Why I'm Running New York...in 2012

Oh yeah, don't you just want to join them?  Source

When I started my blog last year, I was all about running a marathon.  One marathon in particular - the New York Marathon.  But by the time I decided that I wanted to run a marathon, I was way past the lottery deadline, which obviously meant that unless my name was Kara Groucher or Heidi Klum, no one was letting me enter the race.

My name isn't Paula Radcliffe either.  Source

Well, actually, that's not entirely true.  I could have entered the race through a charity spot, but I would have had to front two-thousand dollars because they had fund-raising deadlines, and the $2K mark was about a minute after I decided I wanted to run the marathon.  Resigned, I decided that even though I couldn't run New York, I would run something else, and picked a Team in Training Race, the San Francisco Half Marathon.

But then it turned out that I'm lousy about asking people for money.  I just couldn't do it.  Not because I don't believe in the Team in Training's cause at all.  I do.  I respect their cause.  How can you not respect a charity's cause though, unless it's like "Save the keg at the frat party" or "Eliminate all taxes to stimulate the economy"?

Maybe I should have put up a billboard in Times Square?

It felt strange to champion a cause that didn't feel personal to me.  I mean everyone wants a cure for cancer, but  for me, things like heart disease, poverty, women's rights, and education about nutrition tug more at my heart strings that TNT's mission.  The truth is, I felt like my fundraising mission, should have been renamed, "Help Amanda Run a Marathon."

So I switched to a marathon that didn't have any barriers to entry, aside from a little entrance fee.  Talk about commitment problems?

I love, love, love running next to the water.

For the remainder of the summer, I trained hard for the Philadelphia Marathon instead, all the while working on qualifying for New York with their 9+1 program.  That summer and fall, I really fell in love with the marathon training.   I also fell in love with my city as I got to see her in a way I had never thought possible.

The Intrepid Air & Museum, never been in it but all those planes look cool.

A quiet, cool, fall morning.

When the marathon finally arrived, I was welcomed to Philly by friends and accompanied by an awesome cheerleading squad.  Without the support of my friends and family, I'm not sure I would have even finished my marathon.  The race was hard, and though I had trained for it, and expected it, there was something missing from it all.  Looking back, I can see, while I wanted to run a marathon, more than that I wanted to run one very specific marathon and that one's not in Philadelphia.

My Cheer Squad - the BEST part of the Philly Marathon!

After the marathon, I muddled around finishing up my qualifications for the 9+1 program, half-heartedly running, eating lots of cheeseburgers and drinking all the wine that my training program didn't allow.  I had qualified for the New York Marathon and was eligible to run it in 2011, and though I signed up for it, I couldn't muster up an ounce of enthusiasm.

Beers after a spring race, cause that's how I recover.

I ran a few races that spring, enjoying the shorter distances and the freedom those distances allowed in my social life.  The specter of NY hung over my head through the winter, spring and into the summer.  I had signed up so as to not lose my qualification, but though I no longer babbled about my running like I had the previous summer, I couldn't admit defeat.

I went to Barcelona instead of training for NYC.

Cause that's what it felt like.  After all the blog jibber-jabber about running New York, I felt like I had to run it in 2011.  What can I say?  I've always had a problem with doing what I should be doing as opposed to what I want to do.

Finally, about three weeks ago, when the longest run I had run in several months was seven miles, I had to concede that my training was not going to be sufficient to allow me to run the marathon.

I was watching baseball with my "buds" instead of running.  Ooops!

And so I deferred.

Yep, I threw all those self-imposed restrictions out the door.

As soon as I was free of the pressure to run the marathon, I got back on the computer and started blogging like a mad-woman again.  I started reading lots of running blogs once again, searching out new blogs about running which I had previously avoided post Philly because they made me feel like a loser for not wanting to run a marathon.  I bought a new pair of shoes which I hadn't done since March.  I made a plan to run the Detroit  half-marathon and did my first long run on the West Side Highway of the summer.  I downloaded new music just for a run.

Once upon a time boats used to actually use these piers.

Then I logged another long run, and another one, and another one.  And suddenly I remembered, how much I loved training for the marathon and how much I wanted to run New York.

Just like that, I was back on the marathon train.

Running is such a conflicted beast.  On one hand, there is the satisfaction of achieving a new distance or new PR, but on the other hand there are the physical limits of the body.  And yet, the body wants to run even when it's limping, aching, and depleted.  And the mind, oh the mind, it wants to continue to feel the high that can come only from sheer exhaustion at the end of another great run.

Looking back, I can see that a huge reason the Philly marathon was such a struggle for me was that I had over-trained for it by not taking a break from running for over a year.  By the time, I got to the race, my gas tank had a gigantic hole in it.

yeah, i just needed a break.

After my first marathon, my lack of enthusiasm and energy, which masqueraded as severe disappointment, was my own body's way of telling me to take it easy.  I needed time to heal.

Almost a year later, the scars are almost gone.  My hips no longer constantly ache, and my body, though carrying around a few more pounds, doesn't feel like its been beaten up anymore.

But it's my heart that feels the most changed because when as I write this story and see all those running pictures, it starts beating a little faster, and a smile that I can't stop comes to my face.  And just like, the fire is back.  2012 here I come.

Music Mondays and The Music I Didn't Run to this Week

Oh man, last week was not a good week.  I can't give you an specific reason except to say that I just felt grumpy and angry and irritated all week long.

The good thing about a bad week is that it always ends.  And this one did....on a great note with an awesome almost ten mile run.

And though, I'd like to tell you that the reason that ten mile run was so awesome was because my music was just so awesomely motivating, I'd be lying.

Because the 'pod died mid-run.  Tear.

Now, it's not officially done because it worked today, but it's reaching the end of it's life.  It's cranky and temperamental, and it works perfectly fine until I start working out.  I guess it's had enough of my sweating.

But that doesn't mean that I didn't go out to run fully equipped with motivating music.  I actually even rearranged my playlist and cleared out some songs that I didn't care to run to anymore.

This week, I'm loving:

Mr. Saxobeat by Tribute Mega Stars

Marry the Night by DJ Wallace Mays (a Lady Gage remix)

Good Life (Remix) [feat. B.O.B.] by One Republic

This is not new to my playlist but for some reason I really felt like listening to Eminem.  Yeah, I guess that's what happens when you are from Detroit or the suburbs of it.  I don't live on 8 mile!

Superman by Eminem and Dina Rae

Punching in a Dream by the Naked and Famous



Happy Running!

Waterlogged

The rain gods are out to get me. It doesn't matter if I venture outside in a rain coat, rain boots and with an umbrella. The rain will find a way to get to me.

It might start raining sideways, or a cab will speed by when I'm crossing the street and spray water all over me. It's a good thing that it's perfectly acceptable to hurl profanities at no one in particular in the city.

The rain always comes when I have things planned outside: I have had tickets to two baseball games this year - both have been delayed by rain by at least an hour and a half. Someone clearly doesn't want me eating over priced hot dogs and drinking over priced low-brow beer.


Puddles, an especially unfortunate side effect of rain, are also out to get me. They have ripped a flip flop off my foot too many times to count. And though, I know that it's not yet pants season for me, those puddles are just waiting for my hemlines so that they can jack up my dry cleaning bills.

The worst part of the rain is that its not predictable. If there is a 10% chance of rain in the evening and I don't bring my umbrella, it will rain cats and dogs. If there is a 90% chance and I pack the rain gear, the sun will shine.

Don't even tell me about running in the rain. The trees provide limited respite from the rain but the puddles are so numerous that running through puddles of mysterious depths becomes mandatory, unless I want to zig and zag for five miles.

See, I'm telling you, the rain gods are out to ruin my summer - and maybe a few others as well.


But with all this rain, I have learned a few things about how to manage training when there is rain.

Plan to run in the rain. The most die hard runners will run in any weather condition, and most races will go on rain or shine. I am not so crazy. If there is a blizzard, I stay indoors. But since races rarely get cancelled, try to run on the lighter rain days or chance it when rain clouds are threatening. This will help you figure out what sort of gear would work best on a rainy race day.

If possible, be flexible with your schedule. So you do yoga or take a spinning class once a week? Try to rearrange the running schedule, to allow the rain day to occur on a rest or indoor cross training day. Of course, if it's supposed to rain every day, this isn't an option.

Run on the treadmill. I really hate treadmills. I do it, but I just can't stand the idea of all that sweat and steps getting me no where. To make treadmill work more fun, try doing a short speed work-out or planning your run around your favorite T.V. show. I love getting in a treadmill run while watching The View.

Run on an indoor track. There are several gyms in the city with indoor tracks and you can have access to them for a week or so by signing up for a trial membership. Chelsea Piers, Reebok Sports Club on the UWS, and three NYC parks and rec tracks in Manhattan.

Most importantly, don't let rain derail your training plans. The idea of running the rain seems scary and more than a little bit crazy, but it's not like you are going to melt in the rain, right?

If Trees Could Talk...

I found this tree in Central Park and it made me stop. Now I run by millions of trees every day and I don't so much as toss a bead of sweat in their direction, let alone actually stop to look at them.

But this tree had me at hello.

It's knotty, twisted growth was enough to make me bat an eyelash in its general direction, but it was the elaborate carvings all over that held me captive.

Some engravings bore date stamps as old as myself, which means that the tree was pretty much in the same twisted, gigantic, shaded splendor it is in now as it was when I was just figuring out how to eat without my umbilical cord.


I circled the tree with my jaw agape and wondered just how many people, New Yorkers like myself and travelers from afar had stopped to pause at the same knotted, grey mess. What - and who - have these branches and, and at the right time of year, leaves, witnessed?

Sure, I could wax and wane about Warhol and Hemingway and Washington and...history, but then I realized that someone had already done that for me, and so much more eloquently, and without all the New York drama. Enter my favorite poem from Shel Silverstein, "The Giving Tree."
Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.


And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree....
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree
and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and
climb up my trunk and swing from my
branches and eat apples and play in my
shade and be happy."


"I am too big to climb and play" said
the boy.
"I want to buy things and have fun.
I want some money?"
"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I
have no money.
I have only leaves and apples.


Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in
the city. Then you will have money and
you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the
tree and gathered her apples
and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time....
and the tree was sad.


And then one day the boy came back
and the tree shook with joy
and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk
and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.
"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.
"I want a wife and I want children,
and so I need a house.
Can you give me a house ?"
" I have no house," said the tree.
"The forest is my house,
but you may cut off
my branches and build a
house. Then you will be happy."


And so the boy cut off her branches
and carried them away
to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time.
And when he came back,
the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.


"Come, Boy," she whispered,
"come and play."
"I am too old and sad to play,"
said the boy.
"I want a boat that will
take me far away from here.
Can you give me a boat?"
"Cut down my trunk
and make a boat," said the tree.
"Then you can sail away...
and be happy."


And so the boy cut down her trunk
and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy
... but not really.

And after a long time
the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy,"
said the tree," but I have nothing
left to give you -
My apples are gone."


"My teeth are too weak
for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone,"
said the tree. " You
cannot swing on them - "
"I am too old to swing
on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.
"You cannot climb - "
"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.


"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something....
but I have nothing left.
I am just an old stump.
I am sorry...."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy.
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."


"Well," said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting
Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.

And that, my friends, is what a tree could say if she could talk. Good Night New York!

Half Marathon Training Plan

The other day, I woke up and found that I missed the West Side Highway. I missed the roar of cars next to me, and the occasional helicopter landing ten feet away.



I missed the cool breezes off the Hudson River, getting passed by the Columbia Track team twice, watching the health conscious doing yoga in the Hudson River Park, and all the dogs, the kids, and the runners.



Yep, after two years of spending at least one weekend day on the West Side logging double digit miles, can you believe that I haven't been there once this year?

Oh I haven't missed it that much. After all, I've been taking trips, enjoying late nights out and late mornings in, and eating all sorts of things that I would never eat before big runs.

But the time has come to leave my wonton ways behind - okay, maybe not completely.

I'm going to be following some variation of this plan from Runner's World.

I will be posting some more on my training but for now, I've got to run.

Adios!

Central Park, naturally

Recently, I was in the other great American city.



You might have heard of it?

After a fun lunch with an old college friend, I hopped in a cab to meet up with my oldest friend.

“Which way do you want to take?” asked my cab driver.


source

“I don’t know. I’m not from here,” I admitted, immediately opening the door for him to ask where I am from.

Where am I from? Am I from Detroit? Where I was born?

Am I from New York, where I currently reside?

Or am I from the places – Poland, Italy, Germany - my family immigrated to the United States from several generations ago?


source

Well, on this day, I was from New York.

“So which city do you like better?” my cab driver asked. I could feel a fight coming on.

“Well, I live in New York,” I said, hoping the obvious was obvious.

“What do you like so much about New York?” Like a panther about to pounce on his prey, I could see the hairs on the nape of his neck stand and his muscles tense up.

“Well,” I paused. Where to begin?



“I love Central Park,” I started.

“Oh but we have parks too.”

“Not like Central Park.”



While I haven’t visited every park there is, and since Central Park is the closest that I get to nature between trips out of the city, I’m really biased here. Really, really, really biased.

And yet, I’m pretty sure that a lot of people would agree with me on this. Unlike the great national parks such as the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, the Park lacks majestic, jaw dropping natural wonders. In fact, the whole thing is man made.



Unlike some of the great urban parks like Park Guell or Grant Park, the Park lacks breathtaking, groundbreaking pieces of art. So there’s a cute statue of Alice in Wonderland, and Balto, and a few generals and other people, it’s certainly not as iconic as this mosaic lizard in Barcelona.

There’s no national monuments in Central Park either – nothing to commemorate a great historical moment nor to honor all the soldiers who have fought and died for our country.

Besides the rogue wolf, there’s no wildlife in the Park - unless you count squirrels and people from New Jersey.



And yet for all that Central Park lacks in natural resources and artistic showpieces, it makes up for in characters.

Where else can you see Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Florence and the Machine, the New York Philharmonic, the MET Opera, play softball, soccer, cricket, even quidditch?

It’s where we go to get our tan on, where first kisses and marriage proposals happen daily, where bottles of wine are more plentiful than barbecues, and where you can ride a ferris wheel, play hockey, practice your backstroke, and row boats.

Recently, I enjoyed one of Central Park's great events: Shakespeare in the Park. Sadly, cameras are not allowed so I cannot share any pictures. Words will have to be enough.



The play was Measure for Measure, a Shakespearean tragic comedy which I was not familiar with going into the show.

In short, the theater is a simple curtainless stage, in the back open to trees and bushes with Belvedere Castle poking out from behind. The stage has one open balcony and two sets of stairs which the players moved around to the change the scenes, along with a few sparse props such as a bed and a table.

The actors were amazing. Comedic, and though the setting of the play was decidedly of the Shakespearean era, a few cheeky gestures and innuendos acknowledged both the audience and it's 21st century world.



The most magical part of the play for me was outdoor theater setting. As the sun set, the sky changed colors and lightning bugs appeared. The occasional bird swooped low through the crowd, and you could hear a smattering of children yelling or a siren here or there. I enjoyed the sensation of watching a play with the semi-awareness of the going arounds outside of the theater.

There was something very romantic about this place.

Training Plan the Week of March 21st

Last week something momentous happened: I ran outside in shorts. Yes, it was a bit chilly, but wow, did it feel good. I'm looking forward to more runs in shorts.

Here's the training workout for this week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3/4 mile at 5K pace with each 1/4 mile in between each, then 4 1/4 miles at 5K pace with 1/10th of a mile between easy, then repeat one 3/4 mile at 5K pace, strength workout
Wednesday: 3 miles at race pace
Thursday: 7 miles, easy, strength workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: 4 miles, rest, spinning, etc.

Training Tip: I often train at my 5K and 10K pace intervals. How do I know what these are? If you haven't raced at these distances before or your last race at these distances was too long ago or your fitness level was dramatically different, then you are going to need to "guess" your pace. I use the Running World pace converter. I plug in my half-marathon goal time to get a projected pace I should run for a 5K or 10K. Of course, nothing is ever perfect and I might not actually run a 10K at that pace, but it's a goal to shoot for anyway.

Warning: This Might Make You Want to Dance

Somethings are better the second time around. Here's a flashback to junior high: "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Neon Hitch, plus the download.

And here's another goodie: Favorite Colour (Punches Remix) by Tokyo Police Club.

Now I'm off to run twelve miles.

Training Plan the Week of March 7th

Often times, I do a really BAD job of living in New York City. I do things like cook dinner at home and watch movies on netflix and go shopping at Banana Republic. Things that I could do in any city in the country - and probably a good number of cities outside the country too.

But every once in a while, I do my zip code proud. This past weekend was one such weekend. I went to Pommes Frites, McSorley's and saw Bon Jovi at the Garden in one of the luxury suites. Heck, I even went shopping in SoHo and had brunch.

This past weekend it also rained all day Sunday and so I never got to make my long run. I know that I am supposed to run in any and all conditions because "you never know what race day will be like." But I just couldn't convince myself to do it. It didn't hurt that I had Bon Jovi tickets which were going to keep me up late and afternoon plans on Sunday, making the window for running very narrow.

Do I feel guilty? No. But I have to make up for this missed long run somehow.

The point of the long runs is to practice running for a prolonged period. It's about being on your feet, more than speed or mileage - especially for novice runners. So this week, I'm just going to increase my weekly mileage by the missed mileage, and I'll keep my long run at the same length as last weeks long run.

Here's this weeks training plan:

Monday: 7 miles, pilates or yoga
Tuesday: 4 x 1200 (3/4 mile) at 10K pace, with 1/4 mile cool-down between each, 6 x 200 (1/8th mile) at 5K pace
Wednesday: 5 miles and strength
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Spinning or rest
Saturday: 12 miles
Sunday: 6 miles or spinning or elliptical

What do you do when you miss a run? Do you miss runs for rain or bad weather?

Half Marathon Training Plan

Boys.

You’ve got to love what that testosterone makes them do.



Every so often, during marathon training I would meet a boy and he would tell me that he could run a marathon. That’s not such a strange thing to say if you regularly run fifteen miles every weekend or are a professional soccer player.

But those boys...they just can't ever say something sensible and rational.



I’m not talking about runners. I mean your average boy. The ones who will paint their bare chests and stand in forty-degree temperatures for an entire football game.


I know of two boys, one who joined a sixteen mile long run despite never running double-digit mileage before, and another who ran the New York Marathon on a six-mile-a-day habit.

In case you haven’t noticed, I am not a boy and I like my knees, so when I decide to run a half-marathon, I have to train for it.

In the past, my half-marathon plans have involved running about 3.5-5 miles three-four times a week before work with one long run on the weekend. For the first half, the long runs started at six miles and maxed out at eleven miles. The second half-marathon topped out at fourteen, and for the third, I was training for the marathon and was at the sixteen mile long run point.



Now that I’ve got a few races under my belt, I’m ready for a challenge. I’ve adopted my plan from Runner's World. It’s a blend of their intermediate and advanced plans. I’ve made a significant number of changes to both schedules and I have added in cross-training and strength work.

Don’t get confused. I am NOT an advanced runner, but I have found that I can race a half-marathon much more successfully if I actually run slightly further than the race distance. I would not recommend that a new runner tries to run greater than the race distance without consulting a coach or trainer.

My general plan works like this:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Speed workout, typically a few longer distance sprints at race pace or 10K or 5k pace. There are no 100 meter dashes in this plan.
Wednesday: Spin and strength train or run easy for one hour.
Thursday: A tempo workout, usually a mid-level distance at race pace.
Friday: Spinning and strength
Saturday: Long run, starting at 7 miles and ramping up to 14 miles.
Sunday: Spin or mid-distance run, but if I’m in a lot of pain from Saturday or I just had too much fun on Saturday or I just want to spend all day shopping in Soho, then it’s a rest day. (I’m not trying to break any world records here.)

Here’s this week’s schedule:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 x 1 mile @ 10K pace, with 400 yds cool down between each mile
Wednesday: 5 miles easy or Spinning
Thursday: 6 miles, with some little uphill sprints and bursts
Friday: My very favorite spinning class!
Saturday: 12 miles (I'm already a few weeks into my training, hence the high weekend mileage)
Sunday: Spinning or 5 miles.

If you are looking for a beginner’s plan, here are the two I recommend. Hal Higdon’s and Running.About.com. I like the Running World’s beginner plan as well, but if you are new to running, speed work can be daunting. And completely unnecessary. No one I know, did any track work for their first half; however, if you ran cross country or track than maybe you would like the challenge.

Do you follow a cookie-cutter training plan or make your own?

NYC Half Marathons

Last year, I made a major mistake at the Brooklyn Half-Marathon: I forgot to sign-up. It gets worse too. I didn't realize it until the day before the race.

UH OH.

Wow, was I embarrassed.

Boy, was I majorly disappointed that I couldn't run thirteen point one miles in Brooklyn.

I even tried to buy a bib (illegally) on Craig's List. Turns out a lot of people want run half marathons in Brooklyn.

So I consoled myself with some red wine, macaroni and cheese and a cupcake. Hey, when life gives you lemons, make a big comfort meal of carbs and cheese and wash it down with vino.

Lesson learned. Check race registration confirmation. Check it again. Email the race organizers to double check.

Of course, there's always next year right? Nope. The 2011 Brooklyn Half Marathon is May 21st, which is five days after I get home from a ten day trip in Espana.

I guess there's always 2012.

But I still wanted to make sure that I got a New York half marathon in this spring. There are a lot of great half marathons across the country, like Chicago and Boston, but I didn't want the stress of travelling. The only stress I'm looking for is the stress that comes from running thirteen point one miles, fast.

I did some research and came up with a few halfs in the area. Here's what I considered. To even get in the running, the race had to be easily accessible from my apartment in the Upper East Side, so I limited it to races within the five boroughs only.

More Half Marathon: I ultimately nixed this one because it's two loops in Central Park, which is where I run daily. Plus Central Park is very hilly and not exactly good for PR's.

NYC Half Marathon: This race
is closed and the only way to get guaranteed entry is by raising over one thousand dollars for charity. It's a big ticket race and I seriously considered it, but the uncertainty of March weather in NY and the chore of raising money during my busy season at work ultimately deterred me.

13.1 New York: This is the one I decided to go with. The entrance fee is manageable - eighty-eight dollars. The course is pretty flat and it's not an out and back, but it's almost a loop course. But at least it's not a loop that I run weekly.

There are some good races right outside of New York City too, like the Unite Half Marathon and the Long Island Half, but these are outside of the city and would require hotels and cars, or else a huge commute the day of the race.

Unfortunately, if you are a looking for a race in the NYC area, all the races I mentioned are closed except for the 13.1 New York and the NYC Half if you are willing to raise money for charity. Even Brooklyn closed in a few days.

But the good news is that the NYRR will be hosting the Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, and Grete's Great Gallop later on in the year. So if you are looking for a NYC half, all is not lost.