I DID A HALF. Like, NOT virtual. TWO RIVERS MARATHON RACE FESTIVAL race recap!!

Mar28

Imma write this as two posts, in blue, what my race was like, and in green, what people should look for if they are racing this in the future, as I couldn’t find ANY information about this race anywhere.

PRE RACE / LOGISTICS ETC

My friend Carolina found this race eons ago (October? November? 2020!) when we did a half and she got a PR. She decided she needed to run the marathon that she had trained for, so she signed up, said she’d look into the logistics and I could do the half, you know, like Batman and Robin (I am Robin here). So I said yes but with a disclaimer that if I could go to Argentina, I’d just leave and not care for one second about the race. I’ve been dying to see my family as you can imagine.

So she did all the research, she got the hotel, she said it was a two hour drive and that it was flat. That is pretty much all I needed to know, so I got to training and forgot all about it.

Fast forward to March, there is no trip (don’t even get me started because I’ll start crying and no, there is nothing you could say to stop me) and with 3 weeks to go, I realize I am getting my second vaccine 3 days before the half. Well, if I get sick, I just won’t come (what a lovely friend I am) or I will just come to cheer and keep her company.

Also, worth nothing right here. This was an IN PERSON race (I CAN’T DO VIRTUALS, PLS DON’T START ME, I RATHER NOT RACE FOR YEARS, VIRTUALS ARE WHAT I CALL A TIME TRIAL, NOT A RACE).

Back to my point, Carolina and I could never race each other, so we had devised a strategy that got both of us super excited. I assumed I’d be around 1:45 (my mental idea was 1:42 to 1:46) and she’d be around 1:20. So I’d start at 7:35 am, and she’d start at the (new for this year???) elite wave at 8 am, and we’d try to beat each other. So cute, right? You gotta do what you gotta do to get yourself hyped up! Which is not easy for someone like me who can’t care less about finish times.

Anyway, a week before the race I finally read all the race emails, tried to get organized and get a clue. I literally had no idea where the race even was. It’s in PA, a two hour drive from NYC (more like 3 IRL) and and out and back, a new course for what I heard, of 6.55 M, on the same road. Looked chill, easy. Luckily, for people who get overwhelmed easily like me, the bib pick up, start and finish were on the same exact place. YEY. I’ll call it race central. deal?

The hotel Carolina picked was cute, called Ledges, but 14 miles from Race Central. Also, doesn’t seeem like there were so many options anyway, and this one was probably the best for what we heard from others. I have no clue.

I did get super sick on Wednesday/Thursday from the second vaccine shot, but by Friday, I was feeling better, even though I was under a big amount of Tylenol, so I decided to go and try my luck!

FRIDAY

David, another awesome friend, decided to sign up after I told him and he offered to drive us. So cool, cause I hate traveling and driving and know nothing of any of it. BUT, I am a great co-pilot, I’ll do directions (occasionally fuck that up also) pick up music, feed you and keep you entertained, even when I am dying to sleep or are cranky. I know my place.

We left NYC at 1 and made it straight to RC (race central, don’t forget) by 3:30. There was a short line. There we nice clean real bathrooms. OMG NO PHONE RECEPTION WHATSOEVER HELP. We got bibbed up, met the famous Mark who’d send us crazy funny and long emails and he told us stories of Argentina (menem’s sideburns!) and Chile (for Carolina, she’s from Chile).

We pushed to the hotel. I WAS STARVING and stating to get CRANKY. I am no good hungry. Ask my husband. I had a box of graham cracker for the car ride, thanks Juan, which really helped. We left our stuff in the room, which was HUGE, cute, not a lot of light though, but would do totally fine. Some pics here, if you’re looking for a hotel option. You’ll see below the outside, the Glass restaurant where we had dinner (meh, service was not great, took a whole hour to get our food even thought we were the first people there at 5 when they opened, and food.. meh also) and the room.

I tried to make Carolina watch Drag Race but there was no way so around 8ish we passed out!

SATURDAY

I woke up on my own at 4 am. Tried to be super quiet but I woke her up too. DAMN. Made us coffee and we just prepped. ZERO stress here. We are all so particular right before a race. I am glad her and I are the same type of crazy. Love you Karrie! She did ask me “tank or bra” about 3 million times though, but if that is the worst, you know we are twins!

Deciding on start time can be a huge deal. Temps were 40 at 6 am, 45 at 7 am, and 50s by 9 am. David was starting at 6:30 because he was doing the full (just double everything I will say from now on). But 45 is fucking perfect fo me. Also, there was some NW wind the day before, about 12MPH, but it had all died down by Sat. YEY!!!! It looked perfect. I decided, tank, shorts and nothing else.

Julia picked me up, as we were all sorta starting together (Carolina was starting at 8 with some friends from CPTC, and there were a bunch of ppl in the same Ledges, so we split up!) and so Julia, Patricia, Lynn, Neil and I drove together.

You drive to the start on the first two (maybe?) miles of the course so we got to yell and cheer for a lot people. Then we shot up the windows and drove because it was REALLY slowing us down to the start. This is what the course looked like at 7 am.

Also, on our way to the start, we stopped at one of the fluid stations (the first one I think) and they all had water and one porta potty, but this is what the fluid station looked like in case you want to drop off your stuff, or don’t know how to decorate it. It was unmanned at 7 am but it had people later.

We got to the start. And back to realizing I had no phone service. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. I stayed in the car freaking out about being all alone in a race, with no one to chase down, and no music, while they all picked up their bibs. FUCK FUCK FUCK. This is important. Download your playlists or whatever. FUCK ME. This is us at the start.

So, less people and colder if you start earlier, sunnier and more crowded later, but also more cars on the road later…

We started at 8:40 am. NOT the 7:35 am I had planned with Carolina, but oh well, WHATEVER. Neil and Patricia and Julia started together. They are all faster than me, but given I am good at pacing and I am great at not taking off too fast, they indulged me and I was pacing for the first two miles.

RACE ON

I had a minute when Patricia and I were together at the front where I almost started crying (which I always forbid myself to do on a race, NO EMOTIONS, do the work, execute the plan, don’t be stooopid, emotions later!) thinking about all the million races we had paced together, sometimes as far as to mile 11 or 18, all over the world… DAMN I HAD MISSED THIS SHIT.

Yes, I curse a lot, so what. you knew that.

2 minutes in, I did a body check, felt sluggish and stiff, but I was properly dressed. No music coming in. FUCK ME AGAIN. But I already was complaining. The course felt flat but the road WAS SO SLANTED, I was fucking stressed and annoyed and worried, I hate that kind of camber on a road. It was INSANE. There was no shoulder so we were literally on the side of the road, running agains traffic the whole race, which was fine because traffic never really became a major issue (a tad annoying a couple of times, but nothing stressful) but this was BAD BAD. Other people were complaining later about the uphill out and dowhill back. I WAS SURE THEY WERE LYING. If you’ve ever every run 3 inches with me, you know my running uphill is BAD, I struggle, but oh well, not sure why I didn’t notice. Also it does look up and down BUT it’s like an inch… so maybe that’s why.

Mile 1 was 8:20. Perfect. If am going for around 1:45, that is fine. I thought it was too slow for everyone else, but oh well. On the other hand, Julia’s breathing was concerning me. I assumed she was hot or nervous.

By the time we hit Mile 2, Neil and Julia had taken off, they were about 40 yards ahead of me and I started freaking out, again NO MUSIC, and those stooopid vaporflys fucken loud “stomping” was annoying. Julia dropped a bit. I didn’t want to push her, I knew she was having a different pace kind of morning. Mile 2: 8:02 pace.

I really got bored. You can’t pace off anyone. People are passing me, I am passing people, it’s SO WEIRD. UGH. Mile 3: 8:05. This is fine. Then I started telling myself I just had to get to the turnaround. Mile 4: 7:52, what the fuck? Also, trying hard to remember where the turnaround was. I assumed I had seen Mile 6.55 somewhere and focused on just getting there. Mile 5: 7:59. Yeah almost there. fucken focus. SO HARD! the course was truly monotonous, no one cheering, just roadkills (by the end of the race, I had seen about 5 dead possums, 1 snake and more I can’t remember).

Decided to have a gel. YEY. Felt so yummy. Also, I forgot how to drink water while running?!?!?! it’s been SO long… had to stop to drink. oh well, lost some time but water is SO important. Mile 6: 8:19.

I lapped at the half way point, because I wanted to have two laps, out and back, but Garmin doesn’t work that way (I miss my Tom Tom days!!!!) and I am too lazy to do the math, so at the half way point, at Mile 6.57, pace was 8:03.

Now… once I turned I felt a fire up my as FIGURATIVELY of course. I felt it was time to pick it up. Maybe it was the downhill I didn’t notice? Maybe I was sick of it all? Who knows…?

Mile 7.5 was 7:38. OH SHIT. mmmmm, can I hold this mess. Then I see Carolina running. Fucking FIRST WOMAN ON THE COURSE. I yelled I STARTED 5 MINUTES LATE, IT’S NOT FAIR. She went I HAVE AWFUL CRAMPS AND THIS IS THE WORST RACE OF MY LIFE. Stay tuned.

Then I realized a fluid station was coming up and I had to have a gel… I stopped. It was weird, I got dizzy for a second. But I got moving again. Mile 8.5: 7:52. Yep, all good with a gel stop.

Caro comes right from behind, we chat about the cramps, and I tell her to have a gel. I see her pull it out and have it. Mile 9.5: 7:52. Ok, it’s just a long 5K now, LET’s GO.

The next few miles was just a bunch of all the same, no more water, just some bits of Viter Mints (caffeine pills, but I break them apart) and huztpah. I tried to sing to myself, yeah, I am crazy. I could still see Patricia and Neil ahead but a lot farther out.

Mile 10.5: 7:39
Note, if you’ve raced with me, ever, you know I am psycho about running ALL the tangets, hard. Here, I was going from one side of the road to the other the whole 13.1 trying to find some even running road. It was impossible. The only good portion to run was right in the middle, where the double yellow lines were, but 1, that is where the cars were driving, 2, the yellow lines had some texture to it, so I was afraid of tripping… so I’d try to be as close to the middle as I could but then I had to be super vigilant about cars and other runners that were passing me… A STRESSFUL MESS.

Mile 11.5: 7:36

Mile 12.5: 7:25

There was a bit of sun on the way back, glad I had sunglasses. I then noticed I was about an 800 away and this was going to be over soon. Pulled out my mask for the finish, had some crazy head wind on the bridge back, got the finish arch and was DONE.

Last .57: 7:16 pace. I know, I am a killer pacer.

Caro, Patricia and Neil were there. I hadn’t seen so happy in a long time. I LOVE FINISH LINE TEARS

Those medals are HUGE. There was water, friends, and a thingy where you punched your bib number and got your results. They told us to go get our awards at RC.

If someone wants to do the first half vs 2nd half math for me, I’ll appreciate it (SO LAZY).

We hung out by the finish for a couple of hours, waiting for David and a few other friends, cheering, starving and freezing: THE BEST!!!!

At some point, we got back in the car, to the hotel, quick shower and brunch at The Settlers Inn, cute quaint, old, super inexpensive (these prices in PA are insane for a NYer!!!!) and great service. I had a crazy burger with bacon and a million other things and fries and I was very happy. Recommending this one HARD. I WAS BEYOND ELATED THAT WE WERE THERE DOING THAT, just missed Juan.

All in all it was a great trip, a great race, and/but… IF IT WASN’T FOR THE SLANTED ROAD I’D DEF COME BACK. The camber was not a problem for some people, so there is that. I hated it. And today my ankles are NOT happy. And I know people who’ve gotten injured that way before. I know I will be fine a day or two but I just hate running like that, like on just one side of the body.

Still, really happy I went, and got to enjoy a race, a finish line and time with my BFFS. Life is awesome. GOSH, WHAT A DAY… so many emotions. I need to sit down and Arnicare my ankles! any questions? comments? I am here!

Race Report: NYC Half 2015 – running naked

Mar16

Well, the NYC Half happened. Again. For the 7th time for me. And I am VERY happy about it. Such a huge learning opportunity!!!I love that every race is something completely different from what I expect… (sometimes!)

Where I Was: I wasn’t sure it was great, but I did a 5K two weeks before in 7:18 pace, and a 4 Miler in early February in 7:35 pace. My last halves were in October, there were 2 (1:43 and 1:44), plus add the winter training, I figured I’d be around 1:45 or 1:43 if ALL went well. 1:45 is 8 pace, and given I had done 7:35 in the 4 miler, that seemed like a stretch…

nyc half nails. logo and all, crazy ready

The Expo: I almost forgot to tell you all about the expo and skipped all over this: it was in a new location (in a part a of town I usually ignore, yuk) and it was big! I am so so sick of the tight tiny expos, I loved that there was space to walk and breathe, and many exhibitors and activities. The only complain I have is that the lighting was so bad it gave me a headache. So weird.

Juan, me and Flor getting our bibs with a giant medal. Click if you want to make any of this a LOT bigger

35 degres is bikini weather after the winter we had here, puh-lease!

Race Morning: Juan and I were in wave one (7:30 am start) so we got there around 6:30 to get to baggage, last minute potty trip, and get to the corral before the 7:10 close time.I was the first person in corral 3. Seriously, so early, but I rather sit there, knowing all is done than stress myself stooopid. I can’t handle rushing right before a race anymore. At my age, I can’t be bothered with rushing or stressing so I woke up EXTRA early.

we actually run into him a couple of weeks ago so he must live in the UES, York Ave. I guess, I have no idea. Juan almost had a heart attack.

In the Corral: That’s when I decided to turn on the watch, get gps signal and some music. Ummm Sh@@#@#$@%_)$$@_#)@_)!@)!_! to say the least. My watch (and also mp3 player, I use the same device for both) was NOT CHARGED. I freaked out ~~a bit~~ like a maniac. How on earth am I going to know if I am going too fast??? I don’t think I’ve ever run a race naked (no watch!!!) or since… EVER!!! Ugh. Crap. Kept freaking out. First, I won’t have any pace information, second, I’d have to race with no music?!?!?! Third, I don’t want to be carrying this watch around 13.1 miles for no reason. I am not gonna lie, I threw a little fit.

My problem is, unlike everyone else, I tend to start super slow and go crazy later. I need to know if I am going too fast (to slow myself down!) in the first miles!!!! I know, I am not normal.

I put the headphones in my back pocket, decided not to go back to baggage to leave it, and, for some very strange reason, I knew this would be a good thing. I would miss the music, but I knew it’d be a great challenge for me. I know how to pace, now just do it.

A few minutes before the gun, my friend Patricia shows up and Juan goes up to his first corral. I wasn’t running with Patricia, as she’s way faster than me (she’d end up doing 1:35). Bye hon, I’ll be back here by myself, with no pace info or music. Pffff. Great.

Race ON: This post, for the first time ever, will not have any mile splits (can we even handle this??), or any of that. I made sure I looked at the clock when I started and it read 1:40 (I think), so I thought I could subtract from the next mile markers. That did NOT work out. When I got to mile 1 the clock said 19:20 and I had NO IDEA what that mean. I gave up instantly forever and just kept running.

Mile 1, past Cathill, I know was fast. I could tell I was going fast, but hey, who knows??? Sometimes a 10 minute mile seems fast!!!! Mile 2 was uneventful, and on mile 3, one of my favorite things: an out and back!!! Is there anything more fun in a race than seeing the people who are running ahead and behind you??>? The only right answer is NO, people! SO much fun. I saw my husband and yelled at SO many people, I am sure I was ruining a lot of people’s jams around me with my constant yelling! Mile 3 back into the park to the ~~lovely~~ hellish Harlem Hill. That’s when something hit me. Right ahead of me was the 1:40 pace group. I knew the pacer for that group, Anthony, and he had told me he was in wave 1 corral 5, so he had started after me and had already passed me, so I guessed I was about 1:43 or 1:42 here, just a dumb guess. I was SO tempted to sneak behind him and chase him, the pace didn’t seem so scary, but I mentally screamed at myself and virtually slapped myself. NO. LET HIM GO. I made sure I stayed back, bye Anthony, byyyyyyye!

On Mile 4 I looked for a few friends who I figured would be watching here (so I could toss my watch!!!!) but I didn’t see anyone. I was running mostly by myself and without the music so it was hard to settle on a rhythm and relax. I haven’t learned how to do that. I was breathing hard and it’s quite loud and annoying, even to me (sorry everyone!). I really wanted to relax, but I just couldn’t.

Soon I am leaving the park and I have no idea HOW IT ALL WENT SO FAST! Not pace wise, because I had no idea how fast or slow I was running, but the first 5 miles are usually super hard controlling my speed and my willingness to start going a bit faster. I was out of the park in a jiffy and I couldn’t believe it. This is probably the fastest race I ever had (nooo, it would not be a PR!).

Times Square was amazing. Seriously. I was having way too much fun!!! I saw everyone there. Oh how much I enjoyed it… DON’T BELIEVE ME, JUST WATCH!!!

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Marathonfoto: just take all my money and shut up!

Anyway, this is when I would start pushing the pace. Thing is, I felt like I had been pushing the pace all along. Had I started too fast and would soon die off, or did I go the tiny bit harder that I could handle if I didn’t know how fast I was going??? So complicated. And who knew, really? A few times I felt like asking people around how fast we were going, but, you know, whatever!

42nd street is always SO MUCH FUN. I saw Ben taking pictures, Annette cheering, people who I didn’t know yelling my name. The whole race was like that. I know this is isn’t true (maybe, not really) but I felt like all NYC was out there to cheer on me. I did. I took that to heart too. And I pushed the pace.

Soon is the turnaround to hell. That’s what I call it when you have to hit the gas and not look back. We’re getting close to the West Side Highway and I see Anthony again with the 1:40 stick. Ummmm. How did this happen??? They can’t be falling back? I must be pushing too hard. Maybe? I decided to stay behind them. Then, soon, when I was right on their heels, I decided I’d just sit behind them, and let them figure out the pacing. I was sure now I was ready to hold whatever 1:40 pace was. Theeeeeeeen, I said hello to Anthony, and I just FREAKING KEPT GOING…

what?

I even thought of asking him what pace was 1:40. I didn’t. I went too fast to talk much to him. I just kept going.

WHAT??!?!?!

So that, I kept going. I told him I’d blow up soon and he’d pass me in a mile or two. I hit the gas.

I just focused on getting to Mile 11 where the next Whippets cheering section was (I had already seen Scott and some Whippets on Times Square and more Whippets at the gel station). I knew Michelle, Tessa, Atsede would be there. I just had to get there. Soon enough, there they were, all yelling and cheering!!!!

Mile 11, Mile 12, I felt like I was flying. At least my hair was!

The Finish: then the tunnel. AY: I was done. I had a side stitch, I was dry-heaving and I felt like I was going to either throw up or pass out. I felt nauseous. WHAT?!??! Just relax and keep going. I started telling myself to just hang on. Hang on. Hang on.

I remembered from last year, after the tunnel we had just 3-4 blocks. This year I knew, after the tunnel, we had two blocks left, and two blocks left again. BUT OMG I had no idea there was still half mile to go after we exited the tunnel before we turned. I remember there was a hard left off the tunnel last year. Not this year. I kept looking forward and I couldn’t see where on earth we were turning left…!!! That was the LONGEST part of the race. That half a mile, to me, was longer than the other 12.6 (or whatever the math is!). I didn’t have much to sprint with but I tried. Someone yelled my name. I smiled. I looked up. I crossed the finish line. I didn’t have a watch to stop but I had a nose to wipe, that thing was a fossett during the whole race!!!! YUCK. And there was Mary Wittenberg and I have to say hello with this sweaty-nose stuff? Ay dios!

Well, the clock said 1:41 something, but who knows what my time is. I saw Juan right away, then Richie, then Daphne, then Caitlin, then Cara… like 3000 of my friends and team mates!!!!!!

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Richie is so special to me!!!! Not only is he an overall amazing and cool guy, he photographed our proposal and wedding!! Like how cool is to have a team mate like that?!?!?!?!??! HUH??????

there’s Anthony, the 1:40 pacer and major Ironman superstar.

Juan and I grabbed our bags, went to the side to fully change (yes, I took off my sweaty bra and all) into clean/dry clothes and all of a sudden I realized I had no idea what my time was. I had a twinge of an idea I had been around 1:40 or 1:42 or 1:44 but really, I had no idea. Juan got to it first and told me: 1:39:26.

WOW.

That’s quite different from 1:45. Or from the 1:50 I got last year… Or the 1:43 and 1:44 I did in October.

It is still not a PR, which is 1:37 from this same race in 2013, but I was soooooooooooooo happy, I think I cried a little. Quite in disbelief, I got a little teary. We’re coming back. Slowly. It’s happening. Finally!

Stats Time:

Finish time: 1:39:26 Average Pace: 7:36

Previous PR: 1:37:35 From: March, 2013

Age Grading: 68.03%

Overall Place: 2063 of 19,455

Gender Place: 447 of 10,150

Age Place: 60 of 1639

This is very good-looking. I like the 68% percent there, given I am changing age groups in ONE week. I’ll be 40 next week, so, being 60th out of 1639, when I am at the bottom of my AG is not so shabby!

We then went to the Whippets Party, stayed there until around 11 am then headed uptown to Bareburger, Juan’s favorite place that we never go to, home, shower, and OMG I was so tired the rest of the day, Juan had to carry me from the couch to the bed and all that. I was destroyed. But happy.

Then I saw that the results had 5K splits!!! Wohooooooooooooooo!! some data!

My first 5K was an average 7:44 pace. Remember, overall pace was 7:36, so seems like I started a bit slower, so, GREAT. the second 5K, where most of the hills are, was slower: average pace of 7:52. So far, so good. The third 5K was 7:21 and the 4th 5K was 7:20. So, seems like a negative split and run well without a friiiiging clue. Pinch me.

More and more pictures of the race, here

Race Report: NYC Half 2014 – training starts here!

Mar18

Well, the NYC Half happened. Again. For the 6th time for me. And I am VERY happy about it. I hadn’t trained, I was 13 minutes slower than last year, but this was such a different story from the NYC Marathon a few months ago…!

The truth is, since July my training has been a disaster for one reason or another (and there were many!!), and I knew I wasn’t going to PR, so I just wanted to use it as a training run, maybe to see if I can muster Boston in a month, maybe to see if I had lost all my running mojo. But it was horrible going into it, I had done so well last year in this race so coming back with no expectations was hard. And the NYC Marathon 5 months ago was just so painful on my untrained legs that I was really dreading this. I had assumed I was going to suffer for 13.1 and there was no way around it, turns out, there was one.

Race Morning: It was really cold, and I was getting to the start 1 hour early. Brrrr. Walked into a brand new clean portapotty with no line and I just wanted to stay warm in there… I had extra clothes on, two mylar blankets, hand warmers, you name it, I could barely move with that many layers on, but my feet were not having it: they froze! They had security checking our checked-bags and then we all went through metal detectors going into the park (yey!), and then a walk to the corral where I met up with a few friends (Rose, Ilana, Julie, Marie, Jason!). We huddled and waited. Rose and I determined we’d take it easy and to try to go together. We talked about how we both had so gotten off the wagon, I said training starts here. This would be a long run, and I would take if from there. Soon enough we were moving…

Race ON: The first miles felt ok. My feet were still frozen but we were determined to take it easy, have fun, run it as a longish run and that’s what we did. We held our horses.

Miles 1, 2, and 3 were quite conservative.

On my post where everyone guessed my finish time, I had assumed I’d do around 1:50, which is 8:30 pace, so I started thinking that maybe I am more in shape for a 2 hour marathon, which I haven’t done in a looong time. Oh well, it is what it is. I felt GOOD, and that is all that mattered, I was not going to push it.

At Mile 2 I saw Juan and his phone froze so he got no pictures. I am sure he was as frozen as the phone… I always feel so bad for the spectators! Then I just started seeing everyone pass me, everyone. People I know did slower than me in the NYC Marathon. I knew I hadn’t trained since so I know I was in way worse shape but it made me feel good that I could hold my pace back as much as I wanted. You can all go!!! I felt so relaxed and in control. Being in control in the early miles of a race is tots HARD people!

Soon we were up in the Harlem out and back and hello Harlem Hill x2. I love out and backs! You get to see everyone! It was wild to be out of the park and everyone sped up a little. Rose and I held it in place.

Miles 4 and 5: a bit faster and settling up in a rhythm.

After we crested the hill and went to the 90s, I saw Juan again. I stopped for a roadside kiss. I was feeling good now that I was feeling my feet again (it really took 4 miles!!) and was warming up. Then I started losing Rose, she told me to go, I told her I’d get Gatorade and wait for her there but never saw her (I’d end up losing her and she’d come in a few minutes behind me). But, I just wanted to hit the gas. I wanted to get to Times Square, make that turn and see what I had. I turns out, I didn’t wait until Times Square…

Miles 6 and 7: need for speed already!!!

Going through Times Square is ALWAYS exhilarating, even the 6th time you do this race. And it widens up SO much, you feel like you can fly… I spotted a Team Up runner and we introduced! It was pretty cool!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww: F U N!!!! Then we turn onto 42nd st, the street narrows a bit and the wind….!!!!!! well, we pushed through and kept rolling down. Luckily, my Dashing Whippets team was there to cheer us all up, handing out gels and water. I got so excited, I grabbed a 2X caffeine gel which would probably kill me if I tried it, so I put it right back. And forgot the water. Cheering stations can really make you lose it.

Seems like I was having a fun time, right? I was. I have a slow time to prove it 😉 (don’t scream, slow compared to last year’s!!!) But… with fun comes responsibility and since mile 5 I was feeling good: I was on a roll and kept tearing at it little by little.

As soon as I hit the westside highway and found NO WIND (WTF?!???! It was colder in the park!!! I was dreading the wind and cold here for no reason!?!), I opened my lungs, I let the Hudson nasty air sip in, and sped up. UP UP. From there on, I was picking up runners 10 at a time. You know, if you were there, this is quite probably where 9 out of ten people started to slow down: I WAS FLYING!

Miles 8 and on: Time to Fly!

I lapped the tunnel part up there (“mile 12”) as there’d be no GPS there, and the last bit (“mile 13”) I am sure is wrong because in the seconds it took to locate satellite it made it look quite slow. I know I was sprinting for my donuts…!!!

Did you see how I sped up after mile 6, as I had recommended to do in my post? If you didn’t notice, here it all goes again:

Yes, I probably did start too slow, but whatever. What matters is that I was strong at the end and had a lot too push. Quite a difference from last year‘s pace, but still another great pacing example.

The last mile includes over a half a mile in the tunnel, which I didn’t hate as much as last year (because I knew there was an exit somewhere!!) but then you get out, you make a left and OMG, I was SOOOOO EXCITED to be there. I had to hold the tears back (yes, I cry all the time when I race) and all the flags and the finish and it felt SO GOOD to be back, and to be on the road again and to feel strong and to be able to finish with a kick and to know that even if unprepared it doesn’t have to be as bad as the NYC Marathon was if you can pace yourself… It was amazing.

Then it was over. I was so happy. I wanted to hug all those sweaty runners. Then I wanted to punch a few of them who stopped right at the finish for a selfie (seriously people!!! there’s 15K runners behind you!!!! WTF!). I was back to happy in two seconds. I am moody like that 😉

Got a few pics and with two steps I found friends and team mates… I was just back to frozen in a few seconds!!!

I love this race.

Now I know that, not only I can set the tone for a race and pace as I please (without pushing myself into pain for no reason!) but that I can also enjoy a race and finish it without ANY training… in a decent time too, plus have fun, AND not FALL!! I felt very happy about the results…

see how happy I was???

Juan knew I wanted donuts. Juan got me donuts. Juan is a keeper. I ate almost all of that.

Right after the race ended we got on the 1 train uptown to Finish Line, we had some food, chatted, celebrated, all that. The platform and the train was crowded… and a bit smelly ;-P

Finish Line was fun, but soon I couldn’t wait any longer for the 3 hour shower I was looking to do at home… plus the nap. Then burgers… ah, I love how doing a 13.1 makes me think I can go on some sort of food bender. I do have 5 weeks until the Boston Marathon and I know I am not in shape to run 26.2 comfortably, but I can’t seem to be able to make a decision about going or skipping it… I just counted the weeks back. If I manage a long run the next two weekends, I’ll let myself participate in the marathon. If not, then I am not going to Boston.

One week until my birthday, the next craziness. One thing at a time here.

AllState13.1New York Bday Race Report! + the most RIDIC tutu pics EVER

Mar25

Saturday was my birthday. I am not sure there’s anyone who didn’t know!

For the first time since I am a runner, my birthday was on a Saturday (read: a race day). I looked, and this hasn’t happened before; in 2007 my birthday was on a Friday, in 2008, it was on a Sunday, we skipped Saturday! and I wasn’t a runner a few years before that!

I was turning 38. Yes, freaking 38. Seriously… FML

Friday at around 3 pm, I decided I’d race a half on Saturday… ~~who needs to decide earlier? O maybe before gulping some McDonalds for lunch?~~

Why couldn’t I make a decision earlier..? well, there was a LOT on my schedule for that weekend… I didn’t think I’d want to wake up early ON MY BDAY (that sounds awful, right?) on top of it all, some plans changed so I figured I could… there was a half in Queens: the All State 13.1 series, on my exact birth date… sorry, I couldn’t get over that fact!!!

Well, ALSO, I was having a tiny bday celebration Friday night, AFTER a really busy week, which was also the first week at my new job at Austim Speaks, and ALSO this was SIX days after the NYC HALF massive PR situ. Oh, and seriously, I ate CRAP all week. Stuff you don’t even want to know about.

Running a race at the end of that two-week period was ~~possibly the worst thing I could have planned to do~~ such a great way to celebrate my birthday, riiight?

Well, I was a ~~zombie~~ bit tired Saturday at 6:30 am when I woke up.

My friend John was driving and picking me up, so I came downstairs with my tutu on.

Sidebar: when I decided the day before that I’d race a half on my bday (and with zero probability to PR after such a week) I decided I’d take it super easy: tutu-birthday-fun! I hadn’t worn it since the 2011 Mini 10 (where I did do PR, tutu and all, but I also chafed like hell!) so I had to turn my apartment inside out to find it… tutu was a little ~~disastrous mess hum~~ unironed…

Well, so everybody kept honking at me, at 7:30 am not much is funny for me. Got there superfast, got registered in 5 seconds, got the t-shirt (ha, my bday date is ON IT!), packed it all into baggage and soon we were freezing at the start, just for 5 minutes. Seriously though, it’s late March, it is freaking ridiculously cold! It was around 30 but felt like 20 with the crazy winds. I froze. Also, I was underdressed as usual, just as I like it!

We go!

That was at miles 1 or 2 when I still had some speed! The first mile was a bit crowded, which is common in any race around here, but it cleared up right after… then John had to retie a shoe, so we took a few seconds there… I was all up for taking it easy and he was too!

We both felt tired right away, and I was STARVING and dreaming of sushi at mile 2. Like: I would have stopped it I had seen food (where are the Dunkin Donuts in Queens?!?!).

I hadn’t had any breakfast (smart!!!) and I brought just one gel, that I made last until mile 4. I licked every single drop of the Vanilla gel. I was almost tempted to chew the packet too, just in case it helped.

After mile 4 I was starting to warm up but starting to get really tired. My legs were DEAD. LEAD DEAD. I am sure I had done this racing-halfs-two-weekends-in-a-row before but I probably ate better/rested more the week in between. This was a disaster pace.

I knew I wasn’t going to PR so I focused on relaxing as much as I could to be able to chill, enjoy the race and celebrate the day! that means: slow the eff down!!! Also, the tutu was bunching up a bit, as every once in a while I had to pull it out of my shorts or from in between my legs, but it really wasn’t any big problem as you would imagine…

I kept picking people to run with/pace off but very soon I found out the awful truth: NO ONE WANTS TO RUN WITH A GIRL IN A TUTU.

I get it, you’re a serious runner, you’re trying to go super fast, you trained for this, all of thaaaaat.

But that doesn’t mean that I can’t hold the pace, or that I won’t help get more people cheering our way, or that I am taking this as a joke, or that you will trip on my tutu… seriously people, I look ridiculous but I am also a person, and a runner, and I AM going at your pace!!! Please love me and run with me!!!!

Anyway, you know the more it bothers you, the faster you’re gonna take off, and the sooooooner you’re gonna crash and come back to me. Don’t fight the tutu.

If you pulled away and were able to sustain it: Good for you, and: Glad I could help!!! 😉

This last picture is my favorite. Do you like it? Help me pick which ones to buy!! I never buy pictures anymore but these are just too amazing…

The spread at the finish was INSANE. Lots of pretzels, fruit, muffins (I had 3 instantly!), and OREOS. I sat and stuffed myself like a maniac.

Anyway, I finished in 1:45, a loooong way back from the 1:37 I did 6 days before, in a much flatter and easier course, but I was still very happy.

I had a moment at the finish. I stood right there so I could spot John right away, I also played Bart (Yasso!) and hugged/high-fived and all that. Then it hit me like one of those waved in the sea when you turn around:

This is my life now.

All of a sudden I remembered it was my birthday, and how I was doing a race on my birthday, and how, running has sipped into every single day and event in my life and how far I’ve come. I felt really humbled that, at 38, I felt this strong and healthy and happy. Yes, I can run (an easy 1:45!??!!?!!?) on any given day, in a tutu, feel amazing about it, and this is my new normal now. I felt thankful and extremely happy about all the places my running had taken me, including those seconds; this is my life now and, as hard as it is to get older (and stop PRing!), I was completely overwhelmed that that person was me, doing that, on that day, and feeling like this. Sorry for the sappiness but I don’t think I had every had such a birthday run…!

NYC Half 2013: Biggest “FINALLY” ever!

Mar18

Well, the NYC Half happened. And I haven’t blogged about it yet. Strange, right? I don’t really have much to say and, by now, I am sure everyone heard about how happy I was with my finish time.

I put it out there, a month before, that, for the first time ever, I had a time goal. Some of you were in shock I’d do that. I never have many expectations for a particular finish time. I was afraid I’d be shooting myself in the foot too.

I hadn’t PRed at a half since September 2010. Two years and 6 months: talk about blue feet! I knew I could PR, but…after so long, you start losing track of where you are too! Then, I asked, in another post, what you thought I would finish in: some of you were so confident, it scared me a bit… I really wanted to go sub 1:40, that’s all I cared about.

RACE WEEK, from “YEY!!!!” to “oh CRAP”.

– Monday, Tuesday, 6-5 days to go: SUPER confident! Had many amazing runs in a row and felt ready to destroy the race! I was peaking, primed, ready to blast off and almost upset I couldn’t run that day!

– Wednesday, Thursday, I was in a conference, away from home, sleeping little, tired, eating horribly, losing all confidence.

– Friday. Getting teary and excited all day thinking about how this was my first race ever, and now I was coming back to claim my streets!

– Friday afternoon. Started freaking out. Weather was going to be COLD. 29 to 32. I can’t. I don’t well. I. No.

– Friday afternoon part 2. Decided I didn’t have time for a run (too much to do, with just Friday free in between jobs, and hadn’t run since Tuesday, so I decided to do drills instead. BIG MISTAKE. When I was about to be done, my legs gave in. Cramps or something. I was stiff and in pain. WTF?!?!? !!!

Oh no.

– Saturday. Couldn’t walk downstairs, sit normally without grunting, or bend to pick stuff from the floor (there is always stuff on the floor when you feel like this), like I had just run a marathon the day before!! WHY?? it was just the usual drills!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!? And I was also freaking about the weather. I don’t run well when I am cold…

– Sunday… it was freezing. I was told later the feels like was 12, glad I had no idea. I really run a lot better when it’s hot. And my legs were still really hurting, walked a bit less stiff but still very sore… OH WELL.

RACE ON!

Got to the corral. Overstuffed in throwaway clothes, with toe warmers taped to my butt, and waited for half hour. Glad portapotties are in the corrals now, such amazing logistics! Blaise was there too, underdressed and freezing, in the 3XXX corral with me. Soon enough, at 7:30, we get moving

I am in there, I promise!

So, I was shooting to have 7:35 average pace, which would be right under 1:40. First mile was CROWDED. I know better than to weave, so I stayed put: Mile 1: 755. Great. Conservative start. Nice job Elizabeth. Nothing worse than opening up with a fast mile and then crash, and also worry the other 12 that you already messed it up!

I kept trucking along, and I was just trying to stay relaxed and run by feel. I am good at not looking at my watch. Then Cat hill: Mile 2: 7:37, not so shabby. Mile 3 is the fastest in the park: 7:01, good! (too fast?!?!). Mile 4 is the scariest one in the whole race, it has Harlem Hill, a fun climb I’ve done a million times, so I was expecting anything over 8mm. Mile 4: 7:18. What? I tend to freak out when I see fast miles.

By then I was getting warm, a climb would do that to you. Blaise was always a bit ahead or right by me, which really helped me focus and stay calm (thanks B!). I kept seeing another team mate, Shay, we’d pass each other constantly, and I wanted to pace with her, but my two water stops really messed up my pace. Mile 5, where I stopped for half a gel, 7:41. Yes, I stop for gels. Deal with it.

Soon we were out of the park. I couldn’t believe this was turning out so easy and fast.. HOW? ah, I trained…

Times Square is always fantastic. It’s UNBELIEVABLE how much I HATE Times Square all year long and how much I LOVE it for those 10 minutes!!!!!!!! Glorious mile. Mile 6: 7:31, Mile 7: 7:24. Setting on a rythym here.

Then we turn into the flat straightway, where you can really hit the pedal.

Mile 8: 7:10. This is ridiculous. This is the pace for my last few 5Ks, 4 milers… Mile 9 I finished my gel: 7:30. I kept seeing people all over the course, but it’s always so nice to find people in these miles… you spot everyone in the park, and then the final miles, but it makes such a difference in this part of the course, it can be a little lonely, and flat, and straight…

Mile 10 is when I wanted to start moving, and treat it like a 5K: 7:20. I really started pushing but I knew there was the tunnel to deal with in the last half mile… Mile 11: 7:15. Mile 12: 7:09. Then we went underground, and when coming up (tiny but annoying hill SO late in the race!), we just had 800 meters to go. Not enough time to recover and sprint, but I gave it my all.

And I PRed!

After 2 years and a half, I PRed at the half. Phew.

I cried. Of course I cried. A LOT. I made Blaise uncomfortable, ha.

I spotted everyone at the finish… I cried some more, hugged some more, took pictures, all that stuff you do, then cried some more. I was cold. Nothing new. Like it was just another morning.

Stats!

Finish time: 1:37:35. Average Pace: 7:27, OMFG!

Previous PR: 1:42:47. From: September 2010, OMFGx2

Age Grading: 68.64%

Overall Place: 1,474 of 14,527

Gender Place: 304 of 7,607

Age Place: 40 of 1,222

I met Kets, had eggs, met Sole, got home, got a shower. All that. INSANELY HAPPY.

See ? I didn’t have anything particular to say about it! I raced it, went fast, I PRed, end of story.

I love this race. ❤

Mountain Madness 50K Race Report: Want to see FUNNY (plus a bit of blood)?

Oct18

In case you didn’t see my previous post about how horrible this trail 50k was, appropriately called Mountain Madness. It was Madness in the Mountain. Literally. But enough with the spoilers.

Getting ready… the place is gorgeous, and leaves are changing…

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra before (3)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra before (4)

Want to know how to make your own disposable handheld?????

Did I tell you how I am the reincarnation of McGyver?? No, not McGruber!!! My grandpa would fix anything in the world with a hammer and nail. My dad will weld anything. Me, I am duct tape specialist, just like McGyver.

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra before (10)

My shorts looked bulky because I had like 7 gels in there.. and they were totally necessary as we got so lost we couldn’t find any of the Aid Stations for 5 hours… I also packed my camera in that arm band.

The Start…

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra start (4)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra start (1)

The Course…

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (21)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (24)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra before (1)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (2)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (3)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (4)

The Falls…

First fall at Mile 4

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (1)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (8)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (11)

I fell on some rocks and hit my knee and my forehead, and scratched my hand and legs… I couldn’t move (or speak English) for a bit and Blaise had to pick me up. I felt SO stupid!

Fall #2, a bit after Mile 8. Feel free to laugh, I totally look like a clown! Or an elf!

Funny either way!

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (12)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra course (14)

I fell right on my face this time, arms up, and hit my lungs and ribcage pretty badly. I also bruised my left shoulder that has been hurting from the past weeks. My thighs got bruised and scratched again. It was scratch on top of scratch, with dirt and crap on it. Sexy.

Glad I had the camera though! Hahahaha!

After my second fall, my whole left side was really hurting, ribs, lungs, and the same shoulder that got squashed in my fall earlier this month. When I run, and had to breathe harder, it was really painful. I just wanted to reach an Aid Station, but we were completely lost…. and had to keep going for 5 hours until we made it out of that maze… It was really really frustrating, because I wasn’t sure I was ever going to make it out of there, I could barely breathe, and we really had no clue where we were or what to do. I was in too much pain to even think straight. I started getting nervous that I would not be able to keep running for long, even with the lung/rib pain. Also, I just had 1 bottle of water for those 5 hours… Blaise was pretty upset too at how badly the trail was marked, but we were traying to do our best to stay calm and get out of there. I do remember screaming things like “I hate Nature” and/or/even “I hate running” at some point. And I was prettified of running there. I was on the edge of a meltdown for 12 very slow miles.

I did entertain myself with PhillyRunatic’s thought that every other race would be a disaster. So, Staten Island last weekend was great, this was the most horrendous mess ever, and NYCM would be OSOM. Right? The other thing that kept me happy was that I hand’t rolled my ankles (yet) or that I really hadn’t put on much mileage on. It’d be easier to start the taper.

I have to admit, I felt very stupid. This race was definitely not for me. It was too technical and I didn’t have enough balance with one crippled arm, hence all the falling. Also, it was really bad organized and I would never sign up again for a race with this kind of support. The tape we were supposed to follow was either non existing or confusing! We would get to a place where the trail would have three branches and there would be tape in two of them or in none of them… What do you do?? In most bifurcations we would see not one indication of which way to go!! And I am usually amazing with directions!!! Apparently, the race organizer was running around marking the course right when we were out there, he knew it was not marked and still let us go in there! That was a bit too late to try to fix the problem.

At some point, I hit the “Back to Start” button on the Garmin, but I think it was basically re tracing my run, which was the really long way back. Still, thank Pre for technology in the middle of the woods!!!!

After we finished, I had a few hours to kill before my team mates were finished so I talked to everyone there. Everyone. I wanted to find out if all trail races were like this, so technical and so badly organized, before I swore them all off forever. Everybody said the same thing: No, and NO. This course was really hard for most people, not the best idea to start with this one. Also, everyone got lost. Everyone. We had started all the way at the back of the pack, so we had no one to follow on top of it all. Most people fell, but everyone there had been lost. That’s the part I am upset about. Fine, I couldn’t go on because I was all banged up, but Blaise should have been able to finish this. It was really not cool. I would not sign up for anything like this again. You are warned if you do.

Having a functioning arm to balance would help, yes, but not knowing where to go and where you are for 5 hours is just something I wouldn’t want to do again.

The last of the pictures, back at the finish, trying to cross my legs, not easy!

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after injured (1)

When we were all ready to go

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (1)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (3)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (4)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (5)

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after injured (9)

Illustrating how I fall, not sure about the tongue tough!

Mountain Madness 50K nj trail ultra after (2)

Sunday I woke up with overall chest pain, a very sore neck (??), and very swollen knees and thighs. This is what my legs looked like the day after.

I might re-attempt the last long run tomorrow, though my lung/ribs still hurt. We ended up with 20 miles on Saturday but half of it was walking. Blaise is now looking for a 50k for redemption. I have no pride so I am indifferent. I mostly feel totally stoopid for falling like that. It’s quite ridiculous. I was really embarrassed. But oh well, it can’t always end well, right? Oh yeah, I had an amazing Sunday to compensate!

Late EDIT: The doctor would confirm 3 days later:

– 3 broken ribs

– broken clavicle

– torn rotator cuff.

GREAT. NYC Marathon in TWO weeks…

RNR Philly Half RR: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Sep9

A surprise as usual. Why no race EVER comes out the way I plan it????

I headed out to Philly Saturday noon. I love Philly. I miss Philly!!!

I was staying at my best friend Maricela and her DH’s house, in Old city, a gorgeous part of Philly. I was already attacking the Nutella jar in the bus, with a bag of pretzels I managed to finish in 20 minutes. Maricela was on call this weekend and she got called in, I kept her company, as I used to work at Jefferson when I lived in Philly some years back, but that meant we had dinner late (at an amazing new place called Barbuzzo) and didn’t go to bed until midnight. Ooops. Up at 6, my contacts were not having it. My eyes were itching really bad and that meant I didn’t sleep enough. I never sleep enough, but when the contacts itch, it is BAD!!

By 7 am I met up with Mr. Bacon by the start

we went by the elite runner’s tent, and we saw Ryan Hall as he headed out to the start line. I had checked my camera by then but I’ll give you just his posters in Center City from the day before.

Mr. Bacon was super nice and wished him luck, I was “yeah!”, hehehe! Ryan is SO thin!!! It made me feel fat for a split second (by the second half of that second I remember Shake Shack and all was fine again!).

This was my friends’ third race and first pikermi, I was so excited for them!

The race was sold out but really well organized. I had never done a RNR race and I was very impressed.

Corral time, we were off. My PR was 1:44:09 (7:57 average pace), from May’s Brooklyn Half. I was hoping I could get closer to 1:41, I was so confident I could do it, mostly in this flat course… I would be proven wrong. AS USUAL.

Mile 1 through 5 had us running through Center City and these miles flew by. Around the Mile 1 marker I spotted Royal Dryness ahead of me. I shouted, nothing. I catch up to him and wish him luck. I could tell his pace and mine were not matching, and let him go. The mile markers adn my Garmin were not matching, sometimes by a quarter of a mile, which made pacing complicated. But, I was going with heart rate and I thought I was doing fine. The sun had come up and it was right in our faces for a couple of miles, it was hard to see, and it was getting hot. I kept a conservative pace and decided to save it all for later. When we got to Kelly Drive, thing got easier: shade!!

Funny aside:
runner dude: momomomomomomommmm
me: [pausing my mp3 player]: sorry, whaaaaat?
runner dude: you need to control your breathing!!!
me: oh, no, that’s just the way I breathe, I just have this crappy heart and I am fine, but I just breathe a little loud, I can’t help it, but am ok, don’t worry, I am sorry it is so annoying, that is why I run with the loud music, it annoys me too, but…
runner dude: I see you are fine if you can talk that much while racing.
me: OK!!! sorry!!!!
I just wanted to apologize to EVERYONE, in GENERAL, and FOREVER! It IS really annoying, I get it… but what can I do??? Not race? Uh… NO!

I was feeling good, miles kept going very fast and I realized I loved this course. I really liked it. It got a little harder on the M Luther King road as it was VERY slanted, for a couple of miles. We were also in the sun, and it had gotten hot. The last .20 was a total struggle, I was dead and I felt like I was running in place. Finish time: 1:43:08 (average pace of 7:52). A 1 minute and 1 second PR! Not bad, but also not what I thought I could do… I really should have been able to go faster. This was just a 64.5% grading (compared to last week’s 69%!). I am blaiming it on not sleeping enough, as I really can’t find anything else! But I have raced before with little sleep and done ok, so…

I saw Mr. Bacon right by the finish line, he had finished just a bit before. Packed a ton of food and sat down… Most of the Loopsters were a bit disappointed and without a real reason for it. Royal Dryness and Seanh kicked serious @ss though! Loopsters trickled in and out, but here’s the pictures I managed to get!

From Left: Royal Dryness, who looks exactly like his avatar, all the time and everywhere apparently. You really can’t miss him! Mr. Bacon, Shawn Li, bigbrownpit behind me, edruns72 in turquoise, Goal Junkie and John J-rw.

Seanh and Watch_LN_Run were there too but not in my pics!! Ah, here’s Philly Run-atic and me, later.

Congrats to all of you!! I loved the medal. I loved the race. And I kept telling myself I was an idiot for being disappointed with my finish time. I was literally slapping myself mentally every time I had one of those thoughts.

A little while later I caught up with Maricela and her DH and we decided to get a picture before we headed back. So proud of you guys!!!

and then I realized the person I had asked to take the picture was in a little group with Laura Yasso! I introduced myself, as we have friends in common, and we chatted for a bit. She’s so delightful and energetic, I could have been there all day talking to her!!!!

We started walking home and snapped a few more pics, as you can see my disappointment was vanishing by the second.

I had had a great race, met a lot of great people and put down my best effort.

That is all that matters.

And that I am not injured, that’s the other thing that really matters.

Ever seen Logan Square like this?

Later, we went to refuel to one of my favorite places in Philly: Monk’s. I had amazing fries, a burger, mussels, and dessert. And a beer. My first beer in 4 years, which was the last time I was there.

Yeah, I’d say this was a great great great weekend.

Bronx Half Marathon RR – more ?s than !s

Aug15

I was really questioning my sanity today at 4:30 am when I woke up to head up to the Bronx Half Marathon. But, one of my 2010 goals was to do all five boros pikermis and now I just have one more to go, Staten Island in 4 weeks. Almost there!

I met up with JohannaTS early for our train ride from the Upper East Side and then met up Blaise in our corral; and we set off. Weather was great, 70 degrees and overcast. There was a 70% humidity which didn’t bother me much with the sun rays hidden… A PR ahead…? Who knows… We set off at a fast pace: the first three miles are 7:4Xs… I knew it was fast but I felt confident… That’s the hardest thing in a race: trying to gauge what pace you can handle any given day. You go up fast, you hold it and have a PR, or you go out fast, break down in a few miles, and pay the price for starting too fast… Too bad I still haven’t gotten to the point where I know what that “this fast pace feels ok” means… All I know is that sometimes I can hold it, and sometimes I can’t!

I didn’t know much of the course, which always bothers me: I don’t think you can race well without knowing the course. I knew there were some hills, and that it was pretty flat/downhill after mile 11, so after losing Blaise around Mile 5, I decided to keep the pace manageable and leave it all for the last two miles. Anxiety.

There was very little of the course that was flat, which made pacing a nightmare. The green is the elevation (red is heart rate):

Can you see how good I am at keeping my heart rate consistent? WIN!

But the problem was that many of those uphills had very little incline so you didn’t even see them coming. And they lasted for miles, but they’d creep up on you!! And I wondered why I was having so much trouble keeping my pace up! The good thing is that the course was three out and backs, so after the first run-through you knew what was coming. Love out and backs!!!

By Mile 10, I did very limited math and I realized I was very far from a PR, but I figured it was a good effort anyway, good for my marathon training. I pushed really hard the last miles. I was passing a lot of people. Mile 13 was 7:41 and the .1 was at 7:17. It always makes me happy to finish strong, but I wonder if I save too much for the end, huh…

Finish time was 1:47:37. Three minutes and a half away from a my PR from May. A mystery given the good weather. But it’s ok; JohannaTS made me feel a lot better saying I shouldn’t be peaking now, cause that would be not so great come marathon day. I think she’s right. But it’s still a mystery how this all works. After Boston I was PRing left and right and I hadn’t done anything special. And now, it’s just not working, whatever it is.

Besides the confusion, I really think I am racing too much, almost every weekend, and that could be a problem. I am committing to not racing for three weeks (though, who could stop me if I change my mind??), but after that I am racing 5 weeks in a row, that includes three pikermis and also my long runs. Someone save me!!!!!!!

Ah, I lost my horse a few months ago, and it’s fine. I can walk for now. As long as he’s back for the marathonl!

Anyway, here’s the Bronx Pikermi pics from Sunday, a bit late, but late is better than never! And I am NOT posting the disgraceful ones. There were too many. YUK.

Running.. you know…one foot in front of the other!

Waving, HELLO, the camera is over heeeere! DUH. But I am so fast I am blurry!

Done! FINALLY!!

No banana jokes please. This is a SERIOUS blog. My knees look like they’re talking to each other. AY.

Post-race chilling. Obviously HE was wrong.

Chilling Take Two. See that purple shirt on my left (your right)? It’s my OSOM purple 13.1 Team Pikermi shirt!

Rock ON!!!!

What kind of horse am I in? Maybe one with a Prince on it…!

Jun29

So, I’ve been doing amazingly well lately, if I may say so myself… I’ve been PRing with a lot of margin, with paces that seem neck-breaking for me!! And everyone keeps asking me what am I doing differently…

I wish I could tell you… you know I would!

All I can say is that I am “running happy” (I know, I am an idiot!!), but basically I am running on dirt and dirt alone, unless there’s a road race. I am running in the VFFs once a week, which I think helps develop my legs and my form. And at least twice a week I do a strength routine: core and butt (ok, glutes!). Stretching has become my religion. I pretty much run whatever/whenever I feel like. No speedwork, just fast hill repeats on dirt twice a month, and racing. That’s about it…. All the other things I do are definitely not performance enhancers… (cupcakes-eating tournaments anyone?) so I’ll keep those to myself so you don’t laugh at me. But my pace during the week is even slower than before, and I think it makes sense not to push or stress the body too much. How that could make me faster… no clue!!!

On the other hand, things are SO good that when I think too much about it, I get scared that it could all disappear; that all would go away as fast and mysteriously as it came. So I don’t think much about it and enjoy it, from my horse. I really think it’s more of a mind adjustment, because there is really not much else tangible that I can explain this with.

Talking about running + happiness…. this past Sunday we had the Achilles Hope and Possibility race in the park. You have to go to the site and look at these pictures, you’ll be SO inspired… I always wonder if I would still run if there were all these obstacles in front of me to sort through… These people are just amazing. I decided to spectate instead of running it because my legs were still sore from the day before and I was glad I did. I run back and forth so I got a few recovery miles in the dirt.

Argentina in-da-house!

Prince Harry and Toby…

In case you want to know, Prince Harry is pretty cute. And, OMG, he’s a sweetheart, he shook EVERYBODY’s hand. I am not kidding, EVERYONE, I got tired for him!!!

I felt bad for him, this guy has SO much attention on him everywhere he goes… I can’t even imagine how horrible that must be. You would have to have an immense patience and nerves of steel… I had never seen so much police and secret service guys in the park!

This is Trisha Meili, a very inspiring woman who created the race (or so I heard…). You know her, she’s the Central Park Jogger.

Heather Mills, former model and Paul McCartney’s ex-wife, she lost a leg a while ago and she’s a big activist. She was supposed to do the race but she had a back problem and didn’t. ;-(

Prince Harry takes over and blows the horn.

They go. Prince Harry talking to Dick Traum, founder of the Achilles International Org.

I walked to the finish line and in a few minutes the first male was done!! A few random shots from the finish line:

All an all, another more than amazing day in the park. With the most inspiring people you could think of.

Then I had to go and keep freaking out about the World Cup game. The Prince went to the polo game.Nacho Figueras beat him, see? 😉

Oh, and Prince Harry fell off this horse (Sunday was not a good day for Englishmen playing Sports…)

Well… so far, I haven’t!!!
Hold on to your horse. Ride on!

DONE with #@$%#%^ Summer Racing!!!/ON-a-HORSE!!! (Front Runner’s 5 Miler RR)

Jun26

I did the Front Runner’s 5 Miler today. I love 5 milers but the last one I did was this same one last year, so I knew there was a high probability of a PR in the forecast, despite the weather forecast: it has been insanely hot all week. Call me crazy, but I don’t enjoy racing in an oven, I am just nuts like that. Love 5 milers, hate the heat. Ergo, I race and whine/curse.

Anyway, my PR was 38:32 (average pace of 7:42). Given that my pace at the 10k two weeks ago 7:25, I had targeted an average pace of 7:20. But I figured in this heat I would be happy with a 37:30 finish time. Ha, as usual, I had no clue….!

While lining up at the corral, I drunk 2 Gatorade cups and dumped 3 cups of water on me. I was already hot and dreading it. We are OFF! This time, I didn’t fight my urge to go out too fast. Why bother? I went insanely fast at the last 10k and it was fine; and I was sure I was going to be miserable very soon not matter what I did… Mile 1- 7:07, whatever, I am hot. Even before the Mile 1 marker I had already fought like 30 million thoughts about stopping to walk. It was very hard for me not to, I was so annoyed at myself and I remembered why I would stop last year to walk in all these races: the #@$^&^& HEAT!!! I decided I would distract myself with all I had, and I would not stop, at all, GGRRR< I am tough, I can do this, no I can’t, can I?, uh, I hate this, I want to walk just a bit, just a couple of seconds, NO! Please, it’s hooooooot, and this is soooo hard, that’s what she said, keep going you m*r*n, you are better than this, but I am hot… the whole five miles went exactly like that!

Mile 2- 7:06… ok fine, but I really wanted to stop. It’s all I wanted.In life. Forever. I saw (and waved at) a lot of people in the park cheering (including yours truly jflecks79), and then this guy runs up to me and says: I was running by you for a while and everybody knows you here, I am getting depressed that no one waives at me. He must have thought I was mental, I was so out of it it took a little while for me to understand “words”… I was just trying not to stop! Or die! Heart rate: INSANE. Yes, I am always this specific and accurate.

Mile 3- 6:50… what? how? I was just focusing on finishing this. I hated racing. All I should be doing today is sit by a pool. Shut up B!tch, you’re MsRitz, you run the run today! Hahahaha! Misting stations are heaven, I need more!

Mile 4- 7:28 let’s finish this…. time to sprint? Can I even try? Mile 5- 7:06. Last mile was run hard but it all paid off. Finish time: 35: 37… WHAT? Yeah, 35:37!!! Average pace of 7:08. Insanity!!!!!!!!!! Almost a three minutes PR!!! And, #4 in my Age Group. That, in NYC, is HUGE! Insane.

As soon as I crossed the finish line I had to hold on to the railings. I couldn’t stand up or see much. People were asking me stuff and pointing to the Medical tent, which was 5 feet away. I couldn’t say no, I just held on. After a few minutes I started walking, slowly, in zigzags… Found Blaise right away, I was still dizzy, it took me a good 10 minutes to feel normal again.

Someone Run the Run today! It was horrible, but I figured I would NOT race in weather like this for a while so I had to make it worth it, and leave with a bang (I am not coming back until it’s snowing!!!). And I didn’t stop once, which was the hardest part for me. We took a million pictures after and since then I have been telling myself all day how happy I am with myself, to the shock/annoyance of strangers, and nodding of friends. I really feel really OSOM. #4th is HUGE for me. HUGE. I am on a horrrrrrrrrrrrse!!

Now I need to recover for tomorrow’s Argentina’s game! At least I got this RR out before who knows what happens to me tomorrow during the game… rough weekend!! 😉 Just one pic for now. More to come!!!

Enjoy the weekend! Trust me: stay indoors!!!

original post here

Mini 10K RR

Jun13

Everybody I know was wondering why I’d be racing while Argentina was playing. I was questioning it too: I never do well in this race, it was hot, humid, and… the World Cup was on.

Still, I’d rather be the main character in my life before being a spectator of anyone else’s, so off I went to the park with my white chocolate mocha… A PR wasn’t the goal, but just to do this race justice. My 10k PR was three weeks old: a 46:43 (average pace of 7:32); but weather yesterday was not cooperating… I wasn’t expecting much, just to start slow and pick it up later.

Mary Wittenberg (President and CEO of NYRR), Paula Radcliffe, and Kara Goucher wished us luck and we were off. I was in the first corral, and that always spells disaster for me; I went out way too fast. (My first mile in the last 10k was 7:40.) Mile 1 and 2 got merged together as I was too hyped up to press the lap button. They averaged 6:59. Ooooops, crap. I am in big trouble. Then I heard/felt a bunch of people surrounding me: a huge group passes me with Mary and Paula. Pretty cool.

We then go into Central Park and I saw pretty much everybody I know there cheering (even Pottbott, remember him?). This race is just bigger than life and everyone comes out to watch!

Mile 3: 7:24, still going too fast, and I was definitely feeling the effects of the heat and humidity. That’s when I started to fall apart. Mile 4: 8:01. But when I saw the 4 mile mark I decided to step it up, though my mind kept wandering… The extra effort felt ok but I was so unfocused. Mile 5: 7:21. Until I started chasing this tall woman until the finish. I’ve noticed I’ve been doing that more and more, just chase someone… Mile 6: 7:28. The final .2 was done in 7:16 pace. I clocked in at 46:05. That’s a 38 seconds PR.

How?

I have no idea…

Weather was yucky, Blaise wasn’t there to pace me, I went out too fast, I had the same shoes, the same coffee… Someone figure this one out please. It’s making me mental…

Off to find everybody. Now, about the outfit: I have a couple of running skirts that I NEVER wear. I figured it I didn’t wear a skirt to the Mini10k, then I’d just have to recycle them. And the pink… it’s a all women’s race, I had to! Right?

I saw Kara, who looks OSOM as you can see, and I don’t have to tell you how sweet she is!

There’s Mary too. You all know she is “The Most Amazing Woman In The Whole Wide World”, right?

Katherine Switzer, who I had met in Boston earlier this year. You know her: a true pioneer of women’s running. She created this race, along with Fred Lebow, and was the first woman to run NYCM (won it twice) and the first winner of Boston (after they established the women’s category). She was also the one who pushed for adding the women’s marathon to the Olympics.

Where would we be without her?? Well, I’ll tell you: we’d still be holding our uterus so it wouldn’t fall out when we run; and running anything but marathons!

kara goucher mini 10k nyrr mary wittenberg adam goucher

Adam Goucher wasn’t getting as much attention as super-rockstar Kara, so we chatted for a while. He’s super nice and was telling me about his training and how much he suffered while injured. I get moody and grumpy when I can’t run, but I couldn’t even imagine how the elites would deal with it, it’s gotta be 500 times harder (he said he put on 15 pounds!!!); and he’s targeting the Olympic trials (for the marathon) so he’ll do the half in January instead. And… it’s confirmed, it’s a BOY!!!! Seems like they were all expecting a girl, but he’s happy as it took them so long to get pregnant. He’s super nice, that boy’s gonna be fast and OSOM with those genes!!

And, the myth, the woman, THE Paulinator! Not sure if Paula is a soccer fan but she didn’t say a peep about the Argentinian shirt. I was not about to bring it up.

She was SO nice!

The winner, Linet Masai, on the left by Katherine, with a yellow shirt. The race story is here.

The winner, who was super super shy, and the rest of the top three!

go here for pictures and video.

Then was the turn of the two running Gods/hot mammas!

They stand there like they are normal. Do they not realize how amazing they are?? Seriously????

Then they heard about my race, and they couldn’t hide it…

So, it’s ok that I didn’t miss this for (the first half of) a soccer game. Right? 😉

2010 NYC Half Fun and Pics

Mar22

Six am on a Sunday morning is just cruel, but I was really looking forward to see Deena, Haile, Nick, Abdi, FAM, Madai, Claudia, and all the other amazing runners in my park. So there we marched, Jodi and I. I had planned to see them go on Mile 1 on the east side, sprint to the west side, see them at Mile 2, then take the downtown train and catch them right before the Finish. It was all precisely planned down to seconds. You know it worked because I am an OSOM (ok fine, obsessive) planner!!

They all looked so strong and fast, it was impressive… And I just love this half, it goes around Central Park and then through the heart of NYC: Times Square. And I hate Times Square. I hate it; just like everyone else who lives here. But there’s just a couple of hours a year when it’s magical: this race!

Anyway, here’s a few pictures…

Peter Kamais already leading by Mile 2.

How did he know??? If I was running with Haile, I’d be crying in the back of the pack (or at home!)

Abdi, Haile and a guy in green (?) leading

And there’s Deena, already leading the chase pack, which she held all the way up to Mile 11. Mara Yamaguchi has some guts passing her with 2 miles to go! And, no, that is not Brian Sell behind Deena. It’s local amazingness Mike Cassidy.

OSOM Sunglasses, right? yes, they're the same!

The two osomest runners that weren’t running Sunday!!! Happily waiting by the Finish line, though I was a bit upset the someone passed Deena! Nice shades, right?

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Peter Kamais crossing the finish line. Event Record. It was the best weather this half has had. This is the first year they do it in March, it was always in August and the weather had been ridiculous. First time I did it, in 2006, it was pouring. Last year, it was 82 degrees at the start. YUK. So, back to my point, this was great weather for records.

Photo Finish for 2nd place. INTENSE!!!!!!!!!

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The INTENSE fight for second place between Kigen and Trafeh, way to dig til the end!

hey hey! When would I get to wave a flag??? AAAH, NEVER!

First and second male: Kamais and Kigen, super happy, obviously!

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There’s Nick Arciniaga, looking strong on his way to 15th place

then…Mara Yamauchi, of Great Bretain approaching. First Place!

new york city half marathon nyrr ny mara

Checking the rearview mirror for a come-from-behind mess

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Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain took the women's win in approx 1:09:25.

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Mara crossing the finish line in 1:09:24. I like what she said: “My race went from bad to good today, I didn’t give up because as soon as you give up in your mind, your body gives up. I told myself that a bad day was better than a really bad day. Maybe this isn’t so bad, let’s get moving.”

Deena, just a few seconds behind Mara, and Madai coming right behind too. All too close!

Deena and Madai at the Finish line. So glad she got this one in!

new york city half marathon nyrr ny deena kastor

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Deena and her biggest fan!

After that we watched a couple of friends finish and we were off to get the cookies Jodi has been talking about for years… There’s a happy girl

The cookie was ridiculously good. But you probably need to run a pikermi right after one. Now that I think about it, I could have these cookies instead of Nutella before my long runs from now on…!

If you want more pictures, there’s a bunch more here. Have a great week!!!

runningandthecity

and by "the city", I mean NYC.

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RNR Philly Half RR: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Bronx Half Marathon RR – more ?s than !s

What kind of horse am I in? Maybe one with a Prince on it…!

DONE with #@$%#%^ Summer Racing!!!/ON-a-HORSE!!! (Front Runner’s 5 Miler RR)

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2010 NYC Half Fun and Pics

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