It’s been a pretty full week in running, but I have a cold…

Last Sunday’s long run was 12 miles around the lower half of Manhattan. I had to overcome my fear of the bird poop experience I had the last time I ran this loop (remember, Crap?). I seem to have done okay this time, no crap. I did get the chance to run through some sprinklers, which was awesome. Here are some fun pictures Coach Brian had of me during this run:

I’d say Hoboken looks pretty good in the background

I am stepping in a huge puddle that I didn’t notice

Group 2A with Alice in Wonderland

Did I tell you that I am in Group 2A? We had our technical practice on Tuesday and part of our workout (second half was intervals for three miles) was light running around the Conservatory Water in Central (right by the Alice in Wonderland statue) so that way we can be filmed by Coach Ali and Brian. The point is to understand our form and see how we can improve. We will be reviewing these videos during our first team social this coming week. As a part of this practice, we were split into three groups. I didn’t like being called Group 3, so we renamed ourselves to Group 2A. Of course, our group is the best regardless of how “fast” we are!

I came down with a cold on Friday. I can’t remember the last time I had a cold. What a great way to start a weekend, huh? However, Bob Dylan’s Americanarama tour came to Hoboken on Friday night. It was a great night to hang out on Pier A and eat some local truck food. However, with the cold and really early long run the next morning, I didn’t stay long enough to hear Bob Dylan. I managed to make it for Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Ryan Bingham though. While, I wish I could have stayed long enough for the main act, I made the game time decision that feeling well enough for my run the next day was more important. Running addiction? Yeah, I’m insane.

Awesome – lobster roll (from Luke’s Lobster) and pad thai (from Aroy-D Thai Elephant)

Still feeling good around mile 6 with a teammate

I did a lot of reading about running while sick and whether or it not it would be okay to take Sudafed before a long run to convince myself that it was okay to wake up at 4:45AM to make it out to NYC for NYRR’s NYC Marathon Long Training Run #1. The consensus was that as long as my symptoms are above the neck then it should be okay. However, I am sure not being to get a good night’s sleep doesn’t help, but I made it and finished the run. I was hoping to run 13 miles (I’m following the “Experienced” track of our training calendar), but ended up only finishing 11. These long training runs are broken out by pace group and then the distance that you’re running in Central Park. The rule of thumb our coaches told us to follow for pacing is about 30 seconds to 1 minute slower than your marathon pace. Since I was also feeling sick, I opted for the 10:30 pace group. The plan was to run the full first loop (6-miles), second loop (5-miles), and then add in an extra two. However, my chest starting feeling really congested and heavy around mile nine. I had my heart rate monitor on for the run and I was probably averaging around 160-165 bpm but the last couple of miles, I was hitting over 170 up to 180 at some points. While I was trying to convince myself that I could run the extra two miles, I knew it wouldn’t be smart.

You what else wasn’t smart? Parking on the street in a street cleaning zone. I drove out to the run since we had to meet at 6:30AM and it was the fastest way to get over to 102nd Street and 5th Avenue at that time of day. Instead of parking in the garage that I found online, I found a street spot (right outside of the garage) that I thought was okay. However, me not being completely smart that early parked in a spot that was no parking between 8:30-9AM except for Sundays for street cleaning. Needless to say, while I hoped that I wouldn’t have a ticket during the entire run, I ended up up with one. I think I have officially learned my lesson to pay close attention to parking signs in NYC.

Josh and I ran the JFK Miles for Minds 5K this morning in Edison, NJ. This was Josh’s first 5K of the year and my second time running this race. This year’s race was extra cool because Elements Therapeutic Massage Edison was a sponsor; they had a table with two massage chairs there for the participants and were featured on the back of the race t-shirt. My parents were thrilled that we were running this race and could be there to support them as well. I am not a very patient person and I have to admit that I don’t usually last for more than half a mile running with Josh when we go out together (it’s definitely something I am not proud of). Leading up to this race, we talked about whether or not we would run together. Since I had the long training run the day before and being sick, I knew this was a good chance to go easy and keep Josh company. It turns out that if I raced this run, there would have been a very good chance that I would have placed second in my age group. The girl who took second had a time of 29:36; my 5K PR is a 27:28. The age group is not very competitive since the first place finisher came in over five minutes earlier, however, it would have been really cool to place (fully understanding that this will likely never happen again!). I guess I will have to focus on looking for small local races to enter! 🙂 Anyway, Josh did really well and ran most of the race except for a short hill towards the end. I don’t think he was very happy that I made him do this when he finished (well happy that the pain was over, maybe); he definitely didn’t catch the runner’s bug.

Oh, and I promised a couple weeks ago that I would review some of the new running accessories I purchased recently. Today’s feature is the FlipBelt. I’ve been running with my new FlipBelt for my long runs and I love it! The belt fits perfectly around my short’s waistband and easily fits my iPhone, sports beans, and a small bag with credit card, ID, and cash. Once it’s on, I forget that it is there. The belt doesn’t bounce around when you move unlike some of the other belts I have tried and you can stick it in the washer and dryer. I’ve tucked some of longer running shirts into it and it adds a nice pop of color to my boring black shorts. It is such an awesome invention!