Category Archives: seen on my run

Chicago Marathon Week 5 Days 5, 6 and 7

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Wow, am I really done with 5 weeks of training?!?!?!? How crazy is that???

Friday I ended up just doing a good bit of walking around, more than usual. Yoga didn’t happen, but with walking as much as I did and stretching out, I’m ok with that!

Yesterday I got my little butt out of bed and went to run in Prospect Park. Part of the fun of weekend running in Prospect is if you’re there early enough you get to run while bike races are going on. Very cool. Got just over one lap done for 3.4 miles. And it proved that yes, I need to make sure my butt is running with hills periodically during my training!

Not that that happened this morning. Because of a race in Central Park (yes, you can still run in the park…I just didn’t feel like going up and dealing with it, especially since I would have just wanted to do 2 laps of the middle loop), I opted to go for my long run favorite place – along the Hudson. It was a little humid, but there was usually a breeze, so that was extra nice! Got in 8.66 nice and feeling-good miles and even managed a negative split for the training run. Translation: I went faster than I should have for a LSR. Oops!


The RoadID finally arrived and survived its first run! Woohoo! Really, everyone who runs, bikes, etc. should have a RoadID!

And in the seen on my run category? The Space Shuttle Enterprise AND the Disney Magic. I’m torn as to which was more exciting. :)

It’s been a good week. Onto Week 6.

Training miles: 62.86
Weight: 177.4

Broad Street Week 7 Run 2

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It was theoretically going to be nice to sleep in this morning. However, it ended up being nice to wake up with no alarm. Sleeping a bit later would have been nice, but I guess my body is used to being up at around 5:15. Well, that or one of the tow trucks that was towing cars whose owners didn’t bother to move them in spite of the signs up saying no parking Friday or Saturday. It never ceases to amaze me how people apparently live close enough to park but can’t hear all the racket the tow trucks make. Anyhoo…

I piddled around the apartment for a while, then decided to suck down a GU and go for my run. Beautiful if slightly chilly morning. Prospect Park was nice – not too busy for the most part. About halfway around a group came in all running (and chanting) in a pack. I didn’t have my contacts in, so I couldn’t see what it was, but it looked (and sounded) like possibly some ROTC group. Thankfully they were going the same way and were soon out of my sight. (Bad, bad memories of the ROTC boys from high school makes me want to avoid those packs at all costs.)

But I still had a great run. All my run intervals done. Finished strong. A textbook training run. I’m starting and ending them with strength, and I’m feeling good throughout the run. Can’t really ask for more. Although…

I’m really starting to hope I’m not peaking too soon for this. But I’m feeling really strong and prepared!

BSR training mileage: 98.24

Broad Street Week 5 Run 1

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OK, so this hasn’t been my best week. I overslept on Tuesday morning and had to work at the store starting at 5:15, so no run. Then Wednesday my left knee was feeling a little off. It didn’t really hurt, but it didn’t feel quite right. I think the working hours Friday-Tuesday along with cheering everyone on in the NYC Half (I’ll do more on that later) for 3+ hours on Sunday combined to just make it tired. So Wednesday was stretching and rolling.

Yesterday everything felt fine, so I headed out for a run. I debated going to Central Park and going for an entire loop to “make up” mileage, but knowing I needed to go by Trader Joe’s and return a few things, I opted to go to Prospect Park. My thought was I could do two loops and get the same mileage plus a bit as in CP, but also I’d have the bail-out after one loop.

I started out and was feeling pretty good. I did walk a bit more on the hill, but that’s nothing new. LOL. My run intervals were all in the 11-12 minute range other than that one, so I was pretty much at or around pace. I really need to figure out how to determine my average pace taking the 10 minutes and the distance of the warm-up and cool-down parts. Everytime I think I’ve got it, it turns out I don’t. Anyone know? Divide the distance by time? Time by distance? Definitely at a loss here…

Anyway, it was a really good run and I felt pretty good as I approached the point at which I started the run. I had a decision to make – though in reality I had a bit more distance to make that decision as there are two places I can get on the subway, one further than the other. I passed my entry point still unsure as to what I would do. But I kept seeing and hearing the training tips I’ve read and heard that you can’t really make up a lost workout, how you can potentially do more damage by trying to make it up. So I beeped through the rest of the intervals I’d set up in case I did the two loop thing and went into my cool-down ending with a mileage count of 3.92 yesterday.

I feel good about my decision. I could have pushed myself and gone for a second loop – and if a week like this happens again, I might. But given the offness of the knee yesterday and how tired I’ve been in general (a couple of good nights of sleep have helped that a lot) I think it was the right decision for me.

Oh, one interesting “seen on my run” note. Not one, but THREE people on those stupid Kangaroo Jump Boots. And two of them at least had the look of serious runers. I just don’t get it. I guess more power to them…as long as they don’t tumble into me or anyone else and damage us. I know anyone can fall and accidentally fall into others on a crowded path at any time. But it just seems like you’re inviting trouble wearing something like those silly things.

Anyway…

Tonight is the FRNY Track Meet at the New Balance Armory Track, and I’m volunteering at the awards table again. I don’t have to be there until 6:45 though, so I might try and sneak in a short easy run after school around Von King Park. If it works out, great. If not, I’m not going to beat myself up. The weekend’s long run was supposed to be a 10K…but there wasn’t one I could find to enter. So I’d initially thought I’d just try and do the distance at pace, but I’m not sure. I’ll play it by ear and either do that or maybe go for 8-ish miles again at a LSR pace.

Happy running all!!

BSR training mileage: 62.39

Broad Street Week 4 Runs 2 and 3

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Yes, I know I’m supposed to be doing 4. Next week I will. I promise!!

Got in too late last night (actually this morning) to blog yesterday’s run. It was good. 3.66 miles around the park close to my apartment. No gangs of guys on the other side of the street this time, and no smokers to pass. A couple of people here and there, but overall pretty lonely. A little misty…and I started out cold but ended up hot – the temperature was rising a bit even before the sun came up. A few minutes of rain, but nothing huge.

This morning got up (actually was woken about an hour ahead of planned wake-up time by some irate and/or strung out guy yelling at someone out on the street. Trust me…I know better than to go peek out the window. So I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail as the yelling had also woken my bird. Oh joy. So I got up and had sme Blarney Scone (Trader Joe’s version of Irish Soda Bread), iced coffee and water. Then finally got myself dressed to head out for my LSR. I debated where to do it today. The advantage was that I knew I had time to go to pretty much any of the options. Not working until 8pm tonight left me all kinds of time.

I finally decided that since I’ve got a 10K coming up on a boardwalk in April, it might be a good idea to get some boardwalk practice in, so off to Coney Island it was. I got there and it was REALLY foggy. Like as in I couldn’t even see the water foggy. But there was a surprising number of people out – some just walking, others on bikes or out running. And of course some people with dogs on runner trip wires (those stupid retractable leashes). Seriously people? When you’re out where there are bikes all over and people running all around, don’t let the dog go to the full extension of the leash! You’re only asking to have your dog (and people around you) hurt in some way! Though at least those were leashed – there were a couple of “pocket pets” that were just being allowed to roam freely. I know for a fact one narrowly avoided being kicked. Not for any malice on my part – I LOVE DOGS!! – but because it just decided it wanted to chase me and was dangerously underfoot.

But runner tripwires and fog aside, it was a great run. NO wind, even on the beach. And really light waves. By the end of the run, the sun was out and it was getting warm and I could see the ocean, but it was tiny, quiet waves. Midway through the run I did about 4 or 5 intervals at or about my goal race pace – in the 11:30-12 minute range – and felt great for all of them! Actually I felt great for the whole run, which is very encouraging! My feet weren’t shuffling at all, even at the end!

Now that said, that didn’t stop one evil board from jumping up and tripping me in the 26th (of 26) run interval. I did the quick step thing and thought I was going to stay upright, but sadly no, I tumbled and rolled. In front of several guys who were setting up outside what used to be a roller rink for tanning and iron pumping. They were polite though, all making sure I was ok. Perfectly fine for the most part. Mainly pride was damaged because let’s face it – no matter how old you are or how strong you feel or what you’re doing, falling in front of people is embarrassing. My right elbow is a nice variation on shades of purple and blue now…but I can bend it and stuff and everything seems to be in working order.

Final mileage for this one? 8.57 miles! I don’t always reward myself with food/drink, but this time I did treat myself to a chocolate milkshake, which was yummy. Got home and have fueled up with food, more Blarney Scone…and some Guinness. It’s St. Patrick’s Day after all!! But yeah…overall a great run!!

BSR training mileage: 58.47

Getting acclimated…

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To heat and humidity that is. We hit the low 80s today with relatively high humidity, so it was my first time to really start training in it. I had an argument with myself about outside vs. the treadmill, but I know I need to get acclimated to heat and humidity because my races aren’t going to be inside. So off to Prospect Park I went.

I’m playing around with intervals to see what works best. Today I went with 3:30/1 with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down. I went 4.46 miles in that time for an average pace of 12:19.

Woohoo!!

The park was really pretty today – and NICE since smoking isn’t allowed in parks, pedestrian plazas or beaches in NYC! Hooray!!!!

Funniest thing… As I was turning around for my final minute of walking and my cool down I heard this barking/braying. Turns out a bloodhound (I think) had treed a raccoon. And he was NOT going to go away. I wish I’d had a camera to take a picture. The poor raccoon looked terrified. It was really funny to see.

When I got home, I took a picture using photobooth of my new running skirt. Honestly, it’s one of the first pictures where I can really see my weight loss and toning. I still have a ways to go, but I can definitely see progress.

So all in all, a good day!!