NYC Half 2015 recap: I took a leap of faith

16. March 2015 · 7 comments · Categories: injury, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
Hi peeps.
Welcome to Monday. So much to tell you. Let’s see last we spoke it was Friday the 13th and I was headed to Dr. Williams for more knee work. That went well.
Integrative Spine and Sports

heat first—then torture

Integrative Spine and Sport

The lovely waiting room. I always sit in the turquoise chair

I told him my plan for the NYC Half and he actually encouraged me to run more than 4 if I could. Love him! I high-tailed it out of his office and downtown to the NYC Half Expo where I met up with Lisa.
unitedNYChalfExpo

Love this clever cropping that the stranger who took our photo did. He probably didn’t do it on purpose but it’s funny to see half of a NYC Half sign. =)

I got my bib and bought some fuel and then headed home. I took duncan for a quick evening walk since I knew the forecast for Saturday was going to be rain.all.day.

6:30pm and we're taking a stroll. This is the best part of Daylight Savings

6:30pm and we’re taking a stroll. This is the best part of Daylight Savings

Saturday I woke up and did some retouching to some headshots I took for a brokerage firm a few weeks ago. Then I spent a couple of hours doing laundry, cleaning and eventually I started to pack up all my gear that I would need for the NYC Half plus an overnight bag and drove to the boyfriend’s house. We had dinner over at my brother and sister-in-law’s house and stayed out a bit later than I would have wanted if I was in full focus training/running mode. But since I figured most of my race would be walking I wasn’t too worried. Plus I don’t normally sleep well the night before a race. Always nervous I’ll oversleep or forget something.
OK now on to the recap of the 2015 NYC Half
Alarm sounds 4:15am. Ouch! That’s early. But I managed to sleep walk my way to my gear and suit up and was out the door by 5am to go catch a train into to the city.
4:30 am...before coffee...so flattering.lol.

4:30 am…before coffee…so flattering.lol.

I hadn’t had breakfast yet so when I arrived at Penn Station I popped into Starbucks for a petite vanilla bean scone and some coffee.

Say hello to my little Vanilla Bean friend. (taken from Starbucks website)

Say hello to my little Vanilla Bean friend. (taken from Starbucks website)

The scone is only 120 calories. It’s one of my favorite treats. I’ll have to learn how to bake them someday. I know I know not smart to eat something new on race day. But it all worked out fine. I sipped my coffee as I walked the block from Penn Station to the subway (the F train) that I would take up to Central Park. There was a man from Argentina who was running the NYC Half for the first time so I gave him advice on what train to take. I also let him know the course 411.

• Rolling hills in Central Park from mile 1-6!
• Crazy awesome energy thru Times Square. from mile 6-8
• Wind along the West Side Highway miles 8-12.
• Prepare for your Garmin to have difficulty tracking properly through Times Square and also mile 12 goes into a tunnel. (side note: my Garmin ended up saying it was more than 13.5 miles)
• Fast and flat from mile 6 to the finish.
• Heaviest recovery food bag ever (thanks to a huge bottle of water and Gatorade, plus an apple, pretzels and maybe a brick or something)
Hopefully he did well. Then the train pulled in and low and behold I get on the same subway car that my running peeps from Brooklyn had taken in. 8 million people in NYC and almost 20,000 runners coming in for the race and I get on the same subway and subway car as the 3 people I was planning on meeting up with at our designated street corner. Love when that stuff happens. (side note: I also noticed a woman along the course that I had seen at 5:30am in NJ while waiting for the train into the city. Again, almost 20,000 runners and I spot her).
We rode the rest of the way together and then had to make our way through the security checkpoint where we bumped into Robin, yet another friend.
The sea of runners waiting to get through security. It took a good 25 minutes (photo courtesy of JD)

The sea of runners waiting to get through security. It took a good 25 minutes (photo courtesy of JD)

This was no joke. We are talking TSA experience. Put your loose items in a basket and walk through the metal detector gates. Oh, and before that I checked my gear bag easy peasy at the trucks lined up on 59th street.

• So YAY for easy gear check.
• Nay for security congestion (although I totally understand and appreciate that the runner’s safety was a priority.)
• Yay for weather which was much better than last year. It did get a bit windy from miles 8-12 but it was overcast and in the 40s. Nice!
By the time we got through security we had to move pretty fast to get in to the corrals before they closed them. We didn’t have time to find our exact corral so we just jumped into the one closest somewhere in the middle and wouldn’t ya know we bumped into 2 more friends, Jorge and Lisa’s friend who she says she ALWAYS bumps into. A serendipitous morning for sure.
Jorge and JD. I love how runners are very individual with how to dress for the weather. Jorge felt a tshirt and shorts was plenty for a 40 degree day and JD wanted a little more coverage. =)

Jorge and JD. I love how runners are very individual with how to dress for the weather. Jorge felt a tshirt and shorts was plenty for a 40 degree day and JD wanted a little more coverage. =)

corral-nychalfAnd before you knew it we were off and running. I said goodbye to everyone and told them I’d see them at Au Bon Pain for our planned post-race breakfast. I ran the first 5k with no issue. I’ve run in Central Park plenty of times and also ran this race last year so I was very familiar with the course. As soon as I saw the 5k sign I slowed down and walked to assess. Of course right away the knee started hurting. Crap. Should I have walked the first 9 miles and run the last 4 like my original plan? I had multiple conversations with myself and eventually shut myself up and agreed it was going to be a long time until I crossed that finish and I better just deal. I walked most of mile 3-4 and then my knee felt better so I progressed to a shuffle and then I was back running.

Here’s the most amazing thing: other than that mile and a little issue during the last 800 meters of the race I RAN THE WHOLE WAY! I kid you not. I was not prepared to feel good enough to do so. And since song lyrics are my mantra these days I found a new one to describe this day. I was listening to a song by Nickleback called “What are You Waiting For”. There’s a line where he says “Everybody needs a leap of faith. When are you taking yours?” I took a leap of faith with this race knowing the outcome was a big question mark and it worked out for me. I’m really grateful for that. And yes, in true Sally fashion I cried a lot. I just get so emotional.
No cars....just runners. NICE!

No cars….just runners. NICE!

Took this shot for my boyfriend to show his girls. He mentioned that they love the M&Ms store. Of course I'm sure they would rather have some souvenir merchandise rather than see a photo lol.

Took this shot for my boyfriend to show his girls. He mentioned that they love the M&Ms store. Of course I’m sure they would rather have some souvenir merchandise rather than see a photo lol.

Look at that smile. I wasn't pretending. I was so happy. I was running!

Look at that smile. I wasn’t pretending. I was so happy. I was running!

I got a kick out of these girls who dressed up in that “is it blue or is it white” dress that went viral. So funny.

Is it blue and black or white and gold?

Is it blue and black or white and gold?

They were airing the race on ABC and I got to see myself on TV while running toward the Freedom Tower.

There i am on the big screen!

There i am on the big screen!

This view always makes me emotional

This view always makes me emotional

So as I mentioned just as the 800 meters to go sign appeared my knee gave way. I hobbled those last 800 meters but I crossed the finish line and within a minute my knee was recovered again. Whew! I did it.

Homestretch

Homestretch

Hi. My name is Sally and I love to run.

Hi. My name is Sally and I love to run.

26 minutes slower than my PR but with basically no training and a knee that isn't 100 percent I'll take it!

26 minutes slower than my PR but with basically no training and a knee that isn’t 100 percent I’ll take it!

I walked around the corner and met up with Lisa, Jorge and Amy.

post-race-nychalf

And then I made it back to Penn Station to get the train back to the boyfriend’s house.
Coordinating sneakers AND KT tape. It was a Turquoise day

Coordinating sneakers AND KT tape. It was a Turquoise day

later on in the day we took the dogs to the park for a 2 1/2 mile walk. And by the time the evening came to a close I had taken 40,000 steps!

blownup-garminvivofitThis morning I’m feeling SORE everywhere. But my knee actually feels pretty good! My hamstrings and quads though are not happy. I foam rolled and iced yesterday and I took some ibuprofen today but I guess this is what I get for running so many miles under trained. I’m really surprised though how endurance-wise I felt fine. I never felt fatigued or out of breath. My body remembers how to do distance running. And now I need to recover smart. I’ve got another 1/2 in 2 weeks!

How was your weekend? Did you run? Did you spend any time outdoors? Are you ready for Spring?

 

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Giving up is not an option

13. March 2015 · 1 comment · Categories: injury, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,

Hi there. It’s Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious? I’m not. And frankly yesterday everything was weird and messy so I’m hoping to be in the clear today.

I’m headed to Dr. Williams in a few minutes for my 4th ART and Graston. I’m excited to tell him I made it to 4 miles yesterday.

4 mile run

4 miles

The only issue happened about 1/4 mile before I stopped running my knee gave out and I felt the limp come on but within a minute it worked itself out and I was ok so I ran the rest of the way. Bottom line is that the knee is improving but I still have more work to be done before I am “healed”. At least I didn’t feel so sluggish and sore like I did on Wednesday’s run. I actually felt sick all day Wednesday and came home and got under the covers so I’m wondering if I might have just been fighting something.

fighting something

fighting something

And before I got under the covers I checked my mailbox and low and behold I got 2 running catalogs….SHOCKER! =)

Running catalogs

Running catalogs

Thank god I feel better now. My 4 miles was still slow but I didn’t feel slow. Funny how the same pace can feel so hard one day and so easy the next.

Oh and I’m headed to the NYC Half Marathon Expo this afternoon after my Chiropractor appointment. I’m going to tell Dr. Williams my plan although now I think I’ve adjusted it again. I’m going to walk 9 miles and run the last 4.

So that brings me to my post title. I was listinening to my music yesterday while running and this one lyric stuck in my head:

Giving up is not an option.

Sometimes it’s easy to want to give up. It seems easier to deal with it if you just give up. Right? Imagine if I gave up on life after my husband died? I would’t have discovered running. I wouldn’t have Duncan. I wouldn’t have had the most amazing life experiences that paralleled my journey through my grief. I wouldn’t have met Mr. SOTSS. The list goes on and on.

So back to running…so many things might get you down…an injury, not attaining a race PR, not seeing progress. But the key is not to give up. Just make accommodations for where you are right now. If you’re injured (like me) be proud of the minor signs of healing like making it 4 miles instead of 3. If you didn’t reach that PR maybe you should choose another race and train to have fun rather than shoot for a time goal. If you’re not seeing progress shift your focus to something else like focusing on your running form or trying out new gear. But don’t ever just say “that’s it I’m done”. And don’t let discouragement knock you down. (Yes, I sort of wrote this for my own ears here!) Accept and accommodate the roadblocks and figure out a way to navigate through in a way that will keep you fulfilled and with a smile on your face. On that note I’m thinking I might have to evaluate my normal fueling needs for a half. I’ll be out on the course for 3 hours which is at least 45 minutes longer than I normally would be so I might need a little more fuel.

Speaking of fuel…Duncan was a little overzealous this morning with his breakfast. Um, that’s the container I store an entire bag of food in…

breakfast of champions

breakfast of champions

He’s really been cute in the mornings lately too.

pillows are the best invention

pillows are the best invention

Ok before I go all doodle picture crazy I better sign off.

 

So what words do you find powerful or inspirational?

Do you ever find yourself wanting to give up on something hard? How do you handle it?

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It was slow, sore and stiff but it was a run

11. March 2015 · 1 comment · Categories: injury, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

First, a few half marathon announcements for local folks:

Rock ‘n’ Roll just announced their Brooklyn half marathon! The date is October 10, 2015 and registration opens on Monday, March 16th. It’s the day before the Staten Island half so it looks like I’ll be running back to back half marathons that weekend 🙂 Anyway, if you’re local and want to run it consider yourself in the know.

Also, I’ll be sharing a post with a discount promo code for locals that want to run the Queens 13.1 on March 21st! The race is put on by Lifetime Athletic Events which also runs the NJ Marathon so I’ll be working as part of the NJ Marathon Street Team at the Finish Festival. Come say hi if you decide to run.

I had my 3rd ART and Graston yesterday. And guess what? I didn’t feel like puking this time. It hurt but it was much more tolerable. Dr. Williams said the inflammation went down a bit. Anyway, I mentioned to him about my rotator cuff injury and he immediately took a look and could see I’m on the way to “frozen shoulder” which is not good. I told him I was waiting to wrap up fixing the knee before starting physical therapy on the shoulder mainly for financial reasons (I pay a $60 copay per visit so that’s $120 a week at the moment for my knee. If I added another twice a week doc visit we are talking $240 a week. Sorry. I just can’t afford to sustain that) but he said starting the exercises is important to do sooner rather than later so he showed me a couple of different exercises to do to get me started. Anyway, just another reason to love Dr. Williams.  The exercises are really hard! I can’t believe how limp my arm has become. And it has been hurting a lot more the last few days too. I even got numbness and tingling in my fingers again which I haven’t had in weeks. Phooey! 

Meanwhile I ran another 3 miles this morning and the knee was fine. I was aware of it but it never hurt or slipped or gave way. It is slightly sore now 4 hours later. But during the run, my entire body felt sore and sluggish.

slow, sluggish, stiff, sore, snail's pace....what other S adjective can I add?

slow, sluggish, stiff, sore, snail’s pace….what other S adjective can I add?

I literally was 45 seconds per mile slower than Sunday’s run. My lower back hurt and my other leg felt sore. I guess i’m just thoroughly out of shape at this point! I’m really grateful to at least be able to run without the knee forcing me to stop.

I have been spending extra time with the foam roller as instructed by Dr W. Duncan wanted to show me how flexible he has become. He’s been practicing Doga. He can do downward dog of course and now he has perfected the doodle duck pose.

Doga

Doga

You foam roll....i'll just practice my doodle duck pose

You foam roll….i’ll just practice my doodle duck pose

Well tomorrow I will shoot for 4 miles. Reaching for the stars here.

Do you have a foam roller? Which one? I’m looking to get one that has the little nubs on it. I would love your input.

 

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A successful 3 mile run OUTDOORS

09. March 2015 · 2 comments · Categories: injury, running · Tags: , ,

Well it’s Monday. And someone wasn’t too happy that I had to leave for work this morning.

Please don't go to work ma!

Please don’t go to work ma!

My weekend ended on a high note yesterday. It was 48 degrees and sunny and I completed 3 miles outside without knee issues. The second treatment of ART and Graston must be helping a little. Just a little bit of tightness when I was done. I could tell that if I ran another mile or two it would have been sore so I’m glad I didn’t push it.

outside running is always better

outside running is always better

Other things that made me giddy this weekend….

I finished all my house cleaning and shredded old bills.

I dropped the shredder down the stairs and needed to tape it back together

I dropped the shredder down the stairs and needed to tape it back together

I also baked an apple/pear/cranberry crisp….and then polished off the entire thing! And I polished off a bottle of wine too! Now you see why I was so giddy? It was a very productive weekend 🙂

all gone

all gone

And of course the walks in the snow with Duncan made me giddy too.   Tomorrow is treatment #3 with Dr Williams! 

How did your day go? Was it Mayhem Monday or Mellow Monday? Mine was fairly mellow. 

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