And the two winners of the “Guess my Finish at the 4 Miler this weekend and the Turkey Trot 5K!” given my 22:10 in the 5K and my 29:37 in the 4 miler are…
Congrats!! Please email me your name, postal address and your prize choice from the list (in the post above) and I’ll ship it when I return to the US in two weeks. Whoever emails first, gets first choice of prize!
And the three winners of the Mile High Run Club giveaway, as selected by the random thing where I just push a magic button, are…
tarararararraraaaaaaaaaaa…
Congrats!! Please email me ASAP and I’ll give you a code to sign up for a class. HURRY, codes expire on 12/31!
Just like we did before every single race I’ve done in the last two years, it’s time to place your bets again… There is always someone who hits it right in the head! (always unbelievable! look at this one: guesses here, winner here). Pick a finish time for each distance and write in the comments below.
As usual, there’s gonna be PRIZES… you can 1 pick from these. there’ll be a winner for each race result win!
Ok, the data…
Recent: Grete’s Great Gallop on October 5th in 1:44. Staten Island Half on October 12th in 1:43. NYC Marathon in 3:49.
My guess:
Prizes shipped only within the US, but you can have me send it to someone in the US. / Comments with guesses will only count if they are posted here (not on facebook, not on runnersworld.com, HERE) / If there are two guesses with the exact same time, the first one wins.
Everyone that knows me, knows I don’t do classes, I hate treadmills (haven’t been on one in 4 years, when I flew off it), I hate working out, more so if it’s indoors. Not doing it. Remember when I tried spinning and hated it so much??? Ugh, I still shudder, ugh.
Enter the new thing in NYC, the “treadmill studios”. What? Yeah. There was an article in the NY Times (so you know it’s serious) called Happily Going Nowhere fast. Interesting, I thought. As in: no way. Ms. Warner’s studio (the Mile High Run Club, there’s a few others) provides an indoor service for which busy New Yorkers seem to be desperate: a high-intensity interval workout in 45 minutes. The 4,000-square-foot space has ample room for 30 Woodway treadmills, which have a running surface like tank treads that is supposed to mimic the feel of trail running.
OMG. NO. SO NOT. Come on, it is a GYM, people!!! Just go outside. I know, I know, not everyone hates gyms as much as I do. But EVERYTHING in me just goes against the concept. Even if I hate the weather from October to May, I still can’t consider working out indoors a possibility, but I got an invite to try the Mile High Run Club (from our friends at Finish Line!) and, for the sake of ridiculous or investigation, I accepted. I managed to drag Juan with me, and met up Simon (an awesome Whippet team mate there who I LOVE) which made it a lot less scary.
The Mile High Run Club, looks like a regular studio, nice, clean, with cute showers and lockers and I have to say, the name is genius. They have two types of classes. The Dash 28 and the Distance. I had no idea about any of that, but we were invited to the Dash28 Run.
We get there and there’s about 15-20 people, we change, we chat, we head in, voila!
I had tried one of those Woodways before, the Eco Mill, that is curved up and doesn’t use electricity and is self-propelled. These were the flat version, but probably still better than your regular gym treadmill.
Soon, Debora, our Coach but also Founder of the MHRC, starts the class. She’s super nice! There’s low colored lights that keep changing and music. Nothing crazy loud but fun. And soon she says we’re gonna warm up. Oh God. Jumping Jacks and the rest is a messy blur. We did stuff like that for a few minutes and I remember being exhausted by the time we had to get up on the treadmill -I am toast. Can I just tell her I did the marathon a week ago and I am still exhausted and bail out??? coward, stay there!!!!
We get on the treadmills and she explains we’re going to warm up first. (I was sweating profusely already from the warm up). The treadmill stays on 1 incline for the easy parts. We then pick our intensity level from a little cheat chart there is on every machine, super easy, and when she says it’s lap one, you crank up the incline to 6 or what she says and start on your level one, whatever that is.
Then she counts down, you reduce the speed again and the incline, slowrun for a bit, and then again up, to your level 2, whatever that is!
I really liked that you could manage your intensity level, which means you can head to the class with any friend and “workout together” even if you’re really not the same speed. Awesome. What I didn’t like: the treadmills shook a LOT!!!! I asked Debora if they all did that, and yes, I could see everyone was shaking. For someone like me, who hates treadmills, and quite probably I am was scared to death because I fell off one 4 years ago and broke some bones, and haven’t been on once since then, this was terrifying. I held onto the front bars the whole session. There goes my form!!!! Debora did say they were coming that day to affix them to the floor or something, so I’d definitely check back with them before I do this again.
Now, if you know me, you know I really HATE treadmills (hey, FALL, and 4 YEARS!!!) so I was ready to HATE HATE this. And you know, when I went to Soulcycle, I really hated it. Really hated it. Now, this felt very different. For once, my heart rate was high at all times. YEY. Like 180s and 190s. Second, I was running hard and up and because I was being told what to do, I didn’t worry much about keeping up pace (the machine does it for you!) or felt as hard as when you tryi to pace yourself outdoors. I don’t know that this would become something I’d do (at $34 dollars a class, I’d definitely would think about it) a lot of but I think, during the winter months, sometimes I just really really want to sweat a lot, and wear little clothes, you know? I can definitely see this as something I’d do with my friends, instead of happy hour! Because I can go in there with ANY of my friends, not just the ones that are about the same speed as me or training for the same distance.
I really did like that I was pouring in 5 minutes. I was sweating the whole classe!! You can make the workout as hard or easy as you want! I also liked that Juan was by me and we kept upping our numbers to beat each other, ha, best motivation ever!!!
After we finished all 4 intervals, I was dizzy and thought that would have thrown up if I had eaten anything that morning. I needed a minute. Oh and then more drills (like burpees and other “amazing” things) and some stretching. Loved the drills part too. She was ON POINT. And you know I am a little snob-drill!!
The total mileage was about 3:xx, and my heart rate was high up! I was so hungry after!!! Those drills, some with kettle bells, were a bit murderous for me, but so happy I didn’t run out!!!
That’s the class after the session, there were smoothies and chia bars and coffee! YEY, I needed food and a shower FAST!
So, there’s my take. It’s interesting and I think I’d definitely go back, mostly in the winter. And I think it’s the best way to get “that”friend of yours who is not so sure they want to run yet, to try running! Sometimes a treadmill is less scary than the road and you can be right by their side 😉
You know we love to do a giveaway or two a week, so, here’s an awesome one! If you’re not following this blog, do so you don’t miss out on these opportunities! I’ll be selecting 10 winners to get a free class, to use before December 31st, randomly!
All you have to do to enter for a chance to win ONE of the TEN free classes. Each one of these gives you one shot at a win!
When you do any of those above, make sure you post/tweet about your best #runnershigh and tag MHRC
I’ll pick TEN winners randomly on November 24th, at noon. Good Luck!
And the three winners of the KT Tape rolls giveaway, as selected by the random thing where I just push a magic button, are…
tarararararraraaaaaaaaaaa…
Congrats!! Please email me your name, postal address and color preference and they’ll be shipped to you ASAP!
My super official NYC Marathon finish time is 3:48:18:
So strange that, for ONCE, no one hit it!!!! No one even guessed 3:48:anything! Ha, maybe because I had guessed I’d be around 3:42 or 3:45? Oh, ooops for that! The closest were a 3:47 and a 3:49… I did the math and the closest one is… the winner is….
Congrats “Justin”!!!!!! Please email me your choice of prize (from the post), postal address in the US, and name and will ship it ASAP!! And no worries y’all losers, I probably doing a race in a few weeks (a 4 miler in Nov 23rd!) so you’ll have another go at playing soon!
You know we love to do a giveaway or two a week, so, here’s an awesome one!!! If you’re not following this blog, do so you don’t miss out on this. This time, KT Tape wants to give you a free roll of KT TAPE, how cool is thaaaat?
I am sure you know them, but if you need info, here’s some straight from their site:
Need support that will endure multiple lighter workouts? Then original KT TAPE is for you. It provides targeted pain relief and will stay in place through multiple workouts for up to 3 days, through daily showers, humidity, cold, even in the pool. Each box comes with 20 precut strips of tape on a roll and a quick start guide with step-by-step instructions for the most common injuries.
All you have to do to enter for a chance to win ONE of the THREE rolls is just comment below with your pick of color. To choose a color, visit the KT Tape page for a list.
We’ll pick THREE winners randomly on November 7th, at noon. One thing: if you don’t live in the US, we’ll ship it to a friend of yours in the US to hold it for you, ok?
Go for it! Good Luck!
Just like we did before every single race I’ve done in the last two years (link to last one, and the NYC Half guess) it’s time to place your bets again… There is always someone who hits it right in the head! (always unbelievable! look at this one: guesses here, winner here)
Pick a finish time and write in the comments below. Whoever gets closer, wins, If there’s two identical times, the first poster wins! Make sure if you include seconds in there too, and post before Saturday November 1st at 7 pm EST.
As usual, there’s gonna be PRIZES… you can 2 pick from these:
Recent:
Grete’s Great Gallop on October 5th in 1:44. Staten Island Half on October 12th in 1:43.
Marathons:
My PR is from Berlin 2012: 3:27:44, the last marathon I did was Boston 2014 in 3:49 and NYCM 2013 in 3:49.
Running Calculators!
the jackdaniels calculator says the SI half 1:43:39 gives me a 3:36 marathon
the macmillan calculator says the SI half 1:43:39 gives me a 3:38 marathon
the runnersworld calculator says the SI half 1:43:39 gives me a 3:36 marathon
I’d add a few minutes to those as those estimates are for a flat marathon.
No PR this year! I am guessing between 3:39 (my A Goal and a course PR) and a 3:46, because I did NYCM last year in 3:49 and I am in a bit better shape this year.
GO ON! Place your bets below!!! Good luck to us!!
Prizes shipped only within the US, but you can have me send it to someone in the US. / Comments with guesses will only count if they are posted here (not on facebook, not on runnersworld.com, HERE) before Saturday Nov 1st 7 pm EST. / If there are two guesses with the exact same time, the first one wins.
And the winner of the Giveaway: the coolest running tshirts!, as selected by the random thing where I just a button, is…
KRISTEN BEREN!
Congrats Kristen!! I’ll be connecting you and Matt so you can let him know what you want from the store!!
For everybody else, here is a 20% discount code you can use: RUNNINGANDTHECITY
People, check these tshirts out: IAM Funny Shirts!
They have a running shirt section with a few funny, clever running designs. All the shirts are made with a tri-blend fabric, so they are extremely soft, and the ink is dyed into the fabric of the shirt, so it does not feel like a bumper sticker on your chest. And they are hand-printed!!! Here is a video for a little more info about then. I loved all he says, and to tell you the truth, I assumed the tshirts were going to be sooooo expensive with all that stuff and all hand-made (and they’re not!)
I LOVE them!!! they’re SOOOO soft it’s unreal!!! and they fit nicely (if you need to compare for shopping, I picked S, I like them loose!)
Sooooo sorry about the indoor pictures, you know I am usually better than that, but they’re in the laundry now to do anything about it! Plus, I was obviously OFF cause who gets two t-shirts in the same color??? Yours truly!
Anyway, you can win a shirt of your choice!! Giveaway is HERE, feel free to share the love and enter all you want. We’ll pick someone randomly on September 17th. You have many many options to enter, so don’t be left out! One thing: if you don’t live in the US, we’ll ship it to a friend of yours in the US to hold it for you, ok?
And if you don’t want to wait for the giveaway to be over, here is a 20% discount code you can use: RUNNINGANDTHECITY
Go for it! Good Luck!
And the winner of the NYC Marathon Map Illustration giveaway, as selected by the random thing where I just a button, is…
Susanne! Congrats!! I’ll be giving Phil your email address and you should be hearing from his soon!
Some great marathon related art out there!!! I still need a big piece for above my couch if anyone is feeling generous, but came across these amazing prints… from this site: Cape Horn Illustration 
Phil, the artist, is also a marathoner, who just did Chicago last year, so I see where all this inspiration came from. He offered to give me a print to giveaway, the NYC Marathon one, 12×18, in quality paper, signed and all. I think it’d make a fantastic addition to any wall or a fabo gift!! If you go to the site, you can see all the detail, the images zooms in!
Anyway, giveaway is HERE, feel free to share the love and enter all you want. We’ll pick someone randomly on August 18th, at noon. You have many many options to enter, so don’t be left out! One thing: if you don’t live in the US, we’ll ship it to a friend of yours in the US to hold it for you, ok?
Go for it! Good Luck!
And the winner, as selected by bondiband, is…
itsjustkatie, email me your postal address, and color of choice so we can get you your own!! And then you’ll send me a picture, deal? 😉
Just like we did before every single race I’ve done in the last two years (link to last one, and the NYC Half guess) it’s time to place your bets again… There is always someone who hits it right in the head! (always unbelievable! look at this one: guesses here, winner here)
Pick a finish time and write in the comments below. Whoever gets closer, wins, If there’s two identical times, the first poster wins! All guesses have to be in this post. Make sure if you include seconds in there too, and post before next Sunday at 7 pm EST.
As usual, there’s gonna be PRIZES… you can pick from:
Recent:
NYC Half, 13.1, March 2014, in 1:50:10, average pace: 8:25
Scotland 10K, April 2014, in 47:41, average pace of 7:42
Marathons:
My PR is from Berlin 2012: 3:27:44, the last marathon I did was NYCM 2013 in 3:49:34. My last Boston was in 2010: 3:51: 21
Running Calculators!
I am sure I won’t PR, get that out of your heads!! Goal A is to stay under 4 hours (never gone over 4 hours and don’t want to start now!) or, Goal B, break the course PR (3:51). I would love to shoot for 3:50 but I did 3:49 in NYCM and I was better trained there. I am just hoping I can stay within 4: anything between 3:50 and 3:59 is more realistic if the weather cooperates!
GO ON! Place your bets below!!! Good luck to us!!
Prizes shipped only within the US, but you can have me send it to someone in the US. / Comments with guesses will only count if they are posted here (not on facebook, not on runnersworld.com, HERE) before Sunday 7 pm EST. / If there are two guesses with the exact same time, the first one wins.
After this post:
We are shipping up to Boston…!!! 2014 Boston Marathon Pictures – Saturday! 2014 Boston Marathon Pictures – Sunday The day before the Boston Marathon… 2014 Boston Marathon: in the books! 2014 Boston Marathon Race Report: The Best and the Worst of Times Boston Marathon Notes: what to do/not do next time
You know the drill by now, given this is the sixth giveaway… The fabulous people at Bondiband are going to sponsor our little fun, AGAIN!!!!
Very unrelated example (and also, what you could win!), but these one is MINE
They make these amazing wicking hats (ponytail hole or not), headbands, and other cool running accessories; there’s stuff for everybody! And if you are the lucky winner, you’ll get to pick your hat or headband, and they’ll send it to you! We did this a lot of times already, so I am sure you know how this works!
Just like we did before every single race I’ve done in the last two years (link to last one, the NYC Half guess) it’s time to place your bets again… There is always someone who hits it right in the head! (always unbelievable! look the one I did a few weeks ago! guesses here, winner here)
Pick a finish time and write in the comments below. Whoever gets closer, wins, If there’s two identical times, the first poster wins! All guesses have to be in this post. Make sure if you include seconds in there too, and post before next Saturday at 7 am EST.
As usual, there’s gonna be PRIZES… you can pick from:
Recent:
NYC Half, 13.1, March 2014, in 1:50:10, average pace: 8:25
10ks, not so recent
Mini 10K, June 2013, in 44:46, average pace of 7:13
Bronx Commnunity College, May 2013, in 44:32, average pace of 7:11
Running Calculators!
I am sure I won’t PR, get that out of your heads!! I would love to do sub 8 pace, so I’d be happy with that! So that would be close to what Mc Millan predicts, I think I’ll be between 49 and 50 minutes… if all goes well!
GO ON! Place your bets below!!! (I will probably not look until after!) but I will add more prizes (after I hear back from my sponsors!)
Prizes shipped only within the US, but you can have me send it to someone in the US. / Comments with guesses will only count if they are posted here (not on facebook, not on runnersworld.com, HERE) before Saturday 7 am. / If there are two guesses with the exact same time, the first one wins.
Central Park Turns Blue and Tartan for 11th Annual Scotland Run
Are you doing the Scotland Run 10K?? Are you? It’s sold out so I hope you signed up on time… I am and I hope to see you there racing or spectating. The race is quite fun… here are some pictures from last year. And I have a fabulous giveaway, all Scottish themed for you to be ready! Okay, if you are not racing you can participate anyway!
An all special Scottish-themed goody bag to get you in the spirit that includes: Paolo Nutini CD / Snow Patrol CD / Fine Scottish Soaps / Saltire Beanie Hat / Scotland baseball cap / USBs / Shoelaces / Tote Bag
just got mine!
Ready? Comment below now!
About Scotland Week – #ScotWeek
Scotland Week 2014 is built around the Tartan Day celebrations in the USA on April 5. Scotland Week incorporates a program of business, political engagements aimed at the promotion of Scotland as a great place to live, visit, do business, study and invest. Highlights for 2014 include the 11th year anniversary of the 10k Scotland Run and Festival in New York’s Central Park and the Tartan Day parade down Sixth Avenue http://www.scotland.org/scotlandweek
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Gabrielle, we’ll be in contact ASAP! Congratulations!
So, my super official NYC Half Marathon finish time, according to NYRR, is 1:50:10, which is quite peculiar because look at what I had guessed on my giveaway post…
Still, NO ONE listens to me and not ONE guessed 1:50:xx!!!!! Still, someone was the closest one… the winner is….
Congrats “Marathon Mama!!!!!! I am sure I know who you are! Please email me your choice of prize (from the post), postal address in the US, and name and will ship it ASAP!! And no worries y’all losers, I probably doing a race in a few weeks (Boston??!!?) so you’ll have another go at playing soon!
Just like I did for pretty much every race in the last 18 months, it’s time to place your bets again… I love how there is always someone who nails it right in the head!
My Half PR:
– NYC Half, March, 2013: 1:37:35 Pace: 7:27
Last Halfs/Marathons:
– Brooklyn Half Marathon: May, 2013: 1:38:29
– Grete’s Gallop, October 2013: 1:44:33
– New York City Marathon, November 2013: 3:49:33
My guess: I am sure I will NOT PR. Not only I am not in good shape, but since I stopped running for most of July and August last year (because of an ulcer) I really haven’t gotten back on track. The Marathon was super slow and the winter weather laziness slowed me down a lot more. I haven’t done a run over 14 miles since, not more than 50 miles a month, and 10 milers pace is around 9:30. I am guessing around 1:50.
GO ON! Place your bets below!!! (I will probably not look until after!) but I will add more prizes (after I hear back from my sponsors!)
Prizes shipped only within the US, but you can pick it up when you’re in NYC if you are abroad! Or have me send to someone in the US. / Comments with guesses will only count if they are posted before Saturday 9 pm, EST. / If there are two guesses with the exact same time, the first one wins.
and the winner to our Handana Review and Giveway is… wait for it…. randomcrazynumberselectorthingy on…. wait for it…
Congrats!!!! Please email me your email address and the fabo people at Handana will send you your gift! Congrats CONGRATS!!
runningandthecity 