Thanks to you!

I just got an email from Team in Training letting me know that I won a TNT visor because I've raised $333 over the past 2 weeks!  Thank you so much to everyone who has donated - I truly appreciate your generosity.  I'm 76% of the way there but still have a long way to go - $927 to be exact.  Keep spreading the word and keep those donations coming! Hopefully lots of people come out to my fundraiser on Friday, August 27th on my Tribeca roof deck.  I will send a save the date out soon!

On a different note, I am more than a little anxious about the prospect of running 26.2 miles in a little over 3 months.  Sometimes I wonder what I am getting myself into.  This video, which takes you on a journey through the marathon course, is pretty cool and inspirational but totally freaks me out.  This article by Bob Glover on the NYC Marathon website is also pretty scary.  He talks about the difficulty of the course, specifically mentioning the hills, wind, crowds, the logistics...by the end I am sufficiently nervous.  I really need to start doing more work on hills.  In the meantime, however, I really need to stop sitting at home in my apartment researching scary things about the marathon.  I have to keep pushing on and trust that Hal Higdons will get me to that finish line!  101 days to go...

Weekend Review & Weekly Training Plan

I need to figure out some way to manage my weekends.  I'm doing Hal Higdon's Intermediate I Training Plan, which calls for weekday runs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then weekend runs on both Saturday and Sunday.  I'm usually pretty wiped out by Friday after all the early morning runs during the week, so a low-key Friday night is never difficult.  My big problem is that I always want to have a big night out on Saturday night, and inevitably end up staying out late and drinking too much before I have to wake up on Sunday to do my long run (which is probably the most important run of the week).  Last weekend I couldn't get out of bed on Sunday morning to run, and was forced to do my 9-miler after a day spent on the beach.  Needless to say, I was super dehydrated and the run was miserable.  This Sunday, I was so hungover from all the it-seems-like-a-great-idea-at-the-time tequila shots on Saturday night that I ended up doing my long run this morning (on Monday).  With the mileage jumping to 11 miles this coming Sunday, I cannot let this happen anymore.  I am either going to have to go down a level to Hal's Beginner II marathon training plan, which is the same as the Intermediate I minus the double weekend run, or get serious and stop drinking on Saturday nights.  To be honest, I'm not sure what my decision will be.  It might be a weekly decision - it can't hurt to use the beginner schedule as a base and do an extra day of running if it's a quiet weekend.

That being said, being ambitious about my willpower to avoid the bottle next Saturday night, here's the week's training plan:

Monday: Spin
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 miles at marathon pace
Sunday: 11 miles

Total: 29 miles

Timing

I never used to be a runner who was very concerned with time.  I'm certainly not the fastest runner (although my dad thinks I am - without fail every time I run a race he asks if there's a chance I'll win).  And I never really used to take much notice of my pacing during training runs.  As long as I was covering the distance, I was happy.

But this has all changed with my new Garmin GPS watch.  It shows you how fast you're going, beeps every mile, and after the run displays on a website all your mile splits, a map of your exact running route, and even your heart rate.  For a Type-A person such as myself, this device is a dream.  However, it's made me slightly obsessed with how fast I'm going - whether it's because I'm trying to go slower on "easy run" days, or trying to go "marathon speed" on other days.  I don't even really know what's a realistic pace to expect for a marathon - heck, I'll be happy to just finish the thing.  But being able to track my pacing with the watch has really changed the way I run by throwing a little bit of accountability into the mix.  Accountability just to myself (and the people monitoring the GPS airwaves), but still. 

All in all, it's an amazing thing.  I love being able to go out for a run without mapping out the course beforehand and having the watch tell me when I've gone the right distance.  And I really do appreciate knowing my pace, because its about time I learn how to pace myself for slow runs and tempo runs.  But I think that sometimes, as a treat, I may just leave it at home and let my legs carry me at the speed they feel is right.

Me, at the CPC Run for Central Park 4 Miler last Saturday.  I didn't win, but I did come in 1649th place with a time of 33:32!

Closer to the Cure...

I officially have less than $1,000 to raise!  Only $975 to go.  Thank you to everyone for donating to this great cause - please keep it up!

Weekly Training Plan

This week is a "stepback week," where you cut mileage slightly to allow yourself to gather your energy for the next push upward in mileage.  Next week the long run jumps to 11 miles.

Monday: Spin
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 miles at marathon pace
Sunday: 6 miles

Total: 22 miles

SAVE THE DATE

It's official: My next fundraiser will be a champagne and wine party on my roof deck in Tribeca (view pictured above) on Friday, August 27th.  Stay tuned for details!

Remembering the Cause

Since marathon training has officially started, it's easy to focus on the running, and on my gripes about the running.  Especially when it's way too hot to even stand outside, let alone run 8 miles out there. 

But it's important for me to keep in mind why I'm running, and that's the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).  I still have $1260 to raise before I reach my fundraising goal of $3800.  As I walked to work today, I resolved that today is the day that I'm going to plan my next fundraiser.  And send out more donation emails to friends and family.  And offer to walk more dogs in my apartment building in exchange for donations.  I've received multiple emails from friends who have told me that LLS has supported their family members who suffer/have suffered from blood cancer, and realizing the importance of my cause renews my motivation to reach - and hopefully surpass - my fundraising goal. 

So NYC-area friends (and those close enough to visit) - I'll soon be announcing the date of my next fundraiser, which will be a wine and champagne cocktail party on my roof deck in Tribeca.  I appreciate everyone's support and donations - please spread the word.

Weekly Training Plan

Monday: Spin
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 3 miles + strength training
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 4 miles (I'm doing the Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park race)
Sunday: 9 miles

Total: 24 miles

Hot Hot Hot

"Running is a lot like life.  Only 10 percent of it is exciting.  90 percent of it is slog and drudge."  - Dave Bedford

The marathon is so far away from right now (almost 4 months to the day!) that it almost doesn't seem real that it's going to happen.  It's so hard to motivate to get out the door and train for something that's so far in the future.  What's made it especially difficult lately is that it's been super hot and humid in NYC.  A stifling hot, with record breaking temperatures.  The kind of hot that gets me to actually turn on my A/C, which I *hate* doing.  I am really not sure how to handle running in these unbearable conditions.  I have been going for runs as early in the morning as possible, but lately it feels like the weather doesn't even cool off overnight.  

A few things motivate me to keep going:

1. Steph's playlists on my iPod.  I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but I'm sick to death of Lady Gaga.  Along with every single other artist/song on my running mix.  Steph's music is fun, different, and gets my legs moving.  Also, I think it probably increases my coolness factor exponentially.
2. GU Chomps.  They're delicious, like energy-packed gummy candy!
3. Eating a Popsicle after a long, hot run.  Nothing says summer like a cold Popsicle.  I wonder how Gatorade Popsicles would turn out.  Might just have to try making some this weekend.
4. My new Garmin GPS watch!  I'm obsessed. 

I am going home this weekend, so will be doing my long run (8 miles this week) in Bethlehem, PA.  Hopefully the weather cools off a little!

Weekly training plan

Monday: Spin
Tuesday: 3 mile run (take it slow)
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: 3 mile run and strength training
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5 mile pace (run at marathon pace)
Sunday: 8 miles (take it slow)