Terrier tracks

She's gone

2011-05-18T18:22:00.005-04:00

I haven't written here in forever. I doubt anyone is reading it, but I wanted to write about the last few months. It might be better that no one is reading--I just need to get it out, to get it down.
Shannon, the terrier this blog is named for, is gone. I had to let her go in January--January 13th, to be exact. I miss her terribly and deep down, I don't think I'm coping all that well.
The end of last year I began to notice that she was losing weight. Not in a general, getting thin kind of way, but her hindquarters were starting to waste. She had been slowing down a lot, but she still had a many good days where she was alert and interested. The walks had shortened and she often didn't make it outside even to do her business. I was getting used to cleaning up after her. She was on three or four different medicines and was becoming more disinterested in eating. I decided that I needed to take her to the vet for a checkup.
That decision was made the week before Christmas. Well, on December 26, NYC got socked in by a big snowstorm. The city didn't react well and for days after streets were still not plowed. We had a number snowstorms this past winter, which made it really difficult to get Shannon out. She didn't like snow and was averse to getting her paws wet, but that Boxing Day storm was a big one and I was stuck in the house with her for days. I think that was when it really hit me how old she had gotten.
Between the snowstorms and the holidays, I wasn't able to get her to the vet until the beginning of January. The vet was shocked at her condition. We had seen the doctor in August for her regular checkup and she had lost a great deal of weight since then. He took blood and decided that we should stop all her heart medications. Her kidneys were starting to fail and he thought that we needed to try and stop the deterioration.
So, I took her home and tried to get used to not giving her any meds. She became even more disinterested in eating. I was spoonfeeding her anything she was willing to take. She would eat the goodies, so I think it was more that she was feeling queasy and could only be coaxed to eat the really good stuff.
I had put a second bowl of water in the living room, near her bed, so that she wouldn't have to go far to drink. It was important that she get liquids down. I came home one day to find water all over the floor around an empty waterbowl. I thought, maybe she fell into it, because the bowl was still upright.
A couple of nights later I was awoken by her making a loud noise next to my bed. For a few years, Shannon had been unable to get up into my bed, but she insisted on sleeping in my bed at night and refused to use any assistance to get out of it when she needed to. So, she would fling herself off of the bed to the floor. Upon being awoken, I thought maybe she had been unable to land on her feet and had fallen. I got up to pick her up and realized that she was unconscious. I held her for a bit to see if she would start seizing. She has had epilepsy since she was young, and while the meds had kept her from having a seizure in years, I thought it was possible that they weren't working any more. She came back after a short while and I put her back in bed and went back to sleep.

The next day she collapsed two more times. Meanwhile, we had had another big snowstorm, so I was home from work. I dug out the car and I called the vet's office to take her in. My regular vet was not in, but another doctor was available. I told him what was happening and he took blood again and basically told me that her kidneys were failing and I needed to get fluids into her. He advised getting some chicken boullion and gave me a syringe to get the liquid into her. I took her home and made her comfortable.
After staying home so many days with the storms, I decided to go to work the next day. About an hour after I got there, the vet called. Tests showed that in the week since we had first went in, her kidneys were even worse and she had lost even more weight. I asked him if it was possible to support her and keep her comfortable. He said that she probably wasn't in pain, but might be feeling nauseous. The kidneys would just continue to decline. I had decided previously that the collapses were due to the congestive heart failure and the lack of oxygen to her brain. I told the vet that I would call him back when I decided what I wanted to do. I called my mom and got hysterical on the phone. I told her I was going home and ran out of the office.
Shortly after getting home I called the vet's office and told them that I had decided on euthanization. They told me that I could come in in about an hour.
I let Shannon ride on the front seat for the first time in years. She just sat there and watched me. Once we got to the office, I held her while we waited. Looking back, I realize that she ready to go as she just stayed in my arms. Usually she would spend the entire time in the waiting room pacing from the me to the door and asking to get picked up and insisting on being put down. But she was very calm in my arms.
I was with her when she went. She fussed a bit on the exam table before the vet sedated her. But then she just went. After dealing with her collapses for about a week, I wasn't sure she was gone. After a while, I told her she was a good girl and left her.
I still can't get the image of her on that table out of my head. I'm having a hard time getting past that day and remembering her the way she was. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to feel like I can accept another dog in my life. I'm positive that it was the right time. I think it was hastened by stopping the heart meds, but it probably only made a difference of a few weeks.
The first thing I did when I got home was to pack up everything in the apartment of hers and move it out. I packed up all her things, her pictures. I considered ripping the carpet up in my apartment, but I haven't done that yet.
I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of fielding the question 'when are you getting another dog?' I know that most people mean well, but I don't think anyone truly understands. Shannon was my best friend, my roommate, my life. The last four months is the first time I've ever lived totally alone.
I don't get any enjoyment from anything. I've put on about 15 pounds in the two years that she was sick because I just didn't care. Everything that I used to enjoy seems like a chore. Before I lost her, I thought that I would throw myself into running because I would have more time. I even considered doing the NYC marathon in her memory, but I just don't have the energy. I have been forcing myself to do things that I should do and I suppose I do feel somewhat better. I can actually get my act together for about a week but then it slowly starts to fall apart again. I then pick up the pieces and try again. I suppose that's normal. I guess if something was really wrong, I wouldn't bother trying again.

Food shopping

2009-02-27T07:46:00.002-05:00

Found this little film about TJ's, the place we all go and try and find something, anything, to buy...

First race for 2009

2009-02-21T17:19:00.003-05:00

Today was my first race for this year - the 3 x 2 mile trail relays in Bethpage. This is always more of a fun time than a competitive one as you really can't compare your time on the roads with those on trails.
I'm still the Runner's Rep for our running club, so it was my job to try and get people to come out for this thing and then handle the organization of getting teams together and everyone registered for the race. They decided to have the race on Saturday this year instead of Sunday as it's been for the last few years. Not sure if that was why the turnout was a bit lighter than usual. It might also have to do with the lack of advertising that GLIRC did for it this year. As of earlier this week, I wasn't even positive that the race was happening. That combined with the change in days (I wonder how many people are going to show up expecting the race tomorrow?) probably confused everyone.
The club managed to field 4 teams this year. I headed out to the site fairly early so that I could get the paperwork out of the way and collect all the numbers. Traffic was light so I got there half an hour before registration officially opened. Turned out they were set up already so I got all the teams squared away.
I ran with the same ladies that I've run with for the past 3 years. Because one of the ladies is only 29 years old, we always end up in the women's open category which keeps us from having any chance at a win, but it doesn't matter.
I ran the first leg. I set out at a good pace, but was still pretty far back in the pack. All I could think about was not breaking an ankle in the first race of the year. That would truly stink.
For the first time since I started doing this race, the course wasn't either icy or frozen solid. In fact, it was kind of soft and felt like a good part of it was a few inches deep in wood chips, which actually made for pretty slow going. I did manage to pass a few people, but found myself in a gap for most of my run. I finished my leg in about 17:20.
I handed off to Christina, who managed a respectable 33:30 or so, which means her leg was about 16:10. Christina then passed it to Sue, who had already run the course once as an escort for a special needs runner and is also nursing a knee injury.
The winner finished the race before Sue even started. There were a few wickedly fast teams there. We found out after, that the winning team did the first leg in under 10 minutes - less than 5:00 pace. The first team for our club was our Men's Masters team, who finished the course in 43:20, with the second team, our Mixed Masters team, right behind them in 43:35 and a win in their category. Sue brought our team home in 48:53, which means she managed sub-8:00 miles. Our fourth team, Men's Senior Masters, finished in 58:45.
I'm considering doing a 5k next weekend, but I haven't registered for it yet. It's in upper Manhattan, which will be difficult to get to, and I've heard the course is seriously hilly. The main attraction is that I haven't done that particular race, yet. I'll probably make up my mind later this week.

The play's the thing

2008-11-15T08:41:00.002-05:00

I'm so behind with this blogging thing, but I'll try and catch everyone up with what I've been doing.
Last weekend started out with an evening at the theater. When we heard that Equus was coming to Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe, Chelly and I jumped on the tickets. A big splurge for me, buying theater tickets at full price.
We met for dinner at a pleasant restaurant near Times Square. The highlight of dinner was the fireworks that we could see from our table a few blocks over on the Hudson River. I believe it was in honor of the re-opening of the Intrepid museum.
Our seats for the show were a little far back. The sightlines were fine and I would have had no trouble seeing the stage, except for the two giants that sat down in front of me. The entire show was framed by their heads.
The big media attention to this production was the fact that 'Harry Potter gets naked'. A lot of speculation was made as to whether this was a good thing or bad thing for Daniel Radcliffe and the Harry Potter world. I don't think it will have a negative effect on either. This is not a play for the young fans of the Harry Potter books. And I think those old enough to see the play are old enough to separate Daniel from his character. Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths, who played Dysart the psychiatrist, were fantastic. It's really Griffiths' show, with Daniel's character providing the psychiatrist the means to examine his own life. The nudity is not minor, in fact Daniel runs all around the stage without his cloths on, but it wasn't really a shock as it fit into what was going on in the play. I really enjoyed the show.
Sunday morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed after my late-ish night, I headed out to run a local 4 mile race. The course was the one where I had won my first trophy in another race a few years ago and the hills are intimidating. The comments back then were related to how they managed to find a course that was completely uphill. We had a big turn out from the club, however, so I was going to have fun even if I didn't manage to break any records.
I spent most of the run amid kids from the a local running club that caters to those with special needs. They had a huge turnout and you saw them everywhere. It's always a bit confusing as their club colors are the same as ours.
I tried to keep up a good pace, but I ended up walking a bit more than I wanted to and finished in an uninspiring 35:05. Not awful, but I should be able to go a little faster at this point.
The after party was a lot of fun. There was mucho food and the club managed to pick up a number of trophies. A few of us were hooting and hollering from the crowd every time they announced one of our team and the announcer started to anticipate the noise when he would call out one of our club members for an award.
I have another 4 mile race planned for tomorrow - the Race to Deliver in Central Park. I'm not expecting too much as I haven't been running as much as I should and eating more than I should.

Weekend of Hardware

2008-10-12T20:30:00.005-04:00

This is a long weekend for me (happy Thanksgiving to any Canadian readers) so I decided that I would do a race both Saturday and Sunday, allowing Monday as a day to fall apart.
Saturday's race was a small 1 mile race. Rob, one of my Alley Pond teammates, coaches the track team at his elementary school alma mater, Pope St. Clement. So there was a boatload of club members showing their support. The short course brings out some of the walkers and we had a bunch of runners. I've never raced a mile before. So I was a little nervous. I did a 1.7 mile race last weekend at about an 8:00/minute pace, so I felt pretty sure that I could manage a sub-8:00 mile, but beyond that, I wasn't sure. I started out fairly quickly and then tried to rein in my pace so that I could finish the darn thing. The legs started to feel leaden about half of the way through and I was sure that I had slowed down too much. I got a second wind about two-thirds of the way through and felt pretty good. I tried to kick it in the last 100 yards, but I didn't have too much left. I was stunned to see 7:20 as I passed through the finish line. This ended up being good enough for 1st in my age group and I took home the small trophy in the front. I really enjoyed racing the mile and pushing it to what felt like my limit.
Sunday's race was the Get to the Point 5k in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I highly recommend this race. It's a local race organized by the St. Stanislaus Athletic League and attracted a little over 300 runners. It passes through the streets of the neighborhood with obstacles only seen in NYC (there was a bus stopped in the middle of the course in the first mile which we all had to run around). There was at least one noticeable uphill. But the main reason to do this race is the post race party. The race organizers really get some serious sponsorship and are able to put on one heck of a shindig that is open to all runners and included in the $15 race fee. Tons of food and drink (including beer for those over 21) and raffles and free stuff just tossed into the crowd. After filling my plate, I sat with a few of my fellow AP people, including Gerry and Jessica, one of our newest members, and Josh, her boyfriend who we'd like to be a member (hint,hint). Josh ran the course in under 20 minutes, so it was no surprise when he collected a trophy for 3rd in his age group. But I was shocked when my 25:51 ended up being good enough for 3rd in my age group. Really nice trophy. Gerry had dropped a word to the announcer that it was Jessica's birthday, so, of course, they dragged her up on stage with two other people who shared her birthday and the whole crowd sang for them. Then they gave her a six-pack of beer. What more could you want?

Bonjour, mes amis!

2008-09-08T20:44:00.016-04:00

I've been back from vacation for over a week now and I've yet to write it up. About time, don't you think? This is a long one, so I give everyone permission to skim through and just look at the pretty pictures. You know you're gonna.
I started the drive North on Thursday the 21st. Since I was driving the whole way, by myself, I had decided to break up the trip by spending the night in Plattsburgh, NY. Why Plattsburgh? Mostly because it was at a good point in the drive and I figured that it would be fairly cheap to get a room in the town.
Plattsburgh was pretty dull. It's a college town and it probably is a lot more hopping when the students are there. But during the summer there weren't many folks around the town center. I got a room at the local Super 8 and took a drive around looking for a place to eat. The only choices appeared to be fast food, but I found an interesting little hot dog stand where they still had servers that would come out to your car. Clare and Carl's served what is called a 'Michigan'. Not having any idea what that was, I got a hamburger, which was good, but I should have tried the hot dog buried in chili sauce, onions and mustard.
Friday I checked out early and headed toward Canada. The border crossing was uneventful, but suddenly all the road signs were in French. I had been getting French language radio stations since leaving Plattsburgh. It felt so odd to be such a short distance from home and to feel completely foreign.
It took about 4 hours to get from the Plattsburgh to Quebec. When I got to the city I wasn't able to cross the Grand Allee, one of the main east-west roads, by car to get to my hotel. All traffic was being diverted. Since it was still pretty early, I decided to park the car and walk around a bit to get a feel for the area. I was hoping that I might be able to walk to the hotel and figure out an alternative way to drive there. I also needed to get some cash so that I could buy something to eat.
After using my bank card in a local ATM yielded a handful of Canadian cash I headed down the Rue St-Jean looking for someplace interesting to eat. Rue St-Jean is a fun street with little boutiques and arty stores. It had a very college town feel with young people hanging around street benches. I didn't find food, though. My hunger was making me grouchy and anxious along with the 90 minute limit there had been on my parking spot. But I did manage to figure out how I could possibly detour around whatever was going on on the Grand Allee and get to my hotel.
Once I got the the Chateau Laurier where I was staying I checked in and arranged to park my car in their parking lot. I then hit the Grand Allee which is lined with restaurants and also happened to be right outside my window.

My first meal in Quebec was at an Italian place called Casa Calzone where I had a giant Calzone and a glass of beer. I sat at a table outside on the sidewalk, surrounded by people speaking French, and watched the world go by.
Later that evening I was restless and noticed that the park right in front of the hotel was set up for a concert of some sort. As part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Quebec's founding, there were military bands in town and free concerts every night. So I decided to watch for a while. I nearly cracked up when I realized that, over 500 miles away from NYC, and I was watching the NYPD Jazz Band perform.
Saturday morning I got up early to partake of the breakfast being provided to the marathon participants by the hotel. Afterwards, I wandered into the lobby and bumped into the crew from the College Point Track Club. They were headed out for a run. I didn't mention that my cell phone had stopped working when I got close to the border and I had not been able to contact anyone who was supposed to be coming up for the race. So I was pleased to see Carmen and Hector, who I knew, and Robert and Tony, who I hadn't previously met. They said they were having some problems with their phones, as well, and hadn't heard from the rest of the bunch. I wished them a good run and told them I'd see them later.
A little later I headed over to the Race Expo to get my race packet and to see if I would bump into anyone from the club. I got there when it opened at 9 and hung around until after 11. I did bump into the College Pt. group again, but didn't see any of my teammates. I decided to heck with them and headed down into the Old Town to look around.

Quebec is a wonderful little city. Most of the tourist stuff is within easy walking distance of everything else. So I just wandered around, getting an idea of how the city was laid out. I grabbed a quick soup and sandwich for lunch and just tried to enjoy myself.
When I was walking up the Rue St-Louis I noticed that quite a few people were out on the sides of the road. Many of them had folding chairs or were simply seated on the curb. I wondered what was going on as I meandered through the shops. Then I saw a band coming down the avenue and realized that there was going to be a parade! Fantastic! So I whipped out my camera and got a spot on the side of the road. There must have been about 50 military units that came down that street, all within touching distance, and quite a few in fancy dress.

Saturday evening was the marathon pasta party, which it just so happens, was being held in my hotel. This is where I finally found the whole AP Striders crew - Rob, Helen, Gerry, Gillian and Marge. We enjoyed a pretty good pasta dinner and great desserts while we caught each other up with what we'd done in town, so far.
Sunday morning I was awake and at breakfast by 5:30am. After trying to figure out what I could eat without taking the chance of upsetting my tummy, we headed out to the shuttle buses that were taking us to a ferry to get to the other side of the St. Lawrence River. More buses would meet us there to take us to the starting lines of the full and half marathons. Both races started in Levis and ran along the bank of the St. Lawrence, crossed a bridge and then ran back the other side to return into Quebec City. The day promised to be a long hot one.
At 7:30 we were sent off by cannon blasts. I had heard that the course was fairly flat, except for one hill within the first two miles and the incline of the bridge. Well, there were actually two pretty memorable hills before we hit the bridge at approximately the 3.5 mile mark. Up and over the bridge, I felt OK and was staying on pace for a 2:10 finish.
The heat and, probably, the travels before the race, caught up with me around the 6 mile mark. I just felt the sudden need to walk. So I did for a short bit and then tried to pick up a run. This worked for a while, but it got harder and harder to resume running each time. I stopped at each and every water stop to drink a cup and douse myself with the other. I sipped at the Gatorade that I had with me. I had been eating a little, but when I took a Clif Shot Block at around the 7 mile mark it started a distinctly queasy feeling in my stomach. I had no desire to nurture this feeling, so I stopped taking in anything except for a little water. Instead, I started putting a great deal of water on the outside of me. I was literally dripping as I moved. I really wanted to stop, but didn't have a good enough reason to, so I soldiered on.
I bumped into a New York Flyer at about the 10 mile mark. I chatted with her for a little bit, which distracted me from desire to stop. Her name was Marj and she had come to Quebec for vacation and thrown the race into the mix. I managed to keep mostly moving for the next couple of miles. I saw some of the non-runners with our group on the sideline with about 3k to go. Waved at them and headed toward the finish line.
There was a nice big chute for us to finish through and a red carpet to welcome us in. I was never so happy to stop running. Tony from College Point finished a minute or two behind me and saw me as I waited on a line to get my picture taken. I heard that Hector from their club had collapsed at the finish line. No one seemed to know how serious it was and they were looking for his wife, Carmen. Fortunately, it just ended up being bad leg cramps and Hector was much better later.
After getting my photo taken I headed toward the food tables and the exit. This is where it got truly ridiculous. With runners coming in from 3 separate races, many of them suffering from the heat and dehydration, the race organizers decided to make sure that no one took more than one bottle of water or a fair share of the other foodstuffs offered. They funneled all the finishers through a tent to a single gate with a few people stuffing items into a plastic bag they gave you before you entered. This left the majority of the finishers standing outside the tent in the sun and the heat without water or shade. I just knew that I was going to be sick if I had to stay there too long. I just dropped to the ground and sat for a while with my head between my knees while hundreds of runners milled around me. When I felt well enough to get up, I shoved my way out and past the crap they were giving out.
I then just lay down on the lawn under a tree for a few minutes. Eventually, Marge from AP found me and helped me put myself together and leave the park. It was a very long walk back to the hotel, nevermind that in my addled brainlessness I got us lost and added an extra uphill climb to our trek.
Marge had spoken to the rest of AP, who were staying at a different hotel than we were, and arranged for us to meet later for dinner. So I went up to my room and showered and laid down for a bit.
Later that evening, we met the rest of the gang for dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Gambrinus in the Old Town. If anyone is going to Quebec, I would highly recommend this place. The food was good, the staff was attentive and the atmosphere was comfortable. We had a fine time comparing race experiences and discussing everyone's plans for the next day's sightseeing. Everyone had had a hard time in the race, but had enjoyed it nevertheless.
Monday dawned chilly and damp - oh why couldn't we have had that weather for the race? At breakfast, we again bumped into the College Point gang. Much ado was made of the fact that a photo of Hector's dramatic collapse on the finish line had made one of the local newspapers.

After breakfast, Marge and I hit the town. I showed her all around the touristy areas. We wandered around boutiques and checked out the excavations of the original fort. We then rode the Funicular down to the Petit Champlain area at the base of the cliff that the main city sits on. The Funicular is sort of a glass elevator that rides down tracks on the side of the cliff. Marge said they have similar things in Italy to get up and down the mountains.

The Petit Champlain area is darling. Very cute without being too sweet. All these cobblestone streets that are lined with small stores. We ate a late lunch at a place called Le Cochon Dingue (the Crazy Pig) and made friends with a moose. We wandered through a lace shop and chatted with a craftswoman in a museum about her needlework, although she spoke no English and we spoke very little French.
After we returned to hotel later and freshened up, Marge and I met up again for dinner. The College Point group had invited us to dinner with them, but they were going to try Gambrinus and we didn't feel like walking that far and wanted to try a new place.
We wandered the Grand Allee looking for a likely candidate, but nothing was striking our fancy. So we finally ended up right across the street from the hotel in the Restaurant Aux Vieux Canons. This was the worst dining experience of the entire trip. I ordered something off the Pris Fixe menu and it was alright, but Marge ordered a chicken dish that she said was awful.
Tuesday we decided that today we were going to finally have crepes. This was the one thing that I wanted to eat while I was in Quebec. Poutine was on the list, as well, but it honestly doesn't sound too appetizing. So we set off for the Rue St-Jean for that was where two of the recommended creperies were located. After a morning of browsing and shopping we still hadn't hit the restaurant that I was looking for. I was certain it was on the Rue St-Jean, but Marge was doubting my memory so she tried asking some of the people in shops. Asking for a crepe shop was getting blank stares, but I managed to string most of the French name of the place together when we spoke to a guard in an office building. Au Petit Coin Breton was all the way down in the Old Town, but it was worth the trek. The restaurant is small. You can watch them make your crepes while you wait. The waitresses wear traditional garb from Brittany, the home of the crepe. These are not the tiny little crepes that you get in some places for breakfast. These crepes are large and substantial and they can be filled with either a savory filling or a sweet filling. I opted for a ham, spinach and cheese concoction. It was fantastic.
Tuesday night was our last night in town. We ate at a little restaurant with a diner-like feel, L'Omelette. The food wasn't fancy, but it doesn't present itself as a fancy restaurant, so I wasn't disappointed. We ended up chatting with the people who sat next to us who were in from England. He supplied golf clothing for an historic golf game that was going to happen on the Plains of Abraham in honor of its 100th anniversary. We compared food choices and suggested places to see in NY to his wife who was going to be coming for a weekend the following week. After dinner, Marge and I wandered a bit around the Old Town looking for a likely place that we could sit outside and have a drink. We ended up back at Gambrinus where we toasted a fantastic vacation. We parted in the hotel lobby where I promised to give Marge a call when I hit my hotel in Vermont.
Wednesday morning I arose early and started to lug my baggage down to my car. Bumped into Marge when I went to look at what the breakfast was like. We both decided to pass when it appeared that we would have been the only ones there. Marge said that she would probably grab something at the airport and I decided to grab something on the road. Goodbyes were said again and I went to get my car.
My drive to Vermont was nice. I had Mapquested the directions to Burlington and they took me through more rural sections of Quebec and Vermont until I was almost there. I got to Burlington in the early afternoon. The entire center of town is busy and all the streets are metered, so I ended up parking my car far outside the main part of town and walking in. Hit Church St. which is a closed mall and found a likely restaurant to grab some lunch. While sitting waiting for my food, my phone suddenly lit up - signal was achieved! I had voicemails waiting from everyone who had tried to contact me while I was in Canada. I called my Mom to let her know that I was OK.

After lunch, I wandered around for a few hours. Had to grab an ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's which I think is the original shop. Then headed back to my car and out to my hotel.
The drive back to New York the following day was pretty uneventful, except for a lunch stop in New Paltz where I attended college. Ate in the pizza shop I always used to go to and noted all the places that were gone and some of the new shops that were nice replacements.
The Striders are already talking about going back next year, possibly. If not, perhaps making another trip together. I think everyone was agreed that it was one of the best vacations that we had ever had.

2008 NYC Half-Marathon race report

2008-07-30T19:11:00.003-04:00

So the half is done and I'm on to the next one at the end of August in Quebec. I hope I can do nearly as well as I did Sunday.
The weekend started Saturday afternoon when I headed into the city, bag in tow, to Chelly's apartment. Since I had to go into Manhattan on Saturday to gather my bib and stuff and then go back again early Sunday morning for the race, I was going to spend the night at Chel's.
We headed uptown to Niketown to get my bib. They do a bit of an expo for the race, but it's kind of lame and is really only an excuse to have every runner in the race in the Nike store at some time that weekend.
After a bit of confusion in trying to find my name, the volunteer handed me my bib. Brown...with a number of 12757...what the heck is up with that? That put me farther back in the corrals for the start then everyone else I knew. I did last year's race in 2:15 and have been averaging sub-9:00 paces in the races I did so far this year, but they decide to put me back with the people who were probably going to be finishing between 30 minutes to 1 hour after I did. Wonderful!
So, after a quick walk back through the Nike store (and no purchases made) we headed back downtown for our pre-race pasta meal at Olive Garden. I opted for a salad and capellini pomodoro but splurged with some chocolate gelato for dessert. Yumm!
We then walked around the neighborhood a little to settle our stomachs and enjoy the night air and headed back to Chelly's with the intention of an early night.
We were in bed by 9 with the alarm set for 4am.
4am arrived and the snooze button was hit a few times, but we were up and moving around by about 4:20. I had noticed some bright flashes outside, but hadn't really thought about what might be causing them. After we were up for a little while we also heard some rumbling noises from outside. Traffic at that hour? Nope, it was thunder and as we left the apartment at about 5:30, it started to rain. Big, plump drops and I was starting to dread this day. Amazingly enough, in three years of running and racing, I haven't really run a long run in a pouring rain. I usually blow off the run or take it inside if it must be done and the thought of running in excess of two hours soaked to the skin was not terribly appealing.
We managed to grab a cab and get uptown to the baggage area. The rain seemed to be lighter as we got further north and was just a drizzle at the corral area. We arrived at the park entrance just before 6am and they weren't letting us into the park. So everyone was standing around grousing about getting wet.
As soon as they let us in about 20 minutes later, we headed toward the corral area and into a porta-john line. After taking care of business, Chelly left me to head for her corral (I did say that everyone was in front of me at the start).
The rain was easing up and I got into my corral to wait until the race started. I wasn't feeling too confident at that point. But my main goal was to do better than last year and since I had to walk almost the last three miles, I thought I should be able to manage that. I had a pace band for a 2:10 finish and was intending to follow that for at least the first 9 miles or so and then pick up the pace if I felt like I had a lot left.
As we started to inch up toward the start line, we could hear the music at the starting line over the PA system and the race announcer talking up the race. It would take me 12 minutes after the gun went off to get to the start line.
I settled into an easy pace and got the first mile in 9:46. Not bad, it felt good and that was a bit faster than the 9:54 I would need to get a 2:10 finish. This might end up being a pretty good day, after all.
At about one and a half mile I caught up with Chelly. I gave her a bit of push from behind, smiled and wished her good luck as I passed her. The second mile went by in 9:44.
I popped a Cliff Shot Block at about the 2 mile mark and took water at the water stop that was at about that point. I was feeling great. I don't remember a lot of the course as I spent a great deal of this race inside my own head. 3 miles went by in 9:38...nice! And the 5k split caught me at 30:41.
I felt fantastic through most of the park, barely noticing the hills. I stopped at most of the water stops in the park and I had Gatorade with me so I was doing well.
10k split...1:00.45. Perfect. Almost even splits. I do remember at this point starting to wonder when we were going to get out of the park. It seemed like it was taking forever.
What can you say about the turn out of the park. For the second year, I got pumped when I hit the street and started yelling. I know some of the runners were looking at me, but I didn't care. The spectators seemed a bit sparser than last year, perhaps due to the weather and I needed to hear them. So I started yelling at them and waving and basically making a silly fool of myself. Last year they got a photo of me at that point. This year, nothing.
As I was going through Time Square, they started a sing-along of Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. What a great choice and I was singing with them.
Crossing the city at 42nd Street all I could think about is how much better than last year I felt. My Garmin was telling me that I was about 5 minutes ahead of my planned pace, so 2:10 was probably in the bag unless I stopped. Heck, I could have walked the entire last three miles.
15k was at some point around here...1:29.34. Almost perfectly even splits. Onto the West Side Highway.
All I gotta say is, I hate the West Side Highway. It's almost entirely concrete instead of asphalt and I find that the pounding on the harder surface really does a number on my knees and legs. I had to stop for the first time in the race shortly after turning onto it. I walked for about 30 seconds and picked it up again. I think I walked another 3 or 4 times down this stretch. Not for very long, but the legs were yelling at me.
Apparently, I was still running at a pretty good clip, when I was running, because the 20k split was 1:59.35. Almost exactly the same as every other split.
I didn't have enough left to really pick up the pace for the last kilometer, but I kept it going and finished in 2:05.48. A new PR!
After getting my medal, a wet towel and having my picture taken, I headed into Battery Park. As soon as the adrenaline started to drain away, my calf muscles started to cramp up. I walked around looking for the post race food, but couldn't find any. So I headed to baggage claim and got my bag. I was almost positive I had stuck some kind of bar in there. I found a large piece of cardboard to plop my butt and try to stretch. Changed my shoes and found a Powerbar...yay! Gobbled that up while trying to get my calves to calm down.
During the bodily manipulations, my phone rang. It was Ira from the Striders and he was somewhere in the park. I got the details and told him I'd find him in a few minutes. While walking around trying to locate him, I found the food bags. Picked up one and headed into the park. After spending some time comparing race experiences, I noticed the time and figured that Chelly should be finishing about then. So we headed over to the finish line area just in time to find her heading towards us. We then hobbled off the highway back into the park to try and get a food bag for her. At this point, it started to rain again. As we're wandering around looking for food and getting progressively wetter, we decided to bag the whole thing and head back to Chelly's to shower and then find food in her neighborhood. Ira headed off to find the subway and we jumped in a cab to go back home.

Good news & bad news

2008-07-04T11:31:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted all week about the diagnosis I got for Shannon. I'm not sure how I feel so I didn't know what to say. But, for those three or four people who actually read this blog, I guess I should update you.
...LIPOSARCOMA...
and, yes, for those who don't know, that is the big C--cancer.
I've been trying to stay upbeat, and there is good news with that diagnosis. Liposarcoma is a cancer of the fatty cells inside tissue. It is fairly rare in animals, but is more common in dogs than cats. Tumors form which can be invasive. The good thing about this particular cancer, if there can be a good thing about cancer, is that while it commonly re-occurs at the excision site, it rarely metastasizes. In other words, it doesn't usually spread. And since the location that Shannon has it is on her leg, it isn't likely to be a life-threatening cancer. But we will probably be repeating this week on more occasions.
Shannon has actually been great about the whole thing. Because the bandage covered her whole leg, she couldn't bend at the 'wrist' joint. So, she was limping and I was carrying her down any stairs, mostly because I was nervous that she wouldn't be able to maintain her balance. She quickly figured out how to go up the stairs, how to jump up onto her chair and how to get waited upon hand and foot.
We went back to the vet's office, yesterday, to have the bandage removed and the wound inspected. It was the first time I saw it and it looks nasty. A bunch of stitches up her leg, which I think were purple. The vet said that everything looked good and just put a light bandage over it. We go back on Sunday afternoon to get the stitches removed. And if the vet OKs it, she's getting a bath afterwards.

Running around and getting nowhere

2008-06-29T07:26:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since I've post. It isn't because there hasn't been anything going on in my life. More like the total opposite and I just didn't feel up to posting about it.
My last post I mentioned that Shannon had been feeling a little under the weather. Well, the last month has seen me at the vet's office way too often for my liking.
It started out with Shannon refusing to eat. She turned her nose up at everything. For a living garbage disposal this was worrying. I could get her take some food with a great deal of coaxing, but she wasn't enthusiastic.
After about a week of this, I decided that a visit to the vet was in order. He couldn't find anything wrong, but because of her various medical problems, he ordered a complete blood workup and also an EKG and x-rays to see if her heart had worsened.
So the next day, I took the day off of work and dropped her off in the morning. Back in the early afternoon for a report that her heart, while not better, was not worse but she had an elevated white blood cell count and slightly elevated kidney numbers. I get sent home with a week's worth of antibiotics and an appointment to come back in about ten days.
By the second day of the antibiotics, she seemed to be feeling a lot better. More interest in food and in life in general.
The following Friday, another day off from work, and we went back to the vet just for a recheck on the bloodwork to see if the infection was gone and to see if the kidney numbers stayed the same. Totally routine. The vet tells me to call back on Sunday for the results.
I'm not sure why, but Saturday night I notice a lump on her front leg. I had not noticed this before and it's about the size of a grape. Because of her age, she has a number of little masses on her body. They're more than likely fatty deposits and the vet's reaction is to just note them and make sure they don't get larger. But this mass was different. I could just tell. It was big and not roundish like the others and, it must have developed quickly if I had not previously noticed it. I spent Saturday night awake and in a bit of a panic.
Sunday morning was torture. Waiting until about 10:30 when the vet told me to call seemed to take forever. Finally, it arrived and I phoned him. He told me that the white blood cell count was still elevated and I mentioned the mass on her leg. He told me to bring her right in.
After an examination, the doctor shared my concern. He told me that he'd give me another weeks worth of antibiotics and to keep an eye on the leg. I was to come back in a week and we would decide where to go from there.
Let me just tell you, that mass seemed huge for the whole week. I can't imagine how I had missed it previously. It seemed to pull my eye to it every time I looked at her. Meanwhile, she's feeling fine. Totally normal. Eating like she hadn't seen food in weeks. Monday night I manage to get a quick run in to try and relax and work off some of the tension.
Another day off of work and back to the vet on Tuesday of the next week. (There are some perks to being a civil servant). I had been imagining the worst for the past week and my heart is in my throat and I'm exhausted when we go to the animal hospital. After a quick exam and the decision that the mass has not changed significantly (the vet was hoping that it was related to the mystery infection)they take blood again and we make plans for surgery the next day.
Wednesday is another day off of work and she gets dropped off at the animal hospital at 10:30am with instructions to call back at 3pm if I don't hear from them sooner.
I just wandered around for the next couple of hours, not knowing what to do with myself.
At 3:05 I phoned the hospital. The vet told me that she was awake and alert and the surgery had gone well. He felt that he had removed the entire tumor and it had been sent off to the lab for a biopsy. She had an IV and a bandage. He wanted to keep her overnight to make sure everything was alright and I could pick her up the next day. I was elated but a little disappointed as I wanted her home NOW. I got another run in. With everything going on, I actually managed to get in all my runs this past week for the first time in a while.
I got the best night's sleep that night since I didn't have to worry about Shannon. My original plan was to go to work and leave early when I got the OK to pick her up, but I decided after getting completely ready for work and actually beginning my commute that there was no way I could deal with work that day, so I turned around and went home. I called the animal hospital at 11 to see if I could pick her up and they told me to come over in about an hour so they would have time to bandage her leg. One hour later, exactly, I was in the waiting room looking for my puppy. We decided against the conehead collar since the bandage was similar to the cast she had last fall and she hadn't bothered that. She's back on antibiotics again and limping around. The opposite front leg was also shaved, for the IV, I assume. The biopsy on the tumor won't be back until Monday, but I'm not worrying about it. I don't think it will make much of a difference either way. I'm just glad she's home.

Farewell

2008-05-29T18:29:00.004-04:00

BUDDY
6 years of sunshine - rest in peace
My parent's dog, Buddy, was killed today by a loose dog. My father was walking him when he approached a loose husky. The husky grabbed Buddy. Dad carried Buddy home and got in the car with my Mom to head to the vet. On the way, they spotted the loose dog and followed it to a man in a car who told them that the dog was his and he had escaped from his place of business. He, of course, said that his dog was friendly and had never done anything like this before. He said he would take care of the vet bills and gave my parents his card.
Buddy was given a total going over at the vet's, who found three puncture wounds but said that everything else looked fine. He loaded him up with antibiotics and gave him a painkiller. Mom called me around lunchtime to tell me about the attack. Buddy was still bleeding some and seemed to be traumatized.
When I got home from work this evening there was a message on my answering machine to call my Mom when I got in. I called her and she told me that Buddy was dead. He just fell over and died. My Mom and Dad are in shock, the vet was shocked. The vet feels that his heart might not have been able to take the stress and gave out.
My pup has been feeling under the weather for the last week and now I'm petrified that something might happen to her, as well. It's not logical, but I almost feel like she might 'catch' Buddy's death.
We're going to miss the little 'Bud-man'.

Show me your t*ts!

2008-05-03T20:41:00.009-04:00

The title will be explained later.
Two great race weekends. Last weekend was my club's race - Alley Pond 5 Mile Challenge.
Woke up early to get to the park around 7:30am. Greeted my fellow Striders who were there setting up. Spent a few hours helping with stuff...line control, questions regarding the race. Spotted quite a few familiar faces. All the local clubs had people there--Forest Park RR, Hellgate RR, New Hyde Park, Long Island RR,

, Quantum Feet

College Point RR

and quite a few others. I spotted a familiar face in a Forest Park singlet--Alex, a fellow blogger came with his family. It was great to meet him. He did a nice write up of our race over on his blog.
I ran well. The first mile was a little slow - 8:50, probably because of the big hill in the first quarter of a mile. The second and third mile went in a speedy 8:25 and 8:13. But then I got to the 4th mile. There are some rolling hills that climb right up to the 4 mile marker. I really felt like I was slogging and the time reflects it - 9:10. Right at about the 4 mile marker, though, there is a big downhill. I used it to gain some speed and felt a second wind coming on. I managed a mile in 8:11, for a total time for the 5 miles of 42:50 - a new PR!
I hung around the finish line and cheered on some of the later finishers. We had a great turnout. 276 people finished the race. That's at least a recent high total, if not the highest ever. The prez wanted to get a big number and we really pushed the promo on the race this year. I plastered it all over the internet and applications were left at every race site. That combined with the good luck of having the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon moved from the day before to the weekend after helped immensely.
Today was another race, the Riker's Island 5k. Riker's Island is an unusual place for a race, because Riker's Island is a prison. The New York City Department of Corrections operates this detention facility for approx. 15000 inmates. I had to do this one.
I met some fellow Striders at the Park in the morning so that we could carpool over to the race. The race starts on the 'mainland' in Queens. Spectators and our baggage had to be brought over by bus and everyone had to get their hand stamped so we would be allowed back out of the facility. I'm guessing they don't really care if you want to go over and stay there, they're just making sure that only non-prisoners can get back out.
There was a large group from the Striders at the race. The shorter distance brings out the walkers and a lot of runners who don't often race were there, as well.
The first mile of the race is over the bridge onto the island. This is the biggest hill in the course. I managed to get the first mile in 8:37. I was loosening up -- really need to warm up before these short races! The weather was cool and the wind was brisk. I probably could have managed a faster time for this race if I hadn't been fighting the wind for most of it.
By the second mile, I found a couple of Striders and settled in with them. Clipped off the second mile in a faster 8:24. The course winds through the prison. You are surrounded by fenced in yard areas bristling with barbed wire. It's surreal.
Towards the end of mile 3 you pass this large building that is about 30 feet from the course. Apparently, the inmates can see you running by at this point. I had been told that the prisoners call out to you during the race. There were a few guys running in front of me who got a lot of shouts of encouragement from inside. Well, since it was in Spanish, I'm assuming it was encouragement. As I ran into view, I started to hear some shouts directed at me. That is when I heard my title phrase. Let me tell you, I thought for a moment of stopping and lifting my shirt, but it passed really quickly and I continued by without acknowledging the supportive cheers.
My finish time was 26:20--another PR for me! They had a really nice finisher's medal, with moving parts! and a barbecue set up by the Correction Officers. I stood on line for the first hotdog I've had in some time and socialized with some of the other runners.
Once the results were posted I found my name--I had also finished 2nd in my age group! I got a trophy! When they presented the trophies, they actually had one of those step podiums like at the big races. So I got a trophy and I got to stand up with the 1st place and 3rd place ladies in my age group and get our picture taken. It was kind of cool.
Alley Pond managed to get quite a few awards, including sweeping the Men's 70+ age group. Congrats to my fellow Striders.

Running and racing

2008-04-26T16:16:00.004-04:00

So, I'm getting behind again. C'est la vie! I'll start with my race last weekend.
I ran the adidas Run for the Park 4M race in Central Park on Sunday. This was the first race that my friend, Chelly, had run in a while and I was looking forward to hanging with her at the park.
We met up at the usual spot - 72nd Street and Central Park West. The Pope was in town and he was staying at 72nd Street on the other side of the park, so that entrance was closed. It also made for some re-routing of traffic and mass transit, but I didn't have too hard a time getting into the city.
Chelly had been on the fence about running the race--she didn't think she was ready--but she decided to give it a go. I told her that I'd come back and run with her after I finished to help her keep up her pace and stick it out until the finish line.
The NYRR was instituting a corral system starting with this race. So, Chelly and I had to split up for the start. We usually try to start at a point about halfway between our two paces, but this time we weren't going to be allowed.
The corral system didn't really help the start. It still took about 3:30 for me to cross the start line. The odd part was, in the past, the pack would open up at that point as those who had placed themselves too far forward began to fall back and those who got trapped too far back began weaving through to get better placed. This time, the pack I was in stayed pretty much together. It forced me to run at a good pace as I had been placed with a 8:49 pace based on my fastest race, which was about a year ago. I haven't really been running that fast lately.
This worked out wonderfully for me. I ran all 4 miles at a pace that really made me feel like I was working for it. I decided at about the 2 mile mark to stick on the tail of a woman that had been in my area for a while. I dogged her through the rest of the course. She had more left at the end, though, and finished about 25 feet in front of me. But I managed a 33:57 for the race, which is a 8:29 pace. That was my fastest race in Central Park ever and only 25 seconds behind my PR. I was ecstatic.
After grabbing some water, getting my chip clipped and catching my breath, I turned back on the course and started walking/jogging back looking for Chelly. Beside running at a slower pace, she probably had started about 3 minutes after I did, so I didn't find her until I had got back almost to the 3 mile mark. I waved at her and jumped into the course. She had been trying out a walk/run method to keep herself going and said she actually didn't feel too bad. I told her that we weren't too far from the finish line and warned her that there was a photographer a short way up the course. I joked about actually getting some photos this time. It turns out that the only pictures they got of me were when I was running with Chelly.
I asked if she had anything left as we turned for the finish line and then pushed it a little so that Chel would finish strong.
We walked through the park heading to 5th Avenue to catch a cab downtown and get brunch. On the way, we walked by the carousel, which I mentioned that I hadn't been on since I was about 8. So, of course, we had to take a ride. It's a little more expensive than I remembered and I found out that sitting a horse post-race is a bit hard, but it was fun. I didn't remember that it was so fast.
The big event this weekend is our club race. The Alley Pond 5 Mile Challenge is a tough but fun course through Alley Pond Park in Northeast Queens. So anyone who sees this, come on out. It should be a blast. I'll be running the race this year. My best 5 mile time is on this course, for some odd reason, since I think it is the toughest 5 mile race that I've run.

A little bit of silliness

2008-04-14T11:10:00.000-04:00

I'll be in Scotland afore ye!

2008-03-31T20:07:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the city kicked off Scotland week with the NYRR Scotland Run 10k. Although it wasn't my best run, I had a great time.
The morning started out great. Because the race had a 10am start, much later than most, I was able to get up at a civilized hour and didn't have to be out the door until 7:45. It was freezing, however. It just shouldn't be 27 degrees at this time of year! But I decided to go with a single layer on top and one of my heavier pairs of tights. I was hoping that it would warm up a bit before the race started. I piled on the layers for the trek into Manhattan.
After a pretty uneventful trip into the city on the subway (you always spot the ghostly masses of runners as they gather, getting off along the park, the stop depending on whether or not they've pre-registered and whether they are planning to warm up on the way to the starting line)
The park was already set up with a few tents from the Scotland groups that came for the week. After picking up my t-shirt, they also were handing out goodie bags, unusual for NYRR races. There was a nice little bag that contained a small Scotland flag on a stick, a rain poncho with the saltire and a few other little trinkets. I'm not currently in possession of any tartan clothing, so I had opted to wear blue and white to match the flag and got a flag painted on my face before the race at a tent in the park.
While wandering around, I bumped into one a couple of my fellow Striders. I walked to the start with Tom, who actually runs a good bit faster than I do, but he lined up with me in the 9:00 mile area. I was a bit nervous about this race. I haven't run the distance in quite a while and wasn't sure how it was going to feel. I ran a pretty good 4 mile race last weekend, but when I went out for an easy 4 miler mid-week I had felt awful. The legs were leaden and I was exhausted afterward.
Once the gun went off, we did the usual stand around and wait. I believe it took us about 4 minutes to get across the start line. I ran with Tom for the first couple of miles, which meant that I was running a bit faster than I would have run by myself and Tom was running slower than he would probably have gone on his own. I think it was about the two mile mark, after an uphill that felt like Mt. Everest, that I waved him on and told him that I'd try to find him at the end.
The next two miles were tough. I knew I wasn't running exceedingly fast, and yet I was having a tough time going. I actually walked a few times.
At about the 4 mile mark, I started to loosen up and felt my stride getting easier. Mile 5 was right around 9 minutes and I pulled one sub-9 mile out for mile 6. I kicked it into the finishing chute and finished in exactly 58:00.
The festivities after the race were great. There was a stage where a band was playing called The Red Hot Chilli Pipers - what a blast! Think rock band with bagpipes. They're apparently, all the rage in Europe, but I had never heard of them.
After the band played, they had a number of raffles for Scottish goods and a free entry in the Loch Ness marathon. I didn't win any of them. But I hung around for the band after that, which played a tune for a Scottish folk dance called 'Strip the Willow'. There is a photo of me dancing on the NYRR webpage, which I copied here. I'm to the left of centerin the photo, with the white hat on.
This is a race I think I'll try and do again next year, if only just because I can't pass on a chance to see a whole lot of men in kilts!

A Movie I think I have to see...

2008-03-20T23:38:00.003-04:00

On a more serious note, quite a few of the local runners are planning on seeing the movie 'Running for Your Life', directed by Judd Erlich and premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, this film is a documentary about the life of the major force behind the creation of the NYC Marathon, Fred Lebow.

and I'm sick again...

2008-03-04T14:30:00.002-05:00

I feel like I'm getting sick every weekend. I know it isn't quite that often and quite a few of my 'sick' times have just been feeling a little subpar, but I'm really sick this time.
This was going to be a pretty busy weekend. There was at least one local race to choose from on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday night was a special run to celebrate the leap year--a 5k at 11:59pm on Friday night on the runway at Republic Airport in Farmingdale. I really wanted to do it, but the weather forecast was awful. I still left it until about 10pm to decide, but at that time it was already snowing, so I scrapped that idea and looked at Saturday and Sunday's schedule to pick a run.
The weather forecast called for the precipitation to last into early Saturday afternoon, so I made the decision on Friday night to sleep in on Saturday morning so that I could be ready for an early start on Sunday. Sunday morning was the Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5k Run in uptown Manhattan. I haven't done this one before. I've heard the course is a bit hilly, but it's only 5k and I figured it would be fun.
So Saturday was spent running all the errands for the weekend so that Sunday would be free for the race. I started to feel kind of tired in the early afternoon, but I was planning on hitting the sack early for a 5:30am wakeup. Got to bed around 9:30pm. Woke up a few hours later to take the pup out for a constitutional and noticed that I felt achy and shivery. Aaarghh! Made the decision that an early morning run may not be the best idea and turned off the alarm.
Well, I woke up a bit later with a headache that could fell a horse, fever chills and body aches. I spent most of the day passed out on either the bed or the sofa. The whole day just kind of blurred into one big pain.
Monday morning, felt a little bit better, but I had already decided to take a sick day - the joys of state employment - but figured I would just use the day to recover. I didn't feel much better, however. The head pain finally started to ease off around mid-afternoon and I felt capable of taking a shower (almost 72 hours...yech!). By the evening I felt pretty good, but was going to stay home another day, because I could.
Oftentimes when I'm sick it affects my head, which sucks, because staying home would be fantastic if I could read or work on my computer but, of course, I can't. This post has taken me a few days to write. My head still hurts, but not horrendously, but my balance centers are out of whack, I can't focus.
So this morning I woke up from an awful dream. I dreamed that I was at the starting line of the NYC Marathon with some of the ladies from my running club. For some reason we were inside and it had been my idea. We were standing around a hallway when the start time passed. No gun! So I yell at everyone that we must be too far away to hear it. Then we start running out of the building and I realize that I'm lost and we've missed the start of the race. How very odd. I have to admit that I've let the idea of doing the marathon this year percolate in my brain. It will depend on how my knees feel once I start getting ready for the half-marathons that I'm definitely doing this summer. If my body feels OK come May, I might just try. So I don't know what this dream is telling me about the idea.

Dashing through the snow

2008-02-24T18:14:00.009-05:00

Today was the North Fork Bank 3 x 2 Trail Relay. This race is always a blast, but this year we had a snowstorm during the week. So it added an interesting twist to the run.
I met up with a group from my club at 8am and we headed out to Bethpage State Park where the race was being held. The temp was about 23 degrees, so I had worn a few layers and brought extra clothes to change into after the race.
We got there pretty early but I had to run around and coordinate number pick up and payment for the club members who weren't pre-registered. Ah, the pleasures of being runner's rep!
After standing around for a while trying to hand out numbers to Striders as they arrived, my feet felt like little blocks of ice. I stripped out of my pants and one of my jackets and did a warm-up circuit with one of the ladies on my relay team and her father. I felt a little better, but now my feet hurt. It was like walking around on coals. I shoved the extra jacket into my bag and handed it off to one of the group that wasn't running and headed for the starting area.
The start was in a field covered with about 5 inches of snow. When the gun went off and we started running I also found out that the snow had a hard crust on top. I was pretty tired in the first 100 feet until we hit the trees.
In the tree cover the snow was a little lighter and had been packed down a bit by vehicles. But this meant the runners were mostly restricted to tracks about 4 inches wide. Passing was nearly impossible unless you wanted to plow through the unpacked snow, which I did in a few spots.

This was the first race that I've ever run where I didn't really pay attention to how I was fairing in relation to the other runners. My eyes were focused on the ground a few feet in front of me, looking for the best route through the mess. At one point a runner in a big hoodie passed by me. I wasn't sure who it was, but I decided to catch up to him. It was Gerry, our prez, who had decided to run by me to try and get me mad. It didn't work, but I did run by him decisively. Take that!
I was never so happy to finish a two mile run as I was when I saw the clearing where the hand off location was. I scanned the crowd as I came in, looking for Christina, who was running the second leg. Spotted her, grabbed her hand and wished her luck.
After a few of our club members came in for their handoff, I headed over to the food area. A big attraction of this race is the food. They always have a big spread of baked goods and a supply of hot soups and hot chocolate. I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and headed back to find my bag so I could take some photos. I hope you enjoy them.

A Brand New Year

2008-01-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

Well, even though I promise myself I'm not going to let the blog get away from me again, it inevitably does.
I have been kind of busy, for me. Which means that I haven't spent 5 days a week sitting on my sofa watching TV. I am now on the board of my running club, have also volunteered to maintain the website and am on our race committee. This means that beside running with the club, I also attend various meetings at night. I feel positively active. To see the website go here Alley Pond Striders Our race, which is a fun and tough 5 miler that I hope anyone reading in the NYC area comes out for, is going to happen on April 27. The link for online registration is here Alley Pond 5 Mile Challenge
Shannon feels great. Her leg is almost back to normal. Someone who didn't know her would probably barely be able to tell, except when she is tired or just getting up from a nap. Then it is a little stiff. The one thing that hasn't got back to normal is her ability to jump up onto things. She can't make it up onto my bed. I bought those steps for her, but she refuses to use them. Instead, she stands next to the bed and whines for me to lift her. I did find her on her chair this week, though, which means she is jumping a little.
Oh, I got a couple of late Christmas gifts this week - one from my sister and one from Chelly. My sister sent the cool sunglasses on the right They're by Rudy Project and can accept prescription lenses. I haven't got the lenses, yet. I'm waiting because I'm considering getting vision correction surgery. Has anyone had that done? I have to find out if I'm even a candidate, but I seriously thinking about it. If I can't get it, I'll have to look into getting lenses that fit the frame.
Chelly constructed a scrapbook of our NY Half-Marathon by Nike experience last summer. It's really cool. She combined our experiences, as expressed on our blogs, with photos of various points of the course. The book also includes the experience of Adam, a friend of hers.
Well, I have to get back to the Giant game.

Getting a headstart on the New Year

2007-12-31T08:13:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I haven't posted in quite a while. It's not that I haven't been doing anything (well, actually, I do lead a pretty boring life) but I just haven't been moved to write about it.

Christmas was pleasant. I spent the day at my aunt's with the family. As my uncle was a French chef, the food is always excellent. I didn't get any really special gifts - a check from the parents (always appreciated) and some clothes. The interesting gifts are still promised. My sister is sending a wicked pair of running/biking sunglasses and my friend, Chelly, is constructing a scrapbook of our New York/Nike Half Marathon experience.

The running has been a little lax. Since Thanksgiving, I'm probably only averaging 10 miles a week, and the bulk of that is usually my weekend run. The lack of running, combined with the increased eating, has led to the gain of a pound or two. I have to decide on a running goal for the new year. I'm sure I can get myself motivated if I find something special to aim for this year. The knee is not bothering me on the shorter runs, but I'm a little nervous that going longer will make it go again and that is at the root of my reluctance to plan anything big.

In other news, I'm now officially the runner's rep and webmaster for my running club, the Alley Pond Striders The two jobs are separate. The webmaster bit is something I really wanted to do. I finally got my hands on the website this weekend and I've got something up and running. I'm a total beginner and still learning, so it isn't beautiful, but it is current which was my first priority.

Runner's rep involves gathering the racing results in a column for our monthly newsletter, trying to motivate the runners by planning/finding activities and races to participate in, contacting other local clubs and fostering good will/competition with other local runners and, finally, attending the club meetings. I'm letting this stress me out a bit. Quite a bit of those duties are social and I'm not a terribly social person. Unless I push myself, I would probably spend the majority of my time in front of this computer screen, on the couch in front of the television or curled up with a book. This is why I join clubs. Belonging to a club forces me to be social and I know that this makes me a happier person. Otherwise, I would be one of those people you hear about that lives in an apartment surrounded by their stuff until it falls on them and kills them. And no one finds them for months.

On that happy note, I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years. Here's to a fantastic 2008!

It's Off!

2007-12-08T15:14:00.001-05:00

Well, the big news around here is that Shannon got her cast off! I brought her in to the vet's on Monday for what I thought was just going to be a quick look to see how things were going. The vet looked at it and said it was coming off. Fantastic! It took quite a bit of cutting and tugging, but the thing was removed and I was sent home with what seemed like a very tiny dog with an itty-bitty leg. The vet warned me that it would probably take a day or two before she started to use it. I've never had a cast, but he said that the limb feels odd for a while after you get one off. I was just happy to not have that huge thing hanging off of her.
The first night she was confused. She had gotten used to using the cast to support her weight and now there was nothing there. So she spent most of the time lying on her cushion.
By the next day she was touching the foot to the ground, but the leg was very weak. The vet didn't give any special instructions, but I tried to force her to use it a little. By the evening she was getting around, mostly using the foot to balance herself rather than hold her weight.
I spoke to the vet on Wednesday morning. I was a little down about how little she was using it, but he didn't seem too concerned. He said to give it another 36 hours and we'd see how it goes.
I called him back on Friday morning and told him that it didn't really seem any better. I'd say she was limping about as badly as before we bandaged the leg. He wasn't too happy and said that it usually worked better, especially with the small dogs. We discussed the possibility of surgery. He's not too inclined to do it and I don't really want to put her through it either. He said that it wouldn't make much difference if we did the surgery now or later. So I decided we'd wait and see how things go.
When I got home it was like she had heard the decision and decided she didn't want surgery, either. She is using the leg about 90 percent of the time. She is still limping, but I think the limp is not as bad as it was before. I'm really hoping there will be further improvement.
We went for our first walk in about a month this morning. I think she was thrilled to get off of the front lawn. We didn't go too far since she is probably out of shape. I did carry her the last bit, but I think she was happy to get out.
Here's keeping our fingers crossed for her.

Subpar week

2007-11-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well, this week has sucked, big time.
It should have been great, starting with a long weekend as it did. But, except for Saturday, which was OK, it has really been a stinker.
I'll start off by saying I went for an easy 4 mile run on Saturday morning. Pretty slow for me at an 11:15 pace, but I hadn't been for a run in almost two weeks and I let a generally slower runner in the club just carry me along. I wasn't disappointed - it felt good, with no pain or difficulty.
I didn't have any particular plans for the weekend. I was probably just going to hang out, maybe do some cleaning since I was so busy last weekend and hadn't been picking up after myself.
The really bad stuff started when Shannon, who has been a bit reluctant to jump up onto things, actually started to have a definite limp in one of her hind legs. I looked and poked and didn't see a definite injury. She just didn't want to put her full weight on that leg. It seemed to get better as the day went on, but was worse when she just got up from a lie down. I thought perhaps it was a touch of arthritis. I spent most of the weekend going back and forth about seeing the vet. We were just there two weeks ago for a sonagram on her heart. It was bad news. Her heart is worse than it was six months ago. But she isn't really showing any symptoms, so the vet is not recommending anything yet. I just wasn't ready to get another serious diagnosis and was hoping it would just resolve itself.
Sunday I woke up feeling like death warmed over. My head was pounding and I had a sore throat. Just great. The same thing happened over my last three day weekend. I think I'm doomed to spend my holiday breaks with some kind of nasty bug.
I spent most of the day lying on the couch and catching up with some of the television shows I've recorded on the DVR. So after a full day of feeling awful, I took Shannon out for her evening walk. She was feeling peppy even though she was still limping. But when I wasn't paying attention, she saw one of the local feral cats that she likes to chase. She took off like she totally forgot her leg hurt. When she stopped, her left hind leg was hanging. After a minute, she started to use it again, but it was definitely worse.
I called the vet Monday morning and they had me come right over. After an exam, I was told she had probably torn or damaged her cranial cruciate ligament, which is a similar injury to the ACL injury that football players are always getting. The vet explained that they would do an x-ray to confirm, but that was what he thought was wrong. There were two roads for treatment. The more conservative one would entail wrapping her leg in a bandage splint for 4 - 6 weeks to immobilize the leg. At the end of that time, hopefully, the ligament would have repaired itself. This method would be easier on her but probably would not result in 100% use of the leg. The other choice is surgery. From what I've read, this has a better chance for full recovery of the leg, but would take months and is, obviously, much harder on the dog. The vet felt that the bandage was a better option and if it didn't work, we could always consider surgery later.

So Shannon spent the night at the hospital, since they had to sedate her to do the bandage and the vet wanted to keep her under observation to see how she reacted to the cast.
She came home yesterday morning and I've been a nervous wreck since. I've had to watch her to make sure that she doesn't hurt herself while she gets used to maneuvering the cast through the apartment. I also have to watch her to keep her from jumping onto or off of things. So I've now taken an additional two days off of work, but haven't really been enjoying my 'vacation'. I'm still sick and now I'm exhausted. She's not happy and has a tendency to stand and sway in the middle of the room while whining. She wants up on the couch and on her chair, but then I worry that she will hurt herself trying to get off. I really hope this works, because if it doesn't I don't think I can take the additional recovery time that will come with the surgery.

Marathon expo

2007-11-03T19:04:00.000-04:00

I had a ball at the expo today. I was handing out bibs - if you had a green bib in the 7000 range, you may have seen me today.
The expo itself was nice - not so many deals as I've seen in the past and I only walked out with a small bag of freebies and promo material. Some of the races advertising there were fascinating. I'm intrigued by the idea of doing 3 races in 3 days in Bermuda. And the Disney booth was cool - they give out such great medals for their races.
I managed to see the video feed for the finish of the Olympic trial while I was in the expo hall. Ryan Hall is amazing. Such an easy win in only his second marathon. He broke the Olympic trial record by 1 minute 17 seconds. He was so happy as he came through the last mile with over 2 minutes on his nearest competitor. Congratulations to Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell, who also made the team.
Unfortunately, the news spread through the expo that someone had died during the race. Ryan Shay, a 28 year old runner, who is, coincidentally, a good friend of Hall, collapsed less than 6 miles into the race. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. The photo to the right has Shay in the center. What a terrible tragedy.

Marathon Mania

2007-10-20T17:28:00.000-04:00

So, I got my volunteer assignments for this year's marathon. Anyone participating in this shindig can look for me at the expo on Saturday from 12 - 5. I'll be in the registration area. For the big show on Sunday I will be at the 14 mile Aid Station in Queens. Probably running herd on boyscouts again. Why do I do this to myself?

On another note, I got tagged for a meme by my friend Nicole over at Two Sicilian Chicks
You have to open the book you're currently reading on page 161 and read the fifth sentence on the page, then think of 5 bloggers to tag with.

I'm currently reading Club Dead by Charlaine Harris. The fifth sentence on p 161 is:
"You can hold on to me as long as you want."

I'm tagging Alison, Chelly, Josh, and Dawn - most who will probably kill me!

Oyster Festival 5k

2007-10-15T23:12:00.000-04:00

I decided to run a race this past weekend. I had missed a race planned for last weekend due to my car being in the shop for over a week (a long story which will just upset me if I go into it here) and I had nothing definite planned for this weekend so I looked for a race close to home. I found a 5k in Oyster Bay, Long Island. That wasn't too far and it was connected to a festival the town was having that I thought I might be able to enjoy after the race.
Saturday morning I got up early and, after taking care of the dog and eating breakfast, I headed out. I wasn't expecting to do very well. I haven't been running as much as I should due to a bum knee and some seriously lost running mojo. But I did manage to get in four short runs last week, including one nice tempo run, so I was planning on trying to do a sub 9:00 pace.
The weather was perfect - a nice chill in the air. Fall has finally arrived in New York. I got to the start site in plenty of time to sign up for the race and look around to see if anyone I knew had also decided to do this race. I saw a lot of familiar faces from the area running scene but no one that I knew personally. So I just hung around trying to stay warm. I wasn't relishing the idea of standing around the starting line in my racing clothes. I headed out to the starting line about 15 minutes before the gun.
Due to a mix up in which way we were actually heading, I ended up closer to the front of the pack then I planned. I went out much faster than I usually do because I didn't want to get run over. Once I had found a good spot and tried to settle into a good pace I knew that this wasn't going to be a good day. My legs felt uncoordinated and my breathing was labored. I kept checking with my Garmin and I was having to work hard to stay around a 9:00 pace. Oh well, so I was just going to try and keep a respectable pace and enjoy myself. The first mile passed in about 8:53 - that was the early rush mostly because I was definitely going slower than that.
The second mile went by in just around 18:00. The course was lovely - horse farms on one side and a nature preserve on the other. I was eying another runner. It might sound a little snobbish, but I often motivate myself during a race by finding someone who I think looks like I should be able to beat them and try and keep up with them. This man I saw was about 20 years my senior and was running that morning in a pair of sweatpants and a button down cotton shirt - like you might wear with a sportscoat. Plaid, even. Anyway, I decided that, while anyone can be a runner, I had to be a faster runner than this man. So I kept him in my sights and eventually passed him. I felt victorious!
Also, around the 2 mile mark the course took a definite downward trend. I mean, we hit a mean downhill. Of course, this probably meant that the beginning of the race, which I had some trouble with, was mostly uphill. Ahhh! My legs had also loosened up to where the running was starting to feel more fluid. I decided to throw caution to the wind and let myself fly down the hills. Wheeee!!!!
It leveled off eventually. Perhaps a quarter of a mile before the end. I pushed myself across the finish line for a 26:22 gun time. That is a personal best for me. By only 3 seconds, but still a PR. I checked with Garmin. I managed that finish time by doing the 3rd mile in 7:34! WTF?!? I've never even got close to that time for a mile, even at the track.
One thing this race has taught me is that I really have to start doing some warm up before a race. Even after all this time running, and even after three half-marathons, I still feel like I'm not going to be able to run the whole distance. So I worry that any distance spent in a warm up is distance that I won't be able to get in the race. Which is ridiculous.
I stuck around for the awards which lasted until the rest of the festival started. I walked around for awhile, tried some of the food, but finally decided to go home because my hips were bothering me a little and I was tired.

This has to be the best prank...

2007-09-04T23:49:00.001-04:00

Can you imagine doing this in NYC?

Alley Pond Striders Back Alley 5k promo - Sept 15

2007-08-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to give a quick promo for our club race. If you are looking for a small, fun 5k race, this is the one.

ALLEY POND STRIDERS BACK ALLEY 5 K AND CHILDREN’S FUN RUN
September 15, 2007
RAIN OR SHINE

STARTING TIMES
5k Race 9:30 AM
Children’s Fun Run: 10 am
Rain or Shine

With the cooperation of the Department of Parks and Recreation, City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Eligibility: Five kilometer (5k) cross country race is open to Runners, Joggers and Walkers 13 years old and over. Children’s Fun Run is open to all kids 12 and under.

Course: A challenging and hilly 5k (3.1 mile) race through beautiful ’back alley’ of Alley Pond Park. The course is accurately measured. Lavatory and Dressing facilities available. Children’s Fun Run will be a short course around the upper park area (it will NOT enter the woods).

Registration: Day of Race Registration ONLY will be held at the Alley Pond Park Springfield Blvd and 76th Avenue park area from 7:30 to 8:45 AM.

ENTRY FEE:
5k Race: $10
Children’s Fun Run: $3
(day of race registration ONLY)

THIS IS A NO FRILLS RACE! There are NO teeshirts, there are no grand prizes, but there is the challenge of Alley Pond Park! Will you dare to accept the challenge?!

REGISTRATION CLOSES at 9:15 AM for the 5k event.

Awards:
FIRST THREE OVERALL FINISHERS, male and female receive a medal.
FIRST 3 AGE GROUP FINISHERS, male and female receive a medal.
Age Groups
13 - 19 then every 10 years to 80 and over.

NYC Half-Marathon - my report

2007-08-09T18:28:00.000-04:00

I've been procrastinating about writing this report. It was a good race...and a not-so-good one. But overall, I enjoyed myself.
Chelly and I were doing this race, so we decided that it made the most sense for me to spend the night at her apartment. I had to go to the expo to get my race packet on Saturday and it makes so little sense to go into Manhattan on Saturday, go home, and go back again on Sunday.
The expo was small, as these races with only a few major sponsors tend to be. I got my packet, took some photos and had a pace band for a 2:10 finish made up. I thought that time might be possible. Although, to be honest, I was really concerned about how my knee would hold up. I did a drastic taper and stayed completely off of it for three whole days and then two short two mile runs on Wednesday and on Saturday. Nothing of note, so I was hoping for the best.

After the expo, we headed over to BB King's in Time Square for the pre-race pasta party. Very low key. Might have been because we got the first seating at 5pm. We wanted to get to bed early. The food was really good. Pasta primavera and pasta with a tomato basil sauce. Bread and rolls, salad and some really good cookies and brownies. Considering the location, the entertainment left a little to be desired. They ran a loop of a promo regarding some kids program sponsored by the NYRR over and over and over.
Sunday morning the alarm went off at 4am. I rolled back over as I wasn't planning on getting up until 4:45 - I don't need too much time to get ready in the morning. Had a bagel and apple juice for breakfast. Will skip the juice in the future and stick with water - it didn't settle too well in my stomach.
We left at about 5:30 and got a cab uptown to the park entrance. You could see the ghostly runners walking in the streets - numbers on their shirts and official plastic baggage bags in their hands. There was a bit of a mixup because we didn't realize that baggage was at 90th Street and our entrance was at 97th Street. So we walked down and then back up into the park.
I liked the corral system. There were portajohns for each corral and the corrals were large enough to sit and lie down on the ground while we waited. And we had to wait. You had to be in your corral for 6:15am for a race start of 7:00am. I tried stretching a bit, but mostly I just tried to rest. About 10 minutes before the race gun, people started walking forward toward the start line. There was a pause while I suppose announcements were made and the national anthem was sung. Couldn't hear any of it. Then you could tell we had started. I mentioned to Chelly to be sure she doesn't go too fast as we actually had a bit of a ways before we crossed the starting line.

Mile 1 - 9:48
Once the race started, I felt good. The most vivid memory of that first mile is the odor of the horse droppings on the roadway :-)

Mile 2 - 9:54
Still feeling good. Probably going a little fast for the start of a race.

Mile 3 - 9:56
It was at the end of the third mile that I felt the first twinge from my knee. It wasn't too bad, but I was a little worried. It hadn't bothered me on my last long run until the eighth mile.

Mile 4 - 9:44
I think this is where I found the Nike Pace team for a 2:10 finish time. Nike had done the pace bands a little different. They had adjusted the mile paces for the specific portion of the course. Speeding up when it was flat or downhill and allowing longer for uphills. The only problem with this is if you take the slower mile at the beginning, the last few miles have to be fairly fast.

Mile 5 - 9:37
Can't imagine what I was thinking, but the knee was feeling alright.

Mile 6 - 10:20
Hills, nuff said.

Mile 7 - 9:51
During this mile you pass through the start line. You know that you're almost out of the park, so the adrenaline starts to kick in.

Mile 8 - 9:49
Out of the park onto 7th Avenue. Huge adrenaline burst. I knew that I wasn't feeling my knee any longer. I had a feeling that I would be sorry later, but at the time I didn't care. Coming out of the park, we were met by a huge cheering section from Team for Kids - a sea of yellow. This is also where we start to pass the bands. I never would have made it except for these two things.

Mile 9 - 9:15
Serious denial here. Crossing Manhattan on 42nd Street was amazing. I was just letting the atmosphere and the Nike pace team pull me along.

Mile 10 - 9:35
Still doing OK, but this is where the wheels were starting to come off. I lost the pace team here. I stopped at a water stop and I knew I didn't have the energy to catch them back up. When we turned onto the West Side Highway for the long straight run for the finish line, I knew I was in trouble.

Mile 11 - 10:31
This is where I started taking walking breaks. The knee was paining me and I had lost all my energy. I probably would have walked the rest of the course if I hadn't run into Gerry from my running team, the Alley Pond Striders. I don't think he sees this blog, but if he runs across it - thank you so much, Gerry, I couldn't have done it without you.

Mile 12 - 10:56
More walking breaks. I'll be honest and say that this last 3 miles is a real blur. I do remember that I saw someone on the side who I believe was Josh, but I can't be sure. One of my fellow Striders was doing course marshall on a bicycle. He stopped us so he could take our picture. I kept telling Gerry to go ahead as he appeared to still be doing well. But he stayed with me.

Mile 13 - 12:33
I think I walked most of this one.

Mile .37 - 3:36
My Garmin got the course a little long. I think it lost a quarter of a mile in the first part of the race, so all my mile markers are probably a little off.
I managed to get it together to run through the finish chute. Someone handed me a cold soaked towel, which was fabulous. I got my medal and my goodie bag with a bag of pretzels, a pear and a bottle of water.

Final time - 2:15.28

I'm a little disappointed in the time. It's fantastic for how I felt that day. I was sure that my time was much slower. But I was really hoping to get closer to my time from the More marathon. I was even slower than Steamboat and I didn't have the altitude to blame:->

I was going to do another half in the fall, but I think I've decided not to. First I'm going to rest up the knee and see if I can get that straightened out. Then I want to go back to the fun of the shorter races. I'm already registered for a 5 mile on Sept 9 and there is a relay on Sept 8 with the club which would probably be a blast. There are also a couple of organized bike rides that I'm looking at.

So here's looking forward to the Fall!

A slow weekend with a small hiccup

2007-07-23T20:31:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a nice one. With no particular plans, except for a 9 mile long run, I was looking forward to it.
Saturday I left the house a half an hour early to try and get about 3 miles in before I met up with the Alley Pond Striders. The runners who come to the park and run at my pace usually only do about 5 to 6 miles on Saturday morning. If I want to go longer, I usually end up doing the bulk of the run by myself. I've now started running to the park and getting in any mileage over the 6 before the meetup. The weather was pretty good. Cool if a little humid. I got in about 3.25 miles before I hit the park.
For a change, the runners had set off only about 5 minutes late. This means they were already well into the park before I got there expecting them to have started the usual 15 minutes after the planned start time. I managed to catch up to the back of the pack about 1/2 a mile later.
I slowed down to stay with Suzanne who usually runs over 11 minutes/mile. She sped up a bit and we ran at about a 10:45 pace. I can usually keep that up easily. However, last weekend I had experienced some pain in my left knee about 8 miles into a 9 mile run. It was bad enough that I had a tough time walking for a day or so after. I skipped a run and did a 5 mile slow run on Wednesday instead of the planned speedwork. The knee seemed fine, but it started to bother me again on Saturday. It seems to be my ITB and I'm a little worried. This is my first running related injury. I've had the odd ache or pain, but nothing persistent. I skipped running on Sunday and today and have been trying to stretch out the band. I hope this doesn't mess up my half marathon in two weeks.
Sunday I went clothes shopping. This is an unusual event in my life. I hate shopping for clothes. I've never fit into 'standard' women's sizes. And, of course, when I was heavier it was even worse. But I've been getting a little better since I've lost the weight. And I really needed some summer tops that I could wear to work. So off to the mall I go.
I didn't find any tops, but I still managed to spend some money. I liked the new line of clothes that being carried by Steve & Barrys that are put out by Sarah Jessica Parker. When I heard about them, I scoffed - I mean she's got that twiggy figure and is always at the big fashion shows, I figured that her clothing would only fit those size zero girls. Some of it does look like that, but I got some nice pants and also grabbed a hoody.
So I was feeling quite happy when I left that store. So good, in fact, that when I went into JC Penneys and saw that they had bathing suits on sale, I decided to try some on. I haven't owned a bathing suit in over 25 years - traumatic body issues in puberty. I had no idea what size I was now, but I brought a couple into the dressing room. They didn't look half bad - I wasn't crying after bathing suit hell. The topper was that the sale price was further slashed for the weekend and I got an $80 suit for about $25. Sweet!

Another Meme

2007-07-07T07:07:00.000-04:00

I got tagged with this one by Marci I chose the artist partly because I like them, but I also had to pick someone with enough songs to have a shot at completing this thing. Most of my current faves only have one or two albums out so I couldn't use them.

Here's the game: Using only SONG TITLES from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. No repeating song names.

Artist: Catie Curtis

* Are you a male or female: Jane

* Describe yourself: Innocent

* Describe your day: Just Getting By

* Describe where you currently live: Magnolia Street

* If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Hey California

* Your best friend is: Saint Lucy

* Your favorite color is: Red Light

* You know that: Life Goes On

* What's the weather like: Dark Weather

* If your life was a television show, what would it be called: World Don't Owe You

* What is life to you: Rope Swing and Avalanches

* What is the best advice you have to give: Don't Lay Down

* Describe your ex: The Trouble You Bring

* Describe your current love interest: The Wolf (It's just me and the dog)

* What's your favorite hobby: Run

* When you think of your friends: Radical

* What do your friends think of you: Strange

* What does your current love interest think of you: Slave to My Belly

* You always travel with: New Flowers

* The best way to end a long day: On the Phone with my Sister

People I've tagged: Chelly, Cynthia and May

Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T16:06:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone is having a great Independence Day! And for those not in the USA, I hope it was a tranquil day.
I decided to run a race this morning in honor of the holiday. So at 7:30am I was heading out to Bellmore Long Island for the Bellmore Striders Independence Day Run. I've been slacking on the speedwork, so I decided this was a good way to get in my midweek speed run and have fun, as well.
The race was 4 miles long, fairly flat and not too twisty, which is a good thing out here where the races are often just laps around the town. I wasn't sure how fast I was going to go. The last time I tried 4 miles I was considerably slower than last fall. All the training has been geared toward doing the distance of a half marathon, so I was just going to give it my best shot.
The morning was very pleasant and cool. The sun wasn't showing itself and the wind was kicking up with a threat of rain later in the day. I ran a pretty good race. I was trying to stay in the neighborhood of an 8:30/mile pace. It was pretty tough, but I managed to hold it together and finish in a respectable 34:18. Not too shabby.
I came home and, after showering, took a nap on the sofa. I just woke up and I feel like a truck ran over me. Kind of sore but I think it's something else. I've been nursing a slightly queasy stomach and a headache for a couple of days and right now I also feel like I have absolutely no energy. I'm guessing that I'm catching something. I had no plans to extend my day off today to cover the rest of the week (like so many others are doing) but I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

Memes

2007-06-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

Well I got tagged for two different memes this week. I'm going to handle one at a time. This post is for the 8 Things About Me one that Cynthia tagged me for.

1. Cinnamon - the flavor, the smell, love it
2. I spent quite a few years as a 14th century noblewoman most weekends. Has this affected me? I'm not sure...
3. I was the subject of a grad student's thesis when I was in first grade. I wonder if the paper is available somewhere.
4. I eat cold cereal every morning - no milk, just the cereal. In a bowl and I use a spoon.
5. It is my goal to see every movie that Colm Meaney has ever done. I'm quite close.
6. Every car I have ever owned has developed a little electrical/electronic glitch. Weird things like the alarm going off while I'm driving, or the windshield washer only working once every six months or so. I don't have this effect on any other type of electronic appliance.
7. When I was in junior high school I took all my notes in mirror writing. I had read that was how Leonardo da Vinci wrote.
8. I played the violin when I was in school. Everyone should be happy I stopped.

The rules of the Meme are:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I don't know 8 bloggers that I can tag, but I'm definitely tagging Chelly. She's waiting for it.

Belmont 2007 - the Girl Rules

2007-06-09T19:01:00.001-04:00

What a tremendous race. Curlin and Rags to Riches battling it all the way down to the finish line. But she did it -- the first filly since 1905, the first filly at the mile and a half distance and the first Triple Crown win for, arguably, the best trainer in the business. And Velasquez barely had to touch her.

Steamboat

2007-06-08T19:57:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been procrastinating about posting my race report from last week. Colorado was fun. I came back with all my body parts this time and I've been kind of in a funk since I got back.
The drive to Steamboat Springs was beautiful. I tried taking some photos out the windows of the car, but they don't do it justice. If you want to see them, they're in my Flickr album.
We had to climb up and over the Continental Divide. At the highest point, we were over 11,000 feet. The route we took went by a number of the big ski resorts like Winter Park. Steamboat is a ski town. The vibe is a little like a college town but with more expensive stores.
The day of the race dawned bright and sunny and cold. OK, we were actually up and out before the dawn, but it was cold - about 35 degrees fahrenheit at 5:30am. My sister needed caffeine before the race and that is what time the Starbucks in town opened. We were waiting when the employee unlocked the doors.
In order to get to the start of the race, we had to be in downtown by 6:15 to board a bus. Miss the bus, miss the race. Not too much stress. The ride was back along the entire half-marathon course. Oh my. It was very pretty and very long. I was beginning to have some serious second thoughts.
Because of the bus situation, we had to stand around the starting line for about an hour. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a jacket over my race top, but I didn't have any pants and I was freezing. The bags had to go on a bus in order to be transported back down to the finish line and no one wanted to give their stuff up too early.
When the gun went off it was relief. The start was kind of congested, but nothing compared to Central Park races, so I wasn't worried. I couldn't feel my feet and was running slowly to keep from hurting myself. It took about 2 miles before my feet felt normal.
The route was gorgeous. Fields with cattle and houses up on elevations that probably cost a fortune. I was entertaining myself with looking at everything as I went by. At mile 4 I warmed up enough to remove my long-sleeve shirt.
The first waterstop was manned by the local high school graduating class. They had just finished the day before. Each of the waterstops had a theme.
I was feeling pretty good for the first half of the race. I was just aiming to stay around 10:00 per mile and considering it a plus if I felt the urge to go faster.
At about mile 7 the wheels started to come off. I don't know what it was, possibly the altitude getting to me. One minute I'm running along and the next I just had to stop. I picked it up again and continued along feeling OK. Around the 8 mile mark the course passed a fenceline. Suddenly, from the distance two horses come trotting down towards us. They then decide to pace the field. It was beautiful and provided a welcome distraction.
At about mile 9 there was another waterstop. Theme - Rome, everyone in togas. I grab a cup of Gatorade and take a swig. Soon thereafter, I'm walking again. Not sure why, just felt the need to stop. Thought about quitting but bulled through it and picked up the pace again. I didn't realize it, but according to my Garmin, there was a significant uphill in mile 9 and 10. About 300 feet. Felt like I got a second wind going into mile 11 and 12 as we dropped back down to the lowest point on the course. Only 6695 feet above sea level.
I think I stopped a few more times on the way to the finish. It just felt so hard and I was getting mad at myself. I trained much more for this one than for the last one. I had expected to go slower with the altitude, but not to feel like it was so difficult to just keep moving.
Considering how bummed I was coming into the finish line, my time was not that bad. I finished in 2:12.17 - 10:06 overall pace. I finished 600th out of 967 total and 42nd in my age group. The winner in my age group was more than 30 minutes ahead of me.
The hotel we had booked for the night before the race had changed the checkout to 1pm in regard to the runners, so we were able to go back and get a shower before heading back over the mountains to the Boulder area.
I've been kind of depressed since the race was over. I've been allowing myself to wallow in it a bit, I haven't run at all since the race. But that will end on Monday. Back to work and back to running. I have another half-marathon to prepare for in August.

Beach Bum

2007-05-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday weekend! Since I'm going away midweek, I decided to turn the whole thing into a two week vacation. So I'm officially relaxin'!
My training schedule for this weekend called for a long run of about 9 miles. In keeping with my recent love of the supported long run, I perused the local race calendar for a race that might fit the bill. Long Beach was holding a 10 mile race on Sunday. Having never been to that neck of the woods, it sounded like it might be a good way to get in some new scenery while I clocked in the miles.
The start time for the run was 8am which meant leaving the house by at least 6:00 to allow me time to get lost. I Mapquested the meeting point and hoped for the best. The day had dawned overcast with predictions of possible rain. However, the temperature was already 70. I loaded up my waistpack with Gatorade and Clif Bloks so I wouldn't have to depend totally on their water stops. I dressed in everything that I was planning on wearing for the half next weekend, down to the socks, and headed out the door.
The drive was pretty easy. There was some kind of accident on the other side of the highway which required a helicopter to land on the roadway. Hope the people involved weren't too badly injured. But the early hour meant that traffic was fairly light and it didn't hold us up too long.
I arrived at the registration and got my bib. I bumped into Andrea from the Striders and thought I saw Gerry, who races every weekend. I had no idea they were going to be there. It's one of the things that I'd like to develop in the club if I get a chance. I volunteered to be webmaster and would like to add a message board to the website where those of us who race can coordinate with each other. I wish they'd get some team colors together. They've put together t-shirts in the past and I have a running jacket with our logo on the back, but nothing that I would want to race in. I'm a little jealous when I see the clubs who arrive in matching singlets. But that's not up to me.
The race was right down by the beach. You could see the water from the finish line. By this time the sun had come out and I realized that I had forgotten to slather on any sunblock. I'm probably going to regret that. There were also tons of midges in the air. I tried to sit down and relax before the race but I was being bombarded by insects, so I headed toward the start line.
The race started on a major roadway through the city of Long Beach. Once the horn went off and we were underway, I realized that I would probably be bringing up the rear of this run. The short races usually start off that way and then the field comes back to you once the novice runners have expended all their energy in a blazing start, but this race looked like it had more seasoned runners. I settled in to my easy run pace of about 10:20 and just kept going.
The first couple of miles wound through the little roadways of this beach community. I saw some interesting houses. I guess beach life attracts some of the more 'eccentric' citizens.
At about the 2.5 mile mark, the course went up onto the boardwalk. This was to be about the only elevation change for the day. Running on the wooden boardwalk is an unusual experience. There were a number of bicyclists out and you could feel the vibration in the boards as they passed. We stayed on the boardwalk for 2.5 miles. The beach on our right and condos on our left. It was a beautiful view.
After we went back down to street level, we headed away from the beach. The houses through this part of town were bigger and more permanent looking. Quite a few of them looked like they needed some serious maintenance. The sea air can be hard on structures.
I was starting to feel the heat and my early rising at this point. There were quite a few wonderful Long Beach residents who came out with their garden hoses to spray the runners as they went by.
At one point I actually found myself almost dozing on my feet. Sleeping and running? Amazing. And at a pace that two years ago I would have been pleased to do in a 5k race.
I finished up the race in 1:44.01 -- exactly my target pace. I felt it primarily from the knees down. Very stiff, but nothing hurt. A good run.
As I headed over to where they were handing out water, I noticed that there was a barbecue fired up and they were making hamburgers and hot dogs. I thought that there was no way I could eat that at only 9:45 in the morning, but that was the only food offered at the finish line. So I picked up a cheeseburger and chowed down. It was pretty good.
I walked around a bit with my stuff and looked to see if any of my teammates were around. I saw a couple of NY Flyers and a bunch of people from the Hellgate Road Runners. Unusual for a Long Island race. I had talked to a couple of people from Hellgate at last week's race, so I was looking to see if they were the same people. I noticed a tall blond guy who could have been Josh Morphew. He was standing with a woman who had a little dog on a leash that I thought looked like the one that Josh had posted photos of. Still being a little shy about asking a complete stranger if he was someone I've only 'met' through the blogisphere, I decided to check the posted finishers to see if Josh had run this race. There was his name! So I went over and introduced myself. The woman was Josh's lovely wife, Salena, with his doggie, Harry. We chatted a bit on the usual running and blogging topics - how'd you do, what are you running next, funny meeting another blogger here. Josh said he was sticking around because he may have got an award and then they were going to go for a swim.
At this point the organizers announced that they were going to pull the raffle winners first. I heard my bib number called and went up and received a gift certificate for a free large pie at a local pizzeria. Will have to get back down to Long Beach sometime so that I can use it.
After the raffles were over, they started to announce the winners. The overall winner actually ran the 10 miles in under an hour. Amazing. They announced a bunch of special awards for top Long Beach resident, top veteran (it was a Memorial Weekend race afterall) and then they started with the age group winners. Josh got I believe it was a fourth in his age division.
I hung around for most of the announcements and then headed home. I think I've done everything I can to be ready for the Steamboat Springs Half next weekend.

Keeping the Kidneys Healthy

2007-05-20T07:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the Healthy Kidney 10k race in Central Park. I went out with every intention of racing this, but not really expecting a great time. With the half marathon training I've been concentrating a little more on endurance and haven't been doing the speedwork that I really should.
It was an overcast morning with the threat of rain in the air. I opted for my capri tights and a t-shirt figuring that the 10k distance wouldn't be long enough to go with shorts. The trip into the city proved my decision correct - I was cold. I got into the park a bit later than I usually do for a race so I grabbed my bib and t-shirt (they give out technical shirts, a reason why this race is always popular), dropped my bag in baggage check and headed for the starting line.
The starting line was a pretty good distance from the registration area and the wheelchair race started as I was still trying to get to my place in the chute. The crowd was enormous. I bumped into Ira from my running club. He was lined up with the 7:00 minute pace group, so we exchanged greetings and I headed back further along the chute. I was planning on a 9:00 pace with the intention of pushing it a little if I felt good.
There was a lot of speechifying at the start - this race is a men's national level race so it attracts a large number of elite men runners. That combined with the charity group - the main sponsor is the United Arab Republic in thanks to the city for the care their king received when suffering from kidney disease - made for a lot of activity at the front of the starting area.
Once the horn sounded, and the race started, we stood around for about 4 minutes. Not too bad for an NYRR race. The course was an entire loop around the park plus about 200 yards, so the start funneled through the finish line. Made for a tight beginning and messed with my ability to settle into a good pace. I went too fast when I saw daylight because I was frustrated with having to practically walk at other points. I managed a 9:17 for the first mile but probably ran harder than that time reflects.
The next two miles went pretty well - 8:55 and 8:44. Mile 4 is a hard one with the Harlem hills but I still managed a decent 9:01.
I was still feeling pretty good and began to pick up the pace. Mile 5 was back down to 8:41. At that point I decided to go for broke and dig in. I reeled off mile 6 in a blazing (for me) 8:14 for a final time of 55:11.
In retrospect, I'm a little disappointed with the effort. It's a new PR, but I've only run the 10k distance once before, a year ago in 55:29. This race felt harder, though, and I think I'm in better shape than I was last year. I wasn't planning on smashing my PR, but I felt I would have an easier time this year. But I felt spent after the race and today my legs are sore.
One more long run to go before the next half. I have no goals for the Steamboat course except to finish. I'm expecting a long slog and am just going to try and enjoy the race.

Mother's Day weekend

2007-05-14T20:18:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day! My weekend was a mix of good and not-so-good. I made the mistake of staying up late Friday night. I did a short run on Friday, as my long run was planned for Sunday, so I figured I would be able to sleep late on Saturday morning. Silly me! I got to bed at about 2am on Friday night and was up for good at 5:30am--three and a half hours of sleep. I kept trying to go back to bed, but it wasn't happening. Perhaps I was overtired, I don't know. But I spent most of the day in zombieland. Ran most of my errands because Sunday was going to be busy - I had to get to the post office and send off some packages before the rates went up. They're really jumping for media mail. I then spent most of Saturday afternoon on the couch watching some of the shows I have stored on the DVR so that I can erase them. I finally managed to catch some episodes of Raines, which is pretty good, and Painkiller Jane, which I also like. Turned in early and was dead to the world by 10:30pm.
Sunday was the NYJL Mother's Day races in Central Park. Chelly was going to run the 4 mile race at 8am and I decided to do the 10 mile run as my long run for the week. I've decided I really like that idea. The longer runs are much more interesting someplace besides my usual courses and I like to be surrounded by so many other runners. It's why I enjoy my running club, but most of the members who run that long go much faster than I do. So I don't always find someone to run with and end up running alone anyway.
This was going to be my first race in Central Park by myself. Chelly and I don't run together, but we've met up before and after all our previous races. But because we decided not to do the same race, I would be finishing about 2 hours after she would. A little long to hang around and wait, so we decided to do our own thing.
The race was smaller than most of the ones I've done in NYC - only about 1300 runners - and it was only open to women. Made it much more casual feeling at the start. That combined with the fact that I was planning on running only 10:20 miles meant that I had no pressure getting across the starting line.
I had a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful. A little too windy, but sunny and around 60 degrees. The wind was blowing all kinds of stuff around. The blowing blossoms made it look like it was snowing at times. I carried Gatorade, Cliff Blocs and some Jelly Belly sports beans. I alternated between water and carbs at each mile. Just a little each time to keep me going. Felt fine until a little after the 8 mile mark when I decided to eat the entire bag of sports beans. Figured if the upset my stomach I was already almost done. No problem. This is good to know for my half-marathon in three weeks.
My left quad is pretty sore today and I feel a little run down, so I decided to take the day off. Can't take too long a break, however. I'm planning to run 10k in the Healthy Kidney race on Saturday. And this one I'm hoping to race.

Derby Day!

2007-05-05T18:28:00.000-04:00

Fabulous race!!!!
STREET SENSE THE WINNER!!

A quick little quiz

2007-04-30T16:44:00.000-04:00

Just something to throw out there since I have nothing else to say :-)

You paid attention during 100% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Beautiful Earth Day

2007-04-24T21:53:00.000-04:00

We finally got a gorgeous weekend! And I made the most of it.

Saturday a group of Metrostitchers headed up to Connecticut for an open house at Scandinavian Stitches. Lynda opened her home and filled it with lovely linens from Sweden, Norway and Denmark. There was much oohing and aahing over the lovely table toppers and table runners. After fondling and purchasing, needleworkers gradually found there way out onto Lynda's back porch to bask in the sunlight and enjoy the warmer than average temperatures. It was a wonderful way to spend a day.

Chelly and I returned home early because we had both entered the 4 mile Run for the Park on Sunday. I toyed with the idea of wearing shorts, but decided to go with capri length running tights since I was going to have to spend most of the day in what I wore. The park was fabulous. Blossoms were out on the trees and the lawns were covered with daffodils and tulips. And it seemed that everyone in the city was in the park. The start for the race was jam packed. It took over 7 minutes to cross the starting line after the gun went off. I spent most of the 4 miles in traffic due to the huge field and the increased efforts of the NYRR to keep us in the recreation lanes. It made it impossible to get any kind of momentum going and I didn't manage to settle into any kind of pace. It was kind of frustrating, but I didn't go out with the intention of getting a new PR anyway.

I had told Chelly before the race that I would try and come back and pace her through the end of her race after I was finished. I wanted to get some extra mileage in for the day and I thought it would be fun to run with her. After getting my chip removed and figuring out a way to get back onto the running path, I jogged about a half mile back before I saw her. I swung back onto course next to her and matched her pace. I was planning on pushing her a little without her knowing it. She was fading a bit, but I started chatting and we sped up a little. It worked and I helped Chelly run her fastest paced race since last year.

After the race we wandered around the park taking photos and enjoying the weather. I got my first color of the year.

Anyone know where I can get an ark cheap?

2007-04-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

This weekend is all about the weather. Yesterday, I ran around doing everything in advance of the epic storm that was predicted for today. I got my long run in, 7 miles at a 10:12 pace which felt pretty good. I went food shopping to stock up knowing that I would probably be stuck inside all day today. I had big plans for my stuck inside day. The DVR has tons of shows saved from the last couple of weeks and my apartment looks like a bomb went off in it. But I knew I would have all day today.

What is it they say about best laid plans? I woke up this morning at a little after 6am and I could not go back to sleep. I spent a few hours walking around like a zombie. It wasn't too bad outside - fairly light rain. I was beginning to wonder if this deluge missed us. The rain started to get heavier, but still was looking like a normal storm. I finally dozed off on the sofa at around 11:30, curled up with the dog.

At about 1:30 I awoke to what looked like a hurricane hitting my front windows. Sheets of water pouring down the glass. I puttered around for a while making lunch and picking up a bit while I waited for it to heat up. After eating, Shannon decided that she couldn't hold it any longer and needed to go outside. I cracked the front door and she ran out to the end of her flexi-lead. I stayed in the hallway holding the front door to keep the rain from blowing right into the apartment. Drowned rat. That's what she looked like. She tore inside and up the stairs. I grabbed a towel and dried her off. I wish I'd had my camera, but she was so pitiful I couldn't make her wait. Maybe next time :-)

I'm fascinated with what the Boston Marathon is going to look like tomorrow. Probably 20,000 versions of my little dog. Best of luck to those in it and be sure to pack dry gear for after.

MORE, MORE, MORE

2007-03-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the MORE magazine half marathon -- my first half marathon. I had a blast!

Let me set the stage for this weekend by stating that I've been on antibiotics for a little over a week to treat an abcess in my mouth. I'd been feeling a little out of sorts on the meds, but nothing major. Until Friday afternoon. Then all hell broke loose in my body. Hives! Everywhere. Down my arms, all over my abdomen and completely covering my legs. And on my feet - between the toes and on the soles. 13.1 miles on feet covered with angry, itchy red welts. What was I going to do?

Well, I guess people don't call us crazy for no reason. I decided that I was going to ignore the hives and continue with my plans. I did cease taking the antibiotic, with the hope that the abcess had been cleared up, but I didn't want to waste four months of training. Plus, since the half marathon is set up in teams, I couldn't let down Chelly, my teammate.

Saturday I traveled into Manhattan to Chelly's apartment. I was going to spend the night there so that I didn't have to go back and forth on Saturday for number pickup and again early on Sunday morning for the race. Also, we had decided to do the pasta dinner on Saturday night. After dropping off my bags, and stopping for lunch, we headed over to the race expo to check out vendors and score some freebies. I bought a shirt from a booth run by iRunLikeaGirl and picked up a bunch of free chocolate, raisins, supplements and tissues. After we had pretty much exhausted the expo (it wasn't that big) we wandered around the neighborhood. I got a hydration belt at Jackrabbit for my Steamboat half marathon in June. I drink like a fish when I'm out in Colorado and the last race I did out there didn't have a water stop on the 5k course and only one on the half marathon course. I want to be prepared to carry my own water.

The pasta party was being held at Tavern on the Green. I've never been there, but it's a very touristy spot to go. Chelly had been there before, but said that she had never seen a celebrity. We lined up outside with a whole lot of other ladies also waiting. There were many out-of-towners in for the race. We talked to a few from North Carolina and another group from California. As we were waiting, limos and cabs were pulling up and discharging patrons for the restaurant. At one point, there was a bit a disturbance near the door. I looked over and a group of large men were surrounding a woman in a big white fur coat. It was Aretha Franklin. Of course, being a cool New Yorker, I didn't get excited (much).

The dinner was fun. There was plenty of pasta, salad and beans and raisins for dessert (they were a sponsor). We got a chance to meet some of our fellow runners and feel part of a bigger event. I enjoyed myself. We had another brush with celebrity on the way out when Al Sharpton passed right by my left shoulder on his way into the restaurant as we were leaving.

After the party, we headed back so we could make an early night of it. We were planning on being up at 5am to get ready.

Sunday morning was a bit chilly and wet. The weather forecast said it was going to be partly sunny and about 50 that day, but at the pre-dawn hour it was still pretty cold. After breakfasting and dressing and re-considering this insanity a number of times, we headed uptown to the starting line. There were so many women in the park gathering for the races. We dropped off our baggage after trying to decide what clothing to keep on our bodies and what to check for after the race. Chelly had shirts made up with our names on the front and they were great. Complete strangers were wishing me luck all along the course. It really helped when I felt like I might want to give up.

Then we headed across the park to the starting line. Once there we got into the longest portapotty line I've ever seen to try and get in before the start of the race. There was a lot of cheering going on to get the ladies to pee quickly. I finally managed to get in and out with a minute to spare.

I had decided to run with a pace band for a 2:10 half marathon. I really thought this was optimistic, but I figured I would be happy if I stayed within 5 minutes of that pace. Chelly was hoping for a 3:00 race, so we lined up at a point between our planned pace. The starting location was in an unusual spot, with turns between where we were and the actual starting line. I never heard the starting gun. It took us approximately 3 minutes to get across the starting line and then I was off. I felt much better than I had expected, and had pretty much forgotten about my feet. My splits were as follows:
10:20 - mile 1
10:18 - mile 2
9:52 - mile 3
9:16 - mile 4
9:49 - mile 5
9:33 - mile 6
9:22 - mile 7
9:35 - mile 8
9:29 - mile 9
9:09 - mile 10
9:39 - mile 11
9:14 - mile 12
8:47 - mile 13
2:47 for the last bit
for a 2:07.12 half marathon.

I'm totally amazed at myself. Not only did I run almost every mile faster than the 9:54 called for on my pace band, but I ran faster as the race proceeded. The course was a double loop around the park, so the same hills came up twice, as well as the same downhills. I remember feeling like I had hit a wall during the 11th mile, which I can see now in the splits, but I managed to pull myself together and run two of my fastest miles in mile 12 and 13.

After the finish line, I fell apart. The adrenaline that I had fueled me through those last couple of miles left my body and I thought I was going to start bawling my eyes out right there in the finish chute. I tried to keep walking, but my calves started to cramp up so I wrapped the heat blanket that was given out around my lower half and tried to stretch a bit. Oh yeah, that's when I started to be able to feel my feet again. They were burning. Every last hive had spent over 2 hours rubbing against my socks and they were definitely not happy.

I wandered around looking for something to eat (why do they hide it?) and stood for a photo with my brand new finishers medal. I decided to wander back to the finish line to see how long it would be before Chelly might come through. I got to see Susan Luken finish the marathon in just over 2:47, all by herself. The second place finisher was about twenty minutes behind her. I can't imagine running the marathon - not just the distance, although that is terribly daunting, but to have to circle Central Park four times. It must be mind numbing.

Chelly finished in a fantastic 3:06.48. We got a bunch of photos taken and headed over to Chelly's work building to change into our warmer clothing. Then we headed out for a well-deserved brunch.

Monday I could barely walk between my feet and my seriously sore quads - but I'm crazy enough to do this again. Bring on Steamboat!

Colon Cancer 15K

2007-03-11T17:12:00.000-04:00

OK, let me start this post off by saying that I'm a bit annoyed with the NYRR. I would be madder if I had been planning on a real race today, instead of using the event to get in a long run.

First, the run went pretty well. I was aiming for a 10:19 pace and, according to my Garmin, I managed an average pace of 10:12. It felt kind of tough. I can't imagine going another 4 miles in two weeks at a pace of almost a minute per mile faster, which was the original goal. So, I'm sticking with my idea of a 10:00 pace and if I manage faster, it's a bonus.

The annoying part started after I was finished. My friend, Chelly, ran today. She was planning on a long run instead of a race, as well. At her long run pace this meant that it would probably take her over two hours. No problem. The website specifically said there was no time limit for the Colon Challenge. After I finished up and got my bag I headed back to the finish line to wait for her. Well they were already starting to break down the course. What's up with that? There were plenty of people lined up in the back at the start which meant they were figuring on taking over 1:40 to finish and you know some of them were over-estimating their abilities. I don't blame them for wanting to get the course down. With the late start it was already noon at this point. But it specifically said no time limit. So Chelly came in at 2:10 on the official clock or about 2:06.30 chip time with the hold up at the start. She came across the mats and gave someone her chip. A few people finished behind her while we were standing there. Then the mats came up and we headed out of the park.

When I got home and checked the official results, no Chelly. They cut off the finish at 2:08 and change. That's so not fair! And where's the sense. I could have possibly understood 2:00 even, although it still wouldn't have been what the website said, but there is no rhyme or reason to 2:08. The other thing that is slightly less annoying is that the official finish time is the only one listed in the results. Usually, they list both the chip and official time. So I have a finish time of more than 3 minutes over what I actually ran the course in and the only reason I know my actual time is I was wearing a Garmin Forerunner.

End of rant.

In doggie news, Shannon feels fine. She just dragged me around the neighborhood and I had to keep her from running at breakneck speeds. She's been on Lasix for over a week now because her lungs were even more congested when she was X-rayed a week ago. My un-medical opinion is that the antibiotics she was on killed an infection that was actually making her feel bad. The heart problems may have been contributing, but I may not have had any idea until her physical in the summer that her heart was going. Internet research says that she could live fine for a number of years with this problem if it is managed with meds. So here's hoping. And thank you everyone for your well wishes and offers of aid. They are much appreciated.

Relay Running

2007-02-25T20:23:00.000-05:00

Today was the North Fork Bank Trail Relay. I ran this one last year and I had a blast, so I was back again for another go. We actually had more people show up. Probably was due to the ten degree increase in the temperature over last year. My team was made up of Sue, Christina and myself - we called ourselves the Stridettes. That's Laferne sticking her head into the photo over my shoulder. She's in my running club, but was running with another team. I ran the first two mile leg in a pretty respectable 16:40 and tagged Christina as I came in. The trails were pretty good, but there was some ice and you had to watch out for a few sections where vehicles and walkers had made indentations that froze into ankle-twisting obstacles.

After I finished my leg I grabbed a cup of water and got my bag so I could take some pictures. I was just wandering around when one of the guys in my club came up to me and told me that I was going to have to run again. Huh? Did something happen to our anchor runner? Nope. One of the other teams was short a guy who didn't show up. So we quickly pinned the other teams number over my number and I headed for the exchange area to be ready for their middle runner, Lachlan. I was freezing as I stood there and in the rush I had left my gloves in my jacket pocket, which was back on a picnic table near the refreshment area. I contemplated going back to get them, but I had no idea how fast this team was running and I didn't want to miss my tag, especially since he had no idea I was doing the anchor leg for his team.

Soon enough Lachlan came through. I yelled for him and we ran together for a few dozen feet as he handed off to me their anchor number. Then I was off into the woods for another go at the course. I had a tough time. The first time through I ran pretty hard because I knew I was only going to have to run two miles. I had a lot less left in the tank this time around. I managed to get the second two miles in about 17:30. Not too shabby all things considered. Their team was pretty happy with it and Lachlan confided that it was probably faster than the guy I was replacing. It was a good thing it wasn't spectacular, because technically we were a Men's Masters team and I'm not a man :-)

Shannon has been feeling OK today. She's seems to have ups and downs. Last night I thought I might be going to the vet today instead of the race. But her spirits are up today, although she is coughing a little and her breathing is somewhat labored. I'm not sure, yet, what warrants rushing back to the doctor. I don't think there has been enough time for all the new meds to kick in, so perhaps that will improve things. She is due to go back the middle of this week, anyway, for further tests to see how she is handling the heart medication she is on. I'm torn and I feel guilty. You can imagine this is costing quite a bit and, while money is no object if it makes her feel better, I would like to save where I can. The less I spend now, the more I have later. But a part of me feels bad even including money in the equation as I decide whether to take her in for a vet visit.

Shannon update

2007-02-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

Well, Shannon is home and the news is mixed. She was in serious trouble Sunday when she went to the vet. She had been listless, coughing for a few days and it seemed her breathing was kind of labored, so I decided to check things out. I was thinking some kind of upper respiratory infection or, perhaps, kennel cough. However, the vet determined that she had a very loud heart murmur and really bad chest sounds, so she decided to take an x-ray. It turned out that there was fluid around her heart and something going on in her lungs. She was immediately put on oxygen and received antibiotics and a diuretic to try and relieve the fluid accumulation. She had to stay overnight for observation and the vet said that she wanted to do an echocardiogram to see what was going on with her heart. But first she had to feel better.

Monday morning I called the vet's office to see what was happening. I was told that she was much improved and that she could come home that day, but she was going to have to come back on Tuesday for the echo. Tuesday, I dropped her off on my way to work. Then I spent half the day useless because all I could think about was my puppy. I got a call at lunchtime with the results. Early stage heart disease with a whole list of stuff about her mitral valves and ventricles which mostly just went right through my head. I latched onto the word mild and went with that. She's going to have to take heart medication and go for further testing to see how it is working. The vet is also concerned about her kidney results and wants to do an ultrasound to see what is going on there.
I'm really having difficulty digesting all this information. I'm just hanging onto the reassurances from the doctor that it is a plus that we caught this fairly early. Shannon is home and feeling better now. She's not a hundred percent but she is interested in the world and willing to play, so I'm hoping for the best.

Sick pup

2007-02-18T14:33:00.000-05:00

Shannon is staying in the hospital overnight because she's a very sick doggie. Please send good thoughts that she'll be coming home tomorrow.

$%^&* Winter!!

2007-02-15T07:44:00.000-05:00

We finally got some real NYC winter weather and the place falls apart. I was really steamed when I got home from work last night almost an hour and half later than normal. This included a 45 minute wait for a bus that is scheduled to come every 7 minutes. This happens to this bus every time the weather gets even the littlest bit dicey. So, because the radio is saying that it is even worse out there today, roadwise, I've decided to take a mental health day and hang around in sweats and veg out on the sofa.
Needless to say, the running is not going. I missed a planned 6-mile tempo run yesterday and I doubt I will be able to make it up.

Game Day

2007-02-04T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today's the big day. I'm not a huge football fan, but the SuperBowl is more of an event than a game and I'm going to enjoy watching the spectacle. I've already had a beer and I have chips and salsa and some other treats for game watching. And of course, there are the commercials to check out.

I also enjoy the Puppy Bowl. Aw, come on, how cute is that?

I managed to get in 12.25 miles last week. A little short of what was planned, but not too bad. I blew off Monday's 2-mile recovery run and didn't have the Garmin for the long run on Saturday, which was supposed to be 7 miles. So I just did the 6.25 mile out and back in the park. I actually did the 4 mile tempo run on Wednesday - 4 miles at approximately 9:00min pace. It felt hard, which is so weird, since I do sub-9s in races and don't even feel it. The miles always seem harder when I run by myself.

Sweatin' and Swingin'

2007-01-21T15:07:00.000-05:00

I didn't have a lot planned for this weekend, which is always pleasant. Friday was a nice evening in with some warm soup and a sandwich. Winter has finally hit the Northeast and we are having sub-freezing temperatures all weekend. Friday morning was our first accumulation of snow for the season. I had to clean about a half an inch off of the car before leaving for work.

Saturday morning was cold and crisp for my seven mile long run. It wasn't too bad, although I ended up averaging a bit slower than I was planning. I think I forgot to pause the Garmin when we stopped for a restroom break and that affected the overall pace. It might have been just about right if I minus out that time.

Last night I had tickets to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at BB Kings in the city. I met up with Chelly for a late dinner at the Brooklyn Diner. Enormous portions of standard diner comfort food. Then over to the theater for our 9:30 ticket pickup, only to find out that we had to wait on line outside until they opened the doors. This was a mess. It was probably around 20 degrees and the marquee said the show was actually at 11:00 instead of 10:00. So we waited. And waited. I had dressed warmly, but not with the expectation of standing around for an extended time. My entire lower body was shivering and all the muscles, that were already sore from my long run that morning, were seizing up. We stood out there for over an hour. When they finally opened the doors it was a huge mess. All the people who had to pick up tickets were being held back and people who had just arrived were being seated. Also, the place has a $10.00 minimum, which I knew about, but because I had got the tickets through TDF, we didn't have to pay it. But the worst seats in the house were the ones assigned to the TDF ticket holders. Chelly asked the host why we couldn't sit in a better location - he said we'd have to meet the minimum. No problem, since after freezing outside for over an hour we were planning on having a few drinks anyway. So we got seats right against the wall separating the tables from the dance floor. The show was fantastic - I love swing and I thought that BB's was a great place to see it. The place has the appropriate ambiance.

I didn't have much trouble getting home, for a change, but I was too wired to go to sleep. Finally got to bed at about 3 am and I'm paying for it today. I only had a couple of drinks but alcohol always messes with my sleep, so I was up at 6 am. Managed to get back to sleep at around 8 am but only for about an hour. So I feel hungover, but I think it is mostly lack of sleep. Needless to say, I didn't get out for a run today.

This week is a rest week in the half-marathon training. No speed or tempo run, just three easy runs of 3 or 4 miles. I'm looking forward to it and, fortunately, that means I can do them at the gym if I have to.

Starting the New Year off right

2007-01-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

I've finally recovered enough from last weekend to give a summary of how the first week of 2007 has been going for me.

Last Saturday morning, I went for my final run of 2006. I did 5 miles with the Striders followed up with a trip to a local diner for brunch. As I had already decided not to worry about my eating for the weekend, I splurged on eggs, sausage and hash browns. Nothing like a grease fest after a good run.

That evening I headed out to Chelly's. She had planned a party for Saturday night, a New Year's Eve Eve party. Since we were running the following evening, we decided to get our celebrating out of the way first. I had a blast - ate too much chocolate, stuffed myself on pizza, and drank a good deal of champagne. This lead to the required off-key singing of classic '80s pop tunes and silly dancing. I didn't get home until 5:30 the following morning.

Sunday I slept in and pretty much spent the day recovering from the night before. A bunch of us were planning to participate in the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park Sunday night, so I had to be sure I had enough energy to stay awake that long and run...ahem...complete 4 miles.

I met Chelly, as well as a number of the Striders, in the park at about 10pm. There was a DJ and costume contest and the park was full of revelers, most of who, probably, didn't run routinely. This made the actual run very chaotic. I hadn't made any plans to achieve a particular finishing time, just have fun and get some miles in. It was great fun. I wore a party hat and beads and such and also donned some of the lights and reflective wear I've acquired for running in the dark. There were loads of people participating and we also passed more spectators than I've seen for some of the real races. It was like one big roving party. I must have wished a few thousand people Happy New Year and slapped hundreds of hands of people on the sidelines as I passed.

I went to breakfast with Chelly after the run since she had to go to work a few hours later. Got home at a more reasonable 2:30am and fell asleep only to be awoken at 5:30 by my pup's tiny bladder. The rest of that day was pretty much spent on the couch watching TV and trying to grab a few minutes of sleep.

I got in a tempo run on Wednesday night. It was supposed to be 3 miles at just under a 9 minute pace with a mile of warm-up and a mile of cool-down. It didn't work out that way and I actually did 5 miles with an average page of 9:12 - I went too fast on the two slow miles. I'll have to work on that or I'm going to die as the tempo runs get longer.

This morning I got in a 6 mile run for a total of 15 miles for the first week of 2007. That's pretty much on target for where I should be in my half-marathon training.

This afternoon I did some shopping for the first time since before Thanksgiving. I try and stay out of the stores during the holiday madness so I was looking forward to wandering through some of my favorite stores. Didn't buy much, just looked. I did get a new pair of running shoes, however. I really needed them. I've been running in Asics Evolution, which is a heavy motion-control shoe. I had been fitted with them when I was still fairly new to running and I was also somewhat heavier. I didn't think I needed so much shoe anymore. Also, it isn't a popular model and often isn't available at the running stores. So I got the Asics GT-2120. Aren't they pretty? The only hesitation I had is that they're pink. Well, not really pink, but they're trimmed in pink. I'm not sure that I like pink shoes. None of my running togs are pink and I don't want to get a whole new wardrobe. Ah, who am I kidding, I don't really worry too much about coordinating my running wear, but I do prefer the primary colors over the pastels that the manufacturers seem to be determined to make us wear.

I'm participating in a run-along that Rachael put together - Run-a-go-go . There's a button over on the left sidebar for anyone else who is interested. Rachael has challenged a whole lot of people in the knitblogging community to complete 100 miles by April 1. You're allowed to complete in whatever manner you please, walking, running, biking, swimming. It should be fairly easy for me, but a lot of the knitbloggers are not athletically-inclined, so this is a big motivator. More power to you!!

Funny video

2006-12-22T17:30:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to pass on this video which I found humorous even though I am not a classical music aficionado:

Ho Ho Ho Hooray!

2006-12-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

mile 1 8:16
mile 2 8:09
mile 3 8:37
.18 mi 1:25
total 5k in 26:25, avg pace 8:30 - new PR

That's what my race looks like when, in an exercise induced brainfog, I mistakenly thought my PR pace was 8:12 and I was only aiming to stay between 8:15 and 8:30 to get in a good race. Stupid, stupid me! That totally explains why I started to fall apart in mile 3 - I was going way too fast!

The race was a lot of fun - the weather was almost perfect, maybe a little windy, many silly costumes were to be seen, and I got to hang with my club for a race. I was exhausted at the end of the race, but now I know why. There was pudding available and I won a sweatshirt in the race raffle. What more could I want?

I'm smokin'!

2006-12-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

Another great race and another personal record!

I did a 4 mile race in Lynbrook today. Fly With the Owls was a local race - fourth race in the Long Island Track and Field Grand Prix series. So it attracted some of the fastest runners in the area. There was a good size crowd. More than 800. I'm not sure if that included the walkers division. We get some serious racewalkers out here. I managed pretty even splits of about 8:16 for an official race time of 33:32. My watch got me in 33:02 - that's more than a minute off of my previous best time and it felt much more effortless than that race. I was pushing it, though. I didn't have too much of a kick at the end which tells me that I was keeping up a good pace.

My sixteen week training program for the More Half-Marathon officially starts tomorrow. The first few weeks are pretty much what I normally do, so the only thing I have to work on is consistency. I have a hard time actually getting myself out the door. In week 5, I start adding in a tempo run and the long run is going to start getting longer. I hope we get the mild winter that the experts are predicting or I'm going to be spending a lot of boring time on the dreadmill.

Mustang musings

2006-11-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a busy one. Saturday the Alley Pond Striders had their monthly refreshment run. I decided to bake something for the after-run brunch. My mind was settled on a pumpkin muffin recipe that I found in Cooking Light magazine. I spent the week before accumulating the ingredients that weren't already in my kitchen. A lot of it was on sale for Thanksgiving so I stocked up on canned pumpkin and such. I was all ready on Friday night to get down to some serious baking when I realized that I was missing one of the most important parts of this project - I didn't own a muffin tin. Off to the internet to search for another recipe for a cake or bread that used the same ingredients. I settled on a spiced pumpkin bread also from Cooking Light.

Saturday morning I went for a short easy run in the park, since I was planning on doing a race on Sunday. The pumpkin bread was a big hit and disappeared in minutes. I tried everything and ended up with most of a crumb cake to take home when we were cleaning up. I threw it straight in the freezer when I got home so I wouldn't be tempted to eat the entire thing.

After showering and gathering my stuff, I headed off to Chelly's for a MetroStitcher gathering. The theme was a yard sale - bring anything you no longer wanted and either price it for sale or throw it in a giveaway pile. I managed to get rid of some old magazines and charts that I had been hanging onto for no good reason. I also continued to snack on some not-so-good for me items and had two slices of pizza and two bottles of beer. I kind of ignored the fact that I was planning on racing the next morning. I got home at a reasonable time and managed to be in bed early

Sunday was the Mineola Mustang 5k. I hadn't preregistered so I thought getting there an hour early would be enough time. It was, but I never remember that it is probably going to be hard to park anywhere near the start area. Got a bit of a warmup jogging the quarter mile from where I found parking and signed up for the race. I wasn't planning on a getting in a real race, but I was hoping to keep a 9:00 pace.

I was freezing at the start. Still not used to the cold weather, it had been in the 60s earlier last week, I wasn't sure how warmly to dress. I went for the tights and a long sleeve shirt. I also remembered my light gloves for which I was glad. The gun went off and the fairly large field started moving. I got across the start line in probably a minute or so and settled into a comfortable pace. The first mile went by in a little over 9 minutes race time, but about 8:45 by my watch. I felt good so I decided to pick it up a bit. The race clock said 17:02 at the two mile mark. This was going really well and I started to look for other runners who might be in my age group. I started to slowly pick off runners in the third mile. I decided that this might be a better race than I had planned and chose to really start to push the pace. For the last quarter of a mile I was really feeling it, but I was flying by other runners. I gave it one good push over the finish line. 26:30 -- a new personal best! I was so pleased. I haven't been feeling like the running has been going that well since the start of the summer, so I'm stunned that I managed a PR in a 5k.

I stuck around to see how my time stacked up in my division. 22nd out of 66. Not too bad. The organizers had a raffle and besides the standard bagels and water, there were cakes and cookies provided by Entenmann's, one of the sponsors. After a while they started to clear up the food and were handing out the unopened boxes. I got three boxes shoved in my arms. Gosh, this is getting difficult to resist! Everything is in the freezer so that I have some time to think over a sudden urge for baked goods. I'm bringing all of it over to my parent's tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, my family will eat it and I won't have to stare at for the next week.

Happy holiday to everyone!

Marathon weekend

2006-11-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

I'm just going to post a little about how I spent this past weekend. Unfortunately, there are no pictures - I forgot my camera when I could have taken pictures and was way too busy the rest of the time. The photos that are here were found on the CoolRunning.com website. There was a photographer at our water/aid station on Sunday morning and I guess he was working for them.

Friday I decided to take the day off of work to go check out the Expo. I had volunteered to help on Saturday and rather than have to get there really early to look around and then stay to work the rest of the day, I decided to dedicate a day just to looking around.

I got in to the city some time after noon and grabbed lunch at Chipotle. It was pretty crowded with people who appeared to also be in town for the marathon in some capacity. Walked over to Jacob Javits Center and located the expo. They moved it within the center this year and I was thinking this would be better for me the next day. Last year I spent the entire afternoon outside the convention center directing runners to the proper place to pick up their number. I enjoyed interacting with all the people and was hoping to do the same thing this year. I figured I'd at least be able to do that from the inside this time.

The expo was interesting. I walked around picking up advertisements for all the other marathons and the various running related products that were featured. I tasted Gu for the first time - not as bad as I had heard, but I'm not sure if I would enjoy downing an entire package of the stuff. I picked up a couple of long-sleeved running tops and tried to chat with someone in the Asics booth about the new Evolutions - they 'upgraded' the model and I was interested in what exactly was different. The person in the booth was decidedly unhelpful. I think I spent about 2 hours and then decided to leave.

Saturday I headed back into Manhattan for the noon to 5 shift that I had volunteered for. Headed straight to the volunteer office and got my little badge. No shirt, no hat, no nothing. I asked the woman where I should report. She just told me to go and look for someone in a red jacket. I asked the first person I saw in said jacket and he looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. I told him that I was supposed to be a marshall so he pointed me to another man who just said to stand here and point people to where the expo was being held. This proved difficult. First, there was another expo going on in the convention center. In the hall where the marathon expo had been held last year. A lot of those who had attended last year were trying to enter that expo - which had an admission fee and a security guard who was getting annoyed with all the people who kept asking her where the marathon expo was. She yelled at me, but I was doing the best I could. If you entered Jacob Javits Center on Saturday between noon and 5 and you came in on the bottom floor, I was the lady in green yelling my head off at anyone who looked like they might be there for the marathon. Amazingly, a great many people walked right by me and tried to enter the other expo. This might have been easier if I had looked like a marathon volunteer. But maybe not. I probably would have answered a lot fewer questions about the other expo. It was very exasperating.

After 5 hours, without any breaks and with hardly any voice left, I called Chelly who was supposed to be attending the expo. We had made plans to do dinner that evening. When I found her, she was with Jenny and her sister, Mary. Mary was running on Sunday. I told her where I thought I would be and that I would try and keep an eye out. They went home to rest up for the race and Chelly and I went for more Mexican food.

Sunday morning I headed over to the mile 14 aid station. My volunteer designation was something that the volunteer office had called '5 Boro Roving Volunteer Team'. No one knew what the heck that was, including the volunteer office. After signing up for what appeared to be a special volunteer designation, I was told just to go to one of the two aid stations in Queens and help out where they most needed help. ::Sigh:: They already had everything worked out - coordinators were there to run things and local boy scout, girl scout and school groups actually man the stations. I tried to explain what I was told to do, but they had no clue. But since I had obviously volunteered to do something, they told me that I could help. I just jumped in and took the initiative to do anything that looked like it needed doing. This ended up being pouring water into little paper cups for most of the day. Oh yeah, and running herd on a bunch of little boys. The kids just wanted to throw the water on each other and see who could get rid of the most cups of water. They were actually keeping count. This meant that when there wasn't a ton of runners coming through, they got bored. I had to jump out from behind the tables and into the street to make sure some of the wheelchair athletes got their water. Oh yeah, the high school girls were afraid of getting wet. Where do they get these people?

I didn't see much of the race. I did see the leaders and was able to watch a good bit of those runners running at about a 3 hour race pace. I saw Lance and his crew. I spotted Mary, who was about 3 minutes behind Lance - way to go, Mary!! Then it got way too busy to do anything but fill water cups. The only break I would get was when a runner would step over to the curb and I'd ask if they needed help. I opened probably a dozen little packets of pills for tired runners and filled up all kinds of containers with water. All in all, I did have a good time. I'm not sure if I'll do it again next year. I think the NYRR still need to work out the kinks in the volunteer system. But I guess it isn't totally their fault. I get the impression that a lot of people who volunteer either don't come or just show up, get the free stuff and then don't do what is expected of them. Then the few of us who are actually taking it seriously get shafted.

A quiz that's been going around

2006-11-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

I'll get around to posting about this weekend, eventually. But here's something to keep everyone busy until then:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Marathon week

2006-10-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

It's started!

I'm not running in the race, but I'm all kinds of excited, anyway! The week kicked off with the Poland Spring Kickoff. The weather was kind of raw, but the spirit was fun. There were quite a few runners who came in costume for the pre-Halloween race. I ran the 5 mile in 46:29. I was really happy with this time as it was my first race back after the shoulder injury and I wasn't expecting too much. I felt a lot better than I expected. I was starting to flag at about the 3 mile mark when I heard a commotion off to the side of the field. It sounded like there was some kind of trouble with the bicyclists in the outer lane. I heard yells of 'coming through!' and the sound of a bicycle bell. Then I saw them - a group of guys running in the race, surrounding one guy in a yellow shirt. It was Lance Armstrong! I nearly died laughing. The man posing as Lance was carrying the handlebars of a kid's bike. It was a great pick-me-up and the last mile of the race was my fastest.

The expo for the race is enormous. Race packet pickup is there, so every runner has to drop by. I've volunteered to do general marshall duties from noon to closing on Saturday, so look for me if you are there.

I've also volunteered for race day. I'm supposed to be on a 5 Boro Roving Volunteer Team or, as the NYRR office calls it, a 'jump team'. I'm guessing this means I'll be all over the course on race day. It sounded like it might be fun, so I snatched up that assignment.

Best of luck to anyone reading this doing the race on Sunday. Here's best wishes for great weather. I also want to wish luck to anyone doing Ironman Florida on Saturday.

Bringing it up to date

2006-10-16T14:50:00.000-04:00

I know, I haven't posted in a while. But not much has been happening and I haven't been moved to write. The shoulder is still paining me, so running has been really suffering. I only ran twice last week. Yesterday I went out for a half an hour. The running feels OK, but my shoulder gets really sore afterwards. During the run, I get some pains in the muscles across my back and chest. I'm probably still not moving it normally and I'm feeling it.

With the lack of running, I've been having more time to get back into my needlework. The cold weather helps with that, as well. I did an overnight down to Hershey, PA the last weekend in September for The Stitching Festival Hung out with friends, spent money and ate much to much chocolate.

Last weekend, Jenny hosted a stitching party at her apartment. May came all the way from Toronto to visit. The talk was about the anniversary event that was being held this past weekend for our stitching group, the MetroStitchers. A retreat was arranged at Mohonk Mountain House. Mohonk is a victorian resort hotel in the mountains of New York State. Due to budgetary restrictions, I was only planning on going up for the day.

Chelly and I drove up to Mohonk on Saturday. We stopped in the town of New Paltz for lunch and then headed up to the hotel. After some confusion at the front desk (I think they hire some really dense people), we tracked down the rest of the MetroStitchers. We got to see some stitchers we haven't seen in a while and also meet some newish stitchers for the first time. We heard a great deal about the impression the group had been making on those at the hotel that weekend. The MetroStitchers have a thing for tiaras and everyone had at least one for the weekend. The hotel rules state that you must dress for dinner. This was taken as a challenge and much finery was trotted out for the occasion. Eyes were blinded by the 'bling' in the room.

When my salad arrived at dinner, I thought it was so pretty that a photo was needed. That led to photographing the next course, as well. I'm not turning this into a food blog, but I couldn't resist.
The main course I chose was a pork tenderloin with spaetzle, red cabbage and an apple . It was all very good and I was stuffed at the end.

Sidelined again

2006-09-16T17:10:00.000-04:00

I'm out of commission again. Haven't posted because I'm pretty bummed about it - but I guess I should catch you up.

Last Saturday was the Fitness Mind Body Spirit 4 mile race in Central Park. This was my first real race back after my surgery. I was planning on really trying for a good time on this one. Chelly had just returned from a week-long biking trip and hadn't run in a while, so she was just going to go out for the workout.

The weather was lovely, if a little warm compared to the days before. I lined up a little far back, but there didn't seem to be that big a turnout, so I was hoping I wouldn't lose much time at the start. They decided to split the field this year between men and women. The men ran their race earlier and were basically done by the time we started. When the horn went off we started to move up. I ended up losing about a minute at the start. Don't mind that, but the people who insist on lining up well ahead of the pace they can make are REALLY annoying. I was back in the 9:00/mile area and was having to weave around walkers...crazy.

The race went pretty well. I was pushing my pace a bit and I could feel it. The running still doesn't feel as effortless as it did prior to the surgery, but I can do it. I was trying to stay in the low 9:00/mile vicinity. I passed through the first mile at about 8:53..whoo! Second mile I stopped for water and still ran 8:33. Ok, slow down, slow down. Third mile went in 9:11. Maybe a little too slow. So I pushed it and flew through the fourth mile in 8:17. That's it! I finished in 35:00 for my second fastest 4 miles ever. I was pretty spent, but it felt good.

About a tenth of a mile from the finish line I saw what looked like a familiar face on the sideline, yelling encouragement to the women. It looked like fellow blogger, Brooklyn. I called out to him and he turned, so I knew I got it right. He didn't recognize me in the middle of the race. After the finish, I backtracked to where I had seen him and he was still there. Nice to meet a local runner who I only know through this virtual world. We chatted while I waited for Chelly to finish. I pointed her out to him as she went by, but he, unfortunately, had to leave before she was able to get back to us.

I went home soon after the race was over as I was tired and Chelly had some errands to run. We were going to see each other the next morning for the NYC Century Ride and would have hours to catch up.

Sunday I got to the park bright and early with my bike. Hundreds of riders were milling about, some leaving for the longer rides, others waiting for the shorter rides to start. We were doing the 35 mile option which was scheduled to depart at 7:30am. The route would take us south through Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge and then north through Brooklyn and Queens. A rider over the Triboro Bridge would then return us to Manhattan. I was kind of nervous, riding on the city streets with traffic and all the other bikes. But it wasn't too bad. Manhattan is relatively quiet at that time of the morning on a Sunday and we had a pretty pleasant ride down to the Brooklyn Bridge. Over the bridge on the walkway, which is wide and a wonderful view of the harbor. The bikes started to bottleneck at the end where we had to make a right angle turn and cross a street. I think I got flustered and it was crowded so I missed the cut in the curb onto the street. I totally lost my balance and landed hard on my left side in the middle of the street. I could feel a pain in my shoulder and my first terrified thought was that I had dislocated it. I managed to get untangled from the bicycle and take myself off the road. I tested the shoulder and was able to move it and could feel my hand. Whew! Not dislocated. It was still very painful. I also had blood all over my left knee and elbow.

I managed to ride to the halfway point in Prospect Park, where I got all my scrapes cleaned by some very eager EMTs. I decided to continue, as it was just as easy to ride as it would be to quit in Brooklyn. The ride would have been really nice if I hadn't been in such pain. Although, I did find out that I am terrified of biking on the Triboro walkway. I walked my bike across the whole bridge because I just couldn't work up the nerve to ride it. Between the panic of being up there and the pain, I was pretty hysterical when I reached the end. At that point I was only about three miles from finishing the damn ride. So I just soldiered on and walked all the difficult spots.

Once I got home I decided, based on some internet research, that I had likely broke my collarbone or badly bruised it. I didn't go to the doctor, because most of my info tells me that there isn't much they could do for this injury except take an x-ray and tell me for sure if it is broken. There's no displacement of the bones. It hurts, but I have full use of the hand, the shoulder isn't bruised and the swelling is mostly gone. I still can't fully use the arm without pain and the muscles in the area have been aching from the compensatory positions I've been using to decrease the pain.

No running, however, as that definitely hurts. So I'm back to square one. Damn.

Recovery runs

2006-09-05T22:09:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was pretty quiet. Just a great chance to relax and catch up on some things around the apartment.

I had a fantastic run on Thursday. Went out with the intention of just doing a regular four mile run. I tried a new route, so the scenery was different and my mind was kept busy with deciding on which turns to make. That's why I love the Forerunner. I can just keep running until I hit the distance I want to do - no need to measure it out beforehand. Once or twice I've ended up farther from home at the end than I intended. But it does keep it interesting. I felt really good, so I just kept running at a comfortable speed. I finished the four miles in 37:40 for a 9:25/mile pace. Wow - I'm back!! Finally getting close to the level I was at pre-op. I will be so happy if I can do the four mile race on Saturday at that pace.

Friday was an intentional rest day. The office closed early for the holiday so I was able to run some errands and be ready for the weekend. Unfortunately, Saturday started as an unintentional rest day. When I took Shannon for a walk at 6:30am it wasn't raining but threatening and the wind gusts were at about 40mph with the arrival of what was left of Ernesto. So I decided to pass on the morning run with the Striders and go back to bed. The weather was somewhat better later that morning, but I had already taken my mind out of a run.

Sunday morning dawned gorgeous after the torrential downpours that passed through Saturday afternoon and evening. I got to the park as the long run group was leaving for a 13-miler. Some of the other women wanted to do a course outside of the park that was about 8 miles. I decided 'what the heck!' and joined them. It was a lovely run through an area that has some pretty and expensive houses and we ran alongside Little Neck Bay. My pace wasn't impressive but I slowed to enjoy the scenery. I had never even driven up through this area that is so close to where I live. There were also a few killer hills. I felt fine at the end - calves were kind of tight and I was tired, but I wasn't totally spent.

I amazed myself by managing to get to the park for another run yesterday morning. Three and half miles at an easy pace to recover - it was a real slog. My energy was low and my quads were sore but I was proud of myself for running at all.

I'm pretty busy for the rest of this week - might get one more run in before my race on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it.

blah blah blah

2006-08-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

I got nothing, so I thought I'd give you all a photo of my puppy.

Running is coming along. I actually did a six mile run on Sunday in the rain. Didn't feel too bad afterwards. Still having a bit of trouble with motivation. Blew off a run today. It's raining, but I could have done three on the treadmill at the gym. I didn't feel like it. So there. pphttpphht!

It rained all weekend. I went into Manhattan to do some shopping and wandering about on Saturday. Stuffed my face at the farmer's market in Union Square and picked up some bike shorts at Jackrabbit which are embarrassingly tight. I also got two tops from their $10 sale rack, which offset the incredible cost of the bike shorts so it doesn't hurt so much. I needed some padded shorts to avoid "numb butt" on the NYC Century in two weeks. I'm planning on doing the 35 mile option. Kind of concerned, mostly because I'm also doing this 4 mile race the day before. I really like to torture myself.

Root, root for the home team

2006-08-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

Saturday was NYRR Day at Shea Stadium. NYRR offered discount tickets for the game at Shea to all members. Chelly said she was interested, so we got two tickets. It was gorgeous, if a bit warm day. The Mets were playing the Philadelphia Phillies, which makes for an interesting crowd. Phillies fans will come up th NYC to see the game and the section we occupied seemed to be surrounded by Philly fans. Fortunately, the powers that be at the stadium are stricter with the alcohol than they were when I was a kid and there were no fist fights. The Mets won in a fast game that had its moments. I was hoarse afterwards from screaming

Chelly made a point of purchasing all the traditional foodstuffs at the game - hotdogs, crackerjacks and cold beer. I saved money by eating lunch before I got to the park and was quite happy with my decision. Concession food has always been expensive, but in the years since I've been some of it has gotten ridiculous. $4.25 for a bag of Cracker Jacks or a bottle of water? That's like four times what they cost outside. Not everything was quite that bad, but those two items, in particular, just blew me away.

This was my first weekend back running. While I was actually allowed to start running on Monday, it was so hot that I just didn't feel like going outside. I did a four mile run on Saturday with the club. Started out slow, first mile was 11:30 pace. I went a little faster with each mile and did the last mile in 9:30. It didn't feel too bad. I'm noticing a twinge in my right knee that wasn't there before the operation. I might just go and check out some new shoes soon. I've been wearing motion control shoes since last year (Asics Evolution) but I was heavier than and had only been running for a few months. I might not need so much shoe at this point. Or maybe I'm wrong. Either way, Asic has stopped making that model, so I'd have to switch anyway.

Sunday I went to the park to run with the club again. I was planning another four mile run. Well, that didn't happen. I started out feeling kind of tired, which was not unexpected since I had run the day before. But I ended up turning around at only 1.75 miles and walking after only about two miles. Looking at the stats afterwards, I was probably running a bit too fast, but at the time I was really disappointed with myself. My head knows that I have to give it a little time, but there is a little voice inside me telling me that I'm never going to be any good again. Totally ridiculous, I know, but I can't stop it. I was running easily before the enforced break. I did a ten mile run, I had my 5k race pace approaching 8:00, the idea of a 10k wasn't in the least intimidating. Now, I'm doubting my ability to run that far again. No one has to tell me that I'm wrong, but I just need to convince myself.

All systems are go

2006-07-31T20:06:00.000-04:00

This was the weekend when I could finally run/exercise. OK, I ran once earlier, but it was only a short jog and this weekend was going to be nonstop action.

Saturday was the NY Mets Run for Homeplate 5K. I was glad that I did that little jog on Wednesday since it gave me an idea as to how hard I could push myself. The answer I got was not much. So I had every intention of just doing this race as a nice easy run. The morning dawned hot and humid with a promise of more heat and more humidity. Chelly and I headed over to Shea for the odd 10am start. We picked up our bibs and headed into the stadium picnic area to take a gander at the field and watch a little of the kids running. I used to be a baseball fan and a big Mets fan. They're still my team, but I've not been following baseball much the last few years. But I was still excited over the opportunity to see Shea from a different vantage point. I used to go a dozen times a summer when I was a kid and I always sat all the way up in the grandstand area. The picnic area is usually set aside for corporate groups or others with moolah.

As races go, this was kind of ::meh:: Very hot, no shade, rough roadway (I almost fell flat on my face due to potholes) and, of course, I was out of shape. I settled into a 10:30 - 10:50 pace. Nice easy jog. Just wanted to last the distance. Managed to finish in a chip time of 33:18, official time of 34:38. 66th in my age group, which I would be thrilled with normally, but there were only 81 in my age group on Saturday ;-) I felt pretty good after the race. Nowhere near the feeling I usually have, but not too bad for the lack of running for a month.

Next year, if I run this one again, I'm going to bring my camera with me while I run and just take advantage of the opportunity to catch some great photos. This one is practically in my backyard, so I don't mind just using it as workout.

After the race, and after being unceremoniously shuffled out of the stadium, we headed back to my place to clean up and pack the car for the Harlem Valley Rail Ride on Sunday. We headed upstate to Poughkeepsie where we got a motel room for the night in order to be able to make the early ride start. This was my first organized bike ride. It also was the longest bike ride I've ever done and only the second time I had taken my bike out on the road. I was looking to do all kinds of new things this weekend!

Sunday we got an early start. After breakfasting at IHOP, we headed up to the start point in Millerton, NY. Dutchess County is a beautiful area and I was looking forward to riding through the countryside, even if it was supposed to hit 91 that day. We arrived at the parking area after a little bit of wandering through local roads and proceeded to unpack and unfold the bikes. Chelly immediately noticed an unusual sound coming from her bike when she was rolling it around a bit. We tried to locate the source and noticed a broken spoke. It looked like our ride was going to be over before we even got started. We asked one of the volunteers who told us there was a repair tent set up at the checkin area. So we walked the mile to the checkin only to be told that wasn't a repair they were equipped to handle. They pointed us to a local bike shop near the start of the ride. So we decided to pick up our stuff and walk over. If the bike wasn't rideable, Chelly told me to do the ride myself and she'd hang out in Millerton. The bike shop wasn't much help except to tell us that we might be able to do the ride without the spoke. The wheel was going to have to be repaired either way, the ride we were planning was on fairly flat paved trails, so Chelly decided to go for it.

The ride was wonderful. I highly recommend the Harlem Valley Rail Trail for biking and other activities. Most of the ride was shaded and I didn't feel uncomfortably hot. The beginner ride we did was basically 11 miles out and 11 miles back on the Rail Trail. I didn't have any real difficulties, except for 'numb butt' and some pain and stiffness in my right knee which I felt a twinge of on Saturday in the race. I was flagging as we approached the end, but I'm pretty sure that I can manage a bit longer ride if I was in better shape. I'm going to sign up for the 35 mile option in the New York Century Ride in September and see if I can do that. My only cringe is the really early start time in upper Manhattan. I foresee a 4am wake up call :-)

Pushing the envelope

2006-07-27T14:36:00.000-04:00

OK, I couldn't wait any longer. I went out yesterday for a short, easy run. At least it should have been easy. Three weeks with no running changes the definition of 'easy'. I was just planning on jogging for 1 - 1.25 miles. 10:00 per mile should be easy, no? Well, I did that pace but I was pretty wiped at the end. Sweat was pouring off of me like I had come in out of the rain. My heart was racing and I thought I was going to pass out. I drank some Gatorade Endurance when I got back and whole lot of water on top of that. Got in the shower and was sweating in the shower. How gross.

Today I feel a little sore in my quads. My incisions are kind of irritated, probably from the bouncing. They still look the same, however. So, no harm.

This weekend is a 5k race I signed up for prior to the surgery The NY Mets Run for Home Plate. I'm planning on doing it just as a fun run. I'm going to have to try really hard to slow myself down. I feel like a junkie that has been detoxed - I'm going to overdose trying to work at the same level as pre-surgery. Need to remind myself that it will take some time to get back to where I was.

I'm also doing a 20 mile bike ride on Sunday. They're giving us like 7 hours to complete it. I should be able to do it even if I just walk - I hope.

I'm going to be in so much trouble on Monday :-}

Going stir crazy

2006-07-18T16:04:00.000-04:00

Today was my two-week checkup after the surgery that paused my life. I've been feeling pretty good, except for some pain and irritation at the incision sites and, perhaps, a lower energy level. I was told at the hospital not to do much of anything for at least a week or two and no heavy lifting for at least four weeks. The first part hasn't been too hard. I was feeling overwhelmingly guilty for the first week or so that I wasn't running or exercising. But after doing some internet searching and some chatting with fellow recent operatees (hello one pink fuzzy!) I came to the realization that I just had major surgery! I mean I knew that, but it hadn't really sunk in.

Well, the checkup went fine. The doctor said the incisions are healing nicely. He also seemed a bit taken aback that I had already returned to work and my regular daily schedule. (See, I should have been milking this more). I tried to pin him down on when I could go back to running. I'm not sure that I want to go out and run today (it's over 90 and my midriff is still kind of sore) but I was thinking perhaps this week. Nope. He says that I shouldn't be running until at least the four weeks is up. He said I could try some walking and/or swimming if I like, but no running. Blast! I don't like swimming and walking is so boring!(some cheese with that whine?)

I'm planning on pushing that schedule just a smidge and suiting up for the Met's Run for Home Plate on July 29. I don't care if I end up walking for the whole course. I really wanted to do this one and I got an entry (the race has been closed for weeks) so I don't want to waste it. I'm also going on a biking trip that weekend after the race. I'll probably end up just doing support for Chelly or sightseeing around the area if that isn't needed. August is pretty empty (why couldn't this have happened the first week in August instead?) so I'll be trying to build up my stamina again for the fall races.

As an aside from all the whinging, I have added a link in the sidebar to my Flickr account. I've posted a few pictures from my Colorado trip (pre and post operation - see if you can tell by my expression) and will be adding to it here and there.

Bladder of Gall, gone

2006-07-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

This is a gallbladder. A little organ located just beneath your breastbone and off to the right a little. I don't have one anymore. And so is the story of my vacation.

I flew to Colorado on Wed, June 29, to visit with my sister and to celebrate my birthday on the 30th. My sister, Jacqui, met me at the airport as she was coming in around the same time from a business trip to Florida. We grabbed our bags, stopped at Panera's to pick some stuff up for lunch and headed to her house. We hung around for the afternoon, catching up and relaxing. Later, she took me to the outdoor store
to pick up a pair of light hikers which were my birthday gift from her and her partner. That night, we went over to the local mall for live music and beer.

Friday morning I got up and did a short run around the trails in the area. My sister lives in a development area outside Boulder, but the builders leave loads of open space as part of their plans, and this leads to pleasant running areas. I saw tons of prairie dogs scattering as I did a slow 3.25 miles, just to loosen my legs and start to acclimate to the altitude. It was kind of hot and a little difficult to breathe, but it was much better than I remembered from last year.

After lunch, we headed out to a local park area for a hike. It's gorgeous up there. We hiked for a few hours, saw the remains of a deer, which was probably some mountain lion's dinner and basically enjoyed ourselves.

On the way home, we stopped for a beer at a local establishment to celebrate my birthday. We discussed dinner and it was decided to go for Mexican, which is one of my favorites.

Saturday morning I woke up with a bit of heartburn, which I figured was from the alcohol and meal the night before. I've been getting heartburn, sometimes really bad attacks for years, and hoped it would work itself out. We headed into Boulder to take a stroll on the Boulder Creek pathway and to check out the Farmer's Market. The Boulder Farmer's Market is a pretty good one and they have a nice food court area which serves different ethnic and organic foods. I had some dumplings made with chicken, basil and vegetables which were tasty. I followed that with a big ginger-spice cookie. My tummy was still hurting, but no worse than earlier and I was trying my best to ignore it.

Later on, after doing some further grocery shopping, we headed home. My sister was going to grill for dinner, so she started setting that up. By this time, the stomach was getting worse. I hung around for as long as I could, but decided to try and ease the pain by relaxing in a hot bath. This didn't work and it got progressively worse through the night.

My sister had a bike race the following morning, so I tried not to make too big a deal out of it, but it was excruciating. As soon as she got home on Sunday morning, I went and told her that I thought I should go see a doctor. We headed over to the nearest urgent care facility. As soon as I got there, they started running tests to try and figure out what was going on. It's pretty hazy to me as I was dozing in between and as soon as they thought it was safe, they started giving me painkillers. These didn't actually stop the pain, but I was floating above it. After about 4 hours at the urgent care, they decided to send me over to the hospital emergency room. My main concern by this time was that I was dying of thirst. I wasn't allowed anything. I was begging for ice chips, but due to the stomach upset and the still to be made determination, I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything. I eventually ended up going over 48 hours without food or water by mouth. I was admitted to the hospital just after midnight Sunday night after going through a CAT scan and a sonogram that determined that my gallbladder was completely blocked by a 2.5 centimeter stone. I was set up in a room with a pump to self-administer painkillers (nice!) and put on full assist, which meant I had to ring for help every time I had to go to the bathroom. At least they let me go to the bathroom.

Monday morning, still without food or water, the nurse came in to discuss my options with me. They would release me, if I chose, to have the gallbladder looked at when I got home, or they would operate. She told me that I could probably fly either way, but she thought I'd be much more comfortable post- rather than pre-surgical. Since I was still in some pain and would have had to face dealing with NYC emergency care, I opted to stay in the hospital and have it out already. They operated Monday afternoon. Monday night I got dinner. Jello and clear broth never tasted so good.

Tuesday morning my sister went to the race that we were both supposed to run. Afterwards, I called and told her they were releasing me. I bumped my flight back as my original flyout was on Wednesday. I could have done it, but it wouldn't have been too comfortable. Instead I left on Friday. My sister tried to entertain me for the remainder of the week. We did a little window shopping on Wednesday and Thursday we went to the Denver Science of Museum which was nice, but she wasn't sure what to with someone who couldn't be active and I was in some discomfort and loopy from the painkillers. My flight back sucked in too many ways to get into and I've been kind of depressed due to the whole thing. I'm now trying to decide whether to go to work tomorrow. Physically, I could probably do it but mentally I so don't want to be there. We'll see.

Mind on vacation, body to follow

2006-06-27T18:19:00.000-04:00

I'm heading off to Colorado later this week, to visit with my sister, celebrate my birthday and to run a 5k race while I'm there. At the end of last week my mind was already vacationing, so I decided to just say to heck with it and take two whole weeks off of work. So I'm officially on vacation now and I probably won't get back to the blog until sometime after July 4.

This past weekend was rainy - actually this past week has been rainy, I'm getting heartily sick of rain. Saturday was supposed to be our running club's annual picnic. But just before I left to meet the club for our run before the picnic, the skies opened up and starting dumping much water on our soggy area. I bagged the run and went back to bed. The weather was kind of on and off all day, so I wasn't sure if they were having the picnic, but I didn't go to the park to find out.

Sunday dawned dry, if threatening. This time, the skies waited until I was already in the car on the way to the park. I turned around, but the rain would lighten if I headed back home. I did this like three times and finally decided to go all the way to the park and see if there was anyone there.

When I arrived, the walkers were heading out with their umbrellas. About 6 runners were heading back toward the parking lot. They said they were going out and did I want to join them. Now these were the diehards who usually go much longer and faster than I do. I asked how far they were planning to go. The plans called for a 10 mile run. I hesitated. They assured me that they weren't going fast. I decided that I'd go and turn around when I felt I had gone far enough.

We headed out at about a 9:30 - 9:45 pace. I'm not sure because the Garmin couldn't believe I was running and refused to give me a reading. We got to the 3 mile mark and I still felt good, so I didn't turn around. It had started to rain while we were running and I really started to get wet at this point. Soggy shorts, soggy shoes, wet head and rain spots all over my glasses. I ran with Christina and we shared a lot of moaning about the wetness. But I was still feeling pretty good with the running. At about 5 miles there was a bathroom so we stopped for a little while to refresh and to complain. I didn't see any point in turning around as I would have ended up doing 10 anyway, so I continued with them. I finished the 10 miles in about 1:40. This was the farthest run I've ever done. And at what I would have considered a reasonable race pace. Gosh, maybe a half marathon at some point is not totally out of the question :-)

Yesterday, I met Chelly in Manhattan as she had agreed to come with me to get my haircut. I've been talking about going short for a while, but hadn't got up the nerve. Saturday I decided that I was just going for it. I really like it. It's really short. Short enough that a razor was applied to my neck. Short enough that styling consists of running my fingers through it. I took a photo that isn't great, but you can get an idea. The top is longer with fairly short sides. The natural wave is coming out in kind of a tousled look. I figure I could probably use some styling product to encourage it to curl if I wanted a different look. Otherwise, it's just wash and wear.

Today I took my bike out instead of running. I really want to do a 22 mile ride at the end of July and I'm trying to figure out if it is a reasonable wish. I did about 6.3 miles in 40 minutes on the multi-use trail in the park that the running club uses. I knew it was hilly, but I didn't realize just how hilly until I tried it on a bike. I kept thinking that this is so much easier when I run. No wonder I barely notice the hills in Central Park. The bike was practically not moving at some points. But it wasn't too bad. I've never had a bike before and never really rode when I was a kid. Just enough to be capable of not falling down, but not enough to ever get that true comfort that kids get. So I've been having some mental obstacles. It's getting better and I'm pretty comfortable now on the bike paths in the park. I even let it go fast downhill! Auto traffic on the streets is different, though. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to get truly comfortable enough to ride on the city streets with the cars. But I think I can enjoy the bike even with these limitations.

OK, I'm off to Boulder! Have a great Independence Day!

Father's Day

2006-06-22T07:44:00.000-04:00

Well, it is about time I got around to saying something about last weekend.

Summer has happened to NYC in a hard way and Sunday I awoke at 5am to temps already in the low 70s. Managed to get everything together and head out to the subway to meet Chelly at Central Park.

The race was pretty uneventful. Except for the weather, which had the temps in the high 70s low 80s, I can't say much about it. I ran an easy pace - 9:15 with a finish in 46:15. I was really spent by the end. No sprint at the end this time.

Tuesday nights is my running club's track night. Amazingly, on the track, I manage a sub 8 minute pace. This week, however, I think all the racing has caught up with me and on the second 800m I felt a pain in my left knee/lower thigh. Not sharp like I tore anything. I think it just tightened up badly. I quit for the evening and tried to stretch it out. I did a 3 mile run last night and while there is still an ache, it doesn't seem to be hurting too much. I won't be racing again until July 4, so hopefully, that will rest it enough. Because we got a jam-packed July coming up!

Going the distance

2006-06-11T18:42:00.000-04:00

This was the big weekend. My first attempt at the 10K distance. I ran in theCircle of Friends New York Mini 10k with about 3500 of my close friends. Me and Lornah Kiplagat...tight.

The race is actually a blur to me. I remember snapshots. The start, when we were massed on Central Park West in the cool blustery morning. Thousands of women listening to speakers and wishing they'd be done with it, already, so we could move.

The first mile up CPW was my slowest. I was cold and needed time to warm up and I was also gazing around. I mean, how often do you get to run up the center of a major avenue in Manhattan without having a cadre of police officers chasing you?

I remember turning into the park at 90th Street. There was a group of Reservoir Dogs, I believe, cheering for us. Thanks, Dogs!

Once we were in the Park I was feeling pretty good. I didn't feel like I was going too fast. My split for mile two was 18:42. Very comfortable.

Mile three had a good bit of downhill, so I picked it up and did it in 8:31. Wow! My 5k split, according to NYRR, was 29:30. Pretty good and still feeling fine.

Mile 4 was 8:45. I was getting fairly even mile splits. This was going great.

I think I saw the Dogs again, with their pompoms somewhere in there. And there were plenty of guys in the park, cheering on the field from the outside lane.

I stayed pretty fast for mile 5 - 8:29. I remember thinking when I saw the 5 mile marker that I was now entering unknown territory.

Mile 6 was my fastest - 8:23. There were markers up from 800 meters out telling us how far we had to go. After many weeks of track workouts, I'm now familiar with just how long 800 meters is and I was sure I could pull out a 4 minute or better time for that distance. I was feeling amazingly fresh, so I started to speed up into my interval training pace. 400 meters out and I'm still going strong. At about 200 meters I could see the finish line and I think I got a bit dizzy with speed. I poured on even more and just starting whooping and hollering as I got down the chute. Unfortunately, most of the women in front of me decided to slow down as they approached the end. I was forced to weave to avoid running people over. I probably looked like the biggest goof, but I got my first 10k in 55:29! How fantastic is that?!

Chelly ran this race, too. A few months back when I told her I was planning a 10K in June she said she might come and cheer me on. This turned into her coming to the park for a long run and meeting me at the finish line. Next thing you know, she signed up to participate. We discussed what our goals for the race were. My gold medal ideal was to beat 55 minutes. I just missed it. Chelly had her gold medal as a 1:15 finish. Well she didn't miss it by much and finished in 1:16.52. I think the medals we got for finishing were a big incentive. Congrats Chel!

It's all about the bike

2006-06-06T20:46:00.000-04:00

So I got an exciting notice on my door Thursday evening. UPS had attempted to deliver a package from Downtube.com. My Bike!!! The delivery attempt wasn't until after 6pm. This meant that any instructions I sent through their website regarding the delivery wouldn't actually take effect until Monday. I wanted my bike! The notice said that the attempt on Friday would be between 10 and 6. So I stayed home from work on Friday with eager expectations of my first ride.

I hung around the apartment on Friday. Afraid to even take the dog out for a walk. We just made quick jaunts out to the front lawn. I couldn't miss the delivery after taking the day off. I got some tidying done. Did a little stitching - I'm working on Lamb's Halloween by Earth Threads. I'm doing the piece on a hand dyed fabric called Fossil by Picture This Plus. Ate lunch. Checked out every large vehicle that passed by the building. Finally, at about 2pm, I saw a UPS truck go up the side street near my door. After about 20 minutes, Shannon was desperate to go out, so I walked her to the corner to see if the truck was still down the street. Gone! What happened?!?

My package finally arrived at 6:05. I was so pissed. A totally wasted day and I could have easily made it home in time to get the delivery. Also, since I now had to run all the errands I hadn't done earlier, I wasn't going to be able to take a ride!

I did unpack it and set it up so I could get a look at it. Isn't it lovely? All shiny and new! It's still sitting in that exact spot. It poured all day Saturday. I haven't got to ride it yet. Aaargggh!

Sunday was the NYRR Anniversary Run. The race that grew. It started out as a 4.8k race (48th Anniversary, 4.8k - get it??) But then it became a 4.8 MILE race. That's some serious distance for me. I can do the distance, but haven't raced it much. And I have a big 10k race planned for next weekend. So the plan was to just run it at training pace, or a little bit faster. The course was around Central Park clockwise, which is the direction of the 10k, so it would be a good training run. Sure.

Sunday was lovely. Cool and overcast at about 60 degrees fahrenheit. Perfect running weather. The running joke all morning was how everyone would get a personal record in that race. I set off at a comfortable pace. I tried to ignore most of the other runners and just run my run. My 1 mile split was 9:05. Not too bad. Was planning a little slower, but I was happy with that.

Continued running at what felt like a comfortable pace. Mile 2 - 8:44. Oops! But I think there was a bit of downhill because the second mile was a lot of people's fastest one.

Mile 3 and 4 were both at 8:56. What can I say, it felt really comfortable. I didn't feel like I was pushing at all. I was thinking about really pushing the last half mile or so - just to see what I could do. I still felt fresh and comfortable. So when I hit about 4.3 miles I started to turn it on. I was breezing by runners. I was actually shocked at how much I had. My Garmin caught the last .9 miles (I forgot to hit the button right at the finish line) at a 8:00 mile pace. Wow! I've done a faster mile, but to pull that out in the last mile of a 5 mile race, wow!

My official time was 44:42 with a chip time of 42:49. That's really faster than I wanted to go, but I'm not too worried. I don't think I'm going to have any problem with the 10K. I should even be able to manage a time easily under an hour, if nothing goes wrong. At this time last year, I was gearing up for my first race - a 5k which I finished in a little under 35 minutes. I was concerned about finishing. My goal was just not to walk. I'm floored at how much better I'm doing now.

Folders and Four-milers

2006-05-24T23:58:00.000-04:00

Well, this was a busy weekend. Saturday I planned to go into Manhattan and check out a bike festival that I read about online here Times-Up. After the last six months or so of reading various triathlete's blogs and also hearing all about the Five Boro Bike Tour from my friend, Chelly, I've been seriously considering getting a bike. When I mentioned it to Chelly, she talked up her folding bike and how convenient it was for city living. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to check out a bunch of different folders at the bike festival.

It just so happens that the Ninth Avenue Food Festival was this weekend, so I thought I could combine the two and eat lunch and then walk across town to the bike fest.

Ninth Avenue Food Festival is a mile long street fair. There's usually quite a few booths featuring foods from many different lands. Of course, like any other NYC street fair, there are also booths selling socks and t-shirts. I made quick work of the festival since there didn't seem to be much in the way of unusual food.

I figured I'd grab something on the way across town. I had about an hour and a half to kill before the start of the bike fest.

I wove my way through the streets and avenues on my way to the other side of Manhattan. I probably walked for about two hours that day. I'd probably regret it the next day.

I arrived at the described location to nothing that looked like a bike festival. I might have been a little early, so I thought I'd sit down in the lovely greenway that runs up the east side of Manhattan. I didn't even know this existed.
I wandered up and down the pathways checking out the lovely landscaped pathways and the neat paved walk/jog path and the designated bike lanes. After a little while, a bunch of cyclists approached the area and then I was amid dozens of folding bikes.

This is the Mobiky, a nifty little folder from France, I believe.

This one is a Dahon.

And here is a row of Bromptons - an English import.

This is the Downtube - the one I've decided I want.

Sunday was the 4 Mile Roads & Trails race run by The Forest Park RR one of the local running clubs in this county and part of the Queens Grand Prix that my running club is involved with.

I woke up with a splitting headache and legs that were stiff and sore - from all the walking I did the day before. I popped a couple of aspirin and took a warm shower, hoping to feel better. After about an hour, it seemed to be working, so I headed off to the race.

I met up with about 12 members of the Alley Pond Striders. After a bit of chatting and some info on the course, we headed for the starting line. I wasn't intending this to be a really fast run, but you know what they say about good intentions...

When the race started, I was in a group with about six other Striders. We were running easy, chatting a bit, commenting on the course changes from the previous years and then we came to a switchback. Because they lost use of part of the course, the race organizers had the field go out and back along a paved road for about a half mile. We quickly saw the leaders coming back at us. I felt good, not too pressed, when we approached the first mile marker. The course marshall yelled out a time of 7:54 as we approached. Our whole group let out a gasp - none of us thought we were going quite that fast!

I tried to ease up a bit, since I was sure I had just left most of my race on that first mile. At this point, we started on the trails portion of the course. The park has bridle paths cutting through it for two stables that are located nearby. These were nice to run on, except for the dust that was being kicked up. I started to feel it in my eyes and nose.

The second mile was done in under 17 minutes - I'd slowed down but not by much. I was really starting to feel it and by the time I was about halfway into the third mile, I had to walk. There were some pretty good hills on the course, as well. I walked for about twenty feet, just to catch my breath and collect myself. Then I picked up a jog again and was off.

The third mile was completed in 25 and change. I did some quick arithmetic in my head. If I ran the fourth mile in anything under 11 minutes, I would probably get my best time in this race. So I tried to slow down a bit more, and had to walk again. I started to get passed by some runners and managed to pick up a run again. We then broke out of the trees onto a paved roadway. The finish line was approaching and I managed to pick myself up some. I passed under the finish line in 34:24 - a personal best. I'm really pleased with the final time, but I think I should have run a smarter race. That first mile killed me. If I hadn't gone out quite that fast, I might have been able to finish with a better overall time, as I wouldn't have had to walk. Lesson learned.

It turned out my time was good enough for a second in my age group. I got another shiny trophy for my shelf. Bring on the hardware!

Now, I have a two week break until the NYRR Anniversary run. I'm planning on doing that one as a training run. It's the week before my first 10K. When I signed up it was supposed to be 4.8k, but they've since extended it to 4.8 miles. Rather than pull out all together, I'm going to use it as a long run and have a good time with it.

It all falls apart

2006-05-20T20:03:00.000-04:00

Oh my gosh! What a tragedy. One of the things I hate about horse racing is when a horse breaks down. Particularly such a fantastic horse in such a prominent race. You feel for the animal. I hope he recovers. You feel for the rest of the participants. How can you rejoice in a win when the favorite wasn't able to finish? And I'm so sorry for Barbaro's connections.

The race winner was Bernardini, but I'm sure it isn't what most people are thinking about. Congrats to the winner and my best wishes to Barbaro.

Mother's Day race report

2006-05-20T06:32:00.000-04:00

I guess it is about time that I say something about the race last Sunday.

The race started early at 8am, which meant that I had to leave my apartment by 6am to be sure that I would make the start with enough time to find Chelly, check in baggage and try to get a little warmup.

It was a beautiful morning. Not too cold and the subway ride was fairly uneventful. I got to the park entrance exactly on time and watched as runners started to trickle into the area. Chelly arrived a couple of minutes later and we headed toward the finish line to drop our bags and divest ourselves of our excess clothing.

I felt good. I wasn't planning on going all out, but it was a dry day and an unusual course. The race planners had put in a turn around, which was a new one for me, and I was interested to see how this would play out. Even a small Sunday morning race in Central Park attracts over 2000 runners and the park roads usually have many other people using them, so the plan to have the race field double back on itself ought to prove complicated.

We lined up at the start. I tried to push us up a bit so we could be up past anyone planning to walk, but the start was pretty congested and I found myself back in the area of those running slowly/walking quickly. The horn sounded and we shuffled toward the start line. After about a minute and a half, we crossed the starting mat.

I started to pick up speed and weave through the racers. I felt really good and kind of antsy being held back by the mass of runners. After about a half mile I noticed that the roadway to our right was cleared and the volunteers were yelling at us to stay to our left. The leaders were coming back from the turn around. I started hooting for the guys as the sped past us. I still can't imagine running that fast. The field cheered the first dozen or so runners that passed us. At about the mile marker, the entire field swept to our right. I let myself get carried to the outside of the turn where it was clear of other runners and used the opportunity to pass a chunk of the race. I gradually worked over to the inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chelly when we passed each other. This was probably the slowest portion of the race as I was scanning the pack for her turquoise top. You ever notice that everyone seems to be wearing the same color as the person you are looking for? After about ten minutes I gave up figuring I missed her. She told me later that she saw me, but I never found her.

Now more than two thirds into the race, I realize that I've been using up a lot of energy and am going to the bottom of the tank to continue. I've been trying to work on keeping a more consistent pace throughout my races, instead of saving it for a sprint at the end. My times have been getting faster because of this. I was saving too much of myself and then trying to make up for it at the end. Because I have more confidence in my ability I've been running faster in the first half of the race. Right now, this means I don't have a big kick for the end.

I crossed the finish line in 28:40. I remember to stop my watch a couple of seconds later and get a time of 27:10. Later, I would find out that my chip time was 26:58. Not including the Revlon run last week, this is a personal best for the 5K distance.

I wandered to the support tables and grabbed some water. After downing that, I got a cup of Gatorade and started back toward the finish line to watch for Chelly. I couldn't get too close since there were photographers at this race and they were keeping the spectators back so as to not ruin their sight lines. A large contigent of Polish runners come across and I'm worried that she has gotten stuck behind them. I look down the course and see what I think is her coming up to the finish area. I start to look for a way to get closer so she can hear me when she gets closer. She runs with headphones, so I have to be loud or close for her to hear me. I scream as she crosses, but I can tell she doesn't hear me. I run up the course to get past the photographers and come back down and catch her. She's also run a personal best time and can barely talk. I tell her that they've set up a finish line photo area and as soon as she has cooled down a bit we can go get our photo taken. This turns out to be the only picture that they got of me during the whole race.

After scarfing down a couple of Krispie Kremes (do-nuts!!!) We head out of the park to grab a real breakfast. There is a women's only half marathon being held after the 5k and we have to cross the start of that to get out of the park. I find a fellow Strider who, unknown to me, had run the 5K, as well. He informs me that one of our members is in the half. I found out later that she did a 1:45 which means I just missed her when we came back through the park.

This weekend I have a 4 mile race closer to home. I will try and be quicker with the report on that one.

Day at the Races

2006-05-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

Today began with brilliant sunshine and what promised to be a beautiful day. The plan was to participate in the Revlon Walk/Run for Women, so I got dressed and headed into the city on the subway.

I chose to participate in this event partly because of the unique course. When would I get another chance to run a race that took off right in the middle of Times Square? So I met up with Chelly just outside Times Square and was met by tons of participants. Hordes of women heading in the same direction, dressed in active clothing, and with signs proclaiming the women in their lives whose cancer fight they were supporting. I raised some money for the charity, but, fortunately, don't have a personal stake in the fight. Cancer is not what takes the women in my family.

Since we wanted to get a good run out of this, I suggested getting as close to the starting line as possible. The website had stated that strollers were allowed, but were asked to try and stay toward the rear as not to impede the runners. Of course, this was completely ignored and I was less than 10 feet from the starting line with a stroller on Chelly's heels and a small child on their bicyle to our right.

After a whole lot of announcement over the PA system, which I'm sure were touching and moving, but totally not understandable by those of us on the street, they started the event with a loud bang and whole lot of confetti. Now began about a half mile obstacle race where we weaved and bobbed around walkers and standers and others who really should have lined up farther back.

At about the half mile mark we entered the park and it became one of the most surreal races I've done so far in the city. I was participating in a 'race' of what was claimed to be 40,000 participants and there were fewer runners around me than were doing their workouts on the path. Most races are spent weaving around runners for the entire race, as I slowly pass a few here and there. Today, once I was clear, I hardly passed anyone. Except for the occasional stopped participant who had let the excitement goad them into going way to fast for the first mile.

I noticed at the first mile marker that it didn't seem to match with what my Garmin was telling me. I allowed that the initial start may have messed with my mileage and/or the tall buildings on 7th Avenue may have caused the GPS to miscalculate, but the second mile marker was off, as well. I really felt like I was working hard, but wasn't really sure of the distance, so I was kind of disappointed. The five mile race last weekend has been lingering with me all week and I thought that perhaps I was going to bonk in this race.

With all the distance markers being a little off, I wasn't exactly sure where they were going to put the finish line. I wanted to try and kick it a little in the last tenth of a mile, but was afraid that I would end up having to run farther than a tenth of a mile. I kept up a steady pace and I was right. The Garmin gave the total distance at 3.25 miles and I was able to verify that against what some other people got. My final time for the course was 27:17 - what would have been a PR for 5k and definitely the fastest 3.25 miles I've run. I was really pleased, especially since I thought I was working really hard just to get my normal pace.

They had quite a big post-race expo with tons of giveaways and lots of literature from other cancer charities. The end of the race bagel was accompanied by a small container of cream cheese and small bag of mini rice cakes, for a special touch.

I lost Chelly, though. I wandered the post-race area for over an hour before we finally bumped into each other. Chelly also ran a fantastic time for her race. I'm happy that we're both progressing through the season. We should be killer by fall! :-)

We wandered over to The Barking Dog for brunch. It was a cute place with a doggy decor and pretty good food. I got the breakfast plate which had an ample pile of bacon and hash browns along with three eggs and sausage. Mmmmm!

We then wandered downtown along Third Avenue just window shopping. Chelly picked up a couple of things for the 5 Boro Bike Tour tomorrow, in which she is participating. The idea of ice cream was floating in my head for some reason so I was keeping an eye open for a Ben & Jerry's or a Haagan Daz or any kind of ice cream shop where I could get a cone. Well, there was none to be had and I was kind of bummed. That's when Chelly remembered that FAO Schwartz has an ice cream bar in the store. Let me just say, this is not the place to go if you are on a diet. The sundae I got had three scoops of ice cream, hot fudge sauce, caramel sauce and chocolate chips. And whipped cream and a cherry on top. I didn't eat the whole thing, I couldn't. The other confections they were constructing contained enormous amounts of ice cream. They actually make one called the Volcano that has, I think, 12 scoops of ice cream. It's $100 and is supposed to serve six. My gosh!

Another little race was happening today in Kentucky. My pick for the Derby was Sweetnorthernsaint. I don't bet, but usually favor one or two horses. The winner was Barbaro in a stunning race. I'm happy for his trainer, Michael Matz, who I remember from the showjumping circuit, which was my passion when I was younger. How can you compare an Olympic medal and a Kentucky Derby win? He now has both. I can't wait to see if Barbaro can prove himself in the other Triple Crown races.

5 mile challenge

2006-04-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

Today was the 5 mile race hosted by my running club The Alley Pond Striders

I was planning on doing an easy run, as I have not raced at this distance before and I was a little intimidated by that last mile. I did a 4.5 mile run on Friday and had a tough time making the last half mile. I figured if I did the race at full-on race pace I'd fall apart.

Was a little too lackadaisical about getting to the race - it was just down the road after all. My original plan was to arrive at about 9:30 for the 10am start. I had pre-registered so I would just have to grab my number and go. I woke up at 6:30am. Crazy, but the pup doesn't understand weekends and she wants her breakfast at that time, just like every other day. After taking her out for a walk, I shared a plain bagel with her. Thought about going back to sleep, but I was up and didn't think it would work. Around 8:00 I decided to have another bite to eat. Perused the race info while I was noshing and realized that they were having a kid's run at 9:30. That would mean people would be arriving earlier than I expected. Decided to aim for a 9:00 arrival.

Drove to the park and found the parking lot full. Oops. Got a parking spot a few blocks away and walked into the park. I didn't expect that there would be a really big turnout, as the Queens half-marathon was just yesterday. But I guess different runners are interested in the two races. Bumped into everyone as I wound my way through the groups outside the parkhouse. Grabbed my number and stopped to pin it on. Christina found me and we started chatting. She was doing this race since she waited too long and got shut out of the Queens half. I don't usually run with her, as she is faster than I am, but we decided to line up for the start together.

As the race got started, I settled into what felt like a comfortable pace. Was chatting with Christina about how odd it felt to be racing on the paths upon which we usually do our weekend long runs. Their was a bit of an incline at the start and a little stretch of unpaved trails. Passed the first mile mark and heard the timer call out a 9:34. Sounded good, a little faster than I planned, but should still be OK.

That's when I started to allow Christina to pull me along faster than I expected. We were both a bit shocked to here a call of 17:40 at the two mile mark. I remarked that we were speeding up. I still felt alright, but was a little worried.

Got to the 3 mile mark and heard a call of 26 and change. HUH! Just than the Garmin chirped and gave me a laptime - we did the 3rd mile in 8:10. Oh gosh! That would be the fastest mile I've ever run. Definite trouble

And then it happened. I was laboring a bit and Christina was starting to pull away. Then at about 3.5 miles there is an uphill. I couldn't make it. I had to walk. Took a short walking break to the top of the hill. I knew it is mostly flat from then on so I wasn't too upset. Started to run at the top and pulled past the 4 mile timer. I heard 36 and change. That would be my second fastest 4 mile race and I walked.

I got a second wind as I realized that we were getting close to the end. I wasn't exactly sure where they had placed the finish line, so I didn't want to waste my energy too early. But then I saw it. And I decided to pick up the pace and sprint across it. Got to look good ;-)

My official race time was 43:44. Anything would have been a personal record, as it was the first time I raced the distance, but I'm real happy with that time. My Garmin disagreed with the race timers a bit, but that may be due to the tree cover messing with the signal.

I stayed around to help a bit with the breakdown of the race and was rewarded with a bag full of left over bagels and other foodstuff. As usual, my age group was the deepest in the race and I was nowhere near the top three. A year younger or five years older and I would have been taking home a trophy. It was a blast anyway.

Next week will be a 5k in Manhattan. The Revlon Walk/Run for Women - there is a banner on the right side of my blog for anyone who wishes to make a donation to the cause.

Labrecque 4M

2006-04-10T08:04:00.000-04:00

Another weekend, another race. Gotta love the spring!

I was back in Central Park this weekend for the cavalcade of runners known as the Thomas G. Labrecque Classic 4M race for lung cancer. It was a cold morning, walkers in the park were bundled up in hats and mittens. We had sleet/hail the day before. I met Chelly at 8am so we would have time to pick up our bibs and warmup before the start of the race. The registration area was a madhouse. The organizers apparently wanted to funnel all the runners through a small stairway into a field where everything was set up. This created a milling mess around the registration area and put the baggage area nowhere near either the start or the finish. Rather inconvenient.

Once we got our numbers, chips and t-shirts we went to drop off our baggage. The area was covered with that lovely sand/dirt that is used to create ballfields. You know that orangey stuff? Do you remember me mentioning the previous day's weather? Yep, everything became coated in orange mud. Both Chelly and I had opted for black tights which were becoming quickly covered with orange marks. I dropped the Forerunner which was now a disgusting sandy orange mess. This day was not starting out well.

After we dropped off the baggage, along with all our extra outerwear, we headed to the starting line. There was quite a crowd. I heard the announcer using the number 6600 when referring to the number who had shown up. Wow. I mentioned to Chelly that we might want to line up a little closer to the starting line than normal as there seemed to be quite a few walkers and first-time racers. I've noticed that they often overestimate their abilities and also are not aware of the logistics of such a mass start. That puts them square in the way when you are trying to take off

After standing around for what seemed like forever, we heard the airhorn to start the race. And then we stood, and stood, and stood some more. I mentioned that the leaders were probably half finished with the race by now. It turned out that we took about 6 minutes to cross the starting line.

I stayed with Chelly for about a quarter of a mile as we picked up speed and then I waved to her and started to pull away. It actually wasn't too bad. The runners were pretty spread out and I was able to weave my way through the slower people in front of me. I noticed the hills more than I have in the past, but didn't have any problems with them. I think the race last weekend was great training for Central Park.

I felt really great running. The cramping that I've been getting in my left foot showed up - it might be because I'm running in a new pair of shoes, but it worked itself out after about a quarter of a mile. I ran the first 3 miles easy and only had to push a bit during mile four.

Official race time was 42:42 with a chip time of 36:10. Yes, that is another personal best. Gotta love being a new runner! I keep surprising myself, because my training is still not where I want it to be and I'm doing most of the training in the races themselves. But I think the course was fast - the winners set course records.

Chelly got a personal best, as well, soundly trouncing the 50 minute mark.

We hung around for the festivities after the race and took some silly photos. There were photographers at the race, so serious running photos should be appearing shortly. But, meanwhile, we mug for the camera!

I also got a nice shot of springtime in Central Park. Enjoy!

I got a TROPHY!!!!!

2006-04-02T17:41:00.000-04:00

I ran in my first 5k race of the season today. A small little local race in Great Neck called the Gold Coast 5k. I convinced Chelly to come out and join me in a race on Long Island. I talked up the fact that they're small and fun compared to the massive hordes that show up for every race in Central Park. You don't get smoked by hundreds of runners running by you like you're standing still.

So we entered this race -- and we each won trophies!! I actually have something I can pull out and lord over..ahem..tell my friends about. I won my age group and Chelly came in second in her's.

We both also ran personal bests which is shocking. This was actually a pretty hard course. The course was an approximately 1.5 mile loop that we ran twice before cutting off to head for the finish line. I think the course was more than three-quarters uphill and a pretty serious grade. Then there was one big downhill that caused different difficulties as you felt like you'd go tumbling head over heels if you went too fast. Before I saw the course I was planning to try and run a 9:00 pace. I've been flirting with that number for a little while. I managed a 8:52 pace today, hills and all. Don't ask me how, I have no idea.

Refreshing weekend

2006-03-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to catch up everyone on what I've been up to.

Saturday morning I ran an easy 6 miles with the club. Pace was 11:18 and it didn't feel great. Due to a real feeling of ennui, of late, I hadn't run a single step since the race last Sunday. It was cold on Saturday morning and I was feeling like I'd rather stay home in bed. But I dragged myself out to the park with every intention of only doing 2 or 3 miles. Forgot my gloves, didn't realize that my new tights were so light and I was ready to turn around and go home. I started with the group, mumbling to myself the whole way that I was going to turn around. Managed to drag myself to the 2 mile mark when I hooked up with another runner and started chatting. Another mile got away from me and I ended up doing 3 miles before we turned around. It didn't feel too bad and I was glad I got out there.

I met Chelly at lunchtime because I had found out about a bike expo going on in New Jersey and was curious to see what was out there. The expo was a bit of a disappointment. I guess these things are more for those who are already seriously into the sport. I don't even own a bicycle and wasn't really planning on buying one. I'm kind of scared of biking and have never ridden in traffic. We puttered around the vendor's booths, picking up some free samples of bars and checking out the cheap gear that was being sold. But it only occupied us for about an hour or so and we had the rest of the afternoon to kill

We decided to drive around New Jersey, with the idea of eating in mind, but really just wandering. We ended up at the mall :-)

Had a sinful meal at Ruby Tuesday's (I ate a chicken sandwich. Pay no attention to the heap of stuff in the bun or the dessert that I just had to have) Then decided to do some window shopping. Well, they had a Nike outlet store. Running gear at discount prices! Because I've been buying tons of cold weather stuff, I held off and only picked up a couple of hats that were marked down to less than half price. I really need to buy some warm weather clothes, since some of the stuff from last season is probably too large now, but that's not what is available in the clearance sales.

Sunday was the refreshment day at the club run, so off I went. Again, I wasn't planning on going too far, since I had done 6 the day before. But our running coordinator announced that he was going to do an easy run outside of the park. That sounded like it might be fun, so I decided to follow him. Now, a number of runners had done the Brooklyn half marathon the day before, so they were planning anything too hard. But their idea of hard and mine differ. We ended up doing just under 6 miles at a 9:48 pace. I didn't feel too bad, amazingly enough. That made 12 miles in two days. Quite a workout. I allowed myself to partake of the spread put out by the club and sampled a little bit of everything there.

I realized from a comment on my last post that I haven't posted a picture of my pup in a while. So here's one of her basking in the sunlight this morning. It's her favorite pasttime, right after eating and obsessing on her rubber ball.

Also, I haven't figured out how to respond to comments off the blog. I'm not sure if I have a setting wrong, but I don't get an e-mail address when people post a comment - it might be meant to be that way, but if anyone more familiar with blogger can tell, I would appreciate it. If anyone was waiting for a response, that is the reason they haven't got one...sorry.

Colon Cancer Challenge

2006-03-12T23:16:00.000-05:00

This weekend was my first individual race of the year. I did the 4 mile Race for Colon Cancer in Central Park. The weather has been warm for the last few days, but there was a prediction of rain for today, with the possibility of thundershowers. Ooh, fun, I just *so* love running wet.

I had to get up at 5am in order to take care of the dog and eat a little breakfast and still have enough time to ride the subway into the city. Fortunately, there was no rain and I was hoping it would hold off until after the race. I had made plans to meet Chelly at the transverse into the park at 7:15. Start time for the race was 8am and the instructions were a little confusing as to exactly where the start and end of the race was going to be. We had bags and stuff to leave at the finish line and it looked like we would have to walk across the park from there to the start. It didn't turn out to be that far, so we had plenty of time to shed jackets and check our bags.

As usual, the start was jam packed and I didn't cross the start line until almost 2 minutes after the gun went off. Once we were moving, I waved bye to Chelly and took off. By now we were getting some rain, but it wasn't too bad. I thought it felt like a wonderful day for a run. I managed to catch some splits: first 1:01 mile - 9:44, next 1:00 mile - 9:06 (wow!), next 1:06 - 9:49 and then, of course, I forgot to stop the watch and caught the last 1:07 mile in 9:47. My official time was 39:17 with a chip time of 37:04. That was the second fastest race pace I've ever run and is my new personal best for the 4 mile distance. I think I impressed myself :-)

I grabbed my camera after I finished and caught Chelly when she was finishing, so here's a few photos -

All running, all the time

2006-02-26T19:12:00.000-05:00

So this weekend was all about the running.

Saturday, I got up and got dressed for my run with the Striders. It felt cold and it was, at about 32 degrees Fahrenheit and wind gusts of about 35mph. Wasn't planning to run too far, as I knew I had a race to run on Sunday. An easy 4 miles seemed like a good idea. Well, if you spend your run talking, you sometimes get dragged along. I did just over 6 miles and felt really good doing it. Considering that I've been skipping my weekday runs, for the most part, it shouldn't feel that easy. Can't wait until it gets warmer and I can really up the mileage (and maybe get outside during the week, as well)

Sunday morning I woke up to a temperature of 12 degrees. Twelve degrees! That's crazy! If it had just been a run in the park, I probably would have skipped it, but I had told our running coordinator that I would show up for the race, so off I went. I put on about four layers plus my winter coat and packed another sweatshirt and pants to pull on over my running clothes after the race, when I would be wet. I stuffed some napkins in all my pockets for the inevitable runny nose I would get and packed a Luna bar for post race energy, if needed.

The race was The North Fork Bank Winter Trail 3 x 2 relay I've never run in a team race or in a trail race before. I found the rest of the Striders and got put in a team with the other two female runners who showed up. We discussed it among ourselves and decided that I would take the first leg. The three of us took off up the trail for a one mile warmup. The trails were not too bad. Mostly groomed pathways with the only difficulty being to avoid the frozen ruts where vehicles had driven through. As we got back to the starting area I asked if we were supposed to have numbers? Christina realized that the numbers were still in the car, so she went back to the parking lot to get them. While we were standing around, I noticed that a large group of runners seemed to be leaving. ARRGGG! The race had started! So I took off without my number, hoping that it wouldn't be a problem.

I loved running in the woods. The trees broke the wind and it was so quiet with everyone's footfalls deadened by the leaf litter. I didn't bring my Forerunner, so I had no idea how fast I was going. The leg was only 2 miles so I pushed it to the point where I felt like I was working hard. When I reached the 1 mile mark, I looked at my watch and estimated that I had done it in a bit over 9 minutes. Cool! I kept up that pace and managed to complete my leg in about 18:30.

Here's our team
That's Sue on the left, with the food in her hands, Christina in the center and me on the right in the coat. The running club that was coordinating the race had hot soup, cocoa and various baked goods for the runners. Food always tastes so much better after you've beat yourself up.

Buried in all that white stuff

2006-02-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

They promised a blizzard and it delivered. We have about 22 inches of snow and it's still in the air. Not sure if it's falling or just blowing. My car is buried. I'm taking advantage of today's holiday and staying home tomorrow. So I haven't bothered to even go out in it. Aside from the trips to the front step so Shannon can take care of business, I've been holed up all day with the Olympics.

Yesterday, the Striders opted to do the usual Sunday long run because of the forecast for today. I didn't go with them since they go longer and quicker than I'm able to right now, but I did get in a 6.25 mile run. Not too bad a pace, I finished the distance in about 1:07. I should be ready to do a couple of 10k races by the spring or early summer. I am feeling sore today. Possibly because I also ran at the gym on Friday night for half an hour. So I did about 10 miles in less than 24 hours.

Nothing happening because I'm sick

2006-01-22T18:01:00.000-05:00

Well, nothing much has been going on here since I caught a bug on Wednesday. I didn't go to the gym Wednesday night after work because I started to feel a bit sick. Scratchy throat and a bit of out of sorts. So I thought I'd skip my workout and coddle myself to see if I'd feel better on Thursday. Didn't happen. Woke up feeling horrible on Thursday. Called into work and spent the whole day wrapped in blankets on the sofa watching daytime TV. My head was killing me so I couldn't read or stitch. I had no energy so I couldn't do anything. Fortunately, Shannon seemed to sense that I wasn't feeling good and didn't beg to go outside every hour, which is the usual situation on weekends. Instead she curled up under my blanket and kept me company.

Didn't feel much better on Friday or Saturday and still don't feel one hundred percent. I'm tentatively planning to go to the gym tomorrow night, even if it is only to walk for a half hour on the treadmill.

Since I've pretty much been inside all week, I've been going stir crazy. The head is feeling better so I can manage to sit at the 'puter for short stretches. I've been catching up on my blog reading and I found a Meme that is going around the RBF blogs. I think Boulder started it. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Here are some photos of my refrigerator.

This the outside. Notice souvenir postcards from my vacations and friends. A poster of a cute puppy I got at the Marathon expo (he was selling collars for hurricane relief)

Here is the inside of the main compartment. Pretty empty. I live by myself so I don't keep tons of food in the house. It would spoil before I could eat it. There's some salsa, marinara sauce, mayo and three chocolate buddhas. You can't see it but there is a pound of baby carrots and a pound of mixed greens in the crisper drawer. Nothing exciting.

Now the freezer is usually packed. I freeze almost everything. Very healthy. Frozen pepper strips and veggie burgers. A bunch of tortillas for wraps and quesadillas. The pound of butter is for cooking and baking. It will probably last me a year, but I'm a bargain shopper and I just can't buy the more expensive smaller size. That's also why there is so much ice cream in there. It's lowfat! Actually, it will probably take me three weeks or more to eat it. Behind what you see is some of the not so healthy stuff that was in there when I started refining my eating habits and I refuse to throw away. Once in a while I'll pull something out and splurge.

I guess it doesn't look like a triathlete's frig, but it is a vast improvement over 2004. It's been over a year now since I started this blog and about the same since I decided to lose weight and get fit. The weight's gone, for good I hope, and I'm still improving the diet. I'm satisfied and I hope you enjoyed my tour of my frig.

Just hanging around

2006-01-15T13:23:00.000-05:00

Nothing exciting going on this weekend...and I like it that way! After all the running around for the past few weekends, it feels good to have absolutely nothing that I have to do. I even played hookie from running -- bad runner, but I have time to get back into it.

Last weekend there was a MetroStitcher gathering at Chelly's. The theme was 'start a new large project'. I pulled a kit I bought of a design by Terry Nolan - Viceroy and Monarch in his Wee Beasties series. These are pieces that look like insect specimens pinned to a board.

There was a pretty good turn out for so close to the holidays. I think quite a few people wanted to do something more relaxing.

We stitched and chatted all afternoon. It was good to see some of the longtime members who I don't see as often, such as Marci, Judi and Anita. Chelly cooked us all dinner, including dessert, and I stuffed myself.

Amazingly, with all the stuffing going on this holiday season, I'm only up a pound or two. I'm sure I can take care of that as soon as I get back into my running. If you look at the sidebar, I've started filling in my race plans for this year. It looks like I'll be heading out to Colorado again to visit my sister and race in a different race. I am doing a few longer races this year. Still planning a number of 5k races, but I've been running longer distances in training and know that I can finish a 10k. And that means a new PR!

Happy New Year's!

2006-01-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's. I had a good time, hanging with some of my girlfriends, drinking too much champagne and eating lots of food that isn't good for me.

I went into Manhattan for New Year's eve. Not to Time Square (never!) and not to the Midnight run in Central Park, but to my friend, Chelly's, place for a girl's night. Stitching was the intention, but very little actually got done. Instead, we stuffed our faces with pizza, munched our way through chips and dip and cheese and bread and killed quite a few bottles of alcohol. An entertaining evening was topped off with a group rendition of 'Paradise by the Dashboard Lights' (what can I say? we drank quite a bit)

New Year's day was fairly quiet. Having only got to bed at about 4 am, my body still woke up at 7 am. Shannon thought that was a fine idea, and would not let me return to bed until she had a walk around the neighborhood and a quick breakfast. I then re-woke up at about 10 am and hung around in my pajamas for a few hours. About 1:30 I roused myself and took a drive over to the local Barnes and Noble, where I spent a quiet few hours perusing the magazines. I bought a few and also had this follow me home I thought it looked like it might be a good basic book to have and I can practise techniques on smaller projects.

Today I didn't have to go to work so I woke up early and managed to get a run in this morning. It felt good to run outside in the sun. My motivation has been pretty low lately since I hate running in the dark and am not crazy about running indoors. But the weather cooperated today and I managed a short 3.5 mile run. I rewarded myself with a stop at the bagel store for a multigrain bagel. I have resolved to do some races this year at the 10k distance. Since that is twice the length of the races I've been running, I figured that I am aiming to double my mileage for this year. This isn't as bad as it sounds. In January 2005 I had never run before, so for the first months of the year I didn't get much mileage. My average was only 6 miles per week for the year - 12 is not a ridiculous goal. I have my eye on a couple of 10k races in May and June. I will decide in a few weeks which one to shoot for.

Ho Ho Holiday running

2005-12-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

I ran in another race this weekend. I really enjoy racing - daily runs by myself, not so much, but I do them so I can race. The race this weekend was the Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5k run in Bethpage hosted by the Greater Long Island Running Club. It was so much fun. This was the first race that I've attended with the Alley Pond Striders. What a difference it makes to have a group of friends there to run with, to shout support and to hang around with after the race. It was beautiful day - sunny, not too windy and above freezing by a degree or two. I wasn't sure what to wear. I didn't want to be too warm, but I didn't want to freeze my patootie. I think I got it about right. Tights, light coolmax hiking socks, a base layer top and a technical 1/4 zip top. I also wore light gloves and a headband to cover my ears. There were people there in shorts, but a 5k doesn't warm me up that much. The free shirt was a nice blue sweatshirt - I needed a sweatshirt for my wardrobe, but I didn't wear it in the race.

The race start was a bit confusing. This race attracted a good size crowd, including a number of people in unique costumes, and we had to start on a fairly small local road. There was much milling around and then the starting horn went off. I wasn't even sure in which direction we were supposed to be running, but I just got dragged along with the mob. An immediate turn onto an even smaller roadway caused a bit of a bottleneck and I had to be careful not to get body-slammed into a parked car. My left foot cramped for about the first quarter of a mile, it's been doing that lately and I'm not sure why, but otherwise, it was a comfortable race. I finished in 29:20. Much faster than I expected to go, only 25 seconds off of my PR. The postrace food had the usual bagels and bananas, but since Whole Foods was a sponsor, it also included some natural sodas, juices and pudding. The pudding was a big hit. I think I ate about three of them. After the awards were announced (the prize for the first three people in each award category were 4 glasses engraved with the race info and were very nice) the race organizers also put together a door prize raffle. Everyone who ran was entered and they had some nice stuff. The two big prizes were a digital camera worth about $1000 and two airline tickets anywhere JetBlue flies. I already had my vacation planned, but I didn't win the tickets.

Today, the Striders had its annual holiday party and elections. After our morning run(I did six miles, which was a little hard after the race yesterday), we partook of a big spread in the parkhouse. I ate way too many sweets, but there were homemade brownies. I baked a marble banana bread from a recipe I found in Cooking Light magazine. It turned out well and was completely gone before the end of the party.

Now I should be off finishing my shopping, so have a great week!.

Busy weekend

2005-12-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

I had a really hectic weekend. First, I went to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with Chelly and Mel Friday night. I liked it, but wasn't as blown away as I hoped to be. The story was as I remembered it, but the effects were a bit lacking. Certain things were done well and then it was like the effects people ran out of money for other things. I guess I've been spoiled by the recent blockbusters with astronomical budgets.

We went out for dinner at a new restaurant, Piola. Pizza, primarily, in all different and unique permutations. Kind of a hip downtown vibe. The food was pretty good and we hung out there for quite some time. I didn't get home until after midnight.

Saturday morning I got woken up way too early by a Jack Russell Terror who insisted that I be up and about at 7am. One plus was I had ample time to run around and get some errands taken care of before the annual MetroStitcher holiday party at Jenny's.

The ladies arrived in their holiday finery, tiaras firmly on their heads, to partake of a great deal of sugar, chocolate and alcohol. Stitching took place, but I'm sure that I am not the only one who is just going to frog everything I did at the party.

Jenny had to push the party out the door at 7pm to get ready for her show. A few of us were going to be attending the play, so we decided to grab dinner near the theater, beforehand. We got Indian food at HaveliAfter such a long day and after allowing myself to eat too many cookies and other sweets, I couldn't fully appreciate dinner, although the food was really good.

The show Jenny was appearing in was The 8: Reindeer Monologues An interesting play, which takes quite a different look at the Christmas tale. I've enjoyed all the shows that I've attended by this acting company, but because I was so tired, the theater was a little overwarm and I was a tad overfed, I had a hard time paying attention so quite a bit of the show is hazy. The show let out after midnight and due to the capricious nature of the NYC Subway system heading out of Manhattan late night on weekends I didn't get home until almost 2am. I think this holiday season is going to do me in.

Weekend recap

2005-11-20T19:49:00.000-05:00

I've been fairly busy this weekend, so I'm just getting a chance to post.

Friday I met Theresa, Cynthia and Mel from the MetroStitchers in the city for the first showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I arrived wearing my new Ravenclaw scarf, which I finished Wednesday evening. I spotted a few other house scarves in the crowd. I thought the movie was marvelous! To be honest, I read the book long enough ago that I don't remember all the details. Therefore, although the conversation on the web has been about disappointment in favorite scenes not being included, I didn't really notice.

The effects were fantastic - I love the Quidditch World Cup set. Would have loved to see more of the camp, but time is of the essence. All the characters seemed perfectly cast. I loved Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. And Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter. I did notice some changes in the knitwear for the movie - the Weasley sweater had an applique letter rather than a intarsia one and the scarves look as if they may be knit of a finer wool. I can't wait to see it again to pick up more of the little details

Saturday morning I headed to the park for our club refreshment run. This usually attracts a big crowd and there must have been 50 members turned out. I ran with a friend who runs a good bit slower than I usually do, so I was easily able to make a 5 mile run. This entitled me to a little pigging out at the spread after the run. The club does a nice job - the table was clear in minutes

After running errands and food shopping on Saturday, so that I wouldn't have to do it on Sunday, I spent a good part of the day esconced on the sofa watching videos and stitching. I finally started a Mill Hill beaded kit. The Silver Needle always has a wall of these things at the cross stitch shows and I always pick up a few. I have yet to stitch any of them, however.

Today I actually made it to the park again. I planned on running a faster 2 1/2 to 3 mile stretch, but I got to talking and didn't stop until the turnaround for 5 miles. I left my running companion to continue and headed back. Probably due to a combination of a much faster pace and being a bit wornout from yesterday, I bonked at the 4 mile mark. So I walked the rest of the way. Still, I got 9 miles in this weekend which is more than I've been getting in for an entire week, lately.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Map Me!

2005-11-13T17:41:00.000-05:00

Well, there is another time waster going around blogland. Not to be left out, I created my own. Please add yourself.

Running New York City

2005-11-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a big one for running in this town. The NYC Marathon was run on Sunday. Over 35,000 people ran the course as it wound its way through all five boroughs of the city.

I have been a spectator at the race for years - since the 1970s when it was only a few thousand people. My dad used to take me to watch the race. We'd catch the lead runners as they passed through Queens and then take the subway into Manhattan to see them finish in Central Park. A friend of my father's used to run every year, so we'd usually try and find him at the end.

This year I decided that I wanted to participate. No, I'm not at the point where I was going to run in it. I'm happy with 5k races with the goal of graduating to 10k races next year. What I did is volunteer. 12,000 volunteers make this race work the way it does and I thought it would be a different way to experience the race.

The volunteer application available on the website stated that they really needed marshalls at the expo. The Expo is, basically, the location where the runners pick up their numbers and goody bags for the race. Every runner has to come to Jacob Javits Convention Center some time in the three days preceding the race. In addition to the check-in area there is a free expo where tons of running related freebies are available. The marathon store is also there, where you can pick up souveniers and meet elite runners and other personalities from the world of running. I decided to get to the Expo a little early so I would get an opportunity to look around before I was put to work. I managed to put together a bag of stuff in only a half an hour.

The volunteer coordinator asked me if I minded working outside. The weather was unusually mild, so I said I'd be happy to spend my time outdoors. I was assigned to direct runners approaching the Convention Center to the correct entrance to pick up their race packet. This was not as easy as it sounds. The frontage of the center is about a city block long and the people were pouring off buses and out of cabs. Often with a cell phone attached to their ear and/or not having English as their primary language. So my duties began to resemble those of an air traffic controller. This was to stand me in good stead for the race the next day.

For the marathon itself, I had volunteered to work one of the Queens aid stations. This would involve handing out water and other liquid to the runners. During the week before the race, however, I got an e-mail from volunteer coordination telling me that a whole bunch of boy scouts were manning those stations and, therefore, they were full. I was given the option of doing race marshall at the Queensborough bridge, instead. This sounded like a unique opportunity, so I jumped at it.

Sunday morning, when I showed up for my assignment the coordinator explained that our primary duty was going to be toward the wheelchair athletes. The organizers of the race have determined that it would be better not to have the wheelchairs amongst the runners when they cross the bridge. So, instead, the wheelchairs are detoured onto the pedestrian crossing. Sounds crazy to me, but that was our job. In the last half mile before the bridge, which is the 15 mile mark of the race, a number of us were stationed at intervals with the assignment of trying to get the attention of these athletes and 'push' them over to the left so that they were set up for the approach of the detour. On a number of occasions this involved me having to weave my way into the race to get alongside the chair and yell at the athlete. Sometimes they had earphones, sometimes they didn't understand English and sometimes they were just so 'zoned' they weren't paying any mind to their surroundings. It helped that I remembered the word for 'left' in Spanish. It also helped that I had developed some signalling from the day before. It was a blast!

My memories of the race are mostly of these athletes - there were the men and women in racing chairs, flying through in front of the race. Then there were the ones in hand cranked chairs, the ones in standard chairs and there was even one man on what was basically a skateboard. I barely noticed the elite runners when they came through except that their entourage of cars and motorcycles made it difficult for us to help the wheelchairs. I didn't find out who won until I got home after the race.

I can't wait to do it again next year.

Race report - Malverne 5k

2005-10-23T14:53:00.001-04:00

The weather all weekend was awful. Rain yesterday with occasional downpours. I had pretty much decided that I wasn't going to participate in this race. But then I woke up this morning at 6 am to walk the dog. No rain. It was pretty chilly, but no sign of rain.

I busied myself with trying to figure out what to wear. I still don't have a lot of clothes, and almost no cold weather gear. I did get a pair of running tights, but the forecast said the high would be 60 F and I thought that might be too warm for tights. So, shorts were a definite. The top would be a problem. I have some nice singlets, but I knew that wouldn't be warm enough, especially at the beginning of the race. When I bought the tights from Sierra Trading Post I also picked up a jacket and a top with 3/4 sleeves, both made from wicking fabrics, just because they were pretty cheap. I decided that I would run in those, although I hadn't run in them before (usually a no-no).

After a light breakfast, I drove to the race location. A bit of confusion as the race information said that the race was at the Malverne High School, but the packet pickup and the starting line was across the street at the Middle School. The high school would be the location of the finish line.

I have been thinking for the last few weeks that my training runs have been too fast in comparison to my race times. But I have been running easily and not feeling like I was going too fast. I thought perhaps I wasn't really pushing myself as much as I could during the races. I decided to see if I could go faster and planned on increasing my race pace by 30 seconds per mile to see if I could last the whole race. I didn't have anything to lose - the course was supposed to be fairly flat and the field was pretty small. I have noticed that these small local races attract a lot of kids and teenagers. Most of them aren't runners, but rather students at the schools affiliated with the race. They go racing off too fast at the start and you see them sprawled all over the course after the first mile or so. This creates races that are great for the beginner's ego. My modest times place me way up in the finish since the serious runners are really only a small part of the race.

I took off at the start at about a 9:50 pace. After the big group in front took off, I settled into a steady comfortable run. It was pretty cold and the jacket was getting in my way a bit (must get a long sleeve race top) but my legs warmed up after the first half mile and I checked my watch. Whoa! I was running at around 9:10! I still felt good, so I didn't slow down. At the first mile marker the clock said 9:20. This was going well - I just might get a personal record

Mile 2 found me passing a lot of the kids. I still felt pretty good, except for my hands being freezing. I now know why I see the marathoners wearing gloves in relatively warm temperatures. Must get me some of those, too. The clock at the two mile mark read 19:10. Quickly, do the math in my head. OK, I'm on a 9:35 pace - not bad, but I've slowed a bit. Check with the body...nothing hurts, breathing good. OK, pick up the pace a little.

When the watch says there is about a quarter of a mile left, I decide to go for broke. I still feel good and I start to pass runners. The course turns into the playing field behind the high school. Now we're on grass and I'm a little concerned I might slip. Watch the feet. I look up as I approach the finish line. It looks like it says 29:30 - that would be a fantastic time. But wait, as I get closer I realize that the second number is an 8. What!!! I rush towards the finish line to try and beat the clock. 28:57!!!! OHMYGOSH!

I was floating. I think there was a grin about a mile wide on my face. I didn't care how many people finished in front of me. I beat my PR by over a minute! After I wandered around in a daze for awhile, I started to think that I might actually have an age group placement. Like I said, there weren't too many older runners and I might get a placement just because there were fewer than 3 in my age group. So I wandered over and checked the finish order as it was posted. I finished 62nd with a pace of 9:19. Skimming the age/gender listings I think I finished 4th in my age group. I stayed for the award ceremony, which was the fastest one I've seen so far. They only announced the first place in each age group. I'm not even sure they announced the first three finishers overall. So, until they post the results online somewhere I can't be sure what my age placement was, but I'm too busy floating through this day to care.

Keep running!

Here Comes the Sun!

2005-10-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

Wow, there is a bright, shiny, warm orb up in the sky! I forget what it is called, but it is lovely.

I had given serious thought to attending the Wool Festival in Rhinebeck this year. But due to the weather this week, I changed my plans. And, of course, the weather pulled a nice one out of the bag. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. They still have to contend with the mud (I'm consoling myself).

I met up with the AP Striders this morning for my first run in what seems like forever. Actually, I last went out on Monday in the drizzle, but couldn't pull myself off the couch for the rest of the week. I SHOULD have been going to the gym for some crosstraining at the very least, but I was weak and the call of the couch was too strong. Today was the club's monthly breakfast run, so the attendance was high (free food!). We set out at a quick pace, but had to detour almost immediately around a downed tree in the trail. So after some scrabbling through the woods, we were back on track. There were a few more downed trees, but none that totally blocked the trail. I ran at a pretty fast pace - the alarm that I have set to warn me to go no faster than a 10:00 minute pace on my training runs was yelling at me. I was planning on doing about 5 miles, but a huge lake that took over the running trail just past the 2 mile mark prevented us from doing a really long run. This was a good thing, as a portion of the club is doing the Staten Island 1/2 marathon tomorrow and probably shouldn't be running too long today. In my case, the lack of running this week caught up with me and I started to slow down tremendously in the second half. I ended up doing 4 miles in just over 41 minutes, which is still a good average pace, but I know that I went too fast at the beginning and must have been going fairly slow to only end up with that time.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful day.

A quiz to tide me over

2005-10-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.

A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.

A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.

No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Find the Love of Your Life
(and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Where I tell you all about last weekend

2005-09-30T23:12:00.000-04:00

Arrgghh! So late with this post. I wanted to write it the same day I came home, but I was tired and I had to unpack and then I was busy the next day, and the next... and you get the idea.

Well, anyway. Last weekend was the Hershey CATS or the Stitching Festival or whatever they're calling it at this particular moment. I drove there on Thursday with Chelly along for the ride and also being my roomie. We both pretty much threw caution to the wind and let our hair loose. I had decided that I was only going to watch my diet so much. I was going to Chocolatetown, USA after all! Here is what we had for lunch on the way down.

We arrived at the Hershey Lodge with just enough time to throw our stuff in our room and hit the merchandise mall to get a lay of the land. My initial impression was not good. It seemed a bit smaller than in previous years and I didn't see anything new that grabbed my attention. Ah well, I was here for rest and relaxation.

Dinner was pizza at the sportsbar in the Lodge. MMMM, that hit the spot!

The next morning, after a short run, I bumped into the rest of the MetroStitchers at the breakfast buffet. Fortified with chocolate pancakes, I ran back to the room to take a quick shower, and came back down to give the Merchandise mall a thorough walk through. Let me just say, I managed to do some financial damage! Stuff just kept leaping into my totebag. It's amazing how small purchases all over the place can add up to so much money.

Friday night, after dinner, the MetroStitchers had our traditional show and tell. This allows everyone the chance to see what we bought and gives us one more day in the mall to pick up those things we didn't notice.

Saturday, Chelly and I hit the outlet mall in town. I found an underwear store where I spent mucho dinero (I have to stay out of the underwear store) We also got matching running outfits for our race on Oct 9.

Sunday, on the way out of Hershey, we stopped at the Gardens for some photo opportunities.

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend. I enjoyed getting to see all my friends and picking up a needle again. I hadn't stitched in quite some time and forgot how much I like it. Will have to make time between everything else going on in my life.

Memememememe...

2005-09-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

OK, there's a meme going around, and as I have nothing else interesting to write about, here it is:

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five/some other people to do the same.

"I managed to keep to my diet at lunch, with a McDonalds grilled chicken Caesar salad, but it pretty much went out the window after that :-)"

I'm tagging Chelly, Jenny, May, Nicole and Marci

I'm off to the Stitching Festival in Hershey, PA! My diet is so going to be forgotten this weekend (sounds familiar)

Mind Games in New York City

2005-09-18T11:39:00.000-04:00

I ran the Fitness Magazine Mind Body Spirit Games 4 mile race in Central Park yesterday.

The day started at 6am when I woke up and got dressed. I grabbed a bite to eat and was out the door. First I had to brave the New York City Subway system in the early morning of a weekend, which translates into no trains. Even though the system is 24 hours there are times when it is tough to get a train. Being familiar with this phenomenon, I left plenty of time to get to Columbus Circle where I was meeting Chelly. This was going to be her first race and I had agreed to join her (who are we kidding, I talked her into the whole running thing ;-D ). I was excited to be running in Central Park. I've watched the marathon go through the park since I was a child, but had yet to run there myself.

Chelly pulled up to the curb in a cab right on time. After a little chat and pep talk we headed uptown through the park to the start area. We picked up our numbers, race t-shirts and chips and then wandered around the start area picking up swag. With quite a few large corporate sponsors, there was plenty of stuff to be had. I got a free hat and and a pair of socks. Another sponsor was giving out water bottles and a few had sweepstakes giving away gym memberships and gift baskets loaded with their products.

Shortly before the start, Chelly's running coach from her gym joined us. Clara was going to run with Chelly for support. We had agreed that we would run at our own pace and not feel that we had to stay with each other. I'm glad that Chelly had someone to run with for her first race.

This was a rather large race. I think there were about 3000 runners so they had us gather in groups by our expected running pace. They released each group in stages. This meant that those of us expecting to do a 10 minute or more pace were left standing at the starting line for almost 5 minutes after the start of the race. I stuck with Chelly and Clara for probably the first quarter of a mile and then began to pull away. I was feeling great and had to keep myself from running too fast for the first mile. I managed to hit my Forerunner just shy of the first mile to get a lap time. The first mile was about 10:55. I picked it up after that and got another split at the end of 3 miles of 20:41. At that point, I felt so good that I decided to kick it up another notch and I ran the last mile in 9:23! My official finish time for the race was 44:57 with a net time of 40:47 and a total pace of 10:11 per mile.

I'm very pleased with the results. This is a fairly flat course and it is totally paved. The crowd made it a little difficult to maneuver and I did get stuck behind groups of slower runners a few times.

Chelly has photos up on her blog of our race day. She sent me some and I'm closing this post with one of me lazing with the doggies at FAO Schwartz toy store.

For your viewing pleasure

2005-09-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

I can't think of anything to post about so I thought I'd leave you with photos of Shannon, the terrier that gives this blog its name.

Stretched out in comfort

Go away you're bugging me.

Early morning run

2005-09-04T14:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I was out in the park, running, at 8:30 this morning. I decided to do 4.5 miles and headed out with the intention of maintaining an 11:00 minute pace. I have to start pushing myself to get ready for the 4 mile race in two weeks. I felt pretty good. Started out with the Striders but no one was running at my pace, so ended up pretty much by myself. Even with only my thoughts for company, I didn't have any trouble getting past the wall I usually hit at about 2 miles. On my daily runs I usually feel great until that point and then I feel like I don't want to go another step. In a race I don't really get that. I'm not sure why.

Finished the 4.5 miles in 48:59 pace 10:52. Not too shabby. My hope of doing the 4 miles in 40 minutes might be a little optimistic, but I'm not unhappy with my time.

See you out running!

She's a running machine!

2005-08-29T00:20:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the 5K at the Brickhouse. I shattered my personal best time. I did the race in 30:35!! My Forerunner caught my average pace at 9:45 per mile - WOW!!! I felt great, too. Pushing a little at the end, but it was pretty humid.
These local races are so much fun. There was free micro-brew beer and barbeque at the end of the race. There was also live music. I hung around for about an hour and a half, but then I had to go, since I had a 40 mile drive home.
I'm so psyched. I seem to be pretty good at this running thing. My times have been getting better each time I race, which is my personal goal. I'm not going to be garnering any prizes, especially since the 40 - 49 age group seems to be the tough one around here. My time in this race would have put me in the top ten in the 30 - 39 age group, but was only like 16th in my own age group. Those ladies are fast. If only my birthday wasn't until October.

Progress

2005-08-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, since I am supposed to be mentioning knitting, occasionally, I thought I'd give a progress photo of the Azkhaban Ravenclaw scarf.

I'm about 60% done and it is moving along well. Nothing too difficult. Just endless knitting on a round needle. The color changes for the stripes are working out pretty well -- this being the first time I have tried that. I like the feel of the yarn, even if it is acrylic. It doesn't feel as nasty as the cheap acrylic yarns I've worked with before. I guess quality counts.

My original weight goal has been met. I'm still not happy with my body, so I'm going to see if an addition 10 pounds makes a difference. The charts for my height say that I can be anywhere between 115 and 150, which means that 125 is not too low. Wow, I haven't been 125 since high school. I'm also pretty sure that my home scale is a little off and I'm really closer to 140 right now. We'll see how it goes.

On the running front, I took almost a week off when we had a killer heat wave. I just didn't want to be outside, let alone running in that sauna. The heat broke at the beginning of this week and I've been out in the park trying to build up my mileage. I did about 7.5 miles this week, and I'm hoping to get a long run in on Sunday. I'm aiming for a 4 mile race in September. I may stick a 5k in between now and then - there is one next weekend being sponsored by a local brewpub. What can be better than running and free beer?

Just because some watery tart...

2005-08-12T20:17:00.000-04:00

I saw Spamalot last night! My mother took me to dinner and the show for my birthday.

I posed for my picture with some of the cast and then it was inside to see the play. It was a fantastic show! Loosely based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail with other Pythonesque references thrown in. I was hysterical for most of it. My mother loved it even though she is not familiar with the Python films or television show. Of course, knowing what was coming added something to it. But there were many surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Clothes Shopping

2005-07-23T20:16:00.000-04:00

I hate shopping for clothes. I know that puts me in a distinct minority among women, but clothes have never excited me. I just want stuff that fits comfortably, covers me where I want to be covered and doesn't cost a fortune...and I hate trying them on. So, needless to say, I don't go shopping often.

Due to my recent weight loss, however, I now have to replace my entire wardrobe. ::sigh:: I've been trying to put it off and have been wearing as many of my old things as I can. Some of them have been old favorites and I hate giving them up. But most of them are just too big, so I've been bagging up stuff for charity over the last couple of weeks.

I ordered a smaller sports bra a few weeks ago. I've been wearing the Enell bra, which is wonderful, but the one I have has now gotten so big that it is chafing my shoulders. Unfortunately, Enell hasn't been able to keep up with the demand, so the bra is on backorder. I decided that I just couldn't wait any longer and headed off to the store to try and find something that I can wear for the time being.

I got a new sports bra and managed to spend $75 at the the underthings store. I admitted to myself that all my bras are really too big, so I got two new bras in a smaller size, the sportsbra and some new underwear because they were cute.

I then spent another $50 at Eastern Mountain Sports getting a new shirt for hiking and picking up some t-shirts because they were on sale. I also picked up some running socks at TJ Maxx.

I still need pants, but that is going to be difficult. Not totally unexpectedly, but still kind of disappointing, I haven't lost my tummy. I mean it's kind of ridiculous. I'm down to 139 pounds, which puts me within 4 pounds of my goal, and I still have a 35 inch waist. What's with that? I'm pretty sure it's fat, too, and not because my abs need more toning (they probably do, but it is definitely more than that). So regular pants don't fit well when your waist is at a size considered a plus size but is only 4 inches smaller than your, now svelte, hips. I can fit into a size 10 - 12 if the pants have a stretch waistband, but can't get into jeans or non-stretch dress pants.