Racing to Find a Cure

I am a MARATHONER!

2005-04-21T09:15:00.000-04:00

What an experience. I'll warn you up front that this will be a long post. I hope you'll take the time to read it, but you might want to get a snack first. I had to write it myself in multiple sittings. I've been working on it since Monday night.

So Sunday was the marathon. But first, let's start with Saturday. I drove down with one of the mentors, Jessica. We left at 12:15 or so and arrived at the Ocean Place Resort & Spa around 1:45. Went to the expo to check it out and met up with the team who had arrived moments before. The expo was very impressive, but sadly, I was too nervous to really take advantage of it. I picked up my number, my shirt, a pace band for my wrist (which I didn't end up wearing, partially because Ramon yelled at me about it) and looked around the expo a little. Made my way back to the lobby and just chilled with my teammates. My parents arrived (after getting lost), we finally checked into the hotel and made our way to the room. The hotel wouldn't let us check in until 3 pm exactly, and the line was rediculous. I watched a little tv in the room with my parents and then the TNT pasta dinner started at 6.

There were chapters from Southern and Northern NJ, NYC, and PA there, as well as a few other teammates. For example, I ran into Mimi, who was our Leukemia & Lymphoma coordinator when I did triathlons with Westchester County. She's fabulous, and she was really excited to see me, as I was when I saw her. The ballroom was filled with probably about 300 people - NYC was about half of it - and Helena, our coordinator, ran the show. It started with the video about what we were doing. TNT makes the sappiest videos. They always make me cry and I love them. Then Helena told us that as a group we raised over $350,000. That's what I love most about TNT - the impact that we can have. That's a massive sum of money.

After the pasta dinner, we met with our NYC team and had a mission moment. Helena asked us to share anything we wanted to about why we were here and what TNT meant to us. I volunteered to start and I talked about Scott. Danielle, our honored teammate, who was running the race, talked about being a survivor. A few others spoke, and Mary finally spoke. Her sister died 8 years ago from leukemia and when she started TNT, she had never run before joining TNT. And here she was, the night before the marathon. She thanked the coaches, her friends and her teammates. It was, as all mission moments are, very meaningful to me. Then Ramon had some words of wisdom for us, attempting to calm our nerves. We ended with the decoration of singlets with puffy paint and iron on letters. I had tested the process the night before with a GO ERIN! on the front of my singlet. I picked up a few more letters and decided to put FOR SCOTT on my back. It was time to go back to my room and get ready for the next day.

A few months ago, when it was time to recommit, I had told my parents that I would share a room with them. It had been a few years since I had done this ~ ever since a sleepless night before a triathlon where I was kept awake by my father's intolerable snoring. Between the snoring, my mother turning off the tv "because she thought I was asleep," and my own nerves, I think I finally fell asleep around 12:30 or 1 am. My alarm went off at 5:30.

Marathon Day

I got dressed and went downstairs to the lobby. My parents were going to sleep in and watch for me outside the hotel (Mile 17 and the finish line). Ramon had wanted us in the lobby by 6:30. The race started at 8:30 but we had to walk a really really really long way to get the buses in the morning. Why the buses couldn't just pick us up outside the host hotel, I have no idea. By the time we got to the start, it was around 7:30. As we were told, I got in line for the bathroom. And then got in line again. The lines weren't that long, compared to what I've waited in for NYRRC races. I went twice in a matter of 20 minutes. Then it was time to make our way over to the start. I started the race with Catherine and Meg. We started behind the 4:15 pack but ahead of the 4:30 pack. I was going to set the pace to run a 4:20 (10 minute miles) and either pick it up at the end or have some room to crash and burn.

I'm not even sure I heard a gun go off. They did play the National Anthem, which was a nice touch, but taking off my running hat and letting my hair fly around wasn't my idea of pre-race preparations. Shortly after that ended, people starting moving in front of me and the next thing I knew, I passed under the chip timer and was running my first marathon.

The first eight miles was a flat loop. The whole course was flat, with the exception of a single up and down (literally) at mile 10 - the 20 foot elevation change for the course. I set the pace, because I have a fairly good internal pace clock as to how fast we were running. I said I thought we were at a 10 minute pace and what do you know? We crossed mile one at 9:59.

I had warned Catherine that I wasn't going to talk as much when we were running. We both have the bad habit of chatting away aimlessly, which is fine when we're only running a few miles or when we're running slow. Since I ran the trails with Jen without talking much of the way and it was one of my best runs of the season, and my worst run was Brooklyn when Elena and I talked way too much in the first 9 miles, I was going to keep it quieter. Catherine also knew that to keep up with me, she probably couldn't talk as much. Her marathon PR was 4:56 and she was going for 4:30...even though the coaches told her the night before that it probably wouldn't happen. Better to go for it and crash and burn than never know if she could. So she and I would be in the together for the long run. Literally.

The first miles were through an old military base. You could see the water behind the buildings and it was beautiful. The day was beautiful - blue skies, blue water, not too warm (yet) and a breeze off the ocean. The perfect day for running a marathon. Mile 2 was 9:47 and we backed off on mile 3 to 10:10. Then it was back to our 9:59 pace for mile 4. Somewhere around mile 5 (I think) Meg had to pee and dropped back. We caught up with Danielle, our honored teammate around this time and ran with her for about the next 10 miles. Mile 5 was 9:48, mile 6 was 9:54 and mile 7 was 9:58. I was happy with what we were running. It was just under 10 minutes, the miles felt good and we had our little pack. On the approach to mile 8, we were back where we had started and it was our first sighting of the Vancouver team. What a wonderful sight. They jumped out in the road to cheer, take pictures, run with us for a bit, and just made me feel like a rock star. Ramon had been following us on his bike for the first 8 miles, ringing a cowbell and cheering like the madman that he is. Some of the people we were running with asked about him and wanted to adopt him as their coach as well. It felt so great to be supported by so many people as we were out there. Mile 8 was a slightly faster 9:49, mostly because of the cheering, so 9 was a little slower in 10:07. Back and forth this went, because mile 10 was 9:47. At this point, we were running along the sea wall. We went up and down the "hill" of the course and were now pounding our feet on some very unforgiving concrete.

This was when we started to see the signs. Literally. Ana Maria's fiance, Christopher (see my Coogan's 5K post for more about him), went out the night before and hung up signs for Ana Maria, Mary and the whole NYC TNT gang all over the course. The first one said something like "Run Ana Run" and there were more to come, one of which even had her face pasted onto a stick figure smiling. Christopher was on his bike as well, riding along, checking on us, seeing if we needed anything. I pleaded with him to get me some salt packets. The only thing I didn't pack. He said it would be no problem, rode back to check on Mary and caught me in the later miles (I think somewhere around 14-15) to hand off a bunch of little crystals wrapped in white and blue. What a lifesaver. Since my horrid experience at the Brooklyn Half with overhydrating, I'll take a salt packet in the later miles. Plus, as my friends and family know, I'm a salt freak, so I'm totally okay eating a packet.

Back to the race and the concrete by the sea wall. Mile 11 was 10:12 and mile 12 was 10:16, much of which we attributed to running on concrete. Catherine's knee was hurting her a little bit, Danielle felt good, and I did as well. We got off the concrete around mile 13 (10:15) at which point Coach Michael jumped in with us. Here's a funny aside about Michael. The reason I call him Coach Michael is because I know so many damn Michaels that they're hard to keep straight. I don't call any of the others Coach nearly as much, but I secretly think he likes it. Except when I make fun of him in team emails. It's all good. So anyway, Michael jumps in with us. We've held solid 10 minute mile overall pace (13 miles in 2:10) and this was Catherine's PR for a half marathon. Michael was definitely worried she was going out too fast. Actually, all the coaches were. But Catherine felt good and wanted to stick it out. At this point, I decided I didn't care as much about my time. I just wanted to finish this with someone that I trained with. I made a decision that no matter what happened, I'd be near Catherine at the finish. Mile 14 was a 10:04 and after that we started slowing down. Danielle pulled away, we wished her luck and we headed into the few miles before we'd cross by the finish line for the first time. We were slowing down (Mile 15 in 10:18 and mile 16 in 10:25) and I realized that my body wasn't going to hold onto 10 minute miles anymore. But ahead, I could see the hotel and hear the cheers, so I kept my head up and got ready to "look good" as I ran by. Ramon was with us again with the cowbell. He told us that at some point, the faster runner (Catherine and I knew he was talking about me) was going to have to pull away from the slower runner (Catherine) and run our own races. I had no intention of doing that. Ramon dropped back for a bit and then caught us again. He was laughing. He told Catherine and I that we have exactly the same running posture. Same stride, same foot movements, and we were running completely in-sync with each other. The Amazon Blondes.

Mile 17. I saw my parents first, waving and snapping pictures. After the race, they said I looked pretty good there. I heard the screams of the Vancouver team as well as other random people shouting out "Go Erin!" since it was plastered on the front of my shirt. I tell you, it's really mean to make people run by the finish. No one was actually finishing yet - as one of the runners commented "all the good runners were in Boston" so we were getting all the attention, but seeing the finish and knowing that you've still got 9 miles to go...well, that just sucks.

Having been energized by seeing my friends, mile 17 took 10:27. Past the finish line, we had to do an out and back down this really long road that went on f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Tamieka and Lisa were past the finish line (turns out Katrina saw me here too - I missed her the first time but saw her on the way back). Seeing Tamieka and Lisa was great. I ran over, gave them high fives and was so happy that my friends actually came out to see me run. I'm sure it's boring being a spectator. You wait for hours to watch me run by, and then wait for more hours for me to run by again. But you are so grateful to every person who shouts your name, smiles at you, claps or just stands there. It's someone watching you accomplish something amazing.

At mile 17, Des and Shannon jumped in to run with Catherine and I. I love them. Des ran with Catherine and Shannon ran with me because I was not enjoying these miles. I was walking through the water stops - I was actually looking forward to the water stops so I could walk for a little bit. At one point, I set a goal of starting to walk again at the traffic light. Shannon remarked to me later that she was surprised I picked the traffic light because she thought it was kind of far away. Little did she know, that's exactly why I picked it! Catherine and Des were a little ahead of Shannon and I, and I'd catch them, fall back, and catch them again all the way out. Mile 18 was an 11:31 and involved some water stop walking. I picked it back up to 11:00 at mile 19 and mile 20 was 11:14. Somewhere around mile 19 I started seeing people I knew running in the other direction. First was Jessica, one of my mentees. She's a second year student at NYU med, so we comiserate about school together. She was shooting for Boston, and based on how she looked, she was going to get it. (She did - she ran 3:27!) Next was Mimi, who also looked great. Mimi ended up placing 3rd in her age group - she'd get mad if I said what age group she's in though! Shortly after that was Ana Maria. Shannon went to run with Ana at that point - Ana was shooting to break 4 hours and Shannon was going to pace her in. Then a few minutes later came another one of my mentees, Avi. All of them were running and looked strong. Of course, they all had to see me when I was WALKING. Pissed me off to no end. But hey, I was doing a marathon. And it's not like I walked for more than a short distance - I was still doing 11 minute miles. But it seemed like every time I saw a teammate, I felt like I looked like a lazy bum.

Mile 21 was 11:06. And then it was time for the turn around. I never thought we'd see it. Basically because as I looked down this long road, I could see flashing lights at the end of it. I assumed, as did everyone else running, that you get to the flashing lights and you turn around and go home. So let me tell you how pissed I was when we got there and some guy was telling us to turn left. "Look at the real estate!" they said. Don't they know that I could give two sh*ts about houses at this point? All I wanted to see was the finish line. I guess the houses in the neighborhood were really big. So we turn the corner, thinking the turn around would be right there. And it's not. We head down a street and then some trouble hits.

Catherine slows down to a complete stop. She's crying...no wait, she's trying to cry. She can't cry, because she can't breathe. Other than having the same exact running style, being the same height and having the same size foot, we also both have asthma. I pulled my inhaler out of my GU sack and immediately gave it to her. "Breathe," I said. Now mind you, we are now stopped dead in the middle of the street and people are going around us. After a little coaxing, Catherine takes a puff of the inhaler. And breathes again. Disaster averted. I was just glad I was with her. Des was amazed at my level headedness and my quick reaction to the situation. Only because I know exactly what that's like. Had I not been there, Des wouldn't have known what to do. I'm just glad I was there. After the race, Catherine would lament on how she slowed me down because she stopped running. To me, that's not important. This was my first marathon and I was going to finish with Catherine. So mile 22 took us 12:52 ~ which, given the situation, wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I coaxed her to keep running, she was breathing again. Where was the god-damn turn around?

Turn right. Maybe it's right here. Nope. Keep going down this road. Turn right again. There it is! I'm sure all day the guy manning that turn around was told how much he was loved and probably got a few marriage proposals out of the day. I was so happy to see him because I knew it meant we were heading home. It was past the turn around that we passed mile 22. Four miles to go. Just gotta get back to the hotel.

Somewhere around that mile marker (I think ~ things get really fuzzy in these last miles) was a high energy food station. It had chocolate, defizzed soda, pretzels, and all these other foods in little cups that we could take. I grabbed some cola, which tasted so good, and then I heard a girl yell "Gummy Bears!"

I don't remember which one of Dianna's RBF friends told me to get gummy bears, but since I read all your posts, I knew someone had told me to get gummy bears. I grabbed the gummy bear cup and put some in my mouth. How good they tasted. What a great idea! Once I got sick of holding the cup, I put them into my GU bag to take them with me. I had only one GU left - I had used 4 to this point, so there was plenty of room for these little colorful, wonderful bears.

So here we were, Catherine, Des and I, running down the street. Des was wonderful. She would run ahead, get us Gatorade and water, carry it for us, tell us stories, and I think at one point, she was singing. As I said above, my brain was really fuzzy in these last miles. Mile 23 was 11:19. Somewhere after that, one of our other coaches, Brad, picked us up. I wanted this over. So bad. As you looked down the street, you could see buildings that looked like our hotel. I learned the day before when I was driving down this street, that you think you see the hotel, but it's not. Brad ran with us for a while, though I can't remember much of the time. Mile 24 was 10:49. We weren't walking anymore. We were just running, trying to get to the end as quickly as possible. I was using the mantra that Elena had used during the Brooklyn Half. I can do anything for 30 minutes. I can do anything for 20 minutes. I can do anything. From my watch, and the times we were running, I figured out that we'd be finishing around 4:35 or so. I'm a dork. I do mental math when I run.

Anyway, Brad was the first in the line of coaches. They handed us off to each other down the finish miles. His wife, Christine, was next. She's fabulous. They met at TNT back when they were participants and now they're coaches and absolutely adorable together. So we were around mile 25 at this point. That took 11:06. Christine just kept telling us how great we were and how great we looked. She dropped back to get some others and we kept going. Between mile 25 and 26, we saw Michael. Two coaches down, two coaches to go. Michael saw us, jumped in, and told us there were only 4 tenths of a mile to go. I looked at my watch and it said 7:29. I looked at him and said there was more than 4 tenths of a mile to go. It was closer to a half a mile. And we actually had an argument about this. He said it wasn't important and I said it was, because if I started to pick up the pace too soon, I wouldn't look good in the finish. So what did he do? Picked up the pace. "C'mon tri-geek," he teased. I know I was swearing, though I can't remember about what. I didn't want to leave Catherine behind, but she knows I've got a kick at the finish. Even if I wanted to supress this, I don't think I could. A handmade sign noting mile 26 was on the side of the road and my watch said that mile was 10:34. After the sign was a little curve to see the finish line and when I made this curve, I heard a deafening roar. The Vancouver team was there at the start of the straightaway to the finish and were screaming my name. I wanted to cry. It was amazing. These were people I trained with. People who knew me. People who took a weekend to drive down to NJ - some even renting cars because not everyone in NYC has a car. And they were screaming for me. These were people who all believed in a cause as much as I did and were excited to see me finish. Katrina was on the other side of the road with her sign "GO ERIN" and a running stick figure - with a purple jersey on. And all I had to do was run another .2 miles. Michael left me and I heard the cow bell. There was Ramon, one of the most amazing coaches I've ever had, now running alongside of me. About 4 people were ahead of me and I was starting to think about what I should do. Should I burst past them or should I slow down so I get a better finish picture of myself alone? Ramon was cheering and telling me I looked great. I told him Catherine was behind me. Go get Catherine. I knew I could finish and finish strong. I wanted Catherine there with me. Ramon dropped back to get her and Helena saw me and started screaming, running with me with a Team in Training sign. I couldn't believe I was about to finish a marathon. I saw Tamieka and Lisa again, and then my parents and then, in a burst of speed to catch the people ahead of me, the finish line.

I am a marathoner.

I put the medal on and turned to find Catherine finishing. I stopped my watch at this point - exactly 4:35.00. So my final chip time was 4:34.22. I beat my cousin Julie's Boston time and I was damn close to 4:30. I was happy. I couldn't have gone any faster. I saw Catherine and I hugged her and started crying. We had done it, and we had done it together.

My parents and friends found me just on the side of the finish chute. I hugged them and smiled and then I turned to find out that two more of my friends were there. Scott and Leigh. I was so, so happy to see them. I hugged them and thanked them for coming. I showed Scott the back of my shirt where I had ironed on the letters For Scott. I was happy and amazed and proud. Leigh thought I was crazy to run a marathon, as did Scott. I was just glad to have everyone there. I have amazing friends and family. I have fabulous teammates. I am so thankful for everyone who took the time to make the day special - from the volunteers pouring water to the small children that held their hands out for a high five as the runners ran by. I love my TEAM.

Thank you, Team in Training, for giving me another amazing experience I can put in my memory book. I will cherish these memories forever.

I was asked numerous times over the last few days what was harder ~ my half-Ironman triathlons or running a marathon. Now, while I know it's comparing apples and oranges, I feel I can say without question that the marathon is harder. Because when you get sick of doing something in triathlon, you switch to doing something else (swim to bike, bike to run). And when you start your run, you know you're already 2/3rds of the way done, so it doesn't seem so bad. But now I know I can do it. I've run 26.2 miles. I am a marathoner and I am damn proud to be one.

Thanks for reading. I'll get pictures up soon!

The Day Before...

2005-04-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday morning. Tomorrow, at this time, I should be somewhere around mile 9. OMG.

The team bus leaves at noon. Jessica, one of the mentors, is coming with me in my car, and we're leaving around noon as well. Since I have to be back on Monday for radiology, I can't stay the extra night that some of the teammates are. I do plan on celebrating as much as I can tomorrow after the race - I just need to drive home at the end of the night. Since I haven't touched alcohol since Christophe's Red Party, I don't plan on getting drunk. Listen to me - I'm already planning the after the marathon.

I know I overpacked. Better to be overprepared than underprepared, right? The weather is supposed to be picture perfect tomorrow, but that didn't stop me from packing tights, long sleeves, sweatshirts, jackets. Even though I plan on running in my purple TNT singlet and my tri shorts. Since I know my tri shorts don't chafe, I figure they're the safest bet.

Defintely starting to freak out. Maybe not even starting - I'm just plan freaking out. Had a dream about the marathon last night. I slept well - was in bed by 9:30, asleep by 10, woke up initially at 6:20 but managed to at some point fall back asleep. Finally got up at 8:30. Got my morning breakfast at Zesty's, showered, straightened my hair, finished packing and now I'm just hanging out til Jessica gets here. Guess I can tidy up a little.

I really can't believe tomorrow's the marathon. I've been training for this since December ~ something I've been scared of for a long time. Yet tomorrow, sometime around 12:30-1 pm if all goes right, I'll have my finisher's medal around my neck.

GO TEAM!

Last Nike Run Before the BIG DAY

2005-04-14T20:51:00.000-04:00

Before I even tell you about my last few days, let me send a shout out to Tamieka, who told her friend Dianna, a blogging legend the the running community it seems, about my blog. I got comments! And that was really awesome. Thanks to all of you who read my blog, skimmed my blog, or just told me to kick some ass and take names. I appreciate the support, and trust me, I'll be writing about my experience.

It's so weird to taper. On Saturday, we ran for 6 miles. Tuesday for 4 and today for 3. When I got to Niketown tonight, Ramon looked at me like I was insane and asked what I was doing there. Ana Maria and I had decided to meet up there and run because 1-we would run and 2-free food after running - we're partial to the pineapples. Tonight was an added bonus. Turns out they gave out the new Nike running socks on Tuesday but I managed to scam a pair for myself tonight. Worked out well, since I had actually forgotten to change into my running socks before rushing out the door. I have to say, I recommend them. Nice socks. These aren't the typical Nike cotton socks - these are actually designed wicking, supporting, breathing socks. Too bad they just can't run for me.

So I'm trying not to get too nervous. I was hit with a wave of nervousness today in class. Catherine and I have been emailing each other about our nerves. A bunch of the Vancouver team will be coming down to watch and cheer, which will be a great support network. My parents will be there, Tamieka said she'd come and bring Danielle along, my neighbor Katrina and Brad's girlfriend Meredith are coming, and maybe a few more. I'll take any support I can get. So if you're in the neighborhood and want to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL day (current forecast 64 degrees, party sunny, 62% humidity, 10% chance of rain, winds at 8 mph) make your way down to Long Branch, NJ and cheer all of us on! Check out the website at www.njmarathon.org.

And I have two friends running Boston this year - Debbie and Sandy. They're both TNTers who qualified at NJ last year. Yeah, I won't be qualifying. But hopefully I'll be close to my goal time.

So what's my goal time, you ask? The first time I must beat is my cousin's Boston time from last year. It's 4:43:18 - a 10:49 pace. Yeah, I know, Boston is hilly and last year was 85 degrees. Doesn't matter. I still have to beat it. The second goal time is 4:30, which I should beat. My more aggressive time is 4:15 and closer to 4 hours. That may require the stars and the moon aligning with everything perfect, but it's there to shoot for, right? The tough part is there's pacers for 4 hours and 4:30 but no one for me, who's right in the middle. Might as well go out slower and then if I feel good, go faster, right? We'll see how it all goes.

I'm sure the nerves will kick in big time tomorrow. Oh my god, I'm going to run a marathon!!

It's a Race!

2005-04-05T21:03:00.000-04:00

Tonight's practice was a race. Ramon didn't tell us this beforehand, he merely ran in and said "you have 8 minutes to warm up before the race." Didn't tell us distance, pace, or anything. Just said go race. So I ran a 6 minute warm up with some teammates, stretched, and ran. 47:17 later, it was over. the total distance was about 5.5 miles or so, which means I was running around 9 minute miles. That makes me happy. Plus, tonight was a beautiful night. 68 degrees (I ran in shorts for the first time this season), clear skies, and with daylight savings, the sun was setting. Beautiful.

As I was leaving practice tonight with some of my teammates, Ramon called out to me "Good night Erin, glad to see you smiling again!" I'm glad to be smiling. Tomorrow's Send Off and then the race day is almost here!

The Last Three Weeks

2005-04-04T08:01:00.000-04:00

I haven't written in a while for a myriad of reasons. So let me start by recapping everything that has happened in the last three weeks.

Match Day - March 17th - I'll be going to Stony Brook University Hospital, out on Long Island. It was my second choice, and I'm now as happy as I can be about that. It stung big time that I didn't get Brown, but over the last few weeks, as you'll read below, I have gotten through the emotions.

Brooklyn Half Marathon - March 19th - The night before, Cindy had a group of us "Upper East Siders" over to her apartment for some carbo-loading. It was a great team bonding thing for the small group of us, though most of the usual suspects were there - Cindy, Kristina, Christophe, Laura, Maggie. Then came the half. I drove my car to Prospect Park with some of the aforementioned peeps, we cabbed it to Coney Island and got ready for the race. My old teammate, Elena, called my cell and we met up at the start. At this time, my goal was to break 2 hours. I'd have to run a 9:04 or somewhere in that vicinity, but I thought it could be do able. Off we went - Mile 1 - 9:00. I thought there was no way that was right. We backed off a little and Mile 2 was 9:57. I didn't think we backed off that much. I personally think the Mile 1 mark was a little off. Mile 3 was 9:28 and that was a better pace. We were off the boardwalk and onto the street now, and Mile 4 ticked by in 9:05, Mile 5 in 9:13, Mile 6 in 9:24, Mile 7 in 9:27. So I wasn't anywhere near that 9:04, but I was still holding a pretty good clip. Elena and I were chatting up a storm, catching up on life and telling stories. In retrospect, I think that was what did me in, as Mile 8 was 9:38, Mile 9 was 9:41. Passing mile 9, heading into Prospect Park, I said to Elena that I felt great! And as soon as those words left my mouth, I was hit with the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. If I didn't know better, I would have thought my appendix just exploded. Excruciating pain in my intestines, with full out cramping, stabbing pains. And we still had the hills to go. During that mile, I took a detour to the bathroom (nothing came out - that really pissed me off) and because of that, Mile 10 was 11:22. We were running up the hills in Prospect Park now. Miles 11 and 12 were both 10:00. As we turned the corner to head up the hill to the finish, Ramon was there. He was telling us to "freaking run" and I just shook my head at him. I had never felt so crappy during a run. Mile 13 was over in 10:31 and the last .1 mile in less than a minute. Overall finish time ~ 2:07.42. My legs held up fine, my breathing was fine, but my abdomen was still screaming in pain. My Half Marathon PR by 9 minutes, but I hated every second of those last 3-4 miles.

Fast forward to next week's long run. I ran with Catherine and Jen and our little group again, and held up pretty well for the first 12 miles. We were off to run the last loop, giving us 18 miles. I got about 2 miles in and just couldn't do it. This was more mental than anything. I had just had an absolutely horrible week - I moped in my apartment, got yelled at by more people than I care to count about various things, went to look to buy a place on Long Island and was laughed at by a realtor, and was finally honest with myself that I was upset about where I was going. I had spent the prior week trying to act happy about it, but I had to admit to myself that I wasn't. You tend to be honest with yourself when you're lost in your thoughts out on a long run. So after running about 14 miles, I did something I do not do often when it comes to the Team. I quit. I walked across the park, upset at myself, upset at the world, waiting for the tears to come to pull me out of the funk that I was in. When I got closer to the East Side, I was almost trampled by a runaway horse coming down the path. I declared that the end of my bad week. I couldn't take anymore. The tears finally came when I talked to one of our coaches, Christine. And more so when Shannon and Ana Maria came back. I swore to put this behind me, but I think I needed the moment to say I wasn't okay.

Tuesday's run I was sweeper, so I just hung at the back of the pack. Catherine was with me to keep me company. It's great, cause she's my height, my build and she has a really cool job. We had told our stories of how we got to our careers on the long run that Saturday. You really get to know people when you run with them for hours at a time. I can't remember the last time I sat down with some of my friends for four hours and just talked. But that's what we do when we run.

Trail Run - April 2nd - So this past Saturday, we were off to the trails in NJ. IN THE POURING RAIN. Actually, it poured on the way down, rained for the first three miles, cleared up for the next 14, and poured again for the last 3. I ran with Jen. We ran next to each other in our mentor vests, quiet in our own thoughts. I decided I was going to run without talking - I think all the oxygen I used to talk would be better spent going to my muscles. Ramon had set up water stops at mile 4, 5.7, and 8. When you got to 8, you ran for 20 minutes past it and turned around and came back. We were doing pretty solid 10-10:30 minute miles. We hit mile 8 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Ran out for 20 minutes and 48 seconds (10 mile total - 1:43) and turned back around. Stopped at mile 12 for pretzels and a water refill and kept running. It was a nice trail with a canal on one side and a river on the other. Because of the rain, there was some overflow, and we did have to run through a waterfall-overflow-stream at one part. The water was ICE COLD. When we hit mile 16, I said to Jen "only 10 miles to go!" I wanted to see how that would sound. Sounded okay, but the last 4 miles went on for-e-ver. At one point, speedy Laura and Maggie caught up to us. They had ran well past the turnaround point and ended up running between 24 and 26 miles for the day! Laura managed to sputter out "Where's the f*cking bridge?" which was exactly what I was thinking. The bridge we had taken over the river would bring us back to the parking lot and signal the end of the run. But because of the rain and the fog, we couldn't see it for the longest time. I felt okay running, but every time I checked my watch, only a few minutes had gone by. I was hopeful that more time had passed. Finally, there it was. The Bridge! We were done, and I had just run 20 miles! The return trip took 1:51 for a total of 3:34.

Ramon grabbed me at the end of the run and asked how I was doing. He had noticed my mood and my running over the last few weeks and wanted to know if I was better. I explained everything, told him about the Match and how it had affected my running. I also told him that it was over and I was on the upswing. He smiled. He's such a good coach.

2 weeks from yesterday is the NJ Marathon ~ 13 days! OMG!

TEST #2

2005-03-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today was the day we were to do mile repeats again. And we were to do them faster than last time. Off we went - I was running with Mina and one of my mentees, Tara. I'm decent at pacing myself and having a good idea of my time, but I didn't expect what happened today.

Our first mile was very crowded. There were alot of people on the lower loop and we had to expend some extra energy to avoid them. I was also paying attention to the markings on the ground for the first half mile to see if I was on pace. When I went by the 800 meter mark, I was at around 3:32. Holy cow, I thought - I'm going to be closer to 7 minutes than I thought! Better still, when I passed Brad the first time it was exactly 7 minutes. I figure with the little extra I had to expend missing people, I was at a sub-7. And I did try to run a sub-7, but I wasn't successful. The next two were 7:03 and 7:08. But within a reasonable time of each other. And a minute faster than TEST #1.

I'm damn proud.

Stronger than Yesterday!

2005-03-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

First, let's start with a little recap of the week.

Monday - 62 degrees outside. My legs were so sore from running last weekend that I couldn't bring myself to run on my off day. But I did walk around outside for a bit.
Tuesday - Temperature drops 40 degrees. It rained, iced, and then snowed. What a wonderful horrible turn of events. Practice was supposed to be mile repeats (TEST #2) but because of the ice, we just went for a 30 minute jaunt in the snowy, icy Central Park.
Wednesday - TNT Bowling. Plus a little jaunt to the Big East Tournament, courtesy of my cousin Christie. Vancouver beat NJ, but I had the high score (121).
Thursday - The Red Party, hosted by Christophe and Jen. Free red shots that I was convinced didn't have alcohol in them. Plus $3 vodka and cranberry. In retrospect, I think the shots had alcohol in them. I spent some quality time sleeping/passed out while hugging the toilet in the Red Sky Lounge before Kristina brought me home. (Thank you Kristina!)
Friday - Did not move from my bed.
Saturday - Bag watched. I arrived with a book, 3 magazines and a blanket, much to the humor of many on the team. I was still dehyrated from Thursday and had no desire to run. Turns out, I wasn't the worst of it from Thursday night ~ Christophe's brother fell down the stairs. At least when I left, I was able to walk down the stairs.
Sunday (Today) - Before I knew I was bag watching yesterday, I had signed up for the 4 mile Colon Cancer Awareness run. So I figured I'd run the 4 miler, run 2 loops of the Park (6 miles x 2 = 12 miles), and run around the reservoir (1.7 miles). And you know what? I did!

Because I was running on my own, I decided to hook up my brother's old mp3 player that he had given me. Saturday night, I downloaded as many songs as I could. Which, due to the age of this mp3 player, was 7 songs. About 30 minutes of music. The songs were all from my old running tapes, so I knew I'd run well to them, even if I had to listen to them over and over again. The songs were:
Barenaked Ladies - If I had a Million Dollars
Barenaked Ladies - Brian Wilson
Charlie Daniels Band - Devil Went Down to Georgia
Britney Spears - Stonger than Yesterday
Britney Spears - Overprotected
Yankee Grey - All Things Considered
Eminem - Lose Yourself
So I headed into the Park at 7:30 and ran about 2 miles before the race started. Then I was off for the 4 miler. As much as I swore to myself up and down that I was going to take it easy, it was a race and maybe I got a little carried away. The first mile was 9:10, the second was 8:39, third mile 8:37 and last mile was 7:47. Whoops. I walked for a bit, at which point my old tri teammate Elena caught me. It was great to see her again! So we chatted and caught up. I also saw one of my marathon teammates Caren, introduced her to Elena, and we all shared some TNT memories. I really didn't want to do the next 12 miles, but I had to so I said good-bye, put on my mp3 player and was off. Luckily, there was a men's half marathon after the 4 miler, so there were still water stations throughout the park. That was key to this run going well, since I don't carry water. At one point, I bought a water from one of the vendors and drank about half of it so I could have a Gu. Plus, I think I'm still a little dehydrated from Thursday, even though I drank water all day yesterday. I ran and ran and ran and then, it was over. And I felt pretty good about it. My legs definitely hurt, and they will continue to, because I'm about to take my post-run nap in front of the tv. But I finished thinking that I could have kept going. With only 8 miles to run after that, I'm starting to think I may actually be able to do this marathon thing!

Coogan's Salas, Blues and Shamrocks 5K

2005-03-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

Ow. Ow. Ow ow ow ow.

My legs hurt a little this morning when I woke up. And the blister on my right foot hurts a lot. It was a good three layer blister - a blister under a previous blister under a previous blister. Running is definitely bad on the feet. But thinking about the fact that yesterday's run did feel good, and today was just a little 5K. More importantly, it was the seventh race in the NYRR series of qualifiers this year, leaving me 2 races to go after today until I qualify for the 2006 Marathon.

Met up with TNTers Ana Maria and Mary, as well as Ana Maria's other half, Chris, before the race today. At the time, I was shooting to break 25 minutes. Having run the Superbowl 5K in 25:50 and with my good mile splits from the other day, I thought this could be within my reach. However, I should have checked the topography of the course prior to saying this. Washington Heights is hilly. And in an out-and-back course, any downhill you enjoyed on the way out is now an uphill.

We started too far back. I hate when people line up at the 7-8 minute mile marks and then proceed to WALK. I know you're not doing a 7 minute mile when you're walking. And now you're just in my way. So we spent the first mile dodging people, running zig-zag across the road, trying to get around people ahead of us so we could establish some kind of pace. In doing so, I completely missed mile one splits. At mile 2, we had gone 17:22, which means we were in the 8:41 ballpark. We started pushing the pace, and Ana really started pushing at the 1/2 mile to go point. I waited a little longer. I wanted to see the balloons so I knew exactly how far I had to go. Mile 3 was 7:51 and the last .1 mile was 34 seconds. I was flying and realized that I should have gone harder and faster the whole time. Finish time was 25:49 ~ 1 second faster than Superbowl Sunday. We waited for Mary, who finished about 7-8 minutes after us (a great time for her ~ she's come such a long way), and then went over to Coogan's for some free Guiness. See, you can't sell beer this early in the morning ~ but you can give it away!

Freaking 7 AM and Connection to the Cause

2005-03-05T11:49:00.000-05:00

Quoted from our last team email..."practice in C. Park will start at 7:00 am. yes, freaking 7:00 am!!" So when my alarm went off this morning at 5:20 am, I was not a happy camper. But I dragged myself out of bed, had my coffee and oatmeal and made my way to Bethesda (in a cab, since I was running late).

Today's practice was early because after practice was Connection to the Cause ~ organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to remind us of why we run every day. Our honored teammates, all survivors of forms of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, spoke about their battles and thanked us for our fundraising and dedication to the society. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We haven't even started our run yet.

Because we had to be back at a set time, it was going to be an out and back based on time. We were to run for 2 hours and 30 minutes, turning around after an hour and 15. We were running from 72nd St, over to the West Side Highway, running along the path until Chambers St. When we got to Chambers, we were to cut across town and run over the Brooklyn Bridge. And we were off. Today I ran with Lily, who's a kindergarten teacher. Shannon and Ana Maria were ahead of us, and Laura, one of the other mentors, was either a little ahead or a little behind us, depending on what part of the run we were at. On the way down the West Side Highway, we ran by the Intrepid, could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, passed Chelsea Piers and Canal St, cut across town (and man, were there alot of people out for such an early hour) and onto the bridge. Breathtaking. Amazing. What can I say? I live in the best city in the world. Turned around and did it again.

No coach would give us the milage of today's workout. Obviously, they know how far it is, but they just wanted us to run for time. So I Mapquested it. It was definitely at least 14 miles, possibly closer to 15. And it felt good. Quite possibly the longest distance run of my life, since I've never run more than 13.1. Which is good, since the marathon is 6 weeks away!

Connection for the Cause was great though ~ remembering why we do this is so important. Larry, one of my teammates from the triathlon team, spoke today of his battle ~ he has an amazing story. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Stage 3, Small Cell B. Had a bad reaction to his chemotherapy and became paralyzed temporarily. He relearned to walk, and then to run. Did his first triathlon last September and is now training to do the Disney Half Ironman. These people are just amazing. I'm just so proud to be a part of this organization. I love my coaches, I love my teammates, and I love the cause.

Oh yeah, and I did Niketown on Thursday. We did mile repeats. First one in 8:07, which was good, considering Ana Maria and I were bitching outloud about the fact that Ramon wanted us to do the workout when we just wanted to run 5 miles. The second one was in 7:49. Fastest mile yet this season! Of course, Ramon now expects me to run our TEST this Tuesday in at least a 7:35-7:40 pace. He claims that since I ran up Cat Hill in these repeats, I should be faster along the lower loop. I'll let you know on Tuesday if he's right. Tomorrow is Coogan's Salsa and Blues 5K. I'm going to try to break 25 minutes. Keep your fingers crossed!

Saturday's LSD

2005-02-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Today was just a nice long, slow distance run in Central Park. I started out running with Amy & Carin and then we caught Jen, Catherine & someone who's name is currently escaping me. We did 6 miles in the park counter-clockwise then another 6 clockwise. All in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. We spent some quality time playing the game "Marry, Date or Dump" or "Marry, One Night Stand, Throw Off the Bridge" or whatever variation you've heard. The most interesting one was the one with our three coaches, Ramon, Brad and Michael. Course, we're all sworn to secrecy about our picks. =)

Today's run felt good. After my legs warmed up around the 2nd or 3rd mile, it was easy sailing. I was able to chat the whole time, which is how you're supposed to run the long, slow distance runs. And it was great seeing people in the park. Plus, today's the second to last day of the Gates, and even though they're strange, they've grown on me. They do brighten up the Park! In a Home Depot kinda way.

Tomorrow's my dad's birthday and a few days later, my brother, Godfather and cousin Eric's. Match Day is only 19 days away and the marathon just 7 weeks. And I can't wait for all of it!

Cherry Tree 10 miler in Prospect Park

2005-02-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I made the trek to Brooklyn for our Team race. Until yesterday, the amount of time I've spent in Brooklyn has either encompassed Coney Island or a short stint working at the Medical Tent of the NYC Marathon Mile 3. I knew that it would take me about an hour to get to the park and Ramon wanted us there by 9:10, so I left around 8, heading up to the 96th St. Station #6 subway stop that's a block from my apartment.

This is where my day started to go bad. As the Downtown 6 train that I was waiting for was arriving, a homeless-looking guy took a running leap onto the tracks, landed and then proceeded to lay down across the tracks. After a moment of stunned silence by everyone on the platform, people started screaming for the train to stop and I ran upstairs with some of the other people to notify the MTA employee at the booth that someone had jumped onto the tracks. When we headed back downstairs, the train had stopped short of the man on the tracks and the people on the platform across the way were screaming to stop the Uptown 6 train that was now arriving. Both trains stopped at the far end of their respective platforms and the MTA employees went down onto the tracks to retrieve the guy. Not knowing how long we'd have to wait, people around me started to talk. Some were angry that this guy interfered with their schedule, others couldn't believe that someone would commit suicide, and still others, myself included, were just incredulous at the scene we had just watched. People who were now arriving made comments of "oh, so someone fell onto the tracks" and we were quick to correct them. No one fell - this guy had a running start.

Anyway, the 6 trains began running soon after and I was now on my way to Prospect Park, though very shaken. I got there around 9:30 only to find I had to go pick up my number 5 blocks away because my number was one of many that was not picked up with the rest of the TNT numbers. The nice part of this was the race shirt is awesome. It's a red, long sleeve Brooks Coolmax shirt. Well worth the race entry fee. I made it back to the race start a little before 10, went to the bathroom, and as I was leaving the bathroom, the race started without me. Whoops. So I ran to the start and started a little after everyone else.

I was running to catch up with someone - anyone. Eventually, I caught up to Eric, one of my teammates, and we ran together for a while, with him pulling ahead and then me catching him and pulling ahead and finally with him catching me, passing me and finishing...though I did almost catch him at the end. I also ran with Caren, one of the girls I run with at practice who has improved immensely during her training.

The Prospect Park loop is around 3.5 miles around, with hills from mile 2-3. It was a really nice race though. My first mile (by my watch, which I started when I started) was 9:02, and then I settled back to a 9:43. Then I went up the hills in 9:36. Somehow I managed to stop my watch at this point instead of taking splits, but I was running with a group from JackRabbit at this point, and asked what we did the fourth mile in - they told me 9:05. Around and around we went, with mile 5 in 9:16, mile 6 in 9:36, mile 7 in 9:14, mile 8 in 9:10, mile 9 in 9:56 and finished with my last mile in 9:03. Based on the times, it's obvious when I was going up the hills. Overall finish time 1:33:43, almost 6 minutes faster than the 10 miler I did January 29. And it felt okay.

Afterwards, we waited for all of the TNTers to finish. Two of our teammates, Maureen and Mary, came in after 2 hours. To this point, Maureen had only ever run 6 miles and is only planning on running the half marathon. We were all egging her on to do the whole marathon because it was awesome to see the two of them running together! Then we hit the Windsor Cafe for brunch ~ post-run food is very important. Brad gave us a ride back to the Upper East Side, which I thanked him for immensely, since I did not want to get back on the subway.

Later on in the day, I finally got to meet my friend Lorna and her husband Tony's son, Trevor. He's a month old and just adorable. It's crazy to think of my friends who have babies. Lorna and Tony have donated to all my TNT races and even came to watch me finish my first TNT race, the Westchester Triathlon in 2002. And now they have a little one!

Al Gordon and the Guy with the Pink Hat

2005-02-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning, I had to go back to the hospital again, so I didn't get to do the TNT run. Things actually worked out though, since I had already signed up for the Al Gordon 15K on Sunday. Ramon had told me that it was not a good idea to run 13 miles on Saturday and then another 9 on Sunday. So instead, I ran the race on Sunday and put some extra time on the eliptical and bike after the race.

Here's my race recap: 5 mile loop of the park from 102nd to the bottom and back, then 4 mile loop of the park from 102nd to 72nd and back. The first few miles, my shins were screaming at me. I'm not sure what to do to make this go away. It's not shin splints, it just feels like my shin muscles are going to explode. But after a few miles, it went away. Due to the number of runners and some early race congestion, the first mile took 10:21. The second was faster in 9:29, and the third was in between the two in 9:54. Even at that point, I wasn't sure how I was going to run the race; if I was going to race it or treat it as a workout. Then I heard this voice: the Guy with the Pink Hat. It's a 58 year old guy named Abe that I had run the Manhattan 1/2 Marathon with this past summer. He wasn't wearing his pink hat, but I recognized his voice, so we started running together and chatting. He started pushing the pace, with mile 4 in 9:45 and mile 5 in 9:23. At this point, the lead runners were finishing and we were off for another 4 miles. Around we went, and I have to say, at this point, I felt good. Mile 6 was 9:34, mile 7 was 9:26. Two miles to go. Here's where I started thinking about what's been happening with my mile before finishing being slower than all the rest. I had mentioned this to Abe, and we pushed up Cat Hill, finishing mile 8 in 9:30. Picking up the pace, mile 9 passed in 8:43 and the last .3 miles took 2:26. Overall finish time: 1:28.36. Faster pace than the 10 miler two weeks ago, but this wasn't a full 10 miles. Also, we did a negative split ~ the second half of the race was faster than the first half. It was the first race I felt good about since running the Frostbite. I felt so good, I went to the gym and did 30 more minutes on the elipitical and 10 minutes on the bike. I didn't want to pound my shins anymore, or run outside alone in the cold, but I figured I was up to doing a little more.

Now it's time to shower and cheer for my UConn Huskies Basketball teams as the men and women play today! GO HUSKIES!

The TNT Contingent at Thursday Night at the Races

2005-02-11T14:31:00.000-05:00

Thursday night we headed up to the Armory as a small contingent of our team and ran as fast as we could around the 200m indoor track. It made me miss track and field even more ~ and I'd already spent alot of the week remembering the old days. I ran the 400m and 800m. I was okay with my time in the 400m (75 seconds) but not happy about my lane assignment (lane 6). The 800m was more of a jog for me, which is horrible to say, but when I finished in 3:19 with a strong kick and could still talk, I know I didn't run it all out. Afterwards, at around 11 pm, when the meet finally ended, we headed over to Coogan's and grabbed some dinner and drinks. Needless to say, it was a long night. Very, very difficult to wake up in the morning to head to the hospital.

This is us after the meet outside Coogan's! Michael and Kristina are wearing the reflective clothes, and I'm second from the right between Ana Maria (on the end) and Mary (peeking in behind me). Ramon's in the middle wearing the Nike hat.

Flashbacks

2005-02-08T21:06:00.001-05:00

Nostalgia the other night must have gotten me into trouble. Tonight's workout resembled workouts that I both participated in and coached during college. We did every variation of squats, lunges, butt kicks, high knees, push ups, planks and step ups that you could imagine. In between these fun strengthening exercises, we ran up and down hills. Wonderful. All this after an abs class yesterday.

And more to come on Thursday Night at the Races! I'm running the 400m and 800m with the approval of Michael. And then we're hitting Coogan's afterwards for some post-workout grub.

Thoughts of Greatness

2005-02-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Today, I kept with what I've been saying I needed to do and hit the gym after a 10 hour day in the hospital. I went to abs class and then watched the first half of the UConn vs Syracuse Men's Basketball game on ESPN while on the eliptical/bike.

As I was walking home, I was thinking about the email one of our coaches, Michael, sent out about the Thursday Night at the Races series that runs up at the New Balance Track and Field Center - The Armory in Washington Heights. This Thursday, they're running the 400m, 800m, 1600m, 3200m. I want to run just the 400m and 800m, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Michael has other plans for us. I offered in an email to him that I'd even wear my old college speedsuit if he'd let me just run the sprints.

So when I got back from the gym, I tried on that old speedsuit. Looking at myself in the mirror, my body type really hasn't changed much from those college days. Having been a thrower, my legs are more muscular than maybe I'd like them to be, but since they're muscle and not fat, who am I to complain? I remember the reason I got the speedsuit was because Courtney, Cara and I as captains wanted to set an example. Funny how two All-American runners talked a National-Qualifing thrower into wearing one. Of course, it was worn with mesh shorts over the bottom. No one needed to see my butt hanging out unless I was doing the multi events.

It's amazing to me that I still have records at Ithaca College. School records that have stood now for 5 years. True, one was broken, and I'm happy about that. The records are there to be broken. I never met Melissa Sedak, but I know her name. She had the records before me, and I'll never forget that. I remember so clearly the day I broke the weight record for the first time as a junior. I remember the day I qualified for Nationals at the December meet of my senior year in both the weight and the shotput, screaming at the top of my lungs at the end of the meet, "It's a great day to be a Bomber!"

And you know what? It still is.

Superbowl Sunday 5K

2005-02-06T11:58:00.000-05:00

What did I say in my last entry? That I wasn't going to let myself slack? Well, that was until I started my sub-internship and remembered what it was like to work again. Guess my three months of vacation got the best of me. I forgot what it was like to be tired after work and not wanting to go to the gym or go run...

Either way, we had a little diddy of a 5K to run this morning. 3.1 miles is nothing when I've been running 10. So we went out fast - first mile flew by in 8:31 - and that was up the Great Hill! Rolling hills for the next mile and it went by in a similar time - 8:35. I was starting to feel it at this point, so I started reciting my honored patients names in my head: Nicole, Scott, Joan, Larry, Evan. I was forgetting a few, namely Kristina, Gerard and Mya, but once I got in a rhythm with the first five names, I didn't want to lose momentum. And I surprised myself! Mile 3 was in 7:57 - I broke 8 minutes! I finished 44 seconds later with an overall time of 25:50. I was darn happy with breaking 8 minutes, but the race definitely took alot out of me. My shins wanted to explode at the end.

So this week I have to balance working my brain at work and training my body at practice, because there's only 9 weeks until April 17!

Excuses, Excuses

2005-01-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

This past week was not a good working out week. The blizzard hit over the weekend, I was back and forth to Westchester all week for yearbook stuff, had a few evening meetings, went home to CT to see Christie play in a basketball game (they won - go Choate!), and went to bed early a few of those nights. In other words, I came up with every excuse possible to not go running or to the gym, and it made today's 10 miler in Central Park hurt.

We met at 8:30 at the regular TNT spot - Bethesda Fountain at 72nd St- and after a pep talk from Ramon and a Mission Moment by Evan, the teammates were off on their workouts. I had decided to run the 10 miler to get credit for the race with NYRRC so I'll have automatic entry into the 2006 NYC Marathon. That race started at 9:30, so I ran up to the start at 102nd with some of the team, and talked to Ramon along the way. He advised me to run the race, but not race the race. In other words, treat it as a workout and not go for time. It was my goal in my head to do 10 minute miles. That's my usual workout pace ~ race pace tends to be a little faster. But I had to really hold myself back in the early miles to do this, otherwise I would inevitably run a 9:15 first mile (as I have for the last 2 races).

I did a good job of holding back. My first mile was 10:09, my second was 9:47, and my third was 9:45. At the third mile mark, I passed Bethesda fountain where Ramon was and told him I was on pace. I can't say I was feeling great at this point, but I wasn't feeling bad either. At the turn up onto the East Side, I met my new running buddy. Her name's Laura, and we ran the next 7 miles together. She takes the speedwork class with NYRRC and I know those coaches (Bob & Shelly Glover) so we talked about that. She had heard Ramon cheering, and she asked who I ran with. We talked and ran and talked and ran. Mile 4 was 9:53, mile 5 9:49, mile 6 was 10:07 and mile 7 was 9:45. We kept each other going, especially when I really wanted to pack it in around mile 8. Mile 8 was 10:02 and then it was up Cat Hill again ~ my third time up it that day and our second time in the race. I had run up it to get to the start from Bethesda. Mile 9 hurt and it took 10:21.

So what do you think happened next? Well, if you've read my other race accounts, you know that my last mile is always, ALWAYS my fastest mile, with my second to last mile always, ALWAYS my slowest mile. And nothing changed this week. Last mile took 9:39 and overall finish time was 1 hour, 39 minutes and 22 seconds. Averages about 10 minute miles, which I was hoping to run.

Can't say I felt great at the end. Had run a total of about 11 1/2 miles, if you include the run to the start. Definitely had thoughts during the run of "How the heck am I going to run 26.2 miles?!?" But there's still a few months of training ahead of me. I've gotten used to the cold, and now I've got another new running buddy. And the excuses will have to stop. I'm not taking any more days off than I should. No more excuses.

Next up, TNT ice skating on Monday night at the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Now that should be a blast!

Frostbite 7 miler

2005-01-22T14:27:00.000-05:00

You really have to wonder about my sanity...when I woke up this morning, it was 8 degrees out. That's even colder than Tuesday's workout, when it was 13 degrees out. Yet I still layered up and went to the race.

It was the first race for some of the TNTers, so they were learning to put their chips on and realizing they should have picked up safety pins for their number. Many of them were surprised to see how many people were out there running. It is comforting to see hundreds of other idiots who think running in frigid temperatures is good for you.

So after the race preparations were over, we made our way to the start and at 9:30 am, we were off. I started with a few TNTers, Ana Maria in particular, and hit the Great Hill. Prior to the race, I had set time goals based on what Ramon wanted us to run. I was going to do the first 3 miles in 9:30, the next 2 in 9:15 and the last 2 in 9:00. Well, that all went to sh*t when we got to mile 1 in 9:14. Instead of backing off, I decided to hang on and see what I could do. The next mile was 9:12 and the third was 8:56. At that point, I told Ana Maria to run faster because I could tell I was holding her back. I needed to step it down a notch. She took off and I really didn't slow down that much because I hit the four mile mark at 9:08.

Then came the water stop. At about mile 4.5, right before the 72nd St. Transverse, I picked up a cup of water. It was frozen. A complete ice cube. So I went for another one. They were ALL FROZEN! I took that as a sign to just run fast and get this race over with. I took a bit of my green apple Powergel, but not much, since I didn't have water to drink. Mile 5 was over in 9:11. Around this point, Shannon, the mentor captain, caught up to me. I was surprised, because I really thought Shannon was much faster than me. So we ran together for a little bit and then I had to back off again. I always seem to forget the hills that exist on the West Side. I know the East Side hills ~ Lasik Park Hill, the hill before 96th St, Cat Hill. But I forget all the West Side hills and am constantly surprised when I get to them. I counted 3 of them this time and I'm going to have to name them in the upcoming weeks so I don't forget.

Mile 6 hurt. My lungs were burning and the wind was starting to pick up. I got to the mile marker in 9:25 and have never been so happy to know that I only had one mile to go. I had just caught up to a guy who had icicles on the nape of his neck. When I told him I liked his icicles and he turned to smile, I saw that he had them all over his goatee as well! It was definitely time to finish this race.

I probably kicked a little too early today. I forgot that the 102nd St. Transverse is actually at 103rd. The finish line was at 99th. I was hurting and out of breath at the end, wanted to keel over and not move, but I finished the last mile in 8:12. Total time for the race: 1 hour and 3 minutes and 22 seconds (63:22). I actually caught and passed Shannon near the finish and we walked out of the Park together.

Good things about today's race: I actually ran my 5 mile split faster than I ran the Fred Lebow race 2 weeks ago.
Bad things about today's race: For the second straight race, my 2nd to last mile time is my slowest, with my final mile time almost 1 minute faster. I don't know if it's a mental thing, but it's probably something Ramon's going to tell me to work on. Oh yeah, and the temperature. That was friggin' insane.

The Blizzard of 2005 is coming today. They're estimating upwards of 15 inches of snow here in the city. It's supposed to start soon, and that's fine with me, since I'm definitely not going anywhere for the rest of the day! I am thankful that the race was today instead of tomorrow morning. So stay bundled up and warm...I'm getting in the hot shower now.

My Donors So Far...

2005-01-18T02:19:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to sending out my mass email the other day to start edging my amount fundraised closer to the fundraising goal. I sent it to everyone in my address book, and granted, some of the emails are so old, they don't exist anymore. There are multiple people in my address book that I think of fondly but haven't actually spoken to in years. And amazingly, these are the people who have donated so far. So I wanted to take a moment to recognize these people and encourage the rest of you reading this to give a little bit...

Some of the donors are the regular suspects. The Churchills, family friends of my parents, donate every time I do a race with Team in Training. As does Marge. Also, I get family donations, like my cousin Alison and Uncle Billy & Aunt Connie. And the Lutz family, my friend Kristen's parents, are great about donating as well. And I appreciate every bit they've given over the years and especially this year, as I conquer this marathon fear of mine.

Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the people who donated. Stephanie Jones, one of the faculty advisors I worked with this past July in New Orleans; Huy Nguyen, one of my high school students in New Orleans; Sarah Herskee, a former thrower from Cornell who's getting her Athletic Training degree. She even knows my honored patient, Scott, from college.

And the last one was probably the biggest surprise. I wasn't even sure if his email still worked. But Ben Aldridge, a friend from high school band - actually, middle school band too - took a minute out of his day and donated. And it put a smile on my face. Ben and I used to run together in gym class and I remember practically passing out trying to keep up with him running laps around the track. He was much faster than me, but I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to run with him. He's out in Michigan right now, teaching music, I assume. And I'll bet anything that the students in his band have the biggest crush on him. Because Ben's just that kind of guy.

Thank you so much for donating, my friends. And I hope more of you who are reading this decide to donate. For more information about Team in Training, visit their website at www.teamintraining.org. And to donate to my fundraising goal, just visit my active.com website at http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=fuzzyerin to donate online.

Saturday Morning Run and the New Tri Team

2005-01-15T03:59:00.000-05:00

So this morning, we met at Bethesda as usual and Ramon sent us off on our long distance run. There was a nice group of 7 of us that were running about a 10 minute mile, so we ran and chatted as we went. All in all, we ran about 7.5 miles in about 1:15. Had we not been packed up as we were, I think all of us would have quit early, but we hung in there, did the hills at the North end of the park, and didn't take the shortcut at 72nd. I was pretty happy with how we did, and it's good practice, since next week we have to do a 7 miler in the Park.

After, a group of us went to get bagels and coffee and talked. I think that's the best thing about TNT ~ meeting all these wonderful people. We got talking about triathlon, and it was decided that I would train them for the summer season for their first triathlon. It'll be nice to have people to train with and race with. I'm not sure if I know enough to coach, but I can probably get someone through a Sprint/Olympic distance race. They want to do the NYC Triathlon, which I won't be able to do because I'll be in the throes of intern year, but I suggested doing the Time Out! Sprint in Hyannis, a race I've done for about 6 years now. So they were all excited. We just need to figure out where to swim and we'll be all set.

Monday night we're having a Mentor/Coach Potluck at Helena's apartment, and Tuesday we start our hill workouts. I'm in this for the long haul, and I love it!

The TEST

2005-01-14T00:38:00.000-05:00

So at Tuesday's workout, I missed the test. Today was my makeup at the Nike Run.

Basically, it was run a mile as fast as you can, recover for about three-quarters of a mile, and run another mile as fast as you can. So I did my first one in 8:25 and my second in 8:02. At that point, I wanted to puke and die, so I knew I ran as hard as I possibly could. The goal was to negative split the workout (faster 2nd mile than first) but also to keep them closer than 20 seconds. So I guess I really blew the last part, but I was just holding on for dear life on my pace for the second mile. I thought I wasn't going fast enough to get the 8:25 again. Guess there's some speed in me somewhere!

I'm pooped though. And I have a sneaking suspicion that this will all catch up to me tomorrow morning when I wake up sore....

Abs, Pilates and Non-Running Things

2005-01-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it...my shin hurts. Just a little, but enough for me to be careful.

I had dehabilitating shin splints my senior year of college. I distinctly remember going up to the track at Ithaca to run the Terrace hills, like I had done so many times that season. It was probably early October and I was running before practice because I had class at 4, the regular practice time. I ran up the hill, no more than three times, before I had to crawl across the street and onto the track because I couldn't walk. And I mean crawl. My coach met me on the track and asked me accusingly how long I had the shin splints. I managed to eek out "three weeks" between the tears. My senior year I was in the best physical shape of my life and I just wanted the shin splints to go away ~ so I trained through them. Not the best of ideas, in hindsight.

So when I woke up Monday morning and my shin had that oh-so-familiar twinge, I didn't go run on it. I went to abs class on Monday, Tuesday I just rode the bike for an hour, and today I'm going to Pilates. Never done Pilates before ~ it should be interesting. I found a mat at the post-Christmas sales for $7, so I figured it eliminated my biggest excuse as to why I didn't go to these classes. Tomorrow night I have my makeup "TEST" ~ mile repeats at the Nike run. It's what we would have done for practice on Tuesday but I couldn't make it. It'll be my first time running since the race on Sunday, but I've been working out, so I feel okay about it. And I'm doing my stretches for the shin and it's felt better lately. I'm not going to push it now though. It's too early in the training and I've got too many more miles to run.

Fred Lebow 5 Miler ~ You Could Do It Too

2005-01-09T13:49:00.000-05:00

This was really the first time I had run in a week. I spent some time on the eliptical while I was out on the road interviewing this week, but as far as pounding the pavement went, I didn't get out there as much as I had last week. So I headed over to Road Runners to pick up my number and into the Park. Met a woman about my age named JoAnn, so we walked over together and hung out before the race. It's always nice to have someone to chat with, especially when you race on your own. We started with the 9 minute milers and at 9:30 am, we were off.

The race began at 102nd in the Park, which meant in the first mile we'd head up the Great Hill. My first mile was 9:14 and I immediately knew I went out too fast ~ especially considering the hill I had just climbed! I probably dwelled on this a little too much during my run. I felt okay, not great but not horrible, and took it back a bit. My next miles were 9:29 and 9:23, which was much more reasonable. Then it was up Cat Hill at 72nd and mile 4 was a little slower in 9:42. I had met up with some girls at mile 3 that I was running with. We were all so busy trying to keep each other's pace that it took my mind off running for a bit. Plus, we were joking about how we always entered the Park at 90th on the East Side and were used to finishing there instead of running the extra 12 blocks to the finish at 102nd. We lamented about this as we passed Engineers Gate at 90th and although I didn't feel so great, I started to pick up the pace. My last mile was 8:43, which I was extremely happy with. Overall finish time: 46:34.

It's great to see inspiring things during the race. As I was running up the Great Hill in the first mile, a gentleman ahead of me had a sign pinned to his back announcing how it was his 500th race. That included 9 NYC Marathons, a few other marathons, over 300 NYRRC races, and about 150 other races. Everyone was congratulating him. He said to everyone as we passed "You could do it too." At this point, I've probably run maybe 20-30 road races and 500 seems a really long way off, but his attitude of "You could do it too" was great to hear.

Bag Watching

2005-01-08T16:20:00.000-05:00

Today I learned to appreciate TNT mentors in general, both past and present. In my role as mentor for the TNT Spring Marathon team, every month we take turns sweeping and bag watching. Sweeping involves making sure the slowest runners finish and that we don't leave anyone in the park. Bag watching is just that ~ watching the bags that the teammates leave while they're out running, as well as checking the runners in when they arrive and out when they leave. It was my turn to bag watch today during the distance run. Teammates ran from 4-10 miles, depending on ability level and training. Practice was going to take about an hour and a half, two hours tops. Wouldn't be much of a problem, except...

IT WAS POURING.

I had the wonderful job of standing in the rain for two hours surrounded by bags as my teammates ran around Central Park, getting their workout in. And what's funny about this is I feel like I worked out today. I didn't run for more than a few blocks, and that was really to get into my warm apartment after standing in the rain for those two hours. Yet I still took my standard post-practice nap on the futon in front of the television.

Tomorrow I get my real weekend workout. I've got the Fred Lebow 5 miler in the Park. Since I should have run that distance today (actually, I should have run farther, but 5 miles is good) I'll get my workout in tomorrow. And the NYRRC can watch my bag for me.

Here's Proof

2005-01-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Jay and I at Coney Island!

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge

2005-01-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

Well, there were hundreds of people there, and I was one of the crazy ones that decided to jump in the Atlantic Ocean on January 1st to commemorate the New Year! Admittedly, I only made it up to my waist, and that was partially due to the guy next to me who said "whatever you do, don't go under!" I made sure to heed his warning. Brrrr! It was cold enough just being in up to my waist. Just another thing I can say I did...

Emerald Nuts 2004-2005 Midnight Run

2005-01-01T05:07:00.000-05:00

Now that was very, very cool!

Just got home from the midnight run in Central Park...met up with my triathlon teammates from last season, which is wonderful, as well as a fellow mentor, Jessica, from the marathon team and ran like madwomen for 4 miles around the Park. The first mile was hard to get going because there were thousands of people there, so it took 11:32. Things got progressively faster, 9:41, 9:04, 8:34 - so I was really pleased! Plus, it's just fun and exhilarating to run with that many people at once.

The race started with fireworks over the lower pond, which we had a great view of from the start. There were spectators all around, cheering or just watching in their drunken stupor. And the water stop at mile 2 offered both water and champagne! I don't recommend taking the champagne, even though I did...turns out I didn't have to drink it then, because we did a Team toast after because the tri team is very efficient in planning these things and had bottles of champagne and brownies at the finish. As social captain of the marathon team, I should really start taking some tips from these people! All in all, though, it was a wonderful time. Amazing. And next year, if I'm not delivering the first baby of 2006, I'll come back and run again.

GO TEAM!

Nike Run

2004-12-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I did my first Niketown Run. They have runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and starting in the new year, also on Mondays and Wednesdays. We meet at Niketown, run over to the park, stretch, run in the park, stretch again, head back to Niketown and eat fruit, bagels and other pastries. It was great. I ran repeat 800s (I can't imagine why!) - 3:47, 4:05, 4:04 with about 5:15 on each of the rest 800s in between. And I hurt this morning. It's been a good week of working out though. I'm starting to feel like a runner again. My abs still hurt from abs class on Monday.

Tonight's the Midnight Run in Central Park. I'm meeting up with some teammates at 10:30 and then at midnight, we'll be off for a 4 mile run. Can't think of a better way to start off the new year! Plus, I got a really cool fleece hat for signing up.

Happy New Year!

Shoe Shopping

2004-12-28T23:52:00.000-05:00

Who says running is an inexpensive sport? In the last few weeks, I've dropped over $200 on running clothes to keep me warm through the winter, and today I spent $225 on two pairs of running shoes and a new pair of gloves. Sheesh. And I thought triathlon was expensive!

Tonight's Pre-New Years run was the same as last week. This time though, I made sure not to go out too fast and finished the workout in much better shape than last week. And the ab class I had done the night before was fabulous! Course, I might not be saying that in the morning...

Thursday night I'm going to do the Niketown Run that Ramon runs. And on midnight on New Years, I'll be running around Central Park for the Midnight Run! A few of us from the Team are going to run together. Can't think of a better way to start off 2005.

2005's got so many things to look forward to ~ my first marathon, graduation from medical school, finally starting a job (residency) that pays, albeit not much ~ I hope everyone has a great New Years!

Christmas Run

2004-12-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone...

I went on my regular Saturday long run on Christmas Day ~ I was pretty proud of myself for that one! I think I confused my parents a little. They kept asking why I couldn't go tomorrow (Sunday). I said it was because we did our long runs on Saturday and I wanted to keep that routine up. Plus, I wanted to show them that I was dedicated to this running thing...a marathon's not going to be easy! So off I went in my new running clothes, courtesy of myself from Santa!

I decided to go to Hubbard Park ~ I ran around Mirror Lake a few times after checking out the trails. Ended up running somewhere around 4 miles. The ironic part to this was my friend Kristen came over the afternoon after Christmas with her new fiancee, Matt. Turns out he proposed in Hubbard Park on Christmas Eve! Hubbard Park has lots of memories for me and it was fun to run around it and remember. I didn't make it up to Castle Craig on my run...but if I'm back in Meriden for a few days and I need to run and am up for the challenge, I may hit those trails one more time!

Tonight I'm going to an abs class at the gym...it's only 20 minutes, but I think that'll be plenty. I've got lots of new workout clothes to wear. On top of what I bought myself, my cousin Alison gave me a pair of Nike shorts, a long sleeve Etonic shirt and a sports bra! Plus, a $10 donation ~ it was an extremely thoughtful Christmas gift!

So congratulations to Kristen & Matt, thank you to my cousin Alison, and I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Tuesday's Pre-Christmas Practice

2004-12-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we had our weekly Tuesday 6:45 pm run in Central Park. Tuesday's are technique work/speed work or some variation on that theme. We usually run for 45 minutes to an hour. Saturday's are the long run days.

Tonight's workout was lamppost running. There are lampposts in the park every block, so we basically had to jog for 2 lampposts and then run for 3-6, depending on your ability level. I did 4 most of the time, but cut it down to 3 by the end. It was a good practice, and I had flashbacks to college track, sprinting 200 meters followed by 100 meter rest.

But tonight was also about being festive. Ramon, our head coach, showed up tonight as Santa Claus. Now, let me tell you a little about Ramon. He's from Spain and speaks Spanglish, which makes it interesting to understand what's going on. For example, I've learned so far that "o-positive" is opposite and "kleenex" is clinics. But anyhow, he's definitely a fabulous runner and he was absolutely hilarious in the Santa costume. And afterwards, a few of my teammates and I went up to a restaurant in Spanish Harlem that one of our teammates recently opened. It was their holiday party so we had free food and cheap drinks. Can't complain there!

So Merry Christmas to all ~ I hope everyone's holiday is happy!

Hello, hello, hello!

2004-12-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog about my marathon training through a wonderful organization that I've been a part of now since 2002 ~ The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training!

This will be my first marathon, and it's been something I've been secretly scared of for a number of years. Now, some of you will think this is silly, since I've raced Half Ironman Triathlons, which require me to swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and then run 13.1. So why should 26.2 miles be such a big deal? I should finish the marathon in less time than it takes me to finish a Half Ironman, right? But I've never run this far in my life!

I am really excited about my undertaking. I love Team in Training, and since 2002, I've raised over $10,000 for the Society ~ in honor of my college roommate Scotty. More about that in a later post.

So, do you want to help out and donate? Great! Click here and help! You'll be brought to my official active.com donation website where you can donate online. Or, if you'd rather mail it to me, let me know and I'll send you my address if you don't already have it.

Check back often! I'll be writing about my escapades running through Central Park and working out in the dead of winter. I'm sure it will be interesting ~ or at least funny. It will definitely be funny.