A Run to Remember

A hard day in the city that I love. During the Packers game Thursday night (Which we WON! YEA! Pictures to come this week to brighten your day...), Mayor Bloomberg announced that we had credible terrorist threats, and advised we don't use the subways etc, aka Hurricane Irene Part II. Thankfully, thus far, this day has gone on as it should; without any major attacks or events. I will never forgot that morning 10 years ago. I don't think the sky has ever been bluer. And I will never forget the September 11's in the past 5 years that I have lived in NYC, watching the people call out the names of the victims at Ground Zero and ending with "And my brother....." or "And my father....". I'm brought to tears every year. I will never forget the feeling of the city on this specific day. There is a palpable feeling of sadness, calm, and quiet. I pray for every person who was affected by this tragedy for strength, joy, and resilience.

A rough road to 15 miles. Saturday I had 15 miles on the agenda, my longest distance to date. My running had STUNK this week, work was stressful, and I was SO nervous about this distance. I had never run "more than half a marathon". I knew it would be a complete mental boost; or a complete mental killer. I was so tired Friday night, I didn't lay out my clothes, I didn't get my water situated, I just went to sleep...then I proceeded to wake up 5 times throughout the night. Ugh. When my alarm went off at 6:45am, I tried to find everything quietly so Mr. Miller wouldn't be disturbed. My favorite shorts? Grew legs and hid themselves SO WELL that I never found them. My lucky shamrock headband? No clue where it ran off to. So I was going with second rate gear. Then, my stomach started to hurt. Ugh. I went to the "bathroom" and felt better. I thought, "Maybe I won't have stomach aches while I run!?" I finally got myself ready and out the door by 7:30am. 1.5 miles in my feet were killing me in my Nike Limies; just like on my 4 mile run in my marathon Nike Mandarins Thursday. They felt tingly and sore. ?!? Finally the thought came to me; or, God gave me the thought: loosen your laces. I remembered that I had tied my laces SUPER TIGHT in light of my double blisters, thinking this would reduce the friction. It made my feet numb instead. So I sat down on a sidewalk, with gawkers eyeing this peculiar girl, and loosened the Nike Limies. Perfect. They felt like clouds. We were off. Again.

Central Park was like a race! It was like every team was running! When I got to the park, I couldn't believe the Saturday morning crowd! GO RUNNERS! It was awesome. It took me a while to loosen up, but my best miles were from mile 6-15! I was still getting a handle on my stomach, and once I get to the park, I feel like my competitive edge took over. (It's about 5 miles from my house, over a bridge, through the streets of Manhattan, until I reach Central Park.) I recognized several people who were doing more than one loop, and I know many were out in marathon training style. I felt so much better knowing that others were suffering with me! I got a little bored, so thank you to my sister Kate for talking to me on the phone during mile 7 and thank you to my friend Rebecca for talking to me during miles 11-12. I was a bit bored not talking to anyone, and these quick chats helped IMMENSELY! However, my worst fear came true.

I had to use the bathroom. Thankfully there are plenty of bathrooms in Central Park, and decently clean at that. However, I was hoping I would survive a marathon without a portapotty visit. Doesn't seem to be the case thus far. Now, thankfully, it wasn't "painful I'm going to die I have to go NOW", it was "It's just time to go". Therefore, I wasn't dehydrated thankfully. So, if this happens during the marathon, I'll loose a lot of time, which is a bummer. Oh well, at least I'll complete the marathon!!!
15 miles complete!* Just like that, I was done! I could have kept going for sure! I felt super strong. In fact, my best mile was MILE 15! I was definitely excited to have run a new distance. I stopped at Starbucks and grabbed a venti skim chai, figuring that milk would help start the recovery process. I took the subway home and walked to my apartment without any soreness. COOL! Showered, took my Recoverite, and off to brunch I went with Mr. Miller.

*Fuel used: Smart water for my first round of waters in my fuel belt, Hammer Gel during the run, and Recoverite afterwards. I will be experimenting with eating during the run actual food next week!
Breakfast Burrito. Need I say more? Ok I will. This is the best thing I've ever had. The eggs are SUPER moist, the sausage is so good (I don't eat sausage), the hash browns inside are a perfect compliment, and the cheese is melted to perfection. My body had other ideas. After we enjoyed an "appetizer" of a caramel bacon biscuit (SO GOOD, can you tell it's a comfort food place?!), I got my main course favorite breakfast burrito. I got nauseous. I tried to eat more thinking I was hungry, and I got more nauseous. I ended up taking a walk outside, eating what I could when I got back, and calling it a day. I came home and was perfectly fine the rest of the day. I think I tried to eat too many things too soon, so we will see if I can change that feeling this weekend for my 16 miles!
Recovering is sweet. Last night I went to a friend's house to watch some football, and we ate pizza, some french fries, hummus and veggies, queso dip...I finally found my appetite. Today Mr. Miller came to cross train at the gym (He refused a picture), and I was rewarded with my first pumpkin spice latte of the season!!! It was so good. I don't like sweet coffee (I take my coffee with a little skim milk no sugar), so I opted for a tall two pump nonfat no whip pumpkin spice latte. DE-LIC-OUS. I took a nap (Very tired today, because I could not nap yesterday!), and made brunch; tater tots, eggs, cheese and hot sauce...SO HEALTHY!

Injuries: These are hilarious. I did wrap my feet to avoid blisters, and I think it pretty much worked. The skin that was already blistered was a little irriated but doesn't hurt, and I don't think there was any new "liquid"...sorry tmi. Other injuries? Oh ha ha I got chaffing on my BACK from my fuel belt! WHAT?! This has never happened! Maybe I wore it too loose??? Either way, it hurt a lot when I got into the shower and had instant stinging on my back for reasons unknown to me. Because of my favorite shorts disappearing act, I wore shorter shorts which led to some leg chaffing. I'm not one of those girls who wears the swishy running short shorts...spandex is my best friend. Worst injury? A BLOODY NIPPLE ON A MAN IN CENTRAL PARK! Now, blood and I don't get along. At all. Ever. I gagged and almost projectile vomited on him and his bloody white shirt. Dude, do something about that. I can't handle it again.

Countdowns: I have 7 more long runs, then the its the marathon. I have four long runs, and then it's the big 20 miler. I will be a marathon finisher 8 weeks from today. Two months from today. Tomorrow is 1 month and 29 days (Or something like that). Whoa.

55 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!