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!!