I’ve been thinking more about my goals for 2017 and in addition to wanting to run with friends for that “conversational pace” at least once a month I also want to PR in the 5k. The reason behind this one is that I really want to be able to run just one time with Mr. SOTSS during a race. He agreed to slow down to a 9 minute pace for me if I can speed up to it. My current PR is 9:12 average pace so I just need to shave 12 seconds per mile from that.
This past weekend we ran the Big Chill 5k and while I wasn’t trying to run hard I ended up feeling good and finished in 30:11 (a 9:39 average pace per mile).
I love the long sleeve shirts they give. I now have 3 and use them for pajamas
This was my 3rd time running the race and about the 8th time for Mr. SOTSS. It’s an awesome charity event. The “entry fee” is an unwrapped toy valued at $15 or more.
entry fee toys
In 2014 I had to walk it because I had a sprained ankle. And last year I ran about a minute faster than this year finishing in 29 minutes. The entire morning was great except that Jane and her hubby weren’t there this year. But I did see my friend Amy quickly before and after.
The gymnasium at Rutgers University was packed with runners checking in. The back wall is all the toys donated
I ran behind some elves
After the race we went for breakfast and I was so happy for a cup of coffee because the cup I made before leaving the house in the morning had to get tossed thanks to some curdled cream….boo!
coffee…YES!
Other than the race Mr. SOTSS watched me put up my tree this weekend.
Keeping me company while I decorate my tree
My newest ornament from my trip to Banff in September 🙂
My tree is up!
We took the dogs for a few great walks in the park.
happy Chester
me and my shadow….and my love and his shadow
I wonder if I look as happy as him when I run
We also went to a convention in Atlantic City for business but but enjoyed a nice meal and time away for a quick overnight. And I won $100 on the slots in the casino! Woot woot!
pub food…yum!
$100 payout in the casino and an overnight away with my sweets…. #winning
It started out just like yesterday. It was a bit like Groundhog’s Day…
doodle giving a little attitude for being woken up so early and pre-race coffee requirement being met
I arrived at the Staten Island Half Marathon race day packet pickup at 6:30am Parked my car and headed over to the start village area. It was DARK and they were still setting up. These banners eventually got hung…
banners waiting to be hung
Used the flash on my phone to illuminate the “S” box so that the volunteer could locate my bib…
“S” is for Sweat Out the Small Stuff =)
and then picked up my race tee (I ended up getting 2 on accident….they were stuck together….SCORE!). I made a quick pitstop back to my car to drop the race tees and pin my race number on my pants, grab a bottle of water and then I started out on my pre race miles…
Three miles in I took a path into a park that has a great view of the Verrazano Bridge. (yes I know! I’m obsessed with my overpriced-toll-suspension-bridge. It’s unhealthy.)
First time I ever used the Kelvin filter with Instagram….
I followed the same route back to my car and managed to get about 6 1/2 pre-race miles. My goal today was to try and keep a pace in the 11 to 11:30 minute mile. I stayed at 11:15 for those pre-race miles. Things were right on target. Met up briefly with my running peeps before we all split up to head to our appropriate corrals.
love these peeps
I won’t go into boring detail about every mile of the race. It went smooth and I kept my 11:15 pace for the entire half. At one point the leading men were running past us in the opposite direction. I quickly pulled out my camera to snap pics. The 1st place dude was so fast that I didn’t get his pic. But I got a great shot of the 2nd place dude (I looked up his results and he did indeed hold the 2nd place spot…
As I was entering the final chute to the finish I thought it would be kinda cool to video it. I’ve never done that before. The footage is quite shakey but I was excited that they annouced my name as I finished. And unbeknownst to me my running peeps were on the sidelines and Lisa took a photo of me. When I watched the video I saw that I actually videotaped her! We’re just meant to be.
Here’s the pic she took of me…
And here’s a still shot from the video where you can see her taking the pic…
and here’s the non-award-winning video…
20 miles done! And now it’s TAPER TIME!
After I finished I jogged back to the parking lot and did a few laps until I hit the 20 mile mark and then went back to my car (running peeps hopped on the Staten Island Ferry to head back to Manhattan) and stretched for a bit. I knew I’d have a good 40 minutes before the roads would be reopened and all of a sudden I realized I was STARVING! 20 miles and I had probably only eaten about 500 calories…I scraped up a few bucks in my car and went into the ferry terminal to get a nice hot slice of pizza! So good!
YUM!
Then kicked back and patiently waited….
stretching
Finally they let us out and I headed home. My final half time was 2:27 and my final 20 mile time was 3:45 giving me an average pace of 11:15! My A) goal for the NYC Marathon is 5:15 which is a 12 minute pace. I think I’m right on target (which means I probably just jinxed myself).
I want to give a shout out to Mike who set a shiny new half marathon PR at 1:46! WORD! I was so grateful to him yesterday for pacing me to a 10K PR that this made me happy.
I bought a new pair of earbuds yesterday at Walgreens and decided to give them a test today so I’ll know if they will work for the NYC Marathon.
iHome FIT ear buds get a big thumbs up
They get my seal of approval. I didn’t use the extra hook pieces that go behind the year but they never fell out. The only issue is they are so snug that people were asking me questions and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I’m going to make sure not to wear both at NYC Marathon. Keeping one ear free should allow me to hear better.
All in all it was a great running weekend. Unfortunately not much else was accomplished. Well I did take the doodle on a walk with his Dogue friends (and my human friend)
Duncan and Athena and Zeus A.K.A. the Dogues
and last night I made a quick visit to another friends house where her boxer Chance and the doodle got to have a riveting play date…
And I also treated myself to a plate of my favorite cookies…
I’ll let you in on a secret. I cried both yesterday and today. Just a brief moment each morning while driving to my race destination where I just got all fuh-klempt. There’s something about the journey of training for marathons that really opens up the emotions. I become overly grateful for everything. So now I’m officially beginning my taper period that will last 3 weeks until marathon day. I’ll try and focus everything that has taken a back seat the last few months. which is basically EVERYTHING!
So it’s August 27th. My blog back end has been a mess and i’ve been unable to post until today. So I’m going to be posting a bunch to catch y’all up.
Here goes….starting with August 20th
8/20
How is your week going? I’ve been so very busy. Sunday I did a nice shake out recovery 3 miler. I really wanted to go by how I felt and not by what the watch said so I taped the face of the watch.
you are going at the right pace for how you feel
I focused on keeping an easier steady relaxed pace. I’m getting closer to the 5 consecutive half marathons and my plan is to go slow and steady so this was a great way to really tune in to my body. I’m happy to report I predicted my pace would hover around 11:30 min per mile and guess what? It was exactly that! I really do know my pace. Woot woot!
After the run I headed to another birthday party and then went straight to my brothers house for a family get together. And that’s where this happened:
Calm down, they both weren’t for me….my niece joined in on the action. It was delish!
Needless to say my house went uncleaned and I didn’t prepare at all for the week. But never fear. My sister in law gave me leftover Chinese to take to work for lunch and homemade waffles that we secretly call crack waffles because they are so addictive. They make the best pre and post run fuel 🙂
As a matter of fact today after I managed to run another 3 somehow although I swear I felt like I was still asleep I had one.
crack waffle after sleep walking running
Oh and speaking of addictive sweets, yesterday my boss and I tried out a new place called Pie Face. I fit right in 🙂
do i blend in?
Question: Do you tend to crave sweeter foods in the morning or savory? I’m a sweets girl through and through. All day—every day!
I stayed on Staten Island and ran solo. I was excited to run the boardwalk since it’s just now completely re-opened since Hurricane Sandy last October. I tried to stay at an even 11ish minute mile pace. Well my average pace was exactly that but each split was really all over the place. Partially my Garmin gone awry, partially from photo taking and partially just me konking out in the sun during some miles and then getting invigorated in the shade for others.
I got to take a photo with my beloved bridge:
camera timer selfie success
I also got to test my willpower when 12 miles into the run I had to run through this:
o-m-g!
They were setting up for a fair held each summer called “Back to the Beach”. Luckily A. I had no money on me and B. They were still setting up. Because C. I would have got a dozen zeppoles AND a bag of kettle corn and not finished running.
I realized today that there’s just 11 more weeks until the NYC Marathon.
11 more weeks!
I obsess about my marathons like it’s my wedding day. Will the weather be ok. Will my stomach be ok? Will I fuel right? What will I wear? I wish I could turn my brain off sometimes.
Today, since I had no running peeps I listened to music the entire way. My good friend Lenny has a band called The Infinite Staircase and they have a couple of great singles out on iTunes. I heard both songs while running this morning. It was awesome. You should listen to their single called The Pride. Buy it if you like. 100% of the money raised goes toward helping Sandy victims. Another great one that really keeps me running strong is this one. It’s called The Things We’ve Done
After my run I went to a surprise 40th birthday party for my longtime friend (since Jr. High) and ate too much. Then I got the doodle and took him to the park for a walk. And then I came home and bought 4 new sports bras (new styles that i’ve been wanting to try because my current style has been failing me in the chafing department) and 2 pairs of capris from Moving Comfort. I opted to try the Luna and the Divine Mesh bra styles and the Endurance capris. I hope they all fit well. But Moving Comfort has free shipping (over $50) and free returns. Score!
$315 kerplunk!
Questions: Do you have a favorite sports bra brand/style and capri brand/style? Do you have any good music suggestions for my running playlist? I pretend that more than 2 people read my blog so I keep asking questions. Apparently it could take 18 months to get a blogs readership to spike. Good thing I enjoy this. I’ll keep it up regardless. =)
This was my 3rd time running the race and about the 8th time for Mr. SOTSS. It’s an awesome charity event. The “entry fee” is an unwrapped toy valued at $15 or more.
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