I Stand Corrected.

I came across this link today from the Prospect Park Track Club blog.  They culled together some blogs that talked about the Cherry Tree 10 Miler & Relay. Here is how they summed up my race report:

Milewon came from far away and had trouble reading our map.  She thought she ran up Mt Prospect Hill.  Notsomuch, we call that Zoo Hill, Mt Prospect is across Flatbush Ave.

What, no mention of my idea to add a little something stronger in the bathroom cups? I thought I was on to something there.

So, the hill of death is not called Mt Prospect Hill like I originally thought. Told you I couldn’t read the map.  It’s called Zoo Hill which makes a hell of a lot more sense since there is a zoo nearby.  It really doesn’t matter what it’s called because I renamed it Mount PAIN IN THE ASS. Mt. PIMA for short.

I LOVE how they said I came from far away.  Queens is quite a haul from Brooklyn.  I keep telling The Husband that but he never agrees with me.   Now I have proof!

But now, I’m intrigued. What’s the real Mt. Prospect Hill like?  Is it as equally horrifying to run it as Mt. PIMA?  Looks like it’s time to get my passport and Asics out and take a field trip back to Prospect Park.

Anyway, I thought it was fun to be mentioned in PPTC’s blogomania.  I got a kick out of a lot of the blog recaps.  Nicely done.

2012 Cherry Tree 10 Miler & Relay

Alternatively titled, the Race for The Hard Core. Mmm hmm. I didn’t get a chance to talk about the race here prior to running in it, but I definetly wanted to take the time to recap my 1st race of 2012. As the title suggests, the race could either be ran as a 10 Miler or as part of a relay team.

The race was held in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. Below is a picture of the course, although even after running it, I still can’t figure out how to read that map.

Kim and I started mulling over the idea of doing this relay when we realized it would coincide with her trip to NYC. I mentioned the idea to my Brother-in-Law, Greg, who jumped right on the idea and boom! – our team was born!

Race day brought really great running weather, which is a small blessing considering it is near the end of February in NYC. Usually this is the time where we have a snow storm or two or three. I ran the first leg, Greg the second, and Kim was our anchor. Slowest to fastest.

As I started on my leg, Kim and Greg cheered me on which gave me a good push coming out of the starting line. It made me smile for a couple of feet until I realized that 1.) I’m running all by myself (my last race I ran side by side with Kim) and 2.) I had to pee. Great. My mind was all over the place during the run, I don’t think I ever quite got into “the zone”. I was slightly freaking out about the hilly course and the impending hill of death.

Greg was familiar with the course and long before the race gave me the heads up on the infamous hill that would await us during our run. The entire week before the race THAT HILL added to my pre-race jitters. Most of my runs have been on the treadmill in my basement and the last time I checked there were no hills. I was able to take some of my runs outdoors, but as far as I am aware, its not that hilly in my section of Queens (or it could be that I am deliberately ignoring anything resembling an incline). Let me tell you a little about this hill via wikipedia:

“Mount Prospect, or Prospect Hill, near the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, rises 200 feet (61 m) above sea level^[9] and is the highest among a string of hills that extends into the park…” (source)

Now, let me tell you about the hill via me. It sucked. The end. It seemed to never end and just as I thought I was almost finished climbing the hill, the road curved a bit and showed me that I was probably only half way up. And that’s exactly where I felt like I started to unravel. I stopped running and walked a bit up the hill until I spotted Steve (The Husband) and Steven (Kim’s husband), aka spectators extraordinaire. I ran up to them and muttered something about the hill being a bitch female dog. Seeing them cheering me on gave me a push that I really needed. I took a few other walk breaks at the water areas. Side note: If I ever organize a race, there will not be water in those plastic bathroom cups. I’m thinking something a lot stronger. My legs and thighs were burning at this point and I still felt like I was running uphill, even when I was clearly running down hill. The hill (which really should be called a damn mountain) got to Greg, too. He had to walk it for a bit. The hill however, was no match for Kim. Rumor has it that she was doing cartwheels all the way up the hill. Ok, not cartwheels, but the hill didn’t faze her one bit. GO KIM! Interesting side note: as another runner went by Steve and Steven, he asked them if the hill ever ended. The answer is no, my friend. The answer is no.

But let’s not focus entirely on the hill. It was a relay after all, and that meant that I got to slap on a slap braclet, better know as the baton, onto Greg’s wrist. I don’t think it went as smoothly as that, but it was definitely a favorite moment of the race. Here are some other favorite race moments:

• Seeing Kim’s face as she sprinted towards the finish line. She looked amazing and that image of her approaching the finish line will inspire me for a long time to come.
• Greg saying we should run this relay again next year and also inquiring about another race I had mentioned to him in passing about 10 minutes after he completed his leg.
• My spectators. Steve and Steven did a great job at seeing each of us TWICE on the course. The crowd support was light for this race so seeing them helped me tremendously.
• Kim coming over to give me a big hug right after I finished my leg.
• My relay team mates.

When my leg was over, I was acutely aware that I was disappointed with my performance. The hilly course took a lot out of me and I just didn’t feel like I was strong. There was a lot of shoulda, whoulda, coulda’s floating around in my head and it’s taken me a full day to finally cut myself some slack. This race was a PDR and I guess it was a PR since this was my “fastest” 5K race. Not too hard considering that I hobbled through the majority of my first 5K in November of 2011 with a knee injury of sorts.

I am also very excited and pleased to announce that I am signed up to run The Roosevelt Island 5K in May with special guest, The Husband! This will be Steve’s first 5K ever and am excited to see him train and run this race with me. I’m hoping Greg will sign up so that we can make it a family affair.

And you know what, Mount Pain In My Ass. I’ll be back.

(3) Mile(s)WON

Well, hello there long lost bloggers! Let me just dust some of these cob webs off of here.  Ok.  Good.  So, yes, Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It’s been XX days since my last confession post.

A lot has been going on at work; at home; with running – that I haven’t had time to sit down and write.  Let me right that wrong right now.

So big news in my running world!  Sound the trumpets – big announcement coming: I. FINISHED. THE. C25K. RUNNING. PROGRAM (caps and one word sentences very necessary). I can run three miles, yo! Mmm hmmm.   I can run three miles outside, I can run three miles inside. I can run three miles while listening to music, I can run three miles and drink from a water bottle. I can’t run three miles in the wind (another story) and I’m not quite sure if I can run and talk at the same time yet.

In true I-just-won-an-Oscar fashion; here is my speech:

I would like to thank God for giving me two legs and I would like to thank Kim because she reminded me that I should actually use those two legs.  All kidding aside, big huge thanks to Kim.  She motivated and encouraged me every step of the way. She was one of the few people who didn’t roll her eyes when I said things like, “I ran three minutes straight today!”.  Although, most of those proclamations were via text messages, so maybe she could have been rolling her eyes. I doubt it though.  Another awesome pal: Courtney.  She always made me feel that the simple act of getting on the treadmill was the biggest accomplishment to hit all of mankind. Walk on the moon? Whatever! Gina ran on the treadmill today – YAY! Courtney was an amazing cheerleader and it felt great to have her in my corner.   Can’t forget The Husband! While I tried doing most of my runs while the baby was sleeping, there were plenty of times he took the reins so I could squeeze in a run.  He always gave me priority when it came to using the treadmill.  After one workout, I walked into the living room to see him and my son holding on to a sign that said “ GO GINA GO!”  Aww!  I have since put that sign near the treadmill.  I would also like to thank all of you.  Your comments, encouragement, and suggestions meant the world to me.  I know many of you are not running rookies so the fact that you took the time to read and comment on my running ramblings really made me smile.

So what’s next? More running! I want to work on my endurance – right now I hit Mile 2 and it’s constant mental warfare in my mind all the way to Mile 3.  I would like for that not to happen.  After my legs and head are on the same page about running, I would like to work on my pace.  Faster, please. I feel like the fact that I used to complain about running a minute straight and now can run 3 miles straight – I can do (almost) anything as long as I work at it.  I would like to find another training program because I liked having weekly goals and challenges.  I will probably look into one once I can run three miles with more ease.

One Mile at a Time

I haven’t  posted on here for a bit because I kind of been struggling on what to write.  Right now, my runs are all in the basement on the treadmill.  Pretty boring.  Nothing too exciting goes on down there except when The Husband accidentally shuts the light off and I almost kill myself trying to yell at him and not fall off the treadmill at the same time.   Funny how I automatically lose my balance in pitch black darkness.

Last night after the baby was in bed, I had a nice long talk with The Husband about all kinds of stuff.  Just a nice conversation where we talked about everything and nothing.  It was such a nice change of pace since our topics of conversation is usually Baby this and Baby that.  He asked me lots of questions about my running and it felt really good to stop, think about, and discuss my running with him.

One of his questions to me was “How far do you want to take your running – what is your ultimate goal?”  It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for the last couple of weeks.  I’ll be ending Week 7 and starting Week 8 of my 9 week training program.  What should I do after I complete the program? Do I start increasing my mileage? Do I work on speed? So while thinking about the answer, I realized that I don’t want to be a Marathoner.  I don’t think I have the attention span for that.  What I really think I want to do is focus on short distance running.  Run really great, quality 5ks and some 4 milers.  Maybe having an ultimate goal of doing a 10k.  I don’t want to put a time line on it.  I just want to break off little pieces as I go.  For some reason saying all this out loud made me feel energized about my running…and proud. Sometimes I wish I was running 6 miles at once RIGHT. NOW.  I know the distance that I run currently some runners can do in their sleep.  That’s ok. I have to realize that they had to work at it too.  Sometimes I lose sight of that. So, allow me to pat myself om the back for a sec, because right now, running two miles is pretty effing huge for me.  For me, a mile ran is a mileWON.

YAY YAY YAY

This post is the complete opposite from last post’s pity party! Week 5 was challenging.  The runs weren’t feeling as easy as they were the past 4 weeks. I don’t know if was from all the extra holiday food laying around or the added extra activities that come with the holidays, but my energy level felt way off.  I got through each of the work outs but I felt wiped out.  Plus, I was dreading workout no. 3 all week.

Work out no. 3 which was on the agenda for last night consisted of a brisk walk for 5 minutes then a two mile (or 20 min) run.  Really? Just like that? No walks? Just run?  For 20 minutes straight? Just like that. I thought the Couch to 5k program must be on crack.   How was I going to be able to do this?! Apparently, the program has more faith in me than I do!

I waited until the baby was asleep, made sure I was hydrated, and let it rip.  Success! It was one of THE BEST runs I had so far.  I was able to get into my zone pretty quickly and I focused less on the time and more on how I was feeling.  No knee pain, no cramps, no burning calves – I had no reason to stop or give up!

I felt so great after I was finished! I was proud of myself for completing the workout and being able to run for 2 miles straight.  A new wave of confidence washed over me and I feel more capable of being able to run the race I’m planning on in February (more on that later).

This was exactly the kind of run I needed in order to forget about last Monday’s crapfest and keep going.

I am so thankful for all the great comments I received on my last post.  It helped me to stop feeling sorry for myself and to keep trying. I need to expect that there will be some crap runs mixed it with some really great runs.  I guess I always thought that once you got the hang of running, the struggle wouldn’t be there.  Now I see that was a pretty unrealistic expectation. It was nice to hear from some runners that every once in a while things don’t always go so smoothly.

 

Wah Wah Wah

Pity Party time!!!

I don’t know exactly what it was, but Monday’s run sucked. I’m not even going to try to sugar coat it because it just plain sucked. The run felt sluggish and I felt blah the whole time.  I don’t know if it was just a blah work out because it was the day after Christmas or because it had something to do with doing the workout with no food in my system.  I had just gotten up from a rare nap, fed the baby, and decided to hit the treadmill.  Maybe my brain was still a little foggy.

I had a burning feeling in my calves for the majority of the work out.  Wow, talk about annoying! I googled “burning calves” to see what the potential issue could be and found some possible answers on livestrong.com. It seems like the burning calves could be the  result of 1. my (poor) running form and 2. some dehydration.  After the run, I felt stiff and sore – my left knee still has some soreness around the knee cap area which is why I’m wondering about my running form (Kim – maybe you could watch me run the next time you’re in town?).  I haven’t felt crappy during and after a workout at all since I started the Couch to 5k program 4 weeks ago and I felt really bummed out about it.

Week 5 starts tonight and I hope that I have a much better workout or I will probably start feeling really discouraged which is not helpful. Starting at Week 5, the run times increase at each workout and while I’m amped about the challenge, I know if my body doesn’t cooperate I will probably have an internal struggle with myself about giving up.  Yeah, a few lousy workouts is all it takes for me.  Probably something I should work on.

Three Weeks Completed

I’m about to wrap up week three of my nine week 5k plan. I’ll be heading into the fourth week where it looks like running ramps up a bit. Well, challenged accepted, 5k plan! I’m looking forward to week four.  

 I think this is a good point to look back and see how my running plan is going now that I’m a third of the way into it.

 The plan calls for a 20 minute workout, three times a week. I’ve consistently done a 30 minute workout, four times a week. Occasionally, I will run a little bit more than the plan requires just for kicks. And well, to see if I can do it.

 Right off the bat, a few significant changes that I’ve noticed is my endurance. I’m finding the runs are going a little bit easier each time even though I’m continually increasing my speed slighty at each run.  I dropped a few pounds and can run for longer periods of time. Double score. 

 Somewhere along the way I figured out that running after dinner = a bad idea. I noticed that it would take me a lot longer to get into the workout after stuffing my face.  I decided to eat a somewhat bigger meal at lunch and maybe a snack at night. Running goes a lot easier this way.   I also think curbing dinner has attributed a lot to the weight loss – but I’m hoping that running is helping me in that department, too. 

 Every so often I get a little discouraged with how long of a process it feels like to get to a 5k running ability .  In a perfect world, I would say, “Hey, I wanna run a 5k, let’s go!” but I just don’t have that natural athletic ability or stamina.  Let’s face it, I’m out of shape. I have my work cut out for me.  I need to actually train for it and sometimes using the 9 week approach makes me feel like I’m never going to get there and that makes me cranky.

 Sometimes I need to go back and re-read this part of the running plan:

 “It’s easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Don’t try to do more, even if you feel you can”.

 I know going at this speed/pace is helping me not to injure my knee again. That’s an important 2012 goal and so far my knee is feeling pretty good!

 I love posting my runs to my Facebook wall. It helps me keep track of my runs, but also the encouragement and the “likes” I get helps me to stay motivated. 

Another good motivator is possibly doing a race in February with Kim. Nothing is set in stone, but the thought of doing a race gets me moving!

Speaking of Kim, have you checked out her lastest giveaway?  I almost hate to link up to her page because I WANNA WIN IT!

Don’t Underestimate the Things That I Will Do

(That’s my job!)

Here are some goals that I hope to achieve in 2012:

• Run at least 3 5K’s.
• Run those races right and injury free.
• Run at least one 5K in 30 minutes or less. Ha, I sound like a pizza delivery promise.
• Lose at least 20 lbs.  I can definitely stand to lose more than that, but aiming low.
• Talk and run at the same time. I can do that now, but it currently sounds like this:  ”So…huff, huff, huff, the other day I…huff, gasp, pant…ordered a triple thick shake…gasssssssp, huff, huff, gasp, arghhh, huff…”   Ok, it’s not THAT bad, but I would really like it if I could have a normal conversation with a running partner without all that extraneous huffing and puffing.
• Find a running partner! Run with other runners! A friend is kindly letting me use her jogging stroller so Luca will be my default running partner when the weather warms up again, but hopefully I won’t shy away from asking a fellow runner to run with me.   I realized that I know a number of people that are runners or use running to stay in shape. I hope not to be too intimidated by their skill level and take the initiative to reach out to them for a run.  Or possible join a local running club? I probably could learn a thing or two, or three from their experiences.
• Complete my current training plan with out aggravating my troublesome knee. I’m in week two of my 9 week training plan.
• Run outdoors more but not neglect the treadmill.

Those are my goals for now. I will update and adjust the goals as needed.  I rather set my goals a little low than too high so that I don’t burn myself out.  For example, if I lose 20 lbs, I’ll increase the goal. If I run 3 5K’s and still have plenty of time left in the year, I’ll do more, or maybe try a 4-Miler.  I’m trying to be realistic. Gone are the days where I could have vested a lot of time to running. Now,  I have my sweet 7 mth old, other family responsibilities, and activities to factor in to my daily schedule.  Plus, I already managed to injure myself once and really need to refrain from doing that again. Slow and steady. Quality over quantity.  Insert other applicable cliches here.

What are some of your goals that you hope to achieve in 2012 – whether it’s running related or not?  What would you like to see happen in the New Year?

How It All Ended

My training for The Dash to the Finish Line was going pretty smoothly. The weather was cooperating, The Husband was cooperating, The Baby was cooperating – my body, however, was not cooperating.

About two weeks in I was really starting to see improvements.  I was running with more ease and losing some weight.  I was feeling pretty good during a Saturday run that I deviated from the training program a bit.  Instead of sticking with the run/walk intervals,  I just kept running.  I kept telling myself, see if you can get to this point without stopping. This point turned into that point. That point turned into all the way home.  I felt great until I stopped running.  Afterwards my legs, especially around my knees , felt stiff and achy.  I brushed the pain off and attributed it to being a sign of a really good workout.  I tried taking a hot shower in hopes that the heat would loosen my legs but it didn’t help at all.  I spent the rest of the day walking around like a 105 year old.  I figured my legs just needed some time to rest and that I would feel better the next day.  Nope.  My knees didn’t feel better the next day or the day after that and the pain continued for about a week.  I tried  icing my knee, applying heat, Tylenol, then a lot of Tylenol but nothing seemed to help the throbbing pain. Using a knee brace and a knee strap didn’t work so I resigned to the fact that I probably should rest. I took a few days off from running and when I tried running again a few days later, I found that my legs refused to bend.   I gave up and made an appointment for an orthopedist. I had to wait a week to be seen, a whole long and painful week.  In fact, the appointment was scheduled for the Tuesday before the 5K. I felt pretty low at this point. I wasn’t able to continue with training and I was really disappointed about that.  I was hobbling around everywhere and Steve had to carry Luca down the stairs for me because I had so much trouble just trying to get myself down the stairs.

By the time my appointment came around, the pain in my left knee disappeared but my right knee still felt awful. The doctor felt around my knees (Does this hurt? YES!) and sent me for X-rays. The diagnosis: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Yep.  My quads are weak so the knee is taking the brunt of my weight when I run. Or something like that. Poor knee.

I got the go ahead from the doctor to continue running when the pain eased up and a sheet of exercises to help strengthen the muscles around my knee. Oh, and a script for anti-inflammatory medication to take as needed.   I decided to hold off on training and just see what I could do come race day. There was not much more I could do other than that.

All that rest helped and by the time Saturday rolled around, I felt like I was able to make a decent attempt at running. My plan was to start off running and walk when my knee needed to rest and that’s pretty much what I did.  Kim was really great at staying by my side the whole time even though snails were probably passing me at one point.  I had a lot of fun but couldn’t help thinking about how much better I would’ve done if my knee didn’t hurt.

It’s been a month since the race so the actual race details are a little fuzzy but you can read all about it on Kim’s race report.

I will always remember my favorite parts of the race. That’s coming up next!

How It All Began…

One day, while minding my own business, Kim forwaded an ING New York City Marathon newsletter to me to peruse.  There was about a month left to Marathon and I was getting so excited for Kim to come in from Chicago and run all over the 5 boros. The newsletter had some information for spectators and tips on how to cheer on your marathoner.  Towards the bottom of the newsletter I saw that there would be a 5K the day before the marathon called, NYRR The Dash to the Finish Line. The race description was very compelling:

Be part of the world-famous ING New York City Marathon excitement, run through the streets of Manhattan, and finish at the famed Marathon finish line in Central Park – without running 26.2 miles!

 On Marathon Saturday, November 5, 2011, our inaugural NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K (3.1 miles) will be open to all runners who want to join in the marathon festivities.

Friends and family, marathoners and non-marathoners—all are welcome. This year you’ll get to run with a strong field led by Olympic hopefuls and other top runners on this flat and fast course.

 The unique route starts near the United Nations and takes runners across 42nd Street, then heads uptown into Central Park for the final dash across the world-renowned ING New York City Marathon finish line.

I was hooked. The rest of the details are a little fuzzy. I remember Kim and I both thinking we could do this together but I can’t remember if I approached her about it or if she asked me to run it with her.  Either way, before I knew it, Kim had me on a 5K training plan.  At that point I only had about 4 weeks to get up to snuff. Or at least up to where I could fake my way through the race.

As luck would have it, I was headed to Chicago with The Husband, Steve and Baby Luca for a long weekend visit with Kim and her family during Columbus Day weekend. We decided to start the training during my visit in Chicagoland.

Kim prepared a modified version of this beginning training plan.  We modified it since I only had 4 weeks (eek!).  I continued on the plan when I got back to New York. The fall weather was unseasonably mild and I was really getting into running. I loved running around my neighborhood.  How could you not, when this is your mile one marker. Or as I like to call it MileWON:

Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this running stuff without Kim motivating me at every step or without The Husband.  He graciously took over more baby duties several times a week so that I was able to have an hour or so to run.  Steve was amazing. I would come home to a fed and happy baby and dinner on the table.  He made it so easy for me.

So, I kept this routine up for about two weeks until my knees turned against me. More on that next time.

(Don’t forget to head over to Kim’s blog. She’s doing a giveaway a week until Christmas. Check out this week’s giveaway here! Don’t be shy!)