NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon (AKA Brooklyn Or Bust)

The Brooklyn Half Marathon will always have a special place in my heart, it was the first half I ran in 2009. I was thrilled that I was able to get in and run my 3rd one this past Saturday. I was even more thrilled to hear that Sharon wanted to run it with me, and wanted to pace me to my sub-2 glory.

Surprisingly, I really liked the new course, for the most part. My biggest issue was that mile 1-2 were SO crowded. It sucks to know within the first mile you're already behind your goal time. The second complaint was the lack of running on the boardwalk. NYRR shortened the amount we run up on the boardwalk from about half a mile, to maybe 200 meters. Also, did anyone else notice the medals they gave out were WAY nicer than the marathon medals in 2011? Umm...yeah. 

I feel like the race was fairly uneventful. Sharon kept me company, and I tried to not look at my watch too much, knowing I just needed to follow her. She helped me crush the hill in Prospect Park. She got me water when I needed it. She was pretty much my hero for the day.  Every time I looked down at the average on my watch I saw 9:05/9:06. I knew I was in a groove. I looked at my watch at 6.5 miles and said to Sharon, "This is where I was during the AC Half...I'm right on the line. It can go either way" 

Once we got to Ocean Parkway my quads were starting to feel fatigued, but I said "Just running home. That's all it is, I'm just running home." By this point I was barely looking at my watch. I kind of wish I would have. I think if I saw I had run two sub-9 minute miles, and mile 9 was a 9:02, I wouldn't have taken those breaks to walk through the water station. Sharon yelled at me to keep running, she'd get my water, but by mile 10/11, I was exhausted. If you told me I was running a 10 minute mile I would have believed you. My legs were struggling, and mentally I was struggling. Sharon was always a few feet in front of me and I kept wondering why she was running so damn fast. 

We got to the mile 12 marker and Sharon asked me if I wanted to walk to get water. I said no, not really. And I ran the last mile sub 9.

We hit mile 13, and the clock said 2:12. We both knew we had started 12 minutes after the race (yes, it really took us 12 minutes to cross the starting line) and we both knew that I wasn't going to run sub-2. I know let out a curse, which lit a fire under my ass. I tore through the last quarter mile of the race, and finished feeling defeated, yet so happy to have a friend like Sharon by my side.

I got a little teary eyed as we walked by the finish after meeting up with some other friends. The clock said 2:26, and in 2009 I would have just been crossing the finish line.

The rest of Saturday was beautiful. I spent some time on the beach with friends, ate hot dogs, drank beer, and enjoyed how wonderful the day was. 

Splits. I has them.

It's been a few days since the race, and any time I think about it, I am so, so mad. I am so mad I lost 30-40 seconds in the first mile because it was so crowded. I am so mad that I lost 15-30 seconds during those damn water walks. I am so mad when MY Garmin said 13.1 miles my time was 1:59:18. But at the same time I am really proud. If I compare these splits with the ones from April 1st, this blows those away. I mean, mile 13 at a sub 9 pace? That is beyond fantastic, and I'm really proud for not throwing the towel in earlier in the race when I thought I felt kinda of bad. But I wavered just enough in those last miles to lose it. And it sucks. 

I am certainly glad I won't be racing another half marathon till the fall. And by then, I'll have an even bigger goal in mind. 

I heart sweat. And beer. And sitting on the floor.

Slumping it

My blog has been in a slump lately, and I feel like it directly reflects my running. I was on a huge running high after the AC Half, so much so that I signed up for a 5k two weeks later hoping to place in my AG. Did I even write about the JFK 5k? It was the day before Boston, so I made the excuse that I'd wait to post it until a few days after....and then it never happen. (Spoiler alert: I placed 6th in my AG, if I ran 1 minute faster I would have placed 3rd)

Then two weeks later I ran the inaugural Verrazano Half marathon put on by NYCRUNS. While it was a good race, there was a terrible headwind that I was running into for about half the race. I finished in a respectable 2:01 (my second fastest half marathon time) but yet, I was still defeated.

I definitely feel like I've hit a plateau in all my speed workouts lately. I feel like my repeat times are the same, and I've hit a wall when it comes to trying to run 7:30's for my speed workout. I don't know if it's mental, physical, or some combination of the two. I definitely need to find a way to kick my butt in gear. What's your favorite way to motivate yourself when you feel like you've been stuck in a slump?

Saturday's Mantra: I don't care

Tomorrow I will be running the NYCRUNS Verrazano Half Marathon. I believe this will be number 15 for me! I'm pretty excited, it's the inaugural race, and a scenic route that I don't do often. It also be a shot to shave 8 seconds off my time...and you know, run a sub-2 already. The past week has been a bit tough, between work and being lazy, running has been put on the back burner, while eating lots of sweets and fried foods has taken over.

I had two decent runs this week, and most importantly, they've given me a bit of confidence back. I also know enough to know that 5 days of slacking off does not negate months of hard training. I know from my race on April 1st, it'll be tough regardless, but I can do it. To help me out, I've come up with a great mantra:

I don't care.

Confused? Let me demonstrate:

MY LEGS HURT.

I don't care.

I'M TIRED.

I don't care.

MY FEET ARE GOING TO EXPLODE.

I don't care.

I WANT TO DIE,

I don't care.

I'M GONNA PUKE.

I don't care.

I think you get the drift. My point is, no matter what little excuse I can make up Saturday, it doesn't matter. I need to keep running, strong, and pretend that I'm running like an Olympic athlete, and you know, just do it.

Skechers, leading the way?

I admit when I think of Skechers I think of those awful black shiny sneakers I had when I was 11. Ever since then I have been scarred by the embarrassment so badly, that I recoil anytime I even hear the name Skechers. Needless to say when I heard that Skechers was not only making running sneakers, but sponsoring Meb Keflezighi, my jaw nearly hit the floor. I thought Meb must be out of his mind.

And then I read this article on the WSJ website.  I was well aware that professional runners didn't make a ton of money but...

Most get by on running-shoe endorsements that are so meager that many of top U.S. track and field athletes earn less than $15,000 a year and have contracts that limit their sponsorship options and cut their income if they perform poorly.

Indulge me here for a second. That is $288.46 weekly, or $7.20 an hour, if you assume they train 40 hours a week. Even if they run 20 hours a week (approx 200 miles) they make $14.40 an hour. Factor in cross training, recovery, massages, which let's say add up to another 7-11 hours per week, which means they get paid even less (or not at all) for doing all of this essential training. 

Regardless of how the numbers break down, that figure is incredibly low. I will go out on a limb and say professional marathon runners have one of the most difficult jobs in all of professional sports. This figure from WSJ does not mention if marathon runners get paid $15k, or if it's shorter distance sprinters. Again, either way this figure is alarming. 

Steeplechaser Ben Bruce is in the U.S. top 5 in his event and has made three World Championship teams......

"I was on food stamps," said Mr. Bruce. "I was having to scrap for everything on my own while [Nike] sat by with the means to help me but chose not to."

I mean....what can you say to this? 

This graph from CalTech's Alumni website shows how disproportionate the
salaries of baseball players has been in the last few decades. 

Even if you are a mediocre baseball player, you would get $30,000 just to show up and sit on the bench. (Based on the paltry salary of $5,000,000 for 162 games)

Back to Skechers. Skechers seems like they get it. They seem to be one of the few companies treating these people like real athletes, and realize they are valuable even if they do not win first or second place wearing their product. At the very least, they realize in order for them to get big names like Meb, they need to be more flexible than other companies, but I have a feeling this will definitely change the way other companies approach endorsements. 


I don't know how runner endorsement works in other countries, but this seems like it's a great step forward for professional running in this country. The truth is people don't take professional runners as serious as they do many other sports, and maybe making it a more profitable sport will also make it more mainstream. 

I Love Reviewing Free Stuff

I love free gear. I mean, who doesn't? But I certainly do love it. Not only have I been lucky enough this year to get a pair of Tommie Copper calf sleeves, but last week, I WON a pair of Adidas sneakers during a raffle at Paragon.

Running? Oh you know, NBD. Chillin

I've worn the two separately for a few weeks, but last night I decided to break the two items out for one glorious run.

Let me talk about the sneakers first. As I think I have said on this blog before, I love Brooks. I have run 3 marathons in Brooks sneakers, and I love them, and they love my feet. But these adiZero's? (BOSTON version, thank you very much) I love them. I was a little weary of such a minimal sneaker, considering how much I disliked the Brooks Pure Flow, but the Adidas rep said they were nothing alike. And he was right. They're about 8.2 ounces, very minimal cushion, but even after 5 miles my feet still felt pretty good. I'm not sure if it's the sneaker, or my approach to them, but I definitely feel like my  quads, hamstrings, and glutes were working harder (aka my legs felt more tired) Also, red = fast, and these sneakers attract so much attention, even from non runners! Though my coach noted last night that some girl was checking out my sneakers. I'm very tempted to run the 5k this weekend in them, but I'm still on the fence.

Now on to the Tommie Copper calf sleeves. These are really interesting. They are much lighter than any other pair of compression sleeves I've owned. I chose the grey/silver model, as they reminded me of the Terminator/a robot, and we all know robots = fast. When I took these out of the packaging, I had the usual "Oh crap these are tiny!" reaction, and was afraid I wouldn't be able to get them on my legs. With a little bit of bunching and tugging, they were on. They have a slight sheen to them, which reminds me of a pair of pantyhose. I'm not sure if it was because I should have ordered a smaller size, but once I got them on, they didn't feel super tight. I think someone described them well as "gently hugging" your legs, as opposed to trying to squeeze the life out them. I think the lightness of the material will really work well for the summer. I hate having to wear my super thick Zensah sleeves during a run in August....yuck.

Both of these items performed wonderfully on last nights tempo run. My feet felt light and fast, and my calves were probably the only part of my body that was not cursing at me.

So, the message of the story is...I love free stuff, and I promise if you give me some stuff to try out I will take a silly photo of myself using it, and write a review of it up on my blog!

Aiming for Third Place

So over a week later, I am still running high from my Atlantic City Half PR. A few days after the race I had a crazy idea. Somehow I came across the JFK 5K Runway Race. I had know of the race for a while, I knew a few people who had done it last year and said that it was a cool race to do. I mean, even if it is not an active runway, getting to run on ANY runway is pretty cool. I remember when I was a teenager my dad would take me out to Floyd Bennett Field and let me drive out there. Very fun.

So, I was on the race website, and usually I look at the race results of previous years just to see how speedy the field is.

In 2011 the woman who placed 3rd in the 25-29 AG ran 24:57 (8:02) pace. In 2010 the 3rd place female ran 24:28. In 2009 it was 27:14(!)

Riding on my delirious runners high, I thought to myself...I could probably place 3rd in my AG if I have a really good race and all the stars aligned...I haven't run a 5K since last August, where I ran 26:55. (8:39 pace) Granted, that is two minutes off of last years 3rd place AG winner....but I know I definitely have a faster 5k in me. Last night was 4x1600 repeats, done in 8:24, 8:22, 8:19, 8:04, and if I use the McMillan calculator and plug in my half time, it gives me 8:20 as my 5k pace. (I'm a numbers girl, what can I say?)

So yes, I know running an 8:00/mile for a 5k is a lofty goal, and hoping that I place 3rd in my AG is an even loftier goal, but sometimes it's the little things that motivate us most.


I should mention this would be my first legitimate AG win....the last time I won 1st place in my AG was during a Long Island Road Runners 4 Miler....where I was sadly the only person in the 20-24 AG. Insert sad trombone.

April Fools!

Happy April everyone! Judging from my twitter feed, it seems like yesterday was full of PFRs!

My maiden voyage to Atlantic City was....an adventure. It did not help that it was raining and there were 20PMH winds. But I made it there in one piece, and met up with my lovely friend Vee who was treating me to a belated birthday weekend. There was lots of seafood and pasta had, $5 lost to a quarter slot machine, and how could I forget the amazing trip to the Coach Outlet store??

Unfortunately, my pre-race night sleep was far from ideal (aka, I didn't get any sleep) but I tried to make sure it didn't stress me out. I knew a cup of coffee and half a bagel would set me right. We walked up to the boardwalk, passing many amusing Atlantic City sites (Lacy's strip club, with the slogan, "The only thing we wear is a smile" was one of the most amusing) We started to see lots of runners warming up and I was starting to get nervous. Would my legs hold up? Or would I feel heavy and tired? Vee split off to go to the bathroom and I told her I wanted to get a quick warm up in. Running for a just a quarter mile, I knew exactly what I needed to find out from my legs. All systems were good to go.

The race ended up starting 15 minutes late, due to a lot of runners having issues parking. I didn't think 15 minutes was long time, but I got REALLY restless just standing around. I did not want to spend more time on my feet before the race then I needed to. I was just basically bouncing on my feet and trying to keep myself mentally and physically ready.

Pre race smiles!

The race finally started and I knew it was game time! Coach didn't want me looking at my watch, and I knew I'd try my hardest not to, but I don't think I did too well with that. I had a page on my Garmin that showed my average pace, and I was going to make sure I didn't slow down too much throughout the race. The first 4 miles I average around 9:08-9:10. Doing some mental math I knew I was on pace for a sub-2. I was enjoying running on the boardwalk, and I felt great. I was able to find a nice little space for myself in the race and felt like I had plenty of room to move. 

Around mile 4 the race turns off on to Atlantic Ave. This was definitely the hardest part of the race. I knew there was a turnaround around mile 6.5...but I kept seeing people running towards me and I wanted to turn around already! I also found the course strange because it seemed like miles 5-6 were a really, really slight uphill, but it seemed like coming back on mile 8-9 it was a really, really slight uphill as well! I really wanted a downhill to help me out. I was starting to feel fatigued by mile 9, and my average pace had dropped a bit to 9:16. I had hit the halfway point right after an hour, so I knew I was really close, and this race could go either way. 

I wanted to try and drop my average pace down a bit...but I found it hard to keep the pace up. I was more than happy to see the turn on back to the boardwalk around mile 9.5. I was able to pick up the pace a bit and passed a few people, and played tag with a few others.

Around mile 11 I saw a woman that had a Chuck Norris sign, and was giving out free candy! I decided to take a chance, and grabbed a mini-Twix bar. I took a bite of it, and let the caramely goodness melt in my mouth. I hoped I would get a sugar spike and maybe I could pick it up a little more.

I loved being able to see the Trump casino in the distance. I knew the race ended just after that, and it gave me something to focus on. Every time I looked up, it was just a little closer. With a mile and a half left, I was around 1:47. I did the math and thought I could run that far in 13 minutes, about a 9 minute pace...might be tough but.....only half a mile left, in about 4 minutes? Oh...I don't know...this is going to be a close one...

Backwards...April Fools!

I crossed the finish line in 2:00:07. 8 seconds over my goal, but with a 3 minute and 34 second PR. Happy April Fools Day, indeed!

OMG TAPER

I thought I was invincible. Tapering for a half marathon? Phsaw. Easy. Whatever. I wont even notice I'm tapering.


Yeah okay. So I'm starting to go crazy. I'm not sure why, because I ran about 27 miles last week. (13 over the weekend) I had a track workout on Tuesday that was about 5 miles total, and I have a 5 mile tempo run tonight. But my mind is going crazy. Friday is a rest day. Rest??? You mean, do nothing?? Impossible! I'm debating sneaking in a rogue yoga session tomorrow morning, or at least doing some sort of core/upper body workout, depending on how my shoulder is feeling. (Um, my coach doesn't read this, right?)

Feelings restless is a feeling that I unfortunately know too well, and I guess since I'm really excited for this race that's pretty much all I can think about at this point. I'm trying to wrangle up all my mojo, updating my iPod shuffle with all the best power songs I can think of, (I made a last minute decision to add "Paris" on there...) and planning my race day outfit (my favorite pair of capris, a singlet and arm warmers)

Further proof that I'm going taper-crazy? I've blogged twice in one week.

Bite me?

Okay, so I told Tracy about this story, and told her she had to blog about it, but I have to chime in too because it just grosses me out that much. 
I got an email yesterday from Well & Good (which is one of those newsletters I've been meaning to unsubscribe to for some time...) and the subject of the email was "The Rock Star Massage Therapist Who Bites" Um, okay? Of course I click on it to see what the article is about. 

"Dr. Dot, a big-deal massage therapist to big-deal rock stars, began my massage by biting me. At most spas, it would be grounds for dismissal. But that’s how Dr. Dot kicks off most of her otherwise regulation (and generally excellent) deep-tissue treatments.Dorothy Stein—dubbed Dr. Dot by Frank Zappa—gave her first backstage massages to Def Leppard when she was 15, traded rubdowns for concert tickets from 1983 to 1994 (and sometimes still does), and saw more than 3,000 shows for free.The “Bite Method” became part of her persona as the leading light of “backstage massage.” And, if you were wondering, it actually felt kind of nice—a sort of wet pinching sensation along my spine—once I got my head around the boundary issue. She played nice by asking me first and didn’t leave any bite marks.“We’re the pit bulls of massage,” she says of her team’s focus on deep tissue. “Musicians need a strong massage. The rubbie-dub stuff won’t help.”"

(You can read the entire article here: http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2012/03/26/the-rock-star-massage-therapist-who-bites/ )

Now, first of all, I just think this is disgusting. It reminds me of when your grandmother would spit on a tissue and wipe the smutz off your face. (Sorry grandma! Love you!) Secondly, this is just bull. I know a bunch of you out there have gone to GAIL. This woman has worked at the Olympic trials. She is amazing. She will fix whatever is wrong with you, and make you cry in the meantime. If you say "Oh I'm so badass that no massage therapist could ever hurt me." I challenge you to go to Gail. That woman is truly a miracle worker! I'm pretty sure she could work a kink or two out of Frank Zappa.

Totally unrelated, my big race is this weekend, and I am getting increasingly excited. I leave you all with a quote that popped into my inbox this morning. 


Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.

Racing

Firstly, I'd like to congratulate all of my friends who ran yesterday. Whether it was the NYC Half, LA Marathon, GA Marathon, or another race, it seemed like everyone was kicking ass, and many of you set some crazy PRs!

Watching everyone's times come in yesterday had me thinking about my own race in just under two weeks. I'm not sure I have mentioned it yet, but on April 1st, I'll be running the Atlantic City Fool's Half Marathon. For some reason I love the idea of running a race on April Fool's day, although I absolutely hate being tricked on that day! (You've been warned!)

The race is all on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, which I kind of like the idea of, since I run on the Coney Island boardwalk so often. Though I hope that the AC boardwalk is in much better shape than the CI one is! A race on the boardwalk means it's flat, and fast. Flat and fast means I am planning to tear it up.

It was so exciting to hear about everyone's half marathon PRs yesterday. It seemed like so many of my friends were running in the 1:4x:xx. It just made me realize how bad I want to run a sub 2:00 half marathon. I feel like it's something inside me that's just screaming to get out.

I had a good 8 miler this weekend, my goal was to warm up, run 4 fast, and the last 2 even faster. It wasn't easy, but I had a solid run. An encouraging run. A confidence building run. I am no longer afraid of running a 9:00 mile, or seeing sub 9's pop up on my Garmin. I'm comfortable with running faster. I'm letting it come naturally and trying to except it.

I'm trying not to be over confident about my race on April 1st, but I know I will need that confidence to get me through 13.1 miles.