Week 8- Cool & Caffeinated

Who said I couldn't run 12 miles?!?!?  (Oh wait, that was me.)  But I did it!  In fact, my Nike Plus underestimated my distance, and when I mapped it after returning home, I realized I ran 12.83 miles!  


Super happy.  And the best part?  I felt like I could have gone farther if I'd had to. Feeling pretty positive about my Sarathon training right now.  I still have nearly three months to go.  If I can stay on track and injury-free, the marathon doesn't seem like an impossibility!


I want to reiterate something (if there's anyone reading this who just happened to stumble upon this blog and is in need of inspiration): ONE YEAR AGO I COULDN'T RUN ONE MILE. Heck, I couldn't run five minutes!  And on Saturday I completed more than 12 miles.  Yes, I did run-walk intervals (http://www.jeffgalloway.com/).  Yes, I was SLOW as a turtle.  But I did it.  And I can't wait to do more!


Week 8 of my training was great.  My cold finally went away and the weather has started cooling down.  I did my two runs during the week in Central Park as usual.  I ran the entire time of the first one, at a pretty good pace for me.  My 2nd run was with Mike, and I introduced him to the run-walk intervals.  I felt so good that I wanted to add another run this week before the long one, but super runner/super friend Andi said I should probably take it easy since I was coming off of a cold, a "longest run ever" less than a week ago, and had another "longest run ever" coming up.  Thanks, Andi!  I went into my 12-miler feeling rested and great.


A lot of things went right on Saturday.   Happy to report that I figured out the right protein/carb breakfast to keep me feeling good for my 3-hour run.  This week, I tried 1/4 cup dry raw walnuts and a piece of toast with butter & jam.  My stomach wasn't bothered at all, and I felt like I had boundless energy until about mile 5, when I started taking my gel. That's when it got interesting:  I didn't realize that I had bought (for the first time) a gel enhanced with caffeine.


HOLY ENERGY!!!!!


If you saw a streak of pink lighting on the Queensboro Bridge last Saturday, it may have been the Pink Turtle on a caffeine frenzy!  Let's just say I'll be buying those gels again.


I had to add some mileage after the Galloway scheduled group run, and trusty Mike met me so I didn't have to go it alone!  He was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was feeling good and energized (I had told him to be prepared to carry me), since he joined me for miles 9-12. I really appreciated his conversation and company, as the remaining miles flew by!  Thanks, Mike! 


Admittedly, I was pretty stiff and tired the rest of the day, but not too tired to head up to Marshalls on 125th for another discount running shirt.  My legs are never too tired to shop.


Very excited to have  a "short" week coming up- my long run this weekend will only be 7 miles.  


You know you're a runner when you think a 7-miler is "short".


Sarathon or bust!

Week 7- 10/10/TEN!

I did it!  I conquered my first Turtle 10-miler last Saturday (on 10-10)!  The group was only scheduled for 7, so I knew I had to add 3.  I planned to do them before the group 7, thinking I would run from my apartment to the start at Columbus Circle.  But silly me- I forgot that it is still DARK at 6:30 AM, the time at which I would have had to leave to make this happen!  Me running through Harlem in the dark?  I don't think so.  So I jumped on the bus to the circle, leaving my 3 for after the group run.  Luckily, one of the members of my group needed to do a few more as well, so we finished the 3 together.  The Pink Turtle likes company!

We ran from 59th Street down the West Side Highway path to Bank Street (south of 12th), and then back up through Riverside Park all the way home.  We passed the Avon Breast Cancer walk on the way back, making our way through hundreds of folks in pink!  It was a lot of pink, even for me.

I felt pretty good afterwards, although my legs were kind of tired- the route took just over 2 hours.  But no rest for the weary!  I headed upstate with Suzanne & Mike (sister & brother-in-law) to go apple picking!  This would have been a Very Good Idea, except the orchard was HILLY and HUGE.  I spent hours reaching at treetops, trudging up hills, and avoiding twisting my ankle on abandoned apples!

The good news? Definitely felt like I had burned enough calories to erase the apple cider donut!  And my lactic acid build-up had a run for its money.

So despite the cold, a great week!  I'm already anticipating this Saturday's run...twelve miles!  That's almost a half marathon!

Sarathon or bust!

Sick Little Turtle

It happens every time.  Whenever I have a seemingly "hard" run or two, it means I am getting sick. I've been reading that you can also predict illness when your resting heart rate rises 10% above normal, though I've never taken it consistently enough to figure that out.  But since I've become a runner, I've noticed that if I struggle more than usual on a normal pace or route, I come down with a cold or worse a few days later.  Exactly what happened to me this week.

I ran on Monday and Wednesday, 30 minutes each.  Monday I ran outside in Central Park.  My normal pace felt a lot harder, but I chalked it up to still recovering (cardio-wise) from my injury break.  Wednesday I ran on the treadmill at the gym.  I finished strong with three minute-long speed drills, and felt fine.  When I went to work a few hours later though, I noticed my legs felt super heavy. 

Sure enough, yesterday the sore throat came on with a vengeance.  Today the aches.  Hello cold! 

I am so bummed- I was hoping to get in some nice cross training today (resting tomorrow in prep for Saturday's long run).  But instead I'm hydrating (good excuse for red gatorade- did I mention it's my favorite?), and planning to rest as much as I can to kick this thing.

I am a sad little turtle.  I'm so anxious to get on with my training and I hate being down for the count!  Guess I have to be patient and remember- I have a whole 3 months to go. But I really don't want to miss my group run this Saturday- it will be my first 10-miler!  I'm so excited and scared (thank you, Mr. Sondheim)!


So here's to a speedy turtle recovery...

Sarathon or bust!

Week 6- Back on Track

Yesterday I finished week 6 of my 20-week schedule, and I'm now enjoying a GLORIOUS day of rest.  See, I have a confession....I like running best when I'm not doing it.  Most runners will tell you their favorite thing about running is breaking through the wall of that extra mile, or the feel of the the wind in their face, or the calm and solitude of being out there sweating and panting in rhythm with the road.  Not me!  My favorite thing about running is the feeling I get AFTER I run! Particularly if there's pizza involved.


But I digress.  This week I took it fairly easy, since I'm in the last stages of an ankle-achilles-foot-what-the-hell-is-it-really "injury", that has been bothering me since my first 8.5-miler.  This injury made me bonkers, and I discovered a whole new neuroses.  Poor Jim (super spouse), Andi (super friend), and anyone else unfortunate to ask, "how's the running going?" had to listen to me gripe and help me self-diagnose for weeks.  It never got bad enough to see a doctor, but it was annoying as hell, mostly because I'm still not entirely sure what caused it.  It may have been following my adrenaline and going too fast for my level of training over the Brooklyn Bridge incline.  Or it may have been that my current shoes are too small as my feet expand when I run for more than an hour at a time.  Or it may have been that I insist on wearing the world's most unsupportive street shoes.  Or it may have been that I broke both of my ankles as a teen and should really be strengthening them as I go along.  (And the list goes on...)  Whatever it is- I've vowed to take it a little slower in the long runs, start a program of ankle strength training, buy some decent street shoes, and get fitted for new running shoes.  Guess this injury will always be my achilles heel (pun definitely intended).


But I digress again!  This week I did two 30-minute runs, lots of stretching & ankle strengthening, a 60-minute walk, a long group run of 7 miles, and attended a marathon Q&A at Jack Rabbit.  I also worked on some musicals (not what this blog is about), watched a lot of TV (really not what this blog is about), and went to my day job (I could tell you about it, but you might fall asleep while reading this blog).


I did my Tuesday 30-minute run by myself, in Central Park (that's where you can usually find me running, since I live 6 blocks north of the northwest corner entrance).  I did a usual route- ran up the demon known to me as the Harlem Hill, down to the north end of the the Resevoir, across to East Drive, and down the east side of the Harlem Hill.  My ankle felt fine (finally) during this run, so I was thrilled to be back in business!  For my walk, I walked down 5th Ave 1/2-way to work, and passed the time while catching up with Mom on the phone (thank you free Verizon to Verizon minutes).  For stretching and strengthening, I've been enjoying some "Exercise on Demand" videos that are FREE with my TIme Warner Cable.  I'm currently loving the "Pink Ribbon Stretch" for runners and walkers.  My Thursday 30-minute run was with my brother-in-law Mike, who is also a Couch 2 5k devotee (Note- running is more fun when you run with someone else)!  I introduced him to the 102nd Street transverse, and then we went back up the East Side through the Conservatory Gardens, around the Harlem Meer, and back to where we started, the northwest corner.  As I post these links, I'm reminded what a lucky girl I am to have Central Park as my backyard!  I'm also reminded how much time I wasted living in New York while not being a runner (cue the "wah-wah" sound effect).  


The marathon Q&A at Jack Rabbit was awesome!  The panel included a sports nutritionist, a world-class triathlete trainer, and an orthopedic surgeon-all  three being long-distance athletes themselves.  I met my Galloway training coach and my friend Ed there- he's training for the NYC marathon on 11/1.  Ed's running for Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital, and his mom Mary Belle (Christman) Poulin-Groeschen.  She waged a 10-year battle against cancer; Sarcoma & Breast until December 12, 2008.  I'm proud to say Jim and I have donated to Ed's "Miles for Mom".  He has a little more money to raise before his big race- please consider donating.  I can't wait to watch Ed run NYC!  But best of all, the lecture made me realize I'm not alone.  There were a lot of super-neurotic first-time marathoners there, and they had as many questions as I did!  And did I mention they had free food and a 15% discount on everything in the store?  A great way to spend a Thursday night.


On Saturday morning at 5:30 AM, I woke up, stretched, downed some toast & 1/2 a banana, threw on some pink stuff, and headed out to meet my team for a 7-mile group run.  We ran (4-1 intervals) the Central Park loop (6.2 miles) and added a mile.  I already ignored my vow to go a little slower on the group long run- we were a small group this week and I was the most inexperienced of the bunch, so I pushed myself a little to keep up.  It was ok though- my ankle was feeling fine and I'm excited to get my cardio capacity back up to what it was before I took my injury break.  I really enjoyed getting to know some members of my group more, and the hour and 27 minutes (sort of) flew by! The only downside- I had a fueling problem.  I had plenty of red gatorade (my favorite), sport jelly beans, and water with me- but I started to feel pretty tired after about an hour.  In retrospect, I think I needed more protein before my run. But I'm told that's one of the best things about these long runs in training- you can experiment with and find out what works for you long before the big day.  Next week I'll try some more protein before my (yikes!) 10-miler.


I also paid a little bit yesterday for over-doing it.  I was TIRED and got a little stiff as the day went on.  Around 6 PM, I took a nice walk to 125th St. to suss out some new running clothes.  It think gently moving around was just what the doctor ordered (if I ever actually saw a doctor)! That plus the delicious Vietnamese delivery and 10-hours of much-needed sleep, and I'm feeling good to go today.  Looking forward to week 7!


Sarathon or bust!

The Start

A couple of years ago, I took this class that was supposed to free my inner artist (or something like that).  I think all it really did was cost me 200 bucks and take up another night on my schedule, but last fall while procrastinating cleaning out my dresser, I came across some notes from that class. And there, in black and white, one of the "freewriting" exercises asked, "What would you try if you knew you couldn't fail?"  And I wrote, "Run a marathon."


That was the start.


Let's get one thing straight: I always hated running.  I'm super tall (5'10) and at around age 12, some fancy sports doctor in Phili told me my knees would never keep up with how fast my cartilage was growing, so I should never, ever run.  Biking, yes. Swimming, yes.  Running?  No.  At the time, I could never figure out why anyone would voluntarily run anyway, so I happily stayed on the sidelines whenever anyone suggested a jog.  Well apparently my high school gym teacher didn't get the memo, and they made me "run" a mile for the Presidential Physical Fitness test Freshman year (sidenote--who thinks it's a good idea to take out-of-shape teenagers who've never run 2 feet and make them run a mile as fast as they can? Thanks, Ronald Reagan).  I'm not sure I even made it around the track my requisite four times before the bell rang and I was thankfully off to theatre class, a Presidential failure.  So whenever the running unit came around in the remaining years of high school, I faked female problems (if you catch my drift) and sat it out.

Jump to 20 years later....why the heck would I freewrite "Run a marathon"?  I have absolutely no clue.  But it gave me an idea...could I actually train to run a 5k??  A quick google search yielded a program that changed my life, "Couch 2 5k".  And so on 10/16/08 for no particular reason (Forrest Gump?), I ran.  First a minute (and walked a minute).  And then more.  And then more.  And to my surprise, I didn't hate running anymore!  On top of it, my knees felt better than they had in years.  So in February of 2009, in 28 degrees and pink accessories, I ran that 5k.

And then in April I ran a 4-miler, and in May, a 10k!  A few races and a lot of purchased gear later (sorry, Jim!), I came up with the crazy idea that I wanted to run a marathon for my 35th birthday.  I would have really liked to run the NYC Marathon , since it's coincidentally on my actual 35th birthday and ends down the block.  But it was way filled up by the time I came up with this insane plan, and I didn't think I could train that soon anyway.  So the new plan: run the Walt Disney World Marathon on 1/10/10.  "Hooray!"  Followed by, "Oh, crap ..now what?"

If you know me, you know I'm a joiner. Girl Scouts, BMI Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop, "Party of Five" Fan Club...loved them all.  So I knew I needed to get a training group, pronto!  Another quick google search (I love me some google) pointed me to the Jeff Galloway NYC Running Team.  The aim of the team is fall marathon training, and I'm running a winter event so I'm slightly off the group schedule.  No matter- I've started Saturday long runs with the team and just add or subtract miles as my schedule dictates.  Also, there are a few folks in my group running Disney too, so I won't have to go the Nov & Dec long runs on my own.

So I'm off!  I'm into week 6 of my training, and I've got a little more than 3 months to go.  It's my hope that this blog will give me an easy way to journal this experience, let my family and friends see what I'm up to along the way, and maybe even provide a random googler or fellow newbie runner some entertainment.  

Sarathon or bust!