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!