My Roasty Toasty Run

I've never really considered myself much of a morning person. But in an attempt to beat the heat I woke up bright and early this morning to get in my long run for the week - 6 miles. Beat the heat I did not. By the time I left the house at 7:45am it was already over 80 degrees. Nevertheless, I got in my 6 miles. 


For those of you who live in the New York area the good news is that today is a fantastic beach or pool day. It's hot and sunny and not a cloud in the sky. For those of you crazy enough to wake up early on the weekend and head out for a run, it's a bit roasty toasty out there. Luckily all the other crazy early morning runners are super friendly. I got lots of "good mornings" and waves along the path. 


I drove to the biking/running path this morning since 6 miles feels like long enough to not run around the streets of Wantagh. I always think driving to run seems a little odd and counterproductive, but having a designated path was certainly a plus. And I'll admit the air conditioning in the car was fantastic on the drive home. I didn't love running 3 miles out and 3 miles back along the same route; I much prefer loops, but luckily I have another 4 months of long runs to experiment with!

Thank You!

This past weekend I started reaching out to family and friends to ask for their support as I prepare to run the marathon. I will be running to raise money for Teenok Heart Foundation, an organization that provides support for existing hospital and research programs in the area of pediatric cardiology. This is a personal cause for me. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I had lived with a heart condition my entire life that made it challenging to run. After my surgery in January to correct the problem, all is well, and I am able to conquer one of my dreams - running a marathon!

I want to thank everyone who has already made a donation in support of my running. I would not be able to participate without all of you! Your contributions are very much appreciated!

For others who may be reading my blog, please consider making a donation towards this goal. No amount is too small, and all donations are, of course, tax deductible. To make a contribution, please visit my fundraising page here: Lauren's Donation Page

And of course, I would love to see all of my family and friends along the course on race day!

Lesson Learned

Well, I got in a couple of 3 mile runs this weekend around the neighborhood (aka Wantagh). It felt great to be out and about in the nice weather, especially after a few days of horrendous heat! 


I seem to get these ideas in my head that I need to complete my runs in a certain amount of time. When that happens I look at my watch every 5 seconds, convinced that at least 2 minutes have gone by. Turns out, this does not make for a fun run. Over the weekend I realized that if I just go out for the sake of running, with no other agenda at play (e.g. finishing in a certain amount of time) it's much more enjoyable. And to sweeten the deal, I end up running faster than I otherwise would. Lesson learned!

Central Park

Yesterday was my first run in central park. And as I had hoped and anticipated, it was awesome! There were a ton of routes, and all of them are new and novel to me. This is great news since I find running the same path time and time again gets pretty old pretty quickly. There were also lots of other runners in the park, and lots of running groups all around. I am hoping to find a group I might be able to join for a couple of runs this summer. We shall see.

I also got an email yesterday from the marathon requesting that I select my official transportation to the start. Very exciting! It's slowly starting to become real...

I'm hoping that I can remember the excitement I felt yesterday so I can channel it later when the training really starts to pick up. Right now, and for the next couple weeks, all my runs are between 3 and 6 miles, which means they are about an hour or less and require little preparation. Throw on a pair of running shoes and I can be out the door and off. As the runs get progressively longer, lasting over an hour and getting into double digit miles I will need to exercise a little more foresight. I can't leave without some water or gatorade, beans or goo, and I need to make sure I'm well hydrated and getting a good night's sleep (though probably I should do this regardless of the length of the run!). I also need to wake up early for the long runs- its summertime and I don't want to spend my entire day running, much less during the hottest hours of the day.

But as usual, I am getting way ahead of myself. For now I'm going to enjoy the relatively laid back, low key training and continue to be excited about the marathon!

My Psuedo Long Run

I have a pretty busy weekend coming up so I decided to do my long run today. It was 5.5 miles, hence the title "Psuedo Long Run". I suspect that in a couple months time 5.5 miles will feel like a walk in the park, but for now it's my longest run to date. As seems to be the case these days I did this run on the treadmill despite the gorgeous running weather. I toyed with heading to Central Park, but the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge was today, which basically meant Central Park would be a free for all with thousands of extra people floating around. Or in other words, not my idea of a good time. In hindsight, perhaps this would have been good practice for the marathon. I will be running with 40,000 of my closest friends after all.


Anyhow, the run went off without a hitch. I kept myself entertained with jeopardy, house hunters, and the food network. And before they could ax the first contest on Chopped, I was done.


Unfortunately it seems that not everything turned out as well as my run. After taking off my socks it appeared I was down 1/2 a toenail, and so I blame the running. 

My bum toenail

Truth be told, my toenail loss is probably more related to my shoe selection as of late. I've been wearing lots of heels for the new internship. Regardless, I'm pretty bummed. It's summer sandal season, and I've got lots of open toe options! Luckily, the peep toe shoes I'm planning to wear this weekend only show my first 3 toes so I've got some recovery time.

Loving the gym?

When I was running in Boston I pretty much avoided the gym at all costs. I distinctly remember getting drenched because I had gone running in the rain. I also remember wearing everything I owned in an attempt to stay warm on a day when I ran outdoors in sub-freezing temperatures. Then of course there was the day I did the opposite- wore as little as possible because it was scorching. For whatever reason I don't seem to have the same aversion to the gym while in NYC. This morning I woke up and it was cool and cloudy. Perfect running weather you might argue. Yet I got dressed and happily hit New York Sports Club for a 3 miler on the treadmill.I suspect my new-found love for the gym is due to 2 main things:

1. A lack of proper running routes near my apartment. In Boston I could be along the Charles river in less than 5 minutes, and even had my choice of a few different entry points. The Charles goes on for miles and miles so you've got lots of options. I've yet to figure out a good way to get to the park or along the river from my place in NY. Seems like it's probably about a mile run there, so at this point when I'm only running 3 miles it seems foolish to expend so much energy getting there. Once my runs start getting longer it's probably worth revisiting.
2. The TVs. I currently am living without a tv. I don't really spend much time at my apartment and if I'm really craving some tv I can head to my sister's place or watch something on my computer. But still, there's something almost reassuring about being able to go to the gym and watch some early morning CNN and Today (I am obsessed with Matt Lauer).

Despite my gym-going (or perhaps because of it) all is going according to plan. This weekend will mark my longest run since the race - 5.5 miles. Am hoping for some nice outdoor running weather for that!

3 days in...

And going strong! New York is treating me well and I'm really enjoying being here!

But, I'm not going to lie. For yesterday's run I definitely missed Boston. Since I had to be at work so early I decided to do my 3 miler post-work. Fortunately I don't work late. Unfortunately this means it's rush hour which means running on city streets around the neighborhood is virtually impossible. Thus, I went to the gym. It's been awhile since I've run on a treadmill when it's nice out. Sure, watching tv while running is a perk, but I really don't like breathing all that recycled gym air, especially after sitting at a desk all day! And I completely forgot how crowded places in NY can get, especially during that peak post-work time. When I was finished with my run there was a line for the treadmills. In fact, the dude who was next was practically on the machine before I hit the stop button. Despite his antics, I successfully completed my 3 miler!

And next week I think I'll bring my stuff to work and go for a run in the park!

And so it begins...

Today was a series of firsts- first official marathon training run, first run since the half, first run through the streets of NYC, and first run in the new kicks.


In actuality the marathon training program I'm following is only 18 weeks, but since I'm super type A, I added a couple easy weeks up front so I have a schedule to follow. Today was a quick 30 minute jog. It felt good to be out and about. And since it was only a half hour no need for beans or Gatorade- makes for a much nicer (and lighter) run!


I have a couple more weeks of relatively easy running before I kick it into high gear, but for now going to enjoy these quick runs!