Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a great time this past holiday season.

I feel like 2010 is going to be such an amazing year. I will be taking part in a 4 mile race at midnight at Central Park so I wanted to wish you guys the very best!!!

Runners have no common sense

"Runners have no common Sense", those are the words that came from Coach Sid as we ran two weeks ago on a cold, rainy, early Saturday morning. We had no real reason to be out there just our love for the sport. As we ran with this awesome 70 year phenomenon, it made me think that I wanted to be like him when I get old. I absolutely love running with Coach Sid and his wife Asteria. They are the best coaching duo out there.

This past weekend was no different. Vane, Stephy and I all slept over Vane's house so that we could get our run in before vacations, errands etc. Did I mention this run was scheduled at 5:15 in the morning….Saturday morning?! We all hung out in Vane's apartment and all slept in one queen size bed. Her alarm went off at 5 and we were all wide awake. It was still so dark and cold when we hit the pavement running---I was happy to start right away. The sooner we started running, the sooner I got warm. As we ran up 80th to the park we kept hearing Vane saying "pull it back". I don’t know why but the three of us get so excited about running that we get carried away. It’s a good thing that she has that handy Garmin watch to keep us in check. Now if only Santa could get that for me I would be such a happy camper. For anyone reading this please tell Santa either one will do :)

That way I could learn to pace myself, which is one of the things I will be working on with Crazy Coach Brian once he gets back from his marathon in Hawaii. Incidentally, his time…3 hours and 5 minutes!! He is a machine I tell you.

I have to admit I would never ever run in the park by myself at 5:30 in the morning, there is no one out there which can be kind of creepy, but with my girls by my side we were good to go. I must admit it is a pretty awesome feeling being the only three women out there running the park because in NYC when do you ever have Central Park to yourself. We ran down Cathill and we saw another runner. This was nice because we all said good morning and truth be told when do you hear a Good Morning from a runner in Central Park? Probably never but he was a runner like us...someone who does it for the love of the sport.

Our run was great! We did the 6.2 mile loop of the park and then headed over to the Bridle Path, which I used to despise but now I love it. I love how running on it makes my knee feel great. The difference is remarkable from the pavement. By the time we hit the path we had seen many of the runners that we saw on the road. As a safety measure no one wanted to run on the path when it was still dark. One loop of the reservoir was the count. Again having the reservoir to yourself is an experience within itself. I have realized how important running is to me now. The fact that I am willing to get up and run on a Saturday morning, freezing my tail off, proves that the love for the sport has not, and probably will not, go away.

Running has changed my life. It has made me 100 times better. Not only was I able to run a marathon this year but I did so in under five hours…ok barely, but still like coach Frank says 4:54 is way better than 5:00.

Next week I will be in Chicago looking for runner partners so if you're up for a run let me know… :)
As we ran back down 80th to H&H Bagel's our count was 9 miles... and all before 7:30 in the morning…I guess it is true, runners really have no common sense.

What is MM up too?????

Many of you have been wondering... "What has Marathon Madrigal been up to?" After crossing the finish line, my life has been great! I am still on such a high from the marathon.
Now, my life has involved a lot more work than running, which is understandable, because for five months my boss was very easy on me..so for that I am thankful. (Thank you, Pam if you read this.) The good thing is that our Paris training group increased in size. Sadly, not all my girls that are training with us are going to Paris but its great to know that they are going to keep us company. Sunday (Nov 15th) was my first day back in the park and man oh man did I miss my Central Park!! It was an absolute AMAZING day in New York City!! The weather was 66 and the running conditions couldn’t have been any more perfect for November. I met up with Lauren at our old TFK spot.
Vane was supposed to come out but she was a bit under the weather we will say ;). Lauren and I decided to run the 6.2 mile loop of the park. I was a little nervous at first because she is a bit faster then me, but to my surprise, I kept up with her all the way. Everyone that has read my blog knows that I hate Harlem Hill, we have this love/hate relationship, but on this past run, I was shocked and surprised. As we made the turn passed the ice skating rink, I saw it -- HH -- and I thought, this will be where I will lose her. This is where I will fall behind right away. I put those thoughts out of my head and just kept it moving (remember, it's mind over matter). So I did, and I didn’t lose! I didn’t get left behind. Once we made it to the top, I looked at Lauren and commented that it was so much easier. She looked at me and said "Girl we just ran a flipping marathon". It was true. I did just run a flipping marathon. I ran through five boroughs, over five bridges (Queensboro Bridge, hello!!) So what does HH have on me?? NOTHING!
Running the marathon has given me a new look on things and now I walk a little taller and I know I can do anything that I want. Oh yeah I am also trying to convince half of my friends to run next year's marathon and half marathon with me…I will keep you posted of course.
With <3,
MM

NYC Done...Next Paris

Yes, I have signed up to do Paris in April 2010!! Let me know if you want to come out and support me.

Here is a finishing picture of me at NYC ING Marathon

I AM A MARATHONER!!!!

Sunday Nov 1st was an amazing day. Not only was I going to run my very first New York City Marathon, but my mom was here to watch me, it was Santa's Birthday and I was going to honor both of them on this special day.
Saturday was great. I went to have lunch with Bianca and my mom and then, to my surprise, Lissy flew in from Tampa to see me run. The NYC Marathon was Santa's event and she used to sit right out in front of her apartment on Bedford Avenue in BK and cheer on the runners. She passed away three years ago and Lissy asked me if I would write on my leg for her and of course I said Yes! On my right leg I wrote Happy BDAY SANTA RIP on my left leg I had I <3 MOMMY.

I went to sleep at around 9:30 p.m. on Halloween, which is not too bad since I am not a fan of Halloween. I was up again by 2:00 a.m. I was so excited I could not sleep! Of course I forced myself to go back to sleep. I set my alarm up for 4:15 because I wanted to make sure that I had enough time to apply the right amount of Body Glide to my body because on race day there is never too much Body Glide. Blondie and I ate our bananas and we were on the road. It was fun getting on the train at 5:00 a.m. ready to run the NYC Marathon when people were also getting on the train still in their costumes ready to go home and hit the sack. We got off at Times Square and then we saw them, the first group of runners heading downtown to catch the ferry. That was one major reason I signed up with Team For Kids - we had police escorted buses that took us to Staten Island, and that in itself was worth it all. As we all were excited about the run we were also so excited to be able to share this experience with one another. When we each joined the team we might have known one or two people max but now we have become real friends. There was a moment when I looked around the bus, and was so overwhelmed with emotions that I started to tear up. The bus trip was fun and as we hit the bridge we saw an Achilles Walker starting her marathon journey (she finished on Monday morning around 11:00 a.m.) Once we all settled in our little location we saw each of us go off in waves, we hugged our departing teammates and wished them the best of luck. When it came down to my wave, the third wave, I was ready. It was the normal crew and we got extra lucky because Coach B got to run with us. The NYC Marathon is truly the most amazing run ever. It exceeded any expectations I had and it was great seeing all my friends and family along the course with posters and cheering me on. I did it. I completed my marathon and I am officially hooked!
I have said it before... I never thought that I would get so much out of this experience. If anything I thought, ok I might meet new people, but nothing to the level it has become. I am so thankful for my TFK peeps! They are truly the most amazing people I have ever meet and I love them dearly. The weekend was a huge success! My mom came into town, Lissy and Tyriek surprised me, my friends came out in the boat loads to cheer me on and I completed my first marathon!!
I really would go into deep detail about the race…but let's be honest, I cant possibly describe what I felt during the run. It was………unbelievable, amazing, breath taking and so on! So, here is a list of my top moments.
1. At the start line they played Frank Sinatra's New York New York. I am not going to lie I teared up..EMOTIONAL.
2. I love Brooklyn!! Seeing my mom, friends and sorority sisters on Bedford Avenue, on Santa's Birthday…PRICELESS
3. Looking out to the front and seeing so many people with the same goal…WE WERE RUNNING THE CITY!!
4. 59th Street Bridge..a little hard but..see below
5. 1st Avenue was what I expected…BREATHTAKING.
6. Seeing my fellow teammates on the road…AMAZING.
7. The Bronx - we hit mile 20..Hit a wall? What wall?! My exact words at mile 20 were "We are doing the dam thing"!
8. Harlem welcomed me with open arms and so did Coach Asteria and Coach Sid.
9. Hearing all of New York City chant, yell and scream my name…indescribable!
10. Running into the park with only 3 miles to go…I already felt like I had accomplished my goal.
11. Seeing mile 26…tears!
12. Crossing the start and finish line with Melissa was the most amazing thing ever!!!

Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body

This is what I am going to be telling myself when I hit the "wall" come Marathon Sunday. Although I have to wonder will I hit a wall? I will be running the NYC (FLIPPING) Marathon and I will have all eyes on me!
Lets be honest here I am an attention getter and per a certain ex male model (for real he really was) we will call him "E-Nice" he said that my partner in crime Vane and I are "Camera Whores"…I wont lie to we really are. Come on, who doesn’t love to pose for a camera? I know I do.
So will this wall come? When I ran the 20 miles I remember hitting a little wall at mile 18, but I was on running alone there were no spectators no one cheering my name (yes, I did put my name on my singlet). At mile 18 I will be one 1st Avenue just passed 86th street will 8 more miles to go. But again I will have all of NY cheering for me, and most importantly my mom will be there cheering me on and hopefully carrying my sign ( I was going to make one for her but my girl Kermit made me a dope one for the half so we are going to reuse it). On Tuesday we got together with Papo and he hooked up our jerseys please check out the pictures and let me know what you think.

Quote.....Hello Finish Line. Goodbye Old Me.

This came to me today from my running buddy L.Simmons (heart her)! It is from the book "A Race Like No Other".

"Marathoners push themselves to the edge of insanity and exhaustion, because when they look back on those 26.2 miles, the view is profoundly satisfying. They see where they have been and what they have become. Distance running is a pastime uniquely suited to introspection. To run is to question why. To run the New York City marathon is to discover the answer."

I cannot wait to let you know what my answer is I really cannot wait to Run this Town via all 5 borough's. November 1st is right around the corner and I cannot explain what I am feeling right now.

One thing is for sure, Jay-Z was right in his song "Empire State of Mind" when Alicia Keys is singing:
"In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new Big lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York, New York. One hand in the air for the big city. Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty. No place in the world that can compare. Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. "

Coach B has said that he is going to try to find me and run the last couple miles with me. We shall see...if he does I totally expect him to have this song playing the whole time we run together.

My heart is filled with so many emotions, my eyes begin to tear when I think about crossing the start line. Why the start line you ask? Because it has taken so much for me to get to the starting line. Crossing the finish line is going to be icing on the cake. This goal has been in my journal since 2003 and now in 2009 I am completing it and I could not have asked for a better time in my life to do it and I have had the best team in the world to do it with.

Good Morning Marathon Runners!!

The week is finally here. Marathon Week in NYC. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this week and My Big Game Day..Sunday.

I have been part of my great and fabulous green team "Team For Kids" since June. That’s when my journey began with the goal to finish the marathon in under 5 hours. My target now, after all the training and the long runs, is 4 hours 45 minutes but I am aiming for 4:30…we shall see. Will you be there to watch me run across that finish line?

I remember showing up to my first practice and I reverted back to fifth grade thinking. Who do I talk to, will anyone talk to me? Then it happened, someone turned to me and said Hi and that changed everything. From that day on I kept meeting people, they turned into running friends who are now my really important people that I care about. The month of June changed my life and from that moment on it kept getting better and better. My running has improved and my friends are amazing. My favorite memory thus far is running the 20 miler from Brooklyn to the George Washington Bridge, I was running on my own and the "fast kids" passed me up but they encouraged me and told me I looked great and to keep going. The team feeling we all have is AWESOME! I love love my team!!

I am going to try to update this blog daily so I can try to explain to you how I am feeling but I think once Friday hits…that might be the last entry until Tuesday. I am off on Monday and my boss got me a massage on Monday which I am so excited about.

This past Sunday was Marathon Kick off. We started by participating in the Poland Springs 5 mile race and what an event. Because the Marathon falls on Nov 1st none of us get to dress up and party for Halloween, so we made this our Halloween Party. I dressed up with Steph, Vane, Blondie, Carly and Ally as JEM and the Holograms and of course two Misfits. I will admit that once we looked at our outfits we looked more like 80's aerobic instructors but we had a blast with it. We ran the fun run at a nice pace didn’t want to push it too much since it was a fun run, and the outfits we were wearing were not ideal running attire. As we ran the 5 miler, it was great to run with my friends and see how much we inspire each other. It is also funny because Vane kept yelling at us "Speedy's you're going too fast", so we pulled back, and we kept doing that the last two miles. The last mile our friends, the Running Fairy and her hubby Nacho, joined us and they, along with Jem (Steph), talked about the finish line at the NYC Marathon Finish line. I am not going to lie, I had goose bumps but when I saw the bleachers all ready and set up for next Sunday, I got a little teary eyed. I don’t even know the emotions that I am going to feel come Sunday at around 3:00 when I cross that finish line. I want to cross it with a smile on my face, on one hand I cannot wait for Marathon Sunday, I think it is going to be a blast to run from Staten Island to Central Park, but at the same time it makes me a little sad. Over the last five months I have made some of the best friends I could ever make and I don’t want to stop seeing them three to four times a week…I know, weird ha-ha. I don’t want to get too mushy, so here, enjoy some pictures from Sunday's run.

The Highlights:
Ren and Brian dressed up as Paige and Becky
Dimitri dressed up as Frank
Eric did awesome as Raul
Raul dressed up as Asteria
Dustin dressed up as Sid

Enjoy the pictures!
Thank you again for all your help and support. I cant believe its almost here…. Five days! Five days!
Also Blondie, Vane, Steph and Carly stopped at Union Square to take pictures with all the signs of the Asics ad check them out too! :)

TFK's Last Long Run

This past Saturday was our last long run. We did 11 miles all on the Bridal Path in Central Park. It was a cold day but I had to run in shorts because that is what I am running the marathon in, so I wanted to get used to feeling the cold.

My running partner Melissa was there and we started with Coach Sid's group. We ran with his group because we love him. He is such an inspiration. I still cannot believe that he is 72 years old and he is in such wonderful shape and can beat us all in a long run or a sprint.

It was about 8:00 a.m. when my group started out, and as we ran up to Tavern on the Green we saw the set up….the set up for the Marathon. OMG it is really happing! I was so excited to see the stands and the trailers that were there all in preparation for our big day!

As we ran, Melissa and I couldn’t help but laugh because we both couldn’t believe that this run was only 11 miles…I say this because I remember when 6 miles was a long run. As we continued and made our laps around the Bridal Path and then two more laps on the reservoir, it hit me….this is our last long run.

No more getting up early on Saturdays. No more "guilt-free brunches" after our run. This was it. We only had the marathon to go. As I did my final lap and then saw our coaches, I was a little sad. The marathon was a goal for me. It was a way for me to lose weight and at the same time reach a goal. Now I feel that after November 1st I might lose touch with people that I now consider as close as family. I have learned so much from so many people on the team and in a way, I don’t want the training to end. I have a list of memories that I have from some of my teammates and coaches:
Coach Sid: "All for one and one for all", you have made my marathon training awesome thank you for everything.
Coach Brian: Thanks for pushing us to be faster, taking random pictures of us running and of course, encouraging us to do more marathons.
TFK staff: Thank you, thank you for always watching our stuff and bringing us water/Gatorade. Eric,Michael, Glen and of course Frank - thank you, thank you!

Our Friday Night Dinner & Saturday Brunch crew: We have shared a lot over the last five months and I have loved every minute of it! I cant wait to see where this experience takes us. I know for some we are already on our way to Paris.

Thank you, thank you for everything. I cherish each and every one of you.

To all my friends that have supported me throughout these five months that I have been MIA, you are all amazing. My true friends have stuck around and I appreciate you putting up with me and my never ending talks about the marathon. I am so excited about marathon Sunday and now with only 11 days to go…. I can't wait!!!
MM

I did it!!

Thank you thank you thank you!! I reached my fundraising goal!!! Thank you to everyone that has supported me!!!!

NOV 1st HERE I COME!!! WHOOT WHOOT!!!!

M&M!

19 days! Yes 19 days till the NYC Marathon

Hello Bloggers!!
The time is winding down little by little. I am so super excited because in 19 days I will be running the flipping NYC Marathon!!! WHOOOOWHOOO!! Party time!

I have my bib number. I know my starting time. I am so ready for it!!

On Saturday my team and I did 15 miles. Wow! I cant believe that I can say that…just like that and it is so easy for me to say and do. Blondie and I got up and ready to go, but oh did we have some bumps in the road. Blondie and I arrived at practice a little late, She drove because she was going home right after practice. We were late because there was no flipping parking on the West Side ARGH! Needless to say we got to practice right before my group got the green light to go. I was so excited to do the run because we were doing the last 10 miles of the marathon so I wanted to get the show on the road!
As we started to run, Show Off Crazy Coach Brian (don’t you think of Jazz hands when I say that? I do ;)) decided to run with our group just to the Queensboro bridge because he was going to do a marathon on Sunday (the 18th) I remember when I thought he was crazy and now I just want to catch up. I believe that Brian had a hidden agenda to get into my blog…I guess it worked and now I am hoping that by me mentioning him in my blog he will train me on my runs so I can get faster, but not too fast because let's be realistic, I am not winning the Marathon. I would like to get to do a 10 minute mile so that I can run with my Running Girls (Stephy and Vane). That is my goal now. So maybe now that I gave him his plug that he was begging for, he can coach me :).
We ran through the park to 59th street, over the Queensboro bridge, and then back, then up to 127th on 1st avenue. The starting and stopping sucked. What was great was that one of our best coaches, Sid, had his van so he tried to follow us so people in their cars wouldn’t hit us. The run was good, not great, because like I said the stopping really took a toll, but once I made it to the final destination, I felt awesome.

After our run we went to Brunch on the East side..and I hate to say it, but sorry West siders, we have found our "spot". I then went home, took an ice bath, and relaxed for a few until I met up with my girls to keep the TFK love going strong! A couple of us met up at the Astoria Beer garden. The night was a success as it always is with my TFK crew. I really love these guys and like Papo says we are like family!!

Sunday I first crashed Vane's house at 11 a.m. and then the Greek Chef of the group cooked Vane and I brunch and it was delici!! He also made us Greek coffee. I wanted to have a frappe, but he didn’t let me he said it was too cold for one. He also gave me instructions on how to drink my coffee…the Greeks are crazy I tell you!!

The run was awesome. I feel so much better now that I have those last 10 miles in my head and under my belt. I can tell you that the marathon is going to be awesome but what is going to be the very best is crossing that finish line!!

MM

24 more days.........

Hello Bloggers!
Well its official as of today Oct 7th there is only 24 more days till the marathon! I cannot tell you how excited I am to accomplish my goal! Thank you again to all of you that have donated and supported me along my journey. This entry is going to be about my love for running, I swear if my gym teachers could see me now I don’t think they would believe it. The main focus on this entry is the new Asics ad for the marathon. Have you seen it? It is awesome. So without further ado:
Mile:
1: HELLO STARTING LINE. GOODBYE DOUBT.
2: HELLO BROOKLYN. GOODBYE FEAR.
3. HELLO SPECTATORS. GOODBYE NERVES.
4. HELLO LITTLE WATER CUPS. GOODBYE ANXIETY.
5. HELLO SUNSET PARK. GOODBYE UNCERTAINTY.
6. HELLO HEADWIND. GOODBYE GOOD ENOUGH.
7. HELLO COLD. GOODBYE CYNICISM.
8. HELLO WARM NUMBNESS. GOODBYE PAIN.
9. HELLO DON’T STOP NOW. GOODBYE ARROGANCE.
10. HELLO POUNDING HEART. GOODBYE OVERCONFIDENCE.
11. HELLO WILLIAMSBURG HIPSTERS. GOODBYE GIVING UP.
12. HELLO LITTLE POLAND. GOODBYE THE EASY WAY OUT.
13. HELLO HALFWAY POINT. GOODBYE OBSTACLES.
14. HELLO QUEENS. GOODBYE PESSIMISM.
15. HELLO ROOSEVELT ISLAND. GOODBYE COMFORT ZONE.
16. HELLO MANHATTAN. GOODBYE APATHY.
17. HELLO FIRST AVENUE CROWDS. GOODBYE CRAMPING.
18. HELLO DAUNTING HILLS. GOODBYE COASTING.
19. HELLO WALL. GOODBYE EGO.
20. HELLO THE BRONX. GOODBYE STRUGGLE.
21. HELLO MADISON AVE. GOODBYE DEMONS.
22. HELLO CENTRAL PARK. GOODBYE WEAKNESS.
23. HELLO ADORING FANS. GOODBYE PREVIOUS BEST.
24. HELLO BEAUTIFUL DOWN HILL. GOODBYE LIMITATIONS.
25. HELLO ALMOST THERE. GOODBYE DISBELIEF.
26. HELLO FINISH LINE. GOODBYE OLD ME.
.2 HELLO NEW YORK. GOODBYE GIVING UP!
This has to be one of the best campaign ad's ever!
Thank you once again and I hope to see you all at the finish line on Nov 1st…or somewhere in between….I would love for you to run with me :)

I promise starting this Saturday when we are running the last 10 miles of the marathon I will take more pictures!

I am also adding this picture because it is awesome and totally fitting.

OMG Only 31 days till NYC ING Marathon

It is official today marks the countdown. 31 days, 744 hours, 44,640 minutes before the first Sunday in November comes when all the "marathonzilla's come out to play". That is all courtesy of Coach Brian, per facebook ;).
Fall is definitely here. The days are shorter and a little chillier. All in all the perfect running weather. I am not sure how I am going to feel on Marathon Sunday, but right now all I feel is excitement and I wonder if it's normal. I cannot wait for Nov 1st to get here!! The excitement of riding the bus with my teammates over to SI, having our own port-a-pottys while we wait, having our great coaches there giving us last minute tips….the list can go on forever. I really wish I could take a tape recorder with me from the moment I wake up so I can document all my thoughts throughout the marathon. Thank you to all my friends who have already given me their designated spots from Brooklyn (Phisherman Phil) to the Bronx to the final spot…the finish line. My lovely PT will be somewhere in between the Bronx and the city…oh my PT she is too cute, I just saw her today because my darn left leg is still not strong enough…don’t get me wrong I can still run I just wont win the Marathon (LOL). I have to take it easy and run my pace.
This weekend's run will be our last and longest run... 23 miles. We are running 8 miles on the Bridal Path (a boring death), then we will all take part in Greta's Half Marathon then we will do a lower loop in the park of 1.7 that brings the total to 22.8 a close 23. this will be our "dress rehearsal" for the marathon since Greta's Half Marathon has a couple of thousand spectators. I cannot wait. Thank you all for following my blog and thank you, thank you for all your donations!!
PS….I forgive Michelle for being a bad friend and ditching me on marathon day for a football game. If her team loses, I know she'll be feeling very guilty, but I know that she'll help me celebrate by buying me a beer when we hang out! :)

3 hours and 40 minutes

Three hours and 40 minutes. That's how long it took me to complete 20 miles, just 6.2 miles shy of a marathon.
We started in Brooklyn, right across the street from Cadman Towers. I had four GU's (triple berry is now my favorite flavor) safety pinned to my shorts and I had taken my salt packet before we left the house.
For my first 20 miler I had Gabriela's watch , which is a Garmin with GPS on it, it 's AWESOME! It told me the pace I was running and my mileage.
As we split up into our groups I realized that I wasn’t nervous, and thought should I be? No I shouldn’t . This will be my longest run , but as long as I kept MY pace I knew I would finish.
My group was the first to go (start) .
We had Michael and Eric running with us , and at five minutes passed 7:00 a.m. we were off. We headed up the Brooklyn Bridge ;it was such a beautiful site. It was still early enough where there were only runners on the bridge , and not that many tourist , it was such a treat. It was an absolute amazing day to run . The running gods were definitely on our side.

To give you all an overview of our run , we started in Brooklyn, then headed to the West Side Hwy all the way to the George Washington Bridge and back to 72nd street.

If you remember, I had been on vacation for the last two weeks and although I tried to run , this would be the longest run ever. I went from running 14 miles to 20 miles, which is a little crazy when you think about. I was running without my running partner again, she was in California and hope that her run went well. For all you non runners, running is definitely a mind game, so I made sure that I kept it positive and kept it moving.

At mile 6, I took my first GU and felt great ... I kept it moving along. By now I was running alone there were a couple of people about a mile ahead of me but none of the faster groups had passed us yet. When I looked at my watch I was averaging an 10:15 mile pace and I was so excited! At mile 8 I finally heard my name and it was Raul, Dimitri and Jessica (the fast group) giving me words of encouragement and telling me to keep it up. Its amazing how great they are , they ' re always there pushing us along.
Around mile 10 I think I heard a little Argentine lady scream " is that Jackie? ", I turned around and it was Claudia . She is leading the group to make sure they stayed on track , and she does that so well! Blondie was in the group that caught up to me to make sure I was ok, and when I said I was she told me to keep it up and ran off. Mile 10 is where our water/Gatorade stop was, and it was such a blessing . I drank water ,then made my own half water/half Gatorade mix and kept it moving.
By now we were up to 79th street on the West Side Hwy . Once I saw the GWB I saw my goal . I knew that I could do this ; it was only 10 more miles away. It was so close it made me pick it up and I was running a 10:00 mile. One great thing about Sunday's run was that I felt great throughout the entire run .
As I ran , I imagined where my friends were going to be along the Marathon trail and I thought to myself if I can do 20 miles what is another 6.2 miles ?
There was a long stretch in the run where I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way because I hadn't seen any of the faster people on their way back , but I kept running. Then at mile 13 (the distance of a half marathon) I saw Raul, Jessica, Eric and Dimitri who all gave me a high five and I felt so much better. There was a point when I thought where is Stephanie and Vanessa? They usually pass me up I was a tad concern ed because our little Stephanie had been out the night before . I thought to myself " did she pass out? Did she make it? Where are they?"
With all these thoughts running in my head all of a sudden I am there. There it is . The GWB, I don’t think I have ever been this close to the actual bridge without driving on it.
Brian was there and told us to run to the lighthouse , touch it , and then we could turn around . Brian is so fast and every time he passed me up he made sure I was ok and told me I was doing awesome. It is amazing what a couple of words of encouragement can really do to you. I was up to 15 miles by the time I hit the GWB, I had five more to go and at this point I still felt AWESOME!! When I looked at my watch it said I had been running three hours and two minutes, had 15 miles completed and my pace was 10:25. I thought " this is great! I can keep this pace up for another five miles. "
I started to turn back and then there were my girls!! Vanessa and Stephanie were right behind me and they were so proud of me . They told me I looked great . Right behind them were Brita and Karly ; they also told me to keep it up and that I was doing great. Then I saw Katie , she had about half a mile before she got to the GWB so we gave each other a high five and I told her she was so close. It was so nice to be on the other side and now it was my turn to give the words of encouragement. At mile 17 I knew I needed to take another GU . I was starting to feel a little pain in my foot, and the only problem was that there was no water. Then I heard someone say… " Is that my favorite TFK'er? " I turned back and it 's Stephanie and Vanessa . I asked Vanessa if she could spare some water (she carries a water belt) so that I can take my GU ; She of course shared her water. I tried to run with them, but realized that I need to keep my pace , this is about me not anyone else. As I let them run off without me they told me they would see me at the end.
At mile 18 I have to admit I was not sure if I was going to make it---then I remembered "PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY", I saw that on someone's shirt once and any time my body gets tired I keep repeating that in my head. Remember running is sometimes more of a mental game than anything. I thought to myself ," maybe if I walk a bit I would feel better, but then I thought I cant walk! " I had not walked the whole 18 miles and I was not going to start when I was just two miles away.
I kept going at a slower pace but I kept running, then I remember thinking I am training for the FLIPPING NYC Marathon who would of thought?! So I kept singing the chorus to Jay Z's Empire State of Mind…Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do, Now your in New York!!! These street will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York. I knew how close I was and I knew that this was doable ... so I told myself, Jackie keep it going.
I saw Michael when I had less then a mile to go and he told me " Jackie you can do it you look great. " I looked down at my watch and it said 19.50 miles I was so close---do I push it? The watch said 3:35, I didn’t want to hit 4 hours and with only half a mile left I didn’t think I would but still I pushed it a little. As I saw the coaches and teammates they all clapped and I felt great. I stopped the watch and it said 3 hours and 40 minutes.

I completed 20 miles, 32.19KM and 1,267,200 inches in 3 hours and 40 minutes. I was excited I know that my goal of making it in under 5 hours i s totally doable.

The rest of my Sunday was great . A couple of us went to brunch, then Blondie and I went home and I took my first ice bath. We then went up to Sondra and Matt's house on the UWS to watch football, drink beer and eat cheeseburgers and chips.

It was a great Sunday and I cannot wait till Nov 1st!

Its been two weeks wow

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you, no I should of I went on vacation and it was awesome. If anyone ever gets the chance to head out to Greece take it. With my vacation a week behind me, I am finally caught up at work so I can devote some much needed time to my blog.

I wont spend too much on this week, here is a preview to what is coming: 20 miles on Sunday! Yes, you read correctly I will have a detailed post for you then. Till then Thank you to everyone for their support!

With only 43 days left to the marathon I am not nervous yet so hopefully...no scracth that I will not get nervous. Sunday will be a great indication about me hitting my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes. I am excited that my first Marathon is the NYC Marathon there is just something about this city...with that being said I will add the lyrics to Jay-Z's new song Empire State of Mind, its true what Alicia Keys says in the song

"Concrete junlge where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do, Now your in New York!!! These street will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York"

And I am off!

Ok guys I am off on my vacation this Sunday...so this will be my last blog until I come back on the 13th. This one is a short one...just something I stole from a friend ;). Enjoy!

Thought I would share the following which I stole from Vane Runs NYC: This was posted on Flotrack (think Facebook for runners)


You know your a runner when:
• your first thought when you look at the weekly weather forecast is, “When can I fit in my runs?”
• you have more running clothes than regular clothes in your laundry pile.
• you’ve lost a toenail. And you tell people, “It’s not that bad.”
• you smirk when non-runners ask you, “So how long is this marathon?”
• you have a drawer full of medals and other race souvenirs that you’re not sure what to do with.
• you go into Starbucks more often to use the bathroom than to actually buy coffee.
• you no longer make fun of fanny packs because your running belt looks very similar (although cooler) to one.
• you’ve used an old race T-shirt to wash your car, dust furniture, or clean something else.
• your treadmill has more miles on it than your car.
• you get an invitation to a wedding and you automatically think about what race the date will conflict with.
• you have dreams about showing up to a race late or not wearing any clothes.
• you’re not embarrassed to wear spandex.
• the salespeople at your local running shop know you by name.
• you’re always hungry.
• you know how to take a cup of water from a water stop without choking on it or spilling it all over yourself.
• at least one of your web site usernames or email addresses has the word “run” or “runner” in it.
• you know where your illiotibial band is located.
• you no longer hate port-a-johns. In fact, there have been times when you’ve been very happy to see one.
• you wear your running watch even when you’re not running. (”It matches, right?”)
• you’ve had your running shoes for three months and you know it’s already time to replace them.
• you spend more time researching running routes than local restaurants when traveling to a new city.
• your physical therapist’s receptionist knows you by the sound of your voice on the phone.
• you know where exactly one mile from your front door is (in any direction).
• you know how to correctly spell and pronounce plantar fasciitis.
• you own more pairs of running socks than dress socks.
• when you hear PR, you automatically think “personal record”, not “public relations”.
• you pack more running clothes than bathing suits when going on a beach vacation.
• you have running clothes and an extra pair of running shoes in your car, “just in case.”
• your holiday wish list can be fulfilled at any running or sporting goods store.
• one of the first things people ask you when they haven’t seen you in a while is,”What race are you training for now?”
• you have several drawers dedicated to running shirts.
• you get excited when the new Runner’s World comes in the mail.
• your Facebook or Twitter updates frequently involve running.
• your only recent photos of you alone are race photos.• you always have your next race on the calendar.
• your runs are sometimes longer than your commute to work or school.
• your running partners know more about your bodily functions than your significant other.

WOW! What a week!!!

First off, thank you thank you, thank you to all of you who came out to our event on Thursday at Katwalk. It was awesome! We had so much support from our fellow TFK'ers, co-workers, kickball team and friends and family!!














In case you missed it, we had Blondie and Katia bartending and they did a great job!! The owner didn’t think we were going to do as well as we did, but we rocked it out! Ok, many of you are wondering why Marathon Madrigal wasn’t behind the scene…well, that’s because the owner only let two people back there…and some of you might know that my drink making abilities are not the best *cough* (too strong), which could be a good thing, but I let the professionals behind the bar. Either way, thanks to Ren's persistence, I finally got behind the bar and served up a couple of drinks with Blondie's help…she was so in her element. The event was a huge success and we made about $300.00 each so that put each of us a lot closer to our donation goal. In case you are looking to still donate, please feel free to do so!! :)

Personally I would like to shout it out to our fellow TFK crew that showed up to our event and partied like rock stars: Dimitri, Ren, Vanessa, Stephanie and of course, our team mascot, Nacho!














This past Saturday, the 23rd, we had to run another 14 miles. Ha ha, I chuckle to myself because now 14 miles seems like a weekly thing. For those in NY, you guys are aware that the last couple of weeks the humidity has been a killer! As we ran on Saturday we had about 95% humidity, I thought to myself... Is it even safe to run? We started off at 7:10 a.m. and we ran on our favorite "BRIDAL PATH", please note the sarcasm. As we got it going, it was drizzling but I welcomed the rain because it was cooling me off. After our third loop around the path I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I still had to jog down to our meeting spot and then come back to the top of the path and go around for another two loops.

When I got to our meeting location I saw my friend Maggie, who usually runs with Blondie, stretching out her legs. I asked her if she was ok, and she just looked at me and said she was done, she had nothing left. Its amazing how the humidity can get to you. Mel and I kept it moving along but it was hard, so hard that I had to walk a bit. I told Mel to go on without me, but she didn’t (such a great pacer buddy). As we were heading back to the top to finish our last two loops I see Eric and Matt heading back towards the "base camp". I was floored at how fast they are!! Granted, they run fast, but on Saturday I was still so surprised that they were going that fast, and that they were so positive! They gave both of us words of encouragement as they ran right past us.

So it was now or never, we had to get this done! We made the loops and as we headed back to "camp", I didn’t know if I was going to make it…seriously. This run had to be one of my worst, I felt like crap at the end I didn’t know if I was going to make it, but I did….barely. After the run a couple of us went to a diner to refuel, then I went home took a shower and I am happy to say NO CHAFING!!! Whoot Whoot! That in itself had to be the best part of my run. After my shower I laid down for a bit. It was only 1:00, I felt that I deserved a nap. Well, I woke up THREE hours later. Can you tell I was super tired?! I still had to go get supplies for my trip that I leave for this Sunday the 30th to Greece and Turkey!

Oh so for all my Gossip Girl peeps reading this... While I was at the Bed, Bath and Beyond, I literally ran into Georgiana ok her real name is Michelle Trachtenberg. She was very nice and we both apologized for not paying attention. Ok that is the second member of GG that I ran into this summer. First there was Serena and now Georgiana. Who will be next??

I will try to put up one last post before vacation. Don’t miss me too much... I will return on the 13th of September! :) (which is also the first day of the Miami Dolphins' regular season….Let's Go Fins!!!)

Pictures will be uploaded later on tonight.

MM

OMG I did it!

On Sunday, August 16th, I completed one of my many goals for 2009…. I ran the NYC Half Marathon! It was a hot (and I mean HOT) day in NYC as I walked into Central Park at 5:30 a.m. I was amazed at how many runners were up and ready to get this race started. I felt the energy and I loved it! Blondie and I found our TFK group and we began to talk about how excited we were and how funny it was to see the whole city sleeping, but as soon as you enter Central Park, 10,000 runners are up and ready to run 13.1 miles.

As our team gathered to do our stretching I kept telling myself "take it easy in the park, Harlem can kill you", I didn’t want to go too fast in the park because the hills are tough and it was so hot. I needed to make sure that I didn’t over-do it within the first 7 miles. As we headed to our corrals I went right to the front. Again, my pacing buddy Melissa was not there….she was partying it up in Canada while I ran 13.1 miles ;). As I waited, I was calm. Wearing my TFK jersey I felt so proud and ready to do this. I knew the course. I had run it a thousand times before, so I knew that I had it in the bag. The only thing I was worried about was the heat, but I knew if I kept myself cool I would be good to go.

Once the gun went off it was about 9:28 before I even crossed the starting line, but once I did it was on! As I ran I took it all in…. the park, the people and most importantly... me. I had to make sure that I paid attention to my body. Miles 1 through 4 were great! The only thing that sucked was that at the fluid stations there was no water!! Yes, you read right... they didn’t have enough water out so people had to stand around and wait to get the water poured. At mile 6 I took my other GU (GU is an energy gel that provides exercise fuel). As soon as I took it I felt great! I poured more water on me than I actually drank because I needed to stay cool and hydrated, and my plan worked because throughout the whole run I never felt too tired. As I ran out of the park and down 7th avenue, I was amazed at the sight I saw. People out at 8:00 a.m. in the morning cheering us on. I saw a huge group of kids from Team for Kids, and as they yelled and cheered, it made me keep going. On 54th and 7th I saw my dear friend Michelle, and seeing her made a world of difference. She even had a poster for me! As soon as I saw her I said to myself "YOU OWN THIS!!!" I turned down 42nd street and I could see the West Side Hwy. Part of me wanted to stop. My legs were so heavy and my body….well, I think I left my body in the park. As I tried to slow down I heard "Madrigal what's up?" I turned around and it was Vanessa. As soon as I saw her I knew I had to keep going, and I did. I ran with her for awhile, but she didn’t feel well. But can I say that she was so awesome--she had a stomach bug from her travels to Ecuador and lets just say had to make a total of 6 unexpected stops to either the port of potty's or medical and she still killed the race so I must say "GO VANESSA GO!"

As I passed Chelsea Piers I knew I didn’t have much to go and I was hoping to make it in my predicted time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Once I saw the 12 mile marker I knew I was so close. 1.1 mile to go! I pushed it... I pushed it hard. All the people cheering made such a difference. I got closer and closer to the finish line and the people kept getting louder and louder and before I crossed the finish line I heard "GO JACKIE GO" I turned and it was Cristina, I was so happy to see her and especially there. I pushed it a little harder and crossed the finish line at 2:30:28, and I was so excited about my time. At brunch I later found out that my actual time was 2:21:00 I beat my time by 9 minutes WOOHOO!! That totally made my day!

The rest of the day was great. A bunch of the mini Sherks' aka TKF'ers went to brunch with Blondie's dad and my friend Cristina. It was great to celebrate our accomplishment and we also celebrated Dimitri's birthday. All in all, Sunday was great and now I cannot wait for November 1st…bring it on New York, bring it on!!






MM

This Sunday is one of my big races---- The NYC Half Marathon

I cant believe the time for that is already here. Yes, I have run more then 13 miles before, but for some reason, I am a little nervous. I cant help it. My stomach is in knots and my knee has been bothering me this whole week. Is it all mental? Am I going to crack under pressure? I hope not. I feel that I will be able to complete the race and hopefully complete it with a good time.

So here is the plan for this weekend:
Friday go to the gym, work on my knee and take it easy, stay off my feet.
Saturday take the day slow again stay off my feet per Coach Frank. Then I will be going to sleep early, probably around 8:00pm, which is going to be so hard.
Then Sunday morning oh Sunday morning I will be up by 3:30 a.m.!! I cant even believe it! Once my alarm goes off I will get up and start to get ready. I will eat my toast with peanut butter and a banana, I know I will be stuffing it down my throat, because seriously who is hungry at 3:30 a.m.!? Once I am done I will continue getting ready by adding body glide all over my body to avoid the chafing!!! Then I, along with my Blondie, will head out to Central Park. I am not sure how our New York City Transit system will be running at 4:00 a.m., but since I know that around 10,000 people will be running the Half Marathon, I know we will not be alone.

Thank you again to everyone who has contributed their donations!! I thank you, Team for Kids thanks you also. I will be updating you guys on Monday because I know once I am done I will be super excited. Thank you in advance to my dear friends who will get up early to watch me run on Sunday. Oh yeah, and if you're interested, the race starts at 7:00 a.m. and I am hoping to be in Battery Park City by 9:15 a.m. Hope to see you on the course…I will be the girl wearing the bright green TFK jersey and a HUGE SMILE!!

MM

14 miles! What?! What?!

It was 10:15 on a Friday night and I had fallen asleep after eating a wonderful, fresh, homemade lasagna that my lovely roommate "Blondie" made.

So, why was I in bed so early? Well, we had our usual Saturday Run and I had to be up by 5:30 a.m. (ouch). As I got up and got ready, I wondered if the trains would be empty. I mean, who would be up at such an ungodly hour on a Saturday?! Well, to my surprise, as my roommate and I walked to our Wall Street stop there were actually a lot of people waiting for the train. Do you know who most of them were?... Runners! They were heading to Central Park as well. Funny how you can just see people at 6:10 a.m. in the morning and smile because you know they are just as crazy as you are.
We got on the train and by the time we hit 86th street, it was 6:30. Crap! We were running late. Alicia and I jumped out and took a cab to 103rd. Once we got to the park we have a very excited Eric (TFK coach) tell us to go sign up, almost everyone had registered for the race. We ran over and got our numbers for our first 14 mile run.

As always I look for my running partner Melissa because we keep each other entertained and we both run a good 10 minute mile. I found her and saw that she was just as frantic to register for the race. We line up in our time zone 10:00 minute mile pace. As we are in the group, all the TFK's stick together and it’s a pretty awesome feeling.

By the time that 7:30 rolls around we are up and getting ready to go. As our first time running 14 miles in Central Park, we did a the whole loop of 6.2 miles and saw my lovely friend HH (Harlem Hill). Lucky for me, I only saw her once. When we hit 103rd again, we cut across the park for our 5 mile loop and still Melissa and I were going strong at a good 10 minute pace. Along the way I got water at almost every stop, but I poured more water on me than I actually drank. When we hit the third mark, it meant that we were almost at the home stretch, which was only 3 miles away! I could hear my body rejoicing and at the same time saying…GIRL YOU NEED TO STOP!! But I kept going on the bridal path in Central Park. We usually run this Monday and Wednesday, so I knew the track and I thought no problem. Well, I thought wrong. I hit the bridal path and it was going well until….a TFK we will call her "Satan" (only because of the news she was going to deliver) at Engineer's Gate told us to make a whole loop then come back to her and then turn around and head back to our site. WHAT! You want me to do what!! At that point I couldn’t do it. I thought I was going to pass out!! My legs felt like logs and I was getting the worst and I mean WORST case of chafing. What is chafing you ask? Well according to www.time-to-run.com, "the major contribution to chafing is from sweating and rubbing". Which means that I will be investing in Body Glide ASAP! Doesn’t the name just sound cool?

By the time I finished our 14 miles, I was done. I went to medical and they wrapped my knee in ice. (See Danielle, I even have pictures). :)

After that a couple of went to a diner, only because most brunch places do not open until 11, and it was only 10:15. As we all ordered food we spoke about our experiences and how we felt. It was great to share this run with so many people and now I am looking forward to the Half Marathon on the 16th. Hope you can all make it out to cheer me on!!!

The Target: 11 Miles

It was also the furthest I have ever run before. I was up by 6:30 am and out the door 15 minutes later. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and by 7:00 a.m. we were on the road heading to Queens .

The Final Destination: Forest Hills Park
To my surprise , many people came out to the practice . I would say about 50 , which makes the run a little easier to know that so many people are all doing 11 miles. We split up into groups and I , of course , stayed with my group of 9:00 to 10:00 minute miles and with my favorite coach Sid. I don’t think I have referred to Sid before but , like Brian, he is also an accomplished runner, and he is also 70 years old. Yes you read correctly. He is 70 and still running and competing in races and winning! As you can see, TFK has some of the very best coaches, so I have so many influential people in my running circle.
My friend Melissa was there and we usually stick together for the runs, so today was no different. Before we started we made a pack ... no matter how hard the run would be we would not walk!

The Race: Mission Accomplished!
We ran for a mile to get to the park and then it started! We hit the first hill and it was a killer. It was very steep and seemed to go on forever. We had to do the same course 4 times over, so yes , I had to encounter that hill another three times. On my 4th trip around on the hill I yelled out a profanity so loud, because I thought I would not be able to make it to the top. Once we hit the top it was such an awesome feeling. The best part was trying to avoid the horse that at one point seemed to have a B-line right for us, mind you he was going full speed ahead. This was a great run and I felt so awesome after we accomplished our goal. On our way back to the train Melissa and I decided to stop for a bagel because we were starving. It was so delicious!! Of course this time I had a full bagel flat with the Lox Cream cheese. YUM YUM YUM! The train ride back seemed to go on forever but I finally made it home.

Next Saturday we will be running 14 miles in Central Park, which means that I will be encountering my dear friend…..Harlem Hill ... twice!
Until then…MM

Why Am I Running?

This video explains it all....

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/about/360.htm

5:20 A.M. ARGGHHHH

My alarm goes off at 5:20 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday as those are my "cross training days". Its always a 50/50 chance that I wake up or I go back to sleep for another hour…. Its amazing what an extra hour can do for you.

Today was one of those days when I didn't need the hour and I got up. I knew that I had to go to the gym to do 3 to 5 miles of running and work on my knee, but sometimes my bed has this hold on me and its so hard to get out of. My real motivator for getting up? I knew that once I got to work I would have half of a wheat bagel with Lox cream cheese and tomatoes on it… Really, it's the little things that seem to make me happy. :)

And, sure enough, I got there at 5:40 a.m., caught up on the news and the headlines and ran for 3.5 miles, I now officially dislike running on a treadmill. After my 3.5 mile run I worked on my knee, which now feels great. I have learned that I have to keep icing it after every run and keep working it out. If I don’t my Physical Therapist, Danielle Napolitano, would be so upset.
FYI, if anyone needs an awesome PT check out www.finishlinept.com the staff is great and I love both Michael and Danielle. Andre is pretty awesome, too.

Question: Did anyone in New York City notice how humid it was yesterday ? Our workout started, as they always do, with our warm up and stretching and then the fun part started as we were explained the course.

Here is our workout description:
Begin with a half mile warm-up, then complete the pickup/jog routine below. To be clear a Pickup is when you run at about a 80% effort.
2:00 pickup followed by a 1:00 jog
2:00 pickup followed by a 1:00 jog
3:00 pickup follow by a 1:00 jog
2:00 pickup follow by a 1:00jog.
This is one cycle, you will complete two of these pickup/jog cycles.

This workout was a lot better than last week's speed workout and I enjoyed it so much more. The best part of our training was that we worked out with our new coach, Brian. Now Brian is an exceptional coach….. well, maybe not exceptional. More like CRAZY!! His goal is to run a marathon in all 50 states so far he has done 16 in 3 years. Can you see why I call him crazy?! Also, did I forget to mention that he finishes a marathon in a little under 3 hours??? That's 26.2 miles in 3 hours!! Oh, and another important fact…he is also taking pictures as he runs the marathon. Can we say AH-MAZING?!

All in all, Monday and Wednesday's workouts were great and now I have Saturday to look forward to. 11 miles at 8:00 a.m. in Queens. This should be fun/interesting. I am also going to start bringing my camera because my phone is just not cutting it. Next post there will be pictures of us before and after.
I am not quite up to Brian's level….YET!

MM

What a Rebel!

I am such a rebel!

This past Saturday we had the option to do one of two things:
1.) A run with our group, Team For Kids (TFK), in Central Park Race an easy 4 mile run
or
2.) A 6 or 7 mile run with the rest of our team.

If I went with the "TFK plan" I would have to get up at 6:30am on a Saturday, which I was actually planning to do, but then I was out with my roommate Alicia, and a couple of her friends and I was having a lot of fun. So right then and there at Revel in the Meatpacking Mecca I decided NO, I would not be waking up that early to do 6 or 7 miles. I sent my friend Katie a text telling her I would not be joining her and that I would be running along the West Side Highway at 10:00am for the other team run, if she wanted to join me, which she did.
Now, did anyone realize how hot it was on Saturday? As we started our run I realized this would be harder and maybe I should have gotten up and gone with the TFK team. The later in the day the hotter it became, but…. WE DID IT!
We ran from my house to 23rd and the West Side Highway and back with a casual stop to do a little free kayaking. In total we did a little over 6 miles which was great!
The rest of my weekend was a lot of fun. We laid out on Saturday and then went to a wonderful dinner to celebrate Katie's birthday. Have you been to Alta lately? I highly recommend it. Some of the best tapas I have ever had.
On Sunday, Alicia, Katie and I headed to Long Beach on the 8:45am train and laid out all day then headed back into the city for a kickball game.
Overall it was a wonderful weekend but now this week is going to be a little harder. Today we will be running 5.5 miles, Wednesday will do our famous "Speed Workouts/Fast Runs" and Saturday is the big day….11 miles! By the way did I mention that I have to run/workout on my off days. Wish me luck!
Ok till my next post which will include pictures. Thanks for reading…. :)

Yesterday's Run

Yesterday's run was good we did our first "fast runs". What are Fast Run's you ask? Let me explain..we all (61 of us) meet at our usual spot on 81st on the West side then ran to 103rd to a track. Once we got there we warmed up and then….it started. The plan was to break off into five different running groups, I of course put myself in the 9:30 to 10:30 range because at my slowest I run a 10 minute mile and at last week's 9 miler I was running 9:40 I thought it would be a good place. So we started on a track that was 350 meters, we did 4 laps going as fast as possible (may sound easy, but its not!!) and then after every fast lap we did a recovery run at a nice slow speed. Well after two fast laps I thought I was going to die! I could not even do the third I was out of breath and felt so out of shape. I thought haven't I been training for this? What has the past month and half gotten me? I cant even run this dumb course. I was upset but then I thought I am going to finish strong and I did. I kept up and did the recovery run. On our way home I THANKFULLY remembered that I had a granola bar with me, which I shared with my roommate because we were both starving. By the time I got home I was so tired, dirty and I still had to do laundry! Annoyed I took off my running clothes so that they could be washed and as I took off my socks I was so grossed out…I had a ring of dirt. My feet were so white while the bottom part of my ankle was black..not from my tanning but from the dirt. So before I even took my clothes up to the laundry room I jumped in the shower to wash off all the dirt. With that shower I felt like a million bucks.
Keep reading to find out what else I am doing and of course if you haven't donated please make sure you do!! I need to hit the $3000 mark. More stories to come…sneak peak... on the 25th I am running 11 miles so there will be a story there too. :)

First Post!

Hey everyone!

My training is underway and I'm beyond excited to share this experience with you! It has not been an easy journey, but I know that the end result will be extremely rewarding.

Keep checking back here to see how my training is going and to be highly entertained by all my awesome stories!

Keepin' it real!

Jackie