Sick of Being Sick

I think if I make it through this upcoming half marathon with a halfways decent time I will be extremely surprised.

I feel like for the past month I have been on-again off-again sick. Bill and I have just been passing sicknesses back and forth to each other and since we are both run-down they totally take their toll on us. I used to be able to get over something like a cold in a couple of days tops, but now I'm lucky if I get over them in a week. So my running has definitely been suffering.

Last Sunday (the 10th) I did get out for a nine-miler. And it actually felt really great. But I got sick right after that and haven't run in an entire week. I have so many missed runs this season it isn't funny. But I'm not going to dwell on it. It is what it is. And I have found that it is much better to wait until the sickness passes completely before getting back out there to work out. So even though it KILLS me not to go out for a run today I'm going to have to skip it.

I do have two fun upcoming things though in the world of running!

Firstly, I signed up to train with Team in Training again for the fall season. I think this is the best thing I could do. I need some structure to my workout plan because with all that is going on (work, baby, running) I've found that running is often put on the chopping block. Plus, it will be great for me to get out of the house twice a week and be around adults. And of course, Team in Training is also just fun, and it's nice to raise money for something worthwhile. Our first group training session starts the Tuesday after the Flying Pig Half Marathon. Already!

Also, this week I will be covering the JackRabbit NYC Running Show. Its the first year JackRabbit is putting it on, as sort of a kick-off to the NYC running season. It's only $10 for a ticket and for the price of the ticket you actually get $15 off event merchandise (awesome!). There are all kinds of exhibitors plus a lot of cool speakers. I am especially interested in seeing Scott Jurek and going to the Women's Running session. And there is a barefoot/minimalist running panel which should be interesting.

I'm also going to be looking for something fun to run in for the Flying Pig Half since none of my running clothes fit me anymore (in a good way! I've lost a ton of weight!)

Anyway, I am super psyched because I have press credentials for this show which means I get to go early to check it all out! Can't wait for Friday!

The More Half Marathon

Post-race with my favorite cheerleader

I was so nervous for the More Half this weekend. I have no idea why. I felt totally prepared. But there I was, packing my bag (and Liam's) super early the day before, carb-loading, laying out my outfit, checking my alarm clock a dozen times, going to bed early. Bill was like "Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I said "I must be. I don't feel like it, but I'm acting like it." I usually blow half marathons off as I would any other race but I was treating this one like it was the full.

It's kind of funny how much other stuff you have to worry about when you are racing as a mom. I guess mainly just the breastfeeding thing...making sure all of the timing works out. Luckily it did. I also realized that the days of seeing Bill cheering me on at 50 different places on the course were over. But that is fine by me. I am happy to see them once (especially since Liam is there!).

My plan I announced to the world was that I was going to try to do a 10:30 pace. My plan in my head was that I would be happy with any pace with a 10 in front of it. :)

I knew that I had to run this thing smart because I had some nasty hills scattered throughout the course (it was two and some change loops of Central Park). I also know that I have a tendency to run fast in the beginning and regret it later. I planned on keeping it nice and easy on the first six and then figure out if I needed to go faster after that. I wasn't going to worry about the first mile too much because that's always the "finding your pace in the madness of the crowd" mile. I also was going to only look at my pace on the mile, not my overall pace.

My first mile felt like I was dragging, but nope, I was clocking a 9:48. Whoops. Time to slow it down. I found two girls going at what felt like a snail's pace, but looked like the pace I was supposed to be maintaining. I forced myself to get behind them. Sure enough, the next mile I did was 10:30. Yay! Right on target! But oh no! They stopped for water. So I had to concentrate concentrate concentrate to keep the same pace. Unfortunately I could feel myself getting faster.

I kept the next mile in the low ten range and told myself to SLOW DOWN.

As I rounded the top of the park (the dreaded Harlem Hill) I decided to stop for my GU. It was a little early, but I found that since I've been feeding Liam I need them more quickly in my runs and more often. Let me tell you, it was the BEST GU I'VE EVER TASTED. (It was Strawberry Banana.) I kept putting my tongue up to the top of my mouth to get the aftertaste because it was just that good. Then I started laughing to myself (not out loud) because four years ago I was literally choking these things down and I could only do vanilla.

That mile was a 10:15. I was kind of mad about this because not only did it include Harlem Hill (and therefore should have been slower) but it also included a long water/GU break. So this is where I started staging this inner battle in my head: Should I just run and not worry about pace? I seem to be feeling good...No, 10:30 is an admirable goal considering how I've been running and I need to slow down to do that. But I feel so GOOD! But you are only in the fourth mile. But in the Bronx Half you ran how you felt and got a huge PR! But that was... and so on and so on. In the end, practicality won. I decided to stick with the original plan.

Boy, I am glad I did! Because after I finished Harlem Hill the second time it was game over. I only had three miles to go but I was so tired. My legs didn't hurt or anything, I was just lethargic...like I wanted to go to sleep. Yuck. At this point I was just working on maintaining. I was in the low 10 and high 9s for the past few miles anyway, so I was very happy.

I almost didn't want to look at my watch for the next mile because I knew it was really slow. But surprise! It was a 10:04!

I knew I would see Bill and Liam soon and was soooooo looking forward to that. And Liam really was the cutest ever. If I hadn't been so incredibly exhausted at the point I would have stopped for a Liam kiss. But I knew if I did that there was no way I would finish running.

As I was coming up on the finish I finally looked at my overall pace: 9:58!!!!
Whoo-hooo-hooooooooooooo! I was so proud and happily accepted my medal.

(Later on I checked the results and they had me listed as having a 10:03 pace. Stupid Garmin. It had me running more than 13.1. I am still counting the 9:58 pace.)

Balance

Okay, so this whole balance thing is working out a little better for me, but maybe that's because I haven't actually worked out in a whole week :) I have had this pesky cold that would NOT go away. I figured out that having a cold while not getting a full night's sleep every night basically makes a cold last about ten times longer. Liam (of course) had a cold too, so neither of us were at our best last week.

However, it seems the whole work thing is working out a little better now. We have a girl coming in to watch Liam once a week so that I can get work done during the day and not from nine to whenever I finish. It makes me WANT to work out again and look forward to those midday runs.

I think that is the best part about working from home -- I can run during the day.

I do feel like I need to kick my butt in gear trainingwise. I have the More Half Marathon coming up in (eek) 11 days and I am feeling very unprepared. Taking a week off due to sickness is always frustrating. But I have to remember that up until last week I was totally on track with my training.

I think this one is not going to be run for time, but to finish. I feel like that is a major copout, but I'm just not feeling it yet...which is one of the things I want to work on this year. I have this theory that running for me is far more mental than physical. That's why I can kick butt in practice but not live up to my expectations for the race. I am still looking for that marathon that I can be happy with. I'm hoping it's right around the corner in November :)

Barefoot!

So I've been looking for something to get me so totally pumped about running that I just can't wait to go out for quite awhile now. I started by reading Once a Runner (you know, that book that is supposed to be the be all and end all of running?). I must say, I pretty much hated that book. It was terrible! Terribly written and I hated the characters and I only sort of cared if he could make his goal in the mile. Then I realized that this wasn't the book that was recommended to me by all my running friends...Born to Run was! So I went ahead and ordered it, and since I know that after reading it I am going to want to become one of those "barefoot" runners I just went ahead and got the shoes.

After some extensive reading on the subject, I got the model meant specifically for running – the Bikila. And while I was at it, I opted for the magenta ones.

They are kind of a pain to put on, but once they are on they are very comfy. I've only walked around them in the house and they don't feel as barefooty as I thought they would, but I'm sure I will feel differently after I've run in them.

You're supposed to start off super slow with them...like logging only 1-2 miles slow and wearing them only every other day. The girl at Super Runners told me that my calves will definitely hurt. I'm hoping that means I will get some crazy(er) calf muscles. I'm wondering if they will truly make me run differently. And THEN I wonder if I should be running in some less cushiony shoes then I'm used to in my races so that I don't lose my form too much after I've changed it. But I guess I am getting ahead of myself.

I was all pumped and ready to go on a run with them and then I got this disgusting cold that is making me super run down. I'm hoping I can go out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Oh Freetime, I Miss You So

I pretty much haven't been writing about running because I pretty much don't have time to write about running :)

I HAVE been running, though not as much as I want to. It's funny because I was going to say that I haven't been running very much, but in comparison to how many days I used to run it's pretty much the same...3x a week. However, I haven't been able to get ANY cross training in. AND those 3x a week that I run seem all the more precious/vital/frustrating because I have no freetime to do anything else (you know, like clean my apartment, which currently looks like a bomb hit it).

Frazzled?

Yes, to say the least. I am still trying to figure out this whole balance thing. I always thought that having the flexibility to work from home would be great because I could have the best of both worlds -- staying at home to take care of Liam, yet still feelling fufilled by working. Instead it just means that I have to work around everyone's schedule except my own. So, even though Liam is getting 12 hours of sleep a night, and Bill is getting 8 hours of sleep a night, I am going going going from the time I wake up (7am) to the time I go to bed (1am on the nights that I work). This means that my runs (and my life) is exhausting AND runs are pretty much the last thing I want to do when I have time to myself.

I am hoping that this will work itself out soon. :( But in the meantime I am trying to back off of myself a little. This means (deep breath) no Flying Pig Marathon. I kind of decided this a couple of weeks ago when I missed two long runs and felt my mileage was now totally screwed up. But I talked to Bill and we decided to "wait and see"...keep training for the marathon, but decide on the day of it whether or not to do the whole or the half. This sounded good at the time.

Then I went through this whole "why do I run" thing. I mean seriously, I was kind of hating on running. A lot. And let's face it: I think I was trying to do this spring marathon to prove to myself that I was still the same old me who could run 2 marathons a year, and to prove to everyone else that I was truly hard core, and to get some kind of crazy body that I've never actually had (more muscular, flat six-packy abs). That's not fun. Running used to be fun. I started thinking about when I trained for my first marathon and how it was so fun and even though it was hard it was kind of an adventure to go for those long runs. I felt so accomplished. And I felt part of a cool tribe of people. I wanted to be like the multiple marathoners in the Roncker's group. They were such cool people. And I also felt like I was becoming one of them. I mean, come on, I used to cry a little sometimes on long runs because I loved them so much and felt so moved by them.

So the new goal is to get back that love. And to run the half marathon. And enjoy it. And not worry so much about all the other crap.

Of course I came to this revelation on a run. (How cliche.)

I also felt like if I ran the marathon and didn't do well I would be crushed...even though just completing the marathon would have been a great accomplishment. That would have made it even harder to run my next one. And since my next one is NYC in November, I want to be in a good place (mentally) with running. I have been waiting to run this race for three years.

Erghhhhhhh. Change. I never deal with it well.
So, we're back to where we started 3 years ago. Not worrying about time, not worrying about past runs, just going out there to have a good time.

12 on 12

Believe it or not -- I actually got my butt outside yesterday to do my long run! Usually I have no motivation to do this and push it off until Sunday. This week I was motivated by three things: the fact that if I ran on Saturday instead of Sunday I would get a bonus point in my motivation plan for doing 5 workouts this week, the fact that I could have a super lazy day on Sunday with no plans if I ran on Saturday instead, and the fact that I could pig out on bad food with little guilt at the board game party I was hosting later that night. Besides that though, I really had a hard time wanting to get out there.

It was a rather uneventful run except for the fact that in the first six miles I had this immense urge to pee and was pretty sure the public bathrooms were closed. I realized this as I ran by the Boathouse and noticed a white piece of paper on the door (which I assumed said they were closed for the season). Not really sure what to do about this since I had a whole 12 miles to do. When I got to 72nd street, completing my first loop I figured I could run across the transverse to see if Bethesda Fountain bathrooms were open or wait until I finished the lower loop and cross to the Bethesda Fountain on the east side. I really didn't want to add on the extra .5 miles it would take to do this if I opted to go right then, but I felt like I didn't really have a choice. So I ran to the plaza only to find a big sign saying they were closed for the season and I should try the Boathouse. Grrrrrr. So I ran another .2 or so miles and once again noticed the sign. Freakout! But before a total meltdown I decided I should probably get closer and READ the sign before I assumed what it said. And lo and behold, it was only telling me to keep the door closed because the restrooms were heated. YES!

Now I had another dilemma. Do I do the lower loop? Backwards or forwards? I didn't think I could add on anything to my 12 miles because my legs were already feeling tired. And I HATE the lower loop. I will do anything to avoid it. So I ran back and forth on the transverse until I got to 7 miles. Crazy boring, I know, but better than that lower loop. I don't even know why I hate it that much. It's fairly flat compared to the rest of the park, it's definitely very scenic, and it is only 1.6 miles.

Anyway, this meant that I had miscalculated and at the end of my run I still had .21 miles to go. I know, I know, just skip it, right? But no, I didn't feel like I could say I ran 12 miles unless I actually did. So I ran down .1 miles across the transverse and .1 miles back (again avoiding the lower loop completely.)

Afterwards I felt SO SORE...like running a half marathon sore. This is kind of crazy since I was keeping kind of an easy pace (according to my watch 10:42, but that was wrong since I kind of forgot to stop the watch during the whole bathroom debaucle.)

At any rate, I feel like I'm totally in for it now. So I did what I have been avoiding for a month and a half...I signed up for my first post-pregnancy marathon: the Flying Pig.

It makes me nervous to think about committing to this, but here I am!

And It Begins...

My "official" training for my spring marathon started this week with a 7-miler on Sunday. I made Bill and Liam stay at home so I could go at it on my own and it was kind of nice to run again without worrying about a stroller or how bundled up Liam had to be or how fast I had to run/if he was asleep or not to get him between feedings. And it was so nice out too! 40 and sunny! Needless to say, with all of this, I had a pretty good run.

Ok. Let's not be modest. I felt AWESOME. Especially when I learned that I had done the whole thing in 1:09, which means that I had a sub-ten pace (my first in a LONG time). And I ran the whole way. None of this run-walk business!

So then Tuesday I wheeled out the BOB again for a three miler with Liam. The goal was to do the whole lower loop twice without walking. And the earlier the better because the temps were supposed to go from a high of 37 degrees at 8 am to a low of 15 degrees by 3pm. Yuck. I realized why those temps were dropping so fast on the run: the wind was CRAZY. It didn't help that I underestimated the mileage and needed an extra .3 at the end of my loops...so I had to run up a crazy hill from the park at 72nd street to get to street level at Central Park West...INto the wind. Difficult normally, but worse with a stroller.

But this whole getting back into a schedule thing was making me feel like "Ok. I can do this marathon thing. It's not going to be fun, but I can totally do it."

But then it got cold. Like, too cold to run with a baby outside. So I figured, I'll just run after Liam's morning feeding, which is usually like 6:30. I'll get the mileage in sans-stroller before Bill gets to work. I should know by now, this NEVER works. I am NOT a morning person and it is even worse when I am not getting enough sleep anyways. And then it is even WORSE when I wake up with a scratchy throat and feel like all I want to do is SLEEEEEEEEEP. So guess what I did?

So I decided not to beat myself up and do some cardio weight DVDs. I was not exactly looking forward to this (getting me to exercise lately is like convincing me to get dental work done) but I sucked it up and put in the DVD when Liam was in a happy, sort of sleepy, chill mood. I put him in his crib, knowing that he usually just drifts off into a nice little nap. Hahahahaha. 20 minutes into the DVD he was screaming bloody murder. I decided to make it to the next segment, seeing if he could calm himself down...

Nope! So, I made it 25 minutes into a 45 minute workout. And honestly, I just didn't have the energy or desire to try this again yesterday or today.

So once again, I am going into my long run completely underprepared for the mileage I am going to undertake. Hmph.

On a happy note, I got into the Brooklyn Half Marathon (race two of the Grand Prix) before it sold out...which was amazingly, like, in two days. This was because of my most wonderful running friend, Gina who sent an urgent email telling us on February 7th that the registration was open but they were already saying it would sell out by the 8th (it did). I got the email, got online and signed up. WHEW! I did all this so fast that I didn't even look to see when it was! (May 21st). Luckily, I will be here. And will be running it with Gina :)

Race Schedule

Ok, so I think I've got a pretty ambitious race schedule lined up this year...lots of half marathons and of course the crown jewel, the one I've been waiting for, the race I've wanted to do ever since I've started marathoning – the NYC marathon.

Here's what I've got so far:

• Manhattan Half Marathon – January (done!)
• More Half Marathon – April 4th
• Flying Pig Marathon – May 1st
• Brooklyn Half Marathon – May TBD
• Queens Half Marathon – July 30th
• Bronx Half Marathon – August 27th
• Staten Island Half Marathon – October 9th
• NYC Marathon – November 6th

I'm sure I'll throw in a few of my other NYRR favorites here and there. Especially in the summer and especially if my friends join in. Coogan's was fun last year and I always like the Pride Race (mainly for the cool t-shirts, music and popsicles at the end) and there's always a lot of great swag at the Scotland Run. I think it might be kind of easy to get my 9 races if I can do all of this. Then I can do NYC in 2012 too! But I am getting waaaaaay ahead of myself. Maybe right now I should just take one run at a time.

I am going to check out the Pfitzinger plan in Advanced Marathoning. But this might be a little ambitious too. Especially since my points total for this week so far is: 1. Yes, that's right. And that doesn't even come from a workout...it's from eating a healthy dinner. :)

Motivation Plan

Ok. I'm still working on the plan to motivate myself. I want to make it difficult so that it's worthwhile and I am training to the best of my ability, but I think I also need to cut myself some slack because "the best of my ability" today is way different than it was last year...especially because squeezing in workouts has become a major luxury. So I am going to focus on the things I have a difficult time doing (working out, eating healthily) and give myself points when I do them. I was going to take away points when I do something bad (like drink soda, which I have been doing more and more often) but I think I need positive reinforcement, not punishment. I was also thinking about giving myself points for things like getting sleep and taking care of myself (like taking time for myself everyday) because I have been really bad at doing those things, but let's face it – most of that is out of my control now AND getting a workout in is probably going to by my "taking time for myself".

That being said, here is my rough plan of "points" for now.

1 point items

• doing a run
• doing a cross-training workout
• eating a healthy lunch
• eating a healthy dinner
• completing a week's worth (defined as 5 days between Sunday and Saturday) of workouts
• weighing in at under 140lbs (weigh-ins will be on Friday mornings)
• maintaining a 29 inch or lower waist (measured each month)

2 point items (these are bigger challenges for me)

• completing a hill or speed workout
• eating healthy snacks during the day
• completing a long run
• PRing on a race

Bonus points (can only be earned once and are one point each)

• completing my first post pregnancy marathon
• completing a run over 2 miles with the BOB without any walking
• completing a race without walking
• completing a race over 4 miles without walking
• completing a race over 5 miles without walking
• completing a run over 6 miles without walking

And here comes the best part: what these points are good for!

Mostly these are just things I want that I will not buy for myself. My first level is a Speck laptop shell which is worth 60 points. Next is a pair of nice running sunglasses – 120 points. For 180 points I can take a quilting class at the City Quilter that I have been trying to find an excuse to take for 3 years. And the créme de la créme? An ipad. This is for when I BQ. Yes, I know this may take me years. And I reserve the right to change it to another expensive gadget when ipads become obsolete.

This whole thing might flex too. I will have to see if it works for me/if I feel rewarded enough or if it is too easy.

Starts this Sunday!

Hurray! Half Marathon!

Thanks to a very special husband who decided that I had trained way too hard (haha, I guess it's all relative) to skip my half marathon and decided to skip his cooking class instead, I was able to run the first of the Grand Prix races this year!

I have to say, I was feeling pretty guilty about this when I woke up on Saturday and it was FOURTEEN DEGREES and I pretty much just wanted to say "forget it". However, I sucked it up and got my butt over to the park. I was so so layered for the whole thing...sports bra, t-shirt, crazy ninja shirt with speedskater hood, fleecy headband, all weather jacket, compression socks, tights, pants and gloves!

I made my way to the last corral (I was planning on run-walking this thing, so if I would have been in my assigned corral I would have gotten plowed over) to stand around shivering for 34 minutes (because I overestimated how much time I needed to get there). I seriously was starting to wonder about my level of sanity. I think it was a mutual feeling amongst all of the runners there who kept saying things like "WTF is wrong with us?" and "WHY was it a good idea to sign up for this?"

I also knew that this could basically last forever since I was run-walking with 3 minutes on and 2 off. I mean, my 6 miler was done at a 13:47 pace and my 9-miler at a 12:39 pace. I feel like I need the run-walk right now though, so it made me a little nervous when I had to run through 10 minutes of the intervals at the beginning because the field was so crowded. I was kind of sort of okay with it thought because it was SO COLD and walking would have frozen me even more.

Oddly enough though, I felt pretty good. And when I looked down at my watch I saw that I was maintaining a 11:38 for those first 2 miles. Awesome! Of course a lot of that was because I ran the first 10 minutes, but even so...

Another strange thing is that when I got to the second water stop and took the frozen water it actually tasted really good. And not just the water but the ice...in fact the ice was preferable even though I was soooooo freezing and it would take me until mile 5 to even start to feel my fingers a little (this from the girl who never used to wear gloves running because I was always too hot).

I made the first loop and it wasn't so bad, but I didn't know about this whole second loop thing. I didn't know if I was up for it. But before I knew it I was at mile 9!!! And I was still maintaining a pace of under 12 minutes (even though it was inching up to the 11:50s).

In fact, at mile 9 I started picking up the pace big time. I felt awesome! And I kept thinking about how I was going to see Bill and Liam at the finish and we would go get breakfast, which just made me happy.

Before I knew it I was in the final lower loop (The race is two loops and then another lower loop...grueling mentally.) I will say that the last two miles kind of weren't the greatest. I was getting tired. But I still felt good enough to run through my last two walk cycles. I kept looking at my watch, trying to get my final pace numbers down.

And guess what? I finished at an 11:32 pace! And that's run-walking!!! I was pretty proud of myself.

So I guess I could do a half marathon with 21 miles of training over 3 weeks. Although I am pretty sure that this was still a stupid thing to do. I am now going to take a couple of weeks off and start training for my spring marathon (or half marathon, I can't decide). I was also so pumped that I went ahead and signed up for the More/Fitness magazine half marathon again.

Hurray! Half marathons!

Nevermind

So I survived the 6 mile run, Harlem Hill and all. And the next week I even survived the 9 mile run! I was very very sore all day but as I told Bill, it kind of felt good to be that sore again. And the next day I was fine anyway. I will say that it has been a bit of a challenge to get out and running. Some days it is just way too cold to take the baby out, no matter how much you bundle him up.

So I've been trying as hard as I can to bust my butt cross training on the days I can't run. Luckily I got some new DVDs for Christmas that actually push me. But even so, it's just not the same as running. I definitely took a day off from the long run I did on Sunday, yesterday...but it looks like there's no way I can get out today because of another crazy East Coast winter storm. So I'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow.

As for the half marathon this weekend? I think it just wasn't meant to be. When I signed up I forgot that we would need to get a babysitter because of Bill's cooking class, which kind of overlaps timewise with the race. We would need to find a babysitter for a couple of hours, which probably wouldn't be a problem normally...except that this weekend all of our friends are going skiing for my other friend's birthday. Whoops.

Oh well. So is the life of a mother-runner. :)

There is always next year for the Grand Prix, and we are supposed to get more awful weather Saturday anyway. And now I can train properly.

Motivation

Ok. It's pretty hard for me to get motivated to go out for my runs lately. Today was no exception. I usually wait until about three to do this (because it is the warmest time of the day) but today I knew that if I waited until three I would find some excuse not to go :)

The run (run-walk) wasn't even that bad. Don't get me wrong, it had it's pitfalls. Like, when I got to 86th street it was like someone had decided to take ALL of the snow and pile it up at the entrance to the park. It was all trampled on, so it was kind of a mound of icy footprints. Good thing my stroller has super big wheels with massive treads. Ironically, this happened to be my downfall later, when I rolled right through some fresh dog poop and it got impossibly stuck in the wheels. Yay! This meant that afterwards I had to clean out the tire treads in the hallway of my building. (Come on people, I pick up my dog's poop, why can't you pick up yours?)

I did feel like I had more energy, which is kind of funny because this run definitely had more hills.

As I was getting to the last part of my run I was trying to think of things to motivate me. See, normal motivation techniques ("After the run I can have a candy bar," or "If I do all of my workouts this week I'm treating myself to a pedicure") don't work for me. The last time I had to resort to motivation techniques was when I first started running. I put a dollar away for every mile I ran and then bought myself a Tiffany's necklace.

That's not going to work this time because I need something more short term. I'm thinking of giving myself a points system: 1 point for each workout completed, an extra point for mileage exceeded, 1 point for completing 3 runs a week, 1 point for completing 3 cross training workouts a week...etc etc etc. Only what should I make the rewards? I was trying to think of something I really really wanted for a big point reward -- like a Coach bag. But then I remembered that my new purse is a diaper bag and I have no use for a Coach bag. For the low number prizes I thought of the normal things: a bath, a manicure, a night of ordering pizza. But the problem is that I do these things already...not all the time, but enough that I'm not going to be motivated to get them. So I've got to do some thinking on this whole reward business.

It does help that when I got on the elevator when I got home some lady asked how old Liam was and when I told her she said "You don't even look like you had a baby!" I never tire of hearing that. I guess that is at least some motivation. :)

My next run is Saturday. 6 miles with Bill and Liam. Bill gets to push the BOB this time. My secret fear? That he will kick my butt and that pushing the BOB while running really isn't as hard as I think it is. :)

Don't Try This At Home

I was perhaps a little overzealous in my signing up for races before Christmas. See, my goal for the last three years has been to complete the NYRR's Grand Prix of half marathons. This includes one marathon in each borough. They spread them out throughout the year so that you pretty much have to be fit for the whole year. It is kind of a big deal to do all five and you get a patch for doing it.

For one reason or another I have never been able to do this (the first year I missed the Manhattan one, the next year I missed Brooklyn because of my sister's wedding, the third year I missed the last two for obvious reasons.) So I decided that this was my year and signed up for the first of the five which is the Manhattan one.

This one happens to be the most boring and one of the most challenging: two loops of Central Park. That's right, tons of hills! Oh yeah, and being in January it tends to be the coldest too. Two years ago it was below freezing and the cups froze right to the table.

My training schedule was going to have to be pretty aggressive, but I figured I could do it. I did it a couple years ago! The plan for my long runs? A six miler this Saturday, a nine miler the following Saturday, a twelve miler the third Saturday and then the race the following Saturday.

Well, I kind of miscalculated. See, the race is on the 22nd. So I figured I'd better get my butt in gear. I have been not so diligent about my runs since Thanksgiving (yes, I've only been out twice). I have been doing lots of weight lifting and cross training, but we all know that is not the same.

Yesterday I waited until the warmest part of the day, packed up baby in the BOB jogger and headed out along the Hudson Bike Trail for a nice easy three miler.

Hahahahaha.

It was HARD. I forgot how difficult it is to run in the cold if you're not used to it. The breathing totally throws me off. I also just kept getting so TIRED. I know that a lot of this is because I am using a ton of effort to push that stroller. But I also know a lot of it is because I am completely out of (my normal) shape. So I will say there was a lot of run-walking.

And I'm pretty sure there is going to be a lot of run-walking during this race.

I'm still planning on doing it, but I will definitely be backing off of the training afterwards so that I don't injure myself for my spring marathon (or half marathon, I haven't decided).

Yes, running friends, I know this is stupid. But I think I can do it. If anything it will put Gina's and my theory to test: if you are a hard-core runner who does marathons and half marathons all the time we think you could probably do a half marathon with little to no training.

Like I said, I would never recommend anyone else do this. :)

Denied!

Well, just like tons of other New Yorkers, I too was denied entry into the NYC Half Marathon this year. At first I was just like "Boo. Guess I'll try again next year." Then I started going through my facebook feed and realized that out of all my NYC runner friends (and I know a LOT of NYC runners) only one got in! Then, some of my runner friends started posting links to other blogs like this one.

Seems like the entire New York running community was PISSED.

Why?

Well, first of all, we were supposed to know about our status at "the end of November" and this deadline got pushed to December 15th. But more importantly, all of us entered what we thought was a lottery to get into this half marathon. (Whereas everyone had an equal chance of being chosen for this race.) As I understand it (though am still fuzzy on all of the details) there were three lotteries: one for tri-state area runners, one for out-of-state runners and one for international runners with the number of accepted runners being equal for each lottery. Obviously there would be more NY runners applying and not getting in. (Make sense?) And none of us knew this beforehand.

Presumably this is because NYRR is trying to make this a bigger, more nationally/internationally known event.

Here are some stats on what happened which sort of confirms all of this:
• Of the 27,737 tri-state area runners who applied 3,344 were accepted. Of those people 1,000 qualified for automatic entry.
 • Of the 5,200 out of state runners who applied 4,300 were accepted.
• Of the 1,710 international applicants 1,500 were accepted.

Seems like the best chance of getting into this half marathon in the future is to move out of the country.

My take on the whole thing?

I am mildly angry that I didn't get in, but I am ticked about the transparency on the whole process.

This is a really great race. There is nothing like running down 7th Avenue in this half marathon. It makes you realize that we really do live in an awesome city. And the NYC running community is a GREAT community. So I guess it just makes me kind of sad that we weren't given a fair shake at this event. We are the lifeblood of the NYRR and spend oodles and oodles each year to run a bunch of less glamorous races. I welcome the opening of our events to a larger audience but I sort of feel like this kind of premiere event should also celebrate the local running community.

I just watched this documentary called Run for Your Life about Fred Lebow, the man who is credited with making the NYRR what it is and also for bringing the 5 Borough NYC Marathon to fruition (and therefore popularizing marathoning as a sport). I can't help but think that he would have handled this differently.

I don't know. Just my opinion.

That being said, I look forward to cheering on my friend Gina, as she crosses the finish line in March :)