HIATUS OVER!

Ok, wow, sorry for the big long break there. Lots of things happening... which I know everyone says, but I'm serious. So, as you probably figured, I went on my Arizona/Utah trip, but what you probably didn't figure is... I came back engaged! So basically every waking moment from then until now has been tied up with looking for venues and getting all girly-excited about dresses and colors and flowers. Not to mention classes are coming to a close, and I have to figure out what I'm writing about for my final paper.

Back to running!

Since I hadn't ran in a good three weeks - *cringe*, I know, but you have to remember I was hiking 8-12 miles a day at altitudes of over 6,000 feet, so it wasn't like I was sitting on my butt here, people! - I definitely wanted to start out all easy-like. I set my mind on the "small loop," as it's now called, which goes up across the 97th St. transverse and comes back down right past the reservoir. It's a little over 3 miles, plus some 1.6 miles warm up and cool down total.

I started running with my friend Y who lives pretty close to me and is training for the NYRR Queens Half Marathon in late July. The first time we went it was mutually beneficial, because I showed her some of the trails and paths I'd learned in Central Park (which I quite deserve knowing, I think, based on how many times I got lost in the snow in there!) and she provided some company and kept me on pace to go a little further. It ended well; we felt good and I was glad I could jump right back into it.

Until the next day, when I went by myself, and I got a cramp so bad I had to stop halfway through and walk back, O the humiliation! I blame it on the Chipotle, which was eaten about 3 hours before the run, so I thought it would be okay, but alas! Chipotle is definitely not a runner's food. Never again... at least on a day I plan on exercising.

That completely bashed my motivation into a tiny bloody pulp, so I didn't go the rest of that whole week. Catching up on work, going back to class and learning that our abstract was due the next week, taking a trip up to Connecticut that lasted from 5:20am to 11:30pm to look at venues and going a little stir-crazy in the car... that was that week.

Then Y suggested running on Monday again, and we went, and it was good. We did the same small loop and I felt a little better. I went on Wednesday in the muggy rain with a hoodie and my Formula 1 baseball cap (to try and goad my legs into going faster through association?) and that was only ok again. I'm seeing a pattern here. Run with Y, feel good. Run by myself, feel ick. I'm pretty sure she's controlling my pace so I don't burn out halfway through at this point. So when class lets out early yesterday and I see a message from Y to go running at around 7pm, we go. I suggest stretching the distance a little bit this time, which means from the 72nd St. transverse to the 97th St. one. She suggests running in the opposite direction, "to work out my right leg more this time" because the road is tilted to the side to drain away rainwater. We set off, and it's like merging into I-84 traffic - there are literally thousands of people running.

Something like this. Totally insane!

We see about 10 groups of 20 people running those chain drills, where the last person runs to the front of the line, and the next person runs to the front, etc, and a ton of other individual people dodging them. Herds of serious-looking bikers hurtle by with barely an inch between their wheels. Where have all these people been?? I can't believe they were running inside on treadmills - even New York doesn't have that many to compensate for them. Maybe the nice weather turns an exercise switch on. Anyway, we're going, and feeling pretty good - nay for the near-collisions we almost encounter with people going the other way with death grimaces on their faces... they are NOT going to move aside for you, so if you value your life, you'd better move out. of. the. WAY! - until on the other side of the park Y somehow cuts her nose with her finger mid-tissue blow and we have a mini- (or, probably in her opinion, major-) nosebleed crisis. It took a while to get it under control, and we almost head back but she mans up, plugs it with some tissue and we run the short distance back. So proud of her! Her running jersey now has battle scars.

I didn't time it, and it probably would have been inaccurate anyway because of that long stop on the west side, but in my vastly knowledgeable experience it was probably around a 9:00-9:15 minute/mile pace, at around 5 miles distance (not counting the warm up and cool down). That's pretty good, for both of us! I got back at around 8:45 and, upon discovering the glaring lack of food in the apartment, broke down and ordered pizza, which I quickly demolished. Then I passed out on the couch. Attractive, yes, I know.

This morning I'm still kind of tired, despite sleeping like a rock, and my legs are a little sore, but I'm taking all these as good signs because I was up and active. The relay is rapidly approaching and I definitely do not have time to sit around now!

Some new running partners, new routes and timed runs are all coming soon.

Also, Y has a rocking blog called Awesome in New York which offers tidbits and tips about great places to eat or visit in the city and has a bunch of amazing giveaways! Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area or plan on visiting.

"The will to win is worthless, without the will to prepare."

Hiking trip!

Hiking trip time! It doesn't really count as training for a run, but it will definitely get the legs into good shape.

After focusing on international trips for a while (Germany, Costa Rica, all of which were amazing), we decided to keep it domestic and see what the US has to offer. This trend was sparked by two short visits to San Francisco, both of which consisted of the city serving as a homebase for a Yosemite trip and a Mount Tamalpais day hike. Oregon and Washington State are on the list, as is Maine (Acadia!), but both of those destinations are somewhat unpleasant for March weather. This timing for the southwest, on the other hand, is perfect: right when the campgrounds and lodges open and right before the mandatory shuttle buses start, so we can drive to trailheads and experience hikes with the minimum amount of foot traffic.

Some highlights:

Grand Canyon, obviously.

We are hiking from the rim down to the floor and back up again. This concept is already very backwards in my head, because every hike I've been on either consists of walking up and then back down a mountain or along a trail that goes up and down in elevation through a range. I wonder how my legs will do with the uphill coming later in the day... may even be better, since downhill definitely hurts the feet more.

Bryce Canyon:

The whole point of this place is to feel like you're a bee in a honeycomb. Looks totally crazy, and there are real warnings to not go onto (or into?) certain trails without a park guide because you will get lost. Technically it's not a canyon but an ampitheater. Those pointy things are called "hoodoos," formed out of the lakebed by erosion. This place is much higher in elevation than Zion National Park, with the ampitheater's rim at a whopping 8,000-9,000ft above sea level.

Zion National Park:

Angel's Landing. Yep. Thousand feet drop on both sides, about a foot wide in some places, and a handy little chain to keep you there. This is definitely a highlight. There are apparently mountain lions all over this place, and things like this are not reassuring, especially since we're going to be camping in a teensy little thin-walled tent:

Monument Valley:

This is less of a hike and more of a drive, but it still is going to be amazing. Recognize this from Forrest Gump, Stagecoach and Back to the Future III? Just so pretty!

Arches National Park:

Another day hike for this one. According to Wikipedia, it is the home of over 2000 natural sandstone arches, formed when a giant sea evaporated, leaving a layer of salt beneath the ever-increasing weight of additional dirt and rock above it. When the weight became too great, the salt liquified, and thrust up layers of rock into big domes, which were then eaten away by the elements in various shapes.

Antelope Canyon:

There are really no words to describe this. Caused by water eroding the sandstone, this slot canyon's rock flows like a river itself. Light begins to enter through the top of the canyon starting March 15 (phew, we'll just make it!) and goes away every year on October 7. The only thing a little bit scary about this is that flash flooding does still occur, and eleven people were killed in a flood in 1997, which occurred when a thunderstorm dumped lots of water at the canyon basin seven miles away the day before. The only person to get out was the guide, who had already had "swiftwater training." The rescue ladders and nets were swept away... but now they're bolted on, and let's cross our fingers!

Natural Bridges National Monument:

We are going to be here in the evening, and it's a good thing, too, because Natural Bridges has the only night sky monitored by the NPS Night Sky Team that rates a Class 2 on the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, giving it the darkest sky ever assessed. That there is the Milky Way, kiddies. Ahhhh, we're tipping!

We are alternating camping nights with hotel nights and renting a car to drive the very long hours between these places. We'll end up at Salt Lake City to fly back to New York a week after we get out there, and here's to hoping it's an amazing trip!

This might actually be working!

Last night I ran 5.35 miles in 45:49 (8:34 pace). This was all up and through the park, so there were hills like a normal road instead of the flatness of the sidewalks. This was a major accomplishment so far because of a few things:

1) The fact that I didn't have to stop upon pain of death by asphyxiation! I've run the hill at the north end of the park 4 times now, and it's always been a struggle between my mind and my body that my body always seems to lose. In fact, I would start breathing harder before the trail even started to go up - panic attack? Oh God, oh God, I shouldn't have come this way? I had to stop at the top and walk it off every time, at least for a few steps, so that I could catch my breath -- but not this time! My technique was to really concentrate on my breathing and I ended up robotically counting them as I tried to breathe in and out through my  nose and stretch out my stomach muscles so I wouldn't get a stitch. Just FYI, I took only 67 breaths coming down the hill, but over 200 on the way back up. I lost count because I was getting distracted by my legs falling off. However, at the top, I just kind of leaned back and breathed deep and the next thing I knew I was down the small rise and still going!

2) The distance itself. Technically, the total amount that I ran yesterday was more like 6.5 miles, because of the distance to and from the park that I wasn't timing. The previous times that I've run ~5 miles have ended up with my feet going numb or something else hurting just from the repetition. This time felt wonderful, though; I actually ran right past the normal cutover point at ~84th street (which is usually the part that I barely make it to, feeling like it's my last dying action to get my butt up to the crosswalk...) and continued down to the 72nd street cutover. Well, at least it felt wonderful until I stopped and stretched and walked it out. Then it hurt. Like really hurt. I iced when I got back to the apartment but still looked like an old woman hobbling around. Speaking of which, the knees are still fine! Looks like appropriate shoes do a world of good.

3) Ok, ok, fine! I'll do a warmup and stretch before starting the actual run. *Grumble* Adam was right. The times that I run right through the first mile without stopping to shake out the legs are the times that I have to stop right in the middle because my shins are so tight I can't extend my toes. What a difference between Sunday (no warmup stretch, had to stop twice, was really, really trying not to puke on the people passing me) and last night (warmup stretch, never had to stop, was really, really trying not to laugh like a maniac as I passed people).

4) This isn't a real "accomplishment", but I just think it's funny because I NEVER thought I'd have to have a music collection to listen to that was longer than an entire cd to last a whole run. Yeah... 45 minutes is a long time! Btw, last night was Big D and Less than Jake and some Goldfinger. Gotta love the out-of-sync trumpets and power chords as you're triumphantly topping the hill.

5) Did you know they are ticketing bicyclists who are running red lights in the park, even after dark with no one in sight? That's a desperate city trying to rake in the dough.

"Many people shy away from hills. They make it easy on themselves, but that limits their improvement. The more you repeat something, the stronger you get."
- Joe Catalano

100 days til relay day!

Cool Running and The Course!

Here's an article about the New England Relay on the Cool Running website: The New England Relay - Running 220 Miles in Six States in 24 Hours by Skip Cleaver.

I believe this was written last year, as the test run for this event was in June 2009. In any case, there are some route descriptions, pictures and insights that the New England Relay site doesn't necessarily have.

Here are some pictures nabbed from Google Maps of the general areas around the course, in the order that it's run:

Lake Aldersgate, Glocester, RI

Cedar Pond, Sturbridge, MA

Weeping Willow Barn, Westhampton, MA

Stepals, Brattleboro, VT - Oop... starting to get Up North!

Island Pond, Stoddard, NH - There will actually be times like this with people out running... it's nonstop, so we get to enjoy a beautiful sunset AND sunrise!

Rockingham Recreational Trail, Manchester, NH - Quite possibly one of my favorite pictures... love the trees! Definitely checking out this trail for future hikes.

Squamscot River, Newfields, NH

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, New Castle, NH - Once we hit the ocean, we're almost there! Turn north and head up the coast.

York Harbor Beach, York Harbor, ME - This isn't the official finish line, but it will look something like this.

Time to jazz it up.

Friday was gorgeous, and I got the better part of the afternoon off from work. It climbed to 64 degrees and the sun was out, so every runner in the park had on shorts and a t-shirt as they ran past the melting snowbanks. Since I usually put my iPod in the inside pocket of whatever outerwear I'm wearing to protect myself against frostbite, and my shorts don't have pockets, I procured an armband for the iPod which worked out relatively well. It felt like it was cutting off circulation a little at first, but I ceased to notice it once I really got going... and by "got going", I mean set out on what eventually turned into a 5 mile run with a big hill involved.

I also discovered that I've been accidentally shortchanging myself! When I thought I was doing this:

... I was actually doing this:

... which changes the total miles from 3.44 to about 4.15. I didn't know this until Friday, when my thought process was as follows: since I've been cutting over at the first left, I'll lengthen my run to cut over at the second left. So I'm following the road... and it starts turning and going downhill... and I realize that I am now running the entire upper loop because I can see the north end of the park!

That is what ended up happening. Those of you unfamiliar with the north side of the park may not realize that the path on the east, when heading north, goes down quite a large hill... and that the corresponding west side goes right back up it. I am now privy to that information, having unwittingly played into the path's clutches. I couldn't help gasping like a landed fish and stopping briefly at the top of the hill... but I was still glad that I did it, because who knows how many hills are going to be on the actual course? Good to get used to them now instead of avoiding them. Friday's distance and time amounted to 5.01 miles at a 8:17 pace (so it took me a little over 40 minutes to do the full from-the-apartment-and-back loop, not shown here).

Saturday was a rest day, because it was already busy: I got up before dawn to get royally b-slapped by the Connecticut DMV, procured banana bread, macaroni and cheese and lasagna to cart back home, went to work for a little bit and had a haircut appointment.

Sunday was a different beast entirely.
What should we do to mix it up a little bit? What could possibly help train us better than big, long-distance runs? How about... intervals!
Defined as: "a type of physical training that involves bursts of high intensity work. This high intensity work is alternated with periods of rest or low activity."
Basic translation: Hell on earth.

What you do is this: jog lightly for one lamppost distance, for example. At the second lamppost, open your stride up so that you're running, not jogging... and at the third lamppost, SPRINT to the fourth. And keep doing it. Don't walk... you can jog as slow as you want, but the slower you jog, the faster you're supposed to push it on the strides and sprints. We did our intervals for maybe 1.5miles at a total distances of 3.5 miles (counting to and from the apartment, and a slow jog from the east to the west side as a rest).

This is how you feel afterwards (or, in my case, after the second sprint):

It's good for building up speed, because eventually you get used to running faster and your baseline jogs/strides get faster, which translates to a better time during the actual event. Lungs burning, throat dry, ribcage muscles spasming... and totally awesome when you're doing your sprint on pace with the bicyclist next to you. It's very rare that you really open up like that, and it feels great (as you're doing it, not after... unfortunately). This is definitely going down as an effective short workout for the future.

Two short new things.

1. Baked yam chips are irresistable. "I'll make some and eat half now, save half for later ... *tries one*... Oh, f- that, I'm eating them all RIGHT NOW."

2. My at-rest heart rate on 1/29/2011 was 82bpm. I measured it today, 2/15/2011, at 66bpm. Not bad, eh? Now I just have to get a cheap blood pressure cuff to keep track of that.

Indigestion, The Weekend and Park Attempt #2

The end of last week was kind of a bummer because I had some digestion problems that manifested themselves in unproductive ways. I can deal with feeling gassy or crampy, but what I cannot deal with is the sudden, immediate and mind-consuming need to use the restroom. At work it's fine (usually), and at home there's a plethora of bathrooms to choose from, but imagine you're two and a half miles away from your apartment, running, and wham! Call of Nature. I guess there's always employee restrooms you can semi-illegally barge into, which has definitely happened in the past, but it's still a pain in the butt. Pun intended.
Anyway, so I narrowed it down to the noticeable increase in soda intake for that week. We'd gotten a case of that "throwback Pepsi", aka they make it with real sugar (gasp!), and I had had one a day for maybe 3 days in a row when I started noticing it. Being the good scientist that I am, I stopped for one day, noted a positive change, then had another soda on Friday... an action which proved my theory but caused me to be moderately incapacitated that afternoon, as far as exercise goes. As to the soda: not really sure why that was causing it. I don't generally have soda that often (maybe 2-3 times a month?) so maybe bubbles, sugar or pH change was getting to me. Either way, my run on Friday was cut short at a mile and I suffered some stomach pain that seemed severe at the time but in hindsight was just annoying due to the fact I had to scoot a half mile back to my apartment while doing some serious mental cartwheels to ignore the fact that I might vomit all over unsuspecting passersby. Which I didn't, thankfully, but it was still unpleasant.
Saturday passed quickly as we did a whole bunch of fun things, including an early breakfast at The Silver Spurs, getting myself some real running shoes, as the other ones I've been using are actually crosstrainers, going to this sort-of-secret watch sale where they didn't let you get in without checking coats and bags and showing your ID, then going to a wine and chocolate-paired tasting and THEN a visit to the new dumpling place down the street called Mahjong Dumpling which was fantastic! Now that I think about it... Saturday was really busy!
Sunday was more relaxed, with a walk in the park with Chewie:

I ran afterwards, the 3.2 mile loop, but I started out too fast and I hadn't really gone in three days, so it was difficult. I had to stop a couple of times. Sad face.
I made up for it today by heading into Central Park again. I was shooting for distance, not necessarily speed, so I chugged my way to the 85th street entrance, up the main road to the 97th street transverse, and down the west side... to... what I thought was another transverse to take me back to where I started? Bah! Foiled again! Signs saying "W 72 St" are, while helpful, not appreciated. This time I turned around right when I realized it, because I really didn't want to run the loop all the way down to the south end of the park and back. I saw some movement heading across the park towards the east side and followed the people, until I realized that it was a couple and I was following them up to the "Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater"... which is a bit too creepy, even for me. There was even a sign saying something like "Magical Puppet House!" Ahem. I took a different path a little to the north, which put me on the round-ish thing around the great lawn, of which I was gratefully familiar. I made it to the other side and, when I couldn't find a path to the main road, forged my own across the ice and really, really wet mud. Yuck. But I made it, and kept running north, until I saw a sign saying "E 90 St" - which meant I STILL didn't know where I was going. I escaped at this point and just ran back on the streets. It ended up being around 4.29 miles, and minus all the couple-puppet-stalking and getting-stuck-in-the-mud, I rounded it off to about 40 minutes, which translates to a 9:21 pace. All in all, eventful.

Officially registered.

Officially 4 months from this Friday.

"No one ever drowned in sweat."
-Anon

Team names!

Of course, this being a team event, we need a team name. There are 12 people, 6 girls and 6 boys. Most of these are original suggestions, but a few are stolen from a running team name website (those are marked with *). Which ones should we pick, or suggest your own!

12 Strangers in a Van
12 Angry Runners
6 of One - Half Dozen of Another
12 Monkeys
12 Drummers Drumming
12 Runners Running
12 Guagers
Baker's Dozen
Dirty Dozen
K Through 12
Lactic Acid Droppers*
Runnin’ Like We Stole Something*
The Pace Makers*
Charge of the Lemmings*
The Ultimate Feet
Beer Run
I Found My Sole-Mates
Ashton's Fault
Blame Peter (The guy who started this idea is named Peter Ashton)
New Massticut (Everybody has ties to NY, MA or CT)
Running on Empty

*Update* We're registered as Comrades in Legs, but that was a last-minute idea by Peter as he was entering in the information at 1:00am last night. Still open to suggestion!

Woop! First 5k ever!

Last night was a pretty big landmark, in that I ran a distance that is actually used as a race distance: the 5k, roughly 3.1 miles. It is officially the longest I've ever run without stopping to stretch the legs, drink some water or fall over and pass out.
Since I knew that it was the longest distance yet attempted, I tried to go slow on purpose so that I wouldn't have to sleep at Hunter College on 68th. So you can imagine my confusion when I put my time, 25:45, into our little pace calculator and see that it says: 8m, 2s. What?! I ran over 3 miles at an 8 minute mile pace? Ok, either I'm counting this wrong (but I have a watch!), the formula is wrong (but Adam wrote it!), or I'm getting in shape like whoa.

Hopefully the last.

I've come to an epiphany recently about my previous unremarkable running capabilities. What usually happened was this:
1) Get psyched. Start running.
2) Start breathing hard.
3) Start gasping.
4) Get a cramp.
5) Barely make it to one mile, then stop and wonder why it was so horrible while I recover.

I attributed this to me being a crappy distance runner, because everyone else seemed to be able to power on. What I didn't realize is that, well yeah, everyone feels that to some extent at the beginning. Once I started grinding through the one mile mark and making it up to 2-2.5 miles, it felt ten times better. Now the track team doesn't seem so insane when they're doing their one mile warm-ups.

On an unrelated topic: I found this site that summarizes just how much snow is in Central Park. They say that they have 56 inches total this year already, which is 44 more than the average. Look at the pictures, and then imagine that there was a bout of freezing rain on top of it and everything is shining like polished silver and hard as a rock.

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."
Jesse Owens

"Let's go slower today."

That's what Adam said when we went out yesterday... which turned into a 2.6 mile loop at an 8:21 pace! Yeah, right. Adam: "That felt awesome!" Me: "Ugnashnngg." I could do it, but it wasn't pleasant.
I'm going to try and extend the blocks at either end of the run tonight so I can hit 3 miles.

Weird perception.

The weather yesterday was that sort of wetness in the air that made you feel stupid for using an umbrella because it wasn't actually raining, but if you didn't use one, you'd get wet. We went out at around 3:00pm, me in the regular clothes plus baseball cap to keep the mist off my face. I led the way and we ran that same 2.6 mile loop up to 85th and 5th and down around 70th and back. I had run this on Thursday and felt really good. This time didn't feel so great. The entire time I was entertaining fantasies of stopping to rest, and my pace felt really slow, so I was kind of disappointed... until we got to the end and checked the time. 20:54!!! This is about an 8:45 pace, and Adam had looked at the watch about halfway through and the last leg had been an 8:30 pace. Sooo when I thought I was going slower, I was actually going much, much faster. That's why it felt so crappy.

Now just have to do that for... 8 miles. Ya, huh.

Back in the swing of things.

After that nasty Nor'Easter cut a swath through the entire eastern seaboard and my running schedule, last night it was once again clear enough (and frrrrrrrreezing!!!) to run. After a double-long day of work and class, I got home at around 7:40pm. I contented The Beast with a walk, some food and a rawhide bone and went on a run up to 85th, over to the Park and down to 70th and back. It ended up being a 2.56 mile loop at a ~9:30 pace (24:30 minutes in total). The dinner I had afterwards was amazing... just so you know. Adam brought home some food from this place called Akdeniz, a Turkish restaurant, and it was exactly what I wanted. Lamb, rice pilaf, red cabbage, grilled chicken with fresh lemon juice and salad with olives. Perfection!

On Wednesday I had done a bunch of stability ball exercises, sit-ups and push-ups and squats, and I didn't start feeling it until around 6pm yesterday. My gluts, inner thighs and the general region of the lower back - like behind the ribs - were the problem spots. By bedtime, I was achy to the max... but in that good way, when you know you've been active and your body kinda hates you for it, but at the same time is thankful because next time it won't be that bad. As per the knees: the exercise actually helped! There was a decent amount of water-on-the-knee beforehand, and I went carefully at first to check out how it was going to feel, but by the end it was fine. No pain, minimal swelling. I think the activity did something to clear it away. It sounded a little crunchy as I was going up the stairs, but that's been happening for a long time now and I don't think it was any different than before. I'm relatively certain that it was Monday's run that did it, as there had been no problems before then and Monday was the day of The Great Central Park Frollick: When Christine Runs Downhill in Slush, aka The Knee is Tweaky Because the Footing Is Not Firm. Fret not, I'll keep a close eye on it. I got an Ace bandage just in case.

Adam, on the other hand, was achy in that I-can't-move-my-neck kind of way. He started working out at his job's gym and wasn't sure how many times he was going to be there this week, and so didn't alternate at the beginning - which means that *everything* hurt instead of just half. But he's been treadmill running, doing about the same as me (I think last night he said a 2.28 mile run at 9:20 pace?), and getting some upper body strength back. Which you wouldn't think does very much for a runner, because you run with your legs, right? Well, next time you are going to go out for an exercise walk or a jog, do 20 push-ups first. See how it easy it is then! It's amazing how much momentum you get from swinging your arms.

In conclusion, this week, while first appearing to be a dud, actually ended up working out pretty well. I was forced to work on some strength training, focused on different muscle areas, and only missed one running session which was probably good anyway to rest the knees. The plan is to do another "short" run (like yesterday, ~2.5 miles) tonight, then hit the long one tomorrow.

Sidenote: It's amazing how many people are running in the evening. I had no idea. They're everywhere!

"Running long and hard is an ideal antidepressant, since it's hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time." -Monte Davis

Time management, hmm...

Not only has the weather been super uncooperative this week, but random things keep popping up that prevent my successful workouts.
Schoolwork should definitely be at least *started* on the weekends, as I was up until 2:15am last night reading the deceitfully short papers and their massive 40-page supplementary materials. It's not hard and it's actually interesting, but making sure I can explain it all just takes a long time. And lots of writing. And at least one dead highlighter per paper/supp info. Why do highlighters run out so fast? Anyway.
Previously agreed-to friend meetings should be *written down* when I schedule them, so I don't have ridiculous grandiose plans on how I'm going to run, finish my schoolwork and get to bed on time (yeah, right...), then get an email reminding me of the 8:30pm dinner at Habu Sushi (which was delicious, btw, good company and I saw Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods!).
My knees have in general been fine, but yesterday I noticed that they were swelling a bit. It was exactly like before when extra joint fluid collected in my knee area. I would sit for a while, and then when I got up, I could feel it all swooshing down to collect under my patella. Didn't hurt, but it felt like... stretched. Yeah, gross. However, this morning, all seems well, so maybe it just needs a little movement because it started happening when I wasn't running consecutive days (Tuesday, Wednesday). So if anyone has any advice on how to deal with/prevent extra joint fluid from collecting in various body cavities, e.g. herbals or certain exercises, I would appreciate it. It's vaguely annoying and they feel like overfilled balloons when I bend them. Hopefully it doesn't become too much of a problem, but I'm glad it went away this morning.

Tonight is class, then I'm probably going to run with The Beast again because he was frisky this morning. Most of the ice was washed away in the rain yesterday (mm, delicious) so the sidewalks are pretty stable. I'll be getting home at around 7:30pm, a little late to do an actual longer distance run, but at least I can get the heart pumping and get Chewie some exercise, too. Then it's early to bed for me!

Btw... THE SUN IS OUT. :D

Well, this sucks.

Everything is covered in a sheet of ice. It started yesterday and definitely is not going to be better by tonight. Yesterday was a rest day for me, but tonight I HAVE to do something. Stairs? I guess. I'll try to run quietly and not go thumping up and down them.

Central Park is confusing!

Weather has become a very good motivational force. When you look at the forecast and see that Monday night through Wednesday night is supposed to be "snow, changing to freezing rain, changing to sleet, changing to freezing rain and snow and sleet," there really is no way out of it. Gotta do it now!

Sidenote: In light of all the grossness outside for the next two months, I was looking around for a gym that had cheap monthly membership so I could do some treadmill running. Jessie researched it and, sadly, the gyms in Manhattan feel the need to gouge you just as every other service does. They force you to sign an annual contract for at least $80/month (on the way cheaper side) and if you want to cancel the contract, not only is there is a fee... but you have to get a freakin' doctor's note saying that you aren't supposed to work out anymore! What! This isn't elementary school! Completely ridiculous. Worst comes to worst I can go to the gym at NYU Washington Square and get something done there.

My plan was to head to Central Park and run around the reservoir again, and seriously, if you look at a map like this, you think: Duh. Easy. Stay on the big roads!

Lemme tell you... not as easy as it looks. First of all, I didn't want to immediately tackle the big-big loop around the reservoir, because running something like that for the first time at night alone is probably not a good idea. Secondly, there are WAY more paths through this thing than this map lets on. All that greenspace is actually riddled with teensy little paths.

So when I got to the Park and started running with the pack (don't want to go in the opposite direction!), I quickly realized that my sense of direction is not good. I kind of ran along for a while, saw the buildings of the West Side, veered back over and popped out at the 72nd street entrance. What?? How did I get down there? I thought I was going north! Apparently not.

With my directional sense adjusted, I made my way back to where I started, but... there were no big, snow-cleared roads! I ended up running down a slush path and up an ice hill pocked with footprints of sledders to finally get back to the 79th street entrance. At least it was interesting, and my calves and stabilizers were definitely worked from trying not to fall on my face. I ran for about 20 minutes in the Park, have no idea how far I went (although it was probably further than 2 miles), and jogged back to the apartment.

I slept like a rock (again) and feel fine this morning, actually. Maybe next time I will stay on the big road so I can get some actual pace data!!

Off day, got some rest

Days until the relay: 132

After yesterday's run, we were all gung-ho and feeling good. Then we stretched out and rested for a little while... and completely failed when we tried to stand up. We kept trying to keep it loose and shake it out, to no avail. The knees were a tiny bit swollen, but that's to be expected. I kept them elevated and I'm sure the cold water in the shower helped.

Eventually we went out for dinner and the two block walk took about double the time as it normally would. It was snowing pretty hard by that point and I was glad we hadn't waited to run. We came hobbling back, watched Rambo 2, and went to bed at 10:30pm (Saturday night!!). I fell asleep within 30 seconds of my head hitting the pillow and wasn't conscious until 8:45am.

This morning was pretty good, minimal soreness. I would say my legs were probably at 90%. We walked around a lot, went to Ikea in Brooklyn and decided that a short run would keep the legs from atrophying without overdoing it. We ran about 1.25 miles and didn't time it because The Beast (read: Chewie) came with us and despite keeping up and showing lots of spatial intelligence about where his leash was and how to not get snagged around pedestrians' legs, he did feel the need to mark random street corners, slowing us down a bit. As for pace, we pushed it faster than yesterday. Sorry, no real numbers, but using my vast timing knowledge I would say it was probably closer to a 8:30 ballpark.

I think tomorrow will be a longer run for me because as long as my legs are ok with it, I have to really start getting used to it. I also now understand the humongous need for strong quads and hammies, because mine felt destroyed yesterday, so there will be a lot of stairs and wall sits in the future.

Sit-ups: 25
Push-ups: 15
Pull ups: 0 real ones, 5 lame attempts with my feet on the stool

"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it."
Priscilla Welch

First timed run!

This past week I did some light running, stairs and strength training (like push-ups, sit-ups and "pull-ups"... which mostly consisted of hanging pathetically from the bar). The running distances were mostly ~1.4 miles with a break for stretching. I didn't have a stopwatch, and since it's still pretty cold out and the iPod screen doesn't like responding to cotton-enshrouded fingers, I just ran them without paying attention to pace.

Today, though, started with the purchase of a crappy bright blue stopwatch from Kmart which nixed my excuses for not timing myself. Adam hadn't been doing any kind of running, just sit-ups and push-ups on the stability ball and shaming me on the pull-up bar. We went out at 2:40pm; it was about 35 degrees, so definitely long-sleeved shirts, zippy coats and gloves. Adam opted for the 180's, too (the around-the-back-of-the-head ear muff things). I was listening to a mix of Hilltop Hoods and Adam had on the David Guetta Pandora station.

We ran to the East 85th street entrance of Central Park and stretched at the 90th Street entrance. We started the time there, and ran in a loop around the reservoir. Everything is still covered in snow, so we didn't want to stay on the actual reservoir path (not shoveled!!), and we ended up just kind of winging it. We were on the roads, paths, and at one point on the packed snow, which was extremely slippery. Since this was the first "real" run, we definitely took it slow and we were both doing good by the time we got back to the start point.

Stats:

Warm up: 1.13 miles (not timed)

Run: 2.03 miles in 19:05 (pace = 9:24/mile)

Cool down: 1.13 miles

Total: 4.29 miles

When we got back, it was snowing again. We grabbed bagels and I took a cold shower to save the leg muscles.

I'm pretty happy with our pace, especially since it was intentionally slow. The relay officials recommend a pace of 9:00/mile. Of course it's different if you're going 8 miles instead of 2, but if we train for distance at this same pace, then kick it up a notch, we should be totally fine.

Good start!!

This is probably a bad idea.

And by "bad", I mean simply that the top reactions to this idea are either a) sincere horror, b) a mildly sarcastic "Good luck..." or c) immediate and complete dismissal.

So, what's wrong with me? Why, oh why on God's green earth am I attempting this?

And here we go. "This" is the New England Relay, a non-stop relay race touching all six states of New England (and for those of you unfamiliar with the geography, they include Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine). More information is here: http://www.newenglandrelay.com/

The course is 220 miles, meant to be run with either 6- or 12-person teams, and the map is admittedly frightening:

(http://www.newenglandrelay.com/images/map.gif)

Words of encouragement from the organizers of this delightful monstrosity are as such: "Nothing builds camaraderie like a dozen perpetually hungry, tired, sweaty, smelly, tired runners driving around in two vans living on bananas, bagels, granola bars and Gatorade. Right?"

....Yes.... right.

So, how am I qualified to do this?

I'm not, really, which makes tracking my progress all the more interesting.

Despite being fairly active in childhood and up through high school, including countless hours on the soccer field and ski runs, team sports and anything other than spotty, because-I'm-bored exercise ceased to exist. I jogged when I felt like it, lifted in the gym when I couldn't help with the boxes on moving day and did some sit-ups on the living room floor when the Olympics were on in a rush of guilt. Even when I was in pretty good shape during the soccer years, that kind of running consisted of 15-second sprints that were definitely not going to help me in my mile test in gym class. As far as I can recall, my best mile time was 7:14. And it hurt. And I was 15 years old.

So the plan is simple.

1) Connive, sweet-talk and/or emotionally blackmail my boyfriend, Adam, to do this with me. [Check!]

Note: This has other pros besides the obvious companionship and motivational upsides. Adam ran varsity track for a long time and knows how to get ready for something like this - a skill which I lack. Oh, and he can get in shape, too. Ha!

2) Set up a training schedule that first focuses on strength and overall fitness and then goes to longer distance running. [Check!]

3) Eat all the right food, and enough of it, and DON'T OVERDO EXERCISE. [ ]

Note: This part is hard for me, because I'm the kind of person to rabidly latch onto a new idea and not want to waste any time, and this will probably lead to injuries or getting burned out early.

4) Get going! [ ]

5) Don't stop! [ ]