The Savannah Enmarket Bridge Run 10k

How did I wind up in Savannah, GA you ask? Well, to really give you a good answer to that question, let me introduce you to my cousin Jen!

Well if you want to get technical, our Grandmas were sisters - which makes us something like second cousins once removed. But since we are just a few months apart we were always close growing up, and when Jen moved to New York in middle school we quickly became inseparable. As adults we went to different colleges and while I wound up staying on Long Island, Jen took a Job in Atlanta and moved back to Georgia. We still get to see each other a few times a year, and are in near constant contact thanks to the magic of technology.

Jen's first continous mile, ever!

Earlier this year, Jen started asking me about running. How did I start running? Do I really, truly enjoy it? Could she be a runner? 

Honestly, her asking these questions was part of what made me start writing this blog (Hi Jen!). I felt that if I could share my experiences, maybe it would inspire other people to get out and run. To feel like they have the power to do difficult things, and run races that in theory, felt impossible. 

So, when Jen was visiting New York this summer, she told me that we were going to workout together while she was here, and I was completely on board. This was around the time when my brother, Tommy, was running about a mile everyday. Jen and I planned to do an Orange Theory class, and when that didn't workout we started a strength workout at home, and Tommy happened to be heading out for his mile and invited us along. Jen was skeptical at first having never run a mile straight through before, but we kept the pace manageable and she managed to run a mile straight through for the first time! I wish I could tell you she was elated - but alas, she was mostly ready to punch me in the face... kidding aside, she was happy that she had managed to run a mile straight through. 

When Jen headed back home to Georgia, she wanted to keep running. So I helped her come up with a weekly running schedule, which she printed out and stuck to precisely. She got stronger, and more excited about running. Before I knew it, she was inquiring about the Star Wars Half Marathon that I am planning to run in April of 2018 with my friend Jennie (for clarification, my cousin is always "Jen" and my friend is always "Jennie," so hopefully that helps to minimize confusion between the two Jennifers). The Star Wars Half is slated to be Jennie's first half marathon, and after a few weeks of running Jen decided she wanted in, and signed up to run the race with us too. 

Now, for RunDisney races, runners are placed in corrals in the start area based off of their estimated finish time. If a runner is planning to complete the race in less than 2 hours and 45 minutes, a proof of time is required. So, for optimal corral placement, Jen needed to run a 10k before mid-January. Our first search was to see if there were any 10k races happening in NY while she was in town for the holidays, but we were out of luck. Jen then started searching Atlanta, but every race that she found between late October and January had a tough elevation profile when we looked up Strava segments, or was described as "Hilly" when we combed through race reviews. Jen was a new runner, but had already decided that she hates hills, and wanted to find the flattest course possible so that she could get a good finish time. She broadened her search, and came across the Savannah Enmarket Bridge Run, which takes place in Savannah, GA in early December. While we were able to find a few news articles about the race, we did not find any race reviews that mentioned if it was "hilly," and the net elevation gain on Strava segments seemed manageable, so Jen decided that this would be her first 10k. After she registered I spent some time looking into flights, and ultimately decided that I would fly into Atlanta and take the car ride to Savannah with her and her boyfriend, Will, and run the race with her! I was excited, as I had never been to Savannah before, and had not visited Jen in Atlanta since January. So, this is how I wound up running a race in Savannah, GA.

A run that, turns out, its billed as "The south's toughest bridge run!'

Once we were registered for the race and my flight was setup, Jen and I were in constant discussion about the race. Jen followed her 10k training schedule, gradually increasing her mileage as race day approached, and even ran her first 5k along the way. I flew into Atlanta after work on Thursday night, that way we wouldn't be in too much of a rush as we got on the road to head to Savannah on Friday. Jen and I spent most of Friday morning making sure she was hydrating properly pre-race, even setting "drink water" alarms, which we obeyed each time they went off. Once Will got home from work he dropped their dog off at a kennel for the weekend, and we got on the road. It was an uneventful ride, which we mostly spent singing Hamilton to each other. Lucky for us, we hit minimal amounts of traffic, and managed to get to Savannah around 5 pm, which gave us plenty of time to stop at the race expo before it closed at 7. We were originally planning to do race day pickup, but thanks to an early arrival we avoided the nervousness that I typically associated with waiting until race morning to get my bib.

Jen and I headed into the expo, and bib pickup was quick and easy. The volunteer that gave me my bib was surprised to see that I had traveled there from NY. After grabbing our shirts, we spent a minute wandering through the expo. There were a few other races with booths setup, a few vendors selling various running gear, and Fleet feet Savannah had a nice selection of apparel and gear which I would have spent some time going through, had we not left Will behind in the car. After the expo we made our way to Chelsea's apartment, where we would be crashing for the weekend. We dragged our stuff up to her apartment and after a few minutes of hanging out, headed back into the city to find somewhere to eat dinner, abandoning our original plan of making pasta and staying in. We wound up eating a delicious meal, that was possibly the worst pre-race meal ever. It consisted of Philly cheese steak egg rolls, fully loaded waffle fries, ribs with mac and cheese, and chicken wings - there were four of us eating dinner together, and instead of ordering our own entrees, we opted to get four to split so we could try more of what was an interesting sounding menu. 

It didn't take long for me to regret eating such a heavy dinner, as my stomach was in shambles all night. When we woke up for the race the following morning I felt like crap, and was seriously questioning if I was going to really be able to run this race, after flying all the way from NY for it. We had made plans to stop at Starbucks for breakfast, and while there I bought some tea and a scone in hopes that it would help settle my stomach, and thankfully it did exactly that. We headed to the start line, and I was finally feeling ready to race. The weather was great, not too hot or cold, so we both decided to wear knee high compression socks, shorts, and tank tops. Jen was a bit nervous, but we were both excited to get moving. As start time got closer, we said goodbye to Will and Chelsea and headed into the crowd of runners that were all waiting to start. 

The start horn blared, and the crowd began to shuffle. We made our way through the start line and onto the streets of Savannah. The first mile and a half were through the city. We got to see some gorgeous architecture and there were Spanish moss trees all over the place. Jen was still nervous as we headed toward the bridge, anticipating the climb that was ahead of us. Right before we headed onto the bridge for the first crossing, we got to see Will and Chelsea cheering, and it was exciting to see familiar faces. We got onto the entrance ramp for the bridge, and the climb started right away. To make the grade of the bridge more manageable, we decided in advance to take the incline in run/walk intervals. It was a rough climb, but once we got to the peak of the bridge we knew we had almost 2 miles before we had to climb it one more time. Going downhill on the bridge was a great feeling, and there were great views of the river and the city. Once we got off the bridge the first time, there was a water stop before we had to go uphill once more so we walked through that so we could easily drink the water without spilling it on ourselves.

Then, it was up the bridge one more time. Once again we took it on with run/walk intervals, and when Jen needed a pick-me-up to help with the challenge I broke out the play list that we had made together before the race. In high school we were both big theater fans, so this playlist featured a few show stoppers - including defying gravity, which got us over the crest of the bridge and onto the down hill, done with both climbs at last! We had about a mile to go before the end of the race, and Jen was starting to feel a little exhausted, but stuck to her pace and kept moving forward. We had one more water stop before the finish line, and walked through it so we could make a run for the finish line after that. We ran through a little more of Savannah, and then past a giant American flag before seeing the finisher's chute, which lead us straight to the finish line, which we crossed with a time of 1:07, which will make a great proof of time for the Star Wars half marathon in April. 

Jen was so happy after crossing the finish line that she could hardly talk, in a state of excited bliss. We found Will and Chelsea, and we were all so excited that we entirely forgot about going to the after party that the race holds, and headed right for the car. We cleaned up, and then headed to "Back in the Day" bakery, where Chelsea works, to reward ourselves with lots of baked goods. We spent the rest of the day on the Savannah river walk, and had lots of fun checking out the different bars and shops, and even caught a Christmas parade.

All in all, I had so much fun visiting Savannah, and hope to go back again soon. The race was a challenge with the incline of the bridge, but I had a great time participating in it, and would run it again if the opportunity presented itself. I am so happy with how Jen did in this race, and can't wait for the opportunity to run more races together. The next race we have planned together? The Atlanta Hot Chocolate 15k!

2018 Fairy Tale Challenge Training Week 4: The most lack luster week of training

Total Mileage: 3.6

So, I sincerely hope that this week turns out to be the low point for this training cycle... the cold that I came down with last week entirely knocked me on my ass, and destroyed any and all fitness plans that I had for this week. 

What this week was supposed to be: Some easy mileage early in the week, followed by the Walt Disney World Marathon.

What this week was: Minimal movement at the start of the week, and a snow storm.

Let's start with new years eve, Sunday night.  I had planned to hang out with Dennis and his sisters to ring in the new year, but wound up calling it a night by 10 pm, and when I headed home discovered I was running a fever. Thrilling. I started taking an antibiotic that my doctor had prescribed.

The next two days were spent on the couch, and I continued to run a fever. My asthma was so inflamed that I was getting lightheaded just moving around.

I was back to work on Wednesday, but still not feeling great. Coughing was attached to any movement or talking. We had a snowstorm coming in on Thursday, so when I got home from work Wednesday I really wanted to try to get out for a little run, to gauge how I was feeling and to try to determine if it was realistic of me to even think about still doing the Disney Marathon on Sunday. 

Kasey was around and agreed to head out with me. It was a cold night, 25 degrees, windy and dark. I felt sluggish as we moved, and every breath was a struggle. While my brain was happy that I was going for a run, my body was enraged that I dare make it move. We kept going to keep warm, and slowly but surely got through the run. Overall, not a good run. Breathing was very hard, and I was glad that it was over. It felt like I needed to start considering the possibility that I would not be participating in the Disney Marathon. 

So, naturally, I spent the snowday on Thursday entirely in denial of this fact, and instead of making the rational decision to not run the race, I made a doctors appointment for Friday and spent all day Thursday going through my running gear to pick a race day outfit. After sorting through everything, I decided to make a "Space Mountain" costume. I pulled out some felt and made the logo to sew onto my jacket and tank top, and made a ride car vehicle to attach to my hat. I was pretty happy with the end result!

Friday morning came with a reality check, in the form of a conversation with my dad - he sat me down and strongly discouraged me from even toeing the starting like of the full, bringing up how long it took me emotionally to come back from my disappointment after the NYC marathon. That was a race that I was fully trained for, where as this one I has signed up for last minute and was guaranteed to probably not run my best race even if I had not gotten sick. My fate was sealed at my doctors appointment later that day, where my doctor performed a lung function test, and basically laughed in my face when I told her that I wanted to run the race on Sunday. So, just like that, I was no longer running the 2018 Disney Marathon and I was instead on four new prescriptions.

The Silver Lining - Dennis and I decided to still head to FL, since our flight and hotel were already paid for. For the most part we avoided the marathon weekend activities, hopping between parks and always taking a mid-day break so that I could spend some times with my trusty nebulizer. Dennis and I had a really great weekend trip, and I am grateful that we were at least able to do that.

It was disappoianting to not run the race, but I know I needed to give my body time to recover. My doctor reccomended i take at least 5 days off from physical activity, so I did just that and I am finally feeling better this week and hopefully will be back to 100% soon.

Hopefully my next RunDisney event will go more according to plan, and I will get to the start and finish line of the Princess Half! Have you ever had to drop out of running a race?

2018 Fairy Tale Challenge Training Week 3: Less miles, more colds.

Total Mileage: 13.6

So, as much as I hit my workouts in week 2, I missed them in week 3 - which was a huge bummer. My mileage wound up being much lower than planned, as I wound up having some asthma issues and catching a cold. 

Monday was Christmas morning, so I had a planned rest day since I had done an 18-miler the day before, and the places that I usually cross train with were closed for the holiday. I had a good holiday, spending the day with my immediate and extended family.

Tuesday it was back to work, and Swim class was on a holiday break. So after work I headed to Orange Theory with Rachel and Liz, and it was a fun class. It was different than the usual format, such that instead of the coach leading the whole class through the same workout, we each chose cards from a basket, first during the treadmill half of the class and then during the weight room portion. For the treadmill half I pulled an endurance card (1.6 miles at a push pace) and then a power card (all outs alternating with a medicine ball jumping jack), and then for the weight room portion of the class I pulled three cards, which lead to me doing all of the possible moves at some point. The hardest move of the class was the "ultimate burpees," which included a push-up, plank row, curl, and overhead press - I felt like I was D Y I N G when I had to complete 12 in a row. All in all it was a goof, but challenging class.

On Wednesday morning Kasey and I headed out early into sub-20 degree weather to get our morning miles in. It was a particularly dark morning, so i broke out a bunch of my light up gear, and by the time the run was over the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds. When we finished our run my breathing was a little weird, but this sometimes happens to me because of my asthma. I crossed my fingers that I wasn't getting sick, but called my doctor and made an appointment for Friday just in case it persisted (it did). 

Thursday morning my breathing was still a little off, so I made the decision to skip my run. It's a decision that I hated to make, but I know that the cold weather can bother my asthma and I would be better off missing the run. I did go to swim Thursday night, and that went fine. It was an easier night with a lot of kicking drills, and overall was a very laid back class. 

I had off from work on Friday, and a doctors appointment in the morning. My doctor checked out my lungs, and prescribed me an additional inhaler and asthma control medicine, in addition to a antibiotic, which she told me to take if the breathing problems progressed into a cold (they did). I took it easy on Friday, trying to give my body time to fight off this cold. 

I stayed out of the cold Saturday morning, so instead of running I headed to a spin class with Emily. I felt pretty good throughout the class, and it was a good challenge for me, hitting some muscle groups that I don't always get when running. After the spin class I headed into the city with my friends to get lunch and see an off-broadway show, all while very bundled up, as it was snowing.

Sunday morning I was feeling better, but still figured it would be better to stay out of the freezing cold (it was a real feel temp of below 0 degrees). To avoid the weather, Kasey and I headed to planet fitness to use the treadmills, where we had the opposite problem of what we would have had outside - it was super hot in the gym! I got through 6.2 miles on the treadmill, and Kasey did 4 before calling it quits and heading to the weight room to get in some strength training. While I felt good while running, I progressively started to feel worse and worse throughout the course of the day, so I started taking the antibiotics that my doctor had prescribed. By nighttime when I was supposed to hang out at Dennis' house for new years eve I was feeling like complete crap, and I wound up heading home to call it a night well before the ball dropped. 

I wound up spending new years day on the couch, running a fever, and coughing up a storm any time I tried to move around the house. I am hoping that things improve over the course of this week, so that I will still be able to participate in the Disney Marathon, because it would be a total bummer to miss out on it now that I am all registered. So, fingers crossed that the meds all kick in and I start feeling better by the time we head to Florida on Friday. Until then, I will be doing my best to avoid the cold and get some rest!

2018 Fairy Tale Challenge training week 2: In which I impulse sign up for a marathon

Mileage Complete: 42.1

The second week of training went about as good as I could dream any week would go. High mileage, felt good, got in some great workouts. 

I started the week easy, heading to a yoga class on Monday night with Emily. We went to a "move and meditate" class at Emerge, our local yoga studio. It was a great class, with a lot of movement and core work. I left the class feeling recharged and ready to take on the week. 

Tuesday morning I had planned to run 5 miles, but since Kasey also wanted to run 5, I wound up running 6 since I run to her house before we run together. It was a little chilly, but the temps were warmer than the week before, so I was thankful for the brief reprieve from the cold. That night I headed to swim, and knowing that I was going to have to miss the Thursday class because of a family obligation, I put in as much effort as possible. It was a night consisting mostly of laps, with a 25m lane configuration. We did 3 sets of 50 m repeats, consisting of 50m easy and then 4x50m hard. The second set of the night was a long one, with two 800m sets. Each 800 m repeat had a 10s rest after the first 400m, so that we could check the time and make sure we match the time for the second 400m. It was a challenging class, but I was really happy that I got through it. After the class I met up with Kasey and Emily to grab dinner, and I was starving thanks to the days hard work!

Kasey and I headed to the local track before dawn on Wednesday, hoping to get a workout in. It was a windy morning, and there was a 100m strech of the track where the wind was blowing against us, but we powered through. The plan for the track session was:

1 mile warmup

3x400@1:46/200 recovery

2x600@2:39/400 recovery

2x400@1:46/200 recovery

2 mile cooldown

I ran to Kasey's house, so my warm-up wound up being a little longer than planned. When we got to the track we got to work, and I was really impressed with Kasey, who managed to keep pace with me for the first three 400m repeats. She has been improving so much as she continues to put in more miles. We took the 600m repeats at our own paces, and then Kasey had to head home so she could get to work on time. I finished up my workout, feeling good and hitting my numbers for the rest of the run. Jennie had come to the track as well to get her own run in, and I ran some of my cool-down with her, then headed home. Wednesday night I headed to Orange Theory to get in some strength training.

The other big event of Wednesday: an opportunity presented itself to me to register for the Disney marathon... which was about two weeks away. Now, I have been considering signing up for this race for months, but because of the uncertainty of my fiancé's schedule I wasn't sure that I would have someone to travel with and had hesitated in signing up. This lead to the race selling out, much to my disappointment. But on Wednesday, I saw a post from a RunDisney travel agent in a facebook group, and after getting the travel priced out Dennis and I decided that we were going to make a weekend trip to Florida so that I could run the marathon. Since the NYC marathon I have been maintaining a weekly base of 20-30 miles, but my longest run was 10 miles. So, it won't be my best marathon, but I am just happy that I will get to participate in it!

So, I adjusted my training schedule for the coming two weeks, and made plans to do an 18 miler in place of the 12 miler that I had planned for Christmas eve. The week went on, with an easy day Thursday, with just a walk with Jennie to start the day - complete with a beautiful sunrise. 

I had off from work on Friday for the holiday and spent the day hanging out with my cousin Jen, who was in town so she could spend Christmas with her parents - and of course, so she could run with me. We got super lucky with the weather on Friday, it was in the 50s, and a little overcast. Jen and I headed to Kasey's house, and we got the run underway. Jen and I chatted as we got moving, with Kasey occasionally chiming in. Seven miles would be a new distance milestone for Jen, and she was worried about getting through the whole distance without walking, but she rocked it! It was her first time running on Long Island since the fateful day we ran one mile together two days in a row over the summer, and I am so proud of how far she has come! The miles just slipped by, and before I knew it we were six miles in, with an average pace of 10:02 - so I did some quick math, and figured if we could get the pace down to a 9:45, we would average less than a 10 min/mi pace for the run. We successfully picked up the pace and pulled off a 9:26 for the last mile, and averaged just under a 10 min average.... well, at least Kasey and I did - Jen's Garmin insisted that she came in at exactly a 10 minute average, much to Jen's annoyance. 

Saturday Kasey and I headed out for an easy three miles in some rainy weather, keeping it easy and chatting throughout. I was worried that it would be too cold, but it was super refreshing. Plus, I love any excuse to break out my reflective jacket, which is water proof and perfect for rain. The rest of the day Saturday was spent with my bridesmaids, who were all together in one place for the first time! We went dress shopping for my wedding, which isn't until October, but because of everybody's complicated schedules it made more sense to dress shop early. We were successful, and chose two dresses for the bridesmaids to pick between to wear to the wedding. 

Finally, Sunday came as the week's big mileage day. Like I said before, I upped the planned mileage to 18 miles. Kasey agreed to do the first six miles with me, and Kevin (my brother) agreed to do the last three miles with me - he picked the last three that way I couldn't trick him into running more than three miles. The weather was pretty good, a little chilly but no snow on the ground, so my shoes would stay dry at least. Kasey and I got a late start, since we didn't have much else we needed to get done today other than Christmas eve festivities. It was nice to not have to start our run in the dark for a change. We did our regular neighborhood loops, and parted ways after six miles. My next nine miles just flew by, and it was the kind of day where I comfortably and effortlessly settled in to a 9 min/mi pace, and the run just felt right. I looped by my house as was necessary for fueling needs, and then eventually when I hit 15 miles picked up Kevin and we headed out to finish up the long run. As I closed in on 18 miles, I was feeling good. Kevin and I chatted over the last three miles and just took it easy, slowing down as the run came to an end. This was my longest run since the NYC marathon, and it made me feel a little less ridiculous about impulse signing up for a marathon - I think I will be able to make it through. 

It wound up being a high mileage week, and a great holiday weekend spent with family and friends. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, and a Happy long run!

So, now I am packing in some last minute marathon miles, and as you will read in the week three recap, I of course will catch a cold. But no matter how things play out, I am excited to be heading to Florida for Marathon weekend! 

Are any of you heading to Disney for the marathon? Let me know on instagram or in the comments below!

2017 Races: A year in review

To celebrate the end of 2017, I am picking up the “Year of Bling” tag from the folks over at the Joyful miles blog. Below I am going to share some brief race recaps and photos from a few of the races that I ran in 2017. The questions that joyful miles shared for the tag were:

1. What is your favorite 2017 medal based on design?
2. What is your favorite non-runDisney medal?
3. What is your most hard earned medal?
4. What is your favorite overall medal?

After we go through the months of the year and the medals earned, I will be answering these questions at the end of this post!

January: The Dopey and Castaway Cay challenges

Right after new year’s, I headed down to Florida with my fiancé’s family to run not only my first ever marathon, but the dopey challenge! For those of you that haven’t heard of the dopey challenge, it consists of running 48.6 miles over the course of 4 days, by completing a 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon. The first two days of running went well, and I completed the 5k and 10k with the group of 5 runners that I was traveling with (myself, Dennis, Rachel, Greg, and Liz). We used walk/run intervals to save our legs for the longer distances, and just had fun going through the races. We all wore matching Lion King costumes for the 5k, and for the 10k Dennis and I dressed as Wall-e and Eve.

The day of the 10k, we got the disappointing news that the half marathon was going to be cancelled because of a thunder storm. As soon as we got the official word, Greg and I headed out to run 13.1 miles around Saratoga Springs resort, so that we could feel we really “earned” our half and Dopey medals. It wasn’t the race that I had hoped for, but I was proud that we got out there and got our miles done despite the disappointment. The morning that the half was supposed to happen we caught up on sleep, and headed to the race expo to retrieve our medals and refunds.

On the last day of the dopey challenge, I ran my first full marathon. This race I ran by myself, as the other people I was travelling with had not trained as much as I had. On race morning it was about 30°, so I was glad that I had packed some of my cold weather running gear. I can’t say enough positive things about the Disney marathon, I loved every moment of it. From running up main street to meeting a giant bunny as I left animal kingdom, and the last mile through Epcot’s world showcase, it was the exact experience I had dreamed it would be. After the race we relaxed in the hotel room, and eventually made our way to splitsville in Disney springs to get some nachos and drinks.

The next day Dennis and I boarded a Disney cruise, and completed the castaway cay challenge by running a 5k during the cruise. We spent most of the cruise eating and laying around, enjoying the post-marathon relaxation.

My favorite medal from the Dopey challenge was the marathon medal – I loved that it was shaped like mickey, and was clean and classic in its design. It also meant the most to me, because a marathon is something that just a year earlier felt like an impossible feat. It represented everything that I had worked so hard to accomplish, and made me feel like I could do anything that I set my mind to.

March: United Airlines NYC half marathon

I got lucky with my entry for this race, getting in through the lottery that NYRR holds for it (for the 2018 race, I managed to secure a guaranteed entry!). Leading up to race day, I nervously monitored the weather, worrying that we were going to get snowed out and yet another half marathon would be cancelled on me. Thankfully, the race went on as scheduled, on a chilly morning. I headed into the race with my friend Sami, and ran the race with my friends Tara and Dan. The city was pretty that day, and central park was even coated with a layer of snow as we ran through it. As I waited for the race to start, my toes started to go numb and I was just ready to get moving. My favorite part of the race was running through times square, which I had never seen empty of cars. We managed to finish the race with a new half PR, and I even pulled off a sprint to the finish line. I was very glad to be given a heat sheet when the race ended, and immediately grabbed my checked bag and added on layers of clothing. Sami and I met up and headed home together. Of course, we stopped and got some post race snacks, including giant milkshakes from a local burger place. 

April: UAE Healthy Kidney 10k

 I was completing this race as a part of the requirement for the NYRR 9+1 program, on a crisp April morning. Dad drove me into central park, and hung out there while I ran the race. I wasn’t particularly planning on “racing” this event, but when I started moving it felt like a good day. The weather was right, I felt good, and I managed to pull off a PR as I ran through the city, which made this bling extra sweet. It was also a nice boost of confidence, just a few weeks before the Long Island Marathon.

 

May: The Long Island Marathon and the Air BnB Brooklyn half

May was a big month for me, as I ran my second marathon. Unlike my first one in January, which I did with a series of races, I had a time goal this time around. In a dream world, I wanted to break 4 hours. In reality I knew that it was unlikely that I would be able to shave 53 minutes off of my marathon time in four months, but I was going to give it a shot. The first 15 miles of this race flew by, all coming in at about an 8:58 pace. But they thing about the long island marathon is that about 10 miles of the full course are done on the highway after you split from the half runners, and boy does that become a rough mental game. I tried to stick to my pace, but mile after mile I started to loose seconds, and by mile 20 my IT band was killing me. My favorite part about this race was finding my people out for me cheering – from my mom at mile 6, to Dad and Grandpa at mile 13, then my teammate Tara at mile 15 – right where the turnaround on the highway was, then Dad again at mile 18, this time with my brother Tommy, and last but never least Dennis and Jennie just before the finish line.  When all was said and done I finished the race in 4 hours and 13 minutes, which was a 40 minute PR over my first full. I was pleased with my result, and the race left me feeling accomplished… but also like I could do even more the next time around.

Two weeks later I ran the Air BnB Brooklyn half with Dennis’ sisters, Rachel and Liz. Rachel and I had been training together over the last few months in the hopes of her getting a new PR. It was an early morning, and we headed into Brooklyn for the start of the race. We had fun through the 13 miles, taking advantage of run/walk intervals. We enjoyed all the spectators, with their numerous signs and joked throughout the race that we were just running it for the hotdogs that we would get from the original Nathans on Coney Island, where the race ended. The whole race was rainy, but we passed the time counting the miles, as you can see in my video from the race above!

June: Queens 10k

In the weeks after the Air BnB Brookyln half, it was clear that I should have waited a little longer after a marathon before running a full – I developed tendonitis in my foot in the weeks after the race, and my mileage was forced to drastically decline. While when I initially hoped to “race” this event, I was not able to get a lot of training in leading up to race day, and it was super humid and warm on race morning. Also, I forgot my inhaler. Is that enough excuses yet?

Anyway, I was soggy a mile into this run, purely from sweat as a result of the humidity. At about mile 4, my MBTT teammate Nicole caught up to me, and after yo-yo ing with each other a bit, we eventually decided to run the rest of the race together. The last two miles were rough, but we got through them together, and I finished the race in 54:41, which I was pretty happy with even though it was not a PR.

After the race Dad and I wandered around flushing meadow corona park together, taking some photos and enjoying the day for a little but before heading home. The design of this medal featured the unisphere from the worlds fair, which lives in flushing meadow-corona park, where the race took place, and I liked how they chose to feature this icon. 

August: Whisper Run 10k

My friend Jennie decided she wanted to run the whisper run 5k, so I decided to sign up for the 10k so we could hang out before and after the race. The race was in a park right by my house, and the 10k course was a double loop of the 5k. It was a simple loop, with the only difficult part of the race being when the terrain switched from pavement to grass for about a quarter mile. It was a bit humid, but I managed to take home first place in my age group, which I was excited about. This was a race awesome event, one of the race companys that puts on races on long island, and as always they had a great setup post-race. I really loved the tank tops that were the giveaway for this race, and the fact that the medal had a bottle opener in it.

September: New Balance Bronx 10-miler

I was excited when I signed up for this race, as it was my 4th “5 borough series” race with the NYRR, and would earn me the last credit I needed for a guaranteed entry for the 2018 united airlines half. Since this race was the same day as the Maker Faire that the NY hall of science hosts, Dennis agreed to drive me to the race, that way we could head right to maker faire together. Pre-race highlights included getting to pet a cat, and forgetting to take my glasses off before I left the car. I started this race by chasing a pacer, and managed to hang on for a few miles before the heat of the day got to me. I previously posted a recap of this race, so to hear all of the details check it out by clicking the button below:

November: NYC Marathon

You guys are probably sick of hearing about this one, so I’ll just leave the link to the recap here:

Also, I will say that I love the medal for this race. Simple, iconic, and symbolic of every mile of work that I put in before race day. For the rest of November, I mostly took it easy, and even ran a few turkey trots around thanksgiving.

December: The Savannah Enmarket Bridge run and Jingle All the Way 5k

Race recaps for both of these races will be coming soon, so I don’t want to get too into things with these races, but here’s a quick summary!

The Savannah Enmarket Bridge Run was a 10k that I did with my cousin Jen, and it was her first 10k ever. She will use this race as a proof of time for the dark side half next April! We had a great time traveling to Savannah, and we got to see a lot of the city throughout the weekend. The race itself was a real challenge, as we ran over the Talmadge memorial bridge twice, and boy was that incline steep. We celebrated with lots of bakery treats post race.

My last race of 2017 was Race Awesome’s jingle all the way 5k, which happened close to home, at cedar creek park on Long Island. It had snowed in the days leading up to the race, so we were treated to a scenic wintertime run, and the roads had thankfully been cleared for us. I took home third place in my age group, although I was somewhat frustrated when I learned that I only missed second place by 5 seconds! For the first time ever I got a running plaque, that is made out of a Christmas tree ornament. 

All in all, I had a lot of fun racing this year, and was lucky to be able to participate in many races. I am looking forward to 2018, and the opportunities it will bring.

So to close off, getting back to that year of bling tag –

1. What is your favorite 2017 medal based on design?

So for this one, I have to go with a series - I love how the NYRR's 5 borough series medals all had similar designs, with icons from the location that the race was run. I am a little bummed that I didn't run the Staten Island Half, which would have earned me the last medal in this set, but it was too close to the NYC marathon for my taste. 

2. What is your favorite non-runDisney medal?

The NYC Marathon medal wins this category, hands down. Being from NY, it meant so much to me to be able to run this race. i struggled at times during this race, but managed to make it to the finish line and earn this medal. 

3. What is your most hard earned medal?

I feel like this one has got to be the Long Island marathon medal - from my first marathon in January (the WDW marathon) to the LI marathon in May, I had four months to train. In those 4 months I managed to take 40 minutes off of my marathon time, coming in at 4 hours and 13 minutes. I put a lot of work into training, and pushed myself very hard during the race. Mentally, this race was grueling because of the long stretches of highway, and solo running. But I am really proud of the time I pulled off for this race. 

4. What is your favorite overall medal?

Overall, my favorite medal was the one that I earned for running the Walt Disney World Marathon. It was my first marathon, and I completed it as a part of the Dopey Challenge. Finishing that race felt like I was truly doing the impossible, and I love the design of the medal itself as well. I mean, its shaped like mickey's head and has mickey mouse himself on it!

So with the end of 2017,

I am looking forward to all of the races and miles I have in front of me for 2018. I am so happy that I will get to run with Kasey and Jen for their first half marathons, and other races too! I hope you guys will continue along with me on my running journey, and see what 2018 brings!

What was your favorite medal of 2017? Share it with me below or tag me in a photo of it on instagram.

2018 Fairy Tale Challenge Training: Week One

Mileage complete: 29.8

Welcome to week one of training for the upcoming glass slipper challenge! For those of you that haven’t heard of the glass slipper challenge, it is an event hosted by runDisney during their princess half marathon weekend. The challenge consists of running a 10k on Saturday, and a half marathon on Sunday. While I will be training to complete the half marathon distance, my main goal is to improve my 10k time, and hopefully bring it down to under 50 minutes during February’s race.

This week started off with heading to orange theory fitness right from work on Monday, with my trusty NYPD running club gym bag in hand. The class was with coach Sebastian, and it was a power-strength day, with a lot of dumbbells. There were four treadmill blocks and four weight room blocks. The treadmill blocks alternated between standard OTF base/push/all out format and blocks that had us run at an "all out" pace for 30-60 seconds, and then complete an assigned number of weighted squats. For the weight room, we alternated between rowing blocks and weight training. The weight training featured a lot of lunges, and some work with a medicine ball. It was a good class, and I was happy that I made it to class on time – its always a little bit of a gamble when I head right from work to OTF, depending on the days traffic.

Tuesday morning I had planned to get in a few outdoor miles, but it was finals week for Kasey so I didn’t have a running buddy. During daylight hours this wouldn’t have bothered me, but as it is dark out when I leave to run I do not like to go by myself. After work I did get myself to swim class, and the focus was on  laps, rather than drills. The set looked like [warm up,  3 - (1x125; 2x75;3x25), 100 recovery (drill-swim-kick-swim), 3 x 200m, 2 x (100 m 15 s rest, 100 m faster), cooldown]. It was a rare night where I actually felt comfortable in the pool, although that seems to be happening more and more lately.

This time of year in New York, we tend to start to see the temperature drop – and Wednesday’s morning run was the first truly freezing run of the season. Kasey and I were both dreading this run as we looked at the weather the night before - the forecast said 20°F with a 20 mph wind. We would be running before sunrise, so we wouldn't even get any heat from the sun. Going out I layered up with two pairs of leggings (one of which was underarmor cold gear), a brooks half zip shell, and a running jacket. Plus, gloves with wind protection and ear warmers. Kasey got to my house right on time, and we got on our way with one goal - beat Jen's pace from the run she has posted to Strava the day before - 10:05 min/mi. Now that Jen is getting faster, it will be fun to compete with her from afar.

The wind was cold, my nose ran the whole run, but we managed to keep a sub-10 pace. Kasey had to get to work earlier than me, so three miles into the run we ran by her house and parted ways. I went for a mile and a half solo before looping back to my house to meet up with Jennie, who wanted to get a little run in since she had the day off. We logged two miles together, with the sun finally coming up. By the time I was through 6.5 miles, my hands were frozen and my legs were raw despite the double layer of tights. It was cold, but I had a good run and am glad that I was able to get out before work. I logged a total of 6.5 miles that morning.

On Wednesday at work I found out that I would need to travel from NY to Philly for the day on Thursday, so I decided to take an OTF class Wednesday night since in knew there would be no time to get a run or workout of anytime in on Thursday – I had to be on a train at 5:18 into Manhattan, followed by a train to Philly, then a whole day working, and a car ride home. By the time I got home Thursday night I was exhausted, and happy that I had done a double Wednesday rather than shoving a run into Thursday.

Friday morning was even colder than Tuesday had been, but with an added complication: it had snowed the day before, and there was ice and snow covering many of the sidewalks and streets in my neighborhood. So, I missed another morning run this week, and added getting a gym membership to my to-do list for the weekend. Originally, I figured I would head to an orange theory class Friday night… but then was able to snag last minute tickets to see “Star wars: the Last Jedi” with Dennis and Emily. I have no regrets.

The weekend was super busy, and flashed by in what felt like two seconds. Jennie and I were signed up for a race on Saturday morning, the NYCRuns “Hot chocolate Classic” 10k. My alarm went off at 6:20 Saturday morning, and I pulled up the NYC runs twitter account to confirm that the race was still happening – remember that snow I mentioned? It was still not melted by Saturday. They had sent out a tweet saying that they would announce the status of the race by 6:30, and at 6:27 they sent out a tweet saying that runners should expect slushy conditions, but that the race would still proceed as planned. Jennie picked me up at 6:50 and we headed to Roosevelt island, where the race was being held. We were both sleepy, but excited about the race – it was supposed to be Jennie’s first 10k, and the race that she would use as proof of time for the Star Wars Dark Side half marathon weekend.

Maybe you noticed that I said this was supposed to be her first 10k. You see, after about 45 minutes of being in the car, I checked my email. In my inbox was an email from NYC runs, saying that the race was being changed into a “fun run,” there would be no race timing, and there would be no official start time – runners could just go as they pleased.

Now, I fully understand that sometimes raced need to be cancelled because of weather. Dangerous conditions are not good for anyone, and runner and volunteer safety should come first. The thing that made me mad here was that the race had cancelled so late, at a time when most runners would already be well on their way to the start line. Also, they had deleted their earlier tweet, apparently preferring to pretend that no such tweet had ever existed. I was super frustrated, and Jennie was super upset. This was supposed to be her first 10k, something that she had been working towards for months. We were only 10 minutes away from the race when we got the email, so Jennie dropped me off at the start area so I could confirm that there would be no timing mats, and collect our race swag. We were originally going to park in a garage, but there was no point in paying for parking if no race was happening. We had already lost out on the registration fees and didn’t want to throw away more money.

I spoke with someone from NYC runs to confirm that there would be no race timing, and then collected our cocoa mugs, race bibs, and bagels. I hopped back into Jennie’s car, and we headed back to Long Island. We decided that instead of running on Roosevelt island, were we were sure to wind up cold and with soggy shoes, we would head to the gym and complete our 6.2 miles on treadmills. When we got home, I changed into shorts and headed to planet fitness, where I signed up for a membership and then met Jennie on a treadmill. I ran a two mile warm-up at a 10 minute pace, and then did 8x400m, with the 400 m repeats at about a 7:50 pace. I was literally dripping with sweat by the time I finished 6.2 miles, as it was HOT in the gym! I headed home from the gym with the intent of getting some Christmas shopping done Saturday, but somehow found myself at Orange theory with Kasey an hour later. And of course, it was a strength day, with a million treadmill inclines. It was a challenging but overall great class, and I was glad that I got some lifting in with all of the days running.

Sunday marked my first double digit run since the NYC Marathon, and I was joined by Kasey and Rachel for parts of the run. Kasey ran 9/10 miles with me, her longest run to date, and Rachel joined us for about 3.5 miles. The weather wasn’t too cold, but there was still some snow at houses that didn’t shovel, and occasional patches of ice. I ran to Kasey’s house to start the run, and we trotted along, looping back to my house at mile 5.5 to meet up with Rachel. As we continued to loop the neighborhood, Kasey almost wiped out as we went over a surprisingly icy driveway, and in perhaps her most graceful move ever, she managed not to wipe out and entirely regained her stride like nothing had even happened. This run was more in the street than most of out runs due to obstructed sidewalks, but I got 10 miles done, despite dad taunting me with warm waffles every time we looped by the house… and yes, I mean this literally. He had made waffles and would wave them out of the kitchen window anytime he saw us running by.

After the run, I of course ate one of these waffles, and then Kasey, Rachel and I met up with Emily and Liz for brunch. It was a good Sunday, and I got some solid miles in this weekend, even though the week didn’t go exactly to plan.

I feel like I am starting to get back into the groove of having a training plan, and now that I have a gym membership setup the weather won’t be able to derail my morning runs so much. But of course, the next week’s weather wasn’t nearly as cold.

Sending warm holiday wishes to everyone, may your holiday runs be Merry and Bright!

What comes next?

So, the NYC marathon has come and gone. Now that I am over a month out from race day, I can look back on the race fondly, and am even coming around to the idea of doing it again in the future (spoiler alert: there is no doubt in my mind that I need to run it again). It was a hard race, but I feel so blessed that I was able to be a part of it, and got to run through the streets of NYC with over 50,000 other runners.

Perhaps you have noticed that I have not been posting weekly training updates since the race – Well, good news is whether you missed them or not, they will be coming back on 12/24! I have still been active despite the lack of updates, I just have not been following any sort of training schedule. My fitness over the last month has been a modge podge of running, swimming, yoga, and orange theory fitness classes. Plus, a few little races on the weekends, but always for fun with friends and family.

This time around, my goal is different. As I trained for NY, I focused on finish the race feeling a certain way – strong. Not something one can really classify with empirical data. This time around, I am focusing on shorter distances, and picking up the pace. Before we go into specifics, let me tell you about some of my race PRs:

1. 10k – 51:08

This PR came at a New York Road Runners event – The UAE Healthy Kidney 10k. I ran this race in April of 2017, with no intention of setting a new PR. It just was a very good day for running, where every mile felt strong. When I realized a PR was attainable, I pushed the pace and was rewarded for doing so. 

         2. Half Marathon (13.1 miles) – 1:58:33

My half PR was set at the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in March, which I ran with my friend Tara -We had a great time running together! But if you want to get technical my fastest half time was actually during the Long Island Marathon in May, which I ran in 1:56:59. The last time I really pushed myself to race a half was in October of 2016, at the rock ‘n’ roll Brooklyn half – so its been a while since I really raced this distance.

I haven’t really focused on shorter distances since I ran my first marathon in January of 2017, and this year really turned out to really be “The Year of the Marathon” for me, since I ran a total of three! For 2018, I hope to run at least one marathon, but plan to shift my focus to picking up the speed and race shorter races, and hope that it translates to a faster marathon time when I feel ready to commit to that distance again.

So, these weekly updates will be leading up to the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend, where I will attempt to set a new 10k PR! I will also be running the half the day after the 10k, but want to focus on the 10k as my goal race for that weekend. The 10k will take place on February 24, 2018 and my goal is, dare I say it, to run it in

Less than 50 minutes!

This goal feels ambitious, but attainable. Knowing that it is close to my current PR, I feel that if I focus my workouts over the next two and a half months, with some longer weekend runs to make sure I’m prepared for the half as well, I will be able to improve my pace.

Another goal for 2018? Run 12 Half marathons in 12 months! But, more on that later….

So I hope that you will stop by on Sundays to read about this new plan, and follow me on Instagram to keep up with my daily training antics! Plus, with all of the races that I have coming up, I will continue to publish race recaps in the coming weeks.