Sicky Hicky

oh yes, so- those windy March days finally gave way to some calmer, warmer weather!

YAY!

Somehow, that warmth nurtured a destructive alien organism that decided to take up residence in my throat!

 BOO!


This thing literally came out of nowhere. I was sitting in a Very Important Meeting on Friday morning when I realized that my throat really Hurt. Like pins and needles stabbing. Great. It is bad enough I am in a roomful of strangers in a formal meeting in a Very Fancy place with a Very Great View and I am starting to feel like complete and utter crap.

(the Very Great View was Very Distracting too)

 

I went back to my office in the afternoon after the marathon Very Important Meeting was over (really guys - can we put a cap on it, like say 3 or 4 hours at a time?) and was feeling very strange- my head was swimming, I had zero patience, and I was slightly feverish I think. I went home and drank tea, took echinacea, gargled, blah blah blah....Saturday went to the doctor to make sure it wasn’t strep ( it wasn't) and took the kid with me who had similar symptoms to make sure he didn’t have strep (he didn't) but all this had me miss my Saturday run.


Sunday I had 10 miles on tap and hill repeats in Central Park. I felt good but was hoarse- sexy hoarse I'd like to think. I had a great time doing the workout, it was a relief to run and to breathe through my nose oh, and those small things we take for granted! The NYC Half was that very same morning and it started in Central Park. You would never know that there were over 10,000 runners going through the park when I got there at 10 am, they were already removing the porta-potties and the grounds were immaculate. As this was a group run and I volunteered to take the back, my pace was very slow but I got in my 10 miles and had a great time running up and down Harlem and Cat hills!

 I realized during this exercise that I will be ready for the half! I will not have a fast finish but its my first so anything I do will be a PR, correct?

 We finished up and headed back home- I opted out of brunch to come back home and have a hot shower and relax. Wow. After that shower, my temperature skyrocketed! I napped and got the temp down, and my voice has gone from sexy hoarse to dead horse!

So that was fun. I am also looking at my plan and wondering how I am gonna get my mileage in during the week---yikes!

 Total Mileage this week: 16

The Ides of March....

are here, and not yet gone! This past week's training has been of the March coming in like a Lion King variety - windy ass runs. Runs that are really more of a strength training session. Runs where you cannot tell if you are breathing, because the wind is snatching your breath away so fast. Runs where you feel as if you are not moving even though your little legs are just pumping away. Yeah, those kind of runs.

Also a moody week as I feel SO fat and SO slow despite everything. Well, ok I haven't been eating perfectly and when is the last time I have weight trained or been in the pool- OK so I am fat and slow for a reason. But I don't absolutely dread going our for a run like I dread putting on a suit and worrying about how many bodies will be in a lane of water.






I put in a pretty good long run on Sunday and tried testing out my fully filled fuel belt with honey water. It worked well - almost too well, as I believe I put too much honey in one of my bottles, it was TOO good! and with the wind at my back for the return 5 miles I had negative splits all the way back so haHA!






I have a running buddy that I meet once a week at 6 am- I know for the rest of the running world that is late. Yo, for me getting up at 5 something to get to the track on time (which I do about 70% of the time) is HUGE. Anyway, we put in pretty good time on the track and each week I manage to do killer(for me) times on our runs with negative splits for each mile. I always feel like I could do a bit more, but I always wind up driving home with just enough time to slam in and out the shower to get back out to eth train for work on time.






I know in the weeks ahead I have to continue with hill and speed work - or whatever that constitutes for me. I wish I had started training for the half earlier, but I do feel like I will finish without dying. That counts for something, dunnit?


Total mileage last week: 22

OK I admit it - I am a runner!

"If you are a runner, it doesn't matter how far or how fast. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run. "

John Bingham

COOGANS BLUES AND SALSA 5K

I somehow ate too much Saturday night, and awoke refreshed but with a stomach that was a little less than solid. Hmmmm. I did my usual coffee/soymilk/Ezekiel bread/almond butter….but only had about half of everything. I took some sparkling mineral water with me for the drive in and that seemed to help a lot.



Streets all around the race were blocked off and there is also a major hospital and armory in the area- crappy parking. We drove around for almost 15 minutes and then I got out at baggage to meet up with my running group and use the facilities in the armory( large, clean and warm! And NO LINE- a first!) It was much chillier than I expected- about 40 but damp air; a lot of us were shivering.






This race is incredibly festive- many bands, a pre-celebration of St Patrick’s day, and a funky neighborhood made for a happy event. I crossed the starting mat about 11 minutes after the first runners started, and WOW within a few blocks the finishers came flying by, all us mere mortals cheered them on as we plodded on.


The course was hilly as hell, and had many children participating. I didn’t really like that at many many points the road was impassable without being completely rude and risking injury, with people walking three abreast and kids zooming in and out like Mazeratis and then suddenly stopping right in front of you. Although my time came up perplexingly slow, I feel like I had a good race. Oh well.






NYRR can manage the hell out of a race, let me just say that. There were sooo many bands on this route (Latin, R&B, bagpipes, marching bands, folk, etc), I loved it! Having Ft Washington Ave closed off, with NYPD and the fantastic volunteers cheering you on is an incredible experience. NYC is stunning and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to get out of Central Park and see it in this way.


My half marathon training called for 8 miles today, so after I came home and had the rest of my breakfast (Yes, I felt 100% sometime just before the race started) did some laundry, blah blah blah I went out again at about 2 to get some more miles in. I did 6 instead of 5, but probably walked almost a mile of it anyway. I feel pretty good now, lets see if I can walk tomorrow!

Getting Good at Starting Over......