Blog from vacation land...

So far on vacation we....

- traveled to Annapolis MD and had the best time!

- Celebrated Lambeau's birthday

- Arrived in Virginia Beach

- Played with my nephews!

- Let Lambeau run free as a bird on the beach for the first time

- Ate a donut from the market :-) / :-(

So far on vacation I...

- Ran 3 miles, 4 miles, 7 miles.

- Biked 7.25 miles then did a mile with my sister Jennifer

- Rest day for a long run.

What I will do on vacation...

- Two a days

- Long runs

- READ

- Relax

- Run with my dog on the beach

- Grill

- Pray

- Enjoy nature

Long run tomorrow pretty much will make or break my marathon hopes and dreams.

Distance is undetermined. I have one distance that is satisfactory, one distance that is preferable and one distance that is exemplary. We'll see what kind of day it is tomorrow.

Through it all....

cool as a cucumber.

Deliberations...

We went to a FABULOUS event last night called East Village Food Day! Well, we created it ourselves. When a bunch of friends were at brunch a month ago (Pictured above) the subject turned to all these fabulous places to eat in the EV, such as an authentic Maine lobster roll place, amazing dumplings, beer brewed on location, scrumptious mac n cheese, tasty tapas called arepas, out of this world french fries, and we ended the night with DELICIOSO frozen yogurt! So we organized ourselves to do a "progressive dinner", stopping at each one of these places for a little sampler at each stop. The best part: each place was some sort of hole in the wall that barely had any seating, if any at all. So fun!

Now, the heavy stuff.

Running. Oh running. I may not be in marathon contention any longer. I've realized some things about myself. Training for half marathons in the spring is no problem for me. Training for any form of a marathon in the fall, however, requires training in the summer, which I seem to struggle with. Even in everyday walking in heat, I drink a ton of water, more than most people. I don't like heat. After the episode in the previous post, I experienced ZERO soreness. Therefore, my body was recovering well and I continued with my training throughout the week. However, when I attempted to execute my long run last Saturday, I ignored how I was feeling. I had a headache, felt extremely tired, and cranky. Hmmm. I figured I needed sleep so I went to bed at 8:30pm for a 6am wake up. Still felt the same. I figured I could run it out; maybe it was sleeping on a new bed or pillow. 1.5 miles into the run I had to turn around. Horrible. Felt nauseous, bad headache, terrible. Had turn turn around.

Tears.

Lots of them.

Ugh.

I felt this way throughout the weekend. I believe I had some sort of bug. I was under the weather for 4 days. And I took a couple of days to relax and make sure I was ok (Still was really tired from going back to work vs. sleeping all day.)

So here I am.

Unsure.

Deliberating.

October 9, 2010 is not coming any slower.

I want a 26.2 bumper sticker.

I want that swagger. That confidence.

Deliberating.

Can I do this?

Will I do this?

Longest run is 12.5 miles.

A lot of work for 7 weeks.

Is it safe?

Is it possible?

Cool as a cucumber? Uh. Hmmm. Not sure.

12 mile run in pictures

The 59th Street Bridge which takes me to Manhattan from Queens

Crate and Barrel, my favorite store to run by and look in the windows!

Infamous underground Apple store

6 mile loop around Central Park

The running path whose roadway stays closed to traffic till 8am and is always packed with bikers and runners.

Some of the GORGEOUS scenery along the way.

My run went well till the end, since it was 9ish and I was HOT, I got a bit dehydrated which resulted in some unwanted stomach cramps, nausea and a trip to a hotel's bathroom 1.5 miles from my house :-( Never had that problem before, but apparently it happens to people most when they're dehydrated. I basically need electrolytes when running long runs in the heat, even if I start at 6:15am! I guess I never really ran long runs in the heat much since my half marathons were in the spring except for one, which for that one I did 10milers for and that was it.

I got so frustrated after feeling so good during the run (Even though my Garmin was out of battery so I was running BLIND! The horror!), the end of it was pretty pathetic. When Brian picked me up (Yes I had to call him to pick me up), I was so distraught saying, "I can't do this I'm horrible I'm never going to be able to do this." And he told me, "Wait till you're clear minded to say that." He's the best. Now in retrospect I should have at least had Gatorade or SOMETHING other than water. (I refilled my fuel belt 3 times, meaning I drank 96 ounces of water, but my body was saying "Uh uh oh no you didn't.")

So. This week is 13 miles. We'll see how I respond. My sister Jennifer suggested I take electrolyte pills, so I'm going to try that.

In other news, Bri and I have been busy this weekend: Birthday party Friday night, parents came to visit Saturday, White Party Saturday night (Pictures coming), Sunday went to morning and night church services, Monday long run and Empire of the Sun concert.

I'm TIRED! Cool as a cucumber.

I run Astoria

I want this shirt so badly. But it's a touristy shirt maybe. Hmmm. Not sure if I can go with the fad or succumb to its self imposed "coolness". This shirt says, "I run NY". Maybe I can make one that says "I run Astoria".

Yes, this is my view from my 5 mile run this morning. Manhattan. In a city that is supposed to be fast paced, I find this view so calming. Probably because it involves water. Actually, it involves DECENT smelling water, which doesn't happen in the metropolitan area too often. My foot held up for 3 miles, then was a bit sore for the last 2, so I cut my workout from 7 to 5 miles :-( Wisdom with injuries always wins. I run to run.

We have a fabulous speaker at our church named J. John. He spoke on resting this weekend; and resting to me is very hard to do. Like, I need to be completely removed from my life in order to rest. He talked about keeping the sabbath holy. I'll write more on that Friday in preparation for the upcoming sabbath next weekend ;-) Suffice it to say, I will not be doing any long runs on Sundays anymore. I get too anxious and worked up about it, and I'm completely distracted at church thinking about it. Friday or Saturday is my designated long run day. But the interesting thing about the sabbath is that it's meant to help you relax. And this past year, I used it as my homework day for grad school and my long run day. It wasn't a rest, it was work according to keep my life going; maybe not work for a livelihood, but work nonetheless. So, every Sunday I will attempt to be calm, relax, and catch my breath.

In other news: It's Shark Week. Enough Said.

Gait analysis...disclaimer picture is not me!

Following some painful foot issues, I decided to get a gait analysis done before I go to a doctor. So, I went to Quantum Feet, the only running shop in Queens REMOTELY close to me. They set me up with the treadmill and camera and everything and had me walk barefoot. Well, the results came quickly and made sense:

1. I walk/run on the outside of my foot like most people. My shoes are too small, most likely causing the pain.

2. I have a regular-high arch. I was wearing a shoe for someone with no arch, providing TOO MUCH stability. I need a "no support" shoe.

3. My shoes were too heavy for my feet.

4. Because my shoes were too small, my consistent blisters now made sense.

I then tried on a couple of different shoes, and these were the winners:

The Nike+ Pegasus 27's. I ran around the block and they felt great; however, my foot still didn't feel right. The owner suggested I rest for 3 days (YET AGAIN UGHHH) and then come back and try them out again. Nice. She could have taken the, "Get these shoes now to fix your feet" route, but she took the "wait and see" route, the road less traveled for sales people.

My thoughts: I agree. After my knee soreness, I was light on my right leg while running, most likely resulting in a heavier load on my left foot/leg, and the foot pain definitely could've been the result. Also, those shoes were REALLY comfy and felt right. I've always thought my shoes were heavy but stable; these shoes showed me they don't have to be heavy. I'm hoping by Sunday I will be able to run again with some new shoes!

Plus side: They're only $90. That's significantly lower than I thought they would be. There's only one problem with the shoe: It's UNC Blue. The color is even called, "University Blue". This Uconn girl is going to have to swallow some serious pride.

Now, as for relaxing and not freaking out about training for a marathon...I'm going to have to avoid some serious not-running depression...

Cool as a cucumber.

Cool as a cucumber

So I've been a little anxious. Ok Like A LOT anxious. It's about this little marathon hope and dream I have. October 9, 2010 isn't coming any slower, and I'm facing another hurdle to jump over. My knee is pretty much back to normal. No real pain, maybe SLIGHTLY sore after a run but I've continued to ice it. My latest anxiety-inducing situation? A sore foot. And now, I'm not talking sore like my knee, I'm talking slicing a knife through the middle of my foot sore. According to Runners World, I've narrowed it down to either tendinitis or planters fasciitis. Either way, I'm not happy. I've never, repeat NEVER, had an injury in my 7+ years of running. Now two within two weeks. Here are the answers to what you may be thinking...

1. No, I'm not training EXTRA hard. (I've run way more than this consistently)

2. No, my shoes have never been a problem. Ran a 1/2 marathon in them in April and I think they still have some miles in them.

3. Nothing happened that I can think of to cause my sudden foot handicap.

4. It hurts more when I walk then when I run.

5. I've been icing it since the pain started and taking aleve.

So, I have decided I need to be cool as a cucumber. Take the Lambeau approach to life. Instead of laying awake at night wondering if I can run a marathon, I need to believe I can do it. Instead of being sad and wanting to give up completely, I need to be proactive.

So, today I will go and get my gate analyzed at a running store. I've never done this, but it's the most positive and proactive thing I can think of to do.

Cool as a cucumber. Let's give this a try.

go go go!

After my 8 miler yesterday, I've actually felt pretty good knee wise. So, as a recovery, I was going to do another lake swim, but was sadly too tired to get there by 7:30am. Instead, I did my laps in my parent's pool. Cool, right? Well, it's 5 laps for every 1 lap in a 50m pool, there's a lot of turning and stopping, turning and stopping. And I don't push off the ends so I don't cheat myself out of any strokes etc. Well, I did 150 laps today! aka, 32 laps in a 50m pool...aka 1 mile! Eek! I wasn't tired till about lap 20, which I usually only do 20-24 laps, but I decided to try it out today. Oddly enough, it was wicked hot today so the pool was a logical recovery tool...but I didn't get thirst swimming! I actually had to use the bathroom because I was drinking water as a precaution! This NEVER happens to me, especially in the heat!

And, as the picture shows, I had my nephew Evan in the pool while I was swimming trying to distract me, play with me, and cheer me on saying "Go! Go! Go!" Gosh he's cute. (My sister was in the pool with him, I did not leave a toddler in the pool unsupervised!!!) Isn't my swimsuit funny though? Yea, that's my "tanning" bikini. My lovely husband told me he packed my lap swimming suit, and it's no where to be found in our belongings. He's camping for the weekend with a friend, out of cell phone range and everything. So I was left to swim in a "fashionable" suit. Not recommended. Can be done, but still not recommended!

But hey, it matched my cap and goggles.

Good luck to all you long runners this weekend! And a special shout out to my friend Heather who is doing her FIRST EVER Ironman Triathalon in Lake Placid tomorrow! GOOD LUCK!