NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 2: The day before the race

Staten Island Ferry

Ground Zero

Bart Yasso at the NYC Marathon Expo

Marathon eve fireworks

Mile 26 on marathon eve

Trial run to Staten Island
On Saturday AM, I got up earlier than necessary since I am kind of used to getting up pretty early and don't seem to be able to sleep late very often. I'd usually rather get up and going and then take a nap later in the day. I headed down to the Starbucks next door and the Duane Read to get my chai latte, coffee for Keith, breakfast for me, and some water and gatorade for the race the next day. If you've not been to NY, you really can't go very far without seeing a Starbucks or Duane Read (their version of Walgreens/Rite Aid/CVS). After having our tea and coffee, we headed out for the first stop of the day, our trial run to the Staten Island ferry where I needed to be at 6am on race day. It took a few tries to get the right subway station. We had the W line planned but realized after waiting a bit that was only a weekday stop so switched to the 1 which was the one everyone would probably take on Sunday AM. The station was right across the street from the hotel so that was perfect. We rode to the ferry terminal stop wondering if we'd find the ferry easily. As we emerged from the subway entrance, the huge 5 foot tall letters spelling "Staten Island Ferry" were a tip off that perhaps the trial run wasn't really needed after all! We walked in, stood there for 5 seconds and said, yep, this is the right place, and then went to get back on the subway. Still I did feel better knowing I'd know where to go the next morning.

Ground Zero
We decided to stop at the World Trade Center site since it was close by. Keith had not been there post 9/11. It was wonderful to see the progress being made there but still such a sad reminder of that September day that started out like any other September day but ended so tragically. So many out of towners, particularly from other countries, were in the city for the race that it was a big tourist spot that day. We walked over to the WTC PATH station where you can get a good view between the fence of the enormous hole that was the footprint of the Twin Towers (as I'd always known them) that is still visible despite all the ongoing construction.

Lunch at Jane
We decided to head into the Village for lunch and using his handy dandy Urbanspoon app Keith found a great place called Jane. Despite the line outside and a crowd inside, we were seated right away since it was easy to squeeze in a table for 2. We started with an appetizer of goat cheese and carmelized onion on flatbread, which was yummy. Again I opted for a pasta entree, this time a pumpkin ravioli with sage sauce which was awesome and not all sweet and nutmegy like many places do their pumpkin ravioli. After lunch I convinced Keith to pop over to the expo again so we took a cab to the Jacob Javitz center since I wanted to get some of those arm warmers in case it was chilly the next day.

Expo, Day 2
I fully expected the crowd today to be even worse than Friday but to my surprise it was noticeably thinner. I guess most folks had already picked up their numbers and certainly had done a lot of shopping prior to us getting there because the once crowded Asics store was now pretty well picked over. In fact they only had bright blue arm warmers left, no black. Keith asked if I wanted to be warm or fashionable? Well, fashionable of course. I was wearing black shorts and a red shirt tomorrow so no way was I wearing blue arm warmers! Plus I wasn't fully sold on them anyway so wanted some cheaper black ones and while they had other brands that would have matched, I was not willing to pay $25 or more for them. So I dismissed that idea but did get the cool gloves I saw that had one borough on each finger. Of course now I am thinking as I write this, I wonder which borough got the middle one! I'd have to guess the Bronx because they had the more colorful signs during the race (quitting is not an "f'ing" option said one sign along the course...they do know how to cheer you on!) but likely it's Queens since they are the 3rd borough you go through. I didn't wear these gloves for the race since I was aiming for more disposable stuff, but kept them for my cold weather runs coming up all too soon in Raleigh.

Famous running folks

We walked around the expo a bit, still searching for cheap arm warmers that I never found. But I did spot Bart Yasso, Grete Waitz, and Deena Kastor, all signing books and/or giving autographs. The line for seeing Grete was closed since she had to leave and I felt guilty getting on line to speak to Deena since I really was more of a Paula Radcliffe fan. But when I saw Bart Yasso, I had to stop by. He was at the Runner's World booth since he is their "Chief Running Officer". I had seen a few video clips earlier in the week on the Runner's World website where he offered tips for packing for a race, calming pre-race nerves and tips for the NYC Marathon. The one I recalled most was "don't get so excited after leaving the bridge onto First Ave that you start going too fast, because you still have 10 miles to go". I asked Keith to take my picture with Bart and told him I appreciated his video tips. And in the end I definitely remembered that one during the race. I also purchased his book for $15 because I am always up for a good running book and also felt cheesy for taking a picture and then not buying it. I am glad I did because it's very entertaining so far. After this we left the expo, feeling that a nap was in order. On the way back we stopped over on Columbus Ave and 81st (one block over from where I expected to exit the park after the race) to choose an EXACT spot we should meet after the race. I learned from the Marine Corp Marathon that it's frustrating wandering around for a long time searching after you've just run a marathon, so you can't be too specific. We picked a bike shop near the corner of 81st and Columbus, right by the Specialized sign (the brand of bike Keith favors). Then we headed back to the hotel so we could rest a bit before dinner.

My kingdom for a banana

Before going up to the room, we decided to stop to try to get the last remaining thing needed for the race...bananas. My god, how many stores and lines do we need to navigate to get a darn banana in the city! I bet going to the Central Park zoo and wrestling one from a monkey would have been faster and easier (ok, actually I don't know if they even have monkeys there but still!). We made the classic rookie mistake of thinking going to Whole Foods (or any food store for that matter) just before dinner time just to buy a few bananas for pre-race breakfast would be a quick stop. Oatmeal and bananas have been a standard for race days for me for a few months after hearing they worked for some running friends. So I had to get bananas. We ran into Whole Foods (in the basement level of a shopping mall in Columbus Circle) and got them and proceeded to check out. To our amazement we realized that the line snaked around the entire store! We promptly put the bananas back and decided to try someplace else after dinner.

Dinner at Topaz
After literally 3 straight days of pasta for lunch and dinner I felt I needed some variety and a bit of protein. There was a nice sushi place in the lobby of our hotel but I was not about to risk potential bad raw fish on race eve! Also needed to avoid something too spicy, but ultimately I agreed to the thai place that Keith found on Urbanspoon called Topaz. We ordered some satay for an appetizer and I didn't get any wine but took a few small sips of Keith's beer. I ordered a noodle dish with chicken so while it was still pasta-like it was at least some variety. I ordered it not spicy and it was actually a bit spicy but really tasted great. We had this along with some sticky rice. It really hit the spot. This was another not fancy local place with great cheap food. I was amused however at the bartender and chef doing shots behind the bar and the waiter sipping beer from a glass he had stashed on a shelf behind a small curtain. Glad we ate early because I wonder what the impact of that drinking was on the quality of the food and service for those dining later in the evening.

Fireworks and nighty night
After dinner we headed over to Central Park as it started to drizzle to watch the fireworks display which was party of the marathon eve celebration. They were pretty cool and we could see them from around the mile 26 mark so didn't need to go all the way over to the finish line where the crowds were. We got back to the hotel pretty early and I spent lots of time laying out my clothes and stuff to bring to the race and for Keith to bring with him in my backpack for post-race. This included pinning my race number on, putting my timing device on my shoe, making the final call on clothes to wear and clothes I'd use to keep warm until the race started and then would toss (they collect them and give them to the needy), packing the clothes and other stuff Keith would bring, and figuring out the food I'd bring for the morning and what I'd eat before leaving. I was still undecided about the fuel belt so I put that in my bag thinking I'd bring it. After a lot of time spent doing this pre-race packing ritual that was more extreme for this race due to the fact that I'd be spending 3.5 hrs waiting around before the start, I took a shower and got ready for bed. We called Gran and Pop Pop, who were taking care of the kids at our place, to see how trick or treating went and they said it went well and the kids were already in bed. We had already talked to the kids earlier in the day and Owen wished me luck and said "I hope you win!". The Yankees game was on and I read a bit of my new Bart Yasso book, but decided to put that down for fear I'd stay up too late reading. Keith stayed up watching the game a bit and I turned over and tried to get to sleep around 9pm (after turning the clock back!), knowing I'd have trouble doing that and that the alarm would go off at 4am.

I can say that while I did sleep it wasn't a very sound sleep and I vividly recall dreaming that I missed the wave 1 start and then was about to also be late for the wave 2 start when I woke up and realized it was just a dream!

Stay tuned for the next blog post titled NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 3: Race day and beyond.

NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 1: The history and arrival in NYC

Anthony Edwards at the NYC Marathon Expo

Columbus Circle

This is it!
Not to steal the title of the new Michael Jackson film, but all I could think about when arriving in NYC was "This is it!". This is the goal I set for myself early this year and now the big day is here. I originally was thinking, as I sat at my laptop on a cold January 1st, that this year I'd get back to running, and this year maybe I'd even run a half marathon by the end of the year. Then somewhere along the way, I can't remember exactly the date, I decided since I'd be turning 40 next year and since it had been 10 yrs since I had run my last (and only) marathon and since I didn't break 4 hrs in that one like I'd hoped and since I may not have this chance again, perhaps I should aim higher and do a marathon. I joined the Raleigh Trail Runners in February, which I am very thankful for since I couldn't have gotten so far without them, so I am sure it was shortly after that when I decided to finally register for a marathon. I considered OBX, Raleigh, Richmond and the NYC Marathon but ultimately decided if I was going to do it and may only do it once more, I should do NYC since I really love NY and it's one I've always wanted to do ever since I went to watch a friend of a friend run it in 1993.

My history with the NYC Marathon

I had actually entered the NYC Marathon lottery in 2000, the year after I ran Marine Corp, and got in right away, but postponed my entry to the next year since Keith and I were getting married that fall. Then in 2001 I took a new job and was unable to put the training time in, as was obvious by a pretty poor and painful performance in the Manhattan Half Marathon, which I was at least smart enough to pay attention to, so I dropped out from running the marathon that year too. After that I ran only one local race in 2002 and then we bought a house in early 2003, had Owen in 2004, moved to North Carolina and took a new job in 2005, had Grace in 2006, and took another new job in 2007. You get the idea. So I hadn't run a race at all, let alone a marathon, since 2002. In 2008, with little training but a bit of running on weekends with Owen or Grace in the jogging stroller and a few times a week at lunch time, I decided to run a local race. The first was the Second Empire 5K, selected because it was sponsored by a nice restaurant, and then later the Jingle Bell 5K, because I got to run with bells on my shoes and a Santa hat! I did respectable in both so this got me thinking about getting back to running more seriously now that the kids were a bit older. So that is what brought me to that January 1st where I planned out several races and a training schedule which I then modified after deciding to enter the NYC Marathon.

Leading up to the race
In the weeks leading up to the race, my knee (classic textbook case of runners knee) was starting to bother me again. But as usual it didn't seem to impact me in races. Not sure if that is due to the adrenline or extra strength tylenol or luck or a combination. But I could only hope that the same would hold true for the marathon. I really cut back on the miles and days I was running, much sooner and more drastically than planned because I was afraid of not being able to run the race if I didn't. But doing that really impacted my confidence at times since I feared I cut back to much too soon and would not be ready. Time would tell, either I was ready or I wasn't, too late now!

Hopes and mantras

In my last blog post, for the Run for Healthier Babies, I ended that post with some hopes for the upcoming marathon. I also wrote down some mantras, since I read that that is what the pros do to get them through and I needed all the help I could get. Some of those were:

• 22 pace, 4.2 race (I know that should be 20 race, 6.2 pace, but I was being conservative!)
• Inspired, no fear
• Respect the distance
• Enjoy the experience
• Feel good!
• This is it!
• Owen and Gracie (Paula uses her daughters name so thought that may work for me!)
• You've already done this 4 times (ok well not really, the training was 3 20 milers and 1 22 miler, but close)
• BQ!

I tried to repeat these to myself even leading up to the race and also reminded myself of what my hopes were by re-reading them in the days leading up to the race. I mainly thought about just keeping the negative and doubtful thoughts out and keeping my thoughts on just enjoying this experience and enjoying the sights at every mile.

Arriving in NYC

I arrived in Newark NJ early on Friday. I was able to figure out the Air Train and NJ Transit to successfully get into NYC, but then chickened out of taking the subway with my luggage for fear I'd end up in the wrong place. I walked a few blocks and then was able to get a cab. I just LOVE that you can look at a GPS map in the back seat these days and also that you can just swipe your card in that same contraption in the back seat and just pick a 15, 20 or 25% tip. How awesome is that, so easy. I got to the hotel pretty early so they didn't yet have a room ready. So after some quick (too quick as you'll read shortly) moving around of stuff from my luggage to my backpack I stored my larger bag at the hotel and headed out with my backpack with some essentials to find the official bus to the expo at the Jacob Javitz center. I found it pretty easily and there was a bus right there waiting that I was able to get on. Good thing it was one of the first buses heading over that day and the first stop, since it got very crowded as we moved along the hotel pick up route and others were turned away to wait for the next buses. I was surprised at the variety of languages being spoken on the bus, this was truly an international event!

The Expo

I texted and called Pauline to determine when/where to meet up at the expo. Her bus from her hotel was stuck in traffic so I navigated the expo alone for a bit before she arrived. I was able to pretty quickly get my number (9258), goody bag, and t-shirt (runs big but it's very cool). Then I entered the Asics Marathon store, which you have to pass through (conveniently) to get into the rest of the expo. It was pretty overwhelming. All the merchandise and people, mostly all speaking foreign languages which I was still amazed at (had heard it was an international event but didn't realize how much), combined with it being pretty warm in there and my backpack getting heavy, made me feel a bit like perhaps I should have skipped the expo on this first day.

Pauline arrives!

I wandered a bit looking at clothing until Pauline arrived. She is a bundle of energy so I felt less stressed when she got there (thanks Pauline!). She got her number, shirt, etc and we walked around. She found a few things she wanted to buy and I decided to get a pricey but very soft hoody with the NYC Marathon logo on it. Then we entered the rest of the expo. We talked to folks hosting other marathons (Edinburgh - guy in a kilt, Comrades - 56 mile race...no way!, and the Disney Princess - got a free crown which Pauline wore for the rest of the expo trip and even forgot she had on when we had lunch at a local diner...luckily Halloween was just around the corner and it's NYC so no one thought it was strange at all!).

Pace group guy pisses me off

We also got some information on other things we were interested in. Pauline checked out the finishers plaques while I asked about how the pace groups worked. I went up to the guys at the pace booth to ask about it. I told one of the guys what my half marathon time was (1:36), what I put on the application for my predicted time (3:40) and what I needed to BQ (3:50). I said that I was not too sure what pace group I should aim for but I didn't specify which ones I was trying to decide between. Immediately without hesitation he told me this was a tough course and that he recommended I start out with the 3:50 group which was the one he was leading. I am not sure if it was his tone or if I was just reading too much into it, but I was annoyed right away since I wasn't really aiming for 3:50 but instead was hoping for 3:4o so I had some wiggle room to BQ. I walked away, bitched to Pauline about it, and then went back over to the other side of the pace group table to put back the 3:50 pace group band and bib and took one for the 3:40 group. Hmmm, I'll show him! Maybe...

Turned out that in wave 1, blue start to which I was assigned (there are 3 waves starting 20 minutes apart and 3 different color starts in each wave, and I think 7 or 9 corrals in each start in each wave to reduce crowding...sounds complicated but it works!) there were no pace group leaders anyway, at any pace. So I would have had to change colors or waves to run with a pace group from the start or try to find them later. I decided to abandon that idea early on and go it alone, but still took the pace wrist band to wear as a reminder of the goal and also in case I wanted to double check if I was on track (it's like one of those bands they put on you to get into a club or amusement park). I had my Garmin so doubted I'd really need it but took it anyway as a reminder.

My brush with fame

We wandered around a bit more and Pauline bought some of those racing sleeves to cover your arms from the cold for the race. We also took some pictures of each other. I had heard earlier before Pauline arrived an announcement about Runner's World booth and Anthony Edwards but didn't hear the details. So I assumed maybe they were playing a recent spoof video clip that he had done that I had seen online earlier in the week or that they were collecting money for Shoes4Africa, the charity he was running for that is raising money to build a children's hospital in Kenya. I had kept tabs on a few celebs that were running in case I saw any of them. Ed Norton, Alanis Morrisette, and David Blaine were a few others. For those who don't know, Anthony Edwards (aka: that bald dude, as Pauline now fondly refers to him) was on ER (Mark Green) and also in Top Gun (Goose). So maybe not the biggest star around today, but a famous face and all around nice guy none the less, since he was raising money for charity. So I told Pauline that I wanted to check out the Runner's World booth before we left. We finally found it in the middle of the expo and as we approach I saw him, Dr. Mark Green (aka Anthony Edwards, aka that bald dude) standing right there, with few people around! I was so excited not really because he was on ER but moreso because I'd seen his spoof video (pretty funny, all about pretending training for the marathon was really just an acting gig) and knew he'd be running the race and now to actually get to meet him was pretty cool. I asked Pauline to take a picture with my iPhone if he let us. He agreed (poor guy, bet he was hating life after a few hours of that at the expo) and was very nice. He asked if we'd donate to Shoes4Africa, which we did. And we signed the notebook they had because the promise is that anyone who donates, no matter how much or how little, will have their name somewhere on the building. Pretty neat. As we walked away I was really excited and immediately posted the picture to my Facebook page and as we walked away Pauline said "who was that guy, he just looks like some regular bald dude"! Pauline you are so funny!

Lunch and the Ann Taylor/Gap fiasco

We decided to leave the expo (it was getting crazy crowded and we were starving) and take a cab to the house of a friend of Pauline's sister who said she could use her place to get changed. We ate lunch at a diner nearby and carb loaded. Then we went to change and I discovered the reason why it's not good to move clothes around last minute from one bag to another. I had all my stuff except for my running shorts! Thus began the desperate search for a place nearby to purchase some so we could go on our short jog around Central Park. First I though maybe I'd head back to my hotel to grab my shorts but then thought that would take too much time so we went on a quest to buy some. Afterall how hard could it be in NYC to find shorts. HA! We stopped at the closest clothing store, Ann Taylor. Yes, a long shot but thought they'd at least have some PJ type shorts or tights I could get by with. And they did have tights but they were too big so we asked the girl to look for a smaller size in the back. 15 minutes, and I kid you not at least literally 15 minutes, and she never returned, so we left. Then we trekked farther down the street and found a Gap. They did have some stretch capri workout pants, which were $40! But I was desperate so after waiting on a crazy long line (forgot about those long lines for everything in the NY area!) I got my pants, changed and we were off.

Central Park

We jogged slowly over to the park and ran over to see where the finish line would be and then ran the last mile or so of the marathon course in the opposite direction, along 7th Ave and along the East side of the park up to 5th Ave. We turned around there and ran back to get changed. My knee was feeling sore as we were doing that run, which made me nervous. Still it was pretty cool to see everyone preparing for the race, setting up the finish line area with all the flags of all the participants. After we changed I left Pauline so she could shower and I could go back to check into my hotel. I walked a bit and then took a cab the rest of the way (which turned out to only be a few more blocks left, I felt kind of stupid!).

6 Columbus

The hotel I booked was called 6 Columbus. It wasn't one of the official hotels but like I usually do, I spent a tremendous amount of time mapping out and researching hotels in the area near the finish line because I knew if this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience I wanted to stay near the action and also be closeby in case I didn't feel well after the race. So after hours and probably days of comparing I decided on 6 Columbus which I booked back in early June. The room was small as expected (we booked the cheapest one called a Pod room, so you know going in it won't be spacious) but was actually larger than the rooms in the boutique hotel we'd stayed in on our honey moon in San Francisco, so we were pleased. And best of all, the bathroom floor had heated tile, very cool! I changed, unpacked and just relaxed while I waited for Keith to arrive.

Dinner at Il Melograno

After Keith arrived at the hotel, we headed out pretty quickly to dinner. I usually plan stuff like crazy but actually didn't plan any of the meals for this trip in advance. So Keith went to work on his iPhone using Urbanspoon (I recommend it if you haven't used it). He looked for Italian so I could carb load. He found a small local midtown mom and pop looking place called Il Melograno. My first impression was perhaps it was a bit too mom and pop. We were seated along a bar by the window until a table was ready. It was hot in the restaurant and we were in a tight spot where all the dirty dishes needed to come past us to get to the small back room where they were to be cleaned. The kitchen was all open to the restaurant and there were a few guys working very hard back there but I had some doubts. Of course I forgot that NYC midtown mom and pop is a bit different than Raleigh mom and pop. Not to knock Raleigh because there are a load of great restaurants in Raleigh, but in Manhattan a bad restaurant couldn't survive in this location whereas in Raleigh it may for a while.

We ordered appetizers (mushroom polenta for Keith, salad for me) and fresh pasta entrees (veal ravioli with sage butter cream sauce for Keith, parpadelle with sausage for me). While this isn't a food blog, I can say that everything was amazing! And cheap! I couldn't believe we got a bill for about $90 which included appetizers, dinner, dessert (one for each of us!) and 2 glasses of wine each). Wow!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel since we were pretty tired and rented an in-room movie, Angels and Demons. I read the book and loved it so was looking forward to seeing it. I heard from Keith it was pretty good...I wouldn't know, I fell asleep in the first 15 minutes of the movie!

Stay tuned for the next post, NYC Marathon 2009 - Part 2: The day before the race

Run for Healthier Babies 5K, Oct 25, 2009, volunteering at ATT 10 miler, and looking ahead to the NYC Marathon

I really enjoyed this race. What a difference the weather and a good strategy make! After the last 5K, where I went out stupid fast, in the humidity, I decided for this race I'd focus on maintaining a good even pace, still aiming for the goal of under 21 minutes or a 6:45 pace and not even think about how fast others were running. That last part was decided right on the starting line. I decided I cared more about my personal time goal than who else in my age group might be ahead of or passing me. I'd heard this course was pretty hilly and I suppose it was. But the change in strategy combined with much cooler weather made a big difference. I felt good the entire race, not terrible for the last 2 miles as I felt in the prior 5K. I am hoping I can just remember this for the NYC marathon next weekend!

I got to Morrisville early and had some trouble finding the parking for the race but was early enough that I got there in plenty of time. Once again, I was really glad to see so many running friends (you all know who you are!) and meet a few new folks who I knew of from seeing their names or faces in many races but hadn't officially met. I got my race packet, helped another runner put his chip on his shoe (my good deed for the day) and did a bit of stretching and warming up. I felt pretty good on the starting line, but wished I had headed there earlier so I could move farther up. I was only about 3 or 4 people back from the line, but after recently realizing that awards seem to be done from gun time and not chip time (hadn't realized that before!) I started thinking that I really should move up front more, but felttoo pushy doing that once other people were already packed in tight in front of me. I'll have to remember that for next time!

As the race started I went out a little fast but not stupid fast (around 6:20 to 6:30) but then consciously slowed down more so as to not repeat my "burning out" after mile 1 from the last time. My average pace for mile 1 (according to my Garmin) was 6:39, so a bit under my goal pace, which was great. And more important, I still felt pretty good, not exhausted. I ran the next mile a bit slower but still focused to keep the average below 6:45, coming in at 6:43, so that in case I fell behind a bit at mile 3, I could still have a chance to hit my 21 minute goal. I was really excited about the possibility of that actually happening once mile 2 was done. I kept saying "2 mile pace, 1 mile race" to remind myself to pace myself and not try to go all out until somewhere in mile 3. I started to focus on racing the last half mile or so. Mile 3 ended up being 6:39 pace, so not bad! I still felt good and really sprinted to the finish and was really happy to see I was going to beat my goal of 21 minutes. A new PR for me, guess now I need a new goal! :-)

My final stats were 20:49 chip time, 20:52 gun time, 6:43 pace, 42 of 356 overall, 9 of ? women (total women wasn't posted and I wasn't going to count them!), and 3 of 23 women in my age group. I was happy to come in 3rd considering I really didn't pay any attention to who else was ahead of me this time. I didn't really know where I'd come in since I was so focused on just my time, pace and how I felt.

Seems lots of friends PR'd in this race despite the hills. Pauline and Cindy both PR'd. Pauline PR'd by more than 2 minutes! And Cindy broke 25 minutes for the first time! Linda, who place 1st in her age group (50 to 54), came in under 23 minutes which she said she hadn't done in a long time. She was first in her age group by 4.5 minutes! Something about the weather or just feeling good that day, plus all the training I am sure, made it happen that day. I stuck around for the awards and received my standard $10 3rd place gift card to yet another running store. I now have 3 $10 gift cards to 3 different stores at this point. Too bad I can't pool them together and buy something other than socks! :-)

Also of note for this same weekend, on Saturday I volunteered at my first race, the ATT 10 miler. My 5 yr old son Owen came too. We went with Mia, a friend of Owen's, and her mom Sarah. We were assigned to the 4/6 mi water stop. It was a bit stressful trying to fill and then refill all those cups in time for the big pack of runners in the middle of the race, but it was fun too. Owen and Mia had a blast and we certainly appreciate race volunteers even more than we did before, after walking in their shoes! We also got an awesome race t-shirt, which I proudly wore in the 5K the next day. It looked like a great race so I would definitely like to run it next year. It was pretty warm and humid out so I was kind of glad that I volunteered at this race on Saturday and ran the 5K on a cooler day on Sunday. A great race weekend overall!

Next race...the big one....NYC Marathon, Sunday, Nov 1st (must remember to change the clocks that night!!!) My hopes for this race...

1) Not to freak out or let any negative "can't do this" thoughts creep in. I want to be able to remember all the work that I put in and that I did enough long runs at a good pace (thanks to lots of help and encouragement from my running friends!) that I know I can do the distance at a decent pace. I'll really need to convince myself once I hit 22 miles, since that is the farthest I've done in training and I've only done that distance once. I am sure that it may get tough at that point but I am hoping it won't be too hard to get through. I am hoping going into Central Park will really energize me.

2) I want to keep a pretty even pace for the first 20 or 22 miles. I really need to focus on not going out too slow and to keep saying "20 mile pace, 6.2 mile race" or perhaps really "22 mile pace, 4.2 mile race". Then if I feel good I can try to speed up but will really need to try to not do that early on.

3) I want a PR, which I hope is pretty doable since my first, last and only marathon so far, MCM, 10 yrs ago, was 4:21, the last 6 to 8 miles of which were miserable due to quad cramps. So if that didn't happen I could have done a lot better and probably come in under 4 hrs. So at a minimum I'm aiming for that, under 4 hrs.

4) Not the end of the world if I don't but of course I'd like to qualify for Boston. If I don't qualify then I certainly won't be upset about not having to do the training over the cold winter months. But it would be a great accomplishment to qualify and run the race once. I need to run 3:50 to BQ. If I have a good race like most of my long runs have been, I have a good chance, as long as nothing unexpected happens (injury, illness, really bad weather, etc).

5) I won't state the time I'd like since I don't have an exact one and I don't want to jinx it but ideally I'd like to be a little faster than the qualifying time if I am feeling good in the race. But that's really just icing on the cake.

6) Perhaps most important, I really, really want to finish feeling good and happy. Feeling miserable and ready to cry or fall over or throw up are all not good and so that will be what I am hoping for the most, feeling good and enjoying this great race and great city.

I leave very early Friday morning and plan to go to the marathon expo Friday and maybe do a short run in Central Park (with Pauline!). No plans yet except to just hang out and relax around the city on Saturday while I carb load at some yet to be determined nice local restaurants. Then I'll be heading out on the subway to take the Staten Island Ferry bright and early at 6am. My wave starts at 9:40 am, so I'll have lots of time to ponder the race and hopefully find some other things to distract me while waiting. Still working on what to wear and bring for that 3.5 hr wait!

Finally, I wish lots of luck and good vibes to those friends running the Raleigh City of Oaks Half and Full Marathons on Sunday. I'll be thinking of you all during my race, have an awesome run!

Triangle Run/Walk for Autism, Oct 10, 2009

Wow, what a busy week! I haven't had any time all week to do this race update on the Triangle Run/Walk for Autism until now (while multitasking watching my Thursday TV shows). So here it goes....

It was an unseasonably humid and warm day so I knew it may not be my best race. But truthfully before the day of the race I hadn't really thought much about the actual race and any time goals. I also wasn't training for a 5K since I am still focused on the NYC Marathon coming up on Nov 1st. But I decided that I'd try to run as many of the races in the Second Empire Series as I could as long as they didn't get in the way of marathon training. I skipped the first one, the Magnificent Mile, so I could do my long training run. But I did manage to run the second race in the series, Anna's Angels 10 miler. So this race was next on the list and raises money for a great cause. I registered for the race and created a fundraising web page, where some very generous friends donated money. So before the race even started, I felt pretty good that we had been able to do something good.

I arrived at the race pretty early since I hadn't had time to pick up the race package beforehand. I had time to wander around and relax before the race. I will get my infamous port-a-potty review over first...well planned, enough potties for everyone, well placed, great potty planning! ;-). So far I'd say this race is the winner for best "race potty of the year" if there were to be such an award. Ok, now onto other topics...

Before meeting up with any of my RTR friends, I saw Brad from NCRC before the race and met Ronnie, a friend of his. We chatted a bit about the upcoming ATT 10 Miler. I really wanted to run that one this year but decided in the end it was probably a bit too close to the marathon (the weekend before) and I shouldn't do it. Plus by now the race was closed. But Brad mentioned they were still looking for volunteers and I told him I'd been thinking about that since I had never volunteered at a race. Afterwards Sarah and I decided it would be fun and a great way to give back if we both volunteered for the race and brought Owen and Mia. So provided it's not pouring rain which wouldn't be good for the kiddies, we'll be there at the 4/6 mi water stop so maybe we'll see some of you there!

Shortly after that I met up with the RTR folks, Sarah, Rich, Herb, Linda, Dan, Tracy, and Jeff. I also spotted a few other familiar faces in the crowd. I did some warming up with the RTR folks since it seemed to help me in the 10 mile race a few weeks prior. It was then that someone asked what our goals were for the race. Sarah mentioned her goal was around a 7 min mile. I said mine was somewhere around or just under there as well but that secretly (which I guess then at that point became not so secret) I'd like to run a 6:45 pace in a 5K at some point soon. That would definitely be a PR but I wasn't initially thinking about aiming for that today, that is until someone brought it up and then I started considering it. By then it was time to head over to the starting line. Now not only was it humid and warm, but it was also getting sunny (uggh I hate sunny). At at least it was a short race!

As the race started, I took off pretty fast. I felt pretty good and for some reason was kind of delusional and started thinking I could keep up that pace or at least close to it. I could actually still see some of the women who I know are pretty fast (you know who you are!) and thought hey maybe I can try to keep up. It was "only" a 5K afterall, not a 10 mile race. Yeah, right! After all these years of running, you'd think I'd get it by now. Going out way too fast is not good no matter how long or short the race is.

My recent race strategy, which has worked pretty well, has been to do the first mile or two a bit faster than my average goal pace. This gets me moving, gets me out up front, and gives me a bit of a head start on my goal. If I run a bit faster than my ultimate goal pace for the first mile I can stress a bit less later in the race about hitting it. Key word I forgot in this race...a BIT faster. Not CRAZY faster. Well, there is a big difference between a bit faster and a crazy faster pace. And I went out in this one with a crazy fast pace for me...6:21 for the first mile! I have never run under 21 minutes for a 5K so there really wasn't any basis for me to think that pace was sustainable, which I really didn't think it was, but I didn't think that I'd slow down so significantly in the next 2 miles. On paper it doesn't seem that bad. The second mile was 6:59 so still pretty good but I was VERY tired in that second mile. My legs were tired, even more than they were running a 10 mile race. So lesson learned (or re-learned)...going out WAY too fast isn't something that you can recover from, particularly in a short fast race on a warm, humid day.

I was so tired that I felt the race was lasting forever. I couldn't wait to get to the end for it to be over. I wanted to speed things up in the last mile but it was really hard by that point to recover from that first mile and there wasn't really anyone that was within reach that I could use to help pace myself. I could still see Sarah in front of me but knew I didn't have enough left to try to catch up so I just did my best to give it as much as I had left. The second half of the race seemed much hillier than it probably was. But you can tell from the elevation profile (I know, Garmin geek!) the first half of the race was actually downhill and the second was uphill. Perhaps that would have been good to look into before I took off blazing fast and then ran out of steam! My pace for the last mile was 7:13. Again, not bad but definitely not close to the average pace of under 7 min miles I've run in the last few 5Ks.

In the end I came in 63 of 693 overall, 11 of 351 women, and 4 of 56 in my age group. My overall average pace was 6:49 according to my Garmin, and my final chip time was 21:12. A definite PR for the 5K (I wasn't sure at first so had to look it up), so I felt good about that. And as a bonus, since the first 6 overall male and female runners received awards instead of the usual top 3 or 5, I placed 3rd in my age group, instead of 4th, and got an award. It was not only the standard $10 gift card to a local running store but in addition a beautiful hand painted plate made by a young autistic artist. In fact I was going to leave right after the results were posted since Owen had a soccer game, but I decided to stick around for a few more minutes because I saw how unique the awards were for this race. The gift card, no doubt, will allow me to get a new pair of socks but the plate will always remind me of the race. Yes, I went out too fast and couldn't wait to finish. But I reminded myself of a valuable lesson that no doubt will help me in future races, I got to see my running friends, I ran a PR, and I helped raise money for a great cause.

I would still like to hit that 6:45 pace and a 5K under 21 minutes. I am sure I'll do it sometime soon. If not this year, then perhaps next year, once I have more time to train for speed rather than distance. No rush but it will be really great when it happens!

Next race, Run for Healthier Babies 5K in Morrisville on Oct 25th. Maybe I'll see some of you there!

Anna's Angels 10 Mi Run, September 27, 2009

I waited until pretty late to register for this race. I wasn't sure I was feeling up to a 10 mile race but figured it was probably good practice for the marathon and gave me a "break" from doing a longer run that weekend. The day started out a bit drizzly and fairly cool so that is perfect weather for a race. I drove over to meet Sarah and Mia at their house and we rode together from there. Right when we arrived at the race it began to rain a lot harder, so my one dry sweatshirt I brought for after the race was now soaked. Not the best planning I guess. We headed over to pick up our chips as it started to pour. We had picked up our race numbers and t-shirts, which were very cool ones by the way, the day before. And of course my first stop on the way over to get the timing chip was the port-a-potty. I noted nervously that there were very few of them which stressed me out because the lines would just get longer and I knew I'd have to visit them a few more times before the race started.

While near the potty line I spotted a young kid who I'd seen at the Run for the Oaks in March. It was pretty much rainy weather for that race too but much colder, so I teased him that every time I raced with him it rained! He said he remembered me from that race since I asked him how he had done while we waited for the results of that race. He had placed in his age group (he's 12 and placed 2nd I think) which was awesome. I was around his age when I started running so that brought back memories of my sister and I always winning medals or trophies in our age group. He mentioned that he was happy that the 15 yr old who had won that race in March had now turned 16! I told him I was looking forward to the same, to moving up an age group since the competition in mine was pretty strong.

I am not usually a big fan of warming up before the race. I always think I may be wasting some energy that I might need! But I did jog around a bit with Sarah and Tom, who we spotted in the parking lot and who I'd met once at a race earlier in the year (also an RTR member). And of course I used that warm up as an opportunity to scope out a more secluded area to use instead of the port-a-potty (gotta do what you gotta do) since the line was crazy long at that point.

As we got ready to line up for the start I spotted a few other running friends which was great. I remember last year I ran a few races and didn't know anyone at all. It was really cool to see probably at least 10 people at this race that I know from different groups or races or even Facebook! In fact I finally met Cindy for the first time who I only had known from her FB page Running Shoes Required, which was the first local FB running page I joined. It was great to finally meet her and her friend and running partner Bill. We spotted Jorge, another RTR member who decided to register for the race that weekend (first race in 20 yrs and he decided a 10 miler would be the one...very ambitious!). And Pauline and Pamela who I know from a women's running group Pauline leads spotted me and we got to wave good luck before the race start.

The start was late and everyone was getting anxious. It was kind of amusing to watch as they tried to inflate the starting/finish line banner, which kept falling over. But mostly we just wanted to get going. Then everyone started moving up in a jog and for a minute we thought we'd missed the gun go off so started running, only to realize it was just everyone moving up to the starting line. Whew! Then we heard right after the "ready, set, go".

So off we ran. Sarah and I talked a bit before the race about running together and what pace we'd run. I was aiming for 7:15 pace, but kind of hoped to run faster and at the very least hoped for 7:30 if I couldn't make 7:15. We started off pretty fast but it didn't feel all that fast. Tom of course took off and we lost sight of him pretty early on (came in 2nd in our age group for the men!). I set my Garmin to look at lap pace so I could see the current average pace and it would reset for each lap which is a good way to do it for a long race like this because average overall pace isn't as good to show you if you are starting to slip off your goal pace. We were doing under 6:30 initially but then slowed to 6:45 and got closer to 7:00 by the end of the first mile, which was good. We passed and waved to the 12 yo who I talked to before the race (who ended up coming in first in his age group!) and tried from there to keep a fairly steady pace around 7:15.

The course was pretty hilly, more than I'd expected though I'll admit I didn't spend much time looking into it since I'd registered later than I usually do. It was a lot of long up and down hills. So given that I was pretty happy with the pace we were able to maintain, since that was kind of the goal pace for a relatively flat course, not a hilly one. The slowest miles were 6 and 9, which were the hilliest, besides mile 1 which was also partly hilly. The course itself was a good one, not boring since it had some variety with all the hills. It went through parts of RTP that I was familiar with since I worked there for the first 2 yrs I lived in NC. However, the traffic was only partially blocked in most spots, so the space coned off for runners at most places was only able to allow for 2 runners side by side. So if someone wanted to pass, they'd often have to go outside the cones which felt a bit dangerous at times when traffic picked up which it did after the first few miles into the race.

I am always appreciative of volunteers at races and the ones at this race did a great job, were very supportive and very cheerful despite the wet weather. There was some confusion though at the water stops. It wasn't really clear who had water and who had HEED (which I hate to say tasted AWEFUL! but then again I have a weird aversion to orangey flavored drinks and this tasted a bit like St. Joseph's baby aspirin mixed with water...yucky). Of course that is the risk you take when you don't bring your own stuff and use something for the first time provided by the race. HEED was available at mile 4 and 6 (I had been told before the race it was going to be 6 and 8 so that caused some confusion at mile 4 when I got HEED expecting water) but I totally missed it at mile 6 because I couldn't figure out who had it and didn't want to completely stop to figure it out. I was really worried about that because my biggest problem in long runs has been not having enough Gatorade (replacing electrolytes) and I took the risk to use what was provided instead of wearing my annoying but useful fuel belt. I was glad that I brought a Hammer Gel but that doesn't have any electrolytes. Still it was good to have it since I did miss the HEED at mile 6 and they actually didn't have it at mile 8. I used the gel at mile 6 and I think it definitely helped.

I didn't really begin to feel tired until miles 8 and 9. Prior to that I felt like the race was taking forever but that was because I missed the 5 mile mark and somehow thought that we hadn't even reached the halfway point when in fact we were nearly at the 6 mile mark. That was a relief! Mile 8 and 9 were tough because I realized there was no HEED (not that I liked it but still though perhaps I could use it) and because I was starting to just feel sore and worried whether I could continue maintaining the pace.

Sarah and I ran the whole way through mile 9 together which I have never done in a race before. I am always impressed with how fast Sarah runs and always trying to keep up with her so it was good to run together for this race. By the time we reached mile 9, I was feeling ready to be done but felt pretty good for only one mile to go so was able to pick up the pace to 6:37 which is pretty fast for me even for mile 1 of a 5K. The finish was the same location as the start so this time we were going up hill, but for some reason it wasn't so bad because I could see the inflatable finish line in the distance. I also saw there were no other women in sight up ahead so there wasn't any pressure to catch anyone. I did give it as much as I could though, so it's no surprise that the pictures heading to the finish line (which I didn't even realize they would be taking) were horrible! I will certainly not be purchasing them....yikes!

I ended up beating my set goal of 7:15 pace with a official chip time of 1:11:44, 7:11 pace. Came in 57 of 379 overall, 12 of 200 women, and 3 of 49 in the 35 to 39 age group. It was a PR since it was my first 10 mile race but the pace was actually better than my 15K PR and was pretty close to my 10K PR pace of 7:07. Not bad, I was pretty pleased. Sarah also PR'd as did quite a few other folks from what I heard.

After the race I got to chat a bit with some more running friends and even met some new folks. Talked with Ryan (who's son goes to school with and plays soccer with my son Owen), Pauline and Pamela and met their husbands, and Cindy. Said hi to Laura who usually comes in first in our age group every race, she's way fast! I met up with Jorge, Tom, Sarah and Mia and we stayed for the awards ceremony which was later than originally planned. By that time the sun was shining. We also got to chat a bit with Pam, the first place masters woman, who was running nearly the entire race at the same pace as Sarah and I. We'll both be joining her in the Masters category next spring!

All in all, a great time with good friends and a good race to raise money for downs syndrome. I was glad I ran it and have now registered for the next race in the Second Empire Series, Triangle Run/Walk for Autism, on Oct 1oth. Maybe I'll see some of you there!