Been Running, Not Writing

Since the Disney Princess Half, I have run NYC Half, Philly Rock n' Roll Half and am now training for the Miami Half in January. I am back with Team in Training and really happy with that decision. Training for Philly on my own was hard. I need the Team, the coaches and maybe even the cause to make it all come together.

In the meantime, I need to meet my fundraising minimum and am 24% there ... support me?

I am currently [knock wood] injury free and excited to watch my pals run the ING NYC Marathon this week.

I know 13.1 is the longest I'll do in the immediate future, but never say never I guess ...

Happy Running!

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Report

[Cross posted at dailymile.com] 

Initially intimidated by a race that would require me to awake at 3 am to board a bus by 4 to make it to the corral that would go into lock down at 5 am, the Disney Princess half marathon turned out to be part princess part evil stepmother.

I was turned on to this race by my dear team in training teammates and friends, Kelly and Meghan sometime last season as we were all training for our first half marathons. At the time, it seemed like a really good idea, sunny Florida in the heart of what turned out to be a rough winter in fact. That, and there was the costume aspect, the erstwhile princess that I am, I relished the idea of running a hard-core half in lace and rhinestones. It was just the perfect representation of my personality, a little bit sparkle, a load of sweat. With three weeks to go to the NYC Half, I wanted to treat this as a long run and leave a bit more gas in the tank. That was not to be.

We decided to take our 5 yr old Max with us and leave the 2 yr old in New York. We flew down the day before the race, on Saturday and spent the day picking up the race packet at the expo, a massive affair at Disney’s ESPN Sports Complex and playing in the pool at our hotel, The Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had an early dinner alongside giraffe, zebra, antelopes and an ostrich (highly recommend) and tried for a very early bedtime, about 8 pm. I set out my gear, made my hydration (lemon lime nuun in fuel belt bottles) ripped open my sport beans and packed up my belt. I was not going to do bag check, just carry the hotel room key in my running shorts.

3 am came very quickly and I awoke with dinner still in my belly (hate that feeling) but still managed to eat half a breakfast cookie (nothing new on race day) and covered my mid season chafing welts with lots of body glide, donned my running shorts, pink lace skirt over that, bedazzled Team in Training visor, a pretty pink running shirt and grabbed the Garmin and my iPod shuffle, and my new ear buds, which I am loving (urbuds?) and snuck out the door leaving my husband and son sleeping.

Transportation to the start was smooth, a bus along with Meghan (Kelly was sadly nursing an injury but came to Disney anyway to celebrate her wedding anniversary and cheer us on) and her two friends. Just before I boarded the bus, I discovered that my shuffle was dead. The idea of running this far without my tunes was daunting but there was nothing I could do. We got to Epcot where the start and finish would be and were ushered into bag check and an area with a million porta potties (and yet, still a line!) After a while on line, ogling the amazing array of costumes, we started towards literally, where, we had no idea. Crowd mentality is amazing, at one point in walking to the corrals, we were marching in pack of hundreds of women in pink on a dark highway with no sign of Run Disney staff in seemingly no determinate direction. Of course, we ended up orderly at the corrals, and boy were they strict. You go where you are assigned, no questions asked. Meghan and I were in the same corral thank goodness and as we stood there, thankfully it was quite temperate so all we had to complain about was the wait; it dawned on us that we had 13.1 miles ahead. That might seem like an odd thing, but until you are about to cross the start of a race, at least to me, it never seems quite real. In fact Meghan’s quote of the morning was “Why does this keep happening to me?” as if signing up for, training for and running a half marathon was like an outside force that one cannot control. As this was a Disney production, starting at 5:45 am, each corral was sent out by the fairy godmother with a spell and a burst of great fireworks and off we went into the dark Orlando morning.  My first half was the Hamptons Half Marathon, population 2400. The number I heard for this event was 17,000 runners and yes, it was a totally different animal.

My left quad has been a real issue this season and I was listening to it closely. Nothing. Not even a squeak. It was amazing. The first mile had us greeted by a huge marching band playing “gonna fly now” from Rocky. It was just what I needed to get past those first mile blahs I always get where my body asks me why are we doing this and wouldn’t we rather get a latte and curl up by the pool. From there each mile had a character, a dj, a band or some other attraction to distract us particularly when we were routed along Disney’s rather drab highway network.

Around mile 4 or so the sun started to rise so that when we hit the Magic Kingdom, we were treated to the best part of the course, other than the finish, in full early morning light. I am really not a sucker for these things but when we ran down Main Street USA, through Tomorrowland and right through Cinderella’s Castle, I was wowed. Cheering people, a perfect by design setting, it was really unlike anything I have ever experienced. From there we were ok until we got to mile 8 or so. It was now hot out, and humid and although I had been drinking smartly and had eaten my Sport beans, I was feeling sluggish, just in time for the hill section. By mile ten, I had the chills and goose pimples all over my arms. My knees were throbbing a bit so I stopped at a med tent and got an aspirin and chugged some PowerAde and pushed off for the home stretch.

Mile 11-12 were back in Epcot where thankfully, there were crowds of cheering folks, many, many characters, loud wonderful music and just as I was coming down the last big hill, I spotted the only characters that I would wait on a line to be photographed with, Phineas and Ferb.  What I did not appreciate when I heard about the characters on the course was that each one would have a queue often 10-12 runners long waiting to have their picture taken. I was just not ready to use my race time for picture taking. Until of course, I spotted Max’s fav Disney pals. Luckily it was a quick line and sprinted off to catch up to Meghan who had passed my while I was waiting.

The last mile was probably my favorite, second going to Main Street USA, as not only did it feature a finish line, where Max and Tom were waiting, but also it started with a huge gospel choir that made me weep with joy. It was just what I needed because it was just before you could see the finish although someone had just yelled .25 to go to me, without seeing it, you just feel like this race is never going to end! And there it was, the finish. It seemed smaller to me in real life – somehow everything that I had built up for the finish when I got to it became decidedly simple. I had just completed my second half marathon, shaved 19 minutes off my previous half and I had three more weeks until I would do it again in my beloved NYC.

I reunited with Max and Tom (who then went off for a day at the Magic Kingdom) smiled for pictures, and literally hobbled back to the bus that would carry my tired self to the hotel where I soaked in the hot tub, had a massage, rehydrated, sat by the pool, sipped a pina colada and yes, wore my medal even with my bathing suit on. The day after the race, I was well enough to take Max to Hollywood Studios and then we headed home. Back to cold weather running in the park and 20 days until the NYC Half!!!

Winter Running

I've been learning a lot about myself as the seasons have changed and I am still out there training ...

Some thoughts:

• This morning the "real feel" temp was in the teens but I was sweating on my four mile run.
• If I could only have one piece of cold weather gear it would be a gator. As long as the air coming into my lungs is warmed a bit, I can stand any temp.
• Running in the winter has all the thrill of skiing, for me, without the gear, getting cold on the chairlift, and the falling but sadly without the apres ski. 
• I love the winter light as the sun rises. It is glorious.
• There was ice on the pond in the park and it made me smile. I am a winter runner. 

Being sick ...

I'm just not sure I got sick this summer while training for the Hamptons Half. If I did, I would have remembered how quickly my cardio capacity plummets, how hard it is to get back out there and how defeated I feel by my own body.

I ran on Saturday, and it was glorious day for running, but it sucked. I could not run as far as I wanted, I could not breathe as well as I wanted and honestly, I gave up. So when I got up at 5:45 am to put on my gear and get out there this morning, I was not optimistic. I also did not want to psych myself out, so I set my Garmin and locked it and made a vow to myself not to check it until I was done with the four mile loop. I was doing four miles, no matter the speed or time, and that was that. And by mile 3, I began to feel like myself again.

I am running a 4 mile race with a bunch of friends on Sunday. I think if I get out there again one more time before then, I might not embarrass myself.

TNT is in pre-season and just days away from the official launch of Team SeaChange Capital & Friends and our training for the NYC Half Marathon. I am excited to get back into regular training mode and discipline. In the meantime, I have been enjoying me some wine, I will tell you that much!

Race report on Sunday!

Been hanging in my "off season."

Which has also meant, not really counting calories, being a little loosy goosey with the wine intake during the week and I can feel the difference. So I am doing a Juice Till Dinner Blueprint Cleanse today to reset and start to work on the last ten pounds. Yup, it is more like 7-8 lbs or so but feels like a real goal when I envision it at ten, how odd. I have run a 5 mile race every week for the last three, but have also been traveling a lot so not doing pilates or core fusion as much as I would like.

Loving the cold weather, running in the dark routine. I thought it would scare me but it is actually thrilling once I get out of bed!

Proof!

 

Race Report

Hamptons Half Marathon 10/2/10, East Hampton, NY 8:00 AM Start.
It was a very cold morning when the alarm went off at the Southampton Inn. Tom and boys stayed back in NYC and were going to drive out when they woke up and meet me at the finish line.

I met the team bus and shivered my way to East Hampton, watching the sun rise outside the bus window and listening to my race tunes on my ipod. I had a half a plain bagel with almond butter for breakfast and was very well hydrated. We pulled up to the Springs Street School and got to keep warm for a little in the school gym where they were holding registration. The idea became a little too popular and the race organizers kicked us all out into the school yard. The sun was warming but it was still sub-50 degrees out!

Soon enough it was time to line up, I finally located my running buddy, Kelly and we were off. I really tried to keep to the splits (nice and slow 5 miler/speed up a bit 5 miler/slam it out 5k) but every time someone would cheer or a good song came on my ipod, I could not help but speed up. Kelly kept me in check and she had to as the trees/pollen/air was giving her lungs a hard time and she needed me to keep to our pre-agreed long run pace of around 13 minutes. I was not going to leave her but felt my body pushing me faster so at times I was alone with her following just down the road. I ate two bags of sport beans and went through almost all four of my fuelbelt bottles of nuun. I felt great all the way to the finish, when Max jumped into the race and crossed the finish line with me. I cannot wait to see the race pictures! I was pretty sore in the knees right after the race and am a little achy in my hips from time to time but in general feel fantastic and very proud.

Time: 02:55:41

I am a half marathoner!

Looking forward and beyond

I am so excited to get this event under my belt. 4 days until the Hamptons Half!

But I am also excited for the time between this race and my training for the NYC Half.

My plans:

• SoulCycle
• Core Fusion
• Running for the hell of it
• Swimming

I've been so training schedule based since June that just doing a variety of activities in no logical order will feel amazing and then it is back to work of getting ready for another race AND discovering the joys of winter training! Brrr.....

The Tapering Tension

I am ready.
Am I ready?
I am running short distances.
Should I only be running 4 miles?
I feel great.
My body is achy.

Tapering is an odd thing. I am so excited to be finally so close to my event but tapering is the most unsettling experience. Thank goodness for my TNT coaches who have prepared me, at least intellectually, for this stage. They can't unfortunately help with my long held neuroses. Ah well.

Been a little loosy goosy with the schedule due to all sorts of busy life stuff but getting the miles done, mostly on the treadmill or on my own time rather than the team schedule. I am excited to post my race report ... stay tuned and remember, Run Jenny Run!

Days to the race: 8

Counting Down

Tick tock. Did 12 miles on Saturday and felt really tired, a little sick to my stomach but overall OK at the end. Very happy to be starting my taper. My long run this coming Saturday is only 8 miles. Never imagined 8 miles would be a relief for me.

I signed up for two more half marathons this year, the Disney Princess and NYC Half for which I am going to lead a TNT team. I am so excited to run the streets of my beloved city.

I have been relatively pain free lately other than normal soreness.

I am doing a Juice Till Dinner cleanse today and tomorrow. Yum and ahhh.... really makes me feel good!

Catch Up

Great run last night - it was our 5k test number two. I am feeling really ready for the half marathon, pain free and confident. Been a little lax with the calorie counting but very active so not sweating it too much.

I did not count a single calorie on my two week vacation and it is hard getting back into the practice.

Tomorrow perhaps.

Vacation

My posting will be spotty for the next week as it has been for the last week.
I am on vacation and doing all my training on my own following the TNT calendar. I am finding that although I love the music in my ears and go as I please pace and time schedule, it is harder without my running pals.

I shifted my running schedule to make sure I was not zonked for my brother's wedding today: I did hills on Monday, Tempo Run on Wednesday and my long run yesterday. Overall feeling ok, but quad issue is being crowded out by an ankle ache. Need to check in with the PT after Labor Day.

In the meantime, we get our September schedules for TNT this weekend and then right around the corner is RACE DAY!

Have a great week and I will check in when I can ...

Weekend Re-cap

Ran 10.74 and loved the run on Saturday. Steph (whose most recent long run was around 5 miles) ran it with us like she had been training all along. It made me think a lot about those who are destined to be runners and those like myself who are non-runners fighting to convince their bodies that this is a good thing. I am getting close. Much of my pain has subsided or been managed out.

I read this blog posting and needed to share - it creatively sums up the wrongly named 13.1 miles that I am doing on 10/2 with a passion.

I am running 231 football fields, so there!

Hills

Last night was tough. It was hot and we did hill repeats. I probably should have eaten more yesterday and I felt it. Doing a morning run tomorrow with Steph, getting into a bit of a habit with her which is nice, something to look forward to! I really enjoy being the reason someone laces on their shoes and gets out there, since it has been so hard for me to get here myself.

I am organizing a team to do the @nychalfmarathon in March for Team in Training. Wanna join? Email me.

A Letter of Gratitude

I sent this letter out to my supporters today. I ask the same of you, please spread the word.

Dear Friends,

I wanted to take a moment and express my gratitude for your support. Your generosity has allowed me to surpass my Team in Training fundraising minimum and now strive to raise as much as I can to help accelerate finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma and bring increased hope to the patients and families who are on the front lines of the battle against these blood cancers.

With the expert coaching and mentoring of Team in Training (TNT), this past Saturday I ran ten miles for the first time in my life. If you had asked me on June 19th at my first TNT practice, where I ran 3 miles, if I would ever make it this far, I might have squeaked "I hope so ..."

So here we are, 53 days left to the Hamptons Half Marathon and I am feeling good. I would not be me if I was not asking just one more favor, BUT it won't cost you anything.

Please spread the word of my efforts, as I would love an excuse to raise my fundraising goal again.

Direct your friends to http://bit.ly/runjennyrun to make a donation, or if you think they might need to get to know me a bit better, send them to http://thismommyruns.blogspot.com/ to read my training blog.

As always, I thank you for supporting me with your dollars but more importantly, your faith in me.

Sincerely,
Jenn

Weekend Re-cap: The Accidental 10 miler and Eat What You Want Night

So Team in Training ran Summer Streets on Saturday for what was reportedly a 9 miler. Garmin says otherwise and it felt like Garmin reports: 10.3.

I am one proud monkey.

With the advice of my new massage therapist/PT lady, I aimed to keep my right foot pointing in and the pain in my quad all but went away. Yesterday I felt great, today feeling a little sore but nothing terrible and I am going to see her again tomorrow so if it is still bad she will go to work on it.

Tom and Max went for a big boy/daddy bonding overnight to DC this weekend which left me to my own devices on Saturday night for dinner. So I decided that I would eat exactly what I wanted for dinner. I have lost 25 lbs and have not really done this since my journey started on April  4th.

This is what I ate:

Grafton Cloth-aged Cheddar on Rosemary Crostini
2 big glasses of Chardonnay
A pickled mix of peppadew peppers, cornichons and garlic olives
3 small slices of rosemary grilled steak
chocolate pudding

all from Whole Foods.

It was amazing.

Week ahead: Core Fusion tonight, TNT practice tomorrow, Wednesday rest, Thursday Central Park run EARLY with Steph, Friday Pilates, Saturday 10 miles with TNT, Sunday recovery run.

Juice Till Dinner - perfect antidote to my crappy run.

So today I am doing a modified cleanse from BluePrint Cleanse called Juice Till Dinner. It is four of their juices, (2 greens, 1 pineapple apple mint, 1 spicy lemonade,) a raw food snack bar (cherry orange) and dinner tonight is: Carrot Ginger Soup and Asian-style salad with tamarind sauce and a tiny chocolate mousse.

I love it. It makes me feel really good.

And I almost have forgotten that terrible run from this morning, although my legs are stiff.

Acupuncture soon!

I think they call it Bonking ...

...except that it would have had to have been mid-long-run according to Wikipedia.

Factors:

• I set out a little too fast,
• I drank several glasses of wine last night, 
• My quad pain was acting up, and
• I had a deep cramp in my right side. 

So I walked some, ran some and cut it short and went home. I almost want a do over. But instead will go to acupuncture and do a pilates session tomorrow followed by a deep tissue massage and prep for my Saturday 9 mile run.

Some days are just like this... even in Australia.

Bureaucrat vs Runner

Been doing a lot of thinking about goals, audacity and channeling your inner daredevil.

Lately I worry that professionally I am thinking like a bureaucrat. Not sure why, but I come out of meetings feeling like maybe my reactions to audacious ideas have been rather conservative.

And then I go and add another mile to my longest run ever each week.

Here's a crazy thought: what if I were to approach each week in my work as I do in my training, pushing one mile further, assessing the goal, without fear and full of passion.

Ok, with some fear but with do or die (not literally) determination to accomplish it.

Wonder what would happen if I just "ran with it" at work.

Training report: Hill Training wasn't bad last night, I'm sore today  but ok. Been taking magnesium supplements on the advice of my acupuncturist and it seems to be helping with the aches. Looking forward to my run with Steph tomorrow morning and then my long TNT run on Saturday via SummerStreets.

Longest Run

My beachside run was wonderful. Only a little pain towards the end as my knees were achy in the 8th mile.

Today's Runners World QOTD felt very close to home:

"Running gives me a sense of controlling my life. I like the finiteness of runs, the fact that I have a clear beginning and end. I set a goal and I achieve it. A good run makes you feel sort of holy." - Nancy Gerstein, runner

And indeed while soaking in the hot tub at the hotel after my run, I did indeed feel holy.