Weekends....

Weekends....

Sometimes I love them, other times I hate them.

When I first got sober weekends were killer, I worked at the restaurant just so I had something to do, but the nights killed me. Then I got a social life and I still sort of hated weekends, plus I was a mess. I was 26, missing my party life, missing Fire Island, old man bars and just the craziness of what at the time I though was fun.

Thank god I did work, got better and started to embrace life (whew!!)

So fast forward to 8 years later (yup, 8 years with no booze) and I love my weekends, cherish them actually, until the fall comes around. Summer - beach all day Sat and Sun, Winter - skiing almost every weekend in VT.

Fall? B-O-R-I-N-G.

Ok, I know people love the fall, but I'm just no that into it. I never know what to wear, if I should put the heat on or what to do. Last fall I was with the boy so we did stuff, which was good, this year no boy = boring sundays.

I'm learning to like boring though. Yesterday I ran 5 then came home and watched TV for hours, which is so not me, but It felt good to just sit and do nothing. I'm trying to embrace the "nothing". It's working. Then I busted out of my TV induced coma and got my shop on and ate pizza. I'm still full (when will I learn that 1 buffalo slice does not need to be chased with a meatball slice?).

Sat was much more productive, tried on Mary Kay makeup, had dinner with friends, saw another friend celebrate her anniversary then went to a party. I really was non-stop all day, which made my TV induced coma on Sunday almost ok.

And today? Back to the grind. I'm a big Monday fan. Seriously. Plus I got my Crossfit on, was up at 5:30 so I headed over to the 6am class. It was great, Push press, front squats and pull ups. I feel strong and productive and centered. Just 1 week away from the marathon. I'm ready.

Fall Racing

I'm pretty much done shelling out money on 5k's - unless I have some sort of attachment to it, I'd rather not. That being said, I decided to look over at the Long Island Running calendar and see what's happening that I might be interested in. Surprisingly, there are quite a few cool races coming up and some fun training runs put on by the Sayville Running Company. I figured now is a good time to put some fall goals out there, especially since the marathon is next week and I'm a slacker, so a goal will keep me going.

Ok, so this is what I'm thinking:

Nov 13: Run For the Warriors. Still have to decided on the distance, depends on how I feel after the marathon.

Nov 20: Evelyn Knapp 5k Run to Remember. This is on my favorite hilly course and is in honor of my friends sister.

Nov 25: SJB Turkey Trot - still waiting on info for this, last year I placed first in my AG (really small race)!

I love fall running, it's always fun to get out there and race with friends and acquaintances from the LI running scene. It will also be interesting to see how I do, I ran all of these races last year so I can see how marathon training affected my speed.

So my foot is feeling pretty good. Did a quick speed workout on the mill yesterday before work then Crossfit at night. Hoping I feel OK after my weekend longish run. Crossing fingers!

Feet Don't Fail Me Now!

Cheers to no stress fracture!

Boo to possible tendinitis!

I'm a little bummed to have an overuse injury and really can only blame myself, should have been icing, BUT the good news is that I can run and my Doc is going to give me a shot of cortisone next week to get me through the marathon.

I can run this week, just not anything too crazy, so I'm happy about that, but if I feel pain, I'm going to stop. Last Night I went to Crossfit where coach was like SEEEE, running is bad, blah blah. I told coach to suck it(ok, not really), obvi I have not fully drank the Crossfit Kool-Aid yet, although I'm close :) (actually, I'm drinking it, just not ready to admit it,HA!)

So this week the plan is to ice, get an ultrasound done, take a lot of Advil, run just a little, then my 8 miler on sat, Crossfit maybe 2 more times and get myself psyched up for the BIG DAY!!!

Let the Tapering Begin!

Marathon training is winding down, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm getting a little burned out. I started working with Coach in May, so I've been pretty structured for MONTHS now, which for this procrastinator is huge.

We stared out training for the Queens Half, then rolled right into marathon training. I know for sure that I would not be prepared for the Full Mary had I not worked with Bob, money well spent! And he came through with a crew for my 20 miler, good man!

This weekend I ran with New Running Partner Sheila. We both had 12 on the sched so it was a perfect pairing, although I sort of wanted to do it by myself, I welcomed the company. We met at the gym and headed out. While I like boring out and backs, Sheila does not. Because I'm a good sport, I took her lead. We ran the trail, then through some residential areas then back by my house to the docks and back. I was a little miz. I really like out and backs, or at least a plan. The trail is about 6 miles, but the rest was so unstructured that it got annoying. Regardless we had a great run, and better conversation. I did break midway to stretch out my hammy, but our pace was 9:43 which made me happy.

Ok, so on to tapering. This is tricky for me. I have never really tapered. All my half marathon's I ran my 10 the weekend before the race, so this whole 2 weeks without a long run is weird. I feel like I need to throw a 2nd 20 miler in somewhere. I won't, but it just seems like the right thing to do, lol. The other issue is that I'm a little injured. My right foot has really been bothering me on the outside. I just started icing it (always late to the party) and I have a doc appointment tomorrow. I think it's just an internal bruise, but I want to be safe.
Sooo...crossing fingers and toes and knocking on every piece of wood I can find!

Ice Baths?

Do you ice bath? Did it help, not help, waste of time?

I have not been sore after any of my runs, I have however had calf pain which compression seems to have taken care of. Oh, I also have a nagging pain in my foot that I'm trying to pray away, but really I need to ice it more than anything.

Ok, back to ice baths. For me they are a waste, but I see so many bloggers jumping in after runs over 10 that I have to wonder, bloggy fad or the real deal?

OMG ...I Really Just Ran 20 Miles!

I'm still in shock, I ran my first ever 20 mile run, and I'm still awake at 1:00am!

Today was great, got up, pooped (hooray) had a granola bar and half a mushy bannana, some water and advil (headache) and headed off to my coach's house for 20 amazing miles. Coach set me up with a few different runners for the day, otherwise I was running this bad boy solo and I did not want to do that!

Usual running partner Andrea ran the first 10 with me, Jackie the next five and Coach for the final 5, Jean who I just met and love, ran the entire distance. She was great and was nice even when I wanted to kill people during miles 18 and 19.

The first 10 miles we were are about a 9:40 pace, my goal was to maintain that and for the most part I did. We had one 11 minute mile when we went into the trail around mile 12, it was super muddy and we had to navigate around some crazy wet stuff, but it beat the strong headwind that we had during the first 10. The last 4 miles I slowed down and I basically would have done anything to walk mile 19, but I didn't.

Overall I felt strong, but like usual I was mentally done at the end. I'm nervous that I won't be able to get through the last 6 marathon miles, but I'm trying to stay positive and trust my training.

We ran for a total of 3:20 at a 10:04 pace.

The rest of the day was great, went to Glenn's for pancakes, took a looong nap, dinner with Danielle then a party and a littly flirt action with a new boy (crossing fingers).

In just a few short weeks I'll be able to say I completed a marathon, and even the thought of that blows me away!

Gettin' Speedy

My last few runs have been super speedy (for me), which makes me happy because as we all know marathon training can take you from a little fast to a little bit slower. My last long run was 11 miles at a 9:40 pace, totally consistent splits and I felt great the entire time. Last night I ran 5 at a 9:30 pace. The cool thing is that it felt totally relaxed and I was running solo which usually means a little more relaxed than if someone else is there pushing me.

I think it may have something to do with my crossfit workouts. Or a speed session on the 'mill, either way I'll take it!

I'm hoping to get to crossfit tonight, the wod is kind of hard and I will have to scale it a bit as I can't do handstand push-ups or double-unders. I love that I can scale my workouts, otherwise I'd be doomed!

It's nice to be feeling so positive - even with the breakup and junky 18 miler that left me feeling a little defeated. I'm loving this training so much. Every run and workout leaves me feeling so strong and accomplished - even the crappy ones!

Today I Will Remember...

...that I am:

fun
fearless
sassy
single but happy
employable
sober
crossfitter
runner
friend
daughter

Sometimes I need to say out loud how far I've come - I wasn't always all of those things, and although not defined by any single one, I am whole because of them all (plus some) :)

29 Days

I'm getting nervous now. I don't feel prepared, I didn't run hills, like at all, I'm still chubby.

But I do know that I ran 18 hard miles, a few 14 milers that were speedy, a great 16 miler, last weeks half +3 was pretty good.

I have to trust my training and know that I will still make strides in these last 29 days.

Getting Rid Of The Old

So I have written a little about the boy and the on-again-off-again nature of our relationship. Every time I think we are done, we are back. Super annoying, but I guess the back and forth had to happen to get me to the point where I am completely done.

When something is no longer fun, is a chore and brings more pain than happiness it's time to let go!

Easier said than done, at least for me!

Part of the problem is that we see each other constantly, no separation. We both belong to a group and that group meets a few times a week and often involves going out after, so low and behold we are both there, still chatting away instead of giving the space we both probably needed from the first breakup. We always parted ways amicably in order to not disrupt some of our social life, this time that did not happen. It wasn't over the top terrible, but we both said some things, he told a mutual friend he is switching groups and I'm left feeling...free.

I never thought this day would come, yes it sucks, yes I miss certain things but this last time around was torture and I realized that my self worth is more important than the status of being in a relationship. I also know that he is not well and I have to remember that.

Today I wish him happiness, I wish him peace and I wish him the freedom to move on with his life ( although I do hope he is crying his eyes out every night!) and let go of the negativity that holds him back.

Normally I'm so bummed and angry, not so this time around. I'm looking forward to the future, my marathon, Crossfit and an amazing 60th birthday weekend with my mom in the city. As long I can stay out of my own way and keep it classy, I can't go wrong.

My Badass 18 Miler!

18 miles, 18 kick-your-ass-3-loops-in-Central-Park miles.

One word. Holy Hard (ok, 2 words).

I love my long runs, I really do. I get excited about the distance knowing that every long run is a distance PR and a new test to my little running existence and another notch in my marathon training belt.

18 miles has meant a lot of things for me: impossible, crazy, something I can't wait to do, something I will never do...you get the picture...so when I completed this feat, I was so elated, even though it was hard as hell and I wanted to quit from pretty early on.

First off, we ran 3 loops of the north end of the park - which means 3 times up Cat and Harlem hills. I love hills, but these hills 3 times almost brought me to tears. Secondly, it was hot and really, really humid. I'm used to the heat as I've been running all summer, so that wasn't too bad. It was the hills that killed me (note to self, must run more hills, ok, any hills at this point!).

I didn't go in with a ton of expectations aside from finishing, but for me the drill is always the same, when I run slow I get a little bummed. My average pace was 10:43, but I tanked at the end. The good news is I didn't run with shit in my pants (which happened to a runner I was with - massive diarrhea, but she placed 2nd) and I just ran the longest I have ever run in my entire life, so I'll take it.