Epicurious Runner

Cherry Blossom Weekend

This weekend will be one for the books. It was a fantastic girls weekend that I am so glad I was a part of! Fair warning, I’m sure this will be a long recap, since it will be more than just the race.

Kim and I met up with Beth at 63rd and 3rd, so we could take the crosstown bus (my first time on a bus in NYC) over to the west side to meet up with Jen and Abby. We packed into Abby’s car and left for DC around 9am.

The backseat posse.

We arrived at our hotel a little after 1pm and immediately headed to the expo. It was a great space for the expo, unlike the NYC Half expo, which was a disaster. It was nice and open and it had a lot of great vendors.

Abby and I also spotted Nicole, who is part of the Oiselle Team. We saw her spike bag and thought she may be part of the team, so we approached her and we were indeed, correct. We chatted for a bit and grabbed a quick picture.

From the expo, we ventured to find beer and food. We found a place that looked decent, but honestly I have no idea what the name of it was. We all shared a plate of sub-par nachos and a few of us shared a pitcher of Fat Tire beer. And we also went to see the White House, which was fun because I’ve never seen it before.

We chilled at the hotel for a couple hours before eating dinner at this restaurant called, Zaytinya. It was a Mediterranean place that served small plates, so we all stuffed our faces with a variety of dishes that included falafel, mini jumbo crabcakes, brussell sprouts, roasted cauliflower, and endless baskets of the BEST PITA IN THE WORLD. Seriously, this stuff was amazing.

I have no idea how many of these I ate, but they smelled and tasted like the best bread I will ever eat. We went to bed with full stomachs and woke up around 6am to get ready for the race.

I was colder than I expected, so I ended up borrowing Abby’s Lux Layer, which was amazing! I don’t have this and was so happy to try it out since everyone raves about it. I have to buy one, for sure!

I dressed all in orange, including my nails!

We got to the start around 7:05, we took a few pictures and headed to our respective corrals. I was in the blue corral, but I think I was placed incorrectly because I found myself behind the  9:30 pace group. I was worried I was going to get stuck, especially since it was so crowded and I was planning on running 8:30s, not 9:30s!

NYC Half Marathon ’13

Hi!

I ran the NYC Half Marathon too! It just wasn’t a magical day for me, like it was for almost everyone else. Serious congrats to everyone who PR’ed and ran a fantastic race!

My life has been sort of crazy over the past few weeks. After settling back into a somewhat normal routine after the long weekend in New Hampshire, Derek got sick. Well, sick seems like the wrong word to use, but I did have to bring him to the emergency room last weekend, the night of the NYC Half. He’s been in crazy pain and although nothing internally is wrong, we (including doctors) are pretty sure he has either a very bad muscle strain, a pinched nerve, or a herniated disc. Nothing can be diagnosed until an MRI is done, but hello no insurance! Yeah, so, for now, pain killers are the way to go.

Anyway, back to the NYC Half. This race was never a big goal race, I was always planning on running it to see where I was at. I definitely wanted to race it and if a PR happened, then that’s amazing and if not, no big deal.

Em and I got to the start way too freaking early, but we were nervous about the trains and all the threats of the baggage and corrals closing down WICKED EARLY, so, we ended up freezing our asses off for more than an hour, what a wonderful way to start. I also ate my bagel and PB too early and was hungry again by the time the race actually started. FAIL.

FROZEN.

I did a 1 mile warmup with Adriana before the race began and then we jumped into our respective corrals at about 6:55. My whole body was frozen once we started. I had a throwaway sweatshirt on, that I got rid of after the first mile. I was starting to warm up and feel a bit better by mile 3, but the Central Park hills had barely even started at that point and I was just hoping to feel better the more I ran because I really wasn’t feeling as good as I was hoping to at that point.

Miles 4 – 6 were pretty brutal and full of so many damn hills, which you’d think I would be more used to by now. My legs felt so heavy and slow and I kept repeating to myself that my legs were as light as a feather. It didn’t work much, but I knew there was hope once we got out of park, it’s supposed to be all downhill from there, right? I took a Gu at mile 6, the one and only one I was planning on taking.

I found the crowds on 7th ave pretty weak! It also seemed so dark and dismal, I don’t know, maybe it was my sunglasses and my overall look on life that day, but Times Square wasn’t as amazing as I remember it being. Right before mile 7, I saw Beth and Abby and I knew they were coming up, so I wanted to look strong for them! Their smiles and cheers picked me up a bit, but I knew things were not looking great for the rest of the race.

Before mile 8 hit, I just felt so drained, so weak, I really didn’t understand what was going on. I felt like I was fighting the whole race, never once did I feel good and warmed up. They handed out Gu at mile 8 and clearly I needed something, so I took one of theirs and ate it immediately. My body was not feeling this run, I just wanted to be done so badly. At this point, I ate 2 packets of Gu in a matter of 2 1/2 miles, which is very unusual for me. I clearly needed the fuel, but it wasn’t enough to give me that extra bump I so badly needed for the rest of the race.

Miles 9-13.1; the West Side Highway was brutal. So freaking long and boring. I took it one mile at a time and was fighting as hard as I could to still finish with a decent time. I saw my friend, Kristin around the 12 mile mark and that gave me a boost of energy to get through the last mile. The tunnel at the end kind of freaked me out because of how weak I felt. It made me feel very claustrophobic and I was just focusing on getting the hell out of there. It last so long and I felt like I would get stuck if I didn’t hurry up and get out.

My body didn’t have much to give that day, but I seriously gave it everything I had. My watch told me I ran 13.45 miles, I’m really good at running the tangents.

Official Stats

Time: 1:55:19

Avg. Pace: 8:47

1. 8:48
2. 8:42
3. 8:22
4. 8:41
5. 8:44
6. 8:18
7. 8:28
8. 7:40 <– Wrong, through Times Sq.
9. 8:31
10. 8:54
11. 8:55
12. 8:12
13. 8:59

I’m happy with my time, for sure! It’s a solid pace for me, but I am really unhappy with how I felt during the race. Clearly, I didn’t prepare properly and my body just wasn’t up for racing that day.

The Eugene Half is my goal half for the season and I’m really looking forward to it!

I ate the most amazing brunch after, at a place called Corner Shop Cafe in the East Village. Go there.

  Eggs Benedict with Grits on top of a Bacon Waffle

Me, Em, and Adriana

Double Run Brunch Weekend

This weekend consisted of running and eating, and that’s about it. I ran the Al Gordon Classic 4 mile race in Prospect Park on Saturday, it was my friend, Megan’s very first race and she killed it out there. I’m so proud of her! She’s already signed up for a 10k in April

I woke up at 5:30 am on Saturday morning to run a 4 mile race, seems crazy, right? Well, traveling from Queens to Brooklyn is ridiculously tedious and it takes an hour train ride, but luckily we got there around 7:30 and had some time to check our bags, find Leticia and head into the corrals. I decided to to run this race sans Garmin, which I never do, so I figured why not try it out on a 4 mile race.

The race flew by! I pushed myself and missed a PR by 13 seconds. Oh well, it was a great race anyway and the best part was the delicious brunch we had after. It was a long, cold walk to Tom’s Restaurant in Brooklyn, but it was well worth it. The food was delicious and pretty damn cheap.

Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and beef sausage

It was fun catching up with Amy, Carla, Leticia, Jenny, and Rebecca!

The rest of Saturday consisted of a nap, buying a new wireless router, and going out with my good friend,s Nick and Em to try some new Empire beers at Sunswick to kick off NYC beer week.

Due to a later start, I got 9 1/2 glorious hours of sleep going into Sunday. I met up with Carla at the Williamsburg Bridge at 10:30 so we could run long together. We intentionally picked a hilly ass route and I was really feeling it at the end. I was pretty happy with it, even though there were some really low moments. I did 16 miles and averaged a 9:43 pace.

Carla peaced out after 10 miles and those last 6 miles were filled with doubt, my pace slowed down a bunch, but I pushed through as much as I could. I did not want to give up. I’m trying to work on running my long runs a tiny bit faster than normal, but also still having some energy left at the end for maybe a few MGP miles.

Brunch on Sunday was more like lunch, since I didn’t get back from my run until 1:45, but I met up with my friends Em, and Megan and we went to Queens Comfort. Unfortunately we had to wait like 45 minutes to get seated and my stomach was ready to eat itself before I even got there. It was torture.

I downed 2 cups of their strong, dark coffee and demolished this Thick Cut Brioche Custard French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar Butter, and Maple Syrup. It was perfect. Except for that big glob of excess butter that came with it.

It’s also time to retire my current pair of running shoes. I’m onto a new pair of the same brand and model; Mizuno Wave Rider 15s, but this time I got another yellow pair.

Nice and bright!

Since my husband works night shift, I’ve been cooking dinner for one and most nights I make some sort of egg scramble, they are so quick and easy. Last night’s included 3 eggs, brussels sprouts and mushrooms, and then it was topped with sriracha sauce and avocado.

Central Park 10 Mile Birthday Race

I had a fantastic birthday weekend! Saturday was filled with lounging and then heading out to a nice dinner with friends at Thymari over here in Astoria.

Derek and I went there a few weeks ago and loved it, so I figured it was a great choice for my birthday dinner. I got the Vegetarian Moussaka and it was amazing! I definitely made the right choice, it was tasty and full of delicious cheese. We also loaded up on appetizers and cocktails and I even had a ‘Marathon’ beer!

Sunday morning was the Central Park 10 miler put on by NYC Runs. I was so happy when they announced this race, since I was really hoping to be able to race on my birthday. I signed up immediately and was hoping to be in the same marathon shape come my birthday, but that didn’t happen. It’ s okay though, I figured I would use this race to see where I was at physically and mentally.

I met up with my friend Jeremy and his girlfriend Kat, before heading to the starting line, which was nice and empty (compared to NYRR races). My plan was to test out 8:45 min/miles, but I just couldn’t seem to get in that groove. I was either going way too fast or too slow. Even so, after about 3 or 4 miles, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to hang onto that pace for the whole race and it was about this time that I ran into Meggie! I caught up to her and ended up running the whole rest of the race with her. It definitely made the miles fly by, so thanks Meggie for keeping me distracted and running strong.

Erica Sara was out there taking pictures, so thanks to her for some of these great shots!

This was right before the finish, where a huge group of our friends starting singing happy birthday to me as I ran by! You guys are the best and really know how to make a girl feel special!

Finished in 1:31:54

Average pace of 9:11

After the race, a few of us went to brunch to stuff our faces and booze it up on bottomless drinks. I only had 2, but that was more than enough because I left very happy and ready to celebrate the rest of the day. Thanks to Leticia for organizing a fun birthday brunch, it was awesome!

Derek and I then headed to Target to pick up a few things with our gift cards we got for Christmas, including a new set of weights. Then we headed to our friends house to watch the Patriots game. Happy they won! I’m not a hardcore fan, but, Derek definitely is. The game led into the Golden Globes, so we stayed and watched those too, since we don’t have cable.

It was a nice and relaxing birthday! I usually go out and drink too much every birthday, and this year I just did not feel like doing that. I wanted to feel good and not wake up feeling like crap, I did enough binge drinking in December anyway.

And, like I said I would, I did my first set of Strength Training for the week tonight! I used the weights that I bought at Target and  I’m happy to say that they weren’t too heavy and they felt right. If you are looking for free weights, they are on sale at Target right now, it was great timing for me.

Did you do your first set of strength training for the week? I know I’m not the only one out there who would celebrate their birthday by running a race, which races have you done on your birthday?

Rehoboth Beach Marathon Recap

My husband works the night shift and didn’t get home until 8am Friday morning, so we opted to leave around 3pm Friday afternoon. We hit TONS of traffic, to say the least. It took us almost 2 hours just to get out of NYC. It was a rough start. We arrived in Rehoboth Beach around 8pm, Em and I got dropped off at the Dogfish Brewpub, so we could hurry up and eat some dinner before it got too late.

We both ordered pizzas and split some fries. I ALMOST ordered a beer, but I refrained! The boys (my husband and Em’s boyfriend) joined us about 20 minutes later after they checked into our B&B for us. We left around 9:45 and went to bed closer to 11.

Surprisingly I fell asleep pretty quickly, but around 3:15, I woke up sweating to death and could not get back to sleep. I just wanted it to be time to get up! I hopped in the shower around 4:50 and everyone was around and ready to go by 6:10. We met up with Adriana near the start, which was only a 5 minute walk from our B&B! We took some pictures, went to the bathroom, and I even got to see Jess! We hugged real quick and wished each other luck before we were off to the start.

The weather was weird. It was cool, maybe mid fifties, but the humidity was out of control at 95%! I wore my long rogas, my Oiselle singlet, arm warmers, and my NYC marathon bib on my back!

It was an incredibly laid back race. Nobody was even standing in line at the start until like 6:55, granted the race did start about 10 minutes late, but it was definitely a chill atmosphere and I liked it! I lined up with Adriana, while Em went toward the back a bit. Adriana and I talked to a few people next to us, we chatted about NYC and marathons in general. Then, finally, we were off!

Miles 1 – 6

1. 9:21

2. 9:11

3. 9:12

I immediately started off too fast, but reeled myself back in very quickly. I was focusing on starting my first few miles slower than MGP. It felt so good to run!!! Obviously, I felt the best in the very beginning. The first 3 miles were run through neighborhoods, and we ran by the ocean real quick around mile 4 and it was around here that I ran into Laura, and Theodora. I talked to them for a bit, before I decided to continue on, on my own. I LOVE running with people, but for races, I think I have to run by myself. It’s too much pressure to run a goal race with others. It was so nice to run into them though and to see so many familiar faces in general. There was a loop during these miles, so I even got to see Adriana, who was in in front of me run by, and Em, who was running the half. I waved, and we all looked happy!

4. 9:14

5. 9:08 (Took Gu)

6. 9:13

I was already warm at the end of mile 3, so I rolled down my arm warmers and was hoping to give them to my husband because he said he would be around mile 4. And, low and behold, I saw him shortly after leaving Laura and Theodora. I gave him my arm warmers and instantly felt relieved.

I believe it was right after mile 5, where we hit a trail that lasted for a few miles. It was a gravel trail with super fine rocks, but some areas had giant puddles surrounded with mud, and other parts were pretty rocky. I generally don’t like running on trails like this, it was similar to the bridle path in Central Park, but definitely rockier in places. It takes more energy to run the same pace, but it was at this point where I decided to start dropping my pace a little more.

Miles 7 – 12

7. 9:01

8. 9:12

9. 9:01

The trail ended around mile 8.5. Then we ran on a sidewalk through a housing development and it was here that the half marathoners turned around and headed back. There was a little more trail up ahead, before we were out on the road again. This is where the miles start to blur together. I remember realizing I was at mile 10 and thinking about how I was feeling. I felt okay in general, my body felt pretty good, but my breathing felt a little off. I wasn’t feeling the greatest, but I was doing alright. It was at mile 10 that I broke the rest of the race up into three – 5 mile chunks. Then I would be just about done.

10. 9:07

11. 9:05

12. 9:00

I took 3 margarita flavored Clif Shot Bloks at Mile 11. I had also been alternating water and gatorade at all of the aid stations. I’m pretty sure I had grabbed something at every one up to this point. We were running along a straight highway-ish type road here and right after mile 13, we entered Cape Henlopen State Park, where the only “hills” were. They were tiny hills that lasted like 10 seconds total. This course is actually a course that can be described as FLAT.

Miles 13 – 20

13. 9:06

14. 9:23

15. 8:56

16. 9:14

I got incredibly nauseous after mile 13. Like, I was probably going to puke. It hit me so suddenly and I wasn’t worried at first because I figured it would pass, I just had to focus on running through it. I looked at my watch at the halfway mark and it was right at 2 hours! I was right on track and was hoping to negative split the second half. One of the guys that I was talking to at the start came up behind me and said hello and let me know that I was right on track for my 4 hour time goal! This made me happy

I decided to not take my Gu at mile 15 because I was still feeling sick and the thought of eating it was making me feel even worse. I pushed it back a mile and planned on eating it at mile 16 instead. The miles in the park were probably my worst. My stomach felt terrible. I kept debating on whether or not I should just pull over and let it all out. This has never happened to me before. It was weird. It wasn’t GI issues, I just felt nauseous and it was not getting better.

I saw Adriana just after mile 14, she wasn’t too far ahead of me, which made me feel good because she is fast! And mile 15 was the only real downhill we got and even though it didn’t last long either, it felt really good to fly for a bit. I saw a guy start walking at the end of the hill and I felt bad for him. It was only mile 15 and he looked like he was already struggling.

I drank some water and burped a bit and that relieved some of my nausea, so I pulled out my Gu at mile 16 like planned, but I still couldn’t stomach it. I kept it in my hand, thinking I could take little squeezes of it here and there.

17. 9:24

18. 9:36

19. 9:48

20.10:12

We left the park after mile 17 and we had now begun the journey back! It was a relief at this point to be on our way back towards the finish! I was sticking to water here in hopes that it would help me burp (sorry that’s gross), but it was the only thing that I thought would potentially help my stomach. I hadn’t eaten any of my Gu, I was still holding in my hand, I passed a girl on the side of the road, who was puking and I also kept seeing gross things on the ground and they were not helping my situation. Blech.

I was really hoping to see Derek, Nick, and Em sometime soon, but I knew it wasn’t going to be until somewhere in the 20′s. When mile 20 hit, I was 5 minutes passed my goal time and I hit my first 10:xx minute mile. I got a little sad, but I wasn’t giving up! I knew my sub 4 was out the window, but I was still determined to finish this thing as fast as I possibly could.

Miles 21 – 26.2

21. 9:56

22. 10:26

23. 10:27

Ugh, the stupid f*@#ing trail again! I just kept thinking, “okay, get through this trail and you will be done! Just do it, just go!” I remembered that there was a break in the trail with water, and gatorade, but more importantly a road that intersected and I was hoping that all my friends were there waiting because I really needed them at that point, I was really starting to struggle physically. I was counting down the miles and I kept telling myself to hold my pace, which was around 10:30 and I was okay with that. I was still carrying that Gu and I still could not eat it.

So, 23 miles into the race and I had only eaten 200 calories worth of fuel. Not good. I mean I also drank a bunch of gatorade, but even with that, I still did not have enough in me. I saw the break in the trail up ahead and I saw Bongo cheering in the air!!! I smiled and tried to look strong as I passed Derek, Nick, and Em! I heard Derek yell “only 3 and change left, you’ve got this!” He was right! I only had like 3 miles left, I could fight through this, I will finish this thing.

24. 10:30

25. 10:19

26. 10:34

.36: 3:21 (9:19 pace)

Still running on the trail and getting angry that it existed. So many rocks, puddles, and extra energy to exert. I realized here that I had been running the whole entire race, I didn’t stop to walk at all and I didn’t even think about walking! That made me really happy. I couldn’t believe that I had been running the whole way and the thought of walking never even popped into my head. I knew I was going to finish the whole race without walking a single step. That lifted my spirits a lot!

I don’t feel like I ever hit the wall. Yes, my pace slowed dramatically, but I was still running and I feel pretty positive that my energy dropped because I did not eat enough. I never felt truly awful, my stomach did, but my legs and my mind felt pretty damn strong towards the end. I also found myself passing several people in the last few miles. Even though I was struggling, I was still running and it felt pretty great to pass others even if I was running slowly.

Mile 25 hit and hallelujah, we were back on the pavement! 1.2 miles to go!!! It’s time to give it every single thing I have left. I threw my Gu away (finally), it was still full, but at this point I knew I wasn’t going to be eating it. I pushed and pushed and eventually I saw the mile 26 sign and apparently it was time to get angry and finish this freaking race.

I looked at my watch and was bummed that I wasn’t even going to come in under 4:10, so I gave it one last kick to make sure I didn’t go over 4:11. I booked it across the finish line and there were 3 timing mats so I just ran across all 3 and there was a lady standing at the 3rd one handing out medals, so I literally blew past her and grabbed my medal along the way. I hobbled over to the side and sat my ass down immediately.

I was so overwhelmed! I heard someone say my name and I looked up to see Jess! She asked how I did and I said, “well, I didn’t meet my goal, but I have a huge PR and I’m happy”, or something along those lines. I asked her how she did and she said it didn’t go so well. She was experiences side stitches the whole race and just couldn’t shake them. Turns out she was friends with a guy I had been running the last mile with, who sat down right next to me after we finished.

Jess and I chatted for a bit and then Derek found me and gave me a huge hug and congratulated me! Then Adriana, Nick, and Em wandered over as well, we all hugged and talked about our races. Em PR’ed the half by 1 1/2 minutes, after running only her first half marathon 3 weeks ago! Adriana also PR’ed and ran a 3:52!

We took a bunch of pictures and then I wandered into the food tent to find some beer. I only drank 3/4 of it before I handed it off for Derek to finish because I was starting to feel slighly drunk, I definitely needed to eat some food!

This is long, so I will definitely make a separate post about all the delicious food and beer we drank at the Dogfish Brewpub. But, overall I am so happy! Yes, I was and am a little disappointed that I didn’t come closer to my goal, but that’s the funny thing about marathons; shit happens. I experienced weird nausea that has never happened before and I still have no idea where it came from, but I dealt with it to the best of my ability and I am proud of how well I did. I am psyched that I didn’t walk once and my overall pace makes me really excited! Instead of thinking of my time as 4:11, it sounds better when I say I averaged a 9:35 pace for over 26 miles. I think that’s pretty badass.

I’ve come so far this year and I’m so happy with my progress! My body feels surprisingly good today and I am already looking forward to running again. I seriously cannot wait for the Vermont Marathon in May.

Official time: 4:11:09

Average Pace: 9:35

1st Half: 1:59:30

2nd Half: 2:11:40

23 MINUTE PR!!!

And just some fun facts for the record; this course is literally flat, you can believe this one when they say it’s flat and fast. There also aren’t very many spectators and you will find yourself running alone sometimes. I didn’t mind this, I can run really well by myself so it didn’t really bother me. Even when there were spectators, they weren’t really cheering, so it was kind of weird. It didn’t matter though, this usually isn’t a huge factor for me.

Also, if you find yourself traveling from NYC to Rehoboth Beach, DE, keep in mind that it will cost a total of $58 in tolls! Seriously, it was $29 each way in toll fares, just a little ridiculous.

One more thing. THANK YOU!!!! I got an unbelievable amount of support via facebook, twitter, email, and in real life and thank you guys so much, I thought about you all along the way.

I also have the best husband in the world, he is my biggest fan and number one supporter. He dealt with my crazies and happily drove me all over the place so I could get my marathon in this weekend! And, thanks to Nick for being an amazing photographer all weekend, I told him he has to come to all of my races from now on!

Also, a HUGE AND SPECIAL THANKS to my wonderful coach, Michele! She is a the number one reason I have gotten faster and stronger and I definitely could not have done this without her. I hope she is up for coaching me through another round of training in the Spring

Thoughts From a First Time Half Marathoner

Philadelphia Half Marathon Recap

We left for Philly a little later than planned on Saturday, but luckily we went down in a car with a couple friends and arrived only 2 hours later. We checked into our Holiday Inn and then walked to the expo.

The runners.

We walked around the expo for a bit, I checked out the Yurbuds booth to see if I actually liked them and to figure out my size. Possible christmas present!

I was really hungry, so we went in search of food after we left the expo. We ended up at a place called National Mechanics and I ate one of the best veggie burgers ever! It probably wasn’t the best choice for a pre-race meal because it was literally just a bunch of shredded vegetables (not a typical veggie burger) formed into a patty. I forgot to take a picture, but it was damn good and I recommend it if you find yourself there. Also, great beer selection, even though I didn’t drink anything that night.

I eventually got to bed around 10 and I had plans to wake up and run a few miles before the race, since I’m still marathon training and all. I think I was more nervous about this pre-run than the actual race. I slept terribly. Woke up at 4:30, headed out for 3 slow miles through the dark streets of Philly. It turned out to be a really nice run! It was quiet, and kind of pretty along the sidewalks. I also laughed when I saw several cars towed, because my time there wouldn’t be complete without that. I did work on Parking Wars after all.

It was also a good test run to help me decide whether I should wear pants or shorts. It was definitely shorts weather! I returned to my hotel room around 5:20, changed my clothes, slapped on a Oiselle tattoo and we all headed out around 6 to walk the 1.5 miles to the start. By the time we went to the bathrooms and actually got to the corrals, it was like 6:50 and we were scrambling to find our correct corral. I was assigned to the Grey corral and I just could not find it! I felt so rushed, everything seemed unorganized and crazy, so I just decided to stand in the black corral, the only one I could actually get into.

All of a sudden we were moving up and I realized that the Black Corral was basically the 2nd corral of the race and I was about to start. I saw a few people get kicked out because they didn’t have a black bib, so I got worried that I was going to get in trouble. I managed to slip by and started the race way before thousands of others. I was in the corral with the 3:15 marathon pace group…oops! I felt guilty for about a half a mile, but then I got over it and was so happy to be running. I saw Beth within the first mile! She yelled my name, I waved and continued on with a huge smile on my face.

I found myself hitting my pace exactly for the first 2 miles, which was down the same street I ran my earlier 3 miles on. It was kind of a blur, but I was just happy to be feeling good and so happy to be surrounded by so many cheering fans out along the course. I had trouble slowing down on the 3rd mile! I was just feeling too good and wanted to go with it. Although I looked at my watch a thousand times within the first 3 miles, I was focusing on how I felt physically and if I could keep up the pace or not.

Mile 1: 8:45

Mile 2: 8:44

Mile 3: 8:21

At this point, I started counting down to mile 6 when I would see Derek and my friends! My splits were consistent and I was still feeling pretty strong. There were no major hills up to this point, the course was pretty flat with a few downhills as well. When I came upon mile 6, I started scanning the crowds on the right side, looking for my super tall friends, Dave and Jamie. I did end up seeing them first and started waving my hand so they would see me. It went by so fast, but I saw everyone, they cheered and waved and that left me smiling for next few miles. I also saw Ashley around this point! I had no idea she was even in Philly! I heard my name and looked around and saw her cheering in the crowd. I waved and was so caught off guard, I don’t remember what I said to her.

Mile 4: 8:31

Mile 5: 8:30 (Took Gu)

Mile 6: 8:31

I hit the 6.5 mile mark on my watch and remember thinking, okay this is the halfway mark, how do you feel? “Strong and good”. In my head, I broke the remaining miles into two 3 mile segments. I couldn’t stop worrying about if I was going too fast or not. I did not want to burn out at mile 10 and have the last 3 miles be a disaster, that’s the worst feeling in the world. I was running way faster than I had predicted, but apparently my body didn’t want to slow down. Just going with the flow…

Mile 7: 8:20

Mile 8: 8:44

I kept telling myself that I needed to get through mile 10 and I would be set! The big hill is at mile 9, so I knew if I got through that, the rest would be a piece of cake. There were several smaller hills leading up to the steep hill at mile 9. I kept wondering whether or not I had already passed the hill and maybe it just wasn’t that bad? But, no, I definitely encountered it right where I thought it was going to be. It was steep and long, but similar to Harlem Hill if you run in Central Park. I stayed focused and kept chugging through and before I knew it, I was over the hill and I was coasting down a nice downhill once again. 3 miles left!

Mile 9: 8:19

Mile 10: 8:41 (Took Gu)

They were handing out Clif Shots at mile 10, I decided at the last minute to grab one and eat it. It was so cold and hard, I had a hard time eating it. I was glad I decided on it though. By mile 11, I was shocked at how fast the race had gone by, I couldn’t believe I was already at mile 11! Halfway into this mile, I started to struggle a bit. I started continuously talking to myself, trying anything to help get me through it. I looked at my watch at least 100 times in the last mile, hoping at least a quarter mile had gone by since the last time I looked, but obviously no such luck. There was a little bitch of a hill right at the end. I probably swore out loud as I trampled up it, magically keeping my pace. Once I crested the hill, I was starting to hurt, but the finish line was in sight! I hope there are pictures of me at this time, because I probably look terrible. My head was up, my mouth open and I was giving it everything I had. Those pictures will be hilarious.

Mile 11: 8:16

Mile 12: 8:27

Mile 13: 8:31

Mile .27: 2:02 (7:36 pace)

I threw my arms up at the finish line and finished with a 1:52 on my watch!!! Whaaaaat???? I was am so freaking happy! I crushed my goal of 1:55 and to say the least, I was crazy emotional after I finished.

Official Time: 1:52:41

Average Pace: 8:36!!!

***Edited to add: This is a PR by almost 5 whole minutes!!!

Must’ve been the Oiselle gear! I am so happy and proud of myself. I am SO READY to smash my marathon in 3 weeks!

Jeremy and Em did fantastic too!!! This was Em’s first half marathon and I am so proud of her! She may or may not be writing us a guest post for the blog soon

This was one of the best races I’ve ever run! I loved the course, it was perfect weather, and I got to spend 3 days with some amazing people. I already want to come back next year and run again. This was my first visit to Philly and I did not get enough, so a return trip will definitely be in order. I got my cheesesteak, but I missed out on visiting the Rocky stairs.

The rest of the day/night was spent eating and drinking my face off. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of their support and encouragement through Twitter and Facebook! Also thanks to my amazing husband!!! He’s a professional race husband by now and always knows all the right things to do and say. He is my biggest fan and supporter and I love him for that!

GO FAST. TAKE CHANCES.

Staten Island Half Marathon Recap

I had decided a few weeks ago that I actually wanted to race this race. Racing it basically meant another attempt at PR-ing and seeing as how I am in the midst of marathon training, I thought I would actually have a shot. 13 miles is nothing compared to 20!

I’ve been trying to break my stupid PR that I have from over 2 years ago and after 2 failed attempts earlier in the year, I felt even more determined going into this race.

I heard horror stories about the ferry ride over and how crowded it was, so I decided to take the earliest ferry at 6:30 am. I attempted sleep at 9:30 the night before, but I don’t think I fell asleep until close to 11. I woke up at 4:30 and after 2 subway trips, I arrived at the station at around 6:15, I quickly found Jenny and we took the ferry over together!

We of course, had to take the obligatory shot of the Statue of Liberty. Since we were on the 6:30 ferry, we were of course SUPER early and had over an hour to spare. We chatted, discussed goals, went to the bathroom a few times and then decided to shed our warm clothes and drop our bags around 8:00. It was chilly out, but I was so glad it wasn’t raining (aka perfect running weather)!

We also caught up with Adriana at this point, who is my racing buddy and we all headed over to the corrals together. I wished Jenny luck on her first half marathon and talked with Adriana a bit more before she headed up to her speedier corral.

While I was freezing my butt off, someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was cold. I turned around to see Jen! We talked about marathon training for a bit and then wished each other luck. About 5 minutes later the race started!

I cannot remember this race mile by mile, it was a mixture of nice scenery and ugly industrial buildings, but I honestly didn’t even mind because I wasn’t paying much attention to what was around me (unfortunately). I was so focused on my pace and how I felt, it was tough to think about anything else. I did however notice the Verrazano bridge! There were definitely some nice views of the water and the bridge! I tried to soak it all in and was definitely thinking about how I was going to be running over that exact bridge in only 4 weeks!

I tried to start out slow, my first mile was 9:02, which was a little faster than what I was aiming for, but I made sure not to push too hard and to pay super close attention to how my body felt. I couldn’t stop thinking about the halfs I ran in the beginning of the year and how I would feel great and had a solid steady pace, but would burn out at mile 8 or 9 and ruin the rest of the race. I was so scared of that happening.

I had a conversation with myself the whole entire time. This thing was 90% mental for me. My pace was great, my body was feeling pretty good, but I started to get a little tired around mile 7 and I forced myself not to freak out. It was around this point that I shut off my music because I was hoping to see my coach on the course! Unfortunately she couldn’t make it out, so I didn’t end up seeing her, but it was still a good distraction because by the time I had given up looking, I was almost at mile 9 and there was a giant mountain in front of me to climb!

Holy hill at mile 8.5 – 9! This thing wasn’t that steep, but man it felt loooooong! It felt worse than anything in Central Park and it was at this point that I told myself, “I will not let this ruin me, I will not let this ruin my race!” Thankfully there was some relief between miles 9 and 12, there were a lot of good little downhills and I started to feel really good again. At mile 11, I knew I had this! I came up to the 12 mile marker and was so happy to have only a little over a mile left.

That one mile? Ugh, it was pretty dang hilly. I REALLY had to push myself through that last mile! I was struggling to keep my pace up and to just keep going. My body wanted to give up, but my mind would not let it! Again, I wasn’t going to lose this thing in the last mile. Thankfully the finish was a small downhill and I totally took advantage of it and sprinted my heart out across the finish line.

I finished and was immediately overwhelmed! I had snot coming out of my nose, I got insanely emotional for some reason, and I just couldn’t pull myself together! I was a total mess, but I freaking did it!!! I PR-ed and I was so happy! GIVE ME MY MEDAL

I PR-ed by 1 min and 10 seconds and that is after I did that freaking trail race of insanity last weekend! My body was definitely not recovered and I was not running on fresh legs, so I am pumped to smash this record again when my body is a little more rested and prepared to race. I may not run that fast right, but I’m working on it! I have a strong desire to get faster and faster and I just hope to keep chipping away at it.

Official results: 1:57:21

Average Pace: 8:57

Splits:

1. 9:02
2. 8:44
3. 8:44
4. 8:53
5. 8:54
6. 8:40
7. 8:57
8. 8:52
9. 9:13
10. 8:54
11. 8:36
12. 8:50
13. 9:01

I said to myself before the race began that I probably wouldn’t run this race again since it’s such a pain to get to, but I actually ended up loving the course! It may be because it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it! It had the perfect amount of uphills, downhills, and flat lands to run on. Maybe I will actually be back next year! Thanks for the warm welcome Staten Island!

The Vermont 50 Relay aka #VTcheeseparty (Part 2)

So we left off when my car battery died. We stupidly left the car ‘on’ so that we could keep warm, but technically the car wasn’t started, so we ended up draining the battery in order to keep our butts warm. I wasn’t too stressed, I mean we were surrounded by hundreds of people and cars, so I knew someone would be able to help us rather quickly. It was time for me to head over to the exchange and I (guiltily) left Derek to take care of the car issue.

Lucky enough, within 15 minutes, he not only found someone to help out, but he jump started the car, left it running and was able to come talk to me for a few minutes before Lauren came in.

Emily and I easily spotted Lauren sporting our Team Watermelon colors and the first thing Lauren said was “oh my gosh, be careful”. She looked overwhelmed and happy to be done, I definitely took her advice and immediately put my head in the game and took off into the woods.

Miles 1 – 5

I started off running at a pretty decent 10 min/mi. pace, but almost right away there was a giant mountain hill to climb, so I stopped and walked, which seemed the thing to do. I didn’t see anyone run or even bike up the hill! I remembered in a pre-race email I received that it was highly recommended to walk up the hills, but while I was reading it, I kind of brushed it off thinking these emails were mostly meant for the hardcore 50 milers, but here I was walking up the first mega hill.

By mile 2, I felt tired! I couldn’t believe how winded I felt and how many hills I had already hiked up. I was starting to wonder how I was going to make it through 19 freaking miles! I absolutely could not believe the people around me were at mile 35 of this, who were these people?!

After the realization of how hard this race was going to be, I knew it was time to step up my mental game, after all, I had to finish this thing, I couldn’t just stop or else I would just be stuck in the woods. I guess you could say that was my motivation. I ran whenever I could and walked up the giant hills. At this point, the mud wasn’t too bad, but I did have a couple close calls where I grabbed onto trees to make sure I didn’t fall. At about 60 minutes in, I had only covered 4.5 miles! What?

I started calculating just how long this thing was going to take me and was hoping there would at least be some relief later on in the course. The first 5 miles were filled with single track trails of death. Okay, that’s dramatic, but I felt so trapped, like I couldn’t run free and it was sort of driving me crazy. I was dying for some open space!

Miles 6 – 15

Running on single track trails means you have to be super aware of your surroundings. You have to pay attention to your footing, what’s ahead of you, what’s behind you and all while trying to run down this super narrow and twisty trail. I was always listening to who was was coming up behind me because if it was a bike, I stepped to the side, or rather in the bushes, to let them pass. If it was another runner, I would gauge to see whether or not they wanted to pass. There was a lot of leapfrogging with the runners and bikers especially since it was so up and down.

At mile 7, I got the relief I had been waiting for! A wide open dirt road!!! Yes! I ran a glorious 9:21 minute mile and loved every second of it. After that it was back to 13+ minute miles.

Once I reached mile 10, I celebrated that I only had single digits left! If I had made it this far, I can make it all the way. One mile at a time…

At mile 12, I was starving! I brought 3 packets of Gu with me, but I had already eaten all of them! I couldn’t wait until the next aid station, I was going to stuff my face!

Picture above was taken around mile 15 and I’m clearly walking, but I love that you can still see a smirk on my face. Probably laughing about how ridiculous this whole thing was. There was an aid station at mile 15, I stopped, drank a bunch of mountain dew because it tasted amazing, ate half a banana, a bunch of pretzels, and possibly a few other things. I also refilled my water bottle and after that I felt pretty refreshed. Less than 4 miles to go!

Miles 16 – the FINISH

The mud at this point was ridiculous! It had been raining almost the entire time I was out there, and the hills weren’t the only thing stopping me from running. I had to walk at times because the mud was so deep and slippery, I definitely would’ve fallen if I tried to run through it. I thought I was going to slide down the hills at certain points. By the end, my pace and time really did not matter. I was just trying to get through this thing. I was tired, my body was incredibly sore and I just kept thinking that I am so glad the marathon I’m training for is not a trail race.

Around mile 16 or 17, I saw a sign on a tree…”Can you taste the beer?” I literally said “fuck” out loud and laughed! Seriously, that was just what I needed to keep me going, the little push to keep me going those last couple miles.

DONE! I just finished the hardest race of my life! I felt so happy to see everyone there waiting for me; Lauren, Emily, Derek (my husband and our amazing driver), and Evan! God, it was such a good feeling to be done! My mind and body was shot and all I wanted was a beer.

Celebrating!!!! And hey, we placed 3rd out of 7 female relay teams! Pretty cool

Overall Thoughts

If you couldn’t tell, this race was intense. This race doesn’t make me want to stop road racing and become a trail runner, but it sure as hell gives me a ton of respect for all for all of those crazies running the full 50 out there! Although I was miserable at a few points during the race, I definitely do not regret running this. It was an amazing experience and I would love to do another trail race or two in the future. Not sure if I will see the Vermont 50 again next year though

The team celebrated and recovered by going to Harpoon brewery, which was conveniently close by. I drank a beer, ate some greasy food and we all had a great time just hanging out! This was another fantastic weekend full of great memories and friends! And don’t worry, Derek and I stocked up on more Grafton cheese and beer before we headed back to NYC.

I just wanted to give a huge shout out to Derek! He was our driver for the day weekend and he not only had to wake up at 4am on Sunday, but he dealt with 3 crazy girls and did it all with a smile. Thank you!!! I love you and owe you big time

I finished my 18.8 miles in about 4 hours. My fastest mile was 9:21 and my slowest was around 17:xx. It took us a little over 9 hours to complete the whole 50 miles. To say I was sore the next day is an understatement.

The Vermont 50 Relay aka #VTcheeseparty (Part 1)

The #VTcheeseparty weekend started bright and early Saturday morning. Derek and I woke up at 5:30, took showers, packed, and were out the door by 7:30. We were expecting a 4 1/2 hour drive, but after we plugged the address into our GPS, it calculated out to only be 3 1/2! Sweet.

The drive up was beautiful and easy! No traffic, lots of pretty trees, and I drove, while Derek slept. We arrived around 11 to Lauren and her adorable, but crazy dog, Koli. We were hungry, so we literally went across the street to Mack’s Place Eatery, a cute little sandwich shop that was full of kitschy knick knacks and super friendly people. It’s a small town where everyone knows everyone. I ordered the Veggie sandwich with Grafton cheddar and it was messy and delicious.

After this, we headed into the Grafton Cheese store, which was connected to the sandwich shop and ate a million samples, but we also bought a block of 3 year aged cheddar and a few bottles of beer. Mmm, #VTcheeseparty had officially started!

We eventually made the 40 minute drive to the race start to pick up our bibs for the next day. After some confusion and poor math skills, we got our bibs, our t-shirts and figured out that leg 2 and 3 were about the same length.

Leg 1: 12.3 Miles (Emily)

Leg 2: 18.9 miles (Lauren)

Leg 3: 18.8 miles (Me)

Back at the house, we hung with Lauren, her husband, Lauren’s sister, and the dogs for a while. It seems our husbands have a lot of things in common and I think they are new best friends, haha. We went out for some pizza, drank some beer, and then headed back home to watch a scary movie before our early bed time.

Best sign ever, right?

Derek, Lauren, and I woke up at 4am on Sunday, so that we could be at this “mandatory” pre-race meeting at 5:15 to check in. We arrived in the dark and felt a little out of place (or at least I did), but we found Emily who was surviving on zero sleep and broke out the NYC bagels that I brought and started stuffing our faces.

It was becoming a bit wet and cold at this point, but we had about 3 hours to kill before the next exchange. Emily changed out of her sweaty clothes, we went to the General store, bought some food and then headed to the final exchange.

We ended up getting a prime viewing spot of the runners and bikers who were coming in. I couldn’t believe these 2 guys on the tandem bike! I thought it was funny at the time, but after running my leg and understanding the conditions out there, I am impressed that they were able to do that! Insane.

I was struggling with how much food to eat. I felt like I had eaten a lot, but still felt kind of hungry. I ate a bagel with peanut butter in the morning, then 2-3 hours before my leg, I ate a granola bar, a banana, and snacked on some beef jerky. I was also drinking Nuun and Gatorade to keep me hydrated, which also meant I went to the bathroom like 4 times.

Right before I decided to head over to the exchange point to wait for Lauren, my car battery died!

Next up: Part 2 (Don’t worry, it’s only 2 parts!)