The 2018 Wineglass Marathon

Honestly, I am not sure where to start with this post. I feel like I should feel disappointed after a less-than-stellar marathon time at the Wineglass Marathon, but honestly, I’m not. I’m quite the opposite - I am elated, I am inspired, and I am ready to marathon again. And that is kind of exactly what I hoped I would get out of this weekend.

So, I suppose we will start at the beginning, heading to Corning on Saturday morning. We live on Long Island, so it was going to be about a 5 hour drive north to Corning. We had a hotel booked in Bath, near the start area of the marathon. Dennis and I set our alarms for 5:45, and were out the door by 6:15. The first stop was at Emily’s house, to grab the last member of the race support crew, and then after a quick starbucks to meet our morning caffeine needs, we were on the road. We drove through the sunrise, crossing bridges and counting clouds as we went. When we hit about the halfway mark, we made a pit stop at McDonalds to grab breakfast, and were quickly back on the road. We made good time, and before we knew it we were pulling into the Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, where the race expo was set up.

It was around 11 am when we pulled into the museum, and we headed right to the expo when we got there, following the signs along the way. There was so much to look at as we walked through the building, that I nearly missed the bathroom that I so desperately needed to visit - by the time Dennis pointed it out, I had one foot on the escalador about to follow Emily to a lower level, when I quickly bailed. She looked at me with betrayal in her eyes as she considered running backwards up the escalator to not move on without us, but ultimately she took a full cycle down and then back up, meeting me on the main level again. I mean, she knew she was going to be chasing me around when she agreed to come along this weekend! Right Em?

Anyway, once that was taken care of we made our way into the expo, and it was quick business to get my race gear. The swag for this race was great - a red, embroidered quarter zip, a stemless wine glass, a drawstring backpack, and a single serving bottle of champagne. The expo was on the tinier side, but we still took a lap around, checking out the various booths as we went. I picked up some new Gu flavors to try, and a spectator map for Emily and Dennis to follow the next day. I spent the most time in the “official race merchandise” area, deciding if I wanted to make any extra purchases. Ultimately I bought a travel mug, a normal mug, and a zip up performance jacket. I am a sucker for race jackets, and wanted one to commemorate the marathon. The marathon nerves settled in as I purchased the jacket, a superstitious part of me fearing that I wouldn’t earn it.

Once bib pick-up was complete, we decided to explore the museum of glass, as one of the race perks was reduced admission cost for runners and their guests - $10 a person for a two day pass, a great deal! We spent a few hours exploring the museum, seeing art made of glass, a live glass blowing demonstration, learning about the history of glass, and even saw a few optical illusions.

When our stomachs started to call for lunch, we decided to check out the food court, and they had a surprisingly large selection. I was able to get a baked potato and some pasta for lunch, and get a few last minute carbs in. We had to be at the museum at 4:40 for a glass blowing workshop that we were signed up for, but I needed to run to a thrift store that was closing at 5 to pick up a throw away morning for the following day - the forecasted temperature had dropped throughout the week, so now it was looking like a warm layer would be necessary.

So, after eating we made a quick run to goodwill, which luckily was less than 10 minutes from the museum. I was able to find a coat for $4, that would ultimately be donated again the following day, but would do the job with keeping me warm. Did I walk up and down the aisles for 20 minutes making this choice? Yes. In retrospect, this doesn’t make much sense, as I re-donated the coat, but at the time I really felt like I had to assess all of my choices.

The final activity that we had planned for the day was a glass blowing class back at the museum, so we completed our circle journey and were all excited to try our hand at it. The project that we would be working on was wine glass tumblers. Once we were all checked in, we were handed safety gear - an apron, goggles, gloves, and sleeves, and told to pick the color that we wanted our glasses to be. Then we got a walk through with the instructors of the process that we would be going through, before trying out hand at it. Realistically, the instructors were doing the more complicated parts, with us acting as helpers, but it was awesome to see the process up close, and help in little ways. We each got to help shape our glasses, and the three came out different shapes, colors, and sizes, and are a really great reminder of the weekend we had together.

Once that was done we finally made our way to Bath, and checked into our hotel - Vinehurst inn and suites, which was less than 10 minutes from the bus drop off spot for the following morning. We settled in, I set up all my gear for the next morning, I checked the weather for the hundredth time - low 40s at the start, cloudy day, high temp in the 50s.

Once we were all settled in, we turned our focus to dinner - our first choice was a local italian restaurant, that toted “make your own” pasta on the menu, but when we called to inquire about wait times, there was over a TWO HOUR wait. It’s like runners like carbs before a race, or something. So, we settled on a small restaurant called Timber Stone Grill. I had a corn and crab chowder, to help with my sore throat, and a chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes on the time. Did my nerves start to control my personality at this point? Yes. To a point where I was on edge, and I put Emily and Dennis on edge (sorry guys, my bad).

I tried to take some deep breaths, reminded myself that I had put in the mileage for this race, and decided before bed that tomorrow would be great.

My plan for race day was simple. I was going to start with the 4:20 pacer, who would have an average pace of 9:54, and just see how I felt as the race went on. A 4:20 would be a great finish time for me, but at the end of the day, I wanted to feel happy and accomplished at the end of this race, and I was really feeling like that wasn’t going to be a feeling that was tied to pace. It was either going to be a good day, or a bad one.

I managed to go to bed early enough, and woke up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I was feeling congested, and checked my weather app as I laid in bed…. AND IT WAS RAINING.

Cool weather, cool. Thanks for the super accurate forecast, I appreciate it so much. But, it was only a 30% chance of rain, and it was only supposed to last until 8 am, so it should be done and over by the time the race started. So the hard part would be staying relatively dry until it was time to start running, but I was prepared, with a poncho loaded into my race day bag (thanks, Dad).

Once I was all dressed for the race Emily and Den were starting to get moving, so I slipped on my Vans and walked over to the hotel lobby, to grab tea for me and coffee for Em. I figured that I may as well try to keep my running shoes dry for as long as possible, and I had to go outside to get to the room that the hotel served breakfast in.

A short mile later we were all ready to go, and we loaded into my car and Den drove me to the bus drop off location, where I would hop on a bus and get a ride to the start area. They headed to get gas, and then find a spot between mile 2 and 3 to cheer at.

I was layered up with my coat and all, lugging along assorted gear in the bag I planned to check at the start area. There were some porter potties at the bus area, and I decided to use the bathroom before getting on the bus, as the bathrooms at the start area would likely have a longer line. Only had to wait a minute, and as I stepped into the bathroom I looked down, and REALIZED I HAD NEVER CHANGED INTO MY RUNNING SHOES.

Yup, you read that right. I was waiting at a bus area to be taken to the start area of a marathon that I was meant to run, and I was wearing slip on Vans. And, incase you were wondering, I did not have running shoes in my checked bag. This was entirely unintentional, and I went into a full blown panic spiral, picturing myself trying to run in these no support, slip on shoes.

I immediately began calling Em and Dennis, and both of their phones went to voicemail. AAH. Thankfully, Em picked up on the second call attempt, and I panic-explained that I needed them to stop what they were doing and double back to the hotel ASAP to grab my running shoes, and bring them back to the bus area. It was a little after 7, and buses ran until 7:30, so we had a little time, but I sat there waiting, playing through the worst case scenarios in my head, and checking their progress on find my friends almost every minute. I texted Dad, panicking, how could I be this stupid?!

But then I took a step back. I had told myself I was going to practice positive self talk. What would I say to my best friend in this situation? What would my best friends say to me? Well, that was an easy question to answer - when I told Emily that I was so stupid for this, she responded “You are not stupid. You are a graceful honey bee.” And you know what Jennie reminded me? That something was bound to go wrong, and it was better to get the bad thing out of the way. Dad told me not to sweat it - because he knows I always worry a little too much. By the time I finished considering all of these things, Emily and Dennis were pulling up to Putney square and coming to my rescue, running shoes in tow. With just five minutes to spare, I was climbing onto the school bus at 7:25, crisis averted, changing into my running shoes as I finally made my way to the actual start area.

On the short ride to the start line I pulled myself together. I changed into my running sneakers, Brooks ghost 10s, filled my SPI belt with Gu and my inhaler, stored my headphones in the pocket of my running jacket, and unfolded the poncho that I had in my race bag, and pulled it on.

The bus driver advised us that the tent right next to the start line was pretty full, so if we wanted to wait for the race start in a dry environment, we were better off heading to the bus shed that  was open, just a little further from the start line. I had to check my bag, so I headed in the direction of the crowded tent to get that out of the way. I managed to squeeze into the tent, which it turned out was heated too, and found that there were plenty of open chairs further away from the entrance. After 15 minutes or so of waiting around, I decided to try to squeeze in one more potty stop before race time, and headed over to the porter potties. The lines were quick moving, and I was in and out in no time.

I walked back towards the start line, and people were starting to gather, as the start time was less than 10 minutes away. I easily found the 4:20 pace group leader, Mike, and introduced myself. I chatted with a few other people who were planning to run in his group, as we waited for the race to begin.

Now we have gotten to the race, and I feel like even though it was only three days ago at this point, I am struggling to have a lot to say about the race itself. It is kind of just one big mush of positive emotions. I don’t know the area of Corning well, so it is hard for me to take you through the race step by step as I sometimes do. So once again, we will just have to start at the beginning.

The crowd started to shuffle ahead of me, and I quickly pulled off my throw away layer and made my way to the side of the crowd to drop it out of anyone’s way. The race was using the “raceJoy” app to track runners, so I crossed the start line holding my phone, and then spent the first few minutes of the race working on storing it away.

My legs were hesitant as the run first began, wanting to run faster to express their race day excitement. But I stuck to the plan, and stuck with the pacer. I spent the first few miles chatting with a runner who had also had an injury during her training cycle - she was doing box jumps and managed to rip her shin open, yikes! We commiserated about our marathon cycles not going exactly to plan, talked about why we started running, and were both just generally happy to have made it to the starting line. We lost each other at the first water stop around mile three, but it was nice to have someone to chat with for a bit. Emily and Dennis were waiting for me right around the third mile, and I smiled and waved, and threw them my jacket, which I was already too warm for. Down to a t-shirt, capris, gloves, a hat, and a buff after that, and I was ok for the most part.

The first ten miles or so just flew by, at a steady pace thanks to Mike. He occasionally chatted with the group, regaling us with stories of some of the 60+ marathons he has run. It was still raining, and it seemed like it was going to keep raining for the rest of the race at that point. The views were beautiful despite the overcast skies, and while I had heard that this course was “net downhill,” it had its fair share of little rolling hills throughout.

Around mile 11 the pace that had felt comfortable rapidly started to feel taxing, and I could feel my heart rate climbing. I made it a point to start taking a little more water at the aid stations, thinking I just was not doing a great job of fueling. I knew Dennis and Emily would be around the halfway point, and started focusing on getting to see them again. Right around this point I also managed to drop my inhaler, and in my haste to pick it up and put it back together, had snapped it together in the wrong direction, such that it was not functional.

Thinking I may be able to pass it off to Den so he could pull it apart and then hand it back to me later in the race, I ran with it in my hand for a bit, until spotting them in one of the spectator areas. But alas, they were behind several layers of police tape that had live road between me and them, so I wasn’t going to risk trying to throw it and losing my inhaler.

It was just after the 13.1 mile mark that I started to yo-yo with the 4:20 pace group. My IT band was starting to freak out a little, and I fell into a cycle of dropping back, and then surging to catch up to the group. But you know what? I didn’t beat myself up for it. My IT band hadn’t caused my any issues during my training cycle this time, but here it was being a nuisance. Over the course of the next two miles I eventually lost the group, so I pulled out my headphones and took my race day experience into my own hands, and just focusing on making it to the finish line, and feeling good about that.

So, I went onward and found my groove. It kept drizzling, but I wasn’t bothered by it. The hills kept rolling, and the views kept changing, and I was loving it. Don’t get me wrong - it wasn’t easy, and I was a little frustrated that my hip hurt, but I was moving forward, and closer to the finish line. Each mile got a little harder, but I moved with joy. I was going to finish my fourth marathon, and damn it, I was going to be happy.

The on-course fuel was Gu, which was good for me. It meant that I had to carry less fuel on my person. The aid stations were set up well, and they were all paired with a water station. I had a new flavor of Gu with me - Birthday Cake! I had wanted to try this flavor, but did not want to commit to a whole box of it. Lucky for me, I had been able to pick some up at the expo, and I am happy to report that it tasted surprisingly like frosting, and I am a fan! I started to do some intervals as the run progressed, walking when my IT band started to hurt too much. I hate to admit that, but it was what I needed to do to keep moving forward. By the time I got to mile 21, where Dennis and Emily were spectating again, I was in the pain cave, and Em could see it on my face, and shouted our favorite Kasey quote at me -

“I am LITERALLY dying right now!”  (march 2018, Run rock n’roll washington D.C. Half)

I have to admit, this picked me up more than I expected it to, and moved onward chuckling. We Headed into a more residential area of the race for the last few miles, with spectators sprinkling the streets here and there, despite the rainy weather. I was struggling, but I was still so happy, to my own surprise. I had kept telling myself that my goal of this race was to fall in love with the marathon again - I was heartbroken and defeated after NY, and I wanted my groove back, and it was somehow happening, despite losing my pace.

When there were five miles to go, Jennie started sending me mile-by-mile countdowns, which I loved. Jen was encouraging me from GA. Dad was texting and reminding me that I could do this, the end was in sight. Mom was using the race joy app to send “cheers,” and sent me the song that my brother and I were obsessed with after it appeared in the power rangers movie when we were kids - “Kung Fu Fighting.” That one may have made me happy cry a little. Before I knew it, I was right by the museum of glass again, and I recognized the town that we had visited the day before. One final climb up a small bridge, and then I turned the last corner, and could see the finish line in the distance, and felt an indescribable amount of joy. The emotion that I feel in marathons is like nothing else, and as Jen and I often discuss, something that occasionally moves me to tears even when I am not running. Just thinking about it or reading about marathons sometimes makes me a little teary eyed.

The finish line got closer, the announcer even called my name, and I crossed that finish line. Marathon 4, complete in 4:44:37. I got my medal, I got my heat sheet, and I progressed through the finished chute with a full on post marathon shuffle. Hands full, heart full, head spinning, I eventually managed to plop into one of the seats they had set up just before the exit, and Emily and Dennis managed to find me there. They took the million things I was holding, and tolerated my slug pace as we began our trek back to the car. Did I have to stop and squat several times over the course of the walk back to the car? Yes. Was I stinky and sweaty and ready to get out of my rain soaked running clothes? Yes.

But guys, I was so, so happy. So happy to have my people, cheering near and far. So happy that I made it through my 26.2 mile journey with joy. So happy with my brand new glass medal. And so happy that I reclaimed the marathon on my terms.

This time, I am ready to go again - and that’s a good thing, as I’ve got the Disney Marathon on my calendar, just a few months away. So, here we go again!

Wineglass Marathon 2018: The Taper Crazies

In the last two weeks leading up to the wineglass marathon, I experienced all the standard signs of taper crazies.

On Monday I started the week strong with a core video, and after work finally got my butt to LA fitness to sign up for a membership - I opted to not do Excel swim this session, as I am getting married in late October and was worried about my schedule getting too crazy ( I was right, the wedding is now just over a week away, and I am completely going insane), so I needed to set up a membership at LA fitness so that I could still swim somewhere, and not loose all of the work I had put in over the last year.

Tuesday of that week was 9/11, a day every year that weighs heavy on my heart. I grew up in NY, and have police in my family, so I am always just very grateful that all of my people came home that day. I pulled on my NYPD running singlet from the marathon last year, and headed out the door to run with Kasey. I didn’t realize that it was raining until I had already locked the front door, and had to double back to grab a hat.

When Kasey and I found each other, she let me know that she needed to be home by 6:40, a tad earlier than usual, as she had to make her own lunch that morning - her younger siblings were off from school, so her mom was sleeping in.

We managed to make it a whole mile before Kasey signaled for a pause, and let me know that she was dying. I reminded her that she is always dying when we run, and she questioned if it will be this bad in the winter…. At least then we won’t be living in a constant state of humidity. I reminded her that she also complains that she is dying in winter, the complaint just shifts to her saying that the cold air hurts her lungs.

Once Kasey’s leg of the run was over, a swiped a water bottle from her house before continuing on. I stuck to the loop near my parent’s house until I hit four miles, and then started heading home. The roads were slippery as I made my way back, and almost wiped out while in a cross walk, when I made contact with the painted white stripes.

Despite the cooler temps, I was still drenched in sweat when I got home. I threw my legs up the wall, and recovered there for a few. Then I ate breakfast with the cats - oatmeal for me at cat food for them, since I was laying next to them on the floor anyway.

Wednesday morning I did not want to drag myself out of bed, and when Dens alarm went off before mine I was utterly confused by the unfamiliar sound. In my sleepy state, I nearly stepped on the cat as I got out of bed. As I got ready to go, Dad texted me that his rear brake was seized on his bike, and I felt like the universe was telling me to go back to bed - but Kasey was on the road, and waiting for me to meet her.

I usually don’t run with headphones on, but I needed them to get moving that morning. I put on a mellow playlist, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I reminded myself that the first two miles always suck. Just as I found Kasey and she reminded me that she was once again dying, I got a text from Dad that read

“Bike Fixed. Cat escaped. Cat recovered”

I assumed this meant that he would be meeting us at some point.

I also assumed that Max was the escapee.

We kept running until Kasey had to take a moment to stop because she couldn’t breathe, and of course Dad rolled up on us when we were walking. While the weather was a bit cooler than it had recently been, the humidity was still at almost 100%. Once Kasey was done with her run, I picked up my pace, and changed to some faster paced music, and just pushed myself to get through that morning run. A total of 7 miles complete.

After a bit of a late night as a result of my brother’s birthday on Thursday night, I had a little bit of a groggy wakeup, but managed to drag myself to a treadmill at the gym. I had about a 45 minute window to run in, so I decided to do some faster intervals. I did intervals of 60s hard (7:50) then two minutes of recovery (9:45). I sweat like it was 120 degrees in that gym, but I did manage to get in a 5 mile run.

I had one last “Long” run before the marathon, and that was the 15.5 mile run that I did that weekend. It was hot out, but manageable, and Den agreed to bike along with me. The sun beat down on the bike path, and I could feel its impact on my body as I moved. I wore headphones again on this run, this time streaming a podcast to keep me company. By the end of the run Den and I both had a little more color than we began with, his a little more red than mine.

The following week I reached the stage of tapering where I felt sick all the time, and when I got on a treadmill on Tuesday morning I had to call it quits after 2 miles, I just felt like crap. When I got home I took my temperature, and was indeed running a fever. Splendid. So, I put myself back to bed, and spent the day recovering, hoping that this little bug would pass. I took Wednesday off from running as well, just to be safe.

Thursday I brought myself back to the treadmill, intent on getting in a progressive run. I still wasn’t feeling great, but I really needed the reassurance that I would be able to run this marathon. So, I set the treadmill, and I kept my pace. When it felt hard and I wanted to quit, I upped the speed. It was tough, I was tougher. Five progressive miles complete. I can do hard things.

Kasey forced me to get up Friday morning and run with her. Something that I really should have been planning to do regardless of whether or not I had company, but Kasey had an early shift at work so she kept me accountable. Our commitment was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise, one of my favorite parts of running as the weather cools down. It was even cool enough this morning that I broke out a long sleeve shirt, albeit a little prematurely.

Saturday was crazy busy, and I didn’t manage to get a run in until nightfall. To get myself moving, I tried a Nike Run club guided run for the first time. I really enjoyed the audio queues, and this will definitely be a tool that I break out again when I am lacking motivation, and have a million excuses to not get out.

Sunday I committed to getting in my last double digit run before the race, and headed out solo for it. I took my music with me this time, and just plugged away mile by mile, making a pit stop for some water and a quick cat cuddle. It was a good run though, and got me out my my own head. I recommitted to just wanting to enjoy my runs for me, and to try to put a little less pressure on myself for the time being at least. I am already stressed out enough in life ( I am getting married in the end of October, changed jobs in April, and moved in May. Its been a big year.), and right now I need running to be something that helps me to de-stress, rather than something that is something with big impossible goals. Days of running being the big goals will return, but now is not the time.

Once the 10-miler was done, I only planned doing 2 more runs that week. I take my taper seriously, and having been sick so frequently, I really wanted to take it easy. One easy treadmill run, about three miles long, short and simple, and then one morning bike/run with Dad. The final pep talk before the race. Running is hard, but I am strong. Ready for race day, mentally and physically.

My only goals? Finish the race, and fall back in love with the Marathon.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 12

Total Mileage: 48.6

After getting back to NY on monday night, I was ready to relax and recuperate for the rest of tonight, and when Tuesday morning rolled around, it felt like the world’s biggest Monday.

Monday was prime day, and I did fall victim to one runner deal - a nox gear vest. I am a nerd for visibility gear, and was excited to add this to the lineup. The benefit of prime day - it was on sale AND it would get to me in just a few days.

Lucky for me, I had a full crew ready to run on Tuesday morning, and Dad, Kasey and I hit the roads bright and early, and even got our first taste of sunrise running for the season. After the pleasant air in california all weekend, being back in the humidity was a bit of a rude awakening, but I stuck it out to get 7.5 miles in before work. I treated myself to yoga on Tuesday night instead of a gym session, and it was exactly what I needed to get out of the Monday-on-a-Tuesday funk.

We had another full showing on Wednesday morning, and I got through 8 miles before work. I also accidentally nearly took a sprinkler to the face. I run without my glasses, and somehow sprinklers sneak up on me pretty often…. I can usually hear them, but occasionally I get a surprise shower. On strava, I named this run “new world record for sweat,” as everything I was wearing was entirely sweat through by the time I made it back to the apartment. It was the kind of morning when the post run shower was a huge reward.

Thursday I got to bust out my new vest for the first time, so you know I made sure to get out the door before the sun was up. Kasey’s reaction to my new gear? A cross between “I don’t know if I can be seen running with you while you’re wearing THAT,” and “I would rather be hit by a car than wear a light up vest.”

So, she’s not a huge fan of my safety gear, I can’t win them all. I can’t say I was shocked. This run was a doozy either way, and when Kasey had finished her leg of the morning, Dad asked if we wanted to take a jumpshot before we parted ways - our reaction? Opting to promptly lay down on the sidewalk in despair, as it seemed more fitting for how we both felt that morning. Major burn-out feelings, and sadly for me, I had to get up and keep running afterwards. But I did get up, to complete a total of 7.6 miles that morning. I had a standard Thursday night at the gym, and got another hour of strength training under my belt.

I was gearing up to get in my last long run before the marathon that weekend - the big 22 miler! So Friday I focused on recovery, and got in a yoga class after work.

Saturday was the big run day of the week, and Dad was in it for the long haul with me, as bike support, stocked up with everything I could need over the miles. We headed to the sunrise highway entrance of the bethpage bike trail, where we met up with my MBTT teammate, Tara. The weather was drizzly and cooler than it had been all week, so it was perfect for a run.

She was on board for 12 miles, and we got going on the trail, chatting as we went. We were going to head out and back, 6 miles out and 6 miles back. Of course, Tara is known as a distance bully (and well, I may be too…). As we approached 6 miles, she threw out the possibility that maybe she could run 14 instead of 12, and I latched on to that immediately, happy to have her company for an extra two miles. The miles just slipped by, with the three of us chatting as we went, and sometimes I got to just listen to Dad and Tara chat, and just letting the distance rack up. Before I knew it we were back at the parking lot, and it was time for us to part ways, and time for me and Dad to head out for another eight miles.

My friend Desi wanted to get a few miles in, and was heading to the parking lot to meet us, but was still about 20 minutes out. So Dad and I looped out once more, this time just for two miles, and were back at the parking lot in what felt like half a second, and Desi was there and ready to get running. She is still a fairly new runner, so I had to slow down the pace a little for her, but I am generally content to trade pace for company. Of course, those last six miles were the longest 6 of the day. I could feel myself dragging, and had Dad pull out the emergency bottle of Gu roctane powder drink mix, or as I like to call it, Go Go Juice - and it did just the trick, and gave me the boost I needed to finish up those last few miles.

Dad and I upheld our post long-run diner tradition, refueling with over easy eggs and buttered rye toast. I was freezing by the time we left the diner, and when I got home took a good long shower before changing into comfy pants and putting my legs up. I did reward myself for a job well done with some new compression socks - what can I say, I am a sucker for a good ProCompression sale!

But alas, that was not the end of my running week - I had one more mile to get in! The New Balance 5th Avenue mile, to be specific! Mike and I had signed up to race on Sunday morning, and while I wasn’t sure how running was going to feel the day after a 22 mile run, I was excited to race a mile for the first time.

MIke agreed to do the driving this time, and we headed into the city on that rainy Sunday morning. My legs were tired, but all in all I was feeling good. After a few loops of city streets near central park, we managed to find parking and headed towards race day central. We were able to pick up our bibs on race morning, as NYRR weekly races usually allow, and this time the race giveaway was a hat. We threw our hats on, and then headed into central park to run a half mile warm-up, half to prepare ourselves for the race and half to keep warm, as it was drizzly and a little bit chilly that morning - good running weather, but not great standing around waiting to start running weather. We ran into central park, saw some doggos, mike caught a few pokemon, and my legs acted like slugs, outraged that I dare make them run the day after a 22 miler.

The waves of the race were separated by age and gender, and my wave was the one right before Mike, the 3rd and 4th groups to go. So when we saw the high school age waves going, we made our way over to the start area. Soon enough it was time for me to get into my corral, and I was more nervous than I had expected to be - I had never raced a mile before! I really wanted to finish in under 7 minutes. I hadn’t run a timed mile in over a year, and my old record was 7:14, so at the very least I wanted to beat that.

The race began, and runners chased the pace car down 5th avenue. I hit a pace that felt fast, trying not to get too caught up in the excitement of the start. I settled in, and the pace was hard, but I reminded myself it was only for a mile. The first half of the mile was a gradual uphill too, which was particularly unforgiving. When the road evened out, I let loose, checking the pace on my watch, right around a 7 min/mi. I buckled down, and held strong, even picking up the pace as the finish line came into sight, a 6 still leading the time - official time? 6:53. Heck Yeah!

I headed through the finishers chute, and walked back towards the finish line, and found a good spot to watch out for Mike. A few minutes later I spotted him approaching, looking strong as he came into the finish line - and pulling off a sub 8 minute mile! We munched on our post run bagels, and made our way into central park to get a few more miles in before heading home. My legs were heavy, but I never pass up an opportunity to run with friends.

All in all, it was a great week for mileage. My 22 miler went well, and I felt strong and ready to race, despite my training cycle not going exactly to plan.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 11

Wineglass marathon week 11

Total Mileage: 41.2

Come Monday morning, I was a bundle of nerves. Was I going to be cleared to run? Was this podiatrist going to tell me I needed to take a month off? Of course, my appointment wasn’t until after work, so it was naturally the longest work day ever. When I finally got to the doctors office, I was full on stress sweating as I filled out the intake forms.

They put me in a patient room, and when the doctor came in she checked out my foot, which was clearly swollen. I was lead to the x-ray machine, and half held my breath as they ran it. The results popped up on the screen instantaneously -

“Yes, that is definitely broken,” the doctor said with a smile on her face.

“But, it’s not a bad break. You can run on that.”

YES! Instantly rejoicing in my head began, as she set up to take one more x-ray from a slightly different angle. From the second angle, you couldn’t even see the break - it was that minor.

She lead me back to the exam room and showed my how to buddy tape it, and I felt the need to clarify the running thing with her, so she would understand just how much I wanted to run on it - stating that I would be doing a 22-mile run in the coming weeks - and she gave me the full go ahead, and just made sure that I had all the supplied I needed to tape it for the next few weeks. She said running on it was probably going to hurt, but I wasn’t going to do any more damage, and it would heal in about the same amount of time either way.

I was so relieved that I was still in the game for this marathon, and headed right to the pool after the appointment to get in a swim, which I had planned beforehand in case I wasn’t allowed to run, that way I would have something to take my mind off things…. And then right to a yoga class with Mike and Emily. It was a busy Monday night, and I had a big week ahead of me.

This week was a lot of “running by effort” and trying to just let go of my paces, because between my foot sometimes screaming at me and thick, humid, summer air I wasn’t keeping up with my usual paces. And you know what? That was okay, because I was still out there, and I was just so happy to be able to be running.

Tuesday morning I dragged myself out of bed earlier than usual, intending to make up for some of the miles that I missed over the weekend. I managed to get outside before Dad made it to my apartment on his bike, and we met along the road. Soon after we found Kasey as well, and the three of us fell into our regular groove. It was a particularly humid summer morning in NY, and boy was i feeling it. I employed every bit of positive thinking I could, and recited mantras to myself as I pushed to move forward. My pace slowed a little as the miles ticked on, but I managed to get through 8.4 miles that morning, which is a solid morning for me. But I was miserable at the end of that run, and made sure to immediately re-hydrate. I rounded out my day with an hour of strength training after work, despite really just wanting to go home and crash - I knew that in the coming weeks like was going to get crazy, and I needed to make the time while I could.

Since I was feeling defeated after Tuesday’s run, I promised myself I would take my run super easy on Wednesday, and just focus on getting the miles under foot. Dad and I chatted throughout the run/ride, and I made sure that my pace was conversational that way. We got to see a really pretty sunrise, one of the first of the season, and even though the miles were hard, and i melted a little, I felt great when I was through them. A quality run in terms of feel, even if it was slow as molasses. Seven miles closer to the race. I also may have totally made my fastpasses for my October disney trip during this run. And by may have I mean I totally did. But at least I moved onto a scarcely populated track instead of running in the road while doing so - and it was worth it because I got TWO coveted slinky dog dash fast passes!

Thursday morning the humidity calmed down marginally, and Dad and I got in another 8 morning miles. We looped through the neighborhood, and stopped at a track again. This time so that he could get some walking in, rather than time on the bike, and I even threw in a few pushes on the straights. Overall it was still a slower paced run, but with a few faster miles sprinkled in. After my successful morning run, I followed up with a successful night at the gym, focusing largely on core strength this time.

The sweet relief of Friday rolled in at last, and I got up to run to make up for some missed mileage the previous weekend, and Dad joined me once again. We kept it a little shorter this time, logging just over 5 miles that morning, as I had to do some last minute packing before work - Den and I were heading right from work to the airport, as we were traveling to San Francisco to visit his sister that weekend.

Despite traveling across the country, you better believe that I packed my running shoes! This would only be my second trip ever to California, and as Greg is always bragging about their superior running weather, I knew that I needed to experience it first hand.

The trip started off smoothly, with Den’s best friend, Alfred, giving us a ride to the airport. I was nervous leaving as late as we did, as everyone had panicked for me when I told them that I was flying out on the Friday night of labor day weekend, to the point where I was half expecting to miss my flight. But despite a little traffic, we got to JFK without a hitch, and even had time to have a sit down dinner at the airport. I even had a glass of wine with dinner, as we would be visiting Napa on our trip, and I figured that was an appropriate start to the weekend.

When it was about time to board the plane we headed over to our terminal, and were able to get our seats changed so that we would be able to sit next to each other on the flight, score! We usually fly southwest, but this time were on American Airlines, and hadn’t wanted to dole out the extra cash for adjacent seats when we were booking, and our gamble paid off. We even would up in a row with an empty third seat, so I was able to stretch out a little during the flight. I watched a movie, and then promptly passed out, and managed to be somewhat asleep for the rest of the flight. When we landed it was almost midnight California time, and Rachel and Greg picked us up from the airport and drove us to their apartment, where we were staying for the weekend. I promptly passed out, happy as a clam on the pull out couch.

Greg and I agreed on a Saturday morning run, and when my alarm went off at 6 am, it was lovely that it felt like 9 am to me. Now technically, I was supposed to be running 20-22 miles this weekend, but had booked this trip to CA before signing up for the wineglass marathon. Since we were only in town for the weekend, and the plan was to spend the day walking around the city, it would have been unwise of me to commit 4 hours to a run, especially when so much of the days plan was walking around and exploring. So, Greg and I decided to head out for 10 miles at a comfortable pace. They have a running path right by their apartment, and we headed out with the sunrise.

I warned Greg as we began that this was not going to be the speediest of runs, as Greg is a speedy person. Like, super tall with long legs, former high school cross country team member fast. So, I was a little worried I would spend the whole time trying to catch up to him. But we managed to settle into a pace around 9:30, and the weather was perfect for running, with no nagging humidity bearing down on my being. The first few miles were a little tough, but then I just settled in, and it turned into one of those blissful runs, where everything just kind of clicks. When we hit five miles we turned around, and the magic continued. The pace dropped, and it just worked. The pace kept dropping, and by the time we were in that last mile, we were just under an 8 min/mi. When we got back to the apartment, we had managed 10 miles, at an average pace of 8:53, and I was really pleased with that.

Dennis and Rachel were up and getting ready for the day, and once we were all fed and clean, we walked to the BART (local train system) station. We had the rotten luck of juuust missing a train, as it pulled out of the station while we waited to buy our tickets, but at least we got to check out some mountain top views while we waited for out ride. BART eventually trucked us from Walnut Creek To San Francisco, and began our day of adventure, that included ramen, walking the golden gate bridge, exploring the bay area, seeing the sea lions on pier 39, and making so many memories. We were all utterly exhausted by the time the day was through, and we had walked 14 miles! So that was a total of 24 miles on our feet for Greg and I, and I think we well deserved the In-and-out that we all scarfed down for dinner! It was my first time ever trying the fast food chain, as it does not exist in NY, and it was just about as good as the hype that everyone attaches to it.

Despite our super long day on Saturday, Greg and I dragged our feet out the door on Sunday morning, as I was so close to my goal of 40 miles for the week, so we just needed to get a few miles in. We headed in the opposite direction than we had the day before, and ran a total of 2.6 miles, the highlight of which was a bridge that we got to run over. We both felt the effect of the high mileage the day before, but were glad to sneak a few more miles in. The plans for our second day in Cali? Rachel and Greg were bringing us to Napa, where we went to Mumm and Miner to do some tastings and to take in some views of the valley. After plenty of tastings, we went to a pizza place for lunch, and while it was nothing like NY pizza, I am happy to report that it was still delicious, as carbs usually are. Our final stop in Napa, before heading back to walnut creek, was at Greg’s family vineyard, where his parents gave us a tour, and showed us how they check the sugar levels in the grapes. All in all it was an adventure filled weekend, and I was ready for many naps, which was exactly what I did once we were back in the car. We kept the rest of the night easy, having pasta for dinner and watching a little TV before calling it a night.

All in all, it was a successful week of running, and an amazing weekend trip to California.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 10

Total Mileage: 26.2

I spent far more time discussing my feet than any normal person should after the whisper run 10k that Sunday. I sent my parents photos, asking if a foot should like “THAT,” I texted my friends and some training buddies spiraling into full resignation that I would not be running a marathon, and I elevated, buddy taped, and iced excessively.

And you know what happened? It started to feel better. I know, I am dramatic. But we all knew that, realistically. I mean, would a non-dramatic person spend several hours every week sitting in front of a computer a week just to tell stories about her runs? Probably not.

Anyway, after having Dad evaluate my foot, he insisted that if it even was a break, it wasn't a bad one. That was all I needed to hear to lace up again on Monday, and try to make up for some of the miles that I felt like I had missed the day before. Dad biked to my apartment, and we headed out for our morning miles. I still don't have a standard running loop established near the apartment like I had by my parent's house, so we just looped up and down various blocks, and I tried to avoid hills as much as possible. I found that the shoes I chose that morning – my New Balance 880 V8s- were not as comfortable for my foot as the Nike Zoom Pegasuses that I had opted for the day before. We kept it to 5 easy miles, and it was huge relief to take off my shoes at the end of the run. I then proceeded to wear my largest sneakers to work, despite their pink color, which is what usually keeps them from being “office shoes.”

I somehow managed to squeak in 7 miles before work on Tuesday, despite the fact that we did not start running until 6:30. Usually to get in that kind of mileage I have to be out the door closer to 6 – I assume that I must have hit some kind of time warp, as I managed to get to work on time and everything. It was another morning of Dad and I making loops of Levittown, this time with him choosing the slightly hillier roads – that's what always happens somehow when Dad takes the directional lead. It's almost like he has gears on his bike or something.....

Anyway, I learned that the larger toe box in my Brooks ghost 10 running shoes made for a slightly more comfortable morning run, but I still kept the pace easy, just grateful that I was getting out there and running, regardless of potentially broken toes.

What happened on Tuesday night? Strength Training! Aren't you all so proud of me for picking things up and putting them down? It is hard to be consistent with cross training, but I feel like it has really helped to keep me strong for running, even if sometimes dragging myself to the gym after work feels like the biggest chore ever, and I contemplate going home and doing real chores instead. If that's not a ridiculous excuse, I don't know what is. Stupidly, I decided to put some planks into our end-of-workout core block. This isn't anything out of the ordinary, but it didn't occur to me that planks may hurt my toe, until I tried to get into plank position, and felt a sharp pain run through my foot. Damn it. We finished up some crunches, I avoided any further activity that meant weight on my toes, and we ended the workout soon after.

Of course, my when I got home after the gym my foot had swollen back up a bit. Splendid foot. Thanks for playing it cool. More ice, more feet up.

Wednesday morning I had no company for my morning run, but still managed to get myself out the door, and even settled into a pretty good pace. I opted for the re-laced Zoom Pegasus 33s that I had work for the whisper run, and used the first mile to take it easy and warm-up. I just kept moving through mile 2, and was surprised when my watch beeped and showed my a 9:06, sweet! My foot felt okay, despite the swelling, and I just tried to keep it consistent. I wound up totaling 5 miles, with an average pace of 9:13. I sometimes surprise myself on morning runs, and this was one of those days where running actually felt natural.

I did something that I probably should of done on Monday that day – made a podiatrist appointment. The resurgence of swelling did not sit well with me, and I just needed to have it checked out, so that I could stop stressing about the damn thing! The doctor scheduled me for the following Monday, and I took to buddy taping my toes for the rest of the week.

On Thursday Desi and I shook up our gym routine, and instead of lifting we opted to get an after work run in. My friend Mike met up with us, and the three of us headed north on the old bethpage trail to get some hills in. Mike and I chatted as we ran, and I was so impressed with how far Mike has come with his running game lately - he has seriously stepped up his game since deciding to run the 2019 NYC marathon, and has officially started his training for the Disney World half in January. He’s come from having to take walk breaks, as we all sometimes do, to being able to hold a full conversation with me while running (and playing pokemon go). The trail runs along the highway, and as we were on the return trip of our out and back run, Mike shouted “CAR!” as we were running. In my split section reaction to his shout, I almost pitched myself into the bushes on the side of the path…. before I realized that he meant “BIKE!” and was just alerting us that a bike was gonna pass us soon, whoops! We got a good laugh out of it at least. Naturally, we ended our run with a jumpshot. What better way to celebrate five miles with friends?

Friday night Mom and I headed out on a roadtrip to Maryland to visit with my cousins for the weekend, and Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed to get on the hotel treadmill, which turned out to be an awful idea. I got through 4 miles before calling it quits, mainly because my foot was THROBBING! I finished the run and immediately iced it, but man, it was unhappy with me all day! We spent most of the day shopping for a flower girl dress for my little cousin to wear at my wedding, so I was on my feet, and I was limping by the end of the day. Not a great sign.

My intention for Sunday morning was to get a long run in on the treadmill, but since I woke up with my foot still in pain, I decided to hold off on running until after my doctor’s appointment the following day.

It had been a good week at least, even if the weekend runs didn’t go exactly to plan.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 9

Total mileage: 16.5

See that total mileage at the top of this post? If that’s not an indication that something went wrong this week, I don’t know what would be. But lets start with the good, before I move onto the bad….

After feeling successful about the previous day’s 19.5 mile long run, I was ready to face this week head on! I had the mileage on my side, and was feeling strong after hitting 40 miles a few weeks in a row. Yeah, the long run had been finished on the treadmill, but I didn’t let a thunder storm get in my way, so I was pleased with myself.

Jen was still in town on Monday night and needed to do a 3.5 mi run to keep up with her 10k training, so we decided to head to Eisenhower park to participate in the Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k. Coming from a family of Cops, causes like this are near and dear to my heart.

After work I stopped at home to change, and then met Jen at the park, where she had already filled out our registrations and was waiting for me to arrive. Luckily, they still had our shirt sizes even though we were registering day-of. We waited by the starting area, Jen running through her prescribed PT exercises pre-run. The national anthem began, and we were off, into the park. This was Jen’s second race post-IT band injury, so she was wary as the mileage began. I don’t get to run with Jen all too often, so I was happy to stick with her as we made our way through the park.

It was a humid night, with a chance of thunder storms on the radar. We got lucky though, with only a few drizzles throughout the race, with no thunder threatening the full distance being completed. The first mile came in at 10 mins even, and we could hear the NCPD academy recruits running to a cadence as we ran a loop onto the next part of the course. I was impressed with their ability to sing while running in this humidity.

Mile 2 included water stations, and we took a quick walk break to get some fluids in. We were both struggling a little with the weather, and I had a nagging pain in my ankle. I usually take the day after long runs off, but I figured an easy paced 5k would be ok. My ankle continued to disagree. The second mile came in at 10:51, and we headed into a tree filled area of the park for the third and final mile. As we grew closer to the finish line, we were both drenched in sweat. Turns out summer is a less-than-ideal time to run – who knew?!

Approaching the finish line we picked up the pace, and completed the distance in 32:27, with an average pace of 10:23. We collected some cool towels they had near the finish, and then completed another .4 miles so that Jen would be able to get her full run distance in. Once that was done we checked out the post-race BBQ that was going on. They had a ton of food options available, but we both agreed that the humid run had made us a little nauseous and agreed to head to my parent’s house to hang out for a bit, rather than staying at the park for longer.

After the race my ankle continued to feel iffy, and of course I couldn’t find my ankle brace Monday night. So on Tuesday I focused on strength training, trying to give my body a break from running. In the morning I did a quick “Beach Body on Demand” workout, and then after work headed to the Gym with Desi, as is the usual Tuesday plan. I took Wednesday completely off, and thankfully a new ankle brace came in the mail that day. A few months ago I dealt with tendonitis that lead to the need for an ankle brace, so at least it was easy to get a new one, as I knew what I was looking for.

Did you know, Kasey “hates” running even more in the summer than she does the rest of the year?

On Thursday Kasey was planning on getting some morning miles in so I planned to meet up with her and figured if my ankle really hurt I would stop. Thankfully, I felt good when I started moving and was able to get in some excellent mileage. Kasey and I got in two miles together before she needed to get ready for work, and then I did an additional 5 miles solo, for a solid 7 mile morning. I started the run with no pressure on my pace, to give myself time to warm-up, and then gradually picked it up, enough that my last 4 miles were at a sub-9 min/mi, and the average pace came in at a 9:12. I felt strong at the end of this run and was glad that skipping some mileage had me feeling better. I figured I could run a little extra on Friday or Saturday to bring the mileage back up.

Thursday night meant, as usual, strength training at planet fitness. This time focused on arms and core. We spent a little more than an hour working through our routine and completed the whole thing without incidence.

I figured on Friday night I would get a few miles in after work before meeting Jen at a beach concert. Of course, I should have just done these miles in the morning. I wound up getting caught at work late, which meant no time for miles before the show.

Den, Desi, and I met up with Jen and her fiancé, Will, at the beach and learned that it wasn’t a concert on the sand like I had expected, but was a concert in an open air bar that was surrounded by sandy beach. I had worn flip flops, something that is fairly out of character for me, thinking my shoes would be full of sand if I attempted to wear sneakers. We found a spot to hang out on the roof of the bar, and had a good time hanging out and catching up. Eventually Jen and I were in need of drink refills, and we headed over to the bar for some refills. As we waited by the bar a waitress rushed by, and in her hasty almost-run, landed on my foot. She apologized quickly and moved on, I assured her it was no big deal, just an accident. My toe hurt, but it was no big, right?

We continued on with our night, eventually joined by my friend Chris, and we all sung our hearts out to classic rock tunes when we made our way to the dance floor. Even Dennis, who usually hates the bar scene, managed to have a good time. It wasn’t until we left the bar and begin the trek back to the car that I realized, WOW, my foot REALLY hurts! I wrote it off as a lot of time on my feet in unfamiliar shoes, and headed to bed when I got home without putting anymore thought to it.

The next morning when I woke up, the first thing that my body called my attention to was the throbbing pain in my foot. Examining my toes, I discovered that I had a bruise that wrapped around my pinky toe and swelling to accompany it.

Well, that’s not a good sign. I had to head to a meeting with the florist that Den and I are using for the wedding, so further evaluation would have to wait until after that. Weight on the foot? Not fun. After the meeting I iced my foot, and proceed to spend most of Saturday planted on the couch, trying to keep off my feet as much as possible. I had a 10k planned for the next day and was seriously questioning if that was in the cards for me. Needless to say, no makeup miles were possible on Saturday.

Sunday morning rolled around, and Desi was at my house bright and early. The Whisper Run 10k, which we were registered for that morning, was meant to be her first 10k ever. My original plan was to race the 10k, and then run another 8 miles to complete that weekends 14 mile long run.

I had pulled out my biggest pair of running shoes, half a size larger than the other pairs, and re-laced it in a way that the internet told me would take pressure off the toes. The course for the race was a repeat of a 5k loop, so I figured if I was in an unbearable amount of pain, I could manage walking at least one 5k loop. Putting the shoe on was painful, but I really felt ok once it was on my foot. We headed to Eisenhower park for the second time this week and picked up our Bibs and shirts. We had just enough time to use the bathroom before we had to line up and get moving.

Desi and I started the race together, but quickly settled into our own paces. It was humid again, but bearable. My foot felt better running than it had walking, and I pushed the pace a bit. I just focused on the mile I was in and found lot of on course support from members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri team, some volunteering and others running with me. When the first loop was complete I headed into the second one feeling strong, focused on the upbeat music I had playing on my headphones. One more loop. I was starting to become a little more aware of my foot, but it still felt ok. My watch was closing in on mile 6, and the course was closing in on the finish line – from looking at my watch while I was running through the area of the park that has more trees I know that my pace was off, so I’m going to chalk the short race distance up to the watch, rather than to a short course. As I approached the finish line, another member of the Tri Team, Andrea, shouted “you better not let me cross that finish line before you!” and it was just the motivation I needed to push a little harder in those last moments. I crossed the finish line and kept moving for a minute, mainly to avoid puking.

I chatted with some of other members of the tri team as I waited for Desi to finish, and when the results were posted I learned that I had managed first place in my age group – I was particularly excited by this, as I had gotten first place AG at this race in 2017 and was hoping to manage it again this year. We hung around for the awards ceremony, and several members of the MBTT had placed in their age groups, woo hoo!

Once the awards ceremony was over, I evaluated how my foot was feeling. Walking sucked way more than running and my foot was screaming about being confined to a shoe. I was happy with my 10k results, and decided not to head out for another 8 miles to complete that 14-mile long run, for fear that this was anything more than a broken toe. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering… and kicking myself a little for deciding to wear flip-flops out on Friday night. What was I thinking?!

In the grand scheme of things, a broken toe isn’t much, but I was afraid that it would be more than a toe. After struggling through the last 5 miles of the NYC marathon last fall, and then having to sit out the Disney marathon in January, I found myself fearful that this would have an impact on the wineglass marathon. Was 2018 just a year that I was not meant to run a full? This was the question that repeated in a loop, as I wallowed in my swollen foot.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 8

Total Mileage: 41.6

Once I get into the higher mileage weeks in my training cycle, my mental goal starts to become "I just need to hit 40 miles this week."

May not seem like much to some, but to me it is a goal that is attainable, so long as I stay on top of my weekday mileage, and don't get lazy about it. After my long run on Sunday, I was feeling successful and ready to start another week.

Monday means no running most of the time, to allow for recovery post long run, so I got in the pool instead. The workout was mostly kicking drills this week, with some 250 m repeats, and boy did my legs thank me for that. I felt so much better after swim, as I usually do when recovering from long runs. More often than not I struggle to get myself to the pool, and when I successfully get there, the feeling of accomplishment is great. 

The next morning I had my eye on getting my quality run in, and set the alarm for a little earlier than usual. My training plan called for a warmup and then 70 minutes at an 8:41 pace, and because of the summer heat and humidity, I planned to do this run on a treadmill knowing that the controlled air in the gym would make the paces more attainable. I got to the gym around 6:30 and hopped on the treadmill, and took care of a mile warmup before getting into the meat of the workout. I ran out of time on the treadmill after 50 minutes at 8:41, but was still really happy with myself for holding that pace for so long - I always surprise myself when I pull off sub-9 paces.

Of course, I had set my goal at 70 minutes at that pace, and after work got on the treadmill again to get those last few miles in, and brought my daily mileage total to 10 miles. Once the treadmill work was done, I got in my cross-training with some weights. I am happy that I am finally committing to consistent strength training, and getting to the gym for it twice a week.

Wednesday morning I got my butt to the gym again, and this time aimed for progressive miles, getting a little faster as each mile passed by.  I had time for five before it was time to head home and get ready for work, which I deemed "good enough" after managing 10 the day before. I took it easy that night, planning for another 7 the next morning. Plus, it was my and Dennis' 6 year anniversary, so we were heading to the melting pot for a fancy pants dinner. 

I ventured outside again on Thursday, and headed into the less hilly part of my neighborhood. If I was going to be dealing with heat and humidity, I at least wanted to not also be dying with the up and down of hills. Kasey and I found each other on the main road, and stuck together for a few miles, until she was out of time for the morning. I kept it easy, at around a 10 min/mi, just running by feel and trying to ignore my pace. Very many loops later, I ran back up to my apartment, with so much sweat on my person that I had a full on sweat stache. Dewey beads of sweat on my face and all.

Friday morning, I tried out the beach body on demand craze, and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the workout. I hadn't done an at home workout since we got the cats, and they were VERY CONCERNED about what in the world I was doing - Binx even made off with my resistance bands several times. 

Friday night my cousin Jen came into town from Atlanta for her annual summer visit, and we spent the night with Emily and Kasey, drinking wine, and eating fondue. Not the best thing to do while marathon training, but I would never miss the chance to spend a night hanging out with those three - we even had a lazy Saturday morning. When I got up on Saturday I figured I would squeeze in a few easy miles at some point, but to my surprise, by bridal shower was happening that day! So no run, but hours spent with so many of my people, who traveled into town from all over the country. My mom also went above and beyond with this shower, secretly collecting teapots for the last year, and throwing the most spectacular wonderland themed bridal tea party.

When I walked into the hall I had worked out that something was up, and we were not going to brunch like I had been lead to believe. So, my look of surprise was more in reaction to the over the top decorations - from mis-matched tea pots and cups at every setting, handmade giant paper flowers hanging atop a custom bridal shower backdrop, playing cards pasted to the ceiling, and three tier tea towers with piles of scones and finger sandwiches. After I changed into the dress that Mom had brought with her and made my rounds around the room, I got a moment to sample the delicious foods before being taken to the middle of the room to start the festivities. We played the standard games, from bridal shower bingo as the gifts were opened to "who knows the bride best?" (Kasey won, in case you were wondering. Her prize? Tea of course!), and even had a fun twist on one game. My bridesmaid Minal had asked Dennis to fill out a survey about our relationship, and then put me to the task of answering the same questions. The twist? When I got one right my maid of honor, Jen, had to eat a marshmallow. If I was wrong, the marshmallow was for me to eat. We both quickly became chubby bunnies with cheeks full of marshmallows - which was way harder to deal with than I anticipated. 

It was a long day, capped off with dinner out with some of my bridesmaids, and needless to say that short run never happened.

Sadly, the weather forecast was much better for Saturday than it was for Sunday, and by the time I headed out for my run thunderstorms were looming on the horizon. I needed to get through 19.5 miles, so I headed out anyway, that way it would not have to all be done on the treadmill.

The air was heavy through the first two miles, and in the third the rain began. I was prepared though- with pre-applied body glide and a running hat. The rain actually felt amazing, and as the sky opened up the humidity lifted, and I could breathe. I kept at it as the storm picked up, the roads became rivers, and every bit of clothing I had soaked entirely through. Just as I hit mile six, I started to hear thunder and knew that my rainy run had to come to an end. When I got back to the apartment I dried off, and waited a few minutes to see if the storm would pass before resigning myself to over 13 miles on a treadmill. But alas, the storm did not lift and off to planet fitness I went.

Was I once again that weird girl at the gym who is eating while on the treadmill? You know it! At first the miles felt like there were never going to end, but eventually I found my groove, picked a playlist, and settled in to get the miles done. One treadmill half marathon later my long run was complete. I was a little disappointed with having to split the distance two weekends in a row, but thankful that I got the whole distance in at least.

Another week closer to the Wineglass marathon, and I find myself questioning my ability every day. But at least I know that with each day passing i have a few more freckles from the summer sun, and my legs are a little more prepared to toe the start line.

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 7

Weekly Mileage: 43.3 miles

As we entered August, I was losing the summer battle of humidity, and turning to the treadmill for so much of my weekly mileage. I got outside a few times this week, but used the treadmill for most of my quality miles.

Since Mike and I plan to run the Walt Disney World half together in January, we have discussed at length our need to run together more, that way we get used to running together and can easily accommodate each other’s running style. We live less than two miles away from each other, so in theory this is an easy task to accomplish. But factor in wildly varying schedules, and regular runs together turn into the occasional NYRR race together that we schedule months in advance.

But on this particular Monday night the stars aligned, and we were both free so we decided to meet up for a 5ish mile run and a Yoga class. As we looped through the streets of the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but wonder if Mike was secretly running for congress or something, as it felt like once a block someone was shouting “Hi Mike!” Despite the humidity, we found a comfortable pace and chatted about race plans, goals, and life in general until the time approached to head for yoga. We were booked for an 8:00 class, AKA Vanessa’s hard class, and we made it there right on time. It was a challenging practice, but I was feeling so good by the time we made it to savasana…. And then my Abs felt not so good for the following three days, as Vanessa had given them quite the workout in class. I even texted Mike to see if he was on the same page, and we agreed that it was a good soreness at least.

Since Monday is usually an off day for me, I kept the Tuesday morning mileage short. Dad joined me on his bike for a little more than three miles, that wound up being slower than I had hoped. A combination of the air and lacking a rest day, I tried not to beat myself up about the pace too much – rest days are important. Work ran late on Tuesday so the usual strength training session got called off, and I headed to swim instead. The pool was in a long course configuration and we were doing repeats that were of higher distances, so I eventually wound up with flippers on. It was a good workout, but I was exhausted by the end of the session, and decided to do my Wednesday run at night instead of in the morning, and luckily Mike was free again, and we made plans to meet up at the gym.

In the spirit of me having poor time management skills, Wednesday night did not go exactly to plan. Dennis and I had to go pick out suits for the groomsmen, so we headed to the stores with the best man and my brother, and the process was painless enough, but took longer than anticipated. I had agreed to run a mile with Tommy, who is getting back into his running routine of the one mile loop near my parent’s house, so after shopping was done we headed out together. Once we had completed the loop, I headed to planet fitness, where Mike was waiting for me. We hopped on the treadmills, and got to work. I had a threshold run to complete, where my goal was to complete two sets of 2 miles at an 8:14 pace, with a 2 minute jog between sets. Knowing that last week I had a workout that was a four mile repeat at this pace, I wasn’t too worried about hitting this goal. Once we for the treadmills moving and the warmup mile was done, I popped on my headphones and with the help of some fast paced music, got through the miles, with only a slight struggle. I felt accomplished hitting the prescribed paces. Mike, I am still impressed that you kept a sweatshirt on for the duration of that run. Planet fitness felt like a fiery inferno and I’m pretty sure that I sweat out at least 16 oz of water, so Kudos to you man, and your tolerance that I do not possess.

After finishing my Wednesday run late, I decided to continue this week’s trend of night time running on Thursday, to not squeeze too many miles into a short period. So, after work Desi and I headed to the gym, about 50 minutes on the treadmill. My training plan says that my “easy” pace should be around a 9:17, which I firmly believe is a lie, but I decided to set the treadmill to approximately that pace and stuck there for the five-mile run. We then got in a core workout and a short arm circuit before calling it a night.

Then it was at last Friday. I actually dragged my butt out of bed this morning and made it to swim, where there was a lighter crew than usual. We started the workout with 4 sets of 100m repeats, that alternated in varying orders between “fast” and “slow” 25 m segments. I was, invariably, the last person done every round. Once we got the tough stuff out of the way, we changed gears to longer reps, and at the end of the workouts I had gotten in over 2,000 m at a slightly faster pace than usual.

Mike and I broke an adult friendship record on Saturday and saw each other for the third time this week (we went to school together from 3-12th grade, so this didn’t used to be a particularly difficult feat). We met up at the gym around 9 am to get some miles in on the treadmill before heading to a yoga class. Guys, this run was ROUGH. My intention was to warm up and then start the workout with 800 m repeats at a 7:35 pace, then after three rounds run for 20 minutes at a 9:04 pace before doing it all again. Mike opted to do the same style of workout, but adjusting the paces to be more his speed. I made it through the warm up and the first set of 800 m repeats, but when I hit the 9:04 portion of the run, I just could not get my heart rate down – even though that is a pace that I hit pretty regularly, my heart rate was sitting at about 190, where it had been for the 7:35 repeats, and refusing to come down unless I was walking. Knowing that I had a long run to get through the next day, I opted to cut the run at 4 miles. We headed to a slow flow yoga class from there, and it took the better part of the hour before I was feeling better. Sometimes, all you need is a good yoga class.

The long run this week was a doozy. It was the first time this year that I was planning to run 18 miles, so while I knew I had accomplished this mileage before, it was still an intimidating task. Dad agreed to accompany me for the journey, and picked the Cedar Creek to Jones Beach path as the path of the day. I got to his house a little after 7:30, and by 8:00 we were parked near Jones Beach Theatre and headed towards cedar creek. The first few miles felt good, all ringing in within a 9-something pace, but then I felt myself slowing down, as the sun rose in the sky, and the heat and humidity intensified. I took a gu at mile 4, hoping that I was just feeling a little fatigued. We hit cedar creek right around the 5 mile mark, and began the trot back to jones beach, where my feelings about this run rapidly declined, and I started to feel like I need a sip of water every quarter mile. This path has little to no shade, and by mile 8 I was starting to feel like an egg that was being fried. Drinking water was now making me nauseous, and when I took a second Gu it was everything I could do not to throw it back up. When we reached the car again at mile 10, I stopped at the bathroom at the beach, and was seriously tempted to lay down on the floor to feel the fan for a moment. I felt beyond overheated, and tried to cool myself down by splashing some water on my face. I was light headed, but the time out of the sun improved my conditions considerably. It was like as soon as I went inside I was questioning if it could really be THAT bad out there, where I had just been dreaming of an Icee on the beach boardwalk. When I came out of the bathroom I discussed the options with Dad, and ultimately decided to move the run onto a treadmill. Eighteen miles would have been a huge mental struggle on a treadmill, but I could do 8. I really wanted to just get them done outside, but the remainder of the path had even less shade than the portion that we had been on, and didn’t want to risk my health because of my stubbornness.

So, as Dad drove back to the house I rallied the troops. Kasey was already going to the gym anyway, and Emily agreed to come keep me company on the treadmills for a bit. The prospect of this brightened my spirits, and I was ready to keep moving when I got to the gym. I loaded up the treadmills cupholders with my water bottler, inhalers, and running fuel, and accepted that I was just going to be that weirdo at the gym that was eating on the treadmill. You gotta do what you gotta do, right? By the time Emily headed out I was through five miles, and was beginning to bargain with myself, thinking of ways to trade off these final three miles for some other activity. But I reminded myself of the upcoming race, using sport beans as a reward for each mile that I got through. When the treadmill finally rolled into the end of the 8th mile, I was so relieved, and so ready for a nap. I got back to the apartment, took a shower, shoveled some pasta into my face, and promptly passed out. The sun had really done a number on me, and when I woke up an hour later I had a splitting headache. Despite all the water I had drank, I was certainly a little bit dehydrated. I dragged myself out of bed to get more water and food, and the pulled on some compression sleeves before resigning to the couch for the rest of the day. Sometimes I feel lazy when I spend my Sunday relaxing after a long run, but this week it was just so relaxing to hang out with Dennis and watch way too much arrested development, and then head to bed nice and early.

Also accomplished this week: I finally got some more running decorations up in the apartment!

There were moments that I was on the struggle bus, but I still got through my mileage, and for that reason I am happy. I hope that my runs bring me the same sense of accomplishment next week, and that this training continues to stay on track until race day. The next challenge? The 19.5 mile long run that sitting on my schedule for next weekend. Yikes!