rain, and the humidity. But all of those little victories suddenly mean nothing to me. None of it means anything unless I finish all 26.2 miles on Sunday. It's go time.

I'm running hills one last time in Central Park tonight, for peace of mind more than anything else. I find myself wishing I had crammed in more cross training, paid more strict attention to everything I ate the last 6 months, or completed two 20 mile training runs instead of just one. I am semi-panicking. I try to remind myself that I have put the work in. That I'm just stubborn enough to finish. That the crowds will buoy me on when I'm flagging on the last 6 miles. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Look at that Little Man Crossing the Finish Line!

I made my $3,000 - yay! Now on my Fred's Team Page you can see my little donation tracker runner crossing the donation finish line, raising his arms in victory. I only hope I shall look the same at the end of 26.2 miles on race day. Dimitri is playing his second benefit concert for me in NYC tomorrow, Oct 16th, so we will go above and beyond my donation goal. Victory!

On a slightly down note, I got sick this week and have been sniffling and hacking away. I feel better today, but the cough persists. This is worrisome since coughing exacerbates my asthma, and if I'm running, I'm worried about getting into one of those terrible coughing fits that I haven't had in a while, that I used to get when I first started training. It is supposed to rain and be in the 40s this weekend, so I'm not sure what I'll do about our Saturday morning training run. I'm worried that being cold and wet for 10 miles will make my cold return with a vengeance. However, I really can't imagine myself running for 10 miles at the gym due to my extreme loathing of the treadmill. Anyone want to send me a plane ticket to a warmer, drier locale for the weekend!?

Chicago is a Cold, Cold City!

Dimitri and I headed off to Chicago for a wedding this weekend. The same weekend as the Chicago Marathon! I got my long run in on Saturday morning, running from Damen and North Ave over to Lake Shore Drive, up to Lawrence Ave, and back (16 miles total). Lake Shore Drive is an amazing resource - bathrooms and water fountains, yay! There were many runners out that morning, but it was cold cold cold. I was ill-prepared, having accidentally brought my Fred's Team singlet (tank top) rather than the long sleeved training shirt. Darn! I wore a cotton hoodie over it, but that did not do a terrific job of keeping me warm after it got sweaty. So now I am sick. Ho hum.

I am going to try to take it easy this week and cross train in the gym. Then on Saturday morning I am running the last 10 miles of the marathon course with Fred's Team! Also, Dimitri's NYC concert is on Friday night, so I am very excited for that.

The "Other Kenyans" and the Most Adorable Marathon Runner EVER

I was clicking around the ING New York City Marathon Website, and I came across the link for a Marathon charity that Edward Norton is running for, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

There are runner profiles for the Maasai warriors who are running the NYC Marathon this year for the charity as well, most of whom have never left Kenya before in their lives. And this guy, Parashi Ntanin, he just put tears in my eyes. You have to watch the video where he shows his "running shoes." It is too much! I wish I ran fast enough to keep up with these guys, I would love to run with them. Says Parashi:

"Everyone says that I am the fastest runner in our group, but since this is my first time in a big city, I think I will try to run at the same pace as my friends so I don’t get lost." I want to hug him and make him dinner and buy him running shoes! Which reminds me, please donate your old running shoes to "Shoes 4 Africa".

Ever since I watched, "God Grew Tired of Us" I have been mildly obsessed with Africa. Now I am determined to visit Campi ya Kanzi - it has bumped the Galapagos from the top of the list, and that's saying something!

Now I Know I'll Make It!

So I had my last big training run on Saturday morning - 20 miles - and it was a success! Now I know that after taper I will definitely be able to make my 26.2 at pace on November 1st - which is a great feeling. I even had a running buddy for the last 6 miles, a nice gentleman named Larry who ran his first NYC Marathon right after 9/11. It made such a difference for both of us to run those last 6 miles together, that I have an idea now how much the spirit and camaraderie on the day of the marathon will really help me.

Saturday night was a big night as well - Dimitri's benefit concert in Setauket, Long Island! There was a nice crowd there, and we made enough money to bring me to just $82 shy of my $3000 goal. I know we will get there and beyond with the NYC concert on October 16th. Dimitri played beautifully, I was so proud of him, and we have a nice recording of the event as well on CD.

Next weekend we will be in Chicago for my friend Kari's wedding, so I will be running my 18 miles on Lake Shore Drive, the last long run before taper.

Fear and Trembling and ... Massage?

I forgot to mention that during the infamous 18 Mile Screw Up run last weekend, I was confronted with this guy who was not racing, but running in the park, in the opposite direction, and so crossed paths with me a couple of times. He looked like a hard-core runner, and as we ran past each other, he would look in my face and say "no pain, no pain." It was great, and helpful to hear, but there was pain. Pain and soreness and exhaustion and fear. Fear of getting too injured to go on, fear of not finishing. Fear that on November 1st, I wouldn't have it in me. This is ok, I tell myself. Even Kara Goucher was afraid of the marathon. She says she is still intimidated by the distance.

Most everyone I know who is training for the NYC Marathon right now is injured. Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, ITBS, PFPS, and my biggest fear of all: stress fractures. I mean really, is there anything more horrifying than the fact that prolonged stretches of distance running can cause your bones to literally fracture?! I saw some guy running last weekend who had that funky kinesio taping over 90% of his legs. Because at this point, come on, who wants to default to next year? We have come so far, this has to happen!!!

There is a lot you can do as a runner to prevent injury, and so aside from the ice baths, speed, hill, and distance runs, I have a weekly injury prevention session that is a little less painful. Massage! Now, the only way I can really afford a weekly massage is because I go to this Chinese $1 a minute place in my neighborhood. You should have seen the look on their faces Monday night when my hour massage was over and I presented them with my full punch card (after 10 massages you get one free). They did not even try to disguise their displeasure.

18 Miles in the Pouring Rain

Sounds like a bad country song, but no, it is just my Sunday morning! I completed 18 miles this Sunday, through the NYRR "marathon tune up" 18 mile organized run. I am not so in love with NYRR anymore, considering Saturday morning would have been perfect weather. Instead, I got to go my 18 miles in the incessant pouring rain - soaked to the bone, waterlogged shoes, cold, depressed, desperate, clinging to life, haha ok maybe not that bad but definitely the soaking wet socks and shoes were horrible!

Also, I love that they call it a tune up. My body feels more screwed up than tuned up! My left knee and right foot are killing, especially if I try to go down stairs. I am hoping that a yoga session and some serious icing tonight will help. Speaking of which, I also had a cupcake with icing this afternoon... I deserved it!

Amazing fund raising news, I am now at $2075 total! Only $925 left to go! We are in the final stretches, and I feel like I'm in good shape all around. Dimitri did a run-through of his recital at a friend's house this weekend, and it was beautiful, so I am very excited for the upcoming concerts!

A Few Minor Adjustments

When I signed up to run the marathon I didn't take it lightly, but I also didn't foresee exactly how the endeavor would turn into the Blob and envelope my life in its sentient protoplasm. That may be a little dramatic. The truth is, I send my boyfriend out alone on Friday nights because I have to go to bed at 10pm and can't drink, so that I can get up at 5am for my Saturday morning long run. Then on Saturday nights when we socialize together, I find myself talking to people about how long I ran that morning, what my legs feel like right now, and good god I even talk to them about my under arm chafing! Seriously - when your coworkers start leaving torn out NY Times articles about runners lubricants in your desk, you know you've discussed your chafing with too many people.

I spend the better part of my Saturday afternoons soaking in an ice bath, napping, and taking a hot shower. I spend shocking amounts of money on gear and gels and I obsessively covet a pricey GPS watch (the Garmin Forerunner 405 in case you are curious). I know Central Park like the back of my hand. I can run up and down a set of stairs repeatedly for an entire hour. I have a Runner's World subscription (thanks mom!) and I actually understand what they are saying now when they talk about "negative splits" and "tempo runs." When people tell me they don't like running, I feel like they are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. I actually lose track of time while running. The marathon has enveloped me in its sentient protoplasm, and now we are one. If you don't like to hear someone talk about running, you should probably avoid me at parties.

I am doing 18 miles on Sunday with NYRR (why I haven't joined NYRR yet is beyond me), so wish me luck! After that, I do 20, then taper, then it's showtime!

The Final Shoes

Last week I bought the pair of New Balances that will see me through the marathon, and it felt sort of weighty. I'll train in them for these last 6 weeks to get them nice and broken in, and then they will see me through to the finish line (where I plan on getting to come hell or high water - but I really do hope it doesn't rain!). Then maybe I will have them bronzed, hahaha. The really nifty thing is, they have little orange accents that will match my Fred's Team singlet!

Fundraising ramped up recently, bringing me to $1885 now - just $1115 from my goal! Dimitri's concerts in Long Island on 10/3 and in Manhattan on 10/16 should get me the rest of the way no problem. He has been practicing a LOT and everything sounds beautiful, I am really excited.

This past weekend I did 15 miles, which finally felt good and ok! This coming Saturday, I'll do 13, then ramp back up to 16, 18, and 20 before the final taper. Let hope my little left knee cooperates for a few more weeks, it's been getting a little cranky. I am SO sick of ice baths but I keep taking them!

16 Miles in Boston

I love you Boston - you are so nice and flat! Running 16 miles along the Charles River almost felt like cheating, except that it was raining on me the entire time and it was still 16 whole miles, which was a personal best for me and a scary long way in general. I wore my trusty Mizuno running pants - my first "real" pair of running pants that my mom sent me in the mail way back in the beginning of training. I love them.

I was dreading this run, considering how disastrous my earlier attempt at 15 miles was (much limping involved). But many weeks of training had passed since then, and also it helped that I didn't forget my Gu (i.e. legs did not totally run out of glycogen and crap out around mile 13).

There were a lot of other crazy runners out in the rain early on Saturday morning, clearly training for distance with their little fuel belts on. Our friends Danny and Sarah took us to a great sandwich place, Darwin's, after I got done with my ice bath and hot shower, and I rewarded myself with a spinach, egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich on multigrain bread. Hey - I need the salt!

Tub Full of Ice

So, one nasty side effect of my Saturday morning long runs has been that the rest of the weekend I hobble around with a lot of muscle soreness - stairs are especially painful. I'd been told that taking a post-run ice bath kills all of that. Sounded like fun!

So after this past Saturday's 13.5 mile run, I decided to test the theory, filling up our tub with two large bags of ice and cold water. OUCH! Getting in was painful - the scene was pretty pathetic, me yelling "no like no like no like no like!" over and over again while Dimitri sat on the bathroom floor and held my hand. But after 3 minutes or so of intense discomfort, I numbed out and finished out the 15 minute soak with no problem.

The rest of the weekend was amazingly pain free and I am a total ice bath convert now! Saturday's run was extra fun - since NYC shut down Park Avenue completely so that bikers and runners could use it from 7am to 1pm. We ran from 72nd street to downtown, across the Brooklyn Bridge, and back. Marathon trainees were out in droves, it was a great community feeling.

Here a link to a song I was singing in my head while running, courtesy of Indiecent Music!
Duck Sauce - Anyway

Breaking Me Down

Sometimes I look at a hill, or a steep set of stairs in Central Park, pondering the dozens of times I will have to run up and down them in varying combinations, and it feels like the incline is slapping me in the face. Breaking me down bit by bit, as each ascent gets harder and harder, my stomach cramps, my breathing labors, my legs replace muscle with lead. Our coach is watching, which makes my labored breathing sound even louder, my steps seem even slower. I spend the whole workout feeling tired, pathetic.

Then I get home, take a shower, and make a protein shake. My muscles are sore, my mind reviews the work I've just done and I make peace with the fact that it isn't supposed to be easy. I might not feel good, or strong, but I finished. I finished and I can be at peace with what I've done that day, knowing that by the time the marathon rolls around, I'll be ready. It won't be easy either, but I'll be ready.

And Then They Made Me Throw My Conch Shell Away!

Hello everyone, we are back from Belize! Apparently a conch shell is considered a weapon on a plane, and I now hate the TSA. They did let the booze go through though, so priorities...

We had a great time - I am tan and Dimitri is a certified scuba diver! I also finally got to see sea turtles and a manatee.

Today is my first day of training back with my team - I think we are doing hills. I really HOPE we are doing hills because Coach Jeff, who runs hill workouts, is much nicer than Coach Ann, who runs speed workouts (sorry lady, don't act shocked). Anyway, I hope my running muscles haven't totally disintegrated during my 10 day break from running (jogging while on vacation didn't quite pan out for me). But hey - hiking Mayan ruins and swimming in the ocean counts as cross training, right? Even if it all ends in a pitcher of rum punch? Perhaps not! Back to the grind!!

And I would run 200 miles...

I have added up my mileage since officially starting training and it is 200 freaking miles! Incredible, no? 15 of those miles were done all in a row last Saturday - definitely the most gruelling one I have done so far - 15 miles in the heat, running on the West Side Highway from 97th street to the tip of Manhattan and then BACK. For the first time ever during a run I got to experience what it feels like when your legs just completely have no more juice. It's very different from feeling "tired." But my fellow Fred's Team runners clapped and cheered when I finished, yay! I also wore one of the fancy new running shirts I got in the mail - thanks Mom! Then Dimitri and I got burgers and fries at the Parker Meridien, haha. Not a good post-run meal, but I made up for it at dinner with a homemade stir fry - tofu and swiss chard in hoisin sauce, yummy.

We leave for Belize on Friday! I will fit in a few 5-7 mile runs while we are there to maintain, and hit the long runs when we get back.

I am also at $1245 now and we haven't even begun selling concert tickets yet!

This Girl Loves an Organized Run

My 12 mile run on July 12th through NY Road Runners was awesome! It's so much easier to log miles when there are people with cups of water, gatorade, gel packs, and fire hoses every few miles. The next organized long training run they are doing is while I'm in Belize, but I will definitely sign up for the September and October ones once registration opens - I wish they had them every weekend.

I got way too sunburnt on Saturday at Port Jefferson beach and had to skip Sunday's run, just too painful. But tonight I'll do 6 miles with my friend Jenna, also a Fred's Team runner, in Central Park - which is always fun! Mom is sending running shirts in the mail (thanks Mom!). Hopefully some fancy running shirts will aid in the arm-chafing department - I got a stick of Body Glide too, which many runners have recommended to me.

Dimitri's mom accidentally plugged my marathon charity at a dinner party on Friday night and two people donated. She is embarrassed but my Fred's Team account is $200 richer!

1/3 of the way!

At 9 weeks and $1020, I am both 1/3 of the way through training and 1/3 of the way towards my $3000 fundraising goal! I love that symmetry.

Last night after my 10 mile run, I said to Dimitri "Doesn't it feel like I've been training FOREVER?" Dimitri doesn't lie to me though, and replied "Well, I don't know... not really."

I guess it's just my tired brain playing tricks on me. Also my left knee hurts and I have a rash on the underside of my arms after every long run from chafing against my sweat soaked t-shirt. And sometimes a girl just wants to spend the evening vegging, rather than running 10 miles around her neighborhood while everyone else is bbq'ing! But enough complaining, I still have 2/3rds to go, with a very important 26.2 miles at the end.

I've decided to beat the boredom by expanding my running repertoire. This coming Sunday's 12 mile training run with NY Road Runners should be exciting - it's a long training run and it will be with all kinds of marathoners, not just Fred's Team. I think the group excitement will buoy me on.

I also went to a great running store in my neighborhood, Jack Rabbit Sports, and the girl who rang up my Gu told me she is running the marathon this year too, and that they have a group run on Wednesday nights that leaves the store around 7pm. Could be just the thing to mix up my routine, lest I start wallowing in the loneliness of the long-distance runner.

Nice Warm Up

Sorry for the lag in posting! I ran 11 miles last Saturday and it was great and hard. It was a nice milestone for me, though I finished slower than I'd have liked to. Running one 6-mile loop around Central Park is easy for me now. Running two? Not so much! Still, I remember when running three miles used to feel like a great workout to me. Now it feels like a warm-up. Which is pretty awesome. I may never view distance the same way again.

That being said, I've taken it easy since experiencing some pretty bad knee pain on my regular Monday night 6 mile training run. The consensus seems to be that the only thing for knee pain is rest. I will be running 13 miles (my first half-marathon, woohoo!) today in Central Park with Dimitri there for me at different mile markers to supply water, gel packs, and moral support. I usually run excellent after a brief hiatus, so I have high hopes for today, and am crossing my fingers that the knee pain doesn't return. It will also be my first training run with gel packs, so here's hoping I don't toss my cookies as well!

Into Everyone's Life a Little Rain Must Fall

I had a beautiful 9 mile jog on Saturday in the early evening. I was utterly alone in every sense. Dimitri is still in Greece, Aline was on her flight back to Paris, and it was rainy and misty, so there was practically no one in the park. I loved it. I'm a people person, don't get me wrong, and I miss my Dimitri, but it was meditative to be out there, jogging in the misty rain, with nothing but the trees and my thoughts. 9 miles was a big milestone for me as well - longer, by far, than I'd ever jogged before starting this training.

I also thought of a friend of mine who was just diagnosed with cancer and is starting chemotherapy. We'd spoken on Friday, and it seems that they caught it very early, thankfully. But it made me think, what a life-changing event, what an earth-shattering moment, when your doctor says to you "you have cancer." When you have to then turn around and tell your family. There's so much unknown about this disease and what causes it, and so much improvement to be made regarding our current methods of curing it, that it seems as if we are in some sort of dark age. I felt both strong and impotent at the same time, jogging along. I wished I could do more, at the same time I was thrilled at what I was doing.

I may be the only woman on earth who is happy to be turning 30, but I am so pleased. I'm so lucky to have everything I have: my health, my love, my family, and my wonderful friends, travels and experiences to look forward to. Growing old isn't the curse that our culture often treats it as, it's a privilege.

Back in the Saddle!

I am in love - with my inhaler. It has made a huge difference in my running and I am totally back on track with the training schedule! Last week I completed my first 7 mile run, which felt great. Every 2 miles or so I stop for about 1 minute to have an inhaler break, then keep going. It's nice for my muscles to walk for a bit too, and I feel better at the completion of a longer run that way.

This weekend we were in Lancaster, PA, for my friends Pierre and Adrianna's wedding, which was amazing. I ran 8 miles in downtown Lancaster, it was HOT and I was sweating so much and even got lost once. I literally fantasizing about lemonade on the last mile (and iced tea and juice and coconut water). My friend Aline, who is visiting from France, ran the first 2.6 miles with me as well!

Aline will probably join me again tonight for a jog in Brooklyn, the weather is beautiful and I am feeling great!

My Asthma, My Self

Today I finally broke down and saw my doctor to talk about the breathing issues I've been having while on my longer runs.

The first time it happened, a few weeks ago, I thought it was just my body not being used to running long distances. Then it kept happening, along with chronic coughing that would persist for days afterward. It was scary, and frustrating. Instead of getting better at cardio endurance, the more I ran, the worse my condition got. I felt at war with my body, like I set this amazing athletic goal for myself, and my body is crapping out on me before we are even out of the gates. It seemed like some kind of terrible proof that I wasn't equal to the task. After 4 miles my lungs were rejecting air like I was allergic to it. I couldn't complete my longer 6 miles runs anymore, I felt like a failure.

My doctor believes I have excercise-induced asthma. I'm going to get a chest x-ray on Friday and see a pulmonologist on Monday to make sure there's nothing more going on, but we are pretty sure that once I get my hands on an inhaler, my training can get back on track. I feel better now, knowing that the problem is manageable, even though, mentally, for me, it will take some getting used to being dependent on an inhaler. I know I'm not the most afflicted person in the world - a friend of mine is allergic to her own sweat and has to take a Benadryll before each run!

You can take bad things, and turn them into good things

The battle against becoming cynical and resigned is a daily one. I have been guilty of throwing in the towel - on people, on situations, and on myself, in the past. But sometimes, even the teeniest thing can come along and remind you that you can win, if you just try hard enough and don't get cynical and resigned!

My gym charged me extra fees this month for using a gym that wasn't my "home gym" - I've been using the gym by Central Park basically as a locker room for my Central Park runs after work. I called to complain and instead of waiving the extra fees, they waived my monthly membership charge for July. I thought that was an odd compromise on their part, considering my monthly membership was much more than the little $7.50 fees I'd racked up, but I didn't argue! Tiny battle but it made my afternoon.

Dimitri and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary yesterday (talk about not getting cynical and resigned - I used to think I'd die alone and I ended up with the most amazing person, I am so lucky) with a ride on the Ferris Wheel at Coney Island , dinner out, and a necessary trip to the grocery store where clearly they were celebrating with us as they had a special on Zico coconut water, which is my absolute favorite drink to rehydrate with after a long run. Zico should pay me - I tell EVERYONE to drink this, it is amazing. Really, stuff your gatorade, and get some coconut water. Nature knows best. Also, it reminds me of El Salvador.

Marathon Man

I watched "Marathon Man" for the first time last night (okay I knew it wasn't about running), and maybe it was too hyped and too culturally referenced for me, but I was a little disappointed. I was especially disappointed in Dustin Hoffman's running shoes - geez they looked like they were held together by chewing gum! My brain was screaming, "If you think Laurence Olivier's dental instruments were bad, wait until you're done giving yourself plantar fasciitis by training for a marathon in those shoes!"
Haha. I kid, sort of.
Anyway, my New Balance's are doing me good and I'm running 5 miles tonight, 6 tomorrow, and squeezing 6 in somewhere over my long weekend in TN. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend! I start training with my team officially on May 30th, I hope there are some other "slow and steady wins the race" types to jog alongside me :)

What I am, is a runner

So, since I started really training with my Fred's Team running schedule last week, I have discovered some pretty interesting things about myself. One, that I can run 5 miles in a row, without stopping, with no problem - several times a week. That might not seem like much to some, but while I've always been active, I've never considered myself to be naturally athletic, based on some pretty embarrassing attempts at sports involving hand-eye coordination, and the fact that I run slowly. I even had a tactless co-worker comment recently when he found out about my marathon, "you don't look like a runner." OUCH.
The fact of the matter is, that was completely ignorant statement. I see girls who look far less athletic than me, passing me in Central Park every time I run there. Running is not an exclusive sport - anyone can do it. Strap on some sneakers and go. You might surprise yourself, like I did. I never challenged myself with a serious althletic feat before, and the more I run, the more I am sure there has been a marathoner lurking inside of me all along.

Got my training schedule!

So, people have been asking me a lot lately how much I am running, since I am building my base now. I haven't pushed myself so much, considering I'd be starting "real" training with my Fred's Team sometime in July.
WRONG!!! Our team trainer is WAY too smart for that. He says, and I quote:
"This year’s Fred’s Team training runs start in May. Last year I left it to you to build your base on your own. I’m not doing that again."
Soooooo.... I got my schedule and it starts on May 4th! That's right - it starts Monday!!! And it is REALLY HARD LOOKING. Like, G.I. Jane hard. I am so excited. My mom just sent me some cool running gear in the mail, looks like I'll be wearing it A LOT.
In case you are wondering what the details of the training are, a good synopsis is that I'll be running from 25-40 miles per week, every week, for the next 26 weeks, and cross training on Wednesday and Friday nights in the gym (weights, bike, elliptical, pilates), with Sunday as my 1 rest day.
Ok let's go!

The Newsletter Cometh

I got my first weekly Fred's Team email today! You know what that means - the training, and the race, draw ever nearer. I can't decide which I am more nervous about - raising $2700 more to make my fundraising committment, or running 9x more than I usually do in one go.

That being said, I am really excited that soon I'll be able to train with my team. I'm counting on some nice improvements coming in speed and endurance, otherwise it's going to be a long, long race. Pre-training has been good so far, I have some good support here in NYC and I make sure to tell Dimitri my running and gym plans so he helps me stick to it.

That being said - half of my fundraising commitment ($1500) is due by September 4th! So if you haven't already, click on that Fred's Team link and donate! I mean it!!!

Running in Reverse

Due to some concern about my left hamstring and general boredom, I decided to try and mix things up by running Prospect Park in the reverse direction I usually take. This seemed like a good idea to compensate for the slope in the road as well.
It was so hard I couldn't believe it! I don't know if running the generally hilly route in reverse was so difficult due to it turning into a steep decline followed by a long, gradual incline, or by the complete erasure of my mental marks (Oh here we are at half way! Just up this big hill and you're almost done! This is the yield sign where you sprint to the finish!)
It felt just as terrible as the first time I ever ran the park, several years ago, in the snow, coming off of a cold, when I was convinced it must have been MUCH longer than 5k.
How running in one direction has become so easy, whilst running in the opposite direction seems positively masochistic is beyond me, but I am determined to conquer reverse Prospect Park again this weekend, as well as a longer 10k run on the West Side Highway running path, which will be new territory for me. Wish me luck!

Off to a great start!

Thanks to my awesome friends and family and coworkers, I am off to a great start fund raising, we are already at $225! Thank you so much to everyone who has pitched in so far. I literally sent that email out to just about EVERYONE I know, and it was really touching to find people I haven't seen in years reaching out to support me - like my friend Anni all the way from Australia!
I am about to go for my nightly jog now, I had homemade balsamic beef stew for dinner 2 hours ago, probably not the best choice, should be interesting! (there was wine in it). My hamstrings, which have been bothering me, seem to be back to 100% after taking a weekend off and getting a deep tissue massage at a spa here in NYC (thanks to my wonderful boyfriend Dimitri for the gift!). I'm looking forward to pounding the pavement and hitting the gym again this week, full effort.
Off we go!

Starting Out

Hello everyone! I signed up to run the 2009 NYC Marathon several week's ago for Fred's Team, and I'm really excited.

This is a blog to keep you posted on my training and progress, and everything that happens along the way! There is a link that will remain at the top of the sidebar so you can access my Fred's Team page easily if you'd like to make a donation :)

I won't start training with my team and really packing on the miles until July, but I have already started prepping for the long road ahead. I'm working right now on building endurance and speed, with several weekly 5k runs and twice a week strength training sessions in the gym, based on a very helpful training session I received from my track and field runner friend, Patrick.

Please visit my Fred's Team webpage to see more about the team, the race, the cause, and to donate!