My Running Stories

"The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other but to be with each other."

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:02:41 -0500

“The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other but to be with each other.”

- Christopher McDougall, “Born to Run” via Runner’s World

Photo

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 21:45:37 -0400

{i like your post} The Run Around by Young House Love

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:37:55 -0400

{i like your post} The Run Around by Young House Love

Run Recap: 7/30

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:06:13 -0400

Plan: 5 miles

Ran: 4.96 (including 2 strides)

Path: Briddle Path / Lower Reservoir

With: TFK group

Splits:

Mile 1 - 11:25

Mile 2 - 10:56

Mile 3 - 11:00

Mile 4 - 10:39

Mile .96 - 10:42

Intensity: Wasn’t exactly conversational pace at mile 2 - felt stronger at mile 4. Chatting it up with some new & old TFK’ers made it feel a little easier. Also stopped at water fountains. The run was earlier than my norm and it was nice for it to still be light out. Time to get back into morning runs!

Injuries: Didn’t wear compression sleeves but didn’t bother me. Left hamstring / glute was a little tight

Fueling: 7/28

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:01:07 -0400

BS: 197 @ 4:40

- 2 slices of toast with soynut butter & honey + iced coffee -

Insulin: 4u

- since it was so early I held off on Lantus until after the run -

Ran 12.84 miles

- had 1 scoop of Cytomax (22 carbs) spaced out -

Mile 5/6: tried to do bloodtest - too sweaty. Felt good but popped 2 chomps just incase & continues spacing out Cytomax.

Mile 6.5: grabbed Gatorade - didn’t plan on it but it was first at the water station - should have skipped it

BS: 178

- had a peach right after run, skipped pretzels & bananas but starving -

Insulin: 12u @ 11:15a (should have done it straight after the run but waited until after stretching/socializing) Dropped it 2u

- Protein shake (1 scoop) on walk back -

- omelet with veggies @ 12p…taking a nap so waited on “lunchtime” insulin since it usually drops -

BS: 232 @ 1:39p directly after nap

- Balance Bar (21 carbs) … not particularly hungry but headed out & wanted something to carry me over and to go along with insulin -

Insulin: 5u

BS: 101 @ 5:26p.

- Ordering take out but felt low so had Clif Jr bar (25 carb) -

- Thai stir-fry with a little rice -

Insulin: 6u @ 6:25

- 16 handles @ 10p ish -

- coco almonds @ 1am - (didn’t need this , mindless / tired snacking)

Woke up high the next morning (no surprise there). Dinner was much earlier than normal & insulin didn’t calculate for 16 handles. After last weekend I cut back from fear of going low.

Run Recap: 7/29

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:50:13 -0400

Plan : 4 Flex Miles

Ran: 3.45m

With: Urban Girl Squad & Athleta

Path: Lower Reservoir

Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:39

Mile 2 - 11:07

Mile 3 - 11:41

Mile .45 - 10:49

Intensity:

Ok so that’s not really a recover run. Since the groups were small I stuck with the intermediate knowing I’d most likely be the sweeper again. I was. Fell in step with a girl who was new to the group and we chatted the whole way, joined by one of the coaches for the second half. I reassured her that she wasn’t holding me back … in fact some of those miles were definitely a push.

You can see pictures from the event here

Injuries: nothing to note - no soreness from the 12+ miler on Saturday

Run Recap: 7/28

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:42:57 -0400

Plan: 12 miles

Ran: 12.86 miles

With: Team for Kids / RB - J

Path: Central Park - NYRR Long Run #1

Splits

Mile 1 - 11:16

Mile 2 - 10:52

Mile 3 - 11:19

Mile 4 - 11:05

Mile 5 - 11:58

Mile 6 - 11:23

Mile 7 - 11:21

Mile 8 - 11:48

Mile 9 - 12:00

Mile 10 - 12:58

Mile 11 - 12:01

Mile 12 - 12:56

Mile .86 - 11:32

Intensity: During mile 2 I had a moment of thinking I should scale it back so I didn’t burnout. It was tough towards the end but that had to do with fueling - I maxed out on carbs at mile 6/7 but needed a boost of energy.

Injuries: Nothing to note - standard hip tightness expected for long run

Run Recap: 7/25

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:30:51 -0400

Plan: 5 miles Tempo

[ 1/2 mile warmup - 4 miles @ level 7 - 1/2 mile cool down ]

Ran: 4.47

Path: Central Park Loop

With: Solo

Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:35

Mile 2 - 10:10 [Harlem Hills]

Mile 3 - 10:56

Mile 4 - 10:46

Mile .47 - 9:33

Intensity: Didn’t quite stick to the plan. Dark run in Harlem Hills adjusted that slightly. And the opportunity to see my bff from home before she left the city had me ditching the park and racing the diner. I came to a complete stop at the diner, sat and then walked the mile home.

Injuries: nothing to note

Run Recap: 7/23

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:21:10 -0400

Plan: 5 miles [SloFasy]

Ran: 3.55

Path: Central Park Loop + Treadmill

With: Solo

Splits:

Mile 1 - 11:05

Mile 2 - 11:13

Mile 2.29 - 10:37

TM 1.26 miles - 16:17 (walked .26)

Elliptical 1.51 miles in 10:46 + Bike 1.02 miles in 05:20

Intensity: It started lighting as soon as I hit the park. Stayed on the east side of the Central Park Loop for 2 miles before heading to the gym. As soon as I got on the treadmill I hit a wall. Aimed to reach 3.5 miles before finishing 5 with cross training. Forgot it takes longer to go the distance on an elliptical - was miserable so finished it off with the bike. First run in the rain (and lighting!) and glad I got in the milage I did but the gym was rough.

Injuries: Nothing to note.

Run Recap: 7/19

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:15:19 -0400

My first track/ladder workout! Moved it to Thursday instead of Wednesday

Plan: 5 miles [see chart below]

Ran: 4.38 miles + mile walk [see chart below]

Path: Thomas Jefferson Park

With: Solo

Splits:

Intensity: Loved it. Read my full recap here

Injuries: nada

Run Recap: 7/18

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:05:17 -0400

Plan: 5 miles [SloFasy] {moved Track workout to Wed}

Ran: 5.11 miles + 2.35 miles cool down

Path: Central Park Loop

With: Solo

Splits:

M 1 - 11:37

M 2 - 11:17

M 3 - 11:24

M 4 - 11:10 [Harlem Hill]

M 5 - 12:48

M .11 - 12:18

+ 2.35 m walk / cool down

Intensity: It was dark, foggy and muggy. I ended the 5 miles on the west side, struggling, and had to walk down & around the reservoir to make it home. It was too foggy to cut across at that time. Went low (56) & downed chomps. Not my smartest run.

Injuries: nothing to note.

Run: 7/16

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:42:23 -0400

Plan: 5 miles [SloFasy] {picked up a mile}

Ran: 4.02

Path: Braintree, MA

With: Solo

Stats:

M 1 - 11:19

M 2 - 11:43

M 3 - 12:03

M 4 - 11:51

Intensity: Rough from the start. No warm up. No coffee before. No one out on the street. Played the ABC game to get me through but at mile 2 decided to turn around to make it back in time.

Injuries: nothing to note

Run Recap: 7/14

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:30:35 -0400

Plan: 10 miles

Ran: 10.31

Path: Riverside Park

With: TFK Team

Stats:

Mile 1 - 12:14
Mile 2 - 12:04
Mile 3 - 11:49 (Gatorade stop)
Mile 4 - 11:08
Mile 5 - 11:24

Mile 6 - 11:58
Mile 7 - 12:24 (Gatorade stop)
Mile 8 - 11:57
Mile 9 - 12:02
Mile 10 - 12:04

Mile .31 - 16:43

Intensity:

Sid was our coach again for 11+mm - he’s awesome, he brings humor to the runs and reminds us to have fun with it. Plus he’s super popular, always saying hi to other runners and was cheering on Fred’s Team as they passed. Jackie spotted me before we started so we were already chatting during warm ups and quickly fell in step with Nikki. When we started out on the path it was tight which automatically kept us in pace. Seven weeks in, I may not have had conversations with every runner but there are tons of familiar faces. Today we had a solid pace group that kept conversations flowing and feet moving. It was the best weather yet and taken to a whole new area there were plenty of times I didn’t feel like I was in NYC anymore. While I’m gaining pride of being a Central Park runner exploring during the 10 miles definitely was a good distraction. Team for Kids provides us Gatorade between mile 3 & 4 (thank you!!!) and I took a gamble in taking a cup which was a smart idea. We were so busy chatting that I didn’t pay any attention to my Garmin even when it vibrated with mile markers. At the Gatorade break I was wondering where the turnaround was but still steady (am a little surprised that was our fastest mile). When we traced mile all I care about was water. I had already downed 1/2 my bottle before starting then run. It required going a few feet further but it was worth it and our little section regrouped with Sid, waiting until everyone grabbed a drink. This is when I should have done a blood test - while we were stopped and waiting. Instead it took me another mile-ish to get hit with that low feeling. 70. Ok, so low…with four miles to go. But I felt strong running still with a tinge of low-ness. So I downed all 8 chomps I had plus encouraged another Gatorade pick up when we passed by. I had two cups (so one full one) which was overkill but I had also finished off my water with the chomps. Psssh, people talking about difficult refueling while running. They’ve never had to suck down a juice box (you shotgun beers, I shotgun juicey juice - its cool) while their bloodsugar is 40 walking the streets of NYC. I know the chomps would kick in, that I had more then covered my based and that it was a moment of mind of matter. Mile 7-8 I felt my self slow down a bit but still in step with the girls (though our 11+ group spread out a little at this moment). Finally a water fountain at mile 9 (and seeing a biker with a gnarly head injury [no helmet in sight] … and some good citizens that packed up their chairs to take her & her friend to the hospital) we felt lighter of being in the home stretch and picked up the pace for the last .5 (I glanced down at my Garmin and saw a 9:15). Without the heat we completed the whole thing without any walking breaks - and there was no shuffling/are we there yet/ how many miles/ this sucks moments. It was time exploring new areas and chatting with new friends. Nikki mentioned how it’s her second run without headphones (and first 10 miler!) and same, when I was strapping in my iPhone & drapping my headphones I had a moment of “why am I even bringing these?” I’ll always have my phone on me but I stuck my headphones in a pocket and left them there. Also - bikers are scary in NYC. I mean I kind of always new that but they really don’t like runners. I get it, runners dashing out in front of you isn’t just annoying but dangerous but no need to be rude! The TFK’er coaches stressed about saying the running side, no more then double or even single file and respect the paths. The paths get seriously tight even just with our team alone but I was on the line (on my side!) and i still got a nasty yell from some biker who had plenty of space in her lane.

It was a solid run and I felt the team spirit. As we hit 9.5 miles the three of us picked it up to finish strong - not that the garmin shows that.

You can see pictures from the run here

Injuries : all good

Run Recap: 7/12

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:33:01 -0400

Plan: 4 miles [SloFasy]

Ran: 4.03

Path: Reservoir / Central Park Loop

With: Solo

Stats:

M 1 - 11:58

M 2 - 10:40

M 3 - 10:27

M 4 - 12:17

Food Prices and Childhood Obesity {via Food, Nutrition & Science}

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:27:33 -0400

Food Prices and Childhood Obesity {via Food, Nutrition & Science} :

…increases in the price of carbonated beverages resulted in the highest decrease in BMI…

Tonight’s run was my first on the track - surrounded by...

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 23:24:54 -0400

Tonight’s run was my first on the track - surrounded by kids playing soccer. I loved it so much that I stayed there to do my mile cool down (leaving me an extra mile to walk home). It was extra inspiration of why I’m fundraising for Team for Kids.

Have fun - run like a kid.

Zumbatomic: Kids can Zumba, too

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:13:43 -0400

Zumbatomic: Kids can Zumba, too:

fitnessrepublic:

Zumba For Kids – The Zumba Party Doesn’t Exclude The Kids!

Zumbatomic classes are especially designed to cater the needs of children. This class is focused towards children! Obesity has become so widespread in kids that the concept of Zumba for kids is a blessing! Indeed, zumba is an impactful Latin inspired dance/exercise that is a great form of cardio! Kids won’t even realize that they are getting a good workout because Zumbatomic classes are always fun-filled with great energy!

Benefits of Zumba for Kids

Dealing with Obesity and Improved Cardiac Health

One of out every five children in US is suffering from obesity, which leads to cardiovascular diseases at a very young age. In order to deal with that and to avoid it, every child must get involved in cardio exercise such as Zumba. A one hour Zumba session would help burn calories and lose weight. Cardio exercises such as Zumba also strengthens the entire cardiovascular system. The heart can pump blood more efficiently and the child’s lungs get stronger which helps in preventing heart diseases.

Run: 7/11

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 22:54:00 -0400

{source}

I did! Ok, they didn’t look exactly like that - a single hill between 2 NYC avenues.

I had seen some runners doing repeats on this hill before and it took me a while to catch on that this is what hill work was. But finally it was my turn to try it out.

I couldn’t make it to team practice and it was too dark for central park, luckily this hill is right near by and one of my gym locations sits right at the top.

Goal : 1 mile warm up || hill sprints (200-250 meters) at level 7, jog back down || 1 mile cool down [ but some how the milage for the day was 5 … I can’t get that to add up…]

Path: mile loop around the neighborhood, neighborhood hill, mile cool down on the treadmill

Intensity/Splits:

Garmin was being finicky, I turned off auto pause (any suggestions on preference?) but it never sorted itself out, then I ran the mile on the treadmill (12:56) and ended up hitting the start button on my way home - so really screwed that one up.

Legs felt heavy for the warm up. For the hill sprints I pushed it to a 7/8 but did the slowest jog possible on my way down.

Injuries: wore CS but felt no injuries - legs are sore (in the right kind of way) from the TIU workout last night. Shins are a little fire-y/ needing some ice now afterwards.

Tone It Up “Twist & Shout” {printable version here} This...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:21:18 -0400

Tone It Up “Twist & Shout” {printable version here}

This workout was no joke! 4 moves - arm, leg & core toner. Pretty sure it got my heart going more than my 9 miler. Just goes to show you how much I need to work on strength training.

I did 20x for each side for each exercise.

+ :60 #plankaday x3 after

Run : 7/9

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:27:30 -0400

Goal : 4m [3-6-1]

Path: Reservoir / Road

Intensity/Splits:

Mile 1 - 11:36 [4]
Mile 2 - 10:25 [7]
Mile 3 - 10:26 [7/8]
Mile 4 - 12:18 [2/3]

I definitely pushed it past conversational pace but it felt good. My feet were moving and my mind just went along for the ride. It helped knowing I would scale it back for the last mile and now 4 miles is starting to seem short again.

To prevent myself from looking at my Garmin every two seconds out of boredom I played a game on the reservoir : picked a number (10, 15, 20, 25) of light posts and when I reached past that number I could check. I also mixed it up so it wasn’t every 10 posts / didn’t become a mile marker. While the reservoir was pretty busy last night it was a fun game to play by myself (#onlychildalert).

There were a group of girls when I first started out that were just walking the reservoir, hanging out. They mocked me/were playing around as I passed and took up a fake jog next to me - I wanted to tell them that we had 3.5 miles to go and that in a 1/2 mile we’d be picking up the pace….instead I just ignored them and smiled to myself.

Injuries : no pain! legs were a little sore from the bridges Saturday but all in the good way. Wore CS but no calf pain. A twinge of the hip but was over before I knew it. Hamstring is still a little iffy but went away during the run. I could get used to this!!