Happy Feet

I hate blisters and foot pain. This is obviously nothing revolutionary. I'm sure most people hate blisters and foot pain, but when you're into covering long distances by foot, it's kind of par for the course.

You need to have proper footwear for a trail race. I own La Sportiva Wildcats and Brooks ASRs. As a wear tester, I'm really fortunate that Brooks sends me pairs to test out. I'm a big fan of the ASR 9s.

I wore the ASR 9s for the first 25 miles of the race. They are pretty lightweight for trail shoes, 9.5 ounces, and they're really similar to the Adrenalines I wear on the road.

I packed my Wildcats in my drop bag and switched pairs at the halfway point. I am so glad that I did because they have a lot more cushion and the ankles are higher for more stability. Different shoe models mean that my feet weren't subjected to the same pressure points, which means less pain and risk of blisters.

This kid did not come with two pairs of shoes and tried to run the trail in road Vibrams. Eek. He was hurting pretty bad so I offered him my ASRs for the last 17 miles. I was happy to help him out and glad he had small lady feet.

Always bring two pairs of shoes!

I've found myself in a bit of a predicament. I track the mileage on my shoes using RunningAHEAD. If I switched shoes in the middle of the run, how do I track one run with two pairs of shoes? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because it's keeping me up at night. That's not a joke.

Knee Pain

There's a 72% chance that I hurt my knee worse than I thought. Last night's 4 mile run hurt and my knee is swollen.

The pain started flaring up at work and got worse as I walked to and from appointments near the office. Maybe liberally lathering myself up with Tiger Balm provided me with a false sense of security.

Athletic Supporters

"If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter." - Principal McGee, Grease

The best part of Rock The Ridge was my wonderful friends coming to see me. Fifty miles was a very daunting distance for me (and still is to be honest) and knowing that people I care about bothered to come to New Paltz was incredibly motivating.

I was running along mile twenty when I saw my friend and spinning instructor Tripp Doherty and his lady friend Janene. Tripp had told me that he would come up and ride the course on the day of the race, but to be honest, I didn't really believe it. It meant so, so much to me to see them both and I felt very loved. Tripp is a big inspiration in my life. Spending time with him has motivated me to push myself farther and harder than I had ever imagined. He also makes me want to be my best self. After one spin class where Tripp spoke about forgiveness, I ended a fight between my aunt and me that had become a major family argument. I don't know how many workout classes you have gone to that have changed the way you think and act, but I've been blessed to go to quite a few since Tripp started teaching at my local Equinox in 2007.

Tripp and me at the waterfall.
Photo courtesy of Janene

I met running friends at mile 19.4, named Kelly and Tommy. We stayed together for the rest of the race, but more about them later. Tripp and Janene rode their bikes along with us for much of the course. I really appreciated when they rode ahead and took awesome photographs for us.

photo courtesy of Janene

I cannot thank my friends Christina, Audrey, and Alyssa enough for coming up to watch me finish. Not only did I underestimate my finish time by over an hour and a half, forcing them to wait around, they missed the Kentucky Derby to watch me cross the line. They made me the beautiful banner you see below and came armed with yellow Gatorade and a sandwich. They also drove my car back to Westchester and set up the shower so I could wash the grime off my body. After so many hours on your feet, simple things like finding soap is a lot more difficult than you would imagine. These are real friends and I am so lucky to have them.

Running can be a pretty solitary sport but I have found trail running to be a community effort. Maybe it's the added distance, being surrounded by nature, or the type of people drawn to these kinds of events. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends traveling to share this special day with me.

Morning Run with T

After more than a week of taking it easy, I was itchy to get out and run. Yesterday I asked T if she'd be up for a 6 AM run in the park and because she's awesome, she said she was game.

I stayed up a little later than I wanted to because I had to see the Rangers school the Caps in a 5-0 shutout in Game 7. I'm not sure if I've ever shared my love of hockey on this blog, but it's my favorite sport to watch. And like many women, I want to have Lundqvist's babies. When my alarm went off at 5:30, I was surprisingly well-rested and got out of bed at 5:35.

It was really cold this morning. I wore pants and a long-sleeved tech shirt and I was still pretty chilled on my way to the park. This man, however, didn't seem phased by the frigid temperatures.

Our run was casual but not easy for me. My left knee feels a bit wonky, my right ankle is acting up, and my right hip feels a little geriatric. I feel pretty good though and I'm glad I managed 8.62 miles without collapsing on Cat Hill. The being said, I skipped Cat Hill the second time around and exited the park at 72nd.

My average pace was 9:35 but only because of my speedy first mile. I left my running keys (a specific set that only has the two keys I really need and no fobs, chains, or extras) with my super recently and I was concerned that my other set was going to leave me locked out of my apartment. The 3 minutes I spent testing  my door over and over made me a little late so I picked up the pace to meet T. I wish I had given myself enough time to get there on the front end and used that energy for the hills.

Where to Start?

I had the most incredible day of my life on Saturday, May 4 when I ran the Rock The Ridge 50 Mile Challenge. I have so many stories to share, I don't know where to begin. Send me your questions and requests and I'll get posting.

I can be contacted by posting below, Facebook, email, and carrier pigeon (but only if that pigeon is bringing me Pinkberry.)

Drop Bags Whole Foods Style

Today I learned that my anti-hoarder mother tossed all of the bags I had planned to use as drop bags for my race. No worries. I went to Whole Foods to buy two insulated bags. I use a black one as my everyday gym bag in Manhattan, but I love these bright blue and green bags.

The best part of these bags is that you can toss clothing, water bottles, sweaty shoes, you name it and not be worried about them leaking.

Rock The Ridge requires bags to be clearly labeled so I used a Rub a Dub marker to write my name and info.

Yipit

I signed up for Yipit a few months ago and I am a huge fan. It compiles deals from Groupon, Gilt, Lifebooker, LivingSocial etc that fit my preferences and then sends them in one email to my inbox.

I found out about Bikram Herald Square in a Yipit message and I purchased kickboxing classes from a studio right near my office today.

Now that my Equinox membership has expired, I am going to look for more deals near my place of employment. I'll be more likely to go and will also save a ton of money.

Run in Piedmont Park

I finally went for a run here in Atlanta. Today's weather is a bit bleak but the cool overcast weather is perfect for running.

We're staying at the Regency Suites right next to our office in Midtown Atlanta. I asked the friendly folks at the front desk to recommend a running route and they told me to run down 10th Street towards Piedmont and then I would see the park.

According to Wikipedia, "Piedmont Park is a 189-acre urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about 1 mile northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods."

According to me, Piedmont Park is lovely.

the entrance I found

I wasn't looking to do any amazing run. My 50 miler is Saturday so this was more a get moving because you are slowly becoming one with your hotel bed run.

I found a dog park and watched the puppies play. Then I found this trail path and decided to see where it led me. It led me back to the dog park.

I got a little lost and confused about where I had entered. I found an exit and then figured out I had exited on the opposite side of the park. It was easy to figure out where I needed to go to get back to my hotel so I wasn't concerned.

Including my photo shoots, shoe retying, music fiddling, and GPS mapping, I ran 3.70 miles in 37:54 minutes.

hotel mirror shot - wouldn't be a business trip without one

East River Runs

Lately I've been returning to my old familiar running route, the East River Esplanade. I leave the apartment, run towards the river, and then run up towards 125th and back. I like to make the run a solid 5 miles so sometimes this requires me stopping the Garmin and walking home or actually running a little extra. It really depends on what kind of creepers are lurking at 125th near the fence and how early I decide to turn around to avoid them.

Wednesday's run was a get outside and clear my mind run. Wednesday was less than stellar and I needed to get out of my head. Look at that first mile - 6:48 minutes. Booyah.

Last Thursday I did pretty much the same run, but I was focused on increasing my turnover. I found that I was able to run more quickly without feeling like I was running any harder. These years of long distances have changed what I consider fast or moderate, so it was nice to know I could still move reasonably well. I am a moron and hit lap instead of pause, which is why the fifth mile is only 0.97 miles and the 6th lap is 0.03 miles.

I've been wearing shorts and a pullover for my evening runs. No undershirt required.

This is in the shop next to my office.

You're welcome.

Breaking News: Darryl Gaines Quit Equinox

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This morning I thought I was going to Tripp Doherty's 6:30 AM spin class. Too bad it starts at 6 AM. Oops. I ended up getting on the bike at 6:25 and enjoying an awesome half hour ride. While there, I learned that Darryl Gaines has left Equinox.

Say what?

I haven't heard why Darryl decided to leave, but perhaps he got the idea from another person who has recently decided to part ways with the gym...

I'm not in Manhattan right now, but I can only imagine that mass hysteria. I'm not being facetious - people really love Darryl and I'm not sure how they plan on getting through the day without him. Actually, I do have an idea - invite Tripp Doherty to take over the lunchtime classes.

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