Fitness

Marathon Training

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Hey guys! Long time, no see! I’ve been literally running away from my followers for the past few months. But honestly, I couldn’t even see you in my wake because of all the sweat in my eyes, so whatever.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about because you voraciously jumped into this blog post without reading the title… I’M TRAINING FOR A MARATHON! And I broke the very first cardinal rule of training: TELL EVERYONE YOU ARE RUNNING A MARATHON. There, I said it! It’s true! New York Road Runners already has hundreds of my dollars, they have many hard hours of my work, and they have quite a few blisters on my feet. Ok, they don’t have the blisters, I do.

I feel like every time I write a blog post, I start by apologizing for not writing more often. I am not apologizing anymore! I have been BUSY! If you’ve been following along for a while, I ran 9 races last year so that I could qualify for the NYC Marathon this year. It’s a long road to running the 26.2 miles through 5 boroughs of New York. Maybe they make the process so long so the race itself seems short. I literally just had that epiphany while typing this. I think that’s what Oprah calls an “A-HA Moment.”

Anyway, I took you guys through my journey 3 races at a time last year, with the first 3, then the next 3, the volunteering (+1), then I think I gave up on blogging about it because I got very involved in a new hobby – hair braiding. Although I ran 9 races last year, the longest distance I ran in one single race was a 10K, or 6.2 miles. I do not know how that qualifies me to run 26.2, but I set out to figure it out.

Back in 2017, which seems like ages ago, I ran one half marathon. I remember when I finished that race, someone said to me, “what’s next? A marathon???” And I remember saying “Hell no, I am not psycho.” And it’s true! I am not someone who enjoys running, and therefore, running more than 26 miles seemed like idiocy to me.

However, a small part of me always wanted to run the NYC Marathon. Ok, a big part of me. I have loved the 1st Sunday in November ever since I moved to New York. I love the vibe of all of New York’s citizens heading to the streets to cheer for complete strangers. Us New Yorkers, we get a bad rap. It’s really not fair. We are nice people! We are also BUSY people. We don’t have time to hold doors or walk slowly. But on the first Sunday of November, we have time. Time to cheer for our neighbors, our countrymen, and visitors from across the world who fly to our city and spend astronomical amounts of money on hotel rooms. Time to drink beer at 9 am so we are toasty when the pro runners speed by mile 17 at 11 am. Time to make scrappy signs to show our support for runners’ dedication and training (or AMAZING signs in my case). I LOVE being a part of the crowd. But I also had a strong yearning to be in the street, not on the sideline. To high five everyone and to cross the quiet, no spectator zone on the Queensborough Bridge and hit the “Wall of Sound” on 1st Avenue. I tried to enter the lottery many times to run the race, but I officially committed in 2018 by running the 9 races, volunteering at one, and earning my 2019 race entry.

Unfortunately, I hit a roadblock. Right before my 9th race in 2018, I sprained my ankle for the FOURTH time. I knew that if I was going to train for the full marathon, I needed to take some time off. So I took a full 6 months off from running. I did a lot of Spinning, I did a lot of swimming, a lot of ankle exercises, and I bided my time. Then in May, I started running again. First with short distances, then slowly adding up to a mile, 2 miles, etc.

Back in 2017 when I ran my half marathon, I told you guys how I prepared for my training runs by double tying my shoes, filling my water bottle and braiding my hair (OMG guys… foreshadowing??). And I will say, some of those things have remained the same. Most days I do not leave the house without my #FastBraids for a run. But some things have changed. For one – THE CHAFE LIFE IS REAL. I promise not to give you many details here, but I will say I have some weird scars, like a straight-line rug burn across my chest, redness on the inside of my upper arms, etc. I have tried all of the things: glides, lotions, cremes… I give up. Also, I no longer eat eggs before my runs. I eat nothing. If it’s more than 8 miles, I have a Gu. And definitely do not drink coffee. Coffee is a strict no-no when bathrooms are not guaranteed. As I once said in my own marathon sign, I leave the bacon and coffee to the spectators.

I meant to write this blog about my actual running training, but as I was free-flow writing, I realized that it is a very boring topic to a majority of people. I have learned, over the past few months, that people’s eyes glaze over once I start talking about my training. I will just leave you with a few bullet points about my actual training:

  • I’m loosely following Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 Training Schedule
  • Even though I am in shape from teaching fitness classes, I still considered myself a novice 1 because I never ran a marathon before! Also, I am recovering from a recurring injury.
  • No, I did not buy the Higdon program because I am cheap. I just copied a photo from google images and put it in my own Excel spreadsheet.
  • Yes, I put it in my bullet journal.
  • Yes, I’m still bullet journaling even though I know I told you I quit.
  • Due to my ankle injuries, I did a lot of research and many people recommended the Galloway Method – basically doing running and walking intervals.
  • I have done a majority of my training this way – running for 5 minutes and walking for 1 minute. I use an app on my phone called “Interval Timer” which beeps very annoyingly at me. This has helped both with reducing injury and mentally breaking a 3 hour run into manageable time chunks.
  • I have realized that I sweat a LOT. I already knew this, but it’s very important when running. I now always bring supplements with me on long runs, specifically Clif Bloks (the extra sodium ones – margarita flavored!)
  • They actually taste like lemon lime Gatorade, but margarita makes it sound WAY more fun.
  • I also have a Gu with 25 mg of caffeine in it before I start a long run. This helps for energy and is a substitute for my lack of coffee.
  • No, I am still not enjoying training.

As my last bullet point said, you may be wondering if I officially like running. The answer is no. I do not. I enjoy being outside, but in the summer, it is HOT. Too hot. Too hot to walk, nonetheless run many miles. Also, Fall is my favorite season and it now has this huge black cloud of the marathon hanging over it. Also, no drinking on Halloween. Also, no drinking many weekend nights during college football games due to long runs the next morning. So no, I am not thrilled with the training, but I AM excited to finally take part in something amazing here in NYC. I’m all about the bucket list items, and since I’ve already been in the Macy’s Parade, this seemed like the next logical (illogical?) step.

Most likely, I will continue to write in my blog about Marathon Training, because it’s the biggest thing going on in my life, and it’s MY BLOG, SO BITE ME! I hope to make it semi-entertaining. And interactive. So here I will ask for your participation: What should I write on my shirt for the Marathon? Just “EMILY”? Should I put “Braid in Manhattan” on the back? Should I put it in Duck Tape? Fancy Duck Tape? Should I order fun, sparkly, iron-on letters from Etsy and commit to “ruining” a nice lululemon shirt? I did that for my half marathon and I do not regret it. Let me know in the comments!

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SoreLegsLongDistance – The Second Three of 9+1

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Here we go again, 3 more races down! I have actually finished 7 at this point, but I promised to only tell you about 3 at a time in order to not bore all of my readers. If you didn’t read my first recap, you can find it here. And if you have no idea what I’m even talking about, you can read the intro about #SoreLegsLongDistance, The Road to 9+1 here. Please don’t unsubscribe if you hate running, I hate running, too! I even have a shirt that says so!

Run As One

Date: April 22nd

Location: Central Park

Distance: 4 miles

Pace: 9:45

Drink. Drank. Drunk. TBH there’s not much I can say about this race because I don’t remember all of it. Let me summarize in one word: WOOF. That may not even be a word. More of an onomatopoeia.

The night before this race I had a going away party for two of my friends from Spin class. We went to Royal Palms Shuffleboard club (SO fun), and I had unlimited wine for 2 hours. How much wine can I drink in that amount of time? Unclear, but probably around 2 bottles. I do not remember getting home. I don’t think I’ve been that drunk since I was in college.

Needless to say, that is not the best way to prepare for a race. I woke up on the morning of the race, somehow managed to cook an egg, braid my hair, and stick a Clif Shot Energy Gel Double Energy Espresso in my pocket. I tried to stomach some of it as I walked across Central Park to the start line. I’m not sure if it was the drunken hangover, or the simple fact that the Clif Shot consistency is nauseating, but I barely downed half of it before I threw it in the nearest trash.

Mile 1 went surprisingly well, maybe I was still drunk. By mile 2, I felt like I was run over by an 18-wheeler. I was sweating like crazy, it was warm for the first race ever, and my heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my ears. By mile 3, I think I walked half of it. I ran on the perimeter of the course, and I can’t remember how many times I put my hand in the air to signal to the runners behind me that I was about to stop and walk. I had only one thought in my head: “MUST. FINISH. TO. GET. RACE. CREDIT.” Somehow, I got through mile 4 and crossed the finish line. I had an hour to get home, shower, chug coffee and water, and get to the airport for my work trip to Chicago. It was a ROUGH day. This race made 4+1 complete, so technically half of my requirements for Marathon qualification were complete!

UAE Healthy Kidney

Date: April 29th

Location: Central Park

Distance: 10 K (6.2 miles)

Pace: 9:35

I did it! I really did it. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to complete this one. I hadn’t run more than 4 miles consecutively since the Half Marathon I ran last year. I took 7 months completely off running after that, and it’s been a slow build back. I’m not going to lie, this race was not easy. 6.2 miles is a lot more than 4.

Luckily, I wasn’t drunk/hungover this week, which does wonders for stamina. My heart was definitely beating, but it wasn’t pounding out of my chest, trying to rid my body of bottles of sauvignon blanc. Mini win. However, I went to the Daydream 5K the day before. It was fun, and not a race, but I usually try not to do any exercise the day before a race so I can have fresh legs. Also, I had taken a plane flight in tiny seats the night before the 5K, so my knee was killing me. I slept the night before this race with a brace on my knee, and I took an anti-inflammatory before I left the house. I tried some of the Clif Blok chews for extra energy. Plus, I had gotten them for free at the Daydream 5K. My favorite price! Whatever I did worked; it wasn’t my fastest race, but I was happy to finish.

Central Park is notoriously hilly, and unlike the 4 mile “middle four” loop, the 10K loop goes around the entire park, which includes “Harlem Hill.” It’s about 4/10 of a mile, and about 100 feet of elevation. 4/10 of a mile is a longgg uphill. By the time I finally hit the 5K mark (halfway there!) I felt a LOT more tired than after a 5K distance during a middle four race. Plus, I knew I still had 3.1 miles left to go! I took a bit of a breather to walk, grab water, and mentally prepare for the second half of the course.

With half a mile to go, I looked to my right and I saw a pregnant woman. This was great motivation. I would not be beat by someone carrying another life inside her! If I was only trying to carry my own body, I could pick it up. I checked my watch and noticed I was at 58 minutes and I had a chance to finish in under an hour, my goal! Then, when I saw the “200M to the Finish” sign, I took my brother’s advice and went to my arms. He always says, “your legs have done all of the work, now it’s time to go to your arms!” And I sprinted to the finish. Finishing time of 59:31! Not bad considering 0 training and a distance PR for the year. This race made 5+1 complete, so a majority of the runs were done! After the race, they gave us a medal (surprise!) and I snagged a photo with Peter Ciacca, local celeb aka New York Roadrunners President.

As a celebration, we went to the post-race celebration, and to our huge surprise, Flo-Rida was there! We had heard that the UAE sponsors did not spare any expense and that was definitely true. They gave away TWO all-expenses paid trips to the United Arab Emirates, and the Prince of Dubai was there with Flo-Rida. I tried to sneak a pic in with him, but it’s pretty awkward. Crazily enough, my friend walked out of the park right behind him and he offered to pose for a photo!! Extra nice points to Flo-Rida.

Italy Run by Ferrero

Date: June 3rd

Location: Central Park

Distance: 5 Miles

Pace: 9:35

Well guys, I said I wouldn’t do it again, but I did it again. I went out the day before a race. Not just out, though, I had a birthday celebration! I went to a beer garden, and I had 9 beers. Yeah, probably not the best idea in hindsight. I set myself a 9 pm curfew to switch to water, which sort of worked. I woke up not feeling like an 18-wheeler ran over my head, just a minivan. Maybe even a Honda CRV. It wasn’t terrible, but not ideal.

At least the race started 10 steps from my front door. I was not only on time, I was early! It gave me extra time for my hangover to set in. I SWEAR next race I won’t go out before. Ok, I probably should swear that. Anyway, the race went alright. It was 5 miles, so it was doable, and the weather was great. In fact, I finished with one of my fastest paces to date. That probably is because I have been hungover every race, though. It’s all relative. I was particularly impressed with my pace because I generally try to take the day off of leg work the day before a race, but I had offered to sub a Spin class the day before, so I was on 6-days-in-a-row leg work on the day of my race! #KillinIt

The best part was definitely the post-race celebration. They had a huge raffle, and even though I didn’t win anything, they had free mini packs of Nutella and dipping sticks (think: Dunkaroos but more adult), so I felt like I won.

Total Miles To Date: 26.3

Average Pace To Date: 9:27 (how am I getting slower?!)

Total Free Tshirts To Date: 6

Total Selfies With Post-Race Treats In My Mouth: Too Many To Count.

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SoreLegsLongDistance: +1 Volunteering

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Quick recap: I’m in the middle of a 9+1 journey to the 2019 TCS NYC Marathon. (Hashtag: #SoreLegsLongDistance). This means that to guarantee entry into the marathon, you can become a member of the New York Road Runners for a full year, complete at least nine NYRR-scored, qualifying races, and volunteer for one. Or if you really hate volunteering, NYRR gives you an option to donate $1,000 to NYRR’s youth and community services programs instead. In case you missed my 3-part series on my massive pile of student loan debt (Part 1, 2A, 2B, 3), suffice it to say, I “chose” to volunteer. I’m 5 races into my 9, although I have only recapped 3 of them for you so far, because I didn’t want to bore/scare away all 5 of my readers. Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: my +1. Not +1 like “who the hell am I supposed to bring with me to this wedding?!” This is much better. An3.d much earlier. My call time for volunteering was 6:30 am. And it was COLD. But luckily, I live only 5 minutes away from our check-in place. So I rolled out of bed at 6, made an egg for breakfast, and bundled up. According to the NYRR website, they “highly recommend volunteering in the first half of the year, before completing nine races.” They say that it’s because there are many spots at the early races, but also because spots quickly fill up later in the year as many runners (like me!) rush to fulfill their requirements by December 31. I chose the Shape Half Marathon to volunteer because I liked the idea of volunteering at an all-female race, plus, I ran the race last year, so I knew how good it felt to finish and get my hardware!

My assignment was Medals, which I picked on purpose because I would much rather place a medal on the neck of a very thankful-to-be-done runner, than have water thrown back in my face by a holy-shit-there-are-8-more-miles!? runner.

Our first task was to check in and eat bagels and coffee. I did this very well. I sported my highlighter-yellow vest and cute volunteer hat (which we got to keep!) and consumed hot coffee, although it was difficult to decide whether to drink the coffee for warmth inside my body, or just hold it in the cup, to provide warmth to my hands. Luckily, NYRR also gave us hand warmers, which were life-saving. After coffee and bagels, we were presented with 40 boxes of medals, which we were supposed to untangle and hang on medal racks, to make it easier for us to hand out later.

There were about 20 of us on medal duty, so this did not take much time. That was unfortunate because the water station people were short-handed. They saw that we were finished early and poached us to fill cups with water. This was not a fun task. First of all, filling thousands of cups is incredibly tedious. Also, spilling water when it is freezing is not fun. Lastly, this was a much more difficult task than you would think. Here’s why: even though it was 30 degrees, it was late April, which means it was technically spring. Pollen and other gross residue was falling off all of the trees above, and falling into our water cups. I think we spent just as much time emptying pollen from cups as we did filling the actual cups with water. UGH. Luckily our Medal Team Captain convinced the Water Team Captain that he needed all of us for medal distribution (shoutout Bob!) After a quick bathroom break, we lined up at the medal racks, ready to hand out shiny things to the finishers. (Pro tip: did you know there is a not-so-terrible public restroom underneath the bridge that goes beneath the 72nd Street underpass to Bethesda Terrace!? I didn’t. But it is definitely preferable to port-potties.)

I had SO MUCH FUN volunteering. I loved cheering on runners, telling them congratulations, and seeing the looks of relief and accomplishment all over their faces. Their smiles were HUGE! I especially loved when I had an extra second to put the medals around the runners’ necks, like I was crowning them for their huge achievement. Of the 20 Medal volunteers, about 10 of them were women. My favorite runners were the ones who insisted on receiving their medals from the female volunteers. #GirlPower! They said, “I ran this whole race with thousands of women; I didn’t get through the finish line to be congratulated by a man.” YOU GO GURL.

Although you are only required to volunteer once, NYRR encourages you to “give back to the community regularly,” and I fully plan to volunteer again once I’m done running all of these races. It was a great feeling, and a lot of runners thanked me, since many of them have done 9+1 and know what it is like to volunteer your time. Overall, it was an awesome experience and I can’t wait to do it again! Maybe I’ll get some more swag. I still sport my hat sometimes!

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SoreLegsLongDistance – The First Three of 9+1

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Welcome to the first installment of Recaps for #SoreLegsLongDistance, the road to 9+1. If you’re already lost, you probably didn’t read the introductory post. Go click on that link then come back here. Ok, are you back? Good. This isn’t a purely running blog, so I promise not to bore you with mile-by-mile recaps, like I did for the Half Marathon last year. Instead, I will do a quick 2-3 paragraph recap, in installments of 3. Plus one for my “plus one.” See what I did there?

I will try not to be that corny the whole time. Since this is a personal blog, I’m taking you all along on this personal journey of mine. There are sure to be “sore legs,” “long distances,” and probably some sprained ankles. But that didn’t look cool in the hashtag. So far, I am 5 races in, but I’ll stay true to my promise of not boring you by only writing about 3 at a time. Oh, and I promise lots of photos. I know that’s what y’all are here for anyway. Selfies of me in my race shirt with a bagel/apple/cup of water in my mouth. I will not disappoint.

Gridiron
Date: February 4th
Location: Central Park
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: 9:16

I expected this race to be cold, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought in February. After the Midnight Race, I was expecting frigid temps but I was able to wear my long-sleeved free New Balance shirt, as previously planned for all of my 9+1 races, and I was ok. The race course itself is what most runners call the “middle 4,” or, the middle 4 miles of Central Park. It almost always starts on the east side, with the biggest hill of the course, Cat Hill. From that point, it’s mostly smooth sailing until mile 3, when you think you may die again. The best part of the middle 4, is that the final mile is almost completely downhill. It lets you settle into a good cadence and finish strong. It’s always a good feeling to cross the finish line thinking you are going faster and stronger than the previous mile.

I was happy with my pace for this one, plus, because it was the Gridiron, on Superbowl Sunday, you get to run in a lane at the end to say who you want to win the big game. OBVIOUSLY I chose the Eagles, because nobody like the Patriots, and also because my parents live in Philly, and also because I love a good underdog story. We all know how that turned out (Fly Eagles Fly!) Race Success!

Washington Heights Salsa, Blues & Shamrocks
Date: March 4th
Location: Washington Heights & The Cloisters
Distance: 5K (3.1 miles)
Pace: 9:30

I had planned to train a bit more and run between the Gridiron and this race, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I showed up to this race without having run even once since the February race. Luckily, it was only 5K distance. Unluckily, the entire course was hills. So. Many. Hills.
The course was beautiful, and I had never been to the Cloisters, so I got to see a bit of that beautiful scenery. It was nice to get out of Central Park, even though it is much less convenient for me. It was fun to ride the C train north that morning, where we picked up more race participants at every stop. It felt like a private NYRR shuttle!

Again, I ran wearing the long sleeve shirt NYRR gave for free with the race registration and again I was pleasantly surprised with the weather. I ran into a few friends from Runstreet Art Runs, which is always fun. There were people running up and down the streets warming up, but I was content hanging out chatting with friends. Maybe that is why I never run in the 8-min mile pace.
I waited for my friend to arrive, who lives around the corner, so she showed up with 30 seconds to spare. We started running together, but then I went ahead a bit. I decided not to wear headphones because it was supposed to be a Salsa & Blues Race, with bands playing music along the course. Unfortunately there were only two spots with bands, but it was fun to run without music, and take in the spectators.

With about one mile left, there was a woman standing next to the course screaming “only two more big hills then you are home free.” I wanted to punch that woman in the face. I did not want any more big hills. Not one, and definitely not two.

The best part of this race was after it was over. My friend lives in the neighborhood, and it was her birthday, so we went out to celebrate at El Malecon, an AMAZING Dominican restaurant with the best rotisserie chicken you’ll have in your life. It was delicious and I rolled myself out of there, completely forgetting that I had run a race.

Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe
Date: April 8th
Location: Central Park
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: 9:05

Another race, another “middle 4” in Central Park. I actually ran twice between the last race and this one, so I was determined to do better. Not only did I run faster, but I felt like I could have run even faster! I was a bit disappointed at the end because I felt I could have pushed harder, and gotten into the 8-min-mile-range club. I think the swimming cross-training really helped with tackling the hills. The good news is, I had another running partner buddy! My friend Amanda ran this race with me, so I had someone to hang out with in the corral.

This race was much colder than expected. Possibly even colder than the February and March races. Unfortunately, NYRR must have been thinking “April Race… short sleeves.” I had already made the commitment to run in the free shirts I get, so I froze to death. I had the forethought to wear gloves, at least. At the beginning of the race, I did not see one other person wearing the t-shirt without another layer underneath. I guess I am a trendsetter. By mile three, everyone was shedding layers and I was finally comfortable. 3 down, 6 to go!

Total Miles To Date: 11.1

Average Pace To Date: 9:17

Total Free Tshirts To Date: 3

Total Selfies With Post-Race Treats In My Mouth: Too Many To Count.

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SoreLegsLongDistance: The Road to 9+1

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I am in the middle of 9+1. 9+1… what?? You may ask. But no, this is not an adjective, it’s a noun. 9+1 is a right of passage. A task. A goal. A triumph. A calling. Maybe not that last one.

In short, 9+1 is a journey to the TCS NYC Marathon. I have always wanted to run the NYC Marathon. Ok, not always, but for the 8 years I’ve lived in New York. I love Marathon Day. I have written extensively about it on my blog. I love waking up early to watch coverage on TV. I’m currently live-streaming the Boston Marathon at my desk! I lovee to watch and I love being a spectator. I love making signs, I love cheering people on. And I love the idea of running through the 5 boroughs of my city, with the streets closed to traffic, and thousands of my fellow residents cheering each other on in a feat that pushes your body to the brink of disaster. I never wanted to run a marathon. But I always wanted to RUN NEW YORK. Here’s the issue: It’s impossible to get in.

There are a few ways to get into the largest marathon in the world, and there are fewer ways now than there were before. Here are your choices to subject yourself to 26.2 miles of pain and agony.

  1. Lottery! I have tried this for years. 5 to be exact. I never get in. Cue the fb status about losing the lottery, then cue the many people who think they are hilarious in commenting about whether you are really “losing” or “winning” by not getting to run 26.2 miles. There are actually three separate lotteries, depending on where you live. The one for NYC residents is notoriously impossible to win. I considered waiting to run it until I moved out of New York, but that seemed counterintuitive.
  2. 3 strikes and you’re in. If you apply to the lottery and lose 3 years in a row, you get in. This rule was thrown out because too many people were denied entry for many years.
  3. Repeat Runners. Runners who finish their 15th New York City Marathon will continue to be eligible for guaranteed entry in future years. These people are crazy.
  4. Time qualify: For women in my age group, this means finishing a half marathon in 1:32. If you read about my only Half Marathon last year, you’d know I was not even close.
  5. Ask your friends and family for a buttload of money to give to charity, all so you can run. You need to raise at least $2,500, but some charities may require more. I’m not a fan of this. Both the asking, and the giving so that I can do something crazy to my body, possibly injure myself, then blame my friends and family for sponsoring me. Not an option.

That leaves the 6th and final option: Become a member of the New York Road Runners for a full year, complete at least nine NYRR-scored, qualifying races, and volunteer for one. If you really hate volunteering, NYRR gives you an option to donate $1,000 to NYRR’s youth and community services programs instead.

I opted to do the 9+1 volunteer option, because A. I’m poor and B. I’m poor. Also, after running so many NYRR races, I was tempted to check out what it was like from the other, volunteer side. Who are these crazy people standing in the freezing cold, in fluorescent vests, handing me cups of water? Turns out I am one of those people. In fact, I just completed my “+1” over the weekend, and I promise to write a full blog entry about that soon.

But more on the 9 part of the 9+1. I mentioned I was poor (in fact, I think I mentioned it multiple times), but each one of these races cost money. Not to mention, even if you complete the 9+1, you still need to pay for the actual marathon entry, which is about $250. The 9+1 is just to received guaranteed entry. Before I embarked on this journey, I did my research. i.e. I read some blogs about how much this thing would actually cost me. Answer: A lot.

But there was a method to my madness. I did some planning to try and save money, save my muscles, and also save some sweat.

First, I had to become a NYRR member. I have been a member for years, so I renewed my membership for $40. Luckily, each race has a discounted price for members, so I took advantage of that. Also, I tried to be smart about my races by signing up early, and getting in on early bird pricing. Usually, early bird only saves about $5-$10, but when you multiply that by 9, it adds up! Longer races cost more money, which makes sense since they include more support staff, more security, and also sometimes a medal! I tried to cut down on costs by picking SHORT races. I also tried to cut down on blisters and sore muscles that way. I have already signed up for my 9+1 (early bird gets the worm!), here’s my racing schedule, distance, and cost. I set up a handy chart:

Date Race Distance Price
1 2/4/2018 Gridiron 4 miles $23.00
2 2/24/2018 Al Gordon Brooklyn 4 miles $23.00
2 3/4/2018 Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K $31.00
3 4/8/2018 Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 4 miles $23.00
4 4/22/2018 Run as One 4 miles $23.00
5 4/29/2018 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K $23.00
6 6/3/2018 Italy Run by Ferrero 5 miles $23.00
7 6/9/2018 New York Mini 10K $35.00
8 6/23/2018 Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run 5 miles $23.00
9 8/25/2018 Percy Sutton Harlem 5K $30.00
 TOTALS  40.6 miles $257.00

So far I am at $257 in race entry fees, and $40 in annual membership fees. And of course that does not even touch on the amount of money spent on sneakers and carb-loading. 3 days of pasta prep are needed for a 3 mile race, right? Isn’t that why we really run?

This may seem like a lot of money to some people, but in New York, a workout class can easily run you $40 a pop. If you divide that total figure by $40, it’s really only 6 classes at Barry’s Bootcamp or SLT. Not bad considering you get a free shirt (or gloves, or other paraphernalia) each time!

I hate running when it is hot outside. therefore, I tried to front-load my races for the year to be during the cooler months. However, I worried about running out of races as the year comes to a close. The races tend to fill up and sell out as the year progresses, mostly due to thousands of 9+1-ers like me. Also, I worried that I would injure myself and not be able to finish off my 9 races. That is how I ended up running 3 races in June. Sweatzilla in full effect. I will definitely be stopping at all fluid stations for those babies. Thank you in advance to the volunteers handing me water!

You may have noticed one of my races on my chart was crossed off. I may have forgotten it was a Saturday race and slept straight through it. When I woke up with my alarm notifying me that the race was starting in 10 minutes, and I was in my bed in Manhattan and the race was in Brooklyn… no amount of hustle would have gotten me there on time. Especially with the state of the MTA on weekends. That was $23 down the drain. I’ll consider it my donation to New York Roadrunners.

Let’s get to the important things: hashtags and social media.

I am lucky enough to know someone who ran the marathon last year, and is very witty with words. Also, her fiancé is great with words. They came up with my hashtag: #SoreLegsLongDistance. If you search on Instagram, you can follow along with my journey! Also, I always add #NewGoalNewHashtag. This may be wayyyy less fun than #30Years30IceCreams, but I will definitely earn my ice cream along the way.

I decided that for photographic consistency purposes, I would run every race in the swag that I get with my race entry. That means that although I own enough lululemon gear to outfit a small army of runners, you will see me every race in my New Balance NYRR shirts! I even ran the last race in the short-sleeved shirt they gave me, despite it being 30 degrees. Clearly NYRR ordered their swag before they checked Mother Nature’s plan to continue the winter all the way into the summer.

I try to take a selfie at the start line before each race, or an ussie if I have a running buddy. Watch on Instagram for all of my selfies with water and apples and bagels at the finish line.

I won’t bore you with step by step recaps of each race; there are a lot of them! However, I’ll post a recap of my races after I’m done with 3, so you can follow along. This means I’m already behind and I better post my first recap soon! 3+1 down, 6 to go!

Check out my hashtag!

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Fitness

New Year’s Eve Midnight Run

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Last night I froze to death. Ok, maybe not to death, but pretty darn close. Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!! Last night I made one of the dumbest decisions of my life (and trust me, I’ve made some dumb ones), and I ran the Midnight Run with New York Road Runners in Central Park. Only problem: it was 10⁰ Fahrenheit, FEELS LIKE -7!! Wind gusts of up to 21 mph. For those of you non-Americans out there, that is -22⁰ Celsius. What. The. F*ck. I guess a lot of (less crazy) people chickened out, because the race was sold out at 5,000-person capacity, but according to the website there were only 3,988 finishers. Hopefully those 1,012 people decided not to come, and did not die of frostbite somewhere before the finish.

Here’s why I ran the race: I’ve always wanted to but I never had someone to do it with, my friend asked me to, I didn’t really have any other plans, and I didn’t want to drink two nights in a row. You see, we always go out the night before New Year’s Eve because it is so much cheaper and less crowded in NYC. It’s called Practice New Year’s Eve. More on that next year.

All of the reasons I ran the race did not take into account the weather. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to worry about that, I mean, it is midnight in December/January in New York… maybe I have a few screws loose. I definitely lost a few screws last night in the cold so I’m missing even more now. I have a new appreciation for those people in A Mountain Between Us who got stranded on a mountain after a plane crash.

The race was to begin at 12:00 am, but there was a complimentary pre-race party at 10 pm. However, since that party was OUTSIDE, my friend and I decided only to go the last 30 minutes. She came to my house at 9:30 to reflect on Practice New Year and talk through our various outfits. I say outfitS plural, but in reality, we wore all of them. On top of each other. Here’s what I ended up wearing, from the bottom up:

  • Sneakers with a light on them.
  • Ski sock to my knees.
  • Black capri leggings (but there was no skin showing).
  • A padded sports bra (gotta keep the jewels warm).
  • A tank top.
  • A long sleeve thermal.
  • A half zip pullover.
  • A full zip hooded jacket with full neck collar.
  • A down running vest.
  • A ski buff to cover my face.
  • An ear-warmer headband.
  • Running gloves.
  • An additional pair of gloves.

My friend wore two pairs of socks and two pairs of leggings. I didn’t. I regretted that decision.

We left my apartment and headed to the park, where five thousand other crazy people joined us at Rumsey Playfield for the pre-race party. I have never seen so many people dancing to a live DJ. I mean, literally EVERYONE was dancing. We had to. It was the only way to attempt to stay warm. According to my Fitbit, I logged a 17 -minute outdoor bike ride. But no, it was just furious dancing to Despacito to try and keep circulation in my toes.

We all headed to the race corrals around 11:50, where were given our final race instructions “stay warm and don’t die.” Ok, maybe he didn’t say exactly that, but I was too cold to listen. At midnight, our own private fireworks show started in Central Park, which was pretty darn awesome. The fireworks went on for FOREVER. And after 4 minutes, I was ready to start running, i.e. I was losing feeling in my extremities. We finally crossed the start line at about 8:40 and then we were off! The fireworks were still going off overhead, so I was trying dodge people who kept stopping to turn around and look to the sky.

The race course was the middle 4 miles of Central Park, and I know that park like the back of my hand. I know every hill and turn, thanks to many many Wednesdays with lululemon Run Club, and training for, and finishing the Shape Half Marathon back in April. I was well-prepared, but also, I had never run in temps like this before. It was NOT easy. Around mile 3, it started to feel like the entire course was uphill. This was my first race ever without music or headphones, because I wanted to take it all in. Luckily, that also made it possible for me to listen to people around me. When I was struggling up the mile 3 hills, I heard a few people around me also lamenting the hills, and I was glad I wasn’t alone. The combination of cold cold air to breathe, and cold muscles made it much more difficult than any other day.

My two favorite parts of the race:

  1. At mile 2, there was a dance party. A random DJ set up and people stopped right on the race course to dance around. There was also a champagne (apple juice) toast. However, I think it had been sitting out there for a few minutes because it was COMPLETELY frozen. I had decided before the race not to have water during, because I was scared of how cold it would be, but I couldn’t resist a slushie/icey of apple juice. I shaved off a bit with my teeth, decided it was not a good idea, then continued running.
  2. Running without headphones meant I was able to tell all of the police and volunteers Happy New Year. I gave countless high fives and I was able to laugh along with all of the conversations. One group of girls was asking people around them to tell their New Year Resolutions, which I thought was a cute idea. I almost yelled out mine but realized I was running very much ahead of their pace, and I couldn’t afford to slow down in the temperature.

When the race was over, I met up with my friend and we decided to take the subway home instead of waiting outside for a (few and far between) cab. Unfortunately, our clothes were WET at that point, and while it was warmer underground, it was still freezing. Literally. My friend had icicles on her eyelashes and she said she saw ice in my hair. After 20 minutes of waiting for a train, they made an announcement that due to a stalled train at another station, there would not be any trains. THANKS MTA. We called an Uber. Can you say SURGE??

When I got home, I peeled off my 6 layers, and stood in a steaming hot shower for 20 minutes. I also didn’t wash my hair because I was afraid to have wet hair. I put on long johns and continued to shiver in bed for about one hour, blowing my nose and coughing the whole time. I finally made it to sleep around 3 am, and I was SURE I would wake up sick this morning. But 2018, the surprise is on me, because I feel awesome! And I woke up with 12,400 steps already on my Fitbit so I don’t feel bad at all about sitting in bed writing this, as my Fitbit yells at me every hour to move. NOPE. NOT TODAY.

I will be teaching Spin tonight at the YMCA though. Top songs of 2017. Who’s coming??

Happy New Year to all of my subscribers, and readers who are not subscribers. To you latter category of people, stop procrastinating and hit subscribe; it can be your New Year’s Resolution!

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Fitness

Runstreet Art Runs – My 2017 New Year Resolution Success

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The countdown is on! Literally! The new year is a few hours away, and I promised you one last blog post for 2017 about successfully achieving a 2017 Resolution of mine: Finding something fun and new and different to work out. SUCCESS! Enter: Art Runs with Runstreet.

People tend to make resolutions about working out more, or eating better, and I won’t go into why these are bad resolutions, since I already talked about that once this week. But to quote one of my fav instructors at Peloton, Robin, as she said on Wednesday, let’s make a resolution to “stop doing sh*t you hate,” and that’s exactly what I set out to do this year.

I love to work out. I work out more than 90% of people I know. Ok, 95%. Here’s what I like about it: I have fun. I feel much more energized when I finish. I get a sense of accomplishment. I achieve goals. I get stronger. Oh, and I get to eat more.

But going into 2017, I was beginning to lose my very first reason I work out: I wasn’t having fun anymore and I was BORED. I still felt accomplished and stronger, but since I wasn’t having as much fun anymore, it was starting to feel like a chore. So my 2017 resolution was: find something new that makes me excited again for physical activity.

Here’s what I knew: I loved teaching classes, because I liked the people and atmosphere of community. I had taught too many classes on the bike and wanted to move around a little. I liked being in fresh air. I wanted something different. I loved selfies and posting on Instagram.

I really didn’t know how I would combine all of those things and then miraculously, I got a follow on Instagram from Runstreet aka Marnie Kunz. (Check out that Instagram link and see if you can spot me a lot of times!)

Marnie is the writer and creator of Runstreet Art Runs, which she says is “a way to encourage runners of all levels to explore beauty around them and learn about local art and artists.” I was totally sold. She linked to an upcoming event in her Instagram bio, and I signed up immediately. I was not disappointed.

Basically, a group of runners meet up at a designated spot with Marnie, a certified running coach, and Marques Jackson of Filles Garcons Photography. We drop off our bags, socialize and meet each other, and then hit the pavement. We explore neighborhoods from Queens to Brooklyn to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, keeping an easy jogging 10-minute mile pace, and we stop every once in a while to gaze at amazing street art, and learn a bit about the murals and the artists from Marnie. The whole time we run, we talk, smile, laugh, and take photos – both amateur ones on our own cell phones, and real amazing quality ones snapped by Marques, who runs along with us (all photos below by him).

I have many favorite parts about Art Runs, but one of the big ones is exploring neighborhoods I have never seen before. Marnie herself found that the best way to learn the city and explore neighborhoods was by running through the streets. In fact, that’s how her Instagram started, by documenting the art she saw as she explored. Two weeks ago, I did a Holiday Art Run with Runstreet and I made sure to turn my Nike+ app on to document our route. It definitely was not my fastest run documented on the Nike app (probably due to the many photo breaks and readjusting of my Santa sweater… it was a HOLIDAY run, after all), but I wanted to be able to look back afterward and see where I had run. That holiday run was in Williamsburg, a part of Brooklyn I hadn’t spent much time in before. I have also done runs with Marnie on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, SoHo and Crown Heights!

She often partners with vendors and stores, so we finish with a place to warm up (or cool off, depending on the season), and with snacks to munch and juice to sip. Also, we hang out afterward and talk, which is my most favorite exercise. Also, her runs tend to have themes! I did one that was Hip Hop themed, where we were able to submit songs before the run and she added them to a playlist that bumped along with our feet the whole time. She also had an Ice Cream Art Run, which happened to be during #30Years30IceCreams. So obvi I had to go. It did not disappoint.

And last, but definitely not least, everyone is SO NICE. Every single person I have met through Art Runs has been incredibly sweet. I gained at least 15 new Instagram followers, and we often comment on each other’s posts and hug when we first see each other at the next run. In fact, I went on an Art Run after an ankle sprain, when I thought it was better but ultimately ended up stepping on it wrong and re-injuring it. Everyone was fast to stop, and incredibly concerned. A few runners offered to stay back with me, although I managed to tough it out the last mile (do not recommend this).

I love nothing more than a goodie bag or a keepsake. And after each run, we get a Dropbox link with all of Marques’ amazing photos, which become souvenirs, Instagram posts, AND viral advertising for Art Runs. V smart business model. All of the photos in this blog post are by the talented Marques aka Filles Garcons. Sometimes, a photo of me even gets on Marnie’s Instagram. Here’s me on top of an ATM, ankle brace and all. It got 419 likes!

Moral of this story: 2017 Resolution was a SUCCESS. And if you are like me and you’re looking for a FUN and ACCESSIBLE and ACHIEVABLE 2018 Resolution: look no further than Art Runs. They have a run on Monday, January 1!! It’s a Resolution 5K + Yoga. I can’t make it to this one, but I’ll probably be at the next one! Use your LONG LEGS and explore this BIG CITY. Try it out and tell me what you think!! Happy New Year everyone!

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Fitness

Half Marathon Training

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I’m training for a half marathon. I’m actually going to run 13.1 miles. In 6 days. How, you ask? GOOD QUESTION.

I never considered myself a runner. More often, I’m a professional running spectator (see above, also, more on my FAMOUS signs later). In fact, I have said “I’m not a runner” more times than I can count. True tidbit: as soon as I decided to run this race, I spent more time on amazon.com looking for a tank top that said “I Hate Running” than I spent actually ever training for this race.

However, that is not to say I have never run before. I have been teaching fitness classes for 11 years and I go to a weekly free run club with lululemon. (More on my love for luxtreme another time). More than 13 miles, though? That’s for crazy people. And now, I guess, for me. A few weeks ago, I went on a 12.5 mile run (I know… psychotic). At mile 9, an ambulance from Central Park Medical Unit drove right by me, and I swear they slowed down just a bit when they saw me trudging along. Just in case. Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle last weekend, which will no doubt slow me down even more. Luckily, I have my trusty CPMU friends from that last run. Good news is, now they already know me 😉

You know how some people have crazy superstitious rituals before sports games to make sure they win? Well I have those crazy rituals before my training runs. You know, to make sure I survive. And no, I don’t just mean that I double check that my headphones work.

Here is a list of things I do before my runs in order of least crazy to most crazy:

  • Double tie my shoes.
  • Fill a water bottle. Plastic. Must not be the first time using it. I know, I know, bad idea, blahblah, but it’s a compulsion!!
  • Eat 2 eggs. Scrambled. Salt, pepper, nothing else.
  • Sit on my @$$ for at least 2 hours. If I accidentally go for a walk, I must start my sitting ritual again. (I can’t go for a run on not-fresh legs, DUH!)
  • Make sure my house key is on my left shoe, in between the first knot and the bow. ALWAYS.
  • Braid my hair. No I do not mean REGULAR, run-of-the-mill braid. It must be fun-looking. Also, it must ALWAYS be different. I have taken to watching youtube tutorials about braiding specifically for this purpose. Dutch Braid Headband? PIECE OF CAKE. Waterfall braid? CHECK. Ladder braid? Still a work in progress. I am not kidding about this, though. I have even taken to hashtagging my snapchats #GoodBraidGoodRun, as a super fun, lighthearted way of saying “I have an OCD problem related to my running rituals.”

Why am I sharing these tidbits with you? Do I recommend them for people trying to train for a half marathon? No. Definitely not. Do as I say, not as I do. Or something like that.

I guess this is just as an FYI so you feel a little less crazy when you do crazy things. Plus, there are people even crazier than me out there. Like people who run actual full marathons. WHY?

And yet, every first Sunday of November, every year, I am out on the NYC Marathon course cheering on the runners. I was even featured once in Buzzfeed for my amazing signage (#30). So please, cheer me on! CENTRAL PARK, THIS WEEKEND, SUNDAY April 30th. It’ll give me someone to show off my fancy braid skills to, besides my Instagram. (Have you added me yet?) WISH ME LUCK IN THE COMMENTS, and I’ll see you on the course!!

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