ING NYC Marathon Eve

I am so stinking nervous. I think that's a good thing. This day included breakfast, a bright Team World Vision manicure, giving Lambeau a bath, carb loading, and water loading. A whole lot of slothing about if you ask me.
Carbs consumed? Check check.
Race Gear. Including but not limited to:

-Team shirt/race outfit

- iPhone holder

- Fuel Belt

- iFitness belt

- Fuel inside both belts

- Throw away gloves, earmuffs, and sweatshirt.

- Hand warmers (SMARTEST PURCHASE OF THE DAY)

- Race bib (This is the one thing I would forget)
Post Race Gear. Including but not limited to:

- Cold compresses

- Change of socks

- Pants and a sweatshirt

- Recoverite and a Nalgene bottle to pour it into

- Goldfish Saltine Crackers

- Aleve

- Recovery sneakers

Race Goals:

Goal D: 4:50 finish

Goal C: 4:40 finish

Goal B: 4:30 finish

Goal A: FINISH!!!

This is it. Tomorrow is my baptism by Boroughs. Tomorrow, I am a Finisher. This WSJ article got me all sorts of choked up at breakfast (Yes, it was in public). It details how marathons are one of the remaining sports where elites and amateurs can all compete. The end really touched me. I will leave you with this:

"You have to hang around for the Finishers, but they're worth it. If you stand on any avenue you can see Finishers having moments during the race with family and friends—struggling bodies energizing at the sight of recognizable faces and handwritten signs. The Finisher hobbles over—a mom, a dad, a pal. There's a quick, jubilant group hug, and high-fives all around. Nobody's watching the clock. Nobody cares that mom or dad smells like gym socks. You can't help but be moved. It's like watching 50 long-distance telephone commercials in a row.

They still have miles to run. But Finishers make New York." - Jason Gay, WSJ Reporter

See you on the other side. As a Finisher.

14 hours until the ING NYC MARATHON!!!

ING NYC Marathon Weekend

It has been a whirlwind couple of days. I had a movie/veg out night Wednesday night with Mr. Miller watching Spirit of the Marathon, holy tears and chills! This got me geared up for the wave of emotions that are bound to take place this Sunday.Thursday night, we expo'd. I love the free signs for spectators!!!

There's my bib! Remember the number. Track me if you'd like.

Run for life. It's a promise.
Can you sense the excitement?
Even the low carb beers are getting in on the marathon action! Sorry Mich Ultra, I'll probably throw back a full carb Sam Adams something after the 26.2!
Team World Vision is amazing. Tonight we had a team dinner. Bart Yasso was supposed to be the guest speaker but had to drop out last minute. FYI, Bart Yasso is a World Vision supporter and he has a sponsored child. He met this sponsored child during an ultra race in Africa. Bart Yasso, you just went up a notch when there wasn't a notch to go up. Fundraising update: Almost 400 kids have been sponsored through this team of runners. Want to get us to our goal? Comment about sponsoring a child today.
Season 11 Biggest Loser WINNER Olivia Ward came out to support her husband who is running with Team world Vision. FYI, she is a FABULOUS person, and a great photographer (See Team picture above!!!). Olivia and Hannah will be in the Nissan Leaf leading the women's Elite runners at the race! Go Team Purple! See you next year in the marathon???

My coworkers are the best of the best. Every single person I saw today was full of "Good Lucks" and "I'm so excited for you!" and other wonderfully encouraging words. This card was given to me by a friend who has been fundraising and running 1/2 marathons for Crohns and Colitis. Ms. Coombs, your marathon is going to happen...I just know it!!!
Happy 30th birthday to Kate. My sister (Center) had a milestone birthday today! She came into the city, and the McAuliffe girls took over Manhattan. They were also full of encouragement. It's a huge boost to see my family so close to the race.

My mind is on overdrive. I'm trying to wrap my mind around what is going to happen this Sunday. It seems impossibly close. Months of waiting. Months of training. Months of worrying. Months of preparing. Months of doubts. Months of firsts. Months of struggles. Months of accomplishment. All wrapped into one day. 10:40am 11/6/11 can't come any faster.

1 day until the ING NYC MARATHON!!!

Baptism by Boroughs

Baptize Me. I had my spiritual baptism when I was about 7, now, at 27, I will receive my running baptism. In 4 short days, I will be completing my marathon. The marathon I've been obsessing over. The marathon I've been dreaming about. The marathon I have talked incessantly about. The marathon that I've trained for. Boroughs, Baptize me. I can't wait to run the greatest city in the world. I can't wait to enter the group of people who can say, "Yea, I did New York." And everyone knows you mean the marathon...okay, at least most people, especially runners. I can't wait to be baptized by:

Staten Island: Baptize me, Verrazano Bridge.

Brooklyn: Baptize me Gatorade Man on 4th Avenue.

Queens: Baptize me Queensboro Bridge, in my borough, where I will see my family.

Manhattan: Baptize me 1st Avenue roar.

Bronx: Baptize me Andre Correa d'Almeida, personal friend and musician, as I enter the Bronx.

Manhattan: Baptize me Central Park, you and I go way back.

Is 26.2 miles just the start? We'll see how I feel after the race. I know I've got the taper crazies. I feel so lazy. I think to myself, wait, I'm running 26.2 this Sunday?! WHAT?! I'm not prepared! Oh wait, I trained. For months. And months. And MONTHS. I hope this will not be my last marathon. I hope it is, in fact, just the start.
I visited the finish. Orange bleachers, I'm so ready to be welcomed by you with open arms! You're a sight to behold. These sore legs will be thrilled to run through your orange carpet to the end. I am a finisher.
My family made a last minute trip to NYC! In case you haven't heard, Connecticut has massive power outages. My sister, Coach Jen, and her lovely family decided to hightail it out of outage land and visit the city. It was my nephews first time visiting the city, and they loved it. They saw where I would run my marathon. This makes me proud. (Coach Jon ran the Hartford Marathon last year. Coach Jen is an accomplished sprint triathlete and 1/2 marathon runner. I foresee a couples marathon on the horizon!)

I've been obsessing and fretting. I needed my family's visit to distract and entertain me. I need my husband to talk me through my crazy moments. Mr. Miller shared this quote with me, and I think it goes well with the feeling of this picture, and with the impending marathon:

"Thinking too much about what happened, and what is about to happen, will wear you down. Live in the moment and take it one step at a time."

- Seal Team Six Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin

Here's to not thinking too much about the past, living in the moment, and taking the next four days one step at a time. Cheers to finishing.

4 Days until the ING NYC MARATHON!!!

ONE. WEEK. FROM. NOW...

I will be a marathon finisher. Well, at least I better be a marathon finisher!!! I'm all sorts of nervous. I thought I'd enjoy the taper, which I have, but I think I'm getting some taper crazies. It doesn't feel like I'm running a marathon in 6 days. (BTW, the marathon countdown has the days left plus the hours; so, it's really 7 days away. I like saying 6 days better, because in countdowns, the actual day never really counts!) Mentally, I'm in constant battle to think about the fact that I'm running 26.2 miles next Sunday, and my runs are similar to when I first started the training! Taper crazies!Speaking of taper crazies: How about that Nor'easter?! We got hammered, and not even close to what my family in Connecticut got! We spent the entire day indoors yesterday. I don't even know where my winter coat is...still ;-) We cooked, worked on my carb levels, watched movies (Transformers and Something Borrowed), cleaned, cooked more, worked on carb levels more...it was a great day! It had the feeling of a school snow day. Mr. Miller, Lambeau and I definitely enjoyed a very lazy day filled with fleece blankets and sweat-style clothing.
SNOW BALL FIGHT! I almost got out and joined in the fun. Then I realized that would probably be stranger danger to these city kids.
Fall foliage??? Yea, I love foliage, but this is definitely a new twist on the idea. Seriously, heavy snow, slushy snow, it was a mess. Thankfully I got out of Saturday school right when the worst started, so I got home as everything was starting to accumulate.
Hello ING NYC Marathon ad taped onto a fabulous Sports Authority window display! When I began to plan my 8 mile run on our drive home from church today, I realized I needed my cold weather gear! Whaaaat? I'm so not ready for this white stuff and 40 degree temperatures! I picked up some toe socks from a running store in midtown to see if that would help the nasty blister/crater on the inside of my big toe. I had to gear up. Head band, gloves, long sleeves, pants (Ah pants, I love you but miss my shorts), it took me about 20 minutes just to locate my cold weather accessories.
How about a ridiculously good 8 mile run??? Yea, that's me, post run, ready for more. Remember when I said I hadn't seen 10's on my mile averages since my mileage got upped? Well, how about seeing 9's in my average?! My 8 mile average was 9:49, incredible for me. Especially since mile 8 was 8:59! This was a great confidence booster in the midst of my marathon crazies. I will definitely be taking it easy during the rest of my runs this week. I don't want to over do it and have tired legs.

Marathon plan. I'm drafting. Thinking and drafting. Any advice on pace? I feel like I'm going to have to hold back because of excitement; I don't want to over do it in the first part and have no gas left to bring it home. My tentative plan is getting to 20 miles, seeing how I feel, and pushing hard to the finish. Now, I know I may feel great, then at 24 want to chop off my own legs. So should I hold back until miles 23/24? Advice is VERY welcome.

6 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!

...I can't wait to drink some WINE in a week! I MISS IT!

Versatile blogger

Meg at Watch MeGo Run tagged me as a versatile blogger! The rules are as follows:

1) Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their post.

2) Share seven things about yourself.

3) Tag some recently discovered blogs - 15, to be exact - and pass the award a long

Meg, thank you so much! I have loved reading your blog! You're a speedy inspiration, I can not wait for you to tackle the big *M* soon!!!

So, prepare yourself...for when people stop being polite, and start getting real. Real World: Versatile Bloggers.

1. My first car was a nasty beat up passed down Toyota Celica with this bumper sticker. It became a running joke between a friend and I, and we kept track of how many we have seen for the past 11 years. We lost count at around 40, but now we picture message each other to keep the dream alive.

2. So this one time, John Mayer and I had a thing. More like, my husband got us front row seats at an underground concert. He played a song I repeatedly screamed er uh I mean asked to play (Comfortable, best. song. ever.), placed his guitar pick inside my purse which was on the stage he was playing on (Front row purse storage, you know...), and used my husband's camera as a capo for an extended jam session. This resulted in over 57,000 hits thus far.
3. I worked full time as a teacher, one day a week as a server, went to grad school, and completed my Masters of Science in May 2010. I became an NYC teaching fellow, a program that pays for your masters while you work as a teacher. I also couldn't give up my cash on the side gig, so basically I was running at any waking moment where I wasn't working, studying, or sleeping. I trained for and ran three half marathons during this two year period.
4. I worked as a server for 4 years in Times Square. I arrived in NYC to finish my undergrad degree, and got hired at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. I worked there until it was abruptly shut down in June 2010. I actually received a sweet severance from it. I miss serving, you meet the most interesting people and experience the good, bad, and ugly of the public. Makes for a great dinner punch line! Famous people I met/served: Andy Pettitte, Josh Beckett, David Wright, Spike Lee, Elizabeth from the View, Vanessa Minillo, Rafael Nadal, and some more that I can't think of. I really loved it, and I was really good at it. Best tip I ever got: $350 from a private event! Very generous people out there.
5. Lambeau was a naughty puppy. We had to go through TWO cycles of puppy school. I would take the train 30 minutes each way to get him, and myself, educated on training. It was time consuming, but totally worth it. He got voted "Most Sarcastic" because he would talk back when I would say a command by barking, then doing the command. FRESH! And he really needed a haircut there.
6. I *LOVE* Ann Curry! I have loved her for a long time. I have been an avid Today Show fan since I was, oh, 11. I finally met her last year and gushed unashamedly about how big of a fan I am. She was GRACIOUS, beautiful, and funny. Ann, you're the Queen Supreme!

7. I swam with dolphins in the Bahamas. AWKWARD KISS MUCH!? Yes, this was an amazing experience. Mr. Miller set it all up and made this bucket list item get checked off. He really knows how to make a girl smile!!! They felt softer than I had anticipated. Ah, dreams come true, really they do!

Ok, I can't tag 15 blogs because I don't think I read 15 blogs! My blog discoveries have been stalled since I've been training for the marathon. Here are a few tags:

Stephanie - A mom who is a work out inspiration!

Lyndsey - A newlywed who is living life and loving it!

Heather - A triathlete who relocated to Alaska!

Drea - A newlywed who is ALSO living life and loving it!

8 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!

26.2 at 27

I had a birthday! Yes, it's true. October 25 I turned the big 2-7. Honestly, I don't care about telling people how old I am, because I'm always "the youngest" or "the baby". Whateves. Eventually someone else will be the youngest and the baby! The day was awesome. Because of my impending blister on the inside of my big toe (Which I still can't reveal because it's still THAT disturbing), I didn't run on my birthday for the first time in a long time. I usually do it as a "Yup, another year older and I still got it!" but wisdom spoke better of it. Mr. Miller woke me up and took me for yummy bagels and coffee for breakfast! Great way to start my day. I went to work and was greeted by 5th graders screaming out of their window "Happy birthday Mrs. Miller!" I received some cute gifts, best of all was a HOUSE PLANT! The gift that keeps on giving. These kids are sweet. My work wife Ms. S brought me yummy homemade soup for lunch and a naughty oreo white chocolate / milk chocolate brownie. Let's just say, 5 people shared it, and half was left over for Mr. Miller and I! So good.

I received a special delivery from Villan. Yup. I work in a predominantly Spanish speaking area, so the florist had some language barriers to deal with when Mr. Miller placed his order. Back story: Mr. Miller ordered from this florist for Valentines day and the card read "For the love of my wife" instead of "For the love of my life", this has been a running joke since then. So, big reveal (And I think I wrote his name on older posts) Mr. Miller's name is Brian. So. Brian. Villan. Brian. Villan. Makes sense! Mr. Miller has a new nickname. Don't let the hilarious circumstances distract you: those flowers were GORGEOUS, and they sit loud and proud on my kitchen table. Surprises weren't over.
HE GOT ME *THE* MARATHON NECKLACE! He does read the blog! Or got the hint when I emailed the page or left the screen open on the computer. several. times. After we parked at the park (Weird words to use but only ones that work) he dropped a cute teal blue box on my lap. EEK! I said "WHAT?!" I opened it and had tears. So sweet. He actually had to special order it; apparently they don't carry them in the store. I will be able to get it engraved after the marathon with my year, bib, and time. Mr. Miller, you done good.
Lambeau made my birthday fun. We threw the ball for him and he used up his endless energy; then somehow found reserves to chase squirrels! They were crafty squirrels. They would only go half way up the trunk to tease him. He actually was half a second from catching one. He's a Miller.

It was a beautiful day for a birthday! We sat on the bench for a while and enjoyed the sights; the Triboro Bridge, the Hellsgate Bridge, Manhattan....I love where we live. It is always nice to go and simply enjoy the park instead of running the park. What's a birthday without dinner? Mr. Miller, you've done it again. We went to a FABULOUS Italian restaurant. The food was outstanding. I had penne with fresh tomato sauce, fried eggplant and fresh mozzarella cheese. WOW. Taste explosion. It was so light and simple, I wish I could make sauce like that. I'm not on a mission. Light tomato sauce here I come!

4 miles yesterday, 3 miles today. I put mole skin on my blister and it was irritated the whole time, aka major freak out by me. Today I tried no mole skin, and minimal irritation. Hopefully it will continue toward no irritation. I talked with my mom tonight about the run down of marathon day, and I'm getting more and more anxious. I'll write about my thoughts tomorrow, this birthday post is long enough!

9 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!

All the single ladies, all the single ladies...SINGLE. DIGITS. PEOPLE!

I heart football Sundays

I heart 10 mile runs. It's my favorite distance. It's a nice even number, a double digit, and I always feel great after it. Today my schedule said 12 miles. I set out with strong intentions to try to complete the full 12 miles. I packed enough fuel, I set out enough time, but I just didn't have it in me. Since battling a cold or allergies for the past 6 days, I've been EXHAUSTED (Which makes me lean towards a cold). My 4 mile run Thursday was cut short to 2 miles because I was so fuzzy in the head I had a major tripping incident. AKA, it's way to close to the marathon to be stupid and get hurt. I got 11 hours of sleep Thursday and Friday nights, and laid low all day Saturday. Magically, Saturday night, I felt a little better. I woke up this morning feeling less congested and less sluggish. We went to church and I felt significantly better than I have all week. So, I set out on my 12 miles. It was a PERFECT fall day. However, I just didn't have the 12 in me. Because of my sleepy ways this week, my posture was all off, therefore my form was off, and my body was quickly fatigued from the sudden influx of physical activity and aerobic breathing. I just can't snot rocket. Number one, it's gross. Number two, my nose is runny, so it's not something I can really shoot out...it would just look nasty and awkward. So, I settled for 10 miles and call it a day. Let the football Sunday commence!I heart macaroni and cheese. I have seen Meg O baking some fabulous looking from scratch mac and cheese, so I decided today would be a good day. (Secretly, I pushed myself to 10 miles because I knew I was going to INHALE some of this deliciousness!) I found this recipe on my favorite recipe site (Click here for full details), and tweaked it to perfection. I followed the suggestions to only cook it for 20 minutes at 350, and substituted shredded cheese for STRAIGHT FROM WISCONSIN cheese curds! It made amazingly sharp and flavorful macaroni and cheese, and I ate far too much of it. I'm feeling so fly like a cheese head!
I heart Lambeau. I also heart the Packers. Apparently when you name your dog after a football stadium, there are perks in the form of souvenirs! Mr. Miller picked this up during his trip to see the game last weekend. Although the Packers weren't playing in Lambeau this week, they won! 7-0! GO PACK GO!
Lambeau hearts football. He sits with us the whole game. He's totally into it. He thinks he's Clay Matthews.
I heart anything that will take my blister away. I have a new blister. It's inside my big toe. ??? This leads me to think that my shoes are too narrow; however, I've been fitted and my feet measure regular width. ??? I put moleskin on it today for my 10 mile run, and it still filled with liquid again. SO GROSS. And painful. Hopefully this little beauty will protect, disinfect and help heal it...like it claims. I am tempted to post a picture of it, but I believe this will cause nightmares.

I heart the taper. As I spoke with my intense cyclist friend last night about my cold creeping up during my taper, he said "The body knows, it knows!" So smart body. Really, not smart, but better than during the marathon! I feel like I turned a corner, but I need to be careful not to overdo it and rest a ton. I'm toeing the start line strong and healthy.

My birthday is Tuesday. Eek.

13 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!