Category Archives: shop

“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of…”

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“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do
Now you’re in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let’s hear it for New York, New York
New York”
— “Empire State of Mind”, Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

Happy New Year everyone!!! I am giving up on sleeping in these days. With work during weekdays, occasional weekend work, and running, there is just no chance. Boy, do I miss the days in college when I could go sleep at 4am and wake up at noon, or even just last year when I would be able to wake up at 9 or 10 on the weekends.

Last weekend, I raced a 10K on Saturday; the Joe Kleinerman Classic 10K in Central Park with NYRR. Not only was this my first race since the Philadelphia marathon, but it is actually my first 10K race. With all the training, I’ve run plenty of 6-milers, but never in a race setting in freezing temperatures. Besides being cold, I ran okay, didn’t fully race it since I was planning on running another 6 right after for my Miami training. Oh and also, this is my first race as a NYRR member in my attempt to achieve 9+1 (9 qualifying NYRR races and 1 volunteer event) for guaranteed entry into the 2014 NYC Marathon. I usually get a glare when I say that I’m trying to get entry for the 2014 NYCM, but let’s just leave it at getting entry doesn’t mean I have to actually run it in 2014, it just gives me the chance to if I want or defer the entry until 2015. I also have to mention with the 2012 marathon resolution from NYRR, I signed up to use my 2012 entry to for this year’s NYCM, now, I just need to decide if I will train with the Alzheimer’s Association team.

With all this running, I clearly do a lot of shopping. Since November, I invested quite a bit in winter running clothes and while I don’t particularly like running in the cold, I’m really glad I am getting use out of my layers. However, some recent purchases that I am excited about are two pairs of running shoes. I had all intention of trying a new brand of running sneakers once the marathon training was over, but that’s before I saw the multi-colored Asics Nimbus 14. I am hoping the mileage works out that I can run in these for the NYC Half in March. I also purchased a pair of Asics Gel-Lyte 33 for cross training purposes. I haven’t worn either pair yet, but I’m excited. I had to stock up before Chinese New Year (see entry #4)!

Today was D-Day for me… D = Decision. Today was our longest run before Miami and it is the day I was going to make a “final” decision about whether or not I will run the full or switch to the half. While, I had every intention of running the full, I wanted to make sure my mind and body could handle it and after surviving my 17-miler today quite well (so far), I am fully onboard (no pun intended!). Our long run today was the 5-mile loop in Central Park and then cutting across to the West Side, then running up north to the Little Red Lighthouse at Fort Washington Park (around 174th Street, immediately below the George Washington Bridge) and back. The team ran to the lighthouse a couple of times previously but I missed those runs, so today I was determined and boy was it worth the trip! The views were incredible even on a foggy morning. There’s so much to New York – love it!

In preparation for Miami, I’ve been going to the chiropractor once a week and he wants me to continue until the race to make sure I continue feeling okay. In general, I’m feeling about 95-100% on a given day running; some days I feel a slight strain, others, I feel normal. Anyway, during my last appointment, he made me promise to not run another marathon for a little while. I happily agreed. Don’t get me wrong; I love running, and I love running with my teammates, and the feeling I get after I finish a run, but training has just taken up so much time and I need a break from a regimented training schedule. I am really looking forward to finishing the race in Miami, eating a ton of food, lying on the beach and then not training for a little while; this will be my hibernation period. I’m pretty sure I will still continue to run a couples times a week, go to hot yoga and barre classes and just enjoy the freedom to create my workout schedule. I’ll come out of hibernation towards the mid to end of February, in time to get some speed work and longer runs in before the NYC Half.

My post would not be complete without some mention of food, right? Well, since New York is such a big part of this post, I thought this NY Post article would be appropriate. Both amazing yogurts, just a little on the sweet side, I actually prefer Siggi’s, an Icelandic Skyr-type yogurt, also from New York. With that, I bid farewell for now, as I go prepare our dinner.

“Everybody wants to rule the world…”

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“All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world”
–Tears for Fears

Well, so it begins again… I’ve been thinking about this new blog for quite some time and I’m finally committing. If you stumbled upon this blog, welcome! If not, you’re probably wondering what happened to my old blog. Well, I really wanted to preserve the memories I had during my training for 2012 NYC Marathon (if you’re interested in reading it, let me know and I can send you a separate link), so instead of adding on, I am starting fresh. Regardless, welcome and I hope you visit often!

Ever since I declared myself a “runner” again this summer, I wondered if my newfound status would remain. When the NYC marathon (NYCM) was cancelled this year, I was upset and the thought of re-training for another marathon seemed so ridiculous. I mean, did I really want to commit myself to another 5 months of torture? So when a couple of my teammates decided to sign up to run the Miami marathon in January 2013, I jumped on the bandwagon. I needed the support to keep running. The first week of Miami training was hard; it was cold and trying to pull the willpower together to commute to NYC to run with my team was hard.

In that same week, I learned that the Philadelphia marathon opened up a lottery for 3,000 spots for NYCM runners. Why wouldn’t I enter the lottery, right? After emailing with Coach B to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind, I entered the lottery. On my birthday, I find out that I was in (of course, I later learn that there were only 1,700 entrants)! I was coming back from a run and was about to go buy lunch when I saw the email that said I was running the Philadelphia marathon on November 18, 2012. The excitement, the tears that were streaming down my face as I was staring at my iPhone – was this really coming true? After all of this, was I really going to run my first marathon in Philadelphia in a little over a week?

Fortunately, all of the logistics getting to Philadelphia and the overnight stay was easy. We had our car and my amazing childhood friend who lives in Philadelphia was supposed to visit Hoboken anyway, so our plans just swapped, except now she had to deal with a potential marathoner. The week leading up to the marathon was not easy – I was fighting a cold, strained my back somehow, and started working at my new job. However, the weekend came and I was excited. Regardless of whatever back pain I had, I was going to run this darn marathon.

All the pain my eyes…

The weather on marathon day was beautiful. Perfect running weather and for the most part, I felt pretty good too considering the mild pain, up until mile 23. That’s when my back told me that I was insane and refused to stop throbbing. After stopping to stretch out my back on the side of the course, I was continuing, running, not walking. There was no way I could imagine finishing my first ever marathon with any distance of walking, call it pride, call it stupidity, but if I am already in pain, another 5K would not kill me, and darn it, I am going to finish strong. That’s exactly what happened. I tried to the sprint the last 0.2 miles, but it really felt like eternity and when I finished, I couldn’t walk. My entire mid-section was in pain. The next couple of hours were probably the most pain I’ve felt in a really long time.

Thank goodness for my friend, because she is a saint. Not only did I ruin her weekend of relaxation, I was also guilty of many other things. I was picky about the menu for my pasta dinner the night before the race, made her and her husband wake up at 6AM to drive me to the start line, wait outside in the cold trying to find me along the course at multiple points, drive the car around the city trying to pick me up afterwards because I couldn’t walk, catering to my every ice and food need after the run (and oh, did I mention I ruined our brunch plans too), and through all of this being an amazing friend. The patience and hospitality that I felt that weekend is something I will forever cherish and that made my first marathon experience that much more special.

Amazing friends and hubby! Excited to be
“allowed” to wear my NYCM marathoner shirt

So you’re probably wondering how I actually did – time wise that is. When I first started training for NYCM, all I wanted to do was finish and make it into the NYTimes spread. I had heard mixed things about whether a 4:30 or 5:00 would qualify (it depends on the number of runners for the number of pages they have allocated to the spread). So I was aiming for under 5, but towards the end of my training whenever anyone asked me what time I wanted I said 4:30, but in my head, I was aiming for 4:20. 4:20 is my half time doubled + 10. I finished Philadelphia in 4:27:18 and I really cannot complain. Through the pain, I managed to finish in under 4:30 and I am very proud of myself for that, but that just makes my time goal that much harder in all of my future races!

Speaking of future races, I haven’t been able to run again until today. The week after the marathon was horrible – I could barely walk up or down stairs, and the Monday after the race, I had to take a taxi to work. After seeing a doctor and Coach Ali, I had to force myself to realize that I needed some time off; some kind of muscle strain with a pinched nerve, ouch! I was hoping for two weeks. Two weeks later, I tried running again, no such luck. I could barely run a stride before the throbbing pain returned to my back. Three weeks of rest and I tried the treadmill, no go. More rest was clearly in order along with some barre classes, and yoga as prescribed by a doctor friend. This past week, I also went to a chiropractor and spent a bit of time on my foam roller. I decided that today was going to be the day… the day I try running again. There is still a strain on my back, but I made it two miles, and otherwise, felt strong.

It wasn’t until I wasn’t able to run when I realized how much I missed running. It had become such a big part of my life. I miss not running with my team 2-3 times a week. I miss the feeling I get when I run, I miss lacing up my sneakers, and I miss the excitement I get when I plug my watch into my laptop to record my run. Whenever, I saw people running outside or on a treadmill, I was envious of them. I’m addicted, and I want to remain a runner.

With my decision about whether or not I run in Miami – half, full, or none at all still in flux, this next month or so will be interesting (for me at least) to see how fast my recovery and training can ramp up.

I look forward to sharing many more future thoughts about running, eating, shopping, and sleeping with you in this next chapter of my running.

A bracelet I received from a good friend last night – pretty much sums it up! I love it!