Training for NYC Marathon

I've been accepted into the NYC Marathon by way of the 9 +1 entry. I ran 9 races in 2012 and volunteered for one. This will be the first marathon that I will train for without a Team In Training. I'm a little nervous, of course.

About 4 months ago I was knocked off my bike by a cargo van in midtown. The van did not stop after side swiping me into the curb, but thankfully I as not badly hurt. My leg, however, took a long time to feel better. I hit the street pretty hard that may have given me a hair-line fracture. I had planned to see a doctor, but it's expensive without insurance. So, I stopped running for a while, 8 weeks to be exacted. That's supposedly how long a hairline fracture should take to heal.

Now that my leg no longer hurts, I'm training for the marathon. I'm following the schedule from the NYRR website. It's a 16 week schedule with 5 days of running. I feel like I should change one of those days to a cross-training day as to not stress out my leg.

Today, I ran 6 miles for the first time in months. It was very hard but worth it. Afterword, Susan made tomato soup from scratch and I made grilled cheese sandwiches with Cheddar and Locetelli Romano.

5 mile Portugal Day race

Yesterday I ran the race in 58:12. I was pretty happy with my time. It was still about 4 minutes off from being a PR, but it was under an hour. I'm getting there.

New York Mini

Ran the "New York Mini" 10k this morning. Time was 1:19:08. not good, but better than last month. Eventually, I'll get back in PR range. In the meantime, the conversations going on at the back of the race are the best.

yay running again

After more than a year, I am back to running races. So far I have ran the Run for Parks and Run as One 4 milers. In a week I will run a 10k...a bit nervous about that one.

So what happened to the half-marathon I was training for back in September? After running 10 miles, forgetting to drink water or eat I somehow thought it was a perfectly fine idea to have blood tests done. I passed out, but was ok. The nurses told me to drink water and rest. So that was a hard lesson for me to learn about not rushing my training. Although distance running is 90% mental, the other 10% of fitness is still very important.

Great Gallop Half-Marathon

The Half-Marathon is on Oct 1. I haven't signed up yet...but I plan to.

Since my last race in December I've gotten fatter and weaker, but I've been working out. Last Sunday I decided to train for the Gallop if I could at least run 6 miles. Which I did, barely. So now Ive put myself on an exercise schedule. Hopefully in 2 and a half weeks I can run this race. I wont PR like I did last year, but my aim is to finish.

Wow 6 months...

It's been quite awhile since I've ran any races. That's going change soon. Although I missed the cap on the next Saturday's Pride Run, I think I might run it anyway. We will see.

I've gained 10 lbs since December and my new shoes are very tight. I've soaked them hoping to help break them in. I don't know it that's a normal thing, but last year I ran through a storm in new shoes and they felt great afterward.

See Christi Jog

NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K December 5, 2010. Time: 1:08:13
Last year, NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K December 6, 2009. Time: 1:08:09.

If I had known that 5 seconds separated me from a Personal Record I would have hustled through the side stitch and sick stomach.

I didn't expect much after battling shin splints for 6 weeks. If it wasn't already paid for I wouldn't have gone. So I made the race about getting out there and running again... and to prove that my shin splints were not a stress fracture. Surprisingly, my leg felt great from the start. And because I assumed I'd end up walking at some point, I didn't hold back on the first mile which included the Great Hill. The hardest part of Central Park. After that, I would very well PR if could keep a steady pace. Mile 2 good, mile 3 better. Then at mile four I threw up a little in my mouth. Yes. It was awful. It tasted like wine or apple.

The night before I went to Cynthea's Hanukkah party. Normally I don't drink before a race, but since I wasn't planning on trying I had a beer, two glasses of wine and a hard apple cider. This was over the course of 6 hours and with food. Lots of food. Laktas, cheeses, squash kugel, cookies, hummus, hmmm.

Anyway, at that point I felt like the time Rebecca and I ate Taco Bell then tried to run a mile around the middle school track. Rebecca threw up her chalupa. I really didn't want to throw up my bagel or what ever else might follow. Plus, according to my watch, if I ran mile 5 in under 10 minutes I would beat 1:05 which I thought was my best 10k time. The determine look you might see in my photo is me determined not to puke.

On the last quarter of mile 5 I caught a side stitch probably from holding my breathe. My watch said 1:06. Well, its still going to be a good time I thought. And tried to coast in at a non-vomiting pace. It was only after I looked at my time on the nyrr website that I found my 10k PR has never been 1:05, but maybe its good I aim for it. I don't know. There's always next time.

Narcissism :)

Have I ever denied it? These are a few of my favorite pics from the NYC Marathon.

NYC MARATHON 05:39:43

I came in 11 minutes slower than my Rome Marathon time last year. There is so much I want to write about...but I will have to do it later. In a nutshell, my shin splints loosen up (or whatever they do to not hurt while running). I ran the first half faster than the second (not good), there were lots of bridges. It felt like the hardest thing I've ever done and the most important day in my life so far. Oh yeah I think i cried just a little before crossing the finish line...from happiness. I didn't cry from the wall of unbelievable pain that came after, but I wanted to. Ok, that didn't sound brief, but will continue later about all the wonderful people who came out to cheer me on and Jose who even ran mile 23 with me.

Sunday Nov 7th. 10:40am...I start the NYC Marathon

If you want to stalk me via text/iphone my bib number is:

61932

Here is the TEXT sign up. Here is the iPHONE app. You will probably get your moneys worth as I plan to be out there for a very, very long time.

I picture the iphone app being a blinking dot crawling its way up the map for 5 1/2 hours. I hope it won't burn your screen. Meanwhile, the other runners are like magnetic shavings on a Fuzzy Face zipping along the path.

My shin splints are feeling better...at least I'm just going to believe that's the truth. My wonky math tells me that I might PR but my aim is to run a good race, finish strong and not injury myself.

Estimated times in Brooklyn- revised
click to enlarge

Estimated times in queens, manhattan, and bronx

One week left before the NYC MARATHON

This is my taper period where I basically run fewer miles, eat more food and don't get hit by a car. I have a shin-splint on my left leg. After the first few miles it seems to ago away until the run is over. It could be that my leg stretches out, loosens up or the pain overloads my nerves. Anyway, I'm icing it.

I hope you are excited to see this course. I tear up at 1st ave. which is the first time we cross into Manhattan.



oh yes and this... If you are in NYC I truly hope I can see your faces in the crowd. I hear its ok to jump in and run along. However, if you are not in the city and can't see it on tv, here is a stream that will air the race. I hope you will try to watch. If this stream gets over loaded Justin.tv might have a channel playing it.

nyrr on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

I'm in the ING NYC Marathon Nov. 7th

Huge thanks to everyone who helped me raise over $4,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I will be running with Team in Training- the LLS's team. We wear purple.

If anyone would like to cheer me on here is the course...My start time is probably 10:40 am but if I'm lucky could be 10:10. I'm guessing to run about 12:30 min miles.

Here is a map of the course:
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/documents/INGNYCM10_Course_Map_For_Media-4.pdf

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/

Most comfortable jogging suit ever

I PRed at the Grete Gallop Half-Marathon (13.1 mi) with a time of 2:31:22.

I drew this picture while waiting for my mp3 player to download more music. Yes, an opportunity to draw is reason enough for another self-portrait. This is my high school track sweats. The most comfortable running clothes ever. Of course I never ran more than 2 miles in them, but still. I often think of the Ark City track when I'm counting down the last miles. Especially the last 400 meters. That might be because my college didn't have sports, but even then I would have probably envisioned the one from back home.

Tomorrow is my last chance for a 17 mile run. I have to start my taper- which for me means just small runs but will have to run more often. I think I can do it. I've been having some trouble lately...mostly do to not sleeping right or eating. But I had a bowl of tortellini earlier. There is a bagel, a roll and 2 bananas waiting for me in the morning.

Norwegian Festival Grete's Great Gallop Half-Marathon in the morning

Norwegian Festival Grete's Great Gallop

Apparently this is the face of Norway and it looks nothing like me.

This reminds me of the time my soccer team played against a team of Norwegians. I was excited to meet them as I am a 4th and my last name carries the signature "SEN" in place of "SON" as Norwegian names do. I should have known they would all be tall, blond and blocking the ball.

Anyway I'm still awake. Of course. Nights before races are the hardest for sleeping.

Last weekend I ran 20 miles in little over 4 hours. So, the 13.1 miles I will run in the morning should be a cinch. I hope. I have plenty of running foods and an almost full charge on my mp3 player. If only amazon would let me buy "Burning Up '81". I don't know why I'm obsessed with the song but I am. oh If you don't know it here it is:


Well, I think I should get some sleep. Wish me luck.

just got up

It's a little after 5am and I just ate breakfast: bagel, banana and gatorade.

I wanted to write again because my last entry was so pissy. Although I don't mind complaining about life in general, the last thing I need before a big run is negative thoughts and vibes. I finally took a bonafide shower after days of hobo bathing, so I feel much better. I truly hate my bathtub. Plus, I bought an mp3 player even though I didn't have money for it. It better last forever. I'm hoping it can be my xmas present from mom.

The only thing truly bothering me is the fact that I could not sleep at all tonight. I napped some yesterday so I hope fatigue does not set in. I'm guessing that it should not set in until about 10am. By that time the race will be over. Ok lets do this. Wish me luck.

Nervous about the 18 mile run tomorrow.

I don't know what happened to me this week. I think my soul decided to go party without my body. Hope it had a great time. Meanwhile my body had been inside until Thursday night 10 pm when I forced myself to run 8 miles at the gym. I shoved my headphones into my phone and screwed up the jack causing the sound to short out. So running while listening to the music I didn't want to become dependent on became a delicate operation. I wish I could take a shower but my tub has pipe mud in it. I'm on my second cup of coffee today and I should eat something other than cereal.

Run across Brooklyn

Yesterday morning I skipped the team run. There was no way I could have ran 15 miles without sleep. I really really tried. To make up for it I planned to run from Columbus Circle to Coney Island (about 15mi). Not really a plan, more of the spur-of-the-moment idea because I slept through my previous plan of running CP 2 1/2 times then going to the Met. I left late so I started at City Hall instead.

The bridge was packed. I hated running down Flatbush Ave. I felt like everyone was starring at me. I'm sure I looked funny with a fuel belt, backpack, bottle of water in one hand and a phone in the other while moving at Turtle pace. "You don't know where I'm going and you don't know where I've been."

It was around that point that I had to break out the mp3s. It's not good have any negative thoughts while running long distance and I needed friends. By Prospect Park I was feeling better. I didn't dare to run through it. I'm sure it's a simple path but I am not familiar. After following the contour I made my way to Ocean Parkway. The same path as in the Brooklyn Half Marathon. Then it was mostly counting the alphabet avenues and others thrown in there until I hit Ave Z. then Neptune Ave! By the time I met the boardwalk the sun was setting and I was aiming for the silhouette of the Parachute Drop.

Squam Lake

Last week Bonnie invited me to vacation with her family in New Hampshire. We hiked, kayaked and swam. It was a lot of fun. I drank beer and ate ice cream every day. I got some miles in too. Mostly ran along the highway into and across a small town. On the other side there was a covered bridge that I used as my turnaround. It was about 5 miles total. My longest run was 8 miles around the Pond in Jamaica plain, Boston.

Bronx Half-Marathon 2:44:57

Meaghan and me


Me in lots of pain from my side stitch.
I forget how much weight I've gained until I see these photos.

Somewhere in Wonderland. I mean the Bronx.

To make it brief I will copy from my Dailymile page:
I got a little stitch somewhere before mile 5. It went away but came back with a vengeance at mile 7. Deep breaths, water and walking wouldn't make it go away. I'm looking forward to the next Half-M. still aiming to beat my PR of 2:35.

In case you aren't familiar, a stitch is a pain in the side (usually the right) that happens sometimes while running. I'm going to guess I was dehydrated and try not to think about that race anymore. Except that I will start off slower (I really did feel good for the first 4 miles...), drink lots of water everyday, even more a few days before a long run, and if I feel that terrible again I can do the run/walk technique I learned from a team member. Run 3 minutes, walk one minute cycles.

12 miles and little bit more

This is the map of Saturday's 12 mile run with TNT. Park Ave was closed off for an event called Summer Streets. Saturdays in August, Park Ave is closing car traffic for runners, walkers, cyclists, skaters. I like the word run-walker.

Practice started at 8am on 52nd street. Somehow the fear of being left far behind down Park Ave motivated me to come early. To run long distance at 8am I need wake up at 5am for breakfast...and then usually fall back to sleep a little longer. Still, with my nocturnal nature I will probably have 2 to 4 hours sleep.

I'm pretty sure my Rome Marathon was run 2 1/2 or 3 hours sleep. Mostly it was nerves. Terrified of sleeping in caused me to barely sleep at all. But the marathon turned out ok.

This 12 mile run turned out well too. By starting with the group, I realized that I'm not as slow as I thought. Although miles 9-11 were a struggle. I had a stitch for about half a mile then got a foot cramp, then another stitch. The cramp stared me more than the stitches. With very large breaths those will soon go away. With the cramp, I focused on the fact that my bag was still at 52nd street. I had to finish for my bag. Around 12, I was feeling pretty good again. Maybe not good enough to run an extra mile but still not bad. Oh yes, and I didn't have to use the bathroom. That is very important because it will add time to my race.