Week 11: training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

This is going to be a short one – it was an abbreviated week of running, that I built into my training plan when I made it earlier this year. I knew that I would be spending this week in vegas for work, spending 8 hours a day on the show floor at a convention. Combine the fatigue of standing all day with work dinners and a three-hour time difference, and I knew that there would not be much energy left over for running.

When I was packing I put three running outfits into my bag – in an ideal world I was hoping I would get in 2 four mile runs, and one 8 mile run, but knew that realistically with the time the gym opened every morning (6 am) and the time I needed to meet me team each day (8 am) plus getting myself ready every morning, it was unlikely that I would have time to get in 8 miles before having to head out one day. But I was confident that I could get in two mornings with 4 mile runs and save my long run for once I was back in NY.

Saturday was mostly a travel day, and Sunday was the first day on the show floor. By the time I got back to the hotel room those nights my body clock was screaming for bed – I am not good at time changes. But with the early bedtime on Sunday night, I managed to get up very early on Monday, and get to the gym right as it opened – I snagged the last treadmill that was available and watched some T.V. on my phone as I made my way through a 4 mile run. It was warm in the gym, and I was sweating by the time I was finished, but I was pleased with myself for getting up and making time to run. That night the whole team went out to dinner, and I indulged in some excellent fettuccine alfredo.

Tuesday morning was a wash, after being out with my team a little later because of the dinner. That night my employer treated us to a show, and we all went and saw the Beatles “Love” Cirque Du Solei show – the athleticism that the performers displayed was honestly amazing, and I could not believe how big the cast was when they came out for the curtain call at the end of the show. We all opted to walk back to our hotel after, which was a little over a mile away, so that we would get a chance to see the strip at least once.

I headed to bed right after the show, so was once again up early enough on Wednesday to get in a run. This time I thought to bring my iPad along, so that I had a bigger screen to watch T.V. on while I ran. The hotel gym was just as hot as the previous run, but thankfully not as crowded. I was able to get a treadmill again and tried to give a little progressive push as I made my way through the miles. When the distance rolled over the 4 mile mark I slowed down my treadmill, and headed back to my room to get ready for the last day of the convention – I work in the industrial baking industry, and it was a baking convention that I was attending, so I may have indulged in a few extra sweets during the week – I couldn’t resist when they were being made fresh on the show floor!

Thursday was a travel day again, and I was up bright and early to head to the airport. By the time I got home it was after 6 pm, thanks to the time change adding a few hours on to our travel. I was pooped after a busy week, and really happy to be back in my own bed.

When I got home, my cat Binx seemed to have picked up a little cold while I was away. I mention this because I always get nervous when he is sick, since he has had some health issues in the past. I kept an eye on it, and made him a vet appointment for the following Monday, the first slot our vet had available.

I still had to head to work on Friday, and I was wiped out between the time change and the busy week. It was a rest day because of that, and after work I took it easy. I headed to bed early, because Mike, Michal and I had signed up for the great south bay half marathon on Saturday morning – our training scheduled called for 13 miles anyway, so we figured we may as well do our training runs in a race setting, with aid stations and all to practice for the marathon.

Unfortunately, I did not get the relaxing night of sleep I was hoping for. Instead, I was woken up by my Binx sneezing in my face at 2 am, and then spent the next hour worrying over him as he was sneezing lots and clearly not feeling well. By 3 am I woke up my husband, and decided to take the cat to the emergency vet – I pay for pet insurance every month, so I may as well use it rather than stay up stressing with no solution in the middle of the night. Three hours later, after some blood work and examinations, they concluded that it was just a cold, and sent us home with some medicine for the little guy. We got home right as I my alarm went off around 5:15, the time I had been planning to get up for the race.

Mike was planning to pick me up at 6 am, and after some back and forth I decided to go to the race. Worst case I could walk or drop out of I felt too tired, but I felt ok, and figured I could just take a fat nap post-race. 

It was a chilly morning, and we found our friends Rob and Michal as we waited in line to pick up our race bibs. Once we had our numbers we headed back to the car, so we could keep warm as we waited for the race to start. The race was set to start at 7:30, and just after 7 I left my friends in the car and went to stand in the porter potty line. Mike and Michal found me near there, and the three of us headed to the start together.

We planned to just run by feel, and stick together throughout the race. The plan here was to use the race as a training run anyway, so no one was trying to PR or anything. The race started, and I struggled a little to get going. I set my watch to just show the time of day, and ignored it as it buzzed out with the pace for the first few miles, not talking much and just listening to Mike and Michal chat, glad that there were three of us so I could just hang out without contributing much. Eventually I settled in, and started to feel good – it was nice to finally have some “good” running weather, after a summer of hot and humid mornings. Somewhere around mile 4, Michal commented on our pace being good – I had been ignoring the pace, but gave into temptation and looked – low 10s, I was shocked. I dismissed the pace chatter, and told them I didn’t want to talk about it, as we plowed on.

Michal was carrying handheld water bottles, which is her plan for fall marathons, so she needed to stop to refill at an aid station. I felt like if I stopped running I would loose my groove, so when they walked to take care of a refill (and an untied shoe for Mike), I kept running and after a few minutes they caught up to me. The three of us kept chatting, and as we slipped into the later miles of the race, I was surprised at how good I felt. We kept that same rhythm of me running through aid stations and them catching up, until it happened around mile 10. I didn’t realize I was doing it at the time, but after a turnaround at an out and back, I realized that I had pulled further ahead than I expected to. I peeked at my watch, and saw that I was running a sub-10 minute mile…. And I felt good.

In the years that I have been running, I have always heard people talk about how the best way to “race” a half marathon is to keep a consistent pace for the first 10 miles, and then treat the last 3 miles like a 5k and leave it all out there. While I hadn’t meant to pick up the pace, I felt good – so I decided to go for it, and challenged myself to run the last three miles progressively faster. I ran my last three miles at a 9:49, a 9:28, and an 8:58. It wasn’t my fastest half, but I felt proud as I crossed the finish line – glad that I had shown up for the race and pushed myself at the end of it.

I waited by the finish for Mike and Michal to run through and learned that Mike even pulled off a PR that day! It was a good day for running all around.

It was a good morning for running, and then I went out with my husband, brother, and Sophie to celebrate Sophie’s birthday. The rest of the day was a bit of a wash, as I spent most of it napping after a hard effort that morning + a bad night of sleep the night before.

That half marathon was really a reminder of how much I love this sport, and it made me feel more like myself than I have in a long time.

Week 10: Training for the 2022 NYC marathon

This week started a string of schedule changes for me – I would spend the weekend through next Thursday traveling to a conference for work, so I moved my running schedule around a bit to accommodate that. I swapped a few weekend run distances, and planned to attempt a long run Friday night after work, so that I would not be stuck on a treadmill again.

I started my week with a run on Tuesday night, planning to get in 8 miles. My friend Ryan agreed to keep me company for 2.5 miles, so I headed out after work to knock out the solo miles before he would arrive at my house. I looped around the neighborhood solo, getting excited when I spotted a cat along the way. I kept the pace easy, but was still soaked with sweat – even though summer was coming to a close, warmer temps were still hanging in. Ryan met me right as the sun went down, so I grabbed my light up vest before we got going. It was really nice to get out and run with him again, like we had been doing pretty often early in the year. Ryan and I have been friends since we were teenagers, and like most adult friends, struggle to make consistent social commitments with everything going on – so running for a half hour or so and catching up has been a highlight for me each time we get out to run together.

When I finished my run Dennis had dinner ready, which I was really thankful for.

My parents were out of town this week, so I lacked my normal morning run accountability. On Wednesdays if I don’t get out in the morning I struggle to find time as I have a standing appointment after work, and despite this I failed at getting up to run Wednesday morning. By the time I was free to run at night the sun had long since set, and I just did not feel comfortable going out for a solo run – so I headed to the gym and hopped on the treadmill for a mile, and then did some strength training, telling myself that I would run Thursday morning, even though I hadn’t planned to.

I managed to roll myself out of bed Thursday morning, hoping to get in 3-4 miles before work…. But my body had other ideas. Thankfully it wasn’t an injury or anything – just an upset stomach. I got in just over 2 miles before I had to trot back home and rush to the bathroom. By the time I had finished my business, there was no time to finish my run before work. Oh well, at least I showed up and got a little time on my feet.

Since I had to be at the airport early on Saturday to head to vegas for a work trip, I planned to squeeze my long run in on Friday night – of course, it had been a busy week, so I also needed to run some errands and pack Friday night. Not the best planning on my part.

As soon as I got home I headed out to run, and I just felt off. I couldn’t find a groove, but I did my best to just keep moving forward. I planning to get in 13 miles, but because I had to run some errands and finish packing, I planned for 2 hours of running. I headed out solo when I got home from work, and Ryan once again agreed to meet me for the last half hour or so. Honestly, if I didn’t have Ryan meeting me, I probably would have canned this run after an hour. I was exhausted, and just could not find a groove. I focused on moving forward and was really glad when I finally got some company.

Ryan finished out the run with me, and I wound up logging just over 10 miles. Not exactly what the plan called for, but it was something. I spent the rest of the night packing, and on Saturday morning a car service picked me up and took me to the airport.

Swag alert: the Napa valley half marathon

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the 2020 Napa Valley Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

The shirts and medals have been released for the Napa Valley Half marathon, and I am really enjoying the design of both. The shirts are long sleeve green tech shirts, and coordinate with the medals, both of which show the hills and fields of Napa Valley. My favorite part of the medals has got to be the grapes that flank both sides of the design.

I have read online that in previous years participants have also received bags at bib pickup, so I am hopeful that the trend will continue in 2020.

There are three different race options - a 5k, a half-marathon, and a marathon. Personally, I will be taking on the half marathon, since I want to be able to explore the area after the race, and I would just be too wiped out to do that after a full.

The expo takes place on March 1, 2020, and in addition to bib pickup, there are beer and wine tastings, cooking seminars, and a speaker series - which include Olympian Emma Coburn! For the full expo schedule, visit the event’s website HERE.

Race day is less than a month away, but there is still time to register - and if you use the coupon code “BIBRAVE10” you will save $10 on your race registration.

Visit the official Napa Valley Marathon website by clicking HERE, and you can register today!

Chicago marathon: week 13

Ok guys, ready for the blog post with the least amount of running content of this training cycle? Well, welcome to the training recap for week 13, where I spent the week on vacation, cruising to Alaska from Vancouver with my husband Dennis. 

We had left New York on Friday, and spent the weekend in Vancouver. While we were there I got to run the Seawheeze half marathon, we went to the Vancouver aquarium, ate lots of yummy food, explored Stanley park, and checked out the Capilano suspension bridge, which was amazing. Come Monday, we checked out of our hotel and headed towards the cruise terminal, where we would set sail from.

It was my 5th Disney Cruise, but my first time aboard the Wonder, which is one of the fleets original ships. It is significantly smaller than the ships I had been on previously, the Fantasy and the Dream, and throughout the week I found myself comparing the experiences. Even though it here were less passengers on this ship, it felt much more crowded. 

We boarded the ship on Monday, after a fun weekend in Vancouver that included the Seawheeze half marathon, the capilano suspension bridge, and exploring Stanley Park. We were both so excited to get on the ship, and headed for the terminal around the 10:30 am. We had the hotel we were staying at, the Ramada by Wyndham in downtown Vancouver call us a taxi, since there is no Uber or lyft in Vancouver, and we had a ton of luggage. This may have been the best choice I made all week, as it only cost us $8, and was so much easier than taking the train with all our stuff, as we had done when we first got to Vancouver. The train system was simple, but it was hard to not be in the way of other passengers with all of our luggage. When the taxi dropped us off at the cruise terminal, Disney had people collecting our bags, so we handed the bulk of our luggage over at this point. 

The port officially started accepting passengers at 11 am that morning, so we were pleased when we got there at 10:50 and they were already allowing people to start the check in process. 

Disney has a loyalty program called the “castaway club” on their cruise ships, and the more cruises you have been on the higher your level. My 5 cruises puts me in the “Gold” category, but my husbands 12 or so cruises lands him in “Platinum,” the highest section at present. The big perk of this? We get a free meal at palos, the premium dining on the ship, and dedicated lines at check in - which meant no line at all on this particular morning. The cruise staff were all so welcoming, and quickly got us through the terminal. We had to bring our carry on bags through security, and clear customs since we were heading from Canada back into America, on our journey to Alaska. 

Once we had our “key to the world” cards, the cards that you use for rooms and any purchases that you make on the ship, we waited in the terminal for the ship to be ready for passengers. The schedule told us that the ship would start boarding at 1:30 pm, so we hopped on line to snag a photo with Minnie Mouse while we waited. We settled into the lobby after, trying to catch a glimpse of the boat as we waited. 

Lucky for us, they were ready for passengers a little earlier than planned, and started letting us on board around noon. We were in boarding group one, so we were among the first group of passengers to load onto the ship. We spent some time wandering around the decks while they were still empty, and checking out the kids club and teen areas, which are open to the public on the first day, so that we could see what they looked like while we had the chance - they always have fun Disney touches, and they vary from ship to ship, so I was excited to get a look at them. 

After we had toured around the ship for a while, we headed to Cabanas, the buffet, for lunch. We relaxed in there until our room was ready, and then headed down to deck two to drop off the bags that we had opted to carry on to the ship, which we had been lugging around since boarding. 

The ship was slated to leave at 4 pm, so around then we headed to a top deck, to get a view of Vancouver as we left. As we explored Vancouver we noticed a big pile of sulfur that was visible at an industrial park across from the port, and Dennis kept joking that he was super excited to see the pile of sulfur up close at last as we sailed away. 

Through the course of our weeklong cruise we headed to Dawes Glacier, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagaway. 

Since we were spending the first day of our cruise at sea, and my body was still running on NY time (three hours ahead of our actual time zone at that point), I headed to the gym for a yoga class they were offering, and to get in some treadmill miles while I had the time. 

The yoga class was more guided stretching, but it was nice to get moving. The views were pretty from the top deck of the ship, where we could spot some islands to both sides of the boat as we sailed along. Having previously only done tropical cruises, it was strange to be able to see land throughout most of the cruise. When the yoga class ended I spent another 15 minutes stretching out my hamstrings and hips before heading inside to hop on the treadmill. 

The treadmill had a TV attached to it, and a handful of channels that played various Disney movies. I settled on the end of Big Hero 6, and eventually swapped over to Tarzan when it ended. I got in 6 miles before my stomach was really shouting for breakfast, and I headed back down to the room to see if Den was awake, and ready for food - my breakfast of choice for day one? Mickey waffles, of course.

The second day of our trip was largely spent sightseeing, as we sailed down the Tracy arm passage towards the Dawes glacier. Den and I attended a talk given by a former park ranger about the nature and history of Alaska, and then bundled up to head our for our first excursion - we were boarding a smaller boat, which would be able to sail up to the glacier, while the Disney wonder had to keep its distance, as it was too large to make a close approach. 

Leading up to the cruise Den and I went back and fourth a lot, trying to decide if this excursion was worth the cost, but ultimately felt like we didn’t know how long glaciers would be around, and I wanted to see one up close while I had the chance. I have to say- if you ever get this opportunity, take it. This was by far my favorite experience of the cruise, from sailing along outside in the crisp Alaskan air, taking in waterfalls and mountains as we got closer to the glacier. When we finally approached the glacier, the boat spent about an hour going in circles, and Dennis and I stayed on deck the whole time. I wanted to take in the sights as much as possible, regardless of the temperature. 

Eventually our time at the glacier came to a close, and I was happy to get back into the heated ship, and to find some hot chocolate. 

We were supposed to go on a bike tour when we stopped in Ketchikan the next day, but it was unfortunately cancelled, as not enough people had signed up for it. We considered trying to hike on out own, but were warned of bears, and didn’t have access to bear spray. The other option was a bus tour or the white pass rail road, which looked beautiful, but I was concerned about sitting for such a long period of time, as my hip flexor has been causing issues for me any time I sit for more than an hour or two. Ultimately we decided to just explore the port area at Ketchikan, which was tiny and unlike any other port I have been to before. 

The town was tiny, and had multiple national park sites scattered through it. We could see mountains in every direction  as we wandered through town. We went into little shops, and even found a yarn store with Alaskan yarn. I was excited to pick out some vacation yarn that was hand dyed in the state, and am planning to knit up some socks with it. We went to each of the national park sites, and found two museums in town that we enjoyed checking out. Eventually we headed into a brewery, where Dennis tried some local beer and I wrote out postcards to mail home. 

As people finished their excursions the town got more crowded, but by that time Dennis and I had wandered through most of the shops. So, we decided to get back on the ship and grab a bite to eat. We sat so that we had a view of the town from above as we ate lunch. 

Once we were finished eating, we went back to the room to relax for a bit. Once I was digested I decided to head to the gym to get a few miles in before dinner. Since we had excursions planned for the next two days, I wasn’t sure I would have the time or energy to get out after either, so I wanted to get in a few miles while I could. 

So, I headed to the gym and hopped on a treadmill again, which gave me a view of the town. This time I watched ratatouille as I ran. I wanted to get in at least 6 miles again, but my knee started to feel off around two miles into the run. I had to stop and stretch it a few times, and after each stretch it would feel ok for a few minutes, and then start hurting again. It was unusual, but I figured I had just overdone it at seawheeze or my shoes needed to be replaced. So I called the run after 5 miles, knowing that I had a hike planned for the next day. 

When the ship docked in Juneau the next day, we were lead off of the boat and to a an that was waiting for us in the port. It was rainy that day, but I was prepared with a baseball cap and my hydrophobic running jacket. There were two other families on the excursion with us, during which a tour guide would lead us through a 4 mile hike through the rainforest that surrounds the mendenhall glacier. We drove up “the road” as our tour guide called it, as it is the only highway in Juneau. He told us about the town as we headed towards the glacier, and handed out snacks to bring along when we got to the parking area. He offered hiking sticks as well, but I wanted to be able to have my  hands free for photos, so I passed. Dennis grabbed one though, and was happy to have it during the hike. 

We headed into the forest, and the tour guide, Matt, told us facts and pointed out sights as we made our way through the forest. We chatted with him and the other families as we followed the path, getting higher up the mountain as we got deeper into the woods. 

 It was overcast, but the rain let up a bit as we kept hiking. The final uphill bit of the trek was up about 100 stairs that had been built in the woods, and we all stopped at the top to catch our breath and remove some layers when we got there. At the peak of the hike we noticed that there was some abandoned industrial equiptment, and our guide told us it was from when there was mining happening on the mountain.

On the way down we had a few scenic stops, one for a water fall and two that gave us peaks at the glacier. My knee was bothering me by the end of the hike, so I was happy when we were finished with the four miles. It had been a nice journey through nature, and I was ready for lunch as we headed back to the ship. That day we opted to not head back into the town to explore, since my knee was sore and it was still raining on and off. Instead we took it easy on the boat until dinner time, and then headed to a pin trading event before going to the show of the night - the Frozen musical. The theater was totally full by the time the show started, so I was glad we got there early to make sure we had seats. The show was great, with some amazing puppetry, costumes, and sets.

The next day was our final port of the trip - Skagway. We had another excursion, this time kayaking. Luckily, it seemed like the weather was going to be nicer, and when we got off of the ship things were looking good. We had about a half hour ride to get to the boat that would take us to the Tatooish islands, where we would board Kayaks and go on a guided tour. The dock that we left from was a part of a tour company, and there was a friendly dog running around, who I was very excited to say hello to - after a week on a boat I was so happy to see an animal.

To get to the area we would be kayaking in we boarded zodiak boat a with the tour guides and other people who were participating in the excursion. After a quick safety briefing we were allowed to climb into kayaks, and the guides pushed us into the water. About 60 seconds into the tour someone managed to flip their Kayak, something I would not call an easy thing to do, and I spent the rest of the time slightly paranoid that I was going to wind up in some very cold water. We paddled around the island formation, as the guides told us about the area. We even spotted some bald eagles, seals, and deers. It was a really nice ride, and a beautiful day out. When our time was up, we got to have cookies on the beach as we waited for the Zodiak to pick us up.

When we got back to the port we walked around the town, exploring and picking out a few souvenirs. It was a good last port visit, before we boarded the boat. out next stop would be Vancouver, but we would have one more day at sea before our vacation came to a close. Since we knew we could sleep in on our last day at sea, we hung out at one of the bars on the ship on our last night, and even played the Disney version of the newly wed game - match your mate. We didn’t win, but they did give us a free drink and a voucher for a free photo print from the shop on the ship.

On our final day of vacation we mostly relaxed, watching movies and eating lots of food. I tried to go for a run, but was forced to stop after about a mile and a half, as my knee gave out on me, and it made me feel like it wasn’t a safe running conditions for me. I was bummed, but hopeful that I just needed new shoes or a break from the treadmill. We packed our bags so they could be picked up that night, and then would be waiting for us on the other side of customs.

On Monday morning we disembarked the ship, and headed right to the airport via a Disney bus. It was bittersweet that a vacation that we had looked forward to for so long was over, but we had such an amazing time, and made so many memories.

If you are ever on the fence about a Disney cruise, this is me telling you to go for it - you won’t regret it. Even though it was an amazing trip, I was looking forward to getting home to our cats, and back into my regular routine.

Race Recap: 2019 Disney Princess Half Marathon- Arrival and the Expo

I thought I had everything planned out perfectly for this race weekend – flights booked, outfits planned, fastpasses at the ready – and then mother nature stepped in, and shouted “You know what New York needs? A snowstorm!”

Then just like that, I suddenly didn’t have a flight to Florida anymore – what?! I had booked flights for my parents and I on southwest. We like to fly out of the smaller airport on Long Island, MacArthur Airport in Islip, since it makes for a less stressful travel experience compared to LaGuardia and JFK, and I like that southwest usually has very affordable fares, with options to easily change flights if needed. We had even opted to purchase early bird check in, but 24 hours before our flight when I tried to pull up our boarding passes, I received an error message – and then about 30 seconds later I got an email that our flight was cancelled, due to an impending snow storm. Dang it winter!

This was on Wednesday morning, as I got ready for work. I pulled up the other available flights, and in a panic booked a flight for Wednesday at noon, figuring it would allow us to leave before the storm. The issue? I had not even begun packing, and I really needed to go to work that day to tie up loose ends before being out of office for almost a week. I called my dad, who talked me off the panic packing ledge that I had climbed onto, and we decided to rebook for a later flight on Thursday, as they storm was supposed to be over by then.

I spent the next 24 hours checking the weather and flight status obsessively, and while the weather got a little nasty during the day on Wednesday and that night, by the time Thursday rolled around the skies were clear, and our new flight was ready for departure. The downside to this later flight? I would be getting to the race expo later in the day, and unable to meet up with Kasey and her family when they headed to the expo, as they had fast passes in the afternoon, when I would be going.

By the time Mom, Dad, and I landed in florida, collected our luggage, picked up the rental car and got on the road to Disney it was rush hour in Orlando, and we got to sit in traffic as we made our way to the hotel – not how I had envisioned the first day of the trip going, but I was rolling with the punches as best as I could.

When we got to the hotel dad wanted to take a ride up to target to get supplies for the room – snacks, a coffee maker, and what not – but I was itching to get to the expo. It closed at 8, and it was already 6:00, and I wanted to have time to experience as much of the expo as possible. So Mom and I decided to take the bus from the hotel to the expo while dad made the supply run. We got lucky, and there was a bus waiting on the side of the hotel when we got there, and we were able to hop on right away.

Kasey, Aunt Karen and Hallie had already been to the expo earlier in the afternoon, and while I knew some of the merchandise that I had my eye on was already sold out, that didn’t stop me from searching for one of those damn tye-dye princess half spirit jerseys. Did I find one? No. Was I a little disappointed? Yes, but at the end of the day I really did not need to drop $70 on a shirt anyway.

Mom and I headed into the Visa center first, where the RunDisney official Merchandise was housed. We wandered through the aisles, checking out the various wares, and picking some items out. I really liked the color schemes and art styles that they used for the race this year, and was happy to spot Jasmine and Mulan on some merchandise. By the time I made it to the register my haul included a pair of Mulan jogger style, a fairy tale challenge jacket, a half marathon hat, a passholder shirt, a wine glass (that I later shattered) and a Tervis travel mug. Mom even picked out a few things, as she was walking the 5k with me the next morning, including a t-shirt, the same Mulan pants as mine, and a 5k headband. I got a lot of items, but the merch was so tempting this year that there were many more objects that I was a little bummed to be leaving behind.

Once we finished shopping we headed over to bib pickup, and got our numbers. We were there late enough in the day that this was a fast process as there weren’t too many runners around. I tried to get a few photos outside, but it was already getting dark so their quality was less than stellar. We walked over to the exhibition hall after, where the non-Disney vendors and race shirts are to pick up our shirts. There was no wait to get into that area of the expo either, although the show floor was a little crowded as we made our way to the back of the hall to pick up our shirts.

The expo was getting close to closing, so the only other stop that we managed to make was at the pandora booth, where they had a photo op. Mom any I got our photo taken, and then it was time to head back to the hotel and get our bags and outfits set up for the 5k the following morning. Her one race morning request? That I didn’t tell her how early we would be getting up.

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.

2018 Rock 'n Roll Washington D.C. Half Marathon

About a year ago, I signed up online for the Rock ‘n Roll marathon in DC when RnR was offering a presale special- a full marathon for $79? Sign me up!

Of course, when I signed up for this race I had lost the lotto for the NYC marathon, and figured after running the Long Island full in May I would have 10 months to prepare. But then, life happened, and I managed to get into the NYC marathon through New Balance rewards so I wound up taking on NYC in November of 2017. After the city beat me up, I wasn’t sure I was ready to start immediately training for another full marathon, which I would have had to do to get a full 16-week cycle in before the race. 

While I was considering if I really wanted to run a full, Kasey was thinking about running her first half marathon. She signed up for the lotto for the United Airlines NYC Half, and when she didn’t get in, we discussed running the Rock ‘n Roll half in DC. It quickly turned into a plan for a weekend trip involving monument and museum trips in addition to the half marathon, and Emily signed on to come along and cheer. Kasey signed up for the race, and I dropped down from the full to the half. Of course, in the weeks leading up to the full our runs grew longer, and Kasey questioned how I talked her into signing up for a half – but I knew she was ready. Heck, she had more training under her belt than I did before my first half.

So, on Friday March 9th Kasey, Emily and I loaded in my car and got on the road to head to D.C. It takes a little less than 5 hours to get there from Long Island, and with the expo closing at 7 I was keeping a close eye on the clock as I drove. Emily and I had headed to target during the week to make sure we had plenty of road trip snacks, and had a much less healthy ride than Kasey, as we snacked on pringles and skittles while Kasey stuck to yogurt and rice cakes. The sun went down as we grew closer to D.C. and we finally got to the Armory, where the expo was being held, around 6:10. It would be a quick visit with it shutting down so soon, but we would be able to get our bibs without any issue.

We took a moment to stretch getting out of the car, as we had driven straight through from NY, and all agreed that our first stop at the expo would be the bathroom. It took a minute to get into the armory, as we all had to go through a security check, then we made a bee line for the bathroom. Finally it was time to pick up our bibs, and we had to go into the basement of the event hall to do so. Since we were picking up the bibs so late there was really no line, and we were through bib pickup in a few minutes. After grabbing our event shirts I made Kasey pose for a photo, and she was less than pleased with me for this, as our outfits could best be described as “Long car ride comfort.”

Then we were filtered into the shopping area of the expo, and we spent most of our limited time in the “official merchandise” area. They had shirts and banners with all of the runners names on them, so of course we took the time to find ourselves. We both wound up buying one with our name on it, but unfortunately since Kasey’s last name starts with a “B” and mine starts with a “Z,” we were on two different shirts. I also picked up a pin that looked like the medal to add to my backpack, and Emily decided she wanted to get fitted for a pair of rock ‘n’ roll tie-dye brooks, so as Kasey and I headed into the rest of the expo Emily waited for them to size her.

The expo was on the smaller side, and a lot of the vendors were already starting to pack up. Since the official merchandise area let out right next to the united booth, we entered the contest that they were running – a giveaway for two round trip airlines tickets for anywhere in the world – mainly because we wanted the buff that they were handing out as you entered. They also had a giant medal for photo ops, so we snapped another photo. Kasey and I joked that if we won we would be headed to London on the next flight…. But more on that later.

A quick loop around the rest of the closing expo got us some popcorn, a few signs from the world wildlife foundation, and confirmation that the RunDisney booth was already disassembled for the night – a bummer, as I was hoping that they would have early registration for the food and wine half available. We tracked Emily down, having purchased her shoes, and headed back to the car, so we could find the hotel and grab dinner. Emily had gotten a free tech shirt for pre-ordering the sneakers, which she gave me since they didn’t have her size available.

We met Kasey’s parents, my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom, at the hotel soon after. They had also driven in from NY so they could spectate Kasey’s first half, but were planning on heading home right after the race, so we took two cars to get to D.C. I pulled up google maps to see what restaurants near the hotel were still open, and there was a noodles and co. about a mile away, so we took a quick drive over there to carb up before the race. I decided to live dangerously, and went for a bowl of mac and cheese, despite its dairy content, and for once won the battle against my stomach.

We headed back to the hotel to call it a night after, and Emily and I made some race signs while Kasey was in the shower, to surprise her with during the race. We set up everything we needed for race morning, packed our bags and designated throw away layers, and agreed to meet my aunt and uncle in the lobby around 7 am to head out, Kasey and I going to the start line while the spectators would head to the finish area to park the car, then head on the metro to wait for us just before mile 5.

Our hotel was close to the start line, so Kasey and I decided to walk to the start area instead of being dropped off, just to get moving a little. By the time we actually left the hotel it was about 7:20, and the race was slated to start at 8 am. We walked up one block before hitting the national mall area, and got to walk by the white house and the Washington monument as we made our way to the start line. When we got there we figured out where our corral was, and then walked to the UPS trucks that were the bag check locations so I could drop off my stuff. Before heading into the corral we spent a few minutes stretching, and Kasey said her final goodbyes to Instagram, as she was almost certain she would die before managing to run 13.1 miles.

As 8 am drew nearer we found a spot in our corral, and I took my pre-race Gu while Kasey opted for some Gatorade chews. We made the final necessary adjustments to our outfits, queued our play lists, and hopped around to keep warm. As the fastest corrals started, we began the final march to the start line, taking off our throw away layers and making sure our garmins were ready – then it was time to start our journey, and we started our watches as we crossed the start line.

Of course, this was Kasey’s first half, and I knew I would be remiss if I did not make a video for us to remember it by – you can find it at the end of this post, and see just how much she hated me at various points of the race, and hear us fight about whether or not it is ok to pause your watch during a race. We had to fight a little – we are family after all.

Now, before we move into the actual race recap, I will ask you to forgive me in advance for not knowing the streets of D.C. very well – while I generally know what mile we were at, I will not know quite where in the city we are, or which monument or building it is that we are running by.

Mile one brought us into the national mall, and the first landmark that we spotted was the Washington Monument. Before we even hit mile one, Kasey almost lost half of her race fuel, as her sport beans slipped out of her SPI belt, since she had just tucked them into the belt and not into the pocket. To be safe we relocated them to my pocket for the rest of the race, so that I wouldn’t have to make another mad dash to rescue them from the pavement. Next we ran by constitution hall, before passing the first mile marker.

There was the first of many on course bands at the beginning of mile 2, and the first water stop happened during that mile as well. It was a crowded stop, so we opted to skip that one rather than fight our way into it. The course started to head towards the Potomac river, and just before we got to the shore we got a peek at the back side of the Lincoln Memorial. Another band greeted us at the end of mile two, and we got to run along the river for the first half of mile three, before going into an out and back section of the course. There was some construction going on along the river, so there was no shortage of distractions on this section of the course. So far we were both feeling good as far as I could tell, and I tried to keep the hill that I knew we would hit at mile 6 in the back of my mind. We stopped for some water at the mile three aid station, and at the turn around point just after the mile marker another band was working hard to entertain us. Mile 4 slipped by, and we were well on our way to mile five, and it was time to start keeping an eye out for our spectators.

I had gotten a text from Emily, so I knew that they were before the mile 5 marker, and Aunt Karen and Emily were stationed near a big red pickup truck that was parked on grass, and Uncle Tom was up on an overpass. I spotted the overpass first, and alerted Kasey to keep an eye out, and they were easily spotted with the landmarks that they gave us – first seeing Aunt Karen and Em with the signs that we had made, then spotting Uncle Tom waving from the overpass, with a huge smile plastered on his face. We stopped for another water station before hitting mile five, and at this point Kasey was less than thrilled with me, and passed me more of her fuel to hold as we continued on. For the 80th time that day, she let me know that she was dying, even though her pace was strong and her breathing was sounding good. I tried to provide some entertainment for her by singing, but she was quick to flop her headset back on and drown me out.

Right by mile five there were spectators dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible – who says Disney is the only race with character stops! Mile 5 brought us through the mile of remembrance, and the course was lined with photos of fallen soldiers. It was an emotional mile, thinking of those who sacrificed so much for our country.

The start of mile 6 was lined with individuals from “wear blue to remember” holding flags, cheering runners up the biggest hill of the race. Kasey pulled over as we ran up the hill, and eyed me with some resentment – but we hadn’t quite reached mile 10 hatred.

What is mile 10 hatred you ask? Well, in 2016 when I ran my first half marathon, my running partner was Kasey’s younger brother, Ryan. The two of us had spent a few months training, but most of our runs were 2-3 miles around the neiborhood with maybe 3 “long” weekend runs that capped out at 8 miles – and we couldn’t run those 8 miles through, there were walk breaks thrown in there. So, when we went into our first half, we were a bit undertrained, and a bit unaware of that fact. The looks that Ryan was throwing me by mile 10 of that race – that is mile 10 hatred! I have never had someone look at me with as much resentment as he did at that point. But we made it to the finish line, and even went on to run one more half together after.

So Kasey pulled over for a minute as we headed up this hill, and I urged her to keep moving, even if it was a walk. But Kasey really did not want to walk. I’m pretty sure she would have been on board to lay down and nap before she was willing to walk. After a moments rest, she agreed to continue up the hill, and soon after reaching the top of it we passed the marker that indicated the half way point of the race. We slowed the pace a little to make up for the effort that was put into the hill, and kept moving, running by a few bands as we got through the next few miles. During mile 9 we went under a bridge that felt kind of sketchy, and I was happy to have behind me.

As we ran by our spectators for the second time, Emily caught the exact moment that Kasey yelled out "I'm literally dying!"

Emily, Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom had made their way to a spot just passed mile marker 10, and as we ran by them Kasey threw out her tag line for the race – “I’M DYING.” I’m pretty sure anyone near us during the race must have thought that Kasey lost a bet to me, and that was how I roped her into this. But let it be known: She signed up of her own free will! I wasn’t even with her and typing her info into the registration sheet or anything!

We were running through city streets that were lined with houses at this point of the race, and plenty of people had set up cheering stations on their front lawns, offering drinks and snacks to passing runners. A few girl scout troops were even selling cookies – this was the one stop I seriously considered making, but I couldn’t figure out an easy way to carry a box of samoas for the rest of the race.

Mid way though mile 11 we started to employ the “I’ll run again when we pass THIS LANDMARK” method of pacing, but we were still making good progress. There was more running than walking, and we managed to pick up the pace for the last mile of the race. Once we passed mile marker 13 we entered the finish line chute, and had only a tenth of a mile between us and the finish line – so of course I rallied us to push the pace for that last stretch, and we ran right through the finish line, feeling strong, and Kasey joined the ranks of half-marathoners in our family. She even managed to beat her brother’s PR by about 30 seconds, so maybe I can use that as grounds for talking him into taking on another race with me…..

Anyway, after Kasey stopped for a moment to recover in her usual pose, we claimed our medals and started the long walk to the post-race festival area, collecting the usual post-race heat sheet, snacks, Gatorade, water, and of course, chocolate milk. I called our spectators and we agreed on a meeting spot, and I left Kasey there while I went to collect my checked bag. Once we had all found each other we snapped a few photos, and then headed to the car. We had pre-purchased the parking that rock ‘n roll offered on their site, but when my uncle arrived at the garage that morning they told him it was not open yet, bummer! So if you are considering pre-purchasing parking I would advise against it, as he was able to find parking on the street easily enough.

We grabbed a celebratory lunch at chipotle before my Aunt and Uncle headed home, and Kasey Emily and I spent the rest of the weekend exploring D.C.

While the driving through out the weekend got me a little stressed out, all in all I would call it a successful trip. Kasey rocked her first half marathon – which just 6 months ago was a distance she swore she would never run, we found a few places to eat some excellent food, from burgers to breakfast, and had fun exploring the national mall and assorted museums – although we still need to go back to fully live out Kasey’s national treasure dreams.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that Kasey and I entered a contest to win two round trip flights from United? Well, to my shock, I actually won the contest! I may already be scheming about using the flights to run the London marathon next year.....

Also, Kasey has requested that I point out that while she beat her brother's half PR by about 20 seconds, she beat the time of his first half by over 20 mins. Nothing like good, old fashioned sibling rivalry. 

Race Recap: Atlanta Hot Chocolate 15k

Over the last year or so I had been experiencing serious race-envy as I watched people complete “Hot Chocolate” race events, but being from NY where one is not hosted, it was not a race series that was easily accessible to me. I had played around with driving to Philly for the 2017 15k that they held there in April, but when that didn’t pan out I put the thought of doing one of the “Hot Chocolate” events on the back burner, and said “Maybe in 2018.”

So, when my cousin Jen first started running last summer, you better believe that I started researching races that coincided with dates that I would be available to visit Atlanta. After she decided to sign up for the Star Wars Half Marathon, which will take place in April of 2018 in Florida, we decided that February would be a good time for me to visit Atlanta, and a 15k would be about where she was up to in her training for the half. So, I proposed running the Hot Chocolate 15k that would take place on February 4th to her, and (not so) secretly did a happy dance when she agreed to run it with me, excited that I would finally get to experience one of these races that everyone spoke so highly of. Plus, I would get my hand on some nice race swag – a half zip, a giant chocolate shaped medal, and a big bowl of chocolate goodies.

I booked a flight for Friday night that I could take after work, and Dennis dropped me off at the airport. My flight was supposed to takeoff at 8:20, but due to high winds I had an hour and a half delay. As I waited in the airport, after I made the adult decision to have a pretzel for dinner, I realized that southwest had another flight heading to Atlanta, that was supposed to have left at 4:10 but was getting ready for an 8:20 departure… so I headed over to the gate agent, and by some tiny miracle they were able to change my flight so I could get out on the earlier plane! I am pretty sure I was the happiest customer on that flight, despite being a little squished by the broad-shouldered gentlemen who was seated next to me. Once we were in the air I turned on “The Office,” and before I knew it we had landed in Atlanta.

Jen picked me up at the airport and it was a joyful reunion, as always. I threw my stuff into the trunk of her car, and we headed to pick up her boyfriend, Will, before turning in for the night. The best part about picking up Will? I got to meet the cutest little golden retriever puppy, named noodles, and she was truly an excited ball of fluff.

By the time we got to their apartment and got my bed for the weekend all set up, it was around 1 am and we were all ready to call it a night. On Saturday we were planning to grab brunch, and then head to the race expo!

On Saturday morning I woke up before Jen and Will, so I read for a little bit and then got ready for the day. Once they were up we put our names in on the brunch list at a place near their apartment called “First Watch,” which was right by their apartment in Chamblee. We met up with Jen’s friend Nicole to eat, and this place had so many delicious sounding options. We all agreed to split an order of maple glazed bacon (which was an excellent choice), and I ordered a Chia Pudding power Bowl, which came with whole grain toast covered in almond butter, with a side of biscuits and gravy (mainly because I love this dish and it’s not something that is easily found in NY). Everyone else ordered some variation of eggs, and when the food came out it was a sight meant for a food-lovers Instagram. We passed around tastes of all our dishes, each trying to decide which breakfast was best. While they were all delicious, I still maintain that the winner was my chia pudding, topped with fresh fruit and granola. If I ever wind up having brunch here again, it would truly be a struggle to talk myself into ordering a different dish.

Once we were all well-fed we headed downtown to the race expo. I had never been to downtown GA beyond driving through it, and it was cool to see places that Jen goes to on a regular basis in her every-day life. We cut through the CNN center to get to the convention center where the race expo was held, and it was easy to navigate through the Georgia World Congress Center and find our expo hall, as there were signs pointing us in the right direction. The expo was on the smaller side compared to NYC or Disney expos, but still gave us a good selection of gear to check out.

Our first stop was at bib pickup, where we gave our last name and received our bibs before moving over to shirt pickup. They handed us our half-zips in plastic bags, and we also received hats with the race logo on them, as we had signed up with a promo code that gave us a “premium item” upgrade for free. There was an area to try on the shirts, so we went over there and made sure that the sizing was good, and both decided to stick with the size we had ordered (by which I mean I tried on a shirt and Jen declared that was good enough for her).

Then it was time to check out some running gear. Jen bought a new SPI belt, since she’s getting into higher mileage these days and will need to start carrying running fuel in addition to her phone and inhaler. Then we stopped by the “BFF electric foam roller” booth and tried out the massager they sell. While we all agreed that the massage felt great, holding the unit made our hands feel weird after a minute from all of the vibrating, so between that and the price we moved along. Both Jen and I took advantage of expo pricing and bought some Nuun, and even got to try out a few new flavors. They were giving out a “hot chocolate 5/15k” water bottle when you bought three tubes for $15, so that was the path we took. I even managed to pick up a tube of grape flavored Nuun for Kasey, who has been having trouble finding her favorite flavor locally. We sampled some chocolate snacks that were a sample of what was to come on race day, took a photo in front of the giant inflatable hot chocolate mug, and wandered around the entire expo, before making one last stop back at the track shack booth, where Jen decided to pick up some good priced gear – a Run Atlanta shirt and a water resistant jacket, since the forecast was calling for rain on race day. Lots of rain. And I know, every runner will tell you “nothing new on race day,” but I think we have all broken that rule at least once.

We took the rest of the day easy, heading to the movies to see “The Phantom Thread” and then getting dinner at The Olive Garden. Any excuse to eat breadsticks and pasta will get me into an Olive Garden, and Jen and I were excited for our pre-race meal, even if we maybe didn’t need THAT many carbs for a 15k.

Once dinner was done, we called it a night and headed back to the apartment to get everything together for race morning. We had been checking the weather all day in hopes that the forecast would change and maybe it wouldn’t rain, but as we put our outfits together, it was all but certain that we would be running in a downpour. After debating between several options, we both went for ProCompression socks, full length leggings, half zip long sleeve shirts, hats, gloves, and running jackets. Raining and 30 degrees… lovely weather for a 15k, right? I put thermal blankets, ponchos, and our race day fuel into a plastic bag that we could easily bring along the next morning, and we all headed to bed, our alarms set for 6 am the next morning.

Both Jen and I managed to have pre-race anxiety dreams, and it was indeed POURING when we woke up. My brain quickly entered a happy state of “You’re going to get soaked, but you can still enjoy this race. Make the best of what you have,” while Jen entered the state I had been in the night before, of what the heck are we getting ourselves into?!

We loaded into the car, which was thankfully in a garage so at least we stayed dry for the time being. Will was nice enough to drive us to the start area, and walk us through the CNN center before we parted ways. We had the luxury of indoor bathrooms, and after using them wrapped our feet in plastic bags and pulled out the thermal blankets and ponchos, which Will helped us assemble ourselves into, before heading out into the storm. We started following a group of runners heading for the start line. It was about a mile walk to get there, but lucky for us we were able to spend most of the trip indoors, cutting through the Georgia World Congress Center. We pulled off our shoe covers once we were inside, but kept the ponchos and heat sheets on until we got to the start line. It was a short outdoor walk once we got outside, and we got to the entrance of corral C just before the first corral began their race. We pulled off the ponchos and heat sheets, putting most of the stuff into a near by trash bin. I decided to fold my heat sheet up and put it in my pocket just in case conditions took a turn for the worse, but thankfully we did not need it. We clicked our Garmins into run mode as soon as we got into the corral, so they would have time to pick up the satellites before we started running, shuffled forward as the earlier corrals began their races. Then it was our turn – already wet from rain before the race had even started, we crossed the start line, which was under a bridge of giant inflatable marshmallow men.

Now, as I don’t know the geography of Atlanta well, and spent most of the race focusing on not stepping in puddles, please excuse my less than specific recollection of the race –

We crossed the start line in a mass of people, mingled between 5k and 15 k runners. As a result of the rain, the race had announced that people due to start in the second wave were now allowed to start in the first wave, and no one had been checking bibs as people entered the corrals, so it was truly a mixture of every speed as we started this race. There was a lot of weaving in mile one, and we soon came upon the course split where the 15k and 5k parted paths. We kept right, and continued on our journey. There were plenty of hills on course, leading us up and down, and when saw the first aid station we made our way to the right side of the road, thinking we would be able to grab some water. Our plan for the race was to walk all of the aid stations, and try not to do any walk breaks beyond that. But what we had originally thought was cups of water turned out to be little cups of chocolate chips! A cute touch for a chocolate themed race, but I passed because it just seemed like that would be too messy with all of the rain. Thankfully just after the chocolate chips the volunteers were handing out Nuun and water. Despite the rain, the volunteers throughout the whole course were happy and encouraging, which was super uplifting! Once we had finished our drinks we started running again, uphill of course.

Soon after this water stopped we started to encounter some street flooding, which meant our feet went from “kind-of wet” to “completely soaked,” as there was no way to navigate around these little rivers that ran through some intersections. The sloshing of wet shoes began, and we hoped that we would manage to get through the race blister free. After the first mini river, I turned to Jen and proposed a bet – the person with the least damaged feet at the end of the race buys drinks! That way if one of us wound up with a narly blister they would at least get a free drink out of it. The miles kept floating by as we battled hills, and Jen and I started high-fiving at every mile markers (there were a few fist bumps thrown in there too, as I eventually pulled all of my fingers into a fist in the center of my gloves). There was an aid station with marshmallows just after the 5k mark, but I again passed up the treat as the rain had left everything soggy, and the thought of taking off my rain soaked gloves to eat them was not appealing. We agreed that we would take a Gu when we hut the next aid station, and by then I had removed my gloves to see if my hands would be better off not in cold water soaked gloves – it was equally miserable in case you were wondering, but I opted to keep them off after that because they were holding so much water. As we walked through the third aid station, which was around mile 5, we passed by Jen’s friend Danielle, who she often does training runs with, and were quickly introduced to each other – I am so happy that Jen has found runners that she can share miles with in Atlanta! When we finished our Gu (salted watermelon for me and jet blackberry for Jen) and waters, we discarded the cups and started climbing the hill that was ahead of us. It was still raining at this point, and we were soaked to the bone, but honestly we were in such good spirits, and really enjoying the race together.

As we passed the 10k mark I got a text from my Dad – who was tracking us from NY – and pulled out my phone to respond. I had my phone wrapped in a zip lock bag to give it a little protection, even though it is supposed to be water resistant, and when I tried to answer the text my phone started freaking out! It was not wet, and I took it out of the bag to check it out, it was just freezing! I tried to shut it off so that it would stop flashing its screen on and off, and in the process managed to trigger the emergency response feature that the iPhone 10 has – eek! As we entered mile 7 and the second to last aid station, I tried to cancel the alert, and since no emergency response team showed up I guess I was successful? It made for a few stressful moments either way.

We ran through our last water stop of the race as I tried to calm my phone down, eventually just putting it away to deal with later. As we walked through the aid station, Jen said that she really wanted to run the rest of the race, and not have to walk at all for the last 2-ish miles. At this point, some of the streets were so flooded that we were being diverted around intersections and onto sidewalks to avoid puddles that were deeper than our ankles. Right before mile 8 we had a short out-and-back on the course, and I am pretty sure that this quarter mile or so was the ONLY flat stretch of road on the entire course. After we passed the mile 8 marker, the rain started to clear up. At this point we were entirely soaked, so it didn’t really aid us in any way. Jen remarked that she was upset that it had stopped, because it would have been a more bad-ass finish photo if it was pouring… I can’t say I disagreed with that thought. But at least my hands would be a little less wet, and I could just worry about trying to warm them up a bit and not about drying them off. The last mile of the course was a bit winding, but we were still going strong.

Finally, We approached the overpass that would be our last uphill climb, and deliver us to the finish line. This was nothing after the bridge we climbed during the Savannah bridge run back in December. We could see the split for the 5k and 15k participants, directing us to stay to the right as we entered the finish chute. As we made the final turn, we spotted Will and Nicole cheering and holding up signs, and Jen and I both teared up as we got closer still to the finish line – and then it was done. In a state of happy bliss, smiles as wide as could be, soaked to the bone, we crossed the finish line. Jens longest run to date – a 15k, clocking in at 9.5 miles rather than 9.3 on our garmins.

We were handed our medals, and in a moment of blissed out runner-brained panic Jen turns to me and says “Did I have to step on the finish line!?”

I laughed and reassured her that she was ok since she had passed over it, and we made our way passed the finish line to find Will and Nicole, and hugs were shared by all. Jen and I pulled the tag off of our bibs to get our finishers mugs, full of chocolatey treats, and once we had our mugs we made our way inside and snacked for a few minutes before heading to the car.

Despite less than stellar conditions, Jen and I both agree that we had an amazing time running the Hot Chocolate 15k. We love the half-zips we got, and the HUGE medals that we earned. When you have great company the miles fly by regardless of the weather, and I feel like I will always look back on this race fondly. Plus, now when we worry about the weather leading up to the Star Wars Darkside half-marathon in April, odds are we will be able to say we have raced in worse weather, no matter what gets thrown at us.

I hope that one day I can run this race again, hopefully in better conditions. But it will have to wait until after 2019, as next years race falls on the same day as the Walt Disney World Marathon.

Oh, and as for that blister bet- both of us came out unscathed, so Will agreed to buy each of us a drink. I would call it a win-win situation.