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! :)