9 miler

My watch decided to cooperate this morning! It located satellites right away and was ready to go. Sadly, the weather was less cooperative. I woke up at 7:45 and was ready to hit the pavement by 8:05, right as I heard a loud clap of thunder, which was followed by yet another 2 claps of thunder. Since I had 9 miles to cover I was not willing to make the switch to the treadmill, and since I had gotten up so early I refused to postpone until Sunday. One early wake up per weekend is more than sufficient! I waited about 20 minutes and it seemed that the thunder had passed so I decided to make a run for it, literally. On account of the ominous looking skies, and the impending threat of rain I figured it would be best to stay close to home, which meant my route would cover the streets of Bellmore and Wantagh, or for those who aren't from the area- suburbia. As you can imagine, this does not make for the most scenic route. Despite the lack of scenery, the occasional patchy rain (literally it would be raining on one block and not on the next one) and my getting lost (yes, I got lost on some side streets in the town where I grew up and lived for 18 years of my life), I successfully ran all 9 miles. And made it back home. Though, truth be told I did call for a ride when I was 3 blocks from the house. After running 9 miles I just didn't see why I should walk another quarter of a mile!

4-ish miles

Gorgeous morning in Manhattan. I decided to go for my 4 mile run outside. Great decision. I ran up to 60th and then crossed over to the path along the East River.


Unfortunately it seems my GPS watch, which I use to track my time, distance, and pace, did not agree with my decision. See, in order for my watch to record my distance and pace it first needs to locate satellites. And this morning I guess my watch wanted to sleep in. It would hear nothing of my morning run. Without satellites it really is nothing more than a fancy stopwatch. About halfway through my run the satellites and my watch decided to join me. By that time however, I had already decided to run for a specific amount of time, figuring I might end up a little under 4 miles or a little over, but close enough to count as my 4 miles. So this morning I did "4-ish" miles.


If I didn't have to be at work I am certain I would have waited for the satellites. I guess this means I should budget extra time for my long run this weekend?

Commuting to run

I had every intention of going outside for my long run today after work. But, after waiting for the subway, taking the A from 168th and Broadway to 42nd st (with no seats to be had), transferring to the E and taking that to 53rd and Lex, and then walking to the gym on 48th and 2nd, I couldn't stomach yet another "commute" to get my run in. I had planned to change at the gym and start my run from there since the gym is closer to the entrance to the east river, but those extra 10 blocks just seemed downright oppressive. Instead I opted for the treadmill, my standard go to these days.

I was bored, but I completed my 5 miles. Actually, once I got past the first mile or so it wasn't too bad. That said, I definitely will be headed outdoors this weekend!

A bunch of random information

Strange crowd at the gym this morning. First there was the woman who stood facing the wall with her eyes closed running her hands up and down the wall. Then there was the guy who lifted up his shirt to check his abs out in the mirror. And finally there was the guy who was scratching his leg so vigorously his entire body was shaking. Needless to say it made for an interesting morning workout!


This week marks the beginning of my increase in weekday mileage. Yesterday I ran 4 miles instead of the 3 I've been doing over the past few weeks. Over the next 15 weeks, 2 of my 3 weekday runs will gradually increase from 3 miles to 5. The other run will peak at 10 miles. Running 10 miles on a weekday seems a bit daunting, especially when flanked by 5 mile runs and a 20 mile run the following weekend (note: this is the peak of training; after this week my mileage drops precipitously to allow my body to rest before the marathon). This week I ran 10 miles, split over 3 days and I'll admit, I'm tired. Fortunately I've got a day off tomorrow and in fact will be taking off the rest of the weekend. I'm headed to Miami to hang with some friends and will be leaving the sneakers behind. I'm planning to make up my long run on Monday. We'll see how that goes!

Best run yet!

My 7 miler this morning was absolutely fantastic! Not too hot, not too sunny, new hydration belt, vanilla bean GU, and lots of nice people out and about. I exchanged quite a few "good mornings". And at one point during the run I was heading over a relatively narrow bridge. There was a gentleman on his bicycle approaching from the opposite direction. It would have been a tight squeeze if we both tried to go over the bridge at the same time. Not to worry, he stopped and let me pass! Really what more could a girl ask for on a run. It almost makes waking up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning worthwhile. Well, almost...

Still indoors

Yet another 3 miler on the treadmill. Fortunately I've got a 7 mile outdoor run on the schedule for this weekend. And yes I used the word "fortunately". Trust me, it's just as surprising to me as it is to you, but I'm actually looking forward to a long run outside. I spend so much time indoors attending meetings held in windowless rooms. Someone really ought to inform the hospital that rooms without windows are also known as closets. And furthermore are clearly a fire hazard. For an organization that spends so much time educating it's employees on the use of fire extinguishers you'd think they value fire safety. I'd also point out that if there were actually escape routes (aka windows) we might not need so much education on the extinguishers, but I digress...


Stay tuned for an exciting update on the debut of my new hydration belt during this week's long run!

So over the heat!

Unfortunately I didn't make it to Central Park this morning. My alarm went off at 7am and I was not at all ready to get up. I did that thing where I pretend like I'm going to get out of bed - rolled over, checked the weather, but ultimately decided I would rest my eyes for just another minute. Well, next thing I knew it was 8:45 and according to weather.com it felt like 86 degrees outside. And so off to the gym I went, where I successfully completed my 6 miles. Though it is too bad that I wasn't able to run in the park.


It's hard to believe but I am now halfway done with my internship which means I have limited time left in New York. With many of my weekends already spoken for I have only a few options to get in some long runs in the park. Here's to hoping this heat wave breaks so I can knock out a 9 or 10 miler in Central Park in the next couple of weeks.

Accessorizing

We all know I'm a sucker for a good accessory (for proof of this point I invite you to check out my shoe collection). By that logic, why should running be any different? Thus I have begun to explore the wide world of running accessories. This week's spotlight item: the hydration belt.

A hydration belt with 1 water bottle (like the one below) is cool...

My old hydration belt

Back when I wasn't crazy (or more accurately, when I was slightly less crazy) this hydration belt was more than sufficient.

But now that I am fully and completely crazy (is there any other way to describe someone who voluntary commits to running 26.2 miles at once), I am way cooler. So to match my new-found coolness I decided it was time to upgrade. Enter my brand new hydration belt, with 4 bottles!

Proudly displaying my new hydration belt!

Yes, I know you are all jealous.

Should I see any of you out and about while I'm sporting my super cool new accessory I'll be sure to say hello and wave with vigor. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on an opportunity to be associated with the coolest gal in town!

Halfway There! (for fundraising anyway)

Friends & Family, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! The donations I have received to date have been extremely generous and as a result I am proud to report that I am now more than halfway to my fundraising goal! With just over $1,000 to go, and all of your tremendous support, I am hopeful that I'll be able to reach my $2,500 goal in no time!

If you would like to make a donation, please visit my fundraising page here: Lauren's fundraising page

Thank you again for all your support! And stay tuned for more training updates - 6 miler in Central Park is coming up this weekend.