I’ve been feeling like a real marathoner lately. My runs haven’t been easy, but I found a way to push through and finish strong. I even got up this morning for a recovery run. Monday mornings are hard enough without getting up early to run, but I had to do it. I’ve been feeling kind of crappy the last few weeks post Saturday run, and this is supposed to help. It basically breaks up some of the lactic acid, so your legs don’t feel like lead. So I got up, and went for an easy 30 minute run. And you know what, it felt pretty darn good.
Then it happened. I saw a kitty, so I went to say hello. Normally when I walk up to a cat in the park, they get scared and run away, but this one didn’t. He was purring and I was petting him. Then I picked him up. Long story short, he’s in my apartment right now.
I think I need to stop running through this park. I’m going to end up with a menagerie. I think he's about 6 months old, and he's very curious and not afraid of anything. We're taking name suggestions :)
Seems like there's a lot to talk about. So let's get started.
Who's excited about the Olympics, huh? I love the Olympics! Admittedly, the opening ceremonies were a little off, but I think most of that was because the announcers wouldn't just SHUT THE HELL UP. I loved that they talked over the entire Arctic Monkeys performance, telling us how amazing the performance was. Thanks guys. That made total sense.
The thing that I like the most is all the athletes, especially the ones from all the tiny little countries. A lot of these countries have never won a medal, and they probably won't win one in these games, but they show up and compete anyway. That's pretty freaking awesome. And that brings me to my training. No one in our running group is going to win anything, but we show up and do our best. I like to think we're pretty awesome too. That's what marathon running is all about. That and pastries.
I know last week I mentioned that I was going to try some very tasty donuts post run. Well the coach changed the workout because for once, we had some decent cloud cover. So we left the park to run by the Hudson river. Since we were on the west side, and I was running longer than everyone else (I was aiming for 14 to 15 miles), I decided just to continue home. I ran 6 miles out with my group, all the way down to around Canal street, then headed home. I have to admit, after the first 6 miles, I didn't think I was going to make it. Time felt like it was going so slowly. I would look at my watch and only 2 minutes had passed since the last time I checked. I got to about 12 miles and something kicked in. I put in my headphones and said "Let's do this!" I stopped looking at my watch and those last few miles just flew by. Or maybe they felt that way because I was a little bit delirious after all the running. Either way, 16 miles later (I'm bad at math, so I accidentally ran too much) I made it home. I was sweating so much my shoes were making squishy noises. But I made it. And I still got my pastry.
This time I had another chocolate croissant, but this time from a new place in Harlem. It was super tasty, but post run, anything that's not a GU tastes good. I'll definitely go back.
I just got a really nice note from Maggie at the American Cancer Society in Chicago. Thought I would share with everyone:
Hi Lisa,
I just wanted to take a quick second to say CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU for your fundraising efforts thus far. You have already surpassed the fundraising minimum with a couple of months to spare. To me, the fundraising minimum represents a free one-night stay at an American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. This is where my friend, Clif, stayed when he received treatment for a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. The free lodging provided by ACS, and made possible because of people like you, was one less burden for him and his family to worry about as they dealt with his difficult diagnosis. To see how hard you're working and how great your fundraising is going just makes me so thankful to have you on our team. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I'd love to hear what your fundraising goal means to you -- please feel free to share.
I encourage you to continue fundraising all the way until the event (and even the weeks after). I have attached our fundraising incentives so you can see what levels we have. Although earning something like a DetermiNation hoodie is awesome (which it is!), perhaps the biggest incentive you have is to know how your money could be used in the fight against cancer.
Thanks again! I look forward to seeing what your fundraising total is when all is said and done.
Sincerely,
Maggie
So let's not disappoint her. Help me raise more money! Donate here! I'm soooooo close to reaching $2000.00. Let's do it!
I know I haven't talked about yoga much lately, but I don't really think I could continue to run without doing yoga. Last night I had a great class. I love that in yoga you make one tiny little tweak and everything feels different. I feel super stretchy after last night's class. I also notice that I've had more focus lately, and I think this is because of my marathon training. As the runs get longer, and I have to get serious about stretching and my cross training. They'll make all the difference in these last 72(!!!) days.
On another note, who else is super excited about the Olympics? I sure am! Maybe I'll even feel inspired to train more...but the jury's still out on that one...
Last night’s workout was HARD. We did Fartleks, which is Swedish for “running hella fast.” Ok it’s not, but it should be. It was hard, I was sweaty, yadda yadda. I did learn one thing though. As much as I hate to admit it, I really do need to do a recovery run on either Sunday or Monday. I’ve been finding myself really stiff and tired on these Tuesday workouts, making them harder than they should be. The recovery run would help with the lactic acid build up, and make me a little less stiff. So I might need everyone’s help. PLEASE come Sunday, make sure I do a recovery run. It’s the last thing I really want to do after a long run on Saturday, but I think it’s important. If you bug me, I promise I’ll do it.
So the workout was hard, but the post workout was AWESOME! We had a team social at a bar, which is always really fun. Beer and mozzarella sticks are good post run foods, right? If not, they should be. I really like getting to know my teammates outside of running. Funny thing- when we’re running, all we do is talk about anything but running. When we’re not running, all we talk about is running. We’re weird like that. Pictures will be up soon, I’m sure.
Also another side note, Darrell Hammond from SNL was at the bar too. DNation is pretty awesome. We drink with celebs.
Today was a BEAUTIFUL day for a run. The weather was almost fall-like. This made my 12 mile run a little easier. Another thing that made it easier? Good company! We had a solid group of 4 or 5 runners and this week’s topic of conversation was former gym teachers. It was kind of nice to hear that EVERYONE I was running with was a terrible runner in high school. We all shared horror stories about gym teachers that made us feel bad for not being able to run fast enough, or not being able to run for long enough, and we were all turned off from running for quite a while. And now here we all are training for a marathon. For any of you gym teachers out there, remember that fitness is different for every person. This body is not built for speed. Never was, never will be, but that doesn’t really mean anything. A lot of training for any run post high school was getting over that I’m-bad-at-running mental roadblock. If you can put one foot in front of the other, you can run! So I’d like to suggest that you get out there and go for a short run. It doesn’t matter if it takes you 6 minutes or 16. You never know. You might like it!
Another thing that I really like about my runs lately is celebrating my completion with a pastry. This week’s pastry was a chocolate chip scone.
YUM! I think I'll have to keep up this new tradition. What pastry should I get next week?
PS Help me raise money for cancer research. Donate here!
Every time my alarm goes off at 6am, I have an argument with myself. I think, “Do I really have to get up and run?” The answer is YES. I do. Today these were my just-get-out-of-bed-and-run arguments:
- NO MORE EXCUSES! Didn’t I just say I was going to stop making excuses? And I knew if I waited to go after work I would have SOME excuse. So just do it before my brain can think of too many excuses.
- It’s hot, and I’m already sweating. I figured if I’m going to be sweaty regardless, I may as well get a workout out of it.
- People are counting on me. Yesterday I got a very generous donation from my Uncle Doug (I even did an I-got-a-donation dance!) and now I’ve almost reach my fundraising goal. Which means that I’m accountable to someone. People are expecting me to do this so dammit, just do it.
So I did. The first 10 minutes of my run, I was kind of like a zombie. I was even running weird. It took a while to work out the kinks, but I did. Other than that it was a very uneventful run. I did ALMOST come home with a little wiener dog. I saw him tied up to the fence and thought that someone had left him there. (I was told so far this year that over 20 dogs have been left in that park this year alone. So I’m on the lookout.) But apparently the teeny tiny weenie dog belonged to the big huge muscle man who was working out in the park. Go figure!
Other than that, it was just a normal half asleep 6 am run.
BTW Just because I've almost reached my fundraising goal, doesn't mean you shouldn't donate. You should be the one to put me over the top! Donate now.
Last night’s workout involved effort levels. I hate effort levels. For those of you that don’t know, an effort level is basically how hard your breathing, not necessarily how fast you’re running. In effort 4, you should be very out of breath and not very happy. Effort one is an easy recovery pace. For last night’s workout we went through all 4 levels, doing one minute on each level. The problem is I pretty much have one effort level- forward. I don’t usually try to challenge myself, and that’s what this workout was all about.
Since it was hot, I decided to take it a little easy. I quickly fell to the back of the pack. I’ve decided (just last night in fact) that I’m very fine with the back of the pack. I also came the realization that I’ll have to abandon all delusions of grandeur come race day. I’m not going to finish a marathon in under 4:30, which is secretly my desired goal time. I’ll be lucky to beat my last time. But no matter how hard I try, I’m just not as fast as I used to be. Sigh.
So I’m basically plodding along at the back of the pack, sort of dipping my toe into the world of effort levels. One of the coaches passes by and says my effort 2 looks a lot like an effort 1, and I should pick up the pace. My first reaction was to roll my eyes. It’s hot! I don’t want to run fast! But then I realized she was right. (Darnit. Why was she right?) I’ve been too easy on myself. I’m still struggling to find that perfect balance in my training where I’m challenging myself just enough, without getting hurt. I have a tendency to either take it way too easy, or go balls to the wall. There is no in between. But I wanted to try, so I kicked it up a notch. You never realize how long a minute is until you’re running an effort 4 on a 90 degree day with high humidity. I was drenched. And you know what? It wasn’t bad. I felt pretty good afterwards. Yay me!
So the lesson here? JUST TRY IT, DAMMIT!
In other news, don't forget to donate! I'm not just running around in circles sweating my butt off for fun. We're doing it because cancer sucks! You can help make all my sweat and blisters (and OH there are blisters) worth it! Donate here! Still $400 left to go before I reach my goal this month.
I forgot how much running 10 miles tends to hurt the next day. I was needless to say a little sore on Sunday. Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that I was out dancing on Saturday night until 2am …just maybe :) Either way, Sunday was iffy. The good thing is mentally I feel great. I made it over that 8 mile hump. It wasn’t pretty, but it was done. One of the other runners wrote something on her page that I’ve been trying to keep in mind. She wrote “For me, training for a marathon is a painful and at times an excruciating experience, but then again so is chemotherapy and radiation. Those that are battling don't get to say, I don't want to have treatment today because it hurts. So I don't stop.” I keep making too many excuses. I think if I keep the mission in mind, then there will be less room for excuses. Hey, it helped me on Saturday.
Next thing to tackle is my fundraising, which honestly, I’ve been having a little bit of trouble with. I think part of the reason is I’ve been forgetting about the cause, and why we run. Everyone has a story about why they run. You may not know, but I’m a mentor to a group of runners training for the marathon. I help them with fundraising questions and general support. Let me tell you, some of my mentees have incredible stories. Two of them, a husband and wife, are running for their 8 year old son. He was diagnosed with cancer when he was 2 years old, and his treatment involves frequent spinal taps. Some people are survivors. Some recently lost spouses. The people I run with every week have very similar stories. And this is why we run. Because we’re tired of hearing so many of these stories. I’m still hoping to raise another $400 in the month of July. If you’d like to donate, you can do that here.
I also came up with an idea for selling cookies at work, but that’s mostly because I really like cookies :) I'm trying to decide what kind of cookies to make. Is chocolate chip too average? Should it be something crazy like s'mores cookies? What do you think?
It’s been pretty hot in New York. So hot we had to move our Saturday morning runs to 7am. This means I woke up at 5:30am this morning. This is why we call ourselves DetermiNation. The good news is the park is very peaceful at 6:30am.
I’ve been stuck at 8 miles for the last few weeks, so I was determined to do 10 miles, no matter what. Somehow I was elected to lead the 11 minute mile group, but when we started, I didn’t even thing I could keep up at that pace. My 10 miles was looking iffy. The good news is I found several awesome people that run the same pace as me, so we were able to stick together and help each other out. I ran 8 miles with them, then ran to MiMi’s place to help with packing and to take some things off her hands ☺ These last two miles were kind of brutal. Maybe it was because I was by myself. Maybe it was the damn hill. Or maybe it was because I REALLY had to go to the bathroom. Either way, brutal. But good news is I made it over the 8 mile hump and I’m feeling less nervous about this whole marathon thing. I booked my hotel and flight this week, and now I got the running part on the right track too. This was one of the first runs I had in a long time where nothing hurt. (If anyone is interested, a pilates teach told me my left leg is weaker, so I overuse my right side, hence the pain. Who knew?)
More good news, I rewarded myself a chocolate croissant and an iced coffee.
I just ran 10 miles. I deserve some damn pastry.
PS Please donate! Help me fight cancer http://main.acsevents.org/goto/runninglisa
Ok. I think I’m freaking out a little. I just realized that I’m now less than 3 months to the marathon. I feel like I’m way behind on my training and I’m just not as focused as I was during my last marathon. I’ve been stuck around 8 miles for the last few weeks and I know I should be running farther by now.
So right now I’m going to kick it into high gear.
- I need to start running 4 days a week.
- NO MORE EXCUSES!!! Too many of those lately.
- Up the fundraising. I want to raise $400 more in the month of July and this is where I need your help. I need everyone to help me raise money. If you can only donate $10, that would be a big help. Remember, I’m raising money to help fight cancer. The money we raise will go to support cancer research, provide cancer prevention education or screenings, or to support patients and their families. Who can argue with that? Some companies even match donations, so you can double your money, just by filling out a form!
Just click here to donate!
Ok that’s my spiel for today. Now back to the freaking out. Only 88 more days! Ok that sounds a like a lot, but trust me, it’s really not.
Vacations really are the best thing ever. The only decision you have to make everyday is whether you should go to the beach or the pool for the day. Or should we stay in or go out for dinner. It was wonderful. Probably the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had. We swam. We read books. We ate LOTS AND LOTS of Southern food. I played golf! I even got to see an alligator (from the safety of my golf cart). It was wonderful. Then this morning it took me 20 minutes to buy a MetroCard to get to work, and once I’m at work, everything has been royally screwed up in my absence. Welcome back to the real world ☹
My run this morning was definitely one of the most scenic...
...but it definitely wasn't easy. My schedule says I should be running about 10 miles, but considering I'm on vacation and it's HOTTTTTT, I decided to go for about 6. But once I started running, the beach was nice and there was a nice breeze, so I decided to keep going. On the way back the breeze seemed less noticeable. I was covered in sweat and really hot. But then I started feeling REALLY HOT. My face was burning. I tried to dip my hands into the ocean to cool off, but the ocean is as warm as the air. Nice for swimming, not so nice when you're trying to cool down. When I started feeling dizzy, I figured to call it a day. This run was not going to be my best, so I just stopped and walked. The beach was lovely, but I forgot to take into account the sun. Doh!
My run this morning was a little more treacherous than usual.
The good news is, I survived. The even better news, I'm off to get a massage. Vacations are the best.
