Weekending.

How is it half way through August? This is depressing that summer is almost over. And can we take a moment to discuss how I am now waking up to darkness? I miss the days when the sun was already rising when I woke at 5 something. Now I am back to walking out the door for my run and darkness. Wah.

I am sitting here Monday morning, with so much happiness after another lovely weekend and also with my second large coffee of the day. The struggle was real during my 6 miles this morning.

Although that might be more to do with the fact that I drank my weight in wine yesterday and was sweating out rose ;)

But anyways it was too great of a weekend not to recap!

Started off with a long run and almost dying. #dramatic #notjoking

I do all my runs fasted and without fueling. I woke to my stomach a little rumbly (looking at you Friday night wine) and took off – and about ½ a mile in I was hungry. I knew it was going to be tough. I ran a newish route and while it was gorgeous, holy hot one. 

No filter needed for that blue sky.

I was saved a couple times.

First by this mirage that appeared at 6 miles when things were about to get bad (seriously wine the night before a long run is always a toss up, and stupid - I like testing the boundaries of a sensitive stomach + Crohn's).

A beautiful sight. Seriously. 

And then the marina being opened at mile 8.

I have never drank a bottle of powerade zero so fast. Not to mention I hate the stuff usually. But coincidence that my splits dropped after some fluids? I think not.

But 11 successful miles in the books. 

I showered, grabbed some foods and all the drinks and headed out to Long Beach for the day. 

Recovery done right. #amIright ?!

Then dinner (errr dessert?) was this. Seriously – s'mores pizza. So wrong, yet so right.

Sunday was up bright and early and in the city for a day of Vineyard touring!

We stopped at Osprey’s Dominion, Duck Walk and Jason’s.

I shall let the photos speak for themselves. It was an AMAZING day. Okay, any day with wine and sunshine makes me happy but seriously; it was a well run tour and went pretty smoothly. I definitely recommend the Hampton Luxury Liner tour (the one that keeps popping up on Groupon/Living Social etc.) I would do it again!

Can I live here?

Because wine on the bus when you have 5 minutes between Vineyards.

And then, the weekend was over and Monday morning reality slapped me in the face.

Let’s just hope this week flies by because this weekend coming up is one I have been looking forward to for a year, Lindsay is getting married. And in honor of that I am sharing one of my all time favorite photos.

Happy Monday, hope you had a fantastic weekend! 

Weekend Recap: 6 Days Out from the Marathon!

Can we insert a holy s*it moment. I kind of want to throw up and do a victory dance at the same time.

Officially less than one week until the NJ Marathon. I cannot believe it is here. At this point (well technically about 2 weeks ago) there is nothing left to do, you've trained and prepped and now all that remains is continuing to taper down and get ready to run the crap out of 26.2 miles.

I actually had (for me) quite the active and eventful weekend. I did this before the Miami Marathon as well...got to be the couple weeks before and I came out of my hibernation. It helps distract from all the down time that I have since I am not doing a bazillion workouts each week anymore.

Let's see this is how I kept myself occupied.

This finally happened and I am in love. This is my third and I love love love it!

Left wrist :)

The weather was gorgeous and boy do I have the tan lines to prove it! I was supposed to run a 5K Sunday and long run Saturday...my Saturday got a little jumbled so I bailed on the 5K and did a short run Saturday and long on Sunday.

Apparently getting "less fat" as I like to call it (and no I do not think I am fat, but I am actually actively putting my plan in place of 'not acting like a vacuum' anymore and eating ALL the things) makes you speedier.

This happened:

Splits of 8:45, 8:35, 7:57, 7:44 - HUH? what? I wasn't "trying" until the end. Just trying to keep a natural pace.

Pace was actually 8:17 I just didn't reset

Then Saturday got busy with work stuff and my favorite part - the lazy ass persons answer to foam rolling aka: massage FTW! It. Was. Glorious. And my masseuse thought I was tensing my muscles when she worked my calves that is how tight they were. Yeah, I know. I don't stretch. Or foam roll. Or anything.

Can I have this every day? No?

Topped off by filling myself full of homemade carb goodness:

Sunday I took my sweet ass time getting out of bed before knocking out a little over 8 miles. LAST LONG RUN! and it went amazing. I challenge myself to set my Garmin screen to the time and just run a route I knew. Came back with these splits: 9:31, 9:12, 9:09, 9:06, 9:06, 9:06, 8:50, 9:06, 8:39 apparently I can run a mean 9:06. I will take that for a last run.

AVG pace actually 9:07

 

Gloriously sweaty

And finally it was time for my BFF's Birthday brunch. And this is all you need to know about why I was in bed at ohhhh like 7pm. One photo will sum it all up.

So there you have it! A pretty fantastic weekend if I do say so myself.

I feel ready for this race. Or at least that is what I am telling myself. I will get into goals and plans and pacing later on in the week. Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Anyone else going to be in NJ this weekend? Also, am I the only one who's Garmin really makes me neurotic? I need to get back to learning to run by effort versus the data that thing is spitting out at me.

13.1 New York Goals

FINALLY! Real racing begins this weekend. I don't count my 5K a couple weeks ago as "real" racing, even though I won a trophy and all.

That was fun, but the torture that is a 5K and all is not something that I look forward to on my racing schedule.

This weekend the fun begins!

Low number love! And BEER. Bring on the beer. 

This weekend however I am running the Allstate Life Insurance 13.1 New York. This is the race that started it all, and will be my third year running. It is a fun race and will probably continue to run it for sentimental reasons.

If I wasn't already iffy about my ability to PR tomorrow, I would like to thank NYCRuns for the extra vote of confidence (in today's racing email):

13,1 New York 3/23 - Flushing Meadows Park wasn't created for a half-marathon, but that's part of the fun at this annual 13.1-series event in Queens. The sharp turns and loops make the Allstate 13.1 uniquely challenging. Not a PR course, but definitely one of the most interesting! As with all of races in the 13.1 series, this one will feature a 5K as well.

Womp, womp.

While we are on the topic let's discuss what my goals are for this race:

1. A Goal: PR which means anything under 1:53:14 for me. I may be laughing at that.
2. B Goal: Under 2:00
3. C Goal: Under 2:07 (last years course time)

I genuinely have no clue how tomorrow is going to go.

First I suppose let's discuss workouts. I did 3 runs and my final run on Wednesday was a 30 minute tempo and let's just say my legs felt heavy and I was breathing heavy. HM goal pace was not feeling the best. Always a confidence booster when trying to run for 15 minutes at goal pace feels awful.

I kind of failed on rest days. Sure I didn't run - but I did an hour on the elliptical yesterday and some elliptical plus an hour on the bike this morning. Oops.

My foot is feeling SLIGHTLY better, but it's still sore. However pain is pain. It's probably going to be bothersome whether my pace is easy or all out so I mean mine as well go all out to get it done faster, right?

And then we have my stomach. I haven't made it through a run over 4 miles in about a month without a bathroom break. I am fine with stopping just hoping if I have to it just happens right off the bat so I can get on with it. And I know I've mentioned but funny enough my PR from November is with a bathroom break. Sheesh I was speedier. Time to lay off the carbs.

But all in all, I am looking forward to racing. I know whatever happens I will have a good time. I have a pretty tough race calendar this spring and just am looking forward to kicking things off!

Spring Race Schedule: Updated

A little something has happened since I last spoke of my 2013 Goals and Races.

THIS happened?!

Not sure how this evolved...

The other day my running buddy sent me over a picture of her year in racing planned out so that we can coordinate.

Now she is a little more crazy than myself in terms of the load she takes on (as if that was possible...) since she will be doing Tough Mudders and dipping into Tri's...with a 1/2 Iron Man planned (can you see how we are destined to be running besties - go big all the way baby!). I am sticking with just the running for now as I plan on hitting some Ultra's this year and am focusing on improving my running speed and endurance.

That lead me to think about how I've on the whim signed up for a couple "other" races recently and well perhaps I should write that out.

Glad I did.

Anyone else notice as of 4/7 I have a race every weekend.

All I can say is please say a prayer for me that I make it through May alive. If I am still standding come May 27th I am giving myself a gold star.

Starting this weekend spring racing commences. And obviously this weekend is a 5K that I was given a free entry for so I can't complain too much - it will be my first time playing on the trails and it's a baby race...I am mostly concerned with my tendency to trip over my own two feet and how that will play out on the trails.

So I'm not sure if this is an epic fail or an epic win.

On one hand. I LOVE TO RACE.

On the other, in terms of hitting new PR's and such I am not sure how it is going to play out.

I am pretty confident that I can PR the full marathon. But not sure about the half (an update on that training to come...) And the Ultra is more for "fun" than time. So I think that I should be alright.

Only time will tell just how crazy I am.

YAY for running!

Anyone else out there do this - race a lot of weekends back to back? I did this in the fall with 6 (I think) half marathons. I PR'd the first and last and ran the middle one's more for enjoyment than time.

Letting Loose

3 day weekend FTW! (which I didn't know about until Thurday night, which makes it even more special).

And thus far it has been quite the fun little weekend!

Friday night had a fun time catching up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while at one of my favorite places right around the corner from me: Zack's. It is a really cute little place just a few blocks from me and has been a stand by for casual dates/meet ups.

Saturday let myself sleep in (9am rebel here) and then it was off for a quick few miles.

My new Mizuno Wave Creation's (13's again not upgrading until the next round) FINALLY arrived at Fleet Feet so it felt good to have a fresh pair and logging some miles on them before the marathon. I am in love with this shoe. But man they get pricey and I go through them so quick even though I only use them for longish runs (usually over an hour). I have several other sneaks I use depending on workout type.

We are going to own 26.2 like a boss.

Easy peasy.

Then I had something that changed my life. And no, this is not dramatic.



Breakfast of champions. And yes laziness is putting the pb straight on the banana. The banana was delicious but the real star is below...

This is a gift from the God's. Mind blown. Amazing.

I have seen this around and do not know why I didn't buy it earlier. Oh wait, I do know. I have NO control with nut butters and this sounded too good to be true. And the verdict is it is amazeballs. I am drooling thinking about it.

It was then off for another Zog's football game! I am so happy that I joined up with this team. First they are awesome and second it's a lot of fun! Still not 100% sure what I am doing other than running around a lot; but I am good at running around so hey it's something!

Gorgeous day and beautiful new turf field. So fancy.

After our game, we headed out to the bar - mind you it was noon - and it was all down hill from that point on.

The next (few) hours were spent playing flip cup, beer pong and cornhole - and having a dance party.

Note to self: a banana is not going to be the best food choice to drink on. Eat more next time.

I also love that Zogs makes me feel like I am in college once again. Helping adults make bad decisions!

Woo!

It was a lot of fun to go out and be social, the team is a lot of fun and it's all about balance right? I have been so strict with myself during this training cycle but at this point I still have a few runs but I'm just ready for the marathon and they are all run easy.

Now I am going to spend a lot of time resting and relaxing.

Or going out to watch football...I mean it is a 3 day weekend after all!

Happy long weekend...to those that have it!

Long Weekend + NYCRuns Central Park 10 Miler Recap

Monday we meet again. 

I am coming off a fantastic 3 day weekend. Friday I took off as it was the wedding of one of my dearest friends. She and her husband embody the relationship I think everyone wants. They perfectly complement one another. I definitely got teary eyed on multiple occasions – she was living with me when they began dating and he pretty much lived with us within the month as well, so I very much had an inside look into the relationship and watching it develop. Just beautiful.

Enough with the mushy stuff ;-)

Let’s just say that the wedding was quite the spectacular event. Gorgeous on all fronts and I consumed more alcohol than I have in a while. Waking up the first time Saturday morning was not the best. Luckily I wake up super early so was able to go back to sleep before we had to go down to the morning breakfast and check out of the hotel.

Which was a good thing because I had an active day ahead of me on Saturday. I was able to get home and run some errands and then I was off to run. Tapering down and Saturday’s mileage was just 4 which turned in to just under 5 also paced just under 9 min miles. Taking it easy? Meh. I was just listening to my body and the pace felt good. 

 I should probably also mention that the whole rest day Friday thing didn’t quite happen. I wound up running 5 miles in the morning…intervals on the treadmill. I have issues. But that workout was more for the fact that the dress for the wedding was skin tight and I felt a sweaty workout was in order.

Anyways, on Saturday I was also trying to “rush” because I had been called upon to play 2 touch football. 

Apparently the thought is that I work at the NFL which means I may be a ringer. Not so sure about that, I felt that the majority of the time was just spent running around at first aimlessly until I got the hang of it. A lot different “playing” football and understanding versus watching. But I made a catch blocked a pass to the end zone stuck with my girl and felt that overall I wasn’t awful. 

By the time I got home from all the activity in a slightly hungover state I was ready to get in bed and just chill the heck out. Especially since I had the NYCRuns 10 Mile on Sunday morning.

I love the 10 mile distance. And this worked perfectly into my marathon taper. My training schedule called for 12 miles on Sunday. So I woke up (so late that I quite literally RAN to the PATH station to head into the city) and upon arriving in the park started running to get those first couple miles in. I was on a bit of a time constraint so I was 100% ignoring the whole “take it slow” thing that I am supposed to do for the long runs. I started out pacing again around 9 min miles and got those 2 in with a few minutes to spare before the race began. 

I really appreciate the NYCRuns races. I like to do them as an alternative to the NYRR ones which at times are just crowded and annoying. I think that the group over at NYCRuns does a great job. The prices are decent for the races and I like that they are smaller. For example yesterdays was capped at 500 and sold out.  

So without much fanfare, right around 9am we were off and running. I went out faster than I would have liked but was having a problem toning back the pace. I don’t think it is AS important for the shorter distance to go super slow like it is for a 20 miler but then again since I haven’t ran my first marathon just yet I will let you know if I taper properly or not!

The first couple of miles I was just cruising along quite honestly trying to decide how I planned on pacing this race out. For a good 20 minutes there I did have some intent on going for a PR but then decided that was probably not the smartest and just settled on a pace that was just slightly hard.

A side note: I can totally feel the difference in sustaining speed. I do not think I could run a half right now and beat my PR from November. Then again I am not rested at all but still that just doesn’t seem feasible right now. 

Once I decided to not be a moron and push for a PR I actually stopped fully to fuel a few miles in. Water and a Chocolate Raspberry Roctane, which are seriously like crack. I took my time stretched a bit as well before taking off again. I should also note that also not shockingly I was not properly fueled for a long run in general. I had half a packet of Gu Chomps for “breakfast” and had that hunger feeling starting at about 3 miles in to the race (5 total) that would not go away. But on the other front, my stomach was amazing throughout this run! Which is always encouraging. I didn’t eat any crap during the week. Even at the wedding there was no dessert (because quite honestly I was WAY more interested in wine and dancing) and I have been keeping the eats clean and healthy. It really isn’t rocket science for me and my body. If I treat it well with what I put into it, it cooperates (for the most part) and my stomach does not rebel.

I was feeling good…then we got to the West Side (the race began on the west side and headed east around the park skipping Harlem Hill and using the transverse to cut across, for 2 loops). Those damn rolling hills. I was feeling it. I could tell that my legs were heavier and not rested one bit. I figured that this was the time to work on keeping the pace consistent. While there won’t be hills during Miami I am POSITIVE there are going to be points when my legs are feeling a little bit like lead. 

I said a prayer as we finished the first loop and was happy for some flat terrain for a little bit. Cat Hill was once again a bit challenging and I felt like I labored my way up it. I was running on pace with a few people including an elderly man and my focus was just to stay with them for the duration or pass them but not let them get out of my distance.

 

As soon as my Garmin hit 10 (8 into the race) I finally felt like I was in the clear and was kind of ready to be done running. Of course had to tackle the West Side still but when you know you are running for less than 20 minutes in my head I am basically done. 

I stopped once again completely to fuel up with another Gu and water and then took on the remainder of the race. My pace was pretty consistent throughout and during that final mile I pushed it to finish strong. 

The result: 1:32:23 9:14/mile

Not too bad. Especially considering I fully stopped two times to fuel up. 

I finished grabbed some water, Gatorade, bagel and apple and booked it on out of there back to Hoboken. The weather was very weird – it was kind of misty but not cold. I was overdressed for the race. I had worn cold gear tights and a singlet with a long sleeve shirt over…I was sweating up a storm. I knew I was going to be warm and probably should have taken off the shirt I had over. So after I was a sweaty mess and then a cold sweaty mess.

  

I was happy that I headed home straight away because for the next few hours – my stomach was a disaster and a half. I was glad that it decided until I was home to go crazy but then I was also nauseous (pretty sure from the lack of food) and literally shoveled a sandwich in and then curled up to sleep it off after I showered. 

And then spent the rest of the day lounging and being a bum. Which after quite the eventful weekend was pretty glorious to say the least!

And now, I am done. Rather long post, yikes! Hope you had a great weekend, I fully intend on taking further advantage of this “warm” weather we are having and doing more of my runs outside this week.