regardless - its only right that i keep up to date with the type of training that's going down to get this girl ready for the full marathon on nov 7.
its not fun, its not pretty - but its not an option. so - here goes...
this past saturday I sleepily got my rear up after staying up WAY too late the night before and eating pasta WAY past dinner time. I'm no where near a morning person so it wasn't the best morning wake up. At least I knew where I was going this week (see the half recap to understand more) - so it was run gear on, throw random snacks in a bag (i forgot my shot blocks, i wouldnt realize it til later) - and throw the hoodie up and get moving... I figured since I ate so late I wouldnt really need breakfast either, so I had an applesauce on the way in on the train.
I got to Columbus Circle and exited the train to head to Central Park. I swear - best city in the world...
Coach B laughed at my hoodie up/slow roll --after hearing about me being sleepy, one of the TFK staff decided to nickname me 'partying with diddy'. Funny, had she known more about me/what I do, she'd know it was very real that Jay himself showed up to an event i'd produced the night before... but that's neither here nor there and has nothing to do with training... or me having to be up so damn early...
So the training was this - 15 miles. Bridal Path. Candy Cane 'loop' - which was 3.5 miles each way. So up and back - twice. An additional trip to Tavern on the Green would complete our 15. I'd run w my girl Jen, who I train w usually and runs at a similar pace, and she's always motivational so its helpful.
It wasn't an easy trip. The bridal path is softer ground and meant to help joints, but the CP path can be rocky. Its hella uneven. its not forgiving. I was already in a weird mood and my brain was all over the place, so it was hard to focus although I kept trying to watch where I was going and that was taking a toll in itself. My knees were not feeling me - so on the way up to the second trip, we made a bathroom stop, I retied the sneakers, had a Gu and kept going. On the way back down after finally hitting the top (and about 10 miles) - i landed on my foot wrong, semi landing on my ankle - i had to run it off slowly, feeling it in my right arch and thru my ankle. A runner ran past, also in training, saying "Ice it when you get home!"... yup. We made it though.
I had to learn some knee stretches with one of the coaches after the stretching to make sure that I could do it over the weekend, and ice etc just to stay cool.
Post run it was Jamba Juice and Whole Foods. Thank God for Columbus Circle...
again - the HALF was LAST weekend - and while there were some photos i threw up just to do quick updates, it wasn't a full recap, so below...
Is Kicks Grete's Ass in Central Park.
Lets start with my morning... I had just wrapped a 2 day conference that I'd been working on (www.influencer10.com) and left a wrap party the eve before to make sure I could get home for this marathon in the morning.
I woke up at 5ish, had some oatmeal, and hop-stopped where i thought i needed to go. Note: I've been having some "universe-kicking-me" moments where I've been taking the wrong (read: long) way to get to places - taking the wrong trains, etc. I need to re-focus, and quick. Today must not have been any different, bc I hopstopped it - only to be told I needed to get to the eastside. For me, knowing the train wouldnt stop at my transfer on a weekend, it meant a bus or a walk to the nearby station that would get me to the eastside...
So - hopped a bus, got on the train, walked from the station to the NY Road Runners office... Ready for this? its closed.
The email said ... on THURSDAY and FRIDAY pick up your bibs from the NYRR offices. On RACE DAY - you pick up at the Bandshell. Where is THAT? From EAST89th st - u need to go to 72nd on the WEST Side. fun.
So - this girl walks up ... seems she's made the same mistake. I end up walking with her - into the park, and we run into another TFK runner, who seems like she was about to make the same mistake we had. I advised her we needed to go do pick up elsewhere, and we all headed over. We got to the Bandshell after walking part of the course (called it our 'warm up walk' later and got our bibs. It consists of the running number (which you pin on you) and a nifty shoe tag. The tag tracks you along the race, and marks when you hit certain points to keep your time for when you finish and your place in the race.
The girl I met, I think her name was Kate - had her time down as much faster than mine, but when we met, I was like, oh, we can run together -- she'd done the Queens half before and we stuck together to start the race.
I told her about training with TFK (she was interested in maybe finding out about a group) and stories of SF08 when my girl Jess and I ran, and that I'd probably need a good cursing out at some point if i start lagging. I hate Central Park for its hills, and while training there so much has probably made me a much stronger and better runner, I cant help but btch and moan about it while going through it.
We crossed the start point at around 7:10 since we were in the batch that runs around a 10 min mile, and we had to take our time going over.
I never run long distances with my phone, but since there was no bag check and I was meeting Unklee for brunch after (at Popovers! my fave :) - photos in a previous post I'm sure...) I managed to catch a couple shots...
Shouts to this guy. As a Filipino American, anyone culturally could see how running behind this dude is motivation enough. If you told me there was Adobo and Lumpia waiting on the other side of the race, I may have finished it way sooner. HA!
Another shout out goes to this jerk -- who scared the living beejeezus out of me -- The fool runs the marathon with a GAS MASK on - carrying a big stick! I'm sorry, protestor or not (his vest says no more drug war), some weirdo runs up behind you in a gasmask and a stick in some weird uniform IN A PARK - freaks me the hell out. I dont do horror movies for a reason... It got me AGAIN when i guess he stopped for a pee break and you ran up only to see him standing still in the woods ... *shudders* ugh.
Anyway - slowly but surely, we made it through - a few water stops, a few gatorade stops... We had coaches on every other point - so it was good to see a few of them, especially after some of the tough hills. I try to extend a bit going up hill so that i get through it a bit quicker - its still hard, but it helps. We did good through the first loop, and around mile 12 I caught a major cramp in my side, but managed to run through it. We'd taken a water stop at some point between 12 and 13 and the small time I took to walk for a bit there seemed to help calm it down, so it was good.
We crossed the finish at just about 2:30 - so since we started at 7minutes, it was safe to say we did it just under that...
I turned around after we crossed the finish to grab a shot of the finish line-- turned around and Kate had disappeared...
I walked by the Gatorade stand -- which was near the bathrooms - stretched a bit and waited around to see if maybe I saw her -- and she was gone...
I walked toward the bandshell even to see if maybe I'd catch her out there somewhere. Nothing.
I hadn't gotten her info, so it wasn't like I could have hit her to find out where she'd gone - even though we both ran with our phones...
"Sounds like you had an angel..." Jen said when I told her about it yesterday. I hadn't admitted it out loud but it was my thoughts exactly when it happened. She showed up just when I needed after going to the wrong spot, stayed with me for the whole thing, and disappeared right after. She shows up in my running pics (i'll spare yall, i look wretched) but if she didnt I'd be totally spooked.
So shout out to Kate - wherever you are - Thanks!!
Randomly enough - on my way over to the bandshell, I heard a song that sounded way familiar -- Its a track called "Beggin" by a group called Madcon -- i listened closely to realize it was live, and not a recording -- and they had just performed! they were the last act that i'd worked when i was at the label (was in music pr) and there they were...
duh, its a Norwegian festival, and they're from *drumroll* Norway!
So I had to go over and say hi - sweaty, salty and all, it was good to see the guys. (Hear their song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h96Qo0tRBQ)
There were some kids playing that had done the Troll Run - a race for the kids that morning. It was nice to see them - a nice reminder to why I was raising money, to the organization that I'd joined in order to fill my own personal goals of running the NY Marathon.
Adorable.
Took me forever to get out of the park and head over to Popovers (East side vs West side exits in CP can get confusing...) but these were SO worth it... YUM!
And that -- wraps up my Long Run Recap ...
next weekend: 20 miles in New Jersey. Hopefully it wont take me so long to recap that one!
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