BK to UES

It all started when my boss emailed me asking if I'd like to run a race in Brooklyn for his friend who had signed up for a race but realized she would be out of town and didn't want it to go to waste. I said yes -- I mean, I had to run anyway! He suggested I run back home after the race, which would up my mileage to my planned 11- to 12-mile run, which sounded great. Central Park is beautiful, but it can get a little old...perhaps a change of scenery would do me good?

The night I agreed to do it, I had second thoughts...Brooklyn is pretty far from my apartment, it might rain, it was cold...excuse after excuse. Lame! The next day, I nearly backed out of it, but finally decided I'd see how I felt Saturday morning. I'm getting used to Eastern Standard Time after a two-week vacation in Asia, so I've been going to bed super early and getting up early pretty easily, so I woke up at 6am today with no problem.

Then I had an internal debate...

AAAHHH it's soooo far to go to Brooklyn (it really is an hour-long trip).
...but you'll get to change up your route and have a fun!
OMG but it's soooo dark outside! I definitely cannot go to Brooklyn in the dark.
...but it'll be sunny soon enough! And it'd be better to get the run done with now!

So I decided to go. I grabbed half a bagel with almond butter and half a banana and ate it on the go. The E was running on the F line, but not all the way to Brooklyn, and the F was running on the A line for a while...it took some time, but I got there on time! I ran 4 miles in the race in Prospect Park, followed by a 9 mile jaunt to Manhattan, 8 miles of which were run and 1 mile walked. It's nice to see my Garmin map look different!


Splits:

• Mile 1 - 9:40
• Mile 2 - 9:25
• Mile 3 - 8:48
• Mile 4 - 9:19
• Mile 5 - 9:32
• Mile 6 - 9:26
• Mile 7 - 9:32
• Mile 8 - 10:29 < -- I got a bit lost trying to find the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge
• Mile 9 - 9:12
• Mile 10 - 11:12 < -- I think the Garmin went a bit wonky...I was definitely running faster than this!
• Mile 11 - 9:26
• Mile 12 - 9:12

Average pace: 9:36. I'll take it! After a two week break from running, I was pretty pleased that I finished 12 miles! It was so fun to change up my route. After the race, I ran along Prospect Park West to the top of the park, then to Flatbush Avenue, then across the Manhattan Bridge to Chinatown, up Bowery, over to 2nd Ave, and up to my home on the Upper East Side. Across the bridge I had some fun views too:

On the bridge itself

View of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan from the Manhattan Bridge

Next week is my farthest run yet though...17 miles. And since I missed a 14- and 15-mile run while I was on vacation, it'll be interesting to see how it goes. 

You can't make this stuff up

Today marks the single most bizarre running experience I've had in my two years of running. I'm sure we've all had strange things happen to us while running, but this is one for the books. If you have had something comparable to this happen to you, please share. I need to know I'm not alone.

First, the run! I had 12 miles on the agenda today, and since it's my last long run before I go on vacation, I knew it had to be a good one and I knew running with a friend would make it all the better. My wonderful friend and marathoner Shawna agreed to join me and we set out around noon to tackle 12 miles in Central Park. Even though it was in the chilly low 30s, after the first mile I actually said it felt so much warmer than last week! But really, anything would be...it was frigid last week!

It was so great to have someone to talk to while I ran -- it gave us a chance to catch up and do something together that Shawna actually first introduced me to. She was the first person in college I remember going for runs, and she was the one who told me I really needed to run outdoors to get better. She ran the Chicago marathon in October and is in general a badass runner. Unfortunately, she's been suffering from an injury and had to stop after the first six miles (definitely a smart move! Better to stop when it hurts than keep going and risk further injuring it!).

After Shawna dropped off, I kept going. At 6.5 miles, the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to me while running occurred. I was running by The Boathouse and sort of noticed that there were a bunch of birds starting to fly. Assuming, as most people would, that they would avoid running into people (when have you ever seen a bird run into a person?!), I kept running.

*THUNK*

A (rather large, from the sound and feel of it) bird FLEW STRAIGHT INTO MY HEAD AT FULL SPEED. Flew. Into my head. HIT ME ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD. As far as I know, that bird is now dead, because it FLEW INTO MY HEAD. Let me tell you, that thunk was LOUD. At that, I just started laughing. WTF?!?! What kind of bird flies directly into a person? Sure, I can understand getting sucked into a jet engine, but birds seem to be generally quite good at avoiding people, poles, even windows! Perhaps I was just running so fast that it didn't have time to avoid me...yes, that MUST be it.

I kept going and just started laughing and asking, "What the hell just happened?" I mean, what else can you do? My head hurt, like someone had thrown a rock at it, but when something like that happens, you just have to laugh. And of course, I was not alone by The Boathouse when this happened. First, a guy ran by me and asked if I was OK, expressing that that was truly a strange thing to have seen, and then a girl ran by saying pretty much the same thing. I said I was OK, that it hurt, and gave a general WTF face. I had 5.5 more miles to run though, so I kept going. I know a bird pooping on your head is good luck, but can a bird flying into your head be even better luck? Let's hope so.

Here's today's run from the Garmin:
Splits:

• Mile 1 - 9:45
• Mile 2 - 9:29
• Mile 3 - 9:39
• Mile 4 - 9:32
• Mile 5 - 9:38
• Mile 6 - 9:23 (had a Gu at mile 6)
• Mile 7 - 9:22
• Mile 8 - 9:14
• Mile 9 - 9:32
• Mile 10 - 9:15
• Mile 11 - 9:09
• Mile 12 - 8:53

Clearly, the bird flying full speed into my head gave me some additional speed!

Every Friday I wonder which day I'll do my long run, and I'm always glad when I do it on a Saturday. Shawna and I had discussed running on Sunday, but I woke up today thinking it would be better to get it done on Saturday so I could focus on last-minute errand running on Sunday (I leave for China on Friday!). It was definitely the right choice -- I love feeling like I accomplished something so big and can relax and not worry about it for the rest of the weekend.

As I mentioned, I'm going on vacation on Friday, visiting my brother in China with stops in Thailand and Hong Kong with my family. I think the hotels in the cities should have gyms, but I definitely won't be able to stay on top of the marathon training schedule the whole time. I'm going to do my best to keep the balance -- run a few miles a few times a week if possible, bring along my resistance cords, and walk as much as possible! As my dad pointed out, now is probably the best possible time for me to take this vacation since I'm in great shape (best shape I've been in since I started working out! Woo!). I'll lose a little fitness, I'm sure (Beijing is not known for its smog-free sky!), but hopefully I'll be able to gain it back relatively easily when I return.

So now, I need to know a couple of things. First off, how do you stay fit while you're traveling? And second, can you top my bizarro bird story? Please share!

Aaand I'm back...again...

Hopefully for good!

I'm training for the Potomac River Run now. I'm four weeks in and so far, so good! I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training program and I'm enjoying it. I've edited it a bit to include speedwork and tempo runs, plus I'm running Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and a long run on a weekend day, doing Total Body Conditioning Tuesdays, and resting on Fridays. I'm going to try really, REALLY hard not to get injured this time...I want to bump up my strengthening workouts, which I think will help keep me from getting injured, and I've been sure to stretch a lot following all workouts. I want to try to get yoga into my schedule too, even if it's just on Exercise TV, a podcast, or the NYSC classes. And I want to make sure I'm always wearing the right shoes!

Yesterday was my long run (11 miles). I knew it was going to be cold this weekend, so I was really dreading my run when I checked weather.com and saw this:

FEELS LIKE 11!!!???

Then I remembered this race, when it was 18 degrees, and I knew I could do it if I tried. I figured it would be better to get it done with on Saturday rather than wait till Sunday (plus I had a friend's birthday brunch to attend!) so I headed out just before noon and was back by 2pm. It was sunny, and it was cold, but it was also a GREAT run:

• Mile 1 - 10:16
• Mile 2 - 9:39
• Mile 3 - 9:28
• Mile 4 - 9:41
• Mile 5 - 9:31
• Mile 6 - 9:38 (had a Powerade gel at 6 miles)
• Mile 7 - 9:21
• Mile 8 - 9:32
• Mile 9 - 9:26
• Mile 10 - 9:33
• Mile 11 - 9:04

There had been a half-marathon in Central Park earlier in the day, so the roads in the park were totally clear. There were quite a few people out running, but the runners weren't the only ones working up a sweat -- I saw quite a few people sledding and even some cross country skiers!

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the gym today, but I did get to do some fun stuff like eat brunch and watch football. Could be worse :)

Three miles planned for tomorrow...according to weather.com, it'll be 3 degrees and feel like -7 when I head to the gym. The high for the day is 16! EEK! Is it spring yet?

Inspiration for the day

"...anything is possible and your limits might not be where you think that they are. I'm continually surprising myself by what I can achieve."

- British Ironwoman Chrissie Wellington 

Read the full article here.

I've recently been thinking about the need to push myself and the idea that I am probably able to run faster than I am allowing myself. I like feeling comfortable and like I can breathe, but every now and again it's helpful to get out of the comfort zone and really feel my lungs burn. I feel stronger when that happens, and I know that I can do it. The trick is to not get injured in the process...

Race recap: Race to Deliver

The Race to Deliver was my first race since I started running again, and it was only the second time that I'd run outside since then (the first time was just a week prior!). I had been a bit hesitant about running outdoors since my injury since maybe running on the pavement had added to the stress reaction, but I was excited to finish my 9+1 qualifier for the 2011 NYC Marathon and was ready to do my best and have an easy run. But with a new Girl Talk album on my iPod, an easy run was just not possible.

I love living so close to the start line of most of the NYRR races -- I can walk over there five minutes before the race starts and don't have to wait around in the cold. It was pretty cold that morning too, about 40 degrees, but my trusty Runner's World "What Should I Wear?" tool told me two layers on top, shorts, and gloves would be all I needed. I arrived at the start line and saw people in running tights, fleeces, hats, mittens and more, and I doubted my clothing choice. After all, there's not too much sun on the four-mile course, and it wasn't even 40 degrees out yet! But once I got a mile in, I knew I'd made the right decision -- I even took off my gloves and wished I had one less layer on top. And...I was going fast! My Garmin (map and splits to come!) even said I was sub-9:00 pace for a couple of miles, so I gunned it pretty much the whole race, hoping to improve my previous 4-mile PR of 36:00...and I did! By one whole second! I really do have a thing for improving times by mere seconds this year. I'm going to take that as a sign that I should work on my speed workouts.

On top of the race last weekend, I also volunteered the day before at the Knickerbocker 60K -- yes, SIXTY kilometers, as in 37.2 miles, as in 11 miles on top of a marathon! The people in the race (all 214 of them) started at 8 a.m., ran 1.2 miles, then ran nine loops of a four-mile course. Talk about monotony! The volunteers and I would yell out the numbers of the runners as they came by each loop, encouraging them -- I loved seeing the smile on their faces as they ran past us! We had quite a few people come up and ask us what was happening, how far 60 kilometers was, what on EARTH would possess a person to run such a distance, etc. It was really fun to watch, but it's not something I ever plan on doing in the future!

As for my running, I've been having some weird pain in the left leg again (in a totally different place from the stress reaction), but I ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill over Thanksgiving and felt pretty good! I think I'm finally getting back into it, but I feel like I need/want something to train for to get me doing those speed workouts and long runs. I honestly really enjoy running in the cold, but I don't live anywhere near the Westside Highway anymore and I'm not the biggest fan of Central Park's hills, so I don't know how much I'll get outside this winter. Hopefully I can run along the East River at least a little bit!

Here's to a running-filled and injury-free winter!

Marathon: Take Two

I was talking to my mom about how I wanted to run a different marathon before I ran the NYC Marathon next year. I was thinking about the New Jersey Marathon, and she suggested I look for some in the DC area since that's near where she and my dad live. The National Marathon is in March, which is too soon after I get back from the February family vacation in Asia, and the Marine Corps Marathon is in October, too close to the NYC Marathon. I was looking for an April-May-June marathon, and my mom stumbled across this Potomac River Run Marathon May 1, the same day as the New Jersey Marathon!

It's also much more convenient, MUCH smaller (capped at 300 people!) and very cheap ($40!). I still have to take the bus to DC, but at least I can stay at my house and don't have to get a hotel, which I'd probably have to do with the New Jersey Marathon. I think it'll be interesting to run such a small marathon, especially since I'll be running one with over 40,000 people six months later, but I've heard it said from a few different people that the NYC Marathon is not the best first marathon -- a lot of people, a lot of spectators, a lot of bridges, a tough course... This one is an out-and-back course, few (if any) spectators, and even bills itself as "the easiest marathon in America". Sounds like it's worth a shot to me!

I ran two miles yesterday, and felt a little pain afterward. It wasn't bad, but I took today off (unless you count walking around Ikea for two hours as a workout) just to keep it rested. I'm planning an elliptical and weight session tomorrow -- woo! Night!

Shoulda woulda coulda

I should have run my first marathon on Sunday. I would have if I could have, but I didn't. It's bittersweet -- obviously I know that I'm recovering from an injury and there's absolutely know way that I could have run that marathon today, but I'm still kind of sad about it. I think that's probably normal. Four of my friends ran it though (congrats C, S, KS and KF!), and the girl who writes one of the blogs I follow ran it too, so it's sort of hard. Next year I'll have the NYC Marathon to look forward to, but that's so far away! All the more time to heal and train though! However, I'm thinking about doing the San Diego Marathon in June and deferring the NYC Marathon to the following year, but we'll see...

I rode the stationary bike for an hour on Sunday which is so NOT the same as running for 4+ hours, but it did keep me distracted! So did my grandmother's 95th birthday on Saturday -- we had cake, opened presents, and enjoyed an amazing homemade meal (lasagna!) by my aunt. She also baked two cakes -- one carrot, one chocolate marble, both delicious.

Yesterday I ran a FULL MILE WITHOUT STOPPING!!! It was glorious! It was really slow (5.3mph) but I'll take what I can get! :) I'm finally feeling like I'm able to get back into my old routine. The last Tuesday and today I did a hard total body conditioning class, something I really, really had been missing. I plan on getting back on track with my workouts, blogging more, and eating really well. I think I'll be back to it before I know it!