5 Reasons I Run

This was an Instagram post originally but I think it's a topic worth sharing here. :)

                     

1) Bc I never want to be who I was before 2009, it took a lot for me to get to where I am today, and I had to accept the ugly truth about lot of things about myself & the environment I was creating for myself at the time. But I found a strength in me that I never want to let go of, and with running I'm always one step ahead of the person I used to be!

2) Running has taken me places I've never imagined, I've run the entire tip of Manhattan, the 5 boroughs of NY, the Verrazano Bridge  (major!), Yankee Stadium, Bethlehem, PA, Hoboken, NJ, Las Vegas, and I can only imagine where else my feet will take me! It's pretty amazing to take in all the sites and sounds in different places, I love it!

3) Pizza!! I can eat a ton of pizza if it's realllllyyy good! So for almost every half marathon I've run, pizza is my carb loading choice of food! And my post run choice too....and my choice for any meal of the day!

4) My running family. My whole life I've always felt like I just never completely fit in socially, but this group of amazing individuals has made me feel like I have a second family! We all come from different places, but running unites us, and brings us together, for support, motivation, and life long friendships!

5) I run for me. Running has given me a second chance to live my life better. It has only done good things for me, and I never want to let go of it. Running makes me feel everything, sad, happy, angry, proud, excited, doubtful, etc...it's made me feel raw emotion, and it's given me a relationship with myself that I love. And there's nothing better than loving yourself and knowing you are worth it! 

3 years ago I dreamed of it, and 4 days ago I made it come true! #timehop #dreambig #dreamscometrue #hardwork #determination #motivation #inspiration #tcsnycmarathon #wearemarathoners #marathoner

The Long Run

About 2 weeks ago I ran my longest distance yet, 20 miles! Now this was no ordinary 20 mile long run, it was a journey of sorts, a very wet one! During the week before, the forecast called for some heavy rain that Saturday morning, but I had planned on getting my 20 miles in that day no matter what! So when I woke up that morning and  seen the gray skies I was facing, I knew it was going to be a long day! I could have waited til the following morning to do my run, where the weather called for blue skies, and beautiful fall weather, but on the day of the marathon will I really have a choice? 

I headed to the Niketown store in Manhattan to meet up with the Nike NYC group for their long run, I  decided I would at least start my run with them to get my momentum going, then leave and finish the run on my own. When we departed and headed to the West Side Highway, the weather wasn’t too bad, it was warm, and seemed like the weather might hold off for awhile. I was running with the slowest pace group which was 10:00+, but the pacer we had was pretty fast, I ran one of the miles in 8:39, which is ridiculously fast for a 20 mile long run, when my goal pace is around 12:00 min/mile. I knew I was going to have to leave them sooner than I wanted to, otherwise I’d be burned out toward the end of the run. We took a water break 5 miles in, and after some water, and a few bites of a Cliff bar, I left the group and headed for Central Park. 

Upon my departure, the rain started coming down! First a drizzle, but then just heavy rain, with wind, and no signs of it clearing up! I felt defeated at first, like these 20 miles I had set forth to do really weren’t going to happen! By the time I made it to the park, I was drenched, nothing on me was dry, and it was really messing with my concentration. I kept thinking, “ there’s no way I’m really doing this!”, “ these conditions are too crazy!”, and “maybe I’ll cut the run short and save the 20 for next weekend!” But I kept going, squeezing the water out of my sleeves to my jacket, and looking for cover under a tree every so often to find some relief from the rain pelting at my face! 9 miles in and it was really coming down, worse than before, just sheets of water pounding at me from every angle, my fingers becoming prune like, and my feet, soaked, and heavy! 

Originally I was going to run the park, and head to the 59th street bridge, and run my way home, but I never expected this kind of downpour it was incredible! And the runners I did see in the park looked just as miserable, but just as determined as me to get their runs in. I took cover under a tree, and called my boyfriend, I needed to hear him tell me I was crazy, and to go home! Minus the crazy part, he did tell me I should consider ending the run and head home, and save the miles for next week, and I agreed and said I was going to run at least 14 miles, and head home. But once I started running again, I knew that if left the park, I’d slow down with the traffic and really go home. Deep inside I really needed the satisfaction of completing those 20 miles. I needed to not give up on myself, even in those conditions. When I reached the west end by Columbus Circle, I needed to go to the bathroom and wring the water from my clothes, my jacket in particular was weighing heavily on me, and causing me to slow down. In the bathroom I must’ve wrung at least a gallon of water from my jacket and socks, I even left a puddle behind in the stall! Oops! And girl problems reared its ugly head at the same time! As if this run wasn’t hard enough already! 

But then something cool happened, I headed back to the park, and saw a banner for the marathon on a street lamp, and it was the motivation I needed to get through the rest of the run! I headed back to the park to finish 10 more miles, and as hard as it felt, I was doing it, and I felt pretty bad ass! I’ve run Central Park so many times, that it can be a bit boring for me, but that day there was something about the rain that made it go by without feeling like torture. And there’s also something beautiful about the rain, and the calm, quiet, peaceful atmosphere it creates. 

18 miles, in I was very ready for the run to be over with, it was still raining but it was a lighter rain, but at that point I was so soaked, I couldn’t tell. My legs were looking for relief but my pace was still very consistent and I was pleased with that! When my watch finally beeped and showed 20 miles on the screen, I stopped, and I cried. I wasn’t expecting to cry, but it happened, and I was filled with pride, and such a great satisfaction for finishing in that weather! I felt like I was really going to be able to finish 26.2 miles, and nothing could stop me, not even the horrible rain! 

Of course, shortly after I finished the rain stopped, and the sun started to come out!! But I was proud, and I felt like it was radiating off of me, even though I felt like a wet dog! I went into the nearest Dunkin Donuts, and got a bagel, and a cup of hot chocolate, it was heaven! I knew being wet I’d freeze on the subway on the way home, but that hot chocolate actually saved me from that cold feeling! 

Running 20 miles in the rain, was special, even though the conditions were very less than ideal, but I feel so strong because I did it! I never could imagine that I’d be so close to finish line, but I really am that close, and on November 2nd, I’ll make it there!

Going the Distance

Wow, I’ve been MIA…seriously, marathon training takes up so much time and energy, and then I have my actual life to tend to, that blogging is always last. Makes me sad because I love to write, and express my thoughts, I want to be a better blogger, I really do, so hopefully I get better…baby steps, right?

Anyways, here we are with 6 weeks to go til the big day, and I actually feel ok. I thought my anxiety would be worse, but so far its been ok, maybe once its October I’ll actually start freaking out! I feel so lucky so far because I’ve done every run on my schedule except for 3! I was sick last week, and the week before we went to a baseball game that wasn’t planned, but still missing 3 runs out of 12 weeks of running ain’t so bad. I don’t  think I’ve ever been so dedicated to a training plan before, I’ve done 9 half marathons, and at least half of those races I was lackadaisical with my training runs.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m following the Novice 1 plan, from Hal Higdon, some may think the mileage for this program is low, but for me it fits my lifestyle, and as a runner, I tend to do better with lower mileage, I suffer from plantar faciitis, and had an old hip injury, and when I do too much, my body suffers more. So far my plantar has been the only thing to really bother me during training. 

In the last three weeks, I’ve run my longest distance runs 15, 17, & 18 miles. I never thought I would make it past 13.1 miles, but I have, and I feel much more confident that I will finish the marathon strong. 

My 15 miler, was a true testament to my determination to finish what I started. I joined Nike NYC for a group run that took us from midtown, to the East River, to RFK bridge into Randall’s Island, and back into the city down the river again. I departed from the group and ran over the 59th St bridge back into Queens, and ended my run in Long Island City in Gantry Plaza park. It was one of our last really hot days this summer, the humidity was at 90% during the morning, there was no wind, and it was the hottest, stickiest run I’ve done. My pace was terrible, and I wanted to give up so bad, each mile felt like torture, but I was going to finish no matter what. It was so hot that I made mistakes fueling during my run, 4 miles in, I downed a bottle of Gatorade, later I took my powerade gel, and then again around 6 miles in another bottle of Gatorade, more gel, and then around 9 miles, I had water, because Nike ran out of Gatorade, and that was around the same time I left the group. All I remember is feeling the sun beam down on me, and making me feel like I was suffocating. Then I looked down at my hands, and they were swollen! Immediately I knew it was all the Gatorade and powerade gels I took, it was too much too soon! As I was crossing the bridge, and struggling to get over it because the heat exhaustion was killing me, I text my boyfriend: “4.5 miles left, and I’m doing horrible.”  He simply replied: ‘you can do it babe, your not doing it for time.“ I don’t know why but his words made me start balling out crying, and not out of misery, because he was right this marathon wasn’t about being the fastest to me or doing it in a certain time frame, it was about finishing, that’s it. That text gave me the boost I needed to keep going those last few miles, when I hit Long Island City, I was boiling, stopping at every water fountain to splash water on myself, but 3 hours and 36 minutes later I finished my longest run, and I cried happy tears, because as much as I wanted to give up, it was never going to happen. 

The following week I had 16 miles on my schedule, but I felt like I could do one more than that, so I set out to do 17 miles that day. Again, I chose to run with Nike NYC, and this time we were running the outside of Manhattan, from Midtown, down the East River to the Staten Island Ferry, then across to the West Side Highway, and all the way up to 96th Street in Riverside Park, then east heading into Central Park for the finish. It was finally beginning to feel like fall outside, and for this run, I wanted to work on fuel, and was hoping my pace wouldn’t be as bad as the previous week. I had a great long run, I stuck with the group most of the time, and this time I fueled with water, and coconut water, and took only one gel, and ate a Cliff bar along stops in my run. I had such a strong run, I think I must’ve been smiling the whole time, because I felt great, and was so happy I was off the struggle bus I had been on the previous week. I lost the group around 13 miles in, because I missed an exit we were supposed to take, and when I realized it I was about 14 miles in! So I went back, and even though I had left the group, I stuck to the planned route. Around 15 miles in I slowed down significantly, and I think it was only because I was trying to figure out where to go, and once I hit Central Park, I was able to pick up my pace again, and finished my 17 miles in 3:24, faster than the 15 I ran previously. I was ecstatic! I felt like I redeemed myself in those 17 miles, and proved to myself that I could run that distance at a pace I was comfortable with! I felt like a warrior, like maybe the idea of 26.2 miles wasn’t so crazy after all!

Then this past weekend I was supposed to run only 12 miles, since it was my recovery week. So much for that because I was sick the entire week, and only got one run in. But I chose to run 18 miles instead because, this week I have 18 for my long run, but have the Bronx 10 mile race and a baseball game on Sunday, and a concert the day before…so there’s no way I can run 18 miles before or after work during the week! I feel confident enough that changing my schedule and switching weeks won’t hurt my training at this point. I also had intended on running with Nike again, but since I had been sick, and was still congested and coughing, I knew I’d lose the group, and they were headed to the Bronx, so I really wasn’t comfortable being lost on my own, so I stood in my neighborhood! Now running that far alone is really not easy at all, there’s no one to push you but yourself! I ran the first 5 miles around my park, and then headed to Jamaica Bay for 5.5 miles out and back, and then finished my last two in my park. Now it wasn’t a bad run, I held my pace for awhile, but then the sun came out, and when its on me for too long I feel like I’m roasting, and it distracts me. And also I think running the sidewalks didn’t help either because I had to keep stopping. Mentally I was in the run, but toward the end, I got bored, and realized I need that group motivation for these long runs, so going forward I plan to run them with Nike til training is over. I finished my 18 miles in 3:55, and I was proud, because I had been sick, and did this on my own. And now I feel strong enough to tackle on 20 in a few weeks! This run was just pure satisfaction, because I proved to myself once again, that I can do this!

I ordered two pairs of sneakers while I was sick too, and I’m hoping one of them will carry me to the finish line in November. I’m also hoping they help with the pain in my plantar, it tends to flair up around 14 miles in, so hopefully a new shoe, kt tape, and massages will help! 

Anyways, thats all I got for now, hopefully this time next week I’ll have a new post up! I promise guys I really am trying to be a better blogger! Just taking it one post at a time!!! XOXOXO, til next time!

Today is a New Day

On Saturday, May 17th, I ran in the Brooklyn Half Marathon. It was my 9th half, and only my second time running Brooklyn. The course is pretty amazing, starting from the Brooklyn Museum, to Prospect Park, and then down Ocean Parkway to a finish, on the boardwalk of Coney Island. It’s pretty spectacular, the spectators are awesome, and the energy of Brooklyn pride can be felt all over! 

I went into this race, telling myself to only have fun, and that I wasn’t going for a new personal best. I ran the NYC Half in March, and the women’s half last month in Central Park, and all the training was beginning to take a mental toll on me. My mind needs a running break every once in awhile! 

I started out easy, and I felt great, I was really excited to get to the finish! By the time I hit the 5k mark, I was 31:34 in, and that was about a minute ahead of my pace for the NYC Half, which I PR’d in. So I felt great, and kept pushing on in to Prospect Park. The park was the hardest part, it had all the elevation for the entire course, so I slowed down a bit but was still on pace to finish with a PR. Once I hit 7 miles, I thought I was on my way to a new PR! 

But then around mile 9, I started feeling my quads tightening up, so I took a few breaks to walk it out, but was determined to get my PR. I stopped at a few water stations, alternating between, water and gatorade, but the pain in my legs just wouldn’t let up. I went from a 10:30 pace, quickly to an 11:35 pace, and slowly felt myself being defeated, by the pain in my quads. I pushed through mile 10 and 11, and let go of my PR, and decided then I just wanted to finish strong. Mile 12 the cramps became excruciating and terribly uncomfortable, but the boardwalk was just ahead of us, and there was no stopping me! Then with 800 meters to go, it was just pure pain. I had to stop, I thought if I didn’t stop, my legs were going to give out, and I’d just collapse. I walked through the pain, and I knew it could be seen on my face, because the spectators helped push me through it! Their cheering, and kind words of support made me force a smile and run the last few hundred meters! 

I felt so many emotions once I crossed the finish line. I first felt disappointed because I lost the chance to PR when I was so close! Then of course I felt pain! But when I looked at my time of 2:26:24, I realized that it wasn’t my worst half time. It was a minute better than my half last month, and I overcame the defeat my body felt! I was suddenly so proud of myself, because I chose to continue, and not give up! And sometimes that’s the hardest thing to be able to do! After trying to figure out what went wrong, and talking to a nurse, I’m most certain I took in too much potassium, I don’t usually drink gatorade, but because it was a warm day, I wanted to stay hydrated, and with that on top of my fuel packs, and the banana I had before the race, the potassium was too much at once and caused the cramps! Go figure! 

So today I walk away from this half, proud as ever, because I could’ve easily gave up and walked to the finish, completely defeated, but I ran with a smile on my face, and got half number 9 under my belt! 

Til July 1st, my goal is to stay on track, and on point with Weight Watchers, stick to short runs, focus on cross training, and strength training, so we’re ready to take on marathon training! 

Today is a new day! :)