Nearing 500.....

So, it just occurred to me earlier today, that I have almost run 500 miles this year. (461.7 is the official count) I have a long run planned for Sunday, so by then it will even be less. 500 miles....from my door I can go all the way past Ottowa! Though it has taken me considerably more time then it would have if I just drove there.

Doing a little math, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to accomplish this, so the real question is, after I run 500 miles in 2009 what do I do? How do I celebrate something that I never thought I would even attempt to do? Should I eat 500 cupcakes? Should I drink 500 beers? Should I buy $500 worth of new sneakers and running apparel?? (Okay, that may sound like the best option but still has it's own flaws...) Maybe treat myself to a nice massage, and take pride in the fact that I have done so, so many things this year that I never thought were possible. Two half marathons...two half-centuries on a mountain bike...taking Bikram yoga! I'm not sure now how all of these events will shape me next year, or the year after, but I know that the effect they've had has been positive.

NYC Half Marathon

Wow. That's about all I have to say. Woke up at 3:10am, saw a guy get the crap beaten out of him on the 6 train(!!!), met up with the SUPER sweet Lynda, and ran an amazing race. I gave it 100% effort, and set a PR by 1 minute! I really thought that waking up so early with only 4 or 5 hours of sleep was going to be a major factor, but I don't think it mattered at all.

Miles 1-3 were really a warm up for me, but my legs felt really, really fresh and ready to go. I'll ignore the fact that there was NO water at mile 1.5, because I had brought my own bottle, which was awesome to have/refill during the race. I felt pretty great 4-6, I killed those hills and made them my bitch! Took a GU at 4.5. Between 6 - 8 I was starting to feel sore. I was wearing one of those knee straps for "jumpers knee" and honestly, my knee didn't hurt for one second during the race. But my hamstrings were starting to get sore, and the arches of my feet were starting to hurt.

Finally, out of the park, running down 7th ave I got a huge energy burst. I'm sure also knowing that I was halfway done was a nice incentive! Running through Times Square was great, and the crowd was really great too. We turned down 44th I think, and the whole way down to the west side was downhill!!! After running through all those hills in the park I felt like I was flying. I took another GU (with caffeine) at 8.5. I actually felt great until 11 or so...my hamstrings were really tight, and I kept trying to tell myself to ignore the discomfort, ignore the pain....there's nothing wrong you just need to keep pushing and keep going. At a few points around this time I saw people sidelined with pain, and actually screaming in agony. It was definitely sobering to see, but made me appreciate how I was doing even more. I think also around 11.5 I realized I'm done with Halfs for a little while...I think for me it's really a great distance to race, but after racing two in just over two months....I'm done...for now.

I definitely took walking breaks, but they were limited to 60-90 seconds, and I actually stopped around 11 to stretch my legs, and walked around 12.5 for a minute because I was pushing that last mile really hard. (According to my Garmin I ran mile 13 in 10:13, but it also claims I ran the half in 2:24)

When I was close enough to see the clock I was within (what I thought) seconds of making/breaking my goal of beating my BK Half time...The clock said 2:36:-- and I knew we had started at least 10:30, so some quick math said I needed to get my ass over that finish line FAST..and if my math is correct, if I complete the last .7 mile in 7:04, which means I averaged a 10:05 min/mile, so clearly I had some gas in reserve, and I was going to take that PR.

So, I gave it 100%, and I am really happy. Don't get me wrong, I did have some tough moments towards the end of the race, but overall, I felt really great and really prepared mentally and physically.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes, it means a lot!

Splits!
5K - 0:34:55
10K - 1:09:19 (+34:24)
15K - 1:44:02 (+34:43)
20K - 2:18:17 (+32:15) (Woah!!)
13.1 - 2:25:21 (+07:04)

PACE - 11:06

I also got my first medal today!! So amazing.

Half Aftermath

Okay, so I know after all that's said and done, the Brooklyn Half Marathon was over a week ago. Most bloggers are DONE talking about it (okay, except for Ted who was a little behind!) but I cannot stop thinking about it. I still cannot believe that I finished.

There is some part of me that wants to discredit this accomplishment, and turn it into something that's not mine. Like, for example "You can't be proud of this accomplishment because you only ran 6 miles and then you took the train home." NOT TRUE! Or, ""You can't be proud of this accomplishment because you walked parts of it" But that's not even valid. I ran 13.1 miles in under two and a half hours, and a year ago I was just getting my first pair of running sneakers and could barely run for 30 minutes. Running the BK Half was part of my New Years Resolution. This is how crazy this all is for me, and one week later I still cannot comprehend.

And on top of this all, I have the most amazing, supportive boyfriend, that manages to make me feel loved and motivated even when we are 894 miles away.

Brooklyn Half marathon 2009 - The Long Version

Let me first say, this was my first half marathon ever, and this was also the longest I had ever run. (My longest training run was 10 miles, one week before the half) Let me also say, that the 2:26:21 minutes that it took me to finish was the quickest 2:26:21 of my life. I cannot believe that the run is over! It's already a past memory!!

Let me also say, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Michelle, Kenneth, Ted, Jessica, my mother, Lydia, and everyone else who wished me good luck, and told me I could do it and believed in me, even when I wasn't sure that I believed in myself. What I accomplished today makes me teary eyed.

I slept poorly last night, and in fact, my alarm never even went off. (Thanks a lot iPhone) but, I managed to wake up at 5:30am, had my Luna bar, some water and went off my way to meet up with Michelle and Ted. There were some dramas along the way (no money for a Metro Card....15 minute line to use the most disgusting porta-potty EVA!) but nothing major, and the race ended up starting late, anyway. We cut in to the corrals (oops!) so we started about 5 minutes after the horn went off.

We were off!! I'm really doing this!!

For the first mile I was having some sort of weird shin/calf tightness that seems to literally only happen when I run in Prospect Park. Usually when I stop and stretch it out, I'm okay, but I kept running, because sometimes it goes away on it's own. By mile 2, it was gone. Okay, so mile 2....where's the water? It's warm, I'm thirsty, where's my water!!
Finally, as we're approaching mile 3, there is a loud surge of cheers...the elite runners are running their second lap (mile 5) in the park.....jesus..FINALLY 2.75 miles in Gatorade and water!! At mile 4 I lost Michelle and Ted at the water station, and the rest of the race I ran solo.

I felt exceptionally strong in the park, which gave my great confidence that I was going to finish the race, and I was going to beat my goal of sub 2:30, and I was right on track for my other goal 2:24. Got a great surge of energy at 6.5 - 7 as we were leaving the park. There was pretty good fan support in the park, and other then that first water station, I think they were all spaced pretty well.

I don't know what happened around mile 8 - 9, but i started feeling pretty fatigued. I knew I was more than half way done, (only 6 miles left! only 5 miles left! I kept trying to remind myself) but I was tired. I think at the 8 mile water stop I forced myself to gag through half an orange GU. (Have I told you how much I despise those retched things?!?!) There were misting stations at mile 8 and 10 which were FABULOUS! I was worried that I would get wet and it would make me all blistery, but the ice cold water felt sooooo goooooooood!

By mile 10 I had felt less fatigued, though my legs were starting to feel sore. I remember stopping to walk some point at mile 11 and I guy said to me, "It's only two more miles! You can do it!" And I knew I could. So close. We were passing Kings Highway! Avenue U! The water stations were chaotic, but organized somehow. The volunteers were dipping cups into large lined garbage bins of Gatorade. (Or in addition they filled up a pitcher and you'd just serve yourself)

By mile 12, I was feeling almost euphoric. So little left!! DON'T STOP SAMANTHA!!!!! At this point, I did kind of want to get this over with, but in a good way. My legs were still feeling stiff, but no pain. Coming towards the Q train over pass on W Brighton was totally overwhelming. There were a lot of people there cheering, and I could hear people cheering ahead, and there tears that started to well up my eyes. I tried to calm down, because I could feel my throat starting to tighten and I needed every last ounce of air I could get into my lungs.

I did not run up the ramp to the boardwalk. You must be crazy. No effin way. I walked up the ramp, took a deep breath, and tried as hard as I could to "power" through that last half mile. And it was not easy, that last half mile was probably the toughest half mile of the entire race. When they tell you "Only 1/4 mile left!!!" it's no consolation, because you see the finish line up ahead and want it to be done, NOW!!

Overall, I really enjoyed the race, and I think NYRR did a pretty good job organizing it. It was no where near as crowded as I thought it was going to be. Of course I was happy to end at Coney Island, with it being home, but it was so nice to get those hills out of the way in the beginning, I'm not sure how I would have felt about the race had it been backwards.

Right now, my calves are soooooreeee. I also have one blister on my toe, which hurts a little, and I'm a little sun burned on my shoulders. In a few days all that will face, and all I will remember is number 10119, the good times I had on this day, and the great people I met today.

5k Al Gordon Snow Flake Run

So, today was my very first "race" It was a simple 5k in Prospect Park. (where I'd never run before) I was definitely out of the breath by the last half mile, and that last hill suuuckkkkeedddd.

Thank you to everyone who wished me good luck, and told me they were proud of me, it meant a lot. Most importantly, I am proud of myself. I did something today that I could have made a million excuses to not do. I finished in 32:10, which is something I am happy about. I'm looking forward to running more this year, and, running faster :)