Category Archives: Races

More/Fitness Half Marathon: This Race Deserves a Recap!

Posted on April 3, 2011 | 10 comments

Hello all! How is everyone out there? Are you loving these two days of fabulous spring weather we’ve had (well at least in NYC anyway)?

I haven’t posted in a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been running. I’ve been logging the miles and completed two 20+ runs in preparation for the Boston Marathon a mere 15 days away. As I mentioned, the first 20 miler did not go as planned, and although we finished it, I felt like it wasn’t a great run.

My running cohort must have felt the same because about a week later she asked me if we could bump our last long run from 20 miles to 22 miles. As I’m convinced that anyone who runs marathons (myself included) has some slight masochistic tendencies to begin with, I was completely onboard with this idea although I was fully aware of the pain threshold involved.

All I will say about our 22 miler was that it felt amazing to be DONE with it. I enter different stages of pain during long runs like this and my running buddy (Lauren) has learned to ignore when “kind of mean Lindsey” arrives for a bit or “not likely to converse Lindsey” muscles her way in. But for the most, “pleasantly in pain Lindsey” was in attendance for this one. I did have one moment around mile 20 where I was tempted to throw out the idea that we just stop right there and call it a day, but I held my tongue and gutted it out. And it was all worth it in the end! I felt fantastic after we finished and didn’t even experience much residual pain.

Which brings me to what this post is really all about:

More/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon Recap
Let me just take a moment to remember this race last year. How would I describe it? One word: SOAKED!! This race happened later in the month last year and happened on one of the worst days of the spring. I finished this race and was soaked through and through.

So I was extremely pleased to see that the weather this year called for nothing but sun and cool temps. Lovely. I will admit that I did not get enough sleep the night before. Hubby and I got 127 Days on Netflix, but didn’t actually start the movie until after 10 p.m. So I didn’t get to sleep until probably 12 -12:30 a.m. Not a good way to prep or start.

But I kept things status quo in the morning and followed my usual routine. I headed out the door at 7:25. This year, when I saw that my bib number placed me in the very first corral, I walked right in, head held high. Last year I placed myself one corral back. Starting in the first corral was pretty darn cool. Mary Whittenberg actually started the race right behind me (and quickly passed me). I also passed Elizabeth Hasselbeck within the first two miles – that felt good.

Basically, this whole race felt good for me. I checked my Garmin during the first mile and was shocked to see 7:39 as my pace. I knew I needed to slow it down and I swear that I kept trying, but I also just felt good.

So I scaled back a bit, but would catch myself speeding back up. Finally I decided to just stop looking at my Garmin altogether. If it felt right, that would be the pace I would run. The first loop around went pretty fast.

Mile 1 – 7:39
Mile 2 – 7:45
Mile 3 – 7:31
Mile 4 – 7:58
Mile 5 – 8:04
Mile 6 – 7:44

The second loop began and I felt like I was slowing a bit. Cat hill was particularly rough, but then I felt a little bit better from there. And once I reached the very north portion and hit the 9 mile mark, I knew that I was way ahead of my pace for previous races.

Mile 7 – 7:47
Mile 8 – 7:56
Mile 9 – 7:48

After passing mile 9 it was up the HUGE hill for the second time and it was tough! By this point, we had caught up to the walkers who were on their first lap and this made things a little confusing. The walkers (and let me say that I fully support walkers in races and think it’s wonderful that they are out there) took up a MAJOR part of the course. The typical “stay close to the inside” rule that runners try to follow does not seem to apply to walkers. They were meandering all over the place and forget about trying to get to water stations while they are there. Thankfully, I had taken water at mile 6 and 8, so I felt okay, but I watched as other runners tried to work their way to the water stations unsuccessfully as the walkers crowded the area.

As I reached Mile 12, I was so happy to see that some of the volunteers had taken water and gone to the outside lane to try to help the runners who couldn’t make it inside because of the walkers. I gladly grabbed a water and continued on to finish things up.

The last mile stretched on and probably because I had run so much extra mileage as the runners were pushed to the outside because of the walkers. I pushed as hard as possible for the last few miles.

10 – 7:57
11 – 8:05
12 – 7:44
13 – 7:34
.28 – 1:57

Total – 13.28 miles in 1:43:34. According to Garmin, my average pace was 7:47 minute miles!

And I finished and actually felt good. I was smiling, thanking people, accepted my medal, ate and drank, and then headed home. It was an awesome race and a new PR for me. I ran it last year in 1:46:00.

The bad news was that I came home to find a gigantic blister on my toe. I could feel it growing as I was running, but it was a complete mess. I actually think there is a blister on top of a blister. Yuck. I know. My poor baby toe looks atrocious.

So any advice on blisters out there? I plan to make a trip to Jack Rabbit this week to get some no-blister socks and mole skin. I already have Glide, which I will be applying next run. Anything else?

That’s all folks! I promise I’m going to try to post a bit more between now and Boston to capture some of the tips I’ve learned about prepping for Boston, as well as to catalogue my travels to Boston and experiences in the city. 15 Days!!

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Posted in NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

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NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon Recap

Posted on January 22, 2011 | 7 comments

Let me start by describing this race in one word: freezing! When I woke up at 6:15 this morning and checked the weather, I knew it was going to be a tough race. The temperature was hovering around 14 degrees and it was only supposed to climb to about 17 degrees by the end of the race.

While this sounds absolutely ridiculous to most people, I had run 12 miles in less the 5 degrees the weekend before, so I knew that a) it was not impossible to run in 15 degrees and b) it wouldn’t be too painful if I dressed appropriately.

Running attire for the race: my Sugoi arctic tights (these thing are freaking fantastic and I highly recommend them to any and all winter runners), compression socks (first time wearing them), Nike base layer, Under Armour long-sleeved shirt and then another long-sleeved zip-up over top, gloves, a hat and a neck warmer. Again – can not stress what a major help the neck warmer is. I pinned it to my hat again and it covered my face and mouth for the majority of the race.

I left the apartment around 7:30 and got to my corral just as they were shutting them up. I hopped in the back and jumped around a bit, waiting for the start.

Finally the race began and I started out at about an 8:27 pace. I started to pick things up in the next two miles and then, true to form, I went up and down in pace throughout the race. Those rolling hills in the park really mess with my pace.

I had a few tough spots during the race. Around mile 5-6, I felt a little dejected by the amount of miles I  had left and my legs felt heavy. After passing the mile 6 marker I had a burst of energy that carried me for a bit. But, by the time I hit around mile 9 at the very north part of the loop and I knew that the huge north hill was coming my way, I experienced some major fatigue. I made it up the hill, but watched as almost everyone passed me. It was kind of disheartening.

After making it up the last major hill, I gained a little momentum back. However then miles 10-12 happened and it hurt. I slowed down quite a bit. As I was reaching the 12 mile mark I started to pick it up again and was able to run the last mile faster than the previous few.

I finished and looked down to see icicles/frost/snow on the tips of my gloves, as well as some tiny icicles on my eyelashes. I grabbed two gatorades and then ran a cool-down home. It was FREEZING! Once my pace slowed and I was jogging, I felt the cold chilling me to the bone.

My official time was 1:49:12 (my time last year was 1:49:17). Here are my splits:

I got home, stretched a little, rolled out my legs, hopped in the shower and then headed to Yorkville Creperie for some well-deserved crepes with Kelly.

We recapped our respective races and tried to warm up over some delicious crepes and coffee. I had the country crepe with banana, strawberry and nutella. It was delicious and I ate it in about 15 seconds.

And now I plan to watch Easy A and relax for the rest of the night.

How has your weekend been? Did you brave the cold for a run?

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Running, Racing and Baking!

Posted on January 9, 2011 | 6 comments

Hello all. It’s been a few days since I last checked in. So here’s a brief recap of my week:

Things started off reasonably calm on Monday at work and then proceeded to progress to crazy and hectic by Friday. I had dinner with some girl friends on Wednesday night at Galway Hooker. I thought the space was really warm and friendly, unfortunately the waitress not so much. She was kind of cold and seemed like she really didn’t care about whether we were happy or not, and didn’t really want to be there. The food was also just meh – nothing to write home about. I turned a salad into a wrap and it was just okay. They were also changing all the beers out, so my craving for a Blue Moon went unmet. I had wine instead.

On Thursday night, I headed to O’Hara’s for a goodbye happy hour for my supervisor. Her last day is next week, hence some of the recent hectic days and higher levels of stress. This bar did have Blue Moon available, so I fulfilled my craving a day late. However, after having three Blue Moons without any dinner, it was definitely time for this lightweight to head home. Thankfully Hubby met me out and drove my tipsy butt home.

Finally, on Friday Hubby and I headed to Wicker Park, a local bar in our neighborhood for a 1-hour free happy hour. My friend who lives upstate had won the happy hour a few weeks ago when he was in town and wasn’t going to be around to take advantage of it, so he passed it on to me (thanks Neil!). So we met up with a few friends for some free drinks and made it back home around midnight.

On Saturday, I picked up my race packet, cleaned the apartment, watched the news about Tuscon, made dinner and made cookies (more on those below).

Running Week in Review
I’ve also been pretty successful with running this week, despite all the craziness. On Monday and Tuesday,  I hit the gym for a quick 4 mile run each day on the treadmill. On Wednesday morning I ran another 4 miles along the city streets (which stunk, literally, because of all the huge piles of garbage), on then on Thursday morning I ran 6 miles pre-dawn with Kelly and Megan. I was supposed to run my long run on Saturday, but because of the snow forecasted, NYRR changed the race from Saturday to Sunday.

Race Recap: Fred Lebow Class – 5 Miler
On Sunday morning I woke up around 6 a.m. and began my prep process. While the race was going to be 5 miles, I wanted to run a total of 11 miles for the day, to stick with my training plan. So I headed out around 7:15 to get a few miles in beforehand as a warm up. I got in about 3.5 miles, met up with Kelly, and we headed into our corral. It was COLD. Once we stopped running, all my warm-up quickly slipped away. We jumped around to try to stay warm and then finally we started.

Kelly and I managed to stay near each other for a few minutes, but then the crowds engulfed us and we were split up. My legs felt a bit heavy throughout the race, but especially between mile 2-3. It seemed to take forever. At one point, I also could not manage to get away from a man who was grunting and snorting like an angry dog. It was sort of distracting.

I don’t really have my splits because I left my Garmin running during my warm up miles and the race, so things were a little off. Mile 3 felt slower than normal and mile 4 was rough. However, then all of sudden we were almost done! So  I tried to kick it in harder and power through the finish. According to NYRR’s results page, I ran it in 38:49, which is a 7:45 minute mile average pace. I just can’t seem to get below a 7:41 average pace!

How have you increased your speed? Or what do you tell yourself during a run to make yourself push harder?

After the finish, I caught up with Kelly again and we ran a few additional miles. My total mileage for the day was 11.16 miles. Total weekly mileage was: 29.29 miles. Hit my target again!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Rewind just a bit…on Saturday night, while Hubby watched the Jets, I decided to make some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I used this recipe, but  substituted white flour for wheat flour.

They were very chewy and yummy. I actually almost ate one as pre-race fuel, but waited until after the race. 🙂

How was your weekend?! Do you run outside during the winter or do you stick to the treadmill?

Hope you had a great one!!

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Posted in Bloggers, NYRR, Races, Recipes, Restaurants, Running, Uncategorized

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Hello – Is Anyone Still There?

Posted on December 15, 2010 | 15 comments

Hello blog world – is anyone still reading? I know – I’ve been away so long. Things have gotten so hectic, as I’m sure you all are feeling as well. The holidays have hit like a ton of bricks and work hasn’t exactly been a piece of cake either. Oh and did I forget to mention that 2011 BOSTON MARATHON TRAINING HAS BEGUN!!

Yup – it started on Monday and so far so good. I banged out a great almost 6 mile run on Monday morning before work and have hit the treadmill on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m going to try to make tomorrow an early morning run, but you know how I am with those. 😦

For those of you interested, here is the link to my training plan. I’d say it’s a middle-of-the-road plan. It’s not a beginner approach, but it is by no means as aggressive as some I’ve seen. I plan to run 600 miles between now and April 18th, 2011. My highest mileage week will be 45 miles and my longest run will be 22 miles. So game on!!

So what have I been up to lately? Well, our gas is still broken, so no baking really to speak of. I’m currently reading two books. I know – I’m usually not the type. Well, I was already into Little Bee, but then I picked up Ultramarathon Man – Confessions of a Midnight Runner, for some running inspiration and the first 5 pages pulled me right in. I’m thinking one will be a commuting book and one will be a before bedtime book.

In running news – I have been running even pre-training! Hurray. It hasn’t been a lot, but it’s been better than nothing. My friend Lauren came down to visit two weekends in a row and we raced both weekends. Here we are running the Joe Kleinerman 10k…

We ran the 10k in 50:13. And then the next weekend, we ran the Jingle Bell Jog with our friend Rachael in Prospect Park and we were very festive…


Like the socks?! NYRR provided us with the jingle bells for our shoes, so we just took it to the next level. We ran this 4 mile race in 31:59. P.S. – I am officially qualified for the NYC Marathon in 2011 through the NYRR 9 +1 program (run 9 NYRR races and volunteer at 1)!

And then, I also experienced Santacon for the first time ever…


Hundreds of drunken Santas and elves running around NYC – definitely interesting. Unfortunately, we missed the “reindeer games” that happened in Central Park – we showed up just after things ended, but I can only imagine. And no – we were not dressed up, we simply wanted to see what this Santacon was all about.

All in all, it’s been a very busy past few weeks. I apologize for the lack of posting and commenting. Although my posts may be sporadic right now, hopefully I will get back into a routine after the holidays. Hope all is well with everyone and you are enjoying the holiday season. I’ve got to find the time to check in on the blogosphere to see what’s new!

So tell me – what’s new with you (if anyone is still reading). How are your holidays going?!

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Posted in Books, Holidays, Marathon, NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

Casellula Review and Race to Deliver Recap

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 12 comments

Good evening blog world. How was your weekend? Mine was very good and busy. Saturday started off with some much-needed cleaning. But not before I had a decent breakfast. Banana oatmeal with peanut butter and flaxseed meal.

Later in the afternoon I had a light lunch after my cleaning and before heading out for dinner.

I decided not to run on Saturday in order to give myself some extra rest before Sunday’s race.

Around 4:30 I headed to my friends’ apartment in Hell’s Kitchen to meet their two new little kittens. Sorry no pics, but they were absolutely adorable. Then we headed out to dinner in their neighborhood. It took some searching before settling on Casellula, a wine and cheese bar a bit off the beaten tourist path. Hell’s Kitchen definitely has a TON of restaurant choices, but I get a bit frustrated with the really touristy places. This place was located between 9th and 10th Ave. on 52nd  Street. It has a really big wine and cheese list. Two things I love.

We started off sharing the Endive Salad, which had crumbled blue cheese and pear.

It was a very unique taste and I enjoyed it.

Next we moved on to the Chistorras in a Blanket…

These little guys were a wee bit spicy, but delicious nonetheless. After finishing these off, we shared a cheese plate.

We ordered Willow Hill Farm La Fleurie and two other kinds that aren’t shown on their online menu, but were delicious.

And then lastly, we saw another table order something that looked divine. We decided we needed to try it.

My apologies, it is an awful photo of the Ricotta Crostini with Orange Blossom, Honey, Hazelnuts and Lemon. This was so good. I’m very happy we ordered it. It was my favorite by far. Next time around, I would love to try the Mac N’Cheese! All in all, this meal was very good. With three of us sharing three different dishes and a cheese plate with one glass of wine each, it came to about $30 per person – not too bad for tapas actually. However, we did notice that they gave us only 3 portions on each plate, while others seem to get 4-5 portions even though there were only two people. We thought this was a bit unfair to charge us the same price when we were getting less food. What is the standard with Tapas?

Race to Deliver (4 miles) Recap
I headed home early last night because I had to be up pretty early for the 4 mile race in Central Park on Sunday – the Race to Deliver.  I went to bed around 11:00 p.m. and had a tough time falling asleep. Then things got much worse when a bunch of either college kids or young 20-somethings were outside drinking in the backyard area behind our building until 4:30 in the morning! And they were not quiet. There were girls screeching and cackling all night long. I think I was able to sleep through most of it until about 4 a.m. when they got REALLY loud. Finally at 4:30 a.m. I think my first-floor neighbor had had enough. I heard someone come out and scream angrily at these kids. At first one guy tried to yell back and, I don’t know, I guess assert their right to be obnoxiously loud. However, once I heard the mention of police in the conversation, things got significantly quieter very quickly. I was able to go back to bed until about 6:45.

Then I got up and had some oatmeal for breakfast as some pre-race fuel. I jogged over to Central Park a little before 8:00 a.m. and found my corral. This was my very first 4-mile race. For some reason, I thought I’d run one before, but I think it was actually the race I skipped out on in the summer. I was excited to give this new race length a try.

The race began and very quickly we were headed up Cat Hill. Not fun. However, I told myself to stay strong because it was really going to be the only big hill during the whole race. I made my way up the hill a little slower than I wanted, but was happy to have it behind me. It was around 40 degrees outside, which made for a chilly pre-race, but was perfect for racing.

Mile 2 went by in a blur. I felt like I was moving really fast. I decided not check my Garmin until around mile 3 – I just wanted to push hard and see where that took me, regardless of what Garmin said.

I felt really great throughout this whole race. When I finally looked at my Garmin at the 3 mile marker, I was pleased to see it showed around a 7:42 minute mile. I started to push a bit harder as I neared the end.

My official finish time was 30:48. Average pace was 7:42 minute mile. Here are my splits per my Garmin:

Mile 1 – 7:59
Mile 2 – 7:26
Mile 3 – 7:42
Mile 4 – 7:22
.05 – :17

Total mileage – 4.05 miles in 30:48

It was a really great race and I was happy with my time. I’ve got another 4-miler in December that I’m even more excited about now.

After the race, I showered quickly and then headed out for a blogger brunch. More on that in the next post!!

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Posted in NYRR, Races, Restaurants, Reviews, Running, Uncategorized

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Racing Photo Fun

Posted on October 31, 2010 | 6 comments

I always love looking at the professional photos taken of me during races. Sometimes I just look so awful or in such pain, that it kind of makes me laugh. Any why not share some of that fun with you all – spread the laughter. Because if you can’t laugh at yourself, then what’s the point, right?

So without further ado, I share with you just a few of the photos taken of me during the Sun Half Marathon in Lowell, Ma. There were a TON of them. Obviously the photographers must have been enjoying my ridiculous faces. So here we go. (source for all)

Things start off pretty well. I actually remember this shot because it was during the first mile of the race.


A photographer’s dream right? Smiling, happy, waving – couldn’t have asked for better. But that will be the last time you see any of that happiness. Moving along… this next one is my favorite.


I think what’s happening here is that my nose is running and I’m trying to suck it up and stop it from dripping. I think this one is hysterical. I look like an angry bull or an Elvis impersonator.

Next up, we see some real honest to goodness struggle…


I’m saying to myself “ugghh are we almost there?!” This was during the last mile of the run , I think. I’m probably telling myself to either stay with this woman or pass her. Given my pained expression, I’m thinking I was just trying to stay with her.

And then finally, the end is in sight…


Determination is just emanating from me, here right? I’m in the zone. Let’s get down to business. I see the finish and I’m working it out.

That’s my post for today folks. I am cracking myself up looking at these photos. They probably aren’t as funny to other people because you didn’t live through it, but I think they are a hoot.

Do you have any really horrendous or great race shots?

I know some people hate seeing their race photos, but I always get a kick out of them. Maybe I’m just narcissistic. 🙂 Have a great Sunday all!

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Posted in Races, Running, Uncategorized

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Half Marathon, Marathon & Anniversary

Posted on October 18, 2010 | 12 comments

Happy Monday. How were your weekends? Mine went by in a blur. I sort of feel like I didn’t even have a weekend.

So in immediate exciting news… I just registered for the 2011 Boston Marathon!!! Yippeee! I’m so0 excited and nervous at the same time. There were some issues with the registration page, but thankfully someone on twitter passed around a link that worked. Any other bloggers out there running Boston next April?!

Now on to some race recaps. Yesterday was the Sun Half Marathon and Bay State Marathon in Lowell, MA. I ran the half and my friend, Lauren ran the full in hopes of qualifying for Boston. I’ll start with my race first:

Sun Half Marathon
We drove the full marathon course the day before and I got a chance to see most of the half course as well. It looked pretty flat and not too intimidating. Lauren and I woke up on Sunday morning at 5 a.m. and began our prepping – eating our bananas and Larabars, drinking water and Gatorade. And rotating bathroom turns (sorry, but I’m being honest).

We picked up our other friend running the marathon, Gabby, and headed to the Tsongas Arena around 6:30 and had no problem parking. We waited inside the arena for as long as possible and then went to the start. I thought the half and full marathoners would start together, but they separated us out a bit. I was slightly behind and to the right of the marathon group. So I said goodbye and good luck to Lauren and Gabby and went to my half corral.

The race started and somehow the half marathoners got out ahead of the full marathoners. Lauren and Gabby waved to me as I passed. I started trotting forward at a slow, but comfortable 8:37 minute pace. The start of the race was extremely congested. Then about 2 minutes later I heard my name and turned to see Lauren flying towards me. I picked up the pace a bit to stick with her and we ran together for probably half a mile.

After a few minutes, I realized that Lauren was just moving way too fast for me. I had trained a little bit for this race, but I was nowhere near her speed, so I waved her on and wished her good luck. And I prayed that she would slow down a bit and save some of that energy.

All alone now, I kept chugging along. I was moving pretty fast and I had a feeling that my speed would not last. I also knew that I had two loops of the same course to look forward to… or rather not look forward to. I do not like repeating parts of a course. I like it when I don’t really know what’s coming next and we start at point A and end at point B with no repeating.

My first loop was pretty speedy. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:25
Mile 2 – 7:53
Mile 3 – 8:09
Mile 4 – 8:12
Mile 5 – 8:08
Mile 6 – 8:04

However, as we entered the loop again, I think I was feeling kind of down about the fact that I’d have to do it all over again. And my lack of training really started to show. I ran the second loop MUCH slower:

Mile 7 – 8:29
Mile 8 – 8:36
Mile 9 – 8:43
Mile 10 – 8:44
Mile 11 – 8:42
Mile 12 – 8:44
Mile 13 – 8:47
.13 – :56

Total mileage – 13.13 in 1:50:39. Average pace – 8:25 minute miles.

So yeah – as you can see, the second half was a rough one for me. But I was happy with my pace and time overall considering my lack of training. It’s actually my slowest half marathon time yet, but I’m not beating myself up about it.

After my race ended, I grabbed a few snacks and headed back to the car to change, clean myself up and put on some warmer clothes. Then I headed back to the finish area to wait for Lauren. Briefly, here’s how her marathon went…

Bay State Marathon – Lauren’s Race
As I mentioned, it was a crowded start and I think that really frustrated Lauren. She was in BQ mode and was flying past people, trying to weave around the slower runners. We met up during the first mile and then she took off just as we passed the first mile marker.

She told me that she then proceeded to run sub-8 minute miles for about the first 8-10 miles of the race. That is SUPER FAST! One of her splits was around 7:30!! Eekk.

And so can you maybe guess what happened? She used up all her energy and by the time she hit Mile 22 things started to go downhill. She became nauseous and dizzy and then she actually got sick. She tried to drink water and Gatorade and refuel, but to no avail. Her split between 22-23 was in the 11+ minute range and those last few miles felt unbearable.

I was waiting in the finish area watching as 3:40 passed and then I was just hoping that she was okay. I was so relieved when she ran into the finish area. She saw me and started apologizing for not coming in under 3:40 and all I wanted to do was hug her. Instead, I screamed that she was awesome, it was totally okay and that she needed to run her heart out to the finish. And she did.

She finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. A personal record and a pretty freaking fantastic time if you ask me!! I know she was disappointed at first, but then she realized that now she’ll be able to watch me run Boston instead and cheer me on with my husband! She was also pretty relieved that she didn’t have to start training for another marathon in December. 🙂 I luv ya Lauren – you did awesome yesterday!!

Lastly, I do want to mention that the post-race food for the half and full was AMAZING! Soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and mini candy bars. It was the best I’ve had so far.

So that was our intense race weekend. We drove home from Lowell, MA and I arrived back at my parent’s house and ate a big bowl of homemade soup my mother had made.

Then Hubby arrived at my parent’s house and we packed up our things to head home. Before we left, we each had a piece of anniversary cake that my mom made for our two-year wedding anniversary!

Looks like a mini wedding cake, doesn’t it?! It was delicious. Thanks Momma!

Happy Anniversary Hubby – I love you and can’t wait for many, many more anniversaries to come!

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Posted in Races, Reviews, Running, Travel, Uncategorized

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5K Race, 12 Mile Run & A Baby Shower

Posted on October 4, 2010 | 8 comments

Holy busy weekend. It went by so fast that it left me spinning. The next two weekends will be more of the same I think.

On Friday, I took the train home, hung out with my parents a bit and then went to bed early. Saturday morning was the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 5K run in Albany. A bunch of my girlfriends and some of their family ran or walked the race. We took the requisite group shot at the race.

I’m the one with my face hidden in the shadow! It was soo sunny outside that day. I was a little nervous about this race because I haven’t been running all that much. And I know how competitive I am. I want to PR in every race and sometimes that is just not possible.

We started the run going up a hill and already I knew that it was not going to be a fast run for me. My legs were very heavy. The first mile felt okay. The second mile felt like it took 10 years and then finally there was only 1/2 a mile to go. I finished with a time of 24:36 and was not entirely pleased with that. However, I have no one to blame but myself for not training more.

After the race, I headed back to my parents house to quick shower and get ready for my friend’s baby shower. It was held at the Century House in Latham, NY. She got a ton of stuff!!

Our group of friends gave her a Jeep running stroller and a maternity massage. That way she can get back out there running with us and bring the baby along! The food was really good, but unfortunately I totally forgot to take a photo. But here is a group shot of our girlfriends.

Wow – I am soo short! The shortest in this photo with the gray and black dress on.

Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few friends to Mexican Connection in Saratoga. A friend of mine bartends there, so we hung out with her and ate some delicious food.

Then on Saturday morning, I met up with said bartending friend (Lauren) to go for a 12 mile run. Lauren has been training for the Baystate Marathon (Oct. 17) and so this was the start of her tapering. I was nervous going into this run that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. And indeed, it was pretty tough.

Have you ever run with someone and you just know you are holding them back?

Well that was this run. I had to ask her to slow down a few times. And I could tell the difference in our breathing and exertion of energy. I was really struggling and Lauren was just out for a nice easy jog. It made me feel completely out of shape. And made me nervous for my half marathon in two weeks. Although I can always use the half marathon as a training run to help me get back into shape for marathon training coming up in December.  Anyway – here are our stats from the run:

Mile 1 – 8:19
Mile 2 – 8:42
Mile 3 – 8:40
Mile 4 – 8:39
Mile 5 – 9:04
Mile 6 – 8:52
Mile 7 – 9:12
Mile 8 – 8:45
Mile 9 – 8:56
Mile 10 – 8:59
Mile 11 – 9:10
Mile 12 – 8:51

Total mileage – 12.01 in 1:46:17. Average pace 8:51 minute mile.

I’m sure this is much slower than Lauren has been running. She is trying to qualify for Boston so we can run it together next April and I know she has been working really hard and working on her speed. But I’m telling myself that it’s her taper time and me slowing her down a bit won’t really make a difference at this point. We are running 8 miles together this coming Saturday, so I’m mentally preparing myself now.

After our Sunday run, I took the 2 p.m. train back to NYC and then did laundry and passed out fell asleep early.

And then all of  a sudden it’s Monday and I’m wondering where the heck my weekend went! I have a feeling that the month of October is going to leave me exhausted!!

How was your weekend?

P.S. – I can’t tell you how excited I’m getting for the NYC marathon runners (and for my friend running her marathon on the 17th)!!!

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Back from the Boilermaker!

Posted on July 12, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – happy Monday! I’m trying to think positively here. How was everyone’s weekend?

I was a little mia for a bit at the end of last week and then we had a super busy weekend, so posting was not at the top of my list. Some of my weekend activities:

  • Finally going to see Eclipse with two of my girlfriends. I liked it soo much better than the first two movies and am looking forward to the next one already. I’m a sucker for cheesy movies.
  • Had a nice pasta dinner with Lauren before our Sunday race.
  • Dealt with some work stress over the weekend, but managed to get done what I needed to.
  • Ran my 6th Boilermaker 15k in Utica, N.Y. on Sunday morning!
  • Had a nice family BBQ at the in-law’s house after the race.

So those were the highlights of my weekend! What were the highlights of yours?

As far as the Boilermaker goes, I did not set a PR 😦 , but it wasn’t my worst time either. I ran it in 1:17:12. Last year I ran it in 1:17:03. I’m happy with that time considering I didn’t really train as well as I could have and hit a major running slump after the marathon in May.  

So how was the race overall? It was fun, but tough. Last year when I ran this race, I had started marathon training a few weeks before and I think I was in a little better shape. This year, we started in a faster corral (thank goodness) and didn’t have to weave in and out of people as much. Here are my stats from the race:

Mile 1 – 8:13
Mile 2 – 8:15
Mile 3 – 8:22
Mile 4 – 8:43
Mile 5 – 7:39
Mile 6 – 7:50
Mile 7 – 8:38
Mile 8 – 7:59
Mile 9 – 8:32
.40 – 2:59

Total mileage – 9.40 miles in 1:17:13. Average pace 8:12 minute mile

It was pretty cool to run this race with a Garmin for the first time. In the past, I really didn’t have much clue what my splits were. Mile 3 -4 is definitely tough for me – it’s at a golf course and there is a big, huge, long hill that we run up for most of that mile. Ugh. I’m glad that is over.

But overall, this is such a fun race. The whole town comes out to cheer you on, there is music, tons of water stations, and even a popsicle station. It’s a good time and I highly recommend this race. Plus, it’s the biggest 15k in the U.S.! This year was even the largest in the history of the race – over 13,000 people! Anyway – if you’re even slightly intrigued, you should check it out.

We were having so much fun that we didn’t end up leaving the in-law’s place upstate until about 7:15 p.m. and get home until after 11!! That meant that bedtime didn’t happen until about midnight. That is super late for me. So, I’m pretty tired today and have a dentist appointment – not a good Monday.

Hope you all have a great Monday though!! I do have a NYC restaurant review that I need to post – hopefully tomorrow!

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Too Hot to Trot, Soccer and a Royal Run

Posted on June 28, 2010 | 3 comments

Oh gosh – is it really Monday already? How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was good. We had one last weekend in the city before we spend almost the next full month traveling every weekend.

When I posted last, I had just finished up the American Heart Association Wall Street Run & Heart Walk and here is a group shot of my work team:

On Friday I was busy, but not overwhelmed at work and then Hubby and I  just hung out on Friday night – very low-key. I wanted to get up super early on Saturday for a long run. However, I could not seem to get myself out of bed until about 8:30 and then I didn’t make it out for a run until 9:30 a.m. and that was just way too late given the heat and humidity. I had planned to do a 7-9 mile run, but ended up calling it quits after only 5 miles at a very slow pace. 😦

On Saturday afternoon we headed to a local dive bar to watch The World Cup game and were so saddened when they lost. Hubby really loves soccer and was super bummed. So we got some late-afternoon ice-cream to help cheer us both up.

Then on Sunday, it was time for me to volunteer. I had signed up to volunteer at the Achilles Run for Hope & Possibility a while back. I was assigned to be a Course Marshal on the UES. I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect. I had no reason to worry though, the NYRR organizers were really great and explained exactly what I needed to do. I also have a new respect and understanding for the marshals who try to get people to stay within the coned area. I wasn’t one of the really stringent marshals though. I understood when people were trying to work their way up a bit and needed to go around to the outside to do that.

What was amazing though, was seeing so many disabled runners and walkers competing in this event. They were absolutely inspirational and so many of them thanked me for volunteering, when really I felt like I needed to thank them! I just kept watching as more and more amazing people came by. I guess I was so in awe of these runners and walkers, that I totally overlooked when Prince Harry either ran or walked by! At one point early on, I saw some cameras out in front of someone and another camera man running to catch up, but I really didn’t think too much about it because there were so many amazing runners out there. I just figured a news crew had the smarts to capture this race and one of the exceptional runners on camera. But most likely, that was probably good old Harry going by me.

source

Anyway – it was a great experience and I’m glad I chose that race to volunteer at. I know that most people do the volunteering thing so they can qualify for the NYC Marathon as part of the NYRR 9+1 program, and I might be going that route as well, but I think even if you aren’t trying to run the marathon, you should consider volunteering once or twice a year. It really did give me a new appreciation of all the volunteers and the work that goes into coordinating a race.

So that’s all for today folks – have a great Monday!!

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