MY POST-SANDY AND POWERLESS RACE WEEK

Hello world! I'm reporting live from the Hurricane Sandy aftermath in NYC.

I am currently taking refuge at a friends' apartment uptown that has electricity and water, it's such a luxury! I lost power Sunday night 15 minutes into Hocus Pocus and it has not been restored yet. Not being able to finish watching Hocus Pocus was probably the most devastating part of it all. Kidding! But not really...

We were told it would be days until the power was restored so after climbing up and down 10 flights of stairs in complete darkness, I knew my apartment in Murray Hill was not the place to be. Luckily, super generous and hospitable friends A and M on the upper east side took me in with a few other lower Manhattan runaways. How long am I staying? Great question. While everyone else is obsessing over the power situation and stalking the ConEd website, I am totally disinterested and slightly distracted.

In the midst of all of this Hurricane Sandy MADNESS I completely forgot about Sunday for a while. What's Sunday? Oh you know just this little MARATHON that I am supposed to be running. Right. About that...

As of now, NYRR says that everything 2012 NYC marathon related is ON as planned. We will hear in the next day or so if there are any changes to events or the race course but I have faith in the fantastic people of NYRR, especially Mary Wittenberg. She's a fearless leader.

Now that I am settled and safe with electricity uptown I guess I should start thinking about all of this marathon stuff. I need to pick up my race fuel, email my race day pep crew, and write the blog posts that I planned out for race week. I had this entire week mapped out in a word document schedule that is currently sitting on my work computer. I guess that's a problem since my office is completely without power too. Oh well, just add it to the agenda for today!

Okay. Now let's talk MARATHON...

I took off work on Friday to get my NYRR +1 volunteer credit for 2013. I will be volunteering all day at the marathon expo handing out race bibs to equally excited runners. Can you handle all of the positive energy that I am going to send out and soak in? It's going to be awesome!

Saturday I have an early morning Team for Kids breakfast. Sadly, practice was canceled Monday and tonight. I am especially bummed about practice tonight because we planned to do the final run of the training season in costume and were going to be joined by some of the kids. Oh well, next time...

The rest of the day Saturday I am planning to be somewhat sedentary and chill. This sounded like a great idea when I had a full week of work on the agenda but now that the rest of my week includes couch sitting and movie watching, it suddenly becomes less exciting.

(There's a good chance my office will not have power this week. Forgot to mention that!)

Sunday morning, it's game time! I'm taking the 6am Team for Kids bus to the starting area and then mentally preparing to run my legs off. Sounds so easy. Right?

If the course does not change, I will start in Staten Island on the Verrazano Bridge.

From there, I will make my way through Brooklyn and eventually take the Pulaski Bridge into Queens.

My time in Queens will be short but sweet as I prepare to cross the Queensboro Bridge and enter Manhattan.

Manhattan is when the party starts. My best college girlfriends plan to be stationed inside Manhattan on 1st Avenue which will be the only thing getting me over the bridge. After I pass them I will keep going up 1st Avenue and undoubtedly enjoy MARATHON ROCK STAR STATUS.

Dad and the rest of my marathon crew will be waiting up around 103rd. After some much needed high fives and perhaps a hug or two I will venture through the Bronx. This part of the route might seem dull but if I stay focused and know the end is near.

Dad and the rest of the crew will cross over to 5th Avenue for another sighting around mile 23. After I pass them, I will book it to Central Park and the finish line. "Book it" does not necessarily mean pick up speed but rather keep legs moving.

ING NYCM Course Map

God willing, I will cross the finish and officially become a marathoner.

I'll meet up with Dad and K after exiting Central Park and hustle down to Mason Jar.

Anyone and everyone that wants to celebrate post-marathon and Sandy life FEEL FREE to come by Mason Jar. It's located on 30th St between Park and Madison. We have tables reserved in the front for anyone that wants to eat, drink, and be merry.

How am I feeling about Sunday? Well physically I feel fantastic. I've completed all of my short runs during this taper and being stuck inside continues to provide me with an abundance of physical rest time. Instead of walking all over the city, I am parked with my feet up on the couch.

Training during a hurricane might be challenging but I am happy to report that tapering is a piece of cake.

I am IN to finish more than ever. 2012 NYCM. Let's do this. 

THANK YOU to all of the friends and family that reached out to me this week asking about my physical safety and the safety of the marathon! You sure know how to make a girl feel loved.

NYC will get through this and recover to be better than ever.

Sandy is long gone and it's a sunny day in NYC today. Life is good.

Lots of love and laughs.

XOXO
LA

LUCKY NUMBER 9

9 is my lucky number.

9 is also the number of days (according the official website countdown) between now and the 2012 ING New York City marathon.



9 days. 20 hours. Blah. Blah. Blah.



Here are the 9 ways that I am preparing for this SUPER EXCITING MAJOR EVENT that is happening in a little over 9 days …

1.       READ EVERYTHING. WATCH ANYTHING. ENVISION MARATHON.   

What have you done this week?

Well, I read 15+ NYC Marathon race recaps and watched countless marathon videos. My eyes might have welled up once or twice, or every single time.

At this one ….

And this one… http://vimeo.com/31313168 (Special appearance by my favorite TFK coach, GAIL!)

Oh right and this one too…. 

Why? Well first I am somewhat looking forward to next Sunday (understatement) but also because I am still pretty scared of the unknown. I mentioned that I had the chance to run parts of the course during my training, but I know it's not the real thing.  

Who am I kidding? It’s just because THIS is the only thing I can think about.

2.       LISTEN TO YOUR BODY 

Coaches sternly told us at practice on Monday night to stop running if we encounter any pain out of the ordinary. On the contrary, I felt FABULOUS and even turned a casual run into a little speed drill. 

Yesterday was a different story.  I had every intention of hightailing it uptown for TFK practice #2 until a nagging pain in my legs wouldn’t go away. By noon, I knew that this new pain was telling me to just go home.

Guess who skipped practice? This girl!

Guess who doesn’t mind since she’s in TAPERville? This girl!

I ran this morning so all is well. M and I even ran through the finish area in Central Park. EEEKKKK!

3.       MAKE A SCHEDULE TO BE PREPARED 

Did I mention that I like schedules? And lists? And organization?

I have a stellar word document in the making which details every hour of my weekend starting on the morning of Friday, November 2^nd. We all have ways to stay focused and living by a piece of paper is mine.

That reminds me, I need to make a packing list. On to that one next!

4.       ASSEMBLE THE MARATHON CREW 

You know who you are! Anyone that plans on spectating November 4^th, holler at your girl. The more faces to look forward along the course, the better.

Marathon cheering is SO fun! Ask S!

I assigned Wildcat (Dad) escort for the day and placed some of my favorite smiling faces on 1^st Avenue to help me get over the 59^th Street Bridge. Anyone else? It’s fun, I promise!

5.       STALK THE FORECAST

The 10 Day forecast isn’t showing November 4^th yet BUT November 3^rd looks lovely. I’m going to assume the same sunshine and brisk fall weather which would be FABULOUS for running 26.2 miles.

Saturday! You look nice! Tell Sunday to do the same!

STAY AWAY HURRICANE SANDY! NYC has a marathon on the agenda and no room for you.

6.       HELP OTHERS 

Although I haven’t run the marathon before, many of my closest friends have. Luckily, they continue to share with me endless amounts of tips and helpful hints. I’m trying to spread the marathon love this week because who doesn’t love positive energy?

Plus, like Oprah I also believe that Newton’s Law applies to all aspects of life.

7.       EAT HEALTHY. DRINK WATER. AVOID CATASTROPHE.   

Perhaps nutrition hasn’t been my strong point during this training process. I am a little over a week out and need to focus. Get out of here Halloween candy and cupcakes. I need to be “light as a feather” and as hydrated as a swimming pool. Are swimming pools hydrated? Who cares, it sounds funny.

Also, avoid catastrophe is a BIG one.  Not really sure how I am going to do this but I should start by not texting while I walk. Next week I would like to hide in a bubble.

8.       FOAM ROLL. STRETCH. REPEAT.

I tried to foam roll last night but the glutes weren't having it. I will try again tonight and tomorrow night and the next night and the next night...  I think you get it?

9. SMILE & STAY POSITIVE!  

This is such an exciting time! This is such an AMAZING race!

Did you watch the videos? What's not to be excited for?

Life is good.

Lots of love and laughs!

XOXO

LA

LA's Team for Kids Homepage



ARE YOU CRYING? THERE'S NO CRYING IN RUNNING!

Please note the reference to A League of Their Own...

Before I wanted to be a marathon runner, I wanted to be a Peach.

Training for my first marathon has been pretty seamless thus far. I’ve fought off nagging injuries while keeping a level head and managing to have a lot of fun. I’ve traveled a lot for both work and pleasure while fitting in almost all of the scheduled training miles. People warned that this would take over my life and force me into an underground running bunker but so far I haven’t felt that in the least bit.

I like to think that I can handle about anything. I am a genuinely happy person that chooses to look at the glass of life half full. This positive outlook and overall excitement has made this experience breakdown free….until this weekend.  

I am not really known for showing emotions. Don’t get me wrong I will laugh harder than anyone in a room but very few friends have actually seen me cry or admit weakness. These friends often refer to me as an “iron curtain” which is a long ways away from the Drama Queen LA in the glorious middle and high school days.

I started this blog to share my journey and at times felt guilty that I wasn’t complaining. I made lists of awesome and compiled everything that I am thankful for. I wrote glowing race recaps filled with new PRs and post-race brunches with friends. As my training comes to an end, the last 4 months finally caught up to me this weekend.

Saturday around midnight I had a full blown breakdown.

Hurricane LA blew into the bar that K was at to fight back tears and vent about being burnt out and over everything. I admitted my exhaustion from Philly travel and running what feels like a million miles a week. I also sent a few texts to some of my other closest friends full of Hurricane LA anxiety and cat emojis. Please, don’t ask about the cat emojis….

I left K after my impromptu Saturday night therapy was complete and headed home. I walked in the door and instantly the flood gates of tears opened up. I took off my eye makeup in the midst of sobs and jumped into bed in hopes that a good night of sleep would cure everything.

Why was I crying? And why couldn’t I make it stop?!?!?!

I finally realized and accepted that I was completely burnt out.

Physically, I have admitted the fatigue for weeks now.

Mentally, I have kept it together and followed my weekly schedules and to do lists to stay on track.

Emotionally, I just needed to lose it and I am totally fine in admitting that I did.

I can't believe that I am going to admit this to friends, let alone the internet... I actually cried (or sobbed) myself to sleep that night. I woke up with puffy eyes Sunday morning but also felt like a new person after my fabulous night of sleep. I didn't wake up to an alarm for the first time in weeks and was ready to get back on track. 

I care more about November 4^th than anything else right now in my life, family and friends excluded.

I have never given so much of myself to something. This race is on my mind, in my heart, and clearly taking everything out of my body.

I am so insanely blessed to have this opportunity. I am beyond thankful for the chance to run this race, the physical heath which makes me able to do so, and the support group of loved ones that care about it almost as much as I do.

Many warned me about “taper crazies” and overall training breakdowns. I thought I was immune to them thanks to my “iron curtain” reputation and overall “deal with it” attitude in life. I am not immune or some superhero runner; I'm vulnerable and human.

I'm excited but also scared out of my mind to approach the starting line in Staten Island. I don’t really know how I am going to get myself over the 5 bridges or fly down 5^th avenue. I don’t really know how my legs are going to withstand 26.2 miles of running but I guess in 12 days I will see.

Post breakdown yesterday I received this reassuring text from a marathoner friend, “Trust the training. You’re ready.”

You’re right A. No reason to waste time worrying. I’ve got this and need to spend my time doing more important things like emailing out race day orders to my marathon hype girls or finish planning the post-race party.

SPEAKING OF WHICH…. NYC Folks, if you are around in the afternoon/evening of November 4^th feel free to come by Mason Jar. God willing, I will be stationed there post-race to celebrate the completion of the craziest 4 months of my life. The Wildcat will be in town and my marathon hype girls will be in full force.  I can’t guarantee that I will shower after the race, but I promise that any tears will be ones of pure happiness.

Wait! My Saturday was not just full of tears. I had a pretty awesome long run in the morning to finish up this marathon training madness.   



Saturday morning sidewalk chalk inspiration!



M and I trekked up to Central Park for the last weekend Team for Kids practice of this marathon season. TFK alumni were invited to join as we ran the final 10 miles of the race. We met the crew, stretched and headed out along 59^th street to hit 1^st avenue and begin our race day dress rehearsal.

I ran with my goal marathon pace group for the day and kept up just fine. High five!

1^st Avenue was not too bad and the bridge into the Bronx was definitely bearable. All along the way, TFK alumni and coaches pointed out stellar spectating spots and passed along other bits of advice. We made our way through the Bronx and crossed the final bridge back into Manhattan.

This run in combination with my long one from last weekend is going to be invaluable to my success on race day. I am really relieved that in my training I tested out 4 of the 5 bridges and ran almost half of the course. I am usually fine with a foreign course on race day but not when the race is a full 26.2 miles with notorious spots of serious elevation.  

What can I expect on race day? I think I know but in all reality I am sure that I have no idea.

This past week’s taper was awesome! I should probably clarify that taper means cutting back mileage in an effort to let the body recover from the rigorous weeks of training and feel fresh for marathon day.

Last week I took Monday AND Tuesday off from running completely. I took a strength class Tuesday but didn’t lace up the sneakers until Wednesday morning. Earlier in my training I would have freaked out over this but I listened to my body and the guilt was gone.

I finished out the rest of the week strong although I didn’t do the full 13 on Saturday. The coaches told us we were only going to do 12 instead of 13 and strongly instructed us not to add on the extra mile. At this point, we will not gain fitness but rather fatigue and injury. Say no more, 12 it is!

LAST WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday (flex)	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	6	REST	7	6	REST	13	6	32	38
LA	REST	Strength	7	7	REST	12	4	30

This week the taper continues! The mileage is CRAZY low and I think I am looking forward to it? I am going to try to make strength class again and maybe even try for yoga? Sigh, a girl can dream…

THIS WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	6	REST	5	3	REST	REST	6	14	20
LA Plan	6	Strength	5	3	REST	REST	6	14	20

Did I mention that I am running this race for an AMAZING charity with members and coaches that I adore? No? That’s funny I thought I did…

LA's Team for Kids Marathon Homepage

Lots of love and laughs (not tears)!

XOXO

L.A.

THREE BRIDGES RUN RECAP & IT'S TAPER TIME

Greetings from TAPERville! The bulk of the marathon training is officially over after this weekend’s grand finale long run.  

In preparation for my long run on Sunday, I stayed home Saturday and sat with my feet up while nutritiously fueling my body.  

OR NOT… I made a trip to Philly for the day to cheer on my brother (or rather his team) in their third home game of the season.

Smart move?

Sunday’s run was a success and I had a lot of fun on Saturday so I am going to say YES! Can you tell I am not one for moderation?

I woke up Saturday morning before the sun (theme of my fall weekends) and made the trip to Philly. My brother wasn’t cleared to play yet after last week’s injury but I still went to the City of Brotherly Love for just that. Dad made the trip up as well because Florida is SO close to Pennsylvania. Neither of us could stand the thought of missing out on some football fun.

I spy an injured BroMan

The game was painful and we were losing until the last minute when my brother’s best friend caught the winning touchdown. We spent the remainder of the game chanting and cheering while jumping up and down.  My legs and feet really appreciated that.

We dipped out of the tailgate early and went for a family dinner. I needed a real meal besides cheesesteak calzones and the boys wanted to chill. I treated myself to my only glass of the wine for the day (pat on the back) and after dinner got dropped back at the train station to head home.

After the train fiasco of last weekend, I am happy to report that this ride was smooth and break down free. Thank you Amtrak! I was in bed by 10:15 pm and got a great night of sleep.

OR NOT… I woke up multiple times before my alarm went off with night sweats and couldn’t fall asleep even though my body was fatigued. If this was any indication of the night of sleep I will have on November 3^rd, I can’t wait!

I woke up Sunday before the sun (told you it was a theme) and  dragged myself up to Jack Rabbit’s West Side store to meet the rest of the marathoners participating in the NY Flyers Three Bridges Run #2.  Originally I signed up to run with my *GOAL* marathon pace group. After consulting my closest marathon advisors, I decided to run with a slower group for the final long run of the training cycle. I wanted to get a good workout and prepare for race day but I also didn’t want to overdo it. I was relieved to find out that several others in this new pace group made the same last minute move.

The Route

Our pace group split up and set out for the West Side Highway. We had one (or two) pacers leading the group of eager runners. We were all ready to go and more importantly read to get this over with.

We took the West Side Highway all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. We don’t actually run the Brooklyn Bridge in the marathon but it was our first bridge of this run. Luckily it was early enough in the morning so the bridge was empty. It was a pretty serene New York experience to run over this bridge while marathon training.



Action Shot! The picture is tilting but we were not...



After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge we exited at Prospect Street. We worked our way across Brooklyn and into Queens where we then crossed the Pulaski Bridge.  We’ll face the Pulaski on race day so it was great to physically test it out.  

From there we headed to the 59th Street Bridge and crossed it at mile 16, similar to the time we will face it during the marathon. I SO am glad that I got to test out this bridge before race day because it had some serious elevation. While crossing the bridge I kept imagining November 4^th and hearing the Manhattan crowds waiting on the other side. I think the anticipation of entering MY borough to see family and friends on the sidelines will get me over this hump, literally. On this particular Sunday with no friends and family waiting, it was a struggle. I felt fatigued at this point in the run and the bottoms of my feet were really killing me. My new running BFF (as of mile 10) and I pushed each other over it and finally hit Manhattan, a relief.

Once over the bridge we headed crosstown and entered Central Park. I split off from the group and planned to add some extra mileage because my training scheduled technically called for 22 miles and the run was only 20.

On this particular Sunday, Central Park resembled an ant farm. This place was a madhouse thanks to the runners in my training group, a NYRR half marathon, and the rest of the weekend crowds. I tried to jump on the Bridle Path before heading back to the store but the whole park was really a mess and annoyed me. I ran back in the direction of Jack Rabbit and figured I would circle the store until hitting the full 22. I returned to the store at 21.25 and instead just called it a day. The crew of runners stretching while enjoying the post-race fuel was much more appealing than circling three loops around the store.

Also, I was in some serious pain. My IT Band, feet, calves, and overall legs were screaming at me and I figured that I was saving myself an injury? Who am I kidding, I simply had enough.

If you are wondering if I feel slightly guilty and overall uneasy about only doing 21.25 instead of the full 22 then the answer is YES.  I thought about doing the last .75 when I got back to my apartment but again a shower was more appealing.

Is this really going to make or break my marathon? No. Well, I hope not.

Do I wish I finished the full 22? Yes.

Did I lose sleep over it last night? Absolutely not.

I’ve been following the “Intermediate” TFK training schedule even though this is my first marathon. I feel confident in the last 2 years of my running and wanted to challenge myself. Technically, the “Beginner” schedule called for 20 miles so I found a happy in between?

Over it... After the run I felt like a million bucks mentally even though physically I was NOT well.

I met M for a much needed post run lunch after showering and getting myself together. I spent the rest of my Sunday icing my feet while sprawled out on the couch. The weekend exhausted me in more ways than one.

How do I feel today? I think fine but we’ll see how the rest of the day goes. My bag is packed for TFK practice tonight but it will be a game time decision. Part of me would like to shake out my legs and the other part of me just wants to go home and crash. We’ll see what 6pm brings.

I STRONGLY recommend this run to anyone marathon training, especially for NYC!

I can't even express the confidence boost that Sunday gave me. I know that I just did 20 but I wanted to see if that was just a fluke or a testament to my successful training. I am happy to report that it’s a testament to my training. I am physically ready for this race. On that note, I am also physically ready to TAPER.

What is tapering? Well my friends at TFK laid it out for me in this week's email…

“After last week's long run, we are now in the taper phase which is defined as the last three weeks of training, with lower mileage. By now, your training is done and your body needs to rebuild to peak strength after the intense effort of the past 20 weeks. It's time to rest and recover, but don't worry, you won't lose fitness in three weeks. In fact, studies show that your aerobic capacity, the best gauge of fitness, won't change at all. Instead, tapering will allow your muscles to repair, your body to store up glycogen, and some of the ongoing aches, pains and soreness to finally go away. Tapering should be a simple and welcome relief period to all the hard training, but many runners find it frustrating and difficult not to keep running at the same high intensity.  Read below for some tips and tricks to keep you sane and focused through the next few weeks!”

“It’s time to rest and recover…” – AWESOME!

“Instead, tapering will allow your muscles to repair, your body to store up glycogen, and some of the ongoing aches, pains and soreness to finally go away.”- Aches and pains go away? That sounds divine.

“…to keep you sane and focused through the next few weeks!”- Sane? So you are saying the taper crazies are true? Well, I’m screwed.

All joking aside, many of my marathon friends warned me about the "crazies", the only downside of the taper period. As your body recovers and rests, apparently the mind does just the opposite. It’s my first day of taper and so far so good? I know, I can’t really judge but I can anticipate. Luckily I started this blog and can share all the crazies with you when they hit in the next three weeks! Who’s excited?!?!!?!

Here is what the beginning to my taper looks like…

THIS WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday (flex)	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	6	REST	7	6	REST	13	6	32	38
LA Plan	REST? Or 6	Strength (or 6)	7	6	REST	13	6	32	38

LAST WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday (flex)	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	8	REST	7	6	REST	22	6	43	49
LA	8 & YOGA	Strength	6	REST	8	REST	21.25	43.25

Look who did yoga AND strength in addition to of all her training last week?!?!?!

Must. Stay. Motivated.

Repeat. This. Week.

I actually did hit my overall mileage goal for the week even though I skipped on the .75 Sunday. Also, I think I ran 8.25 on Friday so maybe that helps too?

Okay I am over it now. I promise.

The Team for Kids fundraising deadline is behind me and my goal was met, but that doesn't mean it’s time to stop fundraising!

With every dollar raised or donated, more kids get access to NYRR's youth health and fitness programs. More kids than ever will experience the benefits of living a healthy and active lifestyle thanks to all of you! Although I have already fulfilled my Team for Kids pledge, by continuing to fundraise we can make an even greater impact on the kids in the programs around the world!

The official marathon countdown… 19 days

See you at the finish line!

XOXO

LA

LA's Team for Kids Homepage