Ice then heat or heat then ice?

23. April 2014 · 2 comments · Categories: injury, inspiration, labradoodle, recreational fun, running · Tags: , , , , ,

Hi!

How has your week been going? Yesterday was Earth Day. It’s sorta that for me every day. I love nature and spend as much time as I can outside. Yep. I’m a tree hugger =)

me hugging a tree

tree-hugger sally

I had to work from home yesterday to wait for the appraiser to come. I’m refinancing because the interest rate on my mortgage is ridiculous. I bought my house back in 2000 when the rates were between 7 and 8 percent. So now i’ll be down to 3.625 and I’ll be able to pay the house off sooner. Feels so good!

Anyway, I got some miles in…

earth day running

my penultimate training run. (I had a thing for vocabulary is school)

Just 3-ish. It really feels so weird to be running such low mileage but it works out ok because to overshadow my allergy woes, this past Sunday my sciatica/piriformis muscle decided to spasm. I’ve been dealing with horrible annoying pain since then. Remarkably running and walking make it feel a little better. I’m currently taking anti-inflammatories, rolling my butt on a tennis ball to massage the tight areas and rotating between ice and heat. I never get it right. Is it ice first then heat? or the opposite? I get this every now and then usually from sitting for too long or sitting the wrong way. But timing-wise it sucks. Hello! I have a marathon coming up in 4 days! 

Since most of my physical training is in the books at this point I am trying to work on some mental exercise because my mental muscle is mush lately. I started with a peaceful walk in the woods with Duncan. Green is finally popping up!

photo 1-1

 

I enjoy these walks because I can talk to myself out loud and there isn’t a soul around to hear me. Well I did scare away about 5 deer. Poor little guys were seeking out their dinner and when they heard me they bolted. All I saw were 5 white tails as they darted away.

I’d love if you all could share with me the sayings/quotes/mantras that help you feel confident and inspired.

I have been a little wishy-washy with my expectations for Sunday. I’m nervous and doubting my abilities lately…part of the taper madness? I want that fire to return for race day. I want to “crush it” as people say. But I don’t want to be disappointed if I have a slower finish time or if I struggle during the race. I did get in a solid 16 weeks of running but I never got on the bandwagon with things like strengthening my core or cleaning up my diet. So while my endurance is good, my weak core isn’t going to help me keep strong in those later miles. (Slapping my hand!) Maybe I need to just start singing that song from the movie Frozen…LET IT GO, LET IT GO! =) It’s all gonna go down just as it’s supposed to anyway. So long as I can keep smiling from the minute I line up in the corals to the minute I cross the finish line that’s all that matters right?

Just pulled out this pic. I took it the day before the NJ Marathon last year. It’s the finish line! Right on the boardwalk with the beach to the right. I will stare at this pic each day. I had an amazing day last year and set a PR. I’m hoping to have a repeat of that for this year.

NJ Marathon finish line

NJ Marathon finish line

Well, I need to get ready for work. I’ve got one of those days with back to back meetings. At least it will be a good distraction from everything.

Questions: How do you handle pre-race nerves? What are your mantras? Ice then heat or heat then ice? Tree-hugger?

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Liebster award nomination and 5 things to do 10 days before a marathon

18. April 2014 · 1 comment · Categories: helpful tips, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Howdy and happy Thursday,

My poor little blog was down for most of the day yesterday. So I reached out to my 10 followers to give them the bad news. Somehow life carried on.

When I was finally able to log on I saw that Angela from Love the Running had nominated me for a Liebster award.

liebster award

liebster award

Thanks so much!

So this is what I’ve learned. The Liebster Award is an online award for bloggers, given by bloggers. It’s a great way to find new blogs to follow as well as promote blogs you enjoy reading. The general rules are:

Thank the blogger who presented the award and link back to their blog. 
Answer the 10 questions the blogger asked of you. 
Nominate 10 different bloggers.
Ask 10 different questions to the nominees.
Notify nominees that they are nominated.

So here are the 10 questions I’ve been asked:

  1. Would you rather workout in the heat or the cold? Cold!
  2. Do you exercise in the morning or at night? late morning or afternoon when i can otherwise first thing in the morning
  3. Why did you decide to start blogging?  I spent lots of my time posting on Facebook about my running endeavors or my anxiety and realized my FB friends might be sick of me. So the idea of a blog which could become a place for me to spew about my love of running and how it keeps me sane seemed very appealing.
  4. Who’s your favorite celebrity? Charlize Theron
  5. Where do you live and what’s something you love about it? I live in Staten Island, one of the 5 boroughs of New York City…you know….where the NYC Marathon starting line is=) I love that I’ve lived here all my life and am so familiar with every nook and cranny.
  6. Do you have any pets? Yes, a 5 year old labradoodle named Duncan
  7. What’s your favorite thing to cook? I can scramble a mean egg and boil water for pasta! LOL!
  8. How do you stay motivated? I stay motivated by social media and blogs…seeing others post about sacrafices of sleep to get in a workout etc etc. makes me feel like a wimp for even thinking of skipping out
  9. Favorite vacation destination? I love California. I keep going back. 
  10. Link to your favorite blog post that you’ve written! I wrote a 5 part series of posts recapping this event I did last September where I ran 5 half marathons in 5 days in 5 states. Here’s the link to part 5 which has links to parts 1-4 in it as well. It was quite an epic trip! 

Thanks again Angela!

I am nominating only 3 bloggers because I don’t really read more blogs that haven’t already been nominated =) These 3 are friends I’ve met through fitness first (running or kickboxing) and then discovered they had blogs so they aren’t just “virtual” friends =)

Jane @ Jane and Alex • Tara @ Chanes of Love • Lisa @ The Rescue Baker

My questions are:

  1. What’s your favorite flavor ice cream?
  2. Are you happy with the name you were given or have you always secretly wished it was different?
  3. Are you the type to power through pain of a headache or muscle ache or do you take tylenol or advil for everything?
  4. If you could use any color pen to write with what color would it be?
  5. Was your answer to #4 your favorite color as well?
  6. How many states of the US have you been to?
  7. Favorite meal of the day
  8. If someone were throwing you a birthday party what would you want the theme to be?
  9. Do you use Pinterest?
  10. Chocolate or Vanilla?

This was fun! Hope you all enjoyed reading. 

So today I took a long walk with the dog…

doodle walk in park

taking care of business

and then a short run…

running

It was kinda chilly. Glad I wore a light jacket. With only 4 more planned runs before the NJ Marathon, I was REALLY hoping to feel the effects of tapering today. But I didn’t:( I actually felt quite achy, tired and sluggish. I had music playing but honestly I was too busy thinking about all the details of race day and don’t think I actually heard any of the music. Ironically one of the details is how to carry my earbuds without putting them in my ears until I’m ready to cue up some music. Something tells me i’m going to be safety pinning things everywhere.

While I spent 54 minutes thinking about race day details I also thought about what I need to start doing right now…so without further ado….a list:

With 10 days to go before a marathon make sure to do these 5 things: 

• Drink more water!

• Eat a little cleaner (increasing carbs a few days before)!

• Stretch and foam roll like it’s your job!

• Get plenty of sleep!

• Practice finish line photo smile in the mirror!

Feel free to answer any of the questions I asked the nominees in the comments below if you feel like sharing.

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20 milers are cool too—afterward

07. April 2014 · 2 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , , ,

Well ladies and gents,

I’m so happy that today I reached the peak of this marathon training cycle. The 20 mile long run.

It was another early rise but soooooo worth it!

The amazing race director of the New Jersey Marathon, Joe, puts on a bunch of free long training runs along the course of the marathon with (self serve) aid stops where water, gatorade and Gu are provided.

sunrise-startWe met up at the local running store in Pier Village which is in Long Branch, New Jersey just a few tenths of a mile from where the finish line will be for the Marathon.

prerun

Joe (yep, on a first name basis with the most caring, friendly, race director I’ve ever met) even had the finishers medal out on display for us to see and get super pumped about! It’s awesome….

starshinemedalI love how each year they feature a positive message. This year it’s “Let your Star shine. Be Brilliant”. Last year, it revolved around rebounding after Hurricane Sandy. The front said “Run-Restore-Rebuild” and on the back it said “Up and Running”. They had a bunch of last year’s shirts that people could take for free today. I LOVE my shirt so having a back up seemed great. Unfortunately they only had size small left so I’ll look like a sausage in it but I don’t turn down free stuff!

extra-shirt

Since this race is along the coast a lot of the course was severely damaged during Sandy (even this year there are parts still under construction).

I met up with Jane at 7am and we waited until the 10 minute mile group was ready. With a quick head’s up about obeying traffic and following the cones with directional signs, we were off…

selfieIt was in the mid to high 30s for most of the run but the sun was warm. The miles were flying by at first but that was short lived. From mile 15-20 I really had to dig deep. I got a little cranky (ok maybe a lot) and just wanted to be done.

20milessplits

A few things that maybe weren’t too smart.

1. I opted to rely on provided aid stops but they were spaced out pretty far (more than 3 miles) and by the time we got to many of them there was only gatorade left and no water.

2. I GUZZLED water at the first aid stop. I think I had 3 full cups of water.

3. Tried to make up for missed out fuel at mile 5 but eating double at mile 10. I made myself sick. My stomach was sloshing and I knew it was dumb.

4. We started out a bit fast. It came back to bite us (well maybe just me….Jane was a rockstar!) around mile 15.

But a few things went right too.

1. My favorite Anti-Chafe balm continued to do right by me! I swear by this stuff.

993464_10202343099280535_364652723_n2. I wore just the right gear. Never got too hot. Just a bit cold for the first mile because it was windy.

3. Psychologically it felt really great to have completed 20 miles straight. Most of my marathon training cycles (actually I think all of them) I ran 7 miles and then a half marathon so there was always 30 minutes or so in between.

4. I confirmed that if the weather is going to be similar then i will wear the exact outfit I wore today. It was comfortable and that’s super important.

A few pics of Jane and me…

randoms

Jane’s amazing legs • Me at the start • my feet in the sand after we were done (i was too tired to peel off the socks lol • Jane at the start • Me Instagramming or Twittering or something

Next up was breakfast! We hit up the All Seasons Diner about 10 minutes away.

Jane went with a big ole belgian waffle with fruit and whipped cream and I chose an egg burrito that had sausage, peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese

brunchJane and I parted ways and I came home and showered and before I realized how exhausted I was, I took the dog for a 2 1/2 mile walk. This actually was quite beneficial in keeping me from getting stiff. Beneficial to the doodle too.

walkdogThen we stopped by a friends’ house so he could get a little attention.

affectionI have been suffering from a skin condition for many years now. It’s called Melasma. It usually affects women who are pregnant or taking birth control pills but I am neither. Just not so lucky. I hate it so much. It basically is awkward brown blotches on the face. You can see from this pic my upper lip and cheeks are really discolored.

melasma

It’s exacerbated by the sun. So these long runs really do a number on me. I wear sunscreen/sunglasses and a hat/visor but it still happens 🙁 Not life threatening but really ugly and very hard to get rid of. Anyway, just thought i’d share.

Now while we’re talking about the unjust in the world. What’s up with skimping on the chocolate chips Edys?!

icecreamOK had to get that off my chest.

My night came to a close at the chinese restaurant. I sampled a Pu Pu platter for the first time in my life!

jadeisland

I’m so tired I need to go to bed right n…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Question: Do you have anything you’re self conscious of? 

 

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Commando Curls

27. March 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: running · Tags: , , , ,

Hi! Today something wonderful happened. Actually 2 things. No wait, make that 3.

1. THERE WAS NO WIND!!!! I ran 7 glorious miles in sunny 30 degree weather but no friggen wind!!!!!! After weeks of what felt like never ending windy days…this.was.wonderful.

weather

2. It’s that point in my marathon training where I have started to realize improvements in my endurance and that I’m getting so ready for race day! I noticed today that I felt relaxed and enjoyed what felt like an “easy” pace for 7 miles… I averaged a 10:20 pace which is 20 seconds faster than the pace i’m shooting to average for the marathon. I should be feeling easy runs are more in the 11:00 to 11:15 range. The run ended with me feeling like I could keep running another 7 miles. I am really looking forward to April 6, when I’ll be doing my longest training run (20 miles) along the course of the NJ Marathon. It should be a good predictor of where I’m at and what I can hope for come April 27.

free-the-curls

3. I let my curls run free…yep, that’s right! Commando curls! no hat, no headband, no ponytail, no visor….AHHHH! I hardly ever do that but it felt great. While it’s not feasible to do that for a marathon (sweat drips in my eyes,) it sure felt great not to have my head trapped under something =)

Well, I’m gonna take this lingering runner’s high with me now and head to the park to meet my friend and her 2 dogs. We’re going to do our usual 2.5 mile loop and catch up on life and the pursuit of happiness.

Catch ya later!

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