A lotta random

I have to say, last week flew by! I can’t believe it’s the weekend.  I am working tomorrow, so I have a lot I would like to knock off the to-do list tomorrow.  Blogging was one of the more fun things, so that was moved to the top section of the list

This post is kind of mishmash of different things that didn’t really fit into one theme.

Let’s start with something fun, Skinny Girl Margaritas. A few weeks ago, I received an email about Bethenny Frankel doing a signing of her new Skinny Girl Margarita at Astor Wines.  I happen to work a few blocks from there and it came with a free t-shirt, so I was sold.  Unfortunately, I had a few meetings I couldn’t miss at the 4PM start time.  So I enlisted Margarita Liz to help me out.  Actually she volunteered, even though she doesn’t give a hoot about Bethenny, she is just that awesome.  It ended up that my meeting ended a little early, and I rushed over just a little after 4.  There was Liz, 5th in line, with Skinny Girl Margarita in hand.  I love her.  I traded places, so she could get back to work and continued to wait wondering why we weren’t being let inside.  It was cold out!      

Apparently, Bethenny was running late, but they finally let us inside to wait.  We had to chat it up with the liquor guy. I was probably the only NYC person in the room, everyone else was from Alabama or somewhere and couldn’t stop talking about their hotels in Times Square and how much walking they had done that day.  God bless, that was me not too long ago.  Anyways, while I have not drank tequila in years, I am not sure I intend to ever again, the ingredients in the Skinnygirl Margarita could not be more natural: blue agave clear tequila and agave nectar. Oh, and it only cost like $13.

Anyways, Bethenny rushed in and Alex McCord stopped by to offer some support.  Let me just say, my mouth dropped to the floor when I say these women in person.  Skinny doesn’t begin to describe them.  They are SO RIDICULOUSLY THIN. I mean model thin and then some.  Bethenny’s waist is maybe 20 inches.  Just an observation, and no judgment, power to them.  But man, TV does add pounds.

Bethenny was exactly the same as she is on the show. Funny, sarcastic, perfectionist.  Not only that she was extremely personable and intelligent.  In just the few minutes she interacted with each person, she took the time to grab a common thread and make you feel like she was happy to meet you and appreciated your support.  I happened to mention that I grew in Saratoga, where she also spent a lot of time, and she asked me about 3 or 4 restaurants and how I ended up in the city.  The t-shirt is really cute and super soft, but I can’t imagine wearing a shirt that says skinny girl, maybe to bed.

I actually didn’t look at my bottle until days later, but somehow she even caught my name, which I thought was pretty incredible. In any case, it was an eventful way to spend my lunch hour.

New Scenes

So I tend to go to my favorite places over and over.  But this week, I actually tried some good new city bars and restaurants.  8th Street Wine Cellar. Cute, affordable, not too loud or crowded.  It would actually be great for a first date because it is on the romantic, intimate side, but not too sexy, there is a hint of masculinity.  The menu has a lot of good options, and the food was good, but not great. I had the butternut squash and goat cheese brushetta and the beet and goat cheese salad.  While Bar Jamon, which has the best beet salad in existence, is still my fav wine bar, 8th Street is a good alternative, if your not ready for super intimate.

Next up, Paladar.  A cuban place in the lower east side.  It was more spacious, than my typically cuban go-to Cafe Habana. The menu was very good and the food clean, light, spicy and delicious—I had a butternut squash and walnut salad and two tiny swordfish tacos with avocado and mango salad.  The portions were modest, which was actually nice, so you could try a few things without feeling stuffed. I am not a huge cuban fan, but definitely fun once in a while.

Finally, I ended the night at Sunita. It was shockingly empty for such a sexy little space.  I typically don’t drink martinis, but I was convinced that I had to try one. So I debated between a ginger, lime, lychee and vodka martini and a passionfruit martini and went with the passionfruit.  I also had a sip of the signature passion fruit jalapeño vodka martini. It was good, but I am not sure I would want a full glass of it! 

While we are talking city, I am kind of in love with these MUJI city in a bag kits!  So cute!

Injury update:

I had my final appointment with Dr. MetzDreamy yesterday—high fives and all.  He cleared my to run the marthon and told me it would rock my world and I would love every second.  In fact, his only concern was my lack of enthusiasm.  I am pretty sure he would run the NYC marathon every day if he could.  I guess, I need to accept that a lot of runners deal with pain and discomfort, and it is not going to kill me.  His confidence and enthusiasm was definitely beneficial.  He also suggested I get not only a pedicure (lol) , but also a MELT treatment next door to help ease the plantar’s fascilitas, but I just didn’t have the money to drop.  The appointments, bandages, insoles, etc. have been expensive, so I am going to see if I can get a golf and tennis ball to help roll the tissue out a bit.  I am nervous and sad that all the weird pain I have been feeling might take away from the experience.  But I am not looking back now, I have the option of deferring until 10/28, but I am going to hope “the course is with me.”

Tapering Update:

So my actually running schedule called for a 10-K today or 6.2 miles, which is weird since almost everyone else does 13 miles two weeks out.  I did an easy 4.3 miles over the 59th Street Bridge and down to Grand Central this morning.  I saw at least 100 Nike Town runners on the bridge, preparing for race day.  I plan to do the 10K tonight on the treadmill and push myself a bit more toward faster pacing.  I was hoping to get to a hot vinyasa class at the Yoga Room today, but I am probably going to just do a little online class to loosen up a bit.  Just couldn’t get it together for the 130 class, on the bright side, I have done laundry, sheets and pulled all my sundresses out of the closet to make room for sweaters, so I haven’t been completely unproductive, especially considering I had a glass of wine and a martini last night . 

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK!

Have the best marathon ever CHANDRA!  We love you! And don’t forget to partake in some shenanigans along the way!

Just another marathon Monday (@ chelsea piers)

It was so lovely to have a friend in town! And hard to say goodbye.  But into work I went, and on the way, I noticed that my subway stopped was all dressed up in ING Marathon wear.  So stylish!

Work was a little hectic, and I almost forgot that I had an exciting night in store.

I was offered a tour of Chelsea Piers and a massage in honor of Marathon Mondays at the Spa at Chelsea Piers!  How could one turn that down?

I walked from work to Chelsea Piers Sports Club—it really is fall out there….brisk!

It was funny to see the transition as I headed west on 20th street.  From very residential and quaint:

To very industrial:

Something inside me loves the deserted, industrial areas of NY.  I crave them and seek them out.  They hearken to the fading and, in many instances, forgotten, NY.  Like the heroin chic St. Marks, hooker filled Times Square, and the gritty East Village.  I digress.

I arrived at the Sports Center:

I knew a little about Chelsea Piers, but really didn’t know what to expect from the sports center.  I know Chelsea Piers for golf, ice skating and gymnastics, but that is about it.

Would it be an upscale gym? Personal training central?  So I went in to find out.

Erica greeted me and took me for a full tour of the sports center facilities.  If I could only pick one word to describe it, that word would be WOW!

I was kind of in my own fitness heaven.  It was like fitness of the future.  Everything was so expansive and so premium, and yet, it was not at all pretentious.   So here are just a few things I saw on my tour—compliments of Google images:

A six lane 25 yard lap pool, with a whirl pool and one of two sundecks

A 1/4 mile indoor track with a 200 meter competition track—i wish i had workout clothes to calibrate my Garmin!

All the typical gym stuff, but bigger and more spacious:

-strength deck (i probably could have gotten lost it was so big)

-cardio deck (with a choice of views, tv or waterfront)

-pilates reformer studio

-spinning room

Plus two fitness studios offering 100+ classes a week, including yoga, pilates, dance, cardio, swimming, running, weight training and boxing—check out the boxing ring above.

And now the really special stuff:

There was an awesome indoor sand volley ball court for volley ball and sand training classes:

And there was the biggest rock climbing wall ever.  I am actually taking the hall council I advise rock climbing for our retreat on Wednesday, and boy does the NYU rock climbing wall seem paltry in comparison to this:

Bluestreak Sports Training

This is also open to the public for sports specific training.  They have treadmills that go 30 miles an hour.  They have an amazing ice hockey treadmill that you can get harness into while they analyze your gait and crank up the elevation.  They also offer small group sports training, so you can play soccer and do boot camps and drills even if you don’t have time for a team.

Erica recommended that I check out the Beast post-marathon.

It is a 3 day a week boot camp involving:

Participants get two days of squat thrusts, suicides, lunges, obstacle courses and 150,000 square feet of space for innovative, heart-pounding fitness fun. On the third day, BlueStreak serves as home base, where athletes train on Olympic-caliber equipment, taking advantage of Dartfish video analysis, Super Treadmills and the state-of-the-art Plyo Platform.

Okay, so here are my confessions:

One of the most exciting things about the tour was seeing Usher.  Yeah.

I was definitely obsessed with Usher in the “You make me wanna” era.  I am over it now, but as many people often ask me my type, Usher definitely qualifies as my type.  And he is way shorter than expected in person! Anyways, he was playing basketball like absolutely anyone, I would have just thought it was a guy who looked like Usher and kept walking if Erica hadn’t pointed him out ever so nonchalantly.

]

Moving along.

Overall, I was definitely more than impressed with what Chelsea Piers offers it’s sports/health club members.  You would never get bored and all the great indoor facilities (track, volleyball, pool) would be amazing for winter training. I didn’t ask about pricing, which is always a big determinate, but there are non-member options available for lots of the classes and boot camps, and fun events like Date Night, which is great.  Location is definitely an asset and an obstacle, the location gives Chelsea Piers the ability to have an unbelievable vast facility, but getting to 10th avenue can be a hike when it’s cold.  When I no longer have access to the NYU gyms in June, I will definitely be looking to invest in a gym membership, so that I have a Manhattan option in addition to my building’s gym, and Chelsea Piers will be on the list of Melissa’s perspective health and fitness meccas.

THE MASSAGE!

So after my tour, I headed to the spa, put on my robe and slippers and was greeted by Julie, my therapist.

It was a 50 minute massage, that was in a word, magical.  Julie was incredible nice in answering all my questions beforehand, about how to utilize massage during training.  She said that most professional athletes get massages after every game and practice, so getting a massage once a week during training season is incredibly beneficial to anyone putting stress on the body.  I love massages with all my heart, so getting the green light on frequency was no problem for me.

She also explained that physically massage improves blood circulation, balances the body, repairs damaged tissues, gets rid of toxins and brings nutrients to the body.

On a more spiritual level, massage can help you put trust in the hands of another, which can bring you to a more confident and connected place in your training, you learn to depend on something other than yourself to get you to the finish.

I am always quick to encourage everyone doing any major race to schedule a marathon immediately after.  This is because my massage after my first marathon literally ended every single ounce of pain and soreness I was feeling like magic.  However, I had never really thought about them during training.

The massage was amazing.  Julie used heat therapy as well as massage, which was great.  The table was warmed and she used warm towels, I was in heaven.  I have had half a dozen massages in the last two years, and this was by far the most precise and targeted massage.  Julie went far deeper into each area of tension and really worked out the knots in my neck and back and applied significant pressure to all the main problem areas for runners.  Despite a few moments of pain, I was practically asleep and totally blissed out by the end. I can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow!  The massage was definitely on par with Ohm, which has been my favorite massage place for years.  Chelsea Piers offers a more spacious zen-lounge and Ohm offers more cookies and cakes

Definitely take advantage of the Marathon Monday discounts while it lasts!

I  contemplated getting dinner at the Sports Club Cafe, since they have a sushi bar, but I have had sushi 4 times in the last week, so I figured I better not–I’m practically a cliche at this point.  Instead, I hoped in a cab to 42nd and on my way, I passed the premiere of The Stepfather—red carpets, paps and all.  No Penn Bradgley sightings though.

The day ended much the way it started, another ‘thon poster in the train and another shot of my subway stop at night.

Happy Monday everyone, I am going to do homework for as long as I can possible keep my eyes open.

Marathon Tips to Get You to the Finish Line-part 3!

 Get ready for part 3 of my tips for the marathon  training countdown  Nutrition and Fueling!  Part 1 and Part 2  in case you missed them!

 So part 3 of the Jack Rabbit Sports Marathon Tips Session covered nutrition.  I am going to be honest and admit I left right before this session, but this was one of the sections that had a handout, so my info will be from there and from the many team in training nutrition clinics I attended—I’ll put the TNT info at the end.

So let me start by reiterating something I have heard from several marathon coaches and trainers: 95% of runners hit the wall due to nutrition.  They run out of fuel.  While Seinfeld popularized riding on “E” to see how far you can coast before dying, it’s not recommended you test this on marathon day.  Fill up your tank and live on the edge the next weekend

So here are tips from MS, RD, Cristina Rivera of Nutrition Energy!

Common Mistakes to Avoid leading up to the event:

• Drastically cutting calories in an attempt to lose weight. This will not only affect your training and decrease performance, but inadequate caloric intake can lead to the breakdown of muscles as well as injury.
• Using training as a pass to eat whatever you want. While your body needs extra calories to support your workouts, the most efficient times for this are before, during or after your event. 
• Never eating before you train. This is like driving a car with no gas.  Fill up before you go.  (edited to add: my coaches always said you have about 1 hour of calories in you from the night before, but you want to make sure to eat at hour 1 and every 45 minutes thereafter.  However, you know your needs for morning eating, if you are hungry in the morning eat!  If you have a big nighttime snack and aren’t very hungry, you can probably eat very lightly or wait until the 1 hour mark.  On marathon day, I would definitely say eat before the race, you are standing around for a long long time before you start running!)
• Losing too much weight during an event.  This means you are not hydrating properly, which can hinder your performance and increase your risk of muscle cramping, fainting or seizure.  For every pound lost, drink 16 oz of fluids.
• Trying something new on race day.  Don’t do it! Bring your own fuel and don’t take anything along the course that might throw you off!

From TNT coaches:

• Start hydrating days before any long run or race, get in the habit of upping fluids 3-4 days before.
• Add salt to your diet a few days beforehand.
• Increase your proportions of carbs to protein, but don’t increase your portions too much.  So instead of chicken with rice, have rice with chicken.
• Eat your gus/gels in one shot.  This is not brunch, swallow, drink water and keep running. This way your body metabolizes and then refocuses on giving you the energy you need to keep going.

PRE-EVENT!

•  
  • Make sure to eat a snack or small meal 1-3 hours before your event.  The size of the meal depends on how long you have to digest. 
    • This will give you energy to enhance performance as well as spare muscle glycogen, which will result in longer, stronger workouts.
  • Try have a mix of carbs and proteins to hold you over until event time.
  • To avoid GI Distress, avoid foods that are fried, creamy or high in fat.  Certain individuals tolerate liquids better than solids before an event.

During the event:

• For events lasting over an hour, it is important to take in 30-60 grams of carbs per hour.  (a gu packet is 28-29 grams)
• For events over 2 hours, some protein should be included to keep blood sugar levels steady.

Post event:

• One of the most crucial time to replace muscle glycogen is within the first 30 minutes of completing the event.  Keep in mind that the first 30 minutes is a window, and like most windows, it is not always open. Don’t wait until it is too late to refuel.
• Replenishing properly will improve performance, prevent injury and control your appetite the rest of the day.
• Carbohydrates are absorbed quicker and more efficiently into the muscles when combines with some protein, such as a bagel and egg whites.
• To find out how many grams  of carbohydrate you need following an event, divide your body weigh in pounds by two.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More tips from my Team in Training coaches:

Q:   What’s a well-balanced diet for long-distance runners?
While training for your half or full marathon, you’ll want to make sure carbs make up about 60 – 65% of your total calorie intake. Without a doubt, carbs are the best source of energy for athletes. Research has shown that for both quick and long-lasting energy, our bodies work more efficiently with carbs than they do with proteins or fats. Protein should make up about 15% of your daily intake and no more than 25 – 30% should come from fats.
Q:  What should I eat before a run?
When you begin a run, you should feel neither starved nor stuffed. Try to eat a light snack or meal about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before. Choose something high in carbohydrates and lower in fat, fiber, and protein.  Some examples of good pre-workout fuel include: a bagel with peanut butter; a banana and an energy bar; or a bowl of cold cereal with a cup of milk.  Stay away from rich and high-fiber foods, as they may cause gastrointestinal distress (more on that later in the season, but if you are having problems, please let us know).
Q: How much should I drink?
Staying hydrated is critical, especially when running in the heat and humidity. Hopefully you all read the tips on staying safe in the heat, but here are some quick reminders:
> Try to drink 16 to 24 ounces of water or other non-caffeinated fluid about 1 hour before your workout (Stopping fluid intake an hour before your workout will give you a chance to expel any excess fluids before you start running, so you won’t have to stop to use the bathroom during your run).  You can drink another 4 to 8 ounces about 10 minutes before you start, so you start out your run hydrated.
> Here’s a general rule of thumb for fluid consumption during your runs: You should take in 6 to 8 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes during your runs. During longer workouts (90 minutes or more), some of your fluid intake should include a sports drink (like Gatorade) to replace lost sodium and other minerals (electrolytes). 
> Don’t forget to rehydrate after your run.  If your urine is dark yellow after your run, you need to keep rehydrating. It should be a light lemonade color. 
Q: Should I eat anything after a run?
After a workout, especially a long run, you want to replenish energy as quickly as possible.  Studies have shown that muscles are most receptive to rebuilding glycogen (stored glucose) stores within the first 30 minutes after exercise. If you eat soon after your workout, you can minimize muscle stiffness and soreness.  Again, you’ll want to consume primarily carbs, but don’t ignore protein.  A good rule of thumb for post-workout food is a ratio of 1 gram of protein to 3 grams of carbs. Nutrition bars, such as Clif bars or Power bars, are great because they’re easy to carry in your bag. Other examples would be a bagel with peanut butter or a smoothie made with fruit and yogurt.

~~~~~

My two cents on  natural alternatives:

So that is a lot of info, clearly if you follow a specific diet, such as raw or vegan, you will probably have issues with the conventional use of sports beans, gus, blocks and gels—at least there are a few options that are organic and fairly natural thanks to Clif!  But simple things such as coconut water, dates, dried fruits, honey packets, and hemp based protein powders, give you easy sources of natural energy.  I have tried these options, and find they work as well as the commercial products, but I do tend toward Clif Shots since the ingredient list is short enough for me and they are easy to carry.  As long as you watch the fiber before and during the run.  Maple syrup, agave and honey can be substituted for clif energy gels and gus, etc.  For more tips on being a “natural” athlete check out books and articles  by Tim Van Orden (the raw runner)  or the Thrive Diet by Brendon Brazier.

No matter what you decide, make sure you test it several times before the race.  It took me ages to find the right something that didn’t bother my stomach and to figure just how much I needed to stay fueled.  Take the time to listen to your tummy, gain a grasp on your running metabolism, and find products that you can tolerate and work for you.  For example, I found sportz beans to be yummy, but far less effective than gus in providing almost instant and sustained energy.  While I don’t love the taste of gus, they do their job well, and never leave me craving for more.

For more info check out these runner’s world articles:

Snack Smart

Carbs on the Run

What to eat Post Run

Five Pre-race Nutrition Mistakes

Also, check out the Spa at Chelsea Piers for Marathon Mondays, 15% (non-members) to 25% (members) discount on massage treatments every Monday from 4-9PM through Nov. 2nd

Marathon Tips to Get You to the Finish Line—Part 2

No, more like this

Part 2 of the Jack Rabbit Sports interview focused on Injury Prevention and Treatment while training. Yeah, I was pretty interested in this section!

The first thing I learned–and which I found quite interesting–were the definitions of walking, jogging and running! LOL.

• Walking is considered 2-3 MPH (15-20 min/miles)
• Jogging is considered 5-9 MPH (7-14 min/miles)
• Running is considered 10PMH (6 min/miles) or faster

I guess I am the little jogger that could. 

The most common injuries include: knee (34%) including IT Band syndrome, Postermedial Tibia (13%), Achilles Tendon (11%), Plantar Fascia (7%), Stress Fractures (6%) and everything else (29%)

The most common causes of injuries are called the “Terrible Too’s”  Don’t let this be you!

• Too Much
• Too Soon
• Too Fast
• Too Little Rest

Other things that contribute to getting or avoiding injury include:

• running surface
  • concrete-highest chock
  • asphalt-consider the slope and levelness of the torad
  • grass-unstable
  • sand-unstable
  • packed dirt-good
  • tracks
  • treadmill-good for injuries because it is much less impact than concrete
• shoes
• strength (it is proven that runners who include strength workouts in their training have less chance of injury)
• stretching (the jury is out on the effectiveness of stretching, but it sure makes your next run easier)
• structure-this is what you were born with

How to Get Back on Track

The good news all of the coaches, drs and PTs I have spoken with do not tell runners not to run or exercise when injured.  This is because they know runners won’t listen But seriously, for many injuries a doctor will not tell you not to run, they will help you modify your training. Here are a few steps to recovery:

• Rest (they didn’t mention it, but I would say ice too, and depending on the type of injury, compression and elevation, also anti-inflammatory medicine is helpful, but it is dangerous to run on ibuprofen.  8-hour Tylenol is highly recommended for runners)
• Compromise by reducing mileage, frequency, pace.  For example, instead of running 6 miles in one day, divide it into two runs
• cross train (a good spinning class is worth about 6 miles)
• stretch
• physical therapy
• my addition: a good/optimistic attitude and a great blogging community

The importance of Footwear (what girl doesn’t love foot wear?)

• Gait analysis is important-make sure your running store has it!
• 70% of people are overpronators
  • just because you have flat feet doesn’t necessarily mean you overpronate or need lots of arch support
• If using custom orthotics, use a neutral shoe, probably 1/2 size larger.
• Replace shoes every 400ish miles.
  • 75,000 miles divided by body weight is a more exact measurement of shoe life
• Shoes have a 2 year shelf life
• Get fitted for size every 12 months-feet change and grow
  • make sure to have 1/4 to 3/8 inch of space from longest toe

Here are some of the stretches he suggested:

Well, it is a gorgeous day out! I guess I am glad I am up early.  I started my day with a Polly’s Yoga for Runners video. I am going to hit the gym for an easy elliptical workout and then maybe a full yoga class.  I really don’t want to pay for a class, but I might spring for it or just do my Core Fusion or NYC Ballet Workout DVDs.  There is a free sunset yoga class from The Yoga Room on the piers tonight, but my staff is coming over for team development, so I will have to miss it.  Somehow even though it is right outside my door, I have never been able to take advantage of any of the free classes! Oh well, I am excited to have them over!

Grete’s Great Gallop Take 3

So I had the doctor’s permission to run the half today, although he did say that it was fine to skip it because having a good long run next weekend was more important. 

However, I decided to just go and see how it went.  No pressure. Despite forecasts of 100% chance of precipitation and thunderstorms, there was neither.  It was 67 degrees, with 93% humidity and overcast–I am cool with that.

I woke up with a lot of pain in my foot.  Far more than usual, things were not looking good.  Typically I will have a little pain, but really it’s during and after when the pain is really bad.

But I headed out the door anyways.  I picked up my pre-race “coffee milkshake” aka iced coffee with skim and hoped on the subway.  I love the energy of getting off at 68th and Lex with tons of runners silently acknowledging each other. I arrived at the park, since there were lots of different races and events as part of the Norwegian festival, there was lots of activity, booths,face painting, asprey water, bagels with lox and the infamous berry covered waffles.

BEFORE THE RACE

I got my number, shirt, safety pins, retied my shoes for the millionth time and went in search of baggage check.  After stripping out of my unneeded sweats, I pinned on my number, secured my time tag, put on my heart rate monitor, used the facilities and got in the corrals.

I was pretty surprised to see that I was placed in the last corral.  I have never been in the last corral.  My 9:28 pace is not super speedy, but I guess this year the other slow people stayed home.

Whatevs.  As you know, I am not overly concerned with time or PRing, I am just not competitive with running. I don’t want to sound like a jerk, I love seeing those of you who run to excel PR and improve, it does inspire me, but it is not what running is about for me. I like to enjoy the process and the race experience and that alone has always satisfied me.  And that’s pretty lucky since if I cared about time, with my pace, I would really not enjoy running! I actually don’t know if I will continue to run if I am still experiencing pain post-marathon, it really takes the fun out of it. I will probably focus on other activities I enjoy or switch to tris.

Anyways, there was still pain shooting through my foot as I stood in the corral.  I really didn’t know what to do.  I kind of wanted to cry.  I had already been in minor discomfort for 40 minutes and I hadn’t even started running.

So I decided it was time for a little talk with Jesus.  I folded my hands (ipod in between) at my chest and started praying.  About midway through my chat with Big J, I realized my ipod was still on and Hot Chicks was playing.  I apologized turned it off and finished my little holy moment.

Mile 1-2.

The race started and I actually felt okay.  It was better moving than standing still. I waved to Grete Waitz (the only female to win the NYC marathon 4 times) and kept going.  Between mile 1 and 2, I had to stop and readjust my laces three times.  One shoe was too tight and the other too loose.  This was getting really old fast.  Finally, the third time was the charm and I was comfortable enough to keep going without stopping for the rest of the race.

Miles 3-6

These went by quite well.  I would feel random bouts of pain in all different places, but nothing stabbing, just dull. It’s funny thinking about pain the whole time takes the focus off boredom or exhaustion.  It’s like a total trade off. Oh, I also gooed up after mile 6 with a CLIF MOCHA ENERGY GEL. I really didn’t feel like consuming anything  somedays my stomach doesn’t love eating on the run, but I knew I might need that fuel for the final 7. Fortunately, it gave me a great kick and no tummy trouble at all.

Miles 7-8 (technical malfunction)

I was happy I had made it to 7 without any real issues.  I noticed my Garmin was flashing low memory, so I deleted all the old activities, but apparently something went wrong because at mile 8 it had stopped recording my race states and said memory full.  Fabulous. I am really not too obsessed with my Garmin, I typically only look at it when it beeps the mile, but I had hoped to have my splits and see how accurate it was with distance.  Oh well.  At some point I figured out how to delete everything and restarted it, just for fun I guess. TIP: if you are ever really struggling, playing with your watch or ipod is a great way to forget how much you hate your life. I swear, perfect distraction tools. (here are 15 more tips to get through a workout)

Miles 8-?

At some point, I totally forgot where I was.  I was actually enjoying myself enough that I “woke up” and realized I had no idea where I was, I kind of forgot it was even a race that I should focus on finishing.  I also had no idea where I was mileage-wise. At some point, I unconsciously started singing out loud—really loud, and got some really angry looks. I piped down quickly.

Miles 10-12

I guess I wasn’t gone too long because I saw mile 10 and I was pretty happy I only had a 5K left.  I was having some pain that came and went, but nothing too bad. At mile 10, I needed a change of pace, so I pulled out my secret weapon: GIRL TALK!  Yup, I always save girl talk for the end of my race.  This was a great way to really charge up my last few miles. Before that I was listening to this:

and this:

Mile 12-13.1 (Mind Games and the final push)

I knew I had a lot left in me at 12, unlike a lot of people who have trouble moderating their pace in the beginning and dying at the end, I tend to hold back too much and then am frustrated at the end, when I really could have gone harder.  So I decided to give it all I had for the last 1.1.  This is really the worst part of races in the park anyways, lots of hills and congestion to the finish. Here’s a secret, at mile 11 I always convince myself of how much the last mile is going to feel, how hard the hill is, how it always winds forever seeming like 3 miles.  This crazy tactic actually makes it seem shorter and less miserable than it really is.  Mind games, I know.

So the last mile was hard.  It really does seem long.  But I pushed and pushed to the finish line, I got a little bit of the I might throw up right at the end, but I crossed successfully. 

Post Race, Stats, and Pain

Immediately after I finished, serious pain shot through my calf.  I walked it off for 3-4 minutes.  I am certainly in no way pain free, my knee, foot an ankle are pretty sore, so I am icing and resting, but need to start moving pretty soon.

Post-race

I like this race because they don’t have donated bagels that I usually pass on, they have great fresh bagels (with or without lox) and the most amazing spreadable cheese I have ever had—it’s called Snofrisk naturell.  I took a lox-free bagel and a triangle of the cheese.  They call it cream cheese, but I don’t like cream cheese, it is more like laughing cow without the swiss taste and much richer.  Yum, the perfect brunch!  I also took a plum for later.  The bottled water and waffles were gone, but that was fine, I had my refillable, environmentally friendly water bottle in my baggage.  Oh, I drank maybe 5-6 half cups of water along the course.

Stats.

So I have run this race three years in a row—2007 and 2008.  I PRed today, not just for the race either, overall.  It is kind of bittersweet.

I got 2:10:11.  Last year I got 2:10:14, so not a huge difference, but it was something, and it would have been at least 3-4 minutes faster if I hadn’t kept stopping to play with my shoelaces in the beginning.

Like I said, I tend to hold back too much.  My overall pace was 9:56 min/miles, but my last 4.7 miles (the ones post-garmin disaster)  were much faster 9:20, 9:31. 9:28, 8:48, 6.10 (.7 miles).

I am glad I did it.  I hope things only get better as I start to use my orthotics! I didn’t use them today. 

Talk to you soon folks!

The Diagnosis

 

Hi everyone, I am so glad to be blogging tonight.  I guess after a long day and week, it’s like therapy.  I should try and rally to go to a bday party tonight, but after waking up early to get to an eight o’clock xray, then dr. appointment, then work, then happy hour, then home, well spending some time at that last destination sounds like some kind of wonderful.  Plus I have a half marathon tomorrow morning.  Edit: my fabulous roomstars just got home, so I am off to play, will finish tomorrow.  Poor darlings, it’s alumni day weekend, so they have had a long couple weeks and a long weekend ahead.

Before I launch into that…***non-runners take heart*** I am sure you are probably bored to tears lately, as I all I seem to blog about it running, but Monday my friends, I will do a whole post that doesn’t once mention the r word!  I will announce three non-running workout reviews coming up and I will talk about this great music site I found.

Okay, back to running for a post or two.  I still have the rest of my maximizing your last month before marathon series!

So as mention, I have been having a lot of pain in my foot and ankle.  I have been resting a lot, running only a few times a week, icing and taking way to much ibuprofen. But things haven’t gotten much better. 

So after two fairly unhelpful sessions with the sports medicine doctor at the NYU medical center, I decided to go to Dr. Metzl.  I met Dr. Metzl at a running clinic last weekend, and I was impressed right away.  He was named one of NYMag’s best sport medicine and running injuries doctors three years in a row and he is a 25 time marathoner and 4 time iron man.

I was thrilled to get an appointment and a referral in a week’s time.  So at 8 am I was supposed to be in his office for xray and my appointment was at 9.  I totally forgot how far over East end ave is.  OMG it is like the end of the earth!  So after jog/walking at least a mile from lex to the office, I was no longer sleepy. 

I got my xray, only briefly freaking out when she asked me to remove a toe ring that I have had on since I was 11.  I was like, that will not be happening this morning, I would need some serious strength to open it up! 

I got called into the dr’s office, and let me just say, I have a wee bit of a crush on him.  He is kind of my Dr. MetzDreamy.  And I really hope he doesn’t Google himself too often. What can I say? I am a sucker for a runner, particularly one with 7 years of advanced education under their belt.

Anyways, he came in full of life and totally enthusiastic in a way I just could not be so early in the morning.  Have you ever met someone so full of energy and effervescent that you suddenly felt really boring? That was what it was like.

So after some small talk, I mentioned I met him at the ING Cafe clinic, and he was like I remember you!  You were in the front left, wearing the boots and you asked about your foot!  (Bingo.)  I was like, I want to help her.  (Opportunity granted!)  I will say that it is funny that he mentioned my hound’s-tooth banana republic goulashes because I was a hot mess that day—more so than the runners who had just finished a rainy 18 miles.  I mean I’m a hot mess most days, it’s kind of my look,  I do it well, but that day in particular, I even out-disheveled myself.  The boots were the only tiny thread of put togetherness that could possibly be complimented in that scenario. 

Anyways, in like 5 seconds, actually 4 hops on my left foot, Dr. Metzl said that my arch was totally collapsing causing tendonitis and maybe some PF and most off my pain.  I have high arches, so I was surprised to learn I pronated so much—and only on one side.

So I (semi-reluctantly) left the doctor’s office and headed straight to Super Runners Shop as directed.  I arrived and there was a store employee washing the door window, I waved and smiled widely.  He gave me a hand motion and mouthed that the were not open.  Which, based on the scenario, was pretty obvious. However, I played dumb and made a please take pity on me face.  He bent down, unlocked the door, opened it like 1 inch, and said, “15 minutes until we open.”  I was like, “I totally understand, but I just need one quick thing, i have a note from my doctor,” which I did and held out as proof, “ please I am already late for work.”  He considered this for a moment, and still through the 2 inch space said, “you know what you need?”  I said yes, handed him the sheet with the item.  He said, “let me see if we have it in your size.”  He then closed the door, locked it and disappeared.  I waited.  He returned, unlocked the door, let me in and let me purchase my new Superfeet!  I thanked him a bunch of times.  It was pretty nice, since as someone who has worked in retail, you really don’t want to do it one minute longer than necessary. 

So I tried them on when I got to work.  OMG, my left foot felt amazing.  Like a massage with every step.  but my right foot felt like I had half a tennis ball under my foot.  I guess they will take some breaking in.  I dropped off my anti-inflammatory prescription on my lunch hour. I guess I am on the path to less painful running.

Lessons learned: there is too much of a google-thing.

I learned you really have to be careful with too much googling and self-diagnosis.  I got pretty obsessed with trying to figure out my problem and absolutely everything seemed to indicate stress fracture, tendonitis never once came up when I searched my symptoms.  This was problematic in a few ways.  One, I tried to treat it incorrectly assuming RICE was the way to heal a stress fracture, when in fact, tendonitis and plantars fasciitis require a different plan of attack. 

Secondly, it was unnecessarily psychologically stressful.  I have not been the most enjoyable person to be around lately. I have been stressed, impatient, unamused, not my normal self.  Part of that is because I had a lot of the causes and risk factors associated with stress fractures.  I added mileage pretty quickly and I have very low bone density and osteopenia.  I also suffered with anorexia for a little over three years in high school and as a result, had amenorrhea for four years until I finally restarted my period with birth control.  Fortunately, now I have zero issues having my monthly friend visit naturally.  However, I definitely started to beat myself up and get stressed about something I rarely even think about as it is something so in my past—and gratefully so, it just drudged up a time I only want to forget.  While I can’t totally deny that I might somewhere along the line have a few repercussions from that time, and I am very lucky to have escaped the mental hell and most of the physical issues as well, I didn’t put in all the mental work of recovering and gaining about 40 pounds to have this haunting me almost 10 years later.  While I have never thought my blog was a forum for eating disorder discussion, I do hope to one day find a place to write about recovery since I was so confused about it at the time and I feel I can offer some insight into at least my own journey.  Just briefly I will say it had almost nothing to do with therapy, blood testing, nutritionist visits, two hospitalizations…actually the second one was useful in that it allowed me get to a someone stable weight range, but recovering was something that I had to do for myself.  Three things really made that happen, leaving a toxic environment and going to college with a clean slate, admitting that I wanted more from my life as I was miserable in every possible capacity and had already lost several years of my life that I could never get back including countless friends, and finally, committing myself to a goal greater than being thin.  I realized that if I was lucky enough to have grandchildren, I didn’t want to tell them the only thing I accomplished was being skinny.  And all the energy I was wasting (hours upon hours a day) could be used toward something much less selfish and more rewarding.  Okay, end of that discussion.

The good and the bad

The good is that I know what my injuries are and that they are not injuries that will keep me from running the marathon!

The bad is that I don’t have very much time to adjust to the orthotics, and that I am a little behind on my training, so I will go  into the marathon knowing that I can not overdo it with visions of glory.  The other bad things is that tendinitis, collapsed arches and plantars fasciitis are chronic, which means that I will have to deal with treatment for a very long time, perhaps forever.

Sorry for no pictures, I will be back later for a Grete’s Half Marathon recap!

Marathon Tips to Get You to the Finish Line-Part 1

Today after work and class, I headed to Jack Rabbit Sports for a Marathon Count Down panel.  The panel included a running coach, a physical therapist and a nutritionist offering tips on the final month and the big day!

First off, the final month of training!

• Trust your plan!  Don’t change it now.  Even if it’s a bad plan, it’s better than changing things at this point in the game. 
• Don’t worry if you miss a “key” run.  At this point, it is not necessary to make up for it.  If you try to sneak in that last 20-21 mile run 3 weeks before the marathon, you will do your best long run 3 weeks before the marathon, instead of on race day.
• Trust the Taper The taper process is critical to have you the healthiest, happiest, and strongest you can be on race day.  Your body needs this recovery time….it needs to be hungry for miles. Three weeks out, start your taper, don’t be tempted to make up for mileage the last few weeks, you will do your best run two weeks before the marathon and be tired on race day. 
• Taper plan, drop your mileage 25% a week for the last 3 weeks.  No long runs.  The last two weeks drop your speed and intensity.
• No less than four weeks out buy your last pair of shoes.  You want at least one 13 mile run in shoes before the marathon, and about 50-100 miles in them. 
• Have your outfit, fuel, hat, body glide broken in.  Never try, eat or wear anything new on race day.

One week before

• Start hydrating and adding salt or Gatorade to your diet. This can’t be done a day in advance, the whole week before start hydrating properly and three or four days before start shakin’ that salt shaker.
• Plan your outfit, have plan a, b, and c so you are prepared for any type of ready
• Start mentally preparing, visualizing your race and getting psyched.
• Make sure you have all the logistics set.  Know exactly how and when you will travel to the start line.
• Make sure all your friends know to come and cheer for you.

The Race

• Have throw away clothes for the start line
• Stay in the middle of the bridge
• Stick to your race day plan and goal time, do not try to be a superstar the day of the race
• Your first mile should be your slowest
• Know the first mile will be crowded, don’t zigzag to get ahead and add extra distance to your first mile, you will want that energy later.
• Do not go too fast the first ten miles, otherwise, at mile 18 someone will drop a piano on your back.
• Even if you are a minute behind your goal pace at mile 10, that is only 4 seconds a mile for the rest of the race.
• Think of the race as 10, 10, 10K.  The first ten behave and be moderate, the second ten pick up the pace a little, the last 10K see how you feel and go from there.  You should feel great at mile 10, if you don’t, you are going too fast.
• If it is your first marathon, your goal is to get to the start line in one piece and to get to the finish line in one piece.  Don’t deviate from your plan. 

Coming up:

Part 2-Staying injury free, how much does pronation matter, best stretches and how to run with an injury.

Part 3-nutrition for running training and racing

After the workshop, I went to a very special place for the first time, LuluLemon. Can you believe I have never been? They had some really amazing running jackets and pants.

 

They are chic and really functional.  I was hoping to get a hooded running shell to protect me from the race forecast for my half marathon on Saturday, but I really could not believe the price tags.  The 1/3 Scottish blood in my veins couldn’t even fathom buying a $168 paper-thin jacket. I love the store they have great products and amazing free classes and events for the community, but until I have a six-figure salary, I hope they launch a cheaper sister line. Low-cost Lulu perhaps?  I do have a gift certificate, so I might treat myself to the pants or some yoga gear.  I really need to be better about getting my Om on!

However, I will point out that Lulu’s Soho store has a great running group that meets on Wednesday and Saturdays.  Also on the community schedule, Lemons on the Run: Nutrition and Fueling on Oct. 6th from 8-9PM 

The Upper East side  lululemon will have an Injury Prevention for Runners Workshop  on Oct. 6th from 8-9PM.

The Union Square Store offers Sunshine Yoga every Saturday from 9-10AM.

later skaters

Let it Rock

Wow, it’s been quite the weekend!

Last night I hosted a South Africa Reunion for the people who went on my study abroad.  Unfortunately the weather was terrible and what should have been a great roof top barbeque became an indoor soiree.  I have to say, I went beyond overboard with food!  I made like 10 dishes (tortilla espanola, spinach artichoke dip, smore brownies, a huge cheese and prosciutto platter, gorgonzola agave bruschetta with dried cranberries, edammame dip, hummus, mexican lay dip, chips and bread and crackers, caprese salad skewers, tons of crudités,sweet and savory trail mix; I also bought some premade TJs stromboli and feta and caramelized onion phyllo cups that I didn’t even serve.) Oh well, it was the first time I had cooked in a while, and I do love entertaining.  It was fun to see so many people from the trip, including our amazing professor, who stayed until 1:30AM! 

In any case, I had to be at Grand Central by 7 to meet Katherine for our long run, so I didn’t get much sleep.   I was excited to have company, and I knew I would need it.  I also wore my Obamathoner Running Shirt for good luck.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been really concerned about the pain in my foot that I had at the end of run.  So how did the big 2-0 go?  Well, it was the hardest run of my life, I am not going to lie.  From mile 1 there was pain.  However, it was not the sharp excruciating localized pain that I experienced at mile 17 last week.  It was a dull, mild, yet present ache in my left ankle and knee.  There was some pain at the top of my foot for maybe half of the run, but it came and went and wasn’t too bad.  The bigger sneakers helped this immensely.  So I am really hoping that most of the pain is just left over from running in sneakers that all of the sudden became way too small.  I am not really sure what the deal with the ankle and knee pain was all about, but that can also be due to ill-fitting sneakers.  I still don’t know how after 2 years and 5 pairs, my sneaker size suddenly changed, but i guess it is summer and heat and distance cause swelling.

So back to the long run, Katherine and I decided to do an around Manhattan run.  Starting at 42nd and Lex and running east to the promenade then heading uptown to 110th then crossing all the way west to Riverside Park before heading south all the way down the west side and around the very tip of the island and back up the east side. 

The route was great for a few reasons:

1. I got to see Cathedral Street for the first time, which is just at the top of the park.  I have seen it from the top of the great hill loop in Central Park a million times, but never actually run down it.
2. I got to run through Riverside Park, which was really beautiful with lots of shade and great views of the sail boats on the water. 
3. We got to check out a few of the NY400 events going on down around Battery Park City
4. I got to run up the east side for the first time in years. I actually forgot there was even a path all the way up the east side.  Although I have to say, it is not nearly as immaculately groomed as the west side.  There was a lot of tree debris that made the surface very uneven, and that was when the surface was fairly level, there were a lot of place that were in desperate need of paving with innumerably pot holes, loose grave and haphazard patching jobs.  It’s funny up on the west side and in the park, runners are so well-groomed with their fancy running gear and coordinated outfits, on the east side path the running clientele had a much more jerry-rigged wardrobe.

Overall the run was a struggle, I have never had any pain while running and I was kind of in shock that I suddenly had to deal with so much discomfort.  I used to start runs with the tight lead leg feeling, lately I have started my runs with my legs totally fine, but now I am dealing with something far worse. 

Beyond my own personal left leg and foot issues, running with Katherine is always amazing.  She is a bit stronger than me, but she is very generous in moderating her pace for me and being encouraging when the going gets tough.  We both were feeling it (not pain, just tired legs) around mile 15, so it was great to cheerlead each other through the last 1/4 of the run. 

We decided to use the Galloway method, which Katherine had used on her 18 mile run last week to great success.  I had vaguely heard of the Galloway method, but never used it.  However, I remember that someone told me that the Galloway method is guaranteed to improve your time on all runs, if you run 10 minutes walk 1. There was actually an interesting NYTimes article on the G-method recently.  We ran the first 5 miles straight and then switched to run seven minutes, walk one.  It was a change from last week when I ran the 18 miles straight through stopping briefly twice, once to refill my water bottles and once to loosen my laces.

Results: Well in ways, I thought it would be hard to stop and start.  I mean restart your ipod a bunch of times and you drain the battery, wouldn’t people be the same? Isn’t that the purpose of interval training?  However, it wasn’t too bad, the first minute was rough, but our times were way faster than when I ran without walking!  So weird, but true.  When we were running, it was under ten minute miles, whereas last week I ran at just under 11 minute miles.  I am not sure I will keep using it this training session, but it was definitely intriguing!  And I think it was better for my foot too.  Has anyone else used the Galloway method?

Fuel consumed: seven 6-ounce water bottles and a cherry pie larabar.

Total distance: 20.05 miles

Post-run: While I have described in detail my body feeling during the run, after wasn’t too bad.  I could definitely feel soreness in my knee and ankle, but I iced like crazy all afternoon, took two advil and feel pretty good right now.

Preventative Measures: I am anxious to talk to a doctor and/or podiatrist to make sure that this is just a mild sprain/injury.  I did read that ankle and knee pain is often related to weak quads.  So I am adding strength work for my legs back into my routine stat!  The strength makes me sorer at the beginning of my runs, but clearly it is worth a few miles of tightness for stronger, safer running overall.  I am also going to see how I feel tomorrow and maybe swim or bike for cardio.  Finally, I am going to wear my compression band for a while and see if that helps stabilize my ankle, since it took a beating on all the uneven surfaces today.

Oh, I have to thank Caitlin for her awesome song recommendation!  I downloaded Bombs Over Bagdad (B.O.B.) after seeing it on her 5K playlist.  Wow this is a great running song.  It is so intense!  It is great for the end of a run or race.  I am not even sure what they are saying, but wow is it fast!

Okay, so I said I would announce my new review today, but since this post is so long, I will announce it and go into much greater detail tomorrow.  I am trying Nu-Kitchen for 5 days starting tomorrow!  I am really excited since I was recommended to me by Dara Goddfrey and by friend Sue, who used it to great results after our marathon.  Nu-Kitchen is hands down the best food delivery system out there in my opinion, well not accounting for taste since I haven’t tried it.  But it appeals to me for several reasons:

• The food is completely fresh, natural and delicious looking and the menu changes every week—unlike nutrisystem which looks like dehydrated dog food in the ads
• It is affordable by NY standards, nu-kitchen is about what I spend on a day’s worth of food or one moderately priced meal out.  Any where from $11 for lunch or dinner to around $29-39 for  a day with three meals and two snacks depending the special and plan option
• Lots of plan options, you can do a la carte, a few meals a day or a full day of meals and snacks.  You can even just do a day or two a week if you want!
• You pick exactly what you want for each meal through a very simple online system
• Nutritional information is provided for every single item on the menu

So I will explain more of my own personal reasons for wanting to try a meal delivery system and of course review each meal and snack tomorrow!  Yay for my first real food blogging experience.

18 Miles-a day late, but not a mile short

I had planned to do my long run on Sunday, but I kind of forgot that going out the night before a long run is generally not advisable.  So while I had a great time hanging out with Liz on Saturday night, I was in no shape at all to run on Sunday morning—or the rest of the day for that matter.  I managed to make it to the gym for 30 minutes on elliptical and some ab work, but I spent the rest of the day out of commission.  Sub-two Coronas and a vodka soda and I am wrecked, sad, but true.

 

So like a good girl, I stayed in on Sunday—and rather pathetically watched a few episodes of season 1 of the OC while doing some NYTimes crossword puzzles, then I read some more of an embarrassingly bad Jane Greene novel that I bought in the Tambo airport on the way home from South Africa and never read.

The delay was actually beneficial in few ways, it gave me an extra day to get over my annoying cold, the weather today was perfect for running–cool and breezy today, and I no longer felt hung over as all hell.

So I left the house a little after 8 and headed toward the 59th Street Bridge. I have to say, despite the huge hill that is the first half of the bridge, I was feeling pretty groovy.  Not the usual first few miles of tightness.  I was going at a fairly slow pace, but in the first three and a half miles of my run, I had already tackled several hills, so I was happy to actually be enjoying myself despite the 15 miles still ahead of me.  I ended up doing different loops of the park:

1.) The lower 5 mile loop—Central Park South cutting Across at 102nd St

2.) The upper 5 mile loop-72nd St running up to the 110th Street transverse

3.) The middle 4 mile loop-72nd up to 102nd and around

Just as I finished the last loop, my Garmin beeped mile 18.  I felt pretty euphoric.  Like a smart little runner, I walked around for a bit and took my time doing some stretching. I did all the usuals. I continued to walk around the Upper East Side blocks to cool down for about 15 minutes before I realized that I looked like a complete tool walking around Park and Lexington wearing not only my very sexy fuel belt, but my wrist band credit card holder, my ipod arm band, and my watch, foot pod and heart rate monitor.  I felt silly enough running with the whole kit and caboodle, but walking around in it? There is just no excuse for that. 

Truth be told I was really on the look out for  a Starbucks, I had a gift card and I was craving an iced coffee like nobodies business, but unbelievably, I didn’t find one in my 6 or 7 block radius, so I aborted the mission and hopped on the 6 train down town.  The weather in the park was so ideal (68ish and breezy) that I hadn’t even broken a sweat, which I am sure the fellow train passengers greatly appreciated.  When I hopped on the 7, I was pretty jealous of everyone heading to the US Open. 

So some quick highlights about different aspects of my run. (I stole this idea from Katherinebtw.)

Distance and time:

18.09 miles in 3 hours and 15 minutes.  I have only run farther than this twice.  One twenty mile training run for my last marathon and the actual marathon. It is the longest I have ever run all by myself.

Terrain:

Very hilly.  While my time was just under 11 minute miles, I was okay with that because I was not only training for distance but improving my endurance for hilly terrain—aka a marathon with several bridges. 

Hills covered included the 59th street bridge, the climb from 1st to 2nd ave, the climb from 59th street to east drive, cat hill (3 times), the great hill (once) and the numerous gently rolling inclines of Central Park.

Fuel:

1 mocha clif hammer gel-this was not as unpleasant as anticipated.  While I certainly wouldn’t grab one for an afternoon snack at work, it did it’s job fueling the last 8 miles of my run without freaking out my stomach too much. 

6-6 ounce water bottles from my fuel belt, two refilled.

Post-run-1/2 kashi golean tlc crunchy caramel chocolate bar.

  I didn’t eat breakfast because I woke up at 2 in the morning  for about 2 hours, and during that time I had a bowl of ice cream.  While this is not something I endorse or do often, it did keep my blood sugar  high enough to fuel the first 10 miles of my run.  It also allowed me to get away with not eating right before my run, which never agrees with my tummy.

Feeling, aches and pains:

I have to say, the run was fairly effortless.  I never really got the leg soreness, I have during the last couple miles of some of my previous long runs.  I even considered continuing my run since I was feeling so strong.  I had a few fleeting moments of fatigue, but nothing too bad.  I could have pushed myself a little harder speed-wise I guess.  Toward the end of the run, my left foot started to feel like my sneaker laces were way too tight. It was very strange there was a strange pain under my my big toe and a lot of pressure on the top of my foot.  My GT2140s have always fit a little more tightly than my GT2130s, but I have never felt that uncomfortable before.   That is why body-wise I felt fine at mile 18, but the pain running across the top of my foot was intense enough that I figured it was a good time to stop—I had reached my distance goal after all.  I am going to war my GT2130s on my next long run to see if it is the shoes or it is my foot. I iced it this afternoon and it is feeling much better.

Music:

I actually listened to Kara Goucher’s Endurance Boost and Serena Williams Running Workout twice each!  I know it sounds weird, but I like having someone encouraging me along the way—and Serena’s songs have all these great-runspiration lyrics. 

I have mentioned them both many times, but if you want to check out the great running tracks:

Get Fit with Serena Williams Playlist—you can listen to them in full and download the workout

Kara Goucher Endurance Boost-available for purchase on itunes

After all that coached running music, I listened to some random tunes from an old workout playlist.

• Ain’t Nothing Wrong with That-Robert Randolph
• Keeps Getting Better-Xtina Aguilera
• 40’ Franz Ferdinand—new fav artist
• Top of the World-Pussy Cat Dolls
• Buttons-Pussy Cat Dolls
• Rich Girls-The Virgins
• Untouched-The Veronicas
• Popular-The Veronicas
• Sorry Sorry-Rooney
• Let it Rock-Kevin Rudolph
• Just Fine-Eve
• If U Seek Amy-Britney
• Sun Ain’t Shining No More-Asteriod Galaxy Tour
• Around the Bend-Asteriod Galaxy Tour
• Stronger-Kanye West

I am glad my first super long run is over.  Next week, I try and tackle the big

2-0!

Running Thoughts, Tips and FAQs

REMINDER: Today is the last day for the Physique 57 DVD Giveaway! Enter now!

It’s been a while since I have done a post reflecting on some of the common questions and comments I get about running.  While this is not going to be something dramatically more insightful than anything I have written in the past—so I have included a round up of all my related posts that are a bit more specific and research-based at the end of this post. The marathon frenzy is going to pick up considerably this fall, so I hope this post may be useful to some of you that might be running-curious, but are reluctant to actually call yourself a “runner.”  

It took me a long time to gain the confidence to call myself a runner.  I was never a track star in high school. In fact, I could barely run a mile consecutively until sophomore year of college despite being in great aerobic shape.  So I understand when readers say the just can’t get through a few miles or they hit the wall by mile four.  We all have challenges and we can all over come them, I AM PROOF THAT ANYONE CAN RUN A MARATHON, if they want to.  Like I always say, you don’t have to be a runner.  It is not the holy grail of exercise.  However, it is nice for a few reasons:

1. It’s fairly low cost and you can do it on almost a moments notice, pretty much anywhere
2. There are established goals, such as races and marathons that can motivate you and keep you inspired…or at least begrudgingly committed.
3. While there is definitely an established culture of runners to network with, it is also nice that you don’t necessarily need to deal with the logistics of a team sport.  It can be as social or as anti-social as you want it to be.

So back to challenges.  Running is challenging.  I am by no means an excellent runner.  In fact, my only true running skill is being able to do it for fairly long periods of time, which was a cultivated skill.  I still get frustrated that I struggle to gain speed, and push myself to get out of my pace comfort zone.  I definitely look up to countless blogging runners, like Meghann,who PR on every race, for motivation to train a wee bit harder or at least keep at it!

So back to a common questions I get.

Why can’t I run? and How do you build distance?

First off, you can be a runner if you want to, but it may not happen over night.  Some people build up with the run a minute, walk a minute method, but when I started out, I found that frustrating and it seemed to be that once, I stopped, I was done.  So I think becoming a “runner” and building distance takes time.  You can build one minute at a time or 5 minutes at a time, don’t try to add a mile at a time.  If you can run for 5 minutes, run for 6 minutes the next time out.  Then next week, run 7 minutes.  I recommend a watch, and not trying to run too often.  Keep your other favorite exercises in your routine and run maybe two times a week.  Don’t burn yourself out! In the beginning it should be fun, not frustrating!

Like I always, say sign up for a 5K, so you have a goal to work toward, this is key.

Why can’t I run more than 3 miles?

If you are past the 5K mark and looking to move toward 10Ks or halfs but are struggling after 4-5 miles.  You are most likely running too fast.  You are definitely physically able to run 6 miles, but you are burning your body out by starting out too fast.  It can be hard to slow yourself down and feel like you are slogging along, but try it just once.  Or better yet, run with a friend who runs at a slower pace than  you.  Getting used to spending the extra time on your feet, even if you don’t reach your mileage goal, will prepare your body for longer distances.

One you are past the  5K point, you can add 1/4 or 1/2 miles rather than focusing on minutes, if you want to.  Typically once you are at 5-6 miles, if you are looking to train for longer distances, it is fine to start adding a mile a week to your weekly long run.  Check out Runner’s World for novice and intermediate training plans.

Here is something I found surprising.  One of the reasons I wanted to run a marathon was because I thought, once I have run 26 miles, I will never have trouble running 5 or 6 again.  It will be an easy daily workout length.  Shocker, sometimes, even now, 3 miles is torturous, and other days 12 miles glide by almost unnoticed. 

I HATE RUNNING! What do I do?

Don’t worry I did (and sometimes still do) too!  It was exactly that frustration that made me determined to runa marathon when I had never run farther than 3.1 miles, except maybe 1 crazy-long 5 miler on the treadmill.

Here is a little secret, and I don’t mean to be a downer, but running is rarely “fun” or  ”easy.” I think there has to be a teensy weensy bit of masoconist in every runner.  Even amazing runners, like Dean Karnanzes, will say, running is not fun.  It can be exhilarating, challenging, rewarding, fulfilling, maybe even refreshing or energizing, but the pure spirit of the sport is not fun.  Other runners will say 9 out of 10 runs are miserable, but that 10th one makes up for all the wretchedness that came before it.

“”The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy…It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.” Jacqueline Gareau

While there is fun to be had, chatty long runs with friensd, the post-race celebrations, the happy dance after a new PR, on a daily basis, I don’t really consider running to be fun.  I am happy if it is quasi-enjoyable.

Why do I keep running then?  I like the goal-oriented spirit of running.  Have a race to train for keeps me motivated and inspired, even if every run isn’t great.  I like overcoming the mental battle.  I like having a network that shares my love/and ocassionally hate relationship with running.

There are periods where I really do enjoy running and most of my daily runs are even borderline fun, or at least personally fulfilling.  I do love the challenge of a long run, I love the creativity of mapping out a route I can get excited about and then completing that mission.  Right now, I am in a kind of semi-obsessed phase, where i can’t wait until my next run.   These periods are sometimes rare, but when I am in the running/race mode they seem to become more frequent.

All of this is to say, that I don’t think it is fair to tell people they should expect to fall in love with running, and for it to become fun and easy.  I don’t think it does for everyone.   I think the challenge is one of the things that keeps me going.  Running doesn’t become comfortable, it keeps me on my toes.  There is always something greater to strive toward. And the magic of finishing a marathon is, in its own way, life changing.

So if you do decide that you want to add running to your routine, even though you absolutely love spinning or you are addicted to pilates, take it slow and know that even if it is not the same instantaneous I can’t wait to do this again feeling, you can find a satisfying and rewarding relationship with running or you can decide its not for you and settle back into the joys of downward dog.

For more info, here is a round up of posts related to running tips, training and common running questions:

So you want to be a runner? Part 1

So you want to be a runner Part 2

Answers to Running Questions

Running Questions part 2

HMC:FAQ

Tips for finding the perfect shoes

How to prepare for long runs

Rock Your Body Chellenge: Increase Your Max Vo2,