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.

Running Through Tornado Warnings

Friday night I went for a 3 mile run in central park. I started at 110th, down the west side, around the reservoir and back up the east side. It was sunny and close to 8pm. At the turn, dark clouds began to roll in from New Jersey. Within a few minutes a sepia shade washed over everything like something from the dust bowl era . Schools of leaves were blowing loopty-loops just like a movie...

Then the rain hit hard. Still about a mile and a half from home. Cyclists were racing to get out of there. A few other runners still headed down town. I was just trying to maintain an 11 min mile and watch for falling trees. By the time I made it to 110th Street the lighting and thunder were in sync. One crashed right over my head. So I dashed into the subway instead of the deli which only 30 more feet. Down stairs at least 20 more people were waiting out the storm. Most of them were still dry. Now soaked and freezing I crossed my arms over my chest. A man pointed at my new shoes and said something in Spanish. I assume he told me they were ruined or soggy. I'm not sure. The tunnel became more packed as exiting riders decided to stay and more wet people came to hide. But in about ten minutes the storm let up and everyone was free to go their way again.

I didn't know the city was even under a tornado watch let alone a warning until the next day. If this video is ever deleted. It's the news being quite excited about the storm.

Front Runner's Gay Pride Run

So I just ran the NYC Pride Run. My time was 58:38. I've ran 5 miles in a faster time, but it has been awhile. I will get by my speed...or what I had of speed soon.

Training in the summer is a little harder for me than training in the winter. I'm just not used to the heat. It's good for me to experience this. Cynthea was little worried about me passing out from dehydration. I forgot that I had a history of fainting. The heat along with trying to keep hydrated was hard on me but I will wear a more breathable shirt next time and much more water in day leading up to the next race.

Oh, thank you to everyone who has donated to the LLS so far. Because of you I've have reached my re-commitment of goal of 2,000. Still another 1,800 to go. Yay!

Also, because of this I have to finish my next two Borough Backgrounds. Soon. Very soon. I just got cs3 so I can make art work again:)

Getting closer to making the entry mark

$200 away from making the entry mark to run in the ING NYC Marathon Yay! But have to keep it going. my goal is $3,800.

So far I have my "planning new animations" thing based on how many donations I can raise. But maybe it isn't enough? Any suggestions? Pretty much that's all I can think of... Animating stuff...drawing stuff. I've been practicing my sax again. Anyone know a drummer?

Ok BROOKLYNITES, do you want me to animate a pan of Brooklyn :) Yes? I hope so.

the link: seechristirun.com