Category Archives: Uncategorized

An Accident Prone Weekend

Posted on June 1, 2010 | 10 comments

Good morning all! Long time no chat. I was soo busy all last week and then we were away this weekend, so my blogging has been very bad. I hope all is well with everyone! I desperately need to catch up on some blogs.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Hubby and I headed upstate for the weekend. We arrived Friday night and then I went camping on Saturday on Schroon River. It was a blast!

We had a giant fire…

And enjoyed time spent with good friends

I avoided this guy as best I could…

I love dogs, but this big fella (named Clifford, but we called hims Jaws), was big, stinky, a heavy breather, a drooler and just kind of gross. I felt bad for him because the other dogs were getting so much more attention. But I got over that as soon as he pooped in the middle of the campsite area – YUCK!

After a day of camping, I headed back to civilization and went to see Sex and the City 2 with two friends.

My Verdict: I didn’t like it nearly as much as the first movie. I also thought there were some really cheesy/corny parts of this movie that were soo not SATC style. I actually wanted to laugh at a few parts they were so out of sync with what I would expect. I didn’t think it was as emotional as the first one and I didn’t like that there was so little of NYC in it. I know – that was a lot of negativity, but I didn’t hate it. It was entertaining and I love these women so much that I’ll watch just about anything they are in. But I think it could have been done better and the producers aren’t giving the viewers as much credit as they should. Yes, I’ll watch anything with these women in it, but it doesn’t mean I’ll LOVE just anything. Although – don’t take my word. The two friends I went with liked it better than the first one, so I could be totally off. See it for yourself and decide and let me know what you think!

How was your Memorial Day Weekend? What were the highlights?

Not the highlight of my weekend – me becoming completely accident prone. I was planning on running for the first time post-marathon this weekend, but that did not happen for two reasons:

1) I stubbed my toe jumping off a boat on Sunday and it’s badly bruised/sprained. I am limping everywhere.

Please ignore my ugly feet and terrible pedicure. Can you see my giant purple toe? God I hate feet so much.

2) Next up, as I Hubby and I unloaded the car yesterday when we got back to the city I totally wiped out and fell down the stairs landing on my back and arms. I am so sore and battered. Here’s one of my poor arms.

I was considering running a race in the city this weekend, but I guess that is not happening now. While I am totally bummed that I have to take even more time off from running, I am completely RELIEVED that these things did not happen BEFORE the marathon!! Can you imagine? All I keep thinking is that all my spills and falls must have been saved up and postponed until after the marathon and I can’t be anything but thankful for that. Still – I hate being injured!! And having a bum toe in NYC isn’t so easy peesy.

How do you cope with the frustration of injuries?

I’m hoping I’ll need only a week of recovery – mainly for my toe – before I can start running again. My next definite race is The Boilermaker , a 15k in Utica, N.Y. on July 11th and I’m hoping for a PR.

So it looks like for this week, I’ll be focusing on eating and reading and will be leaving out the running. I’m currently reading this book:

And so far it’s pretty good. I hope to have a review coming soon. I also hope the rain holds out tonight because Hubby and I are supposed to be going to the Yankee game!!

Have a great Tuesday all!

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Posted in Books, Holidays, Travel, Uncategorized

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How I Got My BQ

Posted on May 24, 2010 | 17 comments

Sorry for being completely MIA this weekend and not posting my comparisons between my first and second marathon. I was totally hit out of nowhere with either a bad stomach bug or a slight case of food poisoning. I was completely out of commission starting Saturday afternoon through today. Hence there won’t be any food pics, since I barely ate anything this weekend. Ugh!

But what I can do is finally give my comparison between how I trained for my first marathon vs. my second marathon in order to obtain the coveted BQ. So here are the main areas where I changed things up a bit and I think it helped: 

Work on Speed: For my first marathon, I didn’t really focus on speedwork at all. I was solely concentrated on logging the necessary mileage. For the Pocono Marathon,  I started incorporating some speedwork into my shorter runs. It wasn’t as formal as other runners, but I would consciously push my speed during certain runs and see if I could run the next mile at a fast pace or I’d pick landmarks and do short bursts of speed. I think I probably could have gotten a bigger benefit out of going a more formal route – running 400’s, 800’s, etc. at a specific pace. But I wanted to ease into speed a bit.

Get a Garmin: For my first marathon I trained using a regular sports watch and mapped out all my long runs on mapmyrun.com. I could guestimate what my average pace was based on the total time it took me to run it and the distance, but I never knew how my speed was broken down. I received a Garmin for Christmas last year and definitely put it to good use during my training for the Pocono Marathon. I was surprised to see how fast I was actually running sometimes. I think using my Garmin gave me better control over my speed and my pace. It helped me learn how to really kick it in at the end of races as well. I know Garmins are expensive and sometimes people think runners become too attached to them. But I think if you are trying to BQ they are almost a must.  

Increase Your Mileage: For my first marathon, I based my training plan off of Hal Higdon’s Novice plan. At the end of it all, I had run 383 miles in training (including the marathon). I was running 4 days a week. For my second marathon, I upped it to 5 days a week and increased my total mileage to 540 total miles (including the marathon). I based my second marathon training plan on Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I Training Plan. I did not stick to Hal’s plan exactly – I moved some of my running days around a bit. But I think that increasing my mileage that much really helped me. Others may not need to run that much or run 5 days a week, but I needed to train my body to run harder more often.

Choose Better Food/Fuel: I didn’t really pay too much attention to what I ate while I trained for my first marathon. I started my blog last October and started training for the Pocono Marathon in January 2010. At that point, my focus on healthy eating and my plan for better eating during this training was pretty solid. I ate soo much healthier this time around. I incorporated new grains like barley, couscous and quinoa into my diet, and upped my intake of fresh fruits and veggies. I made the switch from light Yoplait yogurt to Greek yogurt (generally Chobani) and found that my foods were keeping me full longer. I fully admit that I ate whatever I wanted during the first training – candy, desserts, junk food – all that. I thought that because I was burning so many calories, I was entitled to eat as much of everything I wanted. Wrong! And this leads to my next point.  

Find the Right Weight: I weighed between 113-114 pounds during my first marathon. I weighed about 108-109 pounds for my second. I know this doesn’t sound like a big difference, but I’m 5’1 and have a petite frame, so an extra 5 pounds on me does make quite a difference. I actually gained weight while training for my first marathon. I chalked it up to “gaining muscle” and it’s probably true that I did. But I also think I gained a little more weight than was necessary for me. Going into training for the second marathon, I had lost a little bit of the weight from the first marathon. But as I started training for the second AND continued to eat right, the rest of it just kind of melted off. I wasn’t trying to lose weight – but I think it came off naturally because 108-109 is actually around the ideal running weight for me.

Use Races: I kind of went through a racing slump for a few years. I would run 1-2 races each year, but that was it. As I began training for this second marathon, I decided that I needed to incorporate some more races into my plan to get myself used to maintaining a race pace. If you check out my Race History page, you can see exactly what I races I ran from January – May.  I ran five races of varying lengths – ranging from 5 miles to a half marathon. I actually made some of these race days my long run days. So I would run the race and then tack on some additional mileage to reach my long run day total. This worked out great for most runs – but my last long run was pretty torturous.

Run Hills: Ahh the dreaded hills. Knowing that my second marathon might be a bit hilly, I tried to incorporate hills into every run I could. Central Park has some pretty decent hills, but when I would run from my parent’s house in Upstate NY, I would add some really terrifying hills to my routes. My parents and friends would ask me why I was torturing myself by adding all these hills and my answer was: to be overly prepared. Plus, the general benefits of hill training have been touted everywhere!  Training on hills improves leg-muscle strength, quickens your stride, develops your cardiovascular system and can even protect your leg muscles against soreness. Basically, it can help make you a stronger, faster and healthier runner. You know the saying – what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger!

Set the Goal: As scary as it may seem, I think it’s important to set your BQ goal and tell people about it. Recognizing that your goal for this race is different will help you get into the right mindset. My goal for my first marathon was simply to just finish! A goal like that puts you in a different frame of mind than knowing you’re trying to qualify for Boston. Setting a specific time goal can be scary, but it also keeps you well-grounded during the race. Plus, once you’ve said that goal outloud or shared it with…umm the entire blog world – it makes you push that much harder to achieve your goal. I can honestly say that I thought about all the people who commented on my blog and gave me great BQ advice. I didn’t want to let you guys down after you’d listened to me drone on and on about wanting a BQ! I wanted to make you all proud! 

And lastly – believe you can do it!! Visualize yourself running that perfect race and finishing in the time you want. There is no better motivation than knowing you’ve put in the training and hard work that is necessary to obtain your BQ. And although the actual race may be far from perfect (mine certainly was), it will be that belief in yourself that will ultimately take you to the finish.

If you haven’t read my second marathon Race Recap, feel free to check it out – that can give some insight into what a non-perfect race can feel like. And thanks again to all who gave me advice on how to achieve my BQ.

What was the best BQ advice anyone ever gave you?!

Now I’ve got to rehydrate and get 100% better so I can do my first post-race run! I’m starting to go through withdrawal. Have a great Monday all.

17 Comments

Posted in Races, Running, Uncategorized

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Marathon Photos and Angelica Kitchen

Posted on May 20, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning all – we made it past Hump Day! We are inching along toward Friday. Before I get into Wednesday’s recap, which includes a review of Angelica Kitchen, I’m going to reluctantly share with you some of my Pocono Marathon photos taken by the event sponsor. I think they pretty adequately depict my decline in strength and spirit. 

The start (look at how eager I am – see me there in the blue tank top and black shorts!) 

 

Next the photographer caught us at the halfway mark. Somehow I always manage to miss the photographer and have my eyes closed: 

 
And there’s proof that I was still motoring – my official halfway time was 1:45! 

Next up, we have some extremely flattering photos from mile 18. At this point I was most certainly feeling some pain. 

 

 
And man am I white!! I’m also kind of impressed with my ripped leg muscle in the last photo. I think it’s because I was going downhill, so my muscles were screaming and bulging a bit, but doesn’t my leg look totally ripped?! It’s nice to dream. 

And lastly, my finish shot is also less than stellar. 

 
Head down, struggling to pull it in, looking like I was barely moving. My clock finish time was 3:39:56 and my chip finish time was 3:39:35. 

Gorgeous I know, it’s okay to be jealous. Hey, I’ve never claimed to be a pretty or photogenic runner! Tomorrow I think I’m going to do a post about what exactly I changed in my training plan, eating and thinking from my first marathon to this marathon and how these changes helped me reach my BQ time. 

So now on to Wednesday’s recap. Breakfast was a multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter and banana on one side and apricot jelly on the other. 

 

For lunch a few of my co-workers decided we needed to go out and celebrate my latest my marathon completion. We went to Zigolini’s near Stone Street and I had the arugula salad with a side of fries (no pics). 

After work I met up with one of my best friends, Katie, for a belated birthday dinner/celebratory marathon dinner. I’ve been wanting to try Angelica Kitchen for a while now and I knew that Katie is usually up for trying new and potentially different/delicious restaurants. 

I stopped at Trader Joe’s along the way and picked up a bottle of 3 Buck Chuck Shiraz to share with our dinner.

We arrived at Angelica fairly early, which was good because it filled up quickly. We settled in and started to peruse the extensive menu. 

Angelica Kitchen Review 

We started with the Soba Sensation appetizer: rich, velvety sesame sauce ladled over soba noodles, topped with pickled red cabbage garnish. 

 

That photo was taken after we mixed it all up. We also tried their Southern Style Cornbread with the Onion Spread and it was delicious. 

Now my apologies, I forgot to take photos of our entrees. They looked so amazing, we just dove right in. We ordered the two specials of the day which were: 

Wyld Scallions: Savory Mexican style corn cakes featuring Yukon gold potatoes, roasted red & green peppers, sautéed scallions, carrots, corn meal & sweet corn kernels; topped with black bean-tomato salsa, sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds & served with guacamole. Accompanied by green beans & roasted cauliflower; garnished with mixed lettuce. 

Dill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure: Delectable Greek style casserole layered with a mix of spinach, nettles, roasted zucchini, leeks, button mushrooms, & onions, balsamic marinated beets, lemon dill tofu cheese & a whole wheat couscous crust, baked with a flaky phyllo top; served over creamy carrot-sunflower seed coulis. Accompanied by asparagus & an arugula salad drizzled with orange balsamic vinaigrette. 

The prior was my favorite, but I really loved both! The specials change daily and are posted on the website. And then we had the special dessert of the day which was a rhubarb something. 

 

Totally yummy! 

All in all, I give Angelica Kitchen VERY high marks. For being a vegan eatery, I thought all the food was flavorful and delicious. Everything we ordered hit the mark and totally satisfied. Dare I say I liked it even better than Caravan of Dreams? I’d also read some negative reviews about the service, but we thought our waitress was great – a little quirky, but very pleasant and more than willing to help us with any questions we had. 

All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant! I hope you all have a great Thursday. Still no running for me…maybe this weekend. 🙂

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Posted in Dessert, Races, Restaurants, Reviews, Uncategorized

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Post-Marathon Slump and Shrimp

Posted on May 19, 2010 | 11 comments

Hi all – I’m back! I took a little blog break yesterday. I think just writing my Poconos Marathon Recap post took a lot out of me. Seriously, I’m still on a high and can’t believe I actually qualified for Boston.

I know there has been debate and discussion on other blogs about whether the women’s qualifying times are too easy, and let me just tell you that for me, I did not think getting that time was easy. I’m not an awesome runner, so maybe that does say something. Maybe I shouldn’t even have been able to qualify at all – maybe it means the time is too lenient. But let’s just say that I’m happy I qualified at this time before there is any chance they make the times tougher! Tough enough for me already!

I haven’t been taking too many photos lately, but I did document two new meals I made earlier this week that I loved!

On Monday on my day off, I got a much-needed haircut and met Hubby for a lovely lunch outside at a local cafe/bar. While we lunched, I decided that I wanted to make something different for dinner. For some reason shrimp was stuck in my head. I figured why fight it? So I stopped on the way home and picked up some frozen shrimp. I was in the mood for different, but I still wanted easy. 🙂

For dinner on Monday night I made a yummy shrimp stir-fry.

Frozen shrimp (thawed), carrots, green peppers, orange peppers, broccoli and long grain wild rice. For the stir-fry sauce, I used organic Soy Sauce, chicken stock, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Totally yum!

And then dessert followed:

Then Tuesday for dinner I had to use up the left-over shrimp, so I came up with this little concoction:

Shrimp and spinach sautéed and then covered with a light sauce made from white wine, lemon juice, chicken broth, garlic powder and onion powder. I placed it on a bed of spaghetti and topped it with a little Parmesan cheese. I thought this one was delicious!

All in all, I was very pleased with my shrimp creations and I think I’ll make shrimp dinners a lot more in the future. Maybe I’ll upgrade to fresh shrimp, if/when I feel more confident.

Post-Marathon Slump

So my big post-marathon confession: I haven’t run at all yet. I really just haven’t been in the mood. It probably would have helped with my recovery to loosen things up, but I was just not motivated. Plus, the yucky rainy weather hasn’t exactly been inspiring. And I haven’t been eating too great either. There may have been a bag of Hint of Lime Tostitoes that was devoured in 2 days (but Hubby did help with that).

I think it’s just my post-marathon little slump. I’m trying to get back on track today with eating. I’m meeting my friend Katie for dinner tonight and we’re going to try out Angelica Kitchen, which has been on my list to try forever. But I’m not going to put a deadline on my first post-marathon run. I’ll do it when I feel ready.

As far as how I felt after this marathon – a little bit more sore than after my first marathon. I probably didn’t stretch quite as well though, since we wanted to hop in the car and head home very soon after the race. I did wake up on Monday night at 1:00 a.m. and rolled my legs with my Marathon Stick. They felt so tight and achy, but after a few minutes of rolling they felt 10 times better. Walking down stairs hurt a bit on Monday and Tuesday, but today everything feels almost 100% back to normal.

If you’re a marathoner – do you encounter anything like my post-marathon slump? I’m not lazy by nature, but I just feel like such a schlub right now. How long do you rest after a marathon?

Anyway – thanks again all for the congrats about qualifying! I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support, encouragement, advice and words of wisdom! Have a great hump day!

11 Comments

Posted in Races, Recipes, Restaurants, Running, Uncategorized

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Pocono Run for the Red Marathon Recap

Posted on May 17, 2010 | 42 comments

Happy Monday – I have the day off today! And boy do I need it after the race yesterday. I am extremely happy that I qualified for the Boston Marathon, but it was not an easy race by any means.

Saturday

We headed up to the host hotel on Saturday afternoon and got in around 3:00. We checked in and then hit up the expo to pick up my racing bib, etc. The expo was small, but it was helpful. One of the race coordinators was giving an in-depth overview of the course and what we could expect the next day. He reiterated what I’d already read online – the course has a lot of downhill in the beginning, so remember to pace yourself. He also briefed us on a few uphills on the second part of the course, which I was dreading.

After the expo we went to a local outlet we passed as we arrived for a bit and then stopped at CVS for water, gatorade, snacks and contact solution stuff I forgot. Once we got back to the hotel it was just about time for dinner. We spent a few minutes enjoying the view from our balcony. It was a gorgeous setting. There was actually a wedding happening at the host hotel that night as well, so we watched as the bridal party took some photos.

Gorgeous view…

The pasta party started at 5:30 p.m. and was what was to be expected: salad, bread, penne pasta and spaghetti sauce, as well as dessert. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was free for me and only $7 for Hubby, so understandably generic. We piled our plates and settled at a table. A few minutes later a brother and sister running pair joined our table and we started talking BQ-plans and dreams. We strategized, talked about our previous marathons and then wished each other good luck a little while later as we all headed to our rooms to try to get some sleep.

I laid out all my gear the night before, as well as my morning food and drinks. Around 9:00 p.m. I headed to bed. Hubby decided to head down to the hotel bar to give me some time to get to sleep and to have a few brews to help him get to sleep. After he left, I proceeded to lay in bed wide awake. I’ve never experienced such nerves or had such a hard time sleeping before a race – even my first marathon! I tried counting, I tried switching positions, covers on and covers off, but nothing worked. When Hubby got back to our room at midnight I was wide awake and told him so. He proceeded to hop into bed and fall asleep within 10 minutes. I tossed and turned and think I may have finally dozed off around 12:45 – 1:00 a.m. Not good!

Sunday – Race Day

I woke up Sunday morning exactly one minute before my alarm was set to go off. Anxious much?! I got up and started my pre-race routine. I don’t particularly enjoy getting ready for a race in a hotel room. I’m not usually comfortable or feeling my normal self, and especially not after such little sleep.

At 6:30 a.m. I headed downstairs to wait for the bus to the start. I ran into the brother and sister team from the night before and they shared with me their get-sleep tip: they split a Benadryl pill and slept soundly. Genius! Mental note to give that one a try if I face sleep issues again. We all hopped on the bus and began to head to the start when Louie (the brother) realized he didn’t have his timing chip! As he ran off the bus, two other girls realized they didn’t have theirs either and they went sprinting to find them. So after a slightly delayed start we were off.

We got to the Clear Run Elementary School and I headed straight to the bathroom. Then I grabbed a race-provided trash bag to put my long-sleeved shirt in for transport to the finish. Finally,  I hit the ladies room one more time before heading outside. The temps were a little chilly for standing still, but perfect for running. We all lined up at the start and I could kind of hear the National Anthem and then all of a sudden we were off!

From the course overview the previous day, I knew the race wasn’t completely downhill from the start. From about mile 1 – 8 we ran through rolling minor hills. Around mile 4 there was a loop where the leading runners ran by. Then we moved up a slight hill. I was moving at a pretty good clip, but was nervous to hold back too much. I knew this wasn’t the “downhill” section by any means, so I tried to maintain a comfortable pace that was still pretty strong.

Mile 1 – 7:53
Mile 2 – 7:55
Mile 3 – 7:49
Mile 4 – 8:03
Mile 5 – 8:05
Mile 6 – 7:56
Mile 7 – 8:02
Mile 8 – 8:09

Starting at mile 4 or so, I took water or Gatorade at every stop, which was just about every two miles. As we hit mile 8, one of the spectators or course managers said: “Ok guys, it’s downhill from here for a while. Just settle in and cruise.”

And then the downhill began and this guy was not kidding. It was all down hill for quite a few miles. I tried to use it as much as possible, but kept telling myself to “use it, but don’t lose it.” I didn’t want to go crazy and really kill my legs on the downhill by just letting completely loose. From after mile 8 – 13 we went all downhill all the time.

Mile 9 – 7:44
Mile 10 – 8:02
Mile 11 – 8:09
Mile 12 – 8:04
Mile 13 – 8:06

My pace for mile 9 was a little too fast, so I decided to scale back a bit. I also took a Gu between mile 11 and 12. When I crossed the halfway mark I was pretty floored to see that my half marathon time was a PR! The clock said around 1:45:30 I think. This made me a little nervous – I knew I was going really fast.

A few minutes later I was very glad I took that Gu because miles 14 and 15 were rolling hills and my pace slowed a bit.

Mile 14 – 8:11
Mile 15 – 8:13

As I got past mile 15, my adrenaline began to pump because I knew that Hubby was likely going to be at mile 16. That was the only spot that I was able to give him directions for. My pace picked up and I started looking around as we neared the spectator spot.

I heard Hubby cheering me on before  I even saw him and started grinning like a fool. (me in the blue tank top)

And then I started waving…

Doesn’t the guy with the number 664 bib kind of look like an older Steve Carrell?

Sorry – sidetracked. Anyway – I saw Hubby and was all giddy and he told me he was on the phone with my best friend and she was cheering me on. YAY! I was so excited I sped up a bit. So I checked my Garmin…

Mile 16 – 8:00

I was feeling good, but that was short-lived. My next mile was my first taste of the dead legs that were to come.

Mile 17 – 8:28

And then there was a lovely and much-appreciated downhill.

Mile 18 – 7:47

But that little spurt was just a tease because then came the hills. They weren’t huge hills, but they were hills just the same and they were tough. I didn’t walk at all, but I was moving slower and I watched helplessly as my split times crept up.

Mile 19 – 8:56
Mile 20 – 8:43
Mile 21 – 9:00

And then after mile 21 things went bad pretty quickly. Call it the wall if you want, I called it the end. The end of my BQ hopes. As I watched my splits get slower I began to prepare myself for the fact that I probably wasn’t going to qualify. I was just moving too slow. There was no way. And then I told myself that this was probably good. I didn’t want to run another marathon anyway – I completely forgot how awful I feel after mile 21. This was a good reminder and was reinforcing the fact that I am not cut out for a BQ. I decided I just didn’t have it in me.

So after this little non-pep-talk, I decided that it would be good enough if I could just finish the race and try to finish without walking.  Although at the worst moments I wondered how bad it would really feel to not finish (I decided it would feel really bad), but thankfully I pushed on.

With my non-BQ pace acceptance, I struggled to just put one foot in front of the other. I decided once I got to mile 24, things wouldn’t be so bad.

Mile 22 – 9:25
Mile 23 – 9:29
Mile 24 – 9:32

As I hit mile 24 and saw that 9:32, I also looked at my pace band on my wrist and saw that I was actually a little bit ahead of the pace for a BQ. I didn’t quite understand how this could be, given my sluggish times, but I figured my surprising speed during the first half must have really built a cushion for me.

So this is when I decided that maybe, just maybe, I had a little something left in me. I started trying to push a little harder. As I’m working to build back up some speed, who do I spot and hear cheering for me just before mile 25? Hubby!! He was along Main Street cheering like crazy and I definitely needed it. I start to push a little harder.

Mile 25 – 9:04

I hit mile 25 and knew there was 0nly 1.2 miles left and that I can certainly finish, but if I maintained my speed, a BQ might still be in sight. I push on and on, for what feels like forever and finally I see a school up ahead. I know that this finish is around a school track. Pushing hard, I finally hit mile 26…

Mile 26 – 9:01

And then there is .2 to go. We had to run around the track and I could see the finish, but there was still more to go. Miraculously, my Garmin says I just hit 3:38 and there is a slim chance that I could sneak in under 3:40! I start sprinting – or at least try. It feels more like a slow-motion sprint, but I give it a shot nonetheless. I push and I push and I push and finally I cross the line:

3:39:35!! (official chip time)

I did it! I qualified for Boston. I cut things pretty close, but I finished under 3:40.

In all honesty, this is not how I pictured running this race or qualifying for Boston. I wanted a nice even 8:10-8:15 pace the entire way, but this marathon was not built like that, in my opinion. I think it’s inevitable that you will run this race much faster in the first half. This was a hard race – it was fast – but it was really hard. Compared to my first marathon, I think I gave more of myself and exerted a lot more energy.

I’m still shocked that I actually qualified based on my splits. I was fully prepared to accept that I wasn’t going to get my BQ. But I am beyond thrilled that I did it and that I’m heading to Boston next April. I hope to maybe even meet up with some of the amazing running bloggers I read regularly. And now I have to cheer on my best friend Lauren as she tries to get her BQ in October at the Bay State Marathon!!

Thank you to everyone who supported me, encouraged me and made me believe I could do it! And thanks again to my husband for coming to the Poconos with me and cheering me on. I did it!!!

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The Marathon Is Over…

Posted on May 16, 2010 | 18 comments

And I qualified!!! I cut this one pretty darn close. My Garmin says my finishing time was 3:39:36, and as I crossed the line, I think the clock said 3:39:50, so I know for sure that I definitely qualified – just not sure on my official time yet. The Website still does not have the marathon results posted. But qualifying is qualifying in my book, no matter how close you slice it!

Anyway – my full recap and details are coming tomorrow on my day off! That’s right, a well-deserved rest day for me! But I wanted to share my exciting news now. And I want to publicly thank my Hubby for being such a great supporter today. We were out in an area I didn’t know, where we didn’t know anyone and I was running all alone, so it was really wonderful to see him at both mile 16 and mile 25 (where I really needed some help). He was amazing – he was giving my parents and my best friend updates about my progress and keeping lots of people in the loop. Thanks Bill for the amazing support – LOVE YOU!!

Now I need to go shower!!

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Day Before Prep

Posted on May 15, 2010 | 4 comments

Happy Saturday all! I had a very busy day yesterday, which meant no time to post. But it was probably good in a way because I didn’t have time to stress about the marathon either. My brain was occupied on work, so the marathon anxiety took a little break.

Well it’s Saturday a.m. and I am up trying to get things together and finish a few household tasks before we leave today around 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. I started gathering “the troops” last night – meaning everything I was going to need for Sunday.

I am by no means done – my clothes are a completely different pile. These are just the accessories including Body Glide, hair ties, two Gu packets, my allergy medicine, Nasonex, two inhalers (in case the one runs out – it’s low), deodorant, directions and a pace chart bracelet. My Garmin is charging.

For dinner last night I had about 2 1/2 slices of pizza and then some strawberries and blueberries for dessert. And my stomach is way off today already. I’m hoping it will be all better by tomorrow morning.

That’s all for today peeps – I want to get a bunch of stuff done and frankly, I’m too nervous to keep writing the word marathon anymore. Race starts at 8 a.m. and I’m hoping we’ll be home by 3-4:00 tomorrow. I’ll update you then!!

Have a great weekend all!

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Let the Carb-loading Commence

Posted on May 13, 2010 | 12 comments

It’s almost here. I can feel it. My body can feel it. My nerves are on fire and the marathon is on my mind. I can’t really get it out of my mind actually. I catch myself picturing my run at least a few times every day. And with that mental picture, my stomach drops!

I don’t know about other marathoners, but a marathon is really the only race I get nervous for anymore. Since my last marathon (October 2009), I’ve run quite a few races and felt relatively calm before almost all of them. I knew they weren’t THE RACE, the BIG race – they were just training for the real deal. I did end up racing and setting PRs in many of those races, but I never experienced the full-on nervousness. Oh the nerves.

So it’s Thursday and the race is only a few short days away. So it’s time to get serious. My birthday indulgence is done and I am on a strict carb-load, hydrate and eat-right plan. I fully support carb-loading 3-4 days before a marathon, and not gorging yourself on carbs the night before.

For all you marathoners out there – when do you start your carb-loading? And how do you prep the few days before?

So Wednesday truly began my carb-loading. I started off at breakfast with a big bowl of original Puffins and some blueberries on top.

Then for lunch, I heated up some leftover pasta with chicken from Monday night.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani with Kashi Heart to Heart cereal mixed in and three clementines.

After work, I headed to the gym for a quick run. It wasn’t exactly raining outside, but the skies looked ominous, so I played it safe. I ran 3 miles in 26:28 – a nice and easy pace. It was hard going that slow and I actually thought I felt tired, which made me even more nervous. I should not be tired after 3 miles – did I take my taper too far?!

I left the gym and headed home and threw together a quick dinner of baked tilapia with a large side of rice.

I have been seriously ravenous lately! And I’m not running a lot right now, so it feels a little weird. After dinner I was still hungry, so I ate a healthy dessert of strawberries and blueberries sprinkled with crushed puffins on top.

This hit the spot and I was FINALLY full. Again, I tried to go to bed early because I know that I likely won’t get too much sleep the night before the marathon, so I want to be as well rested during the week as possible.

And I had a strange dream about the marathon last night. My husband and I got there and he decided to help me warm up. We ended up getting lost and running like 11 miles before the race even started! There was road work going on and we had to take a detour and then we were sprinting to the start of the race and I was exhausted! Oh the stress.

How do you guys cope with nerves before a race?! Help!

Have a great Thursday all – I am trying to put the race out of my mind for the entire day….starting now!

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Finding a Hidden Gem

Posted on May 12, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning all! Happy Hump Day – hope it goes by quick. Thank you ALL so much for the birthday wishes yesterday. I am admittedly not the biggest birthday fan, but I took your advice and feigned some excitement.

My day started out with a yummy breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries and more blueberries. 🙂

I had a seriously crazy day at work. We are working with a videographer and he was at our office yesterday, so I was running around trying to coordinate and schedule different shots. I managed to squeeze in a late lunch of salad – no pictures. I also snacked on a granola bar and Chobani yogurt during various down-times throughout the day. It was hectic.

And then around 3:30 my co-workers scheduled a “meeting” where instead of a meeting they got together to wish me happy birthday with GIANT cupcakes. They were seriously huge. I didn’t get a chance to snap any pictures of them before they were devoured. Soo good. But also very filling.

After work I headed home to go out to dinner with Hubby. I had decided earlier in the day that I wanted sushi. I came home to find these lovely flowers waiting for me!

So gorgeous!! I love getting flowers. After I got my lovely flowers we headed out for dinner. I had been looking at Japanese places throughout the day and decided that I wanted to try this little hole-in-the-wall place practically across the street from us. I’d walked by it a million times and never noticed it, but I read some great reviews about it on menupages, yelp and Chowhound.

Anyone that knows me well knows that I am not the fancy, overpriced restaurant kind of girl. I’d rather find a small hidden gem that has quality, delicious, yet affordable food and I will visit it frequently.  And guess what, that is exactly what we discovered last night. We went to Sushi Suki on York Avenue between 83rd and 84th, and had what I consider to be some very yummy sushi. Mind you, I may live in NYC, but I am by no means a sushi connoisseur. But my personal opinion was that it was delicious.

Hubby and I both started off with the miso soup and it was very good. Then we ordered 4 different rolls: Spicy Tuna Roll (Hubby’s favorite); the Boston Roll (shrimp, cucumber & lettuce); the King Crab Roll (with avocado, cucumber & tobiko); and the Lobster Tempura Roll (with avocado, cucumber, lettuce with spicy sweet sauce). I am pretty sure the Lobster Tempura was my favorite, but they were seriously ALL delicious.

I got the impression that many people from our neighborhood visit this place frequently. The owners said hello to many of the patrons and asked about kids, etc. They also knew what many of the patrons’ “usual” selections were. For its small space (only about 10 tables) and less than eye-catching facade, this place is absolutely the local eatery I had been looking for. I think Hubby and I will definitely go back.

Have you ever found a hidden gem like this in your neighborhood? I was seriously so excited!

After our delicious, yet inexpensive meal, Hubby took me for ice-cream at our favorite place in the neighborhood: Emack and Bolio’s. I was so full from dinner I could only manage a small scoop of the Cake Batter ice cream. Have you ever been to Emack and Bolio’s? It is certainly not a frozen-yogurt, low-fat place. But it is a treat to have it every now and then.

We headed home in the freezing cold (it felt like fall yesterday) and I finished my ice-cream in the warmth of our apartment. Then we settled in to finally watch Sherlock Holmes. We got the DVD probably three weeks ago, but haven’t had time to watch it.

I thought it was pretty good. I was very tired and found a few parts where I struggled to stay awake, but I think that says more about my busy schedule than it does the movie.

We finished the movie just in time to switch over to The Biggest Loser to find out the final four. I was happy with the way it turned out.

And that was my busy birthday yesterday! It was a very good day with lots of indulgences. But now I am back on the straight and narrow for the marathon on Sunday. No more sweet treats. It will be good food and carbs for the rest of the time.

Have a great day all!

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Posted in Dessert, Holidays, Restaurants, Reviews, Uncategorized

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Happy Birthday to Me!

Posted on May 11, 2010 | 12 comments

Good morning all! I feel very refreshed today for two reasons: 1) I went to bed last night at 9:30, and 2) It’s my birthday today!!

To be honest, I haven’t really gotten very excited about my birthday in a while, but I am feigning the excitement for you all. I’m not sure what if any birthday plans I have for tonight – maybe go out to dinner or at the very least, convince Hubby to make me dinner. 

 As far as a recap of yesterday, breakfast was very good. Oatmeal with banana and peanut butter in my brand new bowl that my momma gave me for my birthday (thank you!). The old red ones were looking atrocious and she agreed it was time to retire them.

Lunch was a peanut butter and apricot jelly sammy (I am loving the apricot lately). I also had a side of carrots.

My afternoon snacks were a blueberry Chobani yogurt and an apple. Boring – no pics.

After work, Hubby and I set out for a nice WINDY run along the East River promenade. I swear, every time I run with my husband the weirdos come out: the man talking to himself and gesticulating, the strange girl dancing enthusiastically by herself and singing, the car that veered off the road unexpectedly and came to a screeching halt, etc. Seriously, every time we run together we encounter strange people.

My Garmin was acting up and didn’t start working until more than .5 miles into our run. Here are our stats from our 4+ mile run, of which only part was captured.

Mile 1 – 8:33
Mile 2 – 8:03
Mile 3 – 8:27
.86 – 6:54

Total mileage – 3.86 in 31:59. Average pace – 8:17 minute miles.

I think in total, we probably ran about 4.5 miles. I am taking tonight off as a rest day and a birthday treat.

After our run, I had planned to make chicken and rice and soon realized we had no rice. Second choice was chicken and pasta. I also threw some carrots into the mix as well.

After dinner, Bill proceeded to become engrossed in the Stanley Cup hockey game and I think Murphy wanted some attention. When Bill finally picked him up, he showed off a little bit.

Big kitty stretch!

Like I said, my night ended pretty quickly when I turned in at 9:30 p.m. I was exhausted from getting very little sleep on Sunday night. I am feeling a little more rested and awake today.

So what about you guys? What is the best birthday you can remember? And what do you like to do on your b-day?

Have a great day all!

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