Hello All!!
The Brooklyn Half will be held this Saturday 7 a.m. start time. You know that this lovely TFK'er will be running it along with Vane and Blondie. If you in the hood come look and cheer for us.
I cannot wait...well I kind of can because I have been having an issue with running but I am playing it smart. Hopefully on Monday I can write an entry about it since I am leaving for Mexico on Tuesday.
We start the race in Prospect Park (very excited I have never been there) and end at Coney Island (WHOT WHOT I get a hot dog).
XOXO
MM
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
43:29...My running card should be revoked!!
Happy Mother's Day!!! This past Sunday, Vane and I participated in a 4 mile race in Central Park. Easy right? I mean what is 4 miles?? Should have been so easy since we had just done a 26.2 marathon in Paris less than a month ago....
Let me preface this with saying that Vane and I decided to hang out with BriCar (two girls from TFK, Vane came up with the name for them). We decided it would be fun to have a sloppy brunch which was the plan since Vane and I had already ran our 8 miles earlier that morning. I mean we were on a roll I even remembered Evan's fish Nemo (the fat fish) and Fuego (skinny mini) so I was all good. Brunch was awesome! We tried a new place on the Upper West Side. I stuck to Bloody Mary's because the last time I went to brunch with these ladies I didn't make it passed 4 p.m.
Before we left we also each had a nice cold Fosters Beer (YUMS IN THE TUMS)
we arrived at our brunch location promptly at noon and didn't leave until 4pm. Already a problem. Then, of course, our lovely Vane has a brilliant idea to drink Prosecco in the park, I admit that I don't help the situation because I ended up buying another bottle. Before heading to the park we stopped off at Levain Bakery. I had a dark chocolate with peanut butter cookie (probably best I have ever had in my LIFE).
Why peanut butter, you might ask? Simple, I needed the protein for my run....inside running joke.
We also stopped off at Starbucks to get these cool cups. They are so slick no one will ever know that we are drinking in public....hee hee hee.
While boozing it up in the park the day is filled with laughs, the crow pose, cartwheels and handstands, buying two mojitos in the park and of course throwing around a Frisbee. Could you ask for a better day?!
As we all left, BriCar were on their way to dinner with another friend and they invited Vane and I but somehow we both knew that if we went it would not be a good night. So we parted ways and Vane and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the hood. Clearly we drank more beers because that's what you do when you start at noon---did I mention that at this point it is 8 p.m. Needless to say we never ended up meeting BriCar that night. We both were sleeping by 9:30 I remember it clearly because I told Vane I was going to head home at 10:00 I woke up from her cocoon at midnight. (To be clear I fell asleep before 9:30 and woke up at midnight)
The next morning my alarm went off just in time for the four mile race. At first I could not move (thinking to myself...I AM WAY TOO OLD FOR THIS). Vane bbm'd and told me we had to do the race. We ended up meeting at the park and ohhh this four mile run was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
The highlights of the run (and by highlights I clearly I mean the low points):
-We ran an 11 minute mile! 43:29 was our finish time
-We walked twice!! Do you remember I did not allow myself to walk in Paris...WTF?
-We stopped for water at all three of the water stops
-I almost tossed my cookies at mile three...so disappointing.
-A man the age of 76 beat us with a time of 38:22
I most certainly need to call Mary Wittenberg and have her revoke not only my marathon bib but also my running card. This run was not my best run...but Vane and I learned a couple of things:
1. We are too old for this.
2. If we are going to play hard we need work harder. Although we did 11 minute miles we still did the run which at the end of the day was the important thing.
The rest of the day consisted of me laying in my bed then moving over to Vane's as she made lunch then we assumed position in her cocoon.
Let me preface this with saying that Vane and I decided to hang out with BriCar (two girls from TFK, Vane came up with the name for them). We decided it would be fun to have a sloppy brunch which was the plan since Vane and I had already ran our 8 miles earlier that morning. I mean we were on a roll I even remembered Evan's fish Nemo (the fat fish) and Fuego (skinny mini) so I was all good. Brunch was awesome! We tried a new place on the Upper West Side. I stuck to Bloody Mary's because the last time I went to brunch with these ladies I didn't make it passed 4 p.m.
Before we left we also each had a nice cold Fosters Beer (YUMS IN THE TUMS)
we arrived at our brunch location promptly at noon and didn't leave until 4pm. Already a problem. Then, of course, our lovely Vane has a brilliant idea to drink Prosecco in the park, I admit that I don't help the situation because I ended up buying another bottle. Before heading to the park we stopped off at Levain Bakery. I had a dark chocolate with peanut butter cookie (probably best I have ever had in my LIFE).
Why peanut butter, you might ask? Simple, I needed the protein for my run....inside running joke.
We also stopped off at Starbucks to get these cool cups. They are so slick no one will ever know that we are drinking in public....hee hee hee.
While boozing it up in the park the day is filled with laughs, the crow pose, cartwheels and handstands, buying two mojitos in the park and of course throwing around a Frisbee. Could you ask for a better day?!
As we all left, BriCar were on their way to dinner with another friend and they invited Vane and I but somehow we both knew that if we went it would not be a good night. So we parted ways and Vane and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the hood. Clearly we drank more beers because that's what you do when you start at noon---did I mention that at this point it is 8 p.m. Needless to say we never ended up meeting BriCar that night. We both were sleeping by 9:30 I remember it clearly because I told Vane I was going to head home at 10:00 I woke up from her cocoon at midnight. (To be clear I fell asleep before 9:30 and woke up at midnight)
The next morning my alarm went off just in time for the four mile race. At first I could not move (thinking to myself...I AM WAY TOO OLD FOR THIS). Vane bbm'd and told me we had to do the race. We ended up meeting at the park and ohhh this four mile run was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
The highlights of the run (and by highlights I clearly I mean the low points):
-We ran an 11 minute mile! 43:29 was our finish time
-We walked twice!! Do you remember I did not allow myself to walk in Paris...WTF?
-We stopped for water at all three of the water stops
-I almost tossed my cookies at mile three...so disappointing.
-A man the age of 76 beat us with a time of 38:22
I most certainly need to call Mary Wittenberg and have her revoke not only my marathon bib but also my running card. This run was not my best run...but Vane and I learned a couple of things:
1. We are too old for this.
2. If we are going to play hard we need work harder. Although we did 11 minute miles we still did the run which at the end of the day was the important thing.
The rest of the day consisted of me laying in my bed then moving over to Vane's as she made lunch then we assumed position in her cocoon.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
After some talking to
Clearly this picture is before we hit the wall when we were still enjoying the marathon. For those of you asking that Blonde is not Blondie it BMoreJen.
And reading this amazing aritcle on Deena Kastor and her review on the London Marathon I have realized that everyone has a bad marathon and Paris was mine. On May 4th I will be entering the lottery for the London Marathon. So I am either CRAZY and FOOLISH...or I have now become a MARATHON RUNNER.
Read below to on Deena Kastor experience.
Kastor felled by cramps, tightness, allergy
After an arduous two-day journey to London via Paris, Deena Kastor's trip from the start at Blackheath to the finish line on The Mall of today's Virgin London Marathon was even more unpleasant. The American had a rare off-day, struggling to finish 18th in 2:36:20. It was the slowest time for any marathon she had completed in her career since taking up the event in 2001.
By David Monti, Special to Universal Sports | Posted: Apr 25, 9:59a ET | Updated: Apr 25, 10:59a ET
LONDON -- After an arduous two-day journey to London via Paris, Deena Kastor's trip from the start at Blackheath to the finish line on The Mall of Sunday's Virgin London Marathon was even more unpleasant.
The American marathon record holder, who won the London race in 2006, had a rare off-day, struggling to the finish line in 18th place in 2:36:20. It was the slowest time for any marathon she had completed in her career since taking up the event in 2001.
"I felt terrible right from the start," Kastor said in an exclusive interview after the race. "I tucked in and just thought I needed to shake out travel and tightness. I felt very tight and stiff at the beginning of the race, and it never shook out."
Kastor, 37, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was running in the main pack through the first 5 kilometers. Wearing a black racing uniform with a black cap to keep the unexpected rain out of her eyes, she was running on pace for a low-2:20's marathon. But by the time the lead pack hit 10 kilometers, Kastor was no longer visible on the BBC's race coverage. The event's timing system showed that she was 33 seconds back and running alone.
"I was cramping and tight in my back and my legs from probably about mile-6," Kastor explained. "Then at that point thinking like that felt like the half-way point was pretty discouraging. I looked up at the (lead) truck at one point when the pack was leaving me and I saw that their third mile was 5:05. And I said, 'OK, I'll just stay steady at this pace and maybe some people would start to fall off the pack and I can start reeling people back in.'"
But things would only get worse for the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medallist. After crossing Tower Bridge alone, and passing the half-way check-point in 1:13:41, Kastor was now behind the leaders by two minutes and 46 seconds. As she crossed the bridge she looked at the Guoman Tower Hotel just a few meters away to her right and started to think about dropping out.
"I just didn't think I could even finish the race," she said. "It was actually a terrible morning to run by the hotel on two occasions, the half-way point and the 22-mile point. At both of those times I had to fight with myself to keep moving as opposed to dipping into the hotel to shower up and catch some sleep, or something. I did not have it today and I have no idea why."
The tightness in her legs and back and the muscle cramping were bad enough, but Kastor now had a new problem. She began to have some kind of an allergic reaction.
"At about the half-way point I started to get really hot and itchy," she said. "I've had problems with exercise-induced allergies before, and the last time I had that kind of systemic response was six years ago at Stanford where I broke out in hives. I thought it was strawberries, and I stopped eating strawberries. But I had it in the race today and I had to go to the medical tent after the race to get some antihistamines to calm my skin down. Just a really off day in so many ways."
But Kastor would not quit. She had last dropped out of a marathon in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when a bone in her foot snapped, and refused to give up today.
"I just didn't want to drop out of another race," Kastor said. "I dropped out of New York before, I was forced to drop out of Beijing, and I don't want to ever have to do that unless it's dire circumstances. If I could keep moving forward, I wanted to commit to that finish line. I put too much work into this race to not get there."
Although disappointed, Kastor chose to take a philosophical approach to today's setback. The marathon, she agreed, is a monster which can never be fully tamed.
"I think that's why we come back to the marathon over, and over, and over again because we feel like just tweak something in our training, or change our race strategy that we can get there a little more brilliantly the next time. It keeps us coming back."
Kastor's next marathon will be the ING New York City Marathon in November. This will be my 3rd Marathon..so Deena I will see you there ;)
And reading this amazing aritcle on Deena Kastor and her review on the London Marathon I have realized that everyone has a bad marathon and Paris was mine. On May 4th I will be entering the lottery for the London Marathon. So I am either CRAZY and FOOLISH...or I have now become a MARATHON RUNNER.
Read below to on Deena Kastor experience.
Kastor felled by cramps, tightness, allergy
After an arduous two-day journey to London via Paris, Deena Kastor's trip from the start at Blackheath to the finish line on The Mall of today's Virgin London Marathon was even more unpleasant. The American had a rare off-day, struggling to finish 18th in 2:36:20. It was the slowest time for any marathon she had completed in her career since taking up the event in 2001.
By David Monti, Special to Universal Sports | Posted: Apr 25, 9:59a ET | Updated: Apr 25, 10:59a ET
LONDON -- After an arduous two-day journey to London via Paris, Deena Kastor's trip from the start at Blackheath to the finish line on The Mall of Sunday's Virgin London Marathon was even more unpleasant.
The American marathon record holder, who won the London race in 2006, had a rare off-day, struggling to the finish line in 18th place in 2:36:20. It was the slowest time for any marathon she had completed in her career since taking up the event in 2001.
"I felt terrible right from the start," Kastor said in an exclusive interview after the race. "I tucked in and just thought I needed to shake out travel and tightness. I felt very tight and stiff at the beginning of the race, and it never shook out."
Kastor, 37, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was running in the main pack through the first 5 kilometers. Wearing a black racing uniform with a black cap to keep the unexpected rain out of her eyes, she was running on pace for a low-2:20's marathon. But by the time the lead pack hit 10 kilometers, Kastor was no longer visible on the BBC's race coverage. The event's timing system showed that she was 33 seconds back and running alone.
"I was cramping and tight in my back and my legs from probably about mile-6," Kastor explained. "Then at that point thinking like that felt like the half-way point was pretty discouraging. I looked up at the (lead) truck at one point when the pack was leaving me and I saw that their third mile was 5:05. And I said, 'OK, I'll just stay steady at this pace and maybe some people would start to fall off the pack and I can start reeling people back in.'"
But things would only get worse for the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medallist. After crossing Tower Bridge alone, and passing the half-way check-point in 1:13:41, Kastor was now behind the leaders by two minutes and 46 seconds. As she crossed the bridge she looked at the Guoman Tower Hotel just a few meters away to her right and started to think about dropping out.
"I just didn't think I could even finish the race," she said. "It was actually a terrible morning to run by the hotel on two occasions, the half-way point and the 22-mile point. At both of those times I had to fight with myself to keep moving as opposed to dipping into the hotel to shower up and catch some sleep, or something. I did not have it today and I have no idea why."
The tightness in her legs and back and the muscle cramping were bad enough, but Kastor now had a new problem. She began to have some kind of an allergic reaction.
"At about the half-way point I started to get really hot and itchy," she said. "I've had problems with exercise-induced allergies before, and the last time I had that kind of systemic response was six years ago at Stanford where I broke out in hives. I thought it was strawberries, and I stopped eating strawberries. But I had it in the race today and I had to go to the medical tent after the race to get some antihistamines to calm my skin down. Just a really off day in so many ways."
But Kastor would not quit. She had last dropped out of a marathon in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when a bone in her foot snapped, and refused to give up today.
"I just didn't want to drop out of another race," Kastor said. "I dropped out of New York before, I was forced to drop out of Beijing, and I don't want to ever have to do that unless it's dire circumstances. If I could keep moving forward, I wanted to commit to that finish line. I put too much work into this race to not get there."
Although disappointed, Kastor chose to take a philosophical approach to today's setback. The marathon, she agreed, is a monster which can never be fully tamed.
"I think that's why we come back to the marathon over, and over, and over again because we feel like just tweak something in our training, or change our race strategy that we can get there a little more brilliantly the next time. It keeps us coming back."
Kastor's next marathon will be the ING New York City Marathon in November. This will be my 3rd Marathon..so Deena I will see you there ;)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Allez Jackie Allez
This picture was taken the day before the race, before we walked around for 5 hours on both Friday and Saturday......clearly we made a couple of mistakes..... ;)
And the race STARTS!!!
The Paris Marathon was Sunday April 11th. Emotionally it was the hardest of my two marathons. I had trained for this marathon, but I injured my IT band and I knew going in I was not going to hit a PR (PR is a personal record just an FYI). I was ok with that because I knew that this was more of a fun run for me. A fun run that just happened to be 26.2 miles.
The start of the run was great my first 10 miles were awesome I was on track and the course was filled with spectators yelling Allez Jackie Alelez (which means GO Jackie GO). As I said the first 10 miles were great. The second 10 were great and Jenn and I had a great pace going and we were on track to getting a PR which was such an added plus. Along the course they had the most amazing oranges which were probably the best oranges I have ever had in my life!
Then I hit mile 20 (which i believe was when i hit that stupid flipping wall!) Jenn was not feeling it. I told her we had to keep it up, we were doing great and we only had 6.2 miles left. This was the easy part. I remember the NY marathon and these 6.2 miles were the easiest miles ever. The crowds in Central Park were amazing and as I entered the race I saw the best sign...
Those last three miles had to be the hardest three miles ever in life. At one moment I almost stopped and walked but I questioned myself "You're stopping? You didn't stop for NY, not once, and now you're stopping in Paris? Oh hell no!!" Yes, sometimes...no let me rephrase that actually I always have conversations with myself so I managed to keep my feet moving by not thinking about it. Not sure how I did that exactly, but I did. At mile 24 I thought ok i am almost home. Lets think about the boy and what is going on with that boy...this situation, that situation...the food I was going to have for lunch and for dinner, the crepes..oh and the beer!!! I went through all these thoughts and dammit I had only made it one mile...why was this getting so hard?
Mile 25, I really didn't know what I was going to do. I had tears in my eyes. The pain was getting to me. Then I remembered "Pain is weakness leaving the body" and so it was. I had a mini conversation with myself (yes again) I was reminiscing about NY and how awesome I felt crossing that finish line and how i was going to work a lot with Coach Brian this year because I want to kill my time. Then I started my tradition...I began to sing New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and I swear before I knew it there it was, Mile 26. And finally I saw some people!! Thankfully!!
My inspiration that got me through the last 4 miles! I Love NEW YORK!
As I got closer to the finish I moved faster and faster I wanted to get to the finish so fast that I pushed it super hard and I did. I didn't hit my PR but at least now I know how to get through that stupid wall that everyone talks about.
So as of now that was my one and only international marathon. I am done, no more, I am sticking strictly to the States.
And the race STARTS!!!
The Paris Marathon was Sunday April 11th. Emotionally it was the hardest of my two marathons. I had trained for this marathon, but I injured my IT band and I knew going in I was not going to hit a PR (PR is a personal record just an FYI). I was ok with that because I knew that this was more of a fun run for me. A fun run that just happened to be 26.2 miles.
The start of the run was great my first 10 miles were awesome I was on track and the course was filled with spectators yelling Allez Jackie Alelez (which means GO Jackie GO). As I said the first 10 miles were great. The second 10 were great and Jenn and I had a great pace going and we were on track to getting a PR which was such an added plus. Along the course they had the most amazing oranges which were probably the best oranges I have ever had in my life!
Then I hit mile 20 (which i believe was when i hit that stupid flipping wall!) Jenn was not feeling it. I told her we had to keep it up, we were doing great and we only had 6.2 miles left. This was the easy part. I remember the NY marathon and these 6.2 miles were the easiest miles ever. The crowds in Central Park were amazing and as I entered the race I saw the best sign...
Enter picture of sign (Will do this later as I cannot get on facebook at work ;)) *Update* Computer is out of wack at home...waiting to get new one. Should be end of this week.
I truly believe that the sign alone got me through the marathon and I pushed it till the end. Well let's say that the last 6.2 miles of this marathon were NOT the same! We entered Bvd D'Auteul and that is when it went down hill. We went from having spectators to having nothing... no one. Just the runners. Mentally this was where I hit the godforsaken wall. I tried to stay with Jenn but she was worn out as well, so as much as it hurt me to leave her at mile 23, I had too. I knew if I slowed down again I was not going to make it. Yes it was really that serious. So at mile 23 I asked her if she was ok and she said yes to go ahead, so I went on without her. For me that was the one of the hardest decisions I had to make, but I knew that I had to or else this marathon would have been the death of me. A picture of the course that almost killed me...
Those last three miles had to be the hardest three miles ever in life. At one moment I almost stopped and walked but I questioned myself "You're stopping? You didn't stop for NY, not once, and now you're stopping in Paris? Oh hell no!!" Yes, sometimes...no let me rephrase that actually I always have conversations with myself so I managed to keep my feet moving by not thinking about it. Not sure how I did that exactly, but I did. At mile 24 I thought ok i am almost home. Lets think about the boy and what is going on with that boy...this situation, that situation...the food I was going to have for lunch and for dinner, the crepes..oh and the beer!!! I went through all these thoughts and dammit I had only made it one mile...why was this getting so hard?
Mile 25, I really didn't know what I was going to do. I had tears in my eyes. The pain was getting to me. Then I remembered "Pain is weakness leaving the body" and so it was. I had a mini conversation with myself (yes again) I was reminiscing about NY and how awesome I felt crossing that finish line and how i was going to work a lot with Coach Brian this year because I want to kill my time. Then I started my tradition...I began to sing New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and I swear before I knew it there it was, Mile 26. And finally I saw some people!! Thankfully!!
My inspiration that got me through the last 4 miles! I Love NEW YORK!As I got closer to the finish I moved faster and faster I wanted to get to the finish so fast that I pushed it super hard and I did. I didn't hit my PR but at least now I know how to get through that stupid wall that everyone talks about.
So as of now that was my one and only international marathon. I am done, no more, I am sticking strictly to the States.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Asics Ad's for Paris Marathon
Many of you might remember how OBSESSED I was with the NYC Marathon Asics Ad's. Well Paris has them too!!
With less than FIVE DAYS, yes 5, cinco, cinq days to Paris. I cannot find them on line but be sure that I will find them throughout Paris and I will share the AD's with you because they truly are genius!! :)
Today Vane, leaves to Paris see you Friday love!!
Thank you everyone for all your emotional support! I am really super excited!!
With less than FIVE DAYS, yes 5, cinco, cinq days to Paris. I cannot find them on line but be sure that I will find them throughout Paris and I will share the AD's with you because they truly are genius!! :)
Today Vane, leaves to Paris see you Friday love!!
Thank you everyone for all your emotional support! I am really super excited!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Who Am I?
Who am I?
On Saturday's 10 mile run with my lovely Vane (coach, speed, crazy Nazi, love her) we were talking about how different we are. How much life has changed for both of us in the past 5 years.
I will never forget when I moved out to Milford, CT. I thought this was going to be great...uhmm I could have never been so wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that I was able to get out of Chicago, because I was starting to feel like my life was a routine and I was not happy about it. Let me explain ... I moved from Chicago, where I had all my friends . I knew where to go and( hello !) I lived in Chicago which is the second best place next to New York of course....and where did I end up moving to??? Uhmm Milford, CT. Lets just say I would love it if I was married with 2.5 kids , a puppy and 3 cars. Its a great place to live if you have a family. Not if you're 25 years old.
Needless to say my sorority sisters (GOD BLESS THEM) took me in all the time. I would drive to New York on a weekly basis, party my butt off and then drive home on Sunday. I didn't notice it then, but on Saturday I realized that I was super depressed during my time in CT. I gained almost 40 pounds which on a short cute little thing like myself does not look well at all!! My weekends were always great but then during the week I barely had friends, I mean I had work friends but I was only really close with a couple of them.
Anywho, as we ran and shared stories about the highs and the lows, I realized that I have come full circle. Looking back in 2006, when I started to run I would have never thought a Marathon was in my future...and here I am tapering my runs for my second marathon in Paris.
Life sometimes is so funny. You can start off so great, hit the lowest of the low and then when you least expect it life totally does a 180 on you and you're on top again. Vane, said something that has stuck with me since that run...this is MarathonMadrigal 3.0 . Your old software is not comparable so don't sweat it. Y ou will never be that person again. I know she is so right sometimes. It 's just nice to hear.
So to update you on my last runs...T wo weeks ago on the 21st I did my 20 mile run on my own, with no Garmin Watch no iPod. Just me the road and my thoughts. Which after my weekend, was actually great! I had a boy visit me and I don't know how I am feeling about him just yet....O.K. maybe I do. I'm just not ready to admit to anything just yet. Still my run was great.
Now with less then two weeks away we are tapering for our Paris Marathon!!! RoCk On PaRiS!!!
With Vane getting her Visa we are all good to go. I cannot wait to run through the streets of Paris and come back with updates.
I know that Paris is going to be my fun run, NY now that is where I will do my PR and mark my words I will ROCK IT OUT!!
Hope everyone is still running!!
On Saturday's 10 mile run with my lovely Vane (coach, speed, crazy Nazi, love her) we were talking about how different we are. How much life has changed for both of us in the past 5 years.
I will never forget when I moved out to Milford, CT. I thought this was going to be great...uhmm I could have never been so wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that I was able to get out of Chicago, because I was starting to feel like my life was a routine and I was not happy about it. Let me explain ... I moved from Chicago, where I had all my friends . I knew where to go and( hello !) I lived in Chicago which is the second best place next to New York of course....and where did I end up moving to??? Uhmm Milford, CT. Lets just say I would love it if I was married with 2.5 kids , a puppy and 3 cars. Its a great place to live if you have a family. Not if you're 25 years old.
Needless to say my sorority sisters (GOD BLESS THEM) took me in all the time. I would drive to New York on a weekly basis, party my butt off and then drive home on Sunday. I didn't notice it then, but on Saturday I realized that I was super depressed during my time in CT. I gained almost 40 pounds which on a short cute little thing like myself does not look well at all!! My weekends were always great but then during the week I barely had friends, I mean I had work friends but I was only really close with a couple of them.
Anywho, as we ran and shared stories about the highs and the lows, I realized that I have come full circle. Looking back in 2006, when I started to run I would have never thought a Marathon was in my future...and here I am tapering my runs for my second marathon in Paris.
Life sometimes is so funny. You can start off so great, hit the lowest of the low and then when you least expect it life totally does a 180 on you and you're on top again. Vane, said something that has stuck with me since that run...this is MarathonMadrigal 3.0 . Your old software is not comparable so don't sweat it. Y ou will never be that person again. I know she is so right sometimes. It 's just nice to hear.
So to update you on my last runs...T wo weeks ago on the 21st I did my 20 mile run on my own, with no Garmin Watch no iPod. Just me the road and my thoughts. Which after my weekend, was actually great! I had a boy visit me and I don't know how I am feeling about him just yet....O.K. maybe I do. I'm just not ready to admit to anything just yet. Still my run was great.
Now with less then two weeks away we are tapering for our Paris Marathon!!! RoCk On PaRiS!!!
With Vane getting her Visa we are all good to go. I cannot wait to run through the streets of Paris and come back with updates.
I know that Paris is going to be my fun run, NY now that is where I will do my PR and mark my words I will ROCK IT OUT!!
Hope everyone is still running!!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Why? Why do I do this to myself?!?!?!?!
What did I do to myself, you ask? Well, as I mentioned before, my dumb IT Band in my left leg totally killed me during the Manhattan Half. I went to see my PT Danielle and she told me to stay off it and I did. We worked on my IT Band and I made sure that I followed everything my PT said. Then this past Saturday, I joined my girls on a short 6.2 mile run which was great! I felt awesome because I had not gone running in so long, it made me realize how much I love and missed running in my park. After my run, I ran to the gym and stretched and did my exercises.
Awesome. I did great, right? Well, then I got a little too cocky....(CRAP!)
Sunday I took off, Monday I ran for 4 miles on the treadmill and then did 2 miles on the elliptical. Why you ask? Well, I went to lunch with my friend Kermit and had a milkshake, so of course I felt guilty and I also knew Blondie was going to make tacos so I had to work some of it off...yes, crazy, I know.
Tuesday I went to see Vane's bf, Robert to take his intense spin class and then a running class which my PT said that would be ok…Again, I got a little cocky. I got to the gym early, so I thought, let's work on my knee and do an easy 2 miles on the elliptical, then did my spin class, which of course kicked my ass, then my running class. So Robert (check him out http://www.terriertri.com/retrieve.php?section=about&page=newPage_b09006123b359840fd54df892506108c) , tells me that I am a lot of fun to yell at as he yelled. Our goal for this training run was to run at an easy tempo BUT he wanted our right foot to hit the treadmill 46 to 48 times in 30 seconds. Does that sound easy? Uhmm NO! As I am running on the treadmill I have my "coach" yelling at me "FASTER, 1,2,1,2, QUICKER". The highest I was able to get was 47, I told him that I felt weird running like that then he tells me that I finally look like a runner…Wow, talk about knocking my ego down. As I kept going and kept working on it, I was doing better. I felt great and then I had him come up to me again to tell me that I was doing great and to keep it up. I noticed a difference, a huge difference actually, and I realized that I worked a lot harder in these two miles then I had ever before.
Do I not challenge myself enough when I run? I don't think I do, which is not a good thing. I told Robert that I was going to try this new method out on my own and he told me that he wanted this run perfected by the time he got back. Which means that I have 4 weeks to perfect it. After the class I felt great. Again, I worked on my knee and stretched. I was good.
The next morning I woke up at 4:45 in the morning to run with Vane an easy 7. Or so I thought. I was wrong. I guess I did so much working up to this run that on my way back home my knee was throbbing and the pain was back. I really think that had I not done all the excessive elliptical stuff and running on the snow/ice didn't help either. Now I am back at square one. What sucks is that I saw Danielle yesterday and she did not let me complain once. She had a point... I did this to myself. Now I have to take it slow again and work on my knee and hopefully be able to run on Saturday.
I signed up to do the Haiti Relief run, so hopefully I can do it.
Man how do I get myself into these situations... :/
*Update* I can run the Haiti Race!! YEAH!!!
Awesome. I did great, right? Well, then I got a little too cocky....(CRAP!)
Sunday I took off, Monday I ran for 4 miles on the treadmill and then did 2 miles on the elliptical. Why you ask? Well, I went to lunch with my friend Kermit and had a milkshake, so of course I felt guilty and I also knew Blondie was going to make tacos so I had to work some of it off...yes, crazy, I know.
Tuesday I went to see Vane's bf, Robert to take his intense spin class and then a running class which my PT said that would be ok…Again, I got a little cocky. I got to the gym early, so I thought, let's work on my knee and do an easy 2 miles on the elliptical, then did my spin class, which of course kicked my ass, then my running class. So Robert (check him out http://www.terriertri.com/retrieve.php?section=about&page=newPage_b09006123b359840fd54df892506108c) , tells me that I am a lot of fun to yell at as he yelled. Our goal for this training run was to run at an easy tempo BUT he wanted our right foot to hit the treadmill 46 to 48 times in 30 seconds. Does that sound easy? Uhmm NO! As I am running on the treadmill I have my "coach" yelling at me "FASTER, 1,2,1,2, QUICKER". The highest I was able to get was 47, I told him that I felt weird running like that then he tells me that I finally look like a runner…Wow, talk about knocking my ego down. As I kept going and kept working on it, I was doing better. I felt great and then I had him come up to me again to tell me that I was doing great and to keep it up. I noticed a difference, a huge difference actually, and I realized that I worked a lot harder in these two miles then I had ever before.
Do I not challenge myself enough when I run? I don't think I do, which is not a good thing. I told Robert that I was going to try this new method out on my own and he told me that he wanted this run perfected by the time he got back. Which means that I have 4 weeks to perfect it. After the class I felt great. Again, I worked on my knee and stretched. I was good.
The next morning I woke up at 4:45 in the morning to run with Vane an easy 7. Or so I thought. I was wrong. I guess I did so much working up to this run that on my way back home my knee was throbbing and the pain was back. I really think that had I not done all the excessive elliptical stuff and running on the snow/ice didn't help either. Now I am back at square one. What sucks is that I saw Danielle yesterday and she did not let me complain once. She had a point... I did this to myself. Now I have to take it slow again and work on my knee and hopefully be able to run on Saturday.
I signed up to do the Haiti Relief run, so hopefully I can do it.
Man how do I get myself into these situations... :/
*Update* I can run the Haiti Race!! YEAH!!!
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