Working (on) the weekend…

Today was the last 10 miles run. I have been looking forward to this run. My dad was going to drive in and run with the team since he is going to be running 6 of the last 10 with me on 11/1. Well, at 6pm on Friday the plans changed and i couldn’t go on the 10 mile run with the group. Total bummer!! The taper is mentally challenging enough – I can’t be missing runs! I am hoping to get up at 7 tomorrow to do (at least) a loop around the park.   7 on a Sunday… so cool.

On a positive note….the team has raised over $211K!!! Incredible….

Break is over – back to Goldman Sachs (really interesting case!)

Whirlwind

The past week has been insane. Last Sunday we had an 18 milers in the freezing rain. I was excited going into it – the weather brought me back to cold and muddy fall soccer games growing up (fun to be a player and not so fun to be a fan/parent. Right, Mark?).  The first loop around the park was okay. At mile 7 I started feeling serious pain in my feet and at mile 8 I could not continue on. I got off the loop and stretched a little but walking hurt. Soaking wet and extremely disappointed, I walked home in the rain.

 

Since it took days to be able to walk without pain or soreness I made an appointment with a Sports Med doctor that is recommended by Road Runners. After examining my feet, taking xrays and doing an ultra-sound, it turns out I have Plantar Fasciitis – inflammation of the tendon in my foot. Teary-eyed I made him promise to get me to the starting line.  He promised, as he handed me a prescription, foot brace, 3 rolls of tape and told me to make weekly appointments until the marathon.

 

Against the advice of my new, wonderful doctor and my fantastic coaches, I ran the 20 miles with the group this weekend (they okay’ed the 20 miles but suggested I run it along the reservoir).  The run was amazing!! I had no pain throughout the run – though I was feeling pretty sore for the last 4 miles or so. We ran from Manhattan to Brooklyn via the Brooklyn Bridge, over to Queens via the Polaski Bridge and then back to Manhattan via the Queensborough Bridge. The Queensborough is by FAR the hardest part of the run. No one spoke (which is not the norm) the entire way over the bridge. Throughout the run we had so much fun – singing to Tom, freestyle rapping with Sharon, learning about how smart pigs are (as smart as dogs – why do we eat them?!), etc. And, the surprise at the end was a cheer from Kara and Mark who just happened to be on 5th Avenue as we ran by towards the finish!

 

So, how am I feeling today? I woke up this morning with swollen and slightly black and blue feet (mainly by the heels). I’m walking at a slower than normal pace….but, I’m SO happy I didn’t miss yesterday’s run. The swelling should go down within the next day or so.  And now we starting decreasing the mileage each week until the marathon.

I really feel like I can run the marathon! And, that’s half the battle, right?!?

new rules.

if you want to see me you have to:

(a) run with me

(b) come to class with me

(c) eat dinner with me

…because as of wednesday that is all that i do in my spare time.

last night i had all intentions of running the loop but by the time i got my tush into gear it was getting dark so i opted to run the reservoir. i started running and along the way i bumped into heather (who i had not seen all week – which is rare!) and julie walking. so i stopped to catch-up and walked with them for a couple minutes and then continued on my merry way. i wish i had my watch on me because i think that was one of my faster runs. when it was too dark to run anymore – i headed home to relax (yay!) and eat dinner. when i get home, i had this email waiting for me:

Subject: Was that you?

Wait…were you in the park tonight? Reservior loop passing engineers gate at around 7:05 With two other ladies…WALKING? Maybe that wasn’t you? Looked like you… _b

unfortunately, coach brian missed the part where i continued running!!! so next time i know to simply wave and continue on just in case coach brian or coach jeff happens to be also running the park!

all smiles

knees are vital!

as it turns out, it is true that knees are a vital part of marathon training. on saturday i trekked down from my parents house in rockland to the uws to meet the rest of the team. we started out on west 64th street running towards the river and then heading south on the westside highway. the weather was absolutely perfect – i can only hope that marathon day brings weather like we had on saturday! i was nervous about my knees b/c i forgot to bring icy hot – my new best friend – and i knew that my sneakers were on the outs. i made it down to battery park where we all stopped quickly to fuel up (water + GU). that is were the run turned south for me. from that point on i had shooting pains in both of my knees. starting back up again was terribly painful. i ended up running back up to the park and did one mile in the park before determining that the pain wasn’t worth it at this point in the training. i walked (very slowly) to my car and made the trek back up to rockland. all in all i think i ran about 13-14 miles while the rest of the team logged 17 miles but the last 7ish were really painful. in term of endurance i knew i could keep going! which is half (or more) of the battle. so even though i didn’t complete the run – i’m still feeling good going into the 18 miler this weekend.

in preparation for tuesday’s run – which i was determined not to miss – i bought a new pair of sneakers and iced my knees like a crazy woman for two days. i got to the park late but luckily the team knew i was coming so coach brian waited for me (it would have been too dark for me to run alone). we started about 10 minutes behind the rest of the group and ending up catching up to them with a qtr mile left. it was the fastest 6 miles i’ve run and my knees felt good (thanks to the new kicks and icy hot)! looking forward to the 18 mile marathon tune-up run on sunday!

side note: i’m completely hooked on running! yesterday i signed up for two races in december: a 10K and a 15K.

until next time…e

spotlight!

check it out! http://www.nycrun2remember.blogspot.com/

GWB Half-ish

 

 

sharon & i on the jersey side

as of saturday at around noon, if someone asks me if I have ever run over the george washington bridge I can say YES.

the team started the trek from 72nd street and riverside park. in the rain. there were 6 of us and we quickly buddied up so that each pair was partnered with someone at their pace – it worked out perfectly. sharon and i did awesome! we run the entire 14 miles. yes, 14. orginally the route with 12 but thanks to some poor navigating in washington heights we tacked on about an extra mile and then feeling good (and, wanted gatorade) we tacked on the same extra mile on the way back. the mile up to the bridge was hard – basically straight uphill. but, the thrill of running across the bridge made the uphill struggle a fleeting memory. on the way back it was so foggy that at about 150 street we could not see the bridge anymore. we finished the 14 miles in just over 2.5 hours. not bad!

 

good news to report: thanks to winning a bet i have a running buddy for miles 16-20….woot woot!!! 

 

aching body part today: NONE.

 

until next time….e

you either have it…

…or you don’t. last night i didn’t. i went into the run feeling good but right from the start things took a turn.  i stopped 2 minutes into the run to stretch more – my left calf muscle was really tight – which definitely helped.  meghann and i ran the path together at our (slow) pace until it got too dark to see the ground.  so, we finished the 5ish mile run on the outer loop. we could see the ground and there were less bugs so we were all smiles.  all smiles = complete exaggeration

hoping saturday’s 12 mile run across the GWB is better!

until next time…e

a GU will have to do…

 

the gang at the metlife building!

note to self: do not go on a 11 mile run on an empty stomach. the thought of a bacon, egg & cheese sandwich from nyack bagels could not leave my mind — and, i can’t even eat bagels! to top it off…along the route there were wonderful aromas coming out of hotel restaurants and delis (wonderful b/c i was starving ). this weekend we ran the city streets (thank you, bloomberg). from the brooklyn bridge to 72nd street along park/lafayette was closed off to cars. along the way there were water stations (yay!) that looked like horse troughs and volunteers trying to get rid of different chachkies (no,thanks. i’m running.). all in all, the run was amazing! we started off in union square enroute to central park. we did a two mile loop in the park and then ran back downtown to the brooklyn bridge. thankfully we didn’t attempt to cross it and instead just turned around and finished in union square. 11 miles. no stops! all smiles. afterwards, i traveled back uptown - with chocolate milk in hand – and rested my tired legs!

 

yesterday i did a short run (3 miles) to get my legs moving. i started out in the park and literally ran to shack shake to meet dan, adam & brian. we picked up some burgers and met the ladies (who had salads and sushi) just north of the sheeps meadow. we had a fantastic evening in the park!  i should probably admit at this point that the gentleman each got a shack shake burger and i got 2 (sans bread, of course)!

 

aching body part today: right heel.

 

until next time…e

Top 2

Two reasons why today was a great day..

1. I got into Stern’s MBA program.

2. I ask my pops to run the last few miles with me on 11/1 — he said yes.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s 6 mile group run!

until next time…e.