all that matters is what makes you happy

Things I'm Loving Right Now

2011-12-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

I'm not much of a sock wearer when inside at home, except when it starts to get colder outside and I'm in full-on lounge mode. One of my sisters had some of these and upon seeing them I flew straight out to Old Navy to nab a couple pair.

I thought about posting some pictures of the various juices I've made but they all look like puke and/or blood so I'll refrain and just show you the behemoth of an appliance that dominates my counter. This thing is truly a miracle worker, in addition to feeling crazy energetic after consuming said juices I've also come to like ... eh, that might be too strong, tolerate, red beets.

Sore muscles are not required to love Plantlife's Sore Muscle oil; it smells good and it a nice replacement to lotion after coming out of the shower. Bonus if someone else actually rubs it in for you (I'm not that lucky)

Until recently I'd believed Mother's Milk was my most favorite stout however Left Hand and it's appearance at Valhalla, local watering hole in my hood, has changed all that. Their milk stout is frothy, milky, delicious!

Miles. And miles. And miles. FINALLY, a full on return to respectable running is in the works. It doesn't hurt that this is my absolute most favorite time of the year to be out and that I have a few pairs of new shoes in the rotation but ultimately, it's my desire to be out there and to enjoy the time that has me loving every step of those 5280 feet increments.

Beer, sweat, cupcakes and spinach - oh my!

2011-11-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

Slowly, the laziness is melting away. Not completely, of course, but I've got momentum on my side for now. Obviously not enough momentum as I thought I'd published this post several days ago; pretend you're reading this last Monday.

Saturday morning started off with more perfect fall weather and a fun outing to Williamsburg celebrating the 2nd anniversary of City Running Tours. I met up with Tracy, Tara and John and enjoyed the easy miles around a neighborhood I don't find myself in all that often. We got some great info from our running guide, who is also a kickball teammate, Karl. He pointed out great historical info, sweet spots to grab eats & drinks and the general lay of the land.

We finished the run back at Brooklyn Brewery where we sampled plenty of tasty brews, including: Brooklyn Brown Ale, Winter Ale, Elevated Wheat and Radius (a Belgian Pale Ale).

Following that and a quick subway ride back into Manhattan and I was shoving more calories down my gullet. Address that guy, Mr. Colossal. Nevermind that the rest of the ladies I shared this with have all recently ran at least one marathon in the last week or so... yeah, I've got all my winter fat ready to go.

By Sunday I was drained and needing some nutrition. Finally got around to making this super easy recipe using Field Roast; both Jen and I had been drooling over it and I think we ended up making it within a day of one another.

Next time, MORE spinach!

Asleep at the wheel

2011-11-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

It's not surprising that we shuffle, stumble and practically sleep-walk through many of our "living" hours. The cycles of sleep, eat, work, maybe some play, maybe some other stuff are fairly defined and for the vast majority, don't change radically for large periods of time, read: years, decades, maybe longer. Shit is on auto-pilot.

What never ceases to amaze me are those events, whether a simple feeling or emotion, an experience, an individual or even a fleeting thought, that seem to momentarily shake us from zombie-like mode. To me, it's their simplicity that makes them most delicious. Today's snap-outta-it moment came in the form of a weather condition, specifically a thick, juicy fog. Man, I must be hungry ... using delicious and juicy in the last 2 sentences :) Anyways, after meeting up with Elyssa and Bojana we headed into Central Park for some easy miles around the big loop. To say the leaves were gorgeous would be a disservice, everything is golden and red and orange; it's what people have in mind when they profess their love of fall, and running through the scene felt like a privilege. But what really took my breath away were fog-ridden pathways, concealed expanses of ground and the quietness that comes with such conditions. Life was happening but it wasn't, we were moving but standing still at the same time. And all of a sudden our city of millions felt like a quaint country town strewn with runners peaking in and out of the low-lying clouds.

Because my words do no justice, behold ...

And that, my friends, is how life awakens us. Thank god for morning running partners who also happen to be amazing photographers, Elyssa took these all and more... thanks for the wake-up!

You shall be my savior from myself

2011-11-07T17:06:00.001-05:00

Like a small child, I've resorted to bribery. While perusing the goods at the NYCM expo on Friday, I had no real intention to make any purchases. I certainly didn't need any gear of the clothing variety but when strolling by the Brooks Running booth I was reminded that I'd intended to make a stop at Big River Running while in St. Louis to check out the new PureProject line; free time in STL expired quickly and soon enough I was flying back East. Back to Friday night and I was slipping my sweaty & poorly polished toes into both the PureFlow and PureCadence models; I've never run in Brooks before but I know there are several models that closely resemble my stand-by Asics Nimbus. And more importantly I needed a spark ... anything really to force myself back into some semblance of a running schedule. I'm tired of posting about my laziness and lack of motivation and lack of commitment so with this post I hereby shut my pie hole. Bought the PureFlows although I liked the colors of the PureCadence more and, if these work out well, may go for the dude's version of the Flow ... because we all know how I feel about green.

P . O . W. E. R

eta: I'm a big, fat liar. I have worn Brooks, my trail shoes are Cascadias. D'uh

This seems like a good reason to write

2011-10-31T14:08:00.000-04:00

Another round of posts started and orphaned in the "not published" state; I'm just so wishy washy, I can't even commit to a freakin' blog post. Thanks to Theia for the kick in the pants, I'll use this post to participate and to share some other random happenings.

First to oblige my selection by Theia, seven random things about myself...

I really like the number 3 but sometimes I have a hard time writing it, like my fingers/hands don't work and I have to really think about it. Please diagnose me, what am I dying of?
As a child I wanted nothing more ... absolutely nothing more than to have long hair. That would never happen under my father's rule of "keeping it short, keeping it easy" so I often wore a yellow towel on my head, secured by bobby pins or a rubber band. Yellow was necessary b/c I also wanted to remain a blonde. My siblings had similar strategies and used slips, pantyhose (that's a weird word), etc.
In a desperate attempt to live on extremely meager earnings the summer between my junior and senior years in college, I lived on a package of hot dogs and some grapes for an entire week. Chew slowly, the food will last longer.
College friends of mine and I thought up a delivery service of 7-11 Big Gulps (or Super Big Gulps, for an additional charge) for Saturday & Sunday mornings to all our hungover college friends and roommates. Program never got under way as we were always in that same hungover crowd.
From years of traveling to the suburbs of Chicago for a big volleyball tournament each year, our family has a favorite truck stop along highway 55; eh yeah I guess we're truck stop people. Stop by the Dixie Travel Plaza if you're ever on that stretch of I-55.
Some of my favorite smells are found at any construction site: cement, wet rock, freshly cut 2x4s, dirt. Don't even get me started on all the chemical smells I adore.
Just last week, a crowd of us were at a bar on 23rd St and ended up getting a picture with the Cowboy from the Village People; he definitely wanted the photo to be taken more than any of us.

As far as other non-random stuff, life chugs along. I'm feeling entirely uncommitted to anything lately, which for me only differs slightly from unmotivated. I feel like I'm in a better place than a few months ago, mentally, but little has really changed physically. Part of this is b/c I haven't pushed myself back into training for anything in particular despite having the Houston HM on my schedule. At this point it's me being stubborn towards me, and lazy ... lots of lazy. I need a huge kick in the ass!

So there's that, just a small slice of the randomness I offer the world.

Attn Runner Army, Beer Running Season is Upon Us!

2011-10-14T14:15:00.000-04:00

It's getting to be that time of the year when most runners are readying for some off-months from serious training, recovering from recent marathons, triathlons, etc and looking to spend morning hours of the weekend doing something besides logging miles and miles of a long run. Well look no further, beer run season is upon us! If you're in the NYC area you've likely already attended at least one of Runner Army's various booze and/or food related running excursions and if you haven't, here's your chance. And for the hoards of you running the NYCM, the timing could not be more perfect...

On Saturday, 11/12 at 11:30 come meet all your running friends at Brooklyn Brewery and spend the afternoon running about Brooklyn and ending back at the brewery for some delicious malted beverages. The event is run by City Running Tours and this particular event will be celebrating their 2nd anniversary (which likely means cool schwag!)

All about City Running Tours and in NYC with full details and sign up here

Think of it as a warm-up for Claire's next beer run (12/3) and for what will likely be a repeat of last year's New Years Eve doughnut run.

Hope to see you at the event!

Growing up with Jeff

2011-09-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

The number of times my Mazda 323 (affectionately known as "Eggie", RIP) and I made the 300 mile trip between Chicago & St. Louis along highway 55 in the years 1997-2000 has to be in the hundreds. Or so it felt. We'd pretty much go on auto-pilot, left hand contained a large coffee and handled steering, right hand dealt with shifting and keeping the tunes going. Most often I drove only in the company of Jeff. Jeff Tweedy.

We'd been friends since before college, he then in Uncle Tupelo and me under-age drinking, playing volleyball and collecting a paycheck from Imo's pizza. Both being from the greater St. Louis area, he on Illinois side of the Mississippi, we had our Midwestern roots in common & shared some of the same hobbies like going out on the Landing & hitting up the gambling boats. By the time I was in college, he'd formed a new band, Wilco, but many of his lyrics' themes remained and certainly the ties to America's heart land. I took comfort in hearing those twangy but rocking beats and felt our friendship was solid. I wasn't wrong. As he and his band mates grew in popularity they moved to Chicago and identified with that being more of their hometown; this worked out perfectly for me as I also moved to the Windy City after college. We'd see each other from time to time, often at the Riviera and smaller venues in the Chicagoland area and around Southern Illinois. But once... once at the most amazing of shows ever, at the now defunct Lounge Ax on Lincoln, it was like being in the living room catching up with your friends and listening to some amazing music; I still have a cassette tape of the show recorded off a DAT tape. If only I had a sweet Walkman so I could actually listen to it.

Eventually I moved to NYC and we saw each other less but I kept up with his latest releases and caught a show whenever Wilco was in town. I can't help but feel like I grew up with Jeff and his various band mates and just as their music has evolved so have my expectations of the newest albums ...but man oh man, the older stuff can twist my heart up in an instant. To this day, listening to Summerteeth's Via Chicago transports me back to my days along highway 55 and so many of the other songs bring about a deep emotional response. And so I was beside myself, last week, when after selling out both shows in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield, they released additional tickets. Snagging up a couple quickly, J and I found ourselves in the middle of the park on a dark foggy night. The skies hinted at rain but it never came, instead the familiar lyrics of an old friend filled the wind and filled my heart with a little of what I'll always miss of the Midwest.

Go get yourself some of Illinois's best... The Whole Love is available in iTunes now!

If not now, when?

2011-09-21T15:29:00.000-04:00

"To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now" - Donald Altman

Days, weeks and months pass just as they did before, just as they have for the last 30+ years of my life. It's different but it's not, it's scary but it's not. I guess I'm thinking more of the quality and content of those days, weeks and months more and from a different perspective. You'd think that in doing so some introspection would occur as well. Well, you'd be wrong. The thoughts aren't of the quality of my life but rather that of my father. And while it seems an easy conclusion to draw, it wasn't until my Monday morning running buddy, TK, said so did I know it to be obvious & of course true. It's so much easier to focus on someone else, their needs, the support required for them than to look inward. My family is pretty much the best of the most kick ass people I've ever known. We're loud and dysfunctional as all hell but we've always got one another's backs and we can organize like no other. You throw a task down and it's CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! So while we're all moving forward in our new daily reality, each with our own facet of the challenge well underway, I've completely lost touch of just how much of my own stuff I've let fall away.

As any runner will tell you, we're big eaters, but because we're often in motion it all balances out. I'm no different; sure there may be times after a big race or maybe when injured that activities don't exceed intake and a little weight is gained here or there but soon enough the balance is restored and all is right with the world and its supply of cupcakes & salty snacks. Given my lack of doing much of anything, I'm both up in weight and down in activities; this needs to change. A couple weeks ago I joined some friends and family to compete in a game-like contest of building better habits, dropping the crap and losing some tonnage. Things are looking up thus far although they'd speed up a bit if I were to get back to building some mileage. And thus why I'm posting here, I need just a touch more accountability. I may also need to do something more drastic, like commit to a race before the year's up, something with some distance ... any suggestions? In the meantime here's to running more on a daily basis & to refining my skillz on the kickball field (yeah, I joined J's team ... eeps!)

Coming up: an overdue recap of the Spartan Race, and both the Fifth Ave Mile & a cool performance in BK

Swimming in the deep end

2011-08-29T11:00:00.066-04:00

It would be safe to consider myself a swimmer. Not of any competitive caliber, and expecting to win, but a strong, adequately able swimmer. I can be away from a pool / lake / other body of water for years but once back in it's like I never left. I've never felt intimidated by water, never feared it or felt like it would ultimately be the end of me. On the contrary, it's quite like a cocoon. A safe, warm place where I have fond memories of both solo adventures and time spent with family & friends.

Although I haven't been swimming lately, save for one trip for some laps a couple weeks ago, I feel like I've spent a good amount time mimicking that environment in my mind. In the water, alone, I set the mood and the deeper I get, the further away from any source of light, the more it seems I may just not need the light. The dark is comforting and tempting ... "stay here, don't fight it, you need nothing else." Why would I leave and have other forces try to impress the light upon me? I control this, I need no one else, I'm better off in the dark and so I dive deeper. Deeper still.

I'm not used to a world of just dark, it's not where I reside most of the time and while comforting, it still scares me. And so I welcome those beacons in the back of my mind making themselves known, "just how deep is this pool?" And then I immediately come up for a breath, a deep full breath.

I've been living in fear for the last several months, my father's diagnosis has left a large mark on my day-to-day and trying to move on with life, as he has, seems impossible to me most of the time. My mind cannot focus and most activities have been deprioritized; among them being all of those things that would normally challenge me out of a dark mood, running being highest on that list. I find it no coincidence that I recently came across this passage, without outwardly looking for it.

Today if you feel limited by your fear, remember: You can assume the worst and allow that to keep you paralyzed, or you can decide to stop wasting your energy analyzing evidence, and focus instead of creating possibilities.

Like watching grass grow

2011-06-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

Quiet and relatively uninteresting times around here, running-wise. There have been a couple inflection points in the form of Reach the Beach (for which I feel I'm much too late to recap) and the first in the summer series of XC 5Ks in Van Cortlandt. Both were fun experiences, challenging and sparks to my training schedule. I'm definitely going to get up to the Bronx for more of that summer series and have also signed up for the Fairfield HM in late June, more to keep me out of any comfort zone. Because let's face it, base building isn't the height of challenging, sexy or exciting and so most of my weeks look the same with only a slight increase in volume from week to week and not much fluctuation in paces. At this point I have many weeks in the 40-50 mile range and am now increasing that to the 50-60 mile range. Coach has me sticking with a plan that looks a lot like my build up to IL in May '10 although I'm going to try and incorporate more trail running & attempt to hit something a bit higher in my average MPW throughout the cycle, which means throughout the long and hot summer. I'll be practicing my very best Fonzie & trying to stay coooooooool.

Other highlights as of late, Memorial Day!! Which, as we all know, is the unofficial season of outdoor cocktails and beers. I tried my very best to represent and honor those whom have defended our country by visiting as many of NYC's outdoor patios & biergartens in a single 24 hour period as humanly possible. And while I'll claim moderate success no summer is officially "on" until a visit to the original Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria is made.

And because this post is stupid, unorganized and not well thought out, if you want to read some great RTB recaps crafted by my teammates, check 'em out here and here.

I really Jean-Paul'ed that one

2011-05-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

Spring into early summer line-up fails: 1
Maria: 0

Waking up in a panic with some vague recollection that the snooze button has been depressed, perhaps a number of times, is no way to wake up race morning. Also, waking up a good 80+ miles from the start line without the required number of minutes between the present time and gun time to travel to said start line, is no way to wake up race morning.

Needless to say I didn't run in Philadelphia yesterday, I missed a great day of running and what looked like superb conditions for the Broad Street Run. I also spent a nice chunk of cash on race registration and renting a Zipcar for a day I spent in and very near my apartment.

I = loser

Some additions to the line-up

2011-04-26T15:20:00.001-04:00

Bit the bullet and registered for a couple more races last week; with those in place around what I'd already planned to run, I have a nice early summer figured out.

May 1 - Broad Street 10 miler - Philadelphia
May 14 - Healthy Kidney 10K - NYC/CP
May 20-21 - Reach the Beach - Massachusetts
June 11 - NY Mini 10K - NYC/CP

Those 10Ks will act as both torture devices and races to gauge VDOT paces for the start of my Grand Rapids training cycle. The Mini, in particular, will be interesting as it's usually a little too warm that day & quite humid but it's such a historic & cool all-women's race that always packs in a nice elite showing. The Healthy Kidney, too, gets it's fair share of exposure & is a quality race for both locals & elite talent; it also happens to be the race that got me my current 10K PR 3 yrs ago (46:40). Uh yeah, I sorta fear the 10K especially with Central Park as the route; I'm all good until that damned 3rd mile and the 1st half of the 4th mile. Part of it is the well-placed hill coming off the down of Harlem hill but more of it is my crappy attitude towards the heat & humidity. Of course I cannot [easily] alter my body's physiological reaction to such conditions however I can try to get over my fear of racing when I know I'm not in the best of shape and these two efforts will shake that fear up ...or further cement it. Past the time to pull on my big girl pants, CTFU and at least try to run well in less-than-ideal conditions.

To further get me out of my comfort zone I'm toying with the idea of registering for the Fairfield HM (6/26) or the Utica Boilermaker 15K (7/10), undoubtedly both will host some nasty, sticky conditions. Doing so will force me to enter that mindset that the miles will totally suck, there won't likely be a way to run well if I'm not prepared and it's quite likely that I may not run well even then, given the weather.

But let's push those thoughts out just a bit further and skip back to the present; last week turned out decent. Nothing but ez running, need to remember to add in some strides as well as a little tempo work, but still a solid base building week and I got my butt to yoga, which is key, especially to my butt!

M: 6.35 mi ez (8:41)
T: rest
W: 6.35 mi ez (8:36) + 90 mins. yoga
T: 8.5 mi ez (8:54) *first run with Kelly & Megan, wheee!*
F: 8.9 mi ez (8:30)
S: 5.25 mi ez (8:54)
S: 13 mi ez (9:14)

Total: 48.35 mi

Le suck

2011-04-18T17:54:00.000-04:00

Last week got off to a lousy start and I'm blaming that start for setting a bad precedent. Of course I'm not to blame whatsoever and there is no excuse making going on here.   It was completely out of my hands and an experience I've never been through before!   Ahem.

::rolls eyes::

Fine, it was my fault and I am making excuses. After spending another kickass weekend at home with the family and running the STL Marathon relay I flew back to NYC on Monday morning and headed straight to the office. I was tired and cranky and sad (I always get sad leaving the fam, call it post-trip dumpsies). Therefore I didn't run on Monday. Work is more stressful than normal lately, with a big product being released next week, that means doing plenty extra to ensure everything will look & work great. It also means that when I do finally leave the office the last thing I want to do is anything. Therefore I didn't run on Tuesday or Wednesday.    Weak.sauce.

Thursday! This was going to be the savior of the week. Since I'm still having problems getting out of bed in the morning when not meeting up with others for a run, I packed up my running gear and brought it to work. The weather was superb that day and I looked forward to the jaunt over the Brooklyn bridge and up the West Side to get me home.   This sounded like a fab plan b/c it wouldn't matter when I finished w/work, I run in the dark all the time. Everything would have gone off without a hitch had I ignored the afternoon demo meeting on the books for that day and it's location in our other office. Fine, I told myself, I'll just run from SoHo, I won't get that run over the bridge but I'll still run home. Nope. Had to have my laptop with me for that afternoon and there's no way in hell I'm running with a laptop on my back, I can imagine dents and bruises from that stupid brick. I also had a time constraint that night in the form of an appointment at the vet's office with my furry friend. F#@$, no run on Thursday.

This is just silly.

Finally, come Friday I had my regular meet up with the bridges crew and I got some miles logged. That was just the nudge I needed to continue through the weekend. So while it wasn't ideal, I'm considering it one week less of base building to get me to Grand Rapids and not allowing it to happen again.

F: 6.5 mi ez (9:00)
S: 7.75 mi ez (9:25) - great fun on the bridle path!
S: 13.15 mi (9:02) - ran the lower perimeter loop of Manhattan, 59th St and south

Total: 27.40 mi

Glancing at the long view, I've got 6 more weeks of base and then 20 weeks prior to Grand Rapids. Need to make them all count.

Back to the roots

2011-04-15T16:07:00.001-04:00

I do experience plenty of happiness in my day-to-day, along with a ton of frustration and anger, but hey that's not what this post [or blog, for the most part] is about. I need to remind myself of this often, especially on those days/weeks/months where it seems all is the suck. The little things that have made me happy today:

Friday bridges run with Elyssa, Eissa and guest runner, Susan! These runs make for a fantastic start to any day but especially Fridays.
After this morning's run and before boarding a train back uptown, I found the cutest coffee shop along Chambers St. Thanks for the great tasting java, Blue Spoon Coffee Company!
Everyone clogging up the subway platform this morning were all awaiting either a B or D train. My A train pulled up, the seas parted, I boarded easily and got a seat
Cadman Plaza in spring time is a gorgeous sight. I pass it every week day twice, while walking between the subway and my office. On downtown bridge route running days I pass it thrice!

I had one last packet of Justin's almond butter to enjoy with an apple [thereby canceling out the zesty ranch potato chips]

I'm closing bugs left and right in QA for a big project my team has been working on tirelessly . Geeky moment!
A few choice finisher shots from last week's STL Marathon Relay

Lessons learned

2011-04-14T12:00:00.030-04:00

If you've spent any significant time around me you know that I'm a stubborn, stubborn individual. It's not always immediately evident but should you inquire about anything related to certain pockets of television or movie minutia, the subway, directions, or time lines/past events in our shared history and you'll soon find out I'm right. I'll insist upon it. My correctness is based on facts, I'm not one to believe that we have to share all the same beliefs in matters of opinion but if there's some fact underlying the aforementioned topics, I'm pretty much always right. And should I have to admit to being wrong, as Jason & my sisters have learned, I'm not so gracious. There is one area of my life that I don't have a problem being wrong, well I don't like being wrong and would prefer to have it all figured out but the learning is part of the fun. That being, as you've probably surmised, running. I've had good success with having a path to "right" for me in many areas but still learn things in most races and some training runs. A few details gleaned from the 50K & this past weekend's STL marathon relay:

Don't be stupid; test out all equipment prior to the run. Even though I'd recently used my Camelbak, I didn't test it out the morning of the race, choosing to simply fill the bladder up with water and be on my way. It wasn't until about 15 mins. prior to the start that I tried to take a sip only to find some sort of blockage in the hose or bladder connection point. Luckily with the conditions we had that day & the frequency of aid stations, I didn't need it but I did have to schlep the pack for the first loop b/c of the late timing.
It's ok to run fast(er) on trails when you can, take advantage of flats and downhills and cruise! I played this race mega-conservative, the distance and terrain at that distance were total unknowns to me and I wanted to maximize the fun while minimizing any opportunity of a crash n' burn. I had plenty left to give and could have run a bit more aggressively on both loops.
I'm still not OK running in the heat esp when not acclimated. This past Sunday's run in STL was a shocker to say the least, summer crept in FAST and I was reminded how much the heat & humidity affects me. Although I know I'll have more time to acclimate in the natural progression of spring into summer, I want to be well prepared for those nasty, doggy days when I'm deep in training for Grand Rapids. I took an extra precaution and picked up a sleeker, smaller Camelbak while in STL, to use this summer in lieu of my hand-held on longer runs. Will be drinking more and more often.
This is no grand revelation, but running trails makes you stronger. You engage your core for stabilization and there are always plenty of rolling ups and downs to challenge and spice up any run. I intend to keep trails in the mix while building my base for GR and for a LR here and there, when keeping the pace easy.

Here is last week's OK attempt to get my base going towards Grand Rapids; I should have planned better for Saturday's run & got out immediately upon waking up. But ended up hitting the STL marathon expo & then visiting with my aunt who is recovering from back surgery.

M: 7.45 mi ez (9:14)
T: 6 mi ez (8:43), finished with 6x strides
W: 11 mi ez (9:12) a.m. / 90 mins yoga p.m.
T: rest
F: 6 mi w/2 @tempo (8:07) *although the tempo miles were a bit too slow and then maybe a bit too fast, the entire run was at an avg of 8:07 so I'm not too upset
S: unintended rest, visiting family
S: 9.6 mi ez (9:16) as STL Marathon Relay

Total: 40.05 mi

Putting it out there

2011-04-04T13:30:00.001-04:00

In an effort to keep my motivation rolling, here's the recap of last week's skimpy running:

M: travel to STL and rest
T: dressed in running clothes & waited out some cold rain. Never made it for the actual run; ate cheddar & rosemary popcorn.
W: 5.3 ez miles around a couple parks in my parent's neighborhood
T: Cardinals home opener, woke up too late to do any running
F: see above, hungover and attempting to do some work
S: travel to NYC, sloth-like day on the couch
S: 9.35 ez miles up the Hudson

Total: 14.65 miles (don't exactly need a calculator for that math)

My goal for this week is log all a.m. runs, just like I was doing a year ago, and to make it back to the yoga studio at least once.

Running like a fool

2011-04-03T23:28:00.005-04:00

As runners we've all experienced shitty runs and most of us, if not all, have experienced a period of time where our mojo has inexplicably left us. At times this happens because we're burnt out, uninspired, injured or impacted by long periods of crap weather. Perhaps more of our non-running life has impeded a path to running freedom or, in the worst of circumstances, it might be all of these things. For myself it felt like all of the above and in a recurring cycle for the last 10 months. Since being at the highest peak I've been probably ever been at, and not succeeding in a race I should have smashed, I just haven't been the same. Who knows, maybe the same or at least a similar result would have occurred had I had the race I truly trained my ass for... who knows. And as much as I've tried to stop the comparisons to me prior to May 1 last year and me today, I can't help it and it's making me crazy.

I'm a realist and a reasonably level-headed individual, most times, so I understand the comparisons won't do anything but a). depress me more and/or b). motivate me to try and get back there but that's still not enough. I tried brute force, it worked for a couple weeks here and there. I tried running for just running and it made me nuts not having a race to train for and/or a plan to follow. I slacked on my eating & in my yoga practice and it only depressed me more. By late last year I was probably +11 lbs of my race weight, suffering from PF in both feet for the first time ever, feeling unmotivated and uninspired and not willing to do much to change any of it. The thought of planning for races in 2011 was truly scary, daunting and demoralizing. Really the only thing that I knew for certain was that I most certainly did not want to train for a spring marathon. No way, no how. The comparisons were much too fresh in my mind and training for another 26.2 in the same period of time after one of my best cycles, would prove to be frustrating and maddening.

However! ... I love running the miles. I love the long run. I love dedicating hours on a weekend to topping off a week's worth of running. I just wasn't ready for all the other stuff that goes into specific race training, you know the guts of it all (aside from the mileage), the tempo work, the intervals, the progressions. Basically none of the quality. Even more so b/c NYC had more of a snowy winter than I can remember in my almost 11 years here; which doesn't really affect my ability to get out and run but does affect my getting to a snow-free track and nailing split-driven segments of running.

Back to the point, coach and I talked about this quandary of mine quite a bit. He encouraged me to keep running consistently and logging whatever mileage I could muster. He also planted the idea of finding a 50K for the spring. I heard him and I did a poor job of executing. Again with inconsistent weeks, finding my morning runs only when I had plans to meet up with others and often compromising on miles for un-needed rest days and additional hours of sleep that I wasn't lacking on to start with. All in all, I was in no better a position by mid-January than I'd been for much of last year. I HAD to do something!

And so on January 17th I mailed in my registration for the 2011 Fools Run 50K trail race. I had something to work towards. From that point until the actual race last Sunday (3/27) I'd almost be OK with yada-yada-yada'ing it. Sure, I ran long on trails on the weekends and I tried to improve my consistency but the in/out of my mojo remained. I just wasn't feeling it.

Fast forward to last weekend.

I flew into Cleveland Friday night and drove directly to meet up with my awesome coach, Lloyd, his wife, Andrea, and my host for the weekend, Jim. It was the warmest of receptions and I knew I was in for a special treat of a weekend. A couple tasty Ohio beers consumed, a Kansas victory on the televisions and a lovely spinach salad in my belly. Ready!

The next day brought much of the local scene into better focus. I was able to get out to the race course, check out the start/finish area and run an easy 3 miles on the toughest part of the course, the last loop known as the Salt Run. I was also able to tour many areas of the huge urban park that is the Cuyahoga Valley National Park including a few solid looks at the great blue heron heronry and hit up one of the local running stores for bib pickup. The day was capped off with a lovely dinner in the company of Kathleen & Andrea

Pre-race dinner with Kath & Andrea

Race morning and I was excited!! Not the least bit nervous nor anxious, just plain ole excited. It was truly a liberating feeling that continued the entire 6:52 I was out on the course. See, the beauty of this day, this race, was that I had no expectations, no pressures, no desire for a certain time or a certain race plan that had to do with splits. The sun rose and provided a gorgeous day esp for those that seem to be heat-challenged (raising hand!!!). Crisp temps in the upper 20s rising to the high 30s/low 40s (I think) by the time I finished and a sky full of blue and sun. Not even a malfunctioning Camelbak could upset this scene. I lined up in the last 1/4 of runners and without much ado we were off just after 7:30 a.m. The course was a 25K loop consisting of 4 legs where each leg was made up of several trails and connectors and shortly after starting, my one and only fear of getting lost/off course, was laid to rest. Everything was marked so well and in the first loop I was always following or running adjacent to several others. We darted around grass trails up big sledding hills, along wide cross country trails made of fine gravel, up & down single track that often sported more than one set of stairs and around a gorgeous set of boulders known as the Ledges.

I would have had to work at not smiling.

I ran at a quicker clip when I could, power walked up steep inclines when required and made the most of mini-coversations with my fellow runners whenever we'd come upon one another. The volunteers were AMAZING and the eventual winners were crazy friendly, cheering us along as they passed. We looped around a few trails double-backing and finally got back to the Salt Run. Soon enough the first lap was done and I was grabbing some soda and a pb&j square before starting back out on the second loop. Doing a quick body check and everything was a-OK, no aches, no pains, not even the nasty PF or my ultra-crabby hamstrings came out to play today. The second loop was much of the same, less runners now as many more did the 25K, and a whole lot muddier! As the day warmed up so did the ground and with the passing of so many foot falls everything got a bit dirtier. I was still feeling way good. Every once in awhile glancing down at my Garmin but only thinking "heh, doesn't feel like I've been out there that long". Soon enough a woman passed me who looked about my age and I decided that I'd try to stick with her; we seemed to be running the same sections at about the same pace and walking the others. I'd say this started somewhere around mile 21 or 22? We continued trading spots and finally at the last aid station before we traversed the big sledding hill one last time and hooked back up with the Salt Run, she dropped her cookie (a sad sight indeed) and I was able to pass her one last time. It was funny, there was no competitive nature to this even though I find myself to be very competitive, although mostly with myself. On to the Salt Run to finish this puppy off and what a sight! Not only was this section crazy muddy but it was a different kind of muddy than what I experienced in all of the other sections. Those were just wet and muddy, big puddles of water and mud that made for dirty running but not much more than that. This last bit was what I'd call shoe-sucking mud. It was a thicker consistency and made running on ups and downs nearly impossible. Just as I'd get all amp'ed to pick up the pace, I'd slide off to the side b/c of the mud. My shoes also gained a bit of weight at this point, desperate mud clinging to the sides :) It may have been the only time I was grateful for the many sets of stairs going up & down. Their wood ledges provided a good opportunity to quickly rub off some mud and keep going.

Soon enough I could see the clearing where the trail popped out of the woods and into the giant clearing eventually leading to the finish line. You can't see the actual finish at first but you can hear it, powering up the last hill there it was!! I clearly saw Lloyd (also the race director!) and knew I'd done it. Crossing I gave him a huge hug, collected my finishers mug and mugged for a bunch of pictures. I couldn't stop saying what a fantastic time I had and how happy the day and race and scenery had made me. I think Lloyd even did a mini-interview caught on video somewhere. At the same time, it was a weird feeling. I didn't want to stop. I wasn't exhausted, I didn't need to sit down, I wasn't hungry or thirsty or spent. It was magical and for a second there I had it back ...my mojo! And this last bit is what I consider to be the true addiction of trail running & ultramarathons in general. There's just so much out there, trails explored and not, scenery to be taken in and the lack of pressures normally felt during a road race, at least for me. In the immediate aftermath of that day, only a short week since, my body has responded tremendously. I was only very lightly sore, no PF flare-ups, not the trouble of getting up and down stairs as I normally have post-marathon, none of that. Just the warm feeling of a goal accomplished: get my running spirit back!

Coach Lloyd and I at the finish

A dirty day indeed!

Finishers mug crafted by the talented, Kathleen!

Bottom of the mug, a race I won't forget

And while I am currently shopping around for a fall marathon I'm also hooked on both trails & longer distances. I feel another 50K is in my near future.

January 2011 Recap

2011-02-02T13:01:00.000-05:00

Quickie recap:

Races: 0
Trail runs: 1
Longest run: 18 mi
Doubles: 2
Yoga: averaged once/week
Total miles: 233.9

February will be all about more time on the trails and more time on my feet, i.e. several hour long runs

Are there mini pads & helmets too?

2011-02-01T18:14:00.000-05:00

So yeah, this has been sitting in the hallway at work for a week + now. At first glance I was reminded of the awesome days at a start-up company when I first moved to NYC. We had "late night working Wednesdays" when we'd theoretically talk about work strategy and have meaningful discussions about expanding our client base while chowing on pizza and sucking back beers. In reality, we may have had an hour of that on a single Wednesday and every other one was beer, pizza and playing hall ball. Sigh, I miss those days!

After snapping back to present day office-life, I looked some more and wondered what tiny little office drones were secretly logging the ole 9-5 and getting in some hockey after hours. I mean, check out the actual size of the goals and equipment below in my sweet birds-eye view shot...

I'm no giant but at 5'8" either my back would be breaking or my knees (is that even plausible?) would be wrecked worse than when I was a way-over-30 year old volleyball player facing youngins' straight outta college. Yeeeeouch. It wasn't until some co-workers (or maybe it was Jason??) and I spent a bit of useless meeting time discussing the possibilities that someone mentioned it likely a game played on a table. Yeah, that seems about right but why the hell is it sitting in the hallway?? And what about the tiny little office drones? They'd never reach at regular table height! We may never know. :)

At any rate, back to last week. I finally got my butt back up to near 60, 57 mi to be exact, but a lot of it was sloppy and lacking quality. I did have a couple "I feel like I'm flying" runs where I wasn't quite flying but it felt effortless however most could be labeled junk miles. And while I'm quite accepting of winter and all the crud that drops from the sky, there comes a point when it's just not that easy to run tempos or intervals outside in sometimes sketch conditions. Luckily for me, I'm not going for a super fast HM this weekend in Surf City, frankly I'll take whatever I can get, so my next goal race is that 50K and I don't need to be fast when I'm tripping all over the trails, just upright. So for now I'll aim for quality runs 2x a week and take whatever I can get, as long as I'm moving my cupcake laden self forward, it's a win. Which brings me to remaining thought, I guess I need to find another HM to try and run fast ....hmmm.

Keeping it strong?

2011-01-24T14:28:00.001-05:00

Didn't want to include these two bits in the last post, they are quite the opposite of weak. Saturday afternoon after a crushing Kansas loss, I headed up to the Apple store to replace my slowly dying Nano. Being that Magnolia is only like a block away, there's no way I couldn't pop in there as well. It's no secret that I love cupcakes so it's probably not too much of a secret that I don't buy just one cupcake, I need one of the standard vanilla cakes preferably w/green frosting but blue or pink or whatever else will do as well. And then another, usually of a custom flavoring, if available. Saturday it was all carrot cake ...holy frijoles this sucker ROCKED!

The frosting was cream cheese based, of course, but the cake itself was divine! Very opposite of dry (I hate that "m" word) and gone down my gullet in record time.

Sunday afternoon was a long overdue visit with my most fabulous running partners. I can't tell you of many runs that go by when I'm not wishing the 4 of us were together again. I know it'll happen sometime soon but for now I was happy to be dishing out belly rubs to both Bella & Allie and catching up with Missy on all the happenings that we'd normally discuss on daily runs. She's an amazing mom and kickass role model to that cute little stinker below.

Bella, being a good big sister and playing it cool around Allie's toys.

Trying rice cereal for the first time.

Missy totally has a mini-me, let's hope she's as ready for marathon training as Missy is!

Keeping it weak

2011-01-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

The week started off really freakin' weak, as in I did nothing on Monday. No run, no yoga, I don't think I even cooked dinner ...no nothing. I talked myself out of any pre-work activity and by the time I arrived home that evening, was spent. Work was nothing out of the ordinary but all I felt like was sitting on my ass and feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't sore or sick or especially tired, I was just weak sauce.

By the next day I was sure I'd screwed the pooch, we were cursed with nasty frozen rain that pooled around existing snow and created even more opportunities to perfect one's long jump while commuting to work. It was gross and kept alternating between ice and rain, however by the time I left the office it had mostly stopped and the temp had worked it's way above freezing leaving me a great running opportunity. Redemption! It was also one of the seldom occasions were I wore capris; capris in general don't really fit into my apparel selection.   If it's 40 or above I'm likely wearing shorts, below there and I've got tights on.   However with the right combination of elements capris feel right ...those being warmer but a little damp with an outside change of rain.   Pulling full tights off your legs when soaking wet is what I imagine it feels like to get out of a wet suit and sporting extra red legs b/c of cold and wet don't make for an easy cool down.   My half-covered legs and I enjoyed a spectacular evening of running with a side of puddle jumping & rat dodging (they were out in full force after the ice/rain).

Wednesday provided another warmer day that I took advantage of by running to and from the yoga studio, before we dipped back to chilly again. Thursday was a TM tempo run, uh what ...I hate the TM! For those not in the know, I don't run on it but maybe once or twice a year, it's not that I have any profound beliefs as to why a TM should or should not be run on but rather that I hate it. It makes me crazy, I run differently on it, I like being outside in all weather conditions and it makes me crazy. However, fueled by fear of an upcoming HM, I felt it might be a good idea if I were to dial back into my tempo pace so I might be able to run a few miles of it in said HM. It turned out OK but I'm gunning for the track to be cleared for a similar workout this week. By Friday I was in the exact same state as Monday. Weaker than ever and bailing on any running or other activity. Oh wait, I did cook dinner that night, a gourmet dish of grilled peanut butter and jelly, idea courtesy of Shelby.   Friday weak < Monday weak.

By the weekend I'd pulled my head out and focused on getting some good miles logged and my act together w/regard to some organization stuffs around the apartment.   The colder temps didn't bother me a bit, layered up and hit the park for most of 18 miles on Saturday and then the WSH for a bit over 9 miles on Sunday. While I don't think the wind was much worse on Sunday, I was running right into it by being along the Hudson and not the semi-guarded CP.    For what should have been a 60+ mile weak, I waddled in with a whopping 49.1 mi (sarcasm intended):

Monday - nada
Tuesday - 9 mi ez, finished w/6x strides
Wednesday - 6.35 mi around 90 mins. yoga
Thursday - 6.43 mi w/3 x 5 mins @tempo
Friday - nada
Saturday - 18 mi
Sunday - 9.35 mi ez

Total = 49.13 mi

Fails for the week: Monday and Friday
High-fives for the week: Return of both strides and tempo and a really fun long run

Too much of a good thing

2011-01-17T11:57:00.000-05:00

I'm through another 7 days on the training plan as a small cut-back week, before I get back to building & ending up around 60 miles again. Even though I was shooting for less mileage there were too many short runs in here, I mean if I'm going to get all bundled up and outside in the elements I want my money's worth. That will be a good focus for the coming week.   I also need to try and squeeze some more quality out of general ez runs, in the form of strides and/or some tempo intervals. More focus to work on.

Lastly I need to do some more tightening up on my food intake, I've been much better about planning & cooking and assuring I have good stuffs with me while at the office but overall I enjoyed far too much cheese this past week with a surge of it over the weekend. Undoubtedly this was a huge factor in why that Sunday run got made into two runs ...booo!   Which brings me to the topic of compromise, a hot topic always.   We all know things don't always go accordingly to plan and rather than skipping a run altogether, often we have to fit in what we can, alter the run's purpose or just plain ole make do.   It's definitely not a strong suit of mine to just roll with it but I'm getting better at recognizing when I should and reacting accordingly.   Take Saturday's workout for instance, I slept in a bit (wayyyy needed!) and absolutely had to do some stuff around the apt. for my sanity's sake (see: slacker post here) before I got out for a run. Additionally I had a full day of bachelorette/not-bachelorette party fun planned with Steph and her girls from Buffalo so time was limited. I'd kicked myself in the ass for not getting hills in earlier in the week so I changed up venues to use a hill closer to home and shortened my warm-up & cool-down miles.   Net result: a strong set of hills in a power packed 51 minutes.   Here's how the week shook out:

Monday - 90 mins. yoga
Tuesday - 8.25 mi ez
Wednesday - 8 mi ez
Thursday - 6 mi ez
Friday - 5.95 mi ez
Saturday - 5.86* mi w/7x hill repeats *isn't that a nasty little number to be stuck with, wish I'd paid more attn, would have run a bit more
Sunday - 8 mi and then a few hours later, 8 mi more

Total = 50.06 mi

Back to that bachelorette/not-bachelorette party... first stop was lunch at Bouley, a gorgeous French restaurant in TriBeCa that uniquely offers a tasting menu 7 days/week. 5 courses for $36 is a HUGE steal in NYC and with so many great options, the 4 of us enjoyed bites of most all of them. I think my favorites came out as the Porcini Flan w/Alaska Dungeness Crab & Black Truffle Dash and the Cape Cod Skate Steamed with Toasted Pinenut Dressing & a Sunchoke Puree w/Micro Celery but everything was monster delicious!! After a bit of walking (absolutely needed!) and walking in between each, we enjoyed cocktails at a couple great spots with my favorite being at Temple Bar (try the Riviera Spritzer!) and then ended the evening at Eataly.   Now Eataly in itself is a trip out so I'll definitely have to go back when I'm not over-full, tired and a bit tipsy.

Committed, I am and I need to be

2011-01-14T13:00:00.002-05:00

HAAAALP!

Mailed my registration in for this guy today. Coincidentally or not, maybe I'm just in the mood to cross items off the ever-growing to-do list, I registered one of our NYC-based teams for the spring edition of RTB and mailed in fees for the fall edition of RTB. It's pay day and money is a-flowing... come and get some before I run out.

blink

Too late.

About the race, the huge upside (aside from running an official 50K) is that the fabulous coach Lloyd is the RD and can provide some great inside scoop on the course and of course how to train for it. Time to lay out plans for more time on the trails and getting my PF to suck it up and like it.

Teamwork

2011-01-13T13:25:00.001-05:00

This week is dragging big time + I feel woefully behind in EVERYTHING. The apartment is a freakin' wreck, I need to do [more] laundry, I'm behind in mailing out a bunch of stuff and making some returns and a regular grocery store trip hasn't been made. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here people... argh! ~~Part~~ All of this is my fault of course, poor time management & not enough hours in the day coupled with the hope that some of the to-do list would get accomplished on the snow day I (and everyone else in NYC) thought was a sure thing and subsequently didn't happen yesterday means I need to play catch up.

There have been a few bright spots, however. First up was dinner Monday night; as previously mentioned we don't have a ton of good stuff on hand at home at the moment and arriving home late from yoga i.e. 9:00 p.m. is no time to start thinking about what to eat. Luckily we had veggies, rice and tofu and a sous chef that excels in a couple, particular recipes. Jason is always the preparer of one of our standard meals, Shrimp to Nuts. It's a pretty simple recipe preparing shrimp with veggies, some nuts (often almonds or cashews) in a peanut oil, soy sauce and red pepper flake mixture and served over brown rice. Tonight we just subbed out the shrimp for tofu and threw in some pepitas as the nut cupboard was low on most everything else. Oh my... was it ever muy delicioso!!! And big props to Jason for overcoming his texture issues and eating his plate clean :) Check it...

Another bright spot came in the form of seeing the premiere of Hood to Coast with many of the people who will be my teammates for the first ever spring edition of Reach the Beach. The movie did a great job in capturing the essence of a running relay including the variety of characters involved, the miles and miles of coordinated hilarity and dedication and the friendships tested & established through such a shared experience. It only made me for excited for the upcoming opportunity and also lit a fire under my butt in lining up registrations, team name selection and other assorted co-captain duties.

Next up, more spring time racing plans... stay tuned.

So this is how deer become such good runners

2011-01-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

Last week was a solid one, sprinkled with a couple runs that I've either never experienced before or it's been way too long since the last one. On Tuesday I got back to the hills for some repeats in Central Park with Josh and his crew, it took a couple for me to remember the ebb & flow of such a workout but the good news is I felt better and better the more we did. Will get another of these workouts in this week as well in addition to squeezing in some tempo miles later in the week. Tuesday was also the first double I've run in awhile although I anticipate many more. It's hard to run the mileage I'd like without the benefit of a 18-23 miler on the weekend and since I'm not training for any specific marathon-distance event right now, I don't really need that super LR. Thus more regular doubles during the week, wheee!

Saturday brought about a whole new animal of a run, trail running but in the snow and ice. Now I've run trails before and I really dig 'em but I have never run trails in the winter when a lot of ice and a lot of snow are covering the ground. My buddy Ben sent me a note earlier last week trying to set up a time for us to run together again, it had been much too long and mentioned he'd be running the Watchung Trail Marathon on Saturday. I thought why not, sounds like a good chance to catch up and run and try something I've not done before; I don't mind falling and as long as I didn't break a bone I knew it would be a good time. Going into it I didn't have any specific mileage goal but knew it was a loop course of 2 10+ mile loops and a 3rd shorter loop. I prepared myself by finally succumbing and buying some actual trail running shoes (all previous trail running was done in my regular running shoes) and by digging out the Camelback for easy access hydration. I should also mention that with approximately the same regularity I run on the West side, Ben runs trails so I knew it best to just suck it up and follow him. The trails required lots of concentration and focus on footing, our previous big snow had melted quite a bit but left deep icy footprints and with another wave of colder temps, froze over solidly before being covered by fresh snow of about 3-5 inches. The scenery was gorgeous when I was able to briefly look up without fear of busting ass but man, do you ever work harder on terrain like that. I was sweating my ass off for most of the loop, only towards the end did I put my hat back on and every once in awhile I'd have an incident of spazzing out. Spazzing out by my definition in this scenario was working at a crazy heart rate level, moving my legs as if I were Scooby Doo booking away from a bad guy and seemingly getting nowhere. All in all it was indeed a blast and I was pretty satisfied to have run the one loop (approx 10.9 mi) and call it a day while Ben continued on for a 2nd time around. My PF did not like that icy footing and I really didn't want to take myself out from running for several days b/c of this one run.

So long story short: fun stuff, hills, snow, ice, wind - repeat next week.

Monday - 8 mi ez
Tuesday - [a.m.] 7.7 mi ez, [p.m.] 8.3 miles w/6x hill repeats
Wednesday - 90 mins. yoga
Thursday - 6.7 mi ez
Friday - 5 mi ez
Saturday - 10.9 mi on the trails
Sunday - 9.35 mi ez

Total = 55.95 mi

Spoiled

2011-01-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

Today felt like a very indulgent type of day. Fighting the urge to snooze, I woke up and met with my Tuesday running buddy knowing it's always worth it to meet up with her and get some early miles in as the sun rises. We exchanged stories of our holidays and workdays to come; it always feels more like we're sitting on comfy couches sipping on tea rather than gliding along the Hudson in 30* weather. Perfect start to the day! 7.7 miles in 1:12 (9:22/mi)

The work day was well behaved and moved swiftly.

Feeling like the support & company of others during my return to hill repeats I met up with Josh's crew in Central Park after work. This is a special treat as I'm normally not out of work and able to get up to the meeting spot by 6:30 but again, this was an indulgent sort of a day. Warm up, 6 repeats on the front and back sides of Harlem Hill and a nice cool down was just what the doctor ordered. Our group + everyone else in NYC training for Boston seemed to be out tonight with nothing but HILLS, HILLS, HILLS on the mind. Great vibe! 8.3 miles in 1:12:39 (8:47/mi)

Walking briskly back home, taking an extra long hot shower to warm up, I then snacked on some leftover peanut butter pie as water boiled for dinner.

Today was a good day!

I am a winter runner! I am also Canadian?

2011-01-03T22:32:00.000-05:00

This evening provided another perfect backdrop for a cruise-control type of run. Sure our weather dropped 20+ degrees within 24 hours [again] but the winds were calm and the sky a bright backdrop to the city slowing down just a touch. As much as I've tried and relatively succeeded [earlier in 2010] to become a morning runner, I'm still a night owl at heart. And thus evening running feels right esp when it's cool outside and I feel as though I'm gliding.

Tonight's run sponsors were: the long lines of planes destined for an arrival at Newark flickering as mere sparkles in the sky, a fabulous 311 based playlist, a single pre-run chocolate chip cookie and the several nods I got from fellow runners along the river tonight.

8 miles in 1:09:57 (8:45/mi) for an easy unwinding to a full day at work.

Oh and the Canadian bit of me sweated another nearly perfect maple leaf in the middle of my chest.

Oh hai 2011!

2011-01-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

Yes I've been a huge slacker here and no there will be no full post recap of 2010. Mostly b/c I feel like I've missed the window of opportunity but also b/c I'm reading a monster of a book right now and all I can handle outside of that is Reader's Digest summaries. There were two overall themes for running in the last year for me: mileage and local. That may sound contradictory but in the past year I ran more than ever before (2500 mi) and in the company of many kickass local runners. It all started off with Missy moving here and us getting into a sweet groove of regularly running together and continued with connecting to my local scene via Twitter. Now I've run with peeps in the past but I'm was still a 90% of the time kind of solo runner. It's not always on purpose but it works for me. 2010 was all kinds of different, Tuesday mornings with Tavia, bridges runs on Fridays with Eissa & Elyssa and sometimes Daniel, long runs in the Palisades or along the WSH, Beatles yoga (a complement to running!), and of course my last 8 miles of the year to the Doughnut Plant as pictured below. Needless to say I'm thankful for all of the runners that kept me company & motivated along the many miles and experiences of 2010.

It was also of the highest level of kickassery to be able to run with many of my siblings in the week surrounding Christmas. As we'd decided to hole ourselves up in a big rental down in the Outer Banks, running was really our only break from beer pong tourneys, dipping in the ocean, being the stars of some banned videos, chillaxing in the hot tub and endless hours of Wii, Bananagrams, CatchPhrase, Cranium and pledged-floor sliding (don't ask!). I never take running with them for granted, it always feels like a gift, regardless of how bad it hurts (can you say week long hangover) or the number of times we have to stop for emergency bathroom breaks :-) At any rate, this holiday was sissies running all the way as little bro is on a bit of a break ...we tried to peer pressure his ass but he's built a steel fortress of a wall after dealing with us chicks for way too many years. Which made these gifts from Jen all the more appropriate...

So on to this next year, well you know continuing on as it's already the 3rd. I don't have a bunch of monumental goals but would like to stay high on the mileage end, root myself further into my yoga practice and build up some more speed. What that would hopefully translate to is a sub-1:40 HM, another year of staying injury free & strong and the ability to jump into an ultra or marathon whenever I felt the urge.

The darling

2010-11-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

Of all the foods I prepared and enjoyed on Thanksgiving, this effortless appetizer reflected what I felt the most:

Simple
Whole foods
Nutritious
Delicious

Meet the lovely, talented and tasty apricot canape.

As for everything else, it was good - probably too good. I'm still feeling the effects of too much food, not enough activity to counter said indulgences and a mind+body slightly off kilter. Last week was decent running wise, I'm back to building my mileage with a repeat for this week and a similar schedule including yoga tonight and either Wednesday or Sunday. Sadly I missed the PPTC turkey trot due to an unhappy tummy, highlighting another reason to cut the unnecessary junk and eat what works best for my body. Last on tap for the coming week is a 10K on Sunday, still coming up with a game plan for that one. Stay tuned.

Sponsorship

2010-11-19T12:16:00.002-05:00

As I was running last night my mind worked through the expected waves of sporadic thought. One second contemplating the menu for Thanksgiving dinner and the next reminding myself of something to do at the office in the morning. My mind loves these waves, it's me... a prolific multitasker or, more likely, a sufferer of adult onset ADD. Part of this process includes a game where I come up with sponsors for the miles I'm running. Now there's no marketing genius at work here, it's more stream of consciousness. And thus my sponsors include weather conditions, music, interesting folks or animals I might encounter, physical scenes from the run and from time to time, other runners - the quirkier the better ...I'm talking to you, Mr. YeahIRockAMembersOnlyJacketWhenRunning. It gives my mind something to do, makes it feel useful and it totally entertains me. Have I mentioned that I'm freakin' heeeelarious and witty to no end in my own mind? Well, I am. :-)

And it appears to run in the family... from baby sis & dog niece yesterday morning: [Monika] went on her run this morning with Sadie, we pass another runner, she looks back while still running forward with me, and then....BAM! light post....that's my pup!

That reminds me, I'm due for a good wildlife report

Do you have games you play while running?

p.s. last night's run was sponsored by the new Girl Talk album, perfect blankets of leaves floating on the Hudson and a cool fall rain.

I'm coming after you...

2010-11-17T13:00:00.065-05:00

Count me among those who like to include future race planning in their recovery. While downtime is needed, especially the mental break, I like to have a few races either planned out or floating around in my noggin' as next steps. This week is another of free form running, just getting out there and getting some time on my feet while allowing my body to continue to recover from the marathon. I've been a good girl and went back to Kula on Monday night and let me yell at you.... mommy! My entire core is crazy sore, when meeting Tavia last night for our run I remarked that my flanks were crying out in pain. I feel like those first times I played Wii tennis and suffering from the dreaded Wii arm (read, flank). Today is certainly better but wow, anyone who doesn't believe yoga --- even a beginner's class, can be a challenging workout needs to sit in my body for a bit. And it's not like I'm way out of practice, was just a week or so since my last class. But I digress... back to running.

The siblings and I are all in for the next race; Team Pfeiffer loves to get together as often as possible and our next one is looking to be the perfect storm of running insanity. We're sitting at 6 siblings strong all registered for either the Surf City full or half marathon on 2/6/11. I actually cannot remember the last time that 6 of us ran the same race.... we had good representation at Lewis & Clark in Sept but that was just part of the STL based gang and a bit more at the STL HM this past April but no CA sis, probably the strongest showing was last year at the San Francisco HM where we had 5 peeps running. In fact, I don't think 6 of us have ever run together in the same event, someone always seems to be a cheerleader or otherwise occupied at race time. Even more of a reason to let out a big ole WOOT! So that's the next big race, I'll be training for the HM and looking to bring my PR down to a sub-1:40. Earlier this year I ran a 1:40 in NYC while deep in marathon training thus my preparation for Surf City will be compromised of a similar mileage build up and lots of tempo work. Prior to February I'll be planning to jump into a couple NYRR races and possibly hit up a Turkey Trot next week.

1:30s... I'm coming after you, watch out!

Remaining work

2010-11-15T12:39:00.001-05:00

It's no secret how much I was looking forward to NYCM and quite equally to the aftermath, which included a heavy nudge on the RESET button. Now that some precious recovery time has passed since the race, I'm focusing on what I would like to accomplish for the remainder of 2010. In no particular order:

Consistently running 6 days/week, 7 some weeks. My body likes the consistency & frequency and b/c I run all non-quality work outs at an easy pace, there isn't a big risk for break-down. Of course this doesn't mean monster mileage right away, I'm still recovering, but shorter running and running more often.
1 trip to the yoga studio MINIMUM. Unfortunately I had hoped to also work swimming a day or two into the mix but my pool is closed for maintenance right now and so ideally I'd like this to be 2 visits to the studio each week.
Cleaning up my diet. I got way too lax in what goes in the ole gullet throughout most if not all of the summer and I can feel and see the difference. Planning evening meals and more regular trips to the grocery store will do wonders here.
Somewhat related to the visits to the yoga studio, I need to get back to a strong meditative practice. I lost all, I mean all of my mental game. In hindsight this is one of the largest reasons why my summer & early fall running sucked so much, I just didn't have my mind in it and at some times, my heart.

All of these items are completely doable and have been done by me without issue in the past. I just need to focus my ADD-ridden mind and make the small but necessary changes in my day to day to accomplish each.

#9 is fine!

2010-11-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Sunday's NYCM was the 9th of marathons I've run and wow, it did not disappoint! I took the approach of having a grand ole time along the course, soaking up the unbelievable crowd support and amazing course through so many of NYC's diverse neighborhoods and not worrying about a goal time, splits, etc. Again, it did not disappoint. Spots that were a little bare and lacking support back when I last ran this race in '07 were now 3-4 people deep! It didn't hurt that the weather was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!!! And for all of you who have read here long enough, you know that means no heat, no humidity and no freak conditions. It was cool and crisp but sunny and we were kissed with a nice breeze (windy, even, in parts) ....all heaven to a too-warm runner like myself. I enjoyed every single aspect to the day including the extra early wake-up call to board a bus and camp out on Staten Island for several hours prior to lining up for the start; this year I even scored a sweet spot inside a tent! And for a day that lasted essentially from 4:15 a.m. till after 2:00 p.m. it went by in a heartbeat.

One aspect to race day that I hadn't encountered before was the excitement in knowing several runners not only experiencing their first NYCM but also running their first marathon. I often thought of these peeps ...Kelly, Elgin, Carlos & most especially the lovely Sharon, wondering if they were having as good of a time as I was and hoping it was my adventure tenfold! Quickly these thoughts led me back to my own first marathon and what I remember from that June day in San Diego back in '06:

Where's sissy, where's sissy?
Why oh why did the race directors think a cambered stretch of highway to be suitable for miles along the course?
Every mile after and including mile 21 must measure 2 miles long each, no way are these markers accurate
This Rock & Roll bs isn't really even worth it, I'm past a band before I even really hear them
How are we still circling around Sea World, just how many turns can we take to make up a mile or two?
[seeing a runner fall within the last mile of the race] Holy shit that would suck so very bad... keeping moving forward Maria, keep moving forward
I'm just going to walk a little through this water station, surely that won't hurt
OMG, there it is... OMG, there it is! I see the finish line.
Where's sissy, where's sissy?
And immediately, I mean immediately after crossing the finish line - where can I sit down?!?!?!?! I don't want anything to eat, I don't want my baggage or my medal, I just want to sit down. :)

Funny enough, after 9 full marathons, countless hours/days/weeks/months of training [and other race distances] and more miles than I'd care to calculate, I ran Sunday's race slower than that first marathon in 2006. And despite my finish time on Sunday, or perhaps in celebration of, I love this beast of a race distance more than ever!!! Thank you New York City, you have been my home for the last 10+ years and I never felt more a part of you than I did on Sunday.

Chill or oppo-chill

2010-10-26T15:25:00.000-04:00

This training cycle for NYC has been such an odd experience. From the start it was nothing like what I've done in the past, not like anything pre-coach Lloyd or since working with him. Unlike either of my first NYC marathon experiences where I was still relatively new to the long distance running scene. I've felt up, I've felt depressed, I've assessed, I've struggled, I've re-assessed, I considered running several October marathons and on the complete other end of the spectrum, nearly decided to bag a fall race altogether. Ultimately I comfortably decided to run on the streets of my city in my [adopted] hometown marathon once again. Coach has been very patient with my swings in mood and decision making and kept me moving forward. As for me, I know full well that I'm not in prime shape but also not unprepared, injured or otherwise incapacitated. And that, that knowledge right back there (<----) has been the crux of my thinking this week.

Earlier in the week I let coach know how I was feeling, responding to him: I'm feeling pretty good and eager for the race. Not surprising I'm almost as eager to cap off this cycle and start fresh again, while the lower mileage feels right for the here and now and I've struggled to remain consistent since May, it's not the best fit for me. I'm looking forward to more running and rebuilding for 2011.

Of course all that is true but there's something else in those words. It's me almost too eager to be done with this cycle, with the NYCM and ready to almost (you see it too, don't you?) erase the experience for the prospects of a better training cycle. Now maybe I'm judging myself too much but I see it and while I know what works for me and what doesn't I also seem to be missing out on an opportunity here. Not every cycle is ideal, not every cycle is perfect. I had what felt to me to be a damn near ideal cycle leading up to May 1 and it didn't yield what I wanted, what I knew I had in me. This feeling lingers and now I can't help but feel it is standing in my way of a still solid race in NYC.

Don't get me wrong, this summer, while frustrating and aimless, has left me with many great running experiences as well. I've logged some nice miles in the Palisades with LK, EG and SP not to mention miles and miles of bridges with EG, AC, ES & DN and a weekly Tuesday running date with TK. I also had the immense pleasure of accompanying Missy on her first race post-pregnancy, a thrill beyond words! Most recently I logged two LRs that covered portions of the NYCM course and wow, that was an experience I have not yet had and in itself identifies this cycle as something unique. And so I should take the sum of all these experiences and add them to my solo running and see that all is not lost and with adjusted goals, I earned the right for a solid race in NY in less than two weeks.

Without much fanfare

2010-10-04T17:30:00.001-04:00

I hit another of my goals for 2010. I knew it was coming but it didn't seem like such a big deal after it happened... in fact I forgot until this morning to check out the mileage summary on my RA log thinking I still had a bit to go.

And so without further ado, I bring to you my 2010 mileage through October 3rd

...you're digging on my mad SnagIt skillz aren't you???

2 goals down, 1 monster one left remaining. Or maybe I should downplay it so I don't freak out so damn much when I'm running my next full. It's not a monster, it's really a gentle care bear of a goal... yeah, that's the ticket!

Weekend kick off

2010-09-27T13:32:00.003-04:00

With a renewed spirit I spent a nice chunk of the weekend doing what else? Running! Saturday morning I met up with Elyssa on the southern ramp to the GWB and we started our journey of a long run into NJ.   Over the bridge we went and into the network of trails that encompass the Palisades Interstate Park. We've run this route together before but only went so far as to about 4 miles in before heading down to the water's edge and running back towards the bridge. However today was one of those return to summer days, doggy, hot, and full of sunshine, that, while being nice for a day at the beach are no picnic for a run of about 18 miles. Neither of us wanted to emerge from the calm of the trails to the exposed concrete of the Hudson River paths back in Manhattan. And thus we made the executive decision to remain on the long path out to the ranger's station before turning around and coming back. At least on the trails it was a wee bit cooler and we were mostly protected from the nasty sun. These trails are great and soooo accessible from the city! I mean, we ran here, can't be much more accessible than that. :-)   The trails themselves have some areas more technical than others and there are points were you do need to walk at the risk of turning an ankle, breaking a limb or taking a very big spill ...note: I did take a small spill but it only resulted in me looking more dirt bag than I already was with no injury to report.   But overall the trails are very runnable and very enjoyable.   As you can see on the linked maps above, the trails run right along the Hudson heading north. In fact if we had continued to run north we'd eventually end up back in NY state without having to traverse the river. This shall be a future run.

For this one we hit the ranger's station around 9.38 miles and turned around to re-cover a portion of the long path before diverging down the steep descent to the edge of the Hudson, covering ground heading south on a less technical trail and then using the ultra fun only slightly intimidating cliff stairs to ascend back up to the height of the GWB. Our final mile+ was covered hustling back across the bridge into NY, ending with 18.75 miles in total. Sure it took a lot longer than 18.75 miles should be we saved our legs, adding some variety and had a blast doing so.

On to the next day and another episode of bi-polar running , but this year in reverse!   This is the second year I've run the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile, it's a great race and a huge draw for a ton of local and world talent. The best part is finishing up your heat and sticking around to catch the local sub-elites and elites run down what is normally a very busy avenue in Manhattan.   I remember totally feeling like I wanted to puke prior to this race last year, Missy & I were both scared to death and even after running a few quarters to warm-up couldn't help but think that dying was a real possibility in the course of this single mile race. A bit dramatic, no? But real! :-)   Unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to have Missy's company again this year but I did retain the knowledge that neither of us did in fact perish as a part of last year's race. I didn't quite plan out my warm-up well enough and only had time to run up to the start and get through a few strides prior to my age group lining up. Seems like the group of 30-39 year old women grew a lot since last September, so much so that I was stuck behind way too many people laden with headphones and water bottles --- hmmm, this is merely a mile race, while difficult in nature b/c of speed, I really doubt anyone would have an issue with hydration or boredom during those 1600 some odd meters. Right?   Anywho, too many people in front of me resulting in a bit of dodging after the gun fired.   I already knew my legs weren't 100% due to yesterday's adventure but they weren't sore nor totally dead so I pushed a bit and enjoyed the rest. You crest a nice little hill at the 1/2 mile mark and from there it's a fun ride down to the finish near the Plaza. I didn't work too hard and I didn't die - yay! 6 minutes and 40 seconds later it was all done and I was happy with the effort and result.

The remainder of my morning and early afternoon were spent catching the other heats and sticking around for the real fun.   Great, close finishes in both the pro men and women races provided even more inspiration and a lot of jaw dropping - 3:52 for the men and 4:24 for the women!!! Check out the photos in the various galleries here!

::rubs eyes::

2010-09-24T15:00:00.025-04:00

So yeah the summer is gone and while it was long and still seems to be hanging out on some days with wild, weird temperature & humidity fluctuations, it's a long season that has come to an end. Looking back I can't help but feel I spent the whole time waiting. Patiently at times, fussily at others. Desperate most. Yearning for a sign, some start of kick start, some reminder, some drive, some anything ...that would get me feeling on track or alive or inspired. I've started 6-7 different posts, all on the same topic, none ever completed nor published to the blog b/c even those thoughts were uninspired and soon dried up. And so I stayed in a mode I've been in before and will undoubtedly be in at some point in the future. I continued to "Taurus" my running ...yeah I just made that term up but it's accurate. To "Taurus" one's {insert activity here} is to continue pushing in the most stubborn of manners hoping that eventually the sheer brute force of this action will result in a positive outcome.

It didn't work. I continued to wait. I continue to waffle. And then I broke down before/during the New Haven 20K over Labor Day. I have never wanted to run less. I wasn't tired, I wasn't hurting, I just didn't want to run. Since then I've been running only when I want and keeping it easy. No plan. Straight free balling.

Until today.

Without suspecting a thing, a single action seemed to have slapped me in the face & reignited that fire I'd been so very much missing. The action? NYRR released the wave, corral and bib numbers for the NYC Marathon. I don't know exactly what it was in receiving this information but it instantly framed out the remaining 6 or so weeks until race day for me. I will run this marathon (that I'm already registered for) and I will not just glide along until that time. I will give it whatever I can.

And so the summer of sulking comes to an end, thank god!! I feel I have a renewed purpose in my running and my training and I'm quite literally going to run with it. Doesn't hurt that I recently came upon this favorite Nike campaign on Megan's blog, The Runner's Kitchen

“You pretended the snooze button didn’t exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes you had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you.

You ran 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made you feel like a warrior.

You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer’s tan.

You hit the wall. You went through it. You decided to be man about it. You decided to be woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of. Just kept putting mile after mile on your interval odometer. For 25 years, you ran. And we ran with you. How much farther will we go? As far as you will.”

Finding your happy place

2010-07-20T18:39:00.004-04:00

Often a happy place is in one's mind, perhaps a memory that conjures up positive energy and good times. I have those happy places too but I also have a physical location for my happiness and gratitude and positive energy.

If you didn't know to look for it, you might just pass it up. After surfacing from the subway, head East

Don't let the seemingly "closed for the day" vibe of the surrounding businesses fool you

The door is never locked, the creaky stairs await you.

Warm up to warm up, climb 3 flights of this walk-up ...but don't rest here, it's just the bathroom

The hues indicate something welcoming inside but that's just the surface.

My happy place ...where or what is yours?

Sending out a SRS

2010-07-20T11:32:00.000-04:00

Summer
Racing
Sucks

Take it easy, don't expect a PR opportunity and chalk it up to another running experience.

Making the most of my Firebolt

2010-07-15T15:00:00.078-04:00

Ah yes, once again I've let my time on the blog slip away. Fear not, life continues moving forward although at times it does seem to be a blur of working hours, running hours, weekend trips and guests coming and going. The Reader's Digest version of what's been going is as Wooderson from Dazed and Confused says "L-I-V-I-N"

One day at a time.

I decided to get the wheel rolling on training again, working towards a goal or two in the fall. The exact race(s)/goal(s) are not yet in cement but I'm running & working with Lloyd - yay! And mixing it up a lot: running with various peeps like EG, ES, LK and SS, joining groups at times and hitting the trails. It's all a tremendously good time. With the warm weather and humidity you really need more options and ways to deal with the conditions. These peeps and new routes are a huge aid! And of course, I'm still lucky to get a few miles in here and there with Missy!! Not long now and her baby girl will join the world and start rocking out her new BOB stroller - cannot wait to meet this future Boston Qualifier with over 1000 miles under her belt come her birth day.

Finally got my carcass back to the yoga studio too and don't plan to stray in the near future. My body reminded me that yoga is part of the deal. No building miles and miles without adequate time at Kula. Summer time at the studio is especially fun and challenging and very slippery as temps in the rooms there can get to quite the stifling point. All in all it makes for a great 90 mins per session even if I do look like I'm coming out of a pool. I can practically hear my body sigh in relief after some time spent there or maybe that's just my pores gurgling with sweat - either way, it is so worth it.

And seeing as it's now over halfway through 2010, the folks at KR and I started checking in on our goals for the year to see where we all stood. As posted at the end of 2009:

#1 goal is to run a strong marathon
Run at least 2000 miles
Stay healthy
Expand my yoga practice
Run a HM PR

So I'd say I've got about 3.75 of the 5 covered or on-track to cover. I'm still chasing that elusive strong marathon but I did nail a beautiful HM PR in March and have 1440 miles for the year already logged. I've also managed to stay relatively uninjured and quite healthy (no colds or sickness of any kind in quite awhile - yay green monsters!). My yoga practice hasn't expanded in quite the way I thought when I posted this goal but I'm certainly getting more and more out of every session. I'd really love to make it to one of Kula's yoga retreats this year but if not, next year is just as good.

Outside of running and yoga we've had a number of visitors in the last several weeks and have traveled to a big family reunion for my dad's side of the family. Good times continue into the summer - coming up next, yummy eats during restaurant week and catching Thierry Henry's debut with the NY Red Bulls vs. Tottenham.

Stay cool peeps!

Oh and yes my firebolt aka the mini stub of a ponytail shooting straight out of the back of my head - she's a keeper!

R,R and R

2010-06-08T15:05:00.001-04:00

Recap
VCM ended at mile 15 for me when I stepped off the course. I'm still not exactly sure what happened but I believe it began a week or so prior to the race when I experienced some crampy legs. I treated them by stretching more, wearing my compression sleeves and drinking a bit of A-to-B Calm. Ultimately I believe I had an electrolyte or other imbalance that resulted in some roasty, toasty legs well before I would have/should have felt them. I also had some GI distress that caused 3 stops during those 15 miles where I'm unsure if it was related to the imbalance in my other systems or merely another fun facet of this particular day. Ultimately, it's not how I envisioned my training ending nor representative of where I know my level of running currently resides. But it's a part of my history and more in a continuing education in running. Josh Cox raced the Comrades Marathon that same weekend and ended up with a less than ideal result (for him), he posted this shortly after finishing...

"Thanks for the well wishes. It's tough when 6 months of work doesn't pan out but I'm blessed that my "bad" day involves running a race."

I could not agree more. Sure I could have suffered through 11 more miles of the race in Burlington that day but I had nothing to prove. It was simply not my day. After all is said and done, the time since I started this cycle has been HUGE for me and netted me so many happy days of miles and smiles.

I started working with Lloyd as a coach and developed even more of a respect for a super talented runner and great coach! He brought me back to where running every day is fun and kept me at a level I know I can maintain in the future without getting injured or burnt out.
I hit my highest weekly and monthly mileage and look forward to hitting them again and maybe even bettering them, next cycle. I love me lots and lots of miles.
On the sweetest of March mornings I caught a glimpse of just how far my training has come when I ran a relaxed and strong 1:40 HM. And I know it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Since late last summer I've been blessed with not one, not two but three superb regular running partners. Missy, baby squash and Bella. They come as a package and they make every outing fun and fleet.

Recovery
One of the most key aspects to training for me this time around is closing the book on one cycle and feeling recovered enough to start another. It might not be so black and white for others but I've basically been in the same cycle of training since late last spring, early last summer when anticipating a marathon in St. George and then CIM. Of course neither happened but I was running with the purpose of those races the entire time. I simply continued to roll over my training and ultimately build a big base for what would be IL and then VCM. Recovery is also different this time around, since I didn't end up racing either of the two May marathons to anywhere near my max and so I'm not very beat up physically. But mentally, I was/am bushed! Enter a perfectly timed trip to Mexico.

Relaxation
Now I knew Jason and I needed a vacation, we both knew it. Hell, we knew it on January 1. We'd both worked extremely hard in our jobs throughout 2009 without any break in 2010. Major product releases, large partnership opportunities & contracts, very long hours, it all took it's toll. Add to that training for a couple races that took up the better part of a year and without a break, complete & total meltdown was imminent. Thank god our friends Mario & Melissa decided to do a destination wedding in Riviera Maya and we booked and confirmed early on. Traveling south of the border provided the perfect opportunity to quite literally unplug from everything. No phones, no emails, no Facebook, no Twitter, no blogs, no meetings, no nothing but the simple necessities of life. Food, drink, friends, water and good ole vitamin D! It was heaven. I got out for a couple very short and sweaty runs but not because I felt I needed to but because I wanted to. The relaxation continues this week although with a more reality based twist. Back at home in NYC and working and what not although I'm not yet following any training plan nor have any solid plans for what's next. This will undoubtedly change soon but for now I'm enjoying the unstructured nature to my workouts. And with the Caribbean's influence I may even get my butt back to the pool :-)

Mental branding

2010-05-27T16:28:00.001-04:00

Just 3 sleeps till VCM and while the weather isn't looking great, I'm focusing only on what I can control. The weather will rarely be ideal and frankly, I'm tired of making excuses b/c of it. To use a way-overplayed phrase, it is what it is. Weather aside, I want this race to be about not making excuses. No "but this... " or "but that... " as an explanation as to why I didn't stick with my plan. Sure, things may happen that I don't want around me but as long as I recover and get back to my plan, I'll consider that a successful race.

I want to remain in control, I want to be the boss of both my body and my monkey mind.

Part of my prep for a race involves music, it comes to my aid both on a daily basis and pre-race. I'm a big music fan, of most varieties and while I don't listen to it while running races and only at times during training, I can recall music and lyrics most anytime I want. I can also usually remember the context in which I heard a song and this can be very motivating. Case in point, Intro by The XX. Hearing it in the context of this video has already come to my mind while executing a workout. It gives me chills both when in the accompaniment of the video and all on it's own. It stirs something deep inside me. Lyrics are like mantras. So when I'm feeling the need to mellow out I find something on the iPod that suits me or when I'm ready to pump it up, I've always got a go-to tune or two to get me rev'ed up. When I'm with other members of Team Pfeiffer pre-race we're all about listening to Girl Talk but lately it's a song by Fabolous and my interpretation of some of his lyrics.

Go hard, today
The past is the past, you know
Can't worry the past cause that ye-sterday
It's a new day bro
Ima put it on the line cause it's my time
My day, gotta do it now
Hey hey hey heey
I gotta stay on my grind cause it's my time (hey)
My time (hey), my time (hey)

Team Pfeiffer jammin' out prior to last year's San Francisco HM

Meanwhile back in taper town

2010-05-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

It's a funny thing tapering twice for marathons within 4 weeks of one another. Well I guess it's not strange or odd for multiple marathon folks but I don't normally fall into that category so it's a little trippy for me. Probably the best thing I can say and feel about it is that I don't feel in dire need of a taper. Sure, I need and want the extra time to really solidify my race plan and visualize it's execution but I don't feel beat up and that was one of my larger concerns about squeezing in another May race.

The last physical & mental boost experienced came about yesterday in the form of the Brooklyn HM. I had already registered for this race before deciding upon VCM so after consulting coach, we decided that it would still be a go but that I'd have a specific plan in place for the 13.1 miles. Start easy (4-5 mi), slide down into MP (4-5 mi) and finish easy. Do not race it in. Remain in control and fight off dropping the pace outside of the specified MP window. Got it. Good.

I ran this race last year too and really liked it. The course has you running two loops of Prospect Park and then heading out onto Ocean Parkway running a pretty straight line out to Coney Island, finishing on the boardwalk. A HUGE improvement over how the course used to run (up until last year) where you started at Coney Island and finished with two loops of P.Park. Improvement b/c if you've ever run Prospect you know it's not flat and there's one big dude of a hill in particular that can slow you down quite a bit + you gotta suck it up for two loops. But I digress... race went pretty much as expected:

M1: 8:24
M2: 8:27
M3: 8:05 - PMPM (premature marathon pace mile)
M4: 8:01 - another PMPM
M5: 8:25
M6: 8:25
M7: 7:46 - MP
M8: 7:57 - MP
M9: 8:04 - MP
M10: 8:08 - MP
M11: 9:06
M12: 8:38
M13: 9:39 (including a porta potty stop)
M _.1: :54

Finished with an official time of 1:50:07

I was pleased with the effort, how it felt very controlled and how my mental game played out (stick with the plan!). I feel extraordinarily blessed receiving some really great advice and encouragement from you all here on the blog, in person and via email messages. It really means a lot to me and I really tried to put much of it into practice along the course on Saturday. I'm planting the thoughts further into my race plan for this coming weekend, I certainly feel ready!

It's all in my head

2010-05-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

Another "any one who knows me knows" statement coming in 3, 2, 1 ... I consider myself a pretty tough individual. It doesn't hurt that I'm stubborn as all hell and being a typical Taurus, a hardworking, determined individual. I welcome any physical challenge that comes my way and often have great success with them. I don't like to say "I can't" to anything. I will spend hours and hours and months and months building up to a single event but, and this is where I need some help, this is where I struggle.

I always have.

I get into my own head too much.

I start to put boundaries on what I'm doing and where I'm going. Most specifically, while running a marathon. Maybe it's the logical, detail oriented business analyst in me maybe it's something else but I need to get past it. I have the means to get past it, I have the physical capabilities to make anything happen but still I get hung up.

Mantras help. Focus helps. Confidence helps.

What do you do to get yourself past these points? Brute force? Finding your special place deep inside the mind? Disassociating completely?

Checking in, like constantly

2010-05-17T11:21:00.022-04:00

Since Illinois I've been making it a daily, sometimes twice daily habit to do a mental and physical check-in with myself. I want to assure I'm in the right place and ready to tackle another 26.2. Physically this didn't and doesn't appear to be a problem but the mental adjustment was larger. I needed to reset the thought that I was wrapping up a cycle and get it moving forward again, for another 4 weeks. I also needed to move past whatever thoughts I generated in hindsight from IL and fully engage myself into VCM. Sure, applying lessons learned is a must but equally important is treating each running experience as it's own independent event.

And so the check-ins continue.

After a week of recovery and lower mileage I logged another 60+ week with a quality tempo workout and a fast finish 20 miler. Both went very well and were nice confidence boosters. And so I find myself back into taper mode in the first part of another 45 or so mile week and lots of rest when possible. I also (lucky me!) find myself in another high-profile & stressful work project - gah, these things follow me around like my shadow. Will be getting lots of yoga in to deal with both the taper and the stress :-)

The grieving period is ovah!

2010-05-05T18:03:00.001-04:00

Numbness or Shock - check!

Anger - check!

Disorganization & depression - check!

Acceptance & Re-organization - check!

Ready to don this outfit one more time ...errr, except perhaps swapping out that top for a sports bra that doesn't cause as much chaffing, and give 26.2 another go in Vermont over Memorial Day weekend!

This week is all about recovery and regrouping. Next week I'm back in the game.

Down ...but not for long

2010-05-03T16:18:00.001-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't stay down for long. I let myself stew in my sadness or madness a bit and may tap into it a few more times to remember what it feels like before deciding that it needs to leave. I don't operate well under such a blanket of sadness or negativity or really any alteration from my everyday demeanor. It doesn't feel like me. So when reviewing the disappointment for my race in Illinois, I straddle the line of rationalizing, understanding and questioning. What parts are sadness? Which are anger? Which can I learn from? And which are just un-categorized emotion?

I am/was heart broken. Obviously this is not the race I've trained for and although the weather is not in my control, I continue to wonder if I reacted as best as I could.

I didn't freak out.
I acknowledged the weather and carried through with a plan to carry water, sip more, sip often.
I stuck with a conservative, controlled pace.

However, I also acknowledged to myself that it would be highly unlikely to hit all of my goals given the conditions. Although I didn't know 100%. Instead I started thinking about saving myself and finding another race another day.

Was that it?

Could I have stuck with it, gritted my teeth and dug deeper? Should I have? I certainly felt better later in the race but by then my stomach was overfull of liquids in an attempt to keep myself hydrated and cool. Of course I'll never know but I can't help but wonder. Perhaps my vision for a good race is skewed? Perhaps I don't know what it really means to "make it may day".

And this leaves me sad.

But not out.

And then there were two

2010-04-27T11:39:00.000-04:00

This morning I headed out to the shorter 220yd cinder track to tackle the last of my interval workouts. It was another misty, foggy morning and provided a relaxing atmosphere to finish up my track work this cycle. I resorted to the shorter track b/c it's closer to home and I didn't need the miles, so round and round and round the cinders I went. Aside from a gang of vicious looking pigeons that surely wanted to peck my eyes out, it was quiet at the track. Lots of people walking by with their dogs and runners darting by on the path further up into & out of Riverside park. It was a nice change in location and perspective from the Riverbank track I'm normally at. As I chipped away at the 6 laps per 1200 interval I reflected more on my upcoming race. Stay cool, stay calm, keep it all in perspective. Morning runs are one of the only times lately where I have the luxury of just me and my own thoughts. Work is insane, crazy intense and all encompassing. Which is good and bad. Good b/c it gives me zero opportunity to stress over the race and the weather and other things I can and cannot control at this point but bad b/c I'm completely exhausted upon leaving the office. And my mind just doesn't shut off from that subject matter so easily. Whatever the case, I'm here - left with just two runs before marathon Saturday.

Both runs will be pure joy and run with some of my most favorite people! Tomorrow I'm slated for a meet up with my favorite NYC running girls - Missy, Bella and the baby mango (although she's probably a different fruit/veggie this week) and then Friday will be a shake-out with Lora and maybe Cindi.

4 sleeps to go!

Guilt

2010-04-21T13:24:00.001-04:00

I knew Boston would be inspiring and man oh man, was it ever! ...but I also knew it would be indulgent. After all, I haven't yet qualified for myself and although I enjoy attending & watching marathons quite thoroughly, I felt this experience to be much different. As the weekend went on I couldn't help but notice the thin line between soaking up all that this historic race offers and perhaps soaking up a bit too much for where I was, a non-registered, non-qualified runner. Sure, all sorts of folks not running attend the expo, buy gear and cheer runners on in Boston - no different than any other race, but I also had plans to jump in along the course and run as a bandit along with Missy. I've done this before for/with others and I didn't feel nearly as guilty as I do, now, reflecting on Monday. Boston is sacred to runners. It's historic, it often represents the pinnacle in one's running and it's very much loved.

It wasn't mine to have.

And although I never felt it was my race, never even a hint of that, I did feel like I was taking something that didn't belong to me. Perhaps it was the distance covered (20 miles for me), that's a good chunk of time to be running in a race that isn't yours. Awareness was also heightened by those incredibly wonderful folks cheering us on. "Us" when it should have been "her".

Gah, I feel so conflicted. My intentions were innocent, looking for inspiration, excited to visit with friends, to meet others I haven't yet had the chance to spend time with and to help my friend achieve a goal she set for herself when she found out she was pregnant, having already qualified. But here I am, feeling guilty and horrible.

Undoubtedly a run will leave me feeling better but for all of those who did qualify, who did have their race - I apologize, I didn't mean to take anything away from your day or your experience.

Onward!

Imagination, inspiration, indulgence

2010-04-16T13:09:00.001-04:00

I am beyond excited for the coming weekend, in fact you'd think I was registered and running the Boston Marathon myself. Instead I'll be heading up the coast to support my running friends, cheer them on, gain a big dose of inspiration for my own running and admittedly, indulge in what I hope to be my own scene next year. Looking at the images below, as a runner, how could you not want to be a part of this?? They will undoubtedly fuel my last LR @MP scheduled for later today.

Ahhhhh, home

2010-04-12T12:57:00.001-04:00

I had one of those weekends that, despite the travel involved, didn't feel like it went by too quickly. Sure, I would have loved to spend a few more days at home in St. Louis, especially today attending the Cards home opener with the rest of my siblings but overall, it was good and fun and full. One of the elements about life in St. Louis that always has me wondering if I could go back is that you end up driving a lot of places. Mostly because everything is so spread out and there aren't a ton of mass transit options, although Metro Link has done wonders for the city thus far. I've become accustomed to not having a car and walking most places when a subway or bus isn't required. In fact, I prefer walking most of the time. And so I was especially excited that upon arriving on Friday, auto transportation was not an issue... the sisters and I walked up to a local bar & restaurant to inquire about a softball team sponsorship and ended up enjoying a few drinks and some dinner there. We then walked over to little bro's place which is a convenient handful of blocks from there. I almost felt like I was back in NYC :) Tim's place is awesome b/c it's so close and we have a million memories there as it used to be the home of my aunt and uncle. It also boasts a sweet yard with a cool fire pit and hot tub ...and, as you can see, some nice custom touches.

Saturday morning we headed out to cheer on mom and dad walking a 5K in Forest Park as part of the Go St. Louis! marathon weekend events. They were both looking very chipper and strong and even stopped to give us some serious running poses... dad's words were "get low" hahahaha...

Beth, Erika, Monika & I walked in the last 1.1 miles with them and rewarded ourselves with breakfast at the pancake house. YUM! After a visit to the expo and a short run we were enjoying some of my favorite pizza and making plans for the next morning.

Sunday morning came way early and after debating how I'd get my needed miles in and trying to see some of the STL HM as well, I had a plan. Dad, our designated drop-off driver (DDD), left us near the starting line to the STL marathon, half-marathon and relay events... we checked bags, hit the porta-potties and lined up. A gorgeous day was unfolding. Soon enough the anthem was sung and the gun went off. Erika and Beth were just behind Monika & I as we settled into a nice comfortable pace. I planned to run the first 10 miles with Monika and when she turned around to head towards the finish line of the HM I would stick with the full peeps and get a few more miles in with them before leaving the race course altogether. It was a great way to run 22.25 miles and not be solo the entire time. And it all turned out quite well although the temps were a wee bit warmer than I would have liked, they didn't hurt too much. Thoughts about the run:

I should have drank more earlier, I was carrying my hand held and didn't want to run out of liquids before I found a water fountain in the park. Around mile 16 I felt a little overheated but probably could have avoided this with more liquids earlier
Fueling during the run was spot-on, fueling the two days before were notsogreat
I really enjoyed the relative quiet after splitting off from the HM peeps near mile 10, running along Forest Park Pkwy under Kingshighway was a nice break and really reengaged me
Although I was technically a bandit to the race (though I didn't take any gel, water or gatorade from the aid stations) all of the volunteers were extremely supportive and helpful - this event is organized very well!
It was fun to start the run downtown, take in a ton of local scenery and end up running right back to my parent's house

With just about a half a day left until I boarded my plane back to NYC, the family and I wasted no time in cooking up some good eats, playing a bit of outdoor beer pong and enjoying both individual cupcakes and an awesome cupcake cake made by mom to celebrate Erika's b-day... (that's red velvet for those interested)

And that brings both my weekend and another week of training to an end. With less than 3 weeks until the IL Marathon I ended Sunday with my highest weekly mileage ever, 75.1 miles! Time to back off now, rest as much as possible and keep myself strong and healthy. Thanks for the wonderful times Pfeiffers!!!

Is that you, Doogie?

2010-04-06T11:46:00.005-04:00

Apologies for my lack of blogging, I started and abandoned three other posts in the last couple of weeks simply b/c I didn't have time to finish one nor the brain power to concentrate. I'm in the midst of my last heavy mileage week prior to tapering and also the last couple of heavy development weeks for a major product I have going on at work. It's not ideal but the running makes the daytime craziness a bit more deal-able. So here I am, less than 4 weeks out from the IL Marathon and feeling primed and ready to roll. I ran with Missy & Bella the other morning and was telling her (...them?, hard to tell if Bella listens to our running chatter) that I feel much differently with this cycle of training. Sure there are handfuls of different facets to my training this time around and I'm not the same self that's trained for a marathon, in what feels like a previous life, but the simple truth is I don't feel beat up. I'm adapted and comfortable averaging 60+ miles a week and if I had more hours in the day, don't doubt averaging 70+ miles would be quite doable as well.

A quick peek back at my running log reveals why...

50.2
47.1
52.5
43.1
40.4
44.3
43.1
48.4
49
50.5
56.3
57.7
63
60.3
70.6
53.3
58.2
50.5
63.9
48.3
60.9
56.8
63.3
59.4

That's weekly mileage since late October, when I started working with Lloyd and dedicating myself to a goal race in May. And another big bonus, I don't feel burnt out either! This is big people, WAY BIG! So here we are, a few more weeks of hanging in there, a couple more key workouts to nail, including a great test of concentration tomorrow with 45 mins worth of tempo cruise intervals. And who knows, maybe a few more chances of positively identifying the runner I see most mornings south along the Hudson as Neil Patrick Harris or a damn good look alike. I've gone back and forth on this one, is it him? Nah, he's not tall enough. I think it still might be him, look at that hair. Maybe? How cool would it be to say I run "with" The Barnacle?? :-)

The deets

2010-03-22T15:32:00.001-04:00

I'm a big numbers person, they just appeal to me in the way some other details cannot. So here's a recap of yesterday's HM in numbers.

Splits
m1: 7:50
m2: 7:33
m3: 7:39
m4: 7:48
m5: 7:30
m6: 7:49
m7: 7:37
m8: 7:43
m9: 7:39
m10: 7:29
m11: 7:37
m12: 7:44
m13: 7:31
m.1: :47

More splits, recorded by NYRR timing mats
Location: 5 Kilometers
Time of day: 7:59:27 AM
Elapsed time: 0:23:53.33
Pace/mile: 07:40.87

..................
Location: 10 Kilometers
Time of day: 8:23:24 AM
Elapsed time: 0:47:50.67
Pace/mile: 07:42.26
..................
Location: 15 Kilometers
Time of day: 8:47:02 AM
Elapsed time: 1:11:28.59
Pace/mile: 07:40.14
..................
Location: 20 Kilometers
Time of day: 9:11:18 AM
Elapsed time: 1:35:44.66
Pace/mile: 07:42.16
..................
Location: Finish
Time of day: 9:15:54 AM
Elapsed time: 1:40:22.00
Pace/mile: 07:39.62

Temperature at race time
53*

Participants
Men - 5420
Women - 6073 (woot!)
Total - 11493

1 permi-smile on my face, still present today!

1, 2, 3, 4 - 4!!!!

2010-03-21T15:13:00.004-04:00

That's right folks, 4 old PRs fell today in the span of a single race. Needless to say, it was a GOOD day! And a reminder that hard work really is rewarded, you need only to see my face and the permi-smile to know this. Today it all came together, the weather, my fueling, my mindset and a course I know very well. I am beyond happy for this check-in as to how my training is going, the boost of confidence and as Cindi noted, the fueling for the remainder of my IL training. 5 weeks and 6 days to go!

I am also forever grateful to my running buddy Missy for her optimism, inspiration and encouraging words. Her little heirloom tomato in utero has one hell of a momma!

15K - previous PR: 1:14:46 (8:02/mi), new PR: 1:11:28 (7:41/mi)

10 mile - previous PR: 1:19:50 (7:59/mi), new PR: 1:16:40 (7:40/mi)

20K - previous PR: 1:40:59 (8:08/mi), new PR: 1:35:44 (7:43/mi)

HM - previous PR: 1:50:04 (8:25/mi), new PR: 1:40:21 (7:40/mi)

Pimp my track

2010-03-17T11:20:00.006-04:00

When I first really got into running and needed to locate a track around Manhattan I felt certain I'd come up empty handed. After all, where is there really enough room to locate a 400m length track in this over populated and dense city of ours? I inquired with people on several message boards and was surprised to find there were actually quite a few. Of course they're all located on the peripherals of our fair island and none are right in my backyard but the choices are good. When I was working on Wall St. I made it a regular habit to change at the NYSC location next door to my office, leave my belongings behind and run over to the track located in East River park. It was a great distance for a warm-up to whatever interval workout lay ahead and made for easy planning. And even when I changed jobs and was located in SoHo that track was still my best bet, again changing at yet another NYSC location near the office, leaving my goods all locked up there, and taking off.

Since then I've been relocated to another office, this time in Dumbo, and while the East River track would still be a viable option I've also converted (mostly) to being a morning runner. That makes for more complicated planning and something I'd prefer to avoid, i.e. lugging all my stuff in a backpack while running to the track. Luckily for me there's another sweet track facility on the West side; one that I've run at from time to time when I needed another option. Riverbank State Park is an easy 5 mile run away and is perched atop a structure overlooking the Hudson River. It's a beautiful park with a spectacular vantage of the city and river and open to the public with generous hours.

I like it not only for the good quality of the track itself but because it's a neighborhood fixture. Last night I ran up for some more cruise intervals and was not surprised to find it completely jam packed. Now it wasn't overcrowded with runners although there were a few others going round and round. It was all about soccer and fans of the soccer players and basketball and hockey and I think there was even some baseball practice going on. And the kiddos... tons of kiddos running around like it was a playground, which essentially it is. It's safe, well lit, has a snack bar and for someone living in the neighborhood, probably a good number of your neighbor friends.

Of course it can get a little hairy when you're trying to stay on pace for a given interval set but I like to think the added obstacle course elements make me a stronger runner. Rogue soccer and footballs coming at my noggin' and in front of me on the track, teenagers making googly eyes at one another in lane 1 and last night even a 5 yr old carrying much too large of a stick chasing his buddy.

Here she is at the right ...a beauty, no?

Tears from the skies, tears from my eyes

2010-03-15T16:34:00.009-04:00

I like to consider myself an equal opportunity weather runner. Sure I savor those ideal conditions... light breeze, sunshine (but not too much) & 50 degree temps but I'll take whatever I can get and will run in anything. So when this past weekend's forecast reared it's ugly head I knew my choices for an "ideal" LR day would be limited. Saturday showed up looking like a day severely beaten with the ugly stick and Sunday showed little promise for more attractiveness. I then resorted to these sorta-kinda rules I have in my mind with regard to running. The one in particular, it's better to just suck it up and make it happen in whatever the current conditions are - tomorrow could be better but it could also be worse. With that in mind and a number of hours already spent delaying the inevitable I set out for my 2nd 20 miler in the plan.

It was rainy, it was 40*, it was windy with 25 MPH steady winds and gusts of up to 50 MPH and it was gray. Despite that all, I didn't feel bad those first several miles and in fact took off way too fast for the day's work. I recalled the words I exchanged with J right before I left... "man this is gonna suck" and then a pause and a quick recant "...no, no it's not, it's gonna be awesome". No way was I gonna break another of my rules regarding negative thoughts at the start of a LR. And he responded something like "this will be your best run yet", of course saying it to simply get my butt out the door. But it left a mark and when I recalled the words I asked myself, why shouldn't this be my best run yet? Why couldn't this be my best run yet? So those words marinated there for quite a bit.

And the run got a bit tougher as the miles went on but never real bad. My nutrition was spot on, my energy was high and my headphones were pumping out the tunes. My pace stayed steady and true and my heart rate stayed low. I turned around heading north now and ran all of the middle miles directly in to the wind and rain and at several points, small hail. Mommy! IT SUCKED. Now it didn't suck all at once. I checked in with myself and allowed the wind to be acknowledged, allowed the rain to be noted and decided that it shouldn't matter. I was running well, it's not ideal but I'm running well. I had to stay running in this direction until at least mile 15 and then I could turn back around and finish with the crap to my back.

And then somewhere after mile 14 it got to be reckoning time.

I was barely moving forward, the wind was so strong and so severe that I could not feel movement whatsoever. I was also thoroughly soaked by this point, the last time I attempted to eat a shot block I had to spend way too much time pawing open my hand held, the digits simply did not work, they were frozen solid. My playlist had also since finished but I had no way to make my hands work the iPod.

But I H.A.D. to get to at least mile 15. HAD to.

At one point I felt like tears were imminent and honestly I could have been crying. There was absolutely no differentiation between my rain soaked face and water of the saltier variety. And then after glancing down at the Garmin and seeing 14.87 just a bit ago, it was here. It was there. Glorious mile 15.

I turned around and instantly felt just how much of a wind I'd been running in to, now I was actually scared of being blown over. No joke. It was craziness. But it was behind me.

The wind.

The rain in my face.

The hugest of huge mental hurdles.

I finished the run without incident, without any excuses, without any walking, without any regret.

And without any doubt that if I could run 20 miles in those conditions at a still respectable clip, I could truly run in anything.

And J was right, it was the best run yet!

Twice as nice

2010-03-08T18:17:00.005-05:00

2 weeks seemed to have buzzed by without me realizing it. Maybe it was Olympics-effect? Not sure but looking over my last entry it feels like a lot of running has occurred in that time. The highlights and low lights:

last interval workout on the plan was notsogreat; I was cold and wet upon arriving at the track and my performance was less than stellar
I decided to not stay down for long and logged my first 21 miler of the season the Sunday immediately following that workout. It was awesomeness!
coach found some time in the plan and had me repeat that interval workout, after all, no one wants that taste to be left in their mouth
second time around was a huge success! Of course it was also probably one of the most beautiful and ideal type of running days that you could score so that helped.
I've had a bunch of phenomenal running mornings with Missy and Meredith, it feels like those days are pure running joy and completely effortless
I ended February right on track with mileage to get me over the 2000 mile mark for 2010 (226 miles), not bad for a shorty, down mileage month

And now with just about a week and a half until my next race, the tempo paced stuff is coming out to play. Wheee! I'll be heading back up to the track for the first set of cruise intervals, which should feel like a cake walk after interval work.

With just 8 weeks until Illinois I'm getting very excited! This weekend brings another 20 miler but this time with a fast finish and a return back to up mileage weeks.

How's everyone's training going?

Last week of P2

2010-02-22T11:43:00.005-05:00

Phase 2 of Illinois training is a shorty in comparison to P1 but it packs a lasting punch. While overall mileage has backed down, quality ramps up in the form of intervals. I sure do love me some intervals! Unfortunately I really love them done on the track but I've only been able to log 1 of the 3 workouts thus far there; dang snow! Somehow logging time at the track makes me feel more legit as a runner, maybe it's the formality of the work vs. when I'm just out running anywhere and for any desired period of time/# of miles. Maybe it's just a preference or in my own head. Imagining Lagat and myself doing the same kind of work albeit at vastly differing paces. Whatever it is, I definitely feel more badass getting a great set of intervals done, painful or not. So here's to clear weather this week or even just a window of about 40 minutes to let me strut my stuff in the form of 1000 and 800 repeats.

Anyone else a big fan of intervals? Or are tempo runs more your thing? Cruise intervals? ....oooo those are mega-fun too!

You take the good, you take the bad

2010-02-16T10:19:00.001-05:00

...you take them both and there you have
The Facts of Running, the Facts of Running.

Or something like that.

No matter how much we love running, there are days when it's just not going our way. We're tired or our mojo has left us or we're ill prepared or rushed, etc. etc. Any number of things can combine to produce a notsopleasant running experience. The important lesson is not to panic and not to get down. Bad runs happen to good people. My last week felt a little derailed after starting off so optimistically. The downside is I had a couple lousy feeling runs, one where I felt I was working way too hard for the effort and another that I desperately wanted to end from just about the start. The upside, I've been here before. I know not to dwell and in fact, in this case, I know where I went astray. These aren't new concepts but I need to get them down to remind myself once again:

- never underestimate good nutrition!
- plan for the unexpected and allow yourself to remain flexible in your training
- don't set off on a LR with negative thoughts
- make time for the things that make your running happen, i.e. yoga

And so the new week has begun and I'm one recovery run & one session at the studio in and it feels like I'm sporting a new exterior to match my improved interior.

"What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now." - Buddha

lulu's backing

2010-02-10T17:35:00.003-05:00

even lululemon knows about my movie! :-)

The movie, my masterpiece!

2010-02-10T09:30:00.009-05:00

Back in the fall when I was preparing for CIM, I couldn't help but feel my movie was incomplete. The partial production was enough to get me reevaluating a fall marathon and coming up with a new plan of attack. So far the new attack is right on track and providing me a tremendous number of scenes. Coach Lloyd has been phenomenal in getting me to run slower, more mileage and more consistently but most importantly, to regain my love and passion for running. And it's shown in hard data results...

2/24/07
3/11/07
10/28/07

These dates were the last times I PR'ed in the distances of 4M, 15K and 5M, respectively. And now, in the span of about 70 days, all 3 PRs have been replaced. Two without much focus and the last one quite intentionally.

5 miles - new PR, 37:47 (7:34/mi) on 11/26

15K - new PR, 1:14:46 (8:02/mi) on 12/19

4 miles - new PR, 29:01 (7:15/mi) on 2/7

Through accumulated miles on accumulated runs I've also had vivid visuals about two of my upcoming races. Firstly, the NYC HM (3/21) - I feel especially in tune with this course b/c both portions of it I run very regularly. There's a loop + in Central Park and then after weaving through Times Square a straight shot down the West Side Highway. Both segments are my bread and butter, my buddies, I know them better than they know themselves. And so these scenes play out regularly, visions of myself feeling relaxed, climbing the hills and riding the down portions while in the park, having myself ready to attack in the second half of the race when we cruise towards the downtown finish line. Sometimes the visions are so real I feel like the race has already occurred. Similarly, scenes from Illinois have appeared to me. They aren't quite as complete as the others and although I don't know the course like I do the other, these scenes mostly feature those same even-effort, relaxed and strong feelings but along with Lora & Cindi. I clearly feel myself running with them, sometimes we're right next to one another and other times we're not but we're there, we're executing and it feels right.

For all of the times I've tried meditation and visualization techniques, the thought of a movie is working much more effectively than any other. Cannot wait for post-production!

A fundamental shift

2010-02-08T10:42:00.004-05:00

Dillon located himself a new favorite perch / hiding spot in the apartment. After nearly 6 years of being in the same apartment with pretty much the same furnishings, imagine Jason and my surprise when we could not find him anywhere in our less-than-700 sq feet of space.

Under the bed? Nope.
Curled up on a bar stool? Nope.
Napping in the closet? Nope.
Taking refuge in the shower? Nope.

Seriously, where did he go?

Of course, in the sneakiest of all places. He's got an excellent vantage point of all rooms in the apartment and yet he remains cloaked, ready to pounce when his inner-kitten is ready for some fun. Yep, he's on top of the benches underneath the table - his black hair provides further cover. Guard your lower shins, when he hops out he's ready to rumble!

And it happened and there was much rejoicing

2010-02-01T15:41:00.003-05:00

In the past week...

- I was finally given the chance to flex my overwhelming desire to make home improvements. This is significant because as you all know I don't own a home, despite the sick amount of time I spend watching HGTV :-) Spackled, primed and painted at Matt & Kelly's new place in CT this weekend. Also spent a good amount of time helping move, dismantle and setup furniture including the sweetest of chandeliers for lovely Lyla's new pink room.

- I may have (jury is still out) prepared a black bean burger so tasty that one of America's biggest meat eaters actually enjoyed it. I should note there were also tater tots, that helps.

- I entered the yoga studio feeling a bit shutdown and feeling like I was maybe catching/fighting a cold only to experience one of my strongest and most open feeling classes ever. The emotional tap opened, in itself, was almost overwhelming.

- I laid down my biggest mileage week ever, 70.6 miles. I've hit 70 once before and only once. I intend to make this new level a habit. That week also contributed to an all-time monthly mileage number, 280. 30 miles bigger than my biggest month ever.

- I was inspired by my own post (geez, how self-serving can I possibly get!) but more importantly by the comments left here to do something more to spread smiles. Looking into new volunteering opportunities.

- And last but not least, I tried out my first Holy Cream. Observe.

Seeping Smiles

2010-01-27T11:08:00.013-05:00

I like to smile, it makes me feel good and I like to think it makes others feel good. I feel a smile gives everyone that sees it license to enjoy the moment just a little more, and it becomes a contagious action that one is eager to repeat.

Yesterday I passed by a little boy pushing his own stroller. His height did not exceed that of the stroller which made it all the funnier seeing this seeming ghost stroller whipping my way. He was all over the place, the stroller moving wildly across the sidewalk as his mom watched him carefully. The whole scene warmed my heart and I couldn't help but exchange smiles with his mom, she surely appreciated his genius as well.

This morning while running in the park I passed 3 small dogs who had just been let off their leashes and immediately lunged atop a nearby stone wall. The scene is hard to describe but there were large barren prickly bushes on the other side of the wall spilling over, obviously unbeknownst to the dogs now lunging towards them. The first dog of the pack lucky enough to experience the small prick of that bush and jump back down almost to warn his buddies is what found me smiling once again. It was like I could picture him talking begging them to heed his warning.

And from that scene another smile grew immediately. It was a transfer of thoughts from this small pack of dogs to another [much missed] dog, Sage's Sky. Just as Sage had reported from her run yesterday, I smiled while envisioning Sky out on a run with Joe. I saw them leaping over those barren prickly bushes, getting a bit scraped up and maybe suffering a small tear in the BSOD (blue shorts of death for those of you not aware) but not slowing them down in the least bit.

Now go on, spread a smile!

It was a doozy

2010-01-25T10:16:00.003-05:00

As suspected, last week was a whirlwind. Monday night after work I flew out to Austin for 3 days of jam packed meetings and while it was quite stressful in spots, we got through a lot of material and ended up very productive. The trip also gave me the chance to check out Austin more and try out some of the most excellent trails they have downtown along the water. So even if I do end up traveling back for more work stuffs I'll have that going for me. Gotta keep this project in perspective and stay positive as it has some major weight associated with it and can get unruly real quick like. I do like the feel of Austin, it's like a Colorado city stuck in Texas. The weather is sweet, the eats are good and the attitudes are relaxed and everything feels very outdoorsy. I can get behind that for sure!

Thursday night I traveled back to NYC and kicked off "The Great 12 Hour Turnaround". In the period of 12 hours I cabbed it home from JFK, unpacked, repacked, slept, ran my 17 mile LR and cabbed it to LGA. Friday was a work day off and I was heading out to hang with my girls in Kansas City. It was worth every bit of anxiety. What a fabulous weekend! These are girls I could have fun with in a cardboard box; they're genuine, funny and real. We have a large amount of history together and that helps too. They feel like home to me; perfect way to end a long week!!

It didn't hurt that I was able to get all my running in as well and continue to feel like a rock with regards to my training. Another week ending in 60 miles and all I want to do is run more, More, MORE!!! Today kicked off the last week in phase 1 for Illinois training, just one more workout of hill repeats and I cut the mileage a bit and add in intervals. Wheeee, cannot wait!

How is everyone's training going? Several of my siblings are also in the midst of training for various spring races, it's awesome to compare notes and see how everyone is feeling. Conga-rats to little bro for logging yet another PR in the HM!!

A dip in the week

2010-01-16T19:47:00.007-05:00

Was feeling majorly overwhelmed with work this past week. After flipping out about launching a couple products and gearing up for a trip to Austin next week to tackle another big one, I tried to figure out why I was letting this all "run me" like it was. The stress about the product launches was undoubtedly related to the amount of effort and time I had sunk into the project and the chaos surrounding some of my team. The trip to Austin, however, was another story. I took a step back and assessed. Yes, it'll be hectic. Yes, I'll need to adjust a few things in the coming week. Yes, it'll probably be this way for awhile longer. Yes, the timing of this trip and project aren't ideal. But none of that will be more than an inconvenience if I choose to keep it all in perspective. I'm alive, I'm having more fun running than ever. I'm going to see a bunch of my close STL friends in less than a week and so much more. I took a deep breathe and read over a piece of art I recently purchased. Chill.

Call me Sybil

2010-01-10T16:15:00.008-05:00

Can you tell anything about a person strictly from their reading habits & subject matter? I mean reading can fulfill so many things, it can be for entertainment, for knowledge, for research purposes, to pass the time or just for curiosity's sake. Hell, you might pick up a book or mag truly for the cover! Is it possible to derive anything about one's character from the stack of books, magazines, articles that may appear beside their bed? I, for one, hope not. I do believe people would start thinking I have a multiple personality disorder ...although maybe that'd be a good thing? It could serve as reasoning for some of my moods. ha ha ha... However it might be a right-on assessment as well. I've never been one to completely and totally dive into a single thing, hold that single thing as my #1 focus, do absolutely nothing else but that thing. Sure, I come close but I like the variety, the balance, the mixed bag.

For me reading is like that. I jump from subject matter that I'm intensely interested in to referential information I need to perform better in my running or understand life just a little bit better. Sometimes it's reading one thing that will trigger an interest in something else or even watching or hearing of some subject that gets the spark -> flame -> fire going. Often a break from some particular subject will open up a world of lighter reading, fun stuff, nothing heavy. I'll tell you a little about what I've been reading if you'll do the same. Maybe we can help each other's inner-Sybil out?

Recently I've read Jon Krakauer's, Where Men Win Glory and really enjoyed it. Although I rather enjoy war history, I'm not much into books about the military, how they're run, policies, etc. However Krakauer is a superb author and in this particular book he explores the life of Pat Tillman, the life he had prior to when he was made a war hero by our gov't. I'm presently reading Candace Millard's, The River of Doubt, a fantastic book chronicling Teddy Roosevelt's journey into the Amazon after his failed attempt at a 3rd term in office. Add to that a sprinkling of Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals - this guy is a big favorite of mine and I'm always eager to read more of what motivates individuals to eat/not eat animals & animal products. Michael Pollan and his books were a great intro into this thought process for me and I continue to enjoy the subject matter. Finally I've got the most recent issues of Running Times and Runner's World stuffed into my ginormous purse for subway reading.

Thinking about this post got me reflecting on what themes in other parts of my life have been lately. Lots and lots of running, some yoga, some cooking but not much exploring, not much swimming, not a whole lot of socializing and not a whole lot of travel. Time to shake things up!

2010 is off with a BANG!

2010-01-04T12:39:00.005-05:00

First day of the year and I got to enjoy a fantastically sloppy run on the bridle path followed by hours of fun with this little dude while his dad treated us to majorly delicious eats.

Second day of the year and J & I traveled to Philadelphia to watch Kansas lay the beat-down on Temple, retaining both their #1 ranking and undefeated status. The Morris twins earned their home town game glory for sure too!

Third day of the year and I got to run with one of my most favorite people (Missy!), wrapping up a week of 56.3 miles and feeling fantastic. The day got even better when J & I shared dinner with his brother, SIL and their kiddos and finally got to see the kiddos open their gifts. I wish I had my camera out as Keaton played with his Busy Ball Popper

At one point when more than 3 balls came flying up outta this thing, Keaton remarked "balls tickling me". It was beyond adorable! I can only hope that these first few days of the year are representative of the rest.

8, 9, 11 and done

2009-12-31T14:46:00.011-05:00

Doesn't everyone state at year end "where did the time go?" ?? Regardless if it was a year full of the best of times, the worst of times, painful times, joyous times, etc. it does indeed seem that time escapes us inexplicably. At times in this past year I felt as if time was standing still, I was hurt I was not feeling like myself, I was biding my time, wanting to skip forward and magically be "me" again. And during that time, unbeknownst to me at the time, I grew more into "me" than I ever thought possible. In the cycle of physical therapy which started late last year and continued into January I rediscovered yoga. I decided to make my practice a regular thing, to grow it, to explore a new [to me] studio and see if that might not be part of the solution to getting myself healthy and running again without pain.

And it was, indeed, a prominent slice of the solution. And it was so much more than that, so much so that it's very difficult to put it all into words. Yoga strengthened me physically and mentally. To deal with life's regular hurdles, long hours at the office, the rediscovery of my running, my relationships with family, friends, co-workers and complete strangers. My mind exploded in a reawakening of the interpersonal skills that we use every single day. I loved each day more than the last, I saw things differently ...more thoroughly, more intensely and with a deeper sense of being. Perhaps yoga was just the impetus and everything that followed a reaction? Whatever the case I feel truly blessed that this series of events occurred in my life. This year has been about a deeper understanding in who I am and want to be as a human, how I want to live my life, what makes me & my loved ones happy and how I'd like to engage in the world as "me". It was the perfect setup for where I am now, back into my running, very much enjoying a [oftentimes] stressful job, growing and happy in my relationships and wanting to spread this phenomenon with everyone around me!

I have zero doubt that 2010 will be a good one. Good b/c I intend to start the year just as I'd like to, on my terms and with a positive attitude. Good b/c, hot damn!, I'm back to running consistent 50+ MPW and will be moving deeper into my training for Illinois. Good b/c this gift of yoga has only one way to grow, up. So then my friends, I close 2009 out with 8, 9, and 11 mile runs :-) Eager to see where the next 365 days takes me and confident that it will be based upon the last 365.

Happy New Year!!

A big batch of easy with a sprinkling of RP

2009-12-08T11:28:00.006-05:00

Phase 1 continues on and will do so until January 31st, at which point I will have hit my max. mileage for this round of training for at least 3 weeks in a row. Wheeeee! In phase 2 I'll back off the mileage slightly and add in more quality before bringing back the miles with the quality for the finale that will be phases 3 & 4. As mentioned before, all of my running these days is at an easy pace with a couple sets of strides per week as really the only other component. Oh and the occasional race sprinkled in here and there. The races aren't all out efforts but rather a way to gauge which paces I should be training at, once quality reemerges in my running. They're also a great way to mix things up and give me a taste of another pace, RP.

I'm really having a blast so far and totally enjoying running for exactly what it means to me, at it's very roots.

Simple. Cleansing. Meaningful.

And the balance struck between my running and my yoga practice seems to have found the most perfect of mid-lines. I feel new streams of life shooting through my limbs in each discipline undoubtedly provided by the other. It's a beautiful thing and I'm loving every second of it. Add to that some recent running excursions with some of my most favorite people and folks, we're talking full package here! I look forward to opening up those experiences even more while back at home in St. Louis over the holidays.

Onward!

NYC in December

2009-12-01T15:03:00.004-05:00

A few of my most favorite things appear near the end of November & beginning of December, each year around the city. This one in particular is quite exciting as it not only enhances the appearance of our sidewalks but it also enhances the smell. Go to bed on Thanksgiving night and awake the next morning to Miniature Christmas Tree lots sprinkled throughout the city. Some are parked next to bodegas, others take the place of smaller Greenmarkets and still others are magical little dynasties all on their own.

This one is just a block away from our apt., is less than half a block "big", smells deliciously of a variety of pines and is manned by some very friendly Canadians who live in their van from Thanksgiving until the day before Christmas. I especially enjoy that I get to walk through it several times a day, to and from work, to and from the grocery store, to and from the park.

The extra magical ingredient appears when our first dusting of snow comes down. Ahhh, you really can live in the city and feel like you're in the country ....well, sort of.

Done deal

2009-11-30T10:11:00.001-05:00

I do hope a few others will join me in Champaign/Urbana that weekend!

Well hello there

2009-11-24T15:49:00.005-05:00

Yes, yes... I'm still alive and kicking and more importantly, running! Once again work has taken over and caused some stressful weeks that I'd rather not recount. However my running has not suffered and in fact has rooted itself into more weekday mornings that I could ever have dreamed possible. You've heard me say it here before, "I should really run more in the mornings; hold me accountable to 1/week or 2/week"... etc etc. I know I've said it on more than one occasion and I've also said it to Missy while running. My job is more a P.M.-centric type of job meaning that sure I could get in early and get some stuff done and be more organized and all that junk but the heavy lifting of my job happens in the P.M. hours. Which means there's always the chance for a late(r) evening at the office and a greater chance for a run getting pushed. While this does not bode well for my ideal hours in the yoga studio it sure helps to have my running done in the mornings.

Anywho, coach and I are staying on track with a schedule building to a May 1-2 marathon. I'm still not committed to a particular race although the Illinois Marathon is looking quite favorable as of late. I like that it's a Saturday race and have heard good things from Mindi regarding it's inaugural year, just last April. It's also not so far from "home" which means I might be able to visit the family as well.

And since I haven't reported any running details in awhile or specific workouts, here's a snapshot of the last few weeks ...all easy running.

The next several weeks will look similar, backing off the miles just a bit before adding in some quality and then adding back more miles. I'm also planning on a couple races to get some more accurate training paces defined. The Joe Kleinerman 10K on 12/6 and the Ted Corbitt 15K on 12/19, both in CP.

Lastly I plan to sneak in another session of yoga sometime regularly. It's hard to do w/work b/c my most favorite classes start at 7:00 p.m. but I'm going to try and remain flexible and see what I can make happen. Last night was a sweet session at Kula with loads of twisting, twisting, twisting all culminating in some very strong side crows (probably my best ever) and on both sides. Super stoked about that.

Missing scenes

2009-11-10T09:10:00.013-05:00

OBX.

Ahhhh.

What a time. What an experience. What friends. What a beautiful slice of the coast. What running fun. And above all else, what a tribute!

Joey was remembered well. We sang Happy Birthday to him, we felt him among us --- in the ocean, while running, while laughing, while living. Kath made some super cool medals for all of us, Chris fashioned some sweet armbands, and everyone pitched in on creating signs to post along the course (pictures to come). I cannot properly express what it means to me to have this group of friends and to have some of my family there as well, sharing in the experience! I am rich beyond words.

As for the running, I stuck to my plan with keeping the full as a training run & was lucky enough to have my little bro with me the entire way. And although my tummy sloshed a bit in the first half, I never felt physically hurtin'. However, I wasn't there mentally. Somewhere around mile 16 a light went off.

What exactly am I training for?

Sure I am registered for CIM on 12/6 and I also registered last minute for Rocket City (12/12) as a back-up, but am I ready? Is this run in OBX really a step towards one of those two races? A phrase that I've held in my mind recently came from Chris Lear's Running With The Buffaloes. Wetmore tells his runners to make a movie in your mind - the movie contains all aspects of the race you've worked towards. Your training prep, the course, your execution, etc.

I then attempted to make a movie in my mind.
The movie is incomplete, there are missing scenes.

I pretty much decided right then and there that I had to reconsider racing a marathon next month.

I want to do this right. I want to be able to make the masterpiece in my mind AND on the road. I am not able to do this right now and I have nothing to prove attempting to force the issue when it's well outside of my character to do.

The good news - I'm READY to make it right. I've been consistently logging my miles w/out any quality [yet] and I can feel my body responding positively. After over a year of being somewhat healthy and injured and somewhat not, I'm strong, I know the formula for me. I want to work with Lloyd all the way through this thing so any previous pitfalls might be avoided, training techniques improved upon and levels raised to where they should be. Of course these thoughts had to have lived in the back in my mind somewhere... they didn't just magically appear at mile 16 in OBX. Most certainly that race was the impetus and just having allowed them to come out and, further, to discuss them with some of the folks at OBX (Missy in particular) and later Lloyd, felt like a huge load off my mind.

So here I am. Sticking with consistent mileage for now, adding in some other fun stuff during the base building phase and looking for a spring marathon to strut my stuff.

There are no miracles in running

2009-10-30T11:49:00.003-04:00

Loving Chris Lear's Running with the Buffaloes and perhaps even more so, love learning about Mark Wetmore's coaching style and interactions with his CC teams. I'm already seeing similarities between Wetmore and my own coach, and it feels really good to work with Lloyd and get some solid plans slated for my running. Because we're starting our work together deep into a training cycle, the strategy will be a bit different from an orthodox training cycle but no less important. And thus the focus for the coming weeks, including the full @OBX will be to log the miles in an even-paced easy effort. Consistency is more important than anything as this point. Coach and I are looking towards the future and making big plans.

And so my daily runs look a lot alike at this point but my attitude and outlook have incurred a serious spike. In energy. In positivity. In drive.

It doesn't hurt that the NYC Marathon is this Sunday and the buzz around town is highly inspiring and motivating! Missy & I are planning to meet up with Kris & Jenn to do some spectating along First Ave before joining Trevor out of Manhattan, into the Bronx and back through Central Park. Oh and tomorrow we'll be meeting up with Trevor & Bob for some expo action followed by carbo-loading - wheee!

Happy as a Clam!

2009-10-22T00:16:00.004-04:00

After a 3 day imposed rest period from my teeth extraction, I'm back! And I could not be happier.

Last night's fartlek run felt like I was suspended about an inch off the path, effortlessly gliding along 9 miles w/6 x 3 mins @HMP and 2 mins recoveries

My concentration on an adjusted foot strike is paying off. Although my calves are sore from the efforts, I can feel huge energy return gains in each and every stride. And, even more importantly, a ton of stress taken away from those body parts I overuse when running - my hammies & butt.

Tonight's 8 miler was similar, so easy, so relaxed, so enjoyable. Very quiet along the Hudson tonight and the perfect way to unwind after a very hectic work day.

Our weather as of late could not be more pleasant. 62* on last night's run and 59* on tonight's. Both evenings sported clear skies with loads of activity... some stars, some aircraft.

And perhaps one of the happiest elements, one that resulted in a perma-smile my entire run tonight. I will be working with a coach!!! And not just any coach, the very talented Lloyd (aka rootsrunner). I am beyond stoked at the prospect. It's something that I've thought about a lot and always considered a big missing element to my running.

...and away we go!

Still here

2009-10-19T12:50:00.005-04:00

After a hectic work week and some OK running I'm on forced rest for a few days. Had my top two wisdom teeth extracted Friday morning and am playing it extra cautious with the workouts. There's no way I want to delay healing and no way I want to end up with dry sockets. So the weekend was mostly this:

Chocolate milk
Mashed potatoes
Green monsters
Ice cream (and I'm not even an "ice cream person")
Kefir
Applesauce
Iced coffee

+

Lots of couch time with my favorite fuzzy one

The time off has made me a little stir crazy but I'm hoping it was the right move and also a little bit of rest that my piriformis seemed to want.

Back at work today and no probs with the ole sockets so knock on wood, I'll be outside tomorrow for some miles. I've also got a very exciting running development to announce soon - wheee!!

Ever evolving, always adjusting

2009-10-06T21:47:00.009-04:00

I sent my head a mini restart notice on Monday. Just a little something to get me recommitted to my training and really buckling down now that CIM is just 2 months out.

Tuesday - 10 miles running w/2 x 3 mi @tempo in 1:23 (8:18/mi).

I wasn't sure how this was going to go since last Sat. started out somewhat OK and kinda blew up in my face. So after taking an intended day off and then an unintended day off (stupid work!), I headed out to see what the legs were feeling up to. For the first set of tempo miles I fell into a nice pace pretty easily but felt I might be a little slow. This is not unusual for me running this pace, it normally takes me a mile or two to get it right - first mile too slow and then the next way too fast (i.e. 8:05 followed by a 7:10 - eeeks!). After that it was all good.

2 miles warm-up in 18:07 (9:03/mi)
3 miles @tempo in 23:07 (7:42/mi)
.5 mile recovery in 4:56
3 miles @tempo in 23:25 (7:48/mi)
1.5 miles cool-down in 13:13 (8:48/mi)

Wednesday - 90 mins Kula Flow, 4.75 miles running in about 45:00 (9:28/mi).

I needed to get in an easy recovery run but couldn't muster the needed energy pre-work so I decided to pack up my stuffs after yoga and run home from the studio. The distance wasn't the problem, it was my lack of proper planning. No need for me to bring both my backpack and my big purse to the office that day; shoving that sucker into the backpack and then running with it home added nearly 15 lbs. and a not-so-pleasant chafe mark in the middle of my lower back. Other than that the plan worked a-OK. Yoga included lots of back bending and supported headstands. Love me some headstands but I find the supported headstands a bit tougher than forearm headstands; I think it's just more difficult for me to find my center line.

supported headstand

forearm headstand

Thursday - 6 miles running sleazy in 55:57 (9:19/mi).

Finally hauled my butt outta bed before work to get an easy 6 miler logged. I seem to forget too easily how nice morning runs are on the weekdays and how the lack of a few extra zzz's is totally worth it! I love how the light of a new day dances off everything it hits ...the water, the trees, other runners. I may get out for another short sleazy run this evening depending on how I feel coming out of my massage.

Go get 'em!!

2009-10-03T13:16:00.006-04:00

First off huge good luck and positive vibes out to Jen and Cindi racing marathons this weekend in St. George and Minneapolis/St. Paul, respectively. Actually, as I write this Jen is through the finish in Utah - a spectacular effort and a shiny new PR for Jen with a 3:06 marathon. That's some super sweet action - congratulations Jen!!! When I grow up I wanna be Jen!

But back to my humble life in humidity land. Gah. This morning brought with it a huge blanket of the nasty stuff just in time for a workout including a bunch of MP miles. Met up with Missy to run Grete's Great Gallop (a HM) in CP and managed about 9 miles at MP before my legs just threw in the towel. Actually they threw in the towel prior to that, right before mile 7 so I walked it out a bit and then got back to running. But it was a futile effort. I wasn't very smart with my workouts this week.

1). I did two things on Monday I haven't done in a long time and they seemed to have negatively impacted the balance that I need to keep to have everything hurty-free

2). I ran Thursday's run too fast. Sure it felt great, it felt effortless but my legs probably tired too much from the run and didn't recover fast enough to deal with today's humidity.

3). In trying to get back to my training plan from a couple diversions (RTB and the Fifth Ave mile) I haven't been consistent enough.

All of this contributed to 15.75 miles running in 2:26:54 (9:19/mi). Of course 9 of those miles were at MP but the rest were garbage. That in itself is inconsistent as all hell. I refuse to let myself stew about it too long, I know I need to refocus and I know I can do it. Last weekend's running left me feeling very confident and I don't want to let a couple bad decisions this week derail that. Onward and upward!

Yep

2009-09-29T18:14:00.003-04:00

Another week in the books. Work is still kicking my ass and something I did on Monday kicked it a bit more too :(

Monday - 45 min spin class, 4 miles running in 36:02 (9:00/mi). This was the first time I've both attended spin and ran on a TM in awhile and either one or the combo of the both of them left a mark on my bod. Legs are irregularly tight and hamstrings are very crabby. I will not be continuing with this Monday workout at any point in the near future. Might replace it with another session of yoga, we'll see.

Tuesday - rest day, see explanation in Monday's workout. Poops.

Wednesday - 90 mins of yoga. Again, everything felt way too tight for where I was just a week ago. I did feel much better after class but wasn't happy with my perceived effort.

Thursday - 8 miles running in 1:05:13 (8:09/mi). This run was a dream. On total cruise control and the pace felt effortless. NYC temps were right around 55* and just a light breeze off the Hudson.

Friday - 5 miles running in 50:22 (10:04/mi). Supa sleazy recovery run but a little too little a little too late - more on that later.

Bi-polar Running

2009-09-28T09:45:00.010-04:00

As yesterday's LR concluded and Missy and I spent some time stretching out, I commented to her that the weekend's events felt like bi-polar racing. Running in my first ever mile race on Saturday and then getting in a 21 miler on Sunday could not be further from one another on the spectrum of running. Mindset is different, pacing is different, fueling is different, and pace is most certainly different. Here's how it all worked out...

As noted previously I had a week full of extremely easy running. And while the soreness in my legs quickly worked itself out, by Friday it also felt like all the zip in my legs had exited as well. Eeeks! Not the warm, fuzzy feeling you'd hope to have on the eve of a mile race. Nevertheless, I met up with Missy on Saturday morning prior to our heats and ran some warm-up miles + a couple qtr mile sprints to get the juices flowing. Uh yeah, those qtr miles just about convinced both of us NOT to run the mile. Good gawd. Against better judgement we did forge on. :-) Missy was first with the youngin' heat and she looked more than ready! And while I was still nervous and anxious as all hell, I took a lot of comfort in seeing Missy return to the start line after her mile, still intact having survived her heat. She ROCKED it, btw. Anywho, cannon goes off and so do all of the 30-39 yr old women in my heat. The course is a straight shot down Fifth Avenue from 80th St. to 60th St. Missy had told me there's a crest at about 1/2 mile and after that it's down hill. From 3/4 mile on you can see the finish line. So I'm moving and trying to get it all under control - systems are good. Legs have lost their feeling of concrete pegs and I'm not dying. I crest at 1/2 mile and am on 6:0_ (something) avg pace - it was a quick glance and all I saw was 6 and : and a 0 but not the last digit. So I lost some speed in the second half but seeing that finish line in the distance, like a mirage kept me moving. Crossed in 6:25 and legs felt super! In fact they felt fine the remainder of the day and into the next. Just had some burning in my upper chest and a bit of cough for the couple hours post-run. So the mile was a surreal but successful endeavour. I have no doubt I could improve vastly in such a running distance but really, why run one mile when you can run 20+ miles.

And so we move into my other running personality, center stage, the next day.

Again Missy and I had a date to meet up prior to the ING 18 mile tune-up race. It was gonna be a wet one, likely a very wet one - rain started the night before and continued in a steady fall. I ran to our meeting spot, met her and continued to the race's start. That ended up being 3 miles on the nose. The race is 3 counter clockwise laps around the big loop in CP. Nothing too exciting or unknown about this course. In fact I could write a crazy description of each and every up, down, and turn on the big loop especially in this direction. Luckily we had each other. Missy and I both decided we'd run it pretty easy and if we were feeling good, would pick it up in the final miles. And so we were off. The miles clicked away and the rain continued to fall. I ended up taking two gels around 7 and 13-14 and felt good. Real good. Legs were strong and full of pep & my breathing was never labored. I'd say we maintained a 9:10-9:15 pace for most of the miles and on the last 2+ we climbed Cat Hill one last time and Missy started it up. She was encouraging the whole time, speaking of Boston and not giving up - it was awesome! Time to dig in! She pulled ahead on that hill and a bit more after the ascent but she was always in sight. We had less than two miles to go and both continued to pour it on. I need to recheck my Garmin but I believe the last two miles were 8:10 or less and a sub 8:00 and the handful prior to that were sub-9:00s. So a total of 21 miles in approx. 3:13 (9:11/mi).

What a way to polish off a fun weekend of running and to exercise my Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde!

Build up to the weekend

2009-09-25T13:45:00.006-04:00

I took special care all of this week to take it super easy with all runs, allowing my legs to fully recover from RTB and to prep them for a weekend of racing. Quite boring to look at but it worked!

Tuesday - 8 miles running, supa sleazy (slow + easy)
Wednesday - 90 mins yoga
Thursday - 8.6 miles running, supa sleazy
Friday - 4 miles running, supa sleazy

I didn't wear a watch on any of the runs and only roughly knew when I left and when I returned home. Main goal was to run slow and if I thought I was running slow enough, I slowed down even more. I was hoping to get to the pool too but momentarily forgot that I'd man-handled my goggles on my last trip out for laps and needed to pick up a new pair. Since then I've purchased another pair and will be back at the pool this coming week.

Musings and recovery

2009-09-22T17:56:00.006-04:00

I forgot to mention that although I totally blanked on getting a picture of us together, I was lucky enough to run into Sarah and her crew in the parking lot @Cannon Mtn. before the start of RTB. However, Walter did get them in the background of another shot - woohoo! Here they are in all their super hero goodness, Sarah was Wonder Woman. Looking forward to hearing more about her first RTB experience.

I've mentioned it elsewhere but I seem to be recovering from this year's relay much faster than last year. I was walking down stairs on Sunday while still in NH with some pain and then all day Monday without much more than a slight bit of uncomfortableness. Undoubtedly using the stick while still in the relay, eating & hydrating well and getting some solid zzzs on both Saturday and Sunday nights have helped. I got out for a very nice and sleazy 8 miles last night. Legs are definitely still holding on to some residual soreness but nothing that would fall in the "out of the ordinary" bucket and nothing that feels like an injury. I've got yoga on tap for tonight and more easy running tomorrow and Friday along with a trip to the pool.

The coming weekend will be a fun one too! Missy and I are both running the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile on Saturday and will finish in plenty of time to see the real action - elites! And then on Sunday we'll both be running the 18 mile tune-up put on in CP by NYRR

RTB '09 - Notey's Bachelor Party

2009-09-20T19:37:00.019-04:00

Another year of Reach the Beach and another phenomenal experience. If you haven't experienced a relay yet, plan to do one and soon! They are an enormous amount of fun, challenging and a unique experience to add to anyone's running resume. I feel particularly blessed to be a part of such a great group of people and to have the chance to take my running somewhere it's not most other times in the year. This is not exactly a race although if you ask the winners they'd tell you different. It's not training either. It's certainly an endurance event but not in the same sense as a marathon, ultra or even a long run. The terrain, at least to me, is not anything close to what I normally run on. Nor the time(s) of each run. What this is is the opportunity to act as a team. You certainly want to do your best. For me, to run better than I'd planned or run in last year's relay. To be harmonious with the others in your van and on your team. To help one another and support one another.

And that's exactly what Notey's Bachelor Party did! Notey (Bill), our team cappie, is getting married in just a couple weeks hence the name. After a couple later changes in the line-up we were all set. Our team had 10 runners; 6 would run 4 legs each (myself included) and 4 runners would run 3 legs each. Van 1 was lucky enough to score our driver and kick ass photog, Chris, from last year. Additionally we'd have Glenn leading us off, Beth following him, Jenn following her, me and Bill bringing up the rear. Bill would hand off to van 2 which included Matt leading off, then Walter, then Jen, then Annalisa and last (but not least!) Heather. We arrived to nearly identical conditions at Cannon Mountain as last year - overcast and windy. After decorating the vans, attending the safety seminar, dividing up the food, grabbing our shirts/bracelet/bibs and timing chip Glenn got us started just a few minutes after noon. Followed by Beth, who was the only lucky runner to get rained on, Jenn and then me...

my leg 1 (team leg 4) - 3:05 p.m. on Friday, 2.9 mi in 18:42 (6:26/mi)

I knew this leg well. Ran it last year and loved to hate it. It's not a long run by any means but you drop nearly 700 ft. in those short 2.9 miles and set yourself up for one hell of a sore set of quads. I took off knowing full well I'd run it harder than I should but also feeling like I wanted to stick with that approach. It was a helluva lot of fun! Ended up running this leg 1:05 faster than last year.

My leg was followed by Bill, Matt, Walter, Jen, Annalisa, Heather, Glenn, Beth, Jenn and then back to me again...

my leg 2 (team leg 14) - 10:02 p.m. on Friday, 8.13 mi in 1:04:55 (7:59/mi)

Another repeat leg from last year. I remember loving this run last year for several reasons. It's dark - like very dark. No big city lights and traffic getting in the way of the dark solace found in the country or a sky full of stars. The second half of the run is on ultra quiet country roads and full of rollers and just when you wonder when it might all end you take a left and find your next runner awaiting you near a little tent and a spot of light. I didn't love it as much as last year mostly b/c the aforementioned quad thrashing. It all seemed to set in a bit faster and this was the leg where I felt it most. The first half was fine, I was ticking away miles a bit too quickly in fact (7:30s) and decided I had better dial back if I was intending to make it without snapping a muscle. Second half was full of those rollers. Not so fun. The uphills weren't even the problem, it was the "relaxing" downhills. Ugh. Anywho, the solidarity of the run made up for the pain in my legs and soon enough I found Bill awaiting me for both the bracelet hand-off and our customary ass slappery as part of the hand-off. Even with the pain, I ended up running this leg just :29 slower than last year. note: I do believe my Garmin was off on the length too.

My leg was followed by Bill, Matt, Walter, Jen, Annalisa, Heather, Glenn, Beth, Jenn and then back to me again...

my leg 3 (team leg 24) - 7:46 a.m. on Saturday, 6.92 mi in 56:30 (8:09/mi)

And my last repeat leg from last year. The weather this morning could not have been more perfect. It was a tiny bit windy while waiting for Jenn to come in but I still wore a sleeveless tank style shirt and could not have felt more comfortable. I still had a decent amount of soreness kicking around but I was definitely feeling better than the night before. Our van even managed to score a couple hours sleep - all of us. A big bonus during RTB! Anywho, I got started and picked off runners pretty easily while dealing with some more rollers. This leg isn't nearly as interesting for the majority of the mileage but a left turn and about 1.25 miles at the end had me running into Bear Brook State Park. This one ended up being a major mental boost too - I felt the pain in my legs and I pushed through, even picked up the pace when I started really feeling it near the end. Ended up running this 2:21 faster than last year. WOOT!

My leg was followed by Bill, Matt, Walter, Jen, Annalisa, & Heather. It was at this point that 4 of our runners were done (Glenn, Beth, Annalisa and Heather). Jenn cracked out a wicked fast 6.9 miles or so for her 4th and longest leg and then it was back to me and my last leg.

my leg 4 (team leg 32) - 2:58 p.m. on Saturday, 2.2 mi in 16:08 (7:19/mi)

This leg was completely different than last year. RTB switched up several things in the last 7 or so legs including a VA/TA (vehicle area/transition area) and the leg distances. Jenn actually ended up running the leg I ran as my fourth last year; the one that runs right by another running buddy's home - Dan! My leg ended up being half of what was Bill's last leg last year and he got the other half. So just 2.2 miles of running mostly through downtown Exeter. I liked the route but wish I could have run just a bit further. At this point my legs had mostly come around and were ready to finish this puppy off in whatever I could pull off. I probably got started a bit too quickly but picked off 3 runners in the first quarter mile and never got passed.

All in all, I ran a total of 20.15 miles in 2:35:35 (7:43/mi) over the course of 24 hours. That's a big improvement over my average pace last year of something like 8:20/mi. Yeeeeehaw. Bill, Matt, Walter and Jen ran after me to bring Notey's Bachelor Party in at 28:51:24 (8:20/mi) - another big improvement over last year's 31:08:01 (8:55/mi). Double booyah!

And so it ends. And we're all left eager for another year to pass so we can do it all again. And with as many words as there are in this post, it's very difficult to find the right ones to properly express what an experience this is and what it really means to me. It's about running and funning and supporting and digging deep and laughing and honoring and enjoying each and every breath & each and every step for what it is. Thank you Glenn, Beth, Jenn, Bill, Matt, Walter, Jen, Annalisa, Heather and Chris - thank you so very much! And special thanks to our buddy, Joe, who was with us in spirit for the entire journey.

front row, l to r: annalisa, walter, me
back row, l to r: jen, heather, beth, bill, glenn, jenn, matt

Amen

2009-09-16T17:41:00.003-04:00

Nearing the end to Born to Run and this passage stuck in my mind, give me goosebumps and made me smile ear to ear.

"Just move your legs. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history. You're denying who you are."

Eeeps!

2009-09-12T12:35:00.006-04:00

What a week! Work really sent everything else off into outer space until this morning. I did get a couple easy runs in and was able to work through the knot in my left hammy but man, I was not prepared for the changes that would hit my schedule. The coming week looks to be more of the same but I'll be prepared! Early morning runs will be a MUST. I cannot leave a p.m. workout to chance... my time in the evening is no longer reliable. With that said, I started off Saturday with a pot of coffee and my cleaning supplies. After the apartment was looking good again including a spotless tub/shower (the sign of a true cleaning!), I headed out for a run, a stop at the farmer's market and some other errands.

Saturday - 5.82 miles running in ?? time. Still don't have a replacement for my basic Polar, need to make that happen soon. Took it easy along the bridle path up to and around the reservoir and back home. Temps were pleasant and the light rain tempted me to stay out for a longer run.

Sunday - 20 miles running in 3:14:39 (9:43/mi). Ran a mile to our meeting spot to hook up with Bob and Missy for today's run. After greetings we set off from the south east corner of CP and proceeded straight west to the Hudson, south to Chambers and then east crossing back across Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge. Often running single file, we stuck on Henry to Union and then up the monster slope that is Park Slope to Prospect Park for a loop and then back to and over the bridge again. I wasn't feeling my best with the humidity and often felt dizzy w/chills and then way hot. More stop and go than I'd have liked but Missy & Bob were strong motivators and great company along the run.

Coming up at the end of this week - Reach the Beach!!!

East Coast Family

2009-09-08T10:18:00.007-04:00

Closed out the Labor Day weekend with an awesome feeling race surrounded by some of the East Coast Running Family regulars and one new addition. But first let's back up to Saturday. After taking Friday completely off and resting my crabby hammies, the rest of the weekend shaped up nicely.

Saturday - ran 10.25 miles in 1:34:42 (9:14/mi) with the newest NYC transplant, Missy! We met at the pump house in CP and headed west to the Hudson and then north up to Riverbank State Park. Nice run and even nicer company.

Sunday - 90 mins of yoga with tons of shoulder work. So much that my upper back is still a little achy today. But it's a good ache, one I'll take any day. And the class proved to be as valuable as I knew it would be by delivering non-crampy, non-tired legs for Monday's race. Jillian at Kula Yoga is my most favorite evah!

Monday - New Haven 20K! Ran a total of about 13.5 miles. Started off with about an easy mile of warm-up with Missy around the square and the immediate New Haven area. It was just what each of us needed. Lined up at the start with Bob, Trevor and Missy and we were off! Not sure when we lost Trevor but Bob, Missy and I stuck together until just after mi 7 when I slowed to take a gel w/some water. I ended up about 20 ft back from Missy & Bob after that, spending the better part of 8 & 9 keeping the distance the same and both of them in sight. Miles were flying by and I felt supa strong. Unfortunately that all ended with mile 10, emergency (I mean EMERGENCY) porta potty stop needed but nothing in sight. Begged a gas station for some sort of rest room access too but no dice. Ended up half running, half walking that entire mile until I found one and lost 2 friggin' minutes off my regular pace. That, my friends, would have secured the time I really wanted from today's race. However, that mile/incident aside, I am completely confident in my training and had a really good, strong race. While the PR I got wasn't what I should have run I'll take it. 11 secs PR

mi 1: 8:19 congestion at the start, easing into it

mi 2: 8:07

mi 3: 7:46

mi 4: 7:47

mi 5: 8:01

mi 6: 7:59

mi 7: 7:44

mi 8: 7:49

mi 9: 7:58

mi 10: 9:47 awwww craps, search for a porta potty

mi 11: 7:54

mi 12: 7:47

mi .54: 4:01

1:40:59 (8:07/mi)

Which proves, once again, that I've yet to run a HM at what I should be running a HM at. That 1:40:59 would mean a 1:46:31 HM and if I didn't lose those 2 minutes in mile 10, a 1:44:24. Gotta find me a good half to run in decent weather conditions.

Wildlife Report

2009-09-03T21:22:00.006-04:00

From time to time in our daily thread, in addition to total miles, total time, & pace, Joe would include a special Wildlife Report section. Joe ran on cushy (it always makes me laugh to say that) trails including the towpath right near his place, often, so nature was always part of the scene. It'd be a deer or two or maybe some geese or hawk or similar. As a result I'd try to post my own wildlife report but sadly the only thing I'd ever come across were large rats or a patch of wild, pissed off Canadian geese. Until last night. Now I've actually seen this sucker before but seeing him again last night, thinking of Joe and his wildlife reports and recalling a convo on the thread earlier in the day where we discussed stream of consciousness dialog while running, made it all the more heeeeelarious.

After having run the better part of the big loop I cut up to the reservoir loop. It was dark although the moon was bright - probably full. A runner had just passed as I approached the path and just before he made the turn eastward a very large raccoon crossed in front of him from the park side of the path to the reservoir side. I cautiously ran behind, giving both the runner ahead of me and the raccoon ahead of him, plenty of room. I didn't see the raccoon again which gave me time to think. He just crossed into the water side. Was there somewhere for him to go beside in to the water?

And if not, does he swim?

Do raccoons swim?

If he did swim, which stroke would he excel at?

Legs and arms seem to be of about equal length, freestyle would probably be out of the question.

Maybe backstroke?

Nah.

Definitely no butterfly for that poor sap.

He's no beaver, no substantial tail.

Perhaps a modified doggie paddle?

Breaststroke or sidestroke would be ideal.

But what if...

What if that dude worked really hard

What if freestyle were his stroke.

Swimming that stroke a lot makes me feel and start to look like a linebacker.

What would a linebacker-built raccoon look like?

Awesomely funny.

Awesomely cool.

That's what he would look like.

And that, my friends, was the continuing conversation in my head as I finished the 1.6 some odd mi. lap around the reservoir and the remaining 2 mi home through the dark and raccoon-filled CP. Joe would have been proud of that wildlife report.

Thursday - 8.6 miles running in 1:15:02 (8:43/mi)

Feel the burn, love the burn

2009-09-02T11:15:00.004-04:00

Monday - after a thoroughly fun weekend o' wedding stuffs I was feeling a little beat down and needing some more relaxation and recovery. Took the day completely off from everything exercise related and included some extra veggies and vitamins into my meals.

Tuesday - Double Your Pleasure Tuesday! 5 miles a.m. running in 41:54 (8:22/mi), 10.5 miles p.m. running in 1:30:45 (8:38/mi) w/15 x 1 min @5KP w/1 min recoveries. Ran 3 miles easy as a warm-up and then started with the interval segments. Finished those and ran another 3+ miles easy back home as a cool down. Legs didn't seem to mind the double although they were ready for the 5KP bursts to be done and done. Felt I probably ran them a bit too fast but don't know for sure as it was dark out and I didn't have my Garmin on.

Wednesday - Was sad that yoga got canceled but ended up with a nice brick. Ran an easy 4 miles in 37:35 (9:23/mi) and followed immediately with a 30 min swim (1512 yds).

Systems are all good and in check with where I'd like them. Nothing bothering me or hurting which is a very nice change. Preliminary thoughts on the upcoming 20K in New Haven are to race it and beat my time from 2 years ago. Going to think about strategy for that sucker a bit more today and tomorrow.

Another week, another month, another bridesmaid

2009-08-31T14:05:00.004-04:00

Good gawd, time is a-bookin'. Last week ended up being way low in mileage but way high in fun. It was also the last weekend when a non-running event will take priority over the my marathon training.

Thursday I traveled back to St. Louis and then on to the Lake [of the Ozarks] to bear witness to a best friend's wedding. I've known Mary Ann since 1987 when we met as freshmen at Rosati-Kain. In fact I do believe I "stole" her homecoming date from her. LOL! And despite our less than auspicious start, we're as tight as ever. In fact, in just crunching the numbers now that means we've been friends for 22 years!! Holy shit. 61% of my life I've known her, laughed with her, cried with her and had more fun than anyone "legally" should :-) She's the type of friend where all the small crap doesn't matter. We've lived over a 1000 miles apart for over 9 years and before that, a good 300+ miles separated us. We didn't go to college together, we never lived together and we don't get to see each other much in any given year, but none of that matters. Years and distance are nothing. When we share each other's company it's like nothing is different, we haven't missed out on anything in each other's lives and we simply pick up where we left off.

It's a beautiful gift. I treasure her. Certainly more than a MP long run.

Here she is walking down the aisle with her father and step-father. Isn't she lovely?

And my other best friend, Liz - she's a gift as well.

They sure do make it tough living way out here after having such a fantastic summer o' Mary Ann

The answer is D, all the above

2009-08-25T17:15:00.003-04:00

Monday - 6.66 miles running in 54:20 (8:09/mi) with 6 x 1 min. hill sprints. I decided to use Cat Hill in Central Park for the sprints; it's a nice incline with a tiny bit of winding so it feels extra bad-ass to haul up and blow by other folks :) Also had I known I was going to end on 6.66 I would have logged another .10 mile or something.

Tuesday - 30 mins. swimming (1512 yds). Intended to get my progression run in tonight but a nasty widsom teeth induced headache pulled the plug on anything after work. Got to bed early and felt much better for it.

Wednesday - 8 miles running as a progression in 1:08:27. First mile was a warm-up @9:23 and then 8:59, 8:40, 8:30, 8:11, 7:54, 7:29 with the last as a cool down @9:18. Really nice run. Our weather had cooled some and this was the first weekday morning run I'd done in awhile. I need to remember how nice it is being out there before work during the week and do it more often.

Oh and I finally nabbed me a copy of Born to Run and started reading it this week. Loving it already!

Slowly clawing my way back

2009-08-23T18:00:00.002-04:00

Rounded out my first official week of CIM training with a solid LR and a nice recovery today.

Saturday - 16 miles running in 2:26:15 (9:08/mi). This run was the first in more tactical long runs. I often avoid CP for long runs b/c it can be crowded (esp if there's a race going on) and because I know the route too well (snoozefest at times) and because, in the past, I short-sidedly was not looking to make the LR more challenging than the miles themselves + whatever specialized pace(s) the training plan called for. Of course I'd make exceptions and do hills (i.e. bridges) and the like, but mostly I didn't push the envelope as much as I could. That's changed. I started off Sat's run with the big loop + some in CP and then took advantage of Summer Streets by running down Park Ave (as it turned into Union Square East as it turned into Fourth Ave as it turned into Lafayette) over the Brooklyn Bridge and through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and back to the bridge again. And although I started off way too fast for an easy LR (8:09, 8:12, 8:25) I eventually slowed it down and felt strong throughout.

Sunday - 6 miles running in 52:26 (8:44/mi). Got this run done right after a light, short summer shower so it was a bit steamy. Kept the pace consistent and felt almost as if I were gliding - no residual soreness from yesterday's LR. Finished it off with 2 x (15 each/pushups, step ups, tricep dips, leg swings).

I'm proud to be nearing the 50 MPW mark again too - it's been a long time coming! Finished this week with 47.25 miles and running 5 days [in the week].

The best of summer

2009-08-21T20:27:00.002-04:00

Fresh corn

Juicy nectarines

Gorgeous greens

and of course,

Runs after sundown

Thursday - 10 miles running in 1:32:29 (9:14/mi). This ended up straying from the plan a bit, less moderate pace and way more hills. A new favorite route emerged however, up along Riverside Drive north of 95th St. in lieu of running along the Hudson path.

Friday - 30 mins swimming (1512 yds). Decided against a companion sleazy run here and picked up the sprint pace in my sprint sets of freestyle.

So fresh and so clean clean

2009-08-19T16:52:00.006-04:00

Although I have been training for STG for awhile now, the training seemed almost foreign to me. Not because of the plan I was following as much as how different it was from any other time I've been in training. I just wasn't fully committed. So when I decided to pull out of STG and register for CIM (how's that for a mouthful of acronyms) I felt almost renewed, refreshed and like I was starting over. But it's even better than starting over b/c I do have a base and I'm already on the right path. Anywho, this week has felt good. Although I'm sad to not see Jen and Chris in Utah, it was the right choice for me. I can already feel more of my focus returning and the drive and dedication that I'll need to truly run a strong and successful race come December. I've also been motivated by chatter amongst my RTB teammates and eagerly anticipate seeing which legs I'll be running this year and bettering my times from '08. Thus far this week:

Monday - 9.25 miles w/8 x 30 secs. @5KP in 1:21:18 (8:45/mi). Nice run, cruised up Harlem Hill as if I was on an escalator - quite empowering!

Tuesday - 30 mins. (1512 yds) swimming

Wednesday - 90 mins. yoga, 6 miles running EZ in 60 mins (10:00/mi) + 10 x 8 sec hill sprints. That's the absolute sleaziest I've run in quite awhile and it was JUST what I needed.

Yoga included a ton of shoulder work and some twisting. Lots of stuff like dancer pose...

And bow pose...

acronym legend:
STG = St. George Marathon
CIM = California International Marathon
RTB = Reach the Beach

Goals for the Fall

2009-08-17T15:48:00.003-04:00

So, among all the other stuff going on as of late, I've made a tough decision to pull myself out of the St. George Marathon. I will still run this marathon, hopefully next year if I'm accepted again into the lottery, but this year just isn't in the cards. I'm simply not where I want nor need to be in my training. I have very high expectations for myself with this next marathon, there will be no wishy-washy so/so efforts - it's gonna be balls to the wall. Sure it's gonna hurt. Sure I'm going to need to focus extra hard to push aside distractions but it's what I want. It's what I need.

I spent too much of the early part of my training still babysitting my butt & hamstring issues. I wasn't fully confident that I was on the right path to rehabbing them and getting myself strong and fully back in the game. Over the last several months it's evident that I am indeed on the right path, that I don't need to hold back and that as long as I stick to the regimen that works for me, I can excel in the marathon distance. I feel strong, I am healthy and now I just need a bit more time for that big fall race.

So no Utah for me this year. But as one door closes, another opens. I've decided to focus all efforts on CIM in December. Jen ran it last year and gave me some excellent pointers, a rave review and several items on which I'll concentrate my training. Starting today I'm 16 weeks out; glancing at Hudson's plan (Level 2) I'll be running 10 tonight as a fartlek (one of my favs!) And so the road to a goal continues. Some adjusting - sure, there always is. But I feel good in making this decision. Of course I'll also have some quality tune-up races logged beforehand including Reach the Beach, the OBX full and several NYRR long runs as well as an inspiring running partner moving to town later this month --- MISSY!!!

Catch up time, again

2009-08-17T15:13:00.007-04:00

Loads to write about + loads going on at work + loads going on each and every weekend + loads to get done during the days and evenings = no time to document it all. Will rely on my old friends, bullet points to get it all out there...

Spent an amazing week in San Francisco & Yosemite w/4 of my siblings running the San Francisco HM and then camping in Yosemite. That HM is still one of my most favorite and one I'll return to again and again.

Little sis #2 and I after the finish

One of the gorgeous shots little sis #1 captured while in Yosemite

Team Pfeiffer just back from Yosemite

Had a fantastico time with good friends at the Lake [of the Ozarks] celebrating Mary Ann's bachelorette party weekend

Liz, Mary Ann and I

And even more fun to be had while participating in The Great Urban Race with Lora this past weekend in NYC. This challenge was revealed after completing a cryptogram - one of us needed to propose to the other in front of Tiffany & Co (or Harry Winston, just down the street) while caught in a digital photo

In between all this fun I've had some extremely full work days, good workouts and even more planning for future races, weekend trips, etc. What a summer!

Yoga is yoga

2009-08-14T11:01:00.003-04:00

Yoga is:

beautiful
challenging
a physical extension of my breath
rejuvenating
what helps keep me centered and whole
what keeps me grounded and extending at the same time

What yoga is not is running. Last Wednesday I had a very rough work day, an incident with a co-worker angered me greatly. I tried to keep things in perspective, keep my cool and keep thoughts of a 90 min. yoga session as very near - would just need to get through the day. But as I got closer to quitting time I grew further from the idea that yoga could help in this situation. I was still angry and I needed to act out. I needed to feel the ground beneath each step and swift strides moving me forward. I needed to run! Now those of you who know me well, know that I'll do just about anything in my power to make it to yoga at least once a week, always on Wednesday and sometimes on Sunday. But tonight was different and my old friend, running, was there for me as always. I delivered serenity to myself in the form of a sweet 10 miler south along the Hudson to the WTC and then back home again. I was still pissy at first, replaying the conversations from earlier in the day but even before the turnaround it was all gone. It had all literally melted away.

So while yoga is still yoga and such an essential thing in my life, my buddy running will never be left behind either. And as a bonus for my run that night, I was lucky enough to see this with my own eyes on the Hudson River Park path... I KID YOU NOT FOLKS - THIS is REAL and it's fabulous!

Gone but not forgotten

2009-07-30T17:16:00.003-04:00

I first met Joe the weekend pictured above in Philadelphia, 2006. We had a huge meet-up that year for the marathon and as anyone knows, Voo is not hard to pick out of a crowd. I remember walking up to him at the expo, briefly saying hi and then giving him a big ole hug. He wouldn't have had it any other way. The guy was a spirit, a force, a runner to be reckoned with. He had the largest, kindest heart and as you can see in the picture, the ability to hang with the Pfeiffer girls post-race :-) Joe left this world last Friday, unexpectedly, prematurely but ultimately [I have to imagine] happily. His last words to all of us runner buddies was a quick recount of the 20 miler he ran after work on Thursday & how he got stung by a bee nearly right in the ass. That's the Voodoo Joe we all know and love. You will be missed, you will be remembered and you will always have a place in my heart. I know you're enjoying the cushy trails wherever you are!!

Better, better...

2009-07-22T07:27:00.006-04:00

The week continues in a blurred state of busyness (that spelling looks weird)... anywho

Tuesday - 8.35 miles running @EZ with 30 secs @5KP every 3 min in 1:12 (8:37/mi)

Wednesday - 1 mile swimming (1764 yds)

I really wanted and needed to get to yoga last night but honestly, it's way too time consuming. It ends up being like 2.5 hours I'm not home packing and cleaning and preparing for my CA trip. So I took a pass and got a pedicure instead :P

Today (Thurs) will end up being a forced rest day. Had I got to bed at a decent hour last night I would have run this morning but I didn't. Such is the life of a chronic procrastinator & packing hater (ha! that sorta rhymes). At any rate I have everything ready to fly out... Dillon is with the super sweet people at the NY Cat Hospital boarding facility and I'm a bit zipped up on caffeine and spinach. Just need to get through work today and I'll be in San Francisco by [my] dinner time!

Oh and yes, regarding SF... there's the matter of the half marathon on Sunday. I don't really have any physical or time related goals. Of course I want to run strong but more importantly I want to have the sort of mental race I had in Philly back in May, for the Broad St. Run. That will mean more to me than anything... oh and enjoying the monster climbs along the course too. And last by not least, having a blast running with the rest of my family... we'll be 5 Pfeiffers strong on Sunday. WOOT!

Eh yeah

2009-07-20T12:24:00.008-04:00

So Friday's intervals didn't happen. Although I was able to get a run in on Friday, I needed to push the intervals to the next morning. The 8 miler I ran followed a few cocktails with co-workers and a quick errand delivering a much-needed aerobed. That run rocked, the run the next morning - not so much.

Saturday's intervals might have been doomed before they were even started. I didn't eat much Friday; actually that's not correct, I did eat a TON of spinach Friday but that was about it. I also chose to wake up early on Saturday morning to get some laundry done before the rest of my bldg woke up and thus got a later start on my run. So by the time I got out it was way too sunny and I felt tired from having been up for over 4+ hours and not having eaten anything yet. Anywho, I only achieved one of the three intended sets of 2 mile intervals. After that I just felt too spent and my right hip and hammy were starting to get cranky. Do not want to anger those body parts especially with a hilly half coming up next weekend. I finished the run unhappily, was cranky for a bit and then got over it. I also chose to take Sunday completely off.

Friday - 8 miles running @GA in 1:06:24 (8:18/mi)
Saturday - 9 miles running in 1:25 (9:25/mi) with one set of 2 miles (15:34 - 7:47/mi)
Sunday - off
Monday - 8 miles running @GA in 1:09:15 (8:39/mi)

This week is the first time this training cycle I'm sliding miles off the plan rather than tacking more on. I'm using the level 2 of Hudson's plan but not yet ready to hit his 60+ miles for the coming week. All in all I'm feeling good. Saturday's bad run was easy to figure out and I've moved on. This evening after a quick visit to the vet (poor Dilly needs his shots) I'll be busting out a longer fartlek and piling up the items on my "to-pack" list for San Francisco and Yosemite.

WOOT!