What a week

It's been a heck of a week. I'm still in shock about the destruction Sandy has caused and how it has crippled the city, long island, and New Jersey. One of my best friends likes to remind me of the high correlation between my travel and natural disasters. Every time I announce new travel plans or shortly after I return from somewhere, the area seems to be impacted by a natural disaster. Why should the NYC marathon be any different?

I received word this morning that the marathon is officially on. I have very mixed emotions about the upcoming race. On one hand, it seems like the policemen and all the volunteers who would be working the marathon should be focusing their time on more important recovery efforts. Logistics are still very much up in the air. The subways (and other forms of transportation) are only partially running, which means not all the runners will even make it to the race. It also makes it harder for spectators to visit multiple points along the course (which is particularly upsetting to me since I need all the motivation and support I can get!). And it's still unclear how we will even make it to the start line. On a more personal note, I'm sad that my first, and likely only, marathon is one that won't have the same energy as previous NYC marathons, and is even facing backlash from many local residents (who believe individuals should not be diverted from recovery efforts for the race).

On the other hand, and selfishly, I have been training for this race since June. I am ready for this race and I am ready to be done. I have no desire to spend hours running on the weekends. I have no desire to sit home with a bag of frozen peas on my shins. I am uninterested in waking up at 6am so I can run 10 miles before class. My hope is that this race will be symbolic of the perseverance of NYC and will be a positive experience for everyone involved - runners, spectators, volunteers, workers, the city.

Despite the logistical challenges, I'm looking forward to this weekend and am excited to become an official "marathoner"! Stay tuned for what I hope will be an exciting post on Sunday or Monday!

Home stretch

With less than 2 weeks to go until the big day, I'm well into the taper of my training. This past weekend was my last double digit run. From here on out it's smooth sailing. I've got an 8 mile run this weekend, and a couple of shorter runs next week. I can't believe the marathon is so close. In fact, I'm just 1 day away from being able to see the anticipated marathon weather in the 10 day forecast! Keeping my fingers crossed for a nice day!

20 miles #@!%

Holy #@!%. I ran 20 miles this morning. And I crushed it. A special shout out to my friends Brent and Emily who joined me for the run. Brent was a champ and ran all 20 with me. Emily joined us at the halfway point and provided some much needed new energy and a new route. Thanks to both of you!!

Physically speaking, I'm feeling pretty good, though my legs are definitely tired. My mobility seems to be a bit limited this afternoon. Mentally, I am on top of the world. First of all, this run was light years ahead of my 14 miles last weekend and I maintained an even better pace than I did during my 18 mile run (thanks to my running partners). If I can run 20, I can run 26.2.

I would be remiss to not mention the weather today, since it's one of my favorite topics to post about. All summer long I forced myself to wake up early to beat the heat. Today I woke up early in an effort to not spend the entire day running. What was I greeted with you may ask? Temperatures in the low 30s, with a wind chill placing it in the 20s. My how the tables have turned.

From here on out should be smooth sailing. This was my peak week of training. I covered 40 miles this week. Now I start the taper, and am in the home stretch. Just 3 weeks until the marathon.

And I have officially reached my fundraising goal! A very hearty thank you to everyone for all of your generous support! This truly would not have been possible without you!

So far, so good

It seems (fingers crossed) that last week was just a blip in the training. Great news! So far this week I've done a 5 mile and a 10 mile run. Both went fantastically, so I'm cautiously optimistic about the next few weeks.

In order to get my 10 miles in today I had to get up at 6am. Nobody told me that it doesn't get light out until 7am! Seriously? In order to make it to class in time (and ensure adequate time for showering), I had no choice but to head out at 6:30am. It was not fun. (And Mom, don't worry I ran only on main roads where there were street lamps!). Luckily during the run I ran into (literally) one of my classmates and ran with him for a couple of miles. It was great to have some company, and he really forced me to pick up my pace.

I'm actively planning for this weekend's 20 mile run. That is the furthest distance I'll cover before the marathon. I've asked almost everyone I know in Boston if they are interested in running some part of that distance with me. It should be interesting to try and coordinate... We shall see!

Poor excuse for a run

Today's run was by far the worst run of my training to date. I was meant to run 14 miles. I slowly jogged/struggled through the first 7 and 3/4 at which point I decided I just could not go any further and so I walked. Once I hit 8 miles I found a bench and literally sat down and read some email. I was about half a mile from my apartment so I toyed with cutting my losses and just going home, but decided I really should finish the last 6 miles. So I got back up and was on my way. The last 6 were just as painful as the first 8, perhaps even more so. Through some combination of horrendously slow jogging, walking, and sitting on benches I managed to cover all 14 miles. It was not pretty. And I'm bummed, to say the least. The past few weeks have been awesome. This week has been a constant struggle. I need to figure out what's going on here, especially since I'm in the home stretch. Just 4 weeks to go until the marathon. Hopefully I can get this sorted out sometime soon...

Some days are slower than others

And some posts take longer to make it to my blog than others.


Tuesday morning's run this week was 5 miles. At this point 5 miles should be a breeze, yet for whatever reason I struggled through it. In fact, I ran at a slower pace than I did for my 18 mile run last weekend. That is crazy. If I had to guess, I suspect there were a few things going on here:

1. Mental preparation. Before my 18 mile run I got myself psyched up. I knew 18 miles was a long way so made sure that I was anticipating the run and was excited for it. For 5 miles I pretty much rolled out of bed and went for it. 
2. Recovery time. Yes, my 18 mile run was 3 days ago, but I suspect it took more out of me than I am willing to give it credit for. I am betting that my body is still trying to figure out what I did to it and why. 
3. Pace. The runs in which I am most successful I start off pretty slow and gradually pick up my pace over the first couple miles. Today I just went for it right off the bat. I definitely started at too fast a pace and paid for it later.
4. Route. I overestimated the distance of my planned route. This meant that I spent my last mile running in circles. Boredom is not helpful, especially when you're already struggling. 

I guess the important thing is that I finished my 5 miles. And since then I also managed to get in another 5 miles and a 9 miler. Looking forward to 14 miles tomorrow!

18 miles!

I ran 18 miles yesterday. That is crazy. Normally I don't think I even travel 18 miles over the course of a week. I actually felt great during the run. Admittedly I got really bored at mile 14, but I pushed through and completed all 18. Turns out that running that far is pretty darn exhausting not to mention sweat inducing. When I got home my roommate asked me if it was raining out. Nope. No rain. All sweat. Yup, it was pretty nasty. I was also in dire need of some fluid replacement. As you can see I had a wide selection of water, gatorade, and chocolate milk.

Post-run beverage selection

All in all, what is most crazy, or exciting I suppose, is that the marathon actually feels like it's within reach. Sure, I've still got another 8.2 miles to run the day of, but I actually think I can do it!