Race Recap: NYRR Retro Run

Well internet, I did it again – I neglected to consult my calender when signing up for races, and got myself into another two-race weekend, this time with a particularly early morning. My weekend of racing started with another “weekly” race with the New York Road runners, the 4-mile Retro Run.

This particular road runners event has been on my “to do” list for the last two years, as I love an excuse to dress up for a race. I had signed up for it in 2017 but then had a family obligation, and was similarly out of town for the 2018 rendition of the event. But this year I was finally able to don the vintage 1987 road runners event shirt that Dad had surprised me with in 2017, before we realized I wouldn’t be able to participate.

The morning started with a 5:50 alarm, and by 6:15 one of my teammates from the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team, Michal, had arrived at my apartment. Her, Mike and I were car pooling to the city, and we hopped into my car and headed to pick up Mike. The weather was nice for July running, with temps in the 70’s and a slightly overcast sky. I managed to navigate us to the city without any tolls, which sounds simple, and ultimately is simple, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t messed it up in the past. I again opted to pre-purchase parking through the spot hero app, and got a garage spot on 67th street, just outside of central park. When participating in Road Runner events it is easy to find street parking if the event occurs on a Sunday, as parking regulations are more relaxed, but on Saturdays there are more rules, and street parking can be hard to come by. The $20 charge that the three of us split was worth not feeling rushed before the race.

We all needed to pick up our bibs, so we headed to race day central to grab them. After a quick scan of our QR codes, we were good to go. We found Carson near bib pickup, and she joined our group of runners. As a chronic over-packer, I of course had a bag I wanted to check, so our next stop was the drop-off location. On the way there we ran into another MBTT teammate, and stopped for a quick pre-race selfie. The final start before it was time to run? The porter potties, of course!

We climbed into the corrals just before 8 am, when the race was scheduled to begin. I wasn’t planning on racing, so I dropped back so that I could run with everyone else. As we waited in the corrals we sang along to the “retro” tunes that they were pumping into the corrals, really breaking it down to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” As the corrals ahead of us were released, we shuffled closer to the start line.

Eventually it was our turn to start running, and this time the four of us managed to stay together through the crowded start. Admittedly, it was a smaller field than the pride run had been, so it was less congested. We pushed the pace a little as we weaved through the crowd, looking for a area big enough for the four of us. Some of the runners that we spotted had great costumes, and we even spotted a few wigs that had us wondering if they were real or not.

When we got to the first mile marker, in lieu of the standard timing clock there was a man on a raised chair yelling out the race clock time – they had really committed to this retro thing! As we approached the north end of the park Mike and I began to wonder aloud if we were going to have to face Harlem hill that day – neither of us had checked the course map. But just before mile two the course turned, avoiding it. Instead, we headed into the rolling hills known as the three sisters, and it was during the third mile of the race that in these hills our group of four split in half to pairs. Carson wasn’t feeling great, and wanted to incorporate some walk breaks, and Mike decided to stay with her as Michal and I kept running. We chatted our way through the final mile, and after crossing the finish line we pulled to the side and asked a volunteer to take our photo. As we posed, Mike and Carson hopped in, having finished just a moment later.

We were happy to have water at the finish line, and accepted our post race bagels and apples from volunteers. Carson was a little run-drunk, and was very concerned that she couldn’t spot any raisins in her cinnamon-raisin bagel, but thankfully they were discovered once she started eating it.

We picked up our event shirts, which were teal and made of a more “retro” looking material than the standard shirt that the road runners gives out. I was a fan of them, as they were soft and the logo looked good on the front of the shirt. There was a band playing, and roller skaters putting on a show near the bandshell, and a vintage good humor truck was giving out popsicles to runners. I went and picked up my checked bag while my friends waited in line. Our last stop before heading home was the photo booth, which was setup in a old Volkswagen van. We climbed into the back of it and posed together, sweaty post-run faces and all. If you’d like to see the video from the race, you it is posted on my youtube page, or you can click the photo of us with the race shirts.

It was a fun event, made better by running it with friends. We hit some traffic going home, but it at least gave Mike some time to try my r-8 recovery roller, or as he called it, the Bear Trap. When I did get home, I spent most of Saturday preparing for Sunday’s event: My first Triathlon.

Race Recap: 2019 NYRR Pride Run

Another weekend, another race. This time the New York Road Runners Front runners of NY Pride run - If that’s not a mouthful, I’m not sure what is. This race would bring me one step closer to my 9+1 qualification for next year’s NYC marathon, and was sure to be full of LOVE! This would be my second time running this event, and we were slated for sunny skies.

When we registered for this race, I had Kasey, Mike, Sophie, and Sophie’s sister Janna planning to run with me. We all signed up, but only three of us made it to the start line. Mike wound up having a wedding in Connecticut that night, and the timing just wasn’t working out, and Kasey got put on the schedule for work. A bummer for sure on both fronts, but I was glad to at least have some good company as I headed into the city on race morning.

I picked up Sophie and Janna from my parent’s house, and they were in full rainbow mode and ready to run. I had opted for a neon pink shirt and neon ProCompression socks, as I just didn’t have anything rainbow that I really felt did the event justice.

I had decided to pre-purchase parking via the spot hero app, since every other time that we had headed into the city for a Saturday race this year we had wound up looping the streets surrounding central park looking for parking for so long that we had to kick one person out of the car to get the bibs which the other paid for a garage - and they’re expensive! Paying for parking day of in the city has cost us around $55, where as the spot hero app got me parking for $22 - a bargain in my opinion. We easily dropped the car off just a block outside of central park, and had a quick walk to bib pickup.

Once we had our bibs we moved over to bag check, and I sorted through the crap that I wanted to have with me, vs. the stuff I could leave behind. I had intended to run with my GoPro for this event, and carried it with me, but shortly after bag check discovered that the battery was dead. Once my stuff was dropped off we headed towards the corrals, with a quick stop at the porter potties along the way.

It was a big race, as NYRR was trying to set a world record for the largest charity pride run. They would have to net the most finishers, so there were over 10,000 runners in the field - much larger than the standard NYRR weekly race! We headed to the back of the corrals, as this was Janna’s first NYRR event, so she did not have a proper time-based corral placement yet. Shortly after we got to the corral, Carson spotted us as we waited to get moving, and joined us in the corrals. It was a long walk to the start, as they were releasing runners in waves that day.

When we did make it to the start, it was so crowded that I managed to loose sight of Sophie and Janna. I saw them right behind me, and Sophie waved me on. I planned to stay with them, but the next time I turned to check for them they were out of sight. So, Carson and I moved forward, figuring that we would find them by the finish line. We chatted as we made our way through the first mile, which brought us up Cat hill. Near the hill one of the members of MBTT spotted me, Michal, and we chatted for a moment until she decided to cut back her pace a little. It’s always fun to spot a familiar face on course.

We missed the first aid station simply because it was crowded, but pulled over to grab water at the second. it was a humid morning, and we needed to make sure to hydrate, even though it was only a 5 mile run. We continued making our way around central park, and as we approached Harlem Hill Carson and I parted ways, as she wanted to take a short walk break. I pressed forward, enjoying the challenge of the hill. I had needed to take a few days off that week, as my calf had been feeling a little strained, but it was feeling great during the race, and I was just happy to be moving. Did the hill suck? Yes. But there I was, running up it anyway, somehow happy about it as sweat dripped into my eyes. Running is emotionally weird, guys.

If you’ve run central park before, you probably know what comes after Harlem Hill - you finally make it to the top, praise the end of the uphill, have a moment of relief, and then head straight for the three sisters. Sigh. More hills. But I was still happy to be out there, happy to feel good running, even pushing the pace a little when I could. I wanted to play it smart with the heat, so I wasn’t going too crazy.

Once I made it through the ups and downs of the three sisters, it was smooth sailing to the finish line. A flat stretch, lines with spectators decked out in pride gear, cheering on the runners, a final turn, and the finish line chute. I almost crashed with another runner at the finish line, who came in HOT behind me, but crisis was averted. I moved through the finishers chute, being handed water, and apple, a rainbow bagel, and the real prize - a rainbow ice pop. Really, the ice pop alone would have been enough to convince me to run five miles.

I was very thankful for the many pockets on my shorts, as I crammed my apple and bagel into them as I enjoyed my ice pop. I waited in line to pick up my shirt, and once I had it I went to pick up my checked bag. Carson found me along the way, and walked over to get her bag as well. We then found a nice curb to enjoy our ice pops on.

Sophie texted me when she finished her race, and I walked back over to the shirt pickup area to meet her. Her and Janna briefly got separated - an issue as Janna had never been in central park before and had no cell phone on her - but Sophie found her surprisingly fast, and then they grabbed their shirts. By then we had all finished our ice pops, and made a group decision for another round - there were plenty of vendors in the park after all! Once we had our ice pops acquired, we walked towards the cherry hill fountain, where I knew some of the tri team had planned to meet up. I knew I was probably too late, but wanted to see if I could spot anyone.

I was indeed too late, but we snapped a few photos with the fountain anyway. We walked back up to race day central, posed with a few of the photo ops, then parted ways with Carson as we headed for the car and she headed for the subway.

It was another good week with the road runners, despite the warm temperatures. At the end of the race they announced that they had met their goal, and broke a Guinness world record for the largest pride run

Video Recap: The 2019 Brooklyn Half Marathon

Still working on a written blog post about the 2019 Brooklyn Half Marathon, but at least the video recap is complete!

I met up with Sophie, Mike, and Carson for the Brooklyn half, and we lost and found each other throughout the 13.1 mile distance.

Check back soon for a blog post, if you’re more into reading than watching videos.

2019 NYRR 9+1: The Gridiron 4 miler

As we begin 2019 I start, for the third time, the process of qualifying for the NYC marathon. While I qualified in 2017, I didn’t run the race in 2018 as I wound up getting married the week before, and in 2018 I completed my nine races, but ultimately decided not to fulfill my volunteer obligation, as I knew that my cousin Jen would be getting married race weekend for the 2019 marathon, and in Georgia, so there was no way I would get to NY in time to run it. But so far, things are looking good for 2020!

If you’re not from New York, you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about - let me give you the run down. If you’re a runner, you have probably heard of the NYC marathon, which happens the first weekend of November every fall. It is a tough race to get into, as you can’t register for it unless you have time qualified, won a race lotto, raised a lot of money for charity, or participated in the 9+1 program. The New York Road Runners, the race company that hosts the NYC Marathon, gives runners an option to earn guaranteed entry by running in 9 events, and volunteering at one event. The spot you earn is non-complimentary, so you still have to pay registration fees, but you are guaranteed the opportunity to register.

This year both Sophie and Mike have agreed to my marathon madness, and will be running the weekly races with me throughout the course of the year - Kasey, just think of all the blog posts that you won’t be in if you don’t run with us, are you sure marathon FOMO isn’t a thing?

I picked up Sophie, and her first question was “Are we running up the hill in central park? Your dad warned me about it.” I had maybe neglected mentioning the hills of central park to Sophie, who had never before run there. But lucky for her, today’s race excluded Harlem hill, so she got to avoid the worst of the hills this time.

For this week’s race, I linked up with Sami and Nicole from the tri team to carpool. I had offered to drive, but when Sophie and I got to Sami’s house Nicole was ready to take us as passengers, and I wasn’t about to complain about getting a ride into the city. It was an easy ride into Manhattan - you usually don’t hit too much traffic driving in from Long Island on Sunday mornings. We had to do a few laps of the area before we eventually found parking, but we prevailed in the battle against parking garages and found a spot on the street. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to race day central, where Sophie, Sami and I picked up our bibs, and then Sami and I checked bags before the race started.

We debated getting in some mileage before the run, but ultimately wound up getting in about a 1/4 mile before happening upon the football toss that they do for the superbowl, and Nicole to try a throw since the womens line was short. We then made our way to the corrals, which were set to collapse 10 minutes before the race started. It was only a 4 mile run, so we didn’t have to bother with gels today, so it was just a quick stretch and then we were on our way. Sophie and I stuck together, while Nicole and Sami zoomed off, as they had paces they wanted to hit during the run.

After a relatively flat start, we turned the second corner and faced the first of the three sisters - a hill formation consisting of three hills that are less than friendly, and which stayed with us as we ticked off the first and second mile. We did a drive by water stop in the second mile, and I had to peel off one of my layers - it was just too warm. As usual, I had seen a temperature in the 30s and panicked, putting on an underarmor cold gear shirt that I was regretting by the half way point.

This was a superbowl themed race, so during the second mile runners had to pick a lane - depending on which team they wanted to win. Sophie, being from New England, went for the patriots as the winner. I, not caring about football but lover of harry potter, went against the patriots, since Dan Radcliffe had spoken out as being against them in the week leading up to the race.

We had a short hill reprieve as we made our way around the south side of the park, but soon enough the steepest hill we would face that day was upon us - Cat Hill. By the time we were over it, we had about a mile left in the race, and I was able to truthfully tell Sophie that the hills were over, aside from the slight uphill at the finish. With no hills left I was able to relax my breathing, and sail right to the finish line. We completed the race in 37:39, an average pace of 9:18 min/mi.

We collected our bagel and apple, grabbed our checked bags, and changed out of our running clothes that were wet with sweat. As we were doing this, my friend Carson found us, and we all chatted as we stopped to grab our race shirts and made our way out of central park and to the car.

All in all it was a good day for a race, that went by quickly thanks to good company. My next NYRR race? The United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 8

Monday: an actual rest day. I had plans to go to yoga, but they fell apart when a storm hit, and the messy roads made for a stressful, low visibility ride home from work. Instead, I took full advantage of the power of a night on the couch.

Tuesday morning was my first early wake up in a week, and my body felt heavy, particularly the giant bags under my eyes.

It was a windy morning, which obviously means I started with too many layers.

Kasey was waiting for me at the end of my block, and we chatted as the sun slowly rose in the sky. I like that this is the new normal, her humoring my chatting with one headphone off her ear in the morning. As we approached her house she commented about how we haven’t had a good since rise in weeks, since before daylight savings really - and what was the point of an early morning run if you don’t at least get a good sunrise?!

She finished her run shortly after that, and the morning view got a little better, as though it had heard her complaining. I headed towards my parents house to snag some water and drop a jacket, before turning to complete my round trip journey. Back to the apartment, picking up the pace as I went. I wound up with an unintentionally progressive run, for the most part, starting at 10:10 and getting down to 8:47 for the last mile. Five total to start the weeks mileage.

When I got back to the apartment it was so warm inside, even with the thermostat set as low as we can set it, they I stood out front to cool off for a minute, as the cats sat in the window wondering why I wasn’t getting inside immediately to feed them.

That night I headed to yoga with Sophie and Emily to make up for skipping our usual Monday class. And then Emily and I went again on Wednesday, that time to a restorative Yin class. Every time we do a yin class I feel like I blink and it’s time to go home, it is just that relaxing.

I passed out earlier than usual on Wednesday night, and was up on time Thursday for my run with Kasey, even if I did have the usual morning feeling of hope that she would cancel on me (she never does). We discussed how windy it was, but as usual Kasey motivated me to get out of the door. She always does.

We were fighting the wind anytime we headed west, but our paces were quicker than usual. My plan was run the usual route with Kasey, and then transition into a speed workout when her run was done. Looking at the paces the night before I felt like the 200m repeats were a little more than aggressive, but programmed them into my garmin nonetheless.

My schedule called for a warmup, 4x200m @ 6:48/200m recovery, 2 miles at 8:56, then another set of 4x200.

I hit the lap button, and went right into the 200 m repeats, which were basically a sprint pace for me. But they only lasted about a minute, so they were doable. I got though the first three, then quickly dipped into my parents house to drop off my light up vest, as the sun was up by that point. Dad poured me a sip of water, and I was on my way again. One more repeat in the first set, then a transition into the two mile set.

I got one mile into that set, and my stomach started cramping, insisting that another pass by of my parents house was necessary for a quick potty break. I got back to their house, headed for the bathroom, and got running again as quickly as I could. The second mile went MUCH smoother than the first, and rang in a little faster. At that point I was headed back to the apartment, and just had to get through one more set of 200m repeats.

As I picked the speed up each time, I counted the number of houses I ran by. I managed to hit my numbers for all of the repeats in the second set, and felt the sweet feeling of relief when the tough numbers were done, knowing that I could ease the pace as I just had to make it though a cooldown back to the apartment. Seven miles, at an average pace of 8:50, and boy did I feel good about it.

I rounded out the work week with a 5 mile run on Friday morning. Thursday’s wind had passed, and I got to take it easy this time around. Kasey had an early shift at work, so she met me at the usual time, and we headed out to get our miles done.

I had intentions of swimming after work, but wound up having to stay late to get a project out, so my plan fell apart.

On Saturday morning I headed to prospect park with Mike and Carson (one of the girls I work with) for the New York Road Runners jingle all the way 5k. It was my turn to drive, and I managed to miss an exit on the highway, extending our drive a little longer than anticipated. So, when we pulled up on prospect park Mike hopped out of the car to go grab all of our bibs while Carson and I looked for, and eventually found, parking. We then had to jog to the start area, where we tracked down Mike, and managed to check our bags before heading to the start line - and we got there just in time for the start, bells pinned on and all.

I had forgotten just how hilly prospect park was, and an easy summary of this race is “it was three miles of me swearing the hill was almost over (it was not).”

When we first crossed the start line it was crowded, but as we worked our way into the first mile the road opened up, and it no longer felt like we were at risk of being elbow checked. We joked around and sang made up songs, and were through the first mile before I knew it.

The second mile got challenging fast, as we began an upward climb that felt never ending. Carson told me that she was going to need to take a break, and I told her she wasn’t doing that- peak run bully performance. But Mike agreed with me, and we rallied to all keep going, counting out “One! Two! Three!” to check that we were all together, even if sometimes Carson replaced her shout of “three” with assorted other noises.

The downhill that I swore was coming lasted about two seconds before we were climbing uphill again, but the best part about a 5k is that it is only three miles long, so soon enough the finish line was upon us, and we picked up the pace for the last stretch, coming in at just under 30 minutes. We filtered through the finish line, collecting our apples and bagels, which were shaped like candy canes and wreaths.

I promptly orchestrated a photo shoot with our festive bagels, each of us in turn posing as the letter “Y,” with the bagels serving as our J and O- spreading JOY!

After the long ride home from Brooklyn, I headed out for three more miles with Sophie. Both of us felt like we just couldn’t get moving, and we’re glad when my watch ticked over to the three mile mark.

I had originally intended to get my long run done after the race on Saturday, but I felt like crap and knew that it wasn’t going to happen. In this case, feeling like crap was a headache that I just couldn’t shake, that was tied to feeling nauseous.

Sunday morning thunderstorms were on the forecast, and I was still feeling fatigued. Unlike past training cycles, this one has me doing a long run every weekend, just getting a little longer each week, and honestly, I was at a point of mental fatigue this weekend, and just couldn’t talk myself into an 18 mile treadmill run.

So, I looked at my training schedule. The following weekend I was planning to do a long run with Mike on Saturday, by adding a few miles to the race we had scheduled - the Ted Corbitt 15k. Realistically, I should be doing back to back long runs to prepare for Goofy, so I resigned myself to get in the long run after the 5k I was racing Sunday, since I only had three miles scheduled that day.

And just like that, I pushed my 18 mile run back a weekend, and headed to planet fitness for a lower mileage day, thanks to Emily agreeing to go with me- my motivation was seriously lacking.

We hung out on the treadmill for a little more than an hour, and I got in 7 miles, before having to move on to the rest of my plans for the day, which were distinctly non-running related.

I beat myself up a little bit for changing the plan, but sometimes you have to roll with the punches, and my mental fatigue was real this week. But I did what I could, and sometimes that’s the best I have.

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 1

Total Mileage: 33.8

As I begin this new marathon training cycle, I feel like I have to start by saying I am sorry for every time I complained about the cold weather on my winter runs…. As I run into the summer, I miss the days of being layered up, back when there was no humidity. These days I am happiest when the weather blesses me with a light breeze and breathable air.

I often take Monday as a recovery day, either resting completely or doing a yoga class, and after a weekend full of travel I opted to take it as a complete rest day. Not the strongest start to a training plan, but rest is an important part of training, and I need to take care of myself if I want to make it through this whole training cycle injury free. Plus, the travel was so worth it – I had gone to Atlanta to be a part of my cousin Jen’s surprise engagement!

When Dad and I met up for a Run/Ride on Tuesday morning, my training mileage officially began. I recently moved out of my parent’s house, but the move only took me one town over so we can still meet up for our morning miles. When I stepped outside the morning chill was nice enough that I pulled on a long sleeve running top for the beginning of the run, which I eventually removed once I warmed up. We got in 6 miles, with some little hills throughout the run. I mean, its still the south shore of Long Island, but it’s more hills than my usual route near my parent’s house has. Dad loves to pick a route that makes me run in circles around the hills, directing me to turn one way or the other as we reach the end of a block.

After work on Tuesday I headed to planet fitness with a few co-workers to get in some strength training. We focused on arm and core workouts, with a routine that took us a little over an hour. We have been going to the gym together for about two months now, getting there twice a week after work. It has been really great to have the structure of going right from work to the gym, and having a workout partner makes it so that I can’t bail just because I am feeling a little tired after work – an excuse that I often find myself using when I rely on my own motivation to do strength training.

The first swim of the week was on Wednesday morning, since I was too exhausted to get there on Monday. This called for a 5:30 AM wakeup, and a half-asleep trek to the aquatic center. The pool was set up in a long course configuration, which means that the lanes are set to 50 m per lap. Usually I dread long course configuration, as I find it more challenging, but I really hit a groove with it during this workout. Feeling good after the swim, I decided to ask the head coach, Lisa, about the open water swims that the team has now that the weather is nicer. When I told her that I had never done an open water swim, she insisted that I try one, and even offered to loan me her wetsuit. Well, that was exactly the motivation that I needed to bite the bullet, and agreed that I would attend one the following Wednesday night. Dad had taken his bike to the park, so he rode by as swim ended for a quick selfie. 

On Wednesday night, I flowed right from one workout into another. I headed into the neighborhood around work with my co-worker, making sure to run by the school that Dad works security at to say hello – just a quick fly by as we continued into some hills. To avoid busy roads, we eventually dipped into an area that was more residential, but equally hilly. My morning runs typically are about 12 ft of elevation. This run? 218 ft of elevation gain. Once we finished a three mile loop, we parted ways and I headed to the next event of the night: A Merrick Bicycles Tri Team track workout.

MBTT track night are lead by the team coach, Jackie, and she always has a challenging workout ready for us. Being a generally competitive person, I really push myself at these workouts, as I am always chasing after a faster runner. She kept us doing 5k and 10k pace repeats varying in distance, with a body weight exercise waiting for us between laps. Once my legs had been thoroughly thrashed by these repeats, she revealed the last workout of the night would be full on sprints, between the goal posts at the center of the track. By the time we were done, I was exhausted in the best pace, and super pleased with my moving pace – an average of 7:44 min/miles over the 5 miles we had logged.

While I was super pleased with myself on Wednesday night, my legs were dead when it came time to roll out of bed for my Thursday morning run with Dad. I may have overdone it just a little the day before with a swim and 8 miles of running – more than half of those being quality miles, but I was willing to pay the piper, in the form of a slightly torturous morning run. I only made it through 3 miles, each one progressively slower, before I declared that it was time for breakfast, and thus the run needed to come to an end before I passed out as a result of fatigue… yes, on a three-mile run. It was just one of those days.

But a slow run and sore legs didn’t keep me from heading to they gym after work. It was Thursday and I had a commitment to fulfill with my accountability buddies. We did a quick core routing consisting of hanging leg raises and dynamic movements like jumping squats, followed by a dumbbell arm circuit.

The night was not yet over – the last activity of the day was a spin class with Jennie! We met up for a class at iSpin studio, and got in a great hour of spin.

Now, as I was going through all of these activities, did I feel like I was overdoing it? No. I felt like I was socializing and enjoying time with my friends, all while getting my workouts in. Looking back at it though, I feel like I was bound to hit the ground after putting in so much so fast – sometimes I forget that I’m not in peak condition at present, and workout as though I am at the pinnacle of marathon season, pushing through 20-milers on the weekend. As I write it all down though, I want a little bit to shake week one Kelly and tell her to chill – but being me, I of course pushed on, the calm before the storm.

Finally, it was Friday. The end of the week, and one more early morning between me and the weekend (not that I would get to sleep in on the weekend, but that’s a whole other can of worms). I groggily made my way to swim again, and was rewarded with a short course pool configuration. After a handful of various distance laps, we switched over to kicking drills to bring us through the second half of class. As we neared the end of the session Lisa arrived, with a wet-suit in tow for me to borrow. She had me try to get it on, but as I was soaking wet and had never worn a wetsuit before, I was less than successful. I put the wet-suit back onto its hanger after the two of us spent a few minutes struggling, and hoped that it would be less difficult next time.

At this point, I honestly can’t remember the last time I got to sleep in on a Saturday. I think it has been at least three months, and this Saturday would not be my day of reprieve. I like to start my training cycles off with a race, so that I can see where I am, and have something to compare to over as I put more work into my training. So, this Saturday I was heading to Flushing Meadows Corona park with Dad to participate in the New York Road Runner’s Queens 10k. I ran this race in 2017 as well, and was hoping to beat my time from last year. I got to my parent’s house around 6 am, and Dad and I got on the road to head to queens. We were at the park by 7, and headed to race day central to pick up my bib. We had gotten there early enough that it was easy to find parking, and Dad broke out his foldable bike so he could explore the park while I was running. Once I had my bib I took plenty of time to stretch out, feeling a little bit stiff from the week’s activities. At 8:30 I headed into my corral, and took a few minutes to make a race playlist on Spotify – not something I usually do, but I felt like I would need the extra push, remembering how hard this race has been for me the previous year. The announcers started to release the runners, I quickly took a GU, and we were off! Dad managed to find me at four points on the course, even if I did only see him three times – part of why I usually don’t wear headphones while races, it makes it tough to find m:y people! I felt good starting this race, and settled into a fast-for-me pace, logging the first mile at a 8:20 pace. I was wearing a new pair of sunglasses – Goodr ones – and I was having a lot of trouble with my peripheral vision. The glasses were so reflective, that I was second guessing every time I tried to weave through runners, and I reminded myself that this is why people say “nothing new on race day.”

I pushed on, being careful in the field of runners as I brought my pace closer to an 8:00 min/mi. Ideally I wanted to be at an average of 8:14 or better, as that would allow me to PR the race. I was able to hang on to the pace through mile 4, but at some point as I put one foot in front of the other, telling myself “DON’T STOP,” I realized that I was starting to get light headed, and that my arm was going a little but numb, so I allowed myself to back off the pace a little, and pulled into the next water stop to grab a drink. While my goal pace quickly slipped away, I was still moving forward, and managing to keep my pace below a 9:00 min/mi. By the time we were circling around the Unisphere I was so ready to be crossing the finish line, but I tried to smile as Dad grabbed a pic of me running by. Then the final descent through the park, the finish line in sight, and a final push to get through the end of the race. I crossed the finish line, slowing to a walk, keeping moving through the finishers chute, collecting my medal and recovery bag – which I immediately opened to get at the Gatorade.

Now that the race was done, I went and collected my t-shirt and then found a shady spot to wait for Dad, who arrived a few minutes later. From there we headed to the car and made our way home. My average pace for the race wound up being an 8:25 min/mi, which was faster than the year before, even if it wasn’t quite a PR.

I had one run left for week one after the Queens 10k – the first long run of this cycle. Sunday was Father’s day, so naturally Dad and I made plans to go on an outing together. I had 10 miles on my schedule, and we headed to Bethpage state park to get the miles in. We stuck to a three mile loop of the trail that was half paved path and half in the woods, so it was nice to have some variation on the run. Plus, the part of the path that was in the woods was so serene that I looked forward to getting back to it every time I was on the pavement. It was a nice day, but I was grateful that most of the trail was in the shade, since every time I stepped into the sun I could feel the temperature rise and the air get thicker. As the miles went on my legs got heavier, reminding me of just how much I had asked from them throughout the week, slowing down a little as the run progressed. But honestly, I didn’t even mind the pace – I was just so happy to be starting this journey again. As I reached the end of the final loop Dad reminded me (several times) to pick up my feet more, find my stride. At long last, we came back to the car and packed up, heading home for the rest of the father’s day festivities, which for my family meant heading to Forrest Hills Stadium to see Roger Daultry perform The Who’s Tommy. It was a late night, full of less-than-healthy food choices, but I had such a great time taking it all in with my family.

Oh, and since this week was fathers day, I want to leave you with the following photos: My dad running the Long Island Half around 1989, and me running it in 2018.